tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66955862684860472562024-03-12T22:40:30.225-05:00Behind the Yellow DoorFeliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.comBlogger282125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-6205823201854652112019-02-09T08:00:00.000-06:002019-02-09T08:00:01.567-06:00Year of No Clutter | Eve O. Shaub<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVyBpjDMQVYNAF4PElr_qWLmPE0YInOgVehBBAQwpPZ6Fyvfvc0HduI6M0QwCXuRlfZfretdT-PKDfleDEzgLkXj68K7BNgmIoIC357mlIvpz43hLhiS09iHgnx5irlhXEQ98aglo0b6r/s1600/30095458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVyBpjDMQVYNAF4PElr_qWLmPE0YInOgVehBBAQwpPZ6Fyvfvc0HduI6M0QwCXuRlfZfretdT-PKDfleDEzgLkXj68K7BNgmIoIC357mlIvpz43hLhiS09iHgnx5irlhXEQ98aglo0b6r/s320/30095458.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Year of No Clutter</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Eve O. Schaub</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 320 pages</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: March 7, 2017</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult memoir</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<table border="0" cellspacing="1" class="myActivity" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="readable reviewText" style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I really enjoyed this book! I've always been into decluttering and organizing and I can't resist a book about that subject. I thought this was an entertaining and </span>humorous<span style="font-family: inherit;"> memoir. It definitely put me in the mood for spring cleaning. Also, the audiobook narrator is fantastic.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-68227880322952960472019-02-08T09:00:00.000-06:002019-02-08T09:00:15.625-06:00When the English Fall | David Williams<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZpAnZbr3dF1HnvwBVNsC610ubntZbBLBk0iBe0jVezgBD9EsUHQ1NJrhfvc7yZUco_JoV-jlva-2an1hrdsqEGARVP1BcuIW3rIl4cXPtLL-pfIYFkJVJaSKduWiExNvU2Lo02HIOvEn/s1600/30753989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZpAnZbr3dF1HnvwBVNsC610ubntZbBLBk0iBe0jVezgBD9EsUHQ1NJrhfvc7yZUco_JoV-jlva-2an1hrdsqEGARVP1BcuIW3rIl4cXPtLL-pfIYFkJVJaSKduWiExNvU2Lo02HIOvEn/s400/30753989.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: When the English Fall</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: David Williams</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 242 pages</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: July 11, 2017</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult apocalyptic</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I saw this book on Netgalley, I had to request it. I have a Mennonite background so I find anything about Mennonites and the Amish compelling (but like not Christian Amish romances). This book is an apocalyptic story told through journal entries of an Amish man, and I found that premise so fascinating. Because, yeah, how would the apocalypse affect the Amish, who are self-sufficient? This was a quiet narrative, but I enjoyed it so much. There was a sense of it that made me think of Station Eleven, and I was pleased about that. I would not recommend this for readers that need a lot of action but if you're looking for some thought-provoking speculative fiction, I would recommend this. </span></span>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-28097218805467588142019-02-07T16:00:00.000-06:002019-02-07T16:57:14.492-06:00From Twinkle, With Love | Sandhya Menon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoY66wWzg7nAOs4GZ4hxSOFy2L8L09jVj5E8LZ_pVHPcOjg_n6AqTvTpSqkzACU49ZGCJ9XJ7zhKPNu9Skjwx5S1j_Q6N6XdO42ugcWJ1yvVzaE8HrBClwJpNeNGfQCfr25VUczJRa7gIC/s1600/38745522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoY66wWzg7nAOs4GZ4hxSOFy2L8L09jVj5E8LZ_pVHPcOjg_n6AqTvTpSqkzACU49ZGCJ9XJ7zhKPNu9Skjwx5S1j_Q6N6XdO42ugcWJ1yvVzaE8HrBClwJpNeNGfQCfr25VUczJRa7gIC/s320/38745522.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: From Twinkle, With Love</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Sandhya Menon</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 336 pages</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: May 22, 2018</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: YA contemporary</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 2.75/5</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only </span><i style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">slightly </i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil. </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough? </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, </span><i style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">From Twinkle, with Love </i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
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I really enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi, so I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this book made me realize that YA contemporary doesn't really do it for me anymore. I just can't relate to all of these teenager problems. I turned 30 a couple weeks before I read this and my life is just so beyond high school drama. A couple problems with the book itself were that it was really repetitive, and I called absolutely everything that happened from like chapter 2. But I would've really enjoyed this book more when I was younger (when I was actually in the age group this book is intended for haha). So I'm giving it 3 stars because most of my problems were with me, not the book.Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-66886077078212157242019-02-07T09:00:00.000-06:002019-02-07T09:00:08.709-06:00The Wolves of Winter | Tyrell Johnson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOE9N9ya_1U_DP-N4yb2zydDWWhmNvZeo4Mz2I0RxHXFo-lLo8dwkiFpj3U61Ep_PZGCrU8B_EM-_1tFshu4nin6nP3P9kHkGHFKmaLJkoQ_uupyBm_mreiudNApebRNIUiiE345CZmXR/s1600/32920273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOE9N9ya_1U_DP-N4yb2zydDWWhmNvZeo4Mz2I0RxHXFo-lLo8dwkiFpj3U61Ep_PZGCrU8B_EM-_1tFshu4nin6nP3P9kHkGHFKmaLJkoQ_uupyBm_mreiudNApebRNIUiiE345CZmXR/s400/32920273.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Wolves of Winter</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Tyrell Johnson</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 312 pages</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: January 2, 2018</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult post-apocalyptic</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As memories of her old life haunt her, she has been forced to forge ahead in the snow-covered Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap to survive. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">But her fragile existence is about to be shattered. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who sets in motion a chain of events that will force Lynn to fulfill a destiny she never imagined</span></blockquote>
If any book summary reminds me of <i>Station Eleven </i>by Emily St. John Mandel, I have to pick it up. I've read a few stinkers as a result. While <i>The Wolves of Winter</i> didn't blow me away, it certainly held its own. I loved the feeling in this bleak atmosphere; set in the wilderness of the Yukon, I really got that sense of isolation and loneliness. In a world that's been decimated by war and a virus, these people have a strong desire to survive, and they do it well, but that's all their lives have become. I was really looking for something really simplistic, and for the most part this book did deliver that. Towards the middle some things came out of left field and I was very surprised by where the story was going, so that did detract from my enjoyment of it. There were some pacing issues as well in the second half.<br />
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As far as the characters go, I found their motivations pretty realistic. They were all very practical and had their complexities. The main character did tend to think about sex a lot, which with a different depiction would be alright - she is a woman in her early twenties and doesn't have any options for a partner available to her, so when a man who isn't related to her comes along, well I'd imagine that my thoughts would be in a similar vein. But I was rolling my eyes at how this was depicted. To me it's so obvious when a male writes a female POV, because the way they think about things like that just sound like a man. Am I alone in this? Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Anyway, I digress. It wasn't gratuitous but it was enough that I had an eyeroll every once in awhile. There were a couple scenes of a sexual nature, and I will also give a trigger warning for rape - 2 scenes, neither drawn out, but fairly descriptive. So yeah, that wasn't my favourite part of the book.<br />
