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samantha_randolph's Reviews (1.59k)
4.5 rounded up
"While her father, brother, and infuriating but handsome, Johnny, are off fighting in World War II, Kate is facing her own challenges in New York. With so many men gone, she is finally getting a chance to step up and help out with the department store's window displays, something she's always dreamed of. Everything gets shaken up when her great uncle and aunt arrive at her and her mom's doorstep from Poland with a mysterious trunk. Soon, Kate learns that the trunk holds something that her family has been keeping safe for generations: Cinderella's dress. Kate will have to figure out what being a Keeper of the dress actually entails, especially with the descendants of the wicked stepsisters on the loose." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44634
"While her father, brother, and infuriating but handsome, Johnny, are off fighting in World War II, Kate is facing her own challenges in New York. With so many men gone, she is finally getting a chance to step up and help out with the department store's window displays, something she's always dreamed of. Everything gets shaken up when her great uncle and aunt arrive at her and her mom's doorstep from Poland with a mysterious trunk. Soon, Kate learns that the trunk holds something that her family has been keeping safe for generations: Cinderella's dress. Kate will have to figure out what being a Keeper of the dress actually entails, especially with the descendants of the wicked stepsisters on the loose." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44634
"When Mary Shelton's parents died, Queen Elizabeth decided to take her in. Since then, Mary has grown up in the Queen's court, beloved by the monarch and the court. Now that she is older, Elizabeth wants her to marry someone worthy of her, a high ranking earl like Edward de Vere or a foreign prince. Mary has no desire to rule or to rise in status, and when she falls for a minor, widowed knight, Sir John, all she wants is to marry him and live a life together. Elizabeth forbids it, but as much as Mary loves the woman who has been like a mother to her, she can't stop her heart from wanting to be with John." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44635
"After defeating the vicious Samuel Parris, Hadley just wants to spend the summer relaxing with her gorgeous boyfriend, Asher. When the coven decides that practicing magic might be a better plan, the gang goes off to witch summer school. When they get there, they run into someone Hadley never knew existed: Asher's equally gorgeous ex, Brooklyn. After pranks start going around the school, Hadley is certain Brooklyn is behind it, but when her coven doesn't back her up, she will have to find justice herself." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44659
2.5 rounded up
Short and Sweet:
While the world building kicks ass in this, it felt rushed at times, and sadly I was NOT on board with the romance. I liked it over all though.
To Elaborate...
Cassie is the savior of the human race; she just doesn't know it yet. When Cassie wakes up in a time 1,000 years after her own, she is thrust into a world where clones rule and reproduction is next to impossible. Cassie has to decide how important human rights are when the fate of the entire human race is in her hands.
For this review, I think it's best broken down into things I loved and things that did not work for me at all. There was very little middle ground on that. What I loved most was the world building. It's eerily reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, but there's just something about it that's so alluring in a creepy, jacked-up way. It pulls you in, and combined with the premise of the story (saving the human race when the methods themselves are inhumane), it makes you really think about the price of human life. I also love Cassie's passion for archeology. It shows so well and adds a unique touch to the story.
What I wasn't feeling falls primarily into the romance and pacing categories. While it isn't insta-love per say, as in they definitely don't actually say they (Cassie and Michael) love each other, it's insta-intense feeling with nothing to back it up. It seems like 5 seconds after they meet, they're talking seriously about all these intense feelings they have and how any relationship between them would be forbidden, etc. I just never understood what actually connected them other than a couple of hours playing a board game that seemed to just pass the time. I couldn't believe in them as a couple, especially when Michael kept REPEATEDLY (like at least 3 or 4 times) lying to her, and she was just like "Ok, I'm mad, but you're forgiven because you're cute".
The pacing was also sporadic. While some parts went almost day by day, Cassie's *highlight for a semi-spoiler* pregnancy went by in maybe a chapter or two. It just felt way off balance and rushed through in that part. Naturally, some areas will be quicker than others, but this hardly had any consistency.
