Dawn Ius

This was a Goodreads Giveaway - 2.5 stars. I did not realize that it was a YA novel until I received it in the mail... I was disappointed but decided to read it anyway. I had issues with the first 2/3 of the book and couldn't really see where the writer was going with things...and was sick of hearing about meatloaf and Bridget!! For a person that wants to be a chef...you would think she would attempt to make more than just meatloaf and lemon loaf. I was expecting the book to be more horror than about a childish crush. The last 1/3 of the book is more what I expected...I would have given it less stars but the last bit redeemed itself for me a bit. Also - I don't know if I would label this book YA. I wouldn't give it to my kids to read. Some of the characters seemed a bit forced for me as well...particularly Abigail and Andrew. Is this the typical evil stepmother? The writer did present some interesting images towards the end of the book and so I am glad I didn't discard it earlier on. I found the whole thing about the fainting during menstruation ridiculous to say the least until I got to the end of the book and found out that she actually did have a similar condition. All in all - good attempt at horror near the end.… (altro)

Lizzie by Dawn Ius is a unique YA take on the Lizzie Borden murders.

I was super intrigued by this book and ridiculously excited to see it show up in my mailbox. I really like reading into weird mysteries and seeing new takes on them. Seeing a YA book about it made me even more curious, because YA is such an interesting area of books and the books written for this group tend to go one of two ways.

I found this book rather boring and weird, which made me quite sad. The premise of this book sounded so good and so interesting: We follow Lizzie Borden as she lives with her dysfunctional family and meets a lovely young woman who she is potentially falling in love with. And then tragedy strikes.

I've heard the tale many a times about Lizzie, so I really wanted this book to be a cool and unique take on the story. There was so much going for it, but I think the facilitation of it just didn't hit me right. I wanted to DNF it, but I also really wanted to support a great Canadian author. So I stuck through it, and it took quite a while.

There was tension and sadness and despair, but the plot just felt random. It was a bit jumpy and didn't catch my attention. I think with some fine tuning, this book could do really well for it's audience. I almost wanted more points of views or less jumps. It was sitting in the middle, which just didn't do it for me. With so much rich history behind this story, I think there was a lot that could have been added to give it the 'umph' that this book needed. With all of that in mind, it was just too slow for me. It didn't keep my attention, which is what I'm looking for as a reader.

I think this book is going to be quite the niche book for it's readers. Either you will love it or hate it, and that's okay! Some books are just like that.

One out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (altro)

I've always been fascinated by Anne Boleyn, but I approached this book a little warily. In fact, I enjoyed it a great deal.

Henry is the younger son of the Tudor family, just as Henry VIII was. His father was a successful politician, and his brother Arthur was supposed to follow in Dad's footsteps, but he died in an accident. Henry pursued other interests, like acting, but after Arthur's death, his father's Will and his mother's will and determination were to mold Henry into a worthy successor, a replacement Arthur. What more could Henry want - everyone was sure it was in his best interest. Obviously, it would be a great choice for him to have Arthur's accomplished girl friend Catherine as his future wife.

Anne, grew up poor in rather chaotic circumstances, but her mother has married a wealthy, successful architect, and they have moved to Medina, a town founded by the Tudors. Henry falls for Anne's complete difference from the socialites that surround him, but his "friends" are all determined to expel the unworthy Anne, and get Henry back on the expected track.

I have mixed feelings about the fact that everything isn't resolved at end. It could make an interesting book discussion group, because there are so many directions in which the book could go after the ending.

How did Anne's mother and stepfather react to what happened to her?
Given Anne's self-destructive tendencies, what did she do, although she seems more mature at the end?
Did the locket really belong to Henry's grandmother, when Catherine's comment that he had given her one just like it seemed to suggest that it might not be? Did Anne keep it?

And Henry: Did he go back to Catherine as the adults around him, and possibly the other students think he should?
He meets a young woman in a coffee shop named Jane Seymour (the name of Henry VIII's wife after Anne). He's attracted to her, but I don't think that his social set would see her as a great improvement over Anne, just perhaaps not as wild,… (altro)