f0zKg0J4zFLYz-Yq0aednQVqREE Once Upon a Prologue: April 2011
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays - #3

{ ++ } Hosted over at Should Be Reading, this weekly meme is fun and simple: open your current read.  Pick out a juicy couple of sentences, and...tease away!










Generally I don't have the control problems that the werewolves do - coyotes are adaptable, amiable beasts. But at that moment, if I'd been in coyote form, I'd have been running away as fast as I could.
- Moon Called

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.  @ amazon.com

Sunday, April 24, 2011

In My Mailbox: 04/24/11 (Happy Easter!)





{ ++ } Kristi over at The Story Siren hosts this fun meme. It's a chance for book bloggers to speak out about the books we've ordered, checked out, or snagged off a library shelf. No matter how you come across those shiny new books, we all know we love to show them off and get pepped up to read them!

{ ++ } This week my box of books from Amazon.com arrived!  YAYS!






L-R: Kelley Armstrong's The Gathering, Laura Whitcomb's A Certain Slant of Light, Kelley Armstrong's The Reckoning, Allison Winn Scotch's Time of my Life, Jessica Andersen's Blood Spells, and Amanda Eyre Ward's Sleep Toward Heaven.





Strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya’s determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya’s home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts experiencing “bad vibes” about certain people and things. It does’t help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret…and he’s interested in one special part of Maya’s anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.  @amazon.com




In sensuous prose, Helen, who has been dead for 130 years, describes what it's like to live as Light, clinging to a human host, then reentering an empty human body and becoming physically and emotionally attuned to the world. Helen is startled when she realizes that a student in her host's English class can see her. Their joy at finding one another turns quickly to love, and James helps Helen locate an empty body that she can inhabit. Fellow student Jennifer seems the perfect choice, but the unhappiness in her fundamentalist family, as well as the chaos of Billy's household, mix uneasily with the pleasures the spirits are rekindling. @ amazon.com




Fifteen-year-old Chloe Saunders and her friends Tori, Simon, and Derek are genetically altered supernaturals on the run from the evil corporation that created them. Hiding out with a family friend, they are trying to make sense of their predicament and discover what sinister plans the Edison Group has in store for them. As a powerful necromancer who can raise the dead in her sleep, Chloe struggles to control her abilities and figure out how to best use them to keep everyone safe. To further complicate matters (as if running for your life were not enough), Chloe wrestles with her feelings for Simon, a good-natured sorcerer, and Derek, a misunderstood werewolf. @ amazon.com






Jillian has what seems to be a perfect life—a beautiful house in the suburbs, a loving husband, and an adorable baby girl. But she also has a nagging feeling that something isn't quite right.  One morning, Jillian wakes up seven years in the past, in bed with Jackson, and she has the chance to live her life again—a do over, complete with the knowledge of what her future will become. Will she still quit her job right on the cusp of making it big? Will she run for the hills when she meets Henry or be drawn to him again? Or will Jackson's easygoing, wild lifestyle pull her back from her future baby, the adorable Katie?  @ amazon.com






Mayan lore and modern science warn that 12/21/2012 will bring a global cataclysm. Dark forces stand poised to crush mankind. The only hope rests with a secret group of modern magic-wielders called the Nightkeepers. But as Patience White-Eagle and her husband, Brandt, team up as a mated warrior pair, they will face a deadly threat that will test their powers-and their love... @ amazon.com





Karen Lowen is on death row for the murder of numerous men, all of whom (with the exception of one) she claims to have killed in self-defense. The innocent man who crossed Karen's path on that tragic night has left behind a grieving widow named Celia, who cannot find purpose in a life that is empty of her beloved Henry. Then there is Dr. Franny Wren, a consummate professional dedicated to preserving life--now stoically treating women destined to die behind bars. While Celia and Franny grapple with the weight of their hidden desires and lifelong regrets, Karen faces the cold reality of death row and the inevitable sentence that looms before her.   @ amazon.com


 
{ ++ } I am looking VERY much forward to reading all of these books.  My attention wandered from Kelley Armstrong's "Darkest Powers" series before I could get to "The Reckoning," so I will likely re-read the first two books - YAY - then finish the trilogy so I can move on the "The Gathering" - it's not a direct sequel series, but it is set in the same 'verse so to speak.

{ ++ } For now though, I'm off to get ready for Easter dinner with the family.  Happy holiday, ya'll!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Molli Reviews...Masques





After an upbringing of proper behavior and oppressive expectations, Aralorn fled her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. Her latest mission involves spying on the increasingly powerful sorcerer Geoffrey ae'Magi. But in a war against an enemy armed with the powers of illusion, how do you know who the true enemy is-or where he will strike next?
@ amazon.com / @ goodreads
Pages: 320
Published: (This re-issue) 09/28/2010; Ace
The Author: Patricia Briggs

The long story short: This book had its fair share of growing pains; I went into reading it knowing it was Brigg's first book - but that didn't mean I didn't eagerly approach the story.  At times the pacing was off, and I would have liked more description in some areas, but overall the story was one that I enjoyed, definitely enough to read the sequel.  3 of 5 stars.


_______________________


I like female lead characters with some spunk to them, and Aralorn, spy of Sianim carries off this personal well.  She wields green magic as a shape shifter, largely untrained, but between that, her skills as a spy, and her general no-nonsense attitude, I found her immensely likable almost right away.  With her on-again, off-again companion, Wolf, the book follows Aralorn as she stumbles into the heart of the evil that surrounds the ae'Magi (who is bound to all the mages in the land), Geoffrey.  Everyone loves the man - and no one sees the corrupted soul he is, except Aralorn.  To speak ill of him is to risk not only disfavor, but having ones friends and allies turn on you.  The charisma spell the ae'Magi has cast out around himself is a tangled net, designed to catch and hold everyone.

The odds seem totally against Aralorn, and the rag-tag group of refugees she falls in with.  The Reithan king, Myr, impervious to magic is also not under the ae'Magi's spell, and neither are those who reluctantly follow him.  Aralorn and Wolf - who is so much more than he seems - sometimes a wolf, sometimes a man - search frantically for a way to defeat the ae'Magi.  And all the while, old magics stir, rumors of the ae'Magi's son, Cain - a mage who it is said was darker even than his father - spread into the refugee's mountain camp, and Aralorn and Wolf's struggles incease.

I liked Aralorn and Wolf's relationship best out of all the aspects and arcs of the book.  Wolf himself is an entirely different character, easily the most fascinating character (for me) in the book.  Seeing little glimpses of his layers thrilled me, as did trying to figure him out.  I also enjoyed that Aralorn is such a story-teller.  I wasn't a fan of the pacing in the book - I'd have liked to have seen more of Aralorn's life as a spy, and I'd like to have seen more of the refugees coming together so to speak.  The end was wrapped up a little too neatly for my choice, but overall I would give the book a recommendation, but I would tell anyone who was going into reading it that this was the author's first book and as such, there are some awkward moments.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Follow Me Friday + Book Blogger Hop: 04/22/11


{ ++ } Follow Me Friday, aka "Follow My Book Blog" is probably the coolest meme I've come across in awhile.  It's hosted over at Parajunkee's View and us amazing book-a-holics get the chance to answer a reading-related question, as well as make new friends over the weekend.  It's a great way to kick off said weekend, and a really fun and easy way of stealing our way into the hearts of fellow book blogger's.

{ ++ } This week's featured blog is The Cait Files, authored by Caitlin!  Before I get to my answer to this week's question, ya'll be sure to check out her blog, as it's quite an honor to be the featured blog!


This week's question: What is on your current play list right now?

