Review of Ladies in Waiting by Laura L. Sullivan

Title/Author: Ladies in Waiting by Laura L. Sullivan
Publisher/Date published: Harcourt, May 8th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Eliza dreams of writing plays for the king’s theater, where she will be admired for her wit rather than her father’s wealth. Beth is beautiful but poor, so she must marry well, despite her love for her childhood sweetheart.
Zabby comes to England to further her scientific studies — and ends up saving the life of King Charles II. Soon her friendship with the handsome king becomes a dangerous, impossible obsession. Though she knows she should stay away from the court, the queen needs ladies in waiting.
And so the three Elizabeths from very different walks of life find themselves at the center of the most scandal-filled court that England has ever seen."

I really wanted to love Ladies in Waiting will all my heart and I tried so hard! But I'm sad to say I never got there.

The summary sounds epic to me, I mean ENGLISH ROYALTY and young ladies in waiting and intrigue and GAH, just all of it! And one of them trying to break the confinements of her gender in this particular time. There was SO MUCH there for me to possibly love, it's not even funny. Forbidden love and everything. All those things that make me a happy reader if done well.

But it didn't turn out the way I would have thought. It started out incredibly well and after the first two or three chapters it all went downhill for me. First we are introduced to the characters and in a way that had me thinking we would be reading about them from their altnernating point of view. But instead the point of view was never very clear and switched and was just a little all over the place.

I really liked Eliza, and at times I also liked Zabby. I just never really felt anything for Beth accept annoyance. I mean, I don't know if she was meant to be a parody of something, but she came across as if she could be. I was questioning her sanity pretty early on and nothing that she did after made me reconsider said questioning. She was delusional and I was gaping at her stupidity in her 'love' for her childhood 'sweetheart'. And gah, I just wanted to slap her! And Zabby too. I mean, at one point she overhears a plot threathening the queen's life and goes, well, he probably didn't mean that and it's more convenient to believe people just don't do bad things to eachother at court. Or something very close to it. She's supposed to be a scientist and knows all these things and in this she was just a stupid girl and it annoyed me very much.

Also, I never really got her love for Charles. Maybe because we don't see a whole lot of them together, but I didn't get what was so special about him. I mean, he's the king, but that's not a reason to love somebody. I definitely did not like the way he treated his wife, but well, that's probably historically accurate, sadly.

I did however love Eliza. She's free spirited and knows what she wants and isn't afraid to risk everything to get it. And I respect that. She was the one bright point in Ladies in Waiting and I wished she would have gotten a bit more time to shine, because I adored her.

The plot seemed to crawl along at a snail's pace and then the book just ended. I mean, I felt a bit cheated by the end. Things happen, some awful, some I cheered at, but it just ended there. And I felt that everything I'd worked on by reading the whole thing was somehow just swiped off the table and I'm left without any closure. This book and I had a difficult relationship and I would have like to have parted on a good note, but the ending just didn't accomplish this for me.

Also, with all the debauchery and everything going, I'm a bit hesitant about this being marketed as YA, if it can be classified as such, it should in my opinion be more the older teen because there are a lot of sexual references.

All in all, I struggled my way through this book and then I didn't even get my closure at the ending. It had a definite subdued feel to it that was only lifted by the moments in which Eliza was allowed to shine, she was the redeeming factor in Ladies in Waiting!

My rating: 2 stars

Review of The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

Title/Author: The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Publisher/Date published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Happily ever after is a thing of the past.
A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.
When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.
Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope — and to love — once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become... The Last Princess."

So you know how I have a slight obsession with anything to do with English royalty right? And I'm a huge fan of dystopians/post-apocalyptic novels and don't even get me started on princesses. So I read the summary for The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze and went: NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!
And seriously, how awesome is that penname? I assume it's a penname. Right?
But I'm sad to report to you all it has left me feeling... disappointed.

While reading The Last Princess, I found myself actually asking myself if I could have a wonky e-ARC, because it genuinely felt like I was missing pages. Like information that should have been there had been chopped away to make the book shorter. But I don't think my e-ARC was significantly different from the finished version based on what I've heard other people say about it.

