I am linking up to Michaela of Quaintrelleღing this month post series. Here are some things I enjoyed this month //'The Last Goodbye' music video by Billy Boyd//
This amazingly beautiful music video leaves me feeling nostalgic every time I watch it. If you have been a LOTR fan for a long time than you know what I mean.
I watched this for the first time several months ago, but I decided to I needed to re-watch it this month. I had forgotten how witty, brilliant, and "fantastic" this was.
// The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies//
This is the best of the three Hobbit films. It has great acting, beautiful film work, and is extremely emotional.
// Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar roll-on perfume//
A friend gave this to me for Christmas. It reminds me of an ocean breeze, which cheers me up on cold, cloudy days.
What about you? Do you have some favorite things this month?
Plot: In this retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses Princess Azalea's mother has died, leaving Azalea, her eleven younger sisters, and father heartbroken. The only thing that brings Azalea and her sisters joy is dancing, which they learned from their mother. When Azalea and her sisters discover a hidden room in their castle where a mysterious man lives they don't know what to think. Could danger be around the corner?
My thoughts: I had read two other retellings of the Twelve Dancing Princesses before reading this book. Because of that is wasn't really expecting this to be anything new or extra special. I was wrong, however. This is an absolutely gorgeous book! The author did a fantastic job at describing scenery, food, clothing, and dances. She took an all ready well known fairytale and turned it into a beautiful and well told story. The characters were unique, relatable, and had interesting personalities. All in all a lovely book.
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction Plot: Cinder and her friends are trying to find a way to stop Emperor Kai and Queen Levana 's wedding. They come in contact with Cress, a Lunar computer hacker who lives in a satellite. Cress agrees to help them stop the royal wedding in exchange for her freedom. As Cinder and her friends come up with a dangerous scheme they learn that they"ll each have to make major sacrifices in order to save earth.
My thoughts:
This is an extremely fast-paced even thought it is over 500 pages. It brought the events that had started in the first two books to a climax, which was exciting.
I think the main thing I liked about this book is that I started to really connect with the characters, especially Carswell Thorne and Wolf, both of whom I hadn't cared much for in Scarlet.
There are also a few new characters, who I think brought a lot to the story.
There is some content- Several couples kiss and think about when they will be able to kiss each other passionately in the future. There is a scene where a blind man walks into a bathroom where a girl is bathing. Nothing happens, but it's awkward. There is violence and innuendo throughout the book.
Plot: Katherine Tullman is sent to her Uncle George's estate to discover if he is truly insane and is squandering his fortune. Katherine begins to unravel some of the mysterious surrounding her Uncle's estate, some of which hold life and death. Can Katherine find the right solution that will help her uncle, his servants, and herself?
My thoughts:
I didn't know much about this book before reading and I'm glad I didn't. I suggest not reading an in-depth synopsis because it could give away things involved in the mystery.
This book is very different from other YA historical books I have read. It has a gothic, sci-fi feel to it, not unlike Doctor Who episodes set in the Victorian era. Yet, the story seemed plausible, if that makes sense.
At first I didn't really care much for the characters; they didn't seem anything special or unique. My opinion changed half-way through the book. Because the author did a good job of character development in the second half, I began reading it eagerly.
There is some content: God's name is used as a exclamation by certain characters. Alcohol and opium are mentioned often, but in a negative way.
