NICOLE'S REVIEW + Novel Nails #10: Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

Title: Of Beast and Beauty
Author: Stacey Jay
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: July 23 2013

Publishing House: Delacorte Press

ISBN: 9780385743204
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city's vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city's Banished people. second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan's enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra's sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Of Beast and Beauty is one of those fairytale retellings that I actually like, next to Unhinged by A.G. Howard. 

Isra is a princess locked in a tower, blinded at birth by a fire and sees herself a freak, a monster; counting down the days till she becomes a willing sacrifice for the roses - can I just say that I totally love what Jay did with the roses? so cool - that provide her city with a dome of protection from the harsh outside world.

Gem is a beast, a Monstrous, with scales and claws supposedly tipped with poison. He needs the roses that Isra's people depend on and sneaks into the city in the dead of the night because his people are dying and desperately need the magic the roses give. But he gets caught and is forced to interact with Isra, a smooth skin, and the more they interact the more their view on each others change making them wonder if the things they were brought up to believe were true.

Stacey Jay's writing is beautiful, it's really lyrical but it didn't come off as pretentious and holier-than-thou. Her characters were wonderful and when they were sad, so was I. Happy? Frustrated? Angry? I was as well. In short, her characters were wonderfully crafted and I loved each and every one of them. 

Of Beauty and Beast starts off a little slow but it picks up along the way and I couldn't help but wish Gem and Isra would just get on with the kissing. It's mainly romance but somehow it just still enough for me. I wanted more, more, more, more. Because Gem and Isra are the bomb and they deserve a happily ever after. 

Since Isra is a princess in a trapped tower doesn't she resemble Rapunzel more? Kept in the dark and all that.

But anyway, Of Beast and Beauty is one retelling you don't want to miss. Action, evil roses with a taste for blood and a love that could change the world? YES PLEASE. Go read it now.

Rating:

"Novel Nails" is a feature of the blog that showcases nail art inspired by books and their covers. Nail art will be created by either Michelle or Nicole and will be featured alongside their reviews.

Guys, I am so glad to be able to paint my nails again. After slaving over my thesis and everything, this feels so great. So anyway, I have a new nail shape, they're now like tiny claws and I love them.

Nails are obviously inspired by of Beast and Beauty and I hope you guys like them!

As for the colors, here's the list of nail polish I used.

Blue: OPI Incognito in Sausalito

Cream: Zoya Jacqueline

Red: China Glaze Salsa

It's not really obvious but the gradient I made doesn't have an opaque base coat. I just layered them over Zoya Anchor.

I tried to copy the city on my nails, hence the silhouette of buildings.

Shaped them into claws because Gem has claws.

Sorry, I kind of rushed on the clean-up since I was a little busy that day. I made these using red acrylic under China Glaze Salsa to make it seem like fire or orange scales which you guys will get if you've read the book. Hint hint. This pattern is on my thumb and pinkie plus my right hand.

You like? I hope you do.

                           

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

Title: The Almost Girl
Author: Amalie Howard
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: January 7, 2014

Publishing House: Strange Chemistry

ISBN: 9781908844804
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. But coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There's no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Riven isn't prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn't sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more. 


Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren't always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength for defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Prince Cale is dying, and the only one who could find his lost brother is seventeen-year-old Riven, a high-ranked officer of the army. She could take anyone down with a blink of an eye, but what she's not ready for is meeting Caden. Caden whose green eyes throw her off. Caden who doesn't know a thing about Neospes. Caden who doesn't know he has a twin brother who happens to be a dying prince. But when her plan goes awry, Riven finds out that there's more to the story than anyone's telling her, and it may just cost Caden's life.

For someone who's supposed to be a force to be reckoned with, Riven sure spends a lot of her time unconscious. Maybe it's because her energy depletes when she jumps between the universes, but throughout the book, she's unconscious when things take a turn, so to say.  Also, she's supposedly exceptional at being a general, but what is up with having other people save her butt all the freaking time?! And have I mentioned that she is not in the least bit cautious at all? When faced with other teenagers, she brings out the scowls and the attitude. When faced with dangerous missions? Oh yeah, she feels that it is exactly the right time to make out with the dude anywhere, weapons and death and Neospes be damned. 

That's not the only thing I was unhappy about.

Riven and Caden have no chemistry whatsoever, and it came across as random and boring. Caden liked Riven right from the get-go because she "wasn't like the other girls". Despite him having a girlfriend who is the very personification of a valley girl, Caden is very much amused by Riven just because she was different. I wanted to smack him up the head just for that. If he wasn't into his girlfriend, why bother dating her in the first place? Riven is pretty new to all these Earth customs and she doesn't exactly know how to do away with her soldier persona (even if for me, she sucks at it) so I can't really fault her for knowing what to do with Caden's flirtatiousness. 

The plot "twist" wasn't much of a twist, and it actually made the novel come across as a cliched Young Adult Novel, so if you're expecting things to look up, it doesn't. The book actually confuses me because sometimes it's more sci-fi, sometimes more romance-y, that I just wanted to give it a good shake. It's trying to be a lot of things at the same time, so you can just imagine my frustration. 

Disappointingly, The Almost Girl falls victim to the "more talking, less acting" side of the spectrum, despite having an interesting premise.

Rating:

           

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Split Second by Kasie West

Title: Split Second
Author: Kasie West
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: February 11 2014

Publishing House: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780062117380
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher

Summary:

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can't believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She's always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time too...but not without a price.

When Addie's dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He's a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie's memories...once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don't want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school - but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot...and a future that could change everything.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads;)

Review:

Split Second is the sequel to Pivot Point which I reviewed here. It's actually better if you read that first.

With the way things ended in the first book, it's not surprising that Addie wants a break from it all by spending time away from the Compound with her dad who has situated himself neatly in the Norm world.

It's not all rest and relaxation in the Norm world. Not when Addie meets Trevor - who is so familiar to her but she can't tell where she's seen him before. It also doesn't help that Addie's dad is lying to her and that Laila may have just dropped a bomb on her. You know, about Addie writing about events in a past search and having Laila erase it and asking her to restore it at another date. That bomb. Also don't forget to add to that the meddling Compound agents who have their eye set on Addie and have suspicions of her loyalty to her people.

And that my friends, is where I have to raise an eyebrow. Or two. Because I know the people who run the Compound are crazy paranoid creeps and all but seriously? I'm not going to go into detail to avoid spoilers but the amount of effort they put into stalking each and every person who've left the Compound is totally unbelievable. I get secret societies are crazy and you know, secret, but actually concocting elaborate schemes to determine a person's loyalty? Hah. I don't get why anyone would expend resources and man-power and time to do that. Crazy.

The book also alternates between Laila and Addie's point of views and I did like how their voices were easily distinguishable - Laila is more brash, more flirty while Addie is more timid and a worrier and an all around nice girl. The one problem with alternating POVs is that I feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with both characters which is why Laila's relationship with Connor felt a little....rushed. Eh.

How is this as a sequel to Pivot Point? It's okay, it certainly gives readers a view into how restrictive the Compound is and Addie and Laila have certainly gone through some character growth which is good. I'm just curious though, is this the end of the series? Because there were a lot of things left unresolved like Laila's family and Addie's mom and believe or not I'm kind of curious about what's in store for Duke.

Also I just want to say that Kasie West writes the cutest, fluffiest most adorable contemporary novels ever. Check out her The Distance Between Us (July 2013) which Michelle reviewed HERE and On the Fence (July 2014). Too cute. I cry.

Rating: