tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57560573645315675712024-03-21T13:14:21.603-07:00kristin in HDkrstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-23620935690953507632020-08-04T13:55:00.000-07:002020-08-04T13:55:57.692-07:00july reads.<u>Vicious and</u><div><u>Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab</u></div><div>I loved these two books, and not only can I not wait for the planned third installment, I also am looking forward to re-reading these in the future. Going into the series, I had this thin understanding that Vengeful was less liked than Vicious, and though my star rating did go down for Vengeful, I by no means hated the book. I loved the introduction of Marcella in Vengeful so much, it was possibly my favorite character introduction ever. Also, I love Mitch and hardly anyone in these books deserves him. If the author ends up killing him off in the future I will REVOLT.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware</u></div><div>I thought this was a great mystery/thriller, though I think I may need to avoid such stories with children in the future. It makes the story too intense for me and I start freaking out when the lives of kids are at stake. Also, if I ever needed steering away from smart homes, this sure satisfied that need. NO THANK YOU.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>One to Watch, by Kate Stayman-London</u></div><div>I decided to get this book after I finished the first 3 books from The Selection series. I wanted a re-framed Bachelor-esque story with just a touch more meaning and depth. This was a really great book that touched on society's fatphobia on a stage we haven't really ever seen it before. It did not shy away from the ugliness that pervades the socials and real-life interactions of fat people, and it was simultaneously sad, infuriating, and disgusting to read the pure ugliness that comes from some people. I was happy to see a MC that was strong and confident in who she was, but also not immune to the garbage that was thrown her way. More female MCs who are successful badasses but not completely indestructible. And of course, there was a happy ending! I knew right off the bat who I wanted Bea to pick, and I was happy to see that was who she ended up with... but I wanted more. More of what, I'm not quite sure, but this story was missing some unknown element for me to push it to five stars.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Tyrant's Tomb, by Rick Riordan</u></div><div>Easily my highest rated book in this series. My favorite parts were the return of Artemis and The Girls, and Reyna's character arc. Looking forward to the last book later this year!</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes</u></div><div>Devastating. Beautiful. Perfect.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi</u></div><div>A really great read framed against Kendi's life progression from a self-proclaimed racist to a rehabilitating anti-racist. This book addressed racism in so many different forms, and I appreciated seeing all of the aspects of it and recognizing where and when I have seen it in my own life. Though I often felt frustrated when reading this book, I found hope in Kendi's assertion that many of us will swing back and forth between racism and antiracism for much of our lives. His acknowledging that the transformation to antiracist is a process that takes time also seemed to me like an offering of forgiveness in advance of any mistakes people make when they try to become better antiracists and allies towards Black people, as long as they are continually trying to do the right thing. Highly recommend this book to anyone trying to educate and/or better themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire, by Greg Rucka</u></div><div>I read this graphic novel after watching the movie on Netflix, and I was absolutely floored by how closely the movie followed the original source material. Like, entire conversations in the comics were word-for-word in the movie. And that perfect "He's not my boyfriend" monologue? Exact same in both the comics and the movie! Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading Book Two when it's published together later this year, and hope that it also gets adapted into a movie.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Boyfriend Project, by Farrah Rochon</u></div><div>A just-okay romance for me! Characters were completely likeable, story was good, but it wasn't hugely memorable in my mind.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Bride Test, by Helen Hoang</u></div><div>This was somehow another romance book that got me crying? I don't know what has happened to me this summer, but I am fully crying at romance books now. Anyway, I think I liked this just as much as I liked The Kiss Quotient, but after reading Serpent & Dove last year I asked for more books where men learn how to properly have sex with women, and The Bride Test delivered, so I bumped it up a star for that.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Deep, by Rivers Solomon</u></div><div>I loved this so damn much. I know not everyone will jive with this, but I thought it was so so good. I definitely would have loved to read a longer story, but also think it's perfect how it is now. Also recommend listening to The Deep by clipping. before/during/after reading this book.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Unravel the Dusk, by Elizabeth Lim</u></div><div>The follow-up to last year's Spin the Dawn that was on par with the first book, but also means that I felt pretty lukewarm about it. A solid duology that I'd recommend to anyone, but not one of my faves.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones</u></div><div>A delight!!! I've been wanting to read this for some time, and definitely before I see the movie since everyone seems to collectively agree that the movie is better than the book in this case. But I absolutely loved this book and how magical it all was. I'm hoping to get the audiobook one day and have it for future road trips when the kids are older and can enjoy it too.</div>krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-16338689399092835892020-07-03T15:04:00.004-07:002020-07-10T19:52:13.208-07:00mid year book freak out tag 2020.This is a thing that goes around Booktube every year. I'm not brave enough to start a channel, but I always think this is fun, so I decided to do it here! I'm pulling my answers from all the books I read from January to the end of June.<br />
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<u>1. Best book you've read so far in 2020</u><br />
- It's got to be <b>The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas</b>. Count me in the group that believes this book should be required reading for all students in this country. One of the things that Thomas so does so brilliantly is she paces this book SO WELL. This is a book about systemic racism and police brutality and Black trauma, but it's not a drag of a book that is impossible to read. There is hope threaded throughout the book, not just at the end, and there is humor in all the right places. In this book I became so angry I got a headache, I died laughing and read funny passages out loud to my husband, and I felt my hope increase over the course of the book.<br />
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<u>2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2020</u><br />
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- I think I'm going to go with <b>Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff</b>. This was one of my most anticipated sequels, as I finished Aurora Rising last year and nearly died with the realization of having to wait. Aurora Burning did not disappoint me. I loved the new character, some new character and relationship developments, and the training sequence, which is often something I have to slog my way through as a reader but didn't need to this time. Once again, I am dying to wait for the next book.</div>
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<u>3. New anticipated release that you haven't read yet</u></div>
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- <b>Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty</b>. This book literally came out this week so I defintely am not that far behind on getting to it, but I think it will still be a little bit until I start reading. It's definitely going to happen sometime this summer though, and I'm eager to revisit the lives of Nahri, Dara, and Ali!</div>
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<u>4. Most anticipated release for the second half of 2020</u></div>
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I have 3 answers for this, in order of their publication date:</div>
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- <b>The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton</b>, a book I am SO excited for because I have missed this author very much, AND its setting is connected to the world of Rebel of the Sands.</div>
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- <b>Fable by Adrienne Young</b>, a book by an author who has become one of my favorites. Adrienne Young is an auto-buy for me at this point, and I'm really looking forward to a book by her that is in a different setting than her first two to see what else she can do.</div>
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- <b>A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir</b>, a book that I nearly died at not having last year when I finished A Reaper at the Gates. I finally get to see what happens to my babies, and hopefully I don't lose all of them in the process.</div>
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<u>5. Biggest disappointment of 2020</u></div>
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- <b>House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas</b>. I by no means gave this a low rating or hated this book the most of what I've read in the last six months. But I was really eager to get into another SJM book again, and I just did not become obsessed with this book or these characters the way I have with her other series. I'm not giving up hope though, because books one in both the ToG and ACOTAR series are not my favorites, and for now I'm assuming the same will be the case with CC.</div>
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<u>6. Biggest Surprise of 2020</u></div>
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- No question, that would be <b>Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare</b>. I did not expect to care about the characters as much as I did, and I couldn't stop thinking about them for a few days after the book was done. Still don't know what a Shadowhunter is.</div>
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<u>7. Favorite New Author (debut or new to me)</u></div>
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- Duh, <b>Rick Riordan</b>. He's also my most-read author this year so far, but also a favorite. Though I'm not quite loving the Trials of Apollo series, The Camp Half-Blood Universe is a treasure and I desperately wish I could have had this to read when I was younger. I'm already looking forward to when my kids are old enough and I can force them to read these books.</div>
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<u>8. Newest Fictional Crush</u></div>
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- <b>Augustus</b> freakin <b>Everett</b> from Emily Henry's Beach Read. Gimme dat DDNB.</div>
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<u>9. Newest Favorite Character</u></div>
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- <b>Nico di Angelo</b> from Rick Riordan's Camp Half-Blood Universe. Gimme dat DDNB.</div>
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<u>10. Book that made you cry</u><br />
- <b>The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo</b>. To my recollection, this is also the first book that has ever made me cry. Can't wait to read the second book to make me cry in another 30 years when I'm 60. JUST KIDDING, the 2nd book to make me cry I read LITERALLY less than a week after I read The Poet X. I think some unknown part of my emotional self has opened up.</div>
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<u>11. Most beautiful book you bought this year.</u><br />
I have three answers for this:<br />
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- <b>The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young</b>. I LOVE this cover so much, it's so beautiful, so detailed, and the texture given to the ocean satisfies some part of my brain that I can quite name.<br />
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- <b>An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon</b>. I haven't read this one yet, but have my eye on it for multiple reasons, least of which is the stunning cover.<br />
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- And lastly, <b>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion</b>. Jon gave me this after I wouldn't stop dropping stupidly obvious hints about it, and I love it. Having a behind-the-scenes visual dictionary of my favorite video game ever is one of the nerdiest things I will ever be happy about, but HOW CAN I NOT, LOOK AT ITS BEAUTY.<br />
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<u>12. Books I still need to read before the end of the year</u><br />
I mean, all of them? But here's a list of 5 varied reads I have my eye on:<br />
- <b>The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin</b><br />
- <b>Want by Cindy Pon</b><br />
- <b>One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London</b><br />
- <b>The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater</b><br />
- <b>How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi</b><br />
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krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-72494477147889351882020-07-02T10:03:00.000-07:002020-07-02T10:24:17.460-07:00june reads.<u>And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie</u><br />
This was a fun read, and I think my favorite part was that it was all centered on a nursery rhyme. Even though it spelled out multiple times what was going to happen in the book, everything was still engrossing and surprising as it happened. The twist in the end was pretty great, albeit a little bit impossible to believe?? But I still liked this book!!<br />
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<u>The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo</u><br />
I've always said that I don't cry when I read books, and that my version of crying in a book is tearing up. Until this book. I WEPT at parts of this book, both the tears and the feels this book gave me took be completely by surprise. I wasn't sure how I'd receive a book written entirely in poems, but I was just as into it as I would be a regularly-written novel. A few of these poems shocked me at how much I related to them, and I will never ever forget them.<br />
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<u>The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley</u><br />
I was really really into the setting and the atmosphere of this mystery, but not at all about most of the characters involved. I found them really unlikable and so it got to a point where I was like kill them all, I do not care. I'm disappointed I didn't like this more because the setting is so perfect for a murder mystery, and I would love to see it again in a book, but with different characters.<br />
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<u>The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas</u><br />
I don't know what to say about this book that hasn't already been said by people who are better and more qualified than me to make a review.<br />
Perfect. Haunting. Frustrating. Funny. Hopeful. Mandatory. Reading.<br />
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<u>Meet Cute Club, by Jack Harbon</u><br />
Short and sweet. Nothing particularly new or groundbreaking.<br />
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<u>You Deserve Each Other, by Sarah Hogle</u><br />
I've been swinging between 3 and 4 stars for this book since I read it, but I think I'm going to stick with a 4-star rating for this one. Though the characters were serious bratty and annoying in the beginning, as soon as they started getting over themselves I really liked this book. I ALSO CRIED IN THIS BOOK. I don't know what is wrong with me, if The Poet X has unlocked this new part of me that cries during books, but if this is the new normal I can live with it. Romances that involve an established couple at the beginning that are going through it are not my favorite. They stress me out because in my mind the stakes are so high (what if this is the first ever romance without a happy ending!!) and seeing the struggles is not a fun time. But this one was kind of fun because the pranking and roasting was amusing. Just wish they hadn't been so annoying in the beginning!<br />
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<u>Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia</u><br />
Okay, so not only was I VERY late to the Rick Riordan party, but I am also behind on the Rick Riordan Presents Imprint. Not only do I love the concept, I love the idea of having a whole host of mythologies for myself and my kids to explore. Tristan Strong was such an amazing book. The story and the atmosphere were so FULL. Of what, it's hard to explain, but by the end of the book I felt enriched and completely satisfied. This book is also one of the most stunning debuts I have ever read, and I'm really looking forward to the next book. And also the other mythologies to explore!<br />
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<u>The Guest List, by Lucy Foley</u><br />
Okay, this was basically what I asked for after finishing The Hunting Party. The perfect setting for a murder mystery, but with more likable characters. I really liked this one, and definitely much more than Foley's other book I read this month. There were quite a few characters to pull for, and I really liked how everything wove together and you could see by the end how multiple people had a motive to kill the "victim" (in quotes, because they pretty much deserved it). I did want the ending to go differently, though. While I'm not mad at who the killer turned out to be, I would have liked each of the people slighted by the murdered person to have some kind of confrontation with them. A couple of characters just kind of found out the person was dead and then went home being like "I guess now the only thing to do is to figure out how to move on" and I was very much like WHAAAATTTT. I also didn't like how one character's story ended in the book, it all just felt very unfair and unsatisfying. But overall, I liked this book and thought it was a great improvement from The Hunting Party.<br />
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<u>A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, by Roseanne A. Brown</u><br />
Another really fantastic debut!! I really liked this book, and I especially liked the main characters, Karina and Malik. Both had really great backstories (though I would have liked a little more from Malik), and watching them grapple with the idea of having to kill each other added a lot to the story (and is something I'd like to see confronted in book two!). I always love to see competitions in books, and it was no different here. I also really liked the depiction of disabilities in both characters, and how those factored into their lives and journeys. Lastly, the cover. It is freaking gorgeous, one of the most beautiful book covers I have ever seen. I can't wait for book two!krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-67304013839872447442020-06-21T20:01:00.002-07:002020-07-10T19:56:53.692-07:00#datquarantinelife 2/?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spring came and went, and she was very pretty this year.<br />
