{Review} Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Posted by Donna
Release Date: December 9th, 2014
Finished Date: December 21st, 2014

Publishers: Delacorte Press
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 400

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

The Review: After completely falling in love with Of Beast and Beauty earlier this year, I just knew I had to get my hands on Princess of Thorns as soon as it was released. And it’s safe to say that Stacey Jay has blown me away yet again with another phenomenal retelling and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her.

When her younger brother Prince Jor is taken prisoner by the Orge Queen whom killed her mother and took her throne Princess Aurora mission is simple, she must raise an army that can help rescue her brother and take back her throne before it’s too late that her Kingdom and the rest of the world is overthrown by the Orge Queen. Posing as a boy makes Aurora’s journey simpler and when she meets Prince Niklaas with secrets of his own, it’s clear that they can help one another. But can Aurora and Niklaas do the impossible with time ticking down so quickly?

Princess of Thorns is simply an amazing and breath-taking read. From the moment I started reading I just knew I was going to love it just as much as Of Beast and Beauty and every moment I had to put the book down, it was all I could think about it until I could pick it back up again. I wouldn’t really call it a Sleeping Beauty re-telling, it does have a few similar traits but Stacey Jay takes the idea of Sleeping Beauty’s story and twists the idea to make the story really her own.

Aurora is such a fantastic character. Yes she’s stubborn as a mule but I loved that because she made the story so entertaining. She’s quirky, sassy and very feisty. She’s determined to do the impossible and even when it looks impossible, she remains headstrong. She’s a very selfless character, willing to sacrifice everything for others. Who wouldn’t love her?

And then we have the other half of the story Niklaas. Oh sweet Niklass. I instantly loved him. Although he seeks Aurora out for his own goal, he’s always honest about his intensions. He doesn’t hide and is an honest character. I loved that while Niklaas thought Aurora was a boy called Ror, he recognised that he had a deep connection to her/him. I think it took him a while to realise what his true feeling were but I enjoyed watching him figure it out. He and Aurora are best friends and their love for one another shone throughout the story – even while they were trying to deny it themselves.

The plot of the story is full of adventure, mischief, danger and many secrets.  It’s one a world that you want to get lost in and unravel it piece by piece and then when it’s over, you’re left wanting more.

In all, I can’t praise this book enough. I loved it. I want to re-read it already. And I’m simply praying and hoping that Stacey Jay isn’t done with writing retellings because I’m dying for something else by her.

{Review} Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

Posted by Donna
Release Date: July 23rd, 2913
Finished Date: October 3rd, 2014

Publishers: Delacorte Press
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopian
Source: Gifted
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 391

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

The Review: Of Beast and Beauty is a beautiful re-telling of one of my favourite fairy tales; Beauty and the Beast, but it also has its own unique spin and I completely fell in love with the story that Stacey Jay has created.

Princess Isra – a Smooth Skin and the future queen of the domed city of Yuan – has grown up knowing she will eventually become a human sacrifice where her death will continue to keep Yuan thriving. Gem – a Monstrous who is trying to stop his people dying from starvation by trying to find out the secrets of the Smooth Skins – breaks into the domed City and is captured by Isra and her men. As Isra and Gem spend time together after Gem convinces her that he can help her save her people in return to help his, Isra realizes she wants to try and help the banished people in her City be accepted even though they have some Monstrous qualities – like Isra believes has and mainly due to her blindness. Neither Isra nor Gem is prepared for the unwanted feelings that they feel about each other.  But how can these two fight the odds and change the world they live in?

I absolutely loved this book! I’ve had it sitting on my shelf for nearly two years and I have no idea why I didn’t get to it sooner – I wish I had. The only other books of Stacey Jay’s I’ve read are her Romeo and Juliet series which I really loved, so I did have hopes that this would be just as good. It wasn’t just good – it was even better and it's now my favourite out of her work so far. And it definitely helped that this was a Beauty and the Beast re-telling.

Isra and Gem were fantastic characters to get to know and what made this story stand out even more – and it surprised me – was that it was told from dual narratives. You know how much of a fan I am of it and Isra and Gem’s voices worked perfectly together. The story is surrounded by a lot of prejudice and we see a lot of it from Isra and Gem from the start of the story, but as it progresses you see them start to question a lot of what they’ve been lead to believe. I really enjoyed that they started to take their own feelings into account. It made the story interesting and very intense. I was dying for something to happen between them because you could see the spark, they just needed the push and when it happened, it was so worth the wait.

The plot of the story was brilliant! Even though it wasn’t action-packed until the end of the story, it was entertaining and kept me guessing throughout. There was always something going on, so I didn’t miss the action to be honest. It’s full of danger and hidden secrets and it’s really a gripping read.

In all, Of Beast and Beauty is definitely one of my favourite reads this year and my only regret is that I didn’t read it sooner. I loved it and I cannot wait for Stacey Jay’s next book, Princess of Thorns which releases later this year.

