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  • The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart // Book Review

    The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart // Book Review

    I’ve already had such a deep relationship with this book because I spent so much time with it. It took me nearly two weeks to read and part of that was my mental health, but the other part was because the story was deeply rich, complex, filled with twists and turns that pretty much start at the beginning of the book. I’m so happy to have read it and I can’t wait for the next one.

    Here’s More About The Bone Shard Daughter

    The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.

    Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

    Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.

    My Thoughts

    Despite what the description says, this book is about more than just Lin. This is about a couple of people who’s affected by the decisions the empire has made for its people. To start off, the bone shards. Basically, they’re collected from every single young person in the nation by jabbing a hammer into a kid’s head. Sometimes they make mistakes and a lot of kids die from this treatment, but the shards themselves are used to power these Frankenstein monster style creatures called constructs. By placing these bone shards into the constructs with a certain set of instructions, you’re able to power up your monster and make it do the things you want them to do. You may think this is fine since all it is a piece of bone they collect from you, but one of the side effects of using the bone shard is that you also feel the symptoms of when the shard is in use. They age over time and use and if used too often, the owner of the shard will feel it. Many people died.

    That’s where the major conflict comes from and the main motivation of most of the characters in the story. But let’s talk about the actual book and what happens within its pages. First off, Andrea Stewart drops you right into the story and doesn’t give you any help. I found myself a bit confused at the beginning wondering why I’m supposed to care about these characters. I knew they had some sort of story behind their actions and the fact that they’re given their own POV, but aside from that it was hard to discern what all of this was about. However, as I kept reading and it took me nearly half the book to finally get it.

    And when you get it, you get it. You just have to be patient. The story unfolds itself and the details provided help bring you to the conclusions, but it’s definitely subtle. You need to be paying attention and it was one of the reasons why I took my time reading this one. I didn’t want to miss some important detail that would come back later on. But I can understand someone’s frustration with the story especially when there’s so many questions that need answering. There is a lot that happens in this book. Not only are there big components, but smaller bits and pieces to the story that are introduced but not really explored. I’m assuming those bits and pieces will be looked into in the rest of the series.

    It’s written in four different POV. The main ones you’ll follow throughout the story are Lin and Jovis. You’re also introduced to Ranamai and Phalue as well as Sand. I liked these characters as well, but they didn’t get much page time as Lin and Jovis did. In fact, it’s one of my issues with the story. I understand why Sand’s part is so important and that only happened at the end of the book when more important information is revealed. But as much as I liked Ranami and Phalue, I was a little confused about their point in the book. I liked their relationship, the struggle to fight for what’s right but also falling in love with your enemy feel, but I wasn’t sure how it played out into the bigger part of the book. There’s even a section of the story where Jovis comes and helps Ranami and Phalue with their rebellion, but aside from that it made me pause why they had their own perspective.

    I felt the same way about Sand. You’re introduced to her POV, but you wonder why. For most of the book, you’ll be asking yourself why this is important until the very end when things finally get revealed. I won’t share too much because there’s a lot of spoilers in this book and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who’s interested in reading it.

    But I will say that a lot of the answers are at the end of the book. Big reveals come tumbling in one after another that will shock you as you invest more and more of yourself into the story. I really loved following along with Lin and Jovis. As Lin continues to find more answers for yourself, you see how twisted the world around her truly is. You end up rooting for her, hoping she’s able to find herself in a world that only sees her in a specific way. I also felt a lot for Jovis. He was a smuggler but on the search for his missing wife and along the way he helped save young kids from having their bone shards removed. I admired Jovis despite him trying to be the bad ass that smuggled goods and morally grey. It was like Han Solo who tries to pretend he’s a bad ass, but he’s still a softie.

    I also really loved this theme of identity. Jovis is biracial within the book and he brings up some of the concerns he’s had with his identity because of it. Lin also has some questionable upbringing and because she doesn’t remember a lot of her past, there’s a lot of herself forging her own identity despite who she was before she woke up. I felt like each of the characters faced some sort of moral dilemma aside from the whole “let’s save the empire” stuff. It made for an interesting read and I loved that Andrea Stewart approached it in this way.

