Tag: 5 star

The Star-Touched Queen {Excerpt}

Posted May 2, 2016 in Reading / 0 Comments

The Star-Touched Queen {Excerpt}The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2016)
Paperback ARC (339 pages)
Via: Publisher
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...
But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.
A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology.
The Star-Touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.

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Recommending this Book to EVERYONE! – The Name of God is Mercy {Review}

Posted April 23, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Recommending this Book to EVERYONE! – The Name of God is Mercy {Review}The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis
Publisher: Random House (2016)
Hardcover (176 pages)
Rating:
Also by this author: The Joy of the Gospel, Walking with Jesus, Encountering Truth
Reading Challenges: Read 2016

Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In his first book published as Pope, and in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis here invites all humanity to an intimate and personal dialogue on the subject closest to his heart—mercy—which has long been the cornerstone of his faith and is now the central teaching of his papacy.
In this conversation with Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, Francis explains—through memories from his youth and moving anecdotes from his experiences as a pastor—why “mercy is the first attribute of God.” God “does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins,” he writes. As well, the Church cannot close the door on anyone, Francis asserts—on the contrary, its duty is to go out into the world to find its way into the consciousness of people so that they can assume responsibility for, and move away from, the bad things they have done.
The first Jesuit and the first South American to be elected Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has traveled around the world spreading God’s message of mercy to the largest crowds in papal history. Clear and profound,
The Name of God Is Mercy resonates with this desire to reach all those who are looking for meaning in life, a road to peace and reconciliation, and the healing of physical and spiritual wounds. It is being published in more than eighty countries around the world.
“The name of God is mercy. There are no situations we cannot get out of, we are not condemned to sink into quicksand.”—Pope Francis

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My New Favorite Book! and 3 Favorite Characters from The Star-Touched Queen {Review}

Posted April 21, 2016 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments

My New Favorite Book! and 3 Favorite Characters from The Star-Touched Queen {Review}The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2016)
Paperback ARC (339 pages)
Via: Publisher
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...
But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.
A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology.
The Star-Touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.

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Things Every Catholic (and Non-Catholic) Should Know – {Review} The Catholic Catalogue

Posted April 18, 2016 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Things Every Catholic (and Non-Catholic) Should Know – {Review} The Catholic CatalogueThe Catholic Catalogue by Melissa Musick, Anna Keating
Publisher: Image (2016)
Hardcover (432 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2016

Synopsis

The popular mother-daughter team behind the hit website TheCatholicCatalogue.com helps readers to discover, rediscover, and embrace some of the smells and tastes, sounds and sensations, holidays and seasons of the Catholic life. This collection of prayers, crafts, devotionals and recipes will help readers make room in their busy lives for mystery and meaning, awe and joy.
This beautifully designed book will help readers celebrate Catholicism throughout the years, across daily practice and milestones. Like the most useful field guides, it is divided into user-friendly sections and covers such topics as the veneration of relics, blessing your house, discovering a vocation, raising teenagers, getting a Catholic tattoo, planting a Mary garden, finding a spiritual director, and exploring your own way in the tradition.
With more than 75 inspiring chapters, this book promises to be a resource that individuals and families will turn to again and again.

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The Epic Conclusion to One of My Favorite Series of Ever! – Divined {Review}

Posted April 16, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

The Epic Conclusion to One of My Favorite Series of Ever! – Divined {Review}Divined by Emily Wibberley
Series: The Last Oracle #3
Publisher: Wibbs Ink (2016 - April 26)
eARC (402 pages)
Via: Author
Rating:
Also by this author: Sacrificed, The Commander
Also in this series: Sacrificed, Forsworn, The Commander
Reading Challenges: 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

The epic conclusion to the Last Oracle Series…
Clio has forsaken the Deities and turned her back on her powers. Unable to trust her Visions, she is left alone and weak on the outskirts of Sheehan.
When the Emperor hears that an Oracle has survived in the Empire, he places a price on her head, forcing Clio to flee to the ancient city of Cearo. But the Deities have other plans for Clio, and it’s not long before she is faced with new foes, including a priestess with uncanny powers.
With rumors of unrest in the Empire growing and alliances within the nobles shifting, Riece seeks out Clio with a desperate plea. To protect the Empire, Clio will have to return to where her journey began—the sacrificial pyramid of Morek—to fight a new evil in an unimaginable form and confront the greatest enemy she's ever known: her father.

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