Quote of the Week: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

      So, I finally read The Fault in Our Stars and I'm happy because of that. Today I have to share some of my favorite quotes with you, but to be completely honest, I think I highlighted at least 60% of the book.

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Connect with the author:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Read my review here. 

"I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward the consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it-or my observation of it-is temporary?"

*******

"Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book."

*******

 "I thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe, but that has not been my experience."

Happy reading,

Waiting On Wednesday (#84)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

Catherine Summer Carlson knows how to manage bands like a professional—she’s a student at the PopArts Academy at Mount Hope High, where rock legends Allegiance to North got their start. Summer knows that falling for the lead singer of her latest band is the least professional thing a manager can do. But Caleb Daniels isn’t an ordinary band boy—he’s a hot, dreamy, sweet-singing, exiled-from-his-old-band, possibly-with-a-deep-dark-side band boy. And he can do that thing. That thing when someone sings a song and it inhabits you, possesses you, and moves you like a marionette to its will.

Summer also finds herself at the center of a mystery she never saw coming. When Caleb reveals a secret about his long-lost father, one band’s past becomes another’s present, and Summer finds it harder and harder to be both band manager and girlfriend. She knows what the well-mannered Catherine side of her would do, but she also knows what her heart is telling her. Maybe it’s time to accept who she really is, even if it means becoming an exile herself. . . .

Expected publication: April 29th, 2014

Tanja's pick

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Expected publication: March 4th, 2014

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Author Interview: Danielle L. Jensen

Hi all. Today I have a special guest on my blog. Yup, the amazing Danielle L. Jansen or some of you may know her as the author of Stolen Songbird, which I have reviewed last week in case you want to check out my review for it. And in case you somehow missed the book let's first introduce you to it. Then I asked her few questions and check out what she said.

Pre-order the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Book summary:

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Author interview: 
Hello Danielle. Welcome to Ja čitam, a ti?. I'm really happy to have you here today and I have some questions for you so shall we start.

1.      I must say that I was really surprised with the idea of trolls in this book so I'm really curious what inspired you to write about them? 

It's a bit weird, isn't it? I get a lot of raised eyebrows when I tell people I wrote a YA fantasy romance about trolls. Everyone thinks about the creatures in The Hobbit or Harry Potter, and mine are obviously quite a bit different. The idea for the setting - a city buried by rubble - came first. The trolls came into being when I started thinking about what sort of creatures would inhabit such a place. They grew along with the plot until they became the characters everyone is now reading about.

2.      Both our protagonist Cécile and Tristan are quite different than usual. What do you think their best and worst qualities are?

Best Qualities: Cécile never lets her pride get in the way of admitting that she was wrong or that she screwed up. She's a glass-is-half-full kind of girl, and even when everything goes wrong for her, she keeps her chin up. Tristan is extremely ambitious, but despite what he pretends, his motivations are quite selfless. He believes if only he plans well enough and works hard enough that he can make life better for his people.  

Worst Qualities: Cécile often acts before thinking about consequences. Tristan is a bit of a control freak.

3.      As the world-building in this book is amazing do you have any pictures that inspired you?

Well, thank you! I don't have an inspiration board or anything like that, but this was the photo on my desktop while I was first drafting the novel.

(source)

4.      If you found yourself in Trollus what's the first thing that you'd visit?

The glass gardens, and I'd get one of the trolls to light them up for me.  

5.      Are you a fantasy lover yourself and if you are what are your favorite fantasy books? I'm a huge fan of everything that has to do with fantasy and new worlds. 

As far as YA goes, my favourite fantasy books that take place in alternate worlds are Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Sabriel by Garth Nix, and The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.

6.      Maybe the only thing that I missed in your book was time setting. Can you tell us which century we're dealing with or we'll discover that in sequel(s) to come?

Well, the novel was written so that it would be ambiguous as to whether it was an alternate world or an alternate history, and that won't change.  But if you really want to be grounded in a specific time, the 18thcentury is probably the best place to land.

7.      Speaking about sequel(s) - how many do you plan and maybe when can we expect them?

There will be three novels in The Malediction Trilogy. The second will be released in 2015 and the third in 2016.

