Cinderella is Evil by Jamie Campbell

History is told from one person’s perspective. Sometimes they don’t get it right.
Ugly Stepsister Anna has wrongly been accused of being mean and evil. Now it is time she got the opportunity to tell her side of the story.
With Cinderella so perfect and wonderful, it is no wonder Anna feels ugly in comparison. Dealing with bullies, a grumpy mother and the death of her step-father, Anna is at her wits end.
When the Prince’s ball approaches, Anna is told she must find a husband to save the family fortune. Attending with her sisters, the sulky Prince Charming only has eyes for Cinderella.
With the burden of being the only one to unite her step-sister with the Prince, will Anna act as cupid? Or will she protect Cinderella from the arrogant Charming?
A charming twist to the story of Cinderella, told completely from the point of view of the Ugly Step-Sister.

(Image and Description from Goodreads.com)

This was a short but very entertaining read with the feel of a fairy-tale to it…well, it is Cinderella so I suppose that  doesn’t come as a surprise now that I think about it.

Thumbs Up!

I really enjoyed this. Basically it is what if Cinderella enjoyed playing the martyr just so that she had a reason to hate her step-family, and what if the wicked step-mother was the way she was because the death of her husband (Cinderella’s father) broke her heart.

Anna was a lovely person and I wanted to hug her when she went out of her way to look out for Cinderella when she thought she had ran away from the prince the night of the ball because he had done something to her.

Thumbs Down!

This book was WAY to short. I would love it if one day the author decided to add two hundred more pages and turn it into a full length novel.

All in All!

An enjoyable and very quick read. 

Through Phantom Eyes Book 1 - A Child's Guidance by Theodora Bruns Part 3

Erik is only a young boy when he first discovers his great passion for music. Just before his third birthday, he listens to his mother playing the piano, and with excitement, he realizes his life will always be filled with music. Sadly though, along with that powerful and comforting emotion, there is also sorrow. Erik's mother fears him because of his facial deformity, and he is forever scarred by her rejection. His father loves and protects him and tries to guide his young son's rapidly growing genius mind and disturbed heart. Nevertheless, Erik's soul begins to fill with loathing for the world that shuns him, causing him to wage a fierce battle between murderous hatred and compassionate love. Erik's temper erupts violently at times, endangering the lives of those around him as well as his own. Ultimately, he is abandoned and left alone to battle not only a world destined to cause him harm but also his tortured heart.

Discover the astonishing life of Erik, and journey into the private world and intimate thoughts of the man known as the Phantom of the Opera. Be with him as he struggles to balance his brilliant mind and tormented soul.

(Image and description from Goodreads.com)

Part 3...

I think my heart may have just broken for Erik… I wasn’t even able to write this immediately after finishing the last page. I had to think about it for a little while.

Anyway, onto the good stuff – come on – I may be TOTALLY going into this book in crazy detail but you didn’t honestly think I was going to give the ending away did you?

The major story that is explored in the last 100 pages or so of this book is the birth of Erik’s ‘other’ side. It is true that up until now he has been losing his temper but more than anything those fits would fall under childish tantrums. The anger that he feels now is the kind that totally alters his personality and switches off the side of him that is only a little boy. This is the side that is cold and ruthless and could kill if pushed to do such a thing.

I think we all have these two sides of us warring within – perhaps like the Jekyll and Hyde theory – and some of us can control it better than others, keeping ourselves in check. And although we may feel the burning whit hot anger bubbling inside us we hold ourselves back knowing that ultimately our reacting would not help.

But Erik is unable to hold this side of him back – and I don’t think that he really wants to either at some points. With the way that he is treated by others and then his added intelligence I think these factors make it harder for him to control especially as he sees it as a way of protecting himself from emotional and physical damage.

It was heart-breaking at times to see him striking out at his tormentors to only realise that he was harming his father at the same time. And that was the only thing he truly felt remorse for. It wasn’t his actions or the harm he was causing other people that he regretted; it was the harm he was causing his father - the one person who had always loved him unconditionally.

This thought from Erik really summed it up for me.

“…if they were going to be careless with my heart, then why should I be careful with their minds. Shouldn’t I be allowed something for the price I had to pay for my face?”

Like I have said that just sums it up for me. The way his mind is working, how he is feeling, everything comes out in that line.

