Bookish Things: Library Book Haul

I haven’t been to the library in a few months because I received so many gift cards for books for my birthday and Christmas that I didn’t need to go (my family gets me).

Now, sadly those cards are winding down and I decided that I wanted to grab some books from the library that I wasn’t quite sure about buying.

This took so long in deciding though because my library is currently 25 minutes away. They’re remodeling the one that is only FIVE minutes away for a few more months. And with a wiggly toddler it was an adventure to get out there. This boot I’m still stuck in made it even more comical trying to manage her and all the books I wanted.

Nobody should let me into a library unsupervised. I had requested five books, but upon perusing the shelves I picked up three more. I have no regrets. I will finish all of them in three weeks!…I hope.

Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo (Illustrator)

Why I wanted to read it: It wasn’t a book I was originally going to grab, but I saw and figured why not? I actually already read it and enjoyed it. The novella was absolutely adorable.

Synopsis:

In this stand-alone companion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone series comes the story of Mik and Zuzana’s fantastical first date—as a gorgeously illustrated gift edition with bonus content included.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to make the first move, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy is not going to know what hit him.

New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Originally published as an ebook, this new print edition will include breathtaking black and white illustrations, plus bonus content in a gorgeous package perfect for new and current fans of the series.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Why I wanted to read it: Purely, #bookstagrammademedoit, it sounded like the perfect enemies to lovers trope though, so I’m not mad I borrowed it!

Synopsis:

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

Why I wanted to read it: I had this on my TBR years ago, took it off, then added it back after hearing about Dark Shores. I’m really interested to see what Jensen’s books are like!

Synopsis:

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realises that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…

But the more time she spends with the trolls, the more she understands their plight. There is a rebellion brewing. And she just might be the one the trolls were looking for…

The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May

Why I wanted to read it: Purely fae. I’ve heard some mixed things, but this is what’s great about a library! No guilt if I end up not loving it.

Synopsis:

One girl’s nightmare is this girl’s faery tale

She’s a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.

She’s a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she’s leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.

She’s a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.

She’s a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother’s murder—but she’ll have to save the world first.

The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire #1) by Michael J. Sullivan

Why I wanted to read it: A bookstagram friend recommended this to me after I mentioned how much I enjoyed Warbreaker. Since it was available at the library I went ahead and grabbed it!

Synopsis:

Age of Myth inaugurates another six-book series set in Elan.

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever.

Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.

The Traitor’s Kiss (The Traitor’s Circle #1) by Erin Beaty

Why I want to read it: This book vaguely seemed like The Winner’s Curse (one of my all time fav series), so I’m going to find out!

Synopsis:

An obstinate girl who will not be married. A soldier desperate to prove himself. A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls’ military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom. 

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Why I want to read it: I saw this on a few Bookstagram’s and became really curious. It also sounds totally trippy which is up my alley.

Synopsis:

In an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a freshman girl stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep—and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics who carry her away, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. Then a second girl falls asleep, and then another, and panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. As the number of cases multiplies, classes are canceled, and stores begin to run out of supplies. A quarantine is established. The National Guard is summoned. 

Mei, an outsider in the cliquish hierarchy of dorm life, finds herself thrust together with an eccentric, idealistic classmate. Two visiting professors try to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. A father succumbs to the illness, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. And at the hospital, a new life grows within a college girl, unbeknownst to her—even as she sleeps. A psychiatrist, summoned from Los Angeles, attempts to make sense of the illness as it spreads through the town. Those infected are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, more than has ever been recorded. They are dreaming heightened dreams—but of what? 

Storm Siren (Storm Siren #1) by Mary Weber

Why I want to read it: I know NOTHING about this book, and I’m kinda excited about it. I simply saw the book and grabbed it. Reminded me of Roar by Cora Carmack.

Synopsis:

In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?

Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.

Have you read any of these? Which do you think I should get to first? Let’s talk in the comments!

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Book Review: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 
Audience: Fantasy, magical realism
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ruth Emmie Lang
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: December 4th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Through the story of Weylyn Grey, an orphaned boy who grew up with wolves, Lang weaves a mystical tale about life, love, and the ability each of us has to change our own story. 

Finding magic in the ordinary…

The day that Weylyn is born is the largest snowstorm the South has ever seen. As he grows older, so does the legends of Weylyn Grey, his horned-pig Merlin and their magical abilities. But the true magic is in the way that he transforms the lives of those around him. As anyone who’s met Weylyn will tell you, once he wanders into your life, you’ll wish he’d never leave.

Told from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird. Although he doesn’t stay in any of their lives for long, he leaves each of them with a story to tell. Stories about a boy who lives with wolves, great storms that evaporate into thin air, fireflies that make phosphorescent honey, and a house filled with spider webs and the strange man who inhabits it.

There is one story, however, that Weylyn wishes he could change: his own. But first he has to muster enough courage to knock on Mary’s front door.

Ruth Emmie Lang’s Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance teaches us about adventure and love in a beautifully written story full of nature and wonder. 

SUCH AN ADVENTURE OF WONDER.

I picked this up on a Target run when I wasn’t supposed to be buying books…whoops!

But y’all, seriously, this was amazing and I’m so glad I grabbed it. It gave me all the feels and brought out such a sense of adventure and longing for a place in the world.

Weylen Grey has MY HEART. Oh, but he also made me so mad. This poor lost boy had me saying, bless your heart, more than once. I thought he was so fascinating and captivating. I thought it was even more imaginative that the author wrote the book from everyone else’s perspective. THIS WAS SO COOL. I felt thoroughly connected to him even in this format. Weylen had to go through a lot to realize what he had already. He truly went on a journey that captivated me.

