cbf sms: Laura Eno

Showing posts with label Laura Eno. Show all posts

Friday, 16 March 2012

Review: My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno

My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno
Publisher: Self-Published
First published: December 5th, 2011
Source: Received from author
Format: .mobi (Kindle)
Pages: 256

Goodreads Summary:
An American teen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed in England's magical community of Wode Gate. While dealing with gnomes, a cranky dragon, murder and mayhem, Emma tries to cope with her unwanted duties as Sentinel and fights to get back home again.
She finds that things aren't always what they seem, people aren't who they pretend to be, and someone wants her dead. The king of the underworld wants her too, but he may be the least of her problems as Emma struggles to control her powers—while losing her heart to a demon.

My Rating: 3.0 / 5

First thoughts:

I wasn't really sure what to expect of My Enchanted Life, but it turned out to be an enjoyable read. It's very fast-paced, at points maybe even a bit rushed, and I finished it without even realizing that I had read a complete novel. I really hope that this wasn't the last we've seen of Emma, because I'd still love some questions to be answered and to find out more about certain characters and the world they're living in.

More detailed:

Emma, My Enchanted Life's main character, is a very likeable girl who is thrust into a magical world that overwhelms her in the beginning but soon becomes an important part of her life. To me, she sometimes seemed to be slightly naive, but then she would do or say something that surprised me. While I love reading about complex characters, Emma was not very easy to figure out and I had some problems being able to relate to her and understand her (re)actions.

In My Enchanted Life we encounter many different characters, some of which were lovely surprises, others were a bit one-dimensional. Nonetheless they were the most important part of this story for me and constantly made sure to move on the plot and keep reading My Enchanted Life interesting. I'm definitely hoping for a sequel, just to see how some of them (especially Matthew and Randolph) will develop.

The world in My Enchanted Life is very imaginative and full of surprises as well. Faerie stories often get their beauty from the many different creatures and dimensions they include and Laura Eno's novel is no exception. I might have preferred the world-building to be a bit slower and more detailed, but especially the Underworld and its inhabitants captivated me.

All in all, I enjoyed reading My Enchanted Life and really hope that Emma's story is not over already. Sometimes it might have been a bit rushed and I might have wanted a few parts of the story to be more elaborated, but I really liked it nonetheless. Laura Eno created a wonderful world with intriguing characters and exciting events, and if you're looking for a light-hearted but suspenseful faerie novel, this one could be right for you.

Laura Eno online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Have you read My Enchanted Life? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?
Carina

Monday, 5 March 2012

Fictional Distractions of the Week #19

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

When I started this last week, I didn't really expect Illuminate by Aimee Agresti to be this long (500+ pages), so I'm a little bit behind with my reading. But it turns out that I don't mind it at all, because Illuminate is absolutely awesome. I love it and I love spending my time with it.

Goodreads Summary:
Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.

Then, of course, I'll also still need to read The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis which I've been excited to get into for a while now. It sounds like a really interesting and unique read, so I can't wait to find out whether it's as awesome as it sounds.

Goodreads Summary:
Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

And since it's March, which is dedicated to the Review Copy Cleanup, I'll try to read another review book as well: My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno. Really looking forward to this.

Goodreads Summary:
An American teen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed in England's magical community of Wode Gate. While dealing with gnomes, a cranky dragon, murder and mayhem, Emma tries to cope with her unwanted duties as Sentinel and fights to get back home again.
She finds that things aren't always what they seem, people aren't who they pretend to be, and someone wants her dead. The king of the underworld wants her too, but he may be the least of her problems as Emma struggles to control her powers—while losing her heart to a demon.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

Review Copy Cleanup: Show Off Your Pile

The Review Copy Cleanup challenge is hosted by Vicky (Books, Biscuits & Tea) and Celine (Nyx Book Reviews) to motivate all of us to finally reduce that pile of review books collecting dust on our shelves and eBook readers.

The first challenge is to show off our pile of review books that we're trying to read for this challenge. Below you can see a list of the books I'm planning to read and I really hope that I'll get to all of them.

Are you participating in the Review Copy Cleanup?
What are you planning to read?
Carina

Sunday, 4 December 2011

In My Mailbox #32

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

The book I bought this week:

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I got this one for my Kindle, already read it last week and completely fell in love with it! I need the sequel NOW. (My review will be up on Tuesday.)

The books I got for review this week: