I have a confession to make. It took me until at least 2/3 of the way through Ash Princess to be sucked into this world. I was intrigued by Thora, but she kind of annoyed me… but when Thora became Theo I was way more on the edge of my comfy reading spot. I loved this world. I loved Art and Heron and Erik and Soren (*swoon*), and I mostly liked Blaise but he cut into my Soren time so he bugged me.
Ash Princess and Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian
A little recap, Ash Princess follows a girl named Thora who was being held captive by the man who had overthrown her kingdom and stolen her mothers throne. What a jerk right?
Then we move into Lady Smoke where Thora, now back to her birth name Theo (Theodosia), is trying to fight to take back the throne that the jerk mentioned above had taken. You go girl!
Lastly we have Ember Queen. My heart flutters still just thinking about the beauty that is Ember Queen. I loved (almost) everything about this book. From the way that Theo isn’t portrayed as a 100% bada** and has to really work hard to try and take back her throne and overcome her weaknesses to do so. How she rely’s on her friends in a way that is so relate-able (even though I am not fighting for a throne….but man would I look good in a crown…).. How she sees the good in people but knows when to make the tough calls. I could honestly go on and on about the good qualities of this book, but really you need to read it for yourself.
I did take off half a star, because as much as I wanted this to be a 5 star read, there was just something about it (I will not spoil. I will not spoil. I will not spoil.) that irked me. After you read it, and you should, let me know your thoughts!
Wow! So Fairyloot had this in their May 2019 box and described it as “Cinderella meets king Arthur and Thor!” I’ve got to admit, that had me so so intrigued. I love fairytales, I have a degree in history (I know all the King Arthur theories!), and I love me some marvel movies. So how was this book going to mix all three of those things? Well, flawlessly apparently.
The story follows a girl named Selah, who is sent off on a quest to find a husband after her evil stepmother demands it. So there we have the Cinderella part, the other two parts come in the form of characters placed strategically in the story. Like fairyloot, I came up with a one sentance description of the book as well, Cinderella goes on The Bachelorette, who will get the final rose?
I am trying to be non-spoilery in my review because I really do want everyone to read this book and form their own opinions.. But I thought it was really well done. I did knock off a star because there was a bit of an “insta-love” vibe and I find that to be reallllllyyyyyy annoying. However that is mostly redeemed by the likeable characters and the believable but startling plot twists that Anna Bright conjured up for us.
Book 2, The Boundless is coming out on June 9, 2020.
Welcome, welcome back to my blog. I have been absent for a while, from both here and Bookstagram. I rejoined Bookstagram about 3 weeks ago and have been very happily plugging along. But I figured I would dive in one thing at a time until I was back on track.
FriYAY! Anyone else look forward to the weekends all week long. When I used to work a retail job with such a random schedule that I would be there until midnight one day and then only work 10-2 the next… I never cared about the days of the week. But now I am sitting in an office from 9-5 every weekday, just wishing it was Friday Night. Not so I can go party of course, come on, I’m a mom. But so I can go home, put some comfy jammies on and snuggle on the couch with my little hobbit, and then when that little hobbit goes to bed….. I can read with no interruptions and no worry about having to be up and ready for work in the morning! Best. Feeling. Ever.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
I am going to follow this lovely, “I’M BACK!” post with a few book review ones, because I can. But lets first talk about heartbreak. You know that feeling when a book just breaks your heart but at the same time you love it so much and want to sleep with it in your arms? Yeah, I’ve been feeling that a lot lately. So many talented authors have been emerging in the last few years and I am almost certain they are all trying to kill me.
What causes bookish heartbreak for you? A couple being torn apart? A characters death? A failed mission? All of the above?
I am going to end this post short so I can post some reviews… Have a great FriYAY everybody!