{ ++ }  Umm, what a question!  Depends on what, and in some cases, whose play list I am listening to.  As an avid writer, I have play lists for all my characters, so if I'm writing for Ashe, for example, his play list is up, etc.  Listening to "their" music helps me focus on staying in character (I have a loud family and it seems like they are always trying to pull me out of the moment.)  As far as music I'm into at the moment, that would be Florence & the Machine, and Adele, both on repeat, namely "Hurricane Drunk" and "Rolling in the Deep."


 { ++ } Hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books, what better way to allow us book bloggers to mix and mingle than a bit of a reading-related social?  Every week she hosts this event, where we can throw our names in the hat so to speak, and hopefully end up with a few new friends who share our interests and our love (and in my case, obsession) of books.

This week's question is from Christina at The Paperback Princess: If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?

{ ++ } Oh lordy, yes I do.  (We won't mention the Jodi Picoult incident of 2008 where I proceeded to feverishly buy up all of her books I could get my hands on... or the Jessica Andersen incident of 2011... haha).  But no seriously, when I fall really and truly for an author to the point that he/she leaves a huge impression on me, their books move me...yes.  Yes by all means, I seek out any and everything of theirs I can find, and eagerly await new releases.  It's a huge pleasure for me, finding a "new favorite" author!

{ ++ } That's a wrap for this time, but ya'll remember how much I love new friends, right?  I may not be able to be around much this weekend, due to plans tomorrow and Easter with the family on Sunday, so much love to everyone, and happy weekend and a happy holiday to those who celebrate!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Forever



{ ++ }  This weekly event/feature is graciously hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.  She's way too awesome, and put this event together in order to bring us bloggers together.  Some of us like me are relatively new; others have been here longer, but the gist of it is,  we all need an opportunity to reveal our can't-wait-to-read-'em, omg-gotta-have-'em-books, (and maybe make a few new friends along the way.)  Here's my pick this week!





In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.  (synopsis from goodreads)

@ goodreads / @ amazon.com

This is the third novel in author Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series.  The first book was sent to me by my good friend Suz over @  A Soul Unsung, and I'm waiting to read the trilogy until the final book is released.  I've just got that feeling, that this one is gonna be one of those series where I finish the first book, and immediately need the second, etc.  But basically...wolves?  Romance?  Yeahhhh, I'm there.  : )





{ ++ } What are ya'll's picks for this week's WOW?  (Also p.s. - life has been a little crazy this week but I will have at least one, possibly two reviews up this weekend!)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Follow Me Friday + Book Blogger Hop: 04/15/11

{ ++ } It's that time of the week again, ya'll - TGIF!  Let's celebrate.  : )








{ ++ } Follow Me Friday, aka "Follow My Book Blog" is probably the coolest meme I've come across in awhile.  It's hosted over at Parajunkee's View and us amazing book-a-holics get the chance to answer a reading-related question, as well as make new friends over the weekend.  It's a great way to kick off said weekend, and a really fun and easy way of stealing our way into the hearts of fellow book blogger's.

{ ++ } This week's featured blog is Romance Around the Corner, hosted by both Marie and Brie!  Before I get to my answer to this week's question, ya'll be sure to check them out!

This week's question: do you have anyone you can discuss books with IRL?  Tell us about him/her.

{ ++ } I am so very lucky to have several friends "IRL" that I get to geek out over books with.  My BFF Juls is probably the main one - we tend to end up rec'ing a lot of books to one another, and loving them as well.  I have several friends at work too, who share my love of books, and don't mind me bending their ear/s.  Juls is kinda special to me though as we met through an online roleplaying group and became best friends over seven years ago.  We don't get to see each other very often but it's always special times when we do.  And I have to say, if I couldn't discuss, vent, laugh and cry about books with someone, I'm not sure I'd make it.  ;)



 { ++ } Hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books, what better way to allow us book bloggers to mix and mingle than a bit of a reading-related social?  Every week she hosts this event, where we can throw our names in the hat so to speak, and hopefully end up with a few new friends who share our interests and our love (and in my case, obsession) of books.

This week's question: pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her.