But, despite his father’s love for Erik and Erik’s love for his father I couldn’t help but feel that sometimes his father went around things the wrong way. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it was almost like despite how hard they tried they were always on different levels. And yet there are times when Erik’s thoughts and actions are really that of a young child and not the genius that his mind is making him. One of my favourite bits is when Erik’s tells us of how ‘grown up and accomplished’ he feels when his father trusted him enough to let him work without supervision. I think that it is wonderful that despite how highly advanced Erik is mentally he still has the needs of a child to feel like they are receiving approval from adults they care for.

There are so many plot points and character changes in this book that it would be impossible to go into them all without typing the entire book out. Everything fits in seamlessly. There were no points that were raised that were done so for no reason. Everything slotted together and it is wonderful to see the bigger picture emerging as each mile stone in Erik’s life shapes him to be the person that will be the Opera Ghost.

The excitement of Erik’s first trip to the opera leaped of the page as he took in every single detail around him – I couldn’t help but smile as he likened all the men to penguins in their dress clothes and top hats (another childish moment coming through that I loved).

And there is such another big link to the future Erik that I nearly squealed in excitement. And it is far too good to give away. If you have already read this book let me know what you think I am talking about.

Having the novel bookended by Erik present and semi-present life is great and gives teasers to what the future books will be like that will be dealing with Christine and Erik – can’t wait to read them – and the journey there will be definitely worth the trip.

This book was an emotional roller-coaster of events. I very nearly got whip lash. I have never read a book before - that I can remember – that has captured all of my emotions so thoroughly. And have never had to put a book down because I thought my head or my heart where going to explode only to desperately need to pick it up again to know what was going to happen next, what would be the next thing to shape Erik, how he would react to the situation…

It captured me well and truly.

This was first posted to my Phantom Novel Reviews Blog 15th April 2011

Through Phantom Eyes Book 1 - A Child's Guidance by Theodora Bruns Part 2

Erik is only a young boy when he first discovers his great passion for music. Just before his third birthday, he listens to his mother playing the piano, and with excitement, he realizes his life will always be filled with music. Sadly though, along with that powerful and comforting emotion, there is also sorrow. Erik's mother fears him because of his facial deformity, and he is forever scarred by her rejection. His father loves and protects him and tries to guide his young son's rapidly growing genius mind and disturbed heart. Nevertheless, Erik's soul begins to fill with loathing for the world that shuns him, causing him to wage a fierce battle between murderous hatred and compassionate love. Erik's temper erupts violently at times, endangering the lives of those around him as well as his own. Ultimately, he is abandoned and left alone to battle not only a world destined to cause him harm but also his tortured heart.

Discover the astonishing life of Erik, and journey into the private world and intimate thoughts of the man known as the Phantom of the Opera. Be with him as he struggles to balance his brilliant mind and tormented soul.

(Image and Description from Goodreads.com)

Part 2...

Of course there would be some warped sense of religious thinking behind Anne's view of Erik. And you know what? I still don't feel sorry for her one little bit, in fact I just feel all the more impatient and angry with her.

If she had been raised to believe certain things she should have known how her mother would have reacted to her conceiving a child out of wedlock. So in my eyes that was her own thinking and problem that she had to deal with. Her inner conflict has nothing to do with Erik.

This once again makes me want to scream at her to act the adult. If she honestly believe - thanks to her own mother - that Erik's disfigurement is punishment for her indiscretion - or whatever you want to call it - then it is HER PROBLEM!! She should have showed some more control! Instead of punishing Erik!

OK, end of rant about Anne's moral standing. She makes me so angry!!

I loved how Erik's father reasoned with Erik on this point. Telling him that if he had truly been a punishment for their actions then there would be a lot more children that looked like him. I liked that. He didn't skim the facts, he told it as it was.

Still, back to the subject of Anne. She says that she is afraid of her son and that Erik becomes something 'evil'. Now, I am sorry, where she is concerned it is a never ending circle. He becomes angry and uncontrollable the way he does because she refuses to show him one little scrap of affection and so he responds in the only way his 'child like' side can think of. He hits out to hurt the one that is hurting him. I can understand that. But she is blind to this it would seem. Silly women!

And then there is the point where Erik, after finding out just how his mother has been 'suffering', starts to regret how he had treated her. Once again I will say. Children are in no way answerable for the sins (real or not) of their parents. It is their parents FULL responsibility to deal with the consequences! And it makes it all the more sadder because he is feeling remorse and yet she still thinks he is a monster and keeps a distance between them.

