Review: The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling

The Ugly Stepsister
by Aya Ling

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: Jun 12, 2015
Format: ebooks
Source: NetGalley
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When Kat accidentally rips apart an old picture book, she's magically transported into the world of Cinderella--as Katriona, one of the ugly stepsisters! Life turns upside down now that she's a highborn lady and must learn how to survive the social season, including how to get through the door in a huge metal hoop skirt. To get back, she'll have to complete the story, right to the end of happily ever after. But the odds are huge: the other stepsister is drop-dead gorgeous, the fairy godmother is nowhere to be found, and the prince, despite being insanely hot, openly dislikes balls. Can she ever return to the modern world?

Kat accidentally rips apart an old Cinderella book and transferred into the world of fairytale as Katriona, the stepsister of Cinderella. To get back to her world, Kat must continue the story help Cinderella (or Ella) to meet the prince right to the end. But it wasn't easy. Kat must find out what happen to Ella, find out where is the fairy godmother, and made the prince to agree to have a ball. 

I wasn't sure I was going to like the book when I first started. I mean, I wasn't a fan of it at the beginning. I thought that the book was a bit too rushed, and a bit cliche. I find it hard to get into the book, with the author's style. But I do love fairy tale retelling, and I really thought that I should give the book a chance. I'm very glad I did. After a few more chapters, I started to fall for this book, and it was hard to put down the book.

Reading The Ugly Stepsister was a bit like reading a fairy tale retelling and a historical romance, with the settings and all that. I loved Kat and her adventure to finish the fairy tale. While Kat tried to set up Ella and the prince together, she fought for the rights of the less fortunate. Around the same time, Kat began to fall for the prince, although she tried very hard not to fall for him by focusing more on her missions. I truly enjoyed the interaction between the two right from the beginning. They were so cute together.

Like may others, I wasn't a big fan of the ending. But it was well written. The author ended the story like she was supposed to do. It was a happy ending. Although, I wish to see more of Kat and the prince.

The Ugly Stepsister is definitely a cute read with a great plot and character development. I didn't like it so much at the beginning, but I wanted to read more as the story ended. I wish that there will be a sequel. I hope that the author is thinking about writing a sequel. 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Review: Greedily Yours by Emma Hamilton

Greedily Yours - Book 1: Taste Test
by Emma Hamilton

Genre: Chick Lit, Culinary Theme, Romance
Publication: June 15th 2015 by Bastei Entertainmen
Format: Kindle Edition, 79 pages
Source: NetGalley

Mia Maxwell loves food. She loves it so much that she's made it her career. On the surface Mia seems to have it all. She lives in trendy east London with her best friend, Lizzie, who owns a cupcake cafe. By day she runs her own food PR consultancy, and by night she's a food blogger with a burgeoning audience. Mia has a banker boyfriend, Paul, who enjoys travelling the world, enabling her to taste the globe's culinary delights. But Mia is still hungry and, when she heads down to Cornwall to run a food festival, she doesn't realise that her entire life is about to be cast adrift.

Episode 1 - Mia Maxwell knows that her love of food is tied to her healthy appetite for romance. She's admitted as much on her food blog, "Culinary Confessions of a Greedy Girl." But could a chance encounter with a fellow foodie in Cornwall really entice her to question her own romantic relationship?

This book was actually written in eight parts, and Taste Test was just the first book. I couldn't pass the chance to read this book when I saw it on NetGalley. The cover was pretty and the summary hooked my interest when it mentioned food and food blogging.

Greedily Yours: Taste Test started off a bit slow to my liking. It took me a while to like the author's style. But I guess, the first part started to introduce the characters. At first, I was a bit confused as to who is the main character of the book. There's Lizzy, who owned a cupcake cake and Mia, who owned a food PR consultancy, and both of them were interesting characters.

This book is definitely a fun, quick read. It took me a short time to finish the book from the start. There are enough mentioned of food to get my stomach rumbling. And I do enjoy reading about Mia and her work at the food festival. There is a bit of romance in the story, but not so much. I guess, I will have to read the next book to find out about Mia's work, blog and romance.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.