Cloaked

Rating: 3.5/5 StarsQuick Reasons: fun, quirky characters and a unique spin on several well-known tales; more focus upon the drama and action than on character motivations/growth; sort of awkward, clunky “aha” moments from left-field; a bit of a “busy” plot lineThis is the third book I've read from Alex Flinn. While I'm not sure she's really the author for me specifically, I have a TON of fun reading her retellings and diving into the worlds she goes to such great lengths to cultivate and create. This was no exception."Meg makes a face and lays her hand on my arm. "And why, exactly, would John want to see Eurotrash?""Hello?" Ryan says. "Because he's a seventeen-year old guy with normal male urges, and she's got-" He holds both hands out from his chest."Really pretty eyes," I complete his sentence."I think what I love most about Alex Flinn's books are the creative twists and spins she brings to each and every fairy tale she tackles. In this book, she tackled a TON of different fairy tales—and while I'm not sure they all worked together cohesively, I had a ton of fun reading through the chapters and wondering which new turns we were going to be given. I love how much trouble she went to to make each and every fairy tale fit together and come to a mostly wrapped-up ending. I did have a bit of trouble believing certain things about the world or stories, though—and the ending seemed a bit TOO well patched up. There were some “aha” moments that seemed a bit rushed, not as thought-through... That had obvious conclusions instead of rollercoaster adventures.The writing is like all Alex Flinn's work: simple, but witty and snarky and highly entertaining. The characters were well-developed for the most part, and stuck to their guns. I particularly enjoyed just how much our main character broke the mold on “normal” teenage males in themodern age: he designs shoes for fun, and aspires to be a famous shoe maker when he gets out of college. I mean... that's just so inventive! And while I understand this might have been done to “fit” the character into his own fairy tale retelling, I had a ton of fun reading from Johnny's perspective. He's morally sound, but still flawed (the boy is naive as none other, which got a bit annoying toward the middle but was easy to overlook)."Beside me, Philippe and Meg hold hands. He murmurs something that sounds like, "my dear leetle mongoose." I wish he'd turn back into a frog and hop away."There were some things I didn't like. Johnny's love seems fleeting and a bit...immature? He realizes he cares for his best friend and it's supposed to be good, that “realizing she's the one” moment, but I didn't buy it—the lead up to it was almost nonexistant, and the reasons behind his “reckoning” were half-hearted and shallow. I understand jealousy is often the emotion that makes us realize ourselves, but in this case... I didn't see it coming. Where I knew from the beginning how Meg felt for Johnny, HIS emotions were harder to pin down, and I don't buy them as the “happily ever after” they're supposed to have achieved at the end.I also feel as if perhaps this story got a bit “busy” near the middle. Alex Flinn introduced new fairy tales almost every other chapter, and there was SO MUCH going on, it became difficult to remember who Johnny'd promised what. Factoring in the antagonists and the main story we were supposed to be following, I feel this MIGHT have been biting off a bit more than readers could chew. It was a ton of fun to read about the different tales tackled and the ways Alex Flinn spun them to fit into her world, but overall, I think it was a bit much."He bursts into tears, and not some manlike tears either, where you pretend you're brushing something off your face and, incidentally, wipe a tear. Nope. He starts bawling like a kid who spilled his Slushie..."Overall, this was an entertaining and highly original read. The voice/POV was witty and light-hearted, the characters intelligent and finely crafted... but there were some short comings, as well. I'd recommend to lovers of witty humor, unique and inventive fairy tale retellings, and characters with a ton of gumption and personality!

Cloaked is about a boy that works at his families shoe repair shop.His best friend is a girl that works in her families resturant.Johnny lost his dad when he was young so it is just him and his mom.A princess comes to vist at the hotel where Johnny's family business is.This is where the story takes off.The princess asks Johnny to help her find her brother he has gone missing.Well actually she informes Johnny he has been turned into a frog.Of course Johnny doesn't believe her.He takes the job anyway and on his journey he meets some interesting characters.Six swans,a fox(who is very important to Johnny)a bird,and of course the frog.Johnny finds out that these animals are actually people that have been cursed by witches.Johnny's best friend Meg finds him along his journey and decides to help.Johnny also finds out there is more to Meg than what he thought.The story has several takes on old fairy tales.I highly reccommend this book.

