Catching Tales...

The bittersweet final installment to the Slammed series took my butterflying breath away. I find myself asking is it possible to fall in love with a fictional character like Will Cooper more than ever and all over again. This book is actually a retelling of the first book Slammed but from Will's point of view. As of this time Lake and Will finally tied the knot and are on their honeymoon and Will is sharing his side of the story to his lovely new wife Lake starting from the first moment he laid his eyes on her. Thus start a beautiful heart wrenching walk down to memory lane. 

This book generally made me swoon and giggled like a school girl the entire time I was unable to put down this riveting final piece of the story of one of my most fave book couple. It was like reading another side of Will's and Lake's story that was familiar in Slammed yet feels totally different and still refreshing. Colleen Hoover writes beautiful words that goes right to your heart with characters that makes you feel like you are a part of their story that is not even real. I will miss the characters in this series but I'm pretty sure I won't forget them for a long time.

This Series conveys that Love and Life can be hard but it will always be worth it. Consider this reader SLAMMED forever!

...warned Nero the faithful family crow to Saba and Lugh as a huge standstorm was heading their way in a vastland of wasteland in their isolated home by the Silverlake. They are twins and were very close to each other since birth. But Saba our heroine looks up to her older twin brother Lugh more than anyone else in their family. So when Lugh was kidnapped by mysterious riders that appeared right after the tail of the sandstorm that also cost them their father's life and left Saba with a younger sister that she didn't particular like, she set out to do what she promised to do. She will look for Lugh no matter where and no matter how far and rescue him. 

Watch out people there is another badass and kickass heroine in wasteland by the name of Saba! I love her fighting spirit, her sheer determination to survive whatever adversity she faces in her quest to find her beloved brother. Along the way she gained unexpected allies and friends and even a romantic interest that in her own words "just ain't her type". Saba was such a pragmatic character yet still vulnerable at the same time and even her naivety still shines through every now and then and I love the unique way the author wrote the narrative voice of our heroine. The way she spelled her words intentionaly that in my mind I can almost hear how Saba sounds like of she were real. It was odd at first then I saw how brilliantly effective it was when I got used to her writing style. It was a slow start but it gradually pulls you in and before I knew it I was right beside Saba perspiring waiting for that d*mn crow to show up already before they all get killed by the mad king and then all her efforts to reach that far will be all for nothing and then she heard it! Caw!Caw!Caw! I was soooo freaking relieved to read that part *grins* 

The title of this review is in honor of Nero the only smartest crow in this story. Oh my new dose of heroine SABA :) Can't wait for the Saba and Jack reunion in Rebel Heart.

There was a little girl named Red Riding Hood who went to visit her ailing grandma who lives in the forest and on her way she came upon a wolf...and that is how the original story goes but not in this one. In Scarlet the sequel to Cinder will be another retelling of said fairy tale character. I must admit I had no inkling at first she will be introduced that way into Cinder's story and now this only remind me of that t.v. series that i love to watch called Once Upon A Time wherein all fairy tale characters are trapped in a magical town called story brook but really that is another story but if you have seen that tv show and you have read this book then you know what I'm getting at.

Scarlet for her name is of the same shade (don't make jokes about that one she's sensitive about it) was worried very worried for her grandma who has been missing for weeks with no words whatsoever. Nobody is willing to believe her or help her in locating her missing grandma except for a mysterious boy that is suddenly hanging out in her small town and guess what he calls himself? no really guess...*sigh* it is Wolf of course. Scarlet does not trust him at first until she have no other recourse but to asked for his help for he seems to have an idea where her grandma has been held. As they travel together to Paris she slowly began to find herself falling for Wolf. I said to myself "Oh Scarlet! you should know better than to trust a big possibly bad wolf :( no matter how much he makes your heart flutter like crazy while clutching on his back and leaping on and out of moving trains". While Scarlet is contemplating her feelings for this Alpha Wolf, Cinder on the other hand is now on the run and has become a world famous fugitive and in tow is a new character Capt. Thorne another prisoner she is forced to escaped with to help her get out of New Beijing and search for the person that may hold the key to her secret past and learn more about her real identity. A search that ultimately lead them to Paris. Aha! now you know where this might be going. However, I won't spoil everything here let us just say that after dodging the police and a pack of wolves Scarlet and Cinder's path will finally cross in a most thrilling moment at least for me. I love how the back story of Scarlet's grandma unfold and the secret she holds for many years will intertwined with Cinder's past and perhaps determined Cinder's decision of what she will do of the destiny that is thrust upon her and she feels she is not ready to uphold for she simply wants only to be free.

Cinder is still struggling with her powerful abilities and is still not in her best form to be able to defeat the Lunar Queen when they do confront each other again which I'm sure they will. Then we have the conflicted and super stressed out Emperor Kai who finally succumed to the demands of the Lunar Queen. I have to give it to her she was taking her very sweet time to simply wait for the Emperor to cave in while she let her minions wreck havoc across the major cities in every country around the world. I hate her like the wrath of God! Cinder was pissed off when Emperor Kai announced his latest decision and it is not good :( But here is hoping Cinder will managed to thwart that particular ceremony and save the world at the same time. I enjoyed the twist and turns of the story even though they are predictable the characters were all engaging and not always one dimensional and I was rooting for them from start to finish. 

From Cinder to Scarlet who is the next fairy top most wanted?

This was the sequel to Graceling in which Katsa (my ultimate heroine) rescued the then very young princess Bitterblue from her murderous and tyrannical father King Leck. By then I was hoping that this young princess will grow up to be the majestic and strong young queen of Monsea when Katsa managed to disposed of King Leck. Alas this book left quite a bitter taste and subdue me blue after I've finished reading it. Bitterblue has certainly grown up but was left with an empire that is filled with more lies and deceit and an even greater betrayal long after her father was killed. What was left was a broken kingdom ran with even more broken subjects. 

A struggling queen overwhelmed with paper works when what she longs for are the truths of her father's reign and what is exactly happening to her people outside the castle. But what she doesn't realize that there are people who will go to any lengths to stop the truths from ever coming out and have it silenced forever. 

There were some chapters that was dragging and I thought I'd lose interest. I was happy that there was a reappearance of Katsa and Po this two were such major support to Queen Bitterblue when she was at her lowest moments. There was a possibility of a love interest but I knew even then that was doom from the start and so I was not surprise when Bitterblue at the end have to sacrifice what her heart wants for she knew that she has a greater responsibility to uphold to her throne and to her people. In time I think I grew to sympathize Bitterblue when the odds kept stocking against her and it seems she is running out of time to protect the people she cares about and at the same time seek out the perpetrators. I just didn't like that the setting was only confined in the Monsea kingdom. Nothing so grave happened to Bitteblue except for about three attempts to her life but she always have someone to rescue her immediately. She rarely was able to make use of her skill with her knife that Katsa tought her. At the end there was an appearance of a character from the book Fire and if you have read that book then you know who I mean.

For me this is more like a story of the personal journey of Bitterblue as a young queen and the revelation of the real truth of her own administration. Not so much of a kickass and badass Queen Bitterblue that I was expecting *sigh* so you can understand why I was bitter and rather blue about this one :(