tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26909371843880960332024-03-05T05:49:25.513-05:00BookGirl's BookNookBookGirlR provides regular book reviews and personal tales about the daily life of a bookworm. Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-75180863601853748552021-03-06T15:33:00.005-05:002021-03-06T15:33:53.310-05:00Review: The Year of the Witching<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEBS_acGpuCnlx8sziV37QsI1dz7r8e1y2j9lbHAKl3GkToUqxSGKkxGQr8lolaO8_Vy65UnHpZEbIIOhBs8oS-HHA32r-nmocjO9omwGpr7lEzR5aBNemOXwYbal8UBwdD3sBo8ic4Y/s2048/year+of+the+witching%252C+the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1354" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEBS_acGpuCnlx8sziV37QsI1dz7r8e1y2j9lbHAKl3GkToUqxSGKkxGQr8lolaO8_Vy65UnHpZEbIIOhBs8oS-HHA32r-nmocjO9omwGpr7lEzR5aBNemOXwYbal8UBwdD3sBo8ic4Y/w265-h400/year+of+the+witching%252C+the.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>The Year of the Witching </i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alexis
Henderson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Synopsis: “A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical
society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy
debut.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In the lands of
Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is
blasphemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mother’s union with an
outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so
Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead
a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other
women in the settlement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But a mishap lures
her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet
once chased and killed four powerful witches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on
Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanualle is shocked to learn
once sought sanctuary in the wood. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Fascinated by
the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how
her mother could have consorted with the witches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when she begins to learn grim truths
about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its
own darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she starts to understand
that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I both loved
and hated this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I loved:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Year of the Witching</i> is extremely well
written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like I was right there,
with Immanuelle, whom I really started to care about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I hated: <i>The Year of the Witching</i> is
extremely well written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like I was
right there, with Immanuelle, whom I really started to care about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, this is a horror novel, set in a dystopian,
puritanical, secluded society… I spent most of the time battling feelings of
anger and terror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point I had to
put down the book for over a week to work out my emotions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the idea
of a secluded, low tech, mostly agricultural society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Village</i> is one of my favorite movies, please
don’t judge me. The idea of a simpler life is very appealing to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, you add in a crazy, blood thirsty Prophet
who is also a sexual predator, evil witches who live in the dark ominous woods,
and a bloody curse, and it’s no longer the idyllic place I would imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hated it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to throw it
against the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to put it in
time out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is how you know it’s
a fabulous book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly recommend <i>The
Year of the Witching</i> for any fans of horror, and I just cannot wait for the
next book in the Bethel series.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ace<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHc_b-vkg5OKcLQA_5PYLRy8CYS0UBYgeJH61nculVBof8xR949GuunEPK2u2oXp6D3uoQUiwLS5cYWM65AB_e-pufImrRR7-ZtXUESrH0GRKt2GnKLxsuVTXQdhUj4qVnu984fXh8E3w/s499/once+and+future+witches%252C+the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHc_b-vkg5OKcLQA_5PYLRy8CYS0UBYgeJH61nculVBof8xR949GuunEPK2u2oXp6D3uoQUiwLS5cYWM65AB_e-pufImrRR7-ZtXUESrH0GRKt2GnKLxsuVTXQdhUj4qVnu984fXh8E3w/s320/once+and+future+witches%252C+the.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Once and Future Witches</i> by Alix Harrow<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWJsF5AzLbwxgZGj8Ik8N-JyVhdRv5IxuSzNG-oLoX1H2tJ0IzkYdBP4DFR_B4HJwPuMzw7yiKOnvVPTElmVPCFHCgcU4kFhhQUqNqqRcFTJiepG61uL2IWvj-1-bL9JfiH7sgnmcoCg/s499/burn+our+bodies+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWJsF5AzLbwxgZGj8Ik8N-JyVhdRv5IxuSzNG-oLoX1H2tJ0IzkYdBP4DFR_B4HJwPuMzw7yiKOnvVPTElmVPCFHCgcU4kFhhQUqNqqRcFTJiepG61uL2IWvj-1-bL9JfiH7sgnmcoCg/s320/burn+our+bodies+down.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Burn Our Bodies Down</i> by Rory Power<o:p></o:p></span></p>Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-88417745508394443192021-02-16T19:00:00.001-05:002021-02-16T19:00:21.849-05:00Review: Junkyard Cats<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-g8Banrl5jksZzfihRi8EoN8UUAfOGp5dibpxDZdg6D4JDOqDRvBwmVTKEVrT2FfecIs4-j14vuLScwZ24ZffC4JshSUyvU9Km5azOOXCG2EWOcc_Op9fDncNzhcw3nyr5CMtbxZJnE/s500/junkyard+cats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-g8Banrl5jksZzfihRi8EoN8UUAfOGp5dibpxDZdg6D4JDOqDRvBwmVTKEVrT2FfecIs4-j14vuLScwZ24ZffC4JshSUyvU9Km5azOOXCG2EWOcc_Op9fDncNzhcw3nyr5CMtbxZJnE/w266-h400/junkyard+cats.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Junkyard Cats</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Faith Hunter<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Junkyard
Cats</i> #1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Synopsis: “After the Final War, after the appearance of the
Bug aliens and their enforced peace, Shining Smith is still alive, still doing
business from the old scrapyard bequeathed to her by her father. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Shining is now something more than
human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the scrapyard is no longer
just a scrapyard, but a place full of secrets that she has guarded for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This life she
has built, while empty, is predictable and safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until the only friend left from her previous
life shows up, dead, in the back of a scrapped Tesla warplane, a note to her
clutched in his fingers – a note warning her of a coming attack.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Someone knows who she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone knows what she is guarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will she be able to protect the
scrapyard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will she even survive?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or will she have to destroy everything she
loves to keep her secrets out of the wrong hands?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Faith
Hunter’s books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people know her
through her <i>Jane Yellowrock</i> series, but I found her through her <i>Rogue Mage
Trilogy</i> which is still one of my favorite series of all time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the main reasons I love Faith Hunter’s
books is her superb character AND world building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With most authors you get one or the other,
but with Hunter you get both!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I truly
feel for the characters; and can almost see, smell, and taste the world they live
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While reading
<i>Junkyard Cats </i>I kept getting pulled away to do other things, which was torturous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so into the characters and the story
that I just HAD to know what was going to happen next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, when I got to the final 25% I put on
my noise cancelling headphones, turned off my phone, and told everyone to leave
me alone until I was done!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one will
be surprised that my favorite character was Tuffs, the alpha female cat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved the development of the bond between
Shining and Tuffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only complaint is
that <i>Junkyard Cats</i> is short, 106 pages on Kindle, and I wanted more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> Lore Seekers Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCYiwZSKHuOAyCG6GlcZtKSgii7vXnlaN6nocZJG9NmozngZKd1vpB5Ngu8Lt5MozuaFT8H2vHRg5lDjQY5o5Gf1PO9Jipr-iEwoBvVokbhEEuyI6W83664X8fZQz4riHAhY7ThCP2MQ/s2048/Blood+of+the+Earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1272" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCYiwZSKHuOAyCG6GlcZtKSgii7vXnlaN6nocZJG9NmozngZKd1vpB5Ngu8Lt5MozuaFT8H2vHRg5lDjQY5o5Gf1PO9Jipr-iEwoBvVokbhEEuyI6W83664X8fZQz4riHAhY7ThCP2MQ/w124-h200/Blood+of+the+Earth.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Blood of the Earth</i> (<i>Soulwood</i> #1) by Faith Hunter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP0wWm1fAoRyYh-yWmyWo0c0sd7SowKvXXYAdjJGqevDElk7eb_09vxC0_4MPl2MbtS3MSLS08Na3Ufxu_HUaybSkYQePFu1FQZSPayejqfl3enQpuZsJfYGzr_gTAlFeExP-TDJ_y3I/s958/Rogue+Mage+Trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="958" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP0wWm1fAoRyYh-yWmyWo0c0sd7SowKvXXYAdjJGqevDElk7eb_09vxC0_4MPl2MbtS3MSLS08Na3Ufxu_HUaybSkYQePFu1FQZSPayejqfl3enQpuZsJfYGzr_gTAlFeExP-TDJ_y3I/s320/Rogue+Mage+Trilogy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Rogue Mage Trilogy</i> by Faith Hunter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5KXeDnCyeJdNvq3eN-YtpZUqhGszd2_qb05QYnNCZlndONXOORI2en0i4UIJTwEKUahnsEegHOE4ehNrOys89MJFoa6XC78RC64NmawjinAnXAOr69mTqMid72Q-xywH8I3ltW7p6Ag/s2048/voodoo+killings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1384" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5KXeDnCyeJdNvq3eN-YtpZUqhGszd2_qb05QYnNCZlndONXOORI2en0i4UIJTwEKUahnsEegHOE4ehNrOys89MJFoa6XC78RC64NmawjinAnXAOr69mTqMid72Q-xywH8I3ltW7p6Ag/w135-h200/voodoo+killings.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Voodoo Killings</i> (<i>Kincaid Strange</i> #1) by Kristi Charish (See BookGirlR's review <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-voodoo-killings-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p>Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-13744623776171978992021-02-09T19:00:00.009-05:002021-02-09T19:00:23.515-05:00Review: The Return<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wfQiZaxSfHRPJZhek0FRww4LAWG-ouIBlShZKVi9Q23E13zbmTMK0iK-9GAx_IEE6te8o_0000F6sZTL7HzYak7a_im0qA6P92jyc5WcJYPGyU7flX-0EENcq2Mp-kUg__HALIJrqhM/s2048/Return%252C+The.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1355" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wfQiZaxSfHRPJZhek0FRww4LAWG-ouIBlShZKVi9Q23E13zbmTMK0iK-9GAx_IEE6te8o_0000F6sZTL7HzYak7a_im0qA6P92jyc5WcJYPGyU7flX-0EENcq2Mp-kUg__HALIJrqhM/w265-h400/Return%252C+The.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Return<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachel
Harrison<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b> “An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group
of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious
two-year disappearance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Julie is
missing, and the missing don’t often return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones
that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no
memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review</u></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made the
mistake of starting <i>The Return</i> at bedtime one night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to read before bed to help me relax and
push aside any worries of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
at 10pm (Ok, it was probably 9:30; I love bedtime.) I moisturized, grabbed a
cat and my book, and climbed under the covers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Next thing I knew it was 2am and I had read the whole book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so frightened after I finished that I
had to sleep with the lights on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading <i>The Return</i> was like driving by an accident. Even though you kind of
know what happened, and you know it’s going to be bad, you can’t help
looking. I had sort of figured out
basically what was going on, but the main characters had no idea, and I couldn’t
help speeding through the pages to find out what they were going to do. I
highly recommend <i>The Return</i> to fans of horror and the supernatural.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><u><b>Publisher:</b><b> </b></u> Berkley<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZucfksSy4NNOeBUoLnv-aFe5VGBqSlpOPpU7kAwOyjPmSdKYYoLnqP-2PHw_oI_toF9SEo6n10HnkAgW0AZfXEQiGr8FkUulUY2EfadPldlmOv0ui3cadJCgv-qZ0lnLQ9Zv5dTISf8/s750/wonderland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="497" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZucfksSy4NNOeBUoLnv-aFe5VGBqSlpOPpU7kAwOyjPmSdKYYoLnqP-2PHw_oI_toF9SEo6n10HnkAgW0AZfXEQiGr8FkUulUY2EfadPldlmOv0ui3cadJCgv-qZ0lnLQ9Zv5dTISf8/s320/wonderland.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Wonderland</i> by Zoje Stage<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwouCSoUYkhkClX81_hkBhh5PI6-Irym9ZjNKaMvQpqF4Czssix8WU1W94c9aL9IFN7331sXgHjDaPED2-lzeznuBva_s0umzkycFcg2s0QV44ODm3XoxFNB4jre1BtCmZ8UJocDrNOdY/s1360/twisted+ones%252C+the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwouCSoUYkhkClX81_hkBhh5PI6-Irym9ZjNKaMvQpqF4Czssix8WU1W94c9aL9IFN7331sXgHjDaPED2-lzeznuBva_s0umzkycFcg2s0QV44ODm3XoxFNB4jre1BtCmZ8UJocDrNOdY/s320/twisted+ones%252C+the.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Twisted Ones </i>by T. Kingfisher<o:p></o:p></span></p>Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-91978364060917268092021-02-08T13:46:00.005-05:002021-02-08T13:46:41.646-05:00What Has BookGirlR Been Up To?<p> Hello!</p><p> It's been awhile. I hope you are all well. If you follow me on Facebook, and you really should if you want the most updates, you know that my pc stopped working this summer. I finally have my new one and after a little break I'm ready to start reviewing again. My reading goal for every year is usually 104 books, which is 2 books per week. But I always meet it easily, so I decided to up it this year to 156, which is 3 books per week. </p><p>So what's been happening? 2020 was a really rough year for me. My emotional support cat Tempest passed away on my husband's 50th birthday, July 1st. This was at the same time that my sister almost died, and was in the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. SuperSteve and I made the 70 mile drive to her house several times in the span of a week to help with the kids and her household. Then a week later our remaining cat Spooky started acting very strange and had a urinary blockage. The vet said he was grieving the loss of Tempest, just like we were, and the stress of that was responsible for the urinary blockage. So we adopted a kitten. River Moon Fireball MeowMeow-Fischer joined our family on 7/14/2020 and she is the best thing to happen to me in 2020. For my nerds, she is named River after River Tam from Firefly AND River Song from Dr Who because she is beautiful, crazy, and wicked smart. She wasn't the kitten we originally applied to adopt, but she is from the same litter, and she was obviously meant to be mine. Even as a kitten she stepped right into the roll of emotional support cat. When I feel panicky she is right there, usually insisting I sit down and lean back so she can lay on my chest. With her purring aggressively on my chest it's really hard to be panicky. We share a love that is very obviously mutual and after a very short 7 months I can no longer imagine my life without her. Spooky also loves her. Where Tempest merely tolerated his presence, River adores him. They play, snuggle and have joint grooming sessions that I find absolutely adorable. A month after all of this we had another family emergency that was sort of ongoing over the Fall as well. </p><p>I guess we can't talk about the last 7 months without mentioning the pandemic. At first I thought quarantine was going to be a breeze for me. I'm an introvert, who is borderline a hermit, and I was already working from home every other week. Last March work called and said we were all working from home indefinitely. Stay home! For the first couple of months I was fine. But then it started to get to me. I'm fine working from home, but I want to go out with my friends. I want to eat out in a restaurant, read in a coffee shop, and do my annual wine tour around the finger lakes. I want to meet in person with my book club and DnD group. I want to hug my Mom and SuperSteve's Mom, and all of my nieces and nephews. Like many other people I have been struggling to concentrate on anything at all really, even reading. My anxiety has been much worse than usual. But I have River, and I have SuperSteve. My book club has been meeting online on our regular monthly basis and we've recently started a DnD campaign that meets every other(ish) Saturday evening. We will be ok. </p><p>How have you been surviving the pandemic and quarantine. Let me know in the comments!</p><p>Here are some pictures of River and Spooky:</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I1CJzhqQtZBDNnXwgM3DNRGVCH9PLHN0CoRvIIpKrb8EAih8ERwH04ovDDdv9EhsJKdJ6PLt_7lkrukKmo5qR7Hv80RJdP0rmJSS5KK9y49mkCwrpdHc8SYTg1Rk78snrjJbvMQdAB4/s2048/IMG_6992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I1CJzhqQtZBDNnXwgM3DNRGVCH9PLHN0CoRvIIpKrb8EAih8ERwH04ovDDdv9EhsJKdJ6PLt_7lkrukKmo5qR7Hv80RJdP0rmJSS5KK9y49mkCwrpdHc8SYTg1Rk78snrjJbvMQdAB4/s320/IMG_6992.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One week after we brought her home. Spooky was already in love with her. Look how teeny she was!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyL5F8kCMVJpbdMW01a9qoQgTHtuOCbRdxav92erZ8EJHAwllyK6Z_Dpe263mQ833EkaeP9P6Wfk_5M0tlCey7E8KCmq8JK3tTtLtaCKRbOdB4UivJQgakTfcJp9u5j5eFUi8SzA5tlI4/s2048/F7F2677F-2337-44B3-96EB-AF3F26C63343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyL5F8kCMVJpbdMW01a9qoQgTHtuOCbRdxav92erZ8EJHAwllyK6Z_Dpe263mQ833EkaeP9P6Wfk_5M0tlCey7E8KCmq8JK3tTtLtaCKRbOdB4UivJQgakTfcJp9u5j5eFUi8SzA5tlI4/s320/F7F2677F-2337-44B3-96EB-AF3F26C63343.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Moon knows she is beautiful.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwa1MiU2-cfyEP6wUYv4Xe2M5HHcMAm6rFomzC_x7mi5gaBJGVb-oIhief7r7EOMUsDssGBQ-CwPAcBpsJidz3avSF3aw9Ibbsi2_gWA50w2HGlxM52gL7FWdtB16uQJ58fQFU0RgOG3A/s2048/IMG_7027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwa1MiU2-cfyEP6wUYv4Xe2M5HHcMAm6rFomzC_x7mi5gaBJGVb-oIhief7r7EOMUsDssGBQ-CwPAcBpsJidz3avSF3aw9Ibbsi2_gWA50w2HGlxM52gL7FWdtB16uQJ58fQFU0RgOG3A/s320/IMG_7027.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinnertime shenanigans. Looks how teeny she was!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o_M8CFegR7CKOs9BBacOmOE3OD2o4VaheHQdRL8-ciVig2QgkRebMdszMHgJsHGIDkm6w7wbtiYTZV2Js-Psz5lp_w7nTKOrzKCMdufagifzAtB2FOPZhO3hqh2mA1E9ZUJ_hL67gS0/s2048/IMG_8150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o_M8CFegR7CKOs9BBacOmOE3OD2o4VaheHQdRL8-ciVig2QgkRebMdszMHgJsHGIDkm6w7wbtiYTZV2Js-Psz5lp_w7nTKOrzKCMdufagifzAtB2FOPZhO3hqh2mA1E9ZUJ_hL67gS0/s320/IMG_8150.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They both must be touching me as often as possible.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyfN973eGBPVxrQZSDJshew_FJVMaR__ccF0O3QQlEEb1vofv-MlFrGW-br4vSZgDDh_JQUgwS05VsPmwVZB1_Q0OO3pojSsLPgWLbAQr7A5xZbWQ58fLGaujxcB3TQVeFlU4pXLYlnI/s2048/IMG_8269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyfN973eGBPVxrQZSDJshew_FJVMaR__ccF0O3QQlEEb1vofv-MlFrGW-br4vSZgDDh_JQUgwS05VsPmwVZB1_Q0OO3pojSsLPgWLbAQr7A5xZbWQ58fLGaujxcB3TQVeFlU4pXLYlnI/s320/IMG_8269.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love to see them snuggle.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChb2X9plshAlbYYR8g809AZbZ32-rdsyWJXEZDIzZztG4kcqlMgE0SYgvfHgupbeoy3cQEYOAzhqxdI2Ojx7spqqS7YD-nt0mTB7HJtofUd1CQr8oTdoecM34gvWl5N9IKCEQ8X9TrvI/s2048/IMG_8648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChb2X9plshAlbYYR8g809AZbZ32-rdsyWJXEZDIzZztG4kcqlMgE0SYgvfHgupbeoy3cQEYOAzhqxdI2Ojx7spqqS7YD-nt0mTB7HJtofUd1CQr8oTdoecM34gvWl5N9IKCEQ8X9TrvI/s320/IMG_8648.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post panic attack. River says no panic, only purrs.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi419OVFrRTo8vot9y7czC1wOi-RtTKcMR8AWbwNiX2CTF0R0lYj5yq6_zL2wbHx2myz3ngZdKUtTHpQRO-lFVIKaf8ooC0MM0Jp_Ja4bU235cjrK_dbKWYTch6-wgGJNw9oRLAxwthRI0/s2048/IMG_9164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi419OVFrRTo8vot9y7czC1wOi-RtTKcMR8AWbwNiX2CTF0R0lYj5yq6_zL2wbHx2myz3ngZdKUtTHpQRO-lFVIKaf8ooC0MM0Jp_Ja4bU235cjrK_dbKWYTch6-wgGJNw9oRLAxwthRI0/s320/IMG_9164.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spooky and his murder claws.</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZevuXu26HgKO5ScnDWru6y1T1UpjDErTzcTdrlU2_02AkU-f7SwRZck64DH0QXJymiNxNS0Qhuff16ZpERxE8oRy0AqB8aababCt3Wp-HnHas_vDRIV8wmcEy3c12gfQu59SQ9Q8nWM/s2048/IMG_9454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZevuXu26HgKO5ScnDWru6y1T1UpjDErTzcTdrlU2_02AkU-f7SwRZck64DH0QXJymiNxNS0Qhuff16ZpERxE8oRy0AqB8aababCt3Wp-HnHas_vDRIV8wmcEy3c12gfQu59SQ9Q8nWM/s320/IMG_9454.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves to be with me (on me) all the time, even when it's not particularly helpful.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-55542918119777265202020-06-11T18:59:00.001-04:002020-06-11T18:59:51.822-04:00Valdemar: Spy, Spy Again - Review<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTE3aVtTW_Er74tu947gt9Sa6KwwEJyZI2wrPHwkGt3rPX4HTkIK6_-RH1NZk8ryFi4w5MNRLdWUDccUYmuxys0rDjf1VrtwEN_6upel2yzFukdXsLIHfMTFkVZFmIGeKp0gxB0Bnxi0/s2560/spy+spy+again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1695" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTE3aVtTW_Er74tu947gt9Sa6KwwEJyZI2wrPHwkGt3rPX4HTkIK6_-RH1NZk8ryFi4w5MNRLdWUDccUYmuxys0rDjf1VrtwEN_6upel2yzFukdXsLIHfMTFkVZFmIGeKp0gxB0Bnxi0/w265-h400/spy+spy+again.jpg" width="265" /></a></b></div><b><u><br /></u></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>Spy, Spy Again</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author</u></b>: Mercedes Lackey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Valdemar:
Family Spies</i> #3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In this
third novel of the <i>Family Spies</i> series, set in the bestselling world of
<i>Valdemar</i>, Herald Mags and Amily’s youngest child must follow in his parents’
footsteps to protect both his family and the realm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Thirteen year
old Prince Kyril and Mags and Amily’s fourteen-year-old son Tory “share” the
Gift of Farsight – although neither of them are Chosen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are self-trained, though currently,
their shared Gift only allows them to see what is happening with their immediate
family members.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After much
debate, the Herald’s Collegium has decided to test and train them anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s when the surprises start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not share a single Gift; they have
two complementary Gifts working together in a way that the Heralds have never
seen before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tory is the Farseer – Kee’s
Gift is to extend his range beyond a few dozen feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Their Gifts
become crucial when Mags gets a desperate message from his cousin Bey, the head
of the enigmatic assassin-tribe, the Sleepgivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bey’s eldest daughter has been kidnapped, but
he doesn’t know why or by whom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
calling in the debt Mags owes him to find his daughter before it’s too late.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Tory is certain
that if anyone can find her, he can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that will mean traveling out of Valdemar into an unknown, dangerous country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And it will
mean taking a Royal Prince with him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved
this novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This should come as no
surprise to most of you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case you don’t
already know Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite authors and her <i>Valdemar</i>
series is my Favorite series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
read about my emotional attachment to <i>Valdemar</i> in a previous post <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-your-favorite-series-or-wheres-my.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But just know that if I were told I could
leave this world and go to Valdemar, but I would have to leave everyone and
everything behind, I would go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know in
my heart that I am a herald of Valdemar and that I belong there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mercedes
Lackey does some of the best world building and character development out of
all of the different authors that I read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This novel is no exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get
to learn a lot more about the Sleepgivers and Rethwellan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As always our main characters face some
trials and have to make some hard choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are some new elemental characters that we haven’t experienced
before, and some startling revelations about our characters that may open up
new possibilities for future novels. I am a little bit sad that this
is the third book in the series, and Mags and Amily’s youngest child, so I am
assuming it concludes the Family Spies series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i>Valdemar</i> novels are all about how hard work, choosing the right friends,
and making the right choice instead of the easy choice, are always worth it in
the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are about doing the right
thing, and that is how I live my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
hope that there are new <i>Valdemar</i> novels in the works, because I love having
them to look forward to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review***</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DAW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you haven’t read any <i>Valdemar</i> novel and want to start
I recommend you start with one of these:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9iTDShTXEkZRtbOXXm6mCAkBuVw_YF6A0KAGgt2_KtDXjgiCtbpOU6KyXa225Z0nE2ztzJ5yfbIgRoFdQqVvbubWDbA07w_qSa1IeU6vK530XKzcQSNxqjOSkeoQUHit9-rCt9ToqCw/s2560/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1683" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9iTDShTXEkZRtbOXXm6mCAkBuVw_YF6A0KAGgt2_KtDXjgiCtbpOU6KyXa225Z0nE2ztzJ5yfbIgRoFdQqVvbubWDbA07w_qSa1IeU6vK530XKzcQSNxqjOSkeoQUHit9-rCt9ToqCw/s320/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Arrows Trilogy</i> (<i>Arrows of the Queen, Arrow’s Flight,
Arrow’s Fall</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">OR<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DrOdYCb8VA3Aswsmf0C4BezGdzlTONtjgtEd8JhVQ0vjcKJ5UzTjg5LRutCEnYOtV8u2z12Is74ZHlSPMOIE7NFcqu10ed2rozoomCRh4xk1vL59dcQILilES9L4kA1xSKw8IU-cZeE/s329/Valdemar-Collegium+Chronicles.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DrOdYCb8VA3Aswsmf0C4BezGdzlTONtjgtEd8JhVQ0vjcKJ5UzTjg5LRutCEnYOtV8u2z12Is74ZHlSPMOIE7NFcqu10ed2rozoomCRh4xk1vL59dcQILilES9L4kA1xSKw8IU-cZeE/s320/Valdemar-Collegium+Chronicles.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Collegium Chronicles</i> (<i>Foundation, Intrigues, Changes,
Redoubt, Bastion</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you’ve read the <i>Valdemar</i> novels and are looking for
something similar:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEaB5mms05KOKhK2F_GmSQX2m8ClKqXSaet-lCcJnI4aRZNIoO1f5-5skDtxtkmS6KEzLbntuvHyj8iaWVnpnQ8VtBdWXOdYO5cbxyVpFk4IWv5qVA1cHq7xeFPYPzAHiKtK5_ToxQgqo/s583/Quarters+Novels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="399" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEaB5mms05KOKhK2F_GmSQX2m8ClKqXSaet-lCcJnI4aRZNIoO1f5-5skDtxtkmS6KEzLbntuvHyj8iaWVnpnQ8VtBdWXOdYO5cbxyVpFk4IWv5qVA1cHq7xeFPYPzAHiKtK5_ToxQgqo/s320/Quarters+Novels.jpg" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Quarters Quartet</i> by Tanya Huff<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3ZUH4DBUuUUBYMdoljGy06Z-_KK_0XIYwINntozgD1bj723_MLM7dkdZ3DrfjgPTjMo3Fi9i7qqb3V_Gb5xw6T7OP6iFEzAOOjQKEg-cCDL4qsDiWKUS8Lj8nWBfJhnSJ5XvuYnf5jE/s601/Greenrider+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="601" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3ZUH4DBUuUUBYMdoljGy06Z-_KK_0XIYwINntozgD1bj723_MLM7dkdZ3DrfjgPTjMo3Fi9i7qqb3V_Gb5xw6T7OP6iFEzAOOjQKEg-cCDL4qsDiWKUS8Lj8nWBfJhnSJ5XvuYnf5jE/s320/Greenrider+Series.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Green Rider Series</i> by Kristen </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Britain</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipJdajmQSWDmFVs7XqEsNZGBmSUCM3i42qw-FUTWSGs3in9-GwFzqwSZ-kTn2I9fqPinBcfOB7E7gMkETl-g8T10W8upSOGiNvSenIxpJYpF7_g9cnMSfqsK-ZzYPie8h7Al66AiE4N8/s419/chronicles+of+the+necromancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipJdajmQSWDmFVs7XqEsNZGBmSUCM3i42qw-FUTWSGs3in9-GwFzqwSZ-kTn2I9fqPinBcfOB7E7gMkETl-g8T10W8upSOGiNvSenIxpJYpF7_g9cnMSfqsK-ZzYPie8h7Al66AiE4N8/s320/chronicles+of+the+necromancer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Chronicles of the Necromancer</i> by Gail Z. Martin<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-7901314771982094052020-06-04T18:27:00.000-04:002020-06-04T18:27:01.273-04:00Star Wars: Queen's Peril - Review<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8-2iEEqClujcqW_BE_C0vaxAYJTp5cL7Fi7as9SLvAgT79zb9nlyEHHgpCFcwrXeTG9Is8n2dGmLsJtTPq_4UllP1ZcSdrm5acqJUc27dqafxZJTcGsKABvjFd9Iy-XKbViAlP_h7cM/s2550/star+wars+queen%2527s+peril.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1631" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8-2iEEqClujcqW_BE_C0vaxAYJTp5cL7Fi7as9SLvAgT79zb9nlyEHHgpCFcwrXeTG9Is8n2dGmLsJtTPq_4UllP1ZcSdrm5acqJUc27dqafxZJTcGsKABvjFd9Iy-XKbViAlP_h7cM/w256-h400/star+wars+queen%2527s+peril.jpg" width="256" /></a></b></div><b><u><br /></u></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>Star Wars: Queen’s Peril</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> E.K. Johnston<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series:</u></b> <i>Star Wars</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“When
fourteen-year-old Padmé Naberrie wins the election for Queen of Naboo, she
adopts the name Amidala and leaves her family to rule from the royal
palace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To keep her safe and secure, she’ll
need a group of skilled handmaidens who can be her assistants, confidantes,
defenders, and decoys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each girl is
selected for her particular talents, but it will be up to Padmé to unite them
as a group. When Naboo is invaded by forces of the Trade Federation, Queen
Amidala and her handmaidens will face the greatest test – of themselves, and of
each other.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted
to love this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cover is absolutely
beautiful, and I loved the idea of how Queen Amidala
built her network of handmaidens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
first two thirds of the novel are strong and interesting, however then we are
caught up to the same time period as <i>The Phantom Menace</i> (<i>TPM</i>) and this is when
the whole thing falls apart. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final
third of the novel is very disjointed as it jumps around from character to
character whose scenes do nothing to forward the actual plot of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It relies heavily on the reader already
having a fresh, and vast, amount of knowledge regarding events from <i>The Phantom
Menace</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who hasn’t seen <i>TPM</i>
within the last few weeks will be extremely confused as the story seems to be
missing whole chunks of storytelling when it involves anything that happens in the
movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if you have the fresh
knowledge of what happens in the movie, the missing chunks of storytelling
totally pull you out of the story as you have to then think about the movie,
and what happened during the missing scenes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I honestly feel that this must not be entirely the authors fault,
because I loved <i>Ahsoka</i> and <i>Queen’s Shadow</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But something here went terribly wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so very
disappointed by this novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted a
strong female lead Star Wars story, and while it started out that way, <i>Queen’s
Peril</i> falls profoundly short.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have to
mention that the Kindle copy I was provided was full of typos and formatting
errors that I hope are fixed before publication.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review***</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> Disney Lucasfilm Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>I recommend passing on this one and reading one of these
instead:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHThpZm_DTMNxf_14jIvrC5X7RGcwZqRftUVuVT8HXAMVVNNL_EnqgiFmzBIBodp0ABgTC4dX22CajcuQPaUcooqD1xeGVE9Ry73F3JJqJ6JswaRXZboG2xqN6ucCiyvs39Q-retvz5A0/s500/sw-ahsoka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHThpZm_DTMNxf_14jIvrC5X7RGcwZqRftUVuVT8HXAMVVNNL_EnqgiFmzBIBodp0ABgTC4dX22CajcuQPaUcooqD1xeGVE9Ry73F3JJqJ6JswaRXZboG2xqN6ucCiyvs39Q-retvz5A0/s320/sw-ahsoka.jpg" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Star Wars: Ahsoka</i> by E.K. Johnston<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpj0Qxc7ALQC3TJ2aKxbIpZpAUzVE0LzkyohQeWdCjnpv2rWI5-yoJJv35SnoEWylPn6UJ2gXwkbr0DfbI9e-IVQSacsbfl8AfD81ghcWV3oHvqciB2W1huzSlQ3A870ntaUIRMsgXgo/s500/sw-queen%2527s+shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpj0Qxc7ALQC3TJ2aKxbIpZpAUzVE0LzkyohQeWdCjnpv2rWI5-yoJJv35SnoEWylPn6UJ2gXwkbr0DfbI9e-IVQSacsbfl8AfD81ghcWV3oHvqciB2W1huzSlQ3A870ntaUIRMsgXgo/s320/sw-queen%2527s+shadow.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow</i> by E.K. Johnston<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqX-GgoXfuOZEfJqB5jnVBjDtgOyyGhEvdFC6ocidOpRXtkYhfo3C0LaqyC-oE3xpmjMRQYpPdouTNDE_-DoSEenr-XS4g5yTG9qF_duMtG5VKnAYuLFS63uvEsQWNhLgr9e4Puqsnv0/s500/sw-crash+of+fate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqX-GgoXfuOZEfJqB5jnVBjDtgOyyGhEvdFC6ocidOpRXtkYhfo3C0LaqyC-oE3xpmjMRQYpPdouTNDE_-DoSEenr-XS4g5yTG9qF_duMtG5VKnAYuLFS63uvEsQWNhLgr9e4Puqsnv0/s320/sw-crash+of+fate.jpg" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Star Wars: A Crash of Fate</i> (<i>Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge</i> #1)
by Zoraida Córdova<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-22976432876775138692020-06-03T19:42:00.003-04:002020-06-04T18:39:48.837-04:00Looking Forward - June 2020 Ahhhh June, the start of summer. Usually we are looking forward to hikes, picnics and trips to the beach. This June however we are going to be social distancing and spending a lot of time at home. Hopefully this will mean lots of extra time for reading because there are a lot of awesome books coming out this month! Let me know if you will also be reading any of these, or if I missed any that you are looking forward to, in the comments.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><font size="6"><b>June 2, 2020:</b></font></div><div><font size="6"><b><br /></b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKvTBdZc6VQCMZUxglID08l2D8R-ILe3kdL2mwTl9sd0m7x4n327Akl6draTTStVCsyJvRRgElRUgMmE_mV1nnN2gtc4uRZe4czXWk-icPI8by6piA4_ZzSy7I4O1hT_j1sSW9w9z_gw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1631" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKvTBdZc6VQCMZUxglID08l2D8R-ILe3kdL2mwTl9sd0m7x4n327Akl6draTTStVCsyJvRRgElRUgMmE_mV1nnN2gtc4uRZe4czXWk-icPI8by6piA4_ZzSy7I4O1hT_j1sSW9w9z_gw/s320/star+wars+queen%2527s+peril.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Star Wars Queen's Peril</i> by E.K. Johnston: You had me at Star Wars. I'll read or watch anything Star Wars related.</div><div><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="6"><b>June 9, 2020:</b></font></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMLj1CfE_frpvrOn28tqfYZN_WyO4gkBYnbFttgdoc3SRvA8Ss1p8zQTiqrPJwLNNglV-7yOSsyjWVwoXmpYpqpHlag1pLcf1LfXKp8hOjMOwNZOQajTp9KjeWrehTR-XA7Ia4l9C_84/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1695" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMLj1CfE_frpvrOn28tqfYZN_WyO4gkBYnbFttgdoc3SRvA8Ss1p8zQTiqrPJwLNNglV-7yOSsyjWVwoXmpYpqpHlag1pLcf1LfXKp8hOjMOwNZOQajTp9KjeWrehTR-XA7Ia4l9C_84/s320/spy+spy+again.jpg" /></a></div><div> <img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWK6MGqc2x4rLrxVsq_K4cySmr55iNzkS5Dm1KAJxpu-4vxr8S1za0Lb-Tn44aU4nGi3kIyBw6mD_02SPBhrD4vKFPAD0GXnXm0lYcWRB7rOFyRR-3-al6ausJLiRCfEIs837Csj_ixZw/s320/living+dead%252C+the.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Spy, Spy Again</i> by Mercedes Lackey: This is book #3 in the <i>Family Spies Series</i> and it's the 45th book to be published in the world of <i>Valdemar</i>. For those of you who aren't aware, <i>Valdemar</i> is my favorite fantasy world and I'm just sure I was supposed to be a Herald of Valdemar myself. For more about this read my post <i><a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-your-favorite-series-or-wheres-my.html" target="_blank">"What's Your Favorite Series? or Where's My Companion?"</a></i>. I am so excited to have received an advanced copy of this novel and can't wait to read it this weekend! (Of course you know I already have my physical copy pre-ordered.)</div><div><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Living Dead</i> by George Romero & Daniel Kraus: YES! I love zombies! Bring it!</div><div><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="6"><b>June 16, 2020:</b></font></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1693" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7NrpPGgAzS2hZF2NRFlnMxxMK3lWPpCW04MRPaVXoDLcmSXXMXO25T38Vn2kKjZ18aNS4xayykRvsur1_R51KVXuDPUWDjhkjx-SbhGPPMnKLY1z28eOCs0qFT0bdtE8dCp-QqmjfcE/w213-h320/hella.jpg" width="213" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7f3gSvv2WSJ42OG7DV8h5RRHRIe4XKk4qkP_turHYxZSfM3TC93VCvRC8586oUJ9zZJjV3c5yo9CECCbsEqKVdQwRmmftTf8sKiq0Qbv9mkqm3a340g52y_YdRyST7jXbXruKpNEcPw/w320-h320/shadowplay.jpg" width="320" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hella</i> by David Gerrold: A human colony on an alien planet where there are dinosaurs and extreme weather. Ummm... Yes please!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Shadowplay</i> by Joseph O'Connor: The tag line for this novel on Amazon says: "Bram Stoker's extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write Dracula..." This novel has Victorian London, Jack the Ripper and Bran Stoker in it... who wouldn't want to read this?!</div><div><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHwD_k2ADy99a1ZFfGPuAB6rPAhvYdUpaeVIbRlNl-dGHKb95Qie98tZB_MthWYtyZ24_9Zn5rXGCa-aIV_A-3R6ZqEv62ZKyxoz4tfnx-FPFVWpDVxoOxbChAz05oukEG4hyphenhyphenqzTULaQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1695" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHwD_k2ADy99a1ZFfGPuAB6rPAhvYdUpaeVIbRlNl-dGHKb95Qie98tZB_MthWYtyZ24_9Zn5rXGCa-aIV_A-3R6ZqEv62ZKyxoz4tfnx-FPFVWpDVxoOxbChAz05oukEG4hyphenhyphenqzTULaQ/s320/devolution.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Devolution</i> by Max Brooks: The subtitle of this novel is "<i>A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre</i>"... I think SuperSteve is almost as excited for this novel as I am, and he's not really much of a reader. We loved <i>World War Z</i>, so anything by Max Brooks is on our "must-read" list.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="6"><b>June 23, 2020:</b></font></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNUTSEIuTQsOC1Dy4JMMM56msC65MISgosAmjLMrEl0v25OeGG3gRZLls6GusUpqip1h9McJv_hVbOmZu8yUUfgxQv9VOpMAMUj1hZy91MbKSXkda_0fvcILE3HmldKEZpTlRfoCe2BA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNUTSEIuTQsOC1Dy4JMMM56msC65MISgosAmjLMrEl0v25OeGG3gRZLls6GusUpqip1h9McJv_hVbOmZu8yUUfgxQv9VOpMAMUj1hZy91MbKSXkda_0fvcILE3HmldKEZpTlRfoCe2BA/s320/Order+of+the+Pure+moon+reflected+in+water%252C+the.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water</i> by Zen Cho: First of all, look at this cover! I will openly admit that I judge a novel by it's cover and this one is absolutely beautiful. I am definitely buying a physical copy for myself, and not just a kindle copy, because of that cover. Secondly, I love this author. you can read my review of her novel <i>Sorcerer to the Crown</i> <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/sorcerer-to-crown-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>. This is a found family wuxia (wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction about the adventures of martial artists) fantasy and that seriously intrigues me.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="6"><b>June 30, 2020:</b></font></div><div><br /></div><div><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEq5VXwvlkHbjv93xP-nccxP05T725omqVKKyEIOs7jWp-4CzS4akr3__INh9cslBjZKbbMqDSaWRPjar6-a7X90VZ4H54b2eeryonugTxTqXa9c7HD57RxVu_Yfb-K7XxX2fx8UvB7yU/w195-h320/witch+hunt.jpg" width="195" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_qPlXEubfv5kDB5GkauHg6a93nTsm9GKQ0yCwAo_aspZhyphenhyphenl8r1GKgeTvrlwTkS54WIKcuL0aW3AaY0br1wlBdeu5911X0Z32SEhRw-pQDjs2eti_OmeuNJ-6OYqQ79ObSjucictai8Y/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2800" data-original-width="1888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_qPlXEubfv5kDB5GkauHg6a93nTsm9GKQ0yCwAo_aspZhyphenhyphenl8r1GKgeTvrlwTkS54WIKcuL0aW3AaY0br1wlBdeu5911X0Z32SEhRw-pQDjs2eti_OmeuNJ-6OYqQ79ObSjucictai8Y/s320/mexican+gothic.jpg" /></a> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> <i>Witch Hunt</i> by Cate Conte: Let's see... Witches, cozy mystery... There is no situation in which I would not read this novel. </div><div><b>***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Mexican Gothic</i> by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I'm hoping that this is going to be a gothic horror set in the Mexican countryside. I love a good chill inducing gothic horror, and a new setting for one would be wonderful! Plus, that cover!!!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-35234288764230717412020-05-28T12:17:00.000-04:002020-05-28T12:17:09.434-04:00The Deep - Review<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpEj_KW-QFIYi8rucsQtGCltyy_dhwixo555gFK2dAkVP8lfwd7v0vXLIiPTlwGcbkMFELZi5oAqRR6_9uRH4L7k75N8Y7nGlZ4_Tt5W0ysw8b6iEnd6lyfd8_7Xb9h9gxDMKEYkDt1zg/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1696" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpEj_KW-QFIYi8rucsQtGCltyy_dhwixo555gFK2dAkVP8lfwd7v0vXLIiPTlwGcbkMFELZi5oAqRR6_9uRH4L7k75N8Y7nGlZ4_Tt5W0ysw8b6iEnd6lyfd8_7Xb9h9gxDMKEYkDt1zg/w265-h400/the+deep.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>The Deep</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alma Katsu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Someone,
or some<i>thing</i>, is haunting the <i>Titanic</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is the
only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers
of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden
deaths. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now suspended in an eerie,
unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden
voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and
Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced
that something sinister is going on… And then, as the world knows, disaster
strikes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Years later
and the world is at war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a survivor
of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the
Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and
near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious
soldier she recognizes while doing her rounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is the young man Mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she
is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the
Titanic…”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">Revie</span>w:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
the second book I’ve read by Alma Katsu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first one I read was <i>The Hunger</i>, and I loved this one just as much
as that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This novel is marketed as
horror, but it’s not so much scary as it is atmospheric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good historical speculative fiction involves
a lot of research, and this author definitely does her research!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are no weird moments where something is
off and it pulls you out of the setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Deep</i> reads
like a really good gothic horror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a
lot of blood, guts or violence, but plenty of uncomfortable creepiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a mystery that isn’t solved until
the very end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a ghost story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we already know the ultimate end of the
Titanic and the Britannic, so it adds a bit of a sense of urgency to the
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know this isn’t going to end
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly recommend <i>The Deep</i> to
anyone who enjoys reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>***I was provided a free copy of this novel via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.*** </b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Penguin
Group / Putnam<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvNigespVQ05cgnzgcw-dC3jTX2_X3zg9oh1wPSeP_XE8EBR6yZJ9UeGnZsDPzwICeBRfJHdeeJelTZWIc30v6Y-wHBJES2FSlX2J4CzEXwTF0p4H7WaKSR7nN1SCxvPO99xaWKqpTT4/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvNigespVQ05cgnzgcw-dC3jTX2_X3zg9oh1wPSeP_XE8EBR6yZJ9UeGnZsDPzwICeBRfJHdeeJelTZWIc30v6Y-wHBJES2FSlX2J4CzEXwTF0p4H7WaKSR7nN1SCxvPO99xaWKqpTT4/w133-h200/Hunger%252C+The.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Hunger</i> by Alma Katsu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPu99h5GbMEcmWTEbPUXYoxJPyhpx6jP8Z5jd2kJ8-hnNJ_BDYanUjnGF7l6LA5q31dYZkUVgd91lENpVXzNKzlpx4EGw1xbHYxV0AMMkMtb6OwFpah-iGrJ51GhnhEWf4zcuTT7CfOT0/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPu99h5GbMEcmWTEbPUXYoxJPyhpx6jP8Z5jd2kJ8-hnNJ_BDYanUjnGF7l6LA5q31dYZkUVgd91lENpVXzNKzlpx4EGw1xbHYxV0AMMkMtb6OwFpah-iGrJ51GhnhEWf4zcuTT7CfOT0/w131-h200/Toll%252C+The.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Toll</i> by Cherie Priest<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazGlwok68vvIBkGxg2_h5eblBaB0dUEuo6fvgVV67MNNWnVoKcNMEPHbxBQvNqYhm7Dc9bAKPKFe9JYE31FT8Wrzojydo9F99FSySMNlV3tiXEmzslMmBRiOffdYCroBBHC2Oe6ekriw/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1696" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazGlwok68vvIBkGxg2_h5eblBaB0dUEuo6fvgVV67MNNWnVoKcNMEPHbxBQvNqYhm7Dc9bAKPKFe9JYE31FT8Wrzojydo9F99FSySMNlV3tiXEmzslMmBRiOffdYCroBBHC2Oe6ekriw/w133-h200/animals+at+lockwood+manor%252C+the.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Animals at Lockwood Manor</i> by Jane Healey<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-47267923000078420012020-05-27T17:50:00.000-04:002020-05-27T17:50:05.313-04:00Sea Change -- Review<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PmHZJDL9XNaXcWFhI24JVrWgmoafy2FFEup3Ke0ak3SSSd5Bu7aWuWX3mBkGYCl7Z-4GhWkbtzi2moQvv-rqUE7DoPDM5kPa3Ql4mw1O8kO7O_4zSaHmAmIue2_D8kDCn1SoyM6PL5E/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PmHZJDL9XNaXcWFhI24JVrWgmoafy2FFEup3Ke0ak3SSSd5Bu7aWuWX3mBkGYCl7Z-4GhWkbtzi2moQvv-rqUE7DoPDM5kPa3Ql4mw1O8kO7O_4zSaHmAmIue2_D8kDCn1SoyM6PL5E/w250-h400/sea+change.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>Sea Change</i><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Nancy Kress<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Renata
Black is entertained by the traffic snarl caused by a rogue self-driving house –
until she spots the Org’s Tiffany Teal paint marking the house’s windowsill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In 2022, GMOs
were banned after a biopharmed drug caused the Catastrophe: worldwide economic
collapse, agricultural standstill, and personal tragedy for a lawyer and her
son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ten years later, Renata, a.k.a.
Caroline Denton, is an operative of the Org, an underground group that could
save the world from itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
illegal research is performed and protected by splinter cells, which are hunted
by the feds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Now a mole is
in the Org.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would put the entire Org
in jeopardy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Renata is the only one who
can find out – and she will need to go to her clients in the Quinault Nation
for answers.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Review:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">I did not love <i>Sea Change</i>, and I felt incredibly guilty for that for several days. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Usually I
love anything by Nancy Kress, so it took me awhile to come up with the courage to write this
review.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it’s one miss out of dozens of novels for
this author.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The writing was quality
work, exactly what I would expect from Nancy Kress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">It was the story, the actual plot, that I
felt was lacking.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s as if a lot more
thought went into the agenda behind the story (promoting GMO’s) than into
creating the story itself.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The main
character of Renata was extremely unlikable, which is not always a deal
breaker.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">You don’t have to care about
the characters if the plot is good enough to hold your attention; unfortunately
the plot wasn’t that good.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you’ve
never read anything by Nancy Kress, I recommend you read some of her work… just
not this one.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>***I was provided a free copy of the book via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.***</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> Tachyon Publications<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Skip this book and try one of these instead:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsyG6NQuG9sUtYsH7pkMRyi3j2vH3d5GH55sCXZKSHhDelB6taz7CVXVFrIZvukFDGfionYujtbayWYGV056Kjln5DM3hZtHadCMOmzo2kybHyTXgnsahm3WE70DhLvd-o1flUGn2BXA/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsyG6NQuG9sUtYsH7pkMRyi3j2vH3d5GH55sCXZKSHhDelB6taz7CVXVFrIZvukFDGfionYujtbayWYGV056Kjln5DM3hZtHadCMOmzo2kybHyTXgnsahm3WE70DhLvd-o1flUGn2BXA/w133-h200/beggars+in+spain.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Beggars in Spain (Sleepless #1) </i>by Nancy Kress</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02ftlmiCzGhMnfpkC6nU7GAIZCe1B8s6InOA5Bo3rgyKirkUvGp8bF18QRdpvFi4psALy17IB0YuNcgp9kAnnexdPc6ABy1L_CI0VppH8bhTLIVsGaNznmZ8Zn1-olEuhLK_YsDDCuSI/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2409" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02ftlmiCzGhMnfpkC6nU7GAIZCe1B8s6InOA5Bo3rgyKirkUvGp8bF18QRdpvFi4psALy17IB0YuNcgp9kAnnexdPc6ABy1L_CI0VppH8bhTLIVsGaNznmZ8Zn1-olEuhLK_YsDDCuSI/w133-h200/Luminous+Dead%252C+The.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Luminous Dead</i> by Caitlin Starling<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcT87Z-1vyB7kyf1UCSr-r4hnLizP2YOuL03GonN0sO_4FIcJeOfGloX3UcWFPqyUJP4f4uEJfvhfwrBSe6XADxSQ58srOrQaZM_KTayZgkJpPx6bYJ8X7tWzuc_OkhSHzzMTp4FpToA/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcT87Z-1vyB7kyf1UCSr-r4hnLizP2YOuL03GonN0sO_4FIcJeOfGloX3UcWFPqyUJP4f4uEJfvhfwrBSe6XADxSQ58srOrQaZM_KTayZgkJpPx6bYJ8X7tWzuc_OkhSHzzMTp4FpToA/w133-h200/goldilocks.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Goldilocks</i> by Laura Lam<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-29932179949164931302019-10-16T20:30:00.000-04:002019-10-16T20:30:08.267-04:00The Immortal Prudence Blackwood - Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg1rHuQ8PDK5BNJ88CpKD05PUsTAF2KUVa_LpbbKarF44NDH2Y-B51wmiBS27zRxavvs1iZ2lQOt23bIiP-UYSbyriuVx9c4TMbEscRvOLvNC79Rpaloz8IiizQdw0mIn99ESqjdO0NU/s1600/immortal+prudence+blackwood%252C+the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="592" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg1rHuQ8PDK5BNJ88CpKD05PUsTAF2KUVa_LpbbKarF44NDH2Y-B51wmiBS27zRxavvs1iZ2lQOt23bIiP-UYSbyriuVx9c4TMbEscRvOLvNC79Rpaloz8IiizQdw0mIn99ESqjdO0NU/s400/immortal+prudence+blackwood%252C+the.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title</u></b>: <i>The Immortal Prudence Blackwood</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Stephanie Grey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Justice
watches from the shadows in this unique and suspenseful twist on a serial
killer manhunt…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Throughout
history, the world has witnessed cruel, gruesome, and twisted murders at the
hands of the most notorious serial killers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For those who were never caught – Jack the Ripper, the Atlanta Ripper,
and the Cleveland Torso Murderer – their crimes will live on in infamy as their
identities are forever chased, but never revealed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s 1947 in
Washington, D.C. and a dangerous murderer has boldly discarded two headless
bodies nearby the White House and the Jefferson Memorial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With no leads, Detective Clive O’Reilly is
feeling desperate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a stranger
convinces O’Reilly to join him at a local pub, he is treated to a wild tale
about Prudence Blackwood, an immortal who seeks vengeance for those murdered by
history’s most notorious serial killers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Initially in
disbelief over her existence, O’Reilly is surprised to discover that she’s very
real and she’ll be assisting in the investigation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But Prudence
has unorthodox methods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the body
count rising, O’Reilly will have to find a way to work with her to stop the
most brutal killer in D.C.’s history before more victims are added to the list.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found
the premise of <i>The Immortal Prudence Blackwood</i> interesting, and the story did
keep my attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I only rated
this book 3/5 stars because I found the writing sadly lacking in detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The character of Prudence was not fully
brought to life for me. I found myself wanting more detail about her, and why
she is actually immortal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book was
fairly short, at only 208 pages, so there was definitely space to add in these
details that would have fully fleshed out the story for me and added the depth
that I felt was lacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>**I was provided this book via NetGalley in exchange for
an honest review.**</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BHC
Press<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you this book interests you try reading these:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_mVWNI80H-5b4nk_IlYUIvxKSNxsd7fGqeE5LGfuy4GrGQHISDbuo9qSwXAjFcUrT5KvOKDwp3LEa3O1rJ5gytLk7-e36OqwdhwvAaWuqOJR6n6-RnK2KQLpoxaDdlufSqSxWAEjuwQ/s1600/dark+descent+of+elizabeth+frankenstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_mVWNI80H-5b4nk_IlYUIvxKSNxsd7fGqeE5LGfuy4GrGQHISDbuo9qSwXAjFcUrT5KvOKDwp3LEa3O1rJ5gytLk7-e36OqwdhwvAaWuqOJR6n6-RnK2KQLpoxaDdlufSqSxWAEjuwQ/s320/dark+descent+of+elizabeth+frankenstein.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein</i> by Kiersten
White<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Stalking Jack the Ripper</i> by Kerri Maniscalco<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-60821061863821950942019-08-17T22:28:00.000-04:002019-08-17T22:28:16.600-04:00Stolen Things - Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b><u>Title:</u></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>Stolen
Things</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>R. H.
Herron<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Laurie
Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California
town for nearly two decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
considers the department her family; her husband, Omid, is its first Arab
American chief, and their teenaged daughter, Jojo, has grown up with the
force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when Laurie catches a 911 call
and, to her horror, it’s Jojo, the whole department springs into action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jojo,
drugged, disoriented, an in pain, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home
of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his on-the-field activism and
his work with the CapB- “Citizens Against Police Brutality” – movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t know what happened to Kevin’s
friend and trainer, whose beaten corpse is also discovered in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she has no idea where her best friend
Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But when Jojo
begins to dive into Harper’s social media to look for clues to her whereabouts,
Jojo uncovers a shocking secret that turns everything she knew about Harper –
and the police department – on its head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With everything they thought they could rely on in question, Laurie and
Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except
themselves… and time is running out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You all know
I’m about mostly spoiler free reviews, and since this novel started off with a
bang and didn’t let up, this review will be short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Stolen Things</i> is supremely well written, and
extremely hard to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll give you
the trigger warning that I didn’t get: this novel deals with the rape of
teenage girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s disturbing, it’s creepy,
and it ultimately made me very uncomfortable; which is why you know it’s very
well written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read the novel in about
3 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was speed reading because I
just had to know what happened next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
could absolutely have read it in 2 hours, but I had to keep taking breaks
because the subject matter made me so uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you decide to read <i>Stolen Things</i> make sure
you have a lot of uninterrupted reading time available to you, and things to do
during your reading breaks the will help you decompress (I cleaned and
cooked).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This all said, I do highly
recommend <i>Stolen Things</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a book made
me feel this uncomfortable you know it was good!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">**I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dutton<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Snowblind</i> by Ragnar Jonasson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz13qn79t6cwMTtlor3IQ9a0a8ba5hpDNaq_h44rHT_NGFnPawiGFnnDo_GFNcpNF0SotroqZ8DINNDsGfl4cAdmlZYICnEC7EEImJUgVX05jIM5o5IWtoWYib_981Sy-QkazpUdFnKm4/s1600/deeper+than+the+dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz13qn79t6cwMTtlor3IQ9a0a8ba5hpDNaq_h44rHT_NGFnPawiGFnnDo_GFNcpNF0SotroqZ8DINNDsGfl4cAdmlZYICnEC7EEImJUgVX05jIM5o5IWtoWYib_981Sy-QkazpUdFnKm4/s320/deeper+than+the+dead.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Deeper Than the Dead</i> by Tami Hoag<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-5445518546821486852019-08-17T22:03:00.002-04:002019-08-17T22:03:56.804-04:00More BookGirlR!If you don't follow BookGirlR on Facebook you're missing out! All Book Reviews are posted here on the blog, but there is a lot of content that is only posted on Facebook, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bookgirlrsbooknook/?eid=ARBK6aktVGAzJKU9nLfJ5BJIVfw_Kj7qT6ytWsN8PTHORu5_PBF804L2uWbrXGMtTiTp0SPKFLg7NhTT" target="_blank">Check it out</a>!<br />
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<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-81609238870905228992019-08-05T11:51:00.001-04:002019-08-05T11:51:17.692-04:00The Gossamer Mage - Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe32e6MzsflEMZ8kgSSUXWkNzds0uWQ9Um_dIzX8HoPxct7u-6IPrGClRolA7Pf8WnUx2vFy5j1m726U13nuWEmaJbW4c8Y_2bx6UQTGF1lOZis5MjoC2PS9GZTqjM-TSgYmc-y5jLck/s1600/gossamer+mage%252C+the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJe32e6MzsflEMZ8kgSSUXWkNzds0uWQ9Um_dIzX8HoPxct7u-6IPrGClRolA7Pf8WnUx2vFy5j1m726U13nuWEmaJbW4c8Y_2bx6UQTGF1lOZis5MjoC2PS9GZTqjM-TSgYmc-y5jLck/s400/gossamer+mage%252C+the.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>The Gossamer Mage</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Julie E. Czerneda<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Only in
Tananen do people worship a single deity: The Deathless Goddess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only in this small, forbidden realm are there
those haunted by words of no language known to woman or man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The words are Her Gift, and they summon magic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mage scribes
learn to write Her Words as intentions: spells to make beasts or plants,
designed to any purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If an intention
is flawed, what the mage creates is a gossamer: a magical creature as wild and
free as it is costly for the mage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“For Her Gift comes at a steep price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each successful intention ages a mage until
they dare no more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Her magic demands
to be used; The Deathless Goddess will take Her fee, and mages will die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“To end this
terrible toll, the greatest mage in Tananen vows to find and destroy Her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has yet to learn She is all that protects
Tananen from what waits outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all
that keeps magic alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You all
know that Julie Czerneda is one of my favorite authors, so when she asked if I
would be interested in an advance copy of <i>Mage</i> I freaked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the freak out was on the inside because we
were in public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was when I went to Albany
NY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://flightsoffantasyny.com/?fbclid=IwAR2oket_56I3AzdgbUTBN92dlhyhtSZFRMTpkOSIjvVNpwdue1KW0TBI5CY" target="_blank">Flights of Fantasy</a> bookstore had a multi
author event this Spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Julie
Czerneda, Anne Bishop, Kristen Britain, and Deborah Blake were all there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last fall I promoted Julie’s new book <i>Search
Image</i>, you can check out the live videos on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bookgirlrsbooknook/?eid=ARA0rJTnizyF9TIexxKrb4nZTV0DW5gH46l0uHvYbEmustrj5XGHPSI2KzsEKtWfP-ip69wUH_wVQIOw&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=1307430550&fref=tag" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and read the review of
<i>Search Image</i> <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/search-image-review.html" target="_blank">here on the blog</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was my
last blog push before taking a little break for my mental health, and I’m glad
that it was for my favorite science fiction series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, anyway, I met Julie in person at this
event and she asked if I would like to review <i>Mage</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a crowded event and I was nervous
(crowds in small spaces make me anxious, even when they are friendly book loving
crowds), but I managed to blurt out an affirmative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poor SuperSteve had to listen to me chatter
about it all the way home (it was a 4 hour drive and we stopped for dinner at
Cheesecake Factory).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went something
like this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SuperSteve: “That was awesome.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Me: “She asked if I wanted to review Mage!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SuperSteve: “That’s awesome!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Me: “I shook her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I talked to her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I
talked a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really nervous,
and it was crowded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she knew who I
was!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SuperSteve: “That’s awesome!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, I admire authors
like others admire actors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But would you
expect anything less from someone who is obsessed with books and reading?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I got <i>Mage</i> in the mail, and even the cover
is so pretty that I took tons of pictures of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stayed up
hours past my bedtime to finish <i>The Gossamer Mage</i> because once I reached a
certain point, and you’ll know it when you get there, I could not stop reading
and just had to know what was going to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think that this is Julie’s best work so far, and that’s saying a lot
because I absolutely love her <i>Web Shifter’s series</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Mage</i> hooked me in the first page and held me
spellbound until the final word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As is
typical with Julie’s works, the world building is perfectly done, and the
characters come across so real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
interactions with Kait, her son and her uncle are beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the details have been fully thought
out and are absolutely wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
there’s maps!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of Julie’s
attention to detail I became fully immersed in the story, and frequently lost
track of the real world around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Mage</i>
is darker than anything I’ve read by Julie before (and I’ve read everything she’s
written).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is always a price to pay
for magic, and the price that mages pay to use Her Gift is unique (and dark),
and Mal’s quest to destroy the Goddess to eliminate that price is fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though this is a dark fantasy it has
many light moments that balance out the dark perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Gossamer
Mage</i> is the most beautiful work of art that I’ve read in a long time and I
might turn right around and read it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It releases on August 6, 2019. </span>Thank you Julie and DAW for sending me an advance copy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DAW<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Night’s Edge Series</i> by Julie E. Czerneda<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Ephemera Series</i> by Anne Bishop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-81772386234258988692019-07-24T20:57:00.003-04:002019-07-24T20:57:55.936-04:00Harmony - Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2lTVuHDrLsrofDsUbYwJ1n3VFQoCKOXqetCt_M9D1Ew4ZuQuLi_g6w4-E6End7zqjH0UWyJvEx_CBDsD4mTCCgoZ6UwMR_4Hd-GS_tJNKI-gnWiCpvpMrGHBGsFW31dIq-8YOmNa8Ec/s1600/harmony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2lTVuHDrLsrofDsUbYwJ1n3VFQoCKOXqetCt_M9D1Ew4ZuQuLi_g6w4-E6End7zqjH0UWyJvEx_CBDsD4mTCCgoZ6UwMR_4Hd-GS_tJNKI-gnWiCpvpMrGHBGsFW31dIq-8YOmNa8Ec/s320/harmony.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Harmony</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author: </u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lilith
Saintcrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After
an accident claims her unconventional mother, Val Smith has to live with her
boring, reliable father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grief and
change aren’t good for anyone, but Val and her dad are doing okay—until they
visit a place like paradise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Harmony Home
is safe, secure, and secluded, a place where everyone belongs to everyone
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a commune it’s a pretty okay,
at least at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are strange
things – the metal boxes in the clearing, the Red House where secrets are kept,
and little Sarah, who pushes buttons inside people to “make them glow".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Val and her dad are honored, temporary
guests, at least at first, and it’s exciting to be special, to be chosen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time Val’s uneasy, it’s too late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even heaven can
be a trap, and Val’s going to need all her new talents to break free…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever since
I read <i>The May Queen Murders</i> in 2017 I’ve been looking for more books like
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick google search revealed a
genre that is relatively new referred to as “Folk Horror” defined as: “a
sub-genre of horror fiction characterized by reference to European, pagan
traditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stories typically involve
standing stone circles, earthworks, elaborate rituals, or nature deities” (www.