On Wednesdays, I don’t usually wear pink. But I do like to reflect on some bad*** characters from my favorite novels. Today I would like to start with the ones from these three, A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, Caraval by Stephanie Garber, and A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. All of these are led by strong female characters, even if sometimes they don’t believe it themselves.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson follows Elisabeth, a girl training to be a warden to one of the Great Libraries. When the library Elisabeth lives in is sabotaged she goes on a journey to find out who the culprit is and stop them. Elisabeth is kind of a misfit, but she feels a strong connection to the library and an even stronger urge to protect it, even if that means teaming up with a sorcerer after being taught her entire life that sorcery was bad. I loved this book, I loved the characters, I loved the plot, I loved the magical library aspect. But the amazing character growth that you see in Elisabeth was my favorite part. She stops believing things shes told and starts to come to her own conclusions, she becomes courageous, and stands up for her beliefs. I love her. It needs a sequel, someone tell Margaret. That is all.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is a new twist on Beauty and the Beast and I am HERE FOR IT. Harper is a girl from Washington D.C. that suffers from cerebral palsy but oh no no she does not let that stop her. When she is brought to the land of Emberfall, she not only holds her own but she helps fix the problems that the land had been suffering from for decades. I loved that she was always fighting for what she believed in even when it meant changing her perceptions. She fought for her family and her friends, no matter the consequences.
Last one for today is Scarlett from Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Now us Caraval lovers know there is another strong female character in this series, but I want to highlight her on her own another day. Today I am focusing on Scarlett, the elder Dragmar sister who is fiercly protective of her sister Tella and will do anything it takes to rescue her. I spend a decent amount of time every week wishing that Caraval was a real game that I could join in on, I know I’d find all you bookworms there with me. Scarlett was always protecting Tella, and I love that even before Caraval she put herself in the line of fire whenever possible so that Tella wouldn’t get hurt. But she is also level headed and and only wants the best for her sister, whom she always puts before herself. Its the best sister-sister relationship in a book I’ve read in a long time.
That’s all for today my lovely Readers. I’ll see you all tomorrow for Throwback Thursday. Yeah- I said it.
Welcome to day 2 of the first week of my new weekly themes. Cartography Tuesday! I know I know, map Monday would have been more obvious BUT I didn’t think of that until after I did Adaptation Monday and also I like using the word Cartography. I thought it over and decided that there was no way to start this off without the ultimate fantasy world, Middle Earth.
J.R.R Tolkien was a master of stories, creating not only a classic trilogy and prequel, but using his imagination to create an entire world. I will thank him forever for creating Hobbits because they are my soul people. Tolkien created entire languages, histories, worlds, species, and wrote them down for the world to enjoy. It’s hard to imagine a world without Pippin and Merry and I truly do not want to.
Well I got a bit sidetracked there, today is about maps. Book maps are a huge plus in any novel. I flip back to the map constantly as I am reading because it makes me feel more connected to the story if I am able to follow along with where they are. When Frodo first meets Gollum, I need to know where they met and I need to see it to understand how much more of a journey they have to get to Mordor. Tolkien created what is arguably the most popular book map, I actually own a print of one!
Thats all for me today, see you next time on Cartography Tuesday!
I think all book lovers understand the mixed feelings of excitement and dread when a movie adaptation is announced. How close to the book is it going to be? How much detail is going to be left out? What characters will they drop from the story thinking no one will notice? And most importantly, will they include my favorite scene? Some movie adaptations have been done really well, such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. But the bad ones can be… well…. bad…. On today’s first annual Adaptation Monday, I am going to do a list of 5 of the worst movie adaptations. I was going to do a top 5….but lets be honest, there are way more than 5 and I don’t want to run out of material for this new Monday tradition that fast!
Eragon
Eragon… I truly can not do a list of bad movie adaptations and not start with this tragedy. I read this book when I was probably 12 or so after some urging from my dad and I LOVED it. I was so enthralled by the dragons and the elves and the boy that seemed so ordinary and turned out to be extraordinary, a favorite trope of mine. But my oh my this movie was just awful. The only redeeming quality was the attractive British men taking on a chunk of the roes. Also Robert Carlyle because I will watch him in anything. It is possible that the movie flopped so bad because they were required to condense a 509 page novel into a 90 minute movie, but I still wouldn’t hold my breath for a sequel 13 years later.
