September 2015 Favorites

Books

Deep Blue Eternity By: Natasha Boyd (Book Club)

This Book Will Change Your Life By: Amanda Weaver (Review)

Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger By: Beth Harbison

The Affinities By: Robert Charles Wilson

Why Not Me? By: Mindy Kaling (Review)

Grace Under Pressure (A Manor House Mystery #1) By: Julie Hyzy

The Map of Time By: Felix J Palma (Did not Fini

This month was a struggle book wise. I had a hard time wanting to read and I had a hard time find a book that really got me excited. Maybe it’s because school started again, maybe it’s because my wedding is coming up, maybe it’s because I was on such a roll at the beginning of the year. Either way, I definitely wasn’t excited until I picked up Why Not Me? It is hands down the best book I read this month and I highly recommend it.
 

Beauty

Beauty Protector Protect & Oil ($25.95)

I received this product in my Birchbox and fell in love. It makes my hair so soft and I love the way it looks when I use it. I purchased a full size this month and am excited to make it a part of my every day hair routine. I typically use it on wet hair, mixed in with a curl cream, but I am excited to tri ton dry hair too.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lolita ($21.00)

I bought this lipstick as a potential wedding day lipstick, and while I ended up picking something else, I am in love with this color! As is evident by a lot of the colors I review on my blog, I love a bold lip. However, for my wedding day I wanted something more subtle/natural. The girls at Sephora helped me find this lipstick. While I was hesitant about trying it at first (I am very wary of anything with a brown tint) it has turned out to be an amazing nude. My lips are very pigmented, so it’s difficult for me to find a nude that doesn’t just disappear on my lips. This enhances my lip color and is absolutely beautiful.


Buys

EVOL

Specifically the Gluten Free Mac & Cheese with Uncured Bacon. I LOVE Mac & Cheese. It is possibly one of my favorite foods and it’s really difficult to find a good microwavable version. I decided to try this one, even though I was a little wary of it being gluten free, and it’s really good! It doesn’t taste any different than regular Mac & Cheese.

Not too many Buys this month as the wedding is coming up, so I need to be careful with my money!

Miscellaneous

College Football

College football season is back! Over labor day the fiancé and I took a trip to Dallas with a few of my friends to see the Wisconsin vs Alabama game and it was so much fun! It was a great way to kick off the football season, even though Wisconsin lost. Florida is 4-0 so far, so that’s always exciting too! I can’t wait to lounge my Saturdays away in front of the TV.

Wedding

My wedding is in a week and a half! My life has been non-stop wedding stuff, so you might not hear from me much within the next few weeks. I bought some amazing bridesmaid gifts and I can’t wait to give them to all of my girls. My dress is almost done, and I have my makeup picked out and purchased. Everything is falling into place and I’m starting to get really excited!

Why Not Me?

By: Mindy Kaling
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Pages: 240

Amazon Barnes and Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In Why Not Me?, Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

In “How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet’s Confessions,” Kaling gives her tongue-in-cheek secrets for surefire on-camera beauty, (“Your natural hair color may be appropriate for your skin tone, but this isn’t the land of appropriate–this is Hollywood, baby. Out here, a dark-skinned woman’s traditional hair color is honey blonde.”) “Player” tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. (“I had been replaced by a younger model. And now they had matching bangs.”) In “Unlikely Leading Lady,” she muses on America’s fixation with the weight of actresses, (“Most women we see onscreen are either so thin that they’re walking clavicles or so huge that their only scenes involve them breaking furniture.”) And in “Soup Snakes,” Kaling spills some secrets on her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and close friend, B.J. Novak (“I will freely admit: my relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell.”)

Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who’s ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who’ve never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.

                                                           First Impressions

I received the first book that Mindy wrote through the Birchbox book club and fell in love. Because of how much I enjoyed the first book, I started watching The Mindy Project and started to really like Mindy as a person and an actress. I was very excited when I heard that she was writing a second book and immediately put in on my TBR.

                                                             What I thought

This book was great. It definitely did not disappoint and I had higher expectations for this one than I did her first. This book addresses Mindy’s more current life events as opposed to her childhood, as in the first book. I’ve read a lot of celebrity autobiographies and the second book about more current events is usually a letdown and not as interesting as the first. However, this was not the case with Mindy’s novel.

