Weekend Reads: Kiersten White and Jamie Mcguire

Between helping a friend move out at the last minute and going to a comedy club with another friend, this weekend has been kind of crazy. Regardless, I was able to get some reading done!

I started by reading In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo.

 

 

This book went back and forth between text and graphic novel. I had a really hard time getting in to this book. The first couple of text chapters jump between several characters and the graphic chapters don't seem to fit in the beginning which made understanding what was going on really hard for me. The theme of the story is also pretty dark which is something I wasn't really in the mood for. The writing and art is gorgeous but I just didn't enjoy the story and ended up giving it 2 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read was Beautiful Redemption Jamie McGuire.

 

I have been a fan of the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series ever since I read the first book in 2013. I actually wasn't sure how much I would love this book for two reasons. First, while I love all three of the previous books in this series, the last one wasn't quite as good as the first two. Second, the main Maddox Brother, Thomas, made a cameo in the last book and I kind of didn't like him. But seeing things from his point of view, and the rest of his story, in this book changed my mind. I really loved the plot of this book because it felt new and intense when compared with the others. This is tied with Beautiful Disaster for my favorite Jamie McGuire book. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars because there were a few plot holes that I just couldn't get over.

 

After loving the last book so much, I decided to jump right in to Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire.

 

 



As with Beautiful Redemption, I was worried about how much I would like this book because the two main characters, Falyn and Taylor, had a cameo in the last book that made me dislike them. Unlike with Beautiful Redemption, this book did not make me change my mind. The plot was boring and Taylor just did not fit in with the Maddox Brother image. Additionally, I hated Falyn. I thought she was conniving and ugly spirited (if that makes sense). This is, so far, my least favorite addition to the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series and I gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.

 

The last book I read this weekend was Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White.

 

 

Can I start off by saying that I absolutely adore this cover! I did find it a little misleading though because I think it looks more like a contemporary fantasy while the story is more historical fantasy. I really loved this book! Jessamin was a feisty, no-nonsense protagonist that really made you feel for her. Finn was an interesting male character and Eleanor is the type of side character that you want to pull off the pages and become friends with immediately. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 5 stars except for two problems. First, I felt that Kelen needed more development as a character. Second, there were two scenes in the book (when Jessamin and Finn first meet and when Finn is showing Jessamin around his house) that were exact copies of scenes from Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Dianna Wynne Jones. Still, the rest of the story was unique and I enjoyed it.