I fought for so long, not to read this. I have read the other books in her fairy tale series, and loved them! but this one seemed a little too much, when the others were based off one fairy tale, not like 4 or 5. though this book did surprise me. Once again her writing and story telling was amazing, through, like I said before, there were to many over lapping fairy tales. I kinda wish I'd just rented the book from the library, not brought it. I don't think i'll read it again, unlike the others in her story.

So you start with a teenage boy named Johnny who works at his mothers shoe repair shop in a pretty sweet hotel in South Beach, Florida. In years past his relatives were called cobblers, but now... well that just sounds like a dessert.Johnny spends his free time hanging out with his BFF Meg and dreaming of designing his own shoe line that will bring in so much moolah that his mom will no longer have to fret over keeping the electricity bill paid up and deciding between food for dinner or the rent on their home.Then one day a famous Princess shows up at the hotel and she is too gorgeous for words. Johnny can not help be drawn to her and in a chance meeting the Princess shares with Johnny a story that is so unreal it has to be true, of her brother the prince being kidnapped and turned into a frog (maybe that is frognapped). Johnny takes on the role of "rescuer" when the Princess offers him a large sum of cash as well as her hand in marriage if he succeeds in bringing her brother back to his former self. For Johnny, this could be an answer to all their money issues as well as marrying the Princess? How is this not a win win?Yet all is not as easy as the newly appointed frog catcher would think for many evil forces are at hand to stop Johnny on his quest.... such as witches and giants, and six enchanted swans, a talking rat and a talking fox.... and each new character Johnny meets seems to have an agenda of their own and his one task turns into many....and in the end as Johnny works through all the hoops to get to his dreams... he really has to rethink his dreams and what he really wants is not what he thought at all...My adventure forward into this fairy tale was interesting. It was not a "pick up and love it from page one" style read for me. It took a while for me to warm up to our young Johnny and the wild craziness of talking animals, a magic cape - of course - ALL MAGIC CAPES appeal to me.... seriously, who wouldn't want one of these!), a crazed killer teen and a witch for a mother, giants, and of course... smoking hot looking shoes.....yet as I committed myself to experiencing this book, the more I read - the less it felt like a commitment and it became actually fun. Silly fun yes, but fun all the same. I enjoyed the beginning of each chapter as it gave a little quote that was from an old fairy tale and then the chapter actually tied in with the quote.... brilliant. Really brilliant. [1] As long as the shoemaker lived all went well with him, and all of his undertakings prospered. ~The Elves and The ShoemakerAuthor Alex Finn incorporates several lesser known fairy tales in to this book. they are The Elves and The Shoemaker, The Frog Prince, The Six Swans, The Valiant Tailor, The Salad, The Fisherman and his Wife and The Golden Bird. I love this idea of fairy tales within a fairy tale and for that I really found this book to be a fun adventure.

Would recommend wonderful condition and looks like a good read. Great Author you should try some of her other titles.

Great buy

One day my princess will come -- yeah, one can safely say that this a great modern plot twist from the original boy romances girl fairy-tales. Victoriana is beautiful and loaded with royal money. She could have any other boy, but wants shoemaker Johnny to be her savior and search the town for her lost brother who's been turned into a frog. If he succeeds, she will marry him and make him prince of Aloria. Johnny doesn't really want to marry the princess, whom he's never met before, but agrees for the money. And so begins his magical quest.I love Alex Flinn for books like Beastly and A Kiss in Time. For her ability to take fantasy fairy-tale elements and give them a modern take. But alas, in this book she took the tales too far. I could barely recognize the human world at all. Even the characters kept changing, developing powers when it suited them, falling in love and out of love at will.

ALL IS GOOD