April 30, 2012

Book Review: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

At First Sight: Andie Miller just wants to start a new life with her fiancĂ© and break with everything that reminds her of the old one, specially her ex-husband North Archer - who keeps sending her alimony checks every month, ten years after their divorce. 

But when she shows up at North's office to return all the un-cashed alimony checks, North asks her a favor and she is reminded of how she has never really been able to say 'no' to North. So she heads off to the wilds of southern Ohio to look after North's niece and nephew and try to get them ready to move to Columbus with North.

Alice and Carter Archer have been mostly on their own since their father and then their aunt died, with little comfort but each other and under the dubious care of an old housekeeper. But they are not defenseless children, and so far they have managed to run off three nannies already. And they certainly try to run Andie off as well, as they don't want to leave their crumbly, gothic house under any circumstances. A house that might or might not be full of ghosts.

But Andie is determined to stay as long as it takes and do what needs to be done and, ever so slowly, she starts to win the kids trust. One the downside, though, she's growing apart from her current fiancĂ©, she's talking to workaholic North all the time -after ten years of silence - and remembering just want worked and what didn't work about their short-lived marriage. And she keeps having hot, steamy dreams about him. 

Second Glance: I hadn't read a book by Jennifer Crusie in a really long time, but the moment I picked up Maybe This Time, I felt like I had just ran into a dear, old friend because everything I love about Jenny Crusie's writing was there. 

Maybe This Time was funny, quirky and unique. It was a ghost story but one that worked well in many levels. I liked the kids, Alice and Carter - though Carter could have used a bit more page time - they were quite kid-like but kids to whom a lot of things had happened and they acted like it. Also, I loved that though Andie never wanted to have kids of her own, she grows to love Alice and Carter with a mother's devotion, yet she never, ever thinks "I want to have a baby", because she doesn't. 

Also, I really liked North, he's a man who is weighted down by a lot of responsibility but also has a lot of passion, he has loved just one woman in his whole life and he kind of regrets letting her go, but he's not the type to try to mess with her life, much as he misses her. 

All in all, I had fun with this book, though I admit there were some scenes that were so manic I felt like I was watching episode of New Girl (not in that the story lines are similar, just the energy of what was going on). 

Bottom Line: I found Maybe This Time to be such a fun, campy book, with ghosts, kids, a creepy old mansion and also a story about second chances (one of my favorite kind). It's a perfect pick-me up of a book.

Favorite Quote: Alice said, "You have a lot of teeth. Andie says you have to brush your teeth every night or they'll rot out of your head."
"What's like living in a haunted house?"
"I don't like nuts," Alice said. "But I eat them in the chocolate chip cookies and banana bread because Andie says, if you don't like nuts, don't eat the cookies."
"Andie is your nanny, right?"
"No. Andie is my Andie. She says you're a hag from hell." Alice smiled serenely as if she were just a cute kid, repeating what some adult had said, but North could see the glint in her eye. - Tape of Alice and reporter Kelly. 
starstarstarstarPersonal Favorite
Alex

April 29, 2012

Movie Madness / Books So Far - April

Hello guys! I'm here to give a brief round up of the two only challenges I chose to accept this year. The first being: 

Movies
Movies/Series Watched: 19 

Favorites: The Mighty Macs, Top Chef Canada (Season 1), For Richer or Poorer, Wimbledon

Least Liked: Sleepover, The Spice Mistress 

If you're doing the Movie Madness Challenge you can head off to The Talking Teacup to link up your update.
-- 
On the book department and my quest to read 200 books in a year? 

Books Read: 19 
Re reads: 3 

Favorites: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire, Getting Caught by Mandy Hubbard and Cyn Balog, Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie, Artemis the Loyal Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Getting Over Garret Delaney by Abby McDonald, Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn. 

Romance: 4 
Contemporary: 10 
Historical: 4
YA: 12 

Well, that's me! How's everyone doing so far? 


April 28, 2012

Book Review: Jersey Angel by Beth An Bauman

At First Sight: It's summertime in the Jersey Shore and Angel is ready to have fun. Even if every summer starts with her moving to the smallest of the three houses her Mom owns and having to frantically clean the other two so they can be let out to the summer people. 

But that's okay, because for Angel, Summer is the time to live life to the fullest, even if her on again/off again 'boyfriend' Joey doesn't want to keep on their pattern of breaking up and hooking up over and over. 

He wants Angel to be serious about them, but Angel just wants to be free. This often leads her to lots of flirting, sex and even to getting 'closer' to her best friend Iggy's boyfriend, Cork.

Second Glance: Let me start by saying something that you might not get from the cover, Jersey Angel is not really a summer book - it carries on through Fall and Winter of Angel's senior year. 

Also, I have to say that I didn't like this book and came very close to DNF-ing. I know from an editorial note at the beginning of the e-galley that I was supposed to take away from this book that Angel was a independent young woman empowered by her sexuality but really? she was mostly just slutty. 

She gets physically intimate with a lot of people, just because she can, even with her best friend's boyfriend and she doesn't seem to feel much remorse about it. But I began to dislike her way before that happened: when she kept going to her ex 'boyfriend's' house over and over, expecting he would change his mind about hooking up when what he really wanted was a relationship (this happens in chapter 2 so I don't feel bad for saying it). 

And, as we go into Fall and Winter, it seems like the book just goes around in circles without going anywhere in particular. The book felt long which is not good when it's only about 200 pages long, and this was mostly because Angel wasn't very likable. She was the female equivalent of a horn-dog 

Also... the Jersey slang? didn't work for me all that well. And Angel's mom was a bad cartoon at best, for all the parenting she did she might just not been there at all. 

Bottom Line: I wanted Jersey Angel to be a fun, summer book about a fun girl having a fun summer. Sadly, I didn't get that and I ended up quite disappointed. What I liked the most was when Joey talked about cheese. This book comes out May 8th, 2012.

Favorite Quote: "I wonder if I've ever had fancy cheese."
He shrugs, "You probably have a refrigerator full of the usual suspects: American, Swiss, provolone, mozzarella, ricotta..."
"Exactly. You haven't become a cheese snob, have you? American's okay for like a grilled cheese, right?"
"Listen, I can now tell you without a doubt that American has no excuse for existing."
"Mozzarella?"
"No soul. Mozzarella has no soul."
I fake a gasp. "What kind of Italian are you, Joey Sardone?"
"The fancy-cheese-eating kind." 
star1/2
Alex

April 27, 2012

As Seen on TV... (Well, YouTube) - The Lizzie Bennet Diaries



Hello my fellow human beings!!!

In the last couple of weeks I came across this very interesting vlog series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - which is a modern spin on the Pride and Prejudice stuff but in vlog format. We see the the story from Lizzie's eyes as rich, young and single doctor Bing Lee shows up in the neighborhood, sending Lizzie's mom into a matchmaking frenzy. 

The story is a somewhat Americanized, and they did knock off Mary and Lydia - who always get the short stick - but otherwise it's funny, true to the spirit of the book and, hell, I even like Lydia in this version. So far only Lydia, Jane, Lizzie and Lizzie's best friend Charlotte have showed up in the videos but who knows what might happen next?

I believe that only 8 episodes have been filmed so far - depending on views there might be more -and the sixth one was just released yesterday (with new ones coming next Monday and Thursday).

It's a really fun little series, the videos are around 4 minutes long and they'll make you smile. 

So, check them out: 


Love, Alex.

PS 1 - You can also find Lizzie Bennet (and other assorted 'characters') on Twitter, and on tumblr

PS 2- Hank Green (of The VlogBrothers fame) is a co-creator of this, you can check out his introduction to the project here:

April 26, 2012

Speed Date: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

The Deal: It's 1929, the roaring twenties are reaching their end but everything still goes, and New York City is still being flooded by young women chasing their dreams. Two of such girls are Letty and Cordelia, who have escaped the midwestern town that was stifling them.

Letty has a beautiful voice and dreams of fame, but she soon realizes making it in the city requires more than talent. Cordelia always suffered her aunt's disapproval, and is now looking for the father she never knew.

Then they meet Astrid, a young socialite that seems to have it all, at least on the surface.

My Thoughts: Bright Your Things is a fun book, and Anna Godbersen has a knack for writing female characters and I generally enjoy her narrative because she's so good at describing the glittery, lush world where she sets her stories: the mansions and parties and clothes. 

