The Sin Eater's Daughter Review

TITLE: The Sin Eater's Daughter
AUTHOR: Melinda Salisbury
PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press
PUBLICATION DATE: 2/25/2015
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 320
SOURCE: Amazon Vine
MY RATING: 


INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, none of the lords or ladies ever speak to her. Because Twylla isn't exactly a member of the court.


She's the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each week, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla's touch, avoids her company.
But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet, Twylla's been promised to the prince and knows far too well what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the last of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies--a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I wanted to like this book so bad. It started out and I was a little confused by all of the strange character names and kingdom names, but I figured I was adjust to it. I'm not much of a fantasy reader and I sometimes have trouble with fantasy books because of the strange names and overly descriptive passages. I did adjust a little bit, but it was still a little difficult for me not to zone out when the passages were describing some of the gods.


In my opinion, this book was so boring. Nothing was happening. I had heard that there were people who loved this book, so I kept pushing myself to read on telling myself that it must get better if so many people like it. The plot started to pick up (sort of) about 2/3rds of the way through the book, but even then it was slow moving. There were some twists with the plot and we learn things that, at least for me, didn't even cross my mind as a possibility, but I was still pretty bored with this book. I need more things to happen and more action.


CHARACTERS: I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Maybe it was because I was so bored with this story line that I just didn't pay attention to the characters, but they just fell flat for me. I feel like I didn't really know anything about anyone.


COVER: The cover of the book is so beautiful. It's part of the reason why I pushed myself to keep reading. I figured if a book could have this pretty of a cover, it has to be good, but unfortunately that wasn't the case for me.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review**

The Honest Truth Review

Goodreads

TITLE: The Honest Truth

AUTHOR: Dan Gemeinhart

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press
PUBLICATION DATE: 1/27/2015

PAGES: 240

FORMAT: ARC

SOURCE: Amazon Vine/Publisher

MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.

But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.

So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier--even if it's the last thing he ever does.

The honest truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and the incredible journey of the human spirit.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I hadn't heard anything about this book before I read it, and I thought it was possibly about a boy who goes on a camping trip with his dog. I was completely wrong. I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to, but I think this would be a wonderful book for any middle school aged child. There's a lot of lessons packed into this little book. It was a quick read that I think would hold the attention of a younger, less patient reader.

CHARACTERS: I loved the main character of this book. He's just a little boy, but he has to go through so much and it's made him so strong and determined. I also really liked Jess, the main character's best friend. She has a decision that she is struggling with and my heart went out to her.

COVER: I love the bright colors that they used for this cover. The image also fits the book 100%.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.**

Shiver

TITLE: Shiver

AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press

PAGES: 390

MY RATING: (4 out of 5)

INSIDE COVER BLURB: The Cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

The Heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

The Shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human--and Grace must fight to keep him--even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

MY REVIEW: First of all, I love that the writing in this book is in blue ink instead of black, that's just awesome :). The book itself was a very good read. I liked how it was written from both of their sides so that you could see each of their views on what was happening. The story moved fairly quickly and kept me wondering if and when Sam would change into a wolf again. I think the only problem that I had with this book was how fast Sam and Grace seemed to fall in love. I know that they had watched each other for many years before Grace knew that it was Sam that was the wolf, but to me it seemed they moved rather quickly and there was no build up of their relationship.

I'm looking forward to the next book, Linger, and I wonder if it will have green ink in the pages as the cover is green :0

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