Tris & Izzie

By Mette Ivie Harrison

“I don’t want him to love me because of a potion,” she said.
 
Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend[LL1]  with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre? 

But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed, years ago, by an enormous, evil serpent that’s still around—and it knows Izzie is out there.

Like Mettie Ivie Harrison’s The Princess and the Hound, praised by Orson Scott Card as “powerful, surprising, moving, and deep—a classic,” Tris and Izzie rings the changes on a timeless legend, this time in a contemporary high school setting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781606842577

Mette Ivie Harrison

Mette Ivie Harrison has a PhD in Germanic literature and is the author of The Princess and the Hound; Mira, Mirror; and The Monster in Me. Of The Princess and the Bear, she says, "I never thought there would be a sequel to The Princess and the Hound, but when I read through the galleys, I realized that there was another book waiting in the story of the bear and the hound. In some ways, you might think of it more as a parallel novel than as a sequel, because it stands on its own as a new story. But who knows? Maybe I’ll look at these galleys and find another story demanding to be told." She lives with her family in Utah.

Reviews for Tris & Izzie

[elenaj-147457 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't get into it. Gave up after 15 pages.

[ceilidhann · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A painfully amateurish effort that reads like the roughest of first drafts. The YA equivalent of join-the-dots, only requiring less effort than that activity. The writing is childish and reeks desperately of wanting to sound authentically teen but fails miserably. It honestly reminded me of a story written by a primary school child, where every element is recited in the simplest and clunkiest manner. The romance elements were handled even more clumsily, leaving me with less than no sympathy for the characters who were annoying to begin with. I may write a more eloquent review later on but it doesn't feel right to waste my time on something so pointless. Don't waste your time either.

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

What a complete disappointment this book was. I loved her series that began with The Princess and the Bear. Where, I wonder, is the depth and complexity of that story? Perhaps I should have read more of the summary than the author's name and that it was a modernization of a legend. At that, I was sold...and convinced that the book had to be awesome. Plus, pretty cover.

Unfortunately, from the first this book held nothing but disappointment. Honestly, not a thing did I approve of. Perhaps the modernization was done well, but I actually cannot say in that regard because, despite all of my studies of Arthurian legend, I have never actually read the story of Tristan and Isolde, nor did I even watch the movie version with James Franco.

WARNING: The rest of this review contains spoilers.

Why did I dislike this book so much? Well, for one thing, the characters are completely vapid and one-dimensional, their behavior unrealistic. The story consists of two love triangles, with Izzie's best friend Branna in love with Izzie's boyfriend Mark and Izzie falling for the new guy, Tristan. Feelings change. That's fine. What's not fine is that Izzie, once in love with Tristan, does not break up with Mark. She wants to keep him, but that doesn't stop her from making out with Tristan. What a completely awful person.

Furthermore, the truth of Izzie's feelings is brought to light in a completely awkward scene, wherein she and Branna both take a truth potion and confess their feelings for the boys in the story. Let's not forget that accomplishing this little drama apparently required that Branna make out with a completely disgusting guy she didn't like first.

This gets even weirder post-confession time when everyone is totally cool with it. Even though Izzie wanted to keep Mark for herself, she is suddenly encouraging Mark and Branna to make out in front of her, which they do. AND EVERYONE'S COOL WITH IT. lol whut? Not to mention that Branna does a complete 180 from saying during the truth serum debacle that she both loves and hates Tristan in equal measure to being in disgusting, pancake syrupy, unquestioning true love with him. The two couples are immediate besties and there is no awkwardness. No, I am not making this up, but for some reason, someone did.

The plot, too, lacks inspiration. The battle scenes are completely pathetic and contrived. Our heroine never learns how to properly use her magic. Mostly, she just swaps sappy lines with her boyfriend. The big bad is defeated abruptly and with, in the grand scheme of things, little effort. Then, even though Tristan's injured, they spend a night not doing anything and wait to travel in the morning. That sure gave me a sense of urgency as to whether he would be all right. Oh wait, it didn't.

I highly recommend reading The Princess and the Bear and not judging Mette Ivie Harrison off of this subpar work.

[cantinera · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Rarely do I find books worthy of only 1 star or so awful I have to say so, but sadly, this is how I felt about this book.

I was looking forward to this as a re-telling of Tristan and Isolde, but the book is so poorly written and the characters are downright annoying and lack any sort of substance. Izzie's narration is bratty, childlike and stilted. Tristan's formality and old-fashioned aspects just don't fit. Branna is blandly annoying. Mark is just bland.

That's not getting into the descriptions, which are not only poor, but are so repetitive that you feel like you are experiencing word de ja vu, not reading further into the book.

And never mind the flow of the story: there isn't one. It just jumps from point to point without reason or any sense of why. Reading the story made me think of being in stop and go traffic with a really bad driver--every time you moved, you'd suddenly stop with a hard slam on the brakes.

I was really disappointed in this, to be honest, as I was hoping for an interesting re-telling. This definitely wasn't one.

[jdonnelly14_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

RECEIVED FROM: Net Galley for Review***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***Isolde used to live in a community of magic, until she was five and she failed the magic testing around the same time her father passed away. Because it’s too difficult to live among your magic brethren without powers of your own her mother raised her in the modern world. At sixteen she’s adjusted well, she’s dating the most popular boy in school and has a great best friend who seems to be happy with them. Izzie’s mother still has magic in the form of potions she uses to heal people, but for the most part Izzie leads a normal life. That is until her best friend becomes heartbroken from unrequited love for a mystery boy and Izzie resolves to fix it. She may not know who Branna loves, but she’s determined to find a love potion that will bring her friend true love. Since Branna would never approve she hides the potion in a soda and decides the new mystery boy she’s mysteriously attracted will be the perfect match for Branna. Though she gets him to drink the soda, when her boyfriend Mark tries to drink it next, Izzie downs the soda before she creates a match not quite made in heaven. Unfortunately now Izzie has created an unbreakable link with the new boy Tristan. A new boy that has secrets which when revealed will turn her entire life upside down. Can she figure out how to break the love spell before she loses everything she holds dear? I probably would have given this a 3.5 if I gave partial stars, however I set my rating system to match other popular review forums and purchasing sites. After the book has posted to my blog I share it on other sites to maximize the exposure of the review. Even with a bad review I think it’s worth posting around because one I believe not just handing a five star review to every book shows that I’m an honest blogger. Also a bad review is better in my opinion than no review at all because at least the book gets mentioned and though I hope my followers love me, in no way do I think that my opinion is the do all and end all on books. Reviews are basically opinions that are just expanded upon and thoroughly explained. If you consistently disagree with me on ratings, a low rating might encourage you to buy the book because if you hate the books I love you might love the books I hate. I don’t round up because I like to feel that when I give a high rating the author produced the kind of high quality work that really earned that rating. I’d rather be honest and have the higher ratings mean more than be nice and feel like I’m writing propaganda. So while the book wasn’t quite a four stars it’s a high end three and I did enjoy reading this novel once I got into it. One thing I should note that despite its claims in the promotions and the similar names I didn’t really feel this book was a modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde. It didn’t really stick to the legends I was taught in college that much at all. The book starts off reading like one of those teen high school drama novels, which while they’re awesome for a teen reader, don’t really appeal to me as an adult. It slowly introduces the idea of magic to the book before really heating up into an amazing read. The book didn’t really grab me from page one. The main character is on the immature side which is fine for the teen reader that this is geared to, but not so great for an adult reader of ya books to relate to. The book doesn’t plunge the reader into the paranormal and magical aspect of it from page one. Initially reading this I didn’t honestly expect it to be paranormal. I’d heard good reviews and admittedly skimmed a lot of them not getting a lot of the details, but saw so many high ratings I had to request it. Starting this book I thought, wonderful I’ve requested a book better suited to my child than to me. But I feel making a request on Net Galley is a commitment to review the book so I kept reading. I’m glad that I did. Like I mentioned the aspects are introduced gradually, slowly introducing another world within our own complete with some interesting characters and powers within in. When that world was finally unveiled to me I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down. One thing I didn’t like though is that Isolde basically comes into her powers and learns to wield them by instinct with no training. She takes on things she shouldn’t survive but wins. There’s no real time spent learning her powers or really expanding upon the back story and world behind this novel like I feel there should be. When a writer introduces a concept that is not a part of our everyday world I think they should spend time letting the reading learn the concepts inside and out. I feel the novels that take the time to do this are the best ones written. I don’t mean giant tombs of description I mean flesh it out, give us memories, have a character share some history. When a character gains powers I want to see them learn and struggle to master it, not just have immediate mastery. While I feel the writer had the world completely in her mind since none of the mythology contradicts itself or seem off in any way, I don’t think she transfers enough of this to the page. The book has a steady first person point of view, and though it starts off slow is for the most part a fast paced novel once you get past the introductory scenes. The love story line of the book, though interesting is also a little lacking. I get that in magic matches they call to each other, and are destined to be together, feel instant love. Ok sure, but I’d still like to have had a little more build between the characters beyond her needed him to save her before she just gives in to the idea that her choice of partners has been taken away. You’re average teenage girl who already dates the most popular boy in school isn’t going to just give in when she learns she’s fated to be with someone else. And no Izzie doesn’t give in the very second she meets him, but once her best friend destroys her current relationship it’s kind of like okay I guess I really can’t fight this feeling and I’m truly madly in love with this boy I’ve never met. Plus her ex who’s been with her forever just slides right into his new relationship and all is forgiven within pages. Do I want it all to work out perfect in the end? Of course, but I want a little struggle along the way. Izzie was wonderfully constructed character and because we’re in her head for the entire novel we do get to know her well enough for her to feel very real. However she is on the immature side and adult readers may take some time to warm up to her. I personally loved the character by the end of the novel, but at the beginning had trouble relating to her at all. Unfortunately it’s very difficult in the first person to build fleshed out and believably secondary characters. Some authors do have a real knack for it, but I don’t feel Metz has quite accomplished it with this novel. Do the characters have potential to be great? Yes, but with what’s written they come across as a little flat and hard to believe in or relate to on the page. Despite my issue with the book once I got into this novel I couldn’t put it down. I really did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to people who enjoy young adult paranormal and fantasy romance. I think it could have been better with a little more fleshing out of the ideas and characters; however it was a quick and delightful read.

