Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

Cinder and Ella
By Melissa Lemon
Release Date: November 8, 2011

Synopsis: After their father’s disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn’t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself—the most dangerous place in all the kingdom for both her and Cinder. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other and one you'll never forget.

My Thoughts: For those of you who follow my blog you know how much I love fairy tales, and Cinderella happens to be my favorite. I was first drawn to this book because of the title and cool cover. I was excited to see what Melissa did with my favorite fairytale. I thought it was really unique to have two characters named Cinder and Ella instead of just Cinderella. Ella is our main character and she has to go through many obstacles throughout the book to find her happy ending. I’m looking forward to reading this with my little girl when she gets old enough.

Interview with Melissa Lemon:

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am married and have three beautiful girls. I play three musical instruments—the piano, cello and guitar—and I am so grateful for that ability because music is a huge calming influence in my life. I do have a secret wish, however, to learn two more: the violin and the Native American flute. I like to read, but I LOVE to write. I also love gray, cloudy, stormy, rainy days.

What made you want to write a YA novel, and what inspired Cinder and Ella?
I prefer to read YA novels myself, but I also just love that age group. I really enjoyed that period of my life—even with its challenges—and it is fun to go back once in a while through a character or story. Cinderella was always a character that I related to because she is just a regular girl who is trying to do her best despite everything. I think that when I got older, though, and saw first hand how difficult it is to make it in the real world, my favorite fairy tale began to feel flawed.

What is the hardest part in writing a book? And what did you learn from writing Cinder and Ella?
The hardest part of writing a book for me is rewriting, especially when you get to the tenth draft or so. One of the things I learned from writing Cinder and Ella is that I can write a book in three weeks if I have a good outline and have thought out the plot well. Then I learned it takes me a year and a half to do rewrites.

What do you think of the cover? Did you play a role in choosing the cover?
I love the cover! My publishing company asked for ideas and input. My first idea was to do the main characters and my second idea was to do something with the trees. I am glad that they went with the trees because, along with the title, it gives a clue that there is something different about this Cinderella story.

What three words would you use to describe Cinder and Ella?
Different, fun, meaningful

Cinder and Ella will be released November 8, do you have any teasers for our readers?
“For a time, the family was happy. The father and mother found joy in their daughters, played with them while they were still small, took the time to tuck them in at night, and treated them all as precious jewels. The sisters played together well and grew in friendship and love, with only the occasional sisterly squabble, like when the eldest would rip the youngest daughter’s favorite toy from her hands merely to see her wail. But, as we all know, happiness does not always last. As the sisters grew older, an evil came upon the kingdom. And while they did not know it, the prince who had started the works of darkness would change the fate of their entire lives.”

If Cinder and Ella were to be made into a movie, who would you cast as your characters?
I think I would like to see some new faces, but Claire Danes would make a great Cinder.

Do you have a particular place to write? Do you like peace & quite, or prefer to have music playing?
Peace and quiet! The location doesn’t matter that much, but I do prefer to be alone. Another thing that helps is for my work area and surrounding space to be clean. Writing out in nature is probably my favorite, though; it is more peaceful, helps me clear my head, and is optimal for inspiration.

Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
AUTHORS: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Lois Lowry, Shannon Hale BOOKS: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, At the Back of the North Wind by George McDonald, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Can you tell us about any current projects you’re working on?
One of my favorite projects I’m working on is a YA science fiction about a boy who finds a portal to a very strange place.

Melissa Can be Found here:

Melissa Lemon
Melissa's Facebook fan page
Melissa on Twitter
Melissa's author blog
Melissa's author page on Goodreads

Fateful by Cheri Schmidt

GoodReads Synopsis: A huge fan of Jane Austen, Danielle hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy when she leaves Colorado to attend art school in London. Of course she knows it's silly to wish for that, naive even. But she's met enough males who lacked respect for women, a growing trend it seemed. And at nineteen...well.... However, on only her second night there she gets lost and is threatened by a stalker who proves to be immune to her martial arts training. Before she is completely overpowered, she is then saved by Ethan Deveroux. While Danielle does find the romance she seeks in Ethan, he's no Mr. Darcy. Her hero is held by a spell which fractures their chance at a happy ending. During the day Ethan is closer to mortal than immortal and can date her like any other man. Yet, as the sun sets, the powerful magic of an ancient curse returns and the evil of that spell is revealed. When that magic begins, Danielle's fairytale romance ends because Ethan Deveroux is a vampire.