Beastly
One of my favorite retellings are Beauty and the Beast. I have loved everything from A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, to Beastly. I loved the modern take on the classic story, and that it was told from the perspective of the Beast. The movie version just felt stiff and awkward. Also where was the fur and the fangs that the beast was supposed to have? I mean people actually have face tattoos. That is a normal thing guys.
I Am Number Four
Of todays list I think this one was my biggest disappointment. I can’t help it, I am a total sucker for the I Am Number Four series. Maybe its the badassery of Six, or the shy but brave Sam, or the cocky confident Nine… I couldn’t tell you. Also the fact that the author uses a pen name that is the same name as the most powerful person in the series but has been missing/presumed dead for years is pretty cool. Unfortunately I think turning this book into a movie was doomed from the start. I think casting wise they actually did a good job, and they definitely tried to stick close to the novel. There is just too much that happens in the books that would be so hard to translate onscreen. If this one managed to do well and they continued on, they would’ve been truly doomed.
Firstly, notice a theme going here? I am so sorry Alex Pettyfer, maybe you should stay away from adaptations… Operation Stormbreaker is 100% a guilty pleasure movie for me. I just love spy stories, especially when they are teenagers (*ahem* Agent Cody Banks). As a cheesy kids spy movie, I give this one a thumbs up. As a book to screen adaptation it is a major thumbs down. In the books Alex Rider is smart and savy with great detective skills, the movie is all about the action scenes. Also Alicia Silverstone fights with fish and its rad.
I was mad about this movie before it was even released, after hearing about some of the changes that director Tim Burton was making to the original story. Namely why Emma is floating in the air in that movie poster rather than holding fire within her hands. I honestly think that IF he read the novel rather than just the synopsis or perhaps heard the pitch, then he definitely didn’t read the subsequent novels because his changes would not have worked later on. I was honestly so disappointed in this movie that I almost didn’t finish watching it.
Well that brings us to the end of the first Adaptation monday, I hope you enjoyed my angry rants about bad adaptations, tune in next week where I praise the ones that were actually done well.
Do you ever love a series or book so much that you start to hoard copies of the books and merchandise? I am 100% a bookish hoarder. However I am also a broke mama on a budget so I have to be wise about my hoarding. I am AWFUL at buying merch outright, I can never justify the cost in my mind. Really you should see my favorites list on Etsy, SOOOOO much good merch for ACOTAR, ToG, Cruel Prince, Finale, Mortal Instruments, I could go on forever…. But that is where most of it just sits and rests while I wish that I had disposable income and could support those insanely talented artists and get to have more things to show my love for certain books.
Because of this, my saving grace comes from subscription boxes. I have been getting the Fairyloot box since March of this year, and have gotten single purchase boxes of the Spellbound book box, FlickTheWick, and Vellum Post. Don’t ask me because I cant explain it, but there is something comforting and exciting about not knowing what will come in your package. Even if I only like a couple of the items, I would still rather spend my money on that box than one single item on Etsy. Like I said, I can’t explain it. Everything featured in the above picture came from FlickTheWick’s special edition Finale box, there was more too but a picture can only feature so much.
The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black
That brings us to owning multiple editions of the same book. Is it pointless? Maybe. Is it a waste of money? Probably. Does it bring me joy? Abso-friggen-lutely. Off the top of my head I have 3 editions of Finale by Stephanie Garber (Owlcrate, US, and UK), and 2 each of The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black (Regular US and BN editions), but I have the Fairyloot Edition and the BN edition of Queen of Nothing coming later this month.. I also have countless copies of each Harry Potter book, a few copies each of The Hobbit, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, and virtually every other book that I have reread more than once.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by JK Rowling
My one exception when it comes to outright purchases is Harry Potter. I own so much HP merch that I have collected over the years, from LEGO sets (Fun Fact, my little hobbit recently insisted on the Knight Bus LEGO set and after we finished building it I hid it from him, I’ll give it back when I’m confident he wont immediately destroy it) to wands, wall decals, wine glasses, travel coffee mugs, t-shirts, hats, backpacks….. I even have a Universal Studios Hollywood pass just so I can go stand in front of the castle whenever I want and stare at what I’m 97.325% sure was supposed to be my home. I could totally live inside of a ride right? Maybe it is just my pure love for the wizarding world, or the fact that everything about it feels nostalgic and warm, but I think it will always be the one fandom that I won’t think twice about buying things for.
Do you like to collect new editions or merch? Let me know!
Did anyone else wake up this morning humming Christmas tunes or was that just me? I know, I know, we still have to get through Thanksgiving. However I would be lying if I said my Christmas decorations won’t be up by next weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving (for the family time and the food!) but there is nothing that brings me more joy than Christmas lights and candles and ornaments hanging from the ceiling. Also the hallmark movies have already started and I’m a sucker.
Releases November 5th 2019
In addition to my excitement over the start of my Christmas season, there are also some new books coming out this month that I am over-excited about. The first week of November alone we have The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White which is of course about Guinevere in a new take on King Arthur’s classic tale. Call Down the Hawk also releases this week and is the start of a new trilogy by one of my favorite authors Maggie Stiefvater, the trilogy is a spin off of her Raven Cycle Series and features Ronan as one of the “dreamers”, people that can bring objects out of their dreams.
Releases November 5th 2019
Also releasing on November 5th, are Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan and Supernova by Marissa Meyer. I will be honest and say that I have yet to read the first books to these series, but they have been on my TBR for quite some time and I have only heard high praises for them. If you have already read them, let me know your thoughts in the comments! I love getting other peoples opinion on books before and after I read them. Was it really a good reading experience if you cant rave or rant about it afterwards?
Release November 5th 2019
My most exciting release this month is Queen of Nothing by Holly Black. The final installment of the Folk of the Air series. The first two books, The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King were my most confusing books of the year. Not the story line, that was pretty straightforward though there have been some nice twists and turns and a MAJOR cliffhanger at the end of TWK. The confusing part was my thoughts on the it… I love the worldbuilding, but I’m not keen on the main character, I love Cardan, but I hate almost every other character, I love the story, but I hate that I love the story…. So as you can clearly see, I’m obsessed with finding out how it ends and I have it pre-ordered on Barnes and Noble and the Fairyloot box.
Releases November 19th 2019
That is all I have for the big releases this month. But there are of course many more, so let me know if there are any that you have been looking forward to! In the meantime I will be rereading The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King to get ready for the release of Queen of Nothing while I drink some eggnog and pretend I’m not an adult with responsibilities.
*Whew!* October is almost over and it is HALLOWEEN! Does anyone else feel like the year flys by but then you get closer to HalloThanksMas and it seems to slow down? I just want to celebrate some holidays and read some books! My son is dressing up as a giant inflatable T-Rex for trick or treating tonight, and he looks mighty adorREXable if you ask me. He’s been asking if it was Halloween yet for the last month so I’m gonna be glad when that part is over. However I’m sure the “is it Christmas yet?” question will start first thing tomorrow. Kids, man.
This month I delved into the world of audiobooks *oooooh…. ahhhhh…..*. I had never been one for audiobooks before because I like to actually see the words as I’m reading them, it helps me focus on the story. However I recently started a new job that keeps me confined to a desk. In an Office. By myself. Watching sitcoms on Netflix took away too much of my attention from my work, so I thought audiobooks might help me focus on work while also being able to hear something other than my fingers typing away. I was worried about having to rewind constantly if I got too focused on my work, so I started with a book I have read before but it had been a while, Marked by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast (it is currently being adapted into a TV show! Details here).
It was an ehh experience. I remember loving this series in high school and since it is about to be adapted for television I thought I would refresh my memory. But TBH I was pretty disappointed in how juvenile the writing was. That is to be expected for the target audience though, and I can still see why I loved the series 10 years ago. Also the narrator had a really annoying voice and I had to pause it every once in a while just because I needed a break from her whining. I will say that I am still pretty excited for the TV show though. I’m a sucker for teenage supernatural drama type shows.
