Location: United States
Member Since: March 21, 2012

olivia hernadez

Smashwords book reviews by olivia hernadez

  • The Curse Girl on April 30, 2012

    I was given this book by the author to review and LOVED it!! Not to say there weren't flaws in the plot and writing - there were - but overall I found the story to be a quick read that sucked me into its spell. This is the story of Beauty and the Beast with a contemporary-ish twist. Beauty (Bee) has leave her life and go live at the cursed house to fulfill the promise that her father made in order to save her stepmother. She grew up hearing gruesome stories about the house and its inhabitants. Yet she leaves all her life to confront the beast that lives within the house out of duty to her family. The housed and its inhabitants are cursed by a spell that can only be broken by the Curse Girl one that is named Beauty. Although the friendship is rocky at first (to say the least) Bee & Will forge a truce and a pact to find a way to break the curse. There were a lot of holes in the story. What happened to Bee’s mom? Was it her mom or no? How did she come to have a special power? Why did she feel that her Dad didn’t love her? What’s up with Rose?? I liked her but didn’t really understand her part in the story. Liam… although you discover the mystery of Liam I still wanted to know more. The ending was a bit too rushed but don’t all fairytales end that way. Overall, a fun read!
  • Frost on June 14, 2012

    WOW. This is the second book I've had the opportunity to review by Kate Ellison and her writing keeps getting better and better. Absolutely LOVED this story and found that I couldn't put it down once I started. My one complaint is that it was too short. It introduced some interesting characters that I would have loved to know more about but overall I found it to be an excellent intro to what I hope will be a great series. Ellison weaves a beautiful story of a girl named Lia who is forced into the adult responsibilities of taking charge of her two siblings and their farm after her parents are killed. The weight of keeping her family together and alive weighs heavily on her shoulders. She realizes that her own dreams aren’t important anymore, only survival. The imagery the author creates of the frosty woodland where she lives was vivid. Life in the community where she lives is rough. Money doesn’t exist, only the trade of goods and everyone works to meet a weekly quota that keeps the village thriving. South of the village beyond the frost is the sophisticate and advanced city of Aeralis where people they refer to as Farthers live. In Aeralis there is no bitter winter, electronics & machines exist, the military rules and most importantly there are no Watchers. Watchers are creatures of the frost that come out at night and hunt. Lia’s world is turned further upside down after she saves the life a dangerous Farther named Gabe and the world as she knows it changes forever. I liked Lia a lot. She’s a survivor who is trying to make sense of the world around her. The romance in the story was subtle, sweet and heartbreaking. As she asks "Is this struggle to feel worth it?" Again, my only complaint is that it was over too soon. I wanted to learn more about Adam, his family and Lia's brother Jonn - who broke my heart. I can't wait for book 2 and seriously, stop reading reviews and just go read it!!!
  • Angel Evolution on July 02, 2012

    The premise of this story was unique in that the good angel is not the bright angel but the demon. Sadly, this book was not for me. It had good points and is far from the worst book I've ever read but it was a struggle for me to stay interested. Mainly because of the main character Taylor. Taylor is a socially awkward girl that is a freshman in college and has had recurring dreams of a black snake with red eyes for many years. Something about Taylor just wasn't appealing to me. She felt flat without much personality other than she was unusual. The author kept harping on the fact that she was weird and didn't care if she fit in. Usually that would make a character unique and appealing since she would stand out, instead it made her boring. She accepted the world of angels way to easily. Too easily. Even for someone who had beliefs that were against the "norm", she fell into the thrall of the bright angel too quickly. The love story between her and the bright angel Gabriel happened way too fast. I didn't feel the connection. Yes, there was intrigue on both sides but nothing to justify falling head over heels. The dialogue between characters just didn't flow for me. It didn't seem natural and I was annoyed by Taylor's lack of personality and spark. She keeps being referred to as "special" and "the one" and although we learn what makes her unique, she accepts this way too willingly. Maybe I missed it, but I wanted to know more of the origin of the black snake dreams. Was this special power connected to her mom? There was mention of a brother but no development which made me mentioning him pointless in my opinion. I did like the two angels Christopher and Gabriel. I think the story would have been better off having them as main characters and Taylor as a minor. I enjoyed the stories of the beginning of angels and demons and wanted to learn more about their world and histories. Once again, i thought there could have been more development of these two characters and less focus on Tay and Samantha and her popular, social good looks or their other dorm friend whose name escapes me. Overall, good premise. Not for me. Would've preferred a stronger main character. This is book one of a series and don't know if it evolves and picks up but doubt I'll find out. Always difficult to invest time in a story where the main character is not your favorite.