The Friday 56 (57) The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie—blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic—can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own...

"Tomas didn't look as if he believed her, so after tucking him in beside Clara, Annie assured him again, then didn't leave until he had fallen asleep. When it had been quiet downstairs for some time, Annie crept to the trapdoor and lifted it ever so slowly."--The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

What are you reading this week?

Review: Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Title: Flora Segunda
Author: Ysabeau S. Wilce
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 1, 2008

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble 

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Flora knows better than to take shortcuts in her family home, Crackpot Hall--the house has eleven thousand rooms, and ever since her mother banished the magickal butler, those rooms move around at random. But Flora is late for school, so she takes the unpredictable elevator anyway. Huge mistake. Lost in her own house, she stumbles upon the long-banished butler--and into a mind-blowing muddle of intrigue and betrayal that changes her world forever...

I’ve had my copy of Flora Segunda for a very long time. I don’t know why I haven’t read it till now, but all I can say is that I’m happy I finally did. Flora Segunda was a wholly adventurous, and delightful novel with the perfect blend of mystery, action, and magic.

The story is about Flora who makes the mistake of taking the elevator in her house, which doesn’t work properly since the butler was banished. The resulting trouble served as one of the main conflicts of the book. The idea of a house with eleven thousand rooms, diminished into disrepair, was very interesting and handled quite well. I did enjoy Wilce’s writing style. It had the right amount of descriptive language and dialogue, and had a nice flow to it, making it easy to get into the story.

Flora’s adventures were pretty cool, even if she spent half the novel trying to hide her secrets to keep out of trouble. She had a lot to worry about—everything from her upcoming birthday, to her future (which was basically planned out for her, according to family traditions), a mountain of chores, and, of course, magical trouble. Flora’s friend, Udo, was an interesting side character. It was easy to see that he cared a lot about her, as a friend. And, as far as characters go, Flora and Udo made a pretty good team when they needed to.

The setting was centered on the house and the surrounding area, which fit perfectly with the story. Wilce spent some time building up the setting, giving it a history that was imaginative, and added an extra layer of depth to the story. So, despite the synopsis, the book wasn’t only about the magical houses and their impressive—sometimes mischievous—butlers. Flora Segunda was also about Flora learning how to speak up for herself—to say what she really meant.

Flora Segunda is the first book I've read by Wilce. Suffice to say, I was pretty impressed. Overall, it was a really good book, and I would be interested in the rest of the series.

Movie Review: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

I haven’t done a movie review in a long time. However, I wanted to share what I thought about a movie I recently saw. So, today, that's what I intend to do. From the title of the post, I'm sure you can guess which one. But first, a little more about it...

Title: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Directed by Zack Snyder
Produced by Charles Roven & Deborah Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio & David S. Goyer
Release Date: March 25, 2016
CLICK HERE for the Official Website

So, I went to see Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. It wasn’t bad, and actually, I liked the film a whole lot more than I thought I would.

The story is basically about Batman (Bruce Wane, portrayed by Ben Affleck) and Superman (Clark Kent, portrayed by Henry Cavill) getting into a dispute. To me, it seemed like a warring of different opinions on how to handle injustice, as well as portraying themes of revenge and obsession. The tone was definitely darker without much humor to compensate for the bleak outlook of most scenes found throughout the movie.

Batman V Superman did have a lot of dialogue added between the scenes of tension and action. However, all the dialogue did set up a chain of events, which played out over the course of the film. The characters were both shown in their separate lives, and eventually how their situations collided. These things played a part in affecting Batman and Superman’s attitude towards one another.

There were parts that moved a little slower and were packed with information, but I didn’t mind them much. And when compared to what I liked about the film, it wasn’t that big of a fault. However, I do feel like the trailer provided some spoilers about what happened later in the film, which I was a little disappointed by. But, the visuals were nice; the cinematic score was dramatic and catchy, and a definite highlight was Wonder Woman, who I want to see more of (I have my fingers crossed in the hopes that Wonder Woman's independent movie will be good).

And then there was Alexander (Lex) Luthor (played by Jesse Eisenberg). I was not expecting his character to be done so well. At first appearance he seemed like, I don’t know, an ordinary person. But then, his troubling behavior evolved into something more sinister, which showed his true colors. In short, Lex Luthor was a convincing villain.

I tried to keep an open mind with the movie. So, I went in with the mindset of forming my own opinion. And overall, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t really that bad.

