Inkspell by Cornelia Funke (Inkworld, #2)

Words were useless. At times they might sound wonderful, but they let you down the moment you really needed them. You could never find the right words, never, and where would you look for them? The heart is silent as a fish, however much the tongue tries to give it a voice.

[Click here to see my review of book 1: Inkheart]

I bought all three books in the Inkheart trilogy, written by Cornelia Funke, for the sheer purpose of being able to read them consecutively. I didn't end up reading the second book immediately after I finished the first because it was nearing the end of the year and I wanted to try reading a few shorter books in hopes of reaching my goal of one hundred.

I'm going to have to put some space between reading this book and the final installment of the trilogy for a different reason. This one did quite the number on my heart and I'm not sure I can handle the third book just yet, no matter how desperately I want to crack open its pages. Besides, I don't want it to end. If I delay reading Inkdeath, I'll be able to feel like it's lasting that much longer.

Inkspell starts off about a year after the events of Inkheart. Meggie, Mo, Resa, and Darius have taken refuge with Elinor, making a once empty house feel like home for them all. They are doing their best to return to normal lives and forget the nightmare that was at once surreal and disturbingly real for them all. Meanwhile, Farid has been following Dustfinger around like he is the father he never had, helping him find his way back into his book. But when Dustfinger finally manages it, Farid is left in this world with Basta and Mortola suddenly snapping at his heels and threatening to go back into the book themselves after they kill Silvertongue and his daughter.

In despair, Farid runs to Meggie, the girl he's had eyes for since the moment he was read out of his book, seeking her help to get him inside the book so he can be reunited Dustfinger and warn him of the danger that will soon follow him back.Instead of simply sending him, Meggie joins him in the Inkworld, the one place she's dreamed solely about since her mother's return and Capricorn's defeat.

However, upon arriving they are quick to learn that much has changed in Dustfinger's time away and even Fenoglio, the old man who created it, can no longer control it. But the Inkworld is even more dangerous than Meggie could have imagined and when dangers from her own world come to hunt her here, there may be no escaping. Only her voice and Fenoglio's words can change anything in this turmoil. But with all that is hunting her and those she loves most, can she manage to make anything better or will she lose everyone she's ever cared about?

Inkspell was a treat from start to finish. I thought nothing could surpass the first book, but this one has managed to come out its equal. How Funke managed that is a complete mystery to me, but she managed it without a hitch. The stakes were higher, the danger more imminent, and the emotions more vulnerable. Funke has manage to create a cast of characters that mange to burrow themselves into the reader's heart and take up space there . . . which makes certain parts of the book leave that particular reader sobbing on her bed.

I'm speaking generally, of course.

The bonds between the characters is also something I deeply admire. If you've read past reviews, you'll notice that this is one of those things I find really important in general. Loyalty means a lot to me, so I can hardly help noticing it when it's particularly weak or particularly strong. And in Inkspell, they're particularly strong. The bonds between Farid and Dustfinger, Meggie and Mo, and (of course) Meggie and Farid are beautiful and realistic at the same time. Their devotion to one another is absolutely heartwarming and very likely one of my favorite things about this story. It is, after all, a tale about devotion and what one person would give to save the person they love most.

This book series is quickly becoming an absolute favorite of mine. That's right, it's up there with the Harry Potter series now. I mean, anyone who has read it can see why. Not only is it a superbly written fantasy with strong characters and danger around every corner, it's also a book essentially dedicated to books and the magic hidden in their words. How can a book junkie like myself manage to not fall in love with it?! (Particularly a book junkie who adores fantasy and YA Lit as much as I do.)

All in all, I will suggest this book and the series to which it belongs to anyone and everyone who will listen. If you haven't read it yet, you had better get on that.

~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ~

[Click here to read my review of book 3: Inkdeath]


"They're all cruel," he said. "The world I come from, the world you come from, and this one, too. Maybe people don't see the cruelty in your world right away, it's better hidden, but it's there all the same."

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Inkworld, #1)

"Fear tastes quite different when you're not just reading about it, Meggie, and playing hero wasn't half as much fun as I'd expected.

