A Thousand Nights

ISBN: 9781484722275
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: October 6th 2015
Number of Pages: 328
Source: Advanced Reader Copy
Goodreads Summary: Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

My Rating:  

*I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Lo-Melkhiin rode into the desert as a man, and he was something else when he came out." pg. 40

 

Very intriguing story that is reminiscent of the Arabic tale One Thousand and One Nights AKA Arabian Nights. In that tale, a king finds his wife to be cheating on him and has her executed. He assumes all women are like his wife and proceeds to marry a different virgin every night, having her executed the next day. Finally, there are no more virgins left in the city and his vizier's (high official) daughter offers herself. On the first night, the daughter tells the king a story but fails to finish it - thus promptly the king to spare her life so he can find out the end of the story. She does this for 1,001 nights. 

Like the Arabic tale, we have a king, Lo-Melkhiin, who takes a girl from each village to marry and they are found dead the next day after they marry. That is until one day he finds a girl willing to offer herself to save her older sister from this deadly marriage. We never find out the girl's name (the story is told partially from her point of view) and we actually never are told anyone's name, save for Lo-Melkhiin. The author doesn't give a reason for this but does tell us in the acknowledgements "Emily Meehan, who took me very seriously when I told her that no, no one was ever going to get a name." 

There is a mystical element to the story, as the girl has been made a smallgod from the shrines and prayers offered to her. This power allows her to battle with the demon who has taken possession of Lo-Melkhiin's body and mind. We have some chapters told from the demon's perspective that give us a little more insight into this strange and dangerous creature. 

The story is very well written and moves at a quick pace. I haven't read anything like it before.  

We Were Liars

*I received an ARC (ebook version) from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.*

by e. lockhart

ISBN: 9780385741262

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 13th 2014
Number of Pages: 240

Source: ebook (ARC)

Goodreads Summary: 

A beautiful and distinguished family.A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

My Rating:  

The whole story is basically a secret, so I can't give anything away regarding plot. I mean, you can tell just by reading the so-called "summary." All very vague....

This book was a quick read not only because of the length but also the story-line is fast paced. 

The reason this book only received 2 stars from me is due to several factors. One, the way it was written. I did not like the main character's voice or how the story was written in the way it was. Some of the wording is off to me and this style did not work well for me at all. I do understand why it was written that way - to keep the reader engaged enough for them to read this book like a thriller.

There lies my second gripe: it was supposed to be a thriller and secretive but I had figured everything out pretty quickly. Only reason I kept reading through was to get answers to the few questions I had.


Marketing FAIL


Things I did like:
-the underlying moral of the story
-the weird and interesting fairy tales


I'm not sure I can really recommend this book. I will say MAYBE if you came and just randomly picked this book out and went in blind, it might be okay. Some people might even enjoy this type of writing style. But I think the hype surrounding this book was too much and it ultimately spoiled "the secret." 

The Tyrant's Daughter

by J.C. Carleson

ISBN: 9780449809976
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers               
Publication Date: February 11th 2014
Number of Pages: 304
Source: ebook (ARC from publisher)
Goodreads Summary: When her father is killed in a coup, 15-year-old Laila flees from the war-torn middle east to a life of exile and anonymity in the U.S. Gradually she adjusts to a new school, new friends, and a new culture, but while Laila sees opportunity in her new life, her mother is focused on the past. She’s conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to regain the throne their family lost. Laila can’t bear to stand still as an international crisis takes shape around her, but how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations?

J.C. Carleson delivers a fascinating account of a girl—and a country—on the brink, and a rare glimpse at the personal side of international politics.

*Bonus Backmatter includes a note about the author's CIA past, and a commentary by RAND researcher and president of ARCH International, Dr. Cheryl Benard. Recommendations for further reading are also included. 

My Rating:  

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The main character of our story is a teenager girl named Laila who comes to America with her mother and younger brother (Bastien) after her father is assassinated in her home country, which is unnamed but we are told/it is implied that it is in the Middle East. Obviously, there is culture shock. Add on to this, she was royalty and is used to a higher standard of living. She must go to public school and she wears "American" clothing. She is fluent in English (as she has had private tutors her whole life) which helps but she does have problems with slang and some literal translations. Laila is taken under the wing of Emily, who is a delightful character who is dealing with her own set of problems and identity issues (wish her character was more developed!)

The story of her life back home is threaded into her life today. I feel that this story was well-written and Laila is a realistic and complex character. She has a number of things to deal with that she handles pretty well.

The accusations against her father:

"Are you sure you want to do this? I ask myself. Are you sure you want to know? I'm not sure of anything, really. But I do know that certain words have been planted in my head, and they are sprouting like unwelcome weeds: Dictator. This one compliments of Emmy.King. A tale told by my mother.
Massacre. An accusation in a newspaper.
Assassination. A sentence carried out by my uncle. ....I hope I can disprove them, replace them. Let them be lies, I plead silently." - The Tyrant's Daughter, 34

She struggles with doing "the right thing" for her family when confronted by a CIA agent named Darren Gansler, who tells her the truth behind her family's entrance into America:

"'Laila, I didn't bring your family here out of the goodness of my heart. You're here, or at least your mother is here, for a reason. Your mother made a deal the day you all got on the plane. We - the United States government, that is - went to considerable risk to get your family out of your country safely. I offered your mother a way out and guaranteed political refugee status here if she agreed to cooperate.'" - The Tyrant's Daughter, 69

There is an underlying political  theme that really makes you think about America and our relationship with Middle Eastern countries. The things Laila discovers are shocking & her reaction at first is full of betrayal and confusion. You really feel her struggle.

We also have her having conflicting feelings for the boys in her life: Ian, the nice American boy who helps her escape her home troubles but she also feels like she has to act around him as the "Americanized version" of herself. Then there is Amir, who is from her home country but is of a different status. I loved their interactions and his heartbreaking story.

At one point in this story, Laila is told the classic story of Cinderella, at least the story that most Western cultures know and tell. She is excited to share her own story told to her as a young child - A sultan locks his beautiful daughter away (reminiscent of our story of Rapunzel as well). One night, the princess hears haunting music and decides to escape her tower to be with the musician who is the cause of this beautiful music. She just happens to lose a slipper while climbing down the tower. They run away and get married. The sultan is so outraged that he orders his guards to go village to village and kill whoever fits his daughter's slipper. The princess couldn't stand the killing of innocents and turns herself in. Her father orders that she is to be stoned for her crimes. When she is lead out to die, her love plays a song and it melts the sultan's heart. He forgives his daughter but cuts off her toes so that she may never run away again and "so that he would never again be offended by the sight of a slipper the size of the one that represented his daughter's shameful act." - 80

Laila's friends are shocked by what seems to them a barbaric tale and can't believe she was told this as a child. Laila didn't realize the differences between her country and ours and this is just one example of that.

This is a coming-of-age story and one that tells a story of a girl that has seen and experienced events far from our understanding and has to work through these issues. I believe the author at the end of this book describes it perfectly:

"Ultimately, this book is pure fiction that is inspired by real events. It isn't about a specific conflict any more than it is about any one particular country. Rather, it's the personal story of someone living on the periphery of war. It's the story of a girl grappling with questions about guilt, choice, blame, and identity under circumstances both extraordinary and mundane. It's a big story told in small details, and I hope that my readers come away feeling as if faraway issues are now a little more personal." - The Tyrant's Daughter, Author's Note, 284

I highly encourage you to also read the commentary written by Dr. Cheryl Benard at the end, as it also puts a real life perspective on the events and themes presented in the book:

"After all, nothing is black-and-white. It's not even gray. It's a fractured, fragile kaleidoscope of colors ready to shift at the slightest nudge of the wheel. Good people can do bad things. Good people can do good things that turn out badly. Or they can do great things that shine like beacons for centuries to come. Bad people can do bad things that turn out well, or they can do terrible things that cause enormous misery. Or other people can do things intended to please the good or bad leader that he or she would not have endorsed." - The Tyrant's Daughter, "Truth in Fiction: A Commentary" Dr. Cheryl Benard, 291

I think this would be a wonderful book to use in a high school literature class and in book clubs. There is violence described in this book, but this is something that kids in other countries experience on a daily basis, thus I feel teenagers should be able to handle it. This book didn't not receive a full star rating from me due to the ending (I wanted more closure and more of her world!) and the development of some characters not being fully realized. 

Ruined

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Also, this book is currently only available in ebook format. I am awaiting a reply as to when it will be released as a hard copy book. 

By Jus Accardo

Series: Book #1 The Eternal Balance
ISBN: 97816226621848
Publisher: Entangled: Embrace
Publication Date: December 30th 2013
Number of Pages: 325
Source: ebook (ARC)
Goodreads Summary: Hell is looking for a way to break loose...Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world's first murderer, he's plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it's killing him.After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can't outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she's thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she's been trying to forget.

Sam strains Jax's control over his darkness, but running isn't an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

My Rating:  

This is book #1 in a new series featuring demons. We have twin brothers, Jax and Chase who are total opposites and not very close. The problem with their relationship stems from long ago - they are the descendants of Cain & Abel (biblical brothers; Cain became jealous of Abel and killed him). Because of this, Cain's descendants that are born with a "tainted" soul have to bear the burden of sharing their body with a demon. This demon hates Jax's brother and taunts Jax with images of killing Chase. The only way Jax can deal with the hate of the demon is to stay away from Chase and "feed" the demon with violence.

I enjoyed how different and unique this story is. We have the paranormal aspect of demons and we also have sort of a twist on the old story of Cain and Abel. 

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say there are many surprises to this story. I was hooked and could not stop reading it until the end.

I did not give a higher rating to this book because I did have a problem with the relationship between Samantha & Jax. There was a good background story to them and his reasons for leaving her behind are legit. I don't like the idea or portrayal of this "all-consuming, obsessive" love between them. Doesn't feel true to life when we have that type of love. I am classifying this book in the New Adult category, as the characters are older (18) and it does have some racy scenes (as one of the emotions demons can feed off of is lust). 

I will probably pick up the next book to continue the story and see how it turns out. I do find that 3 books may be too much, as it sounds like the story could be wrapped up in just one other book.