I loved this book. Phoebe Rothschild is the heir of Mayer Rothschild, who owes a debt to the faeries for his family's prominence. The debt is a Rothschild daughter who is ordinary, not extraordinary like most of the other women in the Rothschild line. Phoebe is expected to pay this debt centuries later. Mallory Tolliver is Phoebe's best friend, a faerie who is supposed to make Phoebe feel ordinary. When Mallory fails in her task after growing to like Phoebe, her conniving brother, Ryland, is sent to fulfill the task that Mallory failed to complete. Ryland seduces Phoebe using glamour, a mind-controlling form of faerie magic to try to lower Phoebe's self esteem. If Ryland succeeds, Phoebe is expected to sacrifice herself to save the faeries from dying. A harrowing tale of friendship and betrayal, trust and strength, I would recommend Extraordinary to any teenage girl 14+. There is the occasional erotic scene that parents might want to look at, but other than that, there is a good moral about self-esteem that any teenage girl going through the tough times of growing up into a woman can use and take to heart. This book really teaches you to have faith in yourself, and to know that deep down, you are extraordinary, no matter what anyone says.
Show lessI loved this book. Phoebe Rothschild is the heir of Mayer Rothschild, who owes a debt to the faeries for his family's prominence. The debt is a Rothschild daughter who is ordinary, not extraordinary like most of the other women in the Rothschild line. Phoebe is expected to pay this debt centuries later. Mallory Tolliver is Phoebe's best friend, a faerie who is supposed to make Phoebe feel ordinary. When Mallory fails in her task after growing to like Phoebe, her conniving brother, Ryland, is sent to fulfill the task that Mallory failed to complete. Ryland seduces Phoebe using glamour, a mind-controlling form of faerie magic to try to lower Phoebe's self esteem. If Ryland succeeds, Phoebe is expected to sacrifice herself to save the faeries from dying. A harrowing tale of friendship and betrayal, trust and strength, I would recommend Extraordinary to any teenage girl 14+. There is the occasional erotic scene that parents might want to look at, but other than that, there is a good moral about self-esteem that any teenage girl going through the tough times of growing up into a woman can use and take to heart. This book really teaches you to have faith in yourself, and to know that deep down, you are extraordinary, no matter what anyone says.
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I couldn't finish this book. I found the main character annoying and unlikable and couldn't connect with the other characters. I loved the author's other book, but could not force myself to read anymore. I am quite disappointed as the premise sounded unique and interesting. I may pick it up and try again in the future I just have to take a long break.
Show lessI couldn't finish this book. I found the main character annoying and unlikable and couldn't connect with the other characters. I loved the author's other book, but could not force myself to read anymore. I am quite disappointed as the premise sounded unique and interesting. I may pick it up and try again in the future I just have to take a long break.
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I had super high hopes for Extraordinary. I loved Impossible - it was great. Unfortunately, while I did enjoy Extraordinary, it didn’t live up to my expectations. This might be my own fault for having high hopes though, but either way, Extraordinary just wasn’t as good as Impossible. And I really hate comparing books to one another because they’re all so different but…it’s just true.I didn’t enjoy the beginning at all. The writing felt a bit stilted and not much seemed to be happening. Just backstory. Which is fine, backstory is good, but not 70 pages worth of backstory. But I went onward in my reading, and I’m really glad I did. I got used to the writing or it got better, I’m not sure. It just seemed to flow more as the book moved forward, which is good.The plot was actually really interesting once it starts going and it’s unlike any fairy/faerie book I’ve ever read, which is great. Lots of fairy/faerie books have been coming out recently and I’m glad that they don’t all share the same similar plot. I also had no idea how the book would turn out from reading the book description, which I also like. No one wants to be spoiled before they even read the book. I really liked the story of Mayer and all the research/family tree making that must have gone into planning the book.The characters are…okay. Phoebe irritated me a lot, honestly. She was just too needy and dependant, which I understand is how she was supposed to be portrayed, but it just drove me crazy. I hate Ryland with a passion, but I love Mallory and I love her story. She’s definitely my favourite character throughout the whole book, and I think probably the easiest for me to identify with, even though she’s not the protagonist and we don’t really see much from her side. But she just had a great story that I personally enjoyed the most.I promise this is the last time I’ll say this on the blog but, I LOVE this cover. So much! Natalie Sousa (who is credited as the book jacket designer) – you did a fabulous job! It’s perfect and I love it.Anyway, once I got past the beginning of Extraordinary, I really did enjoy reading it. The plot and character twists really threw me for a loop in a good way. I’ve never been much of a faerie person (although I have been reading a bit more of faerie stories lately), but I thought this was certainly an interesting spin on it. Not my favourite read lately, but I think Extraordinary was definitely worth reading for sure.
Show lessI had super high hopes for Extraordinary. I loved Impossible - it was great. Unfortunately, while I did enjoy Extraordinary, it didn’t live up to my expectations. This might be my own fault for having high hopes though, but either way, Extraordinary just wasn’t as good as Impossible. And I really hate comparing books to one another because they’re all so different but…it’s just true.I didn’t enjoy the beginning at all. The writing felt a bit stilted and not much seemed to be happening. Just backstory. Which is fine, backstory is good, but not 70 pages worth of backstory. But I went onward in my reading, and I’m really glad I did. I got used to the writing or it got better, I’m not sure. It just seemed to flow more as the book moved forward, which is good.The plot was actually really interesting once it starts going and it’s unlike any fairy/faerie book I’ve ever read, which is great. Lots of fairy/faerie books have been coming out recently and I’m glad that they don’t all share the same similar plot. I also had no idea how the book would turn out from reading the book description, which I also like. No one wants to be spoiled before they even read the book. I really liked the story of Mayer and all the research/family tree making that must have gone into planning the book.The characters are…okay. Phoebe irritated me a lot, honestly. She was just too needy and dependant, which I understand is how she was supposed to be portrayed, but it just drove me crazy. I hate Ryland with a passion, but I love Mallory and I love her story. She’s definitely my favourite character throughout the whole book, and I think probably the easiest for me to identify with, even though she’s not the protagonist and we don’t really see much from her side. But she just had a great story that I personally enjoyed the most.I promise this is the last time I’ll say this on the blog but, I LOVE this cover. So much! Natalie Sousa (who is credited as the book jacket designer) – you did a fabulous job! It’s perfect and I love it.Anyway, once I got past the beginning of Extraordinary, I really did enjoy reading it. The plot and character twists really threw me for a loop in a good way. I’ve never been much of a faerie person (although I have been reading a bit more of faerie stories lately), but I thought this was certainly an interesting spin on it. Not my favourite read lately, but I think Extraordinary was definitely worth reading for sure.
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