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Vivi has kind of been at her very worst. In the span of less than two weeks she: (1) turned off the chest freezer in the garage and spoiled everything inside, (2) chucked an opened can of Dr. Pepper Cherry at the carpet, resulting in our living room looking like an extremely bloody crime scene, and (3) left a grape freeze pop on the counter, staining the laminate pink and blue.<br />
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But she also cracks us up daily and now makes the absolute funniest faces. When we can actually get her in clothes we are reminded of how cute she can be sometimes. And when she falls asleep at night, I always think of that line from that first episode of Curious George: George is always a good little monkey... when he's asleep. Yes, when she is asleep she is at her very best.<br />
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Theo graduated Preschool! It was an anti-climatic end to a three-year endeavor, but we are very proud of him. We did our own little graduation ceremony for him to celebrate, and it was a good time. I don't know if we will be going to Kindergarten in the fall, but whatever happens I know he'll get through it just as well he's done with Preschool.<br />
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Theo has also taken up the peace sign in pictures, and it's one of my favorite things ever. Every so often he'll ask me to take a picture of him, and by the time I have my phone out and ready, he's waiting with the peace sign and a cheesy smile.<br />
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He also lost his first baby tooth, which just about knocked me out dead. One night he casually was like "hey, I have a loose tooth" and when I looked I saw the new tooth in the back and my or may not have let out a high-pitched gasp. A week later, the baby tooth was out! He already has a second loose tooth, and I'm still not prepared for all of this. He's literally losing his last vestiges of babyhood and it's killing me.<br />
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One Sunday we went for a drive, and it was fun/sad remembering what it was like to go on a road trip. We miss those a lot, and it's hard accepting that we won't be doing one of those for some time. But I think we might be taking up more scenic nature drives in place of a longer trip. It was fun driving to a new place that isn't too far away from where we live and getting the kids out of the house for once. Even if it was cold!<br />
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Speaking of cold, the weather at the beginning of June was truly the weirdest most bizarre things I have ever experienced. On a Friday we had a windstorm that knocked out the power for over 12 hours. The next day, Saturday, we had a huge hailstorm. The next day, Sunday, it rained and stormed some more. And then on Monday, it snowed.<br />
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The poor garden, she has had a vexing few months. Between the late freezes and the evasive pests that came and chomped up all of the peas and spinach, she's had a rough time. But hopefully things are normalizing and we can still have a good growing season. Fingers crossed that the first freeze in the September holds off as long as possible.<br />
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We are producing spinach faster than we are eating it, but my new ramen addiction is helping. I've been needing food lately that is comforting, and this ramen is it. I use the regular "chicken flavor" ramen, but add lottts of things to it to make it special. For the soup: hondashi and miso. For the add-ins: boiled eggs, lots of veggies (usually scallions, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, and whatever else I feel like adding), and some leftover meat or pork belly if I want it to be extra special. It's so filling and delicious and I probably make it at least three times a week.<br />
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It's really hard to not be angry every single day for SO MANY things, least of all the state of things COVID-19-related. But I'm really glad for these kids and the happy/funny moments that I cling to. I made a new home video for their "Quarantine Spring," and they weren't really doing anything special, but they are happy and healthy and having fun, and it's what I want to remember when all of this is over.<br />
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krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-204049326175122112020-06-06T09:21:00.000-07:002020-07-10T20:07:54.890-07:00may reads, and allllllllllll the thoughts from The Selection you didn't ask for.<u>This Savage Song and</u><br />
<u>Our Dark Duet, by Victoria Schwab</u><br />
I enjoyed these books while I was reading them, but one month later and I can't remember many specific thoughts I had, except that I think I was wanting more the whole time. And also I wanted the ship to happen, but wasn't necessarily devastated that it didn't?<br />
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<u>Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire</u><br />
I really like the concept for these shorter stories and am looking forward to reading the other ones some time in the future. Of everyone's lost worlds Nancy's is the one I want more of, which is probably partly because of Lore Olympus, but whatever.<br />
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<u>Aurora Burning, by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff</u><br />
Book number two in this series, and I still love it. I like the new character, I liked the "training sequence," and it was fun. Except for that ending. Definitely one of the more brutal cliffhangers I have ever encountered.<br />
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<u>The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan</u><br />
As much as I love the first two series involving Camp Half-Blood, I was not enthused about reading this at all. I simply do not care about Apollo/Lester like, at all. I think he's really annoying and somehow still insanely egotistical in spite of his new mortality and it is extremely eye-rolling. I nearly DNFed this book, but found I was able to consume it much easier by listening to it so that's the way I did this. I am mainly in this series for every/any glimpse at our friends from the past, and ate up every word involving Nico di Angelo in this book.<br />
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<u>The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert</u><br />
Beautiful, atmospheric, haunting. The first half of the book moved at a pace I really liked and the second half lagged a bit for me, but I still got really invested in the story and Alice and Finch. Book #2 is on my TBR.<br />
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<u>Sadie, by Courtney Summers</u><br />
This book was so great, and I cannot wait to experience it a second time, but via audiobook, which everyone says is AMAZING. I consider myself pretty new to the thriller/mystery genre, but I'm wading in and this was a really good book to start out with. I loved the podcast element that was brought into it. These kinds of podcasts have been wildly successful and drawing on that obsession that podcast listeners get and working to evoke that in a book was genius.<br />
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<u>The Dark Prophecy and</u><br />
<u>The Burning Maze, by Rick Riordan</u><br />
These two books brought back more of my faves, but also was unexpectedly devastating in a few ways. SHIPS ARE NOT WATER-TIGHT, Y'ALL. I'm semi-eager to get to The Tyrant's Tomb, which is nearly always available at my library, but since I've decided to go the audiobook route with this series, I'm waiting for several more weeks.<br />
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<u>The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins</u><br />
I thought this story was fine, and I get why it was such a huge hit when it came out. But a week later and I'm having trouble remembering finer details about things. The main character bothered me, and I hesitate to say it's because of her drinking because obviously she was addicted and I don't want to completely write someone off for something they don't have a lot of control over. But the drinking was part of it, and I questioned so many of her decisions throughout the book. I think at one point I was watching her possibly go to her death and was more resigned than worried for her.<br />
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<u>The Selection,</u><br />
<u>The Elite, and</u><br />
<u>The One, by Kiera Cass</u><br />
I have like, a million thoughts on these books and it kind of makes me wish I could just vlog it all out instead of type it, but whatever. I'm doing this. Spoilers abound!<br />
First of all, I feel the need to say that I would have even read these books if it wasn't for BookOutlet. I saw that they were listing books 2-5 for around $4 each, and the combination of book FOMO and the great deal was too strong to ignore.<br />
<i>The Selection</i><br />
The main character, America, was fine. I've now come to realize that a lot of people think she's really annoying, and in this book I didn't find her unbearable. She had some insecurities about her hometown boyfriend, but I thought it was kind of reasonable given the circumstances and how he had acted. I wish she had played music more, since that was like, her entire existence.<br />
When the concept of "the selection" was explained, I thought it made sense. The prince was too busy to date like a normal person because he's training and learning to be king, so we need a special way for him to meet girls. Okay. But then, the prince was really dumb?? Like, he didn't seem to know anything about ANYTHING, so I was like, what are you learning in King School??<br />
As for the actual selection, it was pretty bland. Obviously I wasn't expecting any physical challenges a la Throne of Glass or The Hunger Games, but definitely some tests to determine the girls' merits. I did like how the book seemed to be anti girl vs. girl and made a point to have the selected girls make friends with each other.<br />
As far as the love triangle went, I wasn't so much pro-Maxon as I was anti-Aspen. I had serious suspiscions about him (probably because I had just finished reading a domestic thriller), and rolled my eyes all the way into my skull when his provider issues and need to dictate what was best for America came out. <b>No thank you</b>.<br />
I also did not like the stuff about virginity/purity, especially since it's clear that it's no one's choice to act that way, it is virtually forced upon them. Also, it ended up bearing almost no weight at all as the books went on, so it felt pointless that it was a world mandate.<br />
As it turns out, it appears I need very little to be entertained. There was little worldbuilding, hardly any descriptive imagery, and very few answers. And at the end of it I was like, that was dumb, but fun! Four stars!!<br />
<i>The Elite</i><br />
And then my optimism all kind of fell apart. The love triangle was UUUGGGGHHHHH, America's insecurity, while still understandable, quickly became very grating, and there was not nearly enough Maxon kissing.<br />
<i>The One</i><br />
And then, the series ended. Which I truly was not expecting because there are five books in the series, but if had looked up even a little bit about the series I would have seen that books 4 and 5 focus on a different girl and not America. So that kind of blew apart my hope that basically anything that I was finding lacking would be fleshed out and expanded over more books.<br />
The pacing of this book was maddening. America didn't tell Maxon her secret until literally like, the last twenty pages of the book. And then, all of the ending action and the convenient kill-offs were completely off-stage. I kept waiting for America to do something heroic, but apparently she was truly playing that "not like other [female protagonists]" to the very end.<br />
The one thing that I did like was the turnaround for a character who was largely antagonistic throughout all three books, and then she got such a dirty ending and I wanted to scream.<br />
<i>In conclusion</i><br />
Overall for The Elite and The One, I kept seeing so many moments that I wanted to branch off and go a different way to make the story far more interesting than it was. Like if she had been sent home literally any one of those times she assumed it was going to happen, if the rebels had done SOMETHING of importance (like take one of her family members), if the reveal that one character was secretly a rebel had meant anything at all... there were SO many things that could have been interesting!<br />
After about a week, I've lowered all of my initial star ratings by one star. I think my hopeful optimism and bank account were really wanting to like these books, but now that I'm compiling my thoughts and writing them out, they don't deserve that kind of optimism. There are a million things that I would have changed to make this series better. I keep imagining what a Bachelor-murder-mystery book would be like and I would LOVE to read that book.<br />
Maybe one day when I'm feeling stupid I'll read books 4 and 5, but I've shed any and all optimism that I will feel better about those books.<br />
Whomp whomp.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-56986923092834966822020-05-03T17:45:00.000-07:002020-07-10T20:09:23.063-07:00april reads.<u>The Shadows Between Us, by Tricia Levenseller</u><br />
This story was just fine! The premise was intriguing and the first half was really great, and I was thinking a solid four-star rating was waiting at the end. But I started losing steam in the second half and at the finish it ended up being a three-star. Truthfully, I cannot even remember what it was that made me lose interest??<br />
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<u>Chain of Gold, by Cassandra Clare</u><br />
I finished this and was like COMPLETELY blindsided by how much I liked it. I couldn't stop thinking about these characters for several days, and a part of me was FUMING that I liked this book so much to be devastated at having to wait for future installments. It was totally unexpected, but not exactly disappointing, and now I have to consider buying this book because I liked it that much.<br />
I have to be honest: after reading 5 books in this universe, <b>I'm not sure I know what a Shadowhunter even is.</b> 😬😬😬 Is that bad??? But I get these books now: it's about the characters. And hell if I didn't love the cast of characters in this book.<br />
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<u>Imagine Me, by Tahereh Mafi</u><br />
I devoured books 1-5 in this series in March of last year, and have been low-key looking forward to the conclusion for a year. And it was... underwhelming and disappointing. In the first fifty pages... literally just one thing happens, but it is described in metaphors and excessive language for f.i.f.t.y. freaking pages. And the rest of the book kind of ends up being the same. Just a handful (if that) of events happen, and I just wasn't as riveted as I was by the other books in the series. Whomp whomp.<br />
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<u>If I Never Met You, by Mhairi McFarlane</u><br />
This was a delightful read that was devastating and funny and sweet and everything that a good romance needs (though it could have been a little more sexy, TBH).<br />
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<u>Wintersong, by S. Jae-Jones</u><br />
This was a perfectly adequate read that had a fantastic setting and wonderful atmosphere, but I didn't really care about the characters enough to read the sequel.<br />
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<u>Undercover Bromance, by Lyssa Kay Adams</u><br />
Loved being back with some of these characters! This was fun and funny and sexy, and the revenge-fantasy aspect was much appreciated, too. This freaking book club is always a delight to read about.<br />
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<u>Bone Crier's Moon, by Kathryn Purdie</u><br />
I don't know why, but early on in this book, I compared it to Serpent & Dove. I kept thinking <i>is this the book that I wanted Serpent & Dove to be</i>? And I think it was!! I really loved this book and the world and the characters. Really looking forward to the next one.<br />
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<u>Truly Devious,</u><br />
<u>The Vanishing Stair, and</u><br />
<u>The Hand on the Wall, by Maureen Johnson</u><br />
Okay, I've never really read mystery/thrillers like, at all, so maybe that affects my opinion of this series, but I absolutely LOVED this trilogy. I think I would have loved it even more if I read it during the fall/early winter to match the setting. (The setting was a spectacular aspect of this book, it was established so well.) Stevie was such a great MC and I loved following her while she solved the mystery of the school she attends. My only gripe was that I did not like David and will forever ship Stevie and Nate, but even that wasn't enough for me to not give this series five stars.<br />
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<u>Red Rising,</u><br />
<u>Golden Son, and</u><br />
<u>Morning Star, by Pierce Brown</u><br />
A great science fiction series! I really loved book one, book two lost my interest a little, and then book three got it right back. The high level of violence was exactly what I didn't know I needed (😳), and I was here for all of the horrifyingly gruesome moments. My advice to anyone reading this is to not get too attached to anyone. Lots of character deaths, some of which stopped my heart in my chest.<br />
About halfway through book two, I discovered that this series continues past book three and kind of wanted to die. But this first trilogy wraps up nicely and it's definitely possible to stop after Morning Star.<br />
Also, I mostly listened to these on audiobook, and really loved it! The narrator was A+ and I think I found the story more immersive this way.<br />
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<u>Beach Read, by Emily Henry</u><br />
Okay. So I started this book at 9:30 pm, thinking that I would just read a couple of chapters before bed. And then I was IN IT, saw the time at 11:30, and was like, we're doing this. At 2:30 am, I laid in my bed thinking, <i>did I just read my favorite book of all time</i>???<br />
I loved this book so damn much, I don't even have proper words. I loved reading about January so much and found her so relatable, even though I have never experienced the relationship-heartbreak she has. Her struggles to write were a manifestation of my own, and when she finally started to write it was about a family in a traveling circus and I WROTE ABOUT A CAST IN A TRAVELING CIRCUS IN COLLEGE.<br />
And Gus. Freaking Gus, my precious Depressive Demon Nightmare Boy. He was perfect in his flaws and strengths, and even though he's the complete opposite of Jon, I would have married him in a heartbeat. (sorry, babe.)<br />
I will say, at the 90% mark, I had legitimate fears about how the book was going to end. Like, in my mind it could have reasonably gone one way and I was like OH NOOOO PLEASE DON'T, and I was thinking <i>what am I going to rate this if it goes that way</i>, and I decided it STILL would have been a five-star read even if it didn't end the way I wanted. I like my contemporary romances with depth, and boy did this have it.<br />
In the end, I got to Goodreads and wondered, <i>is it possible to give a book six stars</i>? Which I've never ever thought before. <b>So, yeah. Favorite book of all time.</b><br />
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<u>The Kingdom of Back, by Marie Lu</u><br />
A really special story about the Mozart siblings that was wonderfully immersive and both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Marie Lu's writing is so great, and even though I haven't loved everything she has written *<i>coughYoungElitescough*</i> I will always read something she publishes, no question.<br />
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<u>Saga, Volumes 1-9, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples</u><br />
This graphic novel series broke my soul. I'm an idiot who didn't know that the series is only halfway complete, so while I was making my way through the volumes I was like <i>how did early readers of this series wait so freaking long in between installments</i>? WELL JOKE'S ON ME, and now I'm in it for like, the next damn decade.<br />
I immediately fell for the main characters and was invested in their story right away. (And boy, I could NOT have predicted where exactly that story would have taken me.) Some of the art panels are beautifully stunning, even while some of the images are life-alteringly disturbing.<br />
I read all of the published volumes in about 6 or so hours, and then Jon stayed up until 5AM also finishing it. So it goes without saying, it's totally bingeable.<br />
It also puts the "graphic" in graphic novel. Sex, violence, swearing... it's got it all, and then some. If that doesn't bother you, proceed on this soul-shattering journey!krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-13546231790107616592020-04-23T15:46:00.003-07:002020-04-23T19:16:06.437-07:00#datquarantinelifeWell. I have absolutely no idea how to introduce this post, so I'm just getting into it.<br />
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Neighborhood walks have become an essential part of our lives, and I have to say: Vivi really crushes it with those sunglasses.<br />
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We've revived our garden for the year and are looking forward to seeing things grow again. I also bought a bunch of indoor houseplants a few weeks ago, because I realized that if I was going to be stuck at home for who-knows-how-long, I needed some green inside to boost spirits. So far I haven't killed any, and they are all doing well!<br />
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Related: I told Theo that the plants "help us breathe better and make us happy," and soon after he suggested that in order for "the world" to feel better maybe everyone should gets plants to help them breathe.<br />
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Now that I'm back in full-time SAHM mode, it's my main job to make sure that the kids don't bother Jon while he's working. I mean, that has always been the case, but I think I feel it more now while he has his contracts in tact and is wanting to do other work things that will help keep us stable for who-knows-how-long. Anyway, Theo and Vivi's new favorite game is to ambush Jon when they know he is coming upstairs. The first time they did it was so funny, I'm glad I got a picture of it.<br />
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Just in time for self-isolation, the little Tyrannos Regina has evolved into her highest form. At least, I hope it's her highest form because I honestly cannot take increased levels of tyranny from her. She's been insanely hard these last seven weeks, which you would not be able to tell from the pictures above. Lots of screaming and tantruming, and lots of nudity. Yes, NUDITY. She refuses to wear clothes, takes off her diapers often, and sees no problem with going out to play in the yard in just a diaper and boots when it's in the 40s. Yesterday a straight-up miracle happened and she allowed me to fully dress her and do her hair a little. She looked so lovely and sweet! And then one hour later...<br />
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...it was over.<br />
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I've been keeping busy, trying to find that balance between cooking, cleaning, and reading. Thank goodness for audiobooks, which have allowed me to feel extra productive during this time. Jon and I have really loved Bon Appetit's Youtube channel the last while, and I was inspired by one to make "Master Stock" yesterday. I've make stock loads of times before, but this was the first time I've made it with ham, and YOU GUYS. It makes the biggest difference and the most delicious stock ever. Never making stock without ham ever again!<br />
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I actually haven't been doing as much baking as everyone else seems to be doing. Flour is rarely on the shelves at our store, and I think that has made me instinctively ration it out. I see lots of posts about people trying or keeping up with sourdough baking and... *sigh*. Am I the only person whose eyes have been opened during quarantine and shelf shortages to the fact that sourdough starters are... kind of a monumental waste of product?? I dunno, maybe it's different if you're actually successful (which I <b>never</b> was), but STILL. Feeding it every day and using only a fraction of that starter... does not sit well with me at the moment. ANYWAY.<br />
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I've been reading almost nonstop, it's the best kind of escapism. I stopped checking in on my personal IG account, because I frankly can't keep feeling angry at nonsense I'm seeing people engaging in, or bad about myself because apparently homeschooling is going amazingly in other houses. (SURELY, that's a lie, right? RIGHT???)<br />
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Enter: books. I've read so many four-star reads that I've really enjoyed in March and April, but last night I read one that I well and truly LOVED. I'll write alllll about it in this month's reading wrapup. (Yes, just the month, not the whole quarter this time!)<br />
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Oh yeah, and Easter happened! Here's this year's Easter video:<br />
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Theo had a Zoom meeting with one of his teachers today to work on his Speech, and they were working on opposites. And it made me think about how the last seven weeks have seen all of the opposites. It's been winter and spring, we've been sick and well, we've been entertained and bored, we've done good schooling one day and way too much screen time the next. I've felt really grateful and optimistic one moment, and then totally freaked out and angry the next. I've been glad for the escape and humor that the internet offers, and then want to throw my phone in a river for something infuriating I read. I've felt so incredibly glad for my little family and how much I love them and don't have to be separated from them during this time, and also I've completely lost my mind and would have given anything to be by myself and not see them for at least two weeks.</div>
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It's back and forth, and it's going to keep being that way for who-knows-how-long.</div>
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Thank goodness for walks.</div>
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Thank goodness for plants that are still alive.</div>
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Thank goodness for books.</div>
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Thank goodness for stock made with ham.</div>
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But also... you know.</div>
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F*ck all of this.</div>
krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-86064801327226417912020-04-11T19:42:00.002-07:002020-05-03T17:47:24.873-07:002020 first quarter reads.This post was originally titled "january reads" because that is when I opened up this post, and it has sat empty all the way up to now. So, now we're at "first quarter reads" and I'm going to regret doing this because three months of books is insane, but whatever. These are going to be shorter than usual, but here we go.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">January</span></div>
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<u>The Girl in the Tower (#2) and</u></div>
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<u>The Winter of the Witch (#3) by Katherine Arden</u><br />
(Book #1 in this series, The Bear and the Nightingale, was <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2020/02/december-reads-lordy-this-is-late.html">my last read of 2019</a>, so I reviewed it in my December reads post). I truly loved this trilogy, it was so atmospheric and wonderful and a perfect read for winter. I think Vasya is the kind of heroine I aspire to be.</div>
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<u><b>The Illuminae Files</b>:</u></div>
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<u>Illuminae,</u></div>
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<u>Gemina, and</u></div>
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<u>Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff</u><br />
I <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2019/06/may-and-june-reads.html">read and loved</a> Aurora Rising, this author duo's newest space series that started last year, so I figured I should check out their first one, and WOW. So fun and such a compelling series to read. Illuminae was freakin' amazing, and Gemina and Obsidio were kind of just copies of Illuminae, but I didn't really care all that much. Highly recommend!<br />
Spoilery side note: Illuminae combined my two biggest irrational fears: being stranded out in space and zombies. My anxiety was raging while I read this, but I still loved it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>To All the Boys I've Loved Before and</u></div>
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<u>P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han</u><br />
Gang, I think High School Romances are just Not For Me. And I was extremely unimpressed by Peter Kavinksy, I was rooting against him in Books One (until it was revealed that Josh and Margo's relationship had been sexual, obviously) and Two (ESPECIALLY after I saw how Netflix made John McEnroe-Whatever WAYYYYY cuter than he was supposed to be in the book), and I was wrong both times. I'm always wrong. Anyway, I did not care to read Book Three. No more Peter for me, thanks.</div>
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<u><b>Percy Jackson and the Olympians</b>:</u></div>
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<u>The Lightning Thief,</u></div>
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<u>The Sea of Monsters,</u></div>
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<u>The Titan's Curse,</u></div>
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<u>The Battle of the Labyrinth, and</u></div>
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<u>The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan</u><br />
Okay, this series is freaking amazing and SO SO funny. Like, some of the dialogue was so perfectly middle school in the best possible way, and it had me laughing out loud throughout. The characters were *chef's kiss*, the quests were *chef's kiss*, and the Greek mythology was *chef's kiss*. Add this series to the list of books I am most excited to read with my kids some day.</div>
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<u>Daughter of the Pirate King and</u></div>
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<u>Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller</u><br />
Book One: I really liked! It was fun and the banter between Riden and Alosa was perfect.<br />
Book Two: less fun because there was less banter, but still a fun read.</div>
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<u>Tweet Cute by Emma Lord</u><br />
Okay, I'm realizing now that I have to take back my blanket NO HIGH SCHOOL ROMANCES I made like two minutes ago because I really loved this story and thought it was perfect in every way that I wanted it to be. Love the letter-writing/texting trope, but ESPECIALLY the anonymous kind, and this book had it!</div>
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<u>Well Met by Jen DeLuca</u><br />
I loved this story so much! Throughout the book I found myself wondering "Are Renaissance Faires romantic???" which I believe speaks to HOW GOOD the author is. Well Met is now a physical book on my shelf, which is a rare honor for a romance.</div>
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<u>Devious Lies by Parker S. Huntington</u><br />
Okay, I saw this promoted on Amazon as a "standalone enemies-to-lovers romance" and was like, Sign Me Up. And then I found out it was 700 pages?? And look, I've been unexpectedly liking the majority of the romances I decide to read, but a 700-pager?? Never doing it again. This book was just fine, it had a good amount of angst, which I liked, but not a favorite.</div>
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<u>The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams</u><br />
I thought the premise of this book was hilarious, and many parts of it were, indeed, hilarious! I was laughing out loud and really enjoyed myself while reading this. It was also really heavy at times because a marriage is at stake, and even though all romances have happy endings, I still felt the gravity of the stakes and it was a little tense sometimes.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">February</span></div>
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<u>One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus</u><br />
Meh.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><b>The Heroes of Olympus</b>:</u></div>
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<u>The Lost Hero,</u></div>
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<u>The Son of Neptune,</u></div>
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<u>The Mark of Athena,</u></div>
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<u>The House of Hades, and </u></div>
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<u>The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan</u><br />
Holy 2500-page series, Batman. I was skeptical almost all throughout The Lost Hero, and then the last 50 pages happened and I was HOOKED. I read these back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back and my brain was EXHAUSTED at the end, but it was still a fun ride. The House of Hades was my favorite of the series, and I would die a million times for Nico di Angelo (and not just because he might greet me in the Underworld).</div>
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<u>Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young</u><br />
My first re-read of the year! I was following along with the author on her Instagram for a readalong of this book, and to be honest I was really nervous. I remember having such intense, visceral feelings when I read SitD for the first time <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2019/06/may-and-june-reads.html">last year</a>, and it was part of what made me love the book so much. I never cry when I read books (not yet, at least), but this got me the closest I've ever gotten and I teared up so much when I read it last year. ANYWAY, I was afraid that with the re-read, I wouldn't get those same feelings and the experience wouldn't be as impactful.<br />
And I was happily wrong! I still teared up, I still felt all the feelings, and it all just made it extra clear: <i>this is one of my favorite books of all time. </i>I cannot wait to read it again.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>Autoboyography by Christina Lauren</u><br />
This one really gutted me and had me in turmoil for days. I gave this 5 stars because the story was really great, but also... it really upset me. This book isn't a work of fiction, it's nonfiction, and that makes me sad and mad and...</div>
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<u>The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas</u><br />
My first classic read since college! (Oof.) I wanted to read this because I got a book in January that is a gender-swapped retelling of TCoMC, and I really liked it. There were parts that were so funny, and others that were so sad, and also really gratifying parts. I love a good revenge-fantasy, and although I would have liked a even more confrontation and comeuppance at the end, I'm glad I read this.<br />
Also, Edmond Dantes is the OG Scheming Character. While I was reading the last half I kept thinking <i>OHHHH so THIS is who Aelin and Kaz were emulating. Got it.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">March</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<u><b>The Renegades Trilogy</b>:</u></div>
<div>
<u>Renegades,</u></div>
<div>
<u>Archenemies, and</u></div>
<div>
<u>Supernova by Marissa Meyer</u><br />
I didn't hate this series. I actually really liked the characters and the Superheroes vs. Supervillains concept was a lot less boring than I was anticipating. BUT, one thing really effin' bugged me about this series. (Spoilers ahead) Our main character, Nova, is a spy. I'm fine with that. But this is what I was expecting:<br />
- Book One ending with her being found out<br />
- Book Two being her and the friends she made as a spy grappling with her betrayal but eventually getting through it and coming together<br />
- Book Three being everyone being the team they were meant to be and beating the bad guys, andsoforth.<br />
Why was I expecting this? Because this is how books go! Because this is the formula that works and lends to good flow and pacing!<br />
When did Nova get found out as a spy, you ask?? BOOK THREE. <b>AND THEN</b>, it was a false alarm and she was able to keep up the ruse for a little longer!! It was all deeply infuriating and I will never be able to get over that. NEVER.<br />
The epilogue was awesome, though.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>This Train is Being Held by Ismee Amiel Williams</u><br />
Another High School Romance I enjoyed. Dangit, I need to revoke that earlier statement.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci</u><br />
A fun and uplifting graphic novel collection that put a smile on my face! Great for Middle School ages and up looking for a good story about female friendships.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace</u><br />
A fun read with an interesting (and large!) world and magic system. A little forgettable, but I chalk that up to all of the craziness that went down when I read this (March 11th). Will look for the sequel next year.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas</u><br />
I did <a href="https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTQzODkzMTk3MzMzOTM3?igshid=qklu9wa2pu5h&story_media_id=2263681854595374100" target="_blank">a whole thing</a> on my IG Stories that was fun and a good way to keep my mind off of the disappointment of my Amsterdam trip being cancelled. Most of my thoughts are there, but in summation:<br />
- not yet obsessed with this series or the (current) main ship<br />
- insanely massive world that I need to take notes for next time I read<br />
- most likeable character: Ruhn<br />
- most intriguing character: Aidas 👀<br />
- this was not ACOTAR 4, and that's what I really want.<br />
Also, the freaking cover. I hate it SO MUCH, it does not help with the confusion over what the fork the actual title of this book is. Anyone with like, a fifth-grader's knowledge of marketing could look at that cover and tell you it's confusing as hell.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u><b>The Winner's Trilogy</b>:</u></div>
<div>
<u>The Winner's Curse,</u></div>
<div>
<u>The Winner's Crime, and</u></div>
<div>
<u>The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski</u><br />
Book One: Slave-Master dynamics were deeply intriguing, but didn't go quite where I wanted it.<br />
Book Two: Frustrating, forgettable.<br />
Book Three: Oh dip, it's the Memory Loss Trope, one of my favorites ever, do I love this series??</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren</u><br />
So funny and the fastest read ever.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u><b>The Infernal Devices</b>:</u></div>
<div>
<u>Clockwork Angel,</u></div>
<div>
<u>Clockwork Prince, and</u></div>
<div>
<u>Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare</u><br />
