Monday, February 21, 2011

Theatre Illuminata Book 1 & 2 Review


Book 1: Eyes Like Stars
Book 2: Perchance to Dream
Book 3: So Silver Bright (September 13, 2011)

All her world's a stage.

Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She's not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own. That is, until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.

COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE'S sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Berti's weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Theatre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Theatre by The Book - an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family - and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.

Open Curtain

My Review
I completely enjoyed this book. The female lead character Bertie is great, a strong willed, independent trouble making young woman.
At first I was a little confused about the parameters of the world in which her book is set. But then I just came to accept this world is based on magic and when magic is involved anything is possibly, like when Harry Potter goes into the what seems to be 2 man tent actually contains around 500 square feet of living space.
The world that Lisa Manchev has created is based on magic. The Theatre Illuminata  contains any, and every prop, set, character ever written within the theater. The characters are not just actors, but they are the person. It is a crazy concept, but I very much enjoyed every word of it.
I love Bertie's comical relief sidekick fairies Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed and Peaseblossom they just want to eat any type of sweets they can get their hands onto.
Bertie's two male interests are Nate the protective sweet pirate and Ariel the seductive tempting air spirit. Who will capture her heart? Will she be able to remain at the theater her only known home? Who is Bertie?

The stuff that dreams are made on.

Act Two, Scene One

Growing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the players and their parts, but she didn't know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales. She is ready for the outside world.

Enter BERTIE AND COMPANY

And it is nothing like the one she has come to expect. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, they don't go as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between -

Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate. Is now in mortal peril.

Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit. Loves Bertie enough to die for her.

When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Witch, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre's locomotive caravan, using Bertie's word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet a bird that might be Bertie's father - and the maker of the magical Scrimshaw. Bertie's dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it's Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Witch's lair?

My Review
I don't know who I want Bertie to end up with, both Nate and Ariel have their charm. Nate being the dependent, protective safe harbor and Ariel the exciting storm that can take you anywhere. In this book Bertie finally learns who her father is, her parents story of love and loss and she learns more about herself and ends up even more confused about what she wants. Book 2 is all about the journey, the long road to self discovery and decisions that Bertie will need to make. This world that Lisa Mantchev has created is full of limitless possibilities of any types of magics, infinite paths to be taken, it is charming, sweet, innocent, passionate, stubborn and confusing. I look forward to more of this world being revealed and Bertie's decisions, imaginations and what her future will have in store for us in the next and final book of the trilogy. Who will Bertie choose? Will she be able to reunite her parents? What else is Bertie capable of making imagination into reality?  

September 13, 2011

Things are never easy for Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Something's happened to the Théâtre Illuminata, putting the only home she's ever known in limbo. Her mother's sanity is fraying under the strain, her father has vanished and an angry goddess is out for revenge. Bertie is caught between her duties and her dreams, just as her heart is torn between Ariel and Nate. But hope glimmers in a Distant Castle, and if Bertie can put on the performance of her life, maybe she can win the magical boon that may save them all.

Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on an ARC (got my fingers crossed) and be able to post a review on So Silver Bright. This is a must read series for any YA fantasy, Shakespearean, creative book lover. If you get confused with the world Lisa has created, just keep reading and remember ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH MAGIC and a very creative imagination!

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/lisa-mantchev/

<3 Books

2 comments:

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

You know I think these books sound amazing to read. I've been wanting to get into the first book since it came out, but alas, I keep getting side tracked on other book rides. :) But These covers are amazing as well. :) Thanks for the reviews!

Kristina said...

Melissa you should definitely pick them up close to September when the final book comes out so you be in her world for 3 amazing books!