REVIEW: The Dragon Princess by E.D. Baker

Last week I reviewed The Salamander Spell by E.D. Baker (spoiler alert: I loved it!!). So I immediately dove into the next Frog Princess book, The Dragon Princess. While The Salamander Spell follows Emma's aunt as a young girl, The Dragon Princess follows Emma's daughter, Millie. I love when authors write books like this. I love following children of main characters because there are always references to the adventures of the main characters and getting to spend time with those characters at a different point in their life is so fun for me. Well, let's get into it, shall we?

The Short Story:

As with all of the books so far in E.D. Baker's Frog Princess series, friendship and adventure abound in this book. There are silly characters as well as scary ones, strong relationships and good examples of friends and family ties. The writing is simple, yet still attention-grabbing. If you like magic and fairytales and good lessons, you should try this series.

The Long Story:

In this book, we follow Princess Millie, daughter of Emma and Eadric, who has a very interesting problem in her life. Most of the time, she is a princess, a young girl who has best friends and likes to learn and seeks adventure. However, when something upsets her (and, at her age, anger just happens sometimes... hormones, you know), she turns into a dragon. Yep. This is obviously an issue of convenience but especially an issue of secrecy and fear. People don't generally like dragons and Millie is the only child of Emma and Eadric, therefore their only heir. It doesn't help that Eadric's parents, Millie's grandparents, are wholeheartedly against magical things and creatures of any kind. Millie desperately wants a way to stop this change from happening or at least to gain control over it. With a temper like hers, who knows what can happen! So Millie and her friends set off to find a way to control her anger. And there is magic and craziness along the way.

Like I said in the short story, the writing in this series is so simple. This is a middle grade, and probably young middle grade at that, series, so the writing should not be flouncy and fancy. But it doesn't detract from the story. In fact, it makes it easier to follow and quick to read. 

Millie is awesome. She is such a protective friend and a great mix of her parents. I love the way her dragon magic works: her mother spent too much time as a dragon when she was pregnant with Millie. Zoe is a great friend to Millie as well, and serves as a way to show Millie's compassion. Francis... oh, man, I love this guy. He's Millie's cousin and he is adorkable (note the "k", of course) and determined and encouraging and very sweet. I stinkin' love him. I also love that most "trios" in YA and middle grade are two boys and a girl, but in this book it is two girls and a boy. Just a weird thing I noticed and enjoyed!

Overall: magic, great friends, DRAGONS (I cannot resist a dragon book), more magic, adventure, and self-discovery. Big fan.

5/5 stars.

What is your favorite magical creature to read about??

Happy reading!

REVIEW: The Crown by Kiera Cass

This shall, without a doubt, be one of the most emotional book reviews I ever write. The Selection series has come to a spectacular, fireworks-display of an ending, and I don't know what to do with myself. I spontaneously picked up the first book when it had just come out and I was so hooked. I read the next one, and the next one, and thought it was over. And then it wasn't. And I was so happy. This series is addictive in the most fantastic way. Let's just get into this finale because boy oh boy was it a good one.

The Short Story:

I obviously cannot give too many details because spoilers are too easy to give away in the case of a final book, but I can say I never knew where the story would go until it got there, I laughed out loud, I cried actual tears, and I swooned HARD. I don't care what people think of Eadlyn as a character, I think she got everything she deserved. Long live the Schreaves!

The Long Story:

Let me take a breath here. 

I waited a year for this book, pining over these characters and waiting, needing, to know what became of them (especially due to the CLIFFHANGER OF THE CENTURY in The Heir, sheesh) and when this book finally was in my hands, it was everything I wanted. Kiera Cass never once let me believe I had figured out the ending of this book. Never once! Every time I thought I had a wavering guess, she shot it down quicker than I could think it. And that quality in a book makes me keep reading and keep loving it. She creates characters that make you want to love them... or throttle them, whichever it appropriate at the time. Overall, Kiera made a world I could have stayed in forever. 

