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tianasmith

Tiana Smith

Some of my many talents include making a mean box of Mac & Cheese, drawing stick figures, designing cute blog templates, and finding Waldo. I read and write MG and YA & I have a soft spot for love stories.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson I'm still kind of reeling from the ending. It seemed like everything happened so fast at the conclusion. The language and writing of this book was beautiful, and it was a unique story. While I didn't feel it was *as* amazing as some reviewers seemed to think, I did think it was executed very well. The things I didn't like as much ... well, those are spoilers. Big ones. I dislike it when books make you care for a love interest, only to take that love interest away, either by death or by revealing things about said love interest that make you really begin to hate them. So... with the king. You like him at first, then find out he's not that great of a guy. So, as a reader, you're willing to go with it when she falls in love with Humberto (I don't think I spelled that right but who cares?). Then the author kills off Humberto. Then you find out the king is decent, and you come to terms with the fact that he's not the strongest love interest ever, but you're willing to maybe give him a shot. But, then she kills him off too. You're left with barely the inkling that she might start to get feelings for Hector, which is barely discussed throughout the book. Hmmmm... Trying to make my mind ping pong between three love interests (in one book) is a little too much for me to take. I find myself not really caring who she ends up with, since the author will probably kill them off too.While some pretty big things happen in the book, I found I wasn't as emotionally attached as I felt like I should have been. I think because the author does such a great job with the description and cultural elements, that emotions were maybe hurried. For example, when her love dies, she's heartbroken about it, but after the initial heartbreak, the readers barely see any emotion about it. Granted, she's in the middle of a war, but still ... When I say that the author does a great job with cultural elements and descriptions though, I'm not kidding. I felt like the whole world was very well developed and real, even though it was so unique. Overall, the book was very well written and I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the series. I'll just be hoping that the love story develops a little more to my liking.

Wisdom's Kiss: A Thrilling and Romantic Adventure, Incorporating Magic, Villany, and a Cat

Wisdom's Kiss - Catherine Gilbert Murdock There were too many different points of view, in my opinion. (8! Probably about 7 too many.) It was confusing, especially in the beginning when I didn't know all of the different characters. I think the ones that were written as a play were the biggest culprit of this confusion. When the first "play" came about, I thought that it must be depicting events well into the past since it was written about a past event. But, the plays are in line (chronologically) with everything else, so everything unfolds in chronological order (yes, the other points of view are "in the past" too, but as the plays were written accounts, rather than verbal re-tellings, it just got me all kinds of confused. I'm not even sure if that makes sense - if it sounds confusing to you, then the book will probably be confusing as well. Of course, everything is all pulled together in the end, and it all makes sense, but by that point, I found that I didn't really care a whole lot. On the positive side, this book had a really fun tone. I liked the character portrayals, but am still kind of on the fence about how all the various love stories wrapped up. It was a humorous read, but definitely required some brain power.

Love, Stargirl

Love, Stargirl - I liked this book a lot, though not quite as much as the first one. This had the same type of magical writing, the type that pulls you into the story and makes you forget what's happening around you. I do kind of wish that Stargirl was shown a little more ... strongly. She's so vibrant in the first book, and it takes her a long time to get that back after everything that happened with Leo. Also, I think it's strange that she doesn't really have any friends her own age, except for her crush. (Which, also was weird, because from the way he was first described, I pictured him as a much younger boy, and then it turned out he was her age ... Maybe I missed that when he was introduced initially, but yeah...) Another thing I thought was weird was her homeschooling. With the type of homeschooling she had, I think she would always have a really, really hard time in real life. Going to college, getting a job - these are all things that I don't think she's given much thought to (or her mother who's homeschooling her) and I wish that someone with her loving personality had more of a plan for her future. The writing style of this book is so lyrical though. I loved reading it and didn't want it to end.

Catherine, Called Birdy (Summer Reading Edition)

Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman I'm not quite sure how to rate this book ... On one hand, the writing was brilliant, the voice was spot on, and I loved seeing the scrapes that Catherine got into. The setting felt very real to me and it was obvious that Karen Cushman did her research. On the other hand, that time period was very different (England 1290s) and the way that poor Catherine was treated sometimes made me furious (her father hits her, she's married off against her will, etc.) though these things were all very normal for the time. Also, I'm still not entirely sure what the plot was ... It covers every day of her life as she grows up and learns to accept her responsibilities, but the overall plot arch didn't have a lot of direction.

Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine: America's Funniest Jokes, Stories, and Cartoons

Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine: America's Funniest Jokes, Stories, and Cartoons - Reader's Digest Pretty much exactly like you would expect, especially if you've ever read the jokes in Reader's Digest. Nothing mind-blowingly funny, but entertaining tidbits that will bring a smile to your face. I liked that I could pick this up and read when I only had a minute to spare, since lately I've been too busy to actually read a novel.

