Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by at my stop of The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back Blog Tour!
The Book
Title: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back
Series: –
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Fire & Ice Books
ASIN:B008YIE740
Tags: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: A copy was made available by the author in exchange for an honest review
Hearts: ♥ ♥ ♥
Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.
But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?
Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.
Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.
Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.
And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.
Review
This was a very nice and light book that I enjoyed reading. It’s not the usual story where a female protagonist is so shy that she’s only able to glance at her crush from afar, on the contrary! Mattie has no problem to say exactly what she thinks of Jack. Even though she as a hard time breathing and can’t stop staring when he is near, even when he uses his most radiant smile, if she doesn’t want to, or thins he’s doing something he shouldn’t, she says so. And that’s something Jack never has encountered before ^^ And something I really liked a lot ^^
This book also features one of the nicest sisters ever. What Ella isn’t willing to do for Mattie! That’s why I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the beginning when Mattie gives her list of Grievances. The things she said… One good conversation with Ella and most of her Grievances would probably have been solved. On the other hand, I have a great sis myself, so I also understood a bit how she felt ;). Still, talking and explaining how you feel is essential in any relationship. Therefore I was glad to read that Mattie finally realizes this too. Ella is a very sweet and über nice gal and that’s just the way she is. It’s not something she’s doing deliberately, it’s in her blood. She’s born with it. And that should not make you keep her at a distance. So I was glad to see that the two sister grew closer and closer ^^
Mattie, too is a great character to read about. She’s got lots and lots of great remarks and one liners. And made me giggle quite a lot throughout the book. Her mind is a great place to be ^^ I also admired her for going against Jake instead of just giving in. And she really persevered! There was only one small relapse when she believed the evil words of a jealous viper, which disappointed me a bit. You know that she is a viper and you still believe her? After all this don’t you know better? But oh well, everyone has lessons to learn. And the ending made more than up to it. It was soooooo cute. It made me fall in love with Jake too and wish someone did something like that for me too. *deep sigh*
Conclusion
3 HEARTS. It was a real entertaining book to read. It was awesome to be in Mattie’s mind with her quote’s and observations. This book made me giggle a lot. I’m also glad that this wasn’t a standard story, where the hero finally notices the heroin and everything goes great from there. Nope, this time the hero has some work to do before he’s allowed to get to the heroin. And I loved it ^^ It also has great bonding between two sisters, which I totally understand, I have a sister like that too. All in all a good and enjoyable read!
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Praise
“My top pick of 2012 YA… This book is just. plain. fun.”
~Jordan McCollum, author of Saints & Spies and I, Spy
“Sariah Wilson’s new book, The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back, is hilarious…What follows is a story of fun and romance with some good non-preachy life lessons thrown in. The voice in the main character, Mattie, makes the whole thing. I thought it was definitely a book I’d recommend to anyone with teenagers or who just want to read a good teen romance.”
~Julie Coulter Bellon, author of All Fall Down and All’s Fair
“Sariah [Wilson] has written one of the funniest stories I’ve read in such a long, long time. I literally couldn’t put it down. Yes, my poor Kindle’s battery died and I was attached to a short power cord, contorted in a very uncomfortable position while I read to the end…. Sariah Wilson captured the back-biting, insecure, hormone-driven, clique-riddled high school atmosphere so perfectly you’d think she never grew up. I dare you not to laugh as you read this witty and oh, so, romantic story.”
~Debra Erfert of Windows into Writing
“Sariah Wilson writes like the best of/most popular YA teen fiction/teen romance authors – Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols, Susanne Collins, Cassandra Clare. She sucks you in and never lets you go. I finished the ~194 novel in one night because I just couldn’t go to sleep without knowing the ending! I hope that Sariah comes out with more novels, I know I’ll be re-reading this one all the time! She’s extremely talented and needs to be talked about. I highly recommend The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back! to anyone (over the age of 12) who wants a YA novel that’s a real modern-day fairy tale.”
~Hilary at Novel d’Tales
“This was such an entertaining story! I shouldn’t have started reading it so late in the evening, because I didn’t want to put it down to go to sleep…This is a book I can see myself reading several times. It’s a fast, clean read with great characters, and I highly recommend it.”
~Andrea of Literary Time Out
The book is wonderful. It’s quirky and fun. The story makes you laugh and you fall in love with the characters right from the beginning…This is a well-written book. It is one that will make you smile and sigh as you remember your first love. And it has a moral…be yourself, believe in yourself and maybe, just maybe, your fairytale will come true. Pick up this book.”
~Ana of The Book Hookup
The Author
Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is her fourth happily ever after novel. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).
Links
Tour Schedule
The Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 3/11/13
Terms and Conditions
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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