Review: When Beauty Tamed The Beast

Rating: ★★★★★

Author: Eloisa James

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date:  January 25, 2011

Pages: 372

Format: Mass Market Paperback; E-book; Audio Book

Content Rating: R

“I didn't realize you needed a response. When Hamlet is giving a monologue, he just goes on and on by himself.”

Overview

Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne is a Beauty... Naturally, she's betrothed to a Beast.

Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.

Linnet is not just any woman.

She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love—in just two weeks.

Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.

If she decides to be very wicked indeed... what price will she pay for taming his wild heart

Review

'When Beauty Tamed the Beast' was nothing like what I had expected. It took me completely by surprise in all the best ways.

I'm not usually a fan of fairy tales turned historical/contemporary romance but I needed an audiobook to listen to on a recent road trip and this one was available through my Overdrive Library and had a decent average rating here on Goodreads so I gave it a chance.

James took this fairy tale and turned it into something tangible, even for a historical romance. Instead of the stereotypical "Beast" with grotesque physical features or as in the case of the fairy tale an actual Beast, James created her Beast as a bad tempered, sarcastic, rude doctor ( molded after Dr. House from the TV show). It worked on so many levels and I loved him in spite of his nasty attitude from the very start simply because his sarcasm was witty and hilarious. He was believable and real and he was a perfect match for James' Beauty.

As I stated above, I listened to this in audio format and I have to say that this was probably one of the best narrated audiobooks I have come across. The Narrator, Susan Duerden, was excellent in creating distinct voices for all the characters and her timing was perfect.

Review: On The Island

Rating: ★★★★★

Author: Tracy Garvis Graves

Genre: Adult Fiction; Contemporary Romance

Publisher: (Plume) Penguin

Publication Date: September 3, 2011

Pages: 281
Format: E-Book, Trade Fiction Paperback, Audio

Content Rating: R 

“I don't fit in your world."
"Neither do I," he said, his expression tender yet resolute. "So let's make our own. We've done it before.”  ~ Tracy Garvis Graves, On The Island

Overview

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan’s summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they’re stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man. (Goodreads.com)

Review

So many people read the overview of this book and immediately throw up a red flag.  Don't be one of them! It would be a huge mistake to say the very least. 

I first came across On The Island last fall shortly after Graves self-published this her debut novel.  I watched as the ratings grew higher and higher on Goodreads.com and by Christmas I conceded my own red flag and paid the indie novel standard $2.99.  It turned out to be one of the best bargains I have ever stumbled across (of course now that Penguin has picked it up and it is available in paperback everywhere, the price has increased.  But it is still worth every penny of the now $7.99 price and still a bargain at that!)

I try hard not to reveal spoilers in my reviews, but I feel it is necessary to be upfront regarding what this novel is not. It is not a fantasy island story.  It is not a Mary Kay LeTourneau-inspired twisted romance.  It is not even a scandalous fiction novel really.

It is, however, a survival story spanning many different fronts.

At the start of the story you have a 30-year-old Anna making changes in her life and "surviving" the disappointments of life dreams not realized .  You also have an almost 17-year-old T.J. literally surviving lymphoma.  Then suddenly you have them struggling to physically and emotionally survive together on an island that is hard and unforgiving.  As the years pass and their relationship evolves, you eventually have a couple looking to survive the harsh judgements and misconceptions of a society that could never fully understand the bonds formed through the trials and tribulations they shared during their three year stint on the island.

Graves tells T.J. and Anna's story in alternating points of view and it really pushes the momentum of the story.  You get a full and complete picture of the fears, struggles, secrets and emotions that each character feels.  Their personalities complement each other in an engaging and natural way even before they move into a romantic relationship.

It is quite clear from the beginning that T.J is not your typical teenage boy. He is old beyond his years after his fight with cancer.  He and Anna are on equal ground maturity wise through most of the novel, which in my opinion is a testament to this author's ability to write an unconventional and "taboo" novel that has you completely sympathetic and won over.

I loved Anna almost as much as I loved T.J.  She is one of the most relatable heroines I have come across.  She is the perfect mix of strength and vulnerability.

In Anna and T.J., Graves wove a soul deep love that defies age differences and circumstances.

Update

Read this awesome blog post from Graves to see just how far her debut novel has come in one year's time!

Review: Slammed

Rating: ★★★★★
Author: Colleen Hoover

Genre: Romance; Mature Young Adult

Publisher: Colleen Hoover

Publication Date:  January 1,2012

Pages: 314
Series: Slammed #1
Format: E-Book, Trade Fiction Paperback, Audio
Content Rating: PG-13










“I got schooled this year
by
a
boy.
A boy that I'm seriously, deeply, madly, incredibly, and undeniably in love with.
And he taught me the most important thing of all-
To put the emphasis
On life .”   ~ Colleen Hoover, Slammed

Overview

Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.

Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.

Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.

Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret. (Goodreads.com)

Review

There is a reason this little indie gem has surpassed power house authors like Janet Evanovich, Nicolas Sparks and James Patterson on the New York Times Bestsellers for combined print and e-book fiction. A very good reason. It is quite simply that good and with a 4.44 out of 5 (with over 11,000 votes) on goodreads.com I am most definitely not the only one who has noticed.  

This book works on so many levels it is hard to stick it into one genre.  It is heart-wrenching, humorous, romantic and utterly moving.  As a mother it hit me right in the gut, as a lover of romantic fiction it got me straight in the heart and as a poetry fan it stirred my mind.  I just loved everything about it.

As the story begins, you are lulled into thinking that this novel will follow the same predictable mold of most young adult romance novels but as it unfolds you find that Slammed is really about so much more.  It is, at its core, about all the facets of life.  It is about all the beautiful moments, all the ugly moments and most importantly all the poignant moments that shape you.

Emotion is never lacking throughout the story, but it is the beautifully scripted relationships between all the characters that take Slammed to the next level. Lake and Will's relationship exhibits all the elements of the best angsty romance. It is forbidden, intense and captivating but it does not overshadow Lake's bonds with the other exceptional characters. Lake's relationships with her mother (Julia), her brother (Kel) and her best friend (Eddie) are just as key to the success of this story.

The other element that takes this book to another level is the moving poetry that tie all the pieces together. I couldn't even tell you which poem was my favorite because I loved them all. Hoover proves she is a talented poet as well as an exceptional author. 

Slammed is Hoover's debut novel and if she keeps climbing the bestsellers list at this pace she will be the next self-published author to be scooped up by mass market publishing.  

Point of Retreat, the sequel to Slammed, is out now and trailing not far behind Slammed on the New York Time Bestsellers list. 

UPDATE: Hoover announced on July 30, 2012 that she has signed with Artia (an imprint of Simon & Schuster.)  Look for Slammed and Point of Retreat on bookstore shelves everywhere this fall!