After absolutely falling in love with the movie adaptation of this novel (and having it practically memorized), I figured it was about time to read this book. I was absolutely certain I would fall in love with it immediately, and that's probably why it took me so long to finally put it off of my "to be read" shelf and finally read it. I even made sure I had all three books in the trilogy before starting the first, because I was certain I would enjoy the first so much that I wouldn't have much patience for tracking down the sequels.

I wasn't wrong.

When Meggie spots a stranger outside her window in the middle of the night, her first instinct is to run to her father for security, but she soon finds herself realizing that he's keeping something from her. When the stranger warns of a man named Capricorn and they rush to the south of Italy to take refuge with her aunt, Meggie soon realizes that the world is a much more dangerous place than she could have ever imagined. And the secrets her father has kept from her have the power to change her world forever.

It's not long before she learns what he's been keeping from her. It seems that Mo, Meggie's father, has a special gift--the unique power to draw items and even characters from the pages of a book simply by reading aloud. However, he cannot control this gift. He cannot choose who or what comes or even goes. This makes his power dangerous, far more dangerous than it's worth, and that is the reason Meggie's father never read to her. It was far too risky.

Despite this, Mo has been hunted by Capricorn and Basta, two of the thugs he drew out of a book called Inkheart when Meggie was a child along with a third character named Dustfinger. Mo has also tried to evade Dustfinger, but with much less luck and it is he whom Meggie sees standing outside her window when the book begins. Now Capricorn is closer than ever before and he'll stop at nothing to capture Mo and get his hands on the the last copy of Inkheart, which Mo has, until now, kept safely hidden.

This book was absolutely wonderful. I cannot get over how much I deeply enjoyed it. Throughout its pages, books are celebrated and the three main characters (Meggie, Mo, and Meggie's Aunt Elinor) have a deep love for them that I can entirely identify with. Each chapter even begins with a quote from a book that fits what occurs in the chapter (and ended up causing me to add quite a few books to my "to be read" list).

The storytelling and the plot are extremely well-written and the book itself is rich with fantasy and beauty. Experiencing Mo's gift, Dustfinger's despair, and Capricorn's evil alongside the characters was captivating and the vivid way in which Cornelia Funke describes her characters and their emotions can't help but draw you in.

I would highly suggest this to anyone, young or old. It's a fantastic story . . . one that should be read widely and often. I can already tell that this series could easily be one of the gateway sort for those who aren't really fans of reading just yet. Much like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, this one will draw you in and show the reader exactly why reading is so absolutely imperative--that stories have a power all their own.

Rating: ~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ~

[Click here to see my review of book 2: Inkspell and book 3: Inkdeath]

"Is there anything in the world better than words on the page? Magic signs, the voices of the dead, building blocks to make wonderful worlds better than this one, comforters, companions in loneliness. Keepers of secrets, speakers of truth . . . all those glorious words."

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (Fairytale Retellings, #2)

She turned forward and sped up, faster than the others, driven by the yellow eyes that overpowered the sharp aches in her chest, her legs begging for rest. There was light ahead, shapes that weren't trees. THeir house, their house was close- the candy trail had worked. She couldn't feel her feet anymore, her lungs were bursting, eyes watering, cheeks scratched, but there was the house. 
They burst from the woods onto their cool lawn. Get inside, get inside. Ansel flung the back door open and they stumbled in, slamming the door shut. Their father and mother ran down the stairs, saw their children sweaty and panting and quivering, and asked in panicky, perfect unison:
"Where's your sister?"

[Click here to see my review of book 1: Sisters Red]

The sequel to Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, Sweetly is the story of Gretchen and Ansel, a brother and sister duo who leave their home in Washington to find a new one where they no longer live under the shadow of the sister they lost, Gretchen's twin. Still feeling the ache of her disappearance and the deaths of their parents, they are driven out by their surviving stepmother and drive straight to North Carolina. Gretchen hopes to escape the fear of vanishing the way her sister did by going to live on the beach, far way from the trees and forests that have surrounded her since she was a child, a constant reminder of what she lost and how she lost her to the witch in the woods.