It isn’t written in exactly the same style as her first book, but there are definitely similarties. I think in the first book there were a lot more advice sections, whereas this one had a few more stories. I really enjoyed learning about all of the different parts of Mindy’s current life and found it to be funny, entertaining, and insightful. One of the things I love most about Mindy is that she is smart. She makes a lot of observations that make the reader think and I appreciate that.

I loved reading this book and couldn’t put it down. I, unfortunately, don’t have a lot to say about it other than it was very enjoyable. It is definitely written better than some other celebrity autobiographies that I’ve read and I didn’t feel like it was lacking anything.
 

I could turn around and re-read this book right now. I want to purchase it and add it to my collection and I recommend everyone read it. If you haven’t read the first one, I recommend reading that first. Not necessarily because you have to, but just because that one is so good too! I think by reading her first book before this one, you get to know Mindy a little better and can end up enjoying this book a little more. I’m sorry that I don’t have much to specifically say about this book, but it’s a little hard to talk about it since it doesn’t have a plot. It is well written and a great book to read.
 

Birchbox September 2015

In case you are unaware, Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscription box. It costs $10 a month and you receive multiple sample size item. These boxes allow you to try tons of new products that you may have never even heard of before. The other fun thing about Birchbox is that every time you purchase an item from their site, or review a product from your box, you receive rewards points! Once you collect 100 points, you get $10 off of your next purchase. These points definitely add up quickly between buying your box, and reviewing the products.

Each month, Birchbox allows subscribers to pick one of their samples. If you prefer surprises, you don’t have to pick one. You can choose to be surprised instead. They also offer full boxes that have been made by a guest. This month’s guest editor box was a Customer Favorites box since it is Birchbox’s birthday. This month’s sample choices the Davines Love smoothing shampoo and conditioner, POP beauty Portfolio Eyeshadow Trio in Sugar Plum, Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil, and the Dr Brandy Pores No More Cleanser. I debated between the POP Eyeshadow, Brow Pencil and Cleanser. I almost didn’t pick one, but ultimately went with the cleanser.

Each month Birchbox also offers what they call Birchbox Plus items. These are items that you can add to your box at a discounted price. They are typically things like tote bags, journals, or jewelry. This month they had an acrylic make-up organizer by Isaac Jacobs that I just couldn’t pass up. I don’t typically mention these items because I don’t purchase them, but they do offer them each month.
 

The products I received this month were as follows:
 

Birchbox Plus- Arcylic Makeup Organizer by Isaac Jacobs ($22)- This is a clear acrylic makeup organizer with a rose gold accent. I have been working on organizing my home bit by bit and I really liked the look of this. I liked that it had two tall spots for my brushes and then 9 smaller spots for everything else. I also like the flat section which is great for my eyeshadows. I liked fitting everything in this and it makes it a lot easier to see what I have. If you’ve been looking for a better way to keep your makeup out, I’d highly recommend looking into something like this.
 

100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (Full-size $25)- This is an eye cream that is meant to be an immediate pickup and reduce the look of fine lines and dark circles. It smells like coffee vanilla which is very pleasant. The consistency is a bit thick for my personal preferences but it blends in nicely. It also works well with makeup. I don’t know if I’d say that I notice any difference in the past week of using it, but I’ll keep trying it. It’s in a nice tube so it’ll be a great travel eye cream.

Dr Brandt Pores No More Cleanser (Full-size $35)- This is a cleanser meant to minimize pores and leave skin clean and smooth. I really liked the Pores No More mask, so I’m excited to try this out. Because I’m getting married soon, I haven’t been playing with a lot of face products. Last thing I need is to try this out and have a major breakout. I will definitely be trying it soon though!

POP Beauty Eyeshadow in Sugar Plum (Full-size $26)- I was really excited to see this in my box! I love receiving more than one of the sample choices. These eyeshadows are very pretty and a similar travel version to the Laura Mercier Palette I recently purchased. They are surprisingly smooth and pigmented and I do like them a lot. The only unfortunate thing is that they tend to crease. I don’t typically have that problem with eyeshadows, but I noticed the darker taupe/grey color creased.

