After years of waiting, Keturah and the Lord Death did not disappoint. It's the fairytale you've never been told, yet you already seem to know it. And After years of waiting, Keturah and the Lord Death did not disappoint. It's the fairytale you've never been told, yet you already seem to know it. And even though you already know it, you still yell at the characters "No, don't do that!" and "No, love him, wait...love HIM!" And the ending is a surprise every time.
The writing was enchanting and musical, almost like a lullaby. I was totally hooked to the point where I stayed up until 1 am on a school night because I had to finish it.
The characters were sometimes confusing, including Keturah. The way they acted just didn't seem right for the situation. But, they were all endearing, if predictable.
The love interests were hard to choose. There ARE more than 2, but not because Keturah's a slut. I really, really loved two of them, so it was a hard decision.
I just genuinely loved and adored this book. So, so much. There's not much else I can say. So, I won't try. ...more
Part of me worried that this would be ridiculously shallow and silly and I'd hate it, but not even close. Not. Even. Close. Instead I found myself craPart of me worried that this would be ridiculously shallow and silly and I'd hate it, but not even close. Not. Even. Close. Instead I found myself craving the next books but unable to order them and now that I can, I worry I'll drop everything to read them.
Amy isn't quite as shallow as she seems, but she's pretty close. The growth she experiences in How to Ruin a Summer Vacation is incredible and she still has so much more potential. I grew to love Amy and I want to adopt her as my honorary best friend because if she was my actual best friend, my real best friends would probably hurt me.
It took a while for me to come to love Amy's new friends and her love interest, but it was meant to be that way. I learned a lot about the cultural differences and how that effects the way we view each other. It was this huge source of tension between Amy and those her age in Israel and it was a hurdle they all had to go over together. By the end, I loved all of them, though.
But this story?
<3<3<3<3<3
I loved the setting, so different from most YA, and the fact it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and happiness and there were a lot of dark spots to what seems so shallow. It was real and honest and well researched and just lskfgnhshngjwngsa And the romance? Oy. To. The. Vey. So much adorable.
But really, what else would you expect from Simone Elkeles? She tells stories so, so well. I wasn't crazy in love with her Perfect Chemistry series (I have no intention of picking up book 3 since book 2 was a let down for me), but she knows how to write a damn good story.
Basically, I think this is Simone's under appreciated series and it deserves SO MUCH MORE ATTENTION. All three books are out, you might even be able to score the bind up, and if not they're all in paperback and pretty easy to find on the internet. GO NOW AND BUYZ. These are the perfect reads to go with the warm weather! Or...any weather really! JUST BUY AND READ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE....more
This book haunted me for YEARS. It's pretty redhead, gorgeous dress, and Tudor family connections intrigued me. But I never read it. Until I find it oThis book haunted me for YEARS. It's pretty redhead, gorgeous dress, and Tudor family connections intrigued me. But I never read it. Until I find it on Barnes and Noble for two dollars. What honest book lover can pass up a two dollar book?
Oh how I loved it.
I loved Mary as a character, I loved how Elizabeth was portrayed, I loved the magic, I loved Lady Strange and how fitting her name is, and I loved how wholly evil the villian was.
The romance was somewhat unrealistic. This huge Elizabethan-player and evil magician suddenly in loved and devoted to a pure, young, white magician? Huh? But I also think it was part of the magic in the book. It wasn't a fully pure historical fiction. The magic added to the book and changed how I looked at some things. The book was also fairly short for the amount of time it covered, making it SEEM like very little time passed.
My only real problem was the open ending. It's a happy...ish ending, but it's also so amazingly open it seems like there should be a sequel. But the author has already put out one new book and there's no way to tell if she's working on a sequel or something totally difference because her site and blog aren't updated really well...as in I think it's been over a year. So sad.
I can't really explain why I loved this book. Maybe it's just because it IS a well written book on the Tudors for teens, which IS a very, very, very, very hard find (just ask twitter), but goodness I loved this book. And I'll be eagerly waiting for Kolosov's book, even though I DO keep trying to call her Kostov. ...more
This was??? So good??? I'm obsessed with the writing style and the actual story of Marie-Therese's life, which was tragic and heartbreaking and remarkThis was??? So good??? I'm obsessed with the writing style and the actual story of Marie-Therese's life, which was tragic and heartbreaking and remarkable. I'm so glad that I was able to read this and that some further closure has been found since this book was published....more