Okay. So <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2019/08/august-reads.html">last year</a> I read City of Bones and gave it one of the only one-star ratings I've ever given. I hated it, and was disappointed to not be obsessed with this whole series/universe because I was missing out on a million books to read. BUT THEN, I kept seeing people say that The Infernal Devices was the best on the universe, way better than TMI, and dangit if it wasn't giving me FOMO.<br />
So, Chain of Gold came into the library last month, and I knew that it was the story of the descendants of the people in TID, and that cover is freakin gorgeous, so I was like, OK SO WE'RE DOIN' THIS.<br />
Maybe I should preface this by saying that I really really do not like Love Triangles. I might even say that I hate them. And with Book One and Book Two I was like, yep, here we go, typical Love Triangle stuff that I don't like. But I gave them each three stars because I didn't have any glaring issues.<br />
And then... Book Three happened, and I was like OH is this what Love Triangles can be like? Can this happen? Also, should they just have been a throuple?<br />
I still have mixed feelings about the Epilogue, but I think I liked it? It was not what I was expecting AT ALL, and it does feel a little weird, but mostly I think I liked it. As for my rating of Book Three, I bumped it up a full star just for this one scene between Will and Jem alone that was heartbreaking and sweet and everything that a best-friendship should be.<br />
I realized that the way to read these books (this universe??) is for the characters, and not necessarily for the plot. And as far as characters go, I think Tessa, Will, and Jem are pretty good ones.<br />
<br />
(I kinda want to get right in to my thoughts on Chain of Gold right now, but I read it in April, so I guess I'll post about it... in July??)</div>
krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-50053715067983543282020-02-23T15:35:00.000-08:002020-07-10T20:15:54.581-07:00phx 2020.After I came back from New Orleans last year he asked if he could go on a plane one day the next time I went on a trip. I said 'yes,' and that was that, and he didn't really bring it up much after that. Until about last fall, and then he really started asking about going on an airplane ride in earnest. So I booked a short flight two and from Phoenix for us, and last month we got to surprise him with the trip!<br />
<br />
It was my first time flying with a kid, and I have to admit I was pretty nervous. (A million times more nervous than I've ever been flying by myself, that's for sure.) I figured it was either going to go extremely well OR extremely terribly. Jon was pretty convinced that he would have to drive down to Arizona to pick us up in the event that Theo would not get back on the plane to go home.<br />
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But he loved it!! He was so excited and cute the whole time. He had the hardest time waiting (try teaching an autistic 5yo that the majority of the time spent flying by plane is WAITING), but he wasn't scared or nervous in the ways I thought he might. It definitely helped that he slept through the most intense turbulence I have ever experienced in my flying life. I will be eternally grateful for that nap he took during that portion of the flight.<br />
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I also made sure that we stayed close to the light rail, which was our transportation source AND a chance for Theo to also get to ride a train. He loved it, but again had trouble waiting for our stop.<br />
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I kept the itinerary light, which is to say that it was basically non-existent. I knew that Theo (and me, honestly) would not be able to handle an even remotely-full schedule, so we essentially did one quick trip to a bookstore and then spent the rest of our trip at the library. And good grief, did I miss the Phoenix Public Libraries. The Burton Barr branch looks amazing post-renovations, and it was so nice to be in a place with a wide selection of books and activities for kids. I definitely had library envy while we were on this trip, both as a patron and as a worker.<br />
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<br />
I also remembered how important the Phoenix Library system was to me, especially when I was postpartum with Theo. There are so many different ways that the library, in its proximity or in its vast collections, helped me get through one of the hardest times of my life. I know it sounds dramatic to say that the library saved my life, but at the time it really did feel like that.<br />
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(Also, just for fun: throwback to baby Theo on a walk to the Agave branch of the Phoenix library :)<br />
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We stayed in the cutest and most amazing Airbnb I've booked to date. Theo was in love with it and when we he was tired of being out and about, he would ask when we were going back to the White House, which is what he called the place. It had a few toys for kids, tons of snacks, and Netflix cued up, which is basically the Holy Trinity of necessities for traveling with kids. We definitely will try and stay here again if we were go back to the area. (Theo keeps asking me if "next time" we can take Dad and Vivi to the White House)<br />
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<br />
<br />
Now.<br />
In case you're confused and thinking,<br />
<br />
<b>SERIOUSLY. YOU WENT BACK TO PHOENIX AFTER COMPLAINING ABOUT IT FOR A DECADE. WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU.</b><br />
<br />
I KNOW. I get it, okay?!? I thought the exact same thing. In fact, in preparation for this trip, I had this scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender constantly going through my head:<br />
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I think Phoenix will forever be my "Failure at Ba Sing Se." Don't judge me if I decide to open up a tea shop there years from now.<br />
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<br />
Have I mentioned how freaking perfect the weather was when we stayed?? One day on a walk in the beautiful neighborhood where we stayed, I caught myself thinking <i>Why did I ever hate living here?? </i>It's because there is a special power that comes from Januarys in Phoenix that magically wipes your brain of all the weather trauma the place inflicts on you the rest of the year. <br />
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<br />
Anyway, Theo's first trip via airplane was a success! I'm so glad we got to experience this trip together, and it also proves we have a whole world open for visiting with this boy when he's ready.<br />
<br />
(But also when Vivi's older because the thought of taking her on a plane right now makes me break out in a sweat.)krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-70576797617376344592020-02-03T19:04:00.000-08:002020-02-23T15:37:06.547-08:00december reads (lordy, this is late).<u>Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes</u><br />
This was a fun, enjoyable read! The thing that particularly resonated with me was this statement regarding a kindergartener: "...she's bullheaded, which I think is great, but I don't want to be bailing her out of jail when she's nine." Who knew my daughter was inspiration for a small part of this book?<br />
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<u>Children of Virtue and Vengeance, by Tomi Adeyemi</u><br />
Okay, I was so freaking excited for this book to come out. I loved the first one a lot, and I also have a special place in my heart for CBB because it kicked off this insane and wonderful reading experience of 2019. So it pains me to say that CVV is my biggest book disappointment of the year, and possibly of my life. (Spoilers ahead.)<br />
Zelie kind of sucks in this book -- so many poor choices made and actions taken because of hurt feelings. Her feelings are 100% merited, but it frustrated me to no end that she could not clear her head BEFORE doing things that had the potential for huge ripple effects.<br />
Tzain is still a blank slate, a cardboard cut-out of a character. So that was a continued disappointment.<br />
Inan STILL cannot get his thoughts through to anyone. This is partially on Zelie, too, but DUDE. After two books I am so sick and tired of him being misunderstood or not being able to explain himself.<br />
Amari was my one hope, my shining beacon, the one character in this I actually like. And by the end of CVV, I was even frustrated with her and where her character was taken in the story.<br />
Plotwise, it was someone (Inan) trying to explain something, someone (Zelie) not listening and freaking out and reacting in the most over-the-top and consequential way, and groups of people suffering the consequences. Over and over and over again. I hated it so much.<br />
I do wonder if this was on purpose, that this is another way to reflect the black experience in all of America's history and beyond. If this was indeed the intent of Adeyemi, then damn was it done really well.<br />
In the end I gave the book the benefit of the doubt and rated it 3 stars, but by no means was this an enjoyable read.<br />
<br />
<u>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee</u><br />
After that colossal disappointment and general mood-killer I decided I needed something lighthearted and fun, and I could not have picked a better book for that. This book was so funny, so witty, and so entertaining. I listened to it entirely on audiobook, which I highly recommend. The narrator has a perfect voice and captures the wit and humor of Monty so well. I laughed out loud so many times and was really invested in the characters and the relationship (the story was also great!).<br />
<br />
<u>Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater</u><br />
Going into this, I wasn't aware that this was "a werewolf book," and honestly after finishing it doesn't fully feel like "a werewolf book." (I don't even know what that means?) I really liked this one! I thought the concept of the wolves and the conditions under which they shift was really interesting and unique! Grace and Sam were enjoyable to read about and I liked their story, but not enough to continue on with the series. One book was perfect for me.<br />
<br />
<u>Tom's Midnight Garden The Graphic Novel, by Philippa Pearce</u><br />
Fun, magical, and emotional!<br />
<br />
<u>Call Down the Hawk, by Maggie Stiefvater</u><br />
I was eager to revisit my babies, Ronan and Adam, even though I knew this was not a book about their relationship (Chapter 10 broke me at work). I really liked the new character, Jordan, and all of her complexities. And dammit if I don't freaking love Declan now. WHODATHUNK?!? I was lucky enough to discover The Raven Cycle after everything was out and I could consume it all at once, but not so lucky with The Dreamer Trilogy. Eagerly awaiting the next installment!<br />
<br />
<u>Blood Heir, by Amelie Wen Zhao</u><br />
I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Truthfully I cannot remember a whole lot about it a few weeks later, but I remember that Ana and Ramsom were a fun pair (although Ramsom's name is a pain to try and say). Assuming my library acquires the next book, I will definitely pick it up!<br />
<br />
<u>The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky, by Mackenzi Lee</u><br />
This was purely a fun bit of whipped cream. No real substance, but lots of fun and humor and a nice chance to revisit Monty and Percy. It made me realize that I love being inside of Monty's head, because it is such a hilarious place to be.<br />
<br />
<u>Twice in a Blue Moon, by Christina Lauren</u><br />
I absolutely adored this author-duo's second-chance romance that I read earlier in 2019, so I was looking forward to another one from them. It didn't consume my soul quite like Love and Other Words, but I still really enjoyed it!<br />
<br />
<u>One Day in December, by Josie Silver</u><br />
This was a book that didn't quite land for me. I was completely hooked at the very beginning, but it went in a direction that I wouldn't have picked personally. And while it was well-executed, it just isn't the kind of story that I think I like reading. The ten-year build was just not what I like in romances, I think.<br />
<br />
<u>The Black Mage, by Daniel Barnes</u><br />
A short, sweet, to-the-point story with fun characters and really great art!<br />
<br />
<u>Say You Still Love Me, by K.A. Tucker</u><br />
Trying a new romance author! I really loved all of this story, but Eric's arc really hurt me. Any normal human being would wish that his story had ended differently, and I keep thinking about how everything could have worked without what happened to him!!<br />
<br />
<u>Red, White, and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston</u><br />
I EFFIN LOVED THIS. It was so perfect, so funny, so sexy, so GAY, and so so so full of hope and happiness. It was everything I wish the real world could be.<br />
<br />
<u>It Ends With Us, by Colleen Hoover</u><br />
I had no idea that this would be a hard-hitting romance, and OOOF. It came at me and bowled me over. This is by no means a fun, easy romance (as I have come to expect from the romance genre), but it is a great book that is masterfully crafted to achieve maximum empathy for Lily. It is beyond heartbreaking (that hospital scene made me tear up), but also ends on a very hopeful note.<br />
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<u>The Simple Wild, by K.A. Tucker</u><br />
This was almost a five-star book for me. I loved the setting, I loved the dynamic between the two characters, I loved their own relationships to members of the community. I did not love that Calla was obnoxiously obtuse about living in a place that wasn't a city, nor did I love Jonah bagging on Calla's use of makeup all the time. But I did love the progression of their relationship and was glad for a resolution that differed from Calla's parents'.<br />
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<u>Her Royal Highness, by Rachel Hawkins</u><br />
Lowest rating in a while, this was pretty boring overall.<br />
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<u>The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden</u><br />
Really loved this one! I admired Vasya's character and was really excited for the rest of the trilogy. The setting was really immersive (reading at wintertime might have helped with this), and I loved how the chapters were each given a title. I thought this helped to frame each chapter as its own little tale that Vasya and her siblings might have heard growing up.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-19720226623494276392020-01-01T10:11:00.001-08:002020-01-01T10:11:38.689-08:00christmas 2019.It was such a great Christmas season with these kids again. Theo, again, was full of happiness and gratitude for the little things, including just setting up decorations.<br />
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Well, actually. Both kids had hysterical meltdowns on the night we decided to set up our tree. Theo, because when we had put the tree together and were ready to string lights, it turned out that every single one of our string lights were dead. Vivi, because she wanted to play in the tree box and Theo had already occupied said box. But! Everything was fine when Jon came back from the store with fresh lights and hugs for the sad children.<br />
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Theo participated in the Preschool Christmas Program again this year, and he rocked it. Last year he didn't sing much, but we could tell he knew what the words were. This year he sang all of this songs and even practiced them at home! We are so proud of him.<br />
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Christmas day brought snow, and it has barely stopped since. It's hard to be upset about it though, it builds up the town's water supply, makes Theo happy to have something to shovel, and as soon as the sun comes out, everything glitters and shimmers.<br />
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Now Christmas is over, the decorations are put away, and we enter the part of winter where we rely on ourselves to keep warm and cheerful throughout the rest of the season. Bring it.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-11079082866123149332019-12-11T14:00:00.002-08:002019-12-11T19:29:44.045-08:00two years!Our Tyrannos Regina had a birthday this week and now she's two!! 😱<br />
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Vivi really is something. She is a beast of her own kind and though it's often an exasperating existence with her, I can't imagine her being any different. I recently read a line from a book that gave me serious Vivi Vibes:<br />
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My point is she's bullheaded, which I think is great, but I don't want to be bailing her out of jail when she's nine.</blockquote>
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Yep, sounds like my kid to me.<br />
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At two, Vivi is nothing like any two year-old we've ever raised. (Granted there's only been one other, but still.) At any point in time, you'll find that she has just climbed up onto the counters to get snacks to eat or she has just drawn tattoos all over her hands and arms with whatever writing instrument you were dumb enough to leave out in the opening. By "you" I mean "I." I am always the dumb one, forgetting that putting forbidden objects higher up is not a barrier to this child. It's a challenge, and one she is ALWAYS game to meet.<br />
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When she's not screaming her demands she has a cute little voice, and Jon, Theo, and I love getting her to say all of her words. Her favorite ones: mine, no, and RAWR. She's true to her brand.<br />
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She is very spoiled and admired, especially at church where she plays in laps, gets fed treats, and is pampered with fancy hairstyles before she goes on to nursery.<br />
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One of my favorite things about her is how much she loves our home videos. She could watch them for hours, so I was really excited to make her first birthday video and show it to her. She seemed skeptical and less than enthused the first time, but I think she's coming around to it.<br />
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Happy birthday to our baby! She has aged only two years, but I think I've aged 6 or 7.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-18012178444416697092019-12-10T12:24:00.000-08:002020-07-10T20:26:15.723-07:00november reads.<u>Dear Girls, by Ali Wong</u><br />
This was so hilarious, so gross, and relatable on several levels. We stan Ali Wong in all mediums!<br />
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<u>Serpent & Dove, by Shelby Mahurin</u><br />
There was SO MUCH hype surrounding this book, and I found it just okay. I think I neither loved nor hated it. But I have lots of thoughts!<br />
I found the characters and their conflicts with each other to be vastly more interesting than the plot or what was happening around them. I thought that Reid's coming around to Lou should have happened more gradually or slower than it did, given his lifelong prejudice against her kind. I was expecting a betrayal or at least a drawn out conflict between Reid and Lou at least through another book, but their relationship troubles were seemingly resolved by the end of the book. Reid's change of heart is admirable... I guess?? Honestly, I thought Ansel was the star example in the book of how to change towards a group of people you've been trained to be prejudiced towards. MORE PATS FOR ANSEL.<br />
Lastly, I really liked the sex-positivity of the book, but especially the depiction of teaching a virgin man how to have a mutually enjoyable sex experience. It was a new thing for me to read about and I 100% approve. More of those. Not limited to men who are virgins.<br />
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<u>The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern</u><br />
This book was sooo beautiful, which I think is now a thing we must come to expect from Erin Morgenstern. The little references here and there to pop culture didn't take me out of the story and often times were fun little easter eggs. I loved Zachary, I loved him and Dorian, and I obviously would love to read a cute romance just about them post-Starless Sea. FANFIC WRITERS: WHO WILL ANSWER THE CALL?!?<br />
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<u>Carry On, Rainbow Rowell</u><br />
I freaking LOVED this book. It was so unique and special! Starting at the last year of school is refreshing, having a Chosen One who kinda sucks is hilarious, and the use of clichés as magic spells is genius. I think this was the first book with vampires in it that I have ever loved. The only bad thing about finishing this book was waiting for the library's ebook of Wayward Son. I stared at "Available Soon" for a week before it was my turn to read the sequel. In that time I decided that I wanted to read only standalones or quick reads in cases Wayward Son suddenly became available. Which is the informal introduction to reading the next three reads:<br />
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<u>Forever..., by Judy Blume</u><br />
I have a really hard time getting invested in teen romances. I think it's because reality dictates that these usually never last and you always break up with your first love? Anyway. This story was less an interesting or compelling story and more like a guide on how to have sex when you're new at it. Which is not to say that it's not worthwhile! I actually think I want to make this required reading for my children one day. I think it has a lot of value, just not a relationship or story I care about more than the sex education.<br />
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<u>Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell</u><br />
This was an adult romance that was just fine. This book has aged surprisingly well, though the freaking out about Y2K is really funny to read about now. It just took too forking long for the characters to actually meet and get together. Like, it's criminal what Rainbow Rowell does to the main couple here.<br />
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<u>Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell</u><br />
I really loved this book! It was really nostalgic for me; I was constantly thinking of my freshman year and imagined Cath's dorm to be exactly like mine. I feel like I say this anytime I read or watch something that involves fandoms in any way, but I wish I was even half as brave as Cath was to display her geekiness. Levi was totally sweet and cute; he reminded me in some ways of Jon and that made me a little sad that I didn't know Jon while I was in the dorm-stage of college. Lastly, it was super fun to see all of the little bits related to Carry On!<br />
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<u>The Queen of Nothing, by Holly Black</u><br />
Okay. I know going into this that I was going to like it at a 3-star level - the same as the first 2 books in the series for me. There was only one thing I was looking for, and it was also the only thing that would bump the rating up to 4 stars. And that was Jude and Cardan at the very least nudging their way in the direction of a healthy relationship. I wasn't even requiring a healthy relationship by the end, just some evidence that they were working toward it. Because even though they are such a messed up couple throughout this series, it's hard not to ship them. Anyway, I felt like they grew and made positive changes in that area, so this book got 4 stars from me.<br />
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<u>Wayward Son, by Rainbow Rowell</u><br />
Ooof. Two chapters in, and all the sad feelings were inside me. I know that when SimonxBaz get through to the other side they will be so solid and locked in, but for now it's really difficult to see them where they are now. I liked the new character, Shep, and am looking forward to more development and backstory for him in the next book. Mostly, I am excited to go back to England. Seeing Simon react to the different pieces of America was funny and cute, but it also felt a little bit wrong to see the gang in this different setting.<br />
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<u>Warcross</u><br />
<u>Wildcard, by Marie Lu</u><br />
I loved everything about this book! Emika was the perfect amount of likeable with an intriguing background, and Hideo is all the good kinds of broody, tortured genius. Technology is practically it's own character in this book, and the tech aspect of this is exciting, fascinating, and terrifying all in one. This is one of those books that I immediately added to Jon's TBR, which is something that I have formed in my head and taken charge of, haha.<br />
The sequel, Wildcard, went in a direction I was not expecting. In the end I'm not mad about it, but it's definitely a sadder book and doesn't have as much of the things that made Warcross so exciting. The ending was not the most satisfying, but I think it was perfect for this book (and this author). The ending is also really wide open for lots of good fanfic, haha. Might have to go track those down one day.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-65901506931769643652019-12-02T14:20:00.002-08:002020-07-10T20:28:45.579-07:00watching listening.watching (Asian-Excellence Edition):<br />
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<u>Always Be My Maybe</u>: The day this came out on Netflix, I watched it in a hotel room in Midway while I ignored my children. It was so dang funny, and as soon as I got home to where Jon was, I watched it a second time with him on the couch. This movie is brilliant and hilarious, and the line about the dad washing his face with shampoo still kills me. Keanu Reeves has the funniest cameo, and whenever I picture him in my head, the image his him sobbing into a wine glass at a ridiculous restaurant.<br />
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<u>Guardian: The Lonely and Great God</u>: This features two of the most beautiful men I have ever seen in my life, and I will never regret getting sucked into this show. If you like high-cheekboned beauties who only wear the clothes you see in GQ, this show is for you. If you like those beauties walking towards you in slow motion with the most perfect nighttime silhouettes, the ending of episode two is for you. (It's my favorite scene of the series.)(Isn't it everyone's favorite scene of the series?). If you like shows that are emotionally exhausting (but rewarding), this show is for you. When I finished I think I must have looked dazed, because Jon asked: did it have a happy ending? The answer is: it did, but not before each of the characters suffered intense grief and loss. The characters were all happy at the end, but it hurt to have to watch them go through some really hard things first. ANYWAY. Watch this show.<br />
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<u>Arsenal Military Academy</u>: This show features a girl who dresses up like her brother and enrolls in a military school. Before you say it, that's as far as it resembles Mulan at all. This show is so funny, but also pretty complex as far as the antagonists and what their plans are go. There is a love triangle, which is a trope I don't enjoy, but everything worked out in the end (most importantly, it worked out the way I wanted it to, haha) My two biggest complaints about the show: (1) things happened in the last five or so episodes that I found shocking and annoying. Not necessarily because of the context of the show (they are in battle often, after all) but because the rest of the show didn't match up with the last five. This is all a roundabout way of saying: nobody we cared about died in the previous 35 episodes, so it was really annoying to have many of them die in the last five episodes. (2) The main ship did not kiss once. NOT ONCE. It put me in a pissy mood the day I finished.<br />
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<u>Your Name</u>: This movie is an anime that I saw lots of good things about, so I decided to rent it one night. The story is a lot more complex than the trailer makes it seem (this is a good thing), and had I been sitting while I watched (I was in bed), I would have been on the edge of my seat constantly after the twist was revealed. Mostly, my overwhelming thought after it was over was how beautiful the movie was. There were so many scenes or moments that nearly took my breath away because of how gorgeous they were.<br />
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listening:<br />
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<u>Recomposed, Max Richter</u>: I can't remember how the heck I discovered this, but I'm sure glad I did. It's a recomposition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and it definitely has some familiar themes to the original. But it also brings out little phrases that we don't think of when we think of The Four Seasons and fleshes out those bits. A lot of it feels cinematic, and I really enjoy listening to this while I'm working around the house or on the computer. I've even played it while working at the library a few times, and it never feels intrusive.<br />
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<u>Elements, Ludovico Einaudi</u>: I've mentioned this composer before, but lately I've been listening to him exclusively through this album, and it is so good. It provides lots of moods, which allows for listening in many contexts. I've also had this one playing at work, it's got good vibes for the library.<br />
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<u>The Dragon Prince, Season 3 soundtrack</u>: Season 3 has just come out and I am already obsessed and analyzing every bit of it, trying to answer my unanswered questions and discover every bit of this world I possibly can. The soundtrack is also out, and it's so good. I think it might be my favorite of the three seasons so far, and I can't stop listening to it.<br />
<br />krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-16889881274019605092019-12-02T13:46:00.001-08:002020-07-10T20:30:43.721-07:00thanksgiving 2019.Thanksgiving has come and gone. The kids had the best time being able to see both sets of grandparents during the break, and I think they definitely wore out our guests!<br />
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We had snow coming in little fits and bursts throughout the week, and now our mountains are nice and beautiful. My favorite thing about winter here is how pretty the mountains look with all of the snow.<br />
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(My second favorite thing about winter here is that our garage basically turns into a giant refrigerator, which comes in pretty handy when our actual refrigerator runs out of space for all of our food.)<br />
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As far as the dinner went, it was a pretty relaxing Thanksgiving, honestly! I made the cranberry sauce and the gravy on Tuesday, the stuffed mushrooms and macaroni on Wednesday, which just left the turkey, potatoes, and edamame for Thursday. I didn't make any new dishes this year (always a dangerous thing to do when you have guests to impress!), so everything was pretty familiar.<br />
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(Except for the cheese plate I assembled Thursday morning, which I had never really done in earnest before! But I thought it turned out well enough.)<br />
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Now we have lots of leftovers, which normally gives me lots of anxiety because I try really hard to lower our food waste. Most of the leftovers get eaten just fine, but those dang mashed potatoes. Historically, we are terrible at eating our leftover mashed potatoes, and they usually end up thrown away.<br />
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EXCEPT THIS YEAR! Today for lunch I made "Waffled Mashed Potatoes With Scallions, Bacon, and Cheddar" from the Serious Eats website. It's basically a baked potato waffle, and it is a GAME CHANGER. I can't even explain what a relief it is to not have to dread leftover mashed potatoes anymore.<br />
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It may sound crazy, but I'm already thinking about next year's feast. There are one or two new recipes I have saved that I want to try out in August or September next year to see if they will earn a spot on my Thanksgiving menu. In the meantime, I'm just thinking about all of the mashed potato waffles in my future.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-54045651732874933172019-11-30T17:27:00.003-08:002019-11-30T17:28:30.736-08:00five years!Young Theodore is five! It's nearly one month since his actual birthday, and I'm still a little bit in shock that my first baby is five years-old. How did this happen??<br />
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Theo is as sweet as ever and is still the most loving member of our family. He's so funny, and that has only grown moreso as his communication abilities have exploded this year. He now tells us cute little stories (usually he just retells the time last year that we hit a deer with our car and it was "super scary" but "we were okay"). My favorite thing is to hear him narrate his play and all of the cute little things he says on behalf of his toys.<br />
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Happy birthday to my big boy. Please grow up a little slower this year.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-75413537423200778152019-10-31T19:13:00.000-07:002020-07-10T20:32:26.478-07:00october reads. (i passed 100!!)<u>Rebel, by Marie Lu</u><br />
I was reeeeeally looking forward to this, especially after Champion ended the way it did. And while I did not expect the recovering memory thing to go as it did, I also understand that this story was mainly about Eden and secondly and Daniel and June. Still, I would LOVE a novella or short story focusing solely on Daniel going through that process of recovering his past life with June. I eat that kind of stuff all up.<br />
But anyway, I really liked seeing Eden grow throughout the trilogy and finally in this book. It made me remember what a crucial figure Eden was in all of the events of the Legend trilogy, and I never really gave much thought as to his view of everything that happened and continues to happen to him (as does like, everyone in his world, too). Seeing him mature into his own being was really satisfying to see, and getting a happy ending was also much appreciated.<br />
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<u>The Raven Boys</u><br />
<u>The Dream Thieves</u><br />
<u>Blue Lily, Lily Blue</u><br />
<u>The Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater</u><br />
What is it about this series? I wasn't really expecting to be moved by these characters and their stories, especially after I saw "Prep School Boys." But damn. This tale is so atmospheric, and it reminded me of how much I loved magical realism in college. Odd stories that move me with beautiful prose really defined how I progressed in my writing program, and The Raven Cycle made me remember all of that. Lastly, an unexpected love for Ronan came from this series, and I admit that I am intrigued about the author's new series that allows us to dip back into Ronan's life a little more.<br />
(A week and a half after I finished The Raven King, I read Stiefvater's blog post about what her life and health were like while she wrote the end of the series, and truthfully, I did not notice anything odd or different or incongruous about it.)<br />
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<u>Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo</u><br />
This book was the most anticipated book of the... year? century? Basically, everyone was so freaking excited about this, and I was in that group. Did it disappoint? No. Ninth House is dark and harrowing and so elevated and smart that sometimes I felt like I had a hard time keeping up. I want more of Alex, especially now that she has experienced a significant amount of growth from Book #1 - I want to see what she does with all of that next. And she freaking needs to find You Know Who, because that is killing me.<br />
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<u>The Unhoneymooners, by Christina Lauren</u><br />
This book was so funny (I was dying at the en masse vomiting), and a fun take on the enemies to lovers trope. It was a quick and easy read that was hilarious, cute, heartbreaking, and redemptive all in one. Whew!<br />
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<u>The Girl the Sea Gave Back, by Adrienne Young</u><br />
I was a little nervous for this one. Sky in the Deep was such an unexpected love of mine, and I was a worried that this companion novel wouldn't make me feel the same way that Sky did. It didn't, but that's fine because this story is completely different and gave me feelings that were different but just as strong. I think this novel has an understated beauty and elegance, and the ending was the perfect combination of satisfying and also really wanting more. It also made me want to go back and reread Sky with a focus more on Halvard.<br />
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<u>Caraval, by Stephanie Garber</u><br />
I thought this story was really confusing and convoluted. Scarlett was really obnoxious, and I often found myself wishing that her sister Donatella would die just to make it so Scarlett would whine less.<br />
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<u>The Beautiful, by Renee Ahdieh</u><br />
I loved the NOLA setting, it made me want to go back really badly. So props to effective setting evocation. Celine was an interesting enough character, I guess? I did find the hiding of her "dark" secret to be a little contrived. Surely any person worth forming a friendship with would understand when someone is acting in self-defense? Anyway. The villain really confused me with the origins of his hatred. I was fully convinced that I would not be continuing on with the series until the end, when the memory loss trope was revealed. I can't help that that trope is one of my all-time favorites, so I might read on just for the sake of it.<br />
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<u>Cinder</u><br />
<u>Scarlet</u><br />
<u>Cress</u><br />
<u>Winter, by Marissa Meyer</u><br />
Okay, I was not expecting to like Cinder enough to read the entire series, but I did. (I'm not sure if low expectations had anything to do with this.) There are a lot of ships in this series (one for each book), and Cinder and Kai were the least interesting. Kai in general was just super MEH for me, and even though I'm obviously on his side, he mostly came off as superbly incompetent nearly the entire time. Cinder is fine though, she's a great protagonist to follow. Her taste in boys just needs some work. Thorne and Cress were straight up adorable, but Jacin and Winter were my favorite ships. Levana can go straight to hell with Adri chained up behind her.<br />
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<u>The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang</u><br />
This was such a cute story! Having it in graphic novel form was ideal for being able to see all of the amazing fashion that was central to the story. I was so pleasantly surprised to see the parents at the end come around in such a huge and amazing way for Sebastian, which really seems like a rarity in YA.<br />
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<u>Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson</u><br />
This story is so powerful, and the visual medium by which it is conveyed adds to that power. (The bathroom wall!!) I did not read this book in middle or high school, but I will donate this graphic novel to every school my children attend and make sure they read it.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-27706324519720927642019-10-02T11:43:00.000-07:002020-02-03T19:12:45.156-08:00september reads.<u>To Kill a Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo</u><br />
