A Jane Austen Mystery? – Secrets in the Snow {Review}

Posted July 11, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

A Jane Austen Mystery? – Secrets in the Snow {Review}Secrets in the Snow by Michaela MacColl
Publisher: Chronicle Books (2016 - October 4th)
eARC (288 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

The young Jane Austen is not particularly interested in getting married, although she does find the mysterious Mr. Lefroy an intriguing possibility--but first she has to deal with the accusation that her cousin Eliza is a French spy, and solve a murder.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Read More

Tagged as ,

Why All the Hype? I Was Confused! – Truthwitch {Review}

Posted July 7, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Why All the Hype? I Was Confused! – Truthwitch {Review}Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Series: Witchlands #1
Publisher: Tor Teen (2016)
Hardcover (412 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery,” a magical skill that sets them apart from others.
In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.
Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.
Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.
Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Read More

Tagged as ,

I Love These Characters & This World! – Blackveil {Review}

Posted July 4, 2016 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments

I Love These Characters & This World! – Blackveil {Review}Blackveil by Kristen Britain
Series: Green Rider #4
Publisher: Daw (2010)
Paperback (672 pages)
Rating:
Also by this author: Green Rider, First Rider's Call, The High King's Tomb
Also in this series: Green Rider, First Rider's Call, The High King's Tomb
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, 2016 Re-Reading, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Once a simple student, Karigan G'ladheon finds herself in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand when she becomes a legendary Green Rider-one of the magical messengers of the king. Forced by magic to accept a dangerous fate she would never have chosen, headstrong Karigan has become completely devoted to the king and her fellow Riders.
But now, an insurrection led by dark magicians threatens to break the boundaries of ancient, evil Blackveil Forest-releasing powerful dark magics that have been shut away for a millennium.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Read More

Tagged as ,

June 2016 in Review

Posted June 29, 2016 in Life, Reading / 8 Comments

Month in Review

Things that Happened in June

  • I spent a weekend at Glacier National Park. I kind of sort of love it there. It is beautiful. If you haven’t gone, you definitely should!
  • I attended my friend’s wedding in California. My sister came with me and we had a blast.
  • I’ve been doing quite a bit of prep for the upcoming school year. I can’t believe June is over already! Only a month and a half until I am back in the classroom.
  • I did not reread any books this month. Wow! I am pretty sure that is a first this year.
  • I messed with my blog fonts last weekend (and updated my About Me page). I ended up changing up the fonts (both headers and body text) and simplifying my header. My design itself hadn’t changed since last October. Please let me know what you think about the changes! Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Below is the screenshot I took last October after my last design update:

Blog Design Change 06

My Favorite Book of June

Ruined

Ruined by Amy Tintera

Read More

Tagged as

Historical Retelling of Vlad Dracula as a Girl – And I Darken {Review}

Posted June 27, 2016 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments

Historical Retelling of Vlad Dracula as a Girl – And I Darken {Review}And I Darken by Kiersten White
Series: The Conquerors Saga #1
Publisher: Delacorte Press (2016 - June 28)
eARC (496 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL.
And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From
New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Find the author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr

Read More

Tagged as ,