What I’m Listening to Now: This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron (read by Jordan Cobb)

Posted on by
Reply

Last month I went to a yarn swap, where knitters and crocheters went through the yarn they had at home for things that bought but that they knew they wouldn’t use. We then ‘shopped’ each other’s yarn stashes. During the swap, I picked up this kit for some cute little wrist warmers.

Just a little something from the Yarn Swap

I’ve been on the waiting list for this book since the beginning of June. So, when it came available right as I was finishing House of Hollow, I knew it would be a perfect match for a new knitting project. Briseis is a gardener and magical, so starting something with a leafy motif seemed ideal.

Quick Review: House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Posted on by
Reply
The House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

This is a spooky little modern folk lore tale about Iris and her sister’s Vivi and Grey. When they were little, they went missing on New Year’s Eve for weeks before turning up mysteriously and changed. They all had little scars are their necks, their hair had turned white blonde, and they couldn’t remember what had happened or where they had been. Now, ten years later, Iris must delve into her family’s secrets now that Grey has once again gone missing.

I enjoyed the fairy tale and folk lore elements of this story and the dynamics at play between the sisters. This was a fun, twisty little read that I binged my way through. I really liked the main character, Iris, and the supporting casts of her sisters, Grey and Vivi, and Grey’s boyfriend Tyler were interesting and dimensional. The ending was good enough that I’m not clamoring for a sequel, but there were some threads left open that I wouldn’t mind continuing with these characters. If you like stories that play with folk tale elements and mystery, this is a fun one. Check it out.

What I’m Reading Now: Where the LIbrary Hides by Isabel Ibáñez

Posted on by
Reply

I didn’t know that there was a sequel to What the River Knows when I started it. So it’s a good thing that Where the Library Hides came out on Tuesday! Finally, something went right for me this week. IYKYK

Review: Red in Tooth and Claw by Lish McBride

Posted on by
Reply

I do enjoy Lish McBride’s work. She is so creative with her stories and is able to find humor even in a serious story. Faolan Kelly’s Pops has just died. He was her last living relative, and as a 17-year-old girl living as a boy, because the world is kinder to men than women, she doesn’t have a lot of choices. The Mayor of her town is shipping her off to a nearby religious settlement. Faolan knows it’s because he wants her Pops’ land. She has a plan. All she has to do is work hard, not draw attention to herself for a few months, and then when she turns 18 years old, come back and claim her land. The thing is Faolan is not someone who can keep herself out of trouble. From the moment she arrives in the settlement, she knows something is wrong. She is quickly wrapped up in the mystery of the settlement when she starts to notice weird things but also weird sounds. Not going to lie, she spends a fair amount of time injured in this book. She really cannot keep herself safe and it is kind of funny how hard her new friends have to work to do just that. I liked the atmosphere of this book The Western setting invokes a certain image of American life that lends itself to a spooky tale. It is not my favorite Lish McBride but it’s a solid work to her cannon. A good read for anyone looking for a Western mystery with a little bit of supernatural mixed in.

Book Haul: New York Comic Con Edition

Posted on by
Reply

Last weekend I went to New York Comic Con and the Javits Center. Always a good time but damn, is it exhausting. I truly cannot express how big the Javits Center is. I went on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Attended a few panels. My favorite was a Talk with Tomi Adeyemi, writer of the Orisha Trilogy, and the Futurama panel. I also spent way too much and included books. Here are a few new titles I picked up.

First, I got this mystery bag at the Simon and Schuster booth. I believe I got the Romantasy mystery bag. I haven’t heard of any of the titles before but I’m excited to read more.

Simon and Schuster were also giving away books. I was able to snag this one. I have never read any R.A. Salvatore before but this looks pretty cool.

I have read great things about Heir and liked Sabaa Tahir’s work in the past so I had to buy it. What the River knows was described as the Mummy meets a Death on the Nile and I was like, “I’m in”. Not to mention I got a pin with it.

They were giving away the ARC to Amelie Wen Zhao’s next book when purchasing her latest. Why not get a book about dragons and get another for free.

So that’s all the books I got and NYCC this year. I can’t wait to read them.

Review: A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan

Posted on by
1

Sophie Jordan first wrote about dragons years ago in her Firelight series. It was a kind of a Romeo and Juliet story of a Dragon who falls in a dragon hunter. When I started to read this, I didn’t realize that is a kind of prequel to the Firelight series The similarities are definitely there. Tasmyn is the whipping girl for the princesses of Penterra. She was raised along with the Princesses and treated as one but when they do something wrong, she gets punished. One day the warriors from the Borderlands will protect the kingdom. Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands demands to marry one of the Princesses in trade for continuing to keep them safe. The King tricks Fell into marrying Tasmyn instead, and things don’t start between them. Now Tasmyn is married to a stranger and is heading his home. She has a secret that she has to keep from him and everyone else. How do dragons factor into all of this? Dragons have been gone for over a century of them. Humans hunted them down and then started hunting witches and then turned against each other. Typical right? I like Tasmyn and I like Fell. They make a good couple if you ask me. They are both two young people who have lived hard lives. Tasmyn may have grown up in the palace along with the Royal family but she was always different. She suffered the punishments, actually the whippings when the real Princesses acted up. She didn’t complain because she knew this was her job. Her duty was to keep the princesses safe. Fell in a lot of ways is the same. He may not be the whipping boy but he takes the responsibility of protecting his people very seriously. They are obviously attracted to each other, often drawn to each other but there is so much distrust in each other and themselves for them to bridge that gap. However, I think they found some common ground in the end. Now, I really do need to start doing more research when starting books because I didn’t know this was a series and it while the ending didn’t surprise me, it was intriguing I do look forward to finding out where the story goes next and opening up the world more. I read this book in like days. It was that fast of a read. I hope that future books will be as entertaining.