Helena Christodoulo
“Entwined” is a standalone novel written by Heather Dixon. The novel is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. Azalea is the main protagonist of the novel and she is the eldest of the twelve sisters. The whole family goes into mourning for a year, after finding out that their mother died giving birth to the twelfth child. Azalea steps into the role as leader and surrogate-parent to her sisters after their mother's death. The sisters start to feel suffocated by all the restrictions, especially the one on dancing, which was their favourite pastime. The King goes off to war right after the funeral, leading the girls to wonder if he even loves them.
Azalea discovers a secret passage with a staircase leading downwards at the bottom they find a forest of silver trees and a pavilion full of enchanted dancers. The owner of the pavilion introduces himself as the Keeper, and he allows the princesses to dance to their hearts' content and invites them to return every night until mourning is over. Every night the girls dance so much that they wear through their slippers. They're often tired in the morning and late to lessons and breakfast, and constantly stitching up their tattered shoes. Azalea eventually realizes that their belongings are going missing and that Keeper has been stealing from them and refuses to give their things back until they find the magic object that's keeping him confined within the walls of the castle.
The novel is slow paced. Azalea is a determined teenager after her mother's death, trying to look after her siblings. The siblings have a good relationship with each other, but their relationship with their father becomes strained when he leaves to go to war, making the sisters think that he doesn't love them. I found some of the romances cute, like the relationship between Azalea and Lord Bradford, where he stands by her side to help her when she is trying to defeat the keeper, even though they both know that she will have no say in who she marries, as parliament will choose the future king/ her husband. The novel was a good retelling that I enjoyed, I gave the novel a 3/5 stars.
‘Fire Falling' is the second novel of the ‘Air Awakens” series written by Elise Kova. In this novel, Vhalla, marches off to war in the North with hopes to bring victory to the Solaris Empire and to win her freedom, as she is now property of the Empire.
The second novel was just as fast and fun as the first. The characters that were introduced in the first novel, had some good character development. The romance became much more developed as the novel progressed. There were scenes where I shed a few tears. But all in all, the novel was better than the first, I gave the second novel 5/5 Stars.
“Everless” is the first in a duology written by Sara Holland. The novel is based in the Kingdom of Sempera, where time is currency which is extracted from blood then bound to iron, then the coin would be consumed to add time to one's own lifespan. This novel follows Jules Ember, who goes to the Gerlings' estate called Everless to earn time in order to keep her father alive and well after learning that her father is dying.
“Everless” is an interesting and unique novel due to the idea of time being a currency. I overall enjoyed the novel, I gave the novel a 3/5 Stars.
“Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues” is the second novel written in a series by Diana Rowland. The novel continues to follow Angel Crawford after she started her life anew as a zombie, and now she is used to her new life, but with getting used to the new way of life, there are more problems popping up, like her felony record and more zombie hunters, and there is even a zombie mafia.
The novel was just as fun as the first novel, I gave this a 4/5 Stars.
‘Earth's End' is the third novel of the ‘Air Awakens” series written by Elise Kova. In this novel, Vhalla, and the rest of the army has finally reached the warfront in the North. The war is explored throughout this novel.
Throughout this novel, the relationship between Vhalla and Aldrik leaps forward, as Vhalla's character grows even stronger as a person and as she starts to control her elemental abilities even more. There are new characters that are introduced in this novel. The novel ends with a cliff-hanger that is just as great as the second novel. I gave this novel 5/5 Stars.
“Daughter of the Siren Queen” is the last in a duology written by Tricia Levenseller. The novel follows Alosa, the captain of a pirate ship. Alosa has now recovered all three pieces of the map that leads to a legendary hidden treasure. She now has prisoners on her ship including Riden, the attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate, who is a constant distraction for her, is now under her orders. When Alosa discovers a secret that her father has kept from her, she and her crew go on the run, to discover the treasure first.
Alosa finally meets her mother, and learns more about her people, the Siren's. The romance between Riden and Alosa grow and blossom. The novel was just as enjoyable, as the first novel, I gave the novel a 4/5 Stars. I enjoyed the romance throughout both novels.
Crystal Crowned is the fifth and final novel in the ‘Air Awakens” series written by Elise Kova. There is a new battle that the characters need to fight, but this fight will be the last, where Vhalla fights for peace within the kingdom.
This novel was a pretty good conclusion to the novel. Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship has reached the next stage, where they are fully committed to each other and they accept each other. The villain of this novel was a surprise, overall I love the conclusion, I gave this novel a 5/5 Stars.
“Always and Forever, Lara Jean” is the final novel in the trilogy written by Jenny Han. Within this novel, Lara Jean is still in a relationship with Peter, and now she is trying to organise her father's wedding to Ms. Rothschild, while she is applying to colleges and completing high school.
I really enjoyed this novel due to the college problems that Lara Jean faced within the novel, as I related to these exact problems that she faced. This novel was very relatable. I quite enjoyed the romance within this novel, and the discussion on whether Lara Jean and Peter should breakup before college. I also liked the family relationships within this novel. This novel was a pretty good conclusion for the trilogy, so I gave this novel a 4.5/5 stars.
‘Air Awakens' is a novel written by Elise Kova, book one of the ‘Air Awakens' series. This novel is a fantasy, romance story about elemental magic and a library apprentice named Vhalla who's powers are awakening, which leads to the crowned prince to take an interest in her, as she also helped save his life.
The novel was a fast, fun read, that I enjoyed. Vhalla, the main character was frustrating at first, but her character developed as the novel progressed. The other characters were also very interesting, including the crowned prince and his younger brother.
Overall I enjoyed the novel in its entirety. I gave this novel a 4.5/5 Stars.