Towering

Goodreads Synopsis:    At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her. 

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now. 

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Alex Flinn knows her fairy tales, and Towering is her most mind-bending interpretation yet. Dark and mysterious, this reimagining of Rapunzel will have readers on the edge of their seats wondering where Alex will take them next!

My Thoughts:

-    I usually love Alex Flinn's stuff, but I was disappointed with this one. 

-    This is a modern retelling of Rapunzel, but I don't get why Rachel had to be stuck in the tower. Why didn't her "mama" and her just move someplace and stay away?

-    I didn't like the insta-love. I don't know why these two characters are attracted to each other.

-    I didn't really like the two main characters. They were really dramatic, too dramatic for the modern setting.

-    I liked how Rachel found everything so interesting and new. It was like looking through the eyes of a child, and I liked her innocence. 

-    The story was pretty predictable, and it didn't hold my interest very well. 

Bewitching

From Goodreads:    Bewitching can be a beast. . . .

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t.

I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age.

You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out.

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in theTitanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

My Thoughts:

-    I love that Kendra had a larger role to play in this book. We didn't get to see much of her in Beastly. I really liked her interjections in the story.

-    Alex Flinn has such a great way of telling a modern day fairy tale. I enjoy all her stuff.

-    Kendra tells 3 stories apart from the main story about Emma. I enjoyed reading Kendra's story. She intrigues me, but I thought the other two stories detracted from the main story. They were kind of boring, and I don't think they were needed. I was more interested in Emma.

-    I really wanted something awful to happen to Lisette! What a monster!

-    I wasn't expecting this to be a Cinderella twist, but it was, and I liked it!

-    I could relate to Emma on so many levels. She is my kind of girl!

-    I liked the Beastly references a lot. I hope there will be more Kendra books. Maybe someone in Italy needs help?

-    Overall, it was a fun and charming book, but I could have gone without the side stories. 

Cloaked

My Synopsis:

-    A modern day twist on a few classic fairy tales.

-    Our main hero, Johnny, is an average teen that works for the family business, which happens to be shoe repair.

-    Johnny is mesmerized by the Princess of Aloria. Lucky for him, the princess has taken an interest in him as well.

-    The princess asks Johnny to go on a quest to save her brother, who has been turned into a frog.

-    Johnny doesn't believe in magic, witches, or any of that fairy tale stuff, but he quickly figures out that all of it is real, and he accepts the princess's request.

-    During his adventure, Johnny must fight giants, dodge an evil witch, find some swans' sister, talk to some animals, and slew of other things. 

My Thoughts:

-    This was a really fun book. I love the modern fairy tale stuff.

-    Johnny is a likable fellow, but he is pretty dense at times.

-    I'm glad Meg went along for the ride. Johnny needed her, and I like everything her character had to contribute to the story.

-    I loved all the fairy tales! There was The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Six Swans, The Firebird, The Frog Prince, and couple others. They way all the fairy tales fit together was very clever.

-    I forgot that Johnny and Meg were teenagers. They seem more like adults, especially when they were both working full time. They didn't talk about school much or anything. They seemed more in their 20s than 17.

-    I liked the way everything wrapped up. The ending flew by. I couldn't believe how much I had read in a short time. In fact, the whole book was so fun and flowed. It didn't take me long to read. 

Beastly

Goodreads Synopsis:    I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

My Thoughts:

-    This was a really enjoyable twist on Beauty and the Beast.  I liked how it took place in the present, and I liked that it took place from the beast's perspective.  

-    Kyle is one piece of work!!  He is the kind of guy you love to hate.  He deserved to be taught a lesson.

-    The chat room bits weren't really needed, but I enjoyed reading them.  It was fun to read about characters from other Fairy Tales.

-    Roses, especially white ones, will never be beautiful to me again.  Thank you Hunger Games.  

-    Linda's dad is the lowest sort of scum on the planet!!!!  I can't believe he sold his daughter for drugs...TWICE!!

-    There are some lines and bits that were cheesy and a bit too sappy for me.

-    There were a lot of similarities between this and Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

-    It was a quick and fun read.  I really enjoyed it!