Overall, I really did think it was worth the read. The world and premise were so captivating, and I still want to read the next book, especially if the romance dynamics and pacing improve. However, those areas were definitely a set back for me with this one (enough to cost it a higher rating). While this wasn't my favorite, I think there is enough potential laid down for me to want to keep reading.
Also, look at that cover. It might be my favorite cover of 2014 so far.
Originally posted at I Heart YA Fiction: http://iheartyafiction.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-mirror-x-by-karri-thompson.html
Short and Sweet:
While the world building kicks ass in this, it felt rushed at times, and sadly I was NOT on board with the romance. I liked it over all though.
To Elaborate...
Cassie is the savior of the human race; she just doesn't know it yet. When Cassie wakes up in a time 1,000 years after her own, she is thrust into a world where clones rule and reproduction is next to impossible. Cassie has to decide how important human rights are when the fate of the entire human race is in her hands.
For this review, I think it's best broken down into things I loved and things that did not work for me at all. There was very little middle ground on that. What I loved most was the world building. It's eerily reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, but there's just something about it that's so alluring in a creepy, jacked-up way. It pulls you in, and combined with the premise of the story (saving the human race when the methods themselves are inhumane), it makes you really think about the price of human life. I also love Cassie's passion for archeology. It shows so well and adds a unique touch to the story.
What I wasn't feeling falls primarily into the romance and pacing categories. While it isn't insta-love per say, as in they definitely don't actually say they (Cassie and Michael) love each other, it's insta-intense feeling with nothing to back it up. It seems like 5 seconds after they meet, they're talking seriously about all these intense feelings they have and how any relationship between them would be forbidden, etc. I just never understood what actually connected them other than a couple of hours playing a board game that seemed to just pass the time. I couldn't believe in them as a couple, especially when Michael kept REPEATEDLY (like at least 3 or 4 times) lying to her, and she was just like "Ok, I'm mad, but you're forgiven because you're cute".
The pacing was also sporadic. While some parts went almost day by day, Cassie's *highlight for a semi-spoiler* pregnancy went by in maybe a chapter or two. It just felt way off balance and rushed through in that part. Naturally, some areas will be quicker than others, but this hardly had any consistency.
Overall, I really did think it was worth the read. The world and premise were so captivating, and I still want to read the next book, especially if the romance dynamics and pacing improve. However, those areas were definitely a set back for me with this one (enough to cost it a higher rating). While this wasn't my favorite, I think there is enough potential laid down for me to want to keep reading.
Also, look at that cover. It might be my favorite cover of 2014 so far.
Originally posted at I Heart YA Fiction: http://iheartyafiction.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-mirror-x-by-karri-thompson.html
"With few clues to as who her real family was, Lydia has found some familial comfort in Cleopatra's palace, though certainly not from the intense Cleopatra herself. When one she loves dies and leaves her with a special mission involving the scrolls of the prophet Daniel, Lydia has to leave the only place she's known as home and enter King Herod's court. Lydia will have to do her best to complete her mission without becoming involved in the many betrayals and deceptions of the court." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44714
"Though the curse is no longer new to her, Dominy still has trouble balancing her girl and her wolf. When her enemy, Nadine, shows up again, things only get worse. Dominy and her friends will have to stop the town's evil once and for all, even if sacrifices on all ends have to be made." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44717
"The year is 1877, and the Egyptian Empire is alive and well. Lord Scott Oken and Prince Mikel Mabruke are part of that world, full of politics and betrayals. With a rival empire slowly encroaching, the two men face conspiracies, intrigues, and adventures they never dreamed of as they try to support their own Empire." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44739
"Cooper wakes up somewhere that isn't Earth, a place that holds the dead. In this mysterious city, he learns that people don't truly die, or at least not for a very long time, but rather keep waking up in different worlds over and over. Navigating this new place isn't easy, especially when it seems like everyone wants something. As chaos ensues among the 'living', Cooper has to figure out what his new life exactly is." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44742
