Author Archives: Bethlylou

Midnight Sun is Finally Coming Out.

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In 2005, Stephenie Meyer released her first book, Twilight, and it took the world by storm. Kate and I are not ashamed to admit that we got caught up in. Over the last 12 years the Twilight series has gone through so much. Sequels, movies, backlash, Robsten stans and true the books are completely flawed but they also ushered in a whole wave of YA books. After the success of Twilight publishers went all in on Teen novels looking for the next big thing. It could be argued that book series like The Hunger Games, Divergent and so many more would never got the great light if Stephenie Meyer hadn’t been able to prove that books written for a teen audience could make money. So if the legacy of Twilight is remembered for anything it should be for that. Fans of the books may have remembered that around the time that back in 2008, Meyer’s was working on a companion novel named Midnight Sun. It was the events of the first book but from the perspective of Edward. Readers would finally get to see inside his head and truly know how he felt and struggled. We would get to know what he did when went to Alaska for a week to escape the temptation from Bella. The fandom was excited! It was not meant to be. The partial manuscript was leaked online and eventually Meyer’s herself released the unedited chapters and put a hold on writing. There have been rumors for years that she had begun working on it and even that she was ready to release it but again it didn’t happen. The release of the Fifty Shades of Grey novels is rumored to have delay her even longer. For the uninitiated, Fifty shades started out as a Twilight fan fiction from the male perspective that turned into a phenomenon of it’s own. Why do I bring all of this up now? If you haven’t heard, Stephenie Meyer’s announced today in the year of our lord 2020 is finally going to released the full novel on August 4th. Admit it, you’re kind of excited to read it as I am. I mean, there has been very little to look forward to this year so while this wasn’t something I we were desperately looking for it may be what we truly need in a year full of hardships and tragedy. So who’s up for a Midnight Sun read-a-long this summer?

What I’m Reading Now: Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa

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So I’m an idiot. There are a couple of new books that have some out in the last week or so that I’ve been waiting for. I got a notice from one of my credit cards that I earned enough points for a gift card so I was waiting for the card in the mail. However, if I read it more closely I would have known that they sent me the GC in the email letting me know about the GC. Self isolating has not improved my comprehension skills. Anyway, this book seems like the perfect book for me to read right now. It’s loosely based on some Japanese mythology. There’s a kitsune, samurai’s and dragons. Besides, a power hungry crazy lunatic raising a dragon to take over the world, it is nothing like our current reality. I think this is just the book to get me out of my book funk!

So How’s it going?

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So how’s it going out there ? You all staying safe and staying inside? What are you reading while self isolating? Me? Well not a whole lot. I thought when this started about a month ago (I can’t believe I’m going on my 4th week here!) that I was going to read all these books and that hasn’t really happened. I did finish two books and they were good and I enjoy them but since then I’ve really hard time focusing. I’m sure we are all feeling the same anxiety and stress of the times and it makes it really hard to concentrate. I’ve tried to start a few books but either I’m just not in the mood for them right (it turns out I have a lot of books that center around rebuilding after a global pandemic or disaster of some sort. A little bit to close to home at the moment.) or I just can’t focus long enough to comprehend what I’m reading and I end up reading the same paragraph over and over. Instead I’ve been watching a lot more on Netflix and TV. I find putting on a TV show or a movie is easier because I can be a little bit more passive. If I tune out for a bit it’s okay and still be okay. I don’t have to focus quite as much. I also wonder if the reason I’m having a hard time reading is that I used to do most of my reading on my commute to and from work. I’m obviously not commuting now. So maybe since my routine has been interrupted and I haven’t found a way to include reading in my new routine. Maybe I need to try audio books. Anyways, I hope that you all doing well and taking care of yourself. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Be safe everyone!

Quick Review: Chain and Gold by Cassandra Clare

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In this new series in the Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters universe follows the children of Tessa, Will, Cecily, Gabriel, Sophie, Gideon, Charlotte and Henry as well Elias Carstairs who was introduced in the finals chapters of the Infernal Devices trilogy. The new group of you Shadowhunters are James and Lucie Herondale, Cordelia and Alaister Carstairs, Matthew Fairchild, Anna, Christopher and Thomas Lightwood and Grace Blackthorn. London hasn’t had any demon attacks in over a year so when the attacks come again they are not prepared. Especially since they are a demon they haven’t seen before. Now if you read any of the other Shadowhunter books, this will be familiar. It has a lot of characters with complicated plots and full of romance and drama. For fans this is was a fun read and everything you want in a Cassandra Clare. She continues to fill her stories with a wide array of characters. For a novel that takes place at the turn of the 20th century it is filled with diversity from race and LGBTQ. Something that she has had some push back from fans who have argued you wouldn’t have so many LBGTQ and Brown people in Edwardian England. Which is ridiculous because the British Empire was in full force and LGBTQ people have always existed. However you feel about Miss Clare, she has never shied away from diversity in her novels. So yeah, it was a fun read but I think it’s for fans only.

Quick Review: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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I will be honest and say that I’m not sure how I feel about this novel. On the one hand it was entertaining but on the other it was incredibly long. The major mystery was solved and the villain was dispatched and yet there was still another 100 pages left in the book. Bryce is a half human half fae who likes to party. Her best friend, Dannika who is a Wolf Shifter is often her partner in crime when they go out. Tragedy strikes when Dannika and her pack are brutally murdered and it sends Bryce into a deep depression. She doesn’t start to come out of it until she is given the opportunity to help with the investigation. She is paired with Hunt a fallen angel slave who has no choice but do help in hope of winning his freedom back. It’s a pretty decent murder mystery as they follow the clues to what happen to Dannika and how it ties in to another crime as well. Bryce and Hunt are both fun characters and have a love of fun dialogue between the two of them. For fans of Sarah J Maas books, I think will enjoy this one too. It has a lot of the same hallmarks, witting dialogue filled with imaginative characters and magic. The one issue I have is the length of the novel. As I alluded to in the beginning, it had a really nice ending that wrapped up the mystery and dealt with the bad guy but there was still a 100 pages left to read. I understand that events in the last pages were crucial to character development but it could have been added to the next book or at least edited it down. This book didn’t need to have so much in it. It would have been okay to spread things out a little more instead of having it all in one. Let’s hope the next book is little bit more economical with it’s story.

Quick Review: Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

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Take a bow Justina Ireland. This series is just so good. Zombies, Queer heroine, old western story. It really has it all. At the end of Dread Nation, Jane and Katherine had to escape Summerland after it was overrun by Shamblers Of course, nothing is simple for them and they suffer one tragedy after another. I got a tell you, it was interesting reading this right before Coronavirus became a global pandemic because while I don’t think people are coming back as Zombies but it’s interesting to see how the world even fictional adapted to epidemic. Let’s just say, I am not sure we are doing all that great but I digress. Jane and Katherine through the journey have to deal with some major PTSD other issues. They have seen and done some many terrible things to survive and that will do damage to the strongest person. What I love about this story is how they handle it and the importance of having a strong friendship to get your through it. Katherine saves Jane by just being supportive of her. Being there for her when she needs and taking a step back when she doesn’t. Proof that we can’t always do it alone. A lesson that Gideon could have learned. He was so sure of his own greatness that he was willing to let the world burn to get what he thought he deserved. Yeah, privilege rich white man destroys the world. I know I am not doing it justice with this review but this series is amazing and for all of you quarantined at home, I highly recommend it.

Review: The King of Crows by Libba Bray

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The Diviner’s series is such a well crafted story from beginning to end. Libba Bray has said in interviews that she wanted to write a ghost story and it kinda is. Our heroes have to literally fight the ghosts of our nation’s past and the ghosts of their own lives too. While I don’t think it was intended it is also a cautionary tale as well. It takes place in 1927 but so many of the issues that 1920’s America was facing we are still facing now. You all know the quote, History repeats itself? Well, Evie, Sam, Theta, Henry, Ling, Memphis, Isiah and Jericho are faced with racism, sexism, white supremacy, fascism and rapidly improvements in technology. I’ve mentioned this in past reviews of this series that so many of the scenes could take place today and not look out of place. We really haven’t learned from our mistakes or really ever really truly faced the truth of our past. The King of Crow was created by the greed, sorrow and misdeeds of our past. He feeds of the fear and ignorance and uses that to bargain with people for their souls and this has made him powerful. After the events of last book, our heroes have to go on the run. They are being blamed for the death of Sarah Snow, a popular radio star and they are easy targets because they are a group of young people who are black, Jewish, mixed race, gay, disabled and have powers that people do not understand. Once again playing on fear and ignorance they public quickly turns on them. Now the first half of the book have shades of the never-ending-camping trip from Harry Potter. The group has been split up and all of over the country. While it was necessary in some ways for characters to have a chance to grow and the piece together what was going on, it did drag down the narrative. Once they were all united the narrative really took off and become more compelling. They meet up with a new diviner named Sarah Beth. Sarah Beth is totally creepy but she knows how to defeat the King of Crows so our group of diviners seek her out. A lot of things happen and yes it is tragic but in the end they were able to defeat the ghosts of their pasts to defeat the ghosts of our past as well. I don’t want to say too much more because I don’t want to spoil it for you. I highly recommend this series and so relevant to today that you should read it and then discuss our past. We are a great nation but we have also done some terrible things and they will forever haunt us until we actually deal with it otherwise history will continue to repeat itself.