I was happy with the ending. Happy is actually not a strong enough word. I kicked my legs and squealed and laughed and cried and LOVED EVERY WORD. I know some people question the way the story and the relationships went, but I think it had to go this way and I'm so glad it did. Everything wrapped up in such an amazing and heart-wrenching way, but everything really did wrap up. I feel no loose ends, no questions, just closure. 

Kiera Cass, thank you for giving us Selection fans everything America and Eadlyn needed. We wish we could have Maxon, America, Eadlyn, Marlee, Erik, Brice, May, Aspen, and all their friends in our heads forever like you will. 

5/5 stars. No, 6/5 stars.

Now I need to add a spoilery section because I can't NOT for this book. Please stop scrolling now if you haven't read The Crown and plan to.

Really. Please come back later :) Happy reading!

SPOILERS TO COME:

I am so over-the-moon happy Eadlyn chose Erik, er, Eikko. When I was reading The Heir, I considered this as a possible ending but thought it would be too predictable of a plot twist. I thought it was Kile. I wanted it to be Henri because he's cute like a baby duck. Then I thought Hale (AND BOY WAS I WRONG ABOUT THAT GUY). Then Marid appeared and I stopped in my tracks (once again, WRONG WRONG WRONG). I never thought it was Ean and I was so glad when his story took another turn. Eadlyn and Erik is so right. They balance each other, but they also challenge and complete each other. I loved Eadlyn's moment with her dad in those last seven minutes at the end of the book, where she drops all pretense of being a queen and asks her dad for help in this matter of the heart...and politics. I just loved it. Eadlyn made all the right choices and I'm ecstatic at the end of this epic story. Feel free to discuss in the comments, I'd love to chat with you about it!!

REVIEW: Soundless by Richelle Mead

Hi again, everyone! I literally just finished (as in... fifteen minutes ago?) Soundless by Richelle Mead and I knew I needed to write this review straightaway so it would be authentic. Y'all... this book is great.

[I have a quick little spiel to give on how I'll write reviews on this blog, just so nobody is confused. First, I'll give the short story. This is for those readers who want to go into a book with little to no information about it, simply a general feel and reaction. Second, I'll give the long story. This is for those who want to really know what a book is about. I won't include any spoilers because come on, nobody likes a spoiler, but I will give a more detailed explanation and more of my thoughts.]

So without further ado...

The Short Story: 

This book is simple and magical. It reads like a classic fairytale and the romance is everything you could want in a YA Fantasy. The main female character is strong, intellectual, and passionate. This book is a great short stand-alone read for rainy daydreamy days.

The Long Story: 

Our main character, Fei, is an artist in a remote mountaintop village in which every inhabitant is deaf. This has been the case for her entire life and for generations before. But now the villagers are at risk of losing something else. Just as this tragedy is striking in fuller force, Fei wakes up able to hear. This is more important and vital to hers and her friends' lives than anyone could possibly imagine. It takes her on an epic journey to discover a whole bunch about her life and her town than she ever could have guessed.
This is the only book I've ever read in which the characters all speak sign language. It almost makes the book feel quieter somehow, and when Fei regains her hearing, the reader can gain the sounds of her village with her. The main male character, Li Wei, is also passionate, like Fei, but in a way that makes him reckless where she is more steady.
There is also a family element to this book that is very well done. Family is often less of a focus in YA but this book tells about close families, with their struggles and triumphs.
Magic abounds in this story; the entire book feels like you're waiting for something. The mysticality (is that a word? magicalness? I'm sure you know what I mean) is subtle. It does not overwhelm the plot or the characters but weaves flawlessly through the threads Richelle is writing.
I had very few problems with this book and the only one I can name without spoiling is the beginning was a little hard to get into. It was a little slow and I was confused, but when the plot really started to pick up, I couldn't put it down.
I highly recommend this book for those who like magic (which, in my opinion, should be everyone).

5/5 stars.

Let me know what you think of this style of review with the short and long stories! I'd really appreciate feedback, positive or negative.

Happy reading!