Kathy’s Review: Yes, it sounds similar to Twilight, but it’s actually got an original take on vampires. The only similarity is that Ethan is a vampire and Danielle is not. I liked Schmidt’s take on vampires, I thought it was more believable and I liked that there was some hope that they could maybe change. It made it more believable that there would be good vampires, etc. I also really liked that both Ethan and Danielle not only had high standards, but they also believed marriage was a positive thing (something Bella could learn from).

There were only a couple things I didn’t like. Ethan chuckled a little too much. Ethan tended to carry Danielle an awful lot, she says she can walk, so let her walk. =) Lastly, I didn’t see why Lucas would be after Danielle right off the bat like that. I know Ethan interrupted his attack, but I wanted a little more motivation for Lucas and Celeste to be after Danielle.

Thanks Cheri for sending me a copy to review, I enjoyed the story and thought it was a fun escape. I look forward to seeing what happens with Danielle and Ethan after how things wrapped up in Fateful.

Bookworm Rating: 4

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: April 2011
One Word Review: Entertaining
Author Website: www.cherischmidt.com

Reading Order:
Book One: Fateful
Book Two: Fractured

My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

GoodReads Synopsis: Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief 's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control.

Kathy’s Review: I really loved this book! It reminded me why Rallison is one of my favorite authors. I was sad when it ended, although it did end with a hint that there might be another book in the series (I sure hope so!). This story follows Tansy and Hudson as they try and figure out how to make the best of Tansy’s three wishes. Tansy was of course a likable character. She kind of has a chip on her shoulder when the story begins, but with a little help from her fair godmother, Chrissy, she learns some valuable lessons. The story was a lot of fun, it sucks you in and I had a hard time putting the book down. Hudson was easy to like, he has good values, works hard, and cares about those around him. Oh and he’s a hottie. The end had me tear up, and even Hudson learned some interesting things about himself. This is the second book in the series, you could read it on its own, but I’d recommend reading My Fair Godmother first. In fact I would recommend all of Rallison’s books, there great!

Genre: YA Fantasy – Fairytale
Publication Date: April 2011
One Word Review: Charming
Author Website: www.janetterallison.com
Bookworm Rating: 5, G

Reading Order:
Book One: My Fair Godmother
Book Two: My Unfair Godmother
Book Three:

The List by Melanie Jacobson

GoodReads Synopsis: Ashley Barrett doesn’t want to get married. At least, not anytime soon. She doesn’t care how many of her friends and family members and fellow churchgoers had weddings before they finished college — the last thing she needs in her fun-loving twenties is the dead-weight of some guy. And that’s why she created The List. By the time she completes all twenty-five goals — from learning a language to skydiving to perfecting the art of making sushi — she’ll be more ready to settle down. Maybe.


Kathy’s Review: This was a really fun read. It reminded me a little of the movies Lucky Seven and You’ve Got Mail. Ashley really grew on my as the story progressed. I liked her witty personality and thought she grew quite a bit. I admit at first there were times where at first I thought she was a little cold, she had built up quite a wall around her. She had kind of a naive and negative view on marriage in my opinion. Luckily Matt comes along and really brings out a softer side and he was just great. The book has A LOT of dialog in it, which at times really had me laughing. The story pretty much revolves around Ashley and Matt’s relationship, there is a bit of a love-triangle, and it’s just fun to see how Matt goes about “courting” Ashley. It’s a fun “romantic comedy” and one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys that genre.

Genre: Chick-Lit Romance
Publication Date: March 2011
One Word Review: Charming
Author Website: www.melaniejacobson.net
Bookworm Rating: 4, G

By Love or By Sea by Rachel Rager

Genre: Historical Fiction-Romance

Publication Date: April 2009

One Word Review: Good

Author Website: www.rachelrager.com

GoodReads Synopsis: Alice Lind Frank never forgot the boy she loved when she was just six years old, even after he was lost at sea. Now a young woman, Alice has found happiness in living and working with her grandparents, and in the affections of Clarence Hielott, the wealthy shipyard owner who intends to make Alice his bride. When a ragged sailor appears in town, Alice is reminded of the young boy who once held her heart. Upon learning that the sailor is in fact her childhood love, Caleb, she finds herself yearning to trust him again. But Clarence refuses to let this ghost from the past destroy his plans for the future. He exposes the secrets of Caleb's past and Alice realizes that the boy she once knew is now a man with a dark history.