    The biggest issue I have with this book is all the questions you’re left with when you’re done. I know it’s probably not Andrea Stewart’s intention to leave us all on baited breath, but I felt like there were some themes introduced to the story and they weren’t covered. As a reader, you want everything wrapped up all tidy. I get that Andrea Stewart probably kept things hidden for the subsequent books, but I wanted those answers now. Even though the end of the book left everything pretty tied up, there were still some threads hanging and I wish I had book two already so I can continue reading.

    Overall, this is a great start to a brand new trilogy. It’s a compulsive read that will leave you wanting more and I’m excited to see what happens next.

  • Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S Olson // Book Review

    Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S Olson // Book Review

    Who are you and how did you slip through the pub day cracks? Because you’re an exquisite book with lots of action/adventure, a little love story, and a ton of magic that somehow flew under the radar and needs way more love than it’s getting.

    Here’s more about Sing Me Forgotten

    Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.

    Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high—and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovers she survived, Isda and Cyril would pay with their lives.

    But Isda breaks Cyril’s cardinal rule when she meets Emeric Rodin, a charming boy who throws her quiet, solitary life out of balance. His voice is unlike any she’s ever heard, but the real shock comes when she finds in his memories hints of a way to finally break free of her gilded prison.

    Haunted by this possibility, Isda spends more and more time with Emeric, searching for answers in his music and his past. But the price of freedom is steeper than Isda could ever know. For even as she struggles with her growing feelings for Emeric, she learns that in order to take charge of her own destiny, she must become the monster the world tried to drown in the first place.

    My thoughts

    This is a Phantom of the Opera retelling with a gender reversal, and a magical world that will sweep you off your feet. I was in love with the depictions of this old French city filled with beautiful costumes, masks, and a group of people who hold some very special powers. It really started off like a gender-swapped Phantom and that really set me forward for the rest of the book. I think that’s where the comparisons end. No, Isda doesn’t steal Emeric and force him to sing for her or any of the more morally grey features of Phantom from the actual novel. Instead, it all felt like a manipulation drawn in from one man and when you read the book, you’ll see right from the bat how that manipulation works. I don’t want to discuss it because it is a bit of a spoiler.

    But this is also a story about a young woman who’s a bit morally grey and making some decisions for herself that kind of put the rest of the kingdom in danger. I loved that component the most from this novel; having the main character be a woman, but also be a bit dangerous. Whenever she mentions the pull of memory elixir in other people, you can tell she’s obsessed with it and needs it, but she was also able to hold herself back from bringing utter destruction. Honestly, I love morally grey characters, but I also really love female characters who need to do what’s necessary despite it going against their will.

    And this whole novel is about that; women who are much stronger than their male counterparts and could easily be the villain in the story. It’s about the ability to choose; to focus your energy away from what feels too natural to be real. It’s the ability to discern for yourself rather than believe what you’ve been told and I think the biggest thing for Isda in this story was her drive to find out anything and everything about herself and the magic she possesses. If you’ve ever known what it’s like to be an outcast or shielded from truths that are beneficial to your survival, then you’ll really understand where Isda is coming from.

    I also really loved the romantic elements between Isda and Emeric. Despite knowing each other for only a short amount of time, there was an affinity there that felt bigger than just a mutual arrangement. It felt almost fated for them especially when Isda looks at Emeric’s memories and finds out more about him and his past. And as the story unfolds and their relationship bonds even further, you realize that there’s more here than just a simple romance. Honestly, their relationship was what really drew me to this novel. I wouldn’t say that they’re making out or throwing heart eyes at each other the entire book, but their dynamic friendship and how they plan to work together was what kept me reading.

    I will say, I wish there was more background story especially when it comes to being a gravoire. There were some subtle hints here and there about their history including Les Trois (three women who were gravoires in the past and brought death and destruction everywhere they went), but I wanted that sit down and hash out moment where the main characters discover more about themselves and what all this magic means.

    Overall, this was such an entertaining story, fast paced, and quick to the action. I absolutely loved the way the story was told, the characters, and how complex Jessica S Olson wrote the story. I hope there’s a sequel in the future, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of her work.

    Thank you Inkyard Press for a gifted copy of this book. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.

