Year: 2016

A Retelling with a Twist – The Shadow Queen {Review}

Posted October 13, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

A Retelling with a Twist – The Shadow Queen {Review}The Shadow Queen by C J Redwine
Series: Ravenspire #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (2016)
Hardcover (387 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.
In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.
But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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5 Ways I Deal with High-Functioning Depression and Anxiety during Grad School

Posted October 6, 2016 in Life / 6 Comments

Note: I debated writing and posting this for some time. It can be very hard to openly speak of mental illness, particularly when the people in my life don’t always acknowledge that mine even exists. Please remember this is only my own experiences and my own opinions. I am not a doctor nor any type of health professional. I am only a crazy, young woman who likes to pray and read books.

My first post on my mental illness has been my most visited post since I published it. I hope that it has been able to help some people and I hope that this post can do the same.

As those of your who follow my blog already know, I am currently taking online grad school classes as I work towards my Master’s degree. Anyone in grad school can tell you that this is super-stressful. I feel that I am especially affected thanks to my high-functioning depression and anxiety. Grad school makes me crazy busy and, every day, I question my sanity on pursuing higher education.

Anyway, here are five things I do to deal with my high-functioning depression and anxiety during grad school. These are probably applicable to anyone that is in grad school or even college, but I can only speak for myself on that matter.

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Not My Cup of Tea – Fangirl {Review}

Posted October 6, 2016 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments

Not My Cup of Tea – Fangirl {Review}Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2013)
Hardcover (433 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, Read 2016

Synopsis

CATH IS A SIMON SNOW FAN. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan... But for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath that she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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The Adventure Continues in the Czech Republic and Wadowice {World Youth Day – Kraków 2016}

Posted October 5, 2016 in Faith, Life / 0 Comments

World Youth Day, Krakow 2016

I did not mean to wait this long between my last World Youth Day post and this one, but grad school kind of got in the way. Anyhow, I’m writing this now.

Our plane from New York City landed in Prague, Czech Republic around 11am Czech time (this means 3am Mountain Time) and we were all exhausted. I have so much trouble sleeping on planes that I barely got any rest on the transatlantic flight and now we were off again.

charles-bridge

The Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

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