The Royal Treatment by Lindsey Leavitt

Title:         The Royal Treatment SubTitle:    A Princess for Hire Book Publisher:   Disney-Hyperion Pub Date:  05/03/2011 ISBN:       9781423121930 Author:     Lindsey Leavitt What girl wouldn't swoon over outrageous perks like free jewelry, designer clothes, and the chance to hang out with crush-worthy Prince Karl? But best of all, Desi gets one-on-one time with Genevieve, the head of the super-secret and ultra glamorous Façade agency. She's taken a special interest in Desi's magical abilities. But between Desi's BEST (Betterment of Elite Sub Training) program, starting the eighth grade, trying out for the school play, and dealing with the cute-but-bossy new boy Reed, she's beginning to feel like she's in over her head.  Even worse, when Desi learns a secret about the magic that keeps Façade running, she realizes that not everything is as perfect as it seems. Full of humor and heart, this second installment in the Princess for Hire series shows Desi that the royal treatment may just be masking mysteries, and only she can uncover the truth....one princess at a time!

The story is fun, girlish and suitable for any pre-teen girls who like to read about princess and stuff. It was about the adventures of Desi being a princess for hire for any princess in the world that wants to take a break from the royal life; and the real Desi when she was not on any princess duty. Imagine you get to be a princess, enjoying the royal life even though just a temporary substitute. The story is fun, humorous and filled with good moral values. It is a light-hearted and easy read. While you may enjoy more if you have the first book in the series, but it's alright to read this as standalone too. 

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.


Note: I receive the digital copy of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Legends by Deborah Smith

Title:         Legends SubTitle:   A Loveswept Classic Romance Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group Imprint:     Loveswept Pub Date:  08/08/2011 ISBN:       9780307796660 Author:     Deborah Smith New York Times bestselling author Deborah Smith evokes the stunning beauty of Scotland in this spin on the clan wars-as a sexy CEO finds himself abducted by a brazen beauty determined to save her village. Elgiva MacRoth descends from a long line of bold Scots willing to fight for their heritage. When her picturesque town comes under siege by a corporate raider, she devises a daring plan to stop billionaire Douglas Kincaid. But kidnapping a man off the rooftop of his penthouse and holding him hostage proves far less complicated than saving herself from his intoxicating sensual assault. The stunning beauty with her golden eyes and fighting spirit make captivity feel like a fantasy. The desire heating up is enough to make them both forget the battle, and surrender to something far more pleasurable. But Douglas has his own dreams for this lovely spot of Scottish land. And he has a proposal that he hopes will convince Elgiva to give up her hard line and give in to him in every way that matters. With a warrior's will, he's fighting for his legacy, his heart, and the woman of his dreams. About the author Deborah Smith is the author of such well-loved novels as A Place to Call Home, Blue Willow, and Miracle. She lives in Georgia.

This is a fun and easy read. The story is simple. And the chemistry between Elgiva and Douglas definitely was there. I like Douglas's dog, Sam that tried not to be sided with either his master Douglas or Elgiva while his master was being held as captive. It was also fun to read how Douglas was trying to torture Elgiva from his cell. And Elgiva loved her people so much that she was willing to risk herself to preserve the place for her people. I like the way Douglas dealt with the situation. He was quick to adjust himself to his environment. And after he had found out the truth and being confronted by Elgiva and her people, he was so cool and settled the whole thing in favour of everyone, including himself.

The story is rather short. You can easily finish reading it within few hours. It is fun and entertaining. I enjoy reading it very much. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.


Note: I receive the digital copy of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

From Goodreads: On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Renée Winters was still an ordinary girl. She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school. No one she'd ever known had died. But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder. After the funeral Renée’s wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the “Crude Sciences.” It’s there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renée can’t stop herself from falling in love. It’s only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried’s past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems. Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life. Dead Beautiful is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking read, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.

This is the first book for the Dead Beautiful series. I actually read the second book before reading this first book. So I sort of knowing their relationship but it does not hinder me from enjoying reading this book 1.