  • I’m Turning Into a Poly Reader

    I’m Turning Into a Poly Reader

    I’ve always been a one book at a time gal. Spend my time reading one book at a time and immersing myself in that book so fully that other books can just wait. However, it seems more and more I want to read from my mood. I want to have some fun stuff while I’m still in the middle of a book. So I decided to try and read multiple books at once or be a poly reader.

    A poly reader is someone who has several books going at once. Depending on your mood, you can jump from a romance to a science fiction to a non-fiction on audio. When you read from multiple books, then you have multiple choices and depending on the situation or mood, you can make a choice to read one over another.

    Then I realized something, we have been poly reading our entire lives. If you were like me and majored/minored in something that required a lot of reading, you were probably reading multiple texts at once and we’ve been trained to do this with the level of school and classwork we’re assigned to do. But it didn’t occur to me that I could do this with my leisure reading.

    Keeping track is what I’m most concerned about. I’m worried I’ll write a review for one book and somehow mix it up with my other book and then confuse everyone and myself on what I wrote. But we shall cross that bridge when we get to it. Here’s some tips on how to make yourself a poly reader:

    Reading different genres

    This is the biggest piece of advice I received; read from different genres. It’s a good thing I do like books from a bunch of different genres, so I can easily pair a romance novel with a fantasy book or a sci-fi with a literary fiction. What people mentioned is that reading from different genres allows you to compartmentalize the information. The space story is in one part of your head while the historical romance with the rake is in another part. It could get dicey if I ever find a historical romance that takes place in space (free idea for a book if anyone wants it). But if you keep your genres separate, then you should be able to better keep track of what you’re reading. I already started with a romance and a fantasy that are entirely different from each other and have no problems keeping those stories separate.

    Reading on different media

    Now that our worlds are filled with enough technology that it keeps us awake at night, we can use different media to read our books. I was thinking about how I was younger and we didn’t have computers in our pockets and had to get all of our books from the library. The option to poly read on different devices didn’t exist, so I wonder how those folks did back in the day? Perhaps they did a trade paperback and a hardcover. Or a mass market with a hardcover.

    But I’m glad we live in a world with more technology because changing up the medium is a great way to read multiple books. I also like using my ereader to be in-between a bunch of stories because then I can just switch between one book or another without having to get up and find the book.

    Assigning books to certain times of the day

    Some folks read one book in the morning and one book at night. But I think this is a valid way of reading multiple books at once. I think the time spent away from one story and then picking up another is good too. Sometimes I get confused if I start tooo early on a new book after finishing the last one. I also like trying to finish a book and then give myself a few hours to write my review and work on some other things before picking up another. It’s enough time to clear what you’ve just read and start a new book.

    The most important; reading for your mood

    If you’re not feeling up for anything too challenging, pick up something light. If you want to get deep into a fantasy world, pick up a heavy hitter. The point being is the ability to poly read means that you can pick up a book when you feel like it. Also, if one book is catching your attention more than another, allow yourself to read that book for a bit longer. The whole idea of poly reading is a choice; you choose what feels good at that point and you can read it or read something else.

    I think the only thing I’m worried about is that I’ll start a book, put it off to read something else, and never pick it back up. I guess if that does happen, I can just chalk it up to me not liking the story and officially DNFing the story. I need to keep an eye out for that because I can already tell there will be books I put down and never pick back up.

    I hope this post helps you! What are some other ways you use to keep on top of your poly reads?

  • April 2021 TBR

    April 2021 TBR

    April is always that month that makes me excited for spring. Of course, it’s the rainy month before the real spring begins, but I love the rain. It’s also my anniversary month, so I’m in a little bit of a lovey dovey mood.

    Aside from Easter and our anniversary, this month will be another one of sitting at home and reading books. Here’s a few of my plans:

    • Now that more donation-based store are allowing for people to bring in their donations, I can finally get rid of mine. You may know this infamous wall of books I have in my reading nook. Well, that’s actually all the books I’m trying to get rid of. Yep, those are the books I don’t want in my collection. I’ve just been keeping them in that space and using them as a prop for photos, but I’ll be getting rid of them soon. I’m going to a few neighborhood Little Free Libraries and stocking those up. The rest will be donated to the Goodwill and to the local used bookstores. It’s finally time to liberate those books.
    • Since it’s also my anniversary month and more fruits come into season, I’ll probably doing some baking. It’s crumble time! I love making crisps and crumbles from the fresh berries and fruit at the local supermarket. I love making these because they’re easy, my husband loves them, and you can make them with pretty much any fruit you can find. Oh, I absolutely love some delicious fruit pies.
    • I also have a variety of book promotions, launches, and Indie Bookstore Day at the end of April. It’ll be a great month of books and I’m excited to start a new month with a fresh perspective.