[myheartheartsbooks · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school I was disappointed after reading this novel. Mostly because I was mislead by the overview posted on Barnes and Noble. I thought I was going to be reading a comtemporary retelling of Tristan and Isolde. I thought I was going to be reading about a love story that faced normal seemingly insurmatable obstacles...and that's not what I received, not in the slightlest.This story is about a witch who doesn't even know she is a witch, who falls for a really beautiful guy, even though she has the "perfect" boyfriend. She's scared about her attraction to this new guy, so she decides to set him up with her single best friend, only she doesn't tell anyone and she concocts a potion to accomplish her goal. Only things don't go as planned, and she ends up drinking the potion and falls madly in love with Tris. In the background she also has to deal with her bestfriend backstabbing her (oh but don't worry it all gets smoothly handled in the end), and evil worm trying to destroy her and everyone she knows, trying to hide the fact that magic still exists in the world.My biggest issue with the book was that there was so much going on and in the end it all gets resolved so easily and neatly. The protaganist, Izzie, doesn't even seem real, I know this wasn't a comtemporary book, but the main character needs to be relateable, and Izzie is not. I don't understand how she can be so understanding about some things, like how the fact that her bestfriend betrays her in order to get Mark (her boyfriend) and Izzie barely bats an eye, turns around and sets her bestfriend with Mark when she reazlizes that Mark is in love with her too. What?!?! Excuse me, but as a female, I just don't believe that. Not the slightest bit of hurt of her bestfriend's betrayal or how they secretly loved each other?No. I wasn't pleased by this book, and my displeasure increase with the turn of each page, until I was put out of my misery and finished this book. Thankfully I didn't buy this book.Copy provided by NetGalley.com

[yabookiemonster · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I hate writing bad reviews, I really do. Luckily it doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it just has to. I really thought that I was going to like this book; the cover is gorgeous and the synopsis sounded interesting, but Tris and Izzie just didn't work for me. Also, please note that this review will probably contain spoilers, I can't really tell you what I disliked without giving away a few spoilers.I liked all the characters well enough in the very beginning, they were okay. But as I got further into the book, my opinions of the characters started to decrease. I felt like Izzie was kind of shallow, that all she wanted was to date the most popular boy in school. I also felt like she was sort of clueless and naive, she thought that her relationship with Mark was going to last forever. When she made the love potion for her best friend, I felt like (although the book made it out seem like Izzie was doing it because she cared about her best friend's happiness) she didn't have the right motives. She claimed that she wanted her best friend to be as happy and in love with a boy as she was with Mark, but it came across like Izzie just pitied her and didn't think that her friend could get a guy on her own, one that would want her for her.Although I didn't think that Izzie treated her best friend, Branna, the right way, it's not like Branna did anything to gain my sympathies. To be quite honest (and please excuse my language, I usually try to keep things on my blog PG, but sometimes certain words are necessary), I thought that Branna was a total bitch. She was in love with Izzie's boyfriend Mark, but instead of wishing happiness for her best friend despite being in love with her boyfriend, Branna was making moves on Mark and waiting for him to realize that he didn't want Izzie, but that he wanted her. Um...really? What kind of best friend are you? The worst thing about it was that she got her happy ending, even though she in no way deserved it.Speaking of Mark, yeah, I didn't really like him either. After being with in a relationship with Izzie and being sooo in love with her, it didn't take him long to get over her and end up with Branna as soon as everything went down with Tris and Izzie. There was one part when Mark thought that Branna was dead and he blamed it all on Izzie and actually went to the point of hitting her. Not okay. At this point, he also screamed at Izzie that he had just found Branna (who he apparently loves now...) and that Izzie had taken her away from him. Wait, what? You were super in love with Izzie like a week ago and now you're so crazily in love with Branna? Mark was pretty much a jerk in my opinion. I didn't really feel like he had any redeeming quaities.And lastly Tristan. He was just kind of blah to me. Nothing very interesting about him, nothing that really stuck out to me. I like to be able to fall in love with the love interest as the main character does, but that just didn't happen in this book. I feel pretty indifferent towards Tristan. He was much better than Mark and I think that his feelings for Izzie were somewhat genuine, but apart from that, nothing. He was kind of boring.Another thing that I didn't like about Tris and Izzie was the love story, which was pretty much the main point of the book. It just felt false and unrealistic. Because of the whole love potion aspect, there was no development, no lead up to Tris and Izzie falling in love. It just happened and that was that. Nothing interesting, nothing that made your heart melt.This book was also seriously lacking in plot. The premise was really interesting and I think that so many good things could have been done with it, but it just wasn't well executed. It was hoakey and the characters did nothing to help the already lacking plot. Although the story and the characters were not great, Mette Ivie Harrison's writing was good! It was easy to read and smooth, but was unfortunately overshadowed by the many not-so-great elements of this book.All in all, Tris and Izzie is not a book that I would recommend. I didn't hate it, but I disliked it. One of the few good things about this book was the writing, but it just wasn't enough to save this book from its hollow plot and bad cast of characters.