8.      I tend to finish my interviews with author's favorite quote or message for my readers. So can you share yours?

Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. - Oscar Wilde

That's one of my favorite quotes as well. Thank you Danielle!

About the author 

Danielle was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.

Author's 

Webiste / Facebook / Twitter

Until the next time,

Finding Lichgates Blog Tour

Heyo! S. M. Boyce here. I’m on this cozy blog today as part of my Finding Lichgates Blog Tour. My hosts are so awesome for letting me show you the stories of how some of my fans found Lichgates and the other books in the Grimoire Saga.

So, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, I think I should explain what a lichgate is. A lichgate is a portal that ties our world to the terrifying and beautiful world in my Grimoire Saga called Ourea. Lichgates can be found in remote places, and when you walk through a lichgate, the land you cross into is not what you would see if you’d simply walked around the portal.

For many fans, stumbling upon the first book in the Grimoire Saga is much like stumbling through a lichgate. That is why this tour is all about the fans and how they found their first lichgate into the world of the Grimoire Saga.

To see more Finding Lichgates Stories check out the blog tour schedule.

Meet Amber. This is her Finding Lichgates Story:

I found Lichgates on the blog tour list on the website I am a Reader Not a Writer. That blog tour was my first one, and I have been enjoying my blogging and reading journey ever since.  I was pulled in by the concept of Kara being lost after the loss of her mother and trying to find herself in this new world she unwittingly discovers. After reading most of the series, I have to say that it is very refreshing and wonderfully encouraging. The arduous journey that Kara finds herself that is wrought with pain, pleasure, and unimaginable potential just pulls at my heart like only a few other series ever have. I continue to read the Lichgates series to not only discover who Kara is and to find out how her journey continues, but I also read it for the encouragement and inspiration that it gives me to not let my hopes and dreams die while I walk through my own journey no matter how hard or frustrating it might be at times. Just to know that what I find along the way can be wonderful if I will only allow myself to see people and things for what they really are is extremely encouraging and helps me to keep the proper perspective on life.

Book summary: 

Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things—Ourea.
 Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.
 For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.
 Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

Grab your FREE eBook copy

Boyce’s Store: ePub | Mobi | Autographed Paperback

Amazon: USA | UK | Buy the Paperback

Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Add to Goodreads | Watch the Trailer

About the author

International Amazon Bestseller. Fantasy Author. Twitter addict. Book Blogger. Geek. Sarcastic. Gooey. Odd. Author of the action-packed Grimoire Saga.

S.M. Boyce is a novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries.

Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.

Author's 

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Google + / Pinterest

Giveaway 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until the next time, 

The Frost Series Blast

Both books are currently 0.99$ at Amazon! 

In case you want to check out my reviews for both books here they are 

First Frost

Glass Frost

First Frost

The Frost Series Book # 1

By-Liz DeJesus

Publication Date- June 22, 2012

Published By- Musa Publishing  

Fairytales aren’t real…yeah…that’s exactly what Bianca thought. She was wrong. 

For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.” 

Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel… 

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.

She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

  

  

Glass Frost

The Frost Series Book # 2

By- Liz DeJesus

Publication Date- July 19th, 2013

Published By- Musa Publishing

When joined together, Cinderella's slippers grant the wearer her heart's desire. But whose wish will be granted?

When Cinderella’s glass slipper is stolen, Queen Felicia sends her faithful steward Terrance to the real world to retrieve his love and witch-in-training, Bianca Frost. The power of the glass slipper, when paired with its mate, and in the wrong hands, could ruin the peace of Everafter. Bianca must gather every bit of magic she has learned in the past few weeks to find the slipper and protect her new love. Together, Bianca, Ming, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance venture deep into the heart of Everafter to seek clues as to who has stolen the slipper and why. Along the way, they uncover what happened to the Seven Dwarves after Snow White married the prince, but also learn the awful risk of tampering with black magic and the high price that must be paid for magic, even when used for good.

Bianca and Terrance’s relationship is put to the test. Through the pain of suffering and loss, Bianca must determine if following her gallant boyfriend into his faraway world is in fact her heart's desire.