Kathy’s Review: I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time. While I enjoyed the story, it didn’t really sweep me off my feet. I liked our heroine Alice. She had a nice mix of spunk and sweetness. I liked the side story between her and old Betsy Winters. Caleb was a good leading man, although I would have liked a little more tension with the love triangle. Speaking of Alice's other love intrest Clarence, his character was a little disappointing. I never got the feeling that he was really a bad guy. We’re told certain things, but I just didn’t feel it. I was a little confused with Caleb’s relationship to royalty. It seemed like a storyline that was thrown in for convenience sake and wasn’t really explained. It just seems like if he was really related to royalty his family would have held a different position.

There were a couple problems I had with the book. First, I had no clue where the story was taking place. It wasn’t until about 125 pages that China and England were mentioned and I finally figured out it was suppose to take place somewhere in reality. I also had no clue when the story was suppose to be, I could tell by a few things that it was suppose to be a long time ago, but I would have liked a little time frame to work with.

Bookworm Rating: 3.5, G

The Peasant Queen by Cheri Chesley

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: December 2010
One Word Review: Disappointing
Author Website: www.cherichesley.com

GoodReads Synopsis: After running away from home, Krystal is transported to a faraway kingdom where an evil tyrant is bent on taking the crown - and Krystal's hand in marriage. But when she falls in love with the rightful heir to the throne, she must make an impossible choice: sacrifice her one chance at happiness or face the destruction of an entire kingdom.

Kathy’s Review (contains spoilers): I really hate writing negative reviews, but as I sit down to write this I’m having a hard time thinking of positive things to say. My biggest problem with the book was the dialog. It was unrealistic, awkward and choppy. None of the conversations sounded like they would take place in the real world. My next problem was that Krystal was just too lucky, everything happened easily for her. For example, her escape and rescue of the prince not only happened very easily, but really quickly. No planning was done, no prep work, both just happened too easily. Lastly, the supposedly super evil King Gregory just came across as a spoiled little child. There was nothing scary about him; he was more laughable than frightening. He would throw temper tantrums when he didn’t get his way, was way to forgiving of Krystal’s behavior and his personality was not consistent. The writing was okay, but could have been better.

I will say that I liked the overall idea for the story, and aside from the above criticisms the story did move along quickly and was clean. Since I liked the story I am wavering between giving this a 2 or a 3, but I went with a 2 because I had to force myself to keep reading instead of being sucked into the story.

Bookworm Rating: 2, G

The Pirate Ruse by Marcia L McClure

Genre: Historical Fiction-Romance
Publication Date: October 2010
One Word Review: Great
Author Website: www.marcialynnmcclure.com

Kathy’s Review: This is my favorite McClure book! I love a good pirate story and thought she did a great job creating a realistic storyline with very likable characters. I admit, sometimes I find her books a little cheesy with too much focus on romance on not enough on plot. That wasn’t the case here, there was a good back story and while there was still a great romance there was a lot of other things going on as well. I really liked Cristabel, she stood up for herself and didn't fall for the charms of the very handsome pirate Navarrone, at least not right away. Navarrone was a great character as well and their relationship moved at a believable pace. I had a hard time putting the book down; I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be re-reading it. If you haven't read a McClure book before, I would recommend starting with this one.

Bookworm Rating: 5, PG

Similar Reads:
The Guise of a Gentleman by Donna Hatch
To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
The Pirate and the Puritan by Mary Clayton
Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer

Mark of Royalty by Jennifer Clark & Stephonie Williams

Genre: YA Fairytale
Publication Date: February 2010
One Word Review: Okay

GoodReads Synopsis: At a time when royal infants are marked at birth, a royal advisor makes a terrible misstep—and an infant princess must be secreted away to save her life. Named Sarah by Miranda, the woman who agrees to raise the child as her own, the girl is unaware of her royal heritage—even though Miranda has done all she can to pair Sarah with the king’s nephew, Lord Chad. But unexpected events prevent the expected betrothal. Determined to fulfill her devoted mother’s wishes, Sarah reserves her heart for Chad despite her growing affections for another man. But as plots against the crown unfold, someone accidentally discovers Sarah’s mark of royalty—setting the stage for discoveries that will shake the kingdom to its core.

Kathy’s Review: I thought this was a cute story; it had a kind of fairytale feel to it. The story moved along quickly and kept me interested. It actually reminded me of a couple other books I’ve read. Where there is a princess who is in disguise for one reason or another. This book ended up going a different direction than I was expecting, and I liked that while it was predictable, it was still unexpected. I liked the main character Sarah and her love interest Alex. I thought they were cute together. Sarah goes through the story not knowing her true heritage, which I thought was interesting. It was a fun, entertaining read.

