Blackhearts by Nichole Castroman (Review)

Genre:	YA, Historical Fiction, Retelling
Publication Date:	February 9, 2016
Pages:	384
Published By:	Simon Pulse
Website	Nichole Castroman on Goodreads
My review copy:	e-galley for review

Buy it:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Chapters

Synopsis

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

Quotes

The devil hang him.  If Master Drummond wants venison for his son's return, he should come down here and buy it himself.  If the butcher tries to touch me again, I'll stick him like the pig he is.

He wasn't the only observant one in the household, and Anne could see a battle being waged.  He was torn between wanting to please his father and wanting to make his own path.

He hesitated.  Ever since he'd set eyes on her, he'd had no peace.  Why should he grant her something that eluded him?

My Thoughts

  Blackhearts was a spectacularly written, and beautifully told story.  When starting this book I had prepared for something very different from what I received.  This being said, I did have issues putting this book down.  I all but devoured every single word written and allowed the real way to fall away.  Castroman truly has not only held up the the expectations I had for this book, but she has blown them straight out of the water.  This is the romance that Blackbeard wanted, and it is also the breaking point that pushed him to become the pirate we all know.  

  I thought the plot of this book would follow the early years or time of Blackbeard, I didn't realize that it would go back to where it all began.  This is not just some twisted tale, it is the roots of a much larger tale.  From the synopsis I understood that we would be taken back to his teenage years, but I expected more time at sea, more of a start to the nitty gritty.  This was not so much the action packed book I had anticipated, but more a historical fiction/romance.  Despite not being what I expected,  I appreciated that the story was told from more than one point of view.  I loved the difference in Anne and Teach, getting more from each and yet seeing the bigger picture build through each of their eyes.  This helped keep the pacing up and made each step forward more exciting and detailed.

  Anne is wonderful.  She has her tragic background.  Her father loved her but did not claim her, and upon losing him she lost everything.  Despite this like the strong character that she is, she does what it takes to survive.  Though she does not do it laying down and she is not without her plans.  Anne does not wish to exist being treated as less than she is, even if that means she has to take dangerous steps to achieve her end.  I instantly liked Anne and everything that set her apart.  This was headed by her inability to give up no matter what the circumstance was.  I think that many will have a hard time finding fault in this great character.

  Teach appeared to be be every bit the pompous ass.  Though he was also taught very quickly that looks can be deceiving, and in doing so learned that what he was believed to want, he no longer wanted.  It took time for me to accept that Teach made such a change so quickly.  I understand what a pretty face can do to a man but there was so much change and drastic.  In the start he thought Anne's inability to hold her tongue needed to be taken care of, as it would be if a maid could not do so in a house.  However, not long after he begins to see something in her, something his betrothed does not have: intelligence.  It was only when Teach kept good to his word and I could see clearly that her cared for Anne that I started to fall for him myself.

  When you combine Anne and Teach you get that witty chemistry that people love to read.  Though they do not fall for each other right away, they have far too much in common to do anything but love each other.  I knew it would come at some point, but I didn't see the strength that it would hold when the two finally admitted it.  There were times that I felt they fell entirely too quickly, though I also understand that sometimes that's how it goes.  They did get to know each other deeper and had a greater understanding of each other before they fell as deep as they did.  

  Though this was not the retelling that I was expecting, it was still a spectacular read.  I would like to send a heads up for those that are going in expecting a captivating pirate retelling; Blackhearts is more of a start, and a historical fiction/romance.  This being said I would highly recommend picking it up for its beautiful writing and captivating tale.  I will warn you that the end does not feel like the end and does leave you wanting more.  This being said I will be watching this author and making sure I do not miss one word of her phenomenal writing.

Posted by Tiffany

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date:	December 9, 2014
Pages:	400
Published By:	Delacorte Press
Website	Stacey Jay Website
My review copy:	From publisher for honest review

Buy it:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Chapters

Synopsis

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

Quotes

  I am only a child, too innocent to realize there is no salvation without sacrifice, no light without darkness, no triumph that doesn't carry the seeds of its own destruction bouncing in its pocket.

  I freeze   jaw dropping, blood draining from my face   unable to tear my eyes away, though I know I should.  But, warrior's clothes be damned, I'm a seventeen-year-old girl, and what seventeen-year-old girl could look away from a sight like that?

  I realize who he is and my heart jerks. "I can't die," I whisper, not knowing if this is a dream or something more, something real, a dance to a place from which I might never return.