[showmegirl · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2 stars/Fiction; Young AdultI tried to like this book, really I did. I thought that knowing little about the original german story would be a benefit, but as it turned out, it didn't. Tris is a young, unexperienced witch who doesn't know how to use her powers. When she steals a love potion to use on Tristan (the new kid) to get him to like her best friend, Brangane, she screws up and ends up drinking it with Tristan instead. By doing so, she throws off her current relationship with the basketball captain and trusts herself and Tristan in to a world of magic.Sound intriguing? Well, it could have been. Sadly, it was lacking.The characters were flat and underdeveloped and their whole relationship seemed rushed. The characters wavered back and forth in such a manner that it was just to unrealistic to be believable. I lost interest about half way through the book and struggled through to the ending just for the sake of saying that I read this one. In the authors defense, this book is part of the YA genre and I think there is definitely part of this book that would appeal to that level of maturity. As an adult, I found the youthfulness of the characters hard to relate to.This book deserves 5 stars for that awesome cover, but the actual story was just okay.

[annakay21 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

So, I have read a lot of retellings lately. Most of them have been worth my time and I love the original story of Tristan and Iseult. Plus, the movie Tristan and Isolde is awesome in my opinion. So I figured out that I would give this book a shot even though pretty much every review for it on Goodreads said how bad it is. They were right. Izzie (Isolde) is a high school student whose Mother is a witch who uses her powers for healing. They moved from Curneval, a hidden magical community, when Izzie's Dad died ten years ago. Now her life is almost perfect. She has her best friend Branna (who has been acting weird lately) and her boyfriend Mark, hot basketball team captain. They rule the school and Izzie just has to say the word for Mark to exile anyone she wants from everyone in school. Izzie thinks that the cute new guy Tristan would be a perfect boyfriend for Branna, so she steals one of her Mom's love potions to give them. But she ends up taking it herself to avoid Mark taking the rest of it when Tristan's done drinking. As a result, she finds Mark disgusting and is in love with Tristan instantaneously, seemingly for good. So with practically no fuss, Mark gets together with Branna and she gets with Tristan. Isolde is being hunted by some evil serpent from Curneval who killed her Dad and wants her dead. She has to battle off the monsters with the help of her friends and defeat the serpent to save Curneval. Izzie is shallow, selfish and dumb as a box of rocks. Anyone with ears, eyes and a brain figures out within the first twenty pages that Branna wants Mark to herself. All Izzie thinks about is how things will affect her and she strings both boys along for as long as she possibly can before having to give one up. The inclusion of magic is so asinine and unnecessary it only underlines the poor character development, lack of plot, and overall atrocious writing. I wish that I had magic in my life to help me go back in time and prevent me from reading this waste of space. NOT recommended unless you like stupid books with bubbleheaded characters.VERDICT: 1/5 Stars*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

