Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of the Little Mermaid By: Debbie Viguié

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• Title: Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of the Little Mermaid (Once Upon a Time #4)
• Author: Debbie Viguié
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Publication Date:  June 1, 2003
• Pages: 208
• Genre: Fantasy
• Recommended Age(s): 13+
• First Read: 2015
• Source: Library 
• Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 stars

I love fairy tales, the originals and the re-tellings both and I've read a few books from this series. Some are better than others, and this one is certainly one of the top ones on my list. Hans Christian Andersen's original The Little Mermaid is my favorite fairy tale, so I was very excited to come across this book. And I wasn't disappointed at all.

This re-telling is only very loosely based on the original tale, but I really enjoyed it because there were enough twists that it didn't become too cliched. It's a classic tale that was told in an interesting way. 

My favorite part of this book was the beginning and I was in tears by the first sixty pages, which is not an easy thing for a book to do to me. I was feeling emotions that I didn't  even know I had inside of me because you know, feelings. The exposition was extremely well written and I was sucked into the story by the first five pages. I fell in love with Pearl and her family, and cheered for her relationship with her best friend James.

I was fully intending on giving this book a full five stars, but I ended up lowering the ratings because halfway through the book, even more characters showed up who I did not know how to feel about and completely messed up with the love story that was already brewing. And after the first 100 pages or so, the plot started moving at a pace that I did not much appreciate, because I quite liked the existing state of things. Like I said, there were twists, and I couldn't come to terms with some of them, but I still gave this book a solid rating because I enjoyed the story as a whole.

I finished this book in one sitting over the course of a couple hours so it was a fun, fast read. And I'm writing this review just hours after I've read this book, so emotions are still kind of swirling around me. Not as much as they were when I was reading at two in the morning, but they're still there.

Definitely read this curled up under your covers at midnight because there will just be feelings that you can't control and if you're like me, you're in for an interesting ride!

Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic By: Suzanne Weyn

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• Title: Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic
• Author: Suzanne Weyn
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication Date:  May 1, 2011 (2009)
• Pages: 336
• Genre: Historical Fiction 
• Recommended Age(s): 12+
• First Read: 2015
• Source: Library 
• Rating:  2.5 / 5.0 stars

So I thought this was a novel about the Titanic. After all, on the front cover, it says "A Novel of the Titanic" and that's why I decided to pick it up. The novel centers around a family of spiritualists and I'm kind of confused as to what the central plot of the entire thing is.

The Titanic is not at the center of the book and I was actually very confused as to where the novel was supposed to go. There are so many characters who I felt were not doing anything to advance the plot, and I felt like the author was trying to name drop as many famous people as possible into the novel to prove that she had knowledge about the historical setting. I just didn't understand why Tesla had to be in the book. The novel would have been perfectly fine without him.

There were also so many conflicting themes going around, pretty irrelevant to what the book promised that it would be. If it did not advance the plot in any way, then I saw no reason for it to be included at all.

I was also just so confused about the pace of the climax and the absurdity of the ending. Everything went too fast, there was really no character development, and I just couldn't wrap my head around the ending, which was totally irrelevant to the entire thing.

What? Just what?

I've read many other historical novels about this famous disaster and I've enjoyed every single one of them, but this one disappointed me so much that I was kind of sad that I had to bump down its rating. This book should have gone done with the ship.

The Lightning Thief By: Rick Riordan

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• Title: The Lightning Thief  (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)
• Author: Rick Riordan
• Publisher: Disney Hyperion
• Publication Date:  March 1,2006 (2005) 
• Pages: 377
• Genre: Fantasy
• Recommended Age(s): 9+
• First Read: 2008
• Source: Purchase
• Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 stars

This is one of those books that I regretted not picking up earlier because it has become one of my favorite book series. 

Percy is not what you'd call a model kid. He has ADHD, so he's not what you'd call quiet, and  he's been kicked out of schools in New York faster than his mother can find new ones for him. And there's the fact that strange things seem to happen around Percy...

I fell in love with book. I had never before read about a main character who has had the spunk of Percy. Percy's witty and sarcastic first person point of view is what really sold me with this book because the guy is so freaking sassy. Even in the most dire moments, when he's about to be, oh I don't know, be eaten by a monster, he's still mouthing off and it's just amazing.

I think I liked this series so much because it incorporated Greek mythology in a way that I had never experienced before. I was that kid who loved-and I still do-all the Greek myths so I pretty much memorized them all. So you can just imagine how happy I was when I finally picked this up. Not only were the characters in the ancient stories given new life, but the main characters-who are just regular kids themselves (well other than being demi-gods obviously) were so relatable. I could see a bit of myself in each of them and I think that's what I good book should do to a reader.

Riordan concocted the perfect mix, not only in this book, but in the entire series as well: Greek mythology, sassiness, adventure, and characters who you can't help and fall in love with. I just can't see why anyone would not like this.

As for me? If I had an Olympian parent (though I do love both my parents, don't get me wrong!) I would choose to be daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom!

Who will you be, hero?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By: J.K. Rowling

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• Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7)
• Author: J.K. Rowling
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication Date: July 21, 2007
• Pages: 759
• Genre: Fanstasy
• Recommended Age(s): 9+
• First Read: 2007
• Source: Gift 
• Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 stars

Well guys, this is it. Seven books. Eight movies. And millions of fans all around the world. We grew up with Harry Potter. We'll never forget the magic that the series instilled within us. And there was no better way to go out than this book.

I cried. I laughed. But mostly I marveled at how this series became such a part of my life. And though I'm writing this review eight years after the release of the seventh and final book, the magic has has in no way left at all. 

Harry is finally of age. And he believes it his duty to destroy Voldemort once and for all. And though a majority of this book takes place away from the the halls of Hogwarts, there is no shortage of action at all. I really liked the development between the trio and the fact that they can survive the hardships they went through just reveals the lengths to which their friendship will go to. 

Were there deaths? Of course there were. It's war. And I cried-of course I did. But in the end, I felt like all the deaths contributed to the beauty of the overall story, even though I know I will never fully get over some of those who J.K. Rowling decided to kill off. 

What I marvel most about this series is its ability to bring in the past books and make connections with them that pertain with the present situation. It's foreshadowing to the max for sure.

I can't wait to read this book again and again because every time I open this book-or any book in the series really-I feel like I am going home.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by: J.K. Rowling

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• Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6)
• Author: J.K. Rowling 
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication Date:  September 16, 2006 (2005)
• Pages: 652
• Genre: Fanstasy
• Recommended Age(s): 9+
• First Read: 2006
• Source: Gift
• Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 stars

So many feelings. Everything is changing and I can't get over all of them. This book is the one that I have read the least out of all the others, but I like it just as much as all the others; I suppose that it just gets lost in the mix, like being a middle child I suppose.

I definitely enjoyed the backstories the most. I got to get inside Voldemort's head and finally find out his ultimate motives. Nothing blows my mind more than all the connections that Rowling oh so subtlety made throughout the series only to come rushing back at you like a giant wave of Ohhhhhhhh. That's why she did that. There is nothing better. I won't give anything away for all you haven't read the Harry Potter books because these subtleties are what make Harry Potter Harry Potter. 

Favorite scene? Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Enough said.

I just wish that Harry wasn't so dense in this book. I feel like he focuses on all the wrong things and does get *ahem* obsessed about a couple of things. He also does not put two and two together fast enough, but I guess that's why Hermione is the the brightest person in their year, and not Harry.

There's no doubting it; Harry is on the edge of a great wizarding war and nothing is going to be the same ever again. But the fact remains that Harry and Hermione and Ron are just sixteen years old. They are a cesspool of raging hormones and I thought it was incredibly interesting to see all those hormones play out in a fantastical world, reminding all of us that though they have magic wands at their disposal, they are not that different from us muggles. They fight, love, and care with as much intensity as anyone I've ever seen or read about.

There's just something addicting about this series and The Half -Blood Prince does not disappoint.