"You Can Never Have Too Many Books"

Friday, November 8, 2013

Book Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed

The Beautiful and the Cursed (Dispossessed #1) by

The Beautiful and the Cursed

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published May 14th 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers 


Review
It's 1899, the Waverly has moved to Paris and into an abandoned abbey . . . but the person that the ladies of the house were expecting has gone missing. Ingrid and Grayson are twins, they always sensed each others feelings and emotions but now with Grayson missing . . . Ingrid knows something is up. 

The abbey contains deep secrets as Ingrid and her sister Gabby try to find a way to find Grayson, but what they didn't know was that somethings are better left alone. 

But with the sisters determination, they aren't willing to give up hope soon they are faced with dark creatures of the night. Ingrid soon find out secrets lies within her, but is it good or bad?

Can Ingrid save her brother or is her brother beyond help? 

The Beautiful and the Cursed, is an new historic YA book and if you are into Gargoyles then you want to read this book. 

I'm giving this 4.5 Cat's Tails Up, the storyline is much different from what I've read so far in other YA and I'm glad that Authors like Page Morgan are bringing other creatures like Gargoyles. Also the details Page put into this book really make it feel like you gone back in time. 


MEOW . . . MEOW . . . MEOW
When I first heard Gargoyles were making a comeback, I was excited while growing up the TV show Gargoyles (Cartoon) and every once in a while I'll go on youtube and watch some episodes (Don't Judge Me). But like Gargoyles and everything else, there's magic involve. 

Ingrid Waverley and her family had to leave London and move to Paris due to some unfortunate events, while it could never be explain truly or clear Ingrid was pleased to be moving but not into an old abandon Abbey. From the moment she arrive at the Abbey there was already something wrong, something that made Ingrid feel WATCHED. 

Gargoyles protects, Gargoyles fights . . . but there's no relations between them and the human they protect. Luc has his work cut out of him while protect Ingrid but when someone points out that there is something about Ingrid, where does he draw the lines.

Now the sisters Gabby and Ingrid are two different roles in this book, with Ingrid having something something I won't say and Gabby finds the whole thing interesting and dangerous. I would call Gabby the wild child while Ingrid is a little more conservative, both are face with their own challenges and dealing with their thoughts and feelings are just the same. 

I can't wait for the next book to read more about the dispossessed Luc and the others. 

Also while I have FB and Twittered with Page, I set out on pinterest to get the visualization of the era she wrote and was intrigue by the fashion and I've followed her pins. Sometimes Pinterest give a visual that you can't create yourself but you can imagine. 

Check out her board and mine,

http://www.pinterest.com/pagemorgan/

http://www.pinterest.com/katwrites/1800-era/

Also join the Beautiful and the Cursed Society http://www.pagemorganbooks.com/tbtcsociety.html

About Page Morgan
Page Morgan 
Page Morgan has been intrigued by les grotesques ever since she came across an old, black-and-white photograph of a Notre Dame gargoyle keeping watch over the city of Paris. The gargoyle mythologies she went on to research fed her imagination, and she became inspired to piece together her own story and mythology for these complex stone figures. Page lives in New England with her husband and their three children.




twitter username: PageMorganBooks 
GR: https://www.goodreads.com/Page_Morgan 
 
 

Blog Tour: A Risk Worth Taking + Interview with Heather



A Risk Worth Taking by Heather Hildenbrand
Accendo Press - October 2013



BOOK SUMMARY:
When 22-year-old Summer Stafford’s parents split halfway through her senior year at college, Summer’s world is rocked. Everything she thought she knew—heck, everything she thought she wanted for her own life—feels like a lie. The truth is love is a risk. And the true kind, the kind that lasts, might even be a fairy tale.
Reeling from the divorce, Summer derails her own future by breaking up with her parent-approved boyfriend and giving up her lifelong plans for a big-city career. She moves back home, business degree in hand. Dad needs her to fill the gaps her mother left behind; Summer needs to find who she is outside of the cookie-cutter life that failed so miserably for her parents.
Ford O’Neal’s future involves one person: himself. He doesn’t have a permanent address and he definitely doesn’t commit. To a place or a person. Raised by hippies, he plans just far enough ahead to secure his next stop, this one landing him at a work-study program at Heritage Plantation where he can grow his own herbal and medicinal creations.

Summer is gorgeous and smart and fun to be with, the perfect way to pass five months. It won’t be love—Ford’s got too many things to accomplish, too many places to go, before he settles down. Yet Summer pulls him in, challenging him to rethink his own philosophy.
When Ford’s five months are up, each of them must decide if love is really worth the risk.

Buy Links:

   Interview with Heather

Your NA is all about taking risks, in fact both Casey and Summer had a list . . . some were ambitious or child-play so I would like to ask you what are some of the risks you taken and cross off your list? and does Ford have a list?

Yes, this book was about taking risks. Honestly, the idea is sort of a homage to the many changes in my personal life this past year and all of the risks or leaps of faith I've taken that have given me such adventure and joy, I am only sorry I wasn't living out loud well before this. Some risks I've taken are learning to ride a motorcycle and buying my own (definitely a HUGE risk but it's exhilarating and amazing every single time I ride!), and just giving myself permission to do the things that make me happy. That it's okay to put myself first. I can't serve others, including my kids, unless I am full and happy and healthy. Sometimes, with all of life's demands, it's easy to forget that. I'm glad I remembered. 

As for Ford's list, he was living his. He's moved around a lot and whole-heartedly pursues his passion, whether it's creating or plants or Summer--he pursues what makes him happy. And that's always a risk.


I would also like to say that when reading this book, for some strange reasons I thought of Grease . . . "Summer Loving" song as well the characters Sandy and Danny. I don't know if that's unusual or there's was some weird going inside my head.

That's so cool that you got a Grease vibe when reading! I didn't think of that while writing it, but I love that story and I am stoked you thought of it! 


You can give me your top five (if you can think of that many for yourself and for Ford)

Top 5 for Heather--
Favorite Food: Mexican. Particularly Panchero's burritos. Or a chicken burrito with french fries inside.
Favorite color: Green for the woods. I love the woods. 
Favorite car: Porsche Panamera
Favorite Poet: Shel Silverstein
Favorite country song: Dust on the Bottle by David Lee Murphy


Top 5 for Ford O'Neal:
Favorite Food: this vegetable quiche thing my mom used to make from the veggies in our garden. And anything Mazie makes. That woman can cook.
Favorite color: denim blue, 
Favorite car: my pickup, Darla. 
Favorite poet: Bob Dylan
Favorite country song: Stay With You by John Legend


 Now for the Giveaway!

About Heather

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. She now lives in coastal VA, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, with her two adorable children. She works from home, part time, as a property manager and when she's not furiously pounding at the keyboard, or staring off into space whilst plotting a new story, she's lying on the beach, soaking in those delicious, pre-cancerous rays.

Heather loves Mexican food, hates socks with sandals, and if her house was on fire, the one thing she'd grab is her DVR player.

Heather is a co-founder of Accendo Press, a publishing group she operates with fellow authors: Angeline Kace and Jennifer Sommersby. Accendo (a-CH-endo), A Latin word, means “to kindle, illuminate, inflame, or set fire.” This is something Accendo strives to do inside a reader’s imagination with every title released. For a complete list of titles and author bios,