I could understand Erik's turning a deaf ear to the priest who came to visit and 'explain' things I suppose - but since he wasn't listening we don't know lol. He had seen what religious views had lead people to think about him and he turned himself off.

The beginnings of his need to be in control of people in also brought up, which is interesting as this will obviously be something that sticks with him throughout his life even when he becomes the Opera Ghost.

And I shall finish this post on a happy level.

Once again I am brought back to Erik's show if childishness. Erik's father takes him to his work site and once he got there...

"I began slowly twirling in circles, taking in everything I saw and smelled"

Just as I remember spinning around new places to get a look at everything when I was excited!

Wonderful!



This was first posted to my Phantom Novel Reviews Blog 10th April 2011

NaNoWriMo Planning! Shout Outs #3

No podcast to recommend today =)

This year is the first year I am going to be answering a whole bunch of character questions so I know what makes my main character tick before I get to a sticky situation in my story-line. So I was googling like mad looking for character charts or check lists.

Here are a few of the ones that I found.

Character Interview Sheet
Character Creation Form
Character Sheet

Those are just a few of the ones I found but if you google 'creating a character' or 'character sheets' you'll see that there are a whole bunch ore out there.

I don't think I will be using them as a fixed exercise but I'll definitely be using them as a basis for building my character this year =)

Through Phantom Eyes Book 1 - A Childs Guidance by Theodora Bruns Part 1

Erik is only a young boy when he first discovers his great passion for music. Just before his third birthday, he listens to his mother playing the piano, and with excitement, he realizes his life will always be filled with music. Sadly though, along with that powerful and comforting emotion, there is also sorrow. Erik's mother fears him because of his facial deformity, and he is forever scarred by her rejection. His father loves and protects him and tries to guide his young son's rapidly growing genius mind and disturbed heart. Nevertheless, Erik's soul begins to fill with loathing for the world that shuns him, causing him to wage a fierce battle between murderous hatred and compassionate love. Erik's temper erupts violently at times, endangering the lives of those around him as well as his own. Ultimately, he is abandoned and left alone to battle not only a world destined to cause him harm but also his tortured heart.

Discover the astonishing life of Erik, and journey into the private world and intimate thoughts of the man known as the Phantom of the Opera. Be with him as he struggles to balance his brilliant mind and tormented soul.

(Image and description from Goodreads.com)

Part 1...

I was intending to do just one post on this book once I had read it - after all, I thought that I couldn't really find all that much to say about a 300(ish) page book. I was so wrong! Right now I am on page 123 and I am just finding to many points that I am wanting to bring out I have decided to post an early post...

On a side note, the layout of this nook is brilliant. You see, I am a scribbler. I love to make notes in margins, to underline favourite passages and just make a book MINE by totally scrawling all over it *cough* Respect your books folks *cough* Anyway, the margins of this book are great for that very purpose. They are huge especially at the tops and bottoms of the pages - lovely big gaps.

Moving on.

I loved how the book opened with Erik's present (or semi-present) life, such as the first time that he ever saw Christine.

Oh, and talking of Christine, there are definitely extra brownie points due to this author for having a blonde, Leroux Christine and for having no weird similarities between Christine and Anne - Erik's mother. Thank you for that, because that was one thing I just found a touch too weird in 'Phantom' and unnecessary.

At the beginning, while Erik was haunting the theater and tricking Joseph and the ballet girls, I got a real feel for his sense of mischief that put a bit of a daft smile on my face and I loved! It didn't start of dead serious, with him being left alone in the bowels on the opera house or dying of love or any other of the down and depressing beginnings there could have been, and this was very refreshing!

Ms Bruns seems to have hit the nail on the head with having Erik a mixture of a genius and yet have him with the needs of a child. He possesses the naturally curious personality of a child but then partnered with his intellect he has the tendency to obsess over things until he has found out their secrets.

I think that Erik's father was wonderful. He sees his son as just that - his son. He is different sure, but Erik is his child and he loves him. Their interactions with each other are loving and caring and his father's teachings will no doubt stick with Erik through out the course of the books. Even though at some points I have felt like boxing the fathers ears and telling him to stop lecturing and let his son be a frightened little boy and hide in his room if he likes - but I suppose that would defeat the object. But I do feel like he is pressuring and pushing him a little too much at bits.

I was reserving my judgment of Erik's mother - as I know that interpretations of her differ from phantom book to phantom book as she seems to be a favourite character to shape...But right now I REALLY REALLY don't like her. Grow up women. Act the adult and treat your son like he actually matters WOMEN.

