Booked with Abby

  G died. But she survived. This hurts Cara every day. Everything. She is consumed by guilt and grief. Nine months later, Cara is shipped off to a boarding school in Switzerland. Cara is determined to make sure no one knows about the accident. But her new classmates, Ren and Hector, won't let that happen. They won't let her close herself off from the rest of the world. After she built her walls so carefully, Ren and Hector come into her life to break them down. A little part of Cara even wants them to. Hector seems to understand Cara like no one else. But the closer Hector gets, the more the truth starts to slip away. If admitting her mistake means letting go of G, she's not sure she's ready for a second chance. Or if she even deserves one. I loved this book so much! I'm not usually one for a contemporary novel but this one was the best! I would definitely put this on my top 5 list. I loved uncovering and finding out what happened with G. I also loved reading about ...

  While the spotlight has always been on quick-witted Angelica and beautiful Eliza as largely represented in the musical Hamilton . But the Schuylar Sisters may no be staying together as a trio for much longer. When General George Washington's right-hand man, Alexander Hamilton writes to Peggy asking her in aid wooing Eliza. While Eliza may have fallen helpless to this new stranger, Peggy is more cautious. Soon though, Peggy will set into the messy world of the American Revolution to find her place.   If you're a Hamilton fan, you're probably going to sing your way through the book like I did. Any time I found a phase than was even in a Hamilton song, I would burst out singing it in my head. There were just so many references.   At the beginning of each chapter, there was a short letter from either Phillip Schuylar, Alexander Hamilton, or George Washington. Sometimes there would be one form one of the Schuyler Sisters too.   I don't know if you've listened to Ham...

Page Count: 309 (Hardcover) Published: October 3, 2017 My Rating: 5 stars Series: Villains book 4  Genre: Fantasy  Amazon link   Everyone knows how the lovely maiden falls under a curse and is then woken by a prince. But that's only half of the story. As the princess falls into a deep sleep, much more happens. Furthermore, the secrets behind Malicifent's motives are revealed. In this sweeping retelling of Sleeping Beauty , Malifcifent's past is revealed in a heartbreaking way.   This book was great! Once I started reading, I could not put it down. I loved learning about Malicefent's childhood and a few connections with other fairytales were made! You will never believe who Malicfent's aunt is! Or who Aurora's parents are!     I also really love the covers in this series. I think the naked hardback of Mistress of All Evil  is so cool! That dragon is simply amazing!  ~ ~ ~ Other books I've reviewed by Serena Valentino: Fairest of All The...

Page count: 484 pages (Hardcover) Published: September 6, 2016 My Rating: 4 stars  Series: Twisted Tales Genre: Fantasy Amazon link to buy this book What if Belle's mother cursed the Beast?     As soon as Belle touches the rose, she catches a glimpse of the past. The past where she knew her mother. Where her mother curst the Beast that is now holding her captive. Belle will go on to discover more secrets about her mother and the castle she is kept prisoner in, some of the more disturbing than others.   For the most part, all of this could have been true to the movie. But I love how it ended. This book was really good. I had a hard time in the beginning of the book by the end, I really liked the story. It was an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast  but it ended up working so well.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***   With contemporary novels, I feel like there isn't much to talk about so here's the little I have: Zoe's Letters   Zoe's letters really confused me up until chapter 17. That's when I realized they took place after the events of the book. For the first few chapters, I was confused about why Zoe would say that she hated Hank.  Zoe's and Hank's Friendship   These girls were kissing the whole book! I thought that was a little strange because I would never kiss my friends like that. And when Zoe did that big kiss with Hank at the party, I was really surprised.    Zoe definitely seemed in control of her friendship with Hank the whole time. And I can also relate to Hank being in a friendship like that. 

  March has some amazing books coming out and I have the honor of having an ARC copy for two of them.  The Year After You  by Nina de Pass Publishes: March 31, 2020 The Year After You  tells the story of a girl named Cara. After a tragic party, her best friend, G, dies. Cara is sent to a boarding school in Switzerland the following year where she meets Ren and Hector. Cara is determined not to let anyone break down the walls she so carefully built after G died but Ren and Hector might do it anyway. A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat Publishes: March 24, 2020 A boy on the run and a girl determined to find him. What really drew me to this book, though, was that it was based on Les Misérables  by Victor Hugo (which we are studying in French class!) and anyone who has been following my blog knows that recently I've been getting into musicals. First Second Books So obviously this book already came out but it's a sampler of a bunc...

Page Count: 215 pages (Hardcover) Published: July 22, 2014 My Rating: 4 stars Series: Villains book 2 Genre: Fantasy  Buy on Amazon   The Beast was left alone in his castle for years until Belle came along. But what was his life like before she traded for her father's spot as a prisoner? What really caused the Enchantress to curse him? As Beast reflects on what happened to him, the curse starts to break with the help of Belle. We get to see a new side of the prince.   This tale as old as time has never been so interesting! In this book, Serna Valentino shares what might have really happened to this young and arrogant prince. This series is really intriguing. This book has some plot twist that will affect how you look at the movie forever. You'll never believe who Beast's best friend was! Ask me to chose between the Disney movie and this book, I'll be picking this.    I am so excited about the sixth book coming out on September 1, 2020: Evil Thing  ab...