My Name Is Rapunzel Blog Tour & Giveaway!!

My Name Is Rapunzel 

K. C. Hilton

Published November 22nd, 2013

302 Pages

My tale has been told again and again, and I've heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn't have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did.
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.

 My Name is Rapunzel is one of many fairy-tale retellings that have made their debut as of late, and it charmed me. I'm not sure how the original story went, just that there was a girl locked away in a tower with magical golden hair long enough to be climbed up. I know most fairy-tales, but not this one too well.

In this particular retelling, Rapunzel was to marry the son of the king, Henry, whom she was madly in love with. Her father had riches in a past life, but gave it up to have his family. They seemed like a cute little family that cared about each other, so much so that her parents never had an desire to have another child: Rapunzel was good enough for them.

As with all good fairy-tales, an evil witch had to make an appearance and cause a big mess. She cursed Rapunzel with eternal life, so she may forever use her hair to keep her own youth. Henry was with her at the time of cursing, and he disappears: Rapunzel fears the worst.

The story is told with alternating time periods, switching between the past and the present. We get to see 250 years of this poor girls life, eventually locked away in a castle with the evil witch, guarded by a dragon that she has come to care for very much. She slowly acclimates to the changes of present day, even learning the joys of online shopping.

Though I had no idea how this would end, I always hoped for a happy ending .After all: it's a fairy-tale! I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did, and I'm so very glad I picked it up. My Name is Rapunzel is sure to be stuck in my thoughts for quite a while!

About The Author:

Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois I spent my childhood climbing trees and playing street games with the neighborhood kids. I was a proud tomboy, until the day I didn't want to hike the land to an old graveyard. From that point forward I was considered a “girl”.

At the age of seventeen I moved to Kentucky and eventually began to raise a family of my own. Having worn several “hats” my life has been an adventure all on its own. Still, to this day, I yearns to be a mechanic and own a pink toolbox with pink tools.

I can usually be found updating my website, reading great books, watching awesome movies or creating videos for my YouTube channel. Most days I craves Diet Coke, pizza and chocolate, in no particular order.

I don’t read scary books or watch horror movies… I’m way too scared! Lol.

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Book Review: A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

A Long, Long Sleep

Anna Sheeden

342 Pages

Published August 9th, 2011

It should have been a short suspended-animation sleep. But this time Rose wakes up to find her past is long gone -- and her future full of peril.

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose -- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire -- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes -- or be left without any future at all.

A Long, Long Sleep is about a girl named Rose who pretty much spent her life going to hell and back, over and over and over again. Her overbearing parents repeatedly put her into a coma-like state through a process called stasis, in which she lost huge chunks of her life. She watched a childhood friend grow from years younger than her to being older than her.

If that wasn't bad enough, imagine this poor girl waking up after a stasis session that lasted over 60 years. She is woken by a boy named Bren, one whom she is instantly drawn to for unknown reasons. Her friends and family are all long gone, perished during a period of time she slept through, dubly named "the dark times". She must find out how to survive in this new society, all while avoiding everyday troubles like everyone thinking she's a freak.. and much darker issues like a human-like thing that has been programmed to murder her.

Obviously, Rose doesn't deal with this too well at first, constantly thinking of her past life and of Xavier, her childhood friend turned lover. It saddened me that she couldn't see all the abuse her parents had put her through, how she thought sleeping away years of her life at a time so they could go off and vacation was good. She honestly thought that this was normal, loving behavior from her parents.. and that really sucked for her.

Other than that flaw, she was a pretty decent character. She had wit and charm that kept me smiling, and I loved how we got to know about her love of anything artistic. Her unique abilities are what made me life her, and I loved how she was kind to everyone, even the strange alien-type boy Ottto.

Otto.. he was probably my favorite character, ever. Period. He was SO different that some people may have found him creepy, or unrelatable, but I really connected with him since he was the outcast. I felt his pain, though I know there has to be more to his story. I felt like he and Rose would have been good together.. was I the only one that thought that?!

I hope that someday there will be a sequel, since there were some loose strings that I felt could have been tied up. I won't give it away but... there are some pretty big things left open. A Long, Long sleep was full of mysteries that shocked even me once they were finally solved. Definitely a 2013 favorite!

Book Review: Pawn by Aimee Carter

Pawn

Aimee Carter

352 Pages

Published November 26th, 2013

YOU CAN BE A VII IF YOU GIVE EVERYTHING.
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked - surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed, and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

Kitty Doe is your average teenage girl, stuck in a controlling and domineering society that sorts people by a ranking system, based off the roman numerals.  When Kitty is assigned the lowly category of a III, due to not being able to read or finish the test on time, she fears that her life is over. Her standing in society places her in a risky spot, one where any small crime can get her banished to Elsewhere, a cruel place no one in their right mind would ever wish to visit.

Sad and forlorn, frustrated with her turn of luck in life, Kitty does the unthinkable: she commits a crime and steals food from a vendor, not knowing what will happen to her as consequence. When guards hunt her down no matter where she goes, she knows she's in for a fair bit of trouble. However, she never could have imagined how her life would change, all because of one orange.

When she wakes up in a hospital-like setting, feeling anything but like herself, panic sets in. Not knowing where she is, she gets the shock of her life when she discovers she's been kidnapped and had body modification surgery performed on her against her will. She is now the replacement for a powerful figure in society, Lila Hart, and she is no longer a III. She is a VII, the highest level of society one can belong to.

