Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein

In this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel, seventeen-year-old Anya leads a secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to public school, doesn't even have a best friend. But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams and would do anything to please her mom.
Until one day at the library, the only place Anya is allowed to go alone, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy. Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she's going to have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

Awwwww, this book is so adorable! Even better, the novel is exactly what is says it is. It's a light, no muss- no fuss Rapunzel retelling. I have no idea what i'm going to say in this review because there isn't anything for me to really analyze or dissect. it just is what it is. 

I enjoyed Anya and her original naivete, I love the detailing in her character, what her favorite color is, what her hobbies are, what she looked liked as a child....everything is just so perfect. It's done in this novel, without being overdone.

the ending is contemporary fairytale too. Further, I understand Anya's complex feelings for her mother. I understand that need to please some one who will never be pleased. One day, I hope to have an ending like Anya.

And maybe, a guy like Zander too. I mean, he takes her out for cupcakes.... I could would definitely go out with a guy that would buy me cupcakes and go stargazing..... and kissing in the forest.

but I digress. 

All in all, if you're looking for a halt the presses dystopian this is not your novel. 

BUUUuuut, if your looking for a pleasant page turner, with shades of Rapunzel, this is definitely for you. 

I give it four stars.

Add it to your Goodreads list!

You can purchase the book here:

Amazon

About the Author:

Rachel Schieffelbein

Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there, with her husband and their four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.

Find her here!

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This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review, as a part of YA BOUND book Tours. 

It didn't in any way influence my opinion of the book.

Circle of Lies (Red Ridge Pack #2) by Sara Dailey

  Aiden Wright is trying to figure out who he really is, but the truth could cost him his true mate—or his life.
Life has always been easy for Aiden Wright. He’s smart, athletic, funny, and the ladies adore him. But when tragedy strikes, Aiden discovers the truth about who he really is and his whole world comes crashing down around him. Aiden thought that being a teenage werewolf was going to be awesome, but it might just cost him the one girl who could make him whole.
Since her mother’s disappearance, Teagan Rhodes’s life has been littered with her father’s empty beer cans and his hollow promises to change. Convinced that others would only let her down, she keeps everyone at arm’s length—but resisting Aiden’s charm is proving to be more difficult than she thought. Throw in a psychotic werewolf hunter out to terminate the species and one wrong move, one wrong decision could destroy everything.

I’m a hard sell when it comes to shifter novels. There’s a very, very fine line that authors have to cross in order to properly execute a plot with the ‘true mate’ trait.
These two authors did it pretty fine! To those new to shifter novels, I’ll just start off by saying that ‘true mate’ usually means that the two people’s souls become so….connected to each other that they physically can’t be parted (novels vary, but in this particular case, if separated, it manifests illness;) even if the two (or one of the) true mates doesn’t wish to be in the relationship.

Sometimes they can seem quite forced, and in some it seems like the reluctant party just caves in, instead of falling in love voluntarily. The book tour I’m participating in is for Book #2, but I would ABSOLUTELY recommend reading book #1 first.
Pack of Lies was good, I really liked the relationship between the two characters, but after I read Circle of Lies, I decided that it was my favorite. The ‘True Mate’ concept seemed to be better carried in Pack of Lies (book #1) but I realated with Teagan so much! We look very similar; have similar favorite foods, and even somewhate similar personalities.  Aiden was a real sweetheart too; he was very consistent throughout the novel. I love that the authors didn’t bring in the classic formula for YA romance, where both parties have their doubts. Aiden knew what he wanted, and he made it clear that he was there for Teagan to lean on in rough times.


I’ll admit, the one thing that really sold me on this series, was that I felt like it was such a strong study case in personality types. Even outside the pack usual (alpha, etcetera) it almost had an underlying psychology theme that I really enjoyed.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a paranormal romance, or looking for something with the non-average soul mate twist.  This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review: it's a part of IO Book Tours Circle of Lies book tour.