{ ++ } Let's talk about Kvothe from The Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss.  I often describe Kvothe as a smart-ass Harry Potter but that so does not do him justice.  Kvothe is a legend in his own right, but the books are only slowly clueing us in to how he became those legends.  He's a poet, he's a gentleman, he's a smart-ass, he's an arcanist.  He's made me laugh and cry.  He's tough and he'll do what has to be done.  He makes mistakes.  He's wounded, and he's fierce.  He's on a quest to find his parent's killers and hopefully learn about magic, life, the universe, and everything along the way.  He's stolen a place in my heart and has made my short list of favorite male literary characters....ever.  : ) 

{ ++ } That's a wrap for this time, but ya'll remember how much I love new friends, right? 


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

In My Mailbox: 04/12/11


{ ++ } Kristi over at The Story Siren hosts this fun meme. It's a chance for book bloggers to speak out about the books we've ordered, checked out, or snagged off a library shelf. No matter how you come across those shiny new books, we all know we love to show them off and get pepped up to read them!

{ ++ } I'm a little late this week, but hopefully I can still join in the fun! I bought two new books this week, the third and fourth volumnes in a series I am greatly enjoying: Jessica Andersen's Nightkeeper's series.

When prominent Mayanist Ambrose Ledbetter goes missing, his daughter Sasha tracks his remains down to an ancient temple. Before she can recover from the shock, she is kidnapped. Slick and charming recruit Michael Stone rescues Sasha from her imprisonment and feels an instant attraction. But he doesn't dare get involved, with the threat of his dark side growing stronger and the powers of sorcery on the rise. Both Michael and Sasha will discover a new passion together and one they have to admit to in order to change their worlds...


According to Mayan doomsday prophecy, 12/21/12 marks the end of the world in a global cataclysm that can only be prevented by the Nightkeepers, magical warriors enlisted to fight the rise of the underworld demons. To fulfill the final prophecy the Nightkeepers must find their mates, but when Lucius and Jade are charged with rescuing the Mayan sun god, they try to ignore their growing attraction. Unless they can confront their own demons and accept that love isn't a weakness, even destiny might not be able to save them...

{ ++ } Needless to say, I am quite fascinated by this series, and anxious to start turning the pages of these books when I can!

Teaser Tuesdays: Masques



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

+ Grab your current read
+ Open to a random page
+ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
+ BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
+ Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
"Having experienced the ae'Magi's touch firsthand, if only for a brief time compared to whatever he'd gone through, she finally understood some of what caused Wolf to be the way he was.  It increased her patience with him - but it didn't mean she was going to let him pull away again without a fight."
 
Masques, by Patricia Briggs - page 212

Molli Reviews... Dawnkeepers



The countdown to the end of days has begun—and Only the Nightkeepers can stop the annihilation of all mankind...

Though a Nightkeeper, Nate Blackhawk refuses to allow others to control his fate. The gods have even tried to influence his love life, sending him visions of Alexis Gray, a sleek blonde who is everything he’s ever wanted in a woman.

The two warriors can’t deny their attraction. But a frightening vision leads Nate to distance himself in spite of the intense passion he feels. Thrown together once more, they must reassemble seven Mayan artifacts that hold the key to preventing the end of the world… 


@ amazon.com (summary from the book's page)
Pages: 455
Published: 01/06/2009; Signet
The Author: Jessica Andersen


The long story short: I looked forward to this book the whole time I was reading the first book, Nightkeepers, because I knew this book was centered on Nate Blackhawk - the rebel, the guy who takes nothing at face value, the one caught up in all this mythical, bigger-than-himself stuff, yet who balks it at every step, and Alexis, eager to believe in the almost-lost traditions, to advance herself in the Nightkeeper ranks, attracted to Nate but weary of being kept at arm's length.  And the book did not disappoint.  I'll go into the issues I had with it in the actual review, because there were some, but overall, this was a solid, enjoyable book!