Miss Mary quite contrary was precious too. I loved watching their story develop from kids in the woods to adults who had made some tough choices. Their reunion scene at the end had me melting. Frustrated that it took so dang long, but melting at the pure love they shared.

I thought the flow was fantastic and jumped back and forth at the right times. The pace was steady and seriously kept me flipping pages. I needed to know what happened next.

All of the other perspectives were unique too. These people had a profound effect on Weylen’s life; whether it was obvious or not. I liked getting to know them through their perspectives as well. Each had a unique voice that only further added to the wonder of Weylen Grey.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban fantasy, magical realism (there were in real life places, but there was a dose of magic)
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: a kiss, some hugs
  • Violence: animal attacks, guns

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Book Review: Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Non-fiction, history, war
Length: 393 pages
Author: Doug Stanton
Publisher: Scribner
Release Date: May 5th, 2009
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The inspiration for the major motion picture 12 Strong from Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Harm’s Way comes a true-life story of American soldiers overcoming great odds to achieve a stunning military victory.

Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential to defeat their opponent throughout the country.

The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators as they rode into the city, and the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban regime had been overthrown.

Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed by the would-be POWs. Dangerously overpowered, they fought for their lives in the city’s immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, or the House of War. At risk were the military gains of the entire campaign: if the soldiers perished or were captured, the entire effort to outmaneuver the Taliban was likely doomed.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton’s account of the Americans’ quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic. The soldiers on horses combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople proved a valuable lesson for America’s ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.

Note: I’m not here to debate the war, politics, etc. This is purely a review of how I thought the book was put together and how the author conveyed the story. Please keep that in mind.

HARD TO GET THROUGH.

For more than one reason.

One of those reasons is the sheer mass of knowledge and facts that were added. I’m not sure this needed nearly 400 pages to say everything the author did. Yes, he definitely did his homework, but goodness, it was dense. I occasionally skimmed to move everything along.

Another reason was the heaviness that is war. In detail — injuries, death, and more was conveyed throughout these pages. I literally cringed at the thought of every one involved having to witness and withstand these horrors.

I liked that the Special Forces (and other portions of the military) were explained. I personally don’t have anyone immediate that is in the military so I didn’t understand all the pieces that go into being part of it.

There were A LOT of people involved in this story. And the author let you know about them alllll. I think it took me at least 100+ pages to remember who was who and what group they were apart of.

The only thing that bothered me was how all of these soldiers now have their names and faces planted everywhere. We live in such a digital age that I wonder how often media hurts more than helps (answer: often). They deserved to stay as private as they choose.

My lower rating is mostly attributed to how tough this book felt to get through. It wasn’t an easy read and I struggled to read more than 20 pages at a time. This in no way takes away from what the soldiers accomplished. As I said in my note, this is specifically about the book.

Overall audience notes:

  • History: military, war
  • Language: occasional (recounts of the dialogue)
  • Violence: descriptions of: torture, battle wounds, treatment of women, and more

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Top Ten Tuesday: Things to Do While Listening to An Audiobook

For Top Ten Tuesday this week it’s an Audiobook freebie! I’ve thought all week about what I wanted to do and finally this idea popped into my head.

Some people are wary of audiobooks (I totally was too), but now I see how much other stuff I can do while listening to one! It’s multi-tasking at its finest. Put an audiobook on and get down to whatever business you need to.

So here’s a list of 10 things that you can do while listening to an audiobook!

Laundry

I’m one of those weird people who enjoys laundry. I love an empty basket and all the clothes put away (even if it only lasts a few hours, okay who am I kidding, 5 minutes). My favorite thing to do is play an audiobook while folding clothes! Makes everything go by much faster.

Shower

May be crazy sounding, but I figured out if I put my phone in a certain spot I can hear it well AND shower! Taking me time to a whole new level. Or better yet if you have a waterproof speaker you can easily listen that way.

Insomnia (Or whatever is keeping you up late)

Maybe it’s been a long day, but your mind won’t rest. Maybe you’re a parent who needs to rock a child back to sleep. This is a great chance to pop in some headphones and listen softly to a favorite audiobook. I used to do this when I was nursing our little one and loved it!

Exercise

This was one of the first ways I utilized audiobooks. I run a lot (or did – as I’m still in a boot *sigh*). I digress, this was a great way to spend the time! If I’m feeling it, I’ll listen while I lift weights or do some yoga.

Driving

Road trippers unite! My husband travels a lot for work and I convinced him to try out audiobooks and he really enjoyed it. I do as well, especially because it means no commercials. Get in the car, put on a book, an be on your way.

Instagram/Blogging

A new way I’ve been adding listening to my day is to do so while I’m taking Instagram photos (or scrolling forever). I’ve also added in listening while I’m blogging. Since I don’t have to be super focused on these tasks I can easily take in both!

Relax

I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, but occasionally my eyes/head will hurt from all the reading I’ve done (especially if I have read a lot in one day). What’s great about audiobooks is that you can close your eyes, let your head relax and still get reading done!

Cooking

Sometimes I listen to music while making dinner, but if not, I’ll put a book on! It’s a great way to spend the time and make cooking not seem like a chore (for me it can be some days).

Hobby/Craft

If you’re into jigsaw puzzles as much as I am, this is a great opportunity! Or coloring in a book, sewing, stitching, whatever you’re good at doing! Even better, learn a new craft while you’re listening!

Work

Since I’m a stay-at-home Mom right now, my job consists of keeping a tiny human alive. I try to keep the TV off for most of the day, so I’ll play a book we can listen to while playing! At your office (or other environment) you could listen while on break, or lunch, or even while working!

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