Before they can make it to the beach, though, their car breaks down and they are forced to seek help in the small town of Live Oak. They take refuge in the home of Sofia Kelly, a chocolatier living just outside town. The two and Sofia hit it off immediately, but most people in Live Oak hate Sofia just as much as they hate strangers, if not more. Most are either convinced she's an angel or a devil in disguise. Immediately, Gretchen and Ansel stand beside Sofia's claim of innocence in the part of the girls who have gone missing from the town, both knowing first-hand what it's like to be blamed for the disappearance of another.

But when Gretchen meets Samuel, she begins to question Sofia's side of the story, as well as the secrets that seem to surround her. As she learns more about the town's past and the witch who took her sister, Gretchen learns that the witch is back . . . and this time, it's after her.

I didn't think it was possible for Pearce to make a book that was just as good as the first in the Fairytale Retellings series, but she has definitely managed to pull that off without a hitch. Sweetly is filled with just as many memorable characters and strong bonds as the first book and a plot that keeps you guessing until the end. As I've mentioned before, I am a major sucker for loyalty and relationships where every person would be willing to lay down their life for the next at a moment's notice and this book had both of those; not to mention, incredible fight scenes. All that, and the more intense scenes still had me biting my nails and actually yelling during one particularly frightening bit. (I may or may not have woken my brother with that yell.)

This series is looking like it will turn out to be an all-time favorite of mine and I can't wait to see where it goes next, as well as where it will culminate in the end. It's going to be an epic collection and you absolutely won't want to miss it. I suggest you get started reading it right away. In the meantime, I'll be scouring the internet for book three.

[Click here to see my review of book 3: Fathomless]

Rating: ~★★★★★~

"Poor Sophia," Ansel says, shaking his head. I can hear it in his voice- he wants to save Sophia. That's how Ansel works. Someone is in pain, and he wants to save her- he ran back into the woods after our sister, he became my rock. He didn't give up on our father, even when Dad became someone Ansel barely knew- it wasn't long after Mom's death that he started drinking, and once he remarried it got worse. He couldn't escape the guilt- over my sister, over my mother . . . Guilt ate him through the mouth of a bottle.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

All I've learned in Shakespeare class is: Sometimes you fall in love with the wrong person just so you can find the right person. A more useful lesson would've been: Sometimes the right person doesn't love you back. Or sometimes the right person is gay. Or sometimes you just aren't the right person.
Thanks for nothing, Shakespeare.

After falling in love with Jackson Pearce's sophomore novel, Sisters Red, she became one of those authors whose section in the library I check nearly every time I visit. Thus I found her debut novel a few weeks ago and immediately checked it out. I just now managed to get around to reading it, but I am immensely glad I did. I read it all on one sitting that lasted about five or six hours. My day off couldn't have been better spent.

Viola Cohen's whole world felt like it had been ripped apart when her best friend and boyfriend, Lawrence, admitted to her that he was gay. Months later, they're still best friends, but Viola feels invisible and alone, as if a part of her has been broken.

Her greatest desire is to feel like she's a part of something again, the way she felt when she was with Lawrence. She doesn't want to feel invisible anymore. She wants to love someone and know that they love her too. It's the strength of this inner wish that summons the jinn.

When the jinn appears, he informs her that she has been granted three wishes. He expects it to be a routine venture to the world of humans, but Viola isn't like any of the other masters he's come in contact with up to this point. She speaks to him like a person, not just a wish-granter, and she evokes something in him that he's never experienced before--a longing for the friendship both she and Lawrence extend to him and, even more consuming, a longing for her. These are unprecedented and entirely unusual for a jinn. They aren't meant to get attached. They're meant to grant their wishes and go, but Jinn's not so sure he wants to go home anymore.

Viola gets three wishes. Three wishes and Jinn will be gone from her life forever. She won't remember him and he'll go back to his world, Caliban, until he is summoned by another human with a wish. It's not until after she has made her first wish that they begin to realize that they're feelings toward each other are more than anything they could have expected. Will Jinn help heal the brokenness in Viola's heart, only to have it broken once more and break his own heart in the process?

Once again, Jackson Pearce has created a fantastic story based on a classic fairytale. Technically, it isn't a part of her series of fairytale adaptations, but I still think it fits in that category regardless. I don't think I've ever read an adaptation of any stories involving genies before. In fact, it took me a few pages to get the image of the Aladdin genie voiced by Robin Williams out of my head. But it wasn't that difficult. After all, Jinn is a whole other species of genie than the crazy blue one I'm thinking of.

