Month: January 2015

Monday’s Minutes #3

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Currently Reading: The Eterna Files by Leanna Renee Hieber, a review book, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which I’m reading for the Sword and Laser bookclub, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for The Classics Club.

 Eterna Sparrow Little Women

Finished: Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein, which I’ll be reviewing this week.

Walking

Winter 2014-2015 COYER Progress:  I’ve read 6 books towards my goal of 10, and participated in 2 read-a-thons towards my goal of 3.  I’ve also participated in some socializing on Facebook, but I still need to do a mini-challenge.

Show Your Shelves Some Love, and Outdo Yourself Progress: 4

Netgalley/Edelweiss Progress: 3.  I’m already starting to get into the part of my TBR that doesn’t apply to all of my challenges.

SF/F Bingo: I may end up moving these around a bit, but so far I’ve read a book containing dragons (The Sunken by S.C. Green), a book written by a new-to-me author (Tommy Black and the Staff of Light by Jake Kerr), a book by a female author (Walking the Labyrinth) and an Urban Fantasy (The Kingdom Lights by Steven V.S.).

S&S Bingo2update2

Total pages read for the week: 541

Total number of books for the year: 6

Top Commenters: This week, my Top Commenters were Shaina from Shaina Reads, Terri M., The Director from Second Run Reviews, and Rose from Chapter Break.

What are you reading this week?

Review: Onyx Webb – Episode 1

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Onyx

  • Authors: Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz
  • ASIN: B00O6DZLG0
  • Publisher: Lust For Living Press
  • Genre: Paranormal Suspense

I received this book from the authors in exchange for an honest review.

Once again, I’ve read a genre I don’t normally read.  This time, though, it was because my mind somehow equated Paranormal Suspense with Fantasy and I agreed to review the book after reading the synopsis.  I’m mostly happy about the mistake, after I got over my initial genre confusion when I started reading the book.

I say “mostly happy” because though this is a quick, suspenseful read, the subtitle “The Story Begins” means exactly that.  There is a lot of character introduction spanning several different generations, and it’s known that the main character, Onyx Webb, is dead, and a ghost of some sort, but not the how or why.  Just when I thought I was going to find out what happened to Onyx, there was a plot twist and then the story shifted to one of the other characters.  I’m fine with that, but I wanted a little more story before all the cliffhanging.

If “Episode One” wasn’t a part of the title, or if the book wasn’t as short as a novella or the start of a serial, I’d be angry about the cliffhanger ending.  So, even though I would have liked a bit more of the story, I’m not disgruntled about it, especially since a preview of Episode Two was included in my copy.  I look forward to reading the next parts, and I recommend Episode One to anyone who loves Paranormal or Suspense Thrillers or both, especially if you enjoy serials.

 

Friday’s Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty

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Sleeping Beauty
Image: Sofi

Friday’s Fairy Tales is a new feature about a different fairy tale each week/month.  I still haven’t decided which.

Though most often attributed to Charles Perrault, “Sleeping Beauty” was published even earlier as “Sun, Moon, and Talia”, by Giambattista Basile in 1634, also known as “Il Pentamerone, Day 5, Tale 5”.  This version is said to be the primary influence for the version that Charles Perrault wrote in 1697, which was one of the stories included in his book Histories ou Contes du temps passé.  The book was first translated into English by Robert Samber as Histories, or Tales of Past Times in 1729, and “Sleeping Beauty” can also be found in Classic Fairy Tales by Iona and Peter Opie.

Later on, the Grimm brothers borrowed the story from Perrault, as they did with many of their stories.  They cleaned it up and renamed it “Briar Rose”.  Their book was first published in 1812, and their version of the story became the most well known.  However, Charles Perrault was one of the last to avoid waking Beauty with a kiss.  Most of the versions written since, including “Briar Rose”, have used the kiss to awaken the sleeping princess.

You can find the Charles Perrault version in French and English as an ebook or audiobook at Project Gutenberg.

Some modern retellings of “Sleeping Beauty” include Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley, The Castle Behind Thorn by Merrie Haskell, Shadow by Jenny Moss, Thornspell by Helen Lowe, While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell, The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey, Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey, When Rose Wakes by Christopher Golden, and Briar Rose by Jane Yolen.