Renee was devastated after foung both of her parents were died on her sixteenth birthday. And then she had to leave her best friend and other friends behind to go to a boarding school where she had no friend there at all. And I would say she handled it very well, show that she's independent.

Most part of the book was about Renee's life in Gottfried Academy. Despite the strict school rules, with the interesting subjects, new friends, and things that happened last summer at that school, made Renee's new life very much interesting and adventurous. Imagine the excitement sneaked out the bedroom through fire place after the curfew; secretly dating a guy who did not socialize with the other students; being called to headmistress for breaking the school rules. Renee was a smart girl, and always speak for her mind despite it got her into trouble. And she determined to find out the truth of her parent's death, as well as what happened last summer in Gottfried.

With the new environment and new friends, Renee started drifting apart with her previous best friend. While her roommate Eleanor became her best friend. I actually feel pity to Eleanor, as what had happened to her was not her fault. She was a victim. A very unfortunate for her. The ending was unexpected.

In overall, it was a good read to me. There was enough mystery and suspense to make me keep on turning the pages searching for the answer. There were also some "oh no" moments that made me worry for Renee, eager to know what would happen to her.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Lucky Girl by Cate Lord

Title:         Lucky Girl Publisher:  Entangled Publishing, LLC Pub Date: 09/06/2011 ISBN:      9781937044213 Author:     Cate Lord Jessica Devlin isn’t looking for love. Heartbroken after being dumped by her unfaithful ex-fiancé, she’s determined to have a fabulous time during her vacation in England where she’ll be maid-of-honor at her cousin’s wedding. After working overtime as beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine, avoiding dating, and putting on ten pounds, Jess is ready to toss her past like an empty lipstick tube and party like a single gal. But when she steps into the church on her cousin’s wedding day, she sees the one man who could sabotage her plan—James-Bond-gorgeous Nick Mondinello. She’s never forgotten the London marketing exec who held her in his arms after her beloved grandfather’s funeral two years ago. Ambitious, and lusted after by women everywhere, Nick is completely wrong for guarded, Plain Jane Jess. Could Spy Man Nick ever fall for her? Nope. Not unless Jess is one lucky girl.

Normally I won't choose to read Chic lit. But I did not regret reading this book. In fact, I quite enjoy reading it. It is light-hearted and easy read. It's fun reading what's inside Jessica's mind, although I found some of her imaginations were hilarious. Despite fussing about the extra 10 pounds, I like that she did not cut down on her food intake and her cravings on something sweet. While Nick was projected as playboy by Jessica's cousins, I don't think it mentioned what made Nick attracted to Jess besides that they had met 2 years ago during that one night at the bar and they were physically attracted. Besides that I also think their relationship was too fast. But put this aside, if you want something light and funny, this is a book for you.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.


Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Title:         The Demon Lover Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group Imprint:     Ballantine Books Pub Date: 12/27/2011 ISBN:      9780345526274 Author:     Juliet Dark I gasped . . . or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. . . . His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked in my breath and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh. Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name. But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart. Juliet Dark is the pseudonym of an award-winning and critically acclaimed literary suspense writer.

Firstly, the book cover is very beautiful. The pace of the book at the beginning was rather slow. In fact, the pace throughout the whole book was not fast. However there was enough mystery and suspense that made me keep on reading, searching for the answer. The author was very good at the detail description with the setting, which make the whole thing looks creepy and mysterious. There are quite a number of characters in this book. I was wondering who is friend and who is enermy. And you have to read until the very last page to figure it out.

Despite the pace, the story was beautifully written. Callie is strong, independent and soft hearted too. She knows what she wants. I do not like her bf, Paul. Even though Callie was hiding something from him, I guess he could be more sensitive and give more trust to her. It was rather unexpected to me knowing about her grandma's real identity. I like the part when Callie tried to banish the incubus the very first time. However when she was doing it the second time towards the end, I was like "huh that's it? So easy?" that kind of feeling. I thought it would be more challenging.

In summary, it was a good read - dark and mysterious. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.