This wasn't bad, it was a nice twist on the Disney version of The Little Mermaid. I thought that Lira's gradual coming around to Elian was well-paced up until this point where she suddenly decided to be really into him, without ever stating that she'd decided she was going to be into him. At the 60% mark, I questioned whether or not the book was truly a standalone, and then sure enough I found the final 35% to be crazy rushed for me.<br />
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<u>Darkdawn, by Jay Kristoff</u><br />
Ok, after my near-death experience with the end of Godsgrave, I was ready for this book. But was I ready for how meta it got? NO. And was I able to cope with how bittersweet it all was since Mia's fate was already all laid out there for us from the beginning of book one? NO. Did I get that necromantic hookup I really wanted to see? NO. Am I at peace with the death of a certain supporting companion? NO. Was this as thrilling as books one and two? NO. But overall do I like this series still? YES.<br />
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<u>Stalking Jack the Ripper, by Kerri Maniscalco</u><br />
<u>Hunting Prince Dracula, by Kerri Maniscalco</u><br />
<u>Escaping from Houdini, by Kerri Maniscalco</u><br />
I wasn't expecting to like this series, but holy moly I ended up liking it a lot! The series (and book one especially) was pretty gruesome for me, but I don't read a lot of horror or murder mysteries or anything like that. At the end of book one I was pretty devastated, and I decided that I needed more from Thomas as a character.<br />
Book two introduced a gothic castle setting which I was VERY into, as well as a few female minor characters which I realized was something I was missing from book one.<br />
Book three was my least favorite of the three, but I still liked it! I didn't love the ultimate motive behind the murders on the ship, I thought it fell a little flat. And honestly, I hated the last two chapters of the book. One of them should have been taken out for sure, and truthfully it could have been either one for me.<br />
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<u>Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, by Christina Lauren</u><br />
And now, for the beginning of my foray into adult romances. After reading a series about serial killers, I think I needed something quick and easy. And, let's be honest, after reading about Audrey Rose and Thomas dancing around their feelings and physical wants and all of the talk about how scandalous it was for them to even kiss or be in the same room together... I needed the exact opposite of that.<br />
I started with this book, and it was pretty cute. My main issue was the wrench, so to speak, the thing that causes tension or a fight between the couple right before or at the beginning of the third act. I did not care for this book's wrench, and I would rather it have been related to Hazel's fear of Josh calling her crazy. BUT, the ending was happy (of course), and everything ended up fine and everyone was cute, so it was all fine.<br />
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<u>My Favorite Half-Night Stand, by Christina Lauren</u><br />
For book #2 in my romance journey, I liked it a little better than Josh and Hazel but still had one problem. I was solidly into the story all the way through, my only issue was that I thought Millie's reasons for being withholding to her friends about details of her life were a bit weak. But other than that, I really liked this one. It was super angsty at the climax of the book (no pun intended) and I like angsty so that was good, and Millie talking about how she felt she could be so much more open on the chat platform is just a really relatable thing for like, EVERYONE these days.<br />
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<u>Kingsbane, by Claire Legrand - DNF</u><br />
So as I was reading this I honestly was thinking I was so excited to read this after I finished Furyborn this summer, <i>why am I not into this</i>? And I tried to stick with it based on the fact that I was on the waitlist for this book for so freaking long, and not only did I end up DNF-ing Kingsbane, I even started to rethink my earlier high rating of Furyborn. This was a disappointing turn of events, but I think ultimately I wanted a story purely about Simon, and he's simply not the main character of this series.<br />
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<u>Love and Other Words, by Christina Lauren</u><br />
After the disappointing DNF, I went back to romance for a pick me up and OH MY GOSH I really freaking loved this one. Never at the beginning of this year did I think I would be giving a 5-star rating to a romance novel or wanting to own a copy of a romance novel, but here we are. The story of Macy and Elliott is so cute and perfect and heartbreaking and complete and I want to read it for the first time again and again.<br />
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<u>Graceling, by Kristin Cashore</u><br />
Ok, back into fantasy. I really liked the first half of this book, and then the story kind of petered out for me. In the middle there was A LOT of detailed explanation of traveling through the woods that didn't seem entirely consequential, and then at the end everyone just kind of raced through time and space really quickly and the difference in pacing felt really weird to me. I really liked Po, I was really sad about how his character ended up and the ending in general I felt pretty <i>meh</i> about.<br />
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<u>Pumpkinheads, by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks</u><br />
This graphic novel was the absolute cutest. The farm was so amazing, I wish it was real! This story really helped bring on the not just fall vibes, but nostalgic ones, too (Back in the day I tried to set Jon up with a girl he liked whilst also starting to like him. Thankfully he changed his mind and awwwwwwww :)<br />
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<u>Truthwitch, by Susan Dennard</u><br />
<u>Windwitch, by Susan Dennard - DNF</u><br />
I really wanted to like this series and I just didn't. At the end of Truthwitch I liked the characters well enough, but I didn't really seem to care about what it was they were doing in this particular story. But like I said, I really wanted to like the series so I kept on going with Windwitch, which I ended up DNFing. All throughout Windwitch I found myself just wanting the story about Iseult and Aeduan and being extremely annoyed when it jumped around to see what other people were doing when I did not care about them at all. I miiiight end up reading Bloodwitch one day because I think it might just be about Iseult and Aeduan? Still deciding on that one.<br />
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<u>The Bone Houses, by Emily Lloyd-Jones</u><br />
I was not expecting to like this at all. I loaned this book on Overdrive and few things are worse than discovering the digital copy of a book they have available is not kindle compatible. I don't like reading on my phone, so I was ready to stop reading this book I wasn't feeling it right away. I'm happy to report that I was horrifyingly surprised and really loved this one! This story was spooky and gorey and if you're looking for something to get you into the Halloween mood, this might be your book.<br />
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<u>Capturing the Devil, by Kerri Maniscalco</u><br />
I finished reading Escaping from Houdini just after the fourth and final book of the series was released into the world, and I asked my boss if she would complete our series at the library and order the final one. Luckily for me she did, otherwise I would still be on the 20-week waiting list for a digital copy. This book was very relationship-centric, but I wasn't bothered by it. I think because I've been invested in the sloooowww progression of this couple for three books and I was just ready to see kissing in public without fear of rule breaking (cue John Mulaney's OH GOD IT'S THE OLD TIMES, but in an <b>entirely</b> different context).<br />
As far as murders go, the wedding scene straight up killed me.<br />
Ok, but for the real murders, it really tied in so much with the first book and it was cool to see a lot of things come full circle.<br />
Lastly, Grandmama is a badass and I wish she had been in earlier books because she was the freaking best.<br />
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<u>The Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoang</u><br />
This was a romance book that, overall, I did not enjoy. I didn't mind at all reading from the perspective of a high-functioning autistic woman (Stella). What I DID mind was that at no point in the book did anyone tell Stella that the reason she had bad sex all those times was not because she was autistic, but because all of her partners were assholes. AND, it took way to long for Stella to realize that she didn't need to change who she was or what made her comfortable in the world. Those two things really bugged the hell out of me and left me with a bitter taste when the book was over, happy ending or not.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-75930368784371566192019-08-31T21:21:00.002-07:002020-02-03T19:12:45.249-08:00august reads.<u>A Gathering of Shadows, by Victoria Schwab</u><br />
<u>A Conjuring of Light, by Victoria Schwab</u><br />
These are the followup books to A Darker Shade of Magic, which was the last book I finished in July. Book two started out with an amazing look into what Lila is up to, and I freakin' loved it. I'd read a million books about Pirate Lila. This book also featured a competition, which is one of my favorite tropes and I was fully down for it. Admittedly, I spent a lot of this book waiting for a Kell+Lila reunion, but I was not expecting that SUPER HOT reunion between another pairing (it reunion for the characters, but we were seeing them together for the first time). Another couple to ship is never a bad thing!<br />
Book three had some serious zombie vibes and lots of character deaths - some of which were surprising and sad, others were pretty obvious. The ending was great, though I am a bit sad for how one character ended up... I would have liked them to be happy, but I think they were at peace with where they ended up. All in all: a great series, and I'd definitely buy physical copies of the books!<br />
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<u>Teen Titans Raven, by Kami Garcia</u><br />
This was a graphic novel featuring pre-TT Raven, aka Rachel Roth. I liked it just okay, but I think I would have liked it better if I didn't have to wait for the rest of the team's stories, which appear to be rolling out VERY slowly (Garfield's comes out in a year). I really liked the NOLA backdrop, and Max was a great supporting character. I wasn't super sad to see Raven's relationship end, mostly because I will forever ship BBRAE. 🎶<i>if i don't gots my baby all i do is go crae</i>🎶<br />
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<u>We Hunt the Flame, by Hafsah Faizal</u><br />
I was really looking forward to this book, and I'd been on a wait list for months. And unfortunately, this ended up being a pretty big disappointment for me. I felt like there was a lot of wasted space in the first third of the book that didn't further the plot or contribute to world-building, and it all could have been condensed A LOT. I thought the most compelling parts were all the scenes when Zafira and Nasir interacted, and they didn't even meet until 170 pages in. I pretty much wanted to DNF the entire time, but I stuck it out and don't feel like it paid off at all. I was really bummed about this one, but it just fell flat for me.<br />
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<u>Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo</u><br />
<u>Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo</u><br />
I already read these two earlier this year, but we started listening to the audiobook of SoC on our trip because I have been dying for Jon to read this series all year. I ended up finishing both of these books in via audiobook, and damn this series is SO GOOD.<br />
At the end I was in that post-CK sadness haze and I decided a few things:<br />
(1) Kaz is the ultimate DDNB and his anti-hero-ness might be the death of me.<br />
(2) The lost Darling in this series might be the most gut-wrenching loss of any Darling in any book I have ever read?? Jon and I actually had a little discussion about it and what purpose it served and fell into that hole of daydreaming what could have been if the Darling did not die.<br />
(3) If Jon didn't like this series, I promised him all kinds of dramatics on my part. Thankfully, he liked the series too, so I didn't have to tell him he was dead to me.<br />
(4) I would actually die for another book with these characters and then demand a copy to be sent to me in the afterlife.<br />
(5) The bathroom counter scene in CK is better than any sex scene in any book ever.<br />
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<u>The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern</u><br />
I have heard so many great things about this book, and I was excited to finally get around to it. This book was really beautifully written, the prose was gorgeous and the story and settings were pretty magical. It was somehow not confusing, even having been written from many perspectives and many points in time. (I've yet to pinpoint why some books written this way are really hard for me to read and others give me no trouble at all.) I do have to say though, that I didn't really feel like this book fit its description, which I found on Goodreads and basically any bookseller website. I suppose this worked a little bit against me, and I found myself wanting more - or at least wanting what I was expecting from the book blurb. Even so, I really enjoyed this book.<br />
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<u>Spin the Dawn, by Elizabeth Lim</u><br />
This book was just okay. I really wanted the tailors' competition to last much longer than it did; I think I would have liked the competition to be one whole book, and then the three-pronged journey be a second book. I found the romance to be just fine, it was sweet and straightforward (though I was waiting for a betrayal on the part of the love interest for some time at the beginning). I think what I wanted most was a more descriptive look at Maia. I didn't really have any idea what she looked like, save for her hair and and one mentioning, her freckles. Lastly, did EVERYONE know she was a girl the entire time? It seemed like not a single person fell for her disguise.<br />
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<u>Stardust, by Neil Gaiman</u><br />
I liked this book enough, but I really would have preferred it to be drawn out more. It definitely read like a movie, and I just found myself wanting more of everything, every place they visited, every character that was introduced, etc. But I can acknowledge that the writing style of this particular story is VERY fairy-tale-esque. Which is to say, telling precisely what happened but not expounding more than is necessary. I just like the expounding, I think. My favorite part might have been the twist with the bird-slave from the very beginning. Lastly, I found the parting conversation between Yvaine and the Witch-Queen to be very... odd? It definitely left me scratching my head and more than a little bit unsatisfied.<br />
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<u>House of Salt and Sorrows, by Erin A. Craig</u><br />
I tentatively put this book on my TBR, not knowing for sure if I found the premise interesting enough via the book blurb. Then I came into work last week and saw that it was a new addition to our collection, so I checked it out. And I surprised myself by really liking this book! Maybe even loving it? It's part murder mystery, part ghost story, part period drama with all of those old worries about finding a husband. The oceanside setting was beautiful, and I loved one character's observation about being able to taste salt in everything. And the cover! It is so incredibly beautiful, I found myself absentmindedly rubbing the embossed lettering while reading. A great standalone, and yay for unexpected five-star ratings!<br />
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<u>Eliza and Her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia</u><br />
I don't read a lot of contemporary YA fiction, but when I read the premise of this book I knew I would like it. Which is why I was a huge dummy for deciding to start the book at 10:00 at night, because I didn't stop reading until after 1:00 in the morning. I loved this book so much, and it made me feel all of the emotions. I laughed, I teared up (as close as I get to crying), I ached, I panicked and stressed (lordy, Eliza's parents) and I felt like I related on a deeper level than with other books. But what I felt the most at the end of this book was how much I wished I had as much direction or purpose with my interests in high school as Eliza and Wallace did. Or like, that I didn't feel embarrassed about the stuff I liked. A <b>million</b> stars to this book.<br />
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<u>City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare</u><br />
I started out really wanted to like this book. Which is to say, I really wanted to like this world because there are like 15 books in it, and I'm always down for getting sucked into a new series. But even starting out that way did not stop this book from being a huge letdown. The truth is, I knew from the first chapter that I didn't like it. The prose was so lackluster, all of the words seemed to be just regurgitated from the author's mind, and that old rule of "Show, Don't Tell" was like, fully ignored. Besides that, the characters were really one-dimensional and I did not feel a connection to a single one. I should have DNF'd this book, but I kept reading, hoping that anything would change for the better. Instead, I got a series of twists that went from bad to worse - the last twist of which nearly made me throw the book across the room in frustration. Few things are worse than a twist that you know, at some point later on in the series, will be "untwisted" by yet another revelation.<br />
I haven't given a one-star rating to a book since Three Dark Crowns two years ago, and even that book I felt deserved that star for what was actually, a really great twist at the end. I'm not sure what the one star for City of Bones even is for. The acknowledgement of how many other people seem to like it (it's got a crazy high rating on Goodreads)? Because you can't rate a book and give it zero stars? <br />
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<u>Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers</u><br />
Again, we have a female protagonist who has been trained/is being trained as an assassin, but THIS time she is trained by nuns at a convent. Assassin Nuns! I love it. The political maneuverings in this book were a bit exhausting, but I thought it was made up for with a compelling enough cast. Ismae and Duval are both likable characters, and it was fun to watch them grow to like each other.<br />
I had a slight issue with this, and it was that I thought that this three-book series followed Ismae the entire time. In fact, each book follows one of three students of the convent. This misunderstanding was very confusing for me, because I felt like everything was wrapping up or happening much too quickly for a trilogy. If I'd known Ismae's story was just in the one book, I probably would have thought the pacing was just fine.<br />
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<u>They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei</u><br />
