Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

From the much-buzzed-about author of THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB (already blurbed by Stephenie Meyer, Lauren Myracle, and Jen Calonita), a prom-season delight of Jane Austen proportions.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.
After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.
Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

-- Goodreads.com description --

Prom and Prejudice is a modern teenage retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Pride and Prejudice. I've seen various modern film adaptation of P & P but I've never read one. I liked the description of Prom and Prejudice but I didn't really want to spend money on it, luckily I've found a way to read it online.

I don't need to tell you that Pride and Prejudice is my favourite Jane Austen novel. I've written a blog post on the various movie adaptations in existence, and found that my list still lacks a lot of adaptations that are inspired by the original. I've always felt a bit curious of fanfiction and ultimately I decided to just read it.

There is no question that no fanfiction no matter how good can ever be better than the original story. However, Elizabeth Eulberg made a good attempt. I liked the story, but I didn't love it.

In itself, Prom and Prejudice is a cute story and you will probably enjoy it if you are interested in reading it but if you haven't read the original you shouldn't go anywhere near it. My advice? Read the original first and if you can't get enough of it, read the fanfiction later.

3 out of 5 stars.

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. 

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

-- Goodreads.com description --

This book is all over Booktube, so I decided to buy the entire series, which wasn't an easy thing to do, I might add. I have mixed feelings about this book, at first, I had to get used to the writing style and then I had some trouble getting invested in the book. It definitely wasn't bad, but I somehow expected way more of it. I'm writing this review after finishing the second and third book in the series as well. I'm going to continue the series but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you want to read it, you should borrow it from the library or from a friend rather than buying the entire series. 3 stars.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

-- Goodreads.com description --

Colleen Hoover is a very popular author at the moment. I wanted to understand the popularity but most books didn't really catch my attention; except Ugly Love. Now, most people recommend starting with other Colleen Hoover books but I decided if I'm ever going to read one, it will be Ugly Love. After searching the internet for a cheap copy or e-book, I gave up on it for a while, because they were all priced more than 12 euros and in my opinion that is a lot of money for a book that has been released for a while. Finally, my curiosity for Ugly Love won out, and I bought my copy on the bookdepository.com.

Once again with a popular author, I had to adapt to the writing style. The book is divided into two perspectives: Tate's in the present day, and Miles' in the past. The perspective of Miles was written in a kind a verse that I really hated. Not because of the content but because the way it was written felt immature and stupid to me. It even made me feel stupid for reading the book. 

However, I liked Tate's parts and since the majority of the book is composed of her perspective, I continued reading it. Slowly I got over my issues and started to like the book. And by the end, I fell in love with it. 

One warning, though, this is a very sexy book and definitely not for younger readers. But if you are an adult, I would say, you would not have any problems starting to read Colleen Hoover with Ugly Love.

The last thing that added to my rating is the gorgeous cover, until you have seen and felt it in real life, you simply cannot understand the beauty of it! All in all, I give Ugly Love 4 out of 5 stars!

Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce

From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight.

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page.

But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins - one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

This series was very entertaining! I loved every part of it! Alanna is such a good role model for girls and women everywhere. At first, I was hesitant to read this series by Tamora Pierce because I thought I was too old already. But I didn't bother me at all. I believe that if you're interested in this book you should read it no matter how old you are, just go for it! This doesn't mean, however, that I didn't have problems with this series. Most books I gave 3 out of 5 stars, the second and my favourite book got 5 stars and the last one only got 3 stars. But still, this is an amazing series everyone needs to read! The main problem with the last book was its length, by then, I was ready to be done with the series although it did need an end like this, I still felt it dragged a little. This might be because the other books were very short. Still, I definitely recommend this series!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. 

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

-- Goodreads.com description --

The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favourite young adult series. So, I was very excited to read Fairest, which is a novella situated after the third book and before the last one. Since I loved the previous books, I couldn't help feeling disappointed by the newest addition to the series. It's not like I hated it, but I didn't love it either. I actually couldn't care less. There was new information about Levana's past and that is kind of all of it. I don't really believe you need to read this if you want to read Winter but since the last book isn't out yet I have no right to say that. In the end, I gave this novella 3 out of 5 stars, because, let's face it, I couldn't care less about Levana. The book wasn't even interesting.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimedTemeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale.

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

-- Goodreads.com description --

As you probably can already tell from reading my blog, I love fairy tale retellings. Uprooted is supposedly a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. However, as far as fairy tale retellings go, Uprooted is unique. I absolutely fell in love with it. The focus is less on the romance although it is definitely there as well. That's what I enjoyed so much about it. The character development is amazing, I loved Agnieszka and the Dragon so much. And the Wood, man, the Wood was creepy, dangerous and unpredictable. In fact, the whole book was unpredictable, which made it quite unique as a fairy tale retelling. Even if you don't like Beauty and the Beast you will still enjoy Uprooted! It was one of the best books I've read this year and I just can't stress enough that everyone should read it!

5 out of 5 stars!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.
When Brimstone called, she always came."

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought. 

-- Goodreads.com description --

I have to admit, after reading so many good reviews on this one, I expected a lot. And at first, I felt that Daughter of Smoke and Bone did not live up to my expectations. I actually put it down for a couple of days. When I started reading it again, I was sucked in and read the rest in one sitting. I was blown away with the direction the book took. I highly recommend to finish this book before making your mind up about it. Since I am currently taking a classical mythology class, I adored the fact that the author made up myths. In my opinion this is one superior young adult book you have to read! It is also very refreshing that it is set for the most part in Prague. That's something that doesn't normally happen in young adult books. This book is very original and I would recommend it to anyone! 5 out of 5 stars!