Review of Calculating Christmas (Lily Sparrow Chronicles #2) by Kristee Ravan

 

A month after Lily and Calo rescued the characters from Cinderella and The Candlemaker’s Daughter, they’ve been assigned to a new case. Santa’s rebellious daughter, Carole, has had enough of her family and needs a change. And if that change isn’t handled carefully, it could wind up derailing Christmas for everyone—a fact the will equal lots of unhappy citizens potentially vanishing. So, no pressure for Lily, right? Wrong.In addition, Lily is dealing with the ever-increasing demands on her time, leaving her very little time for her beloved math. Multiply that by the fact that she can’t seem to please her parents, her friend Corrie is mad at her, and her unsolvable relationship status with Calo, and you’re left with a pretty stressed out Lily.Will she and Calo manage to save Christmas? Will Lily find a way to be the Princess the kingdom expects? And how will things turn out with Carole, who is openly naughty in front of Santa Claus?

Goodreads / Amazon

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**My thoughts**

I'm so engrossed in this series! And I really like Lily a lot. I've become so attached to her that I really felt a lot of what she was feeling in this book. I flashed back to my own teen angst. The poor girl just can't seem to catch a break. It's not her fault that she was kept in the Other World for the first 15 years of her life and has only been in Smythe [my shortened name for it] for a couple of months. Of course she isn't going to know much! And all of those laws and rules that have been put in place to prevent others from revealing to much to her...

And then to have the responsibility of saving Christmas thrown at her as well? That's a really tall order. I can't say I blame her for bending rules again. And her struggle continues with balancing this fantasy world of the fairy tales with her strongly mathematical mind.

I did notice she used fewer equations this time. And I still did not read most of the footnotes. I'm sorry!

But I loved this book like I loved the first one and love watching her grow and evolve and am looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to the author and Prism Book Tours for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review of The Cinderella Theorem (Lily Sparrow Chronicles #1) by Kristee Ravan

 

Fairy tales are naturally non-mathematical. That is a fact, and fifteen-year-old Lily Sparrow loves factual, mathematical logic. So when her mother confesses that Lily’s deceased father is (a) not dead, (b) coming to dinner, and (c) the ruler of a fairy tale kingdom accessible through the upstairs bathtub, Lily clings to her math to help her make sense of this new double life (1 life in the real world + 1 secret life in the fairy tale world = a double life). Even though it’s not mathematical, Lily finds herself being pulled into a mystery involving an unhappy Cinderella, a greasy sycophant called Levi, and a slew of vanishing fairy tale characters. Racing against the clock, with a sound mathematical plan, can Lily save her fairy tale friends before they vanish forever?

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**My thoughts**

When I first started this book, I was a bit overwhelmed by Lily. She has an obsessive need to turn absolutely everything into math. I appreciate the logic and was originally a math major in college. But it did make a bit of the storytelling awkward at first. 

But then very quickly I got drawn into the story when she finds out that she is actually a princess, her father is actually alive, and her entire life up until now has been a lie. She now has to spend part of her time in this fantasy world, learning how to become its princess. It's amusing because she's constantly trying to rationalize things - which is understandable because math you can control and she is losing control of her life - but you can't rationalize magic. Her lack of fairy tale knowledge is appalling. And yet it makes sense - if you're more interested in math and logic, you're not going to pay as much attention to the fantasy.

I was amused by meeting all of these characters from familiar stories and seeing a different side of them. It's like Smythe (my shortened name for it) is a parallel universe to the fairy tale world. And many of the supporting characters in Lily's kingdom are also amusing.

I also felt like I learned a lot about happiness and friendship and things like that, but on a different level. Lily, of course, also learns a lot.

The book is quite long, but if you can handle reading through a Harry Potter, you can handle reading one this long. There are a ton of footnotes throughout where Lily explains her mathematical equations and whatnot. I admit that I didn't read very many of them. I have a hard time doing that in a paperback, let alone all of the clicking on a Kindle. But I also understood the math terms.

I fell in love with Lily in this book and am looking forward to continuing her adventures.

Thank you to the author and Prism Book Tours for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cover Reveal: The Sherwood Proof by Kristee Ravan

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

 

The next installment of The Lily Chronicles by Kristee Ravan is coming soon! Check out the cover and synopsis for The Sherwood Proof and catch up on the first two books in the series!

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

The Sherwood Proof

By Kristee Ravan

Coming November 2021...

The Sherwood Proof

(The Lily Sparrow Chronicles #3)

By Kristee Ravan

Middle-grade, Fairytale, Fantasy

Lily Sparrow has finally created an equation for being a good princess. Things are adding up and making sense, and she’s even growing a measurable amount more excited about her future. But unexpected variables keep being tossed into her equation:

1. Carole Claus is facing her first hurdle as Santa. She needs Lily’s help.
2. Lily’s Half-Birthday--an important Smythian tradition--is coming up, requiring her to find time to prepare for it.
3. Her algebra teacher has an unusual (and stressful plan) for Lily.
4. Lily remains convinced that her mom is hiding something from her.
5. The investigation into the traitor is an on-going source of stress and tension at work for Lily and Calo.
6. Oh, and Calo’s still betrothed to Su’Sauna, making life difficult and confusing all around.

Will Lily be able to place these variables securely in her equation? Will the Sparrow family find a way to convince their critics they are good for the Kingdom? Or will everything fall apart--subtracting all the good will Lily has already earned from her citizens?

Other Books in the Series

Buy the series thus far on Amazon!(affiliate link)

About the Author


Kristee Ravan lives in Oklahoma with her husband, daughter, and pet fish, Val (short for Valentine). She wanted to be many things as she grew up including a general, an artist, and an architect. But she never bothered to say, "I want to be a writer when I grow up." She was always writing stories and thought of herself as a writer anyway. She sent her first story to a publisher in the sixth grade. (It was rejected - in a nice way.) When she is not making up stories in her head, she enjoys reading, juggling, green smoothies, playing dollhouse with her daughter, and hearing from her fans. You can contact Kristee at the facebook page for her Lily Sparrow books: The Lily Sparrow Chronicles.

The Lily Sparrow Chronicles | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Tour Giveaway


A print copy of The Cinderella Theorem and a $25 Amazon card (US only)

Ends October 19, 2021

ENTER HERE