Oh my goodness, I love this book so much! Based on the cover, I thought it was going to be this sweety cutesy teen romance, but it was so much more and had so many levels to the story. Blew me away! Plus, I always love fairytale retellings, and this one is the 'Twelve Dancing Princesses'.

Azalea is the eldest of the princesses, who have just lost their mother. Since their grieving father is so distant and cold, the girls turn to dancing to remind them of their mother and comfort them in their grief. But the strict rules of Mourning won't allow dancing, and the girls have to search the castle for a secret place to dance. The mysterious Keeper holds a nightly ball at his magical Pavilion deep within the castle's walls, but what he wants in return for his hospitable dance parties might be more than the girls are willing to pay. His motives are unclear, and Azalea will have to unravel the mystery of the Pavilion to protect her sisters from the machinations of the Keeper.

In the midst of the mystery and magic, there is a central story about a father and his daughters, learning to grieve together, learning to accept each other, and eventually finding out just how strong their family love truly is. What truly delighted me about this book was that, while the romance is lovely too, the main story focuses entirely on the sisters and their father.

Three of the older sisters have blossoming romances with various suitors, each with varied personalities and characters that made me laugh and cry and gasp in delight; but it was the sisters themselves, their own personalities and quirks, their inside jokes, the way they care for each other and share their troubles, and the deep understanding they enjoy, that truly made this a 5 star book.

And each of the sisters are so unique! You would think that with 12 of them running around things would get confusing, but I remembered each of them especially, because they are all special in their own way. Excellent writing!

And the magic plot was wonderful! Suspense and danger and adventure at every turn! I loved it!
The writing has a little spark to it that I can't describe; this sort of peppery-sweet flavor that drew me into the story and made me smile.

I want to read everything by this author!

The Avengers movies are retold in this Shakespearean format as if they were theater plays, complete with stage directions and Elizabethan language.

I got inspired to rewatch the movies, and watched each one right after reading the play! It was so fun to see how the book follows the movie scenes closely, but with little additions in the dialogue and aside comments to the audience. There is even a chorus that introduces scenes and explains the plot like Shakespeare's plays would have.

I love how this book uses the real style of Shakespeare! There are some actual phrases quoted directly from Shakespeare's plays, and a lot of the language structure, theater tricks, and poetic flights of fancy all perfectly mimic Shakespeare's style.
And yet, in the middle of the poetic Elizabethan language, you can still recognize all the original dialogue from the movie too.

The setting is kind of funny, because the actors are dressed up in a weird version of Elizabethan costume complete with neck ruffs and doublets, but they are also partly in modern dress, recognizable from the movies. And the illustrations don't show any guns, only arrows, but they do have the technology for helicopters. So some things are old-timey, and other things are modern. It's a funny mixture, and had me laughing!

The illustrations are really colorful and full of action! They really help you to imagine the setting and characters in their neck ruffs.

This whole book is brilliant and funny and wonderful!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Trite and painfully simple, but wholesome and enjoyable. Most of these short stories came from a Sunday School circular with heavy emphasis on morals. No surprises and no complex plots.

I enjoyed this volume so much! Hachiken is always growing and learning. I love the way he connects with his friends, and they always make me laugh.

This volume is really interesting as Hachiken starts to find a more specific goal to work towards. He wants to start his own agricultural company, and he begins to formulate a plan.
I love that we get to see more from Hachiken's parents in this volume, and there are some dramatic family moments with a lot of emotion!

This volume has so many story lines coming together! The equestrian club is competing again. Hachiken is trying to get his business plan together to start his own company, and he gets the help of his friends to finalize his ideas. They do a lot of research about raising pigs.

As always, I love to see how Hachiken puts all his energy into his projects. He is really determined, and all his hard work and effort wins him the admiration of his friends.

It's so interesting to see how Hachiken and his friends are starting to wind up their high school experiences, and beginning to launch out into the real world. Some of them are going to college and preparing for entrance exams. Some of them are doing research to start their own businesses. Hachiken decides to start a massive pizza experiment to research the best types of pizza that will sell for the most money using only farm-fresh ingredients.

It was so sweet to see how Hachiken really starts to take things seriously and he gets the support of this father as an investor in his business. He begins to connect with his family again, and he starts to realize just how important the friendships that he has made in high school are going to be for networking his business in the future.

Another great volume!

Hachiken and Mikage have had a slowly blossoming romance from the beginning, and in this volume they finally confess their love for each other! But other concerns in their lives keep interrupting their romance as Mikage takes her college entrance exams, and Hachiken finalizes his business plans for his company.

I loved seeing these two finally get together! Their relationship is so sweet and pure. Every scene between them is so lovely and adorable!

Hooray! What a great ending! It's so cool to see Hachiken all grown up, studying in college, and building his business. What a great character arc! I have loved all the wonderful character development for all the characters.

Seraphin and his friends return to Mars and they encounter dangerous things on the strange planet. With the stowaways taking control of their ship, they have little chance of searching for the missing king. Seraphin encounters a mysterious being who can shape-shift, and their lives are in danger at every moment.

This graphic novel series just keeps getting better and better! The artwork is delicate yet bold, with beautiful colors, clear action, hilarious character expressions, gorgeous designs, and emotional scenes.

The story is full of suspense, adventure, and family! I loved the friendships, the family dynamics, and the history that made this a deep and emotional tale.

I love the main character, Seraphin. He’s brave and loyal and true. He meets every challenge with intelligence and resilience. He and his friends have such great character development.

The supporting characters are varied and unique, from the villains to the scientists. It's so interesting to see how these people and their relationships change through the adventure.

I can’t wait to read more volumes in the series!