I wanted to share my own summary and reviews two books I just finished. If you would like to read the book description from the jacket yourself, click on the caption links under the pictures or go over to Goodreads.
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| Image Credit: Amazon.com |
Summary: Talon is YA fantasy book about Ember Hill and her brother Dante. Ember and Dante aren't ordinary humans. In fact, they weren't born as humans at all; they're dragons posing as humans. In addition to that, they are the only sibling pair among all dragonkind. The pair grew up under the organization, Talon. Talon trains dragons trust each other and to infiltrate human society. Long ago, the Order of St. George almost wiped out all dragons. After becoming a secret organization, they still have the goal of taking out all dragons, especially the females. Garret is a soldier with St. George. He's been trained to see all dragons as ruthless and threats to human society that need to be exterminated immediately. So he's been tasked with hunting down the sibling duo, especially Ember. Things get a little complicated for Garret when he meets and starts getting to know Ember as a human. Things also get complicated for Ember when she meets Riley, a rogue dragon, who's determined to expose truths about Talon. This book is told from Ember, Garret and Riley's point of view
Review: When I first saw this book, I thought the cover looked interesting. I had to read through the description a couple of times before adding it towards the bottom of my "To Read" list. When I started the book, I was captivated from the first few chapters. Ember is the kind of character who can hold her own. Even though she's a dragon and human bullies can't do very much to her, she shows boldness and toughness while maintaining the femininity that she's been taught. Dante is the character who's still a little mysterious and I hope that the author reveals a little bit more of his thinking and his training. Between Garret and Riley: I liked Riley's determination and seeing the softer side of Garret amidst the tough soldier exterior. The whole story so far has kind of a Disney's Pocahontas feel to it. (Which is okay with me because that was one of my favorite movies as a kid.) I wonder if the story would've had the same outcome if Ember and Garret were became close friends and not romantically involved. Just a thought. Anyways, I'm excited to read the next books in the series.
Stars: ★★★★★
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| Image Credit: Amazon.com |
Summary: A Little Something Different is a YA romance that centers around Gabe and Leah. Gabe and Leah know each other from a creative writing class. Shy Gabe likes Leah and equally quiet Leah likes Gabe as well. Everyone around them sees a potential relationship. However, Gabe and Leah must overcome their own fears and insecurities before pursuing a relationship. This story is told over the length of a school year from fourteen viewpoints (including a squirrel). It takes the careful coaching and nudging of everyone around them in order for them to get the ball rolling.
Review: When I read the book description a while ago, I quickly added it to my "To Read" list. I thought it sounded cute and the idea of watching a budding relationship from different viewpoints seemed quite creative. (Either that or when I added it to my "To Read" list, I was daydreaming about a guy I liked.) When the story started, I noticed that the college student characters didn't take on the "always drunk, always partying, sex-crazed" stereotype. That I liked. I also admired the fact that both Gabe and Leah's personalities could be seen as quiet and introverted. (Go introverts!) Unfortunately, that's all I liked about the book. Compared to some other romance books that I've read (YA mostly and some romcom adult), this story line seemed to creep along a little too slowly. The ongoing fears, shyness and crippling self-doubt of Gabe and Leah towards themselves started to annoy me. God knows that I love animals, I truly do but, the squirrel's point of view seemed a little pointless. I would've liked to see their relationship progress a little bit faster. I would've also liked to see more conflict that forces them to be more confident and battle any shyness they experience around each other.
Stars: ★☆☆☆☆
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