Book Review: Princess of Athelia (Unfinished Fairy Tales Novella) by Aya Ling

Princess of Athelia by Aya Ling
Rating: /5

*A complimentary digital copy of this book was received from the author*

Genre: YA (Fantasy, Retelling)
Pub. Date: November 15th, 2015

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AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Read also: Review of The Ugly Stepsister (Unfinished Fairy Tales #1)!

Synopsis
Taking place at the time nearing the ending of its previous book, The Ugly Stepsister, Princess of Athelia told a piece of story after Katriona (or Katherine) had convinced herself that the only happiness needed to end the story is to find the happiness for herself. Giving up her initial goal to get Cinderella and the Prince fall in love, Kat braved her heart to admit the truth she had within. That she, too, felt the same way Prince Edward did about her. Edward sure was more than elated, and good thing his parents, King and Queen were happy as well ‘cause his son had finally agreed to tie the knot. Engagement was on schedule, preparation after preparation started to take place everywhere around the palace, princess lessons were delivered to Kat in dizzying regularity, and last, the wedding was in tow, ready to unite both Edward and Kat in holy matrimony. The wedding should have been the day they couldn’t wait, yet this couple dreaded that very day since the wedding bell would not only confirming their marriage but would also be the last thing Kat would ever hear in Athelia. As the day getting closer, they agreed to make the remaining months of their togetherness happy ones. But while Edward was ready for whatever kind of ending would happen, Kat still could not shake the feelings of guilty: guilty of leaving him, guilty of the possibility of breaking his heart. Add some pressures Kat had to shoulder as princess-to-be and doubts people planted on her mind for being an unpopular second-daughter of an earl, Kat could not be any guiltier and more insecure about her current position. But just like Kat’s growing worries, Edward’s faith to her did grow as well. And whatever would happen in the end, the Prince was determined to show her just how much she worth to be his Princess.

Craved Romance
Reading this novella brought back so many good memories I had with The Ugly Stepsister. I craved for more Eddie-Kat moments more than the author could give in book 1. So imagine my happiness when Aya decided to give us that through Princess of Athelia. Just like before, the romance between the main characters is built smoothly. I love how the couple interact. How they could be so darn sweet without being too cheesy with each other. Edward just makes me fall for him harder the more I read about him. But who wouldn’t when he is his usual charming, calm, and caring Prince-personality. And to top it off, he is just so in love with Kat making me all melting inside with his sincerity to love her knowing the risk... Kat with her unladylike manner trademark never stop to amuse me. Her kindness and social-awareness are always such interesting story to follow.

Other Interesting Points
I love it that this retelling story do not just retell the famous romance part only. I like how Aya always touches social issues during old period, like labor child during TUS, and now the equality of both gender to receive education in this book. The issues always meet realistic resolutions in the end which I really appreciate.
For a novella, Princess of Athelia is satisfying enough in my opinion. I like the neat plot, enough twists thrown in, and still so many other issues covered well. Wrap it all in smooth writing style, then we got a quick heartwarming read to enjoy. But of course, you better read the TUS first to easily relate the story.

Final Thought
The ending is oh so good, it makes me realize just how much I love this couple and never want to part with them. I’m also so darn curious about the continuation of Henry and Elle’s future. Lucky for us there’s the sequel of TUS coming soon! Ever After hopefully would answer all my curiosity and feed my thirstiness of Eddie-Kat moments. But for now, I think I should be happy enough with re-reading TUS during my waiting :)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: One King's Way (On Dublin Street #6.5) by Samantha Young

One King's Way by Samantha Young
Rating: /5

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AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Read also: Moonlight on Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street #6)!

‘Could a realist and a romantic ever work together?’

What a surprise that Samantha Young decided to put one more last touch to On Dublin Street series since I thought Moonlight on Nightingale Way would be the last book of the series―not that I’m complaining, mind you. One King’s Way is presented as a novella which is actually a little worrying for me since I don’t really have a good history with romance novella (the one with an independent plot and not just a continuation of previous full-length book). I found their plot usually too simple and the endings weren’t executed quite well. Colleen Hoover’s novella ‘Finding Cinderella’ so far was the only novella that perfectly suits my taste of a short read. I’m glad that Samantha finally added another piece to this barely-called-a-list of mine with this one.

One King’s Way brought us back to the memorable period of On Dublin Street. It’s right after Joss and Braden just finally gave in to their egos and made way for love to fill the space between them and when Jo’s still struggling with her issue. The story featured Craig Lanaghan, in case you forgot; he’s one of the bartenders at Club 39 along with Jo and Joss.

Craig was known as one of the biggest flirt walking. He would flirt to anyone from club visitors to his fellow bartenders. Sometimes he did it out of habit that he himself couldn’t quite differentiate when he really meant it. After all, Craig wasn’t into any serious relationship at the moment that he saw it was fine to do anything he wanted to do. Also it helped him to gain more money to his tips jar, so why not keeping it up? Simply put, Craig was happy enough with his life the way it was: bartending, flirting, and checking up on his family when he’s not bartending and flirting.

When a gorgeous girl clad in stunning 1940s style walked in to the club one evening, Craig instantly felt drawn to her up-to-something demeanor. The girl looked so calm in her movement yet so determined in the way her eyes searched around the club for something… or someone Craig had no idea.

Rain Alexander was her name. She kept coming to the Club 39 and seemed to always being surrounded by this anxious and determined aura every single time. Craig grew frustration to Rain’s secretive act that he kept pestering and―of course―charming her. Rain who was on mission needed no distraction, especially from a devilishly hot guy who was so eager to get her attention all night long. Craig made her feel special and lovable even without any physical contact; something that Rain never felt before and something that she’d been dreaming of feeling all her life.

‘He was heartbreak waiting to happen.’

Being a romantic was not always what men wanted from Rain. But growing up wishing for a prince charming to sweep her off her feet, Rain held a high hope to find one someday. Too bad the only man to whom she felt that feeling was no other than Craig the king’s of manwhore. Rain needed to stay away from Craig fast since 1). Distraction was a big no at the moment and 2). A big flirt like Craig wouldn’t want to settle down with only one woman any moment soon, especially with a hardcore romantic like her.

When Craig’s action showed that he was not just up to casual fling with Rain, his determination was tested to the point where he was faced with options whether he would keep clinging onto his ego or let Rain have her dream comes true. But it was not the only test coming their way. In the other side, Rain was faced with options whether she would choose her own happiness over everything or revisited her old mistakes again.

Anything could interfere with their future but Craig and Rain could make the one way between them work smoothly and all sunshine as long as faith was on the line.

I love everything about this novella. It was just enough: enough plot, enough twists, enough romance, enough satisfaction. Sometimes when you read a novella, you’d find yourselves wanting for more. One King’s Way gave you enough everything to enjoy in 158 pages. Not that I didn’t want to know about what kind of future they’d get eventually, but it’s more like I liked how they ended up for now and I did want to know more but not necessarily in a single story on their own. I’m just glad with how it played out in the end.

"And so the realist becomes a romantic."

"Only with you, darlin', only with you."

Craig’s dual side of personality: a flirt and a family man, was the attraction point of him. At one side, he might be the last candidate of man for you to make a long commitment with. But in another side, he had a potential to be a loyal partner in life because he grew up in a family like that. The limited pages of the novella didn’t force their romance into an ‘insta’-kind in my opinion since it started as a physical attraction at first, then it turned to be a bit more like a challenge for Craig toward Rain’s craving for affection which kept shifting a little into an exclusive relationship that led to Craig realizing his deep love for her one morning watching her sleep. That one scene when Craig’s realization came crushing down on him as he was reminded to the memories of her parents in the same situation, it was so beautiful and really touching. I swear I wanted to cry at that point but held myself because I was in public.

I could so relate with Rain’s romantic personality. But what I love from her more was the fact that she was also a strong independent woman in another side. These kinds of two sides of characteristic made a complex delineation of characters in this novella. And their issue of a realist and a romantic was executed very well. The introduction of the issue was presented from the start along with little confrontations between the characters even before the relationship began. Then it hit the climax and how it was resolved was just perfect for me. The ending was not like I expected but I didn’t complain about it. Guess it’s because I got what essential message the author actually wanted to relay through the conclusion.