I felt like I was floundering around in this story, everything seemed to be happening at once and there was no time to just take a breath and focus on what happened or to get to know the characters or even to figure out how much time had actually passed. I was lost. And I don't like feeling lost while I'm reading a book.

One thing I always try to take away from any book I read is a sense of the identity of the main character. After finishing The Last Princess, I'm still not entirely certain what I should say of Eliza's. And that's a big problem to me, because it's her story and I should have gotten a feel for her as a person. The same goes for her love interest. I should be able to describe him as more than just his physical qualities.

And then there's the romance. While I usually cheer at any romance added in a story and though I can enjoy a book without it, I'm always more happy when it's there. This time it was not the case. I just didn't work for me. I mean, seriously, you cannot tell me that after being together for the GIGANTIC PORTION OF TIME OF ONE DAY that they're in love and defying all to be together?? No. Just no.

For all you sensitive souls out there, a warning: there is a lot of violence and cruelty and if you are particularly prone to staring openmouthed at animal cruelty (like I am), be doubly warned. At one point I found myself going: when will they just stop hurting animals??? This is not meant as a negative point, but it's just something that I thought should be mentioned.
The cruelty of the army of this 'ruthless revolutionary' (which he is, ruthless I mean) is mindblowing and crazy and I would have liked a bit more of an explanation for it all, how did it start? Why are people following him and acting this way? TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE SEVENTEEN DAYS! Because that's apparantly what started it all, color me interested.
Also: **SPOILER, LIGHT UP TO READ**
With all the killing going on, I thought some of the miraculous survivals were a bit convenient. I mean, I could have handled either Polly or Mary surviving that last fight, but both seemed a bit too much seeing as they both seemed pretty mortally wounded. They had to look EVERYWHERE to find antibiotics when Eliza got tetanus, how did they manage to fix these girls up? And Caligula, how actually does a horse survive a lance in the side?

The premise of The Last Princess has me all excited, flailing around, going this could have been SO good! But I would have just liked if there had been, well, a bit MORE of everything. More getting to know the characters so I could start to care about all the horrific things happening, a little more time to fall in love with the love interest and for the romance to develop, more backstory. More actually reading about what was happening when now chunks of time just passed and all I had to show for it was 'two weeks passed, it was horrible'. Because that just didn't work so well for me.

I always enjoy a good sibling relationship and I adored the little brother, all amazing endearing boyness of him. I originally thought this would be a standalone, but the ending has me thinking that it will be a series. Does anyone know anything about it? I'm curious to see if a sequel will answer the many, MANY questions I still have.
So while The Last Princess wasn't exactly what I wanted from it when I started reading it, I'm still considering picking up a sequel (assuming there will be one) to see if it manages to live up to the potential of this premise.

My rating: 2 stars

Review of A Gentleman Says "I Do" by Amelia Gray

Title/Author: A Gentleman Says "I Do" by Amelia Gray
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Casablanca, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Iverson Brentwood has finally met his match. Catalina Crisp heats his blood like no other lady. Her alluring countenance has stopped him dead in his tracks. But no matter how attracted he is to her, he can't give into his desire to possess her in every way... she is the daughter of the man he's sworn to destroy.
Catalina's father is a well-known writer, but wastrel whose disappearances continuously put them close to destitution. Something drastic must change, so it is with quill in hand, that Catalina completes her father's latest parody of Iverson and Matson Brentwood's spectacular arrival in London. When the story hits the newsprint, a darkly handsome man is at her door, looking for her father.
Seeing the dashing rogue in the flesh, for a bewildering moment dallying with the rake seems like the perfect fictional escape — and it's all she can do not to give into the madness of the intriguing man."

You guys know that historical romance is one of my many guilty pleasures right? Because they are. I love the romance and the drama and the dresses and the men being manly and ALL THE EMOTIONS. And it always makes me a little sad when I don't feel much of anything while reading them, and that's exactly what happened with this one.

First off, the summary is misleading. Iverson isn't out to destroy Catalina's father, he just wants to threathen him a bit to make him stop writing things about his family. If he really were, he would have seduced Catalina right then and there and ruined her in society's eyes. But that's just my opinion. No matter how much it kept appearing in the story: I couldn't picture Iverson as the Rake of Baltimore. Even though he keeps insisting he's not a gentleman, his actions spoke louder and he was definitely not ruthless or anything. I liked Iverson very much up until about the end of A Gentleman Says I Do, but we'll get to that.

