PrincessReviews

“I'm very polite by nature, even the voices in my head let each other finish their sentences.” – from Completely Flappable Don’t you just hate it when you have a thousand little thoughts rattling around your brain, good for nothing but keeping you up at night? Ideas, worries, mental reminders for the next day? My voices can get pretty insistent, and mostly this is a nuisance, but sometimes it’s okay, when there’s a story idea or two among the ramblings. And rarely, very rarely, I get what I think is a really good idea, but one that I don't know what to do with. For instance, a while ago it occurred to me that it’s probably not governments or big corporations that wield the world’s greatest financial power. I think it’s us. All the little people together. Then I started wondering what could happen if we all decided to set 1 month of our incomes aside towards fixing this place up a bit. How many of the world’s problems could we actually solve permanently? Half of them, maybe?

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou is the first book by Maya Angelou that I have ever read. I am not a big poetry reader so I have never really picked up her books. However, this is a partial memoir by Angelou that tells of her relationship with her mother and the things she learned. When I started reading, the voice quickly brought me into the work. It reads like fiction. I kept thinking, fact is stranger than fiction. The things that happened to the author seem like something straight out of a fictional family saga. I learned some about the author that I didn't know. I was inspired by her mother's strength and flaws. We all make mistakes, but we do not have to let them get us down. We all have something we want to achieve in life and there is no reason we can't go after it AND attain it. I enjoyed this book and I will look into Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I recommend this book. Rating 5/5

Title: The Testing Author: Joelle Charbonneau Series: The Testing, Book 1 About the Author: (Amazon) Joelle Charbonneau is a storyteller at heart. She has performed in a variety of operas, musical theatre and children's theatre productions across the Chicagoland area. In addition to her stage work, Joelle has also performed with several bands and worked as a solo performer.While Joelle is happy to perform for an audience, she is equally delighted to teach private voice lessons and use her experience from the stage to create compelling characters in her mysteries. She is the author of the Rebecca Robbins (Minotaur Books), the Glee Club Paige Marshall (Berkley) mysteries and the YA The Testing trilogy (The Testing, Independent Study and Graduation Day Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's).To learn more, visit Joelle at her website: www.joellecharbonneau.com Summary: (Amazon) It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (t

Marc Jacobs is well known for his fragrances. Daisy and Daisy Eau So Fresh help me to understand why - they smell great! Personally, I prefer the Eau So Fresh over the original, but I have received many compliments while wearing both (only wearing one at a time, though!).  Usually I stick to tropical scents - Hawaiian this, Island that...Hollister and Soul Surfer. These smells, however, are not tropical, yet I still enjoy them. Whereas with my usual sprays, I could probably send someone into an overdose with the amount I use, with these Marc Jacobs fragrances, less is more. A lot does not need to be sprayed to get the same strong lasting smell.  With Christmas getting close and Hanukkah already upon us, people are ready to do some gift-searching. If you still need to purchase a gift for someone or wish to tell someone what you want, but don't know what, consider one of these Marc Jacobs fragrances.  

Della thinks she sees her dead cousin run into an alley. Rather than run the other way, she investigates. What investigation ever had a good ending that began with the sighting of a supposedly dead relative running into a dark alley? Exactly. Now Della has big problems. I liked this short story. It was a fresh take on the genre. I liked the inner turmoil of Della's character. Finally someone who doesn't see the glamour of vampires. There was a lot of character development packed into this short story without it being overwhelming. I felt I really got to know Della and I cared what happened to her. The author's style is easy to get lost in and just enjoy the story. I recommend this short story and will be looking for more from this author and what happens next for Della. Rating 5/5 More reviews at www.cheresevinescharmingwords.wordpress.com

Starfire Angels Dark Angel Chronicles #1 by Melanie Nilles What we think we know of angels may be completely wrong. Raea wakes up in a cold sweat. She has dreamed of her mother again. Her mother has wings. Is it because she died 13 years ago and Raea's subconscious wants her to believe her mother is in a better place watching over her? For normal teens that would probably be the answer, except Raea wakes from one of these dreams with wings of her own. Starfire Angel Book # 1 of the Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles by Melanie Nilles reveals a possible truth about angels, at least for Raea, as she discovers her true origins. As I began this book, it was hard to really immerse myself. The story is written in third person limited where we are being told about Raea while still being privy to her thoughts and feelings. Here is where I had problems. Her thoughts were not distinguished by italics or even a new paragraph so that I would know that she wasn't speaking alo

The Magnificent Twelve: The Call Mack has issues. His issues begin with his twenty or so phobias and continue with him being named a hero-the only one who can save the world from the Dread Foe. I laughed out loud at this book. It is a quick read with a quick wit. The reader is invited along on an adventure that doesn't seem likely to succeed. But it's such an enjoyable read that you hardly notice that the hero will probably get squashed-either by bullies at his school or the mother of all evil! This middle grade book is full of great dialog. Mack and the narrator keep the reader entertained. Grimluk's story is also intertwined well and compliments Mack's story-providing just what the reader needs to move the plot forward. Not many of the characters have just regular conversations. Humor is woven throughout yet it doesn't seem contrived. Although there are a few stereotypes, they also have wonderful twists to their personalities and are consistent in all situations

Throughout the ages, the conflict of good versus evil has been included in many stories and poems, such as Beowulf . In this poem, Beowulf must face and defeat monsters, including the evil Grendel. Through bloody and gruesome fights, Beowulf continuously triumphs over the monsters, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. In Beowulf , the narrator uses allusions, archetypes, and imagery to illustrate how good always triumphs over evil.             The narrator uses allusions to characterize Grendel as evil. Grendel is described as a "monster born of Cain", alluding to the biblical story of Cain and Abel (20-21). According to the Bible , Cain was cursed by God for murdering Cain's brother, Abel. When the narrator mentions Grendel's genealogy, he is proving Grendel's evilness. By being a descendant of Cain, Grendel is also cursed by God, and therefore is the epitome of evil. Although Grendel represents this evil, he is still able to be defeated. Grendel ends up

Origin by J.A. Konrath is something else. What? I'm not sure. The story opens with Andy Dennison being offered/coerced into a job with the U.S. Government. In a secret underground installation, a creature has finally awakened from a coma 100 years after its discovery. Who knows how long it was there before then. But someone buried it eighty feet deep. That should have told the people who discovered it something. But people don't always pay attention to the obvious. One other little obvious detail is that the creature looks like Satan. Raise your hand if you think this doesn't end well. So Andy is brought into the project because his is a great linguist and the creature is speaking a language not heard in thousands of years. As he and the two doctors, a geneticist, a rabbi, a priest, and one star general try to figure out the creature; he has already figured them out. I was very much entertained and horrified at the same time. I could definitely see thi