By Rosie Jane James Perfume (Full-size $39)- This is a fig, amber, and gardenia perfume. I initially really liked the smell but then was a bit unsure of it once it was on me. I will have to wear it a few more times before I decide how I feel about it. If I decide I like it, it could be a good wedding day contender!

Dear Clark Volumizing Tonic (Full-size $26)- This is a hair treatment that is meant to volumize. I do like to use volumizing treatments at my roots and I will say that this is one of the first products where I saw immediate results. I really like what it does but it also makes my hair very frizzy. I might have to play around with it in combination with other products.


Overall, this is a good box. It’s nothing that has me jumping out of my skin, but the products are very nice. 

This Book Will Change Your Life

By: Amanda Weaver
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 170

Amazon Barnes and Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Take a chance and change your life…

College was supposed to be where Hannah’s hard work paid off, but the major in honors chemistry she’s been working towards since childhood is slipping away. Worse, she’s not sure she wants it anymore. Salvation comes from an unlikely place—a used bookstore and Ben, the passionate college senior who works there.

Ben’s trapped in a life mapped out for him. Trapped in a future career as a lawyer to make his father happy. Trapped pursuing a girl he doesn't even like because she fits into a world he doesn’t want, but can’t escape. But then he meets Hannah. And for the first time, he knows what it means to truly want something.

So he gives in to being her friend. Then to wanting her. Then to kissing her. And within the freedom of his impulsivity, both of their carefully planned lives begin to fall apart... 

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This in no way shape or form influenced my review of this book.

                                                           First Impressions

The title was definitely the first thing to catch my eye with this book. I love to read books with characters who love to read and I had a feeling that’s what this was going to be. The cover is pretty cute as well. It definitely has the cover of a romance/new adult book, so I knew it would be on the light side. I was excited to read it on my vacation!

                                                            What I thought

This is definitely a nice light fluffy book. It’ surprisingly short and I think that, unfortunately, that is a shortcoming. It was nice to be able to read it quickly, but I think that this book could’ve been a lot better if it had delved a little deeper and was a little longer.

I also feel like this book is the perfect example of a New Adult novel. Hannah is a freshman in college and Ben is a senior. On an unexpectedly rainy day, Hannah ducks into a used bookstore for shelter. Once in the store, she meets Ben, the cute bookstore employee. Hannah shares that she never reads for fun and Ben, an English major and avid reader is appalled. He immediately decides he needs to find a book for her and when he gives it to her he states that the book will change her life.

One thing that I loved about this book was the references to real books and the discussions that the characters had about them. I loved that Hannah, a non-reader, was turned onto reading by someone who was so passionate about reading. I always hope that I can do that with people who I meet who say that they aren’t big readers, so it was great seeing a character who did this as well. I also liked both Hannah and Ben. I thought that their relationship was cute and I liked that their struggles with college were realistic.

My biggest issue with this book was that everything seemed so superficial. If this book had been twice the length, I would have been able to get to know the characters better and the relationship between Hannah and Ben could’ve been more nuanced and realistic. It all seemed a bit quick and any changes they made all were quick. There were also difficulties with Ben’s dad, and because of the length of the book, it seemed like all resolutions happened in a page. There was no development prior to the arguments and then things seemed to be fixed in a moment. Because there was no development, a lot of the time it felt like the characters were reading from a script and didn’t really feel the way that the author wanted them to. 

If you enjoy New Adult novels, this is definitely a cute book to pick up. I would also say that it’s a good beach read, even though we are at the end of beach season. I read this on vacation and it was the perfect book. It was quick, light, fun, and easy to read. There were some shortcomings in the character and story development, but it still manages to be enjoyable. I wouldn’t re-read this, but I would definitely read more about these characters. I am curious to look into more by this author as well. 

Saint Anything

By: Sarah Dessen
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 417

Amazon Barnes and Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

                                                            First Impressions

I really like the cover of this book. Knowing it was by Sarah Dessen, I was immediately interested. She is one of the most solid young adult authors out there and I know that anything she writes will be great. I haven’t read one of her books in a really long time, so I was looking forward to checking out this one.

