Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOKS

Glitter and Doom by Bethany Griffin

I stumbled upon this whlie looking at the Harper Collins summer catalog. A e-novella coming between Masque of the Red Death and Dance of the Red Death. Super excited to read it and find out who it's about. Does it feature someone else's point of view other than Araby?

Cover of Josephine Angelini's Goddess

These covers are rather striking, and I think I like this one the most out of all of them. I am curious to find out how Helen's story ends (and if she ends up with Orion).

Cover for Belladonna by Fiona Paul

I really enjoyed Venom and can't wait to read the follow up. This cover is just as pretty as the first in the series.

Cover for Towering by Alex Flinn

I didn't know this was even being released. I LOVE fairytale re-tellings and this one about Rapunzel sounds awesome.

TV

Once Upon A Time's Killian Jones (AKA Hook)

Yup...totally smitten. Devilish charm, a stunning accent and the guyliner. It all worked, and I hope he stays forever.

OTHER

Ontario Blogger Meet Up 

This event takes place TODAY! I am beyond excited to meet so many people that I talk to over twitter. It is going to be an amazing afternoon filled with books and book chat. I am also really looking forward to the Cassandra Clare signing right after that we are all heading to. It is going to be a incredible but busy day.

So what you are obsessed with this week?

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Bewitching by Alex Flinn
Release Date – February 14, 2012
Publisher Website –  HarperCollins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating- 7/10
**Obtained from the library**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Bewitching can be a beast. . . . 

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t. 

I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age. 

You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out. 

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it. 

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. 

Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

I really enjoyed Kendra in Beastly and picked up Bewitching hoping to find out more about the mysterious witch. While we do find out how Kendra first realized she was a witch (there is a fun twist on Hansel and Gretel involved) she is not the main character. This novel really belongs to Emma. In a way, the synopsis is a little misleading.

The narration does switch view points. Parts are told from the point of view of Kendra, Emma, Prince Louis of France, and Doria.  The switch up of the point of views work in this story. It could have been confusing and jarring but they are woven together wonderfully with Kendra’s narration being the bridge.

I find Alex Flinn’s strong point is the re-imaging of fairytales. The Prince Louis story was the weakest in my opinion. There wasn’t enough history for you to learn anything, and the link to the fairytale felt a little off. I enjoyed the pure fairytales much more. The Little Mermaid re-telling (Doria’s story) was my favourite. It meshed the Titanic with The Little Mermaid tale wonderfully.

I loved that not all the fairytales in this story had a happy ending. A vast majority of the original tales did not. They have been adapted and changed  and often made to include a happily ever after outcome.  It felt more true to the original tales this way.

Emma’s tale is a fun and interesting twist on the classic Cinderella. Told from the point of view of Cinderella’s step-sister. I like that the story made you think about the other side. It showed that not everyone is all good or all bad. We all have grey areas. The notion of believing in yourself, standing up for yourself and that you can make your own happiness are great themes that are explored in Emma story. Emma truly grows and comes to love herself for herself which is so important, especially for teenagers.

I enjoyed the fairytale aspect and the rather fun twists on the tales, but would have loved to have learned more about Kendra, the bewitching witch.

In My Mailbox!

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

So this week was a little slower but due to the craziness of last week this was probably a good thing

I only have two books from the library this week

Bewitching by Alex Flinn (goodreads)
Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell (goodreads)

And I have some stunning bookmarks for Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. Seriously, they are gorgeous and this picture barely does them justice. Thank you so much Wendy for sending them.

The bookmarks and Fallen Angel are for the angel event that will be happening on my blog in April. Super excited.

Happy reading everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday....Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Kendra Hilferty, the witch who curses Kyle Kingsbury in Beastly, tells about her immortal existence-how she discovered she was a witch and the various ways she has used her powers to help people throughout the centuries. (Unfortunately her attempts have often backfired.) As it turns out, Kendra has actually had a hand in "Hansel and Gretel," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Little Mermaid"-but these are not the fairy tales you think you know! Kendra's reminiscences are wrapped around a real-time version of "Cinderella," except the "ugly" stepsister is the good guy. With dark twists, hilarious turns, and unexpected endings, Bewitching is a contemporary read for fairy-tale lovers, fantasy fans, and anyone looking for more Alex Flinn.

This sounds really fun. I liked Kendra in Beastly so I am intrigued and want to find out more about her.

Expected release date - March 14, 2012

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beastly By Alex Flinn
Release Date - Oct 1, 2007
Publisher - HarperTeen
Pages - 300
My Rating- 9/10

The synopsis from GoodReads

I am a beast. A beast! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster. You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll, stay this way forever ruined unless I can break the spell.Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly

In a time not so long ago in the far away city of New York lived an arrogant young highschool student named Kyle Kingsbury. Kyle, being the mean person he is, made fun and tormented anyone he considered beneath him. One day he decides to humiliate a girl in his class but she is not just a highschool girl. She is a witch. As payback for his treatment of her the witch casts a spell turning the handsome boy in to a Beast. In order to break the spell the Beast must learn to love and have another love him in return. At this point the tale is probably sounding a little familiar...except for the whole present day and New York City part.

This modern retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast updates the story. I was not really sure if I was going to like it, to be honest. I LOVE the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. I was presently surprised to find that I really enjoyed this novel.

One of the things that always bothered me with the Beauty and the Beast tale is how quickly father just handed over his daughter. The Disney version is nicer in that Belle offers to take her father's place. This novel is the former. Lindy's father doesn't take care of her and he has no issues with offering her to the Beast in exchange for his own freedom.

The story is told from the point of view of the Beast. It's interesting as we get to see his transformation from arrogant jerk to kind and gentle. I loved that he changed his name halfway through the book to Aidan as he felt like a different person from when he was Kyle.

I am looking forward to seeing what they are going to a do with the movie (might do a post comparing the movie to the book after I see it) but I already know that they've made Alex Pettyfer different than the Beast described in the book.

As a hopeless romantic I couldn't help but fall in love with Kyle/Adrian and Lindy's love story. If you are a big gushy sap like myself, I think you'll love it.