I particularly liked her description of Jinn's home world of Caliban, where the jinn have been banished. It's a beautiful place filled with beautiful people, but because of its lack of flaws is subpar in a way that makes complete sense, yet is kind of mind-blowing. It's our flaws and differences that make the human race so different and, eventually, so appealing to Jinn.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Pearce's other book was the creation of characters that were believable, well-rounded, and that carried strong emotional bonds for each other. Though these relationships were inherently quite different than the ones portrayed in Sisters Red, they still bore that essential loyalty to the people that were most important in the main characters' lives. Each cared deeply for the others and wanted most of all for the ones they loved to be truly happy. They wanted them to be happy being themselves, not trying to be copies of anyone else or copying what others were doing. Being happy with oneself and being happy with that was a major theme throughout the book that I deeply appreciated.

Jackson Pearce is clearly a fabulous storyteller. I cannot wait to read more of her work and it certainly won't be long before I'm scrambling for the next of her books I can get my hands on.

Rating: ★★★★☆

I'm . . . jealous.
Wait. No. I can't be jealous. My fingers tense and I can feel my pulse throbbing under my skin. My heart pounds in my chest and my mind races. The image of Viola and Aaron collides with the realization that I'm jealous. Jealousy is a mortal emotion. One that means I have something to lose--something that, if gone, will tear away a part of me. Jealousy is not for my kind. And yet there it is: I'm jealous.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (Fairytale Retellings, #1)

The wolf opened his wide, long jaws, rows of teeth and bloodstained tongue stretching for her. A thought locked itself in Scarlett's mind, and she repeated it over and over until it became a chant, a prayer: I am the only one left to fight, so now I must kill you.

I picked up Sisters Red after hearing a pretty great review of it on another book reviewing blog. I bought it a few weeks ago and just now got around to reading it. My reaction? I love almost everything about this book.

You'll often hear avid readers getting "book hangovers," meaning basically that after they've finished the book, they have trouble starting a new one or thinking about anything besides the book they have just finished because they're still in that world. As many good books as I read, I don't usually experience that as much anymore. I still often find my mind going back to a good story or book that I really enjoyed, but I don't often have trouble breaking away from thinking only about a particular story for a day or two after I've finished it. But I definitely experienced that with Sisters Red. Long after I'd finished it, I was still poring over the tale and everything that had happened within it.

Sisters Red is the shared story of Rosie and Scarlett March. When they were children a werewolf (or Fenris, as they're called by those who are familiar with them) attacked them, killing the grandmother who raised them as well as taking Scarlett's eye and leaving scars all over her body. To save herself and her sister, Scarlett killed the beast; and ever since, she has had an all-consuming passion to hunt Fenris so that no one else has to suffer the way she and her sister have.

When a good friend of the sisters and an excellent woodsman and Fenris hunter, Silas, returns from a long family visit in California, things start changing. Not only does Rosie suddenly find herself drawn to the woodsman, she also begins to guiltily dream of a life where she isn't constantly fighting Fenris. But, more immediately, something is changing about the Fenris. They're getting bolder and more numerous, drifting into territory they had long abandoned. As more and more lives come in contact with the murderous creatures, the three are going to have to come up with a plan to take them on and fast. Otherwise, they could lose a lot more than they already have.

A modern and incredibly well-done spin on the old Red Riding Hood tale, Sisters Red was a compelling read from the very start. Not once did I lose interest or feel the tale was moving either too slow or too fast. Pearce did a fantastic job at pacing her story just right, as well as creating characters that the reader can identify and empathize with.

In particular, the relationships Pearce portrays really struck a cord with me. The loyalty between Rosie, Scarlett, and Silas was beautiful and the fierce love that each portrayed for the others was absolutely stunning. Their love for each other was probably the thing I loved most about this book. No matter how much fighting there was or how high the tension got, you never once doubted that each would do anything to protect the others and I cannot say enough how beautiful that is to me.

I would definitely suggest this to everyone, particularly lovers of fairy tales. It was an all-around wonderful book and I will definitely be snatching up the next Jackson Pearce novel I see. I'm thinking her Hansel and Gretel retelling looks like just the right book to be the next addition to my bookshelf.