    Here’s what I plan to read:

    I also have a bunch of books I’m calling my “second string” for when I finish this first group of books. I’ll share more once I’m ready to share those. Hope to have a great spring! I’ll chat with you more soon.

  • Pub Day Picks // March 9, 2021

    Pub Day Picks // March 9, 2021

    Apologies for not doing a Pub Day picks for a couple of weeks! It’s been a bit rough on my end, but I’m glad to be back and more excited than ever about new titles coming out! Here’s the books I’m most excited about that’s publishing today:

    Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

    In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.

    Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

    Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

    Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

    How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an America oil company.

    “We should have known the end was near.”

    So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company.

    Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of clean-up and financial reparations to the villagers are made—and ignored. The country’s government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle would last for decades and come at a steep price.

    Told through the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghost of colonialism, comes up against one community’s determination to hold onto its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    “The unforgettable story of a community on the wrong end of Western greed, How Beautiful We Were will enthrall you, appall you, and show you what is possible when a few people stand up and say this is not right. A masterful novel by a spellbinding writer engaged with the most urgent questions of our day.”—David Ebershoff, bestselling author of The Danish Girl

    Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

    In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.

    Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.

    Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.

    When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.

    Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first..

    Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson

    Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.

    Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high—and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovers she survived, Isda and Cyril would pay with their lives.

    But Isda breaks Cyril’s cardinal rule when she meets Emeric Rodin, a charming boy who throws her quiet, solitary life out of balance. His voice is unlike any she’s ever heard, but the real shock comes when she finds in his memories hints of a way to finally break free of her gilded prison.

    Haunted by this possibility, Isda spends more and more time with Emeric, searching for answers in his music and his past. But the price of freedom is steeper than Isda could ever know. For even as she struggles with her growing feelings for Emeric, she learns that in order to take charge of her own destiny, she must become the monster the world tried to drown in the first place.

    The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

    From award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone epic fantasy set in a brand-new world of towering mountains and sparkling cities, in which a band of aging warriors have a second chance to defeat dark magic and avenge a haunting loss.

    Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived. 

    Since then, Kreya, the group’s leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice—for each day he lives, she will live one less.

    She’d rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is illegal in Vos. The dead are burned—as are any bone workers who violate the law. Yet Kreya knows where she can find the bones she needs: the battlefield where her husband and countless others lost their lives.

    But defying the laws of the land exposes a terrible possibility. Maybe the dead don’t rest in peace after all.  

    Five warriors—one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn’t stop just because someone once said, “the end.”

  • Seven Books with an Ensemble Cast

    Seven Books with an Ensemble Cast

    I’m close to finishing Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. It’s cunning, intriguing, and definitely one of those books I’ll be following along as each book publishes. One of its unique features is that it has multiple POVs creating an ensemble cast of characters for you to follow throughout the story.

    I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of books that have an ensemble cast. It can be two characters or seven characters, I will read them. You can also consider this multiple POV, but if there’s more than two or three main characters and each of them gets the same amount of love throughout the story, then it makes the books so much more fun for me to read. I think of books like Game of Thrones where each character is plotting their way to the top of the royal food chain and each does so in their own various ways. There’s always overlap or the characters come together eventually in one big reveal or twist of some sort. It may get tricky to remember each character and what their specific plot is, but just the sheer ability of authors to compartmentalize their characters and seamlessly create a story that gathers them all in the end is truly my favorite part of these books.

    The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

    Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

    It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

    One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

    Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

    Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

    The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

    Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

    Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

    A convict with a thirst for revenge

    A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

    A runaway with a privileged past

    A spy known as the Wraith

    A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

    A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

    Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first

    The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokski

    It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

    To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

    Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

    Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett

    ‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’

    People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?

    You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try to do something about it.

    It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon now finds themselves in. They’ve been living amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.

    And then there’s the small matter that someone appears to have misplaced the Antichrist…

    The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

    This is the way the world ends. Again.

    Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

    Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

    The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

    The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

    Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

    The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

    When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

    A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab

    Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

    Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

    Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

    After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

    Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

  • A Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow // Book Review

    A Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow // Book Review

    A Song Below Water is the Fantasy Book Club February pick. It’s an urban fantasy about two young Black sisters who have big secrets they have to hide in a world that’s unforgiving to folks who aren’t “normal.” It was an interesting take and I can’t wait to talk all about it.

    Here’s More About A Song Below Water

    Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Never mind she’s also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

    But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she’s also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.

    My Thoughts

    I had to sit on my thoughts for a bit on this one. The story itself isn’t complicated, but there were things that I liked and I didn’t like about this book. Overall, it was entertaining and interesting with a clever way to discuss social issues outside the vacuum of American culture.

    I loved the themes in this novel. It discussed deeply about Black lives in America starting off with a murder trial of a young woman who accidentally kills her partner. But aside from being a Black woman on trial, she’s also a siren; something to be feared. I thought it was intriguing that Bethany C Morrow took this route. She used fantasical creatures like sirens, eloko, sprites, and gargoyles to show the many faceted sides of the Black community. I feel like some ways she’s discussing respectability politics except instead of things like clothing and demeanor, it’s magical powers. People like Tavia are feared for their siren abilities especially when they compel or attract people to do what they want. In many ways, that makes Tavia more of an outcast while others like the eloko friends in the school are completely average and never make the news.

    I felt like Tavia’s story was mostly wrapped up in the social justice pieces of it. It’s already well established that she’s a siren and that she needs to hide her true self from others. She’s ridiculed by her eloko classmates and always on the verge of outing herself to the public. Her parents are so worried that they won’t even let her search siren definitions on the Internet. She even switches to sign language to avoid any incidents with her voice. It was interesting to see how she’s ridiculed by her peers, feared by her family, and even disadvantaged.

    However, Effie’s story was way different. For all intents and purposes, Effie is your average teenage girl. While she’s Tavia’s best friend and adopted sister, she doesn’t have magical powers like Tavia does. Instead, she deals with her mother’s death and her promise to work at the Ren Faire every summer. As you read her story, you start to see the conflict for her come to fruition. You find out the truth behind her family’s heritage and the big reveal at the end was well worth the read.

    It was interesting to read about Effie against Tavia. They’re both so different in many ways, but they found each other and rely on each other as both friends and sisters. I loved that they bonded together despite their differences. That is, until Effie starts changing in ways Tavia cannot describe. It was as if Effie keeps Tavia from being too siren while Tavia helps Effie understand the changes happening to her body. The dynamic between these two characters really made me love them more. I love it when sisters come together and the fact that they’re not related by blood just goes to show how much love you can show someone.

    However, I felt like this story was still flawed. Yes, the themes and social issues were excellent pieces and I love the way Bethany C Morrow uses magical creatures to pull you out of the vacuum of real world news. But there were still a couple of things that didn’t work for me.

    Mostly I was upset about the plotting and narration. At first, I thought the story would focus more on Tavia because she’s a siren dealing with the injustice of being a siren and Black in the United States. But then, the story switches over to Effie and her big reveal. I felt like one piece had more dedicated story and the other was a vehicle to speak about social injustices. I kind of wish these two components were combined a bit better, tightening up the story to make it a bit more cohesive. It felt like I was reading two books at once at some points which didn’t really help the reading experience.

    In many ways, this story read more like a contemporary YA story with social justice issues to be discussed. I’m totally fine with stories like this and read them pretty often, but I was also expecting more fantasy components that really bring this world to life. It kind of disappointed me that there wasn’t as much fantasy as I was hoping, but at the same time the story redeems itself with its discussions and themes. Overall, I would suggest going into this one with more a contemporary YA with social issues vibe rather than expecting a fantasy novel.

  • The Trials and Tribulations of Knitting My First Pair of Socks

    The Trials and Tribulations of Knitting My First Pair of Socks

    For my sister’s birthday, I wanted to make her something by hand. I remember over the holidays finding a pattern for a pair of Boston terrier socks on the Knit Picks website. They were so cute and looking at them from the picture, I thought this would be a fun project and a great way to start my first pair of socks!

