Scribbler Of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson

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— BLURB —

Romeo and Juliet had the right idea. About dating the enemy that is. They were true to their hearts.

Kaitlin Malone know what it’s like to date the enemy. She was raised to hate the Crutchfields, and absolutely does – until she meets Bram Crutchfield. It turns out he’s a great guy – one she could talk to, share things with…even love. But when Kaitlin gives her heart to Bram, her world spins out of control. Soon the Crutchfields are her friends and she’s a traitor to her own family.

To make things worse ,Bram was raised to hate the Malones, especially Kaitlin’s father – who murdered Bram’s dad. Bram doesn’t know Kaitlin is a Malone. If he did he would hate her, too.

What’s a star-crossed lover to do?

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— MY REVIEW —

I read Scribbler of Dreams around this time last year! I know, I know.. this review is long overdue! Good thing it’s a quick read, I was able to reread it again before writing this blog post. 😛

This book is inspired by Romeo and Juliet. The whole family vs family deal definitely plays a big backdrop to the story between “star-crossed” lovers Kaitlin and Bram.

Just like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, I found their families to be selfish, annoying jerks who have the saddest reasons as to why they hate one another. I lost count of how many times I either rolled my eyes, sighed or just wanted to speed read to the parts that involved only Kaitlin and Bram. Hehehe.

I don’t know how I feel about Kaitlin discovering who Bram’s family was from early on and keeping it to herself. But then again we’re talking about young love here, and she is a teenage girl who’s dealing with her first love and not wanting to lose it… so… meh. I’ll let this one slide. But the minute I got to the part where she finds out and decides to keep it to herself –  I knew. I knew there’d be trouble up ahead.

I will also say this — I wasn’t expecting the little twist in the end with Kaitlin’s family history though and I did kind of wish that there was more development or… a better lead up to it..? because the minute the “secret” was out that was it. Like literally! I was left thinking “that’s it?!” It was a little underwhelming and the next thing you know Kaitlin and Bram’s story was wrapping up.

Remember – This is just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I love Mary’s writing that I may have expected a little more with the story development. I did feel the ending was a little too abrupt. But hey, at least it did have a definitive ending. No loose strings or questions asked (which I like and thankful for!) I would’ve just wanted.. oh I dunno a page or two more of Kaitlin and Bram. A page of them working it out and living happily ever after is nowhere near enough. 😉

But like I said earlier, I found this to be a is a nice standalone read that I recommend for anyone who’s short for time, a fan of quick reads, suffering from a reading slump and is not ready to commit to a book series yet, or just a good old fashion fan of contemporary romance. 😄

Oh, and it’s also considered YA fiction but I think this book is young reader (pre-teens) friendly. It’s definitely young love!

This is one of Mary E. Pearson’s earlier works and although I prefer her more recent fantasy fiction books, I still love her style of writing. It’s simple, easy to follow and the story just flows. Whether you’re a fan of Contemporary or YA Fantasy — I strongly recommend you check out Mary’s books (more specifically The Remnant Chronicles)!

RATING: ♥♥♥½

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📚 Read my reviews for Mary E. Pearson’s The Remnant Chronicles!

Book One: The Kiss Of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Book Two: The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

Book Three (Coming Soon)

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Happy reading, guys! Catch you in my next one! Xo

The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

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— BLURB —

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save Lia’s life, her erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar’s interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: There’s Rafe, who lied to Lia but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be savages. Now that she lives among them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country… and her own destiny.

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— MY REVIEW —

I died. This book killed me! I exceeded my amount of feels each time I opened it to read more chapters.

My rating for the first book in the series (The Kiss Of Deception) was almost perfect and although I’m not giving this book the full 5 star rating either, I would say it did surpass the first one. I think it’s because this is the “heart” of the storyline now (see what I did there!?) 😄 The first book, was still new to us readers. We were still getting to know this world, the characters and the situation. The Heart Of Betrayal definitely delves into each character and how they came to be.

I love how the book transitions from character to character when you read a new chapter and very well written – It tells you at the beginning of the chapter which character’s point of view you’ll be reading but the way it’s written you can already imagine that character in your head saying those things. It doesn’t get confusing and I love how well Mary E. Pearson has structured it.