Catalina was an interesting character, she's loyal and loving and cares a great deal about everyone and puts herself last. There were just some times when I felt myself going WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING??? and could see trouble coming from literally MILES away. And that bothered me, because while everyone can make mistakes, these were pretty big ones and she sometimes seemed clueless when she was described as smart and responsible earlier.

So the main characters were nice enough. I did however take issue with Catalina's aunt and her father. I couldn't fathom how these two adults could be so clueless to money issues and well, basically everything. How did they make it to their respectable age? This baffles me. I could not figure out how they remembered to take a breath on their own. Seriously. And I'm sure Catalina's father is very charming and all, but he's definitely also a royal ass. Just up and leaving your daughter every time the fancy strikes is not very good parenting. Also, his casual attitude when he finally showed up annoyed me a lot.

And then there's the matter of Iverson and Catalina's romance. I thought they rubbed along pretty well, but I'm just a bit tired of the insta-love that's creeping into these novels lately. And it goes hand in hand with the insta-knowing of each other's souls that weirds me out. I mean, it takes time to get to figure out what makes someone tick and you don't do it within 5 minutes of meeting someone. I did like that they didn't immediately jump into bed, but they just kept talking during their kissing and other intimacies and not in a way that you'd think, it sounded a bit too polite for the things they were doing and it weirded me out a bit. Also, can you gasp while kissing? I've been trying to picture it, but it sounds rather hard to me.

And I really disliked that after Iverson forgives Catalina for keeping one big thing from him and then not even half a day later finds out ANOTHER, even BIGGER thing she didn't tell him, he's just 'she didn't trust me, how can I make her trust me?'. I mean WHAT?? SHE was the one that did something wrong and he's trying to figure out how to make her trust him? WTF? I would have liked for him to have made a bigger deal out of this, cause Catalina's been agonising over it for most of the story and then it's just swept under the rug like it's no biggie. Which it was.

Mostly, I just wasn't feeling it and if I had been I could have probably gotten over my complaints. The writing is pretty good and engaging, but the story itself just didn't seem to work for me.

My rating: 2 stars

Daisy Update (9)

Hello everyone!! I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday and have been having a wonderful couple of weeks! I always mean to post a weekly Daisy Update, but yeah, it doesn't always happen.

So since I told you guys what was going on with me last time I've officially graduated!!! :) As evidence, a picture of me grinning at my diploma I'd gotten about 30 seconds before this picture was taken:

I was so happy and I got to share it with my friends and family and my boyfriend and it was wonderful! Also, I got to wear my pretty dress and I did NOT want to take it off when it was time to go to bed. I'm trying to figure out when I'll be able to wear a fancy dress again, cause it's definitely not something for all occasions... Hmm...
But anyway, it was great, I got to graduate with one of my friends who has been through the 3 years of internships with me all the way and it felt even more special because of that. After, I went out to dinner with my parents, brother, his girlfriend and my boyfriend and the restaurant put a bit of firework in my desert because they found out what the occasion was and though it was a bit scary (I'm a big wuss when it comes to fireworks, even childfriendly ones), it was also lovely and sweet.
So yeah, good times! :)

So, the day after I just chilled out, staring at the flowers I'd gotten and then it was time to get back to the real world, as I've been working my parttime job again while still looking for a job. *sigh*

Anyway, over this weekend it's become more clear that I need to start looking for a car ASAP, because having people drive me and the boyfriend around is beyond annoying and it just needs to stop. So we need to buy a car. And I know absolutely zero about cars, aside from that I know they shouldn't make certain noises and I'd like to have one that doesn't have dents or scratches on it. I mean, if it gets damaged I want to at least know who to blame for it.