[nlsobon · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I immediately requested it – not only did it sound great, but the cover is gorgeous (yes, I can be a bit of a cover snob at times). I wanted to love this book. I really did. But I didn’t.The characters were not likeable, especially Izzie. She was incredibly frustrating in that she was childish and even arrogant at times. The secondary characters weren’t much better. When Branna tells Izzie that she doesn’t want a love potion because she’d rather a boy actually love her without the help of magic, Izzie doesn’t listen and goes ahead with her plan. I know that she feels bad about her friend being the third wheel, all of a sudden at least, but to completely disobey her friend’s wishes? It’s selfish. Really, really selfish.The entire ‘love potion’ thing starts off rather early (as in three chapters in, early). And it just seems a bit rushed and ridiculous at the same time. Izzie needed a piece of Branna’s hair, which she gets by stealing Branna’s comb on the bus. This made me do a double take, since in chapter one it states “Branna drove her own car to school these days, instead of taking the bus.” It’s inconsistencies like these that make this a hard story to follow. I held out hope that maybe the story would improve, but it didn’t. And the relationship between Tristan and Izzie was just silly.I feel terrible having nothing positive to say, as I hate bad reviews, but I really could not get into this one.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book sounded cute. However I was pretty disappointed. I will have to say it was an easy and quick ready but the book really suffered from unbelievable characters and situations. I love paranormal books and a lot of the genre depends upon the reader being able to suspend disbelief and just plain enjoy the fantasy. But sometimes characters or situations just stretch past what I am able to tolerate and this book did it. The basic plot: Izzie is madly in love with her boyfriend Mark. They are planning to continue their relationship on through college. Mark is devoted as any I've ever seen. When she gets hurt, he is wounded and eager to help her recover. He questions everything he did and can do to help her. She supposedly has a best friend named Branna, but I never feel like Izzie cares about her at all. She knows nothing about her friend and barely spares her a second thought. Izzie's mom is a witch but Izzie has always been told her has no magical abilities whatsoever. Then Izzie meets Mark's new friend Tristan. Izzie up and decides right away that Branna should love Tristan, despite Branna showing no interest toward Tristan. Izzie decides to give Tristan and Branna a love potion to make them fall in love....this potion is irreversible and will never wear off. A drinker could be forced to love someone that they normally never would. They could be completely incompatible and yet unable to break away from their 'love' of the person. But something happens when she goes to give them the potion and suddenly Izzie herself digests the potion and falls in love with Tristan. Suddenly Mark is disgusting to her. I couldn't believe the 'too stupid to live' decision Izzie makes in the process of this love potion taking. It may have been the most unbelievable thing I have ever read. Things actually go downhill from here. Mark's character losses credibility. Everything the reader believes about Mark gets shot down in a heartbeat. He acts completely out of character. As does Izzie in her reaction to those events. Izzie is selfish and manipulative. If she were a real person I would do everything in my power to stay away from her. Tristan in underdeveloped but at least his character never does a complete turnaround.I am giving this two stars rather than the one I considered because despite the problems with characterization I believe this author can write! She did a terrific job in pacing and I think her imagination was great. Its just in the executive of characters that things go bad. I also found the book readable despite the eye rolling I did as I read it. I can't recommend this book to fans of romance and/or paranormal novels. I can say that I would be willing to read another book by the author because I think this may have just been a disappointing fluke.

[ljldml · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre? But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed. My review: received from NetGalley I've read both positive and negative reviews of this book. I love the tale of Tristan and Isolde and decided to read this book with an open mind. I'm sorry to say this book did not live up to my expectations. I did not even finish the novel. Perhaps it's not fair to write a review when I didn't even finish the book, however, the most positive thing I can say...I LOVE the cover of this book. I'm not even certain what it is about this book that so distressed me. The writing was poor. I thought the characters were too childish, immature and shallow. I would advise others to reach their own conclusions, however, this is one time I wish I had listened to the reviews of so many others.My recommendation: Go to the library if you want this one, don't buy it.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Tris and Izzie's stunning cover was an irresistible draw when the book was offered for review and the premise was interesting, it described itself as a modern day retelling of the legend of Tristan and Isolde/Iseult. Unfortunately I find I am uncomfortable writing much of a review of the title as I don't think my perspective would be particularly valid so I decided to keep this very brief.As an adult reader I didn't enjoy this novel, I think the plot is simplistic and the characters are shallow. While many of the YA paranormal titles published recently are pitched to appeal to a mature reader, Tris and Izzie seems to be most suitable for young tweens/teens. The criticism of this novel by the adult fans of the YA genre has been very fierce which I think has been a little unfair given that they are not the target audience. I don't consider Tris and Izzie a particularly great example of storytelling or writing but I also think my (much) younger self would have been happy enough to take the story at face value. It's uncomplicated and an easy read but lacks the sophistication to appeal to mature readers