                                                             What I thought

Sarah Dessen has done a great job again. She has a great way with characters and making a reader really feel like they are a part of the world that she’s created.

Saint Anything starts with Sydney in court with her brother as he is getting sentenced. As you find out early on, her brother Peyton drove drunk and paralyzed a 15 year old boy. This was not a first or isolated offence, so Peyton is sentenced to time in prison. This, of course, throws Sydney’s world for a spin as well as the rest of her family. Her mom becomes very obsessed with Peyton’s life and only sees it through rose colored glasses. Her dad throws himself into his work, and Sydney kind of crawls into herself. She decides that she wants to switch high schools, so that she can start over somewhere that people didn’t know her brother. While there, she makes a new set of friends who help her learn who she is as a person, away from her brother and family.

I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely one of those books that when you finish it you feel like you’ve eaten a really good meal. It’s long and detailed but in the best way. The only issue that I had was that I kept waiting for something big to happen and when I finished it seemed a little anti-climactic and not fully finished.

Sydney, Mac, and Layla are absolutely wonderful. The brother-sister relationship with Mac and Layla was nice to see. It was also a nice contrast to the poor brother-sister relationship with Sydney and Peyton. I also liked how everyone’s relationships developed. While Layla was a little quick to include Sydney in her life, it was still believable because of Layla’s personality and because Sydney didn’t immediately open up to her. Mac and Sydney’s relationship also developed slowly and was very believable.

I didn’t like Sydney’s parents, but I don’t think that we’re supposed to. I also don’t know how I feel about the overall problem of the story. I think that considering how big of a deal it is, that Dessen glossed over it. I thought there as going to bemore focus on the fact that her brother’s accident paralyzed a 15 year old boy and that Sydney would talk about it a little more than she did. I understand that it was a lot of inner struggle, but there wasn’t much action with it. It seemed like this big even happened, and then nobody dealt with it. Again, I understand that that is part of the point, but it doesn’t make for the most emotional or life changing read.

This book also made me ridiculously hungry. Layla is obsessed with French fries and her and Mac’s family also own a pizzeria that is apparently delicious and also sells garlic knots. These are mentioned almost constantly throughout the book, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this without food nearby. I am still craving French fries and pizza as I write this review. It’s a fun little quirk of the story that I really enjoyed.
 

I feel like this is more of a 3.5/5 than a solid 3, but I’ll explain why I didn’t round up with this one. I did finish this book in a little over a day and was very invested in the characters and story. I found many moments where I didn’t want to put the book down and just wanting to know more about Sydney’s everyday life. I think it’s another solid book for Dessen, and if you are a fan of hers then you won’t be disappointed. I’d recommend this book, but I can’t see myself re-reading it. I think there are other Dessen books that I liked more, so if I did purchase one of her books for my shelves, I would probably choose another one over this. 
 

Tiny Pretty Things

By: Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 448

Amazon Barnes and Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

                                                               First Impressions

This book first caught my eye because it was part of the Debut Author’s Challenge. Once I saw the ballet ribbons on the cover I knew I had to find out more about it. I have been a dancer my entire life so any time there is a book about dancing, I will check it out and most likely read it. I honestly don’t even remember my impression of the summary. I think this was one of those dragged in by the cover type of books.

                                                                 What I thought

WTF? I think, in all honesty, that those three letters pretty much explain my entire mindset while reading this book and upon finishing this book. Now, I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. It is just a book that had me questioning “wtf is going on? Wtf, why is that person doing that? Wtf just happened?” throughout the entire book.

Tiny Pretty Things takes place at a dance academy and (mostly) follows three of the dance students. It is told in multiple perspectives of the three main characters. First we have Gigi. Gigi is a black dancer from California who just came to New York to dance at this academy. Unlike the other girls, she has not been at this school for her entire life, so everything that she is experiencing is for the first time. Next, we have June, Gigi’s roommate. June is Korean and has been at the academy for her entire life. Her mother was a member of the company, but does not want June to be there. Finally, we have Bette; the skinny, blonde hair, blue eyed, fair skinned Queen Bee of the academy. Bette is the “it” girl at the academy because her sister is a star of the company and her parents have a lot of money. She has also been at the academy for her entire life.