Review: Tommy Black and the Staff of Light

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Tommy

  • Author: Jake Kerr
  • ISBN: 9780692316665
  • Publisher: Currents & Tangents Press
  • Genre: Middle-Grade Urban Fantasy

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tommy Black is just a kid living in New York with his grandfather, Declan.  At least that’s what he thinks, until they are attacked by magical creatures, Shadows, and his grandfather fights back with his cane.  The cane is really a magical staff that has been passed down from one person to the next in Tommy’s family.  His grandfather gives him the staff and orders him to escape.  Tommy barely gets away with his life and the staff and doesn’t know what has happened to his grandfather, but Tommy knows in his heart that he’s still alive.  Now, Tommy must save him.

I enjoyed reading this book for more than it being an exciting, adventurous Fantasy story.  Tommy ends up meeting a girl, Naomi, who is better at magic than most who have trained for years.  However, this being set right before World War II, she comes up against sexist ideas about what girls can and can’t do throughout the story.  She’s constantly underestimated by everyone, except Tommy, but they pay the price for their narrow mindedness.  I find it refreshing to read a Fantasy story, especially a middle-grade one, in which sexism is faced without being preachy or accepted and allowed to go without remark of any kind.

The book journal I use to write down notes and thoughts about my review books has a rating scale from 1 to 10 for various elements of the story, such as quality of writing, pace, characters, etc.  I marked a 9 or 10 for every single element.  I highly recommend Tommy Black and the Staff of Light to Fantasy lovers of all ages, especially if you enjoy Urban Fantasy.

Wednesday’s Words #1: Little Women

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Wednesday’s Words is the replacement for Thursday’s Quotables.

Little Women

I haven’t read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott since I was very young.  I forgot just how much I loved it, and OH, THE FEELS!  SO MANY FEELS!  In fact, I forgot most of the book, so it doesn’t really feel like a re-read for me.  The reason I’m re-reading it at this particular time is because I’m participating in the Dusting Off the Shelves read-a-thon, and Little Women happened to be the ebook that I’ve owned the longest but never read.  It was my very first ebook when I bought my Nook back in 2010, and I never opened it.  I always meant to, but you know how it is.  I got distracted by other books.  So, in celebration of rediscovering a classic from my childhood, here are my favorite quotes:

“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”

This line is so heartbreakingly beautiful I don’t have any other words.

“Meg’s high-heeled slippers were dreadfully tight, and hurt her, though she would not own it; and Jo’s nineteen hair-pins all seemed stuck straight into her head, which was not exactly comfortable; but, dear me, let us be elegant or die.”

I think all women, and probably some men, have done this at one time or another.  At least I know I have, especially when I was younger.

“I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.”

I love Jo!  I’m pretty sure she was my favorite of the girls when I was a kid as well.

“Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and fall into a vortex, as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.”

I don’t have a scribbling suit, or a room of my own (my desk is in the corner of the living room), and I’m not writing a novel, but I do go to a cafe with my notebook and sit for hours writing as if I have to get the words out of me or I’ll die.  I started doing that during my teenage years, and though I stopped writing for a long time, I quickly went back to old habits when I started up again.  Some of my favorite writers do the same thing, and knowing that makes me feel more a part of a community of sorts.

Review: The Sunken

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Sunken

  • Author: S.C. Green
  • ISBN: 9780473305581
  • Publisher: Grymm & Epic Publishing
  • Genre: Steampunk/Horror

I recieved this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m fairly new to Steampunk, but the few movies I’ve seen and the one short story I’ve read prior to this book were enough for me to be interested in trying out more of the genre’s offerings.  The Sunken by S.C. Green has the added benefit of being Horror AND there’s dragons!  However, the dragons aren’t the main cause of the horrific events.  Needless to say, the combination of these elements is surprising and interesting.

Unfortunately, I have to give a trigger warning, since the story contains what could be considered an unnecessary rape scene that is horrifically graphic in detail.  I was angered by one of the female character’s reaction to finding out about the rape, but I understand that it was considerably liberal for the times in which the story takes place.  However, the rape scene itself automatically docks a star off this book.  The rest of the story is fantastic and has all of what I enjoy about Steampunk.

I’m feeling a bit hesitant on who to recommend this book to, despite it being a good story overall.  I would say it’s for anyone who loves Steampunk, but if anyone in that category doesn’t like Horror or is triggered in any way by graphic sexual violence, I have to say stay away from this book.  If neither of those apply to you, then maybe give it a chance.

 

#FitReaders Weekly Check-In #2

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Geeky Bloggers Book Blog
This check-in is for Jan. 5th – 11th.  My goal for this week was an average of 2K steps per day, and since I hit that goal, I’ll be working towards 3K steps per day from Jan. 12th – 18th.  Every week that I reach my goal, I will add 1K steps until I’m completing 12K steps per day.  After that, I’ll add in resistance training and/or jogging, depending on how my knees are doing.  The Boyfriend and I will also be going to Hot Yoga classes.  If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
This week was much better than last week, and I know that’s due to the Workweek Hustle Fitbit challenge that I participated in.  I only came in 7th place, but I had fun trying to catch up to and/or pass the other participants.  Thanks to all of them for keeping me going!  I hope to join in on another challenge soon.
  • Total Steps: 40,231
  • Total Distance: 16.73 miles
  • Total Floors Climbed: 19

Bout of Books 12 Wrap Up

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Bout of Books

For Bout of Books information, visit the Bout of Books blog.

My Goals

  • finish off the books I’m currently reading. – I’ve finished the books I was reading before Bout of Books 12 started.
  • Read at least one new book off of my TBR shelf.  Onyx Webb and The Kingdom Lights were books on my TBR.
  • Finish at least 3 books. – Done, done, and done!

This is the first Bout of Books that I’ve met all of my goals! 🙂

Books Read

Total Pages Read

827.  I think I may have figured up my total pages wrong.  Either that, or I figured up my daily totals wrong.  I don’t know which, and I’m still having some difficulty getting used to the Kindle only showing percentages instead of pages.  Regardless, this has been the best Bout of Books for me so far.  I got most of the way through Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein, despite running errands and doing laundry.  3 books + 89% of another book is really good as far as I’m concerned.  At the very least, this Bout of Books allowed me to cut down on my TBR review books and get ahead of schedule.

Mini-Challenges Completed

I only participated in 1 mini-challenge, but I also joined in on a twitter chat, which I had never done before.

Monday’s Minutes #2

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Currently Reading: Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein, a review book, and The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which I’m reading for the Sword and Laser bookclub.

 Walking Sparrow

Finished: Tommy Black and the Staff of Light by Jake Kerr, Onyx Webb by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, and The Kingdom Lights by Steven V.S.  I will be reviewing all of these over the next week.

Tommy Onyx Kingdom

DNF: Feast of Fates by Christian A. Brown.  I’ll post a DNF review next week.

Feast

Winter 2014-2015 COYER Progress:  I’ve read 5 books towards my goal of 10, and participated in 1 read-a-thon towards my goal of 3.  I’ve also participated in some socializing on Facebook, but I need to check out some reviews and do a mini-challenge.

Show Your Shelves Some Love, Outdo Yourself, and Netgalley/Edelweiss Progress: 3

SF/F Bingo: I may end up moving these around a bit, but so far I’ve read a book containing dragons (The Sunken by S.C. Green), a book written by a new-to-me author (Tommy Black and the Staff of Light), and an Urban Fantasy (The Kingdom Lights).

S&S Bingo2update1

Total pages read for the week: 827

Total number of books for the year: 5.

Top Commenters: This week, my Top Commenter was Shaina from Shaina Reads.  Tied for 2nd and 3rd were Terri M., The Director from Second Run Reviews and thebookmagpie from The Book Magpie’s Nest.

What are you reading this week?

Bout of Books 12: Update 6

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Bout of Books

For Bout of Books 12 information, visit the Bout of Books blog.

My Goals

  • finish off the books I’m currently reading. – I’ve finished the books I was reading before Bout of Books 12 started.
  • Read at least one new book off of my TBR shelf.  Onyx Webb and The Kingdom Lights were books on my TBR.
  • Finish at least 3 books. – Done, done, and done!

Books Read

Pages Read

186.  I finished The Kingdom Lights, and started Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein. It’s my last review book for January, and it feels so good to be ahead of schedule again!  I’m not likely to finish it by the end of today, since I’ve got errands to run and laundry to finish, but I’ll have it read long before the end of the month.

Mini-Challenges Completed

I didn’t participate in the mini-challenge yesterday.