[yabotd · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When I picked up Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison, I expected a good romance story. And I got one. Kind of. It's really hard for me to describe this book. Part of me really enjoyed it and part of me completely didn't. It's not a book I would recommend to everyone, but it's hard to say I didn't like it because it did keep me reading very quickly. Here's what I didn't like:1.) It moved way too fast. I like fast paced and lots of action, but this was too much. I could easily follow the story, but there was no time for the characters to adjust to what was going on around them. Without time for them to process, the sequence of events seemed really unbelievable to me. For me, this would have been a lot better if there was time to breathe between the events.2.) I wasn't a fan of the characters. Now, there's something to be said about working with unlikeable characters. Some stories can do this successfully. I didn't think this story did. There was almost no reason for me to like Izzie, I didn't understand her attraction to Tris (although he didn't seem like someone I should dislike either), and I went back and forth with how I felt about Branna. Mark was the only I liked from the start, but even he got to me at later points.3.) There's not a whole lot of romance moments. Sure, there's romance in the sense that there's relationships, but there are no real swoonworthy moments. There's a few kisses, but they seemed to be brushed over. That's fine, except when I'm expecting romance. Then I need a bit more.Here's what I did like:1.) It was a nice, quick and easy read. Seriously, I read this book so fast. The quick pace did do things for me to be able to read it quickly (which is super helpful when your TBR list is as long as mine).2.) I didn't know what to expect next. In a lot of ways, I found this story a bit strange, but that totally worked for my desire to not know exactly what's going to happen. The surprises kept coming, so I kept reading.3.) Something about this book just compelled me to keep reading. Despite any other complaints I might have about this book, there is some undefinable quality that made me keep reading. I'm not afraid to set down a book I don't like (even though I hate to do so), but I never thought to do that with this one. Sooooo, even though I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, I thought it was interesting enough that you should check it out if you're curious already. You should know pretty quick whether or not you'll be entertained by it. Overall rating: If interested, borrow it.

[bookswithbite · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had some really high expectations about this book. I thought it was going to be all lovey dovey and it was, but just not in the way I expected it to be.What I like most about this book are the characters. Fresh out this world, the characters are what makes this book. I loved their loyalty, the fierceness to fight, and their willingness not to give up. I loved that this story is not only filled with love but with magic.The plot line of this book is what got to me. I felt like the pacing of it was too slow and so I hard a hard time keeping up with it. I found myself just wanting to turn the pages to get to the good stuff. What I also didn't like was that it had to do with magic and whole other world. I guess my expectations for this book was that there will be no magic but more of a fierce undying love.Overall, this book is good. I loved watching the characters grows and become who they are meant to be. It does take a while to get into the story. But if you give it a chance, you will find action, magical creatures and undying love.

[titania86_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Isolde, AKA Izzie, is in love with Mike, the perfect popular high school jock. Her life is perfect except for her best friend, Branna, who refuses to act girly or seek out a boyfriend. To help her best friend, Izzie tries to make a philtre, or love potion, but fails miserably. She snoops in her mother's things and finds what she thinks is a philtre and uses that instead, pouring it into a soda for Branna and her unknown love to drink. Enter new boy Tristan, who instantly rubs Izzie the wrong way. She figures he's a good match for her friend and has him drink the soda, but then Mike wants to drink as well, causing Izzie to chug the rest so they won't fall in love. Now she is completely repulsed by Mike and inexplicably attracted to Tristan.I really wanted to like this story. I love the Tristan and Isolde story and I love retelling of legends and fairy tales. You'd think I would love this, but you would be wrong. Izzie is completely unlikeable. She is absolutely horrible to her best friend. She criticizes pretty much everything about Branna from her size to her dress to her disinterest in having a boyfriend. Since Izzie thinks a girl's life is only valid with a boyfriend, she wants to help her in the most awful way possible. Therefore, without her friend's consent, she is going to make her love someone else forever. Great friend. I can't even fathom the arrogance and disregard for everyone around her that goes into making a decision like that. She has no idea who Branna likes, so simply picks someone random who seems nice enough and then tries to tie them together forever. When her potion fails, she just grabs a random bottle out of her mother's cabinet that could be absolutely anything and wants to give it to Branna and unknown boyfriend. I was really hoping Tristan and Mike would drink because that would have been infinitely more interesting and amusing. Mike is also problematic for me, at least through Izzie's eyes. She sees him as absolutely perfect, which is really boring and unrealistic. No one is perfect no matter how much you love them. In the scene with a classmate using magic to get girls drunk, she threatens to tell Mike to exile him so no one in school will talk to him. I think she's lying or exaggerating. In every school, there are people who don't like the popular and would talk to the "exiled" one just to spite him. Beyond that, he doesn't control everyone in the school and to think he does is ridiculous. Izzie is either incredibly delusional or the author has a very unrealistic view of what high school is like.Just about every page filled me with rage and indignation. The book isn't well written and does a lot of telling rather than showing. Even the reveal that Izzie's mother worked with magic just made me think she was lying. The rhythm was extremely choppy and really jarred me. I struggled through 50 pages of the book up to when Izzie drinks the potion that ties her to Tristan, but by then I didn't really care about her problems. I didn't care about Izzie and would have been more interested in a story about Branna escaping the creepy, abusive friendship with Izzie.