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I would also say there was a moderate amount of language. The main character mentions how her mom used to go to church and chastise her children for using words like "dang" but when they were alone with their dad he would let the cursing fly. That made me shake my head. As far as religion goes, there was another character mentioned as being a Christian, and as I interpreted it, I didn't find any disrespect shown to those characters for their beliefs, so that was kind of a nice reprieve. Not that the main character herself subscribed to those beliefs, but still.<br />
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I won't say this book was amazing, but the pros did outweigh the cons for me here, and overall I did enjoy it. It ended well but there was also room for a sequel, and if that sequel is ever published then I wouldn't hesitate to read it.Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-72444359980106986472019-02-06T16:00:00.000-06:002019-02-06T16:53:41.560-06:00The Love Letter | Rachel Hauck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrl6iXUrGtIX0aEzB7ksbGijLiHr7e-dfMJNfzUBkA49yMMy9mi9es9EMImnT2VFBC99Mb_3eGEb3XXR72rvEILgJiQ_2ct6cXQz_PtOJdHZ9KhWaMzlmzU65eZnXYv5e0zOaWGvs9Cy19/s1600/37366535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrl6iXUrGtIX0aEzB7ksbGijLiHr7e-dfMJNfzUBkA49yMMy9mi9es9EMImnT2VFBC99Mb_3eGEb3XXR72rvEILgJiQ_2ct6cXQz_PtOJdHZ9KhWaMzlmzU65eZnXYv5e0zOaWGvs9Cy19/s320/37366535.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Love Letter</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Rachel Hauck</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 352 pages</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: June 12, 2018</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult fiction</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With the colonies at war and his country divided, Hamilton Lightfoot must choose sides: Fight for the British Crown or for the Independence of America. But after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of redcoats, he fears he’ll fight for revenge instead of honor. On the verge of a great battle, he pens a letter to Esther, the woman he loves. Esther Longfellow is in love with Hamilton, but her father is a loyalist, living in upcountry South Carolina and working for a wealthy British lord. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton.</span><br />
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty—a great director and an Oscar-winning actress. Yet her career has taken an unexpected turn: She’s the queen of death scenes. Trying to break out, she accepts a supporting role in a revolutionary war film. But she longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies? After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a page from one of his ancestor’s letters, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there. Determined to help his grandfather find happiness at the end of his life, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations.</span><br />
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Jesse meets the woman he has cast to play Esther Longfellow—his grandfather’s one true love—the stories of all four collide across time and space. The love letter from the past might have more power to affect the future than any of them could have imagined.</span></blockquote>
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I generally enjoy stories that have two timelines that weave together, but I usually end up preferring one timeline to the other. <i>The Love Letter</i> was no exception. Not that one was worse than the other one, but I did prefer the contemporary portion to the historical portion. I just liked those characters better. One thing I liked in the book were the relationships - I think Rachel Hauck really understands how to write realistic relationships. The way the romances bloomed and the emotions that went along with those developments were well done, in my opinion. I did enjoy the theme of the story as well, especially in the contemporary timeline. The faith element was well done as well. I've read Christian romance in the past where the characters went to church once or twice, but their lives didn't really reflect a relationship with Christ. In this one, I felt that while the characters had their (realistic) flaws, the faith element wasn't watered down. And that ending was just too sweet, it melted my heart. Overall, this was an enjoyable Christian romance!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565656; text-align: center;">I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. O</span><span style="color: #565656; text-align: center;">pinions expressed in this review are completely my own.</span></span></i></span></div>
Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-41526945637368794512019-02-06T09:00:00.000-06:002019-02-06T09:00:15.371-06:00Dear Mrs. Bird | AJ Pearce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZbTDZI-1wWhL_BtZfEANIxagjBb-aPr41qgv1_LrspOJC6Sw4nF41sMhaqE0E7znqeEKW3RSw4gd8JkbFDVPPMseM_sMo-IB4TtJzkcu6bzVA5iY3knGbADfOaQSo06DFzkIdHYla4oE/s1600/36373413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZbTDZI-1wWhL_BtZfEANIxagjBb-aPr41qgv1_LrspOJC6Sw4nF41sMhaqE0E7znqeEKW3RSw4gd8JkbFDVPPMseM_sMo-IB4TtJzkcu6bzVA5iY3knGbADfOaQSo06DFzkIdHYla4oE/s400/36373413.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Dear Mrs. Bird</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: AJ Pearce</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 281 pages</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: July 3, 2018</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult historical fiction</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">London Evening Chronicle</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Prepare to fall head over heels with Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are spirited and gutsy, even in the face of events that bring a terrible blow. As the bombs continue to fall, the irrepressible Emmy keeps writing, and readers are transformed by AJ Pearce’s hilarious, heartwarming, and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.</span></blockquote>
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I am such a sucker for WWII fiction, and I absolutely loved Dear Mrs. Bird! The writing was excellent for a debut novel. The premise totally drew me in: I loved seeing a story set from a perspective of every day life. These people were being bombed at night and going to work the next morning. They still had to pay rent and get food, and they wanted to go dancing on Friday nights to take make their lives feel normal again. I loved the characters and how they related to each other. I'm already itching to read this book again. I highly recommend the audiobook as well - it's narrated by Anna Popplewell, who played Susan in the Narnia movies! I very much recommend this for fans of historical fiction.Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-11033108274216631712019-02-05T15:50:00.000-06:002019-02-06T16:54:18.947-06:00Fawkes | Nadine Brandes<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3EvD2PWZGjFbBKc8bZ3Ef4UfAXjrS8k-a5NW1hXUBlwdh_MAP_ecg26NN-KL9Jki136fWmurCW04Zu7HS7K4d1eUQkLZEKYNcgZLg1tu720PeKY7ZIOSf7evT7hV0M_wAQCfCO-nDCJj/s1600/36576048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3EvD2PWZGjFbBKc8bZ3Ef4UfAXjrS8k-a5NW1hXUBlwdh_MAP_ecg26NN-KL9Jki136fWmurCW04Zu7HS7K4d1eUQkLZEKYNcgZLg1tu720PeKY7ZIOSf7evT7hV0M_wAQCfCO-nDCJj/s400/36576048.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Fawkes</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Nadine Brandes</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 448 pages</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: July 10, 2018</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: YA alternate history/fantasy</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England. </span><span style="color: #666666;">Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death. </span><span style="color: #666666;">But what if death finds him first? </span><span style="color: #666666;">Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. All Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in. </span><span style="color: #666666;">The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King. </span><span style="color: #666666;">The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other. </span><span style="color: #666666;">No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Fawkes is such a unique story! I absolutely loved the concept of the fantasy element woven in with this alternate history retelling. There's a lot going on in that concept but I think Nadine Brandes pulled it off well! I thought the magic system was well thought out and effective in the story. The idea of the Stone Plague was really interesting - a plague that was literally turning people to stone, don't read that every day. I really enjoyed the characters and I found them engaging. I felt like the stakes were really high for these characters and I just wanted to know that they would be okay. I also love the faith element that the author wove through the story - it was done really well. I would highly recommend this for fantasy fans!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #565656; text-align: center;">I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. O</span><span style="color: #565656; text-align: center;">pinions expressed in this review are completely my own.</span></span> </i></span></div>
Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-17321357086167951682019-02-05T13:53:00.001-06:002019-02-05T13:53:21.627-06:00UDON Manga Classics: The Count of Monte Cristo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfLWb6K-1-Mc9-g2RQueF4u1_6XVeqS0SJuvcJTMVtFTOmif7J9GSg6GMmwzRuCgy7pSyK5xe8bXAMWGFLGAPVE7Jf3_caj7dV48y9RK7irHMc3dBmSh5VjS9HSV76et4beUS9KTR2Lg5/s1600/26591767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfLWb6K-1-Mc9-g2RQueF4u1_6XVeqS0SJuvcJTMVtFTOmif7J9GSg6GMmwzRuCgy7pSyK5xe8bXAMWGFLGAPVE7Jf3_caj7dV48y9RK7irHMc3dBmSh5VjS9HSV76et4beUS9KTR2Lg5/s400/26591767.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: The Count of Monte Cristo</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Alexandre Dumas (original); Stacy King and Nokman Poon</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 401 pages</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;">Publication date: April 1, 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;">Genre: classics, manga</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;">Rating: 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;"><table border="0" cellspacing="1" class="myActivity" style="color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="readable reviewText" style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Having just finished reading the Count of Monte Cristo (which I loooved), I thought it would be fun to read this manga adaptation. I was very pleased with it! The source novel is obviously a beast, and this manga managed to be faithful to the main story while still trimming a 1,000+ page book to something readable in this format. The art was well done, it was easier to follow than some other manga I've read. I really enjoyed this volume!<br /><br /><br /><i>I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-65424074310723467562019-02-05T13:30:00.002-06:002019-02-05T13:30:18.992-06:00I Owe You One | Sophie Kinsella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35-2s7QARg8DTnQEFoNIMTruaB7ZnXdkf7huAj0uUUbVC5cgLLKP5LR4Kvu8S798exohRIK0LDRBEh57Fl9Sem-rHU4LDZlzM1yHPKk8dnMMWE8v89ieJRh5TraNTccdG52xGoiKNc4yw/s1600/40651462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35-2s7QARg8DTnQEFoNIMTruaB7ZnXdkf7huAj0uUUbVC5cgLLKP5LR4Kvu8S798exohRIK0LDRBEh57Fl9Sem-rHU4LDZlzM1yHPKk8dnMMWE8v89ieJRh5TraNTccdG52xGoiKNc4yw/s400/40651462.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: I Owe You One</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Sophie Kinsella</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 432 pages</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: February 5, 2019</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult contemporary</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sophie Kinsella has been a favourite author of mine for at least half of my life. I remember reading <i>Confessions of a Shopaholic </i>as a teenager, and since then I have read every book that she has put out. Sometimes I'm not sure if they're genuinely good or if it's just nostalgia for me. But I really have enjoyed her last few releases, and <i>I Owe You One</i> was no exception.</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer's owner Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of <span style="font-family: inherit;">IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?</span></span></blockquote>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">There were things I really enjoyed about this book; mainly the emphasis on family and the personal growth of the characters. There were things that drove me crazy - Fixie's crush on Ryan was the wooooorst and it made me upset. Like, wow I hated reading any scene that he was in. There was also a bit of that miscommunication trope that I hate but SK likes to use in every book (seriously, just use your words, people). It wasn't the worst instance but it was there. The romance was also a little weird - I did like the two characters together but just the pacing of it was off. Even with those things, I did enjoy the story and how things wrapped up. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i style="color: #666666; font-size: 13.2px;">I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.</i></span></span><br />
Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-1290652448834247502018-02-13T16:48:00.000-06:002018-02-13T16:48:00.183-06:00Galentine's Day: My Favourite Lady Friendships in Books & TVConfession - I have not watched Parks & Rec. I find this to be very tragic, but that's not my fault because it's not available to stream on any Canadian service. Regardless, I am familiar with the concept of Galentine's Day from that show. Galentine's Day is on February 13 and it's just a celebration of lady friendships. So today, I thought I'd make a quick list of some awesome friendships from books (and a couple from tv).<br />
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1. Anne & Diana from Anne of Green Gables<br />
Hello, I'm Felicia and I'm obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. And I love Anne and Diana's friendship. Their loyalty and honesty and support of each other is so memorable. They are the purest and I love them.<br />
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2. Joanna & Emilia from Salt to the Sea<br />
I just finished this book and first of all, it wrecked me emotionally. I loved the characters, and I loved the relationship that formed between Joanna and Emilia. They became like sisters in the short span of time the book covered, and their devotion to each other through their language barrier was so heart-warming.<br />
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3. The March Sisters - Little Women<br />
Sisters count as friends! And Amy, Beth, Jo, and Meg are such a good example of sister friends. Love it.<br />
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4. Cinder & Iko - the Lunar Chronicles<br />
Really, I want to include all of the ladies in the Lunar Chronicles, but Cinder and Iko are the original duo. They have such a fun rapport, and they make such a great team for saving the world.<br />
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5. Sylvie & Tilda - Surprise Me<br />
I recently finished this book and this friendship was such a highlight. My favourite thing was that there is actually an age difference between them, similar to me and one of my best friends. So I felt a little more connected to them because of that.<br />
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6. Kelly & Erin - The Office<br />
How I love The Office, and I love Kelly and Erin's relationship. They are so different but they have such a tight bond. I love the craziness they get up to together.<br />
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7. Rachel, Phoebe, & Monica - Friends<br />
As I grow older, I have more problems with Friends, but it still holds a place in my heart for the nostalgia factor. There is something about that show that makes me feel comforted. And I always love the parts with the three girls together. They are such good friends and their connection feels so real to me.<br />
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As I have come to the end of my list, this actually is kind of making me sad that I don't have more friendships to add?! Tell me some of your favourite friendships, especially from tv and movies because this is actually pathetic. But yay for frands!<br />
