Author: Sabaa Tahir

Item: An Ember in the Ashes
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

September 2015 in Review

Posted September 29, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments

Things that Happened in September

It is so strange that September is already over! This month has been so overwhelming!!
The first weeks of the school year have dragged and yet they have also gone by so quickly.
I was dragged to the city to try on dresses for my sister’s wedding next summer. I think we found one that everyone liked. That itself is an accomplishment. 🙂
This month has seemed to go by so fast when I wasn’t at the school. Just crazy fast.

I have decided to start reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer in Polish in hopes that it will help my Polish vocabulary. So far, it is very slow going.

I watched the Pope in Philadelphia on EWTN. I love Pope Francis so much. He is so inspiring and so full of joy. What a great representative of God’s love for all people, especially families, at the World Meeting of Families.

Books I Read in September

The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard

Tagged as Catholic, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Monthly Wrap-Up, Polish, Pope Francis, Read 2015, Religious Education, Rereading Challenge, School, Sister, Swap, You Read How Many Books Challenge

{Review} An Ember in the Ashes – A Roman-esque Empire and Rebels

Posted September 16, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Series: An Ember in the Ashes #1
Publisher: RazorBill (2015)
Hardcover (446 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.
THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME.
IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW AND I WILL DESTROY YOU.
Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Tagged as 4 star, Library, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge

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

Tagged as Fairy Tales, Family, Monthly Wrap-Up, Pope Francis, Saints, School, Sister, Summer, Summer Camp

June and July 2015 in Review

Posted August 10, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments

It has been a crazy month and a half! I will share some of my summer camp experience here but most will wait until it’s own post with pictures!

Things that Happened in June & July

As you may recall from a previous post, I spent the summer working at a great Catholic summer camp. I really want to talk a lot about that but I promise I will post more with pictures later.
I survived 6 weeks without much cell phone service or internet. It was really great for me.
I also read things that I wanted to read rather than what I needed to read based on review copies and such.

Books I Read in June

Tagged as Consecrated Virginity, Fairy Tales, Monthly Wrap-Up, Pope Francis, Saints, School, Summer, Vocation