It’s interesting because while we have the three perspectives of the three main characters, there are so many other characters that I wish we could’ve heard from. There’s Henri, the French male ballerina and ex-boyfriend of Cassie (ballerina who left after becoming injured), Alec, Bette’s boyfriend and picture perfect ballerina, Will, the gay ballerina who is Alec’s best friend and Bette’s ex-friend, and Eleanor, Bette’s roommate and partner in crime. This is definitely the kind of book where you never get the full story. You only know what the three main characters know and you only hear the truth of their perspective. This makes it difficult to figure out who the honest narrator is.  

This book has a lot of drama and a lot of backstabbing. I would say that it feels a little more Black Swan-esque than Center Stage. Granted, I haven’t watched Black Swan, but this book highlights the dark side of ballet like Black Swan did.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I loved that just as much occurred in the dance studios as out of them and that there was ballet written into it. This wasn’t just a book that used ballet as a background. It is front and center and it is wonderful. I also loved that they split the book into seasons since that is how companies work. I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book is that sometimes the drama became a bit much. There are moments where it became almost unbelievable and I had to give it a side eye. And the ending! Oh my goodness I can’t even go into the ending. Let’s just say that I need a next book. I’m not 100% sure whether or not there is a sequel, but I know that I need one.

This was a really fun and unique book to read. I really enjoyed it and could see myself re-reading it. Especially if they come out with more books. I don’t think it’s a new favorite, but I think it could’ve been if I read it when I was a little younger. I think being older, some of the drama was a bit much for me but I still absolutely loved it. I did receive a copy of this book through a giveaway, so I am glad to own it for my shelves. I don’t know if I would’ve purchased it, but I am glad that I have it! I recommend this to fans of Pretty Little Liars and all dancers out there! Check this book out!
 

August 2015 Favorites

It's that time again! August is over and it is now time for my August 2015 Favorites.

                                                                     Books

Finding Audrey By: Sophie Kinsella

Wuthering Heights By: Emily Bronte

Most Likely to Succeed (Superlatives #3) By: Jennifer Echols

Dream a Little Dream By: Giovanna Fletcher

Tangled By: Emma Chase

Tiny Pretty Things By: Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

The Boy Most Likely To By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Twisted By: Emma Chase

Favorite Book This Month: This has been such a weird month for reading for me. Looking back, I enjoyed all of the books that I read, but there isn’t one that stands out as an absolute favorite. I was pretty busy this month, so I didn’t find myself reading as much as usually, even though I somehow managed to stil finish 8 books this month.

                                                                      Beauty

When on my yearly girl’s trip, my friend Logan from Sage and Serendipity and I brought all of our makeup so that we could do makeovers and check out each other’s products. I discovered the Laura Mercier Eye Artist’s Palette ($55) and fell in love. I just ordered it, so I don’t own it yet but I’ve been in a bit of a beauty rut and this brought me out of it. I can’t wait until I get it and do a review for you guys! I'm sure this will end up in my favorites again next month when I actually own it

Ocean Salt Scrub from LUSH

I recently went into LUSH and was introduced to this scrub by one of their associates. Over the past year I have really gotten into body scrubs and love exfoliating in the shower. I loved the smell of this one (I’d describe it as a citrusy vodka) and it was also a really pretty blue color so I was sold. Shortly after using this, I noticed that the red bumps that I have on the backs of my arms (a fun dermatologic condition called keratosis pilaris) started looked less red and even disappeared a little. I can’t wait to keep using this and see if it gets even better!

Beauty Protector Beauty Protect Oil

I received a sample of this in my August Birchbox and fell in love with it. This is a hair oil that is mean to provide protection against things like UV rays and heat damage. While I don’t heat style my hair, it is dry and loves hair oils. First of all, the smell is amazing, but second of all it makes my hair so soft! I love mixing this with some of the hair creams that I have and putting it in my hair.