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<br />Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-51199625244669587512018-02-05T13:05:00.002-06:002018-02-05T13:05:35.084-06:00The Last Thing I... [bored at work edition]<span style="font-family: inherit;">I may just do these from time to time because I think they're fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last thing I ate: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">chicken fingers and fries for lunch</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last thing I drank: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">water with lemon</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last text I sent: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">"it was tucked inside the McDonald's coupons haha" HA so I couldn't find my phone when we were at lunch, and I was a little worried it fell out of my pocket when I was getting into the car or something. When I got back to work I checked in my purse better, and it was tucked inside the booklet of McDonald's coupons I had in there. So I was texting Chris to tell him that I found my phone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last book I read: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Treasure Island was the last book I finished. This morning I started listening to Invictus by Ryan Graudin on audio.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last time I laughed: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Chris and I are ridiculous and we started a fake coughing war on our way back to work after lunch. I know, we're odd.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last thing I bought: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">a humidifier for our bedroom because it's soooo dry and my skin is dying. But I at least got this pretty one:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81MmtqC0ARL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81MmtqC0ARL._SL1500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last movie I saw: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">I think that was Paddington 2. Yeah, we go to watch family movies by ourselves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last TV show I watched: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Hogan's Heroes. I got Chris the box set of the series for our anniversary and we're on the last season now.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Last thing I googled: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">"kid by jt during halftime show" because that was just the funniest thing and I wanted to see how quickly people would make it a meme.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-63764666685236554352017-11-28T13:40:00.000-06:002019-01-17T10:41:06.885-06:00Artemis | Andy Weir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494265472l/35097384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="192" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494265472l/35097384.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Artemis</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Andy Weir</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 384 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: November 14, 2017</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult sci-fi</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div><br /><br />I was kind of nervous going into this book, because I loved The Martian so much, and what if this one wasn't as good? While I didn't get immediately sucked into this story like I did with The Martian, overall I did quite enjoy Andy Weir's second novel.<br /><br /><i>The plot</i>: Jazz Bashara is a smuggler in Artemis, the first city on the moon. Being well known (in the more shady community, anyway) for her skills at bringing in contraband, a life-changing opportunity presents itself. It may not be legal or ethical, but when you have large debts and you're living in an apartment the size of a horizontal closet, can you really afford to turn it down? Unfortunately for Jazz, what she stumbles into turns out to have bigger consequences than she could have imagined.<br /><br /><i>The cons</i>: I didn't love Jazz. It actually took me a good chunk before I was visualizing a female, even though going into it I knew the main character was a girl. It took me a while to care about her as well. She was a bit of a stereotype of the "super brilliant young person that doesn't apply their potential, and they act all tough but they have a good heart" trope, which I'm tired of, but as far as that stereotype goes I guess it was okay here.<br /><br />Andy Weir doesn't shy away from swearing, but I think this may have had less than The Martian. There was also lots talking about sex, but it was talking and not showing. Nothing actually happened in the book, but Weir wants you to know that Jazz has a sexual history and she likes it that way.<br /><br /><i>The pros</i>: Everything else. It's got the awesome science that you don't have to be a scientist to understand. It has a fun heist story with a quirky cast of characters. The setting on the moon is so cool, and it added a lot to the stakes of the heist as well. If things got screwed up, literally everyone in the city would be affected. Things kept happening that I wasn't expecting at all, so I was on my toes until the end. All in all, I did enjoy this novel a lot.Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-54959089545792119682017-09-28T10:49:00.001-05:002017-09-28T11:22:31.833-05:00Autumnal knitting.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Autumn is here and I couldn't be loving it more. This is the season when I thrive.<br />
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I have been a knitting fiend lately. I don't know why, but lately I just can't stop knitting. Even while I'm doing it, I just think to myself "man, I love knitting!" It's probably weird but that's how it is. Right now I'm taking part in a mystery knit-a-long, which has been so much fun. Basically the pattern designer tells you what yarn you need, and then emails you a clue, or a section of the pattern, every week. The above picture is of my project, which is going to be a cowl. (This was the first clue and I was like "how is this supposed to be a cowl? It looks like a shawl!" It has since been made clear.) I am loving working on it. The construction is very unique, and the fall colours that I chose are making me very happy.<br />
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I'm hoping to post more about my knitting and crafty endeavours on here, so stay tuned!Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-84380852252959696952017-08-01T10:20:00.001-05:002017-08-01T10:20:24.252-05:00The Last Thing I...My dearest Callie just posted <a href="http://www.throughcloudedglass.com/2017/08/the-last-thing-i.html">this tag thingy</a> and I just had to do my take on it! I love these kind of questionnaire things. We were obsessed with these when I was in junior high. Anyone else go through that phase?<br />
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<b>Last thing I ate: </b>a jam-jam cookie. Yes, it was only 9:30 but when there are cookies in the office I have to eat one fast if I want one at all. The guys I work with are cookie fiends.<br />
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<b>Last thing I drank: </b>a vanilla iced coffee from McDonald's. I'm addicted. It doesn't help that they're a dollar all summer.<br />
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<b>Last text I sent: </b>"I'm in the back" to Chris when I was picking him up after work yesterday.<br />
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<b>Last book I read: </b>It was just the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/BookTubeAThon">Booktubeathon</a> and I read 7 books in a week. The last book that I finished was Fruits Basket vol. 17, and the last book that I read from was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20983362-passenger">Passenger</a> by Alexandra Bracken.<br />
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<b>Last time I laughed: </b>I overheard a conversation my co-workers were having and one of their comments made me giggle.<br />
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<b>Last thing I bought: </b>the previously mentioned iced coffee.<br />
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<b>Last movie I saw: </b>Chris and I have been watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix, and the last episode we watched featured the movie Starcrash. It was so horrible, I'm ashamed that Christopher Plummer was involved in that movie.<br />
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<b>Last TV show I watched: </b>Yesterday evening I was watching Friends while doing some housework and tackling my massive paper pile. It never ends.<br />
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<b>Last thing I googled: </b>"jord watches." <a href="https://www.woodwatches.com/series/frankie/zebrawood-and-champagne">I have one</a> of their watches and I love it, and I've kind of been wanting another one in a different colour. I'd love to get <a href="https://www.woodwatches.com/series/frankie/dark-sandalwood-and-emerald">this one</a> but at that price tag I don't think I'll do that anytime soon!<br />
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<br />Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-71977896861127391332017-07-26T14:24:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:07.133-06:00The Stargazer's Embassy | Eleanor Lerman<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikW8YUTufIGZIAEVFnbHcTuxsz4csFpW901R5lhb1RMnBQ6wFpXVYaqR4FfyMUk4YBCNsoLzyYsIPEGptjlHR37pmQS7jmrjgrotvAOdy3yEFUhbmHa2f4lCpLfes0GkRzlEPJae4jKns/s1600/34388814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikW8YUTufIGZIAEVFnbHcTuxsz4csFpW901R5lhb1RMnBQ6wFpXVYaqR4FfyMUk4YBCNsoLzyYsIPEGptjlHR37pmQS7jmrjgrotvAOdy3yEFUhbmHa2f4lCpLfes0GkRzlEPJae4jKns/s320/34388814.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Stargazer's Embassy</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Eleanor Lerman</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 306 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: July 18, 2017</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Adult sci-fi</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4/5</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We've all heard the adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." Definitely follow that advice with The Stargazer's Embassy. I was drawn to this book by the title and the description (<b>don't</b> read the summary on Goodreads or the back of the book because it spoils things that only happen halfway into the book!) but oh boy that cover is a cheesy one! However, I'm glad I read this book because it was a very unique alien story! </div><div><br /></div><div>The Stargazer's Embassy is a story of alien abductions with a literary twist. This book feels very contemporary and looks at alien abductions from the point of view of a character who has experienced them secondhand. Our main character Julia was never abducted by aliens, but her mother was, and she was more focused on the aliens than her own daughter. Julia's whole life has been haunted by aliens. The story follows her as she tries to deal with their presence in her life and how that affects her relationships. </div><div><br /></div><div>I really enjoyed this book. It's a slower paced book, very quiet and more character driven. Eleanor Lerman has a beautiful writing style - she's also a poet and you can definitely tell that from her writing in this novel. And even though this is more literary feeling, it was an easy reading experience. It's sci-fi set in our world, in our time. I enjoyed the characters, and I thought that the side characters were properly fleshed out. It wasn't a totally perfect book for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. </div>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-17830150750490019762017-06-29T11:00:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:07.320-06:00The Other Einstein | Marie Benedict <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98Q4Vn9d5xOu1fqfoLtKJqTh9rTxgzdS7dzDRT_knEHeKrXA0yIUJtDQGCY2xbuEc9cijtkij9pjOt4mEl4AvFj4CFqxanbIabIeDwm9kiuQ-WL6tUFqMHja9QKc0X-TPuUYEMPOcz-M/s1600/28389305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98Q4Vn9d5xOu1fqfoLtKJqTh9rTxgzdS7dzDRT_knEHeKrXA0yIUJtDQGCY2xbuEc9cijtkij9pjOt4mEl4AvFj4CFqxanbIabIeDwm9kiuQ-WL6tUFqMHja9QKc0X-TPuUYEMPOcz-M/s320/28389305.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Other Einstein</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Marie Benedict</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 304 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: October 18, 2016</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Historical fiction</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 3/5</span></div><br />I find it kind of interesting that there's basically a genre of fiction books about women who were married to famous men in the early 1900s. I've read The Paris Wife, which is about Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson, and I have Z, which is about Zelda Fitzgerald, waiting on my TBR shelf. When I first started reading The Other Einstein, I didn't know that's what I was getting into.<br /><br />The Other Einstein is a fictional account from the perspective of Mileva Maric, who was Albert Einstein's first wife. They met in the late 1890s in a physics class. Mileva was the only woman in the program, and that's where she caught Albert's eye. They formed an intellectual connection first, which eventually led to a romantic relationship. The book essentially starts right when they meet and goes through their relationship and marriage. It was really fascinating because Mileva was a female physicist at the turn of the century, when women still weren't accepted in those fields at all. There isn't a lot actually known about her influence on her husband's theories, but this author speculates that she had a large role in his most famous work. The story doesn't get very technical about it (which I appreciated ha) but it was still interesting. I didn't feel super connected to the story, and there were parts when I could tell that it was a debut novel, but I still thought it was an interesting account. I would recommend if you're a fan of this "genre" of historical fiction.<br /><br />Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-8546387069091403652017-06-28T11:07:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:07.509-06:00None Like Him | Jen Wilkin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMHwGUZD2LkoAvbBrvdtLjCHDbYqw4dgoa568x-Gj53Q-Tcu7WhBexQgRwFogVjbm5u6fZjZxg7ofxNP3mE_bQcQsuLXq59cTBD0aK21eH7m2DJOVRLcu6W19hDINvdUkb0wjWjm_U0Q/s1600/26760312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMHwGUZD2LkoAvbBrvdtLjCHDbYqw4dgoa568x-Gj53Q-Tcu7WhBexQgRwFogVjbm5u6fZjZxg7ofxNP3mE_bQcQsuLXq59cTBD0aK21eH7m2DJOVRLcu6W19hDINvdUkb0wjWjm_U0Q/s320/26760312.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: None Like Him</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Jen Wilkin</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 163 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: April 30, 2016</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Christian non-fiction</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 4.5/5</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have an interesting relationship with reading books about Christian growth. I always want to read more, because I don't read much non-fiction at all, but I'm always leery in the back of my mind about the content of them, in terms of what kind of view the author has of God and the Bible. I was very pleased to read None Like Him, because this is a book I can very readily recommend!</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In None Like Him, the author Jen Wilkin explores 10 different ways that God is different from us. I loved this take on exploring God's character, because I know I very often start to feel really good about myself as a Christian and think that I am well on my way to perfection. Well, if you read this book you're going to get a reality check. You're also going to grow in the fear of the Lord, which is always a good thing. In Wilkin's comparisons of God's character and human character, I realized that there were indeed some areas where I had made God more like me in my mind. (I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.) The good news is that God is very much <i>not</i> like me, and praise Him for that! I think Jen Wilkin has a very Biblical view of God and a right understanding of the Bible. I feel like there may have been one statement that gave me pause, but now I can't even remember what it was so it couldn't have been that bad.) Her reflections of God and our relation to Him was really insightful.