A Review for Romeo Redeemed (Juliet Immortal #2) by Stacey Jay

Posted by Donna

Release Date:  October 9th, 2012

Finished Date: August 18th, 2012

Publishers: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Source: For Review 

Format: eGalley 

Pages: 384
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

The Review: Last year I fell in love with Juliet Immortal and so when I heard the author was releasing a sequel told from Romeo's point of view, I was extremely excited. I wanted to get into Romeo's head more and get his side of the story but while I enjoyed Romeo Redeemed, I didn't love it as much as the first book.

This time around we see Romeo living out his eternity alone and slowly rotting away. He killed the love of his life, Juliet and now he's paying for it. Well that is until he's given an opportunity  to right his mistakes and he takes it with open arms. Romeo's task - is to travel back in time to save a girl named Ariel, who holds the fate of the world in her hands. However, Romeo has to make Ariel fall in love him but he's wearing the face of the one person she truly hates. Can Romeo save Ariel before the soul-less Mercenary get her? And can Romeo save himself from an eternity alone?

I love the cover for this, look how gorgeous it is. Anyway, While I think Stacey Jay did a great job with Romeo Redeemed, I think it fell slightly short to Juliet Immortal. My main problem was I got a bit confused with the different point of views. I liked Romeo's and Ariel's point of views but it was hard with Juliet's because we were taken back to 1304, back to when she was killed by Romeo. Trying to get all the facts from Juliet and keep up to date with Romeo and Ariel's problems was a bit hard. However despite this, I still enjoyed the book. I loved how Stacey Jay has a way with drawing you from the very first page. Her stories are written beautifully and there very heart-wrenching. You feel everything the characters feel and it's full of emotions. 

I hated Romeo in the first book but this time you can't help but love him. It's a slow process though because as the story moves along, you like him more and more. Ariel, I really liked her from the start, even though she's a weak character, she's not a helpless one and I think her and Romeo were a great match. 

Now that ending, talk about a shocker. I'll say this I didn't expect that huge twist that came but what a fantastic twist it was. Everything happens in this book for a reason and fate plays a key part of it and I really enjoyed it. 

A Review for Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Posted by Donna
Published Date: August 9th, 2011
Finished Date: September 19th, 2011
Publishers: Delacorte Books for Younger Readers
Source: Bookaholic's Book Club Travelling Book
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
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The Blurb from Goodreads: The most tragic love story in history . . .Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.
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The Review: 
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“Love doesn’t want people to stay ignorant and frightened. Love doesn’t value obedience over all else. Love doesn’t judge and find some lives-or loves-more valuable than others. Love doesn’t use people and throw them away. Love stays, and makes you stronger, even when the person you love is gone.” – Juliet.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect before reading this book. I was definitely intrigued to the story especially with it being based around Romeo and Juliet but at the same time, I was also a bit worried because it was based around the tragic couple, it wouldn’t be any good. Well, let me tell you that Stacey Jay has done a fantastic job portraying the couple in this magical and compelling novel.

As I’m sure you all know the tale of Romeo and Juliet, this story tells a different version. What would have happened if Romeo had killed Juliet, so he could become an agent to the Mercenaries and work for the powers of dark helping drive apart soul mates? What would have happened if Juliet, after her death, was an agent working for the Ambassadors of light and hated Romeo for ending her life? And mainly, what would have happened if Juliet had fell in love with someone completely forbidden? Well….this story will tell you everything. Juliet Immortal is a story about love and loss in a completely beautiful and horrifying way that you can’t help fall in love with this book. I was captivated from start to end and truly enjoyed this story.

I instantly felt a connection to the main characters and felt like I’d known them for years. Juliet has always been a strong character but in this story, she is even stronger. Her hate for Romeo keeps her going, keeps her trying to help people find their soul mates. Even throughout her struggles, she always tries to do the right thing even without guidance from the Ambassadors, she still tries. I loved this version of Juliet and I feel like I know her so much more now. Romeo, I love Romeo but in this book is hard not to like him. He’s portrayed as the bad guy, he’s evil, and he kills people and steals their bodies. It was easy to hate him as much as Juliet but deep down, he has some hidden secrets. Secrets….that you can’t help but feel for him by the end of this book and really makes you question if he really was the bad guy. And then of course there’s Ben....Ben who I loved. He was a fantastic addition to this story and the twists and turns that involve his character are truly shocking. He’s a character that I keep thinking about nearly 12 hours later after finishing the book.

The story itself was very unpredictable. It’s fast paced, exciting, dangerous and of course, full of romance. The love in this story slowly builds up and touches your heart especially with all the emotions flying about. But there are also some really dark scenes too, ones that leave you utterly shocked but nonetheless still very enjoyable.

Overall, Juliet Immortal was a great stand-alone novel. I have to say though, I’d be interested to see something from Romeo’s point of view especially from that ending but even without it, I’m still happy. I think Stacey Jay deserves a round of applauses for creating a fresh and exciting story but still staying true to our famous couple. 
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A huge thank you to Bookaholic's Book Club for giving me the opportunity to read this book.