I couldn't help but applaud Erik when he 'waged war' so to speak on his mother. You go Erik!

The most heartbreaking thing about the relationship between Erik and his mother - so far that I can see - is that, although he keeps telling himself that nothing she can do can hurt him anymore he is actually lying to himself. He is continually seeking reassurance from his father and his constant reminders to himself that she can't hurt him just proves the opposite to me.

Erik's childish moments were wonderful and very touching at points. An example of this is when he hopes that his expected sibling will be a little girl so that she will be beautiful like his mother because if it was a boy he didn't want it to have his face. I wanted to cry at the show of his tender heart and childish reasoning. And then when he asked his father if he was missing his nose because he hadn't been 'finished yet'. Oh I wanted to sob for the little soul.

At the end of the day despite being a genius, Erik is still a child and like any child the more he is told not to do something the more he wants to and he has a child's inquisitiveness. So when his actions lead to his mother flipping and Erik becoming ill it leads to an argument between Erik's father and mother. Now, I am sorry, but Erik is a CHILD and his mother has to take responsibility for some things and I don't care if his mother was responsible directly or indirectly no child should be made to feel like they are responsible for arguments/raised voices or whatever between their parents. And the fact that he is just THINKING that he wants his father to be angry at him and not his mother just makes me want to cry again. Sorry I'm not expressing myself very well... This just shows to me another epic FAIL on his mothers part. Especially since he is wanting to take the brunt of his fathers anger when his mother had been an iceberg to him. There are some things that a child just shouldn't have to accept the blame for and the actions of 'mature' adults are one of those things. But then I suppose he isn't a 'normal' child. But I can still be angry at his mother all I want to be! And his father finally yelled at his mother so I got a lot of enjoyment out of that too *evil grin*.

I will point out here that I am a pacifist by nature guys OK. I don't go around screaming at people. But when it comes to mistreating children in ANY way, I tend to get very very emotional.

Anyway, I had better leave it there or there won't be anything left for me to talk about once I have finished it. I am thoroughly enjoying this take on Erik's younger years! 'Phantom' by Susan Kay was all well and good but having over 300 pages dedicated just to his young years is fantastic, and the different emotions this is bringing out in me just makes it all the better.

This was first posted to my Phantom Novel Reviews Blog 10th April 2011

NaNoWriMo Planning! Shout Outs #2

I have another podcast for you today!

This time it is Grammar Girl.

This is a podcast I could probably do with listening to religiously but I dip in and out of it when the moods strikes me.

The episodes are pretty short and well tagged so if there is just 1 thing you aren't sure about you can scan through the titles and find it. It deals with things from spelling to sentence structure.

www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl

Chanson se l'Ange by Paisley Swan Stewart

So this is more of a shout-out than a review because I a just so EXCITED!

Chanson de l'Ange - a series of 3 books based on The Phantom of the Opera is in sight and due for release at the end of October.

Book 1- Orphan in Winter
Book 2 - The Bleeding Rose
Book 3 - The Angel's Song

I have been dying to get stuck into a review of this story since I read 'The Bleeding Rose' but I have held off as the author was making revisions etc and now the story is going to be three books instead of two.

The Bleeding rose was a truly beautiful and touching Phantom novel and I can't wait to get stuck into it :)

There is also going to be a CD/Soundtrack that will go along with the novel - how COOL right?

And if the Bleeding Rose (a song from the CD that can be bought now) is anything to go by it will be just as stunning as I am sure the novels are going to be.




You can find out more about the novels at the website here

NaNoWriMo Panning! Shout Outs #1

Its OCTOBER!!!!!!!! (you know, just in case that is news to anyone)

So, as it is NaNoWriMo next month *happy dance happy dance* I know loads of participants are planning out their stories and getting their ideas together.

So am I!

Instead of having reviews this month I thought I would shout-out some links that I have come across/been using in planning my story for this year and just some useful bits and pieces.

~~~~~~~~~~

Does anyone like listening to podcasts?

I love them.

A couple of years ago I stumbled across the podcast 'Writing Excuses' which is hosted by Mary Robinette Kowal, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler and Dan Wells. This is a great podcast. Each episode is 15 minutes long and is packed to the gills with information on writing. They also include a reading/listening recommendation and a writing prompt. 

They are onto the 8th season right now (you can still download the previous seasons too) and you can find them on Itunes or their website writingexcuses.com

This is one of my favourite podcasts next to Books on the Nightstand and The Readers :)