The E-Reader Book Tag

    Here is my take on the EReader Book Tag! originally by Micah Cummins. Want to watch his original video of this tag? then click the YouTube button below!

Micah Cummins Original Video

Tag Questions:

1.  What was the first Ereader you ever owned?
2. What e-reader do you use now?
3. Do you read digitally on multiple devices or always on the same device?
4. Do you still read physical books?
5. What is something you dislike about reading ebooks?
6. Would you ever ditch physical books?
7. Where do you get your ebooks?

Video

    I hope you enjoyed this video! If you want you can also do this tag as a video, just remember to credit Micah Cummins as it is his tag. Or if you want you can put your answers in the comments below!

Cinderella Book Recommendations

 From Rags at Riches

    Her stepmother and step-sisters made her work from dawn to dusk and sleep in a small, cold room. when the chill became too much to bear, she would sleep near the kitchen fire where cinders would fall on her. this is where she got her name, Cinderella. There have been many versions of Cinderella from many countries throughout history. It is believed the first version was either from Ancient Greece or Asia but did not become well known until French author Charles Perrault published it in a book featuring other Fairy Tales in 1697. For this post, I will be recommending five retellings of Cinderella for you to read. 

Book 1: Geekerella

    This first book features Cinderella in a contemporary setting. If you love geek culture and the con scene then you will love all the references in this book! 

Book Name: Geekerella

Author Name: Ashley Poston

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 4, 2017

Book Number: 1 of 3

Number of Pages: 320 pages

Book Description:

    Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

    Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

    Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Book 2: Cinder

    The Next book is the amazing debut of one of my favorite authors, Marissa Meyer. In this series, The Lunar Chronicles takes Fairy Tales and places them in a futuristic world!

Book Name: Cinder

Author Name: Marissa Meyer

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: January 3, 2012

Book Number: 1 of 6

Number of Pages: 400 pages

Book Description:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.

She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Book 3: Cinder & Glass

    This next book places Cinderella in a more real, historical setting. She also goes by the name Cendrillon in this story, which is a common alternate name used in different versions of the tale.    

Book Name: Cinder & Glass

Author Name: Melissa De La Cruz

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance

Release Date: March 8, 2022

Book Number: 1 of to be determined

Number of Pages: 336 pages

Book Description:

    For this princess, winning the crown is no fairytale.

    1682. The king sends out an invitation to all the maidens in France: their presence is requested at a number of balls and events that will be held in honor of the dashing Prince Louis, who must choose a bride.

    Cendrillon de Louvois has more grace, beauty, and charm than anyone else in France. While she was once the darling child of the king's favorite adviser, her father's death has turned her into the servant of her stepmother and cruel stepsisters--and at her own chateau, too!

    Cendrillon--now called Cinder--manages to evade her stepmother and attend the ball, where she catches the eye of the handsome Prince Louis and his younger brother Auguste.

    Even though Cendrillon has an immediate aversion to Louis and a connection with Auguste, the only way to escape her stepmother is to compete with the other women at court for the Prince's hand.

    Soon, as Cendrillon glows closer to Auguste and dislikes the prince more and more, she will have to decide if she can bear losing the boy she loves in order to leave the life she hates.

    Melissa de la Cruz takes a lush, romantic hand to this retold fairy tale classic.

Book 4: So This Is Love

    This book is part of the Disney Twisted Tales series, where one part of a Disney movie is changed, twisting everything in the story. This one asks: What if Cinderella never tried on the glass slipper?

Book Name: So This Is Love-A Twisted Tale

Author Name: Elizabeth Lim

Genre: Fantasy/ Romance

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Book Number: 9 of 13 ( More in development)

Number of Pages: 416 pages

Book Description:

    Unable to prove that she's the missing princess, and unable to bear life under Lady Tremaine any longer, Cinderella starts work at the palace as a seamstress. However, when Cinderella finds herself witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king - and the prince - out of power, she is faced with questions of love and loyalty to the kingdom. Cinderella must find a way to stop the villains of past and present... before it's too late.

Book 5: The Peasant's Dream

    This last recommendation takes the Cinderella story and gender swaps it! If you want a nice, sweet read this book is a perfect candidate!

Book Name: The Peasant's Dream

Author Name: Melanie Dickerson

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance

Release Date: July 7, 2020

Book Number: 11 of 11

Number of Pages: 311 pages

Book Description:

    In this reverse reimagining of the Cinderella story, secrets and dangerous enemies threaten a fairy-tale romance.

    Adela, daughter of the Duke of Hagenheim, is rarely allowed outside the castle walls. But one day, longing for freedom, she sneaks away to the market disguised as a peasant. There, she meets a handsome young woodcarver named Frederick.

    Frederick, a poor farmer, is the sole provider for his family, and he often has to defend his mother from his father’s drunken rages. He dreams of making a living carving beautiful images into wood, and he is thrilled when the Bishop of Hagenheim commissions him to carve new doors for the cathedral. As Frederick works on the project, he and Adela meet almost daily, and it doesn't take long for them to fall in love. Yet her true identity remains hidden from him.

    When disaster separates them, Adela and Frederick find themselves caught in the midst of deceptions far more dangerous than innocent disguises. As the powerful lords set against them proceed with their villainous plans, secrets emerge that put Frederick and Adela's future at risk.

Conclusion

    Do any of these books sound interesting to read? Have you read any of them? Let me know in the comments below! I might also do a part two as there are so many Cinderella Retellings out there!

 Golden Book Review

Book Name: Golden

Author Name: Cameron Dokey

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: February 28, 2006

Page Number: 179 pages

Review:

    We all know how the fairy tale goes: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!”. But this Rapunzel has no hair at all. Her head is as bald as an egg. Due to this her mother called her a monster and wanted nothing to do with her. So, a sorceress named Melisande raises Rapunzel for the next sixteen years. But Melisande has a secret, she has another daughter named Rue. Sadly, Rue is trapped in a tower and the only hope of freedom lies with Rapunzel.  Can the two girls work together to break Rue out or with their constant fighting doom them both.

    In my opinion, this book is much better than the last book I read by the author Cameron Dokey, Before Midnight. Maybe it is because the story of Rapunzel is a bit simpler than Cinderella, having to add lots more to make a full-fledged narrative like Disney’s Tangled. Think about it. Most of Disney’s Cinderella follows the original story fatefully: Evil stepmother, a big ball, the prince and Cinderella fall in love, She runs away at midnight, and her shoe proves she is the one! What does Disney’s Tangled and the original tale have in common? Both have a girl in a tower with super long hair and her love interest says, “Let down your hair!”. Everything else in the movie is made up by Disney.

    Golden’s version of Rapunzel is a fun, snarky character. I really enjoyed her development as she became able to see into other’s hearts just like her caretaker, Melisande. I also love her comebacks to other characters and her interactions with Rue. The two girls' conversations really felt like two sisters talking. It might be mean at first, but you can tell that deep down they want to work together. Rapunzel’s romantic relationship with a boy named Harry is a bit better than any of the romances in Before Midnight as the two characters have written to have known each other for three to four years before Harry kisses Rapunzel. The two also thought the other like someone else was cute to read.

    The plan to set Rue free from the tower is also a good read and ties the story back to the original fairy tale. The ending feels rushed though and given the book is only 179 pages it makes sense. I feel these books would do better with more pages. All in all, I feel this book is a nice, quick retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel and is an interesting take on the tale even though it could have been better executed at points. I give Golden a three out of five.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Song like this Book:

I Don’t Know My Name by Grace VanderWaal

Mermaid Book Recommendations

 Mesmerizing Mermaids!!!

    Found in many cultures worldwide, Mermaids are a staple of folklore. The mythical creature is often shown with the upper half of a woman and the lower half of a fish. They can be benevolent like in the famous tale The Mermaid, where a mermaid falls in love with a human, or terrible. Some tales depicted them luring men and ships to tragic fates. They’re better known as Serins in those stories. These have led to tons of stories starring these beings throughout history and here are five I am recommending you should read!

Book 1: To Kill a Kingdom

    This first book features great characters along with fun and exciting scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat as you read this cool twist on the Little Mermaid tale.

Book Name: To Kill a Kingdom

Author Name: Alexandra Christo

Genre: Fantasy Retelling

Release Date: March 6, 2018

Book Number: Standalone

Number of Pages: 344 pages

Book Description:

    Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

    The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of Siren's kind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

Book 2: Part of Your World - A Twisted Tale

    Next is a book part of a series that takes some parts of Disney movies and twists them to completely change the story! This one takes on Disney's version of The Little Mermaid!

Book Name: Part of Your World - A Twisted Tale

Author Name: Liz Braswell

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: September 4, 2018

Book Number: 1 of 13 (More in development)

Number of Pages: 475 pages

Book Description:

    What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula?

    Five years after the (twisted) events of the film, Ariel is now the queen of Atlantica, and Ursula is running Eric's kingdom on land. But when the sea witch threatens Atlantica once more, Ariel finds herself returning to a world (and a prince) she thought she'd left behind forever.

Book 3: Skin of the Sea

    This book follows a mermaid having to try and make amends after doing the unthinkable: saving a human.

Book Name: Skin of the Sea

Author Name: Natasha Bowen

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: November 9, 2021

Book Number: 1 of 2

Number of Pages: 336 pages

Book Description:

A way to survive.
A way to serve.
A way to save.

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata--a mermaid--collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.

But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable--she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.

To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There's the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail . . .

Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she fails, she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata but also the world as she knows it.

Book 4: Sea Witch

    We always read about the mermaid that swapped her voice for legs to be with the human she loves, but what about the Sea Witch? What's her story? This book explores just that.

Book Name: Sea Witch

Author Name: Sarah Henning

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: July 31, 2018

Book Number: 1 of 2

Number of Pages: 368 pages

Book Description:

    Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

    Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

    A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

    But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

Book 5: Prince of Song and Sea

    When you watch Disney's The Little Mermaid, did you ever wonder about Prince Eric's side of the story? Then this is the book for you! it is also the first in a new series exploring the Disney Princess movie from the love interest point of view!

Book Name: Prince of Song and Sea

Author Name: Linsey Miller

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: October 4, 2022

Book Number: 1 of to be determined

Number of Pages: 352 pages

Book Description:

    Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him about the details of the deadly curse that has plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, and rumors of ghost pirates lurking on the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter left from his mother that reveals Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart, or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.

    Now Eric is on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch's legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win or chase a love that might not even exist? And when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric may discover that true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic.

Conclusion 

    Do any of these books sound interesting to you? Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments below! You can also drop any of your own mermaid book recommendations. Who knows, it could lead to a part 2 mermaid recommendation post!

 Beauty and the Blade Book Review

Book Name: Beauty and the Blade

Author Name: S.C. Grayson

Genre: Romance/Fantasy

Release Date: January 26, 2023

Page Number: 277 pages

Review:

    Contessa is marrying, but not for love. The man she is engaged to Nathanial Woodrow, also known as the Beast, killed her mother. Her mother was found dead with three slash marks on her face, a sign of Nathanial’s gang the Lions. Now Contessa can bring him to justice. But as She learns more about her new husband, his gang, and a group of magical people known as the Talented, Contessa begins to question everything she knows.

    This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and a great one at that. Contessa is a compelling character, being both cunning and quick-thinking. Her growth as a character is well executed, first doing things others expect of her, mostly her father, then slowly discovering what she wants to do in life for herself. It is also cool to see the different skills she possesses like lock picking for example. I think she is a great character for the reader to get into this world.

