Melissa

I Love Cinderella Spin Offs

Revisado: 03-24-25

I love Cinderella spinoffs, I love all fairy tale spin offs! I’m so happy to have found another author who has created many fairy tale fantasies. I can’t wait to listen to them all!
This book was well written, excellent use of language, engaging story, and safe for the whole family to listen to.
I love the complex story line, which held a lot of surprises. It wasn’t too difficult to follow, but held just enough to keep you listening excitedly.
I can’t wait to listen to another book by this author!

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Fun and Creative

Revisado: 03-23-25

This series is a fun and creative way to learn about mythology. My 12 year old daughter says that it has homeschooler energy.
I’m not a fan of the violence, however, it’s minimal and can be used as a teaching tool.
We also talk about how the “gods” are fallen angels who are parading as gods and goddesses. It leads to a great biblical discussion.

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Redemption, From Hate to Love

Revisado: 03-15-25

I disliked this book from the start. Swearing, drugs, and a willingness to be physically intimate with just about anyone made the main character repulsive. I turned off the book and had no plans to listen again.

5 or 6 books later I had a long drive ahead with no other books in my queue and no wifi to download another one. This was a reluctant listen as the only book available.

I spent the drive having no idea who the characters were and what was going on. I kept wondering if I had accidentally started the series on the second book. I felt like a third wheel at a party in a new universe with a language I didn’t understand and people I’d never met.

I continued listening on future drives because as much as I felt lost, I decided to trust Sarah J Maas. I loved her other series. They were deep, many layered, and a full cast. I resolved myself that I would eventually get to know the people and understand these confusing events. Which I did. I’m so glad I didn’t give up.

Bryce Quinlan ended up being relatable. She started out with loose morals and cleaned up her act. Despite questionable choices in the beginning, underneath it all was a person with a good heart.

Spoilers
Strangely enough, Bryce and I share several things in common which made me feel connected to her. One of which being that my best friend was murdered when we were 20 years old. Bryce struggling with her loss throughout time made me cry repeatedly. Either Sarah has lost someone close or she has done her research well.

I was so happy with the ending. Not only did Bryce make a drop, but the story itself, the entire thing was like a drop. Falling, falling, falling and then coming back to life.

I also enjoyed parts of the story which alluded to the other universes that Sarah J Maas has created.

I’m really looking forward to the next books in the series and future books for her other series as well.

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Slow

Revisado: 03-06-25

I immediately bumped the speed up to 2.00 as the intro is long and slow. It’s not just the narrator, It’s the way it’s written. I decided to make myself keep listening as I was hoping once the book started, past the intro, I might find some gems to inspire me.

I’m trying to get through my garage full of bins from our last move. I have 4 children, 2 grown, 1 in high school, and 1 in middle school. I think this book might have been intended for a younger parent with little kids, someone who is still in the survival years. It’s not really a manual on taking back your own house, as I thought. I own up to my error. I believed it was about managing a household and becoming better organized.

This book is more of a self reflection on parenting filled with a handful of suggestions and affirmations based on her experiences and standard of living. I noticed generalizations and assumptions made in the intro and that theme carries on throughout the entire book.

I don’t agree with a lot of the advice, but there are a few things that I think a lot of people can agree on. For example, she mentions that screen time should be carefully assessed and that we should focus on ourselves as people and not let our children run our lives. I also liked that she mentioned that children should be recognized as individuals and seen for who they are.

There are so many points that I cringed. I don’t want to focus on the bad. Different cultures have a variety of standards for what is viewed as normal, acceptable, and a way of life.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone I know as a parenting guide from a successful authority. It’s more of a personal struggle story with thoughts about what parenting should be like.

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Quick and Refreshing

Revisado: 03-06-25

I really enjoyed how short and refreshing this book was. I listened to it in the car on the way home after dropping my kids off at school.

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It’s OK

Revisado: 02-14-25

I was so excited for another Melanie Cellier series. I love all of her books and have listened to them multiple times.
This series was really hard for me to listen to. I don’t hate it. It has enough interesting content and the story is intriguing enough to keep going. It’s simply not my favorite.
I struggled with knowing who the characters were. There were so many people introduced and I felt lost many times. I continued listening until the main people started to become familiar.
I didn’t feel as though the extra characters had deep enough back stories for me to remember who they were easily. Some of the conversations between characters felt forced and unnatural. As though they were pointing out the obvious.
I had to check to see when this book was written. I had thought that maybe these were the first books Melanie had written and I looked up the date they were published. I was really surprised that they were newer. Maybe this was a time in her life where she felt rushed in her writing? Not every book has to be so amazing that I fall in love with it, after all.

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Enjoyable Series

Revisado: 02-04-25

This is my second time listening to this series. I love the characters, the world, and the life lessons.
Elena (It sounds like Eleanor in the audiobook) has to overcome great prejudice, learn new skills, and adapt to a new life. She manages to hold on to her values while navigating political unrest during war.
This is a book that I felt was safe to listen to around my children.

I have felt engaged enough through this series that I was excited to come back to it. I’m about to head to the next series.
Melanie Celliers books are some of my favorites.

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Best Series I’ve Heard In A Long Time

Revisado: 12-13-24

I read ACOTAR books first and plowed through these next. I laughed, I cried, I loved these characters. This will be added to my favorite book inventory of books I will read over and over.

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Life Changing

Revisado: 11-25-24

The advice in this book is life-changing. I read it while going through crises and it helped change my perspective about men. Some of the tips and suggestions have been so helpful in improving my life that I can't help but share them with others. This book is a must-read for any woman who struggles to communicate with the men in their lives.

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Reversed Polarity

Revisado: 07-09-24

This book is an excellent example of reversed polarity. Many of the men are in a wounded masculine state. They are weak minded, easily triggered, pushed around by women, and have no direction or purpose in life.
The main character is immature, disrespectful, and extremely young sounding.
There were so many points in this book that I wanted to stop, but I kept hoping for redemption, that maybe it would get better. It doesn’t. The ending falls flat.

I originally wanted this book due to the comparison of the book of Esther. There are a few bits that are similar to Esther. A king takes all of the young women to find a bride. There is an advisor to the king who is plotting to end the kings life. He is greedy and self centered.

Yet there are so many examples that stray so far from Esther. I had to set aside biblical knowledge and try to enjoy this book as simply a fantasy novel. I love faith based fairy tales even if they stray from original stories, because I know that depth, character building, and adventure are great additions to a story. What I always enjoy is how the main characters display an example of faith, and depth of love for God.
This main character starts out with only mild faith, as her uncle has stopped having faith. She views him as hypocritical and is angry and disgusted by him almost the entire book. There is at one point hints to reasons for why he lost his faith, but it is never fully revealed. I feel as though his character could have been built on more.
The main character also has a boyfriend who she can’t let go of, even after she’s married. His character isn’t very deep and he ends up being put to death. His whole involvement feels unnecessary and doesn’t add much to the book except for some additional discomfort and tension.
There are a lot of interesting details that I wish could have been worked on more to create a richer novel.
I love the author’s willingness to try something new by taking a chance in changing up some parts of the story by making the separation of people even more obvious with regards to them being fairies. I love some of her servants backstories.
There were just so many points where I was aware that this was a book and I couldn’t get lost in the story. I felt as though it were something told by someone extremely young. I spent much of the book wondering what age the author was and if she was a teenager. Or simply someone who hasn’t yet experienced the world. Many of the interactions between all of the characters felt like fantasies a young child would create when playing with dolls, one sided and not quite believable.

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