Review: Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

From Goodreads:
In this prequel to Ella Enchanted, which can stand on its own, young healer Evie is transformed into an ogre by the meddling fairy Lucinda. She’ll turn back only if someone proposes and she accepts!

Returning to the land and many of the characters from her beloved Newbery Honor–winning Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine has written a delightful tale about a clever and endearing heroine who is determined to defy expectations.

Evie is happiest when she is healing people, diagnosing symptoms, and prescribing medications, with the help of her devoted friend (and test subject) Wormy. So when Wormy unexpectedly proposes to her, she kindly turns him down; she has far too much to do to be marrying anyone. And besides, she simply isn’t in love with him.

But a certain meddling fairy named Lucinda has been listening in, and she doesn’t approve of Evie’s rejection. Suddenly, Evie finds herself transformed from a girl into a hideous, hungry ogre. Evie now has only sixty-two days to accept another proposal—or else be stuck as an ogre forever.


My Thoughts:
I was so excited to win this advanced reader! It will take pride of place next to my first edition Ella Enchanted on my bookshelf.
Because it is an advanced reader, I wanted to get on it asap, so bumped it to the top of my TBR pile. Plus, Ella is so beloved and a book that has inspired me since I was twelve, I couldn't let it wait.
All up, it was a fun and light read. I prefer books that way. It has the same tone and feel as Ella, which is great since it's set in the same world.
It was fun to see some familiar faces, like Ella's parents, King Jerrold pre-crowning, and a smooth introduction into Ella's story as well.
Our heroine of Ogre Enchanted is Evie, a healer and recipient of one of Lucinda's infamous "gifts". At fifteen, it's no surprise she turns down a marriage proposal, but instead of giving Evie and Wormy the chance to work things out, Lucinda sticks her nose into things and turns Evie into an Ogre. Evie has sixty-two days to get another marriage proposal or she stays an ogre forever.
In typical Levine fashion, this young heroine sets off to discover her own path and a way to set herself free, leading the reader on a magical adventure around the familiar kingdom of Kyrria from Ella's story.
My only disappointments were the writing. It wasn't as crisp and deep as EE was. There are parts that just feel rushed, and other parts that feel like YA style cliches. I didn't feel like the character and world building was up to par for other Levine books I've read, which disappointed me. I wanted more to sink my teeth into, but it wasn't there.
Again, I did enjoy this book. It kept me turning pages and it brought me a smile. And, it made me pick up Ella Enchanted again!

Review: Secrets of the King's Daughter by Renae Weight Mackley

From Goodreads:
It was a relationship designed to unite not two young people in love, but two powerful kingdoms. And for Princess Karlinah, eldest daughter of King Lamoni, her marriage to the haughty heir to the throne of Jersusalem has led to a life of fear and abuse. There seems to be no escape—until her husband is murdered and Karlinah is unexpectedly free to return to her father’s kingdom. She can begin again—but no one can ever know of the part she played in the prince’s demise . . . 
Karlinah’s relief is short-lived, for upon her return to the land of Ishmael, she is once again swept into her father’s plans for a politically powerful marriage. Then the arrival of a young missionary in her father’s court changes everything: her family is converted to a new religion, and Karlinah is free to choose her path. Yet she is not so easily convinced by the words of Ammon—especially when repentance means confessing her crime. 
But as her faith grows and a young stone artisan captures her heart, Karlinah realizes that she must face the consequences of her past in order to move forward with her future.


My Thoughts:
This book starts out showing Karlinah traded off as a political marriage, but it's a far from happy one. Her husband is dead, and we can tell she has something to do with it, but we don't know what, just that she's relieved to be free of him.
Upon returning home to her family, her father is about to marry her off again so her sister can have a love-match marriage. To me, her sister was a real selfish brat throughout the book and I didn't like her at all. At this point we also meet the villain, who is truly villainous throughout.
When Ammon arrives, everything changes for not only her father the king, but her and the entire kingdom. There are good things; she is released from being forced to marry someone she despises (said villain) and there are things she struggles with, like her actions that resulted in her abusive husband's death.
Many of the side characters are so obnoxious it hurt my brain. They had this narrow mindedness typical of Utah Mormons rather than converts from vastly different cultures. No one saw Karlinah struggling, not even her parents, who were supposed to know her so well. They just judged her for not converting with everyone else.
Aside from that, I did enjoy the story. Her hesitance and fear was understandable, and I empathized with her. I do wish there was more to the romance because I did like her love interest and I wish I could have seen more of him.
It helps that the story of Ammon is one of my favorite BOM tales. I've loved it since I was a kid watching the Living Scriptures cartoons! Seeing another fictional perspective on the events made me happy.

This is a clean read, easy reading, with a steady pace.

8 Years Ago...

December 25th, 2008 was the last time I had Christmas with my family. It was the last time I was in Australia, enjoying Christmas like I had my entire life. My last summer Christmas. My last Christmas when I didn't suffer from a pit of loneliness and homesickness.

But this year I want it to be different. I want to go back with my little family for this Christmas. Eight. Years. Later. This year is mostly different because my little/not-so-little-anymore sister is having her first baby. This is a huge deal in our family that seems to struggle to conceive, and because she's my only sister and we were so close growing up and I can't get there when she has the baby in August due to financial restraints and kid #1 starting kindergarten, I need to be there for her.

So, in a desperate attempt to save up enough money, I'm asking you to  BUY MY BOOKS. Since you're following along, there's a good chance you already have, but maybe not all of them? *puppy eyes*. I'm especially encouraging purchase of the Kiya Trilogy, the Cadence Duology and Princess of Tyrone as these come to me as direct payments.

I'm also selling signed paperbacks of all of my books (except Athenian Rain) for $15 each plus postage. Just email me (katiejteller at gmail dot com) and I'll make arrangements with you.

I'm also looking to do query and first 250 word critiques for $5, query and first chapter for $10, query and first three chapters for $20 and query and full manuscript for $50. Since I work as an acquisitions editor, I can give you pretty solid feedback, hopefully. I'm not a line editor, but can give you points for plot holes, voice consistency etc.

So, there you are. Help me get home for Christmas this year!

Winner of The Book Vote

So my October paperback read and review is...

Looks like I'll need to get my hands on the rest of the series. How many books are there anyway? So look out for my review soon to come. The runners up came in as The Rose Master and Red Scarf Girl.

The winner of one of my paperback books is...

Krystal Wade

Choose from Kiya 1, 2, or 3 and Papina, or wait for a few weeks until Branded becomes available.

Thanks again for all those who voted. Come by next month to vote on what I read in November.

Vote For My October Read - Paperbacks

It's that time again! Time to vote for my read. If you want to see the review and bonus interview for last month's winner, click here: How to Date Dead Guys.

As well as having a huge pile up of books on my kindle, I have tons of paperbacks sitting in wait for me as well. So, Once every three months, I'll put paperbacks in for your vote. Some of these I've had for quite some time, so they are a little old.

Like always, vote 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in order of preference, and tell me why :-)

Here they are!

Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Jade by Olivia Rigal

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

After Dark Curiosity Quills Anthology

So vote, share, lobby etc etc. Make me read something you want to see reviewed, and a lucky winner from the people who voted for the winner, will be drawn to receive one of my books as a paperback, signed and everything! (U.S only because I'm not loaded. Non U.S. folk can get an ebook of their choice.)