</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the end of the chapters there are devotional questions and Scripture passages for reflection and meditation, as well as a guided prayer to close. I listened to this book on audio at work (side note, it's narrated by Wilkin herself) so I wasn't able to engage with those sections, but I'm itching to buy a physical copy so that I can have this wonderful resource in my collection! I definitely see myself coming back to this book often. I also want to pick up her other book, Women of the Word, because I can tell by her passion about the Bible in this book that it will be just as good.</span></div>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-72202819370889031032017-05-26T14:10:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:07.698-06:00The Ship || Antonia Honeywell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5asjvey14K-x6_DsONO1bC7MLEKWoC697QDVLB_vWYPzFtCXYS4SF3cezwE5LnzaHP3ilf55zVGv9SuQ4X41D1dnvD1zdz_qk2jNa8TvMqOdoE1Dvs0ctikj15RHqGTCfGEuhY7TV6VU/s1600/34377908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Ship</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Antonia Honeywell</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 336 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: April 25, 2017</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: Post-apocalyptic </span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating: 2.5/5</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love reading post-apocalyptic fiction. I think I'm always looking for something that can compare with Station Eleven, which is one of my most favourite books. So far I haven't had any luck but I'm still trying. When I saw The Ship available on Netgalley, I had to give it a shot. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our main character Lalla has just turned 16. She has grown up in a world that has fallen apart. The oceans have risen significantly, the earth has been stripped of crops and trees. In attempts to monitor and control the population, everyone is required to have identity cards. If you don't have an identity card, you don't exist. The world has fallen into chaos. Lalla's father has come up with an escape plan of sorts, and on Lalla's 16th birthday it is time to escape. They head to the ship, a floating utopia with everything they need to survive a journey to somewhere where they can start over, along with 500 other people that Lalla's father has chosen to come with them. The ship seems perfect on the surface, but Lalla feels like something sinister is going on behind the scenes...</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This book had so much potential for me. The premise was so interesting and I really wanted to know about the world, what happened on a global scale. It was hinted at but there wasn't a lot of exposition on that. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The pacing was really weird. It felt like tons of time should have passed, but then Lalla will remark on the tally she's kept of how many days they've been on the ship and it's only been a few weeks since the last mention of her tally. The way things progressed just felt like they should've taken longer than what they did. It also felt quite repetitive toward the middle. The story is told as first-person narrative from Lalla's point of view, and she just thinks about the same things over and over. Her thoughts don't really vary at all. A few things happen here and there, but mostly Lalla walks around confused and frustrated that things seem too good to be true, but then does nothing about it. She just thinks about it a lot. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lalla is also supposed to be 16, but the way she is written I kept thinking she was 10 or 11. She is meant to be very sheltered by her parents, so I can see how that would make her more immature, but it just didn't jive with me. The rest of the characters didn't connect with me at all. They all just felt really generic shells of people. The dynamic between the people on the ship and Lalla's dad was a cult-cult leader dynamic, and that could have been played up a bit more, I think. There were some weird things going on there, but I just didn't feel anything. It felt like something I'd read before. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />I think my biggest problem was that everyone just felt like a paper cutout. The world these people came from was horrible and any backstory that was mentioned was really interesting. You would think that people that came from that place would have more feeling, but everyone was so bland. I always lean more towards characters than plot, but this book do either of those strongly. I knew what was happening almost right away, but it took Lalla almost the whole book to figure it out.<br /><br />I can't really recommend this book, but I wouldn't say don't read it either. Like I said, there was so much potential, and maybe it will do for you what it didn't do for me. I did also read The Time Being, which is a short story prequel to The Ship. It added a little backstory, so I would recommend reading that if you do read The Ship.<br /><br />I'll just keep on my search for the next Station Eleven, I suppose...<br /><br /><br /><i style="background-color: white;">I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.</i>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-21047153151412413822017-05-18T10:00:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:07.890-06:00Beauty & the Beast || Mallory Reaves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOHFemGh8Urj-E4Bv2TMormVG8IoT0b6k26vgMMfk8ghYMI_KRb_NBCgtWxDTwE2dVZ2QMONN6Xuw-9_9-vavXwAxG_qbZEh7hmjzs0g8i9_p0IbunyB6Z8xRDaf0bMbObjw4RHj7mAY/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOHFemGh8Urj-E4Bv2TMormVG8IoT0b6k26vgMMfk8ghYMI_KRb_NBCgtWxDTwE2dVZ2QMONN6Xuw-9_9-vavXwAxG_qbZEh7hmjzs0g8i9_p0IbunyB6Z8xRDaf0bMbObjw4RHj7mAY/s400/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Title: Beauty & The Beast </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Author: Mallory Reaves</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Length: 160 pages (each)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Publication date: April 18, 2017</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Genre: fairy tale, manga</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rating: 3.5/5</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I wouldn't say that Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney movie (that honour goes to Tangled), it is definitely up there in the top 3. I mean, what bookworm can't relate to Belle? I really enjoyed the new live action film that came out this spring as well. I liked some of the ways they drew out the characters and gave them more depth. When I saw this manga duology, I just had to read it. The story arc is pretty much the movie verbatim, with the addition of some inner thoughts. Volume 1 follows Belle's story, and volume 2 follows the Beast. The art wasn't amazing, kind of typical manga, and of course the story got really simplified from the movie. But if you're a fan of the movie I'd recommend this for a fast and fun read. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="color: black;">I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.</i></span></div><br />Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-77532203981036825572017-05-17T16:46:00.000-05:002017-05-17T16:46:19.058-05:00On Wednesdays We Wear Pink.I wanted to sit down and write a blog post, but now I'm here and I don't know what to write about! I have a clever title and that's about it.<br />
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(I have actually been wearing pink on Wednesdays lately because I'm cool like that.)<br />
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Summer definitely feels like it's ramping up over here. Tomorrow is our last Bible study meeting before we break for summer, and I've only got a few more weeks of choir practice before that's done for the summer as well. I really love all of my church activities, but I'm ready to use my evenings to work on projects I've been putting off. I always tell myself winter is a good time for projects because I'm inside anyway, but no, I just end up reading and knitting. So I plan to tackle my very long list of to-dos over the next couple of months. Maybe I'll have to blog about it to get my motivation up! Hmmm... watch this space.<br />
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The plan this weekend (over the long weekend, yes!) is to paint a couple of bookshelves. Maybe 3... if I can convince myself to do that. It is supposed to rain all weekend (because that's what it does on May Long weekend, it rains) so I may just set up camp in the kitchen. But painting is it. I'm reading the rest of the weekend!<br />