    Sadly, that was not the case. While the socks did come out great in the end, they were a huge labor of love requiring me to learn some new techniques including how to make a sock, how to do intarsia knitting, and how to shape. I was excited to do the sock making part, but I didn’t even realize the other techniques until I got to the second sock.

    The first technique that really got me struggling was the shaping of their ears. To make them stick up like that, the pattern required I knit a ribbed edge (most socks have ribbing around the leg) through the back loop. The entire section required that you knit every stitch in a way that’s not average when you’re making anything else. That was fine, but I kept on messing up knitting through the regular method than through the back loop. I messed up about five times on this part, so my stress and frustration levels were already through the roof.

    Intarsia knitting is a method used when you’re knitting a design within your work. Adding an initial to the front of a sweater? That’s intarsia. Got that terrible holiday sweater with a big Christmas tree on the front? Probaby intarsia knitting. It’s a method of knitting I’ve never tried since the most colorwork I’ve done is a few stripes. I was a bit confused by the pattern because I didn’t know intarsia was used, so I made one sock in the method that made sense to me at the time and the other sock using intarsia.

    Left sock is created using intarsia. Right sock is made without it.

    When I realized I had to use the intarsia method, I was already one sock in. I tried to think if I should take the leap and just make three socks instead. However, I had already worked on these for so long, tried so many times to get it right, and didn’t have a lot of time left to get these to my sister (who lives across the country) before her birthday. So one sock uses the intarsia method properly and the other doesn’t.

    The end product is a little bit wonky, but I like to think they are sisters and not twins.

    After finishing the face pattern, the rest of the sock was pretty easy. Although, I had to switch over to double pointed needles for the rest of the way, which can be a pain because there’s things sticking out at you from all angles. But once the sock was complete, omg there was a sense of elation. I made a sock! And it looked like a sock! I had heard some pretty weird sock stories and truly intimidated by the process. But when my friend told me she recently got into and loved it, well, I had to try for myself.

    These socks came out so great. They aren’t perfect and if you look close enough, you can see their imperfections, but I made them by hand. I made a pair of socks! And I can’t wait to make sure. However, I might hold off on doing any more intarsia knitting for a while. I think I much rather work on textural pieces than ones with a face.

  • I’ve Outgrown Sarah J Maas

    I’ve Outgrown Sarah J Maas

    No, this isn’t some salacious post about Sarah J Maas or the ACOTAR series. I’m just over her books and wanted to come on here and talk about why. This post isn’t a drag. This is just a reader who’s grown out of Sarah J Maas and her work.

    If you’re new to the fantasy genre, Sarah J Maas is one of those authors people pick up in hopes of finding love in the genre. For the most part, people pick up SJM and gush over the characters, especially the male characters. They love the bad ass females set in these Fae worlds. And for a really long time, I also really loved Sarah J Maas for the same things.

    Over the holidays, the cover for A Court of Silver Flames was revealed and while at that point I was really excited about the book, I wasn’t too excited for the cover. It didn’t match the covers of the past three books, but matches the new covers set out for them. So I could get a copy of this book, but would probably have to buy the rest of the series in the new covers to match. You know the bookshelf aesthetic; every book in a series must match.

    But truthfully, it doesn’t matter what the cover looks like because we get a new book in the series, right? And while I was waiting for the newest story, I read Crescent City as well as numerous other fantasy novels over the course of 2020. I thought Crescent City was wildly entertaining filled with characters you’ll love and a story that keeps moving for all 800 pages of that chonker. But there was a waning feeling; a sense that perhaps SJM doesn’t speak to me as much as she used to.

    And I love seeing folks picking up her books for the first time. I love seeing people who don’t normally read fantasy books find something of interest in her books. But something happened to me between finishing Crescent City, seeing the cover for A Court of Silver Flames, and everything in between. My love for SJM wanes a little everyday and my interest in her new book isn’t as much as it used to be.

