Recent Reads
Time for some book talk! Here’s what’s been edging through my reading pile lately:
The Air Awakens series by Elise Kova.
Humble library apprentice Vhalla doesn’t know she has magic, until she unwittingly uses it to save the life of Crown Prince Aldrik. Then she’s whisked semi-unwillingly into the world of magic, empire politics and uncomfortable proximity to Aldrik. This is pretty typical YA fantasy, but that doesn’t stop me from highly enjoying it. I tore through the first two books in this series in a day each, and am now impatiently awaiting the release of book 3 next week because the ending in book 2 was the most cliffhangery cliffhanger of all cliffhangers. For real. I’m at once super frustrated with it, and kind of admiring the author’s gumption in doing what she did, because I’m not certain it’s one of those cliffhangers that proves not to be as it seems. I think it’s exactly as it seems, which will make book 3 very interesting. If magic, political intrigue, and star-crossed love stories are your thing, pick this one up. 4/5 stars (so far).
The Angel of Storms (Millennium’s Rule #2) by Trudi Canavan.
I just posted a review of book 1 in this series last week, and since then have managed to read book 2. It continues the stories of both Tyen and Rielle, but it is way more action-packed and enjoyable than the first book! And happily, the disparate storylines start to come together and overlap in areas, which is part of what I’ve been waiting for. The intrigue around a particular ancient sorcerer grows thicker, and the two main characters get a chance to grow and show their strengths. I liked book 1, but I really liked this one. Unfortunately, now I have to wait til sometime later this year for book 3. Unspecified publication dates are the pits. 4/5 stars.
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) by James S.A. Corey.
This is next up on my TBR list. We’ve been watching the SyFy TV show based off of this series, and I figured I should probably read the book(s), too. This first one is a bit of a beast at 560 pages, though, so it’s going to take awhile. The show is shaping up to be pretty interesting. If you haven’t checked it out yet and enjoy a good sci-fi mystery political thriller, give it a try. Rating TBD.
I’m also trying to finish off some of the books that have been living on my Currently Reading list for awhile. It’s not that I don’t like them, or intend to not finish them, I just get distracted by other books. So I’m making an effort to knock those out.
What are you reading lately? Any recommendations?
Book Review: The Witch’s Daughter
The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston In Wessex, England in 1628, Bess Hawksmith's mother is tried and hung as a witch. Poor and alone in the world, the only hope Bess has of surviving the lynch mob that will focus on her next is to become a witch herself. That...
What I Wore: Mustard & Dots
Hello lovelies! I hope your respective weeks are going well. Mine definitely is. That cold front that came through over the weekend had me worried, but then today it was back in the 80's. Whew! I'm not quite ready for bundling up yet. We've moved back to A/C...
Tuesday Treasure Trove
Fun video of the week: You've probably all seen the Gangnam Style music video that's been making the rounds of the internet world. Well, a little while ago Samsung (a Korean-based company, remember) had an internal team-building competition to see which Samsung branch...
Sunday Confessions
Linking up with Alyx. 1. Sometimes I will bookmark an item in a 'Shopping' folder in my bookmarks instead of pinning to Pinterest because I don't want anyone else to snatch it up before I can. 2. I'm really glad Elena got eliminated from Project Runway. She was...
Five Things Friday
1. La Fresh Eco Beauty Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover. Yeah, quite a mouthful, huh? I got a sample of these in my latest Birchbox. The directions said simply "Gently press the pad into each nail, and watch your chipped polish dissolve". I was skeptical. The pad is...
Shop Update
More owls and long-sleeved items are up in the shop! A bunch more to come in the next week. I'm on a printing roll. 🙂
What I Wore: Faux Fall
Just because it's still 85 degrees here during the day doesn't mean I can't sartorially pretend it's fall. Hence my sweater (though short-sleeved) and scarf (though non-warm-making). This is my first venture into fashion scarf wearing. Prior to this, the only...