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Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-55035283793812859012017-05-17T10:32:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:08.081-06:00T5W: Summer ReadsIt's warming up here in Manitoba and I'm starting to think about the books I want to read this summer! So today's Top 5 Wednesday topic is pretty fitting. Today we're talking about summer reads, books that remind you of summer and what you would recommend other people read this summer. Without further ado...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8GHhtgWIIIY_S45gu73Ids_lgjJ0cq-RiiaDOut2SiaxjoJMPFbi9uoTW_vuPfdoNh-wLRZLavS2Onba3xNBNNriBysn8733mGQVlIcCz8pebkitehFFat66zCGViSLPFtMtbAjBB7c/s1600/7664334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8GHhtgWIIIY_S45gu73Ids_lgjJ0cq-RiiaDOut2SiaxjoJMPFbi9uoTW_vuPfdoNh-wLRZLavS2Onba3xNBNNriBysn8733mGQVlIcCz8pebkitehFFat66zCGViSLPFtMtbAjBB7c/s320/7664334.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />1. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson<br />I read this as my first MM book last summer, and it was just perfect. It's a road trip story, so if that doesn't say summer then I don't know what does.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8R1h6xd9_NR7bfkY0uHa98cBtXezd9Qui4OWYhooOGqm8FLTD3sSYIhXkLl3FsbEVY2tbDjhEkcsWSF4fg-YJOUboaZmdcjgcrfFxZgVsqiMLs9yEewzMfZ78fhU2-u1n9NjEZiLzs6w/s1600/15707124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8R1h6xd9_NR7bfkY0uHa98cBtXezd9Qui4OWYhooOGqm8FLTD3sSYIhXkLl3FsbEVY2tbDjhEkcsWSF4fg-YJOUboaZmdcjgcrfFxZgVsqiMLs9yEewzMfZ78fhU2-u1n9NjEZiLzs6w/s320/15707124.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />2. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green<br />Another story that takes place over a summer and features a bit of a road trip. I know not everyone likes John Green's books but I personally love them. His characters are kind of pretentious, but in the way that teenagers often are. I find them so relateable to my teenage self.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQ8r5qgligVwPaYrJkVediBdUmVV61G_kI8iAxpZ1UteALCYL5i1uv4ikK6Xo-xLf54VzLlNxYc95ujpCg-zwCwIJNTdqw4QjDSHkbTKLbq61WbyHRUptHBTRYq3dM7DCBPLF2UYB_6k/s1600/25063781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQ8r5qgligVwPaYrJkVediBdUmVV61G_kI8iAxpZ1UteALCYL5i1uv4ikK6Xo-xLf54VzLlNxYc95ujpCg-zwCwIJNTdqw4QjDSHkbTKLbq61WbyHRUptHBTRYq3dM7DCBPLF2UYB_6k/s320/25063781.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br />3. Summer Days & Summer Nights - edited by Stephanie Perkins<br />I didn't love every story in this short story collection, but most of them were super cute. I just realized that 4 out of my 5 recommendations are YA so sorry about that, but that's how I feel.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVo0p82h0qAwsKZ_C7JSj-Y0FGv2rt9midR71xPAIQl17T1bY6HEFazuLa-hbBGBlTBMqmSyu5qzQ8ryEuBBhkZ4ziCW_vPhfzYh3VtuR3qfh5Zf10G_3B0MJAYtS4ARBAsq4Rz1M51qM/s1600/22617224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVo0p82h0qAwsKZ_C7JSj-Y0FGv2rt9midR71xPAIQl17T1bY6HEFazuLa-hbBGBlTBMqmSyu5qzQ8ryEuBBhkZ4ziCW_vPhfzYh3VtuR3qfh5Zf10G_3B0MJAYtS4ARBAsq4Rz1M51qM/s320/22617224.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series - Ann Brashares<br />This was my quintessential series as a teenager. I reread them summer of 2015 and it was a great time. All of the books take place over summer, and they have that perfect feeling.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd2BaPTjxwShyDXM2PrSYJvB98op0pKHwmozoC6JS0UTHcOx3mRf-wBkdhiTng07Omj_EJxezfXLfxgJ-qcpQUgMhBLllmmwMDOxnhLxc7sGY7Aw0TDjG1i-eCjRLlJGsLtjVwklq0mI/s1600/8706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd2BaPTjxwShyDXM2PrSYJvB98op0pKHwmozoC6JS0UTHcOx3mRf-wBkdhiTng07Omj_EJxezfXLfxgJ-qcpQUgMhBLllmmwMDOxnhLxc7sGY7Aw0TDjG1i-eCjRLlJGsLtjVwklq0mI/s320/8706.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series - Douglas Adams<br />This one might seem a little random, but for me, I always want to reread this series over the summer months. It might be because they're fun and crazy, and I just read through them really fast, which is something you want in a summer book. Maybe it's because I first read through them in the summer. But whatever the case may be, when I think of summer books, these definitely come to mind.<br /><br />What do you think of my list? What are some of your top summer reads?Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-74796670735700101742017-04-27T12:00:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:08.269-06:00Mer || Joelle Sellner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483982815l/33825562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483982815l/33825562.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Mer</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Joelle Sellner</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Length: 128 pages</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Publication date: April 19, 2017</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genre: YA urban fantasy graphic novel</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Confession: I am a sucker for anything that promises to have mermaids or has to do with Atlantis. So when I saw the cover of this graphic novel on Netgalley, I didn't need any more information before I hit that request button.</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mer tells the story of Aryn, who has moved to a new city with her dad and sister a few months after her mother passed away. She isn't pleased about it, but meets some kids at school that befriend her pretty quickly. What she doesn't know is that they have some dangerous secrets...</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What I liked about it:</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><ol><li>I liked the mer-people aspect, obviously. </li><li>It was a fast read.</li><li>It was about mer-people. That came from Atlantis.</li></ol></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What I didn't like about it:</span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><ol><li>The characters were really under-developed.</li><li>The story was really typical, it didn't do much that was unexpected.</li><li>The dialogue was quite awkward, it just didn't feel like how people actually talk.</li></ol></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wouldn't recommend buying it, but if you see it at the library and you want to stay occupied for a half hour, I'd pick it up. </span><br /><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18.48px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00grWhTCQqGhBcjk9adj-zHZx-KnpqfP3zv8oaSgpcdaDNvvO7rWa2wX8AXujOzHt4vex8beI1uG2NjtfHkKxS4y6SrdgLIs021OHeuCQTNZ0DiW9209rBDqhcDGoddH4iPiopVWcij8/s1600/2.5+heart+rating.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00grWhTCQqGhBcjk9adj-zHZx-KnpqfP3zv8oaSgpcdaDNvvO7rWa2wX8AXujOzHt4vex8beI1uG2NjtfHkKxS4y6SrdgLIs021OHeuCQTNZ0DiW9209rBDqhcDGoddH4iPiopVWcij8/s320/2.5+heart+rating.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br /><br /><br /><i style="text-align: left;">I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.</i></div>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-6716528566213195192017-04-26T09:51:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:41:08.457-06:00T5W: Authors You Want to Read More From.It's Top 5 Wednesday, and I love today's topic so I'm joining in! Today's topic is authors you want to read more from. I'm taking this to mean authors that I've read one or two books from, and they have more published works that I can get to. I have quite a few authors, so I think there might be some honourable mentions at the end.<br /><br />1. Emily St. John Mandel.<br /> I read Station Eleven for the first time in 2015 and it instantly became one of my favourite books. I absolutely loved the writing in it, and ever since then I've been wanting to read more of her works. I have 2 more of her books waiting patiently on my shelves.<br /><br />2. Stuart McLean<br /> Stuart McLean recently passed away, and it's not very often that I get genuinely sad about a celebrity/public figure passing, but his death affected me a bit. He was a fantastic storyteller and has an extensive series called the Vinyl Cafe series. I've read the first two books and can't wait to get to more.<br /><br />3. LM Montgomery<br /> Anne of Green Gables is my life, in case you were not aware. I've read most of the Anne series, but LM Montgomery wrote SO many books outside of that series as well. I would love to read them all.<br /><br />4. CS Lewis<br /> Guys, I haven't really read CS Lewis outside of the Chronicles of Narnia. What even. I just really need to read more of his books because he was so wise.