Author: Liz Braswell

April 2016 in Review

Posted April 30, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments

Things that Happened in April

  • My birthday on April 1st. I don’t exactly like my birthday, in fact, I have nine whole reasons I hate the day of my birthday! I shared them on Twitter.
    9 Reasons I Hate the Day of My Birthday!


  • I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL!! It is for a Masters in Catechetics and Evangelization. I am SUPER excited about this. It is an online program that I will begin in August.

Favorites of the Month

  • My favorite book of the month was The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. I was basically in tears (meaning I would have been crying if I were one to cry about books) by the end of the novel. Such a fitting ending to an amazing series!
  • My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling. I love this book so much!

My Favorite Tweets of April

Books I Read in April

And I DarkenThe Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava LavenderThe Winner's KissDivined
Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixCity of Fallen AngelsHeir of FireThe Raven BoysThe Dream Thieves
Blue Lily, Lily BlueThe Raven KingThe Star-Touched QueenHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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Sleeping Beauty is Still Sleeping – Once Upon A Dream {Review}

Posted April 2, 2016 in Reading, Review / 2 Comments

Sleeping Beauty is Still Sleeping – Once Upon A Dream {Review}Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell
Series: Twisted Tales #2
Publisher: Disney Press (2016 - April 5th)
eARC (448 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Also by this author: A Whole New World
Also in this series: A Whole New World
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.
It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.
With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon

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February 2016 in Review

Posted February 28, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments

February 2016 in Review

Things that Happened in February

  • First of all, this is going to be a LONG post.
  • Lent started which means that Easter is on the way!
  • I wrote TWO discussion posts. I am thoroughly impressed with myself.
  • There has been nasty stuff floating around the school I work at. I have, thankfully, not caught anything terrible yet. I, however, have been feeling a little under-the-weather.
  • Speaking of weather, we have been having the weirdest winter ever! I live in Montana. We should have snow in February. Instead, all of the snow and ice has melted and we have been enjoying temperatures in the 50s and 60s! This isn’t exactly as good as it sounds since the ranchers really need the moisture from the snow in order to for the year to work out. It has been… odd.
  • I finally convinced my sister to sign up with Pottermore and be sorted. (She is a Hufflepuff, in case you were curious.)
  • I attended a Brew Fest with my family. It was… interesting. I cannot drink beer due to celiac and an alcohol allergy. It was thanks to that alcohol allergy that I started to go into anaphylaxis at the event. I was all, “I can’t breathe.” My dad was, “You’re fine.” I was all, “No! I really can’t breathe!” Then my dad and a family friend got me out of the crowd enough that I could recover.
  • I had an amazing Religious Ed class with my students. They were extremely interested in why there are Popes, how Popes are elected, and the Popemobile (which they didn’t believe was a real thing until I showed them pictures).
  • I’m slowly learning to let God take over since things have been… interesting lately.
  • On the note about God, I am in the process of applying for acceptance into a Masters in Theology program. (Yes, this is a different program than my other Masters work and the previous credits will mean zero. *sigh*)
  • My favorite book of the month (non-reread) was Raelia which left me completely broken and (almost) sobbing on the floor. AMAZING!
  • My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love this entire series, obviously, and could definitely use a time-turner.

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Review: A Whole New World – A Retelling of Aladdin

Posted August 31, 2015 in Reading, Review / 2 Comments

Review: A Whole New World – A Retelling of AladdinA Whole New World by Liz Braswell
Series: Twisted Tales #1
Publisher: Disney Press (2015)
eARC (336 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Also by this author: Once Upon A Dream
Also in this series: Once Upon A Dream
Reading Challenges: 2015 Fairytale Retelling, Read 2015

Synopsis

This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie?
When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.
What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Find the book: Goodreads

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August 2015 in Review

Posted August 30, 2015 in Life, Reading / 10 Comments

Things that Happened in August

  • I returned home from summer camp! It was a fun time but I am glad to be home.
  • I survived the days of smoke so thick I could not see more than a block ahead of me. When I went to drive into town, my vehicle put the auto-lights on because it thought it was night. It has never been this bad that I recall. Yay for the forest fires of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Canada.
  • I started school again. Back in the classroom with fifth and sixth grade students.
  • Speaking of being back in the classroom, I’m going to leave you with one very short sentence: I hate lice! (Thankfully I do not have any.)

Books I Read in August

Sponsa VerbiIntroduction to the Devout LifeWalking with JesusFire Study
An Ember in the AshesBecoming DarknessA Thousand Nights
ForswornSeraphinaCity of GlassCode Name Verity
 

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