Mini Read-A-Thon progress

Friday April 19th Day 1 

pg 0 to pg 46 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. 

This book captured my attention immediately and has been a great read so far.

Saturday April 20th Day 2

Didn't Read

I attended Prom on Saturday and had an amazing time. I stayed up for a total of 23 hours. 

Sunday April 21st Day 3

pg 46 to pg 61 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Total: 15 pages

Wrap Up

I read a total of 61 pages in two day which is about 30.5 pages per day. I read part of Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

311 Pelican Court (Cedar Cove #3) Character Follow Along (Spoilers Included)

Rosie and Zach Cox were the main focal point of 311 Pelican Court. Olivia Lockhart gave them an odd custody agreement where the kids were awarded the house and the parents were forced to shuffle back in forth. At the beginning of the book both Zach and Rosie expressed a lot of bitterness towards each other and avoided each other at all costs. Later in the book their teenage daughter, Alison began to be super deviant and they teamed up to put her in her place. They gradually relized that they got along better divorced than they did married. Eddie and Alison began to push Zach and Rosie to get back together. Slowly, but surely they agreed and began going out on regular dates. By the end of the novel their engagement was announced.

Alison's deviant acts brought her to be a big part of the novel and it got Celia Randall back in the story. She got a job as Zach's assistant at his accounting firm. Zach  made a deal with Alison that he could come work at his accounting firm and he made her Celia's assistant. This brought out great changes in Alison as she had somebody to talk to. She learned that Celia's baby's name was Alison and that her baby had died as a baby. Celia's parents had also got divorced and Alison's was able to confide her anger towards her parents in Celia. 

Grace Sherman began this novel still having a difficult time after the loss of her husband Dan. She asked her boyfriend Cliff Harding to give her a break to grieve the loss of her husband. It was during that period that Olivia's brother Will contacted her and they began to chat online daily. Grace began to question her feelings for Cliff and she even believed she may be in love with Will. The problem is that William Lockhart was married and although he said that he was getting a divorce, Grace later found out that wasn't true. She was able to end the contact before anything bad happened. Cliff figured out that she was with another man and he ended his first marriage because his wife was cheating. We don't know where the future of their relationship lies. Cliff was willing to begin to form a relationship with Grace again because he was worried about her continuing to cheat on him. As a personal fan of Grace I think she would be loyal to him.

Mary Ellen, Grace's daughter begins the novel by going into labor and having her daughter Katie. She couldn't get a hold of anybody when she went into labor and ended up calling John. John stayed with her at the hospital and was there when Katie was born. Mary Ellen had a hard time handing Katie over to John when her took her for visitation, but eventually Mary Ellen got used to the exchange. Mary Ellen soon developed feelings for John and she threw herself at him many times. John was quick to shoot her down and Mary Ellen just couldn't put her finger on the reason why. She began to believe that he was involved with another woman, but it wasn't until the end of the book that we found out the reason why. John had a prison record and he believed that if he spilled the beans, Mary Ellen would fight for sole custody of their daughter Katie. Mary Ellen loved John and desperately wanted to know the details of his arrest. His brother was selling marijuana and when the police caught him, his brother and his father were quick to sell John out. John's brother was able to get off the hook while John served 7 years in prison. Mary Ellen and John were engaged by the end of the novel.

Olivia Lockhart had a huge change in this novel. Her ex-husband Stan continued to ask for her back while she continued her relationship with Jack Griffin. Olivia learned that she would never be with Stan again and Jack and Olivia eventually regained their relationship. Jack Griffin eventually asked Olivia to marry him and they got married at the end of the novel. 

Justine Lockhart did not have a big part of this novel, but she did announce her second pregnancy.

Bob and Peggy Beldon the owner's of the bed and breakfast had a big part in this novel as Roy McAfee tried to discover the identity of the mysterious man who died at their bed and breakfast. Bob Beldon reveals secrets about his tour in Vietnam. It turns out this strange feeling that Bob knew the man who died is correct. He turns out to be Max Russell which was another person that was in Vietnam with Bob and committed the horrendous act that changed their lives forever. His story isn't over. Roy McAfee and Troy Davis have found out that Max Russell was murdered and his murdered might somehow link back to Bob Beldon. I will have to read the next novel 44 Cranberry Point to find out. 

Thanks for reading. I will get to the next book in the series very soon.