[karen813 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like Tris & Izzie for many reasons. I love the original legend of Tristan and Isolde that the book is inspired by. The summary sounded interesting and romantic, I always like a good love story. The cover is gorgeous and really made me want to read the book, unfortunately I should know by now that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I found Tris and Izzie so hard to read that I couldn't finish it so my review is incomplete at best. I thought the characters were hard to like, the writing was stilted and didn't flow and the part of the book that I read seemed repetitive and a bit boring. To be fair I probably should have finished the book but I lost interest so quickly that it was easy to put it down and pick up other things, at this point I don't expect to finish it. I'm so disappointed but I have to say that the cover art is amazing and whoever designed it should get 5 stars. Review based on a copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

[duchess_mommy · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

***FROM NETGALLEY*** These are the most difficult reviews to do, because as grateful as I am to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read the novel, I was disappointed in the book. Maybe it was too young for my age? I understand Young Adult reaches a broad spectrum of from pre-teens to moms, but I have never felt like I was reading a book meant for an age group younger than High School. After reading the summary on both NetGalley and GoodReads, I was eager to read this novel, but I feel like the book didn’t live up to the description. My main problem is Izzy’s best-friend, Branna. Why does Izzy let her treat her so bad? It’s frustrating that Izzy blames herself for her BFF’s insecurities, and is almost manic with her moods. The love story between Izzy and Tris was hard to believe. Almost as if Izzy is told to love Tris, and like a robot she believes that since that’s what is supposed to happen, she will, and just drop any intimate feeling she has for her long-time boyfriend, Mark.This is the first time in a long time I have read a book (especially from EGMONT USA) that struck a wrong nerve with me.2 out of 5 stars, and one of those stars is for the cover.

[summerskris_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Harrison brings fantasy and magic into the modern world through the presence of magic and fantastical creatures and her modern retelling of the classic German tragedy, Tristan and Isolde.Izzie has always found comfort in the fact that she’s normal, unmagical. When a slurg attack her, however, she soon learns that not only is she magical, she’s so powerful that she’s being hunted by the giant snake that took over her home village. While learning how to wield her powers and defending herself from magical creatures sent to kill her, she must come to terms with her growing feelings for Tristan, a boy with the magic of metals.Because of the suggestive cover and pastel colors, I believed that Tris and Izzie would be directed towards older teens. I was wrong. The romance was sweet, there were the clichéd jocks and weirdos as well as best friend moments. Factor in Izzie’s naïve way of thinking, the lack of very detailed imagery, and the short read, and you have the perfect read for tweens!Actually, I do recommend it for younger readers. Older teens will be disappointed by the lack of action, as I was. Sure, Izzie’s life was at stake and her best friends were put in danger, but you never really threatened. I think the main reason because of the lack of details that older readers are used to seeing. Younger readers will be able to look past the lack of action and see this as a fun read to pass the time. I did like Tris and Izzie is that it felt more like a fantasy novel than a paranormal read to me. Sure, there’s magic and magical creatures, but the magic was never really out there. The villagers keep to themselves, and Izzie’s mom is adamant about using magic for good and never to put it out there in public. It’s like there are two worlds. This magical world and our world. And that makes it a fantasy-ish novel to me (the kind where you can travel between our world and the next world, not the entirely-a-new-world kind of book).

[jessica5_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was absolutely ECSTATIC to get this book for review from Netgalley because the cover was so pretty and I loved the movie Tristan and Isolde. So needless to say I had high expectations for this book. When I finally got through with it, I was so so disappointed. The first thing that bugged me was Izzie. I hated how she was such a snob in the beginning. With just the snap of her fingers she could get her oh-so-popular-captain-of-the-basketball-team-king-of-the-school boyfriend the outcast anyone she wanted just because she didn't like them. That's so awful! I already don't like snobby popular people in real life, so why would I like reading about them? I feel like this part of her personality was so out of line with who she really was in her relationship with Tristan and how she acts for the rest of the book. It just didn't make sense. What also didn't make sense was the introduction to the whole magic aspect of the book. At first, it seemed like this book was a normal YA book, but then WHAM! Izzie and her mom know magic! What what? It was just really random and didn't flow at all with what was happening in the beginning. I wish it wasn't all so oh, but they way and that the book started with the magic instead of just threw it in there. I really liked how the book ended, I just didn't like the build up to it. What happened seemed way to easy to actually have happened in the end. I feel like it should have been more of a struggle and adventure than it actually was. The idea and relationships of Tris & Izzie were really good, but the book as a whole did not meet the high expectations I had for it.

