April 2016 in Review

Item: The Orphan Queen
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

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!

Reason #101 I Hate April Fools Day: No one believes me that it is, in fact, my birthday.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) March 31, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #102: No one takes me seriously ON MY OWN BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #103: People expect to be able to act mean and rude without any consequences. This is not okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #104: It turns into a time for bullies to pick on EVERYONE. Again, this is NOT okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #105: I work in a school. Enough said.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #106: My birth was not some joke. I am not a joke. I am ME and it IS my BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #107: Let me just have my birthday and stop turning everything into a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #108: For once, I’d like to be able to go somewhere and do something on my birthday without it being a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #109: I have NEVER had a birthday without at least a few derogatory comments about my birthday being April 1

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016
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

Knowing how much I don’t exactly love my birthday, my mum got me some great flowers. ❤️ Sometimes moms are the best! pic.twitter.com/bHZBdEz5x9

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 2, 2016

380 miles round trip? Ain’t nothing like a day drive to the city when you live in Montana. 😄 And now I’m home. #lifeinMT

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 3, 2016

I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRAD SCHOOL!! 🎉😃🎉😃🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 8, 2016

🎉 I’ve done it! I’ve caught up on reviews! 🎉 For the 1st time ever my Feedback Ratio on @NetGalley is 100%! #books #bookreview #netgalley 🏻🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 15, 2016

Books I Read in April

Tagged as Monthly Wrap-Up

Everyone is Keeping Secrets from Someone Else – The Orphan Queen {Review}

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

The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
Series: The Orphan Queen #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books (2015)
Hardcover (391 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.
She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.
She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.
She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.
Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Find the author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr

Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016

February 2015 in Review

Posted February 28, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 2 Comments

It is so hard to believe it is the end of February already. This has been a crazy month.

Things that Happened in February

Lent started with Ash Wednesday the beginning of the month.
I got the nasty cold thing going around the school. I have to remember to thank my students for that one.
We had this really great false spring with temperatures in the 60s (Farenheit) and then we were down to the negatives again.
I left town twice this month! This is pretty big when the closest other places are 2+ hours away and there is a lot of snow on the ground.
I spent a great deal of time with my head in a book and I am perfectly okay with that.