Breaking the Rules

Breaking the Rules - Cat Lavoie I think the biggest thing that irked me was that I didn't like the main character. She was a complete pushover almost the entire time (until the end when she finally gets some gumption). The other thing that bothered me was that pretty much every single character in this book cheats on their significant other at least once during the story. There were only two of the main-ish characters who didn't cheat, and those were the ones that ended up getting the short end of the stick as far as "happily ever after" goes. Speaking of happily ever after - yes, the book ends on that positive note, but am I the only one who didn't really want to see them get together in the end? Throughout the entire book, Roxy doesn't know what she wants for her own happiness, and so I was kind of hoping that at the end of the book she'd go off to Paris on her own to start her own restaurant or something. After a lifetime of giving in to everyone's expectations of her, I wanted her to have some time to actually consider things and become her own person. I mean, the end was handled okay, but I didn't really like the hero enough to want them to get together I guess. Even at the end, when she gets a little bit of a spine, I still don't feel like it was enough. I mean, after what her boss does to her, I wanted Roxy to use her lawyer sister to sue her firm and the professional chef who stole her recipes. That would at least give her some money to live off of while she starts her own catering business. But no, Roxy simply walks away. Yes, she's removed herself from a bad situation, but I still wanted to see *more* of a spine. At least tell the boss off, come on!A lot of reviewers mentioned the plot twist that happens about 75% of the way in - and maybe it was because I was prepared for a big plot twist, but I actually saw it coming and wasn't surprised. A little angry maybe, but not surprised. There are hints along the way, but they're subtle.I just didn't like any of the characters, there was entirely too much cheating and bad language, and it wasn't something that I could really enjoy reading. Too much angst. I wanted to shake the characters until they did something sensible for once. On a positive note, the writing itself was done well, and there's enough going on to keep things interesting.

My Father's Dragon

My Father's Dragon - Ruth Stiles Gannett As a children's writer, this book has everything that I aspire to be. So creative and idyllic, I just want to share it with everyone - even those who are probably to old to understand the magic.

Shadow Magic

Shadow Magic - Patricia C. Wrede, Walter Velez You know I love you Wrede, but this book was just too ... meh. Very generic and I'm sorry to say that I won't be reading the others in this series, even though I purchased them as a set. Life's too short to waste on bland books. Hopefully the next book of yours that I pick up will be more up to the standards I've come to expect from you.

A Longtime (and at one point illegal) Crush

A Longtime (and at one point illegal) Crush - Janette Rallison I thought there might be an "ick factor" with this book (since he's her teacher at one point) but I was wrong! As usual, Janette Rallison pulls it off fabulously. Kye is charming, polite and swoon-worthy. There are a few flashbacks at the beginning, but they're done in a smooth way that brings you up to date with the current story. I kinda feel bad for Janette's characters - she always puts them through such embarrassing situations. I'm glad things work out for them though. It's a quick read, but it feels like the perfect length.

The Host: A Novel

The Host - Stephenie Meyer I didn't think I would like this book - mainly because I felt like Meyer might be overrated and also, it's about aliens. Yeah, never been a fan of alien books/movies/etc. But this book really had me intrigued. It's not one I would read over and over, since it's pretty long, but I did enjoy the world-building and the tense situation build up. Meyer does a great job of getting you to see every side of the situation and feel something for the characters.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm - Polly Shulman Cute read and the characters are adorable, even if the cover is a little ugly (in my opinion). It all felt true to high school, with the crushes, misunderstandings and awkward advances. You gotta love the main guy - poetry, flowers, jewelry - I mean, he knows how to win a girl.

Jenny’s First Adventure (My Very UnFairy Tale Life, #0.5)

Jenny’s First Adventure (My Very UnFairy Tale Life, #0.5) - Anna Staniszewski Cute and clever - definitely on the younger side of middle grade though. I think I was expecting older since the girl on the cover looks older than 9 to me. But, if you read this for what it is - a short story about a 9 year old - then it's very cute. Because I was expecting it to be older, I didn't expect it to move as fast or be resolved so quickly, but the writing is witty and I think I'd give her full-length books a chance.

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back - Sariah Wilson At first, I really, really didn't like Jake (the lead guy) or Mattie (the lead girl). He was a jerk - in a big way, and she whined all the time. At the beginning I was even hoping that they *wouldn't* end up together. I found it strange that she would be so in love with a guy that she had barely spoken to since she was nine years old. BUT, later you learn that he was being a jerk on purpose, and she does grow up and learns to stop comparing herself to others as much. You DO start caring for the characters when you see who they *really* are on the inside, instead of the mask they show everyone else. I was actually kind of surprised the author could turn it around so much and make me start hoping they'd make it. It was cute, flirty and fun, and I'd definitely read more from this author.

Emmalee (The Jane Austen Diaries)

Emmalee (The Jane Austen Diaries) - Jenni James I love the world Jenni James has created. Seeing how all the various characters fit into the cast of each story is always fun (though, at times, confusing. I think more so in this book because she mentioned almost ALL of the previous characters in the other books, whereas in some of her other books, she only mentions a few in passing. In Emmalee, they all play a role, and sometimes their personalities change so much from book to book you kind of get a little whiplash). I read this one out of order - Northanger Alibi is supposed to come two books later - but you still understand everything just fine. I loved the relationship between the two neighbors and how it develops. It felt very natural. The one thing Jenni James does exceptionally well is making you feel the tingles too - every time her characters kiss or hold hands I want to giggle like I'm in high school again. It's a little embarrassing honestly ... Edited to add: Why, if the Christmas party is at Emma's house, does she need a car to go home??? I keep thinking about this, and I wonder if I missed something (like maybe the location was changed...?) I know she probably was going to give a ride home to her friend, but even then, when she runs away from the party, why does she go to her cold car, rather than to her room?

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - I'm actually kind of surprised by how much I liked this one. It wasn't all rosy, since both characters are dealing with their own demons, but when you put the two of them together, it's so sweet and cute. They both grow, there's a series of unlikely-but-somehow-likely events that put the two of them together and I found myself smiling every time they interacted. The writing was beautiful - I kept thinking about how well the author did at describing events and places with a clever phrase that put me right in the moment.

How To Slay A Dragon

How to Slay a Dragon - Bill  Allen Really funny world building with puns, word-play and prophesies. There still seemed to be a few things missing, or places where the writing kind of threw me off (for example, when the dragon takes Greg in his mouth, then discards him in the cell, it wasn't clear why the dragon would drop them off like that then leave - there were a few instances of things like this where the writing could have been stronger), but on the whole it was clever and witty.