My Thoughts

  Stacey Jay has not let me down, and I have been a huge fan ever since Juliet Immortal.  Princess of Thorns was a must read that sadly got put on the back burner for just a little too long.  Like, a year too long.  Jay never fails to amaze me with her stunning writing, filled with romance and adventure.  This story pulls from Sleeping Beauty.  Twisting her story a little in the start, and carrying on with her children.  Don't for a moment take this as simple.  Jay has taken this and made it something of her own, and there was not a magical moment that I did not enjoy.

  What I have loved about every book I have read by Jay is, the setting is set up wonderfully.  There is always just enough information to help me see everything vividly, while not having to deal with an information dump and have to sort through it as I go.  There is also multiple points of view, and I always love the depth that is given to a book by hearing from more than one voice.  This for me also helps carry the pace.  With more than one voice to read, I always find myself wanting to hear the next view, or the next piece of the puzzle.  

  

  For the majority of the book Aurora is posing as a boy...  Her brother to be exact.  She is basically by definition a deadly little package, and is a far cry from the damsel in distress that her mother was painted to be.  In fact her mother made sure that she would be the opposite.  Aurora's 'gifts' are also her curse, a little fact that hit her just a little too late.  I think because we get to see so much of Aurora's regret and inner battles she is an easy character to like.  She's strong and knows what she wants to do, what she has to do and what her heart wants.  The problem for her is that all of these things seem to be working against her, and she just wants to have a chance.

  I have to say the romance is not really a romance throughout this book.  Niklaas spends the majority of the book inadvertently courting Aurora.  Though this is humorous and makes for many laughs, it also means that there was no real love between the two.  However, this also created the perfect scenario for two people getting to actually know each other.  Niklass doesn't have the chance to be someone he isn't and charm Aurora, because he thinks he is just speaking to another guy.  

Posted by Tiffany

Never, Never by Brianna R. Shrum (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Retelling
Publication Date:	September 22, 2015
Pages:	368
Published By:	Spencer Hill Press
Website	Brianna Shrum Website
My review copy:	Purchased

Buy it: 
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Chapters

Synopsis

James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one. 

Quotes

  But there was some pull inside James that whispered at him to ignore the alarm bells.  That no one ever got an adventure without giving up a little sense first.

  And he didn't cry.  He didn't fret.  He lay there on the earth, realizing and accepting and hardening.  That was the night that James Hook began to grow up.

  "Nothing,"  He stared at her, drawn in by her.  This was why he'd stayed away from her for so many years   this thrumming of his heart, the heat at his skin, the wickedly delicious thoughts swirling around in his head.

My Thoughts

  Never Never is a hauntingly unique retelling of James Hook and how he landed his role in Neverland.  I will openly admit I was curious as to how this would be written.  Would James be the villain that Disney painted him to be or would he be painted as the innocent?  I enjoyed Peter Pan as a child, but as an adult I saw the flaws in his tale.  Peter Pan and Captain Hook have a tale where the line between good guy, and bad guy can easily be blurred.  

  There were no details left behind as Shrum spun her tale of James Hook and how he was to become the feared Captain Hook.  I loved the little details that she gave and the bigger picture that she created.  Every chapter, every page had exactly what was needed to draw the reader in and capture their imagination.  There were moments that I did want it to go a little faster, but in the end I appreciated that the author had created a unique pace.  Pacing wasn't quite perfect but I believe in order to develop the depth and truth of James' story, sometimes it needed to slow down.  

  James Hook wanted to be a man, he wanted to grow up.  Well at least he did until Pan made him question it all.  What boy faced with things that defy logic wouldn't want to try it out.  I wouldn't say the infamous Captain Hook is innocent, but this story also shows that he isn't exactly what most stories paint him to be.  James did take his spot as the notorious pirate captain but his desire to kill Pan may not be as it seems either.  In fact Neverland is not really what it seems to be at all, and maybe even everyone's love for Pan.  There were so many chances to end Pan, hints that maybe not everyone adored him as it seems and maybe our view of him hasn't always been clear.  With these thoughts in mind, it is undeniable that Hook may not be what we once thought him to be.

  This is probably one of my shorter reviews but it is hard to explain without ruining this fantastic read.  Shrum did a better job than I could have ever imagined, and in all honesty I probably could have read longer had she pulled the story out longer.  I have developed a love for this author and her ability to twist a tale, and would happily pick up anything else that she writes.  For people that love a good twisted tale or retelling I would highly suggest picking this beauty up.  

Posted by Tiffany