Awake: A Fairytale

Publishing a book is a little like falling in love. It’s so amazing that once you’ve done it, you want all your friends to experience it too. Yesterday, my friend and Indie Jane co-owner Jessica Melendez (AKA Jessica Grey) published her YA fantasy novel, Awake, and I am almost as excited as she is.

It’s the last summer before college, and Alex Martin is looking forward to spending it… in a museum. No, she’s not a normal 18 year old, but she and her best friend Becca Ward have interned at LA’s Gem and Mineral Museum every summer. This year however provides one crucial difference—her childhood friend, Luke Reed, has joined the geeky rock squad.

Alex and Luke haven’t really talked since their freshman year of high school, when Luke’s status as a baseball star put him on a different social level than Alex. She is none too pleased by the thought of sharing her favorite place with him, especially since she was kind of hoping to catch the eye of their advisor, the dreamy Nicholas Hunt.

But when Alex finds Luke lying on an enchanted bed, trapped in a magical slumber, suddenly all her summer plans are out the window. She and Becca are joined by Lilia, a 12^th century princess who’s been asleep for 850 years. Yes, Luke tried to wake up Sleeping Beauty with a kiss, but instead, he simply took her place.

Now the three girls have to figure out exactly what the spell is, who cast it, and how they can save Luke from the evil fairy behind it all. To do that, Alex and Becca will have to come to terms with the fact that magic actually exists, and accept their own ability to use it.

Awake is a phenomenal story. It takes all the familiar elements of Sleeping Beauty and twists them into something that is both recognizable and new at the same time. The dialogue between the three girls sparkled, and the relationship between Alex and Luke was romantic and real.

The magic scenes were my favorite parts of the story. Jessica Grey invented an entire system of magic for her book, and it is brilliant and consistent. Even though I know diamonds and precious metal have no magical qualities, I could easily believe Alex and Becca were able to work spells with them. 

I read Awake in one day, which is not something I often do anymore. My brain usually starts to wander after about five chapters, and I’ll switch to another book or a movie. This time though I was too eager to find out how it all turned out in the end to put it down.

Grey’s style is smooth and easy to follow. Her characters are real, and her story is delightful. I can’t wait to read the next book in this trilogy. 

Awake is currently available from Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. A paperback is coming soon.


Jessica is also giving away two copies over at Indie Jane. 

Review: Jane Austen Made Me Do It

The world of Austenesque fiction is filled with talented authors. With such an embarrassment of riches, the only logical thing to do is develop a project to involve as many of them as possible. Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com, Jane Austen Made Me Do It is just that. Twenty-two authors, all telling stories with one theme: their tales must be "inspired by literatures most astute observer of the human heart."

I was absolutely delighted with the entire book. There's a short story in Jane Austen Made Me Do It for every kind of Austenesque lover. Sequels, retellings, modernizations; Jane Austen Made Me Do It has them all. There's even a ghost story or two--all written in a very tasteful, Jane-like manner of course.

As a brand-new author myself, I was most anxious to read Brenna Aubrey's "The Love Letter." As you may know, Brenna won a contest last year to be included in this volume. This is her first publication credit, and I have to say, it was an excellent way to begin her career. "The Love Letter" is a fresh, modern take on Persuasion which I absolutely loved, and I cannot wait to read her next work--perhaps a longer piece of fiction?

Overall, this volume delivers exactly what it promises: a respite from today's busy world into the heart of Jane Austen. Five stars.

FTC disclaimer: Review copy provided by publisher.

Review: Sass and Serendipity

The only thing most girls of Barton, Texas can talk about is the upcoming prom. Who's going with whom, what dress they bought, and where they'll be going for dinner beforehand--those are the hot topics at school.

Gabby Rivera couldn't care less about any of it. Prom, and everything it represents (in a word: boys), are completely beneath her. She decided when her parents divorced that love wasn't real, and believing some fairy tale prince will sweep her off her feet only keeps her from reality.

Her sister Daphne is less practical. In fact, Daphne isn't practical at all. She loves the idea of love, and she runs into a handsome stranger--literally--she decides he must be her Prince Charming. After all, they both love Jane Eyre!

That's the opening set-up for Sass and Serendipity, a new YA twist on Sense and Sensibility by Jennifer Ziegler. Ziegler takes the theme of sisters from Austen's novel and reworks it into a modern setting. The relationships between the two sisters was real and honest. I loved reading about them, both separately and together. There was a realness to them that drew me in.

Sass and Serendipity was often laugh out loud funny. One of my favorite parts was when Daphne was day dreaming about her future relationship with Luke (who is, of course, Willoughby). "Although they had years go to before their spring garden wedding with the string quartet and the mermaid ice sculpture, there was no harm in being prepared with a good dress design, right?"

I was that girl when I was in high school, and the memory of those secret dress designs cracked me up. Oh, if only I knew then what I know now...

Obviously, Sass and Serendipity was a well-written, funny, YA novel. There's another question however--is it a true Austenesque novel? This is a bit trickier, and I finally approached it from this angle: Would I know it was a retelling of Sense and Sensibility if the title didn't have the double S, or if I wasn't told so on the fly leaf?

I'm not sure I would. Part of my uncertainty comes from the character of Gabby. As much as Daphne strikes a chord as a Marianne, I didn't really feel Gabby was a faithful representation--or even modernization--of Elinor. Elinor's most basic character trait is a strong sense of propriety, a solid understanding of the rules of society. Her conflict with her sister comes when she attempts to check Marianne's less fettered spirits to follow those rules.

Gabby, however, is like Elinor only in her practicality. I could certainly imagine her insisting the family didn't have money for beef (or for the fancy dinner their mother splurges on in a celebration). She holds down a job at the local movie theater to help with the family finances, and she's constantly pestering her sister to apply for work herself.

However, that was really where the similarity ended. Where Elinor hides deep feelings behind a demure mask, events of the past made Gabby bitter. She is determined never to love (a thought that would never cross Elinor's mind, I am sure), and she absolutely rebuffs any boy who shows an interest in her.

That bitterness leads her to lash out at Daphne several times. While I could utterly sympathize with her, I did miss seeing some of the sisterly togetherness that is so present in Sense and Sensibility. Elinor only chastises Marianne out of a desire to see her happy, and one never doubts that the two sisters truly love each other. Even Marianne in her most willful moments does not resent Elinor in the way Daphne does Gabby.

In the end, I felt like Sense and Sensibility is about more than two very different sisters, and those other elements were missing in Sass and Serendipity. The family dynamic and the inclusion of Luke/Willoughby were really the only two things I found that tied the two stories together.

Despite that, I'm giving Sass and Serendipity 4 solid stars. It's an excellent YA novel, with enough hints of Austen to interest a reader looking for a Sense and Sensibility redux. However, if you're looking for a faithful adaptation of Austen, this might not be the novel for you.


This is the first selection I've fulfilled for the Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge.

FTC disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the author's publicist. That did not affect my review in any way.