However, I had a hard time sticking to the book for long periods of time, because sometimes I do get tired of all the drama. This is a pleasant read, though, and I really liked the unusual time period.

If you liked the Luxe series, you'll probably like Bright Young Things as well. It is a bit of a set up book, so I hope I like the next book a bit more. 
starstarstar
Alex

More on Speed Date, in Mary @ Book Swarm's words: Thursday is Speed Date Night around here. What's a Book Speed Date, you ask? It's a quickie review--about 150 words or so--of any genre book (variety is the spice of life, after all).

If you want to join in or just read other speed date reviews, check out The Book Swarm

April 25, 2012

Book Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

At First Sight: From the moment she arrived, Manderley Academy was Becca Normandy's territory, and not even her disappearance at the end of last term changed that. 

But as a new term starts, a New Girl has come to take the open spot at the school and she'll find herself sleeping in Becca's room, and surrounded by Becca's friends - some of which think she's trying to take over Becca's life. 

But New Girl doesn't want any of that, she mostly wishes she were back home with the rest of her friends and family for senior year, and that everyone would stop referring to her as New Girl, as if no one after Becca deserves a proper name. 

But then she meets Max Holloway, Becca's old boyfriend, and she gets even more tangled with the mysteries of a girl she has never met. 

Second Glance: New Girl was a bit different of what I expected. It's a sort of modern spin on Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier - I haven't read that one so I can't say how close it follows the book, though. New Girl has a dual narrative, parts of it are told by the New Girl of the title and the others from Becca's perspective  in flashback chapters. 

I liked New Girl over all, I thought it was well written, and I liked the characters for the most part, but I felt that some of them needed more development. For example, I liked "New Girl" but I also didn't see what was so awesome about her either - if you read the book you'll understand what I mean - she was nice and likable, and ultimately learns to appreciate her own true worth, but I didn't see anything particularly extraordinary about her. 

UK Cover
As for Max and Johnny, I felt like other than because they were handsome, it's never explained why they are so popular, and Max sometimes acts so hot-and-cold that it's just confusing because he reveals so little of himself.

And I honestly didn't like Becca, at all. She wasn't charming or fun, at least not to me, and I'm actually quite repelled by people like her so, after a while, I sort of started to get a little bored by her chapters. I couldn't muster much care for what would happen to her. 

Bottom Line: New Girl is a good read, enjoyable too. I genuinely liked the main character, but I felt like some things could have been developed a little more, some things a bit more explained, but the book has a nice soap-opera feel and it's easy to read. 

Favorite Quote: "Trust me," he said with a smile, "I'm an artist."
"Paint me like on of your French girls,"  Oh, the worlds spilled from my mouth before I could stop them.
He dropped his hand and looked at me. "DId you just made a Titanic reference?"
"Maybe."
starstarstar
Alex

April 24, 2012

Tune in Tuesday (35) - You're the Only One By Maria Mena

Tune In Tuesdays

This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads and music. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So head on over and link up.

For this week I chose something I was just listening to on the radio the other day:  You're the Only One by Maria Mena. I love this song, it' always makes me smile, it's one of my feel good songs so I wanted to share it.



So, what song plays for you?

April 23, 2012

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe Book Tour - Author's Interview


Hello everyone! Time to kick off the Welcome Caller, This is Chloe Book Tour, and to do so, I'm very happy to welcome author Shelley Coriell to the blog today!

Without further ado, here's the interview:

---000---

To start with, why don't you tell us a little about yourself? I love books. I write books. I talk to my dog and passionately believe in the power of kindness.

Did you always know you wanted to write YA books? Nope. I started out writing dark, edgy adult romantic thrillers with twisted serial killers, but I got to a point where I needed more light and laughter in my life. Enter Chloe and the quirky gang at KDRS Radio. 

Other than writing books, I heard you are a journalist. What was the craziest thing that happened to you while being a journalist?  When I was the editor of a food magazine, I visited a local baker who made a life-size 3-D cake of Madonna. The crazy thing…the cake looked exactly like the pop star…bustier and all.
  
Did any of your experiences influenced you/made it to Welcome Caller, This is Chloe? The basic premise of Chloe’s best friend starting rumors and getting the whole school to ostracize her came right out of my senior year of high school. Happened to a friend of mine who ended up leaving her high school and enrolling in mine. Still gives me the shivers.
  
Could you tell us about Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe, in your own words? GLEE in a high school radio station. Chloe has this big, booming personality, and she’s surrounded by a quirky bunch of radio staff misfits who become like family to her.

Now if you wouldn't mind answering some quick questions…
What's your...
Favorite movie? Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Witty dialogue. New York swank. Unexpected love. The Cat.
Favorite food? Blackberry cobbler
Favorite animal? My rescue weimaraner, Rylee, but I collect frogs. Not real ones.
Book crush? Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss. Dreamy sigh.
Favorite book you read last year? The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Exquisite.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Alex. May your world be filled with good books and great people!

Thanks For visiting!

To learn more about Chloe’s high school radio world and win a $50 electronic/radio store gift certificate or one of ten CHLOE swag packs, go to Shelley Coriell’s website, www.shelleycoriell.com/blog/. Good luck to all!

For further stops in this Blog Tour, please visit The Teen {Book} Scene

April 22, 2012

At the Movies: The Pirates! Band of Misfits

The Pirate Captain might not be the best known pirate of the seven seas, but he has a crew that loves him, Ham Night and Polly, his beloved parrot - even if she's a little fat for a parrot. 

But he also wants to gain the respect of his peers, so he decides to enter the Pirate of the Year Award. Only that, while he does have an spectacular beard and rousing pirate songs, he isn't really all that scary nor does he has the biggest bounty.

And, after being humiliated by other three pirates - all front runners for the Pirate of the Year title -  Pirate Captain decides he's not going down without a fight, and sets out to bet enough bounty to show them he's a great pirate.

Eventually, this quest leads him to meeting Charles Darwin and eventually even tangling with Queen Victoria in a series of strange adventures. 

I found The Pirates! A Band of Misfits to be a cute movie in stop-motion (which I LOVE) by the same people who did Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, I found it to be very clean and vibrant in colors and texture, which can be hard to accomplish with stop-motion, but I found this movie to be technically brilliant. 

I loved the cast of mistfits - the Pirate with a Scarf, the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate, etc - and Polly the parrot/dodo. And I loved the villain of the story - Queen Victoria. I found the inclusion of Darwin and his butler monkey Bobo to be a little strange sometimes, but Bobo had some of the best 'lines' and laughs. 

Now, if I have a problem with the story is that it felt a bit sluggish at times, and I thought it was a tad long for a kid's movie. though the kids at the theater where I saw it seemed to like it a lot - and they got pretty involved with the fate of the characters - so maybe it was just me.

Over all, I thought it was a fun movie and I give it a B.

April 21, 2012

Book Review: Artemis the Loyal by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

At First Sight: Artemis has always been extremely close to her twin brother Apollo, only that lately they have been a bit at odds.

And now, Mount Olympus Academy is all a-buzz because of the Olympic Games, and Artemis would be excited too if not for the fact that, as a girl, she's not allowed to participate as the games are boy's only, which is simply not fair.

But Artemis is not one to suffer injustice quietly, so she and her friends Athena, Persephone and Aphrodite come up with a plan to right this wrong.

Second GlanceArtemis the Loyal is a great addition to the Goddess Girls series (it's the 7th book) but, as always, it can be read on it's own just as well.

Artemis isn't my favorite Goddess Girl, but I'm always surprised by how much I enjoy her books. I loved seeing more of her relationship with her brother in this book, seeing more of their bond.

And I loved the solution she came up with about the Olympic Games. I thought it was a perfectly lovely and fair solution - I swear, for a moment I was afraid I was gonna hate this aspect of the book on the same grounds I loathe Frankie Landau-Banks, but I should have know Joan and Suzanne are two authors I could trust because Artemis surprised me and I LOVED her plan. It was truly fair.

If I have a minor complaint is that the other goddesses really took a backseat in this story, and I thought they were less pressent than in other books of the series.

Bottom LineArtemis the Loyal is a lovely book that made me grow to like Artemis more than I already did. I loved the message and the treatment of it. This is such a funny, sweet book.

