Nadine Jolie CourtneyRezensionen

Read for a conference; 3.5 stars for being too long.

I recognize that this book can be dumb and I am an anti-monarchist HOWEVER this is my feel good book. I read this and I feel good. I will not explain any further.

RGG: The authentic representation of the main character's struggles of identity as a bi-racial, muslim teenager is a joy to read. The boyfriend's father's character as a radio shock-jock may not have been necessary since all the other plot points of racism both subtle and explicit seem compelling enough. Reading Interest: 12-YA.

There's a lot going on in this story. Allie is Muslim but her family doesn't practice. She has "passed" as white for her whole life, but watched her father and other Muslims be mistreated and feared. When Allie decides to explore and even embrace the religion and culture that her family has kept private, it stirs up family attitudes as well as puts pressure on the relationships she has at school. Thought provoking.

RGG: The authentic representation of the main character's struggles of identity as a bi-racial, muslim teenager is a joy to read. The boyfriend's father's character as a radio shock-jock may not have been necessary since all the other plot points of racism both subtle and explicit seem compelling enough. Reading Interest: 12-YA.

RGG: The authentic representation of the main character's struggles of identity as a bi-racial, muslim teenager is a joy to read. The boyfriend's father's character as a radio shock-jock may not have been necessary since all the other plot points of racism both subtle and explicit seem compelling enough. Reading Interest: 12-YA.

RGG: The authentic representation of the main character's struggles of identity as a bi-racial, muslim teenager is a joy to read. The boyfriend's father's character as a radio shock-jock may not have been necessary since all the other plot points of racism both subtle and explicit seem compelling enough. Reading Interest: 12-YA.

All-American Muslim Girl is an interesting exploration of what it means to be a Muslim young women in America today. The audiobook is not that well done unfortunately because the narrator doesn't make an effort to change her voice for different characters.

Sisters Charlotte and Libby are total opposites who barely see each other but are very close.
For some reason I never understood, their parents seem more concerned about Libby being socially awkward. She gets great grades but Charlotte is more outgoing.
When Libby winds up transferring to Charlotte’s school, Charlotte basically makes it her mission to help her sister be accepted.

There are some sweet sisterly bonding stories at the beginning. Despite being very different, these two are clearly very close to each other.

Charlotte even suggests that Libby get to know her boyfriend, who happens to be Prince Edward.
This blows up very quickly when gossip starts about Libby and Edward getting too close to each other.

Soon Charlotte and Libby are fighting and there’s even drama within their social circle.

It was a cute story but I honestly liked Libby way more than Charlotte.
I won’t say any more on that matter in order to avoid spoilers.
Also, this isn’t so much a story about royalty as it is a story about sisters.

*Read at work for review for ROYAL*

Romancing the Throne tells the story of Charlotte and Libby, two sisters from the upper crust of London society, who attend boarding school and live a charmed life. The best of friends and sisters forever, Charlotte and Libby depend on each other for almost everything, but when Prince Edward comes into the picture, things take quite the turn, ultimately testing the bond they share.

The main plot point for the first half of the book is a love triangle, which is already my least favorite trope to read about. But then, throw in the added bonus of two points of the triangle being sisters, and the trope becomes even worse. Often times we see young girls and their relationships with each other portrayed negatively in YA. They’re pitted against each other, most frequently when it comes to boys. This book is no exception and it’s even more saddening to see it reflected upon two sisters, who up until the introduction of Prince Edward were each other’s best friend and closest confidant.

Another problem I had with the book was the point of view. Charlotte is the only narrator, and in a story where both sisters are main characters and play a big role, it would have been nice to get Libby’s point of view as well. We as the reader are frequently told by other characters how Libby is feeling, but it would have really added to the book if we could have been inside Libby’s head for a while and experienced her thoughts and feelings directly and more in depth.

I did really enjoy most of the supporting characters. Charlotte’s best friend India was fantastic, very rational, and very supportive in every situation toward both sisters. She never picked sides and she offered insight to Charlotte when she was being unreasonable. I also really loved Robert, who played a bigger role in the second half of the book. He was sweet and quirky and really helped Charlotte with her business ideas. I wish there could have been more of him.