<br /><br />5. Anthony Doer<br /> I read All the Light We Cannot See in 2015 (that was an excellent reading year for me, apparently) and it wrecked me, so obviously I have to read more of his books. I have a couple of them waiting on my shelves as well.<br /><br />Okay, I just have one more, so it's top 6 Wednesday now hehe.<br /><br />6. Ruta Sepetys<br /> Guess what, another author I read for the first time in 2015 that I loved that I have a couple more books from just waiting for me. Yeah...<br /><br /><br />I could add more, but these really are the top ones. What are some of the authors you need to read more from?Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-15268375277441340842017-01-15T19:34:00.000-06:002019-01-17T10:41:08.647-06:00My Reading Goals: 2017 editionIt's 2017 and I want to share my reading goals with you!<br /><br />My biggest goal of the year is to read my own books and reduce my TBR. Today I counted how many books I have unread on my shelves. There are 219 books on my TBR bookshelf. Yes. It's ridiculous. To help out, I'm only allowing myself to buy a max of 2 books a month. If I don't buy any books that month, it won't roll over. 2 a month and that's it. I'm also on a library ban. I can only go to the library if it's to get the next book in a series that I'm reading. For example, I started reading Fruits Basket last year, and I'm getting those books from the library. I'm also including book club books that I don't own.<br /><br />My next goal is to finish reading series. I have quite a few unread series (I'm not sure of the exact number, but probably over 10). Some of them only have the last book for me to read, and because I have a serious procrastination problem, I just don't get to it! So I especially want to finish up series where I only have to read the last book.<br /><br />Some series to complete:<br /><br /><ul><li>Harry Potter (my first read through ever!)</li><li>The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson (I just have to read the last one but I'm so scared I just want everyone to be okay)</li><li>The Young Elites by Marie Lu (just have the last one)</li><li>The Lone City by Amy Ewing (just the last one as well)</li><li>Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya (I'm up to volume 9 of 20? However many it is...)</li><li>Red Rising by Pierce Brown (I've just read book 1 but I own the whole trilogy)</li><li>The Silo series by Hugh Howey (last one)</li><li>The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (I've only read the first one)</li><li>The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima (I've read 2 out of 5)</li><li>The Lord of the Rings (yup. I've only read the first one)</li></ul><div>I also have some series where I've read everything except the novella bind-ups that came after the other books were published. Specifically the ones for The Selection series by Kiera Cass and The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. So technically I'm done the series but there are more things to read! </div><div><br /></div><div>My Goodreads goal for the year is 50 books. That actually isn't that important to me to accomplish. I know I will, because I read more than 1 book a week, but it's not the most important one to me this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's basically it, guys! What are some of your reading goals for the year?</div>Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6695586268486047256.post-3958202454926701112017-01-15T18:16:00.001-06:002017-01-15T18:17:37.373-06:00Hello 2017: On setting goals.Hi.<br />
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My dear friend <a href="http://www.throughcloudedglass.com/">Callie</a> has started doing "old-fashioned" blog posts, where she hearkens back to the good ol' days of blogging (ie before the days where you had to have a Pinterest-worthy image and when no one even knew what SEO was) (I still am a little hazy on that, to be honest). I know that 100% that's why I haven't been blogging over the last few years. I just don't care to have the buzziest, most beautiful blog with inspiring pictures and content that will change your life. I mean, that would be really cool, I guess, but that's not my aim. I just want this to be a space where I share thoughts about life. So, here we go. Back to old-fashioned blogging.</div>
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One of my goals for 2017 was to blog every week at least once, and we're on week 3 now with the first post. Oh well! I'm not going to beat myself up about it.</div>
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I like to set goals for myself at the beginning of every year. There's just something about that fresh start that I love. So I set myself goals, but at the same time, I'm not super hung up on them. I just think about things that I would like the year to hold, and then see what I can do to get there. </div>
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<b>Some of my goals for the year are:</b></div>
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- To buy a maximum of 24 books all year. Unless you are familiar with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/littleprairielibrary">my YouTube channel</a>, this is going to seem kind of silly. Like, really, how many books do you buy, Felicia? Well since I discovered the Booktube community over 2 years ago, my book buying has become ridiculous. I have over 200 unread books on my shelves. Now, here's a disclaimer - the majority of these books are not bought at full price. I buy mostly from thrift stores and <a href="http://www.bookoutlet.com/">Book Outlet</a>. So it's about a quarter of what it would be if I was buying everything at full price. That being said, it's not actually that fun to have that many books that you haven't read on your shelves. The problem is that I still want to read all of these books, but the rate of books bought has long surpassed the rate of books read. I want to level the playing field again so that I actually have a chance of reading books within a couple months of buying them. I'm not telling myself no books all year, because that's just cruel and why would I do that to myself?? But buying only 2 books a month when I read at least 5 will at least have the total number of unread books still going down. Pray for me, guys.</div>
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- To organize my house using the KonMari method. Yes, I've read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Yes, I thought it was really helpful. No, I'm not saying "thank you" to my old socks for their service to my feet. But our house is small and things need to be organized better for the storage space we have. What I love is how simple her method is - organize by category, not by room. That makes so much sense to me. We have similar things in different places in our house, and I would like to get things in order. (If you're curious about the book, you can find plenty of articles and blog posts that contain all of the information you would need from the book without having to read it)</div>
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- To get caught up on my backlog of letters. For 3 years I have not really been into writing letters, so I have quite the pile of letters (probably 30+) that need to be responded to. But honestly, I'm not going to respond to every one of those letters. I'm going to respond to people that I had a good correspondence with, obviously, but I know there are a few letters from people that were first letters, or people that I didn't really enjoy writing to. I'm probably not going to respond to them, because why would I after all this time? I'm sure at this point they're not expecting me to reply. I know I had too many correspondences going on at the time, and I'd like to keep it at more of a manageable number. Quality over quantity.<br />
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As you can see, these goals are pretty flexible, and ongoing. The overall goal with them is to shift my mindset and my priorities behind them. I want buying books to be a treat again, not a routine. I want to be mindful of my possessions and what is actually in my house. I want to cultivate relationships and conversations, not collect pen pals like they're Pokémon.<br />
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So there it is. Some of my goals for the year. And my first blog post in months! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this one and you'll be seeing more from me this year. </div>
Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04244222556724875019noreply@blogger.com2