    Nathanial is at first brooding but then turns into a cinnamon roll the more Contessa gets to know him. His interactions with her are super sweet and I wished there were more. One of my favorites is when they are leaving the warehouse and must be close together in the small space leading back to Nathanial’s house. Contessa touches his face, and he closes his eyes, barely breathing. I was a puddle on the floor!

    The side characters are fun as well. Nathanial’s second in command, Kristoff, provides tons of laughs for the reader and his romance with Gregor is cute. Rhosyn is an interesting character, and I wished the author had given her more page time, especially her interactions with both Contessa and Nathanial. I love her teasing the two about their feelings for each other, like her having a bet with Kristoff for when they would get together. I also wish Contessa’s maid Julia got some more page time as well.

    Some negatives. The background story about the country’s sick king and two princes comes up a lot but gets resolved way too quickly at the end. The Author could easily have saved it for a sequel plot. Also bringing up the rival gangs more and some descriptions of scenery would help flesh the world out a bit. Other than that, I think this is a great first book in the Talented series and I cannot wait to read more about these characters. I give Beauty and the Blade a four out of five. 

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Song Like This Book:

Arms by Christina Perri

 Shatter Me Book Review

Book Name: Shatter Me

Author Name: Tahereh Mafi

Genre: Dystopian/Romance

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Page Number:  338 pages

Review:

Juliette has been in the same room for 264 days with no contact from anyone. The room is in an asylum and is believed to be the only place to keep her from harming anyone. You see if Juliette touches someone even slightly, the person will feel horrible pain. If touched long enough, the person will die. She is a monster.

Then on day 265 someone arrives in her room, a young man named Adam. Juliette is terrified at first. What if he is there to kill her? What if he touches her? Is he even real? Has she gone insane? Adam's arrival is only just the beginning, as Juliette is taken by a group of soldiers working for an organization called the Reestablishment and given a choice by the soldier's leader Warner: Work for him as a weapon or die! With little choice, Juliette goes with Warner and discovers how much the world has changed since her absence. The world is a wasteland, and the population lives in fear of the Reestablishment. Juliette’s fate is to be a weapon.

But hope might not be lost, for Adam is one of Warner’s soldiers. He secretly hates the Reestablishment and has a plan to escape with Juliette. She must play along with Warner’s whims until there is an opportunity to put the plan into action. Will Juliette and Adam escape? Where will they go?

This book is set in the first person of the main character Juliette. We get to read her thoughts, and feelings, and see the world through her eyes. There are lots of books in first person as well but Shatter Me has more parts dedicated to the main character’s inner self. We read how lost and lonely she feels, wanting nothing more than someone to touch her, to be around her without fear. She has negative thoughts that are then scratched out as the story goes. She wonders if she’s gone insane. She also will go on long paragraphs about the feelings and thoughts going through her head, only to be brought into the present and realize she’s missed what someone has said.

I am a fan of the writing style for the most part but will admit it would get a bit tiring at times. I also feel that Juliette and Adam’s romance is bad. It is an instant love-type romance but does make sense as Adam for some reason is the only one that can touch Juliette without being hurt by her powers. So naturally Juliette would want him all the time, he’s giving her something she has never had. But I still do not like the pairing too much.

Warner is a good first-book villain, with his actions and obsession with Juliette being horrible and a bit creepy at the same time. I did become curious every time he made an appearance, wondering what he would do next. I wonder what the author will do with him in the next book.

Adam on the other hand was just bland in my opinion. But him being the straight guy to Kenji’s antics was fun. Regarding Kenji, I hope he gets more page time in the rest of the series as his action had me laughing. A great way to set off the bleakness of the rest of the book. Though the romance is much to be desired, I feel this is a good first book in a promising series. I look forward to reading the rest this year. I give Shatter Me a four out of five rating.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Song Like This Book: 

Beautiful Ghosts by Taylor Swift

 Breaking Time Book Review

Book Name: Breaking Time

Author Name: Sasha Alsberg

Genre: modern fantasy

Release Date: June 14, 2022

Number in Series: Book 1 of 2

Page Number: 352 pages

Review:

    Ever wondered what the story of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon would be like if the roles were reversed? Then look no further than Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg. Breaking Time follows two characters: Callum and Klara. Callum is a Scotsman from the 1500s who gets flung forward in time to 2022 after trying to save his best friend Thomas from a mysterious killer. Klara is a newly graduated high schooler living in Scotland who is trying to figure out a way to tell her dad she’s not going to college. To clear her head, she takes a drive and accidentally hits someone with her car. The person just happens to be Callum.

