“Most” Books of 2018

December 31, 2018December 29, 2018 Grace21 Comments

These are some of the most outstanding, unique, anticipated, and in some cases disappointing books that I read in 2018. Not all of them were published this year.

Most Anticipated Prequel

Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: When the fairy Lucinda turns Evora, a young healer, into an ogre after she rejects her apprentice’s proposal of marriage, she has 62 days to accept another proposal or forever be an ogre. I found this book rather disappointing in the pacing and character development.

Most Amusing Fantasy

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson: The three Igiby siblings evade the evil Fangs of Dang while they discover family secrets and search for a hidden treasure. This story is full of character, and is a funny and engaging story with an intriguing world.

Most Remarkable Historical Setting

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani: Nisha receives a diary on her 12^th birthday and turns to writing to make sense of her world during the Partition of India in 1947.

Most Genres Mashed into a Historical-Fantasy-Regency-Spy-Mystery

Murder, Magic and What We Wore by Kelly Jones: Annis Whitworth can sew magical garments and uses her talent to leave her privileged lifestyle and open a dressmaking shop as a cover while she investigates her father’s suspicious death.

Most Potential

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan: Kora must use her ability to sense gold to track down a thief who stole from the kingdom’s treasury in this tale full of pirates, thieves, danger, and gold. This book had a lot of potential, but was lacking in world-building and a good sense of time and place.

Most Powerful Voice

Audacity by Melanie Crowder: Clara Lemlich flees from Russia and begins working in a sweatshop where she is shocked by the horrific working conditions and leads other women in the fight against injustice. This book is written in verse, with powerful voice and a touching story.

Most Realistic Characters

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins: This book follows three generations of Indian-American women and their struggles with culture, friendship, family, love, race, and identity.

Let’s Chat!

Have you read any of these books? What were some of your favorite (or least favorite) books this year?

If You Like…

December 24, 2018December 23, 2018 Grace6 Comments

If You Like… fairy tale retellings or books like Cinder and Ella Enchanted , you’ll probably like these books.

Spinning Starlight by R. C. Lewis: In this retelling of “The Wild Swans,” the Jantzen Technology Innovations heiress Liddi Jantzen must save her brothers when they are kidnapped by an evil employee.

Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: In this reversed retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”, a young healer is turned into an ogre when she rejects a suitor’s proposal and has a short amount of time to accept another proposal or stay an ogre forever.

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison: The witch tells Rapunzel she is the luckiest girl in Tyme, but when Jack climbs into her tower and implies that the witch may be lying, Rapunzel leaves her tower for the first time.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu: In this retelling of “The Snow Queen,” Hazel and Jack are best friends until a magic mirror and its owner sweep Jack off and leaves Hazel to try to save his life.

The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville: A retelling “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”from the perspective of a governess who came to work for the bear family and meets a golden-haired girl who is a beloved member of the family until anti-bear activists try to take the girl away.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: In this retelling of “The Goose Girl,” Princess Anidori is betrayed by her servant and must become a goose girl until she can reveal her identity and marry the prince her servant is courting.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George: In this retelling of“The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” Galen is a gardener who works at the palace and learns of the mystery surrounding the twelve princesses. He falls in love with the oldest princess and is determined to save her and her sisters.

The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson: In this retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,”Rose falls in love with Lord Hamlin, who is trying to save his betrothed from the evil sorcerer Moncore.

Let’s Chat!

Have you read any of the books on this list? Do you like fairy-tale retellings?

Review: Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

December 13, 2018December 12, 2018 Grace3 Comments

Title: Ogre Enchanted

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary

When the fairy Lucinda turns Evora, a young healer, into an ogre after she rejects her apprentice’s proposal of marriage, she has 62 days to accept another proposal or forever be an ogre. Evie leaves her home to meet other ogres and learn their method of persuasion so that she can force somebody to propose to her. As days pass, she finds her way to the king’s castle, where she helps stop a plague and makes friends and enemies and gets thrust into the middle of political tension.

Review

This book had several aspects I did enjoy. It was a very clever reverse Beauty and the Beast retelling, and fans of Ella Enchanted will be delighted to return to its world in this prequel. It addresses themes of good versus bad, and the writing is excellent, detailed and imaginative, and the characters were unique.

However, I didn’t really like this book for several reasons. The pacing seemed off. I didn’t feel an urgency as Evie’s deadline approached, and I felt like several portions of the book were overly wordy and used as filler, not contributing as much to the plot as they could.

The characters, while unique, were not as relatable and grabbing as other characters Levine has written. I think there were quite simply too many characters in the book. With a group of ogres, the fairy Lucinda, Evie’s family and friends, many people at the castle, several different traders, and other characters just filling up space, the author didn’t have space in her story to develop the characters and make us care about them.

There were groups of characters that weren’t even that vital to the story. I would have preferred if Gail Carson Levine had condensed her character list and focused on just a few characters, and made those characters sparkle with charm and personality.

Ogre Enchanted book covered 62 days during which Evie traveled from place to place extensively, and the scenes didn’t feel anchored in time and place. Several times I was confused as to where the story was and when, and with Evie bouncing from place to place, I didn’t get a feel most of the places.

Gail Carson Levine certainly has a wonderful imagination and writing talent, but this book was not her best. This book was still interesting, and not a complete waste of time, but I enjoyed Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and even The Two Princesses of Bamarre much more.