Hello! It is somehow already Friday once again! I managed to finish three books since I last checked in, bringing my yearly total to 103. Two more and I will reach my new goal of 105. I already have a review up for Girls of Paper and Fire and you can see that here. Check back tomorrow for a full review of For Better and Worse both on the blog and on my BookTube channel.Speaking of BookTube, I managed to upload three videos this week and have two more planned for this weekend! Tuesday ended up being a bit busy so I didn't have time to do Tag Tuesday but I did manage to get up a reading vlog from November where I gush over some fantasy favorites such as Malice. You can watch that here. My tag video went up on Thursday and was a fun Grinch themed tag that is as grumpy as its namesake. I got to wear a super green sweater and somehow managed not to completely ruin my red lipstick for ten minutes. You can watch that one here. Then today I put up my normal Friday Reads video but with the addition of my dog and my parent's dog guest starring in the bloopers at the end. Check out those cuties here. And finally I've already mentioned a new book review will be up tomorrow while my November reading wrap up will be live both here and on the channel on Sunday!
A cool video I plan on filming really soon is book buying on a budget tips. This was actually requested by one of my friends after a discussion we had since I tend to acquire quite a few books and am forever hunting for bargains. I may not be an expert on buying books but I will definitely
share the tips I've picked up over the years both as a teen and young adult on a budget. I thought around the New Year would be a good time since improving your fiscal health is always a great resolution!Aside from finally getting ahead on my filming schedule I've been really busy with work lately so my reading pace has slowed down just a bit. Despite that I have two books I am currently reading and two that I plan on picking up in the next week while I oh so impatiently wait for my Book Outlet order and my Book of the Month box to arrive! I have twelve books arriving next week and am incredibly excited.
Keep reading below for my thoughts on my new reads as well as books that have been catching my eye lately.
Happy reading!
Title: The Winter RoadAuthor: Adrian Selby
Page Count: 450
Progress: 21
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: War, Mercenaries, Travel
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A gritty and epic adventure to appeal to fans of Mark Lawrence, Andrzej Sapkowski and Joe Abercrombie – The Winter Road is a fantasy novel which remembers that battles leave all kinds of scars.
The greatest empire of them all began with a road.
The Circle – a thousand miles of perilous forests and warring clans. No one has ever tamed such treacherous territory before, but ex-soldier Teyr Amondsen, veteran of a hundred battles, is determined to try.
With a merchant caravan protected by a crew of skilled mercenaries, Amondsen embarks on a dangerous mission to forge a road across the untamed wilderness that was once her home. But a warlord rises in the wilds of the Circle, uniting its clans and terrorizing its people. Teyr’s battles may not be over yet . . .
All roads lead back to war.
Thoughts so far:
First, the writing style is reminding me quite a bit of The Tiger's Daughter which is giving me both positive and negative vibes. This is largely because of how disappointed I was with its sequel, The Phoenix Empress. Another oddity in the writing is that some of the chapters are written in present tense. It had never occurred to me just how disorienting this could be. Aside from the writing style, there has already been a dog killed so I am not thrilled. Hopefully things turn around. I'm not completely against the book by any means...just a bit leery of how it'll progress.
Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Page Count: 450
Progress: 5
Format Read: BOTM Hardcover
Genre: Literary Fiction
Keywords: Strangers, Chaos, Health Resort
Kid Appropriate: Probably not
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, nine perfect strangers are about to find out...
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?
It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.
Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?
It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.
Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.
Thoughts so far:
I absolutely love this author's name and Big Little Lies was amazing, hence why I picked this one up for my November Book of the Month. Since I am not very far in I don't have too many impressions yet other than it is easy to fall into right from the start. I can't wait to see the mayhem I've been hearing about in other reviews.
Title: Furyborn
Author: Claire Legrand
Page Count: 512
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Fantasy
Keywords: Queens, Assassin, Magic
Kid Appropriate: Teens
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.
When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.
One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.
When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.
One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.
Title: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Page Count: 536
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Fantasy
Keywords: Librarian, Secret City, Gods
Kid Appropriate: Teens
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Welcome to Weep.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Welcome to Weep.
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