**Spoilers**
First, can we talk about her badass jacket on the cover? I really want a jacket like that. Anyhoo, at the end of the last book. The King of Adarlan is dead, killed by Dorian while he was under Erawan’s spell. He broke away from his power but not in time to save Chaol from terrible back injury that we still don’t know the extent of his injuries. Will he be able to walk again? Is he even still alive? Aelin, has taken her former masters money and has one of the Wyrdkeys and now is heading home to Terrasan with Rowan, Aedion and Lysandra. Manon and her thirteen save Elide from Morath after Kaltain blows up half the mountain not before she gives Elide the second Wyrdkey. Lorcan, has come to Erilea to get the keys for Maeve. So all the players are in play, well except for Chaol who is MIA and eventually they all meet up to find the lock that will once and for all rid the world of Erawan. With a book with so many characters it would be easy to lose track of who is who and where they belong in the story but the story lines are woven so seamlessly together that it feels like one story. Each character has their arc that we have seen true growth in. Dorian was a sheltered and naive Prince when we first meet him but now he has hardened. He has experience loss and has find strength in his power. As he begins to understand his power, he starts to gave more confidence in himself. They all have grown so much from the first book. When I think about Throne of Glass it almost feels like a completely different series because they books have gone so far. As Aelin, Dorian, Aedion and Manon have grown and mature so have the books. They are far more complicated as the characters themselves have become far more complicated. The most complicated of them all is our former assassin turned Queen, Aelin. She has so much power that she doesn’t even know how powerful she is but one thing that has changed her ability to outsmart her opponents. She always had a plan in motion but I had no idea how long she had been planning her strategy. Some go as far back as the first and second book. It’s almost mind blowing about how the dots all are connecting and with one book to go the endgame is in sight. The ending is pretty devastating but totally worth the pain. Really looking forward to finding out how this will end.
Last Week I get a text from my Mom to say that she is sending me a book. This book. What can I say, she knows me. I love Little Golden Books. I think like most people, Little Golden Books were some of the first books I read or were read too. The Poky Little Puppy is my Mom’s favorite. Every Christmas there is a book drive at Barnes and Noble and I donate The Poky Little Puppy in her honor. The other thing from our childhood is Star Wars. I distinctly remember our parents taking Kate and I out of school so we could go to the first showing at the local theaters for the re-release of A New Hope. So Star Wars and The Little Golden Books together is just the perfect gift. This is such a cute book. I wouldn’t say it’s a kids book. I have a feeling it’s shelved in the Humor or even the self help section of Barnes and Noble but if wanted to read it to your kids it wanted too. It’s a simple book that uses scenes from all the movies to talk you up. Not everything is going to happen as you plan. There are going to be dark times. The dark side of the Force at the times may seem more appealing but in the long run it isn’t. Friends will always find you under Cloud City or rescue you when you have been frozen in carbonate. So don’t let the bad out weigh the good. And just like Yoda says “Do or Do not. There is no Try” so go read this book and relive the magic that is Star Wars and Little Golden Book and be inspired.
The series The Book of Spirit of Thieves is both a prequel and a sequel to Morgan Rhodes other series Falling Kingdoms. With it’s dueling narratives that take place centuries before and after and in the same realm as the action of her previous books and also in our own world in present time. In some ways, it fills the origin holes of some the mysteries and prophecies but stands on it own. The switching POV of Maddox, Becca, Crystal and Farrell are kind of a mix bag. I like Maddox as his is different from the others. It’s the prequel part of the story and takes place in Mytica. Becca, Crystal and Farrell are all in present day Toronto. The sisters Becca and Crystal are fine. There is a genuine love between them but a little bit of distance. Since the events of the last book, they both have learned a lot about themselves and each other and they are not sure what to do about this new knowledge. Farrell, I could do without, sort of. I understand why he is a POV but I just don’t really care that much about him as I do the others. He’s a privilege rich white boy who drinks and acts out because he didn’t get the love at home. He uses people to make him feel better and people keep giving his boorish behavior a pass because he’s just a good kid inside. He’s just hasn’t gotten over the loss of his brother. He’s being controlled by an ancient cult leader. Ok those are both true but still. I’ve over it. This series is fine and okay. I think Falling Kingdoms is a far more interesting series with more compelling characters and more twists and turns. That being said, it’s still kinda fun to read and it does fill in some wholes of the other series so it’s worth checking out if you’ve read the other series.
***Spoilers***
A world without books sounds terrible. Who would ever want to live like that. I know there are people in this world who can read but choose not and it’s baffling but that has nothing to do with this book. Books can really change a life. For Sefia, her life was simple until her father is murdered and she is forced to go on the run with her Aunt Nin. For years, her parents have been hiding a mysteriously item and people are hunting down Sefia and Nin for it. When Nin gets kidnapped, Sefia finally decides it’s time to find out what she’s carrying and why people murdered her father and how she can get Nin back. It is a book. It tells her. In Sefia’s journey she is joined by another orphan, Archer and pirates. Meanwhile there are dual narratives of Lon, an apprentice to the Master Librarian. A secret society that is tasked with gathering all the knowledge of the world and controlling it. They spend their time recopying texts from one manuscript to another and learning to see people’s pasts in vision. Lon proves to be a fast learner and with the help of the Second, a assassin apprentice he begins to see things are not as they seem. We also meet Captain Reed and his crew first in Sefia’s book and then for real. At first it was confusing with all these story lines going on at the same time. I could tell that they were all meant to tie together but it just didn’t jive. I started to guess that one of the story lines wasn’t happening at the same time as the others and then things started to make sense for me. It was an exciting first book to a new series. Sefia is strong and resourceful. She is resolute in finding the ones she loves. She teaches herself how to read and discovers the secret of the book. Archer has an equally tragic backstory. Taken from his family at a young age, he is raised in violence and forced to fight to the death. It’s all mixed with tension and intrigued. I can’t wait to read the next one.
For a superhero who has outlasted all by Superman, Batman and Captain America, she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. She was created to inspire young woman to take up their rightful place in society as her creator William Moultan Marston once stated that in the next 1,000 years, Woman will rule the world. He wanted a superhero that embody female strength can be just as strong as any man if not stronger. To truly understand Wonder Woman and her place in history, you really have to know who origins and the man (and the women who inspired) who created her. William Moultan Marston was an heir to a family with a long history. An only child who was doted on by his mother and four aunts. His wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, was just as educated as he was and was often the breadwinner of the family and his other wife, Olive Byrne (yep, he had two wives) was once his student and the caretaker. He was a lawyer and academic. He invented the lie detector. He wrote screenplays and worked for Universal Studios during the earlier days of Hollywood. He was a little bit of everything and a little bit of a mess. He failed as more then he succeeded but all of it culminated in creating Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth was an extension of his life work of seeking truth through his own lie detector machine and research. Wonder Woman’s bracelets were inspired by his second wife’s, Olive Byrne,bracelet that she wore instead of a wedding ring. Speaking of Olive she was the niece of Margaret Sanger. Champion for birth control and founder of Planned Parenthood. Feminism was strong in the family. Actually the suffragist movement very much influenced Wonder Woman as the stories and imagery can be seen all over the the early Wonder Woman comic book. This was a very easy read that goes into the great detail of William Marsters life and highlight moments in his life that he drew upon to create his Amazonian. It may take a while before you get the actual creation of Wonder Woman but Jill Lepore does a great job of showcasing how people, situations and politics would influence Moultan Marsters and how they ended up in his work. How an old professor turned into Dr. Psycho. Or how the art of Lou Rogers inspired story lines. How the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady shaped Wonder Woman’s character and how his own wives and children breathed life into her as well. Sadly, it also shows how the Wonder Woman changed after Marster’s death. Like many women after World War Two, Wonder Woman was forced back into the kitchens even if it went against her origins. She may have gone completely by the wayside if it wasn’t for Women’s movement in the 60’s and 70’s but even then she wasn’t the same. It’s sad to see that many of the issues that Wonder Woman faced in the late 30’s and 40’s we are still facing today. The criticism of her is still charged against many female protagonist of any genre. Progress has been made but we are still so much to go. You to like this book you don’t know need to know anything about Wonder Woman or even comics to enjoy it. You just need to have an appreciation for a good story and kick ass woman.
2 Women, So Many Books 