Next up I tried the audiobook version of one of my all time favorites, Throne of Glass. This one was SO MUCH BETTER. I have always been on team #HookedOnTOGFromTheStart. I know a lot of people didn’t really get into the series until Heir of Fire, but I just love Celaena’s introduction and her relationship with both Dorian and Chaol. I also have loved Chaol from the start *hangs my head in shame*, I feel like his actions were mostly justified or just basic human reactions to certain situations, and the ones that weren’t he made up for later in the series. I also liked the narrator a lot better for this book. I’ve definitely found that the narrator can make or break an audiobook. I listened to a sample of the ACOTAR, and I knew there was no way in h-e- double hockey sticks that I would have lasted 12 hours listening to that voice. But for ToG I think the narrator really nailed Celaena’s attitude and that is truly an impressive feat.
The third audiobook I got from the Libby app, connected to my local library. I never knew it was possible to borrow audiobooks from the library without having to go inside and leave with a bunch of CD’s. Do CD’s even exist anymore? I know my car has no spot for them…. Anyway! My library only had 78 audiobooks available on the Libby app, so most of them have a waitlist. I got lucky and managed to snag Delirium by Lauren Oliver pretty quickly and I think it was my favorite audiobook experience so far. The narrator was Sarah Drew (some may know her as Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy!) and I loved how animated she was in her reading, making different voices for every character and trying her best to actually sound out all of the emotions that Lena was feeling. I also loved the dystopian story as it had been a long time since I had read one of those. If you haven’t read Delirium, it is set in the United States at some point in the future, when love is not only outlawed but CURED once you turn 18. So all the adults are emotionless zombie a**holes. MC Lena meets Alex a few months before she turns 18 and will recieve the cure, and you guessed it! She falls in love with him. I think what I liked most was how innocent Lena was and how it wasn’t an automatic wsitch from innocence to defiance, but a very gradual one that she fought internally the entire way. I would give it a solid 4.5 stars.
Now for physical books I finished both Ash Princess and Lady Smoke this month! my review for those can be found here. But I will admit that I am still thinking about that story even as I have written this entire post about other books. I just really need to know what happens to Theo. Laura Sebastian left me on a cliffhanger and I don’t know if I can ever forgive her for that. Obviously a lie because I’ve already got Ember Queen pre-ordered. I NEED IT.
Total I finished 5 books this month, and 2 of them were re-reads. Also none of these were technically Halloween themed even though I know its October, blah blah blah.. But I am not about that creepy life. I’m a kid at heart, I watch Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus and feel happy inside. Though aren’t fantasy books a little Halloweenish by default since they typically include magic and witches and elves and such? I’m going to ride that one to the end here.
To me, the best part about reading a fantasy book is the world building. Now do not mistake me, that is not the most important part, just the best part. There is nothing like entering a brand new world and picturing its valleys and rivers and hills in your mind. Seeing the castles and towns and feeling like you are there walking among the characters smelling the same air and seeing the same sky. If I don’t get those feelings while reading then I am less likely to finish a book.
When I started Ash Princess, the first book in Laura Sebastian’s Ash Princess Trilogy, I was enthralled by the world building. The problems with the story came after. Thora, also known as Theo, is the main character and she was likeable. She did her job well as the conquered princess, but she really bugged me at first. You know that feeling where you want to like a main character so badly but they are just so submissive that you cant even feel bad for them? Until Theo started become more confident with herself and decided to join the rebellion to take back her country, the story droned on…. However I am SO GLAD that I stuck with it because that brought me to…
*DRUM ROLL PLEASE*
Lady Smoke! When I finished Ash Princess I was in like with the story, but at the end of Lady Smoke I was begging for more. Theo became a total bad*** that will do anything for her country. She has two dreamy guys that are vying for her attention, and whom I would love to transfer their attention to me, #TeamSoren. The character of Artemisia is a force to be reckoned with and her plus Blaise and Heron make the ultimate friendship gang. I want to crawl inside this book and live in Astrea, after they have reclaimed it of course.
I feel like after finishing Lady Smoke I am entering a book hangover that could take days to cure, and until I can get my hands on the conclusion of the trilogy (Ember Queen, dropping in March of 2020) I may not stop thinking about Soren for even a second.
Well folks that is all for today and for my first ever full book review! All in all I give Ash Princess 3 stars and Lady Smoke a fantastic 4.5!
ReaderOnAMission 