The second half of the story is where the book’s redemption arc takes place, and I don’t mean for a character, I mean for the book itself. Charlotte gets over her issues and is a much better person for it. The business venture she undergoes with Robert and his brother entailing a beauty app was interesting to read about, and I wish the whole book had focused more on this plot point rather than the love triangle. I think the author really shined in this portion of the story because she was using her own knowledge of the beauty industry, which is clear when looking at her back catalogue.

One aspect of Charlotte’s character I did really appreciate was her ability to stand up for herself. She dates Prince Edward but when her sister Libby shows up, he starts getting distant with Charlotte, and pays more attention to her sister. Charlotte is the one to stand her ground and basically tell him “hey, I’m not going to be treated like this, whether you’re royalty or not” and that was a great moment for her character.

Romancing the Throne is fast paced and mostly fun, albeit a few problematic areas, but overall not a bad read.

Literary Merit: Fair
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Recommended with reservations
Reading Level: High school

Romancing the Throne tells the story of Charlotte and Libby, two sisters from the upper crust of London society, who attend boarding school and live a charmed life. The best of friends and sisters forever, Charlotte and Libby depend on each other for almost everything, but when Prince Edward comes into the picture, things take quite the turn, ultimately testing the bond they share.

The main plot point for the first half of the book is a love triangle, which is already my least favorite trope to read about. But then, throw in the added bonus of two points of the triangle being sisters, and the trope becomes even worse. Often times we see young girls and their relationships with each other portrayed negatively in YA. They’re pitted against each other, most frequently when it comes to boys. This book is no exception and it’s even more saddening to see it reflected upon two sisters, who up until the introduction of Prince Edward were each other’s best friend and closest confidant.

Another problem I had with the book was the point of view. Charlotte is the only narrator, and in a story where both sisters are main characters and play a big role, it would have been nice to get Libby’s point of view as well. We as the reader are frequently told by other characters how Libby is feeling, but it would have really added to the book if we could have been inside Libby’s head for a while and experienced her thoughts and feelings directly and more in depth.

I did really enjoy most of the supporting characters. Charlotte’s best friend India was fantastic, very rational, and very supportive in every situation toward both sisters. She never picked sides and she offered insight to Charlotte when she was being unreasonable. I also really loved Robert, who played a bigger role in the second half of the book. He was sweet and quirky and really helped Charlotte with her business ideas. I wish there could have been more of him.

The second half of the story is where the book’s redemption arc takes place, and I don’t mean for a character, I mean for the book itself. Charlotte gets over her issues and is a much better person for it. The business venture she undergoes with Robert and his brother entailing a beauty app was interesting to read about, and I wish the whole book had focused more on this plot point rather than the love triangle. I think the author really shined in this portion of the story because she was using her own knowledge of the beauty industry, which is clear when looking at her back catalogue.

One aspect of Charlotte’s character I did really appreciate was her ability to stand up for herself. She dates Prince Edward but when her sister Libby shows up, he starts getting distant with Charlotte, and pays more attention to her sister. Charlotte is the one to stand her ground and basically tell him “hey, I’m not going to be treated like this, whether you’re royalty or not” and that was a great moment for her character.

Romancing the Throne is fast paced and mostly fun, albeit a few problematic areas, but overall not a bad read.

I ended up enjoying this 25% onward. Glad I stuck around to read.

Charlotte's family has money, but it's new money. She's beyond thrilled to find her way into the elite friend circle of Prince Edward, and even more excited when it looks like the prince himself might be interested in dating her! So what if they don't have much to talk about -- she's dating a prince (and he's a good kisser, so there's that). Then her sister transfers to her school, and suddenly things get complicated.

I was hoping for a fun and fluffy read, but ugh. Blech. Charlotte is such a whiny brat that spending a whole book in her head (this is written in first person present, gross) is a decidedly unpleasant experience. Moreover, the plot is so very, very predictable, and the writing is, um, not good. For one thing, this was supposed to be set in England (albeit an England with different royals, or thinly disguised ones), but there was nothing in the dialogue that indicated to me that the characters were supposed to be British, nor did the American ones differentiate themselves in any way. I almost put this book down more than once, but I did finish it, just to see how everything played out. (It played out exactly as expected; do not expect a surprise if you read this.) Not recommended.½

Review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. I also want to thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

I don't think this will be the review for you to base yourself, because as I read the book I found out it's not the type of story I like. Thus, my chances of liking it were very small.

So this is a 2.5 but I had too many complaints to round it up to 3.