Last week it was Queen's Day here in Holland and the day before is Queen's Night (I know, original right?) and on Queen's Night I went out with friends, which was a lot of fun and on Queen's Day itself me and the boyfriend went to the festivities with his friends which was also nice. Confession: I'm not really into the whole thing and dressing up (you're either supposed to dress in something horrendously orange or assesorize with it or red-white-blue, the colors of our flag), but I sort of conformed. I always joke I'm a bad Dutchie cause I hate the color orange, liquorice, something horrible called 'stamppot' which is basically just mashed potatoes and some sort of vegetable mixed together (and gross) and herring.

Anyway, I have been reading a LOT of books and also, buying a lot of books... I KNOW, I said I should be put on a ban and I really should be! But it's so hard and the Book Depository is making it harder by offering a 10% off thing and I just can't control myself... Hello, my name is Daisy and I'm a book buying addict.
And shoe buying addict. Seriously, in one day I bought THREE pairs of shoes. It was insane. But just look at the pretty!:

Really, how could resist them? They just kept staring at me saying 'buy us, we want to come home with you'. So I gave in.

Also, my boyfriend's birthday is this week! I'm not sure what we'll be doing to celebrate on the day itself, but on Friday he's having a sort of party for his family, should be fun. I'm plotting gifts, but I can't tell you what, cause he admits that he sometimes reads my blog...

OH, and as of this Friday I have a new cousin!! Her proud daddy sent a picture (gotta love e-mail) and she's absolutely adorable! I can't wait to visit him and my aunt and meet the little girl in person. I just love babies...

Anyway, I think that's all my news. What's going on with you? And I hope you all have a great week!!

Review of When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Title/Author: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
Publisher/Date published: Simon Pulse, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through GalleyGrab

Goodreads summary: "In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended — Juliet’s cousin Rosaline — tells her side of the tale.
What’s in a name, Shakespeare? I’ll tell you: Everything.
Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her — and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy... and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance.
Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends..."

Ok, confession time: I've never actually read Romeo and Juliet. I know, shame on me! But of course I know the story and I actually also knew about Rosaline, the girl who doesn't physically show up in the play. So when I read the summary and found out it would be Rosaline's story in a retelling I went LET ME HAVE IT!! And I'm happy to say that I really, really enjoyed it!

The writing in When You Were Mine is captavating and I immediately felt connected to Rosaline. Score one for Rebecca Serle! I loved how she introduced us into this world and with everything being so wonderful I found myself rooting for the thing that we know is going to happen not to happen. If you follow my drift. But yeah, the wonderful guy that's been Rose's best friend forever and possible boyfriend of late does the douchebag thing and dumps her for her cousin. Seriously, I was SO mad at him! I know you can fall for someone and this was bad timing, but mostly the way he handled it made me call him a douche. Or more of his lack of handling it. I felt Rob owed her more than that with their history.

And this is also where my only problem with When You Were Mine and Rosaline comes in: she was not confronting him about it. I get that it was just her character, but I just wanted to scream at her to slap him or at least ask what the hell he was doing! GAH! I did like that in the end Rose grew a spine, and yay for character growth, but this kinda bugged me. Also, her friends, who were absolutely wonderful in all other things, also failed to confront Rob about it. And I just wasn't feeling Rob as this wonderful guy.

I did really like Rose, she was a wonderful person and was just there for her friends and she loved her family. Also, she cared about her grades and college and that's always something I respect in a person. I also liked that after she got over her prejudice she was willing to learn she was wrong about someone she'd sort of known when she was a kid and who turned out to be an amazing guy and nothing at all like she thought he was. I was definitely rooting for him and I liked the moment when Rose decided she wanted to learn everything there was to know about him!

Sometimes I forgot how this was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet and that of course it has to at least follow the major points in the storyline. So every time I felt comfortably lost in this world something happened to jerk me awake and go NOOOO! and I absolutely love it when that happens. I mean, I'm not easily caught of guard by things happening in a book and with a retelling it's even harder, so that's another point to Rebecca Serle. She made this story so much her own that I sometimes had to take a moment to realise it was in fact a modern version of Romeo and Juliet. And that play was a tragedy. So I should have expected the tragic event, but I didn't and it was horrible and tugged at my heartstrings.

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle was a captivating debut and I read it in no time at all! I just kept turning the pages, wanting to find out what happend, happily lost inside this wonderful story! I'm hoping to see the announcement of another book by Rebecca Serle soon!

My rating: 5 stars

Review of Too Tempting To Resist by Cara Elliott

Title/Author: Too Tempting To Resist (Lords of Midnight #2) by Cara Elliott
Publisher/Date published: Forever, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Determined to stop her wayward brother from squandering their dwindling fortune, Lady Eliza Brentford decides to follow him to his favorite den of depravity. There, among the candlelight and raucous revelry, she encounters her brother's role model in debauchery, the notorious Marquess of Haddan, Gryffin Dwight. Staring into his smoldering green eyes, Eliza can't help but find the rakehell nobleman seductively charming-and sinfully attractive."

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series Too Wicked to Wed and was really excited about reading Too Tempting To resist. And while it didn't fully live up to my expectations, I still really enjoyed it!

I really liked Eliza, I liked that she got into very awkward situations because of her curiosity and spirit and I liked her creativity. I remember kinda liking Gryffin in Too Wicked to Wed and I'm glad we got to see more of his character in this one. And you guys, he has a dragon tattoo on his abdomen! And sure, that probably will look hot on him in all his hotness now, but I can't help but imagining how it will be a very sad dragon once he reaches 70... Anyway: Gryffin is definitely swoonworthy and he RESCUES KITTIES! A guy that's good with animals is always a winner in my opinion.

I very much enjoyed the interaction between these two, I guess I just wasn't fully there with the transformation from lust to love just yet. That they shared a mutual passion was definitely a bonus point and I loved a certain scene having to do with paint and a garden. And a naked man. And that's all I'm saying on that subject.

I thought Eliza's brother was a royal douchebag and someone had to teach him to behave. I just thought that the way in which is was handled by Gryffin was slightly overstepping his boundaries. It just felt a bit wrong to me and I was kind of disappointed in Eliza that she just went along with it. If Gryffin had been aided in this by a cousin or some other relative, I would have felt more comfortable with it I think.

While it was a nice read and it had some really excellent moments, the romance was lacking something for me. I am however really looking forward to reading the last Hellhound's story, he sounds infinitely fascinating!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Review of Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Title/Author: Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell
Publisher/Date published: Amulet Books, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home."

Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe is a very cute contemporary read dealing with some very serious topics and it was great!

I LOVED Chloe! She's definitely a girl with a big heart and she's not afraid to take action or let people know how she feels. She genuinely wants to help people and though she may not always find the most appropriate way to do so, her intentions are good. I loved how she wasn't afraid to make a fool out of herself and in this she is definitely braver than I am.

We find out that Chloe hasn't been the best of friends, but seriously, one of her friends is messed up! And the spreading of rumors really made me sick! Especially because it was so vicious! I thought Chloe was so right in thinking that because someone's been your best friend for years it also means that they know how to hit you were it hurts. I've experienced something like this but not going as far with someone I considered my best friend as a kid and it's hurtful. I loved that Chloe owned up to her own mistakes and tried to make the best of it.

And guys, the family connection is wonderful! I'm just sad that I never got to meet her brothers in person, only in her memories, cause they sound like amazing guys! I really liked Chloe's grandmother, though sometimes I just wanted to scream at her and tell her to man up and accept what was happening, because it was getting pretty dangerous the way she was living. But I loved that she had such a close bond with Chloe and was obsessed with Brad Pitt's butt ;)

I really liked that Chloe learns to listen instead of talking all the time and it was interesting to get to know the fellow contributors of the radio station. I very much liked Clem, the dragon lady! None of them have it easy.
I also really liked Duncan, he was a sweet guy and his family life is definitely very complicated. I thought the topic this brought up was very dark, but dealt with extremely well. I liked that he was realistic and though he liked Chloe, his loyalty was to his family first.

The romance was sweet and because Chloe was so willing to put herself out there, she even made me cry once and I love it when that happens! Also, I would want Chloe as my friend because she sounds like my kind of girl!
I found myself reading on because I wanted to find out how it would all end and it did not disappoint! I liked that everything wasn't magically ok by the end but it still ended on a positive note and left me with hope for all of them for the future. This was a wonderful debut and I'm itching to find out what Shelley Coriell will write next!

My rating: 4,5 stars