So, have you seen the movie yet? What did you think of it? Did you like it, hate it, or just feel sort of meh about it?

Quarterly Recap: January-March

And, it's time for the first Quarterly Recap of 2016. This is just a post where I gather up the links for all the things that have appeared on the blog for the past three months. And then, I'll share a few details about what I'm looking forward to doing in the coming months. So, to start off, I'll begin with the reviews for January till the end of March...

January Reviews:

• A Week Without Tuesday
• Wonderstruck
• Guys Read: Terrifying Tales

February Reviews:

• The Radiant Road
• The Love that Split the World
• Dead is the New Black
• The Marvels

March Reviews:

• Untamed
• The Night Has Teeth
• Earth Girl
• A Spy in the House

Other January Posts:

• 2016 Blogging Resolutions
• 2015 End of the Year Post
• Happy New Year
• Books Beyond Fiction
• Rereading Books Years Later
• Pre-order Promotion for Titans by Victoria Scott
• A Week Without Tuesday Blog Tour/Interview

Other February Posts:

• Random Weekly Questions
• Favorite Book Settings
• Starflight by Melissa Lander's Launch Blitz

Other March Posts:

• Our Thoughts Precisely Turned 3!
• Release Day Blitz and Giveaway for Summerlost by Ally Condie
• Random Weekly Questions & Short Stories
• Books, Series, or Trilogies With Settings I Would Never Visit
• 5 Series or Trilogies that have a Magical or Supernatural Flare to Them

The start of the year was a little slow since I took a little extra time off from blogging, but things definitely picked up later in the month of January. Posts were steady, but I would like to do better as far as reading is concerned. I've been in a little bit of a slump across the past week or so. I read too many books that I didn't end up enjoying, basically back-to-back. So, for a while there, I just didn't feel like reading or blogging at all. I did have a surplus of reviews and posts, which pretty much kept the blog active.

I'm back to reading now, and the only thing I want to do in the next three months, is to find books that I enjoy. It doesn't matter what genre it is as long as I'm into it.

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

Today, Richelle Mead's latest book, The Glittering Court, has finally been released. And I get to share the news, along with a special giveaway down at the bottom of the post, and an excerpt! But first, more about the book...

About The Book..

Title: The Glittering Court

Author: Richelle Mead

Pub. Date: April 5, 2016

Publisher: Razorbill

Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

The Selection meets Reign in this dazzling trilogy of interwoven novels about three girls on a quest for freedom and true love from #1 internationally bestselling author Richelle Mead.

"Brilliant and original, Mead’s new series starts off with a bang and will leave readers on the edge of their seats until the very end."

—School Library Journal

For a select group of girls, the Glittering Court offers a shot at a life they’ve only ever dreamed of, one of luxury, glamour, and leisure. To high-born Adelaide, whose wealthy family is forcing her into a loveless marriage, the Glittering Court represents something else: the chance to chart her own destiny, and adventure in an unspoiled, prosperous new land across the sea.

After a chance meeting with the dazzling Cedric Thorn, Adelaide poses as a servant to join the crop of impoverished girls he promises to transform into proper ladies. But her familiarity with upper class life comes with a price: she must hide her identity from her new friends, mysterious refugee Mira and fiery former laundress Tamsin, and most importantly, from Cedric himself—even though she’s falling in love with him. 

Everything begins to crumble when Cedric discovers Adelaide’s ruse, and she catches the eye of a powerful young governor, who wants her for a wife. She didn’t leave the gilded cage of her old life behind just to become someone else's property. But nothing is as daunting—or as wonderful—as the potent, forbidden attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. One that, if acted on, would make them both outcasts in a wild, dangerous, uncharted world, and possibly lead them to their deaths.

Read on for an excerpt of The Glittering Court...

About the author...

Richelle Mead has written over twenty-five novels for teens and adults. She is the author of the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series and its spinoff series, Bloodlines. Her recent standalone novel, Soundless, draws upon Chinese mythology and history, and her forthcoming series, The Glittering Court, follows the adventures of girls destined for arranged marriages in a fantasy world inspired by colonial America. A lifelong reader, Richelle has always had a particular fascination with mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses to wear on tour. She is a self-professed coffee addict, works in her pajamas, and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

Website| Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads 

And now for the giveaway. One winner will receive a hardcover of The Glittering Court & a $25 Sephora Gift Card. All you have to do is enter on the rafflecopter widget below. This Giveaway is US Only and ends on April 15th at Midnight EST! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway