Review & Giveaway: Rags & Bones by Melissa Marr & Others

Rags & Bones by Melissa Marr & Others
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 22, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

The best writers of our generation retell the classics.

Literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them; ones that have become ingrained in modern culture; and ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and then reassemble them for a new generation of readers.

My Thoughts:
I am usually not a huge fan of anthologies or short stories, but when I saw that the line up included in Rags & Bones I just had to get my hands on a copy!  I am so thankful that I did give this one chance because it was truly amazing.

Every story in this book was awesome and no I am not kidding.  Most short stories leave me feeling very unsatisfied and some tend to make me feel like I have stepped into the middle of a story, but the wonderful authors in this one had everything times perfectly and I can't honestly think of one bad thing to say about any of the stories.

Since I loved every story I thought I would just review my top 3 favorites.  Melissa Marr, Holly Black, and Carrie Ryan had in my opinion the strongest stories.  That does not mean that the rest weren't amazing, these three women just caught my attention a little bit more than the rest.

Melissa Marr gives us a look into the dark mind of a human who catches a selchie woman.  This story was deeply disturbing but also heart breaking.  What if you hurt everybody you knew and the only way for you to truly have someone in your life was if you had spellbinding rules that kept you from hurting them.  We get to find out what Leo does with this decision when he captures Eden.  I really fell into this story and Marr's writing like I always do when I read her words.  It was definitely my favorite and I only wish that one day we might see a selchie novel from her.

Carrie Ryan's story was just as fantastic as Marr's but very very different.  In this one we get to see what happens when mankind has to retreat to the Underground and live among the Machine.  The Machine is a place that isolates all humans, but gives them everything they could possibly need at the push of a button.  Food, bath, bed everything is included.  Tavil finds himself thrown into this strange world and after many years he has to decide whether to stay inside the technology filled walls or brave the Surface from which he is from.  I won't tell you what he decides, but I will say it is quite interesting to read his tale.  I think we as a community are so technology driven that it makes me really think about what would happen if this were reality.  I really loved that this story made me think!

And last but not least is Ms. Holly Black.  I love Black and her creepiness and her story was brilliant.  It showed what one will do to keep love at all costs.  I don't want to say too much about this one since it does have a surprise element to it that I loved, so I will just say that you won't be disappointed in this short story.  It is short but it packs an awesome punch that stays true to Ms. Blacks style!

I loved that this anthology was a collection of works inspired by other fairy tales.  It was very interesting to read the authors notes and why they chose what they did to write about.  This book will go on my favorites shelf and I foresee lots of rereading in my furture!

5 snowflakes

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Review: Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Publisher- Simon Pulse 
Release Date- June 26th 2012
Purchase-Amazon / B & N  / Chapters

What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?
Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.
And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.
Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

My Thoughts;
Delilah has never felt like she belonged to the real world. Sure, she has her best friend, Jules and her mom, but her life at school is miserable and she never grew up with a dad. So it's no wonder that she clings to her books so desperately. They can never disappoint her and it's where happily ever after exists, if only for a short while. 

But what if the characters in your stories don't end after you close the book for the night? What happens if the characters go about their business in the world written for them? And what happens when one of those characters doesn't want to live in a fairy tale, but wants to be able to feel and think and really live? This is a story about Delilah McPhee and Prince Oliver. 

One who wants help escaping his existence while the other just wants to belong.

Aww, this was such a sweet and fun concept! Between the Lines is one of those reads where I could curl up on the couch and totally lose myself in this world.

I've never read anything by Jodi Picoult before (something that I'll have to fix) and while this would be Samantha Van Leer's debut, I can't wait to see more from her in the future. 

This book was chalked filled with vivid and rich imagination and cunning creativity. It's absorbed with magic and love and wonderment right down to the different color fonts pages to the gorgeous art illustrations to the captivating story inside. This was such a wonderful experience fit for fans who devour happily ever after.

This book is told in Delilah and Oliver's point of view. But we also get the actual fairy tale that Prince Oliver belongs to. A story within a story. It may sound confusing or overwhelming but it was actually quite easy to follow and understand everything that was going on. I was also pretty grateful since I was equally curious about how both stories end. 

Every character created was very detailed and developed very well. They each had a very unique role and I was fascinated by who they were inside and outside the story. 

Delilah is such a treasure. I was really able to connect with her right away and loved her passion and dedication. I also loved the ridiculously charming way that she felt about a character in a book. I mean books aren't real, you and me both know this, and yet I still think and dream and wonder what would happen if they were. In an odd sort of way, Delilah represents that side to readers who still believe in make-believe, in magic and true love. Even if it's a character from a story come to life.

Oliver was just to adorable for words and I loved the sweet and tender and even amusing way that these two felt about one another. Understanding and wanting what the other wants. 

I'm thinking this may not be a story for every reader. I'll admit, it is a little far fetched, but I for one really enjoyed this story for what it was. A beautifully told fairy tale with inspiring characters and a mesmerizing world. It ignited that passion I have for the written world and took it one step further. It made me fantasize what it would be like to fall in love and achieve happily ever after with a character written in one of my favorite stories. 

This is the stuff that makes reading what it is. It takes you away from your own reality and dares you to believe. 
If only, for just a short while.
Bravo!

                                                                  4.5 Snowflakes

                                                                

Find The Author:

Goodreads- Jodi Picoult / Website
Goodreads-Samantha Van Leer

Review: Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick

Not Your Average Fairy Tale 

by Chantele Sedgwick 

Publisher-Crescent Moon Press

Released-Aug 1st 2012

Purchase-Amazon / B & N

Armed with wings and a blue wand, being a fairy godmother should be easy ... unless your name is Ash, and you're a dude.
Ash Summerland has it all–good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. When he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings. A.K.A. the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after". But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, Kendall doesn't want anything to do with him. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings.

My Thoughts:
Ash Summerland is pumped! Soon he'll be graduating at the top of his class after all his hard work at the academy, he's finally going to get his just reward by earning himself the dream apprentice job he's always wanted. So when he opens his golden letter from The Magical Being Academy and sees that he's working for Lady Shenelle he's thinking that there has to be some mistake or quite possibly a joke. A Fairy Godmother? But...he's a dude! There has never been a male fairy godmother in the history of the academy, so...why now?
Frustrated and a very pissed off Ash tries to figure out what's going on, but the council has all decided that this experience will be good for him and he may just learn something from it. He just has to hang on long enough to complete one assignment. Grant three wishes to a human girl and he'll be able to graduate and move on to better positions. So what happens when his assignment proves to be most difficult and doesn't even believe in happy endings? Or even worse, what happens when he actually starts to care about her?


Ha!! What a fun fun story!! Not Your Average Fairy Tale really took me by surprise. This was such an entertaining and creative concept that put a brilliant spin to some of my favorite elements. Magic and fairy tale beings. As soon as I read the blurb for this book, I knew that I wanted to read it, I just didn't think I'd have this much fun! 


Magic, mystery, romance, colorful characters and a wicked twist in the end, this book has Disney written all over it! I could totally see this on the big screen. Kudos to Chantele Sedgwick's writing! It's smooth, confident and consuming. I was constantly and instantly entertained from minute one!

I really adored every single one of these characters. Even the bad dudes. Each of them played their roles fantastically, bringing in so much thrill, surprises and laughter.

Poor poor Ash, he really took the news hard when he found out that he was going to be ~gasp~ a fairy godmother. It's a pride thing, a male thing, a 'I'm not wearing no dame tights and tu-tu' thing. His pouting ways were quite adorable and hilarious and it was amazingly fun to watch him squirm his way through this assignment. To add insult (girly wings and a blue wand) to injury, Ash also learns that his class rival, Dax got the apprentice position that he was aiming for and makes sure to rub it in his face at any given hour.

All Ash wants to do is get this stupid assignment done and over with and move on, but when Kendall starts to get under his skin, making him question everything that he's ever wanted, we see a new side to Ash that readers will cheer for!

I really liked Kendall, she's been having a hard time every since she lost her father in an accident, leaving her alive but badly scarred. She feels responsible and blames herself for what happened. She's lost the will to feel normal or be normal. So it's not really a surprise when she fist meets Ash and thinks he's some nut job. I mean, who would believe that this gorgeous guy is a fairy godmother who could grant her three wishes. But once she finally does believe it's pretty funny to see these two banter their way to a growing friendship. She can totally handle her own and has a mean arm to prove it. 

Also, a big shout out to Sam and Ellie, they were two of my favorite characters besides Ash and Kendall.

The story line has a little bit of everything. Fun filled magic, a sweet sweet romance that's perfect in the way true love and fairy tales were meant to be, secrets waiting to be revealed, betrayal and revenge and an evil sinister plot taking it's time to fester before it strikes.

Overall, I absolutely had a blast with this book. It's warm and sweet and really quite precious. I can't wait to buy myself a copy to add to my collection! I'm also guessing by the ending that we're getting more, which would be amazing! I can't wait to see what happens to Ash and Kendall next!! 

Big thanks to Chantele Sedgwick for sharing her story with us. Loved it!!

Find the author:

Goodreads / Website

                                                                    4.5 Snowflakes