Tagged: masq1
Starlet’s Light by Carla J. Hanna
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Young Hollywood actress, Liana Marie Michael, gives up the fight until she sees the light.
Isolated on set in the United Kingdom, Lia struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief while shooting her last feature film. Cancer survivor, Oscar winner, and victim of several crimes, Lia sinks into despair as her heart fails. With supportive childhood friend Manuel Biro, and the help from Swiss billionaire-heir Pierre Lambert, Lia is ‘so done’ with acting and learns that she needs more than just a man’s love to prevail.
STARLET’S LIGHT is a touching story of Lia’s struggle with trust and commitment as she shapes the role she plays in her own life.
[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
Remember how yesterday I said Starlet’s Run was better than the first book, Starlet’s Web? Well Starlet’s Light is better than both! The overall quality of writing is better, the characters are better as they mature and Carla Hanna’s message comes through loud and clear but not in an obnoxious manner.
Finally Lia sets off on her own away from Manuel for a change and she also meets Pierre. I hope I’m not spoiling too much when I say that a love triangle happens. Yes, I was inwardly cringing when I thought I knew what Carla Hanna was doing to Lia’s love life, but she had such an amazing twist on the love triangle that all was forgiven. In fact, more authors should do love triangles that way. It would certainly make for more interesting books and less one dimensional characters.
But while there is quite a bit of romance going on, Lia emerges as a character that isn’t completely dependent on the men in her life. She has her own interests, both loves and hates her career as an actress and struggles to control her life despite her failing health. Lia grew quite a bit in the first and second books in the series, but it’s really Starlet’s Light where she becomes a memorable character. She doesn’t have it easy and you can really feel her suffering, but with the help of her friends and her spirituality she makes it through to a sort of acceptance of her condition. Her realization at the end of the novel only makes you connect with her more. Lia’s far from perfect and she realizes that, making her my favourite character in the series.
As I said about the first two books, this is not a book you read for the plot. No, this is a book you read for the message as well as the characters. And believe me, the message is terrifying as we get to see even more about how horrible Hollywood is behind the scenes. I had my own terrifying realization as well while reading this: I’m fat. My dear little sister, who is described as a stick by pretty much everyone who sees her is fat. Why? Because we’re not that Hollywood size 0. Now, this didn’t make my self esteem plunge so much as make me realize how cookie-cutter the Hollywood ideal is. Seriously, Lia’s skewed view of beauty in the beginning is terrifying once it’s pointed out to you as a reader and it sends the message home better than any PSA or Dove Self-Esteem Project video.
If you haven’t started the series yet, I’d highly recommend it. Even for those of us who don’t like romance in general, the Starlet series is still a worthwhile read. If you like great main characters who actually grow throughout the series, you’ll love it. And, of course, if you’ve already read the first two books you’ll love the third installment of the series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Starlet’s Run by Carla J. Hanna
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Hollywood actress Liana Marie Michael finds out that loving someone unconditionally, without losing who she is in the process, does not always have a convenient ending or an easy to memorize script.
As the path unfolds in front of her, Lia challenges the demons and destruction of her past, which had kept her like Alice in Wonderland, frozen in time and unable to escape the heavy web of expectation shrouding her heart. She needs more than the promise of true love to help her prevail. Exhausted from indecision, should she listen to what others think is best for her? What should she choose?
STARLET’S RUN is a triumphant story of Lia’s determination to step forward into a new and authentic life, taking on a role she has never before been given the chance to play–her self.
[Full disclosure: Carla Hanna sent me Starlet’s Run as part of a thank you for hosting a successful giveaway of her first two books. As always, this is still an honest review.]
I actually liked Starlet’s Run better than Starlet’s Web for various reasons. First was that we really got to see the destructive influence of Hollywood on Lia’s life and relationship with Manuel. Secondly, Lia developed far more as a character in the face of her medical problems and she really grew into her relationship with Manuel. Seeing the two of them struggle with her career, but eventually learn to strike a balance was satisfying. They’re not a picture perfect couple, but they do have a really strong bond and a healthy relationship despite outside factors. I don’t want to give anything away, but Lia’s relationships with other characters like her mother throughout Starlet’s Run also take interesting turns.
I wouldn’t call the plot fast-paced since this is a more character based novel, but it’s not like Carla J. Hanna drags the story on and on either. It’s somewhere in the middle, but mainly you should read it for the subtle messages and for the characters. You’ll want to cheer for Lia the whole time and you’ll love her even more as she grows as a character. Not only does she grow within her relationship with Manuel, she grows on her own. She has a life and friends outside of her relationship, unlike some YA heroines who have their partner and no one else.
One of the strengths of Carla Hanna’s writing is that she can get a message across without being obvious about it or preaching to her audience. She subtly criticizes the Hollywood lifestyle as well as the social expectations it places upon ordinary people, especially girls. Lia is also a very spiritual character without really being overly religious so she is also appealing to people from very different religious backgrounds.
Overall, I loved Starlet’s Run and with that awesome ending, I can’t wait to dive into the third book, Starlet’s Light.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death’s ultimatum to the world.
What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?
In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary “pocket” of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill….
Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness… Her skin is cold as snow… Her eyes frozen… Her gaze, fiercely alive…
While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war… A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father… Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court…. Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living…
Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars…
And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.