Rating: ~★★★★★~

[Click here for my review of book 2: Sweetly and book 3: Fathomless]

The plan forms in my mind slowly, more like a tide coming in than a wave crashing over me. I am confident, I am capable, and I will not wait to be rescued by a woodsman or a hunter. I will escape.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #3)

"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'He's at Hogwarts . . . he's at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead."

[Click here to see my review of book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]

Now in his third year at Hogwarts, we rejoin Harry in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the midst of his summer vacation. He is still living with the Dursleys and very unhappy about it when his Aunt Marge goes too far in insulting Harry's deceased father and ends up being blown up like a balloon from the force of Harry's anger.

Panicking over his accidental used of magic outside of school (which is strictly prohibited), he runs out of the house and soon catches a fleeting glimpse of a large, black dog just before leaving for the Leaky Cauldron.

As the school year begins, Harry continues to catch fleeting glimpses of what he soon finds out may be a Grimm, a death omen. Nearly every time he has seen this apparition, he seems to have a near death experience. And now his Divination teacher is even predicting his death.

To make matters worse, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. Black was placed in the high-security wizard prison twelve years ago for the murder of thirteen Muggles and one wizard not long after the defeat of Voldemort. The clues all point to his return to Hogwarts where he intends to finish the job he started so many years ago: He's coming to kill Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my second favorite book in the entire series, topped only by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. J.K. Rowling never falters in her masterful storytelling. Her magic with words is equal in strength to the magic in the story, it draws you in from the first page to the last.

Walking along with Harry as he discovers more about his parents and more about himself is always a treat and this book is so riveting that you simply have to find out what happens next. Rowling brings back the characters you've already fallen in love with, only to make you love them even more and introduce even more wonderful people you won't soon forget.

This book was absolutely wonderful and I so enjoyed rereading it. I suggest it to anyone who wants a magical story, great characters, and a journey that will last with you long after you've finished the series itself.

Rating: ★★★★★

[Click here to see my reviews of book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book 5:Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.]

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"
"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here--ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (Little Blue Envelope, #2)

I think something is art when it is created with intention -- serious intention. Even crazy intention. And I think something is beautiful if it reveals something about what it means to be alive.

When Maureen Johnson wrote 13 Little Blue Envelopes, this book's predecessor, she hadn't intended to make a sequel. It was going to stand alone the way it was. But the outcry of the fans and Johonson's own creative imagination birthed something else: The Last Little Blue Envelope, its sequel.

The Last Little Blue Envelope starts off at the beginning of Ginny's winter break. She's busy worrying about her future, missing Keith, and reminiscing about her summer when she gets an email from a man named Oliver, who has managed to fine the last letter and all its contents.

Ginny soon finds herself back in Europe and things are as crazy as ever. The last letter has a new mission and another surprise at its end. As she seeks closure for herself in this last adventure, she finds herself battling heartbreak, discovering new loves, and generally dealing outside of her comfort zone. It's going to take a great deal of work to keep her from losing her head this time around. She'll have to work even harder if she wants to keep her heart too.

The conclusion to Ginny's tale was everything I had hoped it would be. I liked the first book, but without the sequel it lacked luster and, most especially, closure. The sequel was a great call for Johnson, because it tied up all the loose ends and everything fell neatly into place the way it should by the time it wrapped up. The first just can't quite stand on its own. The addition of a sequel made it a thousand times better.

Once again Johnson's witty humor emerges from the story with each page turned. She's quite a quirky person and has definitely found her voice when it comes to writing. She does a wonderful job at it. It is her, through and through. I couldn't get enough of this story or Johson's cleverness at molding the written word to be exactly what she demands of it.

I would definitely suggest this to anyone who has read the first and simply needs that closure. Even if you weren't sure how you felt about the first book, this one wraps it all up in a neat little package and commands that you enjoy it. So go ahead, go pick it up.

Rating: ★★★★☆

"People always say they can't do things, that they're impossible. They just haven't been creative enough. This pool is a triumph of imagination. That's how you win at life, Gin. You have to imagine your way through. Never say something can't be done. There's always a solution, even if it's weird."