Review of: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Page Count(Paperback Edition): 472 pgs

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Released: March 27th, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Read: April 17th-30th, 2013

Source: Books-A-Million

Synopsis:

Come and mend your broken hearts here.

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

(from Goodreads)

Fantasy as a genre is not often a subject I read. I've always strayed away from it because the topics in it were either too creepy to read about or just plain weird. This book though, it grabbed my attention because first of all, THIS beautiful cover is just unf. Plus, the thought of this hidden chamber, mystery, romance and dancing captured me completely.

The first thing I wrote down about this book was dancing. Azalea has eleven sisters, of which those who can talk and walk love to dance. They dance every day, it is there passion, their obsession, their escape. *SPOILER* Unfortunately, when their mother dies, they are under mourning for a year, which means no happy activities, like dancing or dressing up. They complain and whine, but the King, their father, stands solidly behind the fact. The sisters find an enchanted passage way below the castle in which they are allowed to dance as much as they want every day. The Keeper lets them do as they please, only they do not yet realize that they will have to pay a price later.

I also wrote down how after the girls mother passed, he had to go to war. He became very cold and disconnected from his own daughters. You'd think that if a family member passed away, that it would pull a family closer together. Only the girls came close.

Ah, the romance! It wasn't the center of the story at all, which I liked. Sometimes, romance can be overdone. Mr. Bradford was the absolute gentleman to Azalea. His compliments and the way he talked to her pulled at my heartstrings.

This book was a good read. Made me giggle and smile but also race to flip the pages so I could find out what happened next.

♦Haley♦

Review of : Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer

Sorry this is going to be a bit crappy.. I can't brainstorm any, because I'm a bit under the weather. Also, there are some SPOILERS! So I'm warning you right now, if you keep reading, it may ruin the book for you!


Page Count(Hardcover Edition): 291
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Released: June 7th, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
My Rating: 3/5
Date Started: August 4th, 2012
Date Finished: August 8th, 2012
Source: Library

Synopsis:

It is the first century B.C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh's six children, is the one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolemy is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history's most famous leaders to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sisters plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom she can rely--herself.

In Cleopatra Confesses, award winning author Carolyn Meyer writes the story of the teenage girl who would become Egypt's most unforgettable queen, from her early years to her her ultimate destiny. 

I liked this book okay overall. The beginning to middle was great and kept me interested, but the ending seemed a little forced and boring. Let me explain why..

The characters made up for some of it, though they had their bad parts too. Characters I liked : Charmion, Cleopatra, King Ptolemy, Demetrius, Julius Ceasar. Characters I disliked : Arsinoe (she ended up just like Berenike and Tryphaena), Berenike, Tryphaena, Ptolemy XIII. I loved loved loved Charmion, just because of how sweet she was to Cleopatra in her up's and downs. She was always there for Cleopatra. (SPOILER ALERT!) Plus, she is Cleopatra's half sister! I was so happy when I read that! (: Cleopatra almost made it to the dislike list, purely because of what she did collectively in the second half of the book. I loved her as a child because she was really smart and maneuvered her way out of tough decisions. As she got older, she grew on my nerves because she didn't solve the problems as she should have done as the ruler of Alexandria. King Ptolemy was good enough to make it on the like list. He was fatherly enough to Cleopatra, but I think he should have tried to come out of exile a bit earlier that 2 years. (SPOILER ALERT!) I was a bit sad when he died, because then Cleopatra was alone, while her two sisters claimed the throne and were most likely trying to kill her. Demetrius was my favorite character by far, besides Charmion. I like to learn about new things, and he was a teacher, so I really related to him on that level. He was just a such a cute little man. Someone that Cleopatra could go to and explain her feelings. Julius Caesar was iffy. He genuinely wanted to see Alexandria thrive with money and crops, so he helped the best he could. But it seemed sometimes this was all a plan to score points with Cleopatra and get her to love him. Which worked. That was low, because he already had a wife back home, and he had the guts to have a son with her!

Reasons for the characters I disliked. Arsinoe! Even as a small child, she always wanted something. She was greedy and complained quite a lot. As she grew up, she got worse and grew into a minature Berenike. Blech! Berenike and Tryphaena were like the step sisters from Cinderella. They despised Cleopatra, and hated each other, especially when Titus came into play. They were the most viscous sisters who ever lived! (SPOILER ALERT!) But then what supposedly happened is Berenike banished Tryphaena and Titus off Alexandria and onto a boat, because they truly loved each other. Berenike just wanted Titus so she could rub it in Tryphaena's face. Once they were on a boat far away in the Nile, Berenike was rumored to have sent guards to kill them. They were never seen again! But Berenike is then served a hot fresh plate of karma, when King Ptolemy comes out of exile, and hear's of her taking his position and killing her sister. She is knifed through the heart. And finally, Ptolemy XIII. He is the second youngest in the family, and didn't play a huge part until the second half of the book. He rules with Cleopatra at a young age, but was miss-leaded but his regents. He thinks of no other than power and more power. This was all planted into his head by his regents. They are power hungry, and with stop at nothing to get Cleopatra out of the throne.

Plot: As I have said above, I liked the book until near the end, So this includes the plot to a point. I love books with a plenty amount of action and adventure. It supplied with with that! From the long trip on the Nile to Berenike and Tryphaena ruling, it was exciting! Plenty of good surprises and charming writing that made this part worthwhile. After the middle though, the book slowed down a lot. Cleopatra was in power, but it seemed like the author had nothing to write about. I was bored until about the last 4 chapters because the action sped up again. For which I'm glad.

Cleopatra Confesses was good enough to where I recommend it to my fellow bloggers, but not anymore than that.