Friday, April 19, 2013

Tiger Lily

Tiger Lily

by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Synopsis:

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .


Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.


Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.


With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.


From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.



My Thoughts:

First of all I am a huge Peter Pan fan always have been.  So when I saw this book I simply had to read it.  To me Tiger Lily always seemed very reserved, determined, and brave and it was always a little sad to see Tiger Lily replaced so easily in Peter's heart.  With Anderson's book I wasn't really sure what to expect since Tiger Lily is by no means a major character in Peter Pan.  I guess I though it would be a love triangle - Wendy, Peter, and Tiger Lily but it's not.  This book tells the story of Neverland before Wendy showed which is a much darker place than previously told.  You see how the lost boys came to be, why Captain Hook hates Peter so very much, and how Peter and Tiger Lily met. This story is told from Tinkerbell's point of view.  It was a surprise but a very effective and unique way to tell Tiger Lily's story. According to Tinkerbell fairies have no language and so she relies on emotions and actions to tell Tiger Lily's story.  She also tells us that fairies are fiercely loyal which is why Tinkerbell stays with Tiger Lily and also falls in love with Peter.  Tiger Lily is probably one of the loneliest characters that I have ever read and it is made worse by the fact that she has lived with it for so long that she doesn't even realize it. Tiger Lily is portrayed a smart, fearless, keen eyed character. She's the type of girl who doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Her tribe treats her like an outcast, believing that she is cursed but refuses to let her leave at the same time. Is it no wonder then that when she meets Peter in the woods, a soul as lost and broken as she is, that she is drawn to him and ultimately falls in love with him. Peter on the other hand is all too aware that he is broken and will do anything to fix it - including lie.  Tiger Lily and Peter are both searching desperately for something that they just can't name and think that they have found it in each other. But this is a story where good doesn't always win and love doesn't always triumph. This book is a love story but it is also a book about loss, loneliness, and a fear of change.  

Friday, April 12, 2013

Storm Front

Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Synopsis: 

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things — and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a — well, whatever.

There’s just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name. And that’s when things start to get… interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed.


My Thoughts: 

A wizard named Harry who battles dark magic. I know where this story’s going, except I didn’t.

The Dresden files follow the personal accounts of the wizard Harry (after Houdini) Blackstone Copperfield Dresden as he attempts to practice his craft in the city of Chicago for the benefit of those the system can’t help. All for a nominal fee of course.
Magic is dark and gritty fueled by passion and blood described in rich and visceral detail, the lure to take it too far intoxicatingly tempting.

Harry Dresden walks the edge of a razor blade balanced above a glass of lemonade as he openly admits his talents, yet hides the actual application from those around him. All the dark things that go bump in the night know who he is, what he is, and where he is, the only things keeping him alive are his wits and his magic.
Storm Front is a hardboiled crime noir detective story with a generous helping of humor set against a paranormal background. It does not aspire to be life-changing or profound. All it does is take you on a fun and exciting ride.