Pawn follows Kitty as she gets adjusted to her new life, where secrets and danger round every corner. She must learn to act just like Lila, a girl she's never met before in her life. Pressure is coming from many sides to behave in different ways, and death threats abound. Despite all this, Kitty remained strong and kept a level head. If I were her I would have broken down and given up, locking myself away and waiting for imminent death; it just would have been too much.

I loved Benjy as well. Even with everything going on, he still stands by Kitty through thick and thin, remaining devoted and all hers. Daxton seemed nice as well, but sometimes I questioned his motives. I knew something was up with him and Cecelia from the beginning, but it took me a while to piece together the puzzle and figure out who they really were.

Pawn was a thrilling story, set in a futuristic USA. With a corrupt government, murderers everywhere without shame and many lies and conspiracies, the story kept me on my toes and was believable. I can only hope that next year rolls around faster so I can read the next installment!

Reading Cram Day 4 Update and Top 10 Books I Read In 2013 Challenge

Since I hopped in late, I feel like I'm doing a decent job on this readathon. I've entered one challenge anId am planning on doing 2 more today, one of which will be this post. I completed Pawn late last night and am happy to say that it was fantastic I've now moved onto Drawn and am flying through that one. I don't know what I'll read after that, more than likely Angelbound or Becoming Alpha. I have a handful of reviews to write that I've been putting off, so I'm going to try and get those scheduled in sometime today.

Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

End Of The Year Reading Cram!!

If you are anything like me you have a huge stack (or even bookcases) full of book you haven't read. Did you have a goal for how many books you wanted to read during the year? Are you behind like I am? 

Then this is the perfect time to read as much as you can before the new year! Sign up at Juliababyjen's Reading Room or at Dana Square!

Why should you participate?

1. To chisel off some of your TBR pile.

2. Do all the fun challenges and win some prizes.

3. Encourage others to read like a speed demon (and yourself) + reading with others is loads of fun. 

So let's get in our last books of 2013 together in the #ReadingCram! 

I have tons of review books to get to on my Kindle, but since I'm a freelancer, I don't know my work schedule for the next few weeks. I could have no work one day and ten hours the next. I have 13 books I'd love to get to, but I think I'd be happy with 5!

Book Review: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Hemlock

Kathleen Peacock

404 Pages

Published May 8th, 2012

Fans of Maggie Stiefvater and the hit television show True Blood will flock to this first book in the supernatural mystery series set in a town where werewolves live in plain sight.
Mackenzie Dobson's life has been turned upside down since she vowed to hunt her best friend Amy's killer: a white werewolf. Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country, and bloodlust is not easy to control. But it soon becomes clear that dangerous secrets are lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, Mac's hometown—and she is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her in grave danger.
Kathleen Peacock's thrilling debut novel provides readers with a mystery that Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder, calls "clever and frightening," while Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author ofFirelight, raves: "Forget every werewolf book you've ever read. This one breaks the mold."

I'd been hearing rave reviews about this book for months and months before I picked it up.. I'm almost glad I waited because now I can get a hold of the second book without waiting! Hemlock exceeded my expectations and I loved it, even though I'm not normally a fan of werewolf books.

Werewolves are common knowledge where Mac is from. Her best friend was murdered by a werewolf and she'll stop at nothing to figure out who the killer was, though everyone else seems to have put the death behind them. Reading a story where the presence of these mythical beasts was well known and out in the open was different and quite refreshing. Most stories focus on the craziness of this concept, on the hiding of it. Hemlock is different, and different is almost always good in my book.

Mac was a strong character with many problems. She has no parents, but does have some very good friends, one of which.. you'll have to read and see. I loved her and all the rest of the characters, though I must say there were a heck of a lot of wolves in this little town. They just kept popping up out of the blue and I sat there again and again going: "whoa, you're one of them too?!" This book was quite a shocker.

Overall it was a great story that I finished in what I think was two sittings. A quick break for a bubble bath and some supper and I was back at this one. The good thing about waiting so long to read this one is that I can read the sequel asap!

Book Review: Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

Bitter End

Jennifer Brown

359 Pages

Published May 10th, 2011

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate . . . someone who truly loves and understands her.
At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.
As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.

I'm not a big contemporary fan. I rarely read the genre, but when I find one that actually interests me and can hold my attention, I rip through it in a single sitting Bitter End was one of those books that had me captivated, though it was on a hard subject to read about. I found my heart breaking for Alex.. Cole wasn't someone she needed in her life.

Alex is a teenage girl who is pretty average. Her mom died when she was young, and that has affected her in many ways, though she still manages to be normal and have two close friends. She seems strong and is a good student.. everything changes when she starts going out with Cole, a bad boy at her school that pretty much every girl finds herself crushing on.

At first her friends are happy for her, until Cole begins to take over every aspect of her life. Unlike other boyfriends, he is controlling and doesn't like her hanging out with anyone besides him. The relationship quickly turns abusive, and by the end of the book Alex has reason to fear for her life.

Cole was a disturbing character. He had a lot of problems with his home life, including a depressed and often suicidal mother and an abusive father. I feel like he needed help, though it might've been too late for him at that point. I spent half the story feeling sorry for him and the other half thinking he was a monster that needed to be locker away where the sun don't shine.

It was so sad seeing everything about the life Alex had being ripped away from her. For a time she loses her friends, family and even parts of herself. She kept putting the blame on herself, never seeking help until it was too late. Though some people might think she was weak, I know she was strong.. she just got into a situation that I know is hard to get out of.

Bitter End was a heart-wrenching tale that has me consumed. I was biting my nails and praying that Alex made it out safely. All I wanted was a happy ending for her.. that much I knew she needed.