Review of The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur

Title: The Ivy
Authors: Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 336
Source: Obtained free from Amazon (on 11/15/2012)
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Congratulations! You have been admitted to the most prestigious university in the world. Now what are you going to do?  Callie Andrews may not have money or connections or the right clothes, and she may have way too many complications in her love life, what with Gregory, the guy she loves to hate...Evan, the guy she'd love to forget...Clint, the guy she'd love to love...and Matt, the guy she really should love...all vying for her attention.  But she has three fantastic roommates (best friends or her worst nightmare?) and a wholesome California-girl reputation (oops) and brains and beauty and big, big dreams.  Will it be enough to help her survive freshman year at Harvard?

Ivy League, sexy and completely dramalicious...is there a better combination? 

Small-town, down-to-earth Callie gets the surprise of her life when she heads off to Harvard only to be dumped by her high school sweetheart.  Freshman year can be difficult, but it's been a roller-coaster ride for Callie.  While she can't always keep up with her designer clad roommates, she has caught the eye of a couple of eligible bachelors on campus.  Callie is your typical everyday girl.  She's cute and sweet, but does make mistakes.  At times, you want to shake her and other times hug her, but she does keep the story entertaining.

As for her posse of gentlemen, each one has some great traits to bring to the table.  This part almost seemed too easy.  Not only does Callie have one guy after her, but three.  Seriously, who is this girl?  If only life were that easy to have not only three guys, but three great guys after you while attending Harvard.  I guess it is fiction right? 

Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur being Harvard roommates themselves, brought to life the college campus.  Between the classes, high societies and elite clubs we get a glimpse into the life everyone dreams of.  While at times this felt a bit Gossip Girl-esque there was enough intrigue and creativity to make this story entertaining and bring a fresh twist to the familiar topics.  Plus these ladies and gentlemen did actually study...though not as much as I would imagine being at Harvard and all. 

If you're looking for some mind-candy during this Holiday season, The Ivy is a perfect choice.  Sit back and escape while enjoying your non-fat, no-whip, half cafe, peppermint mocha with soy of course. 

Review of Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 485
Source: Bought
Format: ebook
Rating: 2.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Azalea and her younger sisters dance in the mysterious silver forest every night, escaping from the sadness of the palace and their father’s grief. What they don’t understand—although as time passes they begin to get an inkling of the danger they are in—is that the mysterious and dashing Keeper is tightening his snare with deadly purpose. Luckily, Azalea is brave and steadfast. Luckily, a handsome young army captain also has his eye on Azalea.

This must be the week of fairy tales for me.  Somehow, lately I haven't been able to get enough, be it actual fairy tales or the retellings.  Entwined is based off the fairy tale known as "The Shoes Were Danced to Pieces" or better known as "Twelve Dancing Princesses."  This is one fairy tale that I didn't know much about so the story itself wasn't so much a retelling, rather it unfolded this mystical world of wonder.  With not knowing much of the background to this fairy tale, there was more mystery involved then the normal retelling which always lead to something unexpected and intriguing. 

The story was a bit darker than expected, as it was lined with death, deception, and power struggles.  There were some touching moments as well though that kept me intrigued and not overwhelmed by the darkness.  Especially towards the middle with the interactions of the daughters and their papa, the King.  At first their relationship was strained, but I believe he was always looking out for their interests to the best of his ability.   

I did have a hard time connecting with the characters on this one.  They seemed too out of reality and it always felt like I was reading a story instead of living it.  Azalea and her eleven sisters had different personalities, but at the same time all kind of blended together.  I only remembered some of their names and even then it was hard to not only maintain who each princess was, but also the revolving cast of other characters in the story.  The only character that stood out to me was the villain and that is because I despised him.  I had a hard time with how forceful and controlling he was and was horrified every time he hurt Azalea.  I felt like he didn't have a conscious and was a deranged and certifiable crazy.   

Entwined was a intriguing story, but not exactly my type of retelling.  While I like a bit of uncertainty it was just too dark for my idea of a fairy tale.