    After helping him get on his feet, Klara and Callum get thrust into an earth-shattering event where Klara is the key to saving the world. Turns out she has the power of the Scottish goddess of time, Arianrhod, in her and a demigod wants to steal her power. Now it's up to Klara and Callum to keep Klara alive or face the world ending.

    Breaking Time has some fun, interesting parts, but the bad sadly outweighs them. For the good, I like the person-out-of-time trope. It's fun to see Callum describe modern technology in his chapters, like calling cell phones strange lightboxes. I also love reading about the folklore of Scotland given in the book. Even though fantasy is over-saturated by European-based lore, it’s mostly countries like England or Germany. Places like Scotland are not nearly used as much, so seeing it in this book is a bit refreshing.

    Now for the bad. This book has instant love for the two main characters. Klara’s chapters have her explaining a strong draw to Callum and constantly thinking about him when they're not together. Callum thinks Klara is the most amazing and beautiful woman he’s ever seen. They barely interact in the four to five days the story takes place and their madly in love with each other. And people talk bad about romances in Disney movies… It also doesn’t help that the leading man is not too fleshed out.

    Also, the story does not seem to have any urgency. The world will end if Klara is killed before the Scottish holiday Samhain, which is only a few days away in the book and the characters are backtracking, hanging out in pubs, and staying at Klara’s grandmother’s house even though the woman tells the main characters they need to leave now! Let’s just talk about how Klara is the chosen one and go down memory lane some more!

    Lastly, I feel the villain did not show up as much as was needed. He appears about three times throughout the 345 pages and because of this I felt he was not as big of a threat as the author thought. In fact, I almost forgot about him at times. Hopefully, this can be fixed in the sequel. Yes, this book is the first in a duology. I am not sure I will be picking the second book up when it comes out. My overall rating for Braking Time is three out of five stars.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Song Like This Book: 

At the Beginning sung by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx

Destroy Me Book Review

 Destroy Me Book Review

Book Name: Destroy Me

Author Name: Tahereh Mafi

Genre: Dystopia/novella

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Number in Series: 1.5 of 6

Number of Pages: 111 pages

Review:

    In the novella Destroy Me, We take a break from Juliette’s story to see the aftermath of her and Adam’s escape from the Reestablishment from none other than Warner’s eyes. She not only shot him, crippling his arm but stole his heart. Now Warner must retrieve Juliette and Adam, all the while the Supreme Commander of the Reestablishment has come to personally see that Warner does not fail. It does not help that the Supreme Commander is also his father.

    This is an excellent novella that explores the villain of the last book, Shatter Me. Through this small story, we read that Warner’s life is not what both Juliette and the reader were made to believe as it is just as bleak as other characters. We also see that Warner is in love with Juliette, stating he is fascinated by her story and will. He tries to hide this from everyone, wanting them to think he only wants to use her as a weapon. We also see his relationship with his father who treats Warner awfully.

    It was interesting to see the villains from one of the members’ points of view. It also sets up the main villain for the series in the Supreme Commander but perhaps a bit too early. Of course, one would consider that the author might not have envisioned the sequel to the last six books and 5 novellas when writing this one. But I feel that a villain like this needs more build-up.

    Then there is Warner, who I see in a bit of a better light by the end of this novella. It seems the character will change sides in the future and I am curious to see how his story will unfold in the next installment. In conclusion, I give Destroy Me a four out of five.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Song Like This Book: 

Sally’s Song by Catherine O’Hara