There were just a few things that I didn’t like, or could have been improved. First, I had no idea when this story was supposed to take place. It mentioned real places such as France and Spain, but I didn’t know if they were supposed to be real characters or what timeframe the story was taking place. I also felt that about halfway through the book some of the characters (Chad, Felicia and Clyde especially) started acting out of character. I could understand the change in Clyde, but the other two just did a 180. Chad had been a loving, close friend to Sarah throughout and then all of the sudden he become a villain? I would have liked a little more build up for that kind of change. Felicia just seemed really fickle, her character shows up randomly throughout and each time she almost acts like a different person. The other problem I had was more of a personal pet peeve. There were multiple POV throughout the story which in my opinion interrupts the flow and prevents you from really getting attached to just one or two characters. I don’t mind if a story switches POV from chapter to chapter, but not during the chapter with multiple POV throughout.

Bookworm Rating: 3, G

Similar Reads:
The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook
The False Princess by Eilies O’Neal
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley

Babies, Babies, Babies

Here is an update for those who follow my blog. The end of January my precious twins were born. It was a very difficult delivery, but the end result was worth it. We are so happy to have them here! Our family has grown rather fast! It has gone from zero kids to three in less then 9 months! They are definitely keeping me busy, but I'm still squeezing in time to read (reading is probably helping me keep my sanity). Below are just a couple pictures of our sweeties.

Ashley & Austin (1 week old)

Austin, Josh, and Ashley (Twins are a week old, Josh is 7 months)

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Genre: YA Historical Ficion
Publication Date: January 2011
One Word Review: Good
Author Website: www.eilisoneal.com

GoodReads Synopsis: Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known. Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl.

Kathy’s Review: I enjoyed this one, but admit I went into it thinking I would like it more than I did. The last book I read was pretty fast paced and kept me glued to the pages. This one was a little slower paced, but not boring. There was a lot of detail and world building with bits of action here and there. The story and writing reminded me a bit of Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which is a favorite of mine. The False Princess was unique and had a few twists that I didn’t see coming. I actually really liked the idea of Sinda, being raised as a princess her whole life and then suddenly finding out that she was a stand-in. She was sent out into the world and had to rediscover who she really is. I liked the growth she went through and confidence she gained in herself and her abilities. Her best friend and potential love-interst Kiernan was an enjoyable character. He brought a little lightheartedness to the story, which was nice. He is loyal to Sinda and while I liked their friendship, it was a little hard for me to see a romantic relationship. On the otherhand, I love when characters are friends and really know each other before a romantic relationship begins. I think it’s a great foundation for true love. I enjoyed the story and will be on the lookout for more books by Ellis O’Neal!

Bookworm Rating: 4

Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergen

Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Publication Date: February 2011
One Word Review: Great
Author Website: www.lisatawnbergen.com

GoodReads Synopsis: In Waterfall, American teenager Gabi Betarrini accidently finds herself in sixteenth-century Italy . . . Knights. Swords. Horses. Armor. And Italian hotties. Most American teens want an Italian vacation, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives there with their archaeologist parents. Stuck on yet another hot, dusty dig, they are bored out of their minds... until they place their hands atop handprints in an ancient tomb and find themselves catapulted into the sixteenth-century—and in the middle of a fierce battle between knights bent on killing one another.

Kathy’s Review: Loved it!

I guess I need to write more than that. I read the book synopsis and thought this sounded like a fun adventure. There had been some great reviews and I thought I’d give it a try. So around 3 AM (I was up feeding my twins) I downloaded a sample to my Kindle. It was a bad idea to start the book at that time, I ended up wanting to stay up and read instead of getting some sleep. Sleep won out, but I soon started again once I was up for the day. I’ve spent most of the day reading, being sucked into the story until I just finished. I really wish I had the next book on hand!

I really liked our heroine Gabi. She was not only pretty, but smart, tough and just likable. The author did a great job explaining Gabi’s abilities with the sword and working it into the story. I also thought Gabi’s transition from our time to the fourteenth century to be realistic. And of course I’m a sucker for a good love story, which brings me to Marcello. *sigh* I am definitely on Team Marcello. I liked that their relationship wasn’t the whole story. There were a lot of other things going on and things between them also felt realistic. I’m a sucker for his best friend Luca as well.

This is the first in a long time, where I was actually happy this was going to be a trilogy. I love the characters and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Bookworm Rating: 5

Reading Order:
Book One: Waterfall
Book Two: Cascade (June 2011)
Book Three: Torrent (September 2011)