Review: Tiger Lily

Title: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Date Released: July 3rd, 2012
Pages: 292
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

Review:
I went into Tiger Lily not exactly knowing what to expect.  Even though the narrator, Tinker Bell, tells you straight away that it isn't a happy story, I didn't really want to believe it.  Tiger Lily is definitely bittersweet.  It has its sweet moments, and then its absolutely depressing moments that make you want to scream and cry, if you're that sensitive at least.  But as a whole, I really liked it.

Essentially, Tiger Lily is about Tiger Lily, the Native American girl you see in the Disney movie of Peter Pan who doesn't have the biggest role.  However, book explores her relationship with Peter Pan through the eyes of Tinker Bell, who is actually a very observant little mute fairy who eventually gets caught, but they don't mind her and instead give her a name.  It also gives her a past and a background.  I definitely will not see Tiger Lily the same way now when I watch her in Peter Pan.

Seeing the relationship develop and then dissolve as a result of none other than Wendy was bittersweet.  It was cute seeing Tiger Lily and Peter Pan trying to figure out what love is since love in Tiger Lily's village is pretty much unheard of and Peter Pan grew up with woman figures in his life.  But then it was heartbreaking to see Wendy come in and just take Peter Pan away from Tiger Lily.  Anderson really makes you root for Tiger Lily and portrays Wendy as one of the antagonists (and actually pretty ditzy as well).

While it does seem rather predictable, just reading about all the little bits in between from the struggles Tiger Lily faces with her impending arranged marriage to the man she nurses back to life only to have him come and destroy the traditions and culture of her village.  Anderson also intertwines Hook into the story as well, but putting more emphasis on his sidekick, Smee, who actually has a very dark nature in this version of events.

Tiger Lily also had the perfect mix of really interesting characters.  For example, there's Tik Tok, the village shaman and Tiger Lily's adoptive father who has a rather feminine side.  And then there's the murderous Smee who likes killing people and made the perfect assistant to Hook, the pirate who could be nice when sober, but mean when drunk.  Tiger Lily was more on the quiet and masculine side, and was little hesitant to approach Peter Pan, but was more brave and adventurous than her fellow boring villagers.  Sometimes she was a little rash though, making decisions that would obviously put certain relationships into jeopardy.  Of course Peter Pan was that cool character that we all have fallen in love with at some point.

I really liked this almost prequel to Peter Pan, but written about Tiger Lily rather than Peter Pan.  It had that perfect blend of heartbreaking moments and happy moments.  It mostly had heartbreaking moments because Tinker Bell does flat out say that this story isn't going to have the happiest of endings.  I definitely loved the writing and the story, combined with the variety of characters.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for any type of book really.

Cover Review:
I love Tinker Bell's orange and green dress that kind of represents a flower in a way.  Against the black background, it really emphasizes it.  I love the whimsical font for the title as well as the simple font for the author's name, which is also in the same orange color.  Overall, it's a really nice cover and I think it represents the book pretty well because I always wondered why a fairy-like person was on the cover and now I know why.

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased for Kindle.

Waiting on Wednesday (49): Allegiant

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature, which is brought to you by Jill at Breaking the Spine! This meme is where you can post about what book(s) you're really look forward to.

This week, I absolutely can't wait for...

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

October 22nd, 2013

One choice will define you. 

What if your whole world was a lie?

What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected? 

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

I'm pretty sure that all of your Waiting on Wednesday's are going to be about Allegiant since the cover was finally released!  I was pretty excited when the cover came out... Who wasn't?  I don't think that this is the official, official description, because it's pretty short, but I'm so excited for its release!  I can't wait to find out what happens next to conclude the whole entire series... It's gonna be hard letting it go!  But then I guess I can just wait for the movie :)

What are you waiting for today?

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com

Book Truth (7)

weheartit

Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Date Released: October 23rd, 2012
Pages: 544
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Description:
Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

Review:
Between that period of finishing The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and waiting for the release of The Evolution of Mara Dyer, I forgot how intriguing and captivating the whole story was, and put off reading The Evolution of Mara Dyer until now, even though I've had it for several months.  Pretty much, I loved this book.  I loved everything from the mystery of what was going on with Mara to the amazingness of Noah (because you know, he's British), and just the overall intrigue that Michelle Hodkin managed to keep going throughout the whole novel.