Now let’s get to the feels..

If you read my review on the first book, you’ll be aware that I found Lia to be a little frustrating with her choices. Well. It hasn’t changed lol.

⚠ WARNING WARNING WARNING ⚠

Read at own risk!

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If I didn’t make it clear in my review of This Kiss Of Deception, I’ll make it clear in this one. I am Team Kaden. I was rooting for Kaden the millisecond he revealed his true identity. I was seriously hoping and praying and wishing for Lia to pick him. I wanted them to be “it”. The first book ended in a cliffhanger with Lia, Kaden and Rafe, so when I finally started reading this book I was still so hopeful! I wasn’t going to think any bad thoughts until I officially read it on the page.

Let me paint you a picture: It’s the final rose ceremony. Only one rose left. Who does Lia choose? Rafe or Kaden? 

WHY LIA, WHY!!!?!?!?!?

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The seconds before I read it, I knew where it was heading and I wish I had the strength to close the book. She confessed her love to…the wrong freakin’ guy!! Whyyyyy!!??? I’m still questioning it. I’m still confused. I’m still in awe of how stupid she’s being. How can she not see how perfect Kaden is for her. I mean yeah.. sure, he’s a bit of a dumbass when it comes to Venda and the Komizar and their ways. And there’s times you wanna slap the back of his head to get him to wake up.. but whenever he’s around Lia, and whenever I read his points of view in the book, I cannot for the life of me hate him. Grrrrr!

Quick Question: To those who’s read this or the first book — Do you feel the same way? Did you pick Kaden too and root for him? Sigh.

Lia frustrated me since the first book and she has frustrated me in this book, so I doubt it’ll change in the third and final book in the series. I can’t wait to get my hands on it though and see how it all goes down with each of the characters.

Besides the whole love triangle and adding the Komizar into the mix, there’s still the story of her having the “gift”, the war between lands, vengeance and having power.

It might sound like a whole lot is going on and yes there is but it all ties in together very well. I found it to be an easy read and easy to get hooked on.

There is a certain sad part in this book that I did see coming but by all means did not stop me from getting teary-eyed. 😞

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book. I recommend the whole series. If you’re into YA fantasy fiction with love triangles thrown in then this is for you.

RATING: ♥♥♥♥½

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Happy reading, guys! Catch you in my next one! Xo

The Kiss Of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

This was my last read for January 2016 and I have to say my best one for the month too!

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— BLURB —

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

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— MY REVIEW —

(Just so you know, this is the first book from The Remnant Chronicles Series)

I had bought this book based on all the positive raving reviews I saw on Goodreads and Instagram. I read it the day I got it and I was hooked from the first chapter already.

I thought the story flowed very easily. There was a lot of detail which helps in imagining the world Lia was living in. I didn’t find any parts to be slow, boring or dragging. If anything, I wanted to keep reading more (but that’s where book two comes in I guess lol).

Throughout the book it tells of the First Daughter’s gift (the gift of sight) – Lia being the first daughter in her family, it was assumed she had this gift but Lia disagrees. Before the gift was later mentioned in more detail, Lia had always heard things or had seen signs or had tiny little inklings but never thought much of it. Reading these parts throughout the book, only one thing popped into my head everytime – “Hello!!? THAT’S THE GIFT!!”

Now onto the boys hehe.. One is introduced as Rafe and other as Kaden. When I first read about and got to know them a little, I automatically thought Rafe was the assassin and Kaden was the Prince. I instantly loved Rafe – his personality and the way he acts around Lia. BUTTTT… 3/4 of the way into the book and when the big reveal happens, I admit, I switched lol I slowly started loving Kaden and not really thinking of Rafe anymore. Who else has read this and did the same thing a me?

Lia frustrated me at times, especially the way she behaves towards Rafe and Kaden. But I have to keep reminding myself she’s suppose to be a 17 year old girl and that she’s just acting like a typical teenager when it comes to boys lol (But still… I could just slap some sense into her lol)

I really loved this book! I’m still reeling over it actually. I can’t wait to read the next one! Highly Recommend it! Eeep! It’s a must read! 😁

RATING: ♥♥♥♥♥/5

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📚 Read my review for the next book!

The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

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Happy reading, guys! Catch you in my next one! Xo