What a great piece of art that details such a horrible time in history, while also warning of its repetition occurring today. So many parts of Takei's story were so sad, and seeing him experience it as a child and seeing some of it with wonderment and excitement was particularly heartbreaking. Even his dad's statement about American Democracy still being the best of all the government options was a little crushing to read. It definitely made me wonder what works of art and literature will eventually emerge from today's imprisonments, though I imagine they will be much more harrowing - throughout TCUE I kept thinking, <i>thank goodness he had his parents the whole time</i>.<br />
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<u>The Kiss of Deception, by Mary E Pearson</u><br />
<u>The Heart of Betrayal, by Mary E Pearson</u><br />
<u>The Beauty of Darkness, by Mary E Pearson</u><br />
The premise of book one hooked me right away. A princess who flees her betrothed (whom she has never met) on her wedding day, and later unknowingly meets him in the new town where she has decided to restart her life? I'M IN. The problem for me entered when she met her jilted fiancé at the same time she met an assassin who was sent to kill her (which she also was unaware of at the meeting). The problem was not the assassin's presence in the book. It was that I literally had the prince and the assassin mixed up for most of the book. I thought that Rafe was the assassin and Kaden was the prince up until the actual assassin (Kaden) made his move on Lia and then I was like WAIT WHAT. Some of the story was even told from each of the boys' perspectives, and not one time did another character refer to them by their names. I know this because I was looking! I wasn't sure from the very beginning who was Rafe or Kaden, and I was looking for clues! Eventually I just guessed and went with what seemed to make sense to me, but apparently I was wrong.<br />
Here's the thing: By the end of book one I was like, did I like this story better when I thought that Rafe was the assassin? Reader, I think I did.<br />
Book two had me a bit bored. There were some moves and manipulations that I desperately wanted to see Lia make towards a certain character, and I didn't get it. The attempt at a love triangle had me rolling my eyes and I honestly would rather have not had it (I usually will always choose No Love Triangles, but especially here.) Rafe was much less interesting to me in The Heart of Betrayal, and I strongly think it is because I was still reeling from the mixup I made in The Kiss of Deception.<br />
Book three had me extremely annoyed for most of it, especially when Rafe becomes a complete ass but Lia's breath still catches and her blood freezes whenever he walks into a room. UGH. But the battle was good and it was my favorite part of the book. The ending was cheesy as hell.<br />
Overall, I liked the series. A part of me wants to reread The Kiss of Deception, but this time knowing for sure which boy is which. The other part of me wants to read an alt version of This Kiss of Deception wherein Rafe was the assassin and Kaden was the prince, haha.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-3114266323368183792019-08-31T20:52:00.003-07:002019-08-31T20:52:49.685-07:00SLO 2019.We finally got to take Vivi to San Luis Obispo! I'd been looking forward to this trip all year, especially since we skipped last year. And while it wasn't as relaxing as I hoped it would be (kids), it was still a great trip.<br />
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The kids did so well in the car. Like, miraculously well. Day one was an 11+ hour drive, and they rocked it. We already knew that Theo would be fine, he's done well on long trips his entire life. We weren't so sure about how Vivi would do, but she also did amazing. Didn't even need a screen until the last two hours! I don't do much public bragging about my children, but I'm always tempted to gush how well they do on road trips, haha.<br />
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Theo wanted to go to the beach so badly. He'd been talking about it for over a week leading up to the trip, so we knew we had to deliver pretty early on in the visit. We stopped at our favorite spot in Cambria (after picking our our favorite donuts at SloDoCo), and it was not what Theo was expecting. He was like, "where's the beach?!" and we had to explain that this place just had the rocks and the ocean but we promised beach the next day.<br />
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And the end result of our beach day was probably the best that we could have gotten. He loved the beach and had a complete blast, but was also totally satisfied and did not need to return for the rest of our trip. Yay!!<br />
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I think I might have been most excited to revisit our favorite places to get some video footage for our vacation video. <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2016/07/slo-2016.html">Our video</a> from 2016's trip to SLO is one of our favorites and probably our most rewatched.<br />
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So here is this year's! Yay for SLO and yay for happy and patient kids in long car rides.<br />
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krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-6212840598579865252019-08-07T08:49:00.004-07:002020-09-21T20:06:42.920-07:00july reads.<u>Warrior of the Wild, by Tricia Levenseller</u><br />
This book was on the New YA Releases shelf at our library, and I liked the last Vikings-inspired book I read so much that I thought, <i>Why not</i>? Before I got into the book though, I thought that the author name looked familiar. After a quick Goodreads search I discovered she was the author who wrote Daughter of the Pirate King, which was a DNF for me. So, I started this book with pretty low expectations, and I think I'm glad I did. I thought the story was solid, and I actually liked it. The second half of the book was MUCH better than the first, and Rasmira is an easy character to root for (especially after you find out everything that works against her). But the prose was a bit boring, and Rasmira's continued talk of how she'd never trust a boy again seemed a little too contrived for me at parts.<br />
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<u>Furyborn, by Claire Legrand</u><br />
I saw that a couple of authors I follow on IG were excited about the release of Book #2 in this series, so I added Furyborn to my TBR list. This is an exciting adventure that follows two young women who live very different lives 1000 years apart from each other. Rielle and Eliana are both so interesting and compelling; protagonists whom you can't help but root for, in spite of flaws or tendencies that err on the side of, well... NOT ideal. Switching back and forth between their perspectives was a little obnoxious for me, but I think that's just something I personally struggle with in books and eventually (hopefully) I will get over it. Half the excitement of reading Furyborn is finding out what on earth the connection is between them, and now that we know I am very eager to read Kingsbane, which I am currently on a waiting list for. Also, Simon. Simon forever, more stories about Simon, PLEASE, Legrand, don't you dare hurt Simon.<br />
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<u>Legend, by Marie Lu</u><br />
<u>Prodigy, by Marie Lu</u><br />
<u>Champion, by Marie Lu</u><br />
So even though I was really disappointed last spring in how the story of The Young Elites ended up turning out, I wasn't willing to give up on Marie Lu as an author and wanted to read some of her other works. I finally got around to reading Legend, Prodigy, and Champion all within a few days, and I love this series.<br />
These books were published nearly ten years ago, right around when the Dystopian genre was blowing up. I haven't read many books featuring dystopias because they aren't really my jam, but I really liked the world/US that Lu has established. Her main characters, Day and June, are so amazing and well balanced with their virtues and flaws, and I devoured their stories and journeys.<br />
At the end of Prodigy I really felt like my heart was wrecked, and I was eager to read Champion so that my sadness would be remedied and everyone would be happy. AND THEN. At the end of Champion I really actually was indeed wrecked, and the thought that went through my mind was: <i>if 'death by book' was a thing, Champion would the the culprit</i>. I was ACHING with sadness and welling with tears at the whole ending, even with that teeny tiny bit of hopeful happiness at the end. Basically, I closed the book and sat in silence with my sad feelings and I wanted to die. I knew that Champion was published in 2011, and I was like, <i>dammit this is really the end of the series, this is actually how she ended it, I am going to be sad FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE</i>.<br />
AND THEN. I went on to Goodreads to give it my rating (still gave it 5 stars even though it murdered me), and saw that Lu is giving the world (ME) a book #4 in October. YOU GUYS, if the end of Champion killed me, then seeing "Rebel (Legend #4)" on Goodreads full-on resurrected me, and I nearly wept with relief. I am so excited for at chance at some happiness for some characters I really became invested in. But also, I'm not holding my breath because obviously Lu was willing to end it the way she did 8 years ago. But okay, maybe I am holding my breath a little. Okay, A LOT.<br />
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<u>Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson</u><br />
I have an upcoming project at work that involves this book, and I have been eager to read it for months now. I was a little apprehensive because it turned out that I did not care for Rogerson's other book, but I thought maybe it was a good thing that my expectations were lower. Well I'm not sure if it was due to low expectations or not, but I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and I was annoyed at anything that came up that made me stop reading.<br />
This book had everything: Strong Female Lead! Magic! A non-obnoxious love interest! Excellent supporting characters! LIBRARIES!! SO MANY LIBRARIES! And a gorgeous cover to boot! It is a standalone, which is a slight letdown because I would love to see more of these characters' lives, but the story is also just right as it is.<br />
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<u>Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff</u><br />
<u>Godsgrave, by Jay Kristoff</u><br />
If you ever read Throne of Glass and wondered what it would be like to read about Celaena in an adult novel, this might just be your answer. It's intense, violent, brutal, and AMAZING. I love Mia, the supporting cast in these books is *chef's kiss*, and the competitions and action events in both books are *chef's kiss*.<br />
My warning to you: it would appear that Kristoff takes the advice "Kill your darlings" to an insane level. Mia's constant advice to herself of "don't get attached, they are not your friends they are your competition" is, in fact, advice to you. Don't get attached, they are not your precious babies to live happily ever after, they are ASSASSINS and as such are subject to high risk of death. Devastation awaits!<br />
Lastly, if Champion was my figurative "death by book," Godsgrave was nearly my literal "death by book." The last few chapters had me progressively going<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>what!</i><br />
and then<br />
<i>whaat.</i><br />
and then<br />
<i>WHAAAT!!</i><br />
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AND THEN, the very very end made me deeply gasp out loud, only the breath wasn't smooth so I actually ended up choking. Then I was hacking while yelling OH MY GOSH and then hacking again, and this was in front of my family and they probably thought I was insane. Anyway. Book three can't get here fast enough, come on September!!!<br />
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<u>The Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty</u><br />
OOOF. I was very excited to read this, but I have to admit that it did not end up anywhere near where I expected. I loved seeing Nahri exert herself against Ghassan (or anyone, really), it was good to see her being as confident and self-assured as she was at the very beginning of The City of Brass. It was frustrating that see again all the times that something Ali said was misconstrued, especially when it came to Nahri. It happened over and over again in Book #1, and I was annoyed to see that repeating itself here.<br />
As for the ending... sheesh, where does it even go from here? Manizheh gives off serious Queen Maeve (may she writhe in hell) vibes, which makes for an excellent antagonist, but also does not bode well for my faves. (LEAVE DARA ALONE!!) I have no idea what is in store for Book #3, but the only thing I really want to see at this point is Nahri's relationships with Ali and Dara mended. Is that too much to ask?? Probably.<br />
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<u>Wicked Saints, by Emily A. Duncan</u><br />
I really liked the angle that Nadya's powers were divine and that she could speak to the gods and goddesses who gave her abilities. I also liked Serefin's character, one who was acutely (if not bleakly) aware of his station in life. Once he decided to put down the bottle and tried to do something about his situation was when I really started to root for him. I did not love Malachiasz, though. I get the point of Malachiasz, he teaches Nadya some things that are important for her growth and world-view shaping, but on his own I was not a fan. There's something significant that happens at the end (vague, but gotta be spoiler-free), and the shock factor did not find me. Like, it shakes one character pretty deeply and that person was really rocked by the change and I just... was not rocked. I would have liked to have been rocked, but I just wasn't extremely surprised by the turn of events. At this point in time, I don't see myself continuing the series, which was unexpected and disappointing, but c'est la vie.<br />
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<u>The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh</u><br />
<u>The Rose and the Dagger, by Renee Ahdieh</u><br />
I have always wanted to read this after I heard it was a retelling/expounding on the legend of Scheherazade and the One Thousand and One Nights. It's the best of the Hate to Love trope, one where you know there's a reason behind one character's awfulness and you and the other character are dying to figure out what it is. Because of this, it's easy to connect with Shazi because both her and the reader are on the same quest to get the complete story.<br />
My main issue with Wrath was Khalid. Even though I am firmly on Khalid's side as far as the love triangle goes, I actually feel pretty "meh" about him. I find him to be pretty one-dimensional, and more characterization for him would have been greatly appreciated on my part. He was just a kind of nothing character for me, a blank piece of paper.<br />
The Rose and the Dagger I did not care for. I didn't love the new conflict, the new setting, any new characters introduced (except for Shazi's sister), I was disappointed with how certain family relationships ended up, and, and, and. If Rose had been a standalone book, it definitely would have been a DNF for me, and now I really wish that Wrath had been a standalone book.<br />
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<u>A Darker Shade of Magic, by Victoria Schwab</u><br />
Okay, so the reading hump took me a while to get past in this book. It wasn't until about 150 pages in where I finally could start reading at a breathtaking speed because I was fully into the story and could not get enough. The first 150 pages were not bad, it was just a lot of world-building and the reading was just a bit slower going there. I loved the concept of the different Londons and what remained constant about each. I LOVED Lila and wish that she had been in the book more. And I can't not give a shout out to Holland, my DDNB, who does so many bad things but dammit I want things to turn around for him. Fingers crossed.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-36972877857025525862019-06-29T15:55:00.002-07:002020-02-03T19:12:45.168-08:00may and june reads.<u>Aurora Rising, by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman</u><br />
I loved this book so much that as soon as I was done I put it right on my "to buy" list. This is a story featuring a group cast, and if you want to know what they are like, imagine if the kids from The Breakfast Club were also the Guardians of the Galaxy. It's a great space fantasy with plenty of mystery, fun group dynamics, and characters who are so easy and fun to root for. I am VERY exciting about shipping a certain couple in the series, and I can't wait for next year's installment.<br />
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<u>Radiance, by Grace Draven</u><br />
I found this to be a very boring, yet very sweet romance that was a fast read. The couple consists of one human and another who is very obviously not. By reasons of politics they become betrothed to each other, and the funniest thing about this is that they are physically repulsed by the appearance of the other. It is kind of the most hilarious conflict to give a couple, and it's also very sweet to watch how they come to care for each other. My absolutely favorite thing about this book was the part wherein the not-human man describes the grotesqueness of human eyeballs, which I also find freakish and so I could laugh along to the disgusted reaction to them.<br />
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<u>We Are Blood and Thunder, by Kesia Lupo</u><br />
This story was morbidly grotesque, which I suppose is to be expected when one of the main characters has spent their entire life thus far as one who prepares dead bodies for the crypts. I liked the story okay, but I felt annoyed every time it shifted to Constance's perspective. I preferred Lena as a character and might have liked a story told entirely from her point of view.<br />
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<u>Sky in the Deep, by Adrienne Young</u><br />
I loved this story very much, I read it in 24 hours. I expected to enjoy this book, but I didn't not expect to physically ache with emotion as I read it. I was constantly tearing up throughout with the feelings of loss and betrayal the main character, Eelyn, experienced. Eelyn has such a great journey in this story, both physically and emotionally, and nothing felt forced or contrived. My only criticism was with the character Fiske. He felt a little too one-note for me and even just one scene of him showing literally any emotion outside his norm would have made me like him more.<br />
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<u>The Bird King, by G. Willow Wilson</u><br />
There were so many lovely passages in this book, my Kindle Clippings doc was out of control with all of my highlights. I really loved the depth of Fatima and Hassan's friendship and all of their complications and tender moments. However, throughout the reading of this book I also constantly felt myself thinking <i>I think I could probably stop reading this book right now and not be bothered about it for the rest of my life</i>. I enjoyed this book enough but also feel a little indifferent about the story as a whole.<br />
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<u>A Curse So Dark and Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer</u><br />
When I looked into this book to find out what it was about, I saw "Beauty and the Beast retelling" and I was sold. And although I liked that Harper had opportunities to prove to her brother what she is capable of, I kept thinking throughout the whole book that I was wrong about who my favorite character was. It was neither main character (Harper and Rhen), each participant in the supposed couple of the story, but Grey, the seemingly minor character who sometimes mediated between Harper and Rhen. Constantly throughout the story I found myself thinking <i>Okay but what about Grey</i>? <i>I want to read a story about Grey</i>. <i>WHY IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER GREY</i>? And then the ending happened, and because I like to keep things as spoiler-free as possible here I won't say what happens. But let's just say I'm eager to read next year's follow-up. <b>Because Grey</b>.<br />
