Fall is giving into Winter and I am finally back at school after a 5 week strike. Although I didn't blog in that time, I did find myself lost in books instead of being lost in the gloom of possibly losing my semester.
Here's what I read this month:
by Seanan McGuire
346 Pages
Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.
Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....
To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.
October Daye is about to find out what they are.
This might actually be my favorite book of this series so far, which is saying something when I've loved all the other books. Something that starts with wanting to rid the streets of a bad faerie drug takes a drastic turn which I totally wasn't expecting. This book was Epic. I can't wait to see what happens next!
by Seanan McGuire
9 Pages
In 1959, Faerie came for a little changeling girl named October Daye and presented her with the Choice that her mother had been struggling to prevent her from ever needing to make. But how did Faerie find her? Where did the channel of October's destiny diverge? To know the answer, you must look to the water, and to the woman who many refer to as "the sea witch."
It can be hard to deal with betrayal. Betrayal by family is so very much worse.
This was a sweet short story that tells why October is the way she is and how she ends up as she is. It was nice to have the Luidaeg's point of view for once and see how much she's always cared about October. I hope to find more of these short stories.
by Robin Hobb
809 Pages (35:24 Hours)
Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships—rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown's oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia.
For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her—a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim. For Althea's young nephew Wintrow, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard ship, Vivacia is a life sentence.
But the fate of the Vestrit family—and the ship—may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider. The ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power over all the denizens of the Pirate Isles...and the first step of his plan requires him to capture his own liveship and bend it to his will....
This was one of the first books that I borrowed from the library website and boy did I have trouble with it. It kept getting returned and renewing it was difficult, but I managed to get through it. When Adam recommended it to me, he warned me that things go wrong for everyone and keep going wrong. He was right. Things constantly turn out for the worst and it was hard on my already heavy heart. That being said, it was still a good book and I'm planning on reading the rest of the series.
by Jay Kristoff
429 Pages
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.
Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.
Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?
I really enjoyed Jay Kristoff's last series, so I was really excited when this was finally released in paperback. It's funny at how the beginning they try and convince you that she's a terrible person, but as the story progresses she's actually much more caring than anyone else. That being said, she is still a murderer training to be an assassin, so I guess there is that. I'm not as enamored with the specialty school trope anymore, but I still enjoyed this book and will read the next few when they come out.
by Glen Cook
319 Pages (10:35 Hours)
Mercenary soldiers in the service of the Lady, the Black Company stands against the rebels of the White Rose. They are tough men, proud of honoring their contracts. The Lady is evil, but so, too, are those who falsely profess to follow the White Rose, reincarnation of a centuries-dead heroine. Yet now some of the Company have discovered that the mute girl they rescued and sheltered is truly the White Rose reborn. Now there may be a path to the light, even for such as they. If they can survive it.
This was my RBA book for the month. I wasn't thrilled with the first book of this series, but I rather enjoyed the second one. The story itself was much better and I really liked the side stories and how they tied in.
by Seanan McGuire
32 Pages
From New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire, a haunting urban fantasy short story in the Carniepunk anthology—for fans of all things circus, supernatural, and mysterious…
It’s been seventeen years since the last time Ada’s carnival passed through her father’s hometown in Alabama—and no one is expecting the reception she gets.
This was a sad story about the daughter of a mermaid in a carnival. As her mother becomes more and more mermaid like, she begins to forget everything around her, including her own daughter. As they travel through her mother's home town, Ada is recognized by the family that her mother left behind.
by Kiera Cass
72 Pages
Before America Singer's story began, another girl came to the palace to compete for the hand of a different prince….
Don't miss this digital original novella set in the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series. This prequel story takes place before the events of The Selection and is told from the point of view of Prince Maxon's mother, Amberly. Discover a whole new Selection with this inside look at how Maxon's parents met—and how an ordinary girl named Amberly became a beloved queen.
One of the great things about borrowing from the library is that I now have access to all sorts of short stories that intertwine with book series that I've already read. These stories give a little extra look at the side characters who don't always get a lot of screen time. This was a sweet little story about the Queen Amberly, when she was just another girl in a different Selection.
by Isaac Marion
256 Pages
R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.
And then he meets a girl.
First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn't want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.
I've always wanted to watch this movie. It looks cute. So when I found the book at a Little Library, I decided that I would read it first, before I watched the movie (it's on Netflix now).
I'm glad I did, because the book was amazing. I really wasn't expecting it to be this great. R's zombie prose are quite beautiful and I found myself marking off passages that I really liked.
"I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses."
by Sarah J. Maas
664 Pages (22:39 Hours)
In the next installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, follow Chaol on his sweeping journey to a distant empire.
Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.
I've pretty much stopped reading the back of books that are in the series that I'm reading. So imagine my surprise that this whole book had very little to do with Aelin Galathynius and her crew at all! This entire book follows Chaol and Nesryn and their trip to Antica to help save their kingdom and his legs. It was a really good book and I actually enjoyed the break from Aelin. Although I do feel that this story could've been interspersed through the other books for greater effect.
by Jill Archer
362 Pages
Noon Onyx is back! In this long-awaited fourth installment, Jill Archer returns readers to the dangerous world of Halja, where demons, angels, and humans coexist in an uneasy state of détente.
Maegester-in-Training Noon Onyx feels like she’s done it all – mastered fiery magic, become an adept fighter, learned the law, killed countless demons, and survived having her heart broken by both love and an arrow, but now she’ll face her greatest challenge yet…
Far to the north lies an outpost famous for its unrest – Rockthorn Gorge. The town’s patron has specifically requested Noon’s help. Her assignment? Help the neophyte demon lord build his fiefdom and keep what’s his. The problem? Lord Aristos – Noon’s new employer – is her erstwhile lover, Ari Carmine, the aforementioned heart breaker. And the number one thing he wants is her.
When Rockthorn Gorge’s viaduct is destroyed by Displodo, an enigmatic bomber, killing a dozen settlers and wounding scores more, Noon sets off early to aid in the search and rescue. Ari is listed among the missing and the suspects are legion. But Noon’s search is just the beginning. Her journey forces Noon to confront not only those she loves, but also enemies hell-bent on destroying them.
I really loved this series when it came out, so when I found out that there was another book in ebook form, I grabbed out my e-reader, accidentally broke it, so grabbed out my other e-reader and managed to finally read it. Let's just say that I've changed a lot since reading the other books and I'm able to pick out the problems with this series much easier now. I'm really tired of abusive relationships being passed off as 'he just loves too much'. Frankly, she was much better off with her friends.
by Brandon Sanderson
272 Pages (6:23 Hours)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive.
Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.
I was really excited when Oathbringer came out, but as I began listening to it, they recommended that I read this short story first so I can understand some character's motives better. Since it was only 6 hours long, it was an easy enough request. This was a great little story about a young girl who has recently become "Awesome" (gotten Knight's Radiant powers) and her quest to take down The Darkness and eat as many pancakes as possible. Lofty goals indeed.
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