Rachael 

Book Review: 311 Pelican Court (Cedar Cove Book 3) (no spoilers)

Book: 311 Pelican Court
Author: Debbie Macomber
Series: Cedar Cove Book 3
Publication: September 1st, 2003
Source: Digital Library
Rating: 5/5 stars












Summary (from goodreads):

Rosie Cox 

311 Pelican Court

 Cedar Cove, Washington

 Dear Reader,

One thing about Cedar Cove — people sure are interested in what other people are doing. Take me, for instance. Everybody in the town knows that my husband, Zach, and I recently got a divorce. Everybody also know that Judge Olivia Lockhard decreed a pretty unusual custody arrangement. It won't be the kids moving between my place and Zach's. We're the ones who'll be going back and forth!

Olivia isn't immune to gossip herself. Will she stay with Jack, the guy who runs our local paper, or will she get back with her ex? Inquiring minds want to know!

But the really big gossip has to do with the dead guy — the man who died at a local bed-and-breakfast. Who is he and why did he show up there in the middle of the night? Roy McAfee, our local private investigator, is absolutely determined to find out. I hope he does — and then I'll let you know! See you soon. . . Rosie

My Thoughts:

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this cedar cove novel as much as the previous novel, but it still was an amazing novel. I found myself really waiting for Rosie and Zach's diagolue to come back. I really enjoyed their after divorce relationship, no matter how weird it was. This was a big book for Olivia and Grace. They had a number of life changes. I found Mary Ellen really interesting in this book also and I hope she continues to have a big part of the series.

The biggest focus of the story was the guy who died at the bed and breakfast. Roy McAfee, the private investigator, refused to give up. A number of secrets about Bob Peldon came out during this novel. The most surprising relationship was the one that formed between Olivia's mother Charlotte and a friend, Ben Rhoades.

Overall I fell in love with the Cedar Cove story all over again. There is just a relaxed feeling to these books that makes it very easy to fall in love with the characters. I will be doing another character follow along for this novel so you can check that out if you have read the book, but if you haven't read this book it is time for you to begin the series. I understand this series won't be for everybody, but it is an amazing series that is very easy to relate to.


Thanks for reading


Rachael

Book Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard (no spoilers)

Book: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Publication: January 1st, 2013
Source: Local Library
Rating: 2/5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts:
I had high hopes for Splintered by A.G. Howard. The cover is magnificent  but unfortunately the content inside doesn't match. This book has received a lot of hype and I hoped that the book would live up to the hype, but unfortunately for me, Splintered fell short in more ways than one. The idea was Splintered is brilliant, but it is the execution that I didn't enjoy.

My number one issue with Splintered was the writing style. Usually I adjust quickly to different author's writing style, but throughout Splintered the writing style continued to bug me. Howard has very description writing which had the ability to paint a vivid picture of the scenery in the characters in my head. The problem I had with her writing style is that it dramatically slowed down the story. Something really exciting would happen and then Howard would take a paragraph or two to describe the exciting thing in detail. This novel was like a heart monitor machine where the book reaches a good point, but then it quickly drops down and stays down for many pages. I found myself literally bored while reading this book. I felt like exciting things were happening, but the writing style made the events less traumatic  Its is good to describe things, but in my opinion this writing style got in the way of the story more than it helped it.

Another issue I had with Splintered was the randomness. Anybody who knows the story of Alice in Wonderland knows it is a very random story. I'm okay with the randomness, but I felt in Splintered the author almost made everything too random. It was hard for me to keep track of what was going on because the author was quick to jump from plot line to plot line.

I never really formed any emotional response to the characters. I wanted Alyssa to succeed  but I didn't overly care how she got to the point of success. The insta love with Jeb bothered me and throughout the book Jeb's character bothered me. Then there was Morpheus who was just a brain washing fool. I didn't find a favorite character in this novel that I wanted to cheer for or a character that made me want to keep reading which is the reason Splintered took me some time to read.

I also really hoped that I would see the white rabbit, the queen of hearts, the caterpillar, the mad hatter, and the Cheshire Cat. Although some of the characters were in the novel they weren't even remotely close to the characters I fell in love with. Although since it is a fairy tale retelling I do want the author to add something new to the story I would still like to be able to relate to the characters. The characters in this novel were much darker and very hard to get to know because the writing style got in the way.

Overall I had high expectations for Splintered that were not able to be met. It takes a lot for me to dislike a book and I'm sorry to add Splintered to the list. The cover is beautiful, but the content inside is not. Although I know other people have enjoyed Splintered I don't happen to be one of them. I won't be recommending Splintered to anybody and I probably won't read another book by this author.


Positive reviews: Belle of the Literati and Creativity's Corner
Negative Review: Books of Amber


Thanks for reading


Rachael

Project Disney: Book and Movie Review: Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault and Ashchenputtel by the Brother's Grimm (no spoilers and spoiler section included)

Project Disney is Hosted by Picture Me Reading. Its goal is to read the original fairy tales that Disney based their beloved movies off of. I'm a self proclaimed Disney fanatic so I thought I would take on the challenge.

Book: Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper
Author: Charles Perrault
Publication: 1697
Source: Project Glutenburg free classic ebooks
Rating: 5/5 stars

Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper is the story of a girl who is mistreated by her step mother and with the help of her fairy godmother is able to go to the ball where she meets the prince and loses her glass slipper.

My Thoughts: (no spoilers):
This story was only about 2 pages on my computer in normal font so it is hard to do a spoiler free review on the very short story of Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper. I noticed with this story it just briefly mentioned her mistreatment by her stepmother, it quickly moved on to her step sisters excitement over the ball. The ball was in full swing quickly and before I knew it Cinderella had her happily ever after and the story was over.

Movie Comparision (spoilers included):

• The name Cinderella is given to her by her nicer stepsister
• The other stepsister calls her Cindertail
• Her father never dies by is a by stander to his wife's madness
• Her step sister's names are never mentioned
• The Godmother appears in the garden like the Disney movie and changes the mice into horse and the pumpkin into the carriage. Then she puts a beautiful ballgown on Cinderella. 
• The Disney movie spends more time focusing on Cinderella's tasks as a house keeper
• There is not only one night at the ball, but two
• The first night Cinderella leaves at 11 and the second night is shown in the Disney movie where she runs away and loses her slipper
• Her step mother does not suspect Cinderella to be the beautiful girl at the ball as she does in the Disney movie. 
• Cinderella is met with little opposition when she asks to try on the slipper
• It fits and her step mother and sister ask for forgiveness for the way they had treated her
• Cinderella gets married to the prince, but most surprising to me is that her step sisters get married to lords of the court and live with Cinderella in the palace

Book: Aschenputtel
Author: Brothers Grimm
Publication: 1814
Source: Goodreads ebooks
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Aschenputtel is about a girl who's mother lays on her deathbed and tells her always to be kind to everybody she meets. Aschenputtel weeps by her grave every day and her father is married by the winter. Her step mother is cruel and Aschenputtel wants to go to the ball. 

My Thoughts: (spoiler free):
Again this edition is not very easy to do a spoiler free review on because it was only about four pages with regular font on my computer. Ashchenputtel is definetly a darker tale of Cinderella. It has many things that I see in the Disney movies. This one took much more time going over Ashchenputtel's responsibilities as a housekeeper before they skipped ahead to the ball where Ashchenputtel discovered her own happily ever after.

Movie Comparison: (Spoilers Included) (1950):

• Again Ashchenputtel's father did not die and it really gave no explanation as to why he let his wive mistreat his daughter. 
• This tale has singing in it which I personally enjoyed. It gave life to the story.
• When Ashchenputtel asked to go to the ball her step mother told her if she could pick up all the peas from the ashes she could go to the ball.
• Ashchenputtel called to the birds and they helped her pick up the peas.
• Her stepmother was quick to break her promise and sprinkled twice as many peas into the ashes for Ashchenputtel to pick up.
• She completed the task, but her stepmother left with her sister to go to the ball without her still.
• The Ball did not last one night, but three. Ashchenputtel did not lose her slipper until the final night.
• There was no fairy godmother. The birds brought the dress to Ashchenputtel.
• Her's the thing I think most represents the Disney movie. Ashchenputtel comes to the ball and the prince dances with only her for the next three nights. 
• The slipper is golden in color instead of being made of class.
• Both Step Sisters cut off their toes to fit into the slipper.
• The prince takes them one at a time as his bride, but as he passes the hazel tree Ashchenputtel planted it sings for him to look at their feet. Both times he sees the blood and returns them to their home.
• He asks for Ashchenputtel to come to the palace to try on the slipper.
• It fits and he takes her as his bride. The story ends. I think this is the ending Disney might have took more because it focused more on Ashchenputtel's happily ever after rather than the step sisters. 

Final Thoughts: I think Disney used a mix of Charles Perrault's version and the Brothers Grimm's version to create the movie that they created and that I have fell in love with. Disney still added many things such as the aspect of Cinderella being friends with the mice. I think these were both wonderful stories. My only complaint is that they were too short. I think they were both worth the time to read since they both only took a few minutes each. 

Thanks for reading

Rachael