                                                                    Buys

Canon Rebel T5i

Steve ad I finally bought a real camera! I have been wanting to buy a DSLR camera for a very long time, but even more so over the last year. Since we are getting married soon and then going on our honeymoon, we finally bit the bullet and bought one. I can’t wait to learn how to use it and play with it even more!

Guys, this is a very boring favorites month. I know I did a lot during the month of August, but when I look back on it I honestly couldn’t tell you much of what I did. I think I’ve just been a little overwhelmed with wedding stuff and work starting up again, so I haven’t been doing much else. I apologize for the lack of blog posts too. I can’t promise it’ll get better in the next month, but it’ll definitely improve after the wedding!
 

A Whole New World

By: Liz Braswell
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Disney Press
Pages: 384

Amazon Barnes and Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version ofAladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? 

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again. 

This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way shape or form influenced my feelings towards this book.

                                                            First Impressions

I love Disney and I love Aladdin. When I saw that there was a book coming out, from Disney, about a re-telling/re-imagining of Aladdin I was super excited. I love when stories are told with a major plot point twist to see how life would have been if that one thing was different.  I really enjoy alternate universes and this sounded like that. I actually preferred the first cover they had to the final cover that they chose. I would not pick this book up based off of the current cover.

                                                           What I thought

My childhood has been ruined. This book is hands down the worst book I have read this year. If you don’t want to read a negative review, just stop now because this review will pretty much be all ranting about how terrible this book is.

The concept of this book is wonderful. What would happen if Jafar got the lamp before Aladdin? There was so much potential to enrich a classic story from my childhood and this book did exactly the opposite. I almost felt like the author sat there and thought “How can I make this as obnoxiously different from the movie as possible and also ruin childhood memories?”

The first 25% of the book is the movie in written form. The dialogue is almost exactly the same, and while boring, it was at least comforting. I was singing the songs in my head during the scenes that were written. Once Jafar gets the lamp it all starts to go wrong.

Issue number one that I had is the character development. There is none. There are new characters that are introduced, but I can’t tell you anything about them. I could barely tell you their gender until one of the characters referred to them as he or she. Because of this it made it really difficult to connect to the story and the characters. Even though I love Aladdin and Jasmine, I couldn’t connect to them in this context and became annoyed with them as the book went on.

Issue number two is that this book is one giant kick to the childhood. SPOILER ALERT- In this book, the author murders the sultan, Iygao, and the flying carpet! Jafar actually cuts up the carpet into tiny pieces to sew into his guards’ uniforms! This is so unnecessary. I felt like everything in this book went one step too far. There’s a scene in which Jafar kills a citizen by turning his head completely around on his neck. In this scene, the author actually describes the bones and muscles snapping. I didn’t need that.

SPOILER OVER. I think that this is supposed to be a YA novel, but I don’t know that it is. I wouldn’t want a small child to read this book because it takes away all of the magic of the original Aladdin story. It’s also grotesque at a lot of points. Another irritating factor with this book is the writing. I can’t stand when an author foreshadows an event without any subtlety. For example, there is a character in this book whose family gets kidnaped. When discussing a plan to save them it pretty much reads like “Bob listened to the plans with his eyes glazed over as if he was thinking of something else, planning something. Sarah turned towards Aladdin and asks “I think Bob is acting oddly. He might be hiding a secret.” Aladdin turns towards Bob and sees in his eyes that he’s hiding something.” And then, as if it’s not obvious, “Bob” is not planning on sticking to the plan that’s been discussed of how to save his family. Also, there are pages upon pages of characters running down a hall, stopping when they think a guard is coming, holding their breath, and then breathing a sigh of relief when they aren’t caught.

There were multiple times when I wanted to put this book down. The only reason I kept reading was because I received it for review. I also held out a small amount of hope that it would get better, but didn’t think it would. I didn’t think it could get worse but the ending made me want to throw the book across the room.
 

This book needs to be banished to the Cave of Wonders and never found. There are no redeeming qualities about this book. It hurts me that I disliked this book so much considering how much I love the story of Aladdin. I would not recommend this book to anyone. In fact, I am warning you now to not bother picking this book up. If you see someone with this book, tell them not to waste their time and stop now.