Favorite Quote: "Well, at least you fought for what you believe in," Actaeon told her. "You tried to change things. I admire you for that."
"Really? Thanks," said Artemis, He was such a sweet boy. And cute. But no in a flashy way like Orion, her first crush, Sweet was way better than flashy, she decided"
starstarstarstar1/2
Love,Alex

April 20, 2012

Book Review: A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant

At First Sight: Newly widowed Martha Russell is someone who takes duty very seriously and, upon learning that her brother-in-law -who is to inherit her current house - has a history of taking advantage of the female staff, she decides it's her duty to keep them safe. Best way to do it? Get pregnant fast enough that she can pass the baby as her husband's, and that way she can retain control of the propriety. Her only problem now is finding someone to get her pregnant.

That leads her to Theo Mirkwood. Theo was sent to the countryside by his father, hoping a stint managing one of their smaller states will help him mature some. He didn't expect to be approached by a respectable widow with a shocking proposition: she'll pay him to have sex with her every day for a month, hoping he'll get her pregnant. 

Theo knows he shouldn't agree, since that's the kind of behavior that will keep him stuck in the countryside - as he's only allowed to return to his life in London when his father and the estate manager feel like he has matured - but he's bored and figures he's not likely to find a better offer. 

So, he agrees, engaging in an affair that will eventually change the way he sees the world. 

Second Glance: I had heard lots of great things about A Lady Awakened and then I read Daisy@Between the Pages's review, which warned me not to go in with too high expectations.

I found Theo to be a great character, for me he's one of the things that work really well in the story. He's on the youngish side for a romance hero - only 26 - and he behaves like I expect a young man of means and with no responsibilities to behave, someone who has rarely had to thought of others. But he's not a bad guy, in fact, his heart is in the right place, he just doesn't know what to do to help others, and he is a bit immature. 

I even like the whole agricultural/dairy thing, and how Theo starts to take interest in all that stuff and the lives of the people who live in his estate. 

But Martha... she sucked big time, I don't even dare call her heroine. She's determined to put duty above everything else, always. Martha sees it as her duty to protect the female servants of her estate, but finds no pleasure in, well, anything. She doesn't even want Theo to bother making sex fun between them, she just wants him to get down to business and be uncomfortable while it's happening (honestly). 

The thing is, it never makes sense why she is the way she is, why she's so emotionally unavailable. She was young and her family wasn't pressuring her to marry, but not even with a full London season under her belt, she decides to marry an old man, Mr. Russell, but why?

It's like Martha tries to make herself into a martyr but it's never explained why, so she never made sense to me and that made it impossible for me to like her. I even felt bad for Theo for being saddled with her. 

And the ending? I found it very, meh. 

Bottom Line: I'm sad to say that A Lady Awakened suffers from Crappy Heroine Syndrom. The writing is nice and I really liked the hero and over all plot, but Martha kind of knocked two and a half stars all on her own. 
starstar1/2
Alex

PS-  Thanks to Jane from Dear Author, 'cause I won this book in a giveaway she and Sarah from Smart  Bitches Trashy Books did late last December.

April 19, 2012

Book Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

At First Sight: Annie Nutter might not be pretty or popular, and her parents might not have a lot of money, and yeah, her brother is annoying, but she has a best friend and a family she loves. And she's generally OK with her life. 

Until one day when bad things just keep happening to her - some of which put many 'what ifs' in her mind - and it all ends with a crazy finale when she's zapped by one of her father's inventions gone wrong and wakes up in a completely different world.

Her name is no longer Annie Nutter, and she's definitely not in Pittsburg anymore. Now she's the gorgeous, super rich Queen Bee Ayla Monroe, who's living big in Miami. Suddenly, she has everything she ever wished for, inhabiting this Ayla person, but on the inside, she's still Annie. 

And sure, she might now have all she ever dreamed off - including popularity and the hottest guy she has ever seen for boyfriend - but she quickly starts to wonder if the trade of is worth it: Her new friends shoplift for fun, her boyfriend Ryder pressures her to have sex and her mom (who is actually her own mom but completely different) doesn't even like her, and the only person she seems to connect with is the school's outcast Charlie .

Second Glance: When I first saw the cover for Don't You Wish, I was drawn to it, because it looked so cute and girly. Usually such covers let me down but, thankfully, Don't You Wish was a happy exception. 