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<u>Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor</u><br />
<u>Muse of Nightmares, by Laini Taylor</u><br />
Oof, you guys. I'm not sure I've read something so heartbreaking and maddening in a long time. Strange the Dreamer was a really lovely story, and Lazlo is such a great character to follow. I'd follow him anywhere to read about what he does in a place and with the people. And the story is so great and harrowing and GREAT. But the ending was so devastating and maybe not wholly unsurprising but I kept telling myself "no, it couldn't possibly be" and then it was and I was so mad about it. I still am.<br />
So I went into Muse of Nightmares mad, and I wanted my anger to be dealt with and taken away so I could get back to the loveliness and greatness. But I also didn't want everything to be undone just for the sake of my anger, I wanted it done right. And guys, it didn't happen. Which is not to say it couldn't, because the author ended the book with a THE END and then a damn question mark after it. But this may very well be it. Even though I'm still a little mad on behalf of all of these characters who have had so much taken away from them through no fault of their own, I can't actually say I hated these books. I hated what happened to these precious babies (FORKIN' SKATHIS I hope he's burning in Hell right now), but not the story. The story was good, and the precious babies are good, and dang it, I just want only good things to happen to them. And I want to read about those things canceling out all the bad things.<br />
I did have an issue of the technical variety with this series, and that was the third person omniscient point of view. I'm by no means against this POV, and even though the perspective is omniscient, it still usually tells the story through the eyes and mind of one character at a time. I found that Taylor would switch between characters without warning or transition, often multiple times and through multiple characters in a single chapter. I found all of this jarring and it really took me out of the story when it did.<br />
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<u>To Best the Boys, by Mary Weber</u><br />
This was a quick, standalone adventure with a good female lead with great allies. There are also sooooo many micro-aggressions that Rhen, as a young woman, experiences and it was truly infuriating to be confronted with all of the bullshit I've allowed to be said to my face without any pushback. But of course, this makes Rhen all the easier to root for, especially as she goes up against all the men who have ignored, underestimated, or shamed her. She is the heroine that basically no one in her city deserves, but we are lucky to read her story,<br />
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<u>Nocturna, by Maya Motayne</u><br />
I was ready to come back to a book with magic, and this was a good one! I loved Finn the best, and I would follow her to the ends of the earth to find out what she does with her life. Her and Alfie's relationship and how it evolves from rivals to reluctant allies to friends was really great and very satisfying to read. The villain was evil, and the dark army was so terrifying so it all made for an intense conflict. My only issue was that I never actually saw Alfie teetering on that line between light and dark. I mostly saw him as a purely good person who on one or two occasions did something dumb because his emotions for a loved one was driving him. None of it seemed truly inexcusable or evil. But other than that I liked this book a lot and will eagerly await the sequel.<br />
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<u>The Tiger at Midnight, by Swati Teerdhala</u><br />
If you like cat-and-mouse stories, look no further. Even though it's not really, this book first and foremost seemed like a romance to me because the meeting of Kunal and Esha is literally the very first thing that happens and both characters are struck enough by the other that impressions are made. This isn't a bad thing, but that was my thinking as I made my way through the book. I had a couple of issues, one being that certain revelations didn't seem earned. If little bits had been subtly placed throughout the story before the reveals came, I would have been fine, but the ones we got nearly came out of nowhere. The other was that Kunal's personal revelation that the people he works for are corrupt seemed totally inconsequential because it seemed like it should have been obvious even to him. Ill-received revelations aside, by the 60% mark I was into the story and I will definitely be reading the next book when it comes out.<br />
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<u>The City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty</u><br />
Okay, the world-building in this book happened slowly for me, and I found myself confused and overwhelmed at times. But things became much clearer as I progressed, and I felt fine by the end. (I was just a little stressed in the beginning that I felt like I wasn't understanding things right away.) But right away I really loved the characters Nahri and Ali, and I especially liked reading about their complexities and weaknesses and how they faced the decisions they were presented with throughout the book. They are awesome, well-developed characters and I am extremely eager to read about them in the next book, which I am on a wait list for. <br />
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<u>An Enchantment of Ravens, by Margaret Rogerson</u><br />
I wanted to read this book because the author had a book come out this month that I am interested in, and I wanted to get a feel for her work. And, I thought this book was just ok. The romance was pretty <i>meh</i> for me, it didn't grip me or anything. I also wasn't crazy about the fairy world or like, any of the characters who came from it. But, the story was short, and it's a standalone, so it's over and done with. I still intend to read her new book and am still excited about it, so I'm not necessarily giving up on this author yet.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-6425840781874794692019-06-19T06:34:00.002-07:002019-07-27T20:19:03.105-07:00yellowstone national park.Last week we had a little reunion-type trip with Jon's family in Yellowstone National Park. This was my first visit to Yellowstone, and truthfully I might not have ever seen it if it hadn't been the chosen destination for this trip by Jon's parents. It was probably the first national park I ever learned about in grade school, but maybe the last one I would have picked to visit -- I guess geysers and enormous throngs of visitors aren't really my jam.<br />
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But the trip turned out just fine, and I even found a part of the park that I well and truly loved. Yay for unexpected surprises and geological wonders that border on miraculous!<br />
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To start: here's our video!<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gE67o0zfLH4" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
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A quick side note about this video, or more accurately, the song that plays in this video. While we were driving through the park, we just happened to be listening to this song, which is actually and genuinely titled "Yellowstone," and as soon as I saw that I was like, <i>well I guess I know the song that will go in the video</i>! And honestly, I was happy to have it fall in my lap that way, the songs are always the hardest parts of these home videos for me.<br />
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Anyway, the park! We really only covered the west side of the park, to the bottom at Old Faithful, and then to the top at Mammoth Hot Springs. Day one was Old Faithful.<br />
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And maybe this is blasphemous to say, or maybe I should have gotten a closer viewing spot of the geyser, but my favorite part about Old Faithful was... the inn.<br />
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What a crazily and beautifully ornate building. It was a lot of fun to explore and admire in between geyser watchings.<br />
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On our second day in the park we drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs, which was the area I most wanted to visit, and GUYS. It did not disappoint. (Prepare for photo dump.)<br />
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Could you have ever conceived of such a place in your own mind? If aliens ever decide to wipe us out and settle Earth for their own, they will come to this place and feel right at home.<br />
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^^This was by far my favorite shot, and I am very excited to get it printed and hung up (somewhere) in our house. Every once in a while when I'm out taking photos in places, I take a shot that I cannot wait to go home and process, and this was one of those.<br />
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<i>*in Stefon voice*</i> It had everything!<br />
The color contrast!<br />
The storm clouds!<br />
That fore-, middle-, and background combo!<br />
Just the right amount of steam to dreamify the picture!<br />
That gnarly old tree!<br />
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My concluding thoughts: if I didn't ever visit Yellowstone again, I wouldn't be heartbroken. However! I will totally recommend the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces to anyone and everyone who tells me that they are planning on visiting Yellowstone. Bring your space suit.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-25169319657370403462019-05-28T10:21:00.003-07:002019-05-28T10:25:11.614-07:00our first scandinavian festival.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We finally got to see what Scandinavian Days is all about. Our participation was pretty low: just fireworks, a parade, walking around to the booths, and eating up all of the festival food for us. But we had a great time! Lots of events happen in the county during the summers, but it's especially nice when it's in your own town.</div>
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Theo was really hamming it up at the parade, and this was probably the first parade where he actually cared or made an effort to grab some of the candy. Meanwhile Vivi served up all the glares and bored looks you could possibly imagine.</div>
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At one point during the parade Jon was like, "This isn't... <i>super</i>... Scandinavian?" Haha. And it's true, basically all of the parade "floats" are not related to anything Scandinavian. Mostly for local businesses, pageant winners, and various school clubs and teams. It was fun to see lots of our neighbor teens in the parade, I dorkily called out to each one I saw and waved like a madwoman. </div>
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But then! We saw a couple of people dressed up as Vikings and this AMAZING dog-wolf-dog! We happened to see them after the parade and got to take a couple of pictures. When we asked about the breed we were told "he's mostly wolf," so we like to say we met a wolf. He was very nice! A good wolf.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsnK_AksFD-YwMIUWO2reBpfFdpt7LIl0MuSxYEhXXpYhTgTLaVf6UdozHy63redSoqNdIK95CL-AUSjEbwX8OM91C6YGOotPKkTz7UOZ6nXhFODjdKAb-Vu8RX_ty9LxpxGf2juboMs/s1600/Photo+May+25%252C+5+18+10+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsnK_AksFD-YwMIUWO2reBpfFdpt7LIl0MuSxYEhXXpYhTgTLaVf6UdozHy63redSoqNdIK95CL-AUSjEbwX8OM91C6YGOotPKkTz7UOZ6nXhFODjdKAb-Vu8RX_ty9LxpxGf2juboMs/s640/Photo+May+25%252C+5+18+10+PM.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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We ate so much good food, including the county-famous Turkey platter and the spiralized/ribboned/tornado potato. Honestly, it's just a dang potato that is cut prettily and deep-fried, but for some reason it's special!</div>
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Anyway, yay for the Scandinavian Festival! We are big fans and can't wait until next year!</div>
krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756057364531567571.post-72846919659608618072019-05-09T14:53:00.002-07:002020-02-03T19:12:45.220-08:00the binge continues.I said after <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-great-ya-fantasy-binge-of-2019.html">my last reading roundup in March</a> that I was done for a while, but evidently I wasn't. (So, I guess I'll be back with more reads in a couple of months??). Anyway, this brings my book count for the year to 33. 😳😳😳<br />
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<u>The Gilded Wolves, by Roshani Chokshi</u><br />
The book was like if The Da Vinci Code and Six of Crows had a baby; lots of symbology and riddles mixed with a high stakes heist. Obviously I loved the setting, (I mean who doesn't love Paris during la Belle Epoque?) and I think the author made really good use of Paris as the backdrop for this story. I also liked each member of the heist group, but my favorites were Zofia and Laila. I thought they were the most interesting developed characters of the group, and honestly, I kind of wish they were the starring members and we were reading their stories instead of Severin's. I also loved Hypnos from the very beginning, sorrynotsorry.<br />
I did find the symbology and mathematics to be a little confusing at times. There were several countries and mythologies mentioned at various times throughout the book, and I thought it was a little messy. (I would have preferred all of the references to be of a single origin.)<br />
And then there was the end, in which two characters were terribly mean to each other. And I get it's to establish conflict that will carry forward and eventually (hopefully) be resolved, but damn, that shit broke my heart. At this point I'll probably read on just to make sure those two make amends, and less because I want to see overall how the plot works out.<br />
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<u>Air Awakens series, by Elise Kova</u><br />
I found myself needing to read more after The Gilded Wolves, and this series came at the suggestion of my sister. And to be honest, it was just okay. Two months later, I can remember the main character and her love interest and most of the main conflict and resolutions, but little else. Oh, and two character deaths that beyond enraged me and did not help my weak feelings for the series. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily say that I regret reading these, but my life definitely didn't change because I read them.<br />
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<u>Shatter Me series, by Tahereh Mafi</u><br />
I really liked this series, and it's one where the time you put in yields great rewards. Books One and Two are extremely difficult to read at times (ok, A LOT of times). This is because the author has chosen the syntax to match the main character's state of mind, which is a straight up mess in the beginning of the series. This is evident by the obvious: the strikethrough sentences littered throughout the books, and also the exhausting use of metaphor on the part of Juliette to describe what she is experiencing. (The metaphors got to me way more than the strikethroughs, I disliked them very much.). Luckily, everything improves over time and by book three it's smooth-reading from there on out. If you start this series and feel like you want to quit in the beginning, try your best to make it to the end of Book Three. And if you're struggling to make it that far, just hang on to those characters that are so easy to love and root for. They are worth it!<br />
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<u>A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahereh Mafi</u><br />
This is the first non-fantasy book I've read in ages, but I couldn't resist another book by this author. It tells the story of a young Muslim teenager just after 9/11 and what her high school experience is like. It's an emotional and enraging and heartbreaking piece of fiction that I suspect is actually closer to autobiography than fiction. I started and finished this book in a single afternoon, I couldn't put it down.<br />
I'd also like to mention that the author, Tahereh Mafi, is hands-down, probably the most beautiful human being I have ever seen in my life. Scrolling through her IG feed is like engaging in art, her beauty and fashion sense belonging in every issue of Vogue. I mentioned to my mom once that I like the corners of Instagram that authors inhabit, because instead of the constant "Look at how pretty and perfect my life is!" you see everywhere else, every author is like "DEADLINES NO SLEEP WRITER'S BLOCK NO SHOWERING I'M GOING TO DIEEEE" and it's hilarious and sobering and a breath of fresh air. The exception, of course, is Ms. Mafi. Stunningly beautiful and not a hint of deadline or writing stress to be found. What a dream!<br />
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<u>Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik</u><br />
Okay, so I had very strong, very negative feelings toward a certain character in Novik's other book <a href="https://krstnhd.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-great-ya-fantasy-binge-of-2019.html">that I read</a> earlier this year, and I swore if there was a similar character in this book then I'd immediately stop reading.<br />
And there was a mean, unlikable male partner in this book. TWO, in fact! But I kept reading, because this book wasn't at all about these men as love interests to our heroines and any hot makeout sessions that immediately followed verbal abuse.<br />
Instead it was about three heroic young women and their efforts to save their loved ones even when thrust into hopeless, dangerous, and thoroughly unromantic circumstances. Did I end up wishing for something romantic to eventually happen to certain characters? Yeah, sort of. And maybe there was hope for that at the very end, but this book is entirely unromantic and it's not really a bad thing. It was refreshing and satisfying. Thank you for not another Dragon character, Ms. Novik.<br />
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<u>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, by Clamp</u><br />
My first ever Manga series! And good hell, was it a doozy. So many twists and turns, it was hard to keep up with sometimes. But I liked it! Lots of cool, well developed characters who wouldn't seem to mesh well together but form a good group worth cheering for (or not? again, those twists were 😳). And it was also cool to see the characters that I liked so much from Cardcaptor Sakura throughout this manga series.<br />
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<u>Frostblood series, by Elly Blake</u><br />
This series was wholly inoffensive to me, and therefore good. (I think I might be at that point where I categorize books like this now: LOVED, inoffensive, HATED). Ruby is a solid main character to get behind, the world is pretty airtight, and a conflict between Have(magic)s is much more appealing to me than the one between Have(magic)s and Have not(magic)s.<br />
My one request would have been that the building relationship between Ruby and her primary love interest be dragged out a little more. Book One had some good relationship angst, and I found myself missing it throughout the rest of the series. I preferred the budding relationship dynamics of Frostblood to the jealousy and anger and petty-meanness (and love, of course) that was in books Two and Three.krstnhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119015819573986515noreply@blogger.com0