Irene's reading blog

To start off I first got very invested in reading the book, not just because of how beautiful the cover was, but because of how inspiring the plot seemed. I love reading kid books, because of how refreshing they are to read. Starfish was many thing, but not disappointing. I laughed, cried, and gripped the book as hard as I can. Reading Ellie's journey of self-acceptance and bully confrontation is truly inspiring, and heart-breaking. The idea of being bullied is truly horrible. As a person who has suffered bullying when younger, this story really made me sad for the main character. And the fact that the bullies were not just the school peers, but also her mom, sister, and brother; really hurt. I felt every emotion possible through Ellie's lenses. And seeing her overcome all those negative thoughts, all the comments, and people who just made her feel bad for her weight; was so rewarding. Seeing her open up was very touching and beautiful. I would 100% recommend this book for kids. It really shows how much thought one has to put to our words, and actions!

First of all, I want to thank The Kensington Publishing Corp. for sending me an ARC paperback copy and jar of Petunia's purple magical fairy dust. My overall review is 3/5, just because I really enjoyed the characters, and the whole wholesomeness the story had. Yet, I did have some problems with the way the story was set, here are my scores for each aspect: Characters (3/5): I really like how the characters came from well-known stories, and the main characters didn't, making me wonder throughout the chapters, how their story will go (even though the ending was pretty obvious). However, I did cringe a lot with the way the fairy godmothers spoke sometimes and also think there wasn't enough development with the character James. Setting (3.7/5): I liked the setting, however, there weren't that many descriptions, and I would have liked more detail with the town, castle, and overall towns/ city they were placed in. Writing (2.6/5): I liked the humor, the cliches. Yet, I was and still am, as I write this review, very disturbed about there not being a description of the main characters. It might be that I missed it, but there was BARELY any description about Lucky, there was some thrown in the way about Ransom, but there wasn't for Lucky. The style of writing the story, I didn't like it nor hated it. Cover/ design (5/5): I absolutely loved it. the design is so on topic, so cute, and incredibly attractive. I just wished there had been more description of the characters that are being shown since the moment you get the book. Overall: The plot was very good, the characters very charming, the story very cute. The best way I could describe this book, in a nutshell, would be romantic comedy r rated or Disney but for adults. The story also reminded me a lot of the TV show Once Upon A Time. Because of how they mix the world we all wished to live in as kids, with fairytales, and still have that spice of adult themes.

First of all I want to think the Kensington publisher for sending me a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review! I will first divide this review in two segments that are going to have sections within each. the first being a design review/critique, and the second being a review of the story itself, mentioning what I like, disliked the why's and why not. - The cover: in terms of the design of the cover, is that in the front I like the main image, which is the silhouette of the protagonist, the meaning behind the flowers is a nice touch. The typefaces used with the authors name, series name, the tittle of the book, and the little review in the corner, go very well the timely era that the story is set. In terms of the colors used; I like that they designer decided on using the pink background, and white for the tittle. Yet, viewing the pink in person I would've chosen a lighter tone of pink, it just seems a little intense. There is also seen the color green in some parts of the text in the cover and back cover of the book. I think it looks horrible, really dislike it. I feel like, those text could have just been left white or/and black. The flowers in the cover look badly photoshopped, or at least that's what seems to me; specially with the flower that's centered, it looks badly cut. I would give the cover 2/5 just because I like the concept, but am not amazed with the finish product. - The story: The book tells us about this young lady called Drusilla that is utterly in love with a very handsome and popular guy, who was a prince in a middle eastern country, that is currently at war. However, Drusilla is a very early feminist female, that believes in womens right in not marrying. In terms of personality, she has a hard shelf, she takes time in letting people know her soft self, and shows herself as a very serious, non-sentimental, very logical, and educated women. When in the inside she is very caring, logistical, homorious, and curious girl. In terms of facial appearance, she is described as a not so attractive women, with an amazing body that tends to cover up a lot. While Gabriel Marlington, on the other hand is extremely attractive, with his charming green eyes, and carisma. Gabriel Marlington is a gentlemen. I tend to dislike how he can be so amazing, and then sometimes patriotic. As the book went on we start to get to know him better, and figure out some of his secrets. Gabriel is brother of Drusilla's best friend Eva. Who is considered crazy for being different, outgoing, and not a very found follower of lady's etticate. I just have to say that I love her, she is iconic, and just such a fun side character. Another character that I just slowly started to love, is Gabriel's best friend Bryer. He's such a comical man, very social, charismatic, and loyal. There many other characters, but I decided to have a special mention for this ones, since they were the ones that stook out the most for me. There is also a villain, who I didn't see coming, but slowly came towards the end. What I liked about this book is how addictive the story is. While reading it I just wanted to continue, chapter after chapter to know what would happen. The story at the beginning wasn't very exciting, it took me to get to the half, to really start getting into it. I feel like how the marriage started, was very forced, and just thrown out of nowhere, without even knowing anyone, which wasn't really logical for me, I usually like when the story builds up. I also didn't like at the beginning how the characters were already very familiar with each other. That just made me feel more like an outsider for some reason. I did find the story very entertaining, and in some sorts of ways funny. I would give the character development a 3.8/5, just because I had a hard time with gabriel, and even sometimes with Dru ngl. The writing: I did not like it. The way the two pov's of Drusilla and Gabriel are really messy. Usually when an author decides to write with multiple pov's, they do each by chapters. In this case, the pov's were just thrown in any place within the same chapter. I didn't like it. It was like taking me out of a scene without giving me previous notice by the start of a new chapter. There were also times were some wording I found it choppy, and cringy. I would give the writing a 1.5/5. I really hated the way it was written throughout the story. Overall, I give the book a 3/5, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't also great. It was a nice book, interesting story, with an even more interesting time line, but it had it's details that I just can NOT ignore. Details that really bothered me, throughout the reading. For romantic historical reader, would I recommend? well, five times out of ten I would, just for fun, and for hearing a fellow reader's fresh perspective.