Merin is a teacher, a book blogger, a baseball addict (Go Cardinals!), lover of music, movies and TV crime dramas, and YA/MG connoisseur. Follow me on my blog at http://ahandfulofconfetti.wordpress.com!
I don't really have a lot to say about this one, but here's some basic thoughts. I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as the first. Although I definitely won't say no to more Zach, who I couldn't help but be intrigued by, and ultimately came to like a whole lot. I also really loved the pacing of this book; while being mostly light-hearted and fun, there was something that kept me constantly turning - or wanting to turn - the pages. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes next in the series!
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To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!
Retellings of the Hades and Persephone myth are quite prevalent in today's YA market. You have Everneath, Abandon, and The Goddess Test, just to name a few. Because of this, it's quite difficult to come up with new and fresh ways to tell the story of these two immortal beings. But that's exactly what Kaitlin Bevis has done in Persephone. While the general gist of the story stays the same, I found myself enchanted by the changes she made in the circumstances surrounding Persephone's abduction to the Underworld and - in particular - the way she wrote and developed the character of Hades.
Set in the modern world where most of the gods and goddesses have died off generations before our main character is born,Persephone follows our main character of the same name, who believes she's simply your typical human girl. She's completely unaware that she's a goddess, that her mother is Demeter, and that she's about to become the focus of the desires of Boreas, god of Winter. Persephone is a very head-strong and stubborn girl, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her come to terms with the knowledge that she's a goddess, and everything she thought she'd known to that point was a lie. There were other creative flourishes inserted into the story as well - gods can't lie, Hades' personal advisor is the Cassandra, and Hades actually chose his lot as ruler of the Underworld, just to name a few - that kept me eagerly turning the pages of this book. You also have the ever-present threat of Boreas, which kept the plot moving forward at a very quick pace.
Persephone's personal journey was also very interesting to watch. I love how she slowly became more accustomed to life with Hades, and I really loved watching their relationship grow. Hades isn't what I was expecting - so often he's depicted as dark, moody and brooding - and admittedly that threw me off just a bit, because, well, he IS the god of the Underworld. But this Hades grew on me, and he has enough of a vindictive and dark streak in him that the Hades from the original myth hadn't disappeared completely. I look forward to seeing more of the two of them together, and can only hope that the twist at the end of this book doesn't cause too much strife.
If you're looking for a fresh and unique take on a very popular myth and story plot, then I'd definitely recommend Persephone. There are enough of the original tales present in this book to keep the diehard fans of Greek myths satisfied, while also keeping you from thinking you've read this story several times before. The way the book ends will have you clamoring for the second installment - a cliffhanger that's not, for lack of a better term - and I certainly can't wait to see what comes next!
A copy of this book was provided by the author via YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
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To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!
This is a book I'd been hearing about since it was first released, but never actually picked up. However, I'm participating inWinterHaven Books' Sleigh Tour, and our first task was to read a Christmas or Winter-themed book, and this one seemed like a perfect fit (and also a perfect excuse to finally read it). And I'm glad I made it my choice, because overall I did really enjoy this book quite a bit. It definitely had a wonderful holiday feel to it.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is told in alternating viewpoints. You get Dash, a rather "snarly" teenage boy, who discovers a red notebook hidden in the shelves at The Strand, and decides to take it upon himself to follow its clues and quests. The other narrator is Lily, a (perhaps too angelic and sweet) teenage girl who actually created the notebook (with help). What follows are some rather funny, rather heartfelt, rather cute entries between the two as they use the notebook - and rather funny quests - to get to know each other. I have to admit that I was drawn more to Dash's narration than I was to Lily's, mostly because I couldn't help but love his rather sarcastic and straight to the point way of talking about himself and the world around him. My one complaint is that his voice sounded far older than his supposed age of sixteen, but nonetheless was enjoyable and created several laugh-out-loud moments (particularly their adventure with Boris the bullmastiff). Likewise, Lily also sounded too old for sixteen, and there were little things about her that sort of grated on me. This is not to say I didn't enjoy her chapters, because I did, but I didn't really find myself relating to her as much as I think I was supposed to. This is just a personal issue, though, so of course, your mileage may vary!
I was surprised a bit by the fact that there was quite a bit of personal introspection here; I was expecting all humor all the time, but the journal entries were really quite serious at some points. To me, that helped keep the book from tipping completely over into over-the-top saccharine sweetness (even though there is plenty sweet), which I feel would have been detrimental to the whole point of the book. I definitely appreciated the "aww"-inducing moments, and loved the humor, but was also pleased to see that there was more to the book than that.
If you're looking for a fun holiday read, definitely give Dash & Lily's Book of Dares a try. I think everyone could find something to enjoy about this book, whether you're like Dash and can't stand the holiday, or love it just as much as Lily!
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To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!