[beccalyn_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

First off I would like to say thanks NetGalley for the chance to read this book. It is my first review book. Oh what can I say about this book? It was absolutely without a doubt the worst book I have ever read. Throughout the the whole story I felt like Izzie was more of a 12 year old middle schooler than a 16 year old high school student.. What with the way she flitted from one thing to the next. The way she thought she could get her best friend Branna to take a love potion after Branna made a point to say she did not want to find love that way. The way she treated Mark and Tristan was horrible. I understand she thought she was under a love spell or whatever, but her actions were very selfish. I believe this could of been a good story, if the author had developed the plot more. As it is, I felt like it was rushed. The writing was also very choppy and often times child-like. The author put in details that were not needed. Such as "It was a serpent with eyes that burned as brightly as two suns and scales of red and yellow and orange, with hints of blue at the edges, like the center of a flame, where there is the most heat." Was it really necessary to add that last part? I mean really? She could of just ended it with "like the center of a flame" and I think everyone would know what she meant. Over all I felt like this story was being told by a group of little girls playing make believe.

[alaiel4kreuz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review By Alaiel Kreuz: True to be told, I've never read "Tristan and Isolde"'s legend, of course I've heard of it, but never truly look for it since I believe the end is not going to be happy, how can it be? But after reading this book I think I can handle a sad ending. This book is going to be the happy ending I need.The book was engaging and a complete new story using the names of characters and places of the original legend. A fresh start. One that I liked a lot.We are set with Izzie, a teenage girl that is 16, has the perfect boyfriend (hot guy of the school, basketball leader and of course, the popular guy) Mark King. Her best friend is Brangane or Branna (ringing bells already?), a tall girl who is part of the swimming team.Izzie's past is sad, her dad died of a flu and she herself was about to die but luckily for her her mom was a witch and she managed to save Izzie, but not her dad, it was too late for him. Since then her mom had be single, and for a very good reason: Izzie's parents had drunk a love philter which in their case was completely normal, they were deeply in love and knew that nothing was going to change that... but love philters are for ever and if one of them dies the other one will never fall in love again. Pretty hard, huh? I think it is...The story begins with Izzie thinking that, since her love life is so perfect she is the one that can help her bestfriend to find a boyfriend. Why not? She can even give them a love philter to make sure they have their happily ever after, right? Right?Wrong.First of all, she has no magic, for some reason magic skipped her generation so she can't make a love philter. Second, hello?! You can't go and decide someone else's life!!! But well, I think she didn't get that part... and she didn't need to do a love philter... her mom had one on her cabinet, so why not go and take it? And so she did.But the day she was going to give it to Branna and the boy Izzie thought was the right for her - she still needed to figure out wich one was that- a new boy had transfered to their school: Tristan. Yes, our handsome hero had finally arrived! But after a few misunderstandings Tristan and Izzie are the ones who drink the love philter.What to do now? She already had the best boyfriend ever and although Tristan was handsome, very attractive and well, PERFECT, she needed to stay away from him. Somehow.On top of that, there was a two-headed dog going after her, Branna was acting very strangely, Mark was very sweet and nice to her (and that annoyed her so much!) and Tristan had a magic sword. Oh, and there was a giant, a naked giant going after her too.Don't forget to add the truth behind her dad's death.Maybe the only thing that I didn't like too much was the final battle. Too quick and a little simple for my taste I think. But still, I'm sure I'm going to buy this book as soon as it comes out. And don't let me begin with the cover because I think it's gorgeous!

[_lily__1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

ris and Izzie by Mette Ivie HarrisonReviewed by Moirae the fates book reviewsA modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school. (Synopsis provided by good reads)Where to begin, for me this book was just okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. My biggest problem was with Izzie, to me she seemed a lot younger then I think she was meant to, I felt she was too whinny and at times, annoying.Tristan, was a little bit better, he seemed his age and his dialouge was strong, I felt at times that the relationship with him and Izzie was forced. (Even with the love potion.)What I did like was the writing, I thought that the writing was strong and all of the characters had their own personality. I liked Mark's character, I think he was the most enjoyable for me.Even though this book was not my favorite, the strength in the writing and the fact that all of the characters knew who they were and all had a strong sense of who they were, is why this book went from 2 1/2 stars to 3.If you are a fan of the fairy tale or a fan or re-tellings in general, I would say go ahead and give this one a try, maybe check it out from the library or wait for the paperback version.* Hardcover: 272 pages* Publisher: EgmontUSA (October 11, 2011)* Overall rating *** 3 out of 5 stars* Cover art I like the boat and the flowers* Obtained From the publisher for review via Netgalley