Essentially, The Evolution of Mara Dyer picks up pretty close to where The Unbecoming left off, with Mara in the hospital.  From there, her doctor decides that it might be better for her to attend an outpatient program after her evaluation at the hospital.  Then things started picking up.  Mara finds herself seemingly going crazy as things such as her grandma's creepy old doll is constantly finding it's way back to Mara, and she starts sleepwalking and waking up to Noah being just as confused as to why she was sleepwalking.

Basically, the whole story kept me on my toes.  I mean like, strange things kept happening to Mara, and they were pretty creepy.  They get you thinking thoughts like "What the heck is going on?" and "How could that have possibly happened?"  I even had a slight suspicion that Noah was up to it at one point.  And then, Hodkin adds in some other pretty weird characters, like Phoebe, the very creepy patient at the Horizons Outpatient Program who quickly becomes Mara's "enemy".

The ending was what pretty much made the story.  It definitely took me by surprise, but one could say that it was a bit random and I could see where they're coming from.  However, it was the ending that definitely clicks everything together from both this book and the first book and still had a cliff hanger where it could continue onto the next book.

One thing that had me confused the most though was the relationship between Mara and Noah.  Because it had been a while since I had read The Unbecoming, I couldn't remember if there was something weird between Mara and Noah that prevented them from having like a solid romantic relationship.  Throughout the book, they seemed like girlfriend and boyfriend, but then there were certain events where their relationship just got very strange and awkward. But, I still love both Mara and Noah as individuals. I'm just not so sure about their relationship at this point.

Overall, I was super glad I picked up The Evolution of Mara Dyer because I forgot how much I liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and after reading this, now I remember :)  It's just the mystery that really kept me captivated and intrigued to find out what exactly was going on in the world of Mara.  Hodkin preserves that suspenseful atmosphere throughout the book.  If you're looking for a light and fluffy book, this series won't meet that expectation - even Mara herself isn't all that bubbly.  I definitely cannot wait for The Retribution of Mara Dyer! Especially after that killer ending. Go try The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer now if you haven't!

Cover Review:
I LOVE the covers for this series!  Especially the one for this one!  It's a combination of the font, the dark background, and how the people in the cover are so close to reaching each other.  It pretty much sets the tone of the book.

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy won in a giveaway.

Cover Crush (13): The Infinite Moment of Us

Cover Crush is a feature here at Booklopedia that features covers that I currently have a crush on. I know that there are multiple features out in the blogging world that feature covers, but I thought that it would be nice for Booklopedia to feature something, especially something that I absolutely love about books, even though they always say, "You should never judge a book by its cover."

Today, I'm in love with the cover for The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle!

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are? 

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be. 

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . .

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

Lately, I've been very into those pictures of stars and galaxies because they're just really cool and surprisingly colorful.  So, when I saw that starry background for The Infinite Moment of Us, I pretty much fell in love with the cover.  Then, there's the cute couple holding hands and looking into each other's eyes.  Even though sometimes I find it kind of cheesy when a couple are on a couple, for some reason it actually makes it pretty cute, probably because they're not exactly covering the whole entire cover, but rather, are covering just a small corner and are illuminated enough by the light coming from the light source.  While the font for the title is rather plain, I like how it's stacked and aligned to the right.  Overall, I think the cover really fits the story when considering the romance aspect of it and how in the description it says that "certain things are written in the stars", thus the stars make sense in the background.  It's a different cover from the detailed ones I usually like, but I think it's really cute and I love the stars in the background.

What do you think of the cover for The Infinite Moment of Us?

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com

April Favorites/Round Up

Lately, I've been into watching YouTube videos from beauty gurus.  Don't ask me why.  I just have been for some reason.  Anyways, a lot of them do videos on their favorites of the month.  So I thought, why not have a favorites of the month for book bloggers?  I'm going to mix in some other things like music and TV shows because there's only so much you can talk about for books.  But this is only a start, so hopefully for May I'll have a little more :)

Favorite Books:
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
So, I didn't review this book because I thought that it would probably be a little too spoiler filled, especially since it is the last one and I probably wouldn't have been able to contain myself if I reviewed it.  But it was amazing and everything I could have hoped for.  Everything just comes together and while the love triangle had me hooked, finding out how everything would end (and how Tessa carries on into the TMI series) really kept me captivated.  GO BUY IT NOW!  But start with the first book, Clockwork Angel.  Or better yet, just start with The Mortal Instruments series and then get into this series.  You will not regret it.  The movie for the first TMI book is coming out soon anyways, so I would get a start on the series now!

