Kirjailijakuva

Julie Reece

Teoksen Crux tekijä

9+ teosta 192 jäsentä 6 arvostelua

Tietoja tekijästä

Includes the name: Julie Reece-DeMarco

Sarjat

Tekijän teokset

Crux (2012) 41 kappaletta
The Artisans (2015) 34 kappaletta
Children of the Bible (1996) 31 kappaletta
The Heirloom (2002) 28 kappaletta
Life 101 (1984) 11 kappaletta
The Paladins (The Artisans, #2) (2016) 8 kappaletta
One Summer With Autumn (2016) 3 kappaletta

Associated Works

Changing Seasons (2004) 23 kappaletta

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

There is no Common Knowledge data for this author yet. You can help.

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

MY GOD that was terrible. I need to go back in time and erase this book from my memory.
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
srsharms | 1 muu arvostelu | Jul 20, 2017 |
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A modern day Beauty and the Beast retelling with the perfect blend of romance, mystery, and suspense this is sure to be a great hit with all young adult paranormal fans.

Opening Sentence: The winter of two thousand nine brought influenza, taking twenty-seven souls from Colleton County, South Carolina.

The Review:

Raven Weathersby grew up in a small town in South Carolina. She has always had a very artist heart and she expresses herself by designing clothes. Ever since she can remember she has always loved to create beautiful and original clothing. Her work can rival some of the best in the fashion industry. But four years ago her mother died and with it so did everything that was good in Raven’s life. Her stepfather started drinking himself into a stupor every night and gambles away everything they have.

Now it is Raven’s senior year and she does everything she can to make ends meet. They are just barely staying afloat then her stepfather has a run in with a very powerful and dangerous family. The Maddox’s are ruthless and expect their debts to be paid. Raven knows that her stepfather is in no condition to repay anything so she offers to take his place.

Arrogant yet gorgeous, Gideon Maddox will allow Raven to pay her father’s debt if she agrees to live at his home for a year and design a line of clothing for Maddox Industries. Raven wants nothing more than to refuse his offer, but she knows that she really doesn’t have any other choice if she wants to save her father’s life. The more time Raven spends at Maddox’s manor the more she realizes that not everything is as it seems and that Gideon might not be the cold hearted man she thought he was.

Raven is a great character with a unique voice. She has had a hard life, especially since her mother died, but what I love best about her is that she doesn’t complain about it. She accepts it and has done everything she can to make it better for her and those that she loves. She doesn’t love easily, but once you are someone she cares about she will do almost anything for you. She is strong and creative. I love her sense of fashion and attitude. Even though she doesn’t have a lot, she doesn’t let other people push her around or intimidate her. She was an easy character to love and connect with. Watching her grow as a character made me admire her and I am glad I got to read her story.

Gideon or better known as Jack throughout the book, is one of my favorite things in the story. He is a very intense person with a very dominating personality. With his good looks, money, and charming personality he is used to getting what he wants. But underneath that entire facade there is a broken boy with a mysterious story. I instantly was drawn to Jack and I found that the more I got to know him the more I grew to love his character. He has a lot of depth to him and he has kept a lot of things about himself hidden for good reasons. His relationship with Raven is adorable and even though he can come across as a jerk he is actually a very caring person. He is a swoon worthy boy and I easily fell in love with him.

The Artisans was a unique modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast filled with mystery, romance and wonderful characters. From the first page I was completely lost in the wonderful setting that Reece created. There were a few times that the pacing felt a little off, which caused the story to lag a little bit, but I still found that I had a hard time putting the book down. With suspense and mystery running high throughout the story, I was very intrigued to see what was going to happen next. For the most part the plot is fairly predictable, but Reece threw in a few unexpected twists that made it interesting and kept me guessing. There is a lot that is going on in the story and there were a few times that I felt things got a little confusing, but for the most part everything comes together nicely in the end. Probably my favorite thing about the book was that it was set in modern day but had a Victorian steampunk feel to it. Raven is into Victorian and Gothic fashion, which I just loved and some of the characters mannerisms made it feel like they were from this time period as well. While I loved this part of the book, it also made some of the more modern day moments seem slightly out of place at times. I will admit that I am being a little nitpicky about some of the things I have criticized in this story because when you read as much as I do it is hard to not be. But I don’t want anything I have said in any way deter you from reading this book because it is a great story that I enjoyed immensely. I would highly recommend this to anyone that likes modern day retellings or just a great romance story with a paranormal twist.

Notable Scene:

“Sadly, no, I cannot take credit for your stunning sleepwear ensemble. Though dressing you does sound like fun. You were wearing that at midnight when you climbed into bed with me.”

What? Shit. “I did no such thing!”

“You did, snuggled right up next to me.” The grin fades to that tantalizing half smile he owns, wicked and super-hot. “Every guy’s dream actually, waking up to a beautiful girl in his bed. Imagine my shock—and disappointment—upon the realization you had no idea what you were doing. Of course, it also occurred to me you planned to slit my throat as I slept.” I gasp, and he chuckles. “I’ve heard it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. I thought you’d break your neck on the stairs, jump out a window, cook and eat your cat. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shakes his head.

“Can’t have that now, can we?”

FTC Advisory: Month 9 Books provided me with a copy of The Artisans. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
DarkFaerieTales | 1 muu arvostelu | Mar 31, 2015 |
Whoa, I actually found this impossible to put down! I don't really think the description does it justice at all. LOVED it! 4.5 or 5... I can't decide!
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
nicola26 | 3 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Mar 29, 2013 |
Julie Reese has written a book with a fresh voice. I enjoyed her writing style and the sarcastic lead female character she created. The book deals with Nordic mythology. A war between son and father that is played out throughout the centuries.

In this rendition of the war between father and son, Birdie is brought into the feud. She is homeless and follows a man who talks about wealth and a curse. She skips the free chili and follows. He is crazy and he seems familiar. He throws money in the air and singles her out for a chance at what is in his safe deposit box.

Running from the money hungry goons that grabbed some of the money, she finds safety with Grey. He becomes her knight in shining armor. It doesn't hurt that he is handsome.

Running from a painful past and not sure who to believe or who to trust, Birdie and Grey try to decipher the ancient curse.

This book took a couple of my favorite things in books, mythology and vikings. I am very glad that I read this book.

I would recommend it to readers who are mature with violence and sexual innuendo.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
Bookworm_Lisa | 3 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Aug 1, 2012 |

Listat

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Tilastot

Teokset
9
Also by
1
Jäseniä
192
Suosituimmuussija
#113,797
Arvio (tähdet)
½ 3.7
Kirja-arvosteluja
6
ISBN:t
22

Taulukot ja kaaviot