  

About the Author-

Liz DeJesus was born on the tiny island of Puerto Rico. She is a novelist and a poet. She has been writing for as long as she was capable of holding a pen. She is the author of the novel Nina (Blu Phi'er Publishing, October 2007), The Jackets (Arte Publico Press, March 31st 2011) First Frost (Musa Publishing, June 22nd 2012) and Glass Frost (Musa Publishing, COMING SOON).

She is also a member of The Written Remains Writers Guild.

Liz is currently working on a new novel.

   

Until the next time,

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Connect with the author:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 4 stars (or is it 3 stars - I can't decide)

Book summary: 

"Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."

      Why I decided to read TFIOS? Truth is that I didn't have much luck with John Green's novels. I did read only one book, Looking for Alaska, and my judgement may have been clouded by bad translation. Or I just didn't find the story very convincing. To be honest, final nudge for me to read The Fault in Our Stars was the movie - I didn't want to watch it before reading the book.

    Did I like it? The Fault in Our Stars would have make bigger impression on me if I had read in 2012. when it was published for the first time. Since then I was constantly reminded by my bookish friends how amazing it is and don't even let me start with all the annoying fan art. This doesn't mean that I didn't like it, but I did have standard "hyped books" issues. You recognize all the emotional and intellectual layers of the story, but nothing makes you feel that wow-factor because everything you had read was expected. Even the ending.

      Five reasons why I think TFIOS is brilliant. (1) John Green managed to turn a book about death into a book about living. Yes, it is sad and yes, I did cry in the end, but generally this is very positive, more often idealistic, story about struggle with cancer. (2) Peter van Houten. Bitter old man, writer and eccentric voices few things, very true things, that most of the people wouldn't say because it's "impolite" or socially unacceptable". (3) Three completely different characters - Hazel, Gus and Isaac - with same problem. (4) Hazel's dad and his theory about universe wanting to be noticed. (5) This is not just a sad love story, something most of the reviews I've read points out as focus of the story. Yes, there is a love story, but you have to read between the lines and you'll see a lot of other things. Few you wouldn't like, for some you'll think they are really cruel things to say, but I find them the best part of The Fault in Our Stars because they are honest.

       John Green is new Stephenie Meyer. I am not talking about content of their books (obviously), but I do have in mind the influence and worldwide obsession with his work, especially this novel. It became like this whole new subculture. You don't even have to doubt that it is a really great thing for author and sale's numbers, but for me as the reader, that is something distracting. I'm afraid that TFIOS would have same fate as books we have to read in high school - we are afraid to say we do not like them because everyone tells us that Tolstoy or Balzac are literary geniuses, so we feel obligated to find their novels worthy of all the praise even before we pick them up and read them.

       So, what did I hate about it? John Green has this annoying habit - I noticed that in Looking for Alaska, too - he  is a big fan of witty conversations which you have to read few times to understand them and in the end you realize they are not so funny. Quite contrary, everything looks pretentious and unbelievable. Also, I have this feeling that Green is one of those authors from category "if-you-read-one-book-by-this-author-it's-like-you-read-them-all". One thing that makes me want to scream and hurl the book under the super fast moving train that will destroy it into the pieces is standard American Europe cliche.

       I am glad that I finally read this book, I liked it, there are things I didn't like and I can't wait to see what they did with it in the movie.


 Happy reading,

Waiting on Wednesday (#83)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

Lexi has a secret…

Ever since her mom found out she was in love with a girl, seventeen-year-old Lexi’s afraid that what’s left of her family is going to fall apart for good.

"You are on the road to truth. Help is on the way."

The road signs leading to New Horizons summer camp promise a new life for Lexi—she swears she can change. She can learn to like boys. But denying her feelings is harder than she thinks. And when she falls heads over heels for one of her fellow campers, Lexi will have to risk her mother’s approval for the one person who might love her no matter what.

Expected publication: April 1st, 2014

Tanja's pick

Sixteen-year old Selena Fallon is a dreamer. Not a day-dreamer, but an I-see-the-future kind of dreamer. Normally this is not a problem as she has gotten pretty good at keeping her weird card hidden from everyone in her small town. Except from her best friend Kyle and her grandparents, of course. But when Selena dreams of her own rather bloody death, things get a little too freaky even for her.

Enter Dillan Sloan. Selena has seen the new guy in a different dream, and he is even more droolworthy in person. Beyond the piercing blue eyes and tousled dark hair, there is something else that draws her to him. Something…electric. Unfortunately, Dillan makes it more than clear that he does not feel the same. They just met, so why would he act like he hates her?

When Dillan and Selena are forced together one weekend to work on a school project, Selena prepares to be ignored as usual. But when she stumbles across a few undead in the backyard, Dillan comes to her rescue and reveals a whole lot more. Not only is he part of a society that hunts otherworldly creatures…she is too. And she is being targeted by a force bigger and darker than anything she ever imagined. Despite her death dream, Selena is not going to give up easy, especially when she discovers that Dillan might not actually hate her after all.

Expected publication: March 4th, 2014

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Cover Reveal: Shattered Secrets by Kyrstal Wade

Popular YA author Krystal Wade has a thrilling new novel coming out on March 3rd, 2014! Meet Abigail Nichols and Derrick Crawford in SHATTERED SECRETS, a story about love and magic that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

We have a fun jigsaw puzzle of the cover for you guys! Go on, give it a try!

...but if you can’t wait, just scroll down and take a peek at final cover of SHATTERED SECRETS!

Now check out if you got it right

Book info:

Title: Shattered Secrets

Author: Krystal Wade

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Release Date: March 3th, 2014

Pages: 300 pages

Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Book summary: 

After being kidnapped, hogtied, and stuffed in the trunk of a car, seventeen-year-old Abigail Nichols' boy problems seem unimportant.
She couldn't be more wrong.
 The boy who saves her holds her heart.
 But Derick Crawford also holds secrets.
 Magical beings who guide human emotions are fighting an invisible war dating back to the dawn of time, and Abigail's one of them. The more she learns of her heritage, the less she wants to know. Armed with a very old, very massive book to teach them about their history, Abigail and Derick run away to a place where they think they can be safe and happy, only to have their troubles secretly hitch a ride.
 Her history book is in a sharing mood, and it tells her to keep a secret of her own.
 But has she put her trust in the wrong place?
 And will the world survive if she has?

About the author

Krystal Wade can be found in the sluglines outside Washington D.C. every morning, Monday through Friday. With coffee in hand, iPod plugged in, and strangers - who sometimes snore, smell, or have incredibly bad gas - sitting next to her, she zones out and thinks of fantastical worlds for you and me to read.

How else can she cope with a fifty mile commute?

Good thing she has her husband and three kids to go home to. They keep her sane.

Author's

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Until the next time,

Blog Tour: Butterman (Time) Travel, INC. by PK Hrezo

Welcome to my tour stop for Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc by PK Hrezo. This is a New Adult Time Travel Adventure Romance and the tour runs Feb. 10-21 with reviews, author interviews and a few guest posts and top tens.  It also includes a great giveaway.  Be sure to stop by the tour page for all the additional information and list of tour stops.

Book Title: Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc
Author: PK Hrezo
Genre: NA Time Travel Adventure Romance
Recommended Age: 16 and up
Length: 267
Release date: November, 2013

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Book summary:

It’s the year 2069 and even though eighteen-year-old Bianca Butterman is heir to the family biz, she may never see the day her time-craft license becomes official. When a government agent starts nosing around the operation, Butterman Travel, Inc. gets stuck with a full audit—part of a government take-over scheme to shut down all private time travel agencies. Enter former boy band superstar, Tristan Helms, desperate to retrieve a lost item from his past and willing to pay triple fare for a time-trip to get there, and Bianca has to find a way to complete the job and return home before the government gets wind and shuts down the family biz for good.

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated; a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. We’re a family owned and operated business with one hundred years of experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend some special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply
Use our Web conferencing to contact our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, who will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.
We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

          When reading books about time-travel it's mostly people from present who travel to past, or at least that's what I've been reading about, but this one is quite different. Now we're in the future and it's time to go and visit past. 