As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death’s own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North…
And everyone is trying to stop her.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
An unique alternate history? A fast paced plot with lots of twists? Awesome main characters? Great writing? You seriously can’t ask for anything else in this fantasy/alternate history book.
After reading Cobweb Bride I can’t believe that I didn’t discover Vera Nazarian sooner. She’s an amazing writer! Not only can she write great suspense and throw insane plot twists at her readers, she actually knows how to describe her scenery. One of the major downfalls of fantasy novels today is that there isn’t enough description of the setting. The author knows what their world looks like so they don’t feel it’s necessary to describe everything to readers. But Vera Nazarian has not made this assumption and her descriptions throughout the novel are beautiful. The world she’s created is so vivid, so real and gorgeous!
It’s Percy’s gradual development as a character that I liked best, though. In her own house, overshadowed by her beautiful older and younger sisters, she’s shy and very timid. Yet at the same time, you can sense an inner strength about her. It’s only when she decides to join the other Cobweb Brides heading for Death’s castle that you see the real Percy shine through. She’s tough, smart, resourceful and a brilliant leader. Authors take note: this is what a strong female lead really looks like.
I could rave on and on about the characters like Vlau and Percy, but I don’t want to spoil too many things. Let me focus on the plot for a few sentences, if you’ll indulge me: I was glued to my computer for all 293 pages. I’m dead serious here. The apocalypse itself wouldn’t have stopped me from reading Cobweb Bride. Vera Nazarian added some incredible plot twists and it ended on such a cliffhanger that I want the next book, Cobweb Empire, right now.
Seriously, I can’t praise this book enough. You need to read it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe is the much-awaited sequel to Sandra Gulland’s highly acclaimed first novel, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. Beginning in Paris in 1796, the saga continues as Josephine awakens to her new life as Mrs. Napoleon Bonaparte. Through her intimate diary entries and Napoleon’s impassioned love letters, an astonishing portrait of an incredible woman emerges. Gulland transports us into the ballrooms and bedrooms of exquisite palaces and onto the blood-soaked fields of Napoleon’s campaigns. As Napoleon marches to power, we witness, through Josephine, the political intrigues and personal betrayals — both sexual and psychological — that result in death, ruin, and victory for those closest to her.
After hearing about her incredible early years, in Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe focuses on Josephine’s most well-known years. And although she has gained a sort of infamous reputation from her supposedly numerous affairs while Bonaparte was in Egypt, this is not the way Sandra Gulland portrays her. You know what? This portrayal feels much more real, more authentic than the typical ‘immortal cheating harlot’ angle that Josephine is always portrayed from. In Gulland’s portrayal, we get to see how Josephine gradually does begin to care for Napoleon, how she soothes over the men in power so her husband may succeed and how she does her best to take care of her only two children by her first husband.
Although I think pacing isn’t as important in historical fiction, this second book in the Josephine B. trilogy is more fast-paced than the first. Perhaps it’s because I actually know a little about the events that occur in the novel or perhaps it’s because it was Gulland’s second book and she got a better feel for pacing. Who knows? All I know is that the pacing and even the quality of writing, which was already high, has improved.
Not only does Josephine come off as an incredibly strong woman, the other characters in the novel really popped out of the pages as well. Napoleon Bonaparte is portrayed in many different ways in movie, television and books but I’ve never really seen this portrayal of him: the awkward, graceless (yet handsome) Corsican who has no time for the nonsense of high society and who is oddly paranoid about poisoning. Having him around is a huge contrast to Josephine, who is graceful and takes to high society, even if she isn’t comfortable with it deep down. Bonaparte’s bizarre, ruthless family definitely doesn’t make it easy on poor Josephine or even Bonaparte himself! Having them around definitely added drama, but it’s not like they were the stereotypically evil in-laws because they had depth. They had real reasons for their actions, thank goodness.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
(Cover picture courtesy of Reading Revels.)
A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.
With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness forces her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is the gorgeous, elusive Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.
Despite the amazing cover, when I read the blurb I was both full of hope and cringing at the same time. With a concept like forbidden love between predator and prey authors can either write a really awesome story or completely ruin it. So what was Firelight? Well, surprisingly, it was the former.
Sophie Jordan’s world of draki and Hunters is incredible! I love how she incorporated old dragon lore into her story and put her own twist on it, making the draki both human and dragon believably. You see, Jacinda is drawn to her draki heritage and has to control things like her manifestation (transformation into a dragon) when she’s angry or aroused and has to fully manifest regularly or she loses her ability completely. She has the temper of a dragon at times and has to control the fact that she’s a firebreather, a draki that can breathe fire. Did I mention she’s the first one in many generations to be able to do that? Kind of cliché, but minor compared to the fact Sophie Jordan actually used her imagination to create the draki.
Unlike most Insta-Love, you don’t have Jacinda or Will proclaiming it love at first sight, merely an interesting attraction. They’re drawn to each other for some odd reason and the excuse isn’t fate at the end, as we find out. There’s no prophecy hanging over their heads, but a reasonable explanation for why Will is both drawn to Jacinda and one of the best draki trackers out there. They have a stormy relationship as they both try to figure out their feelings, but by the end you get the feeling that it actually is love between them. With the threat from Cassian and Tamra’s dangerously reckless behavior, there’s even more added tension.
I love this new series! It’s unique, well-written and fast paced. What more could you really ask for in YA right now? With such a cliffhanger at the end of the novel, I can’t wait to read Vanish.
I give this book 5/5 stars.