Middle Grade Review: The Princess Swap

* First in a new series *

What would you do if you woke up in a different place???  Cinderella and Belle accidentally switch places. Cinderella finds herself in the castle of a beast while Belle finds herself stranded in Cinderella's house.

For Cinderella, she's allowed more freedom than she's had in years. There's no need to be the maid or the cook. At first, she's excited to be anywhere else. But then she learns about the Beast and the curse. 

Belle is hoping to save her father's company by entering a royal competition. But after she ended up in Ella's house, her magical locket is stolen. Belle can't leave the house without her mother's locket. 

How are both girls going to escape?

My Thoughts: I'm a sucker for Cinderella stories and Belle stories - so this book was right up my alley. What a clever idea to have them switch places. I love that each of the stories kept elements from their stories, but they also changed the story. I loved the addition of the royal competition in Belle's story. I enjoyed her moments with Ella's stepsister Marie.  I love how each other stories ended. I'm so looking forward to the next Princesses (Sleeping Beauty and Snow White) who swap places! 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: ARC sent for review

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school and public library collection.

Middle Grade Review: Princess Protection Program

Sleeping Beauty awakens when the prince kisses her, but she's not thrilled about the kiss. She leaps up and runs off. She instantly gets transported to a boarding school for Princesses. There, they are safe from their stories.

Some of the fairy tales have horrible stories. This school attempts to keep all the princesses safe. The first night she arrives, she notices two girls sneak out of the school. She follows them to a pizza shop. There Rosamund becomes friends with Sienna and Rana.

Breaking the rules has consequences, Sienna gets sucked back into her story. Rosamund has so many questions. No one wants to answer her questions, but she notices that something strange is going on.  Can she figure out what's going?

My Thoughts: This took me a little bit to get into this book - but once I did, I was hooked. I loved seeing all the Princesses. This is a great feminist story. I loved the big question of the book: can someone change their story. Some fun moments: pizza is magical and unicorns are entertaining. I loved the moments of sisterhood and friendship. Of course, cleaning is the worst. This is the start of a new series - I'm looking forward to the next book! 

Cover thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: This is such a fun book and will be easy to give readers.  

Review: Spill the Beans

* Book 13 in the Whatever After Series *

After a terrible soccer game, Abby attempts to cheer her brother up with a trip to a fairy tale. Jonah isn't interested, but when they finally land in his favorite fairy tale, he begins to perk up.

Of course things go terribly wrong and they make a horrible deal with a trader. They do run into the giants who seem nice and not at all mean. Abby doesn't know what to do, but she knows that she must outsmart the trader and help Jack.

My Thoughts: I really enjoy this series - for so many reasons. I love Abby and Jonah and their relationship. I love how they fall into fairy tales and mess them up trying to help. I love that Jonah finally found himself in Jack in the Beanstalk. I enjoyed how he worshiped Jack and how that made Abby feel. I seriously disliked the trader. Looking forward to the next book in the series. 

Cover Thoughts: Charming
Source: My library
Library Recommendation: If you don't have this series in your library, you're missing out!

Review: Seeing Red

* Book 12 in the Whatever After Series *

Abby's excited that her grandmother is coming to stay with them for the weekend. But when her friends are having a sleepover, she's jealous and upset that her Nana won't let her go. She comes up with the brilliant idea to take the magic mirror to her friend's house - but winds up in the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

When Abby's Nana falls into the story, Abby figures she has some explaining to do. But she's surprised to uncover a family secret. Now if she could only make sure the wolves aren't going to eat anyone...

My Thoughts: Another fun installment of this series. I loved reading about Nana and the family secret. I liked the wolf family and the tree houses. I enjoyed Lali and her grandmother's relationship and how that worked out. I can't wait to read all about Jonah's favorite fairy tale next.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: If you don't have this series in your school and public libraries, you're missing out!