ellianamaselli's reviews
204 reviews

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

5.0

4.5 (rounded up to 5 stars because this was great.) | I haven't read a lot of books that take place over the course of one day, and I see how that trope can cause issues for some people (especially when there's romance b-plot). But it didn't bother me at all in this one.

I really loved the characters... especially our super-passionate female protagonist, Marva. I also appreciated how this book touched on so many topics--everything from voting rights, to white privilege, to gun violence and police brutality, to grief & the loss of a loved one. This book managed to be informative and honest, while still containing enough lighthearted moments that it created a really enjoyable read.

-Elliana Maselli
Wednesday, 9 of February 2022
8:44PM

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

5.0

I mean, I don't even think I need to explain this. This is such a precious little book. A beautiful story to start off this project.

-Elliana Maselli
Wednesday, 9 February 2022
9:00PM

The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea by Melanie Cellier

4.0

3.5 | This book was originally going to be just 3 stars. The writing is good, but not phenomenal. The story was fun, but not exactly genius. It was just a quick, easy read.

Usually, when I feel myself falling into a reading slump, I need something light and fun to help me out of it. And most of the time, that means a clean, royal romance. And that’s just what this book was. Yay!

So enjoyment-wise, it was great! Analytically, it was just OK. Which is part of the reason I give it 3.5 stars instead of just 3.

But that’s not the whole reason for the extra half-star.

This author did something I never, ever see done. And I was absolutely thrilled about it:

In the English language the word “blond” is spelled with an E at the end when feminine (“blonde”), and without the E when either masculine or neuter (“blond”).

Usually, I see authors default to one or the other for every instance. It doesn’t matter whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. In most books, it’s spelled the same way every time.

And for some reason, it really irks me. (Stupid pet peeve, I know but I can’t get over it.)

This author did it right. Thank you, Melanie, for doing it right.

Therefore, I give this book 3.5 stars. Thank you for listening to my long, rant-review about the English language.

—Elliana Maselli
Saturday, 18th of July, 2020
2:25PM

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood by Melanie Cellier

3.0

Originally, it was gonna be 3.5 stars. Then there was that line.

That one, damn line.

That moment.
When little miss Princess Ava
Let out a breath
She didn’t know she was holding.

And that’s when I knew

I had to take away half a star

i’m so sorry.

—Elliana Maselli
Wednesday, 22nd of July, 2020
2:00AM

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

The Princess Pact: a Twist on Rumpelstiltskin by Melanie Cellier, Melanie Cellier

3.0

OK so this was good. I didn’t love Marie and Rafe together as much as I wish I did, and I think at this point, The Princess Companion is still my favorite of The Four Kingdoms series thus far.

BUT. This book did serve one really great purpose. And that is that William was introduced. And William is absolutely fabulous and I’m so thrilled to have him as the love interest in the next book. Like, seriously, I might end up liking him more than Max.

And so far, I haven’t liked any of the male protagonists more than I liked Max. So...there’s that.

—Elliana Maselli
Friday, 24th of July, 2020
2:55PM

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty by Melanie Cellier

4.0

3.5 | While the first book will always be my favorite, I was not ready to love this novel as much as I did.

This was such a unique retelling. I’d never seen it done like this before and it was incredibly intriguing. In fact, it was so unique that I often found myself wondering what would happen next, instead of figuring it out first. Which is a good thing, of course.

Celeste was one of my favorite protagonists thus far, just beneath Alyssa, who would be hard to beat in my opinion. And William was my favorite love interest since Max.

Not to mention, as with the first book, this one had a wonderful atmosphere to it. I didn’t care for the atmosphere in books two and three, but Arcadia in book one felt so cozy, and the dry, tropical regions of Lanover really made this fun. And, of course, I always enjoy a little voyage on a boat. It’s one of my favorite settings a book can have.

With all that said, it still wasn’t anything so incredible as to reach a full four stars, and I have made it quite clear I didn’t love it more than book one.

(Not to mention there were times when William would say something that was supposed to be romantic and it would just make me laugh because it was so incredibly sappy. Or when they would be in danger and the antagonist would yell something about how they wanted to “destroy” the protagonists and I’d kinda lose it.)

So I’m giving it 3.5 stars. There you go.

—Elliana Maselli
Monday, 27th of July, 2020
12:58PM

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

The Princess Search by Melanie Cellier, Melanie Cellier

4.0

Gah. Sometimes you don't know just how much you need to read a cheesy romance until you actually read that cheesy romance, and everything becomes easier.

I have officially decided this is my favorite book in the first series. Period. That's it.

See, about 70% of the time, I'm not crazy about [a:Cellier's|14830176|Melanie Cellier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550816755p2/14830176.jpg] male protagonists. In fact, I usually don't care about them at all.

But Frederic was different. Frederic had character. And quirks. And he was unique. And that, I appreciate. So that is why this is my favorite in the original Four Kingdoms series.

Also Evie was great and Celine was in this and any book which has Celine is a good book, in my humble opinion.

The only thing that made this book four stars was the inevitable, and oh, so-out-of-character **Declaration of Love** made by Frederic at the end of the novel. Like, what happened? This guy's biggest quirk is that he's overly serious and hard to read. And then he just... turns into a romantic sap at the end?? Why??? How does that make sense??

All-in-all, this was a solid four-star read. And I can't wait to read the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series to simultaneously rip it to shreds and praise it mercilessly.

-Elliana Maselli
29 October 2021

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

A Dance of Silver and Shadow by Melanie Cellier

3.0

Woulda written a full review for this, but I honestly didn't care enough. I'm excited to see where this series goes. It's got a lot of potential. But I didn't care about anything that happened in this book, particularly. Lily and Jon were just... bleh, and anyone that I did care about was a side character, so it didn't really improve the overall experience for me.

3 stars.

-Elliana Maselli
4 November 2021

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

A Crown of Snow and Ice by Melanie Cellier

4.0

CELIIINNNNEEEEE. :))))))

That's it. That's the review.

-Elliana Maselli
8 January 2022

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin

A Tale of Beauty and Beast The Wedding by Melanie Cellier

4.0

An enchantment? A Beauty & the Beast retelling without the Stockholm Syndrome? A mysterious, seemingly-abandoned castle?

Yes, please.

-Elliana Maselli
8 November 2021

reviews for books in this universe

The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling

Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid

Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin