Reviews written by Alanna Shaw

I am NOT a fan of contemporary books, but I love this series! Rose never lets me down. The first book, Confessions of an Angry Girl, blew me away and Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend did not disappoint. What do I love about these books?...

Hmm... well. I wasn't really feeling Awaken. I made the mistake of reading Underworld and Awaken within a few days of one another. (I read Abandon and Underworld a few months apart.) I think that reading these books back to back made me notice some things that were pretty annoying....

You may be wondering, "What is a Battle Royale exactly?" If you are asking yourself that, then you are asking a great question. A Battle Royale is a mess. In it's simplest form, it's a whole bunch of people duking it out at the same time in some sort of...

The idea behind caged graves really had me intrigued. Add in a hint of something reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials and I was on it for sure! I really thought this would be about witches, but I was wrong. Instead, I discovered an interesting story about the depths one...

Oh, Logan. *Swoon* He is one of my favorites. In fact, I really enjoy this series. I am glad to see that this is told from Logan's perspective. He is such a mystery in the other books. As a bridge book, this helps explain what he is thinking...

This book was amazing for the first two-thirds. I was enraptured. The idea of a girl being unable to feel any emotions really had me curious. Then you add in this supernatural element and I was hooked. The chemistry between Elizabeth and Fear was delicious, even if she couldn't tell...

Hmm... This one left my brain feeling as cloudy as that fog on the cover. I really wasn't sure what I was reading 2/3 of the time. I found myself very confused in places. They felt patchy-- as if there were key parts of the plot that were removed like...

Have you ever had a love-hate relationship with a book that left you so confused you really didn't know what you think about it? Well, that is me with Gorgeous. On the one hand I hated this book with a passion. I almost stopped...

Think of The Bramble as a anti-bullying book that meets Where the Wild Things Are. Cameron wants to play with the older kids, but they won't let him. They pick on him because of his size. What little kid can't relate to that, huh? ...

Another wordless wonder. There is no text in Here I Am, so the reader is left to imagine the story. The illustrations are reminiscent of watercolor drawings; very fluid. I found it hard at times to determine exactly what was happening in each frame/picture, and some pages had a lot...

I really appreciate what Stoke Books is doing. They are putting together high-interest stories for struggling readers. Being a teacher that works with lower level readers in a middle school setting, I can advocate for this need! It's very important to grab the reader's...

My relationship with this book is rather complicated. As a retelling of JA's Pride and Prejudice, it was fun. There were, however, some plot flaws that irked me along the way. I think of myself as a JA connoisseur. Therefore, it is my duty...

This was nothing like what I expected. AT ALL. To be honest, though, I'm not sure what I was expecting. The setting for Daughter of Smoke and Bone was phenomenal. I know nothing of Prague, but I could imagine myself there. The writing was so descriptive...

I really had high hopes with The Rose Throne. I love fantasy/ fairy tale-ish books, but this one was only so-so for me. I really liked the concept behind The Rose Throne. It had a certain magical element that I enjoyed (and was also very original)....

Another great installment in the League of Princes series! This time around we see a whole new side to some of our beloved princes and princesses. I was so intrigued by the 'other side' of Briar Rose and Liam. I can't tell you much, but I...