Final Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
 _______________________________


The Nightkeepers are the modern-day descendants of the Maya, and although there should be hundreds of them ready, trained, and waiting to stop the foretold doomsday in 2012 (the group in this series believes a magical barrier will thin, and their task is to stop demons from pouring through), due to a past king mistakenly leading his group in an attack he believed would shut down the barrier forever and thus, the 2012 end date would not matter, there are only a little over a dozen.

Nate Blackhawk is the most suspicious of the Nightkeepers.  Each of the Nightkeeper children who escaped was meant to have a winikin, or guardian who would act as a surrogate parent; Nate's winikin died leaving him alone, and shunted into the foster care system.  Nate grew up tough and alone, and though he is willing to accept some of the Nightkeeper's beliefs and missions, he is utterly closed off to love, much less to the idea that the fates could be telling him he is meant for fellow Nightkeeper Alexis Gray.  For the first half of the book, this emotionally stunted man does everything he can to push away Alexis, playing the part of a jerk so to speak, which only serves to hurt her again and again.

Alexis wants the power that her mother had, as an adviser to the king.  She wants to believe that she can be more, a warrior, a lover, a magic user.  She keenly feels the pressure she places upon herself to step up, and that more than anything, holds her back.  Alexis keeps giving Nate chance after chance, and can't understand why she can't let him go. 

The journeys these two make, both alone and together, are especially poignant.  Both of them have a lot of growing up to do, when the novel starts out, and by the end, it's truly rewarding to see the people they have become.  Both have their respective stumbling blocks, and it's real and meaningful to see them make progress in fits and starts, because this way the end results mean so much more than they might have.  I think I would have liked to have seen a little more on Nate's own internal changes, because I feel like he came the longest way so to speak.   I wanted to learn even more about his family, and more about Alexis's family, because in this series, history is so important.

While I loved their romance, I also love that it is not the entire theme of the novel.  Finding one's partner is important in these books; however, the main mission is saving the world.  We see the various Nightkeepers working together in this book, struggling to maintain a sense of teamwork as they do so.  This group may be bound by magic, but they have not automatically become best friends.  If anything, their internal conflicts make the story all the more interesting.  We follow Rabbit, the Nightkeeper with wild magic, and we learn the source of his different powers, as we see him struggle to find his place.  We learn a little more about the elusive Michael (whose story is told in the third book, that I plan to read soon.)  We see the main characters from the first book, Strike (the reluctant King) and Leah, his mate.  Lucius Hunt, Nightkeeper Anna's graduate student, comes back into play.  We see Brandt and Patience, the only Nightkeepers who are traditionally married, and their attempts to juggle their marriage with the needs of the Nightkeepers.  Everyone is involved in the quest.

Jessica Andersen has created a broad, believable world.  These people strive to win the day, they fight for the good, and with each book, I find myself cheering for them a little more.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Book Blogger Hop: 04/11/11

the extra special non-weekend edition!

{ ++ } Hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books, what better way to allow us book bloggers to mix and mingle than a bit of a reading-related social?  Every week she hosts this event, where we can throw our names in the hat so to speak, and hopefully end up with a few new friends who share our interests and our love (and in my case, obsession) of books. 

This week's question, from Aislynn: "Outside of books, what is your guilty pleasure?"

{ ++ } Okay so here's the deal.   I have several guilty pleasures, including: Ben & Jerry's ice cream, sleeping late, tv shows including Chuck, Drop Dead Diva, and True Blood, romance movies with happy endings, and buying girly, frilly things.  :D

{ ++ } I'll sign off with an enthusiastic "hi there!" to anyone who wanders over this way.  I love new friends, especially those who I find via books!

 

Friday, April 8, 2011

Follow Me Friday: 04/08/11




{ ++ } Follow Me Friday, aka "Follow My Book Blog" is probably the coolest meme I've come across in awhile.  It's hosted over at Parajunkee's View and us amazing book-a-holics get the chance to answer a reading-related question, as well as make new friends over the weekend.  It's a great way to kick off said weekend, and a really fun and easy way of stealing our way into the hearts of fellow book blogger's.