    At this point in my life, I’ve read some great fantasy books that I would much rather read than SJM’s books. Perhaps what I’m feeling is that I’m growing up and some of the books that I loved when I was younger will be fondly remembered, but no longer followed closely. I’ll most definitely appreciate SJM for writing some great stories that thrust me into the YA fantasy world. I appreciate the fact that she’s written something digestible with characters worth investing your time and energy into and keeping me on my toes from book to book to book. But it’s time to finally put her away, read other books, and find other worlds beyond this one. Because like many parts of our lives, our reading lives are ever evolving journeys between worlds. We grow tired of one and then move onto the next one with great respect for the books that got us here. You can say I’m setting off into the sherbert-colored sunset tipping my hat to the author who started off my love for fantasy.

    Again, I’m not hating on SJM and the folks who absolutely love this series and her books. I encourage everyone to pick up this book, but what I’ve concluded after writing this post is that I’ve outgrown her work. I’ve moved beyond Sarah J Maas to other authors that I want to put my effort into.

  • Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire // Book Review

    I had a lot of high hopes for this one because I love Seanan McGuire’s writing and work. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. And although there were bits and pieces I really enjoyed, there were parts of the experience that left me confused and wanting.

    Here’s More About Across the Green Grass Fields

    “Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

    Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

    When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

    But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

    My Thoughts

    I’ve already heard that The Wayward Children series is hit or miss. Some of the novellas in the series are absolute stunners while others needed a bit more love. Since this is my first book in the Wayward Children series, I can’t compare it to the other books. However, I can criticize it as a stand-alone novel and explain why I really liked where the story was going, but wished there was more to really sink into.

    First off, the story starts off with Regan, who for all intents and purposes is your average 11-year-old girl. However, there are these small differences between her and the other girls in her class that make her doubt herself. The story started off strong with this introduction to this main character including concerns of fitting in and being considered a girl. It turns out Regan is intersex (someone born with both sex characteristics) and teased at school for this. I loved that this is how the story starts off; with a little convo about gender norms and how some people can be both. However, that’s pretty much where this conversation ended. I was hoping that maybe this conversation would come up again later in the story, but it really didn’t. It made me wonder why Seanan McGuire brought this up?

    And when Regan walked through the door made of trees and branches with the phrase “Be Sure” written across the top, I thought she would discover that being a girl with a lot of testosterone is still considered a girl and finally feel sure of herself. But I feel like it went a way different way.

    I did love the idea of Regan being the only human in Hooflands. I loved the centaurs and unicorns and all manner of equine fantasy creatures living in this pastoral land. If you were the type to be into horses as a kid, then this might be nostalgic to those days being young and riding your horse. But it felt like the moment Regan stepped through that door and discovered this other world, small pieces of her reality started to leave her mind. And perhaps that makes sense in some ways because she’s young, impressionable, and in a place where she’s not beholden to gender norms and mean girls who would rather you “make sense” than accept you as you are. I mean, she became best friends with a centaur so maybe that’s exactly what she was going for.

    The story read a little bit like Wizard of Oz, a young girl who’s stolen away from the real world and brought to a fanastical place that feels much cooler and accepting than the world she came from. And there’s some bigger mission for Regan to accomplish while in Hooflands, but it felt way too late in the very short story to introduce. We get glimpses of it in the beginning, but it doesn’t come back to the main story until the end.

    The reveal itself was definitely interesting and I would have loved to see that story be fleshed out more. It was a very quick conversation and then it was over. Maybe I was expecting too much from such a short novella, but I wanted this reveal to be much bigger than it was. I wanted Regan to use her new skills from living in Hooflands for six years or creating a plan to thwart the royalty in this book, but much of this felt lacking.

    Honestly, I thought this book was going to be much more in a small package. It definitely felt whimsical and I loved the descriptions of life in the Hooflands, but the plot felt a bit weak and there were threads introduced in the beginning of the book that didn’t circle back towards the end. Like I mentioned, maybe I was expecting something else from this book and my expectations weren’t met, but this story didn’t really do it for me.

    I’m not going to say this book doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. The pastoral lands, the beautiful world building around the magical equine creatures, and even the reveal were all worth the read. If I rated it, I’ll probably mark this with three stars. It’s not a bad thing; it just missed the mark for me. I’ll definitely be reading more books from this series, but as the first one I’ve read, it was okay.

    Find Across the Green Grass Fields on Bookshop.org

    I received a copy of this book from Tor Dot Com for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.