One King’s Way was the first ODS book that didn’t make me think of Joss and Braden as much as I did in the other books and I think it’s a good sign because it meant this couple successfully directed my attention solely on them. But this novella just makes me miss this series even more. Hopefully Samantha Young would write another novella of this series again or just write a whole new series in the future that as good as ODS.

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Something Beautiful (Beautiful #3) by Jamie McGuire

Something Beautiful by Jamie McGuire
Rating:/5 

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I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Or with Jamie.
The graphic of me loving Jamie’s books slowly but steadily went downhill since Beautiful Redemption. Well, Trenton’s story, Beautiful Oblivion, was not exactly my best favorite as well but it was much more bearable than the following Maddox brothers’ books. So when Jamie announced that there would be a novella of Shepley and America, I was hoping that it would bring back a good time I had with Beautiful Disaster.

Something Beautiful started sweetly after such a long time we finally got a chance to see how Shepley first met America. Then it rolled down quickly as we were served with a series of Shepley and America’s moments from time to time. Reading about this couple did bring up good memories of how kind and patient Shepley was and how stubborn-in-head yet soft-in-heart America was. This couple actually completed each other much better than Travis and Abby who both were basically as hard-headed as each other. I loved every moment Shep and Mare had together. Even though Mare wasn’t my favorite type of heroine but I loved how Shep adored her so much from the very first time. During BD we knew that Shep and Mare fought several times and even broke up once but we never really knew that they actually had their own issues within their relationship. In this book, we got to see the truth from both Shep and Mare’s perspectives.

What’s sad was this novella that should’ve been all about Shepley and America (or so Jamie said) ended up losing its actual focus. We got to read about their first encounter, yes. We got to ride along the up and down of their relationship, yes. We got to know deeper about their feelings to each other, yes. But they all were in too little portions.

I know that Jamie always tried to draw a string between each book on both Beautiful series and Maddox Brothers series so the series could have this strong connection with each other. But it was overly done every time. She would always be too focused on threading the stories by putting too much detail from the previous books than focusing on the current storyline itself. Eventually, she would be repeating the threadbare issue―a.k.a. Travis’s drama―on each book, like she did on BO, BR, and BS. I think it’s enough to do it on Maddox Brothers series, but she had to do it again in Beautiful series novella. She had to steal a portion in an-already-short-story of Shep and Mare to be filled up with Travis’s drama and even his romance with Abby. I love Travis and Abby, really I do, but if Jamie kept slipping their story on literally EVERY book she writes then I think I have enough with this series.

Besides my issue with the shortness of Shep and Mare’s actual story on the book (and I’m not even talking about the length of the book), I pretty enjoyed the flow of Shep and Mare relationship shown in this book. How they went through a missed-communication issue where Shep was too patient/worried with things while Mare was too speculative, then there’s an involvement of a tragedy that made them realize sometimes you have to be quick in reading the sign of love coming to your way and grab it right away before it becomes too late. Even though it had similar vibes with BD’s ending I loved it anyway. I even cried a bit. Woman.

After that final twist, Shepley was jet-propelled to the top list of my favorite book-boyfriend from Jamie McGuire’s books. So imagined how disappointed I was when Jamie didn’t even provide a decent character wrap-up for him. Again, she had to focus more on Travis and Abby for the ending scene.

Something Beautiful might not come out as I expected it would be but I’m glad that at least there’s a book of Shepley and America after all. Hopefully Jamie would write another novella of them that is free from another miscellaneous detail (and couple). Hopefully she wouldn’t put too much story of The Couple on the last Maddox Brothers book as well ;)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Maybe Not (Maybe, #1.5) by Colleen Hoover

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

After reading Maybe Someday which didn’t meet my expectation I had before reading the book, Maybe Not was pretty much a light and enjoyable read. Colleen’s previous novella of Hopeless series, Finding Cinderella, was successfully won my heart and changed my opinion toward novella generally. I was hoping Maybe Not would give the same vibe.