{ ++ } This week's featured blog is Lesley over at "My Keeper Shelf."  Before I get to my answer to this week's question, ya'll be sure to check out her space.  :)


This week's question: do you judge a book by its cover?

Yes and no.  I have done this before in wondering: do I want to read it, or should I leave it alone?  Some of the best romance books I've read have had those covers - you know, the kind you stuff in between your other purchases so the cashier doesn't look too long at the cover?   I've passed by books because of their covers, (and sometimes come back for them) and I've chosen books based on the blurbs from other authors on the cover/s.  I can say that I've been swayed toward a book because of the design on the cover, but ultimately, the cover isn't what I usually make my decision on; normally, I read the description, and at least a page or two of the book itself before I decide.  But I have fallen prey to the old "judging a book by its cover" a time or two. 

{ ++ } That's it for this week.  If you find your way here, then I say hello, and welcome, and I truly hope you enjoy your stay!
 

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Booking Through Thursday (1)

{ ++ } New feature this week, ya'll!  

{ ++ } Booking Through Thursday kinda shines the light on some book-ish type questions others might not ask, revealing our preferences, and deep, dark book-nerd secrets, all the while bringing us together as bloggers.  I saw it and figured: why not?  What better way to add a little spice and companionship to a week nearing its end but not quite there yet!?




This week's question asks us to 'fess up to...

So … the books that you own (however many there may be) … do you display them proudly right there in plain sight for all the world to see? (At least the world that comes into your living room.)  Or do you keep them tucked away in your office or bedroom or library or closet or someplace less “public?”

{ ++ }  I live at home (if I had my own place I would likely have one entire room devoted to books/dvds/etc) but I do have a bookshelf that stretches about three feet across one wall, that is double or triple stacked on just about every shelf, not to mention a huge box of books hidden in storage in the garage.  *cringes*  I'd showcase them all if I could!  My mother keeps telling me to get a Kindle or a Nook so "you'll get rid of some of your books," but c'mon, like I ever really could?! 

{ ++ } That's a wrap, guys.  Check back here this weekend for a new review from me.  I'm finally reading at a decent pace again, so expect more reviews in the coming future!  


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Close Your Eyes


{ ++ }  This weekly event/feature is graciously hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.  She's way too awesome, and put this event together in order to bring us bloggers together.  Some of us like me are relatively new; others have been here longer, but the gist of it is, we all need new friends!  Here's my pick this week.



 What would you risk to bring the truth to light?

On the night their mother was killed, Alex and Lauren were asleep in their backyard tree house. Their beloved father was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. Twelve years later, Lauren is a real estate agent who can't believe in love, and Alex is still trying to understand what happened to shatter his idyllic childhood. Only one stranger, a pregnant woman on the run from her boyfriend in Colorado, holds the clues that can free Lauren and Alex. (synopsis from the author's site.)

@ amazon.com / @ goodreads.com
Publication date: 07/26/11

{ ++ } I first discovered Amanda Eyre Ward when I read How To Be Lost several years back, and since then, I've had a soft spot for her.  Her writing style was rather unique, and I easily found myself drawn into the stories she tells, and identifying with her characters.  I absolutely can't wait for this book, and I hope it brings her all the sucess she deserves!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays: Dawnkeepers

{ ++ } I'm adding something new this week, all in the name of talking up whatever awesome book I am currently reading: Teaser Tuesdays!




Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Photobucket

His own personal amulet-to-be-named-at-a-later-date, the medallion was a flat metal disk etched on each side with a design that looked like the hawk bloodline glyph if he tipped it one way, a man if he tipped it another.  It had been the only identifying thing he'd been wearing when he'd been dumped at Cicago's Lying-In hospital, aside from the words My name is Nathan Blawkhawk, which had been carefully printed on his forehead in pen.
                                                 - Dawnkeepers, by Jessica Andersen

Monday, April 4, 2011

What's her story?

{ ++ } Evening, loves.  I wanted to give a little more info than my profile might reveal, and invite anyone who feels like sharing to do the same.  Basically, I want to get to know some of my new friends on here, but more importantly, let ya'll get to know me.

I was born three months premature, and I have lived my entire life in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee, USA.  Sometimes I rebel against being Southern; others, I revel in it.  I've often thought of running off to live in a bigger city, but then I wonder if I'd ever fit in there any better than I do here.  I have my oddities that often cause me to stick out like a sore thumb (I use too much British slang for my own good, seriously) and I get my share of interesting looks, but it's all part of the person I am - a person I like a great deal.

I often say, and believe, that I am a work in progress.  I didn't always get along so well with myself; in recent years though, I've really come to accept what makes me different, and work on smoothing out a few of my rough edges.  I've changed a lot and mostly consider myself a happy and positive-thinking person, who loves to laugh.  I try to think of each  new day as a gift, and a fresh start.

At heart I am a total geek.  From Battlestar Galactica to Terry Brooks, to Batman, I have all sorts of interest.  I follow several TV shows (The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, Doctor Who, and Bones) as often as I can, and I've had flings with a few others over the years (House, Buffy, Torchwood, Heroes.)  I love to read - hopefully that's obvious!  I read pretty much anything, and a book has to be truly bad for me to put it down unfinished.  I get a little carried away when I read, and it's sometimes all too easy for me to imagine myself in the world the author has created.

I blame that on the fact that I am a writer, through and through.  I have way too many characters.  I wake up some nights with thoughts for a new one.  My best friend and I have created two 'verses together, and we're constantly getting new ideas, and building new twists on old ones.  I get cranky when I go a long time without writing...so I try to write often!

Other than that, I work full time.  I spend as much time as I can with my friends and family.  I've got my eyes open for love when it comes along, and I think I'm going to be ready for my happily-ever-after (which I do believe I will get.)  I'm very hopeful and friendly, and when people least expect it, strongly opinionated. 

{ ++ } That's it, without me getting too embarrassingly rambly.  : )

Contact Me!

{ ++ }In the interest of knowing where to find me, should you wish (and I hope ya'll do!) here are the best methods. 

. onceuponaprologue@gmail.com  (This account forwards to my primary account, so replies will likely come from whimsicalgrace@faded-oblivion.net, but it is definitely me.)
. Twitter

. Goodreads
. Livejournal

{ ++ } I look forward to hearing from ya'll.  : )

Sunday, April 3, 2011

In My Mailbox: 04/03/11


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{ ++ } Kristi of The Story Siren created this awesome feature, designed to give us bloggers a chance to speak out about the newest books we've bought or checked out.  It's a place to share the thrill of buying a new book, holding it in your hands, and wondering what kind of adventure it will become!  

{ ++ } This week I bought City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, the first book in the Mortal Instruments series.  

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....  
(synopsis from goodreads)

@ amazon.com (info/review) / @ goodreads.com

{ ++ } I've been hearing about this series for a few years now, seems, and I've heard good and bad and great reviews.  But I'm such a fantasy girl at heart, and I always enjoy trying out new authors, and finding books that surprise me.  I have a few other books I want to get to before this one, but I'm looking forward to reading it and forming my own opinions!  

{ ++} What books did ya'll get this week?  : )


Molli Reviews...: The Wise Man's Fear

{ ++ } Yay, I finally made time to sit down and do some serious reading on the book I've been aching to finish, and for a wonder, I managed to read through to the end!  It took three cups of coffee and my eyes are a little sandy at this point, but it was well worth it.  I want to talk a bit about this book and why I stayed up late (after working 6 long days in a row) to finish it.  So here it is, guys: my first review here!


Title / Series: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.  2 of 3 in the Kingkiller Chronicles
Publication Date: March 01, 2011
Length: (Hardcover) 1008 pages
Dates Read: March 02 2011 - April 02 2011

(The following synopsis contains some slight spoilers for the first book in the series; however, considering the scope of these two books, I do not consider them major.  However, others might, so feel free to skip down to my thoughts below.)