           Welcome to the year 2069, not far from now, but it's time of time-travel agencies. Yes, my dear friends time-travel is now part of people's lives by following certain set of rules and with enough money you can travel back in past. That's what happens here when suddenly Tristan, a very famous super star, asks for time-travel services. It also means a lot for Bianca who is the youngest in Butterman family and therefore next in charge of time-traveling. Only to fulfill that she must pass some test and get her licence. This is a perfect opportunity for it. Only time-traveling is actually a really fragile thing and it's not easy to manipulate time, especially when your fellow traveler didn't even bother to read terms and conditions. Duh! 

            Honestly this book took me by surprised because of many unexpected moments. Firstly the whole idea of future and then traveling back to past is highly interesting for me. Also this book was a real page-turner. Once you start you just cannot wait to see what will happen next. There is great change in both Bianca and Travis. While he thinks that he is on a search for his inspiration in fact he is looking for himself the one that's been lost in all the fame. Bianca at the other hand needs to learn that not everything in life is accomplished by following the rules. It's sometimes about breaking old ones and creating new. It's not only traveling back to find what they think they're looking for, but instead what they're willing to find. 

          At the end, I'd like to take a moment and thank the author PK Herzo for letting her character travel to that moment in history where I'd mostly likely first travel to. 

Rating: 5 stars.

About the Author:

PK Hrezo is a native Floridian whose life could easily be a Jimmy Buffet song. She shares her home with her firefighter husband and their two children. When not creating characters and their worlds, PK can be found at her other job of rearranging passenger’s itineraries for a major international airline. The only hobbies she loves more than traveling, are reading, writing, and music, and when the four are combined she exists in total bliss.

She blogs regularly at PK HREZO: Fearless Fiction

Author's 

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway:

T-shirt from outofprintclothing.com (US)

$10 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Bettie Bookpage Pixie ornament (US)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until the next time,

ARC Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Pre-oder book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Book summary: 

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.
Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.
But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.
As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

            It's rather rare for me to sit down just after finishing the book and start the review. But here I am, only few minutes after reading the last word of this book writing this. I cannot tell you how much this book makes me happy. But enough of my blabbing, gushing and fangirling (yeah, like that will ever stop), and let me tell you more about this book.

            This is a story about Cecile, a young girl who suddenly gets kidnapped and soon enough finds herself in a world she heard stories about. I cannot tell you about time she is living in but as soon as we entered Trollus I forgot about our world in general. The caves are magical not only because they indeed are filled with troll magic but because they're beautiful. We cannot tell the same for most trolls living there but Tristan is someone you must notice. His ideas aren't those of marriage and mostly not of breaking the curse, but actually they are quite different. But his attitude and impoliteness aren't those of the the next king. When forced together they must find a way around games and intrigues because they are now part of their lives. Soon enough they see that they both have more in common than they believed.

            While some parts of this book sound really predictable and in fact they are, there are other things that make this book unputdownable. It's not just that the author made me fall for trolls but at the same time she created characters who are actually not special nor perfect. Cecile and Tristan are far from it. Every her decision is weighted and even though well aware of her love for Tristan she still has life outside and she still cannot let go the idea of the future that once was very near. She is rational as much as emotional. What more there is Tristan, a boy who is really rude and far from Prince Charming and he has all right to be. His will has been broken so many times and every his move is well calculated and planed. He is strategist after all. There is no insta-love here, here is romance that's built out of friendship and mutual desire to break so many rules and built a place for better tomorrow. Of course their relationship is not an easy one, when both of them are forced to be something neither of them wants to be.

         This review is too long already, but I need to take a moment and tell you more about supporting characters, about Marc, who won me from the first appearing or Victor and Victoria who are hard not to like. Same as King, Queen and Duchesse who all played their parts in royal manner.

          Lastly, this book is apparently over 400 pages, but I haven't felt if for a second and I'll gladly read 800 pages more if necessary.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Strange Chemistry, via NetGalley. Thank you. 

I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal.