REVIEW: The Ugly Stepsister strikes back by Sariah Wilson

REVIEW: The Ugly Stepsister strikes back by Sariah Wilson 
****

Mattie's an outsider at her school and dreadfully envious of her step sister Ella. Ella has the perfect life; helpful around the house, popular, beautiful, caring and attracts all the boys. When Mattie develops a crush on her step sister's gorgeous boyfriend, Jake, she rules him out of bounds, despite the class project that brings them together. Slowly, Mattie realizes that Jake is using her and getting her to lie for him. As revenge, she decides to run against him for class president. This is a modern telling of the traditional Cinderella. Set in a high school, it deals with teenage issues as well as family problems.

I downloaded this book for free from Amazon and my immediate reaction to the cover was that it was aimed at slightly younger girls than teens. However, after reading about it on Goodreads, I decided to get it. It was sat in my Kindle library for a few months and I never had the urge to read it but one day, during a reading slump, I went ahead and just started it!
Although the plot to this is very cliches,I enjoyed the book very much. It was charming, hilarious and definitely a page turner. I easily read 100 pages of this without even realizing! 

POSITIVES
It was free! A lot the books I download for free from Amazon are OK but bore me about half way through. They also are really easy to identify as a free book as the writing is often like an amateur. This book is completely the opposite! It has the same standard of character building and emotion as a best seller.
Despite the main character being the typical female, high school protagonist, she has a backbone! Unlike most female characters in the presence of their crush, Mattie does not stand for Jake using her and says no when he asks her to lie instead of going mushy in a love trance. Go girl power!
The book is hilarious! Mattie's well known line of "Oh my Buddha" gets me every time! Also, as a girl of the similar age, I can truly say that this book is realistic and relatable.
The plot line is simple and easy to follow so when reading it, you spend your time laughing and crying with the characters instead of thinking, "Wait, I thought he was her sister's boyfriend?!?" 

NEGATIVES
Trent, Mattie's best friend had little story behind him and I felt I wanted to know more about him. It seems he is just the tee for the sake of being there instead of being a key part of the plot. 
I did get slightly annoyed with Mattie and her constant rants about how fabulous her step sister is and how she feels second best. Towards the beginning of the book, that's all you hear about. That said, I did find it slightly weird how when Mattie reveals to her sister she is in love with her boyfriend, her sister we just accepts it.
The plot was really predictable. She likes a boy she can't have but they end up together, go to prom, she becomes class president. There was no real antagonist to th novel just a mean girl and I felt this needed to be built on . Also, all Mattie's problems are resolved in the space of three pages. More needed of this.
Overall, the plot was predictable but the characters and writing fabulous and hilarious. A great quick, fun read.

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15833614-the-ugly-stepsister-strikes-back?ac=1
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ugly-Stepsister-Strikes-Back-ebook/dp/B008YIE740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376412181&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ugly+stepsister+strikes+back

*Although this book was free is my country at the time of my purchase, the prices may have changed.

Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis

Buy now on Amazon!

Jacque Pierce was just an ordinary 17 year old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer was going to get a lot more interesting. From the moment Jacque sets eyes on Fane she feels an instant connection, a pull like a moth to a flame. Little does she know that the flame she is drawn to is actually a Canis Lupus, werewolf, and she just happens to be his mate; the other half of his soul. The problem is Fane is not the only wolf in Coldspring, Texas. Just as Fane and Jacque are getting to know each other, another wolf steps out to try and claim Jacque as his mate. Fane will now have to fight for the right to complete the mating bond, something that is his right by birth but is being denied him by a crazed Alpha. Will the love Fane has for Jacque be enough to give him the strength to defeat his enemy, will Jacque accept that she is Fane's mate and complete the bond between them?

Death Whispers by Tamara Rose Blodgett

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Almost fifteen-year-old Caleb Hart is a Cadaver-Manipulator in the year 2025. When teens receive a government-sanctioned pharmaceutical cocktail during school, paranormal abilities begin manifesting... making the teens more powerful than the adults.

After Caleb discovers he has the rare, Affinity for the Dead, he must do whatever it takes to hide it from a super-secret government agency whose goal is exploitation.

Caleb seeks refuge in his new girlfriend, Jade, until he realizes that she needs as much protection from her family, as he does from the government.

Suddenly, Caleb finds that hiding his ability while protecting Jade and his friends is a full time job; can he escape the government, protect Jade and lose the bullies that are making him miserable?

What happens when teenagers manifest paranormal abilities which make them more powerful than the adults? Can death be used as a weapon? Can humanity transcend death? Death Whispers, reveals impossible human potential and the evil which lies therein.

Mara by Richard Denney

Buy now on Amazon!

Mara, a high school dancer, begins to mentally unravel when she starts to hear a voice telling her to what to do and who to kill. (A novella by the author of "Hillserpent Academy".)

Book of the Day

A brilliant book for a brilliant price, especially for the kindle!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

They say be a good girl, get good grades, be popular. They know nothing about me. I can’t remember the night that changed my life. The night I went from popular to loner freak. And my family are determined to keep it that way. They said therapy was supposed to help. They didn’t expect Noah. Noah is the dangerous boy my parents warned me about. But the only one who’ll listen. The only one who’ll help me find the truth. I know every kiss, every promise, every touch is forbidden. But what if finding your destiny means breaking all the rules? A brave and powerful novel about loss, change and growing up, but most of all love.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pushing-the-Limits-ebook/dp/B008ATMSNA/ref=zg_bs_362219031_1