Annie is a sweet girl and she makes for a great narrator, she's as confused as the reader is by all that's happening, so it's both easy and fun to follow her as she starts to make sense of things, and I loved seeing her grow and change as she learned who Ayla Monoroe was before Annie got there. 

The other characters served their purposes well, and I liked seeing the contrast between the people from Ayla's World and the ones from Annie's, seeing how much a life can change due to the choices we make and the situations we find ourselves in. 

I even liked Charlie, he's nice and super smart, and a great brother, though I do wish he had been a bit more fleshed out, since he has a large role in the book. In fact some of the other characters could have been more developed, too.

Other than that, the only other hang-up I had with the story was the Big Explanation of what happened and how Annie ended up with Ayla's life. I'm not going to tell you the explanation itself, but I'll say that I have an above average knowledge of quantum physics - because, yeah, sometimes I do read physics books for fun - and I like science, but I was so bored by the explanation, felt like it needed to be more concise. 

Bottom Line: When it's all said and done, I liked Don't You Wish. I liked the characters and the plot, and the way Annie handled the situations she was thrown into. I had some minor troubles, but nothing that took away from my over all enjoyment of the book. And I really liked the ending. Don't You Wish Comes out on July 10th, 2012.
starstarstarstar
Alex

April 18, 2012

Book Review: Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know by Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson

The Deal: 11 very different and courageous dogs confess all you ever wanted to know about your own dog. 

In confessional style, dogs big and small, with all type of owners confess that no, they will never be full, no matter how much you feed them, that they think that you're spoiling the puppies, and that Birthdays aren't exactly all that important to the psyche of a canine. 

This among other stories. 

My Thoughts: I'm not going to rate Things Your Dog Doesn't WAnt You to Know. One because it doesn't fit any of the genres I usually review, I just requested it because I love dogs and I think that a dog in a book makes everything better. 

And Two because I actually only saw a sampler of the book - the first seven stories, I think - so I'm going to write my impressions based on that.

I think this is a very cute book and if you're the the type of person who would buy a book like this in the first place, then you'll probably like it a lot. The stories I read, some I liked more than others but they were short and easy to read and yeah they showed some stuff that I could imagine a dogs thinking. And it was funny.

Love,Alex

April 17, 2012

Tune in Tuesday (34) - Desire by Ryan Adams

Tune In Tuesdays

This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads and music. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So head on over and link up.

This week I chose Desire by Ryan Adams. I first heard this song during an episode of HOUSE and I've loved it ever since. Hope you like it.



So, what song plays for you?

April 16, 2012

Book Review: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol 2 (Ominibus)

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

The Deal: After the events of Vol 1. Uni, Fuu and Hikaru return to Cephiro, only to find it much changed since the Princess' death. The kingdom is crumbling bit by bit and three enemies are poised to take over any second now. 

So the country is at the verge of war and they are without a Pillar, which makes the girls sudden return to Cephiro even more startling as the Chief Magician, Clef, knows of no one with a heart so strong as to bring them back.

On one hand, this is a big mystery, on the other it gives them hope that a Pillar does exist out there, that they just need to find it. 

Meanwhile, the girls decide to stay and help Cephiro deal with the possibility of invasions, which means Fuu, Hikaru and Umi will eventually have to face Farhen, Autozam and Chizeta - the countries with their own reasons to want to invade Cephiro. 

And they aslo start to explore the possibility of romance...

My Thoughts: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol 2 is the second and last volume of this compilation put together by Dark Horse. I've talked about the story before so I'll just say that, while the first volume of the manga and the anime adaptation are basically the same, the second volume and second seasons differ a lot. 

In this version - the manga version - there is a bit of a difference on why the girls are able to return, and the villains Nova and Lady Debonair are absent as they were created specifically for the anime version.  The ending is different too - but I won't spoil it.

But most of the stuff I loved about the second season of the anime are present, Including Zagato's younger brother Lantis who was the one person who always knew Zagato was really in love with the Princess and was just trying to set her free. 

Now, this edition is awesome. The format works well, there is a new, smoother translation and the paper and illustrations are high quality. Plus, its a really good value - the book is over 600 pages and costs 20 dollars or less, depending on where you buy it. 

If you're a CLAMP/Manga fan I highly recommend it
starstarstarstar
Alex