 As seamless and lyrical as a song from the lute-playing adventurer and arcanist Kvothe, this mesmerizing sequel to Rothfuss's 2007's debut, The Name of the Wind, is a towering work of fantasy. As Kvothe, now the unassuming keeper of the Waystone Inn, continues to share his astounding life story—a history that includes saving an influential lord from treachery, defeating a band of dangerous bandits, and surviving an encounter with a legendary Fae seductress—he also offers glimpses into his life's true pursuit: figuring out how to vanquish the mythical Chandrian, a group of seven godlike destroyers that brutally murdered his family and left him an orphan. But while Kvothe recalls the events of his past, his future is conspiring just outside the inn's doors. This breathtakingly epic story is heartrending in its intimacy and masterful in its narrative essence, and will leave fans waiting on tenterhooks for the final installment.  (Synopsis/review from amazon.com's page for the book)



I've thought a lot about this book over the month I spent reading it.  I should first say that I can normally read a book about half this length in a week (around working, family time, etc.)  So for me to spend a month on one book is very rare.  To be thinking quite often that I wanted to get back to it, and to be wondering what the next chapter held was a little bit like torture.  When I get into a book, I don't like stopping, especially not for a long period of time.  I start to care about the characters, and I want to know what adventures they are having...and I want to know now!  But I will say, I am glad I savored this one because it is very likely to be a few years before Rothfuss is able to publish the third and final installment.

I liked a great deal about The Wise Man's Fear.  I loved that for all this is at time a very dark and foreboding book - the bookended prologue and epilogue of both books sets the stage, as well as do events over the course of the books - that does not promise a happy or even a safe ending for our hero, I spent more time laughing out loud with this book than I have with any other one in the past.  Maybe it's because I've spent the last year reading the author's blog, but I felt like I could see his thinking in the turn of some of the words, and jokes, and humorous moments.  And the one-liners and hilarious situations, when they came, were a wonderful respite from the overall seriousness of the book.

Kvothe makes some mistakes here, on his various quests, always moving toward his purpose: locating the Chandrian and bringing about a reckoning for what they did to his family years past.  And he grows as a person in some surprising and touching ways, showing reluctant vulnerability along the way, while still maintaining all the quirks that make him that character you love, and at times, love to hate.  He's still a smartass, still more of a gentleman than he seems, and still one of my favorite male characters out of all the books I have read.

Some fascinating new characters join the cast, and we see old favorites Auri, Simmon,  Bast, and Elodin among others, in a new light, as their personalities are further developed.  One of the things I really admire about Patrick Rothfuss is his ability to create memorable characters, people you instantly love or hate, care about or wish away - but you can't forget them, or dismiss them.  Not all authors have that.

At times the pacing did feel off - there were parts I felt lingered on too long, and areas I would have liked to have seen fleshed out that were over too quickly.  Rothfuss has set himself up rather nicely for the third book; yet, I am a little scared to see the length of that novel.  We know so much now about Kvothe's early years and the origins of some of the legends that surround the arcanist, but there is still a lot of ground to cover: the Chandrian, the rest of Kvothe's tenure at the Univeristy, etc.  Still, if anyone can do it...

I don't have a lot of complaints about this book, but I will say it was a little scattered at times, almost like Rothfuss had too many irons in the fire, and that overall, it felt a little less cohesive than its predecessor.  It is the transitional novel, so it would seem, but I have faith in the author.  And this book touched me on a great many levels.  Kvothe is a very believable character, who, when he shares his pain, will cut you to the quick.  I laughed at him, and worried for him, both as his story unfolds, and in the present, as we see Kvothe the adult defeated, with little knowledge of how and why he has fallen so far.  I cried several times, for him and for other characters (the always skittish and intriguing Denna being one of them), and once again, I am waiting anxiously for the next volume!

Final Rating: 4 of 5 Stars


"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."