Just In Time To Go Back To School

 

Just in time to go back to school, I have to have dental surgery. Because of a medication I take due to post-cancer treatment effects, I can only have the dental procedure timed a certain way. So it's now or wait six months and hope that the teeth at issue don't cause more problems. 

All this to say I'm going to need to use all my energy to make it through the work day and the other people in this house are going to have to pick up the slack.This means I need to stop myself from making sure the dishes are in the dishwasher properly. 

A tall order!

I hope I have an easy recovery. I do have plenty of books to read and lots of book work to do, so I should try to concentrate on that and not think about someone putting the wrong stuff on the top rack or mixing towels with pants in the washer.

How about you?  Are you laid back around household chores?

*****
I forgot that I had pre-ordered Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews until the other day. I then proceeded to read this novella. If you haven't read Ilona Andrews before, please drop everything and read them! This book features Roman who is like an intermediary between a Slavic god and humans. There is a lot of folklore in this story and I found it really interesting. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger, but it ends with the immediate danger being dealt with and more action and adventure to come. You can read this as a stand-alone, but it's more pleasing if you've read the Kate Daniels series. 

If you are a mood reader, this book takes place Dec 23-25.

Five stars of pure awesome!

It's Good, But Why is this Book So LONG- A Court of Mist and Fury

 

After listening to A Court of Thorns and Roses,  I was in no hurry to continue the series because I didn't like Feyre and Tamlin as a couple. I didn't like Tamlin and Feyre was so boring with him.  She goes from being a warrior to a princess flouncing around in gowns and painting. 

But a podcast I listen to sang the praises of this book, so I said, fine I'll give this a shot.  And yes, much better. HOWEVER, the book is ridiculously long and too repetitive, and so I rated it a 3.  It's good but if it was 200 pages shorter, it would have been fantastic. Why are the books in this series so long, I'm listening at 2x speed and it's still taking forever--and the ending isn't the ending it's the end til the next book starts, so shorten it up! 

Have you read this series?  Did you think this book could have been edited down? 

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We are still enjoying amazing September weather in Chicagoland, temps are in the 70s (low 20s Celcius) during the day and 50s (mid teens celsius) at night. Just the best. For my birthday I got myself a Stich Fix and it included two cute sweaters and it hasn't been cool enough to wear them, but I figure we only have a couple of weeks --at the most before it will truly be sweater weather. 

Have You Been Getting Your Steps In?

 I've been working on meeting or exceeding 10,000 steps per day.  A while back I lost my Fitbit so I've been using my phone to track my steps, and since I put my phone down often during the day, I have to make a concerted effort to get all the steps in before going to bed. Of course, if I'm out running or walking I do love to listen to audiobooks to keep me going.  

I came across Red Queen because I was looking for a fantasy book that was available as an audiobook from my public library.  I enjoyed it, it's very similar, plotwise to more than a couple other fantasy YA books.  I did enjoy it enough that I want to know what happens next and am continuing the series. If you like fantasy told from a female lead POV, give this series a try and see what you think!

3.5 stars 

Also, I didn't feel like turning on the oven the other day so, I did some internet research and found out that you can make pork chops in the Air Fryer.  Preheat your air fryer on 400 degrees for 5 mins then add the seasoned pork chops and cook for 12 minutes! Easy and Fast!

My First Amazon First Read WOW-- So Good!

 

I usually forget to check out the free Amazon First Reads, but this month I remembered and I chose this book based on the cover. It looked interesting.  I read it in three sittings it was so good. This is the first book in what will hopefully be a nice series. As such it has several things going for it:

1. I was easily able to keep track of the characters.

2. A big bad problem was solved at the end of the book, so there's nice closure while plenty of other plates are in the air to make me want to read what happens next. 

3. Both POV characters are women. This seems like a rarity and I'd like to read more of it. 

The world-building is strong and the magic system is well thought out.  Some of what happens is really creepy and I would say this book has elements of Horror.  In total coincidence, part of the magic in this book involves people becoming stone statues, an element that is also in the KDrama Alchemy of Souls that I just finished watching.  

What do you think? Have you read anything else by Beth Cato or are you looking for a new fantasy book to read? 

5 Stars

Hammered By Kevin Herne Book #Readalong

 

I borrowed the ebook of Hammered  from my library, and I didn't finish the ebook. The book has quite a bit of Norse mythology and I was struggling with trying to pronounce those names in my head and keep everything straight. I switched to the audio version and it was easier for me to follow, I think this was mostly because I have watched all the Thor-related Marvel movies and was familiar with how various characters' names sound in contrast to knowing the spellings. 

This is the third book in the series and it looks like things will be changing from here, we will be moving away from Tempe, Arizona. This book takes place in Asgard for the most part, which was interesting. Lots of action and we don't really know if Atticus has really messed up by going after Thor, or if things will work out.  We do find out exactly what Jesus would do in Atticus's shoes, which is a fun scene in the book. 

The best part of this book for me is when Atticus is spending time camping out with his brothers-in-arms and we learn the back stories behind why this group of desperate supernatural beings want to kill Thor. 

This book is very male-centric and I would really like more Granuaile in these books, but I think maybe that isn't to be? 

I read this book for Anne's Read-Along you can check it out here and consider joining us! 

The Iron Druid Chronicles

3.5 stars

Wolfsong By T.J. Klune

 T. J. Klune's writing is spellbinding. I borrowed Wolfsong from the library because the book he has that just came out on 4/25 was not yet available for me to put on hold.  Not only re TJ Klune's books great reads, they have great covers. Look at this vibrant cover, I can't wait to read it! Oh, It looks like it could very well be a retelling of Pinnochio! 

Not only does T. J. Klune have the incredible ability to create universes filled with beautiful characters, and so many variations on love.  The world-building is just fantastic. I've read werewolf stories before, and this one is unique and stands apart.  I could post sentences from the book that struck me and we'd be here all day, so instead of that I highly suggest adding this book to your TBR if you enjoy fantasy books. 

Wolfsong is a long sweeping story about Ox, a human who grows up not fitting in, who has a crummy father and is scraping by as he goes through High School. And then the Bennetts move into the house down the road, then things change, and Ox changes. This is a story of growing up, finding your people and your place in the world, and what a person will do to keep the people they love together. It's told in first-person which I really enjoyed. 

This book has such a different cover than The Lives of Puppets.  So interesting. The basic black and white with the title in Orange (the color that the werewolves eyes change). 

Have you read any T.J. Klune? What did you think?

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

This story of Dora who has lost half her soul to a fairy and as such has little emotions is captivating.  It takes place in regency times only in this version of the world; there are fairies and actual magic, and ways to go between the more mundane world and the faerie realm.  Olivia does a beautiful job of writing a fantasy that shows the struggles of women and the poor as well as the stifling nature of expectations for men and women to marry. 

Half a Soul is easy to get lost in, the characters and scenes are well-written and the ending is satisfying. This book has a complete resolution and a far-reaching epilogue.  That being said there is another book to come from this universe. When the character for the second book is introduced briefly in this book, you'll know that is who will be the main character in this upcoming book. 

This book has one of the best declarations of love that I've read in ages, I don't think it spoils the book to share it, so see it below: 

5 stars, a book worth reading! 

 

ACOTAR - Beauty and The Beast

 I think I would have been better off not knowing this book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I was too old for the Disney Princesses and not even Anna was into them when she was a kid.  In any case, I do like fantasy, especially if I can listen to it, so I borrowed this book from my library.  

This book is very popular and I think there are over 100,000 reviews on Goodreads. So do I even need to add my two cents? 

Here are my main thoughts:

1. I liked that our MC is a hunter and basically the one keeping her family alive at the beginning. She has skills and isn't afraid to work hard and she knows adversity.

2. This book is long and takes a good long while to get going. 

3. The romance fell flat for me and the actual love scenes were very fleeting.

4. My favorite characters were Lucien, Rhysand, and Feyre's sister Nesta.  

Overall I enjoyed listening to the book. I didn't really like what happens to Feyre at the end, as far as her leveling up so to speak -- I don't want to spoil anything. And I would like to know if I would get more of Lucien's POV in book two? I don't really care all that much about Feyre or Tamlin. So I'm not sure if I will read more.

I googled to double-check the spelling of Nesta's name for this post since I had only listened to the audio, and when I did the first thing listed was a  spoiler for her story. BOOO Google.

My rating is 3.5

If you have read this series, please let me know what you thought of the second book! 

 

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

 

This book was our book club pick for a fairytale retelling. It's a stand-alone fantasy book that is much shorter than fantasy books tend to be. T. Kingfisher does an excellent job of writing concisely and giving the reader a rich world to discover. I listened to the audio version of the book and found it to be easy to listen to and follow. 

The story has a satisfying resolution, and also one could see how the story could continue if T.Kingfisher had an interest in writing a second book about these characters. 

 Key elements of this book that I enjoyed:

The main character Marra, as well as potential love interest, Fenris both feel like they are destined to live a life with more suffering than happiness. 

We have a character who is capable of powerfully evil magic, but they choose not to use that evil. 

Some very creepy scenes involve something known as a tooth dancer and a landlady that has a childhood toy. Both characters and the parts they play are so creative and truly the stuff of nightmares. T. Kingfisher builds a fascinating world of a book that is an homage to the story of Little Red Riding Hood. 

4.5 stars 

This is the Shortest Month, #TheSundayPost End of Feburary!

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Wow, it's the end of February already. Fortunately for my area, we had it pretty goes on the weather front. More often than not, our temperatures were above freezing. I've been spending some of my not reading time watching K-Dramas. They are SO ENTERTAINING! I'm so glad there are tons on Netflix, so much content I get to enjoy! From what I've been watching they also have a lot of eating scenes so now I'm really excited about a restaurant that is opening near me: Korean Hot Pot and BBQ. It's a whole AYCE thing where you cook your meal yourself it looks really delicious. 

How about you? Have you ever gone to a cook-your-own food place? Do you watch K-Dramas?

Here are the books I'll be talking about this week!

Finally Able to Borrow This Book! Under The Whispering Door!

 

I put this book on my holds list ages ago, and my number came up recently.  This book is by the same author as The House in The Cerulean Sea.  I have not read that book. I think this book is darker than The House in the Cerulean Sea based on how that book I have heard more than one person say is like a cozy, warm blanket on a cold day.

As per usual, I didn't look at any reviews or other information about the book before I read it. I saw the cover and I heard good things so I decided to borrow it. I don't know if this is described as a Fantasy book or if it is more correctly Magical Realism.  I think if you read either genre or neither genre, you will enjoy this book.  

This book is steeped in grief and longing, so if you are not in a place to read about death, even if there is every reason to believe in life after death, this is not the book for you at this time. I think I might have enjoyed the book a little more if I knew one thing about this book.  I am going to scroll down and say something that is in the spoiler realm so stop reading here if you don't want to know this one thing, it's going to be vague and doesn't ruin the reading experience; in fact, it would have helped me to be less sad reading this book--which would have enhanced my reading.   Overall I give this book 4 stars.  Stop reading

 if you want no info about the book included something that might be a little spoiler-ish 

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I wish I had known that this book has a HEA. I read without hope all the way to like 93%.  I'm still having a sadness hangover.