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The review is in the works for this one, but in the mean time, let me just say that I forgot how good this series was.  It's been over a year since I read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer so I forgot how much I really liked it and how there is just sooo much mystery!  It kept me on the edge of my bed the whole entire time.  And not to mention Noah.  Those British boys...  I should just write a post about all my favorite fictional British male characters, which would be just about every single one of them haha

Music Obsession:
A Silent Film
I kind of like bought their whole entire album "Sand & Snow" on iTunes, which I almost never do on iTunes.  But it was a must because I was playing their music nonstop on YouTube.  Their song "Cuckoo Song" is one of my favorites and you can listen to it down below.  It's on the alternative side, so if you enjoy that kind of music, definitely try A Silent Film.



TV Show Obsession:
Doctor Who
I guess I kind of got on the Doctor Who train a little late.  My family recently got a subscription for Netflix and I found out that seasons 1-6 of Doctor Who was on it, and after watching an episode during a physics class (this is what happens when the majority of a class is made up of seniors and those seniors happen to have senioritis) I decided it was time to start watching the series.  So far, I really like it.  It's super interesting and really funny.  I can't say that I was the biggest fan of Donna from season 4, but I like the rest of the characters.  I don't know what I'll do when I'm finished with all the seasons on Netflix!  Any TV show suggestions?

Books Read:
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Eve by Anna Carey
Once by Anna Carey

This post was kind of a spur of the moment post, so I haven't quite got all of it together, but I just had to do one for April, especially since I wouldn't be talking about Clockwork Princess at all anywhere on this blog and this would be the perfect place to do it.  This month year (so far) has been slow anyways, so I'm hoping that when AP tests come to an end, I can pick up the pace a bit and read more books.  Have I mentioned that I haven't bought a book in almost two months?  Yeah, I think it's time to go on a book buying binge :)

Do you have any favorites this month?

Cleo :)

Waiting on Wednesday (48): Fire with Fire

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature, which is brought to you by Jill at Breaking the Spine! This meme is where you can post about what book(s) you're really look forward to.

This week, I absolutely can't wait for...

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

September 3rd, 2013

When sweet revenge turns sour… Book two of a trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. 

Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance. 

Not even close. 

For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before. 

And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn. 

It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...

While this series is different from the romantic fluffiness of the Summer series by Jenny Han, whose books I'm more familiar with, I definitely really liked Burn for Burn and couldn't wait to find out what happens next, especially since in the ending where something really surprising happens to Mary and I want to know what's happening to her!  

Which book are you waiting for today?

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com

Book Truth (6)

When you think of paradise, what do you imagine?  A library filled with books? 

Or a beach filled with palm trees and books? 

(haha what else would there be?)

Cleo :)

Cover Crush (12): Tumble & Fall

Cover Crush is a feature here at Booklopedia that features covers that I currently have a crush on. I know that there are multiple features out in the blogging world that feature covers, but I thought that it would be nice for Booklopedia to feature something, especially something that I absolutely love about books, even though they always say, "You should never judge a book by its cover."

Today, I have a major crush on the cover for Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts!

A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings

The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand.

Alexandra Coutts's TUMBLE & FALL is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world.

Not only does the story sound super interesting, but the cover is gorgeous as well.  While the cover doesn't seem to totally relate to the story, I still love it.  I like the bokeh effect (which are what the dots are called, I believe) which kind of shows the asteroid portion of the story, even though they don't look like chunks of rock, but it gets the idea across.  I also think it's cool how the two people's faces are inside the "&" because it emphasizes that, especially the face of the girl who stares directly at you.  I definitely love the exaggeration of the "&" as well as the font used for the title and author's name which are clean cut and keep the emphasis on what's going on.  Overall, this cover has me sold in wanting to read the book, even though they always say you should never judge a book by its cover. 

What do you think of the cover?

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com

Book Truth (5)