Maybe Not is a spin story starring Warren and Bridgette whom we already met during Maybe Someday. Unlike the previous book, Maybe Not has quite a lot of steamy scenes between the main characters but not to the point of hardcore. But what I like the most was the banters between Warren and Bridgette. God, this couple is so unbelievably weird! Bridgette is so damn mean and Warren is charmingly okay with that. Love how Colleen showed the other side of Bridgette through the scene of her playing with Warren’s nephew. It was so cute!

Maybe Not might not make my heart swelling and blooming like Finding Cinderella, but I really enjoyed reading it. Especially, if you love funny reads, you'll surely love this one :)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Finding Cinderella (Hopeless # 2.5) by Colleen Hoover

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Get a copy here!

AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

“I constantly have to bite my tongue when I’m around you because all I’ve been wanting to do lately is tell you how much I love you”

-Daniel Wesley-

THIS!!!

BEST! ROMANCE! NOVELLA! EVER!

Oh God, seriously I never found a novella with a very complex and intriguing plot before. Finding Cinderella is a novella yet the story is not like what novellas mostly have. With 90 pages, it successfully grabbed my heart, made it bloom and squeezed it then pump it again before put it back up on its place. I never fancy reading a romance novella before because I think no romance stories could be delivered via such short plot within less than 100 pages. But Colleen Hoover, everybody, yes that favorite author of mine, she always knows what to do to make me fall in love deeper and deeper with her (lemme smooch you up messily like a baby panda.....)

Daniel Wesley never knew that his habit to hide during fifth period at school’s maintenance closet would lead him to meet a Cinderella. Well, not literally Cinderella actually. He made up the endearment for a mysterious girl who he ‘accidentally met’ on the maintenance closet during fifth period. The said girl unknowingly entered the dark closet and fell on him. And she cried. Seconds passed by then turned into minutes until an unexpected kiss in the dark happened between them. She left after that leaving Daniel with a hope for her to come back again. A week later on the same dark place, they met for the second time. After a brief awkward conversation without any intentions of finding out whom each other actually was, Daniel and ‘Cinderella’ had a deal to play pretend as a long in love couple in 45 minutes. She left again after that, for good this time. And Daniel once again was left committing every single thing about her to his memory. 

A year later Daniel met Six ―Sky’s best friend who just came back from exchange program in Italy. After one simple dinner date, Daniel couldn’t be any more convinced that Six was nothing like every girl he’s ever been with. Six was bold. Six was so blunt. Six didn’t do everything that Daniel knew as girls’ shits. And Six fist-bumped him, that’s the coolest thing a girl ever done to him. Less than 24 hours, Daniel and Six had turned from strangers to exclusive lovers. Whatever it was between them; it was so intense, it was unusual, it was so damn fast, it scared them both. But they really couldn’t deny the attraction each other radiated. When they thought things couldn’t be more intense and any scarier, they were faced with shocking truths repetitively in one night. Could they still hold each other’s hands and keep going in this intense relationship afterward?

I always liked Six ever since she appeared for the first time on Hopeless. Her protectiveness toward Sky was something of her that grabbed my attention. And then Daniel was the one who made my feeling while reading Losing Hope lighter and happier. His funny personality and his specialty in making (rather disgusting) endearments were what made him adorable in his own way. He’s so likeable, loveable even, so adorable!

The plot is simple but still… the shocking feels are intense. The other characters were interesting as well. Loved reading little moments of Sky and Holder here! Oh, and I love Wesley family so much! Such a cool family… no wonder the son was so loveable <3 I laughed a lot reading this novella. Like really A LOT. And when the climax came up… bam!

I almost had a mini heart-attack and had to bury my face on my pillow for five good minutes to muffle my scream. That was wow! I loved it that Colleen didn’t think of over-sweetening the ending… always take the realistic path. BUT IT MAKES ME CRAVING MORE DOSES OF DANIEL AND SIX SO BADLY!!! Oh, how I hope they gonna have their own book someday… *directing a mass of puppy eyes toward Colleen* *please ignore my inner-romance-crave*

I’m starting to love reading romance novella now knowing that a novella could give me such a roller-coaster feeling too. Thanks so much for Colleen Hoover :)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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