MOVED

Hi everyone!

I moved awhile back. I am now at http://translatemyheart.wordpress.com.

Prom and Prejudice - Elizabeth Eulberg

One of my dirty little secrets is I am super into Pride and Prejudice to the point that I read fanfiction, sequels and adaptations.

This Pride and Prejudice reinterpretation takes place in a modern day Connecticut at the very fancy, very posh Longbourn Academy. Lizzie Bennett, a scholarship student and musical prodigy, cannot stand most of her rich classmates and vice versa. When her best friend Jane drags her to a party she encounters snobbish Will Darcy. She automatically labels him as another rich jerk. But they keep running into each other as Jane and Will's best friend Charles spend time together.

The plotting of the book is very parallel to Austen's Pride and Prejudice, except for the time change. However, what was missing is the depth of emotion. While this adaptation is adorable and fun, it lack the emotion in Austen's story and the characters seemed mainly shadows of Austen's. Especially Will Darcy. Sometimes the events felt designed to follow the Pride and Prejudice plot and did not naturally fit the modern day setting of the story. It felt more like a modern outline of Austen's book.

There is a bright light to this and it's the witty dialogue. The characters are very well spoken and kept the story flowing. The dialogue does not lack, nor does Eulberg ramble on for hours. It's perfect for teenagers looking for a fluffy, fun read. And hopefully it will introduce a whole new generation to Austen's Pride and Prejudice and prompt them to read the original.

Publisher: Point
ISBN: 9780545240772
Pages: 288
Book Source: Borrowed from Library
Author Website | Indiebound |Goodreads

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Hi guys! So... I am jetting off again. This time, I will be heading to Walt Disney World for a couple days of fun with my family. I will be practically internet free meaning that this blog will be taking another break for a bit. However, I will have a bunch of reviews when I come back as I am taking a stack of reading for the plane and the long lines.

Books I am Bringing:

• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
• The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Macker
• Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw
• Legend by Marie Lu
• Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
• You Against Me by Jenny Downham
• All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
• Eve by Anna Carey (not pictured)
• Enthralled edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong (not pictured)
• Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay (not pictured)
  

Happy reading for now!

Hunger Games Movie Poster

Can't wait.

Abandon and Forever Winners

I apologize that this has been late. My house looks like a war zone because we are packing everything so a new carpet can be put in and the walls repainted. So without further ado, here are the winners.


The winner of a signed ARC of Abandon is:
Helen

The winner of a signed ARC of Forever is:
Shirley

Thanks to all that enter and winners will be notified by email.

The Goddess Test - Aimée Carter

Publisher: Harlequin

Goodreads Summary:
It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

Review:
The Goddess Test is the first e-book I ever read/finished. It was not easy since I partly was reading this on my itouch. It's also the first ARC I got off Netgalley.

The story behind why I choose to request this ARC is simple. It is because I am a sucker for mythology. As a child, I would check out all the books on myths, fairy tales, fables and folk tales the library had. So I was very drawn to this Hades and Persephone retelling.

One of the best things about this novel is the relationship between Kate and her mom. In YA, majority of stories feature absent/dead parents or conflicts with them so it was refreshing to see a different side of the teen-parent relationship. Kate and her mom have a loving relationship and Kate would do anything to keep her mom from dying... include agreeing to Henry's bargain. Sometimes my skeptical self flares up and questions Kate's selfless nature - no way can she be this good! But she is.

Speaking of the bargain, I thought Carter's the creation of tests is a clever twist to add and make this myth more original. However, I had some issue with how easily Kate accepted this world of magic. As well as living with a complete stranger and entering into a bargain with him. Henry never seems fully nuanced to me - he appears to simply react to the events and never exhibits an independence of his own.

Despite some shortcomings, I enjoyed myself and will look forward to the continuing story.

Book Source: E-ARC from Netgalley

Author Website | Indiebound | Goodreads

Paris in July Challenge

Bonjour readers! I am joining the Paris in July celebration - a month long fete dedication to all things French. Since this is a book blog, most of my revere will take the form of book reviews or book lists. However, there will be occassional slippage into other forms of celebrating including a review of Midnight in Paris and a dedication of one of my upcoming new features - Weekend Loves - to all things France/Parisian. And since I live in SF, the Museum of Modern Art is featuring a Paris Avant-Garde exhibit so there might be a post on that. So stay tuned...