Folkhorror.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been devouring everything that I can find
that seems to fit that profile since then, although I haven’t found very
many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found <i>Harmony</i> by chance, and I’m
thrilled that I did as it’s one of the best folk horror novels I’ve read
recently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed Val
as a character and felt that her struggle to relate to a father that has been
absent for most of her life was very realistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I could definitely see the appeal of a place like Harmony Home, but I
also figured out the dangers and found myself yelling at Val and her dad
because I was angry that they couldn’t see what was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I figured a lot out before it
happened, the book was still suitably creepy and I really enjoyed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finished reading it the day before my book
club meet-up and I suggested it to everyone at there, and to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are interested in the folk horror
genre I recommend reading <i>Harmony</i>, it will not disappoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lilith
Saintcrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Hex</i> by Thomas Olde Heuvelt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySmPQEJRRw9iNDjoryTofwXADhqA_IBa_nLIMKQpf5PDImxA_oWPywan3Pvaxccxu2EE4Q3mc9pC0vfjovS3OBGcZdFd0uPe8OrBq5GgY4qggVyCqV-K7YfzAs_ytvQ9mpf6P8xkcex4/s1600/maplecroft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySmPQEJRRw9iNDjoryTofwXADhqA_IBa_nLIMKQpf5PDImxA_oWPywan3Pvaxccxu2EE4Q3mc9pC0vfjovS3OBGcZdFd0uPe8OrBq5GgY4qggVyCqV-K7YfzAs_ytvQ9mpf6P8xkcex4/s200/maplecroft.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Maplecroft</i> by Cherie Priest (<i>The Borden Dispatches</i> #1)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The May Queen Murders</i> by Sarah Jude<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-1840454155067134372019-07-20T14:14:00.002-04:002019-07-20T14:19:24.160-04:00Impromptu Readathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipv0KmPd1qnmh_qgfEMqr80Oowv0CnH_CWt5yBaueJ_tg0Z6mclVQ-SbsKLIekY2G6jvfDP8LqPYtNLVKL7e9uxop39vvVMNtVuAlkOzE15crZFj-usD4EUC1BUzlpeeNI1uR3_tjUaeQ/s1600/HOT+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipv0KmPd1qnmh_qgfEMqr80Oowv0CnH_CWt5yBaueJ_tg0Z6mclVQ-SbsKLIekY2G6jvfDP8LqPYtNLVKL7e9uxop39vvVMNtVuAlkOzE15crZFj-usD4EUC1BUzlpeeNI1uR3_tjUaeQ/s320/HOT+2.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
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It’s hot today. This winter when our weather was similar to that of planet Hoth I promised I wouldn’t complain about the heat this summer. So I’m not complaining. I’m just commenting about how hot it is. We don’t have air conditioning, and I’m too hot to go anywhere that does, so I’m having an impromptu readathon. I have snacks, ice water and a stack of books. Let’s see how many I can read before bedtime!<br />
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<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-21786602672619558412019-07-16T23:21:00.004-04:002019-07-16T23:21:44.725-04:00What Are You Reading?Happy Tuesday every one! It got up to 90 degrees here today, and we don't have air conditioning. That never stops me from reading, though. I think the only thing that ever stopped me from reading was two years ago when I scratched my cornea and wasn't allowed to read for several days. The heat does make it uncomfortable to sit in front of the computer however, so here is a quickie post about what I'm reading right now.<br />
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The books I have currently in progress are:<br />
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<i>Harmony</i> by Lilith Saintcrow<br />
This came out May 28, 2019 but I just found it a few days ago. I'm really into the folk horror genre right now, and I'm hoping that this will fit into that category.<br />
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<i>The Toll</i> by Cherie Priest<br />
This came out July 9, 2019. I'm about halfway through it right now. Cherie Priest is really good at gothic and weird horror, aka: Lovecraftian horror. If you haven't read her work before I highly recommend her novel Maplecroft.<br />
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<i>Wilder Girls</i> by Rory Power<br />
This one also came out on July 9, 2019. I just discovered it today and after reading the description just had to download it right away. This appears to be an apocalypse by plague novel that mainly takes place at a girls school on an island. What's not to love?<br />
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Look for reviews of these novels in upcoming posts. What are you reading on this scorching hot Tuesday?Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-50723959375746822892019-07-13T20:00:00.000-04:002019-07-13T20:00:31.325-04:00Salvation Day- Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>Salvation Day</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Kali Wallace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A
lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced,
claustrophobic thriller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They thought
the ship would be their salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Zahra knew
every detail of the plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>House of
Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of
Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on
board in a matter of hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now it
could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder
Bhattacharya – the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose
genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But what
Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship – a terrifying
secret buried by the government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And then they
woke it up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
absolutely loved this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Salvation
Day</i> starts off at a fast pace and doesn’t let up, there isn’t a single slow
moment in all 320 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story is
told from two points of view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
Zahra, who is from the Wastelands of North America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a member of a cult who are among the
outcasts of current civilization, who are looking for a home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there is Jas, an orphan and the sole
survivor of a tragic viral outbreak on a spaceship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He represents the civilization that Zahra’s
cult family hates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally I dislike
head-hopping in a story told using first person narrative, but the author makes
it work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I purchased
this novel at noon, and was finished reading it by 5pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did take a short nap and eat lunch in there
somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got so into the story that
I was seeing it happen in my head like an awesome science fiction/horror movie,
think Aliens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as I was reading I
just kept going faster and faster because the last third of the book is pretty
much all climax and I just had to know what was going to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, I thought my Kindle was going to
start to glitch because of how fast I was tapping the screen to turn the
pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the ending was just so
perfect that I had to just sit there for a moment to take in what had just
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly suggest <i>Salvation Day</i>
as top priority Summer read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Berkley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Alien: Echo</i> by Mira Grant (Read BookGirlR’s review <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/alien-echo-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Wanderers</i> by Chuck Wendig (Read BookGirlR’s review <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/wanderers-review.html" target="_blank">here)</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-55991923623819143372019-07-13T00:25:00.000-04:002019-07-13T00:25:14.020-04:00Alien: Echo - Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Alien: Echo</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Mira Grant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series:</u></b> “An original young adult novel of the <i>Alien</i>
universe”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Olivia
and her twin sister Viola have been dragged around the universe for as long as
they can remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their parents, both
xenobiologists, are always in high demand for their research into obscure alien
biology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Just settled
on a new colony world, they discover an alien threat unlike anything they’ve
ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And suddenly the sisters’
world is ripped apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“On the run
from terrifying aliens, Olivia’s knowledge of xenobiology and determination to
protect her sister are her only weapons as the colony collapses into
chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then a shocking family secret
bursts open – one that’s as horrifying to Olivia as the aliens surrounding
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The creatures
infiltrate the rich wildlife on this virgin colony world – and quickly start
adapting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Olivia’s going to have to
adapt, too, if she’s going to survive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5Xqhi9N2BmR6bzIsIKrQTiwbvsyLGzjHxTQhoUEvkOz4fNz7dQzgvsAnpCHe8_YaHNGLxRvXoo_RdyGgK7nJudGBOmRhgM1pPCOP3nmpmtTlgp0mH4e2AabxHcgCobeN-w2keFKtRUs/s1600/alien-+prototype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="974" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5Xqhi9N2BmR6bzIsIKrQTiwbvsyLGzjHxTQhoUEvkOz4fNz7dQzgvsAnpCHe8_YaHNGLxRvXoo_RdyGgK7nJudGBOmRhgM1pPCOP3nmpmtTlgp0mH4e2AabxHcgCobeN-w2keFKtRUs/s200/alien-+prototype.jpg" width="121" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming from Titan books 10/29/19</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSSYfduVjAgfZdYCrEpcd4Ol0gQpGpnEd73gBtS6z4lgZaWHtixTXlY4VxaaPGIAWayOo6aOebMpZhXg4HNCyQEvH1NC4xfD_-Qd0h7FxZ-b00uB1xgbnzCe_bH0P4-vW24X25_lNctw/s1600/alien-+isolation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="623" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSSYfduVjAgfZdYCrEpcd4Ol0gQpGpnEd73gBtS6z4lgZaWHtixTXlY4VxaaPGIAWayOo6aOebMpZhXg4HNCyQEvH1NC4xfD_-Qd0h7FxZ-b00uB1xgbnzCe_bH0P4-vW24X25_lNctw/s200/alien-+isolation.jpg" width="121" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming from Titan books 7/30/19.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
spoken before about how much I love the <i>Alien</i> franchise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was very excited to find out that there are
several new <i>Alie</i>n books being released this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Alien: Echo</i> by Mira Grant is the first this
year, <i>Alien: Isolation</i> by Keith DeCandido releases on July 30 and <i>Alien: Prototype</i>
by Tim Waggoner releases on October 29.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I accidentally
bought both a digital copy (Kindle) and a hardcover copy of <i>Alien: Echo</i> because
I got so excited when I saw it at Barnes & Noble I forgot I had preordered
it for my Kindle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This actually happens
to me a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like books more than I like people.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read it in 3 hours when I got home from the
bookstore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just plopped down on the
couch, started reading, and didn’t move until I finished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I didn’t get a drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t
have any reading snacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t even
go to the bathroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure my
husband tried to talk to me and I didn’t even pause to give him the death
glare. That’s how good it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mira Grant is
one of my favorite authors, and <i>Alien</i> is one of my favorite series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I’ll read anything written by Mira Grant, no
questions asked.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the two of these
together and it’s a match made in heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The world building and character development that went into this novel
is amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Olivia is an awesome
character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even without the chest
bursting aliens, they don’t show up until about halfway through the book, I
would have loved a book about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s
the new girl, and her parents are weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She has a mysterious twin sister that nobody has ever met; and a crush
on one of the popular girls at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She even breaks the rules to impress the girl she has a crush on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is definitely a well written teenager!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world is awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s Mira Grant, so of course the xenobiology
is well thought out and well written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, there are chest bursting aliens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You don’t want to miss this one!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you’re like me you may even get so excited you accidentally buy two
copies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imprint<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtAITB9Q2V5osbU3BDhSvxELK0RcL1OOZ15nbrTm-em8vOIBqfgjO52EBnHR-yAdi8ByMJEtTYzAF-79XpTdGf8L0WixKQjFvswRJ3e1gsm10dve0UWq0aJOGcYavYPBSAWczsxYc5pw/s1600/Newsflesh+trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtAITB9Q2V5osbU3BDhSvxELK0RcL1OOZ15nbrTm-em8vOIBqfgjO52EBnHR-yAdi8ByMJEtTYzAF-79XpTdGf8L0WixKQjFvswRJ3e1gsm10dve0UWq0aJOGcYavYPBSAWczsxYc5pw/s320/Newsflesh+trilogy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Newsflesh Trilogy</i> by Mira Grant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2_ZebzOuyUrRJ9eotzSQ2OVo_P6BOWD7jY9hUKYL-30FL_1K8SNVcFFYRiNp27dYlNNjCtkIFwlnw6eK83f0dn_ArWRm-hsSmnjoO2sAgfpuM-3FcHtUSBqpxYbK1eAVMhdKXGInbrE/s1600/harmony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2_ZebzOuyUrRJ9eotzSQ2OVo_P6BOWD7jY9hUKYL-30FL_1K8SNVcFFYRiNp27dYlNNjCtkIFwlnw6eK83f0dn_ArWRm-hsSmnjoO2sAgfpuM-3FcHtUSBqpxYbK1eAVMhdKXGInbrE/s320/harmony.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Harmony</i> by Lilith Saintcrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuU5-4NtKfG8_mtbAVX3ha1coiJjStmyVDd61Yak3kzw6IQFkVSXMkBjUCV7GUJFUV8SpzDelRmBdpqTfRnq3_REr8EvD06uTUFDhoK6y_rrpi7vlgDtFM83zDdQnMQIiPeCA8C4OVAM/s1600/illuminae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuU5-4NtKfG8_mtbAVX3ha1coiJjStmyVDd61Yak3kzw6IQFkVSXMkBjUCV7GUJFUV8SpzDelRmBdpqTfRnq3_REr8EvD06uTUFDhoK6y_rrpi7vlgDtFM83zDdQnMQIiPeCA8C4OVAM/s320/illuminae.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Illuminae</i> by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (read
BookGirlR’s review <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/illuminae-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-1222600372066087172019-07-09T22:18:00.001-04:002019-07-09T22:18:16.208-04:00Valdemar: Eye Spy - Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnXpBDYaZExxCjw7M3u7swPhTH-qKJkEsLsG-n9VorzHitoam81y8PXhvEC5kLLWjXisxgxyTSS_DhP7bRAVWQVEwpcr2EHX8JIEgNnsO8VAG-ORgNlCs2MJtiRC1rO9m9WOnVHZn1xg/s1600/eye+spy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnXpBDYaZExxCjw7M3u7swPhTH-qKJkEsLsG-n9VorzHitoam81y8PXhvEC5kLLWjXisxgxyTSS_DhP7bRAVWQVEwpcr2EHX8JIEgNnsO8VAG-ORgNlCs2MJtiRC1rO9m9WOnVHZn1xg/s400/eye+spy.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>Eye Spy</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mercedes
Lackey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series: </u></b><i>Valdemar: Family Spies #2</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In
this second installment of the <i>Family Spies</i> series, set in the bestselling
world of <i>Valdemar</i>, the children of Heralds Mags and Amily must follow in their
parents’ footsteps to protect the realm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mags, Herald
Spy of Valdemar, and his wife, Amily, the King’s Own Herald, are happily
married with three kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their daughter,
Abidela, dreams of building upon her parents’ legacy by joining the Artificers,
hoping to offset her seeming lack of a Gift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But when Abi
senses the imminent collapse of a bridge only moments before it happens, she
saves countless lives, including that of her best friend, Princess
Katiana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The experience, though
harrowing, uncovers her unique Gift – an ability to sense the physical strains
in objects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Intrigued by
the potential of her Gift, the Artificers seek to claim her as their own – but so
do the Healers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through training with
both of them, Abi discovers unique facets of her Gift, including a synesthetic
connection to objects that allows her to “see” as well as feel the strains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Her Gift may
also grant her a distinct advantage as a spy – there won’t be a building in the
entire kingdom of Valdemar with a secret room that she doesn’t know about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the help of her mentors, she must hone
her gift to uncover the hidden secrets in the depths of Valdemar.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a
fabulous second book in the <i>Family Spies</i> series about the children of Mags and
Amily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first book, <i>The Hills Have
Spies</i> was about the oldest child in the family, Perry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This second book is about the middle child
Abi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abi thinks that she is ungifted
until the incident on the bridge that reveals her Gift, which allows her to
sense the physical strain in inanimate objects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She begins training with the Artificers and the Healers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as she is completing her training she
has to leave on a special journey to help Valdemar’s neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You all know
by now that <i>Valdemar</i> is my favorite series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you don’t know all about it check out that post <a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-your-favorite-series-or-wheres-my.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This most recent installment in the series
does not disappoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed finding
out more about Abi and was delighted by the inclusion of an asexual character
in the <i>Valdemar</i> universe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Representation
matters!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether you’re a fan of
<i>Valdemar</i> or not you will want to add <i>Eye Spy</i> to your collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">***I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Publisher: Daw<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you haven’t read any <i>Valdemar</i> novels and want to start
I recommend you start with one of these:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAk5u-JohlO4i_VC5Pl6yI_gAywOFiBS0aHSlAPL_ZmvK0Ul5q75K9BhDpT1tvJUIhbfXac9uJJeYLMEXfNr8zS9uPex_JIIeRjbwApdpggrmdC77UoU1pcPc8yVpjsj8n4FinQC0irU/s1600/Valdemar-+Tarma+and+Kethry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAk5u-JohlO4i_VC5Pl6yI_gAywOFiBS0aHSlAPL_ZmvK0Ul5q75K9BhDpT1tvJUIhbfXac9uJJeYLMEXfNr8zS9uPex_JIIeRjbwApdpggrmdC77UoU1pcPc8yVpjsj8n4FinQC0irU/s200/Valdemar-+Tarma+and+Kethry.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDgRGFhkEcl4WFRmgiIORogSSD0U3OoC5zLJ-fZZt54CBewzsWqF9vCL7eaSQiNZO9tO_DFXo2li_ush4rK4knhBNx8qCUvY9152j8aSutZGSAI53a-xGLUTQe0M_xIwITRDetue_Mpc/s1600/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1052" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDgRGFhkEcl4WFRmgiIORogSSD0U3OoC5zLJ-fZZt54CBewzsWqF9vCL7eaSQiNZO9tO_DFXo2li_ush4rK4knhBNx8qCUvY9152j8aSutZGSAI53a-xGLUTQe0M_xIwITRDetue_Mpc/s200/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Vows and Honor Series</i> (<i>The Oathbound, Oathbreaker,
Oathblood</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Arrows Trilogy</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Arrows of the Queen, Arrow’s Flight,
Arrow’s Fall</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you’ve read the <i>Valdemar</i> novels and are looking for
something similar:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Quarters Quartet</i> by Tanya Huff <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Green Rider Series</i> by Kristen Britain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Chronicles of the Necromancer</i> by Gail Z. Martin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-35307825257367540192019-07-06T20:27:00.000-04:002019-07-06T20:27:15.854-04:00Valdemar: The Hills Have Spies - Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b> <i>The Hills Have Spies</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> Mercedes Lackey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series:</u></b> <i>Valdemar: Family Spies</i> #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mags,
Herald Spy of Valdemar, and his wife, Amily, the King’s Own Herald, are happily
married with three kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oldest,
Peregrine, has the Gift of Animal Mindspeech – he can talk to animals and
persuade them to act as he wishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perry’s
dream is to follow in his father’s footsteps as Herald Spy, but he has yet to
be Chosen by a Companion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mags is more
than happy to teach Perry all he knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He regularly trains his children, including Perry, with tests and exercises,
preparing them for the complicated and dangerous lives they will likely
lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perry has already held positions
in the Royal Palace as a runner and in the kitchen, useful places where he can
learn to listen and collect information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But there is
growing rural unrest in a community on the border of Valdemar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A report filled with tales of strange
disappearances and missing peddlers is sent to Haven by a Herald from the
Pelagirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To let Perry experience life
away from home and out in the world, Mags proposes that his son accompany him
on an expedition to discover what is really going on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During their
travels, Perry’s Animal Mindspeech allows him to communicate with the local wildlife
of the Pelagirs, whose connection to the land aids in their investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the details he gleans from the creatures
only deepen the mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Perry, Mags,
and their animal companions draw closer to the heart of the danger, they must
discover the truth behind the disappearances at the border – before those
disappearances turn deadly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Valdemar</i>
is my favorite series of books of all time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I talked about that in an earlier post (<a href="https://bookgirlsbooknookblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-your-favorite-series-or-wheres-my.html" target="_blank">see that post here</a>) so I won’t
go into much detail about that in this review, but suffice to say that it
helped me get through some hard times and was my first introduction to fantasy
written for adults.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Hills Have
Spies</i> is the first book in a new <i>Valdemar</i> series (V<i>aldemar: Family Spies</i>) which
is pretty much a continuation of the series before it (<i>Valdemar: The Herald Spy</i>),
which is about Mags, Amily and their friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This new series is about Mags, Amily and their children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Mags so I was really excited for
another series about him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book
focused a lot on Perry, Mags and Amily’s oldest child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has the gift of animal mindspeech, which I
think sounds amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a Kyree
character that I absolutely love and made me nostalgic for <i>The Vows and Honor</i>
series, I may have to go back and read that series after I finish book 2 in
this series <i>Eye Spy</i> which comes out on Tuesday 7/9/19.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Pelagirs
have always fascinated me and I don’t feel like we have had enough stories
about it during our travels through <i>Valdemar</i>, so I was excited to get to
explore a little bit more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to
meet quite a few new characters in <i>The Hills Have Spies</i>, and I found the
interactions between Mags and Perry heartwarming and real feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story is entertaining and the big bad is
believably big, bad and scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning
to <i>Valdemar</i> is always a treat for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
can’t wait for the next installment!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> DAW<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you haven’t read any <i>Valdemar</i> novels and want to start
I recommend you start with one of these:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Vows and Honor Series</i> (T<i>he Oathbound, Oathbreaker,
Oathblood</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n9seigjqk2wcqf5KC2fwvoJE-KCBL_fUfr3pLlCtmdh4u4DGPIMJ1tFmi6KgUDUQQ7ZD9UkPltrZYRh8_wVJispzJ2K9bOH7AnqToLifWTzsnHCLCyWwyySaoS0mgcHvSFPpPHGKl8s/s1600/Valdemar-+Tarma+and+Kethry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n9seigjqk2wcqf5KC2fwvoJE-KCBL_fUfr3pLlCtmdh4u4DGPIMJ1tFmi6KgUDUQQ7ZD9UkPltrZYRh8_wVJispzJ2K9bOH7AnqToLifWTzsnHCLCyWwyySaoS0mgcHvSFPpPHGKl8s/s200/Valdemar-+Tarma+and+Kethry.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Arrows Trilogy</i> (<i>Arrows of the Queen, Arrow’s Flight,
Arrow’s Fall</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvsadnSJePtgmB-dhDpRWXgBbszaf2-ZlUWobXBrxse3qd1OFUZAkI85mZarEreyf1Gum43Nd2d94k26s_pCO0xso1T8FSCaQUK56cxg48tFhwq_VoO9UgSEd7L1L1lQRS0uO2vFOY2Q/s1600/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1052" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvsadnSJePtgmB-dhDpRWXgBbszaf2-ZlUWobXBrxse3qd1OFUZAkI85mZarEreyf1Gum43Nd2d94k26s_pCO0xso1T8FSCaQUK56cxg48tFhwq_VoO9UgSEd7L1L1lQRS0uO2vFOY2Q/s200/valdemar-+complete+arrows+trilogy.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you’ve read the <i>Valdemar</i> novels and are looking for
something similar:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWw_9Wjj-XTOhEvxaD-zIMnRuH-Rr4rcb_PhDRysolDKfoPw7e94Sm_TgxuVU7tvLb3zVoItgdNVRC9GlLJQX9_DHEfaemizrwpSeaDYDM9zeGCJzjTDqN8qWMyD7fD-1YQo4rAvmzSQ/s1600/Quarters+Novels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWw_9Wjj-XTOhEvxaD-zIMnRuH-Rr4rcb_PhDRysolDKfoPw7e94Sm_TgxuVU7tvLb3zVoItgdNVRC9GlLJQX9_DHEfaemizrwpSeaDYDM9zeGCJzjTDqN8qWMyD7fD-1YQo4rAvmzSQ/s200/Quarters+Novels.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Quarters Quartet </i>by Tanya Huff <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Green Rider</i> Series by Kristen Britain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Chronicles of the Necromancer</i> by Gail Z. Martin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVMRY0Rdy9LupOqUhRNhrFCcBfAqgVQjkYBk_QsR46SmuloWfbzvCeNiuNPJQXCw3QuCyCK7eVTnjZh13DH1SeZ7WjbmlZM_0QBe-ywAr5F8cM79WIuTsOmJ2zJ_aHlNBHLdEErK3NFs/s1600/chronicles+of+the+necromancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="419" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVMRY0Rdy9LupOqUhRNhrFCcBfAqgVQjkYBk_QsR46SmuloWfbzvCeNiuNPJQXCw3QuCyCK7eVTnjZh13DH1SeZ7WjbmlZM_0QBe-ywAr5F8cM79WIuTsOmJ2zJ_aHlNBHLdEErK3NFs/s320/chronicles+of+the+necromancer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-12145927434964698752019-07-06T12:13:00.000-04:002019-07-06T12:13:01.671-04:00What's Your Favorite Series? or Where's My Companion?<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you’re a book lover people always ask what your favorite book is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
such a hard question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have many
favorite books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to pick just one
depends on my mood, the time of the month, what genre I’ve just finished
reading, moon cycles and the color of my hair (it's currently purple and green).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Trying to pick a favorite author can be just as hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, ask me to name my favorite series
and I’ll tell you hands down it’s the <i>Valdemar</i> series by Mercedes Lackey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This meme has made the rounds on Facebook
several times and my answer always surprises even people who know me well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given this choice I’m packing a bag and
taking that red pill, I’ll be gone in less than 15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where’s my companion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I’m absolutely sure in my heart and
soul that I’m a Herald of Valdemar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are currently 35 books in this
series (#36 comes out 7/9/19) and several books of short stories, and it’s
broken down into multiple series within the series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i>Vows and Honor</i> series was my first
experience with fantasy written for adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was a preteen, probably 12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
Dad used to take us to the book store every month and buy my two siblings and
myself each one new book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always
been an advanced reader and I remember that I had grown bored with the books
that I had been reading because their themes were too childish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad very patiently helped me find a book that
he thought I would like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was <i>The Oathbound</i>
by Mercedes Lackey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I devoured it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t remember exactly how long it took me
to read it, but I’m pretty sure I was done reading it that weekend. So I read
it in a day, two tops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhDf3zzedvjfxAeFZe8eBClzF3_m58Xy8SjtkE3wY4UBUVJiqXTLfS9DX7It_Q82vvv-2RyEHDw0SF8vG6h0c048GYRsvShwYWczI-R5TWmutq6MQzYViNWuFHgKGUIG5eohh21Z5ick/s1600/Valdemar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhDf3zzedvjfxAeFZe8eBClzF3_m58Xy8SjtkE3wY4UBUVJiqXTLfS9DX7It_Q82vvv-2RyEHDw0SF8vG6h0c048GYRsvShwYWczI-R5TWmutq6MQzYViNWuFHgKGUIG5eohh21Z5ick/s200/Valdemar+3.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My original copy of The Oathbound</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every month after
that I picked another <i>Valdemar</i> book during our monthly trips to the bookstore. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This was around 1993, so there were quite a
few <i>Valdemar</i> books already published at this point.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I remember getting caught up and realizing I
was going to have to wait for more <i>Valdemar</i> books to be published.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was devastating!</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But then I started rereading them and
branching out to other fantasy authors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Valdemar</i> is always where I turn when real
life is extra hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My parents were
divorced when I was young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Around the
time that I discovered <i>Valdemar</i> I was also being abused by my stepfather (this
was my mother’s second husband, and not the wonderful stepfather that I have
now).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t talk about it much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The abuse was mainly emotional, so it’s hard
to talk about because a lot of people still don’t recognize it as abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it’s just as damaging as physical
abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hated me, and I still don’t
know why. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to go into a lot
of specifics, it doesn’t really matter now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But not a single day would go by without him telling me how worthless I
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would scream at me, right up in
my face, about minor and imaginary infractions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In public, or at home, where we were didn’t matter to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what I did, it was never
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother worked as an RN, and so
she frequently wasn’t home until dinner time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was the oldest so one of my jobs after school (this was before I was
homeschooled) was to watch my brother and sister and start dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most days when we got home the door to the
house would be locked because he was napping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our Grandmother had an attached in-law apartment so we would go to her
house instead, or just stay outside because he would get mad at us for
bothering Grandma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many times when he
woke up and realized that we were at her house he would come over and scream at
us and it upset her, so I learned to just stay outside, or make sure we were
back outside by the time he woke up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
would be a list of chores that we were supposed to do after school on our
kitchen table, but of course we couldn’t do them because he was sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there was always hell to pay for not
getting those done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He walked around naked, even when there
were people over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask my poor Aunt, he
took a particular pleasure in shocking people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My sister and I didn’t have doors for our rooms and he would just walk
in, saying that it was his right because it was his house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t matter if we were changing, he would
just say “he’d seen it all before”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
girl going through puberty this was particularly distressing to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
lived on an 80 acre farm, which was more than half woods, on a dirt road that
had grass growing down the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I generally didn’t do my homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why bother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I was worthless
and never going to amount to anything anyway I figured there was no point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I spent many hours roaming the woods and
pastures, and hiding in the barn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
would never come to the barn when the horses were in, he was afraid of the
horses and they really didn’t like him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I spent a lot of time sitting in a stall with my horse and
reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dreaming of a companion coming
to take me away to someplace where I wouldn’t be worthless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an adult I have mild depression and
moderate to severe anxiety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My therapist
says it’s never going to go away, but it can get better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wounds have healed, but these are the scars that remain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t handle other people’s
anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can be brought to tears by an
angry sounding voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I’m not alone I’m on high alert all the time, constantly monitoring the people around
me, waiting for someone to snap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took