The story is simple at first. Lotte starts a relationship with Prince Edward, who attends the same boarding school she does. When her sister and best friend has to transfer to that same school all she wants is for her important people to get along. But they get along a little too well, so Lotte begins to worry.

I wish this book had been from Lotte's sister's point of view. On one hand, it would become like any other book about a girl falling for the monarch. On the other, however, Lotte was pretty much unbearable. Yes, it was perfect for character development but even after that she was still what she was. Not my type of person, to be honest. She's outgoing, worried about appearance and too willing to give people makeovers. Also, she's into sports and shopping. I know, that's what girls are but I repeat, not my type of person.

I'll be honest, I was cheering against her. I couldn't wait for her to lose the prince from under her eyes. But to make things worse, the prince was far from being a good guy. The more I knew about him, the less I wanted any of the girls to have to bear with his attitude.

I did like the sister, by the way. No wonder I wish this book had been about her.

The good thing about the story is how it doesn't focus on love being what defines happiness. It's about hitting rock bottom and being able to shake it off, start anew. It's a great lesson, which was a waste on such an unrelatable character.

I would have edited the beginning better, written again about how Lotte and Edward get together in a more exciting and not a need-to-get-this-out-of-the-way manner. But the writing becomes gradually more consistent, I liked how it was a story that could have happened at any stage in their lives with very little changing in the plot. I think this is one of those YA's that could very well not be YA just by changing the characters' ages.

Last, here is my advice: don't read this for the prince.

I tried, but gave this up on the waste no more time than 50 pages rule. Too much name dropping and 'ooh wow look what expensive product I got" and not enough substance

If you like chick lit and you're a beauty addict, you'll love Confessions of a Beauty Addict! Written with the savvy of someone who was "on the inside", you'll love following the adventures of Bella Hunter as she gets fired from her glamorous job at a prestige magazine and learns some life lessons along the way.

I have just finished Confessions of a Beauty Addict and I this is the perfect chick lit book. It has a little bit of everything - romance, friendship and bright orange hair!

The storyline features Bella Hunter who is a young magazine editor who has it all - she is top dog at her magazine and gets mentioned in page 6 on a regular basis.

Yet, right off the bat we are privy to Bella's insecurities. She loves her job and loves where she is in her life - but is petrified that she will lose it all - that somehow it's all a mistake and that fate will figure out the mistake and take it all away from her. This is why we find Bella dying her hair a few hours before she is scheduled to meet and be interviewed by a newswoman who is dying to do a "feature" on Bella and her general wonderfulness.

The first pleasant surprise, for me, in this novel comes when we find Bella dying her own hair - a few hours before she is supposed to meet the newswoman. I wanted to scream "what the heck were you thinking!" especially since her hair does come out a gross looking orange! On the other hand, the whole episode is really, really funny. Bella ends up wrapping her hair in a weird scarf and tries to pretend to herself and off she goes to one of the most important events of her professinonal life!

Having dyed her hair wasn't enough sabotage - she feels a kinship with the newspaperwoman and ends up drinking way too much at their lunch and slipping way too many "trade secrets" that end up being featured in the article.

Of course, Bella gets fired - especially since there is someone waiting on the sidelines to take her job. Bella is devastated and ends up having to accept a "lowly" job a Womanly Wear.

The story continues - detailing the ongoing sabotage acts that Bella keeps doing in her new job. Instead of being grateful, she puts down the magazine at every turn, ending up being overheard by the "big cheese". Yet, nobody fires her - she somehow manages to keep her job, even though she badmouths her magazines, coasts through her days, blabs on the phone and basically completely blows a big client presenation.

Of course, there is the male lead and he starts off being baffled by Bella and then, even though she basically puts his magazine into the ground (practically) he falls for her.

Yes, you will definitely have to suspend your disbelief here - or as I was thinking "how does one get a job like that?" - and, for the most part, I wanted to slap Bella silly for about 3/4's of the book - still this storyline worked for me.

I loved the whole description of working at two very different magazines that are both geared towards more or less the same subject matter but aimed at different "class" of women. It was fun to read! Bella was not a mean spirited or crual main character as we often see in chick lit - she was just clueless and, of course, I had to wonder how she made it that far in her professional life.

The storyline is cute and works well - the pace is wonderful and the "secret closet" sounds like a blast.

This is great chick lit - I want more