Source: Library

Will Russia Survive? – The Winter of the Witch {Review}

Posted October 21, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Will Russia Survive? – The Winter of the Witch {Review}The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Series: Winternight #3
Publisher: Del Rey (2019)
eBook (384 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Also in this series: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Reading Challenges: Read 2020

Synopsis

Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.

Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.

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Russian Historical Fantasy! – The Girl in the Tower {Review}

Posted September 18, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Russian Historical Fantasy! – The Girl in the Tower {Review}The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Series: Winternight #2
Publisher: Del Rey (2017)
eBook (363 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Winter of the Witch
Also in this series: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Winter of the Witch
Reading Challenges: Read 2020

Synopsis

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

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Kidnapping and Fortune – The Orphan’s Wish {Review}

Posted September 8, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Kidnapping and Fortune – The Orphan’s Wish {Review}The Orphan's Wish by Melanie Dickerson
Series: Hagenheim #8
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (2018)
eBook (345 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Silent Songbird
Also in this series: The Silent Songbird
Reading Challenges: Read 2020

Synopsis

Orphaned and alone, Aladdin travels from the streets of his Arab homeland to a strange, faraway place. Growing up in an orphanage, he meets young Lady Kirstyn, whose father who is the powerful Duke of Hagenheim. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion, and their childhood friendship grows into a bond that time and opposition cannot break.

Even as a child, Aladdin works hard, learning all he can from his teachers. Through his integrity, intelligence, and sheer tenacity, he earns a position serving as the duke’s steward. But that isn't enough to erase the shame of being forced to steal as a small child—or the fact that he's an orphan with no status. If he ever wants to feel equal to his beautiful and generous friend Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim and seek his fortune.

Yet once Aladdin departs, Lady Kirstyn becomes a pawn in a terrible plot. Now, Aladdin and Kirstyn must rely on their bond to save her from unexpected danger. But will saving Kirstyn cost Aladdin his newfound status and everything he’s worked so hard to obtain?

An enchanting new version of the well-known tale, The Orphan's Wish tells a story of courage and loyalty, friendship and love, and reminds us what "family" really means.

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There are No Easy Answers – The Queen of Nothing {Review}

Posted January 21, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

There are No Easy Answers – The Queen of Nothing {Review}The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air
Publisher: Little Brown Books (2019)
Hardcover (308 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Darkest Part of the Forest
Reading Challenges: Read 2020

Synopsis

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

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A Girl, a Goal, and the California Gold Rush – Walk on Earth a Stranger {Review}

Posted October 24, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

A Girl, a Goal, and the California Gold Rush – Walk on Earth a Stranger {Review}Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
Series: Goldseer #1
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (2015)
Hardcover (431 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2016

Synopsis

Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.
She also has a secret.
Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.
When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.
The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.

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