a long time, but I’ve learned how to deal with those scars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I now have a job that allows me to work from
home every other week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a husband
who is calm and kind; even when he’s angry he never raises his voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My cats love me unconditionally, and are
always there to show me that I matter when I have a bad day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that I’m smart, capable and very much
not worthless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And my books still offer
me an escape when I need to get away from real life for a little while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The characters aren't perfect, and many of them have scars (both visible and invisible), and they are strong, they're like me. </span>Books contain a powerful magic that helped me
become the person that I am today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t tell you this story because I
want your pity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s quite the opposite
in fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel that it’s important to
get these stories out there for others who are going through the same
thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotional abuse is still abuse,
and it leaves scars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some ways it’s
worse than the physical abuse, because the scars physical abuse leaves are
visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My scars are invisible, but
they are still there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHIEMhAKJuV_XWxx5UqwUM1krHLdp3Jh0KxCl1ILdtU6xu7n3-Fsebf2sjuDwfhc9LCOzKHm6RbQ0jQR9Kg31jhTDABq3iAKUBMLtOlKnrxlQQklZoWVjYG0JrJC3857j6eNuxW1jgWM/s1600/Valdemar+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHIEMhAKJuV_XWxx5UqwUM1krHLdp3Jh0KxCl1ILdtU6xu7n3-Fsebf2sjuDwfhc9LCOzKHm6RbQ0jQR9Kg31jhTDABq3iAKUBMLtOlKnrxlQQklZoWVjYG0JrJC3857j6eNuxW1jgWM/s400/Valdemar+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The books took over my kitchen table when getting ready to take pictures for this post.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Valdemar</i> still holds a special place in my
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reread the series all the time,
and snatch up new books as soon as they come out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I took the photos for this post I
realized that I’m missing <i>Magic’s Pawn</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was distressed at first, but then remembered that I’ve been wanting
the omnibus edition with all 3 books in <i>The Last Herald Mage Trilogy</i> and now I
have an excuse to go buy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll
probably use this as an excuse to buy the omnibus edition of <i>The Arrows Trilogy</i>
and the <i>Tarma and Kethry Serie</i>s as well to be perfectly honest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re a fan of sword and sorcery style
fantasy and haven’t read any <i>Valdemar</i> books don’t be intimidated by the number
of books in the series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkHlV1jx2MEVrynOtSuB5OIN1_JHEDK-CJOlj6q67nFg_SoGnUHk3fsZB_sZZlXcPNijitrrJMvV5Kyrt_ayyiJ9i5LFKxcA4wOTTrGR0rARZeeJG2TxXJqQfP4DBeXnwMZwuUcTxMKs/s1600/Valdemar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkHlV1jx2MEVrynOtSuB5OIN1_JHEDK-CJOlj6q67nFg_SoGnUHk3fsZB_sZZlXcPNijitrrJMvV5Kyrt_ayyiJ9i5LFKxcA4wOTTrGR0rARZeeJG2TxXJqQfP4DBeXnwMZwuUcTxMKs/s200/Valdemar+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valdemar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">You’re going to
love them, and have all of these wonderful books to look forward to.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I recommend starting with </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Tarma and Kethry</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">,
which starts with </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">The Oathbound</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">; or with </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">The Arrows Trilogy</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> which starts with
</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Arrows of the Queen</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And for those of
you who are already fans of <i>Valdemar</i>, remember that </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Eye Spy</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> comes out Tuesday
7/9/19.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Come back here that day for my
spoiler free review!</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7tcFpUnEyUpoH59jSuN2TdPnjvUp5YmYBO_2lDMy9bjKOb3aGINQ_3y-A_quNNfmX7U2cneM5wLY_x58h3iCGzkQkOZmeTWVYTSoEW7hLey3vWH93zLtEBzkaeB_2IRHa2QCanliSpI/s1600/eye+spy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7tcFpUnEyUpoH59jSuN2TdPnjvUp5YmYBO_2lDMy9bjKOb3aGINQ_3y-A_quNNfmX7U2cneM5wLY_x58h3iCGzkQkOZmeTWVYTSoEW7hLey3vWH93zLtEBzkaeB_2IRHa2QCanliSpI/s320/eye+spy.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Releases 7/9/19</td></tr>
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<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-68696401286002963012019-07-05T23:07:00.001-04:002019-07-05T23:07:22.021-04:00Tomorrow It's too hot to sit at the computer today. It got up to 89 degrees F here today, it's also been raining so it's as humid as you can imagine. So instead of getting a post today you'll get two tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll be talking about my favorite fantasy series that has a new book coming out this week on 7/9, and there will be a book review. For now, I'm going to go sit in front of a fan and eat a pineapple popsicle! Good night, and stay cool!Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-71712508876948282072019-07-02T07:30:00.000-04:002019-07-02T07:30:03.584-04:00Wanderers - Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Wanderers</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chuck
Wendig<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis</u></b>: “Shana wakes up one morning to discover her
little sister in the grip of a strange malady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She appears to be sleepwalking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She cannot talk and cannot be woken up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that
only she knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Shana and her sister
are not alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon they are joined by a
flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And like Shana, there are other “shepherds”
who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road
ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“For on their
journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence,
where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the rest of society collapses all around
them – and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them – the fate of
the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The terrifying secret will either tear the
nation apart – or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You all
know by now that I love a good apocalypse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Give me a novel about the end of the world that is heavier than my cat
(the small cat, not the 20 lb monster cat) and I’m a happy book worm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Wanderers</i> is
an interesting take on the end of the world by plague trope, with interesting
characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first I thought that it was going to be a zombie novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Around 25%
in I realized it’s actually a plague that kills all humanity/end of the world
novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 75% in I finally realized it’s
actually neither, and yet both, of those.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is full of characters you love and characters you love to hate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only complaint is that there are two main
characters that are both female whose names begin with S and I spent the entire
first half of the novel confused about which was which.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that might just be me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me
five days to read <i>Wanderers</i>, but that’s only because I had to work; and one day
I had a migraine headache and wasn’t able to read at all, which was horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every minute I wasn’t reading I was trying to
figure out when my next opportunity to read was going to be so I could get a
bit further in the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stayed up way
past my bedtime so I could read, and when I finally allowed myself to sleep I
had weird dreams that I blame on <i>Wanderers</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly
recommend all of Chuck Wendig’s novels and I think <i>Wanderers</i> is a great choice
for a summer read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But be warned, this novel
is an epic, heavy read (I’m not just talking about the physical weight of the
book) and once you start reading you won’t be able to stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>***I was provided with a free copy of this book via NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.***</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher:</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Del Rey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>If you like this book you may want to read:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Invasive</i> by Chuck Wendig<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlRBD2J_1uup9JTeH9ZcwY1P-E9QeuOTMze-oOx0lkw7j_fk8Vk5npiCxiynGz7u9UtTidV5DRA6gql54D2zqK_SLPtaD43xlgjCtEulb5X3WZ0Zxb0G-HGud0qKWNkEq0uUC4eEu4so/s1600/end+of+the+world+running+club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlRBD2J_1uup9JTeH9ZcwY1P-E9QeuOTMze-oOx0lkw7j_fk8Vk5npiCxiynGz7u9UtTidV5DRA6gql54D2zqK_SLPtaD43xlgjCtEulb5X3WZ0Zxb0G-HGud0qKWNkEq0uUC4eEu4so/s320/end+of+the+world+running+club.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The End of the World Running Club</i> by Adrian J Walker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-5848107346696946642019-06-29T20:41:00.000-04:002019-07-01T21:47:24.554-04:00Changes: A Letter to the Readers of This PageDear Readers,<br />
<br />
I'm sorry for my long silence over the last 10 months. I've put a lot of thought into this blog lately. My demons have been telling me to quit writing reviews. When my depression and anxiety flare up they try to convince me that no one cares what I say, because I don't have anything worthwhile to share. You and I both know that this isn't true. But when those bullies gang up on me they can sometimes succeed in making me feel worthless. Depression and anxiety convince me that when my reviews aren't well written enough that I am actually damaging the reputation of the authors who wrote the books that I'm reviewing. You and I both know that this isn't true. But those bullies are mean and try to take away anything that brings me joy.<br />
<br />
Many of you know that I have hopes of being a novelist myself someday. I hadn't written any fiction for years, until a few months ago. I realized that I was never going to accomplish my dreams if I wasn't writing anything. So I reached out to my cousin, and friend, Miriam who is a successful life coach. She has the ability to be a bigger bully than both depression and anxiety. Miriam kindly agreed to hold me accountable to a writing schedule. Three times per week I send her a picture of me writing. I write for an hour (minimum) on Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday. If she doesn't get a picture of me writing on the designated day (with the exception of planned schedule changes for special events) she reaches out and we discuss what's holding me back. Mostly it's a fear that I suck. My writing sucks. My stories suck. I suck. Depression and anxiety are mean! I'm so afraid that I'm going to put in all this effort (writing is HARD) and fail. However, because of Miriam's help and my perseverance, I've been writing consistently since March, and it feels amazing.<br />
<br />
DETOUR: I highly recommend Miriam if you are in the market for a life coach, or a bully who can help you out bully your demons. Miriam is highly supportive; but she also is all about discussing what makes life, and achieving your goals, hard. She's real, and many of us need more real in our lives. Here's a link to her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VibrantLC/?eid=ARCEb8wn7xIaMxibplU79aIMfPsp2KkV3sVAEauz38S97_e28CJ0lnu_H_LpxhFUaX1IPn1pm8RM_vZt&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=662723407&fref=tag" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
So now that I have that aspect of my life back on track it's time to get back on track here. I'm setting goals, and making promises. And if I find myself not making those goals, or keeping those promises, I will openly discuss what is holding me back. I'm doing this because I know that my voice matters. People do care what I think. And even if my reviews aren't the most well written reviews out there it's still marketing for the books and authors that I love, and some that I don't love. That said, here is my new blogging schedule:<br />
<br />
You can be expecting posts on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, at a minimum. These won't all be reviews. Some will just be check in posts letting you know what I'm reading and what reviews are upcoming. Some will be posts about the new releases I'm looking forward to this coming month. Some will be the life of a bookworm, journal type, posts. But most will be reviews.<br />
<br />
Thank you for your patience and understanding.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Rebecca, aka BookGirlRBexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2690937184388096033.post-13733389594203582852019-03-10T11:53:00.000-04:002019-03-10T11:53:42.907-04:00Lake Silence - Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGFYA5CLus8ocE9RonSbetBcZ1psa_hx93xHBNAGlQRpz3PAE3R3XOt3EGzAVp6ORssTvneIbxCdS8h1AFDxbhloVaRsUryvYshS0yEcjAwDKZgMrC9GRVvFMZpY52xGdiOkPIpTJPbQ/s1600/lake+silence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGFYA5CLus8ocE9RonSbetBcZ1psa_hx93xHBNAGlQRpz3PAE3R3XOt3EGzAVp6ORssTvneIbxCdS8h1AFDxbhloVaRsUryvYshS0yEcjAwDKZgMrC9GRVvFMZpY52xGdiOkPIpTJPbQ/s400/lake+silence.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Title</u></b>: <i>Lake Silence</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Author</u></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anne
Bishop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Series</u></b>: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The World
of the Others</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Human
laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others - vampires,
shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is a fact that humans should never,
ever forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After her
divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human
town that is not human controlled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Towns
such as Vicki’s don’t have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators
who rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when a place has no boundaries, you never
really know what is out there watching you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Vicki was
hoping to find a new career and anew life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe - one of the shape-shifting Others<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds
trouble instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The detectives want to
pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed
the victim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Vicki and her friends
search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their
domain. They have rules that must not be broken - and all the destructive
powers of nature at their command.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Review:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I
read this book I thought I couldn’t enjoy a story set in the world of the
Others more than I enjoyed <i>Written in Red</i> (the first <i>Novel of the Others</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are all great novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
<i>Lake Silence</i> is my favorite novel set in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it’s because I identified with
Vickie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a woman who escaped an
abusive marriage and is looking for a new, quiet life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves books and solitude almost as much
as I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Lake Silence</i>
is the perfect combination of mystery, fantasy and thriller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It starts with a dead body on Vicki’s
property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The detectives working the
case are trying to pin the case on her, but the Others realize what is
happening and take it upon themselves to protect her. I love the interactions
between Vickie and her boarders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
love of books and stories is an important bonding point when she becomes the
Reader for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">terra indigene</i> in The
Jumble. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vicki’s friendly and caring
nature helps her to make friends with most of the beings she comes into contact
with, including the Lady of the Lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>believe that after all that has happened in
this world anyone could be stupid enough to believe they stand a chance
against<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Elders, but <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yorick and his associates are that stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Vicki’s ex husband arrives to attempt to
steal the property out from under her, the friendships that she has developed become
very important as she fights to retain her rights to The Jumble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved <i>Lake Silence</i>, and if Sproing were a
real place I would move there, open a shop and feed the Sproingers
carrots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Publisher</u></b>: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ACE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Wild Country</i> (<i>The World of the Others</i>) by Anne Bishop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Bexxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367760176344462079noreply@blogger.com0