Seraphina By: Rachel Hartman

 

When I picked up this book, I really had no idea what to expect. Part of me thought it would be just another lame dragon book, but luckily I was proven wrong. There was very extensive world building, which I noticed right off the bat. It really added to the overall story line and I quite enjoyed it. The characters were very well developed and I loved Seraphina. She is a strong, brave female character, but she isn’t perfect or whiny. The romance was subtle but sweet and developed nicely with the rest of the story. I really like what Rachel Hartman did with dragons in this story, I found it to be quite unique and thoroughly planned out. Overall, this book was a nice relaxing read without being boring and I look forward to the next one!

Death in theFloating City By: Tasha Alexander

Oh man, I’ve been so neglectful lately. I’m so sorry! I’ve been stuck playing Final Fantasy 14. Super addictive. Anyway, on to the review! This book is number seven in the Lady Emily mystery series. As the title suggests, it takes place in Venice, the floating city. This was a very interesting mystery. This author does not skimp on the details of the historical city and it is magical to experience. Venice has always been one of the places I want to visit. This book of course, is also a mystery and one Lady Emily has to solve for an old friend. This book has plenty of suspense, romance, and just a general cozy mystery feeling. I would definitely recommend this one and I also recommend continuing the series. I’m currently on number eight, Behind the Shattered Glass.

 

Dangerous to Know and A Crimson Warning By: Tasha Alexander

Alas, I didn’t get to do one review before I finished both books, so I’m kind of slipping them into one review. I gobbled these up very quickly. Dangerous to Know was a bit of a darker mystery involving a brutal murder, madness, an asylum and dark secrets. It was suspenseful and wonderfully written. A Crimson Warning, at first I thought it was the most boring of the books so far but then after a few chapters it didn’t let me go until 1:00am last night when I finished it. It was fantastic! It involved blackmail, deceit, kidnapping and of course, murder. So much suspense in this one! I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. I just love the relationships in these books and they are just fantastic. Unfortunately, the next two are in the mail so I don’t have them yet. So I’m going to re-read Silent in the Grave By: Deanna Raybourn in the meantime. Her books are how I found Tasha Alexander in the first place, so yay!

Tears of Pearl By: Tasha Alexander

In case you’re wondering how I’m reading these so fast, its because I have tons of time currently. I’m recovering from surgery. (Had my gallbladder removed) So I’m still off until Monday and am reading to my heart’s content. Anyway, back to the review! In this one, Lady Emily finds herself in Turkey, so a vastly different area altogether. This mystery was very intriguing and a lot of it was involved with the Sultan’s harem, which was very interesting to read and learn about. I always enjoy reading about other cultures and countries, so this book was great for that. Add in the still wonderful characters, descriptions and mystery and you have another great novel! Am already on the next one, Dangerous to Know.

My Books

So I finally decided to organize my bookshelves. It was a lot of work as I haven’t done it in a long while. Also, I’ve been running out of room on my shelves so I decided to lay all of the books down so I can pile them higher and leave room for more books. Because lets be honest, there will always be more. I organized them in a way that works for me, but doesn’t necessarily make any actual sense. So yay! Books!

This shelf is for classics, mysteries and general/historical fiction.

This shelf is all of my young adult books. There are a lot.

And this shelf is for fantasy, non-fiction and cookbooks.

A Court of Thorns and Roses By: Sarah J. Maas

Sorry for the long space between posts, but I’ve been reading this while also re-reading Harry Potter, so I am reading, but y’know, life. Anyway! I was really excited to read this book as I love Sarah J. Maas’ other books. I was not disappointed. This book was thrilling to the last. Though definitely more mature and grittier than her other books, the story was fantastic. I was instantly drawn into this world and the life of Feyre. Her character was bitter but hopeful and I found her very interesting to read about. The other characters were wonderful and the villain was perfectly detestable. Also, awesome ending! Just a warning, though, there is definitely more sexual content in this book than in her Throne of Glass series and it really just is more mature in general. Overall though, I would recommend this book and look forward to her future works!

 

Rogue By: Julie Kagawa

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was exciting! I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed the first one. I really liked that Ember developed as a character, even with her stubbornness and fiery disposition. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Riley’s character and his past as well as a bit more development in the relationships between the characters. I still love the premise of dragons shape shifting into human forms and it is described so perfectly in this series. There was basically non-stop action the whole way through, but it in no way took away from the story and development. The villains are the kind you really love to hate and the heroes are believable. I truly enjoy Julie Kagawa’s creativity and imagination and really love immersing myself in this world. I’m absolutely looking forward to the third book.

Heir of Fire By: Sarah J. Maas

I finished this book last night. It was definitely the best book in the series so far. I was looking forward to reading this for a while and I almost wish I had waited until closer to the release of the final book, but oh well, now I must wait. This book was awesome. There was so much development in the story as well as in the characters. The new characters that were introduced were fantastic and I especially love the way the relationship developed between Celaena and Rowan. I was glad to finally learn more about her past as well. Overall, this was a fantastic book. There was plenty of action and suspense and the ending was definitely a cliffhanger. I will be impatiently awaiting Queen of Shadows.

 

Why Do You Read?

I’ve been thinking about this a bit today. Why do we read? I read because I absolutely love it. I love that you can escape into different worlds and lives. I love that there is no limit to the imagination in the written word. I read anything that strikes my fancy. I don’t read to seem intelligent or to dissect the writing/writer. To me, the important part is the story. If I find it interesting, I love it. If I don’t enjoy a book or there is content I don’t appreciate, I stop reading the book. I no longer waste my time with negative reviews, because I just want to focus on the enjoyment of reading. Reading is an experience, and I always want it to be a good one. Essentially, I think books are magic. I also love stories in different forms. Music, movies, video games. I really just need stories all the time.

Why do you read?

 

Mortal Heart By: Robin LaFevers

This book was wonderful! Definitely my favorite of the series. There was plenty of action, adventure and romance and it kept me hooked the whole way through. This book seemed to have more substance than the first two and just more depth. I enjoyed Annith’s character and her development throughout the story. I was very impressed with the conclusion as well. Overall, loved this book. So if you read Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph, definitely read this one. Loved it.