Tome Thursday: Elemental Becoming

 

Hello everyone!

 

Despite the fact I'm pretty much a melted version of myself through this heatwave every single day as I return from work, we persevere.

 

And I've had this book on the backburner for the blog since FOREVER ago.

 

All I needed to wait for was for it to officially release.

 

Which it did - just this week! Monday, to be precise.

 

Ironically, it's also the day I had to go back to work after my vacation, so naturally this means that I was dead on my feet by the time it was time to do some happy dance posts about it, but that's just the way we roll, sadly.

 

Now, however, I've at least got SOME energy and strength left in me because I think I drank twice my body weight in water today, and got some sugar in me during lunchtime. That should keep me safe and sound for the time being, I think!

 

So without further ado, let's head right into the thick of the story that we're about to experience, shall we? Good books wait for no man.

 

And neither does Elemental Becoming.

 

Tome Thursday: Firebird

 

Hello everyone!

 

So I have a confession to make.

 

I had another book lined up and ready to go for tonight. In all honesty, I generally have my posting schedule for this blog handled WELL in advance, because I tend to read a lot, and when you read a lot, you have a list so you keep track of everything.

 

This means that, when something shoots into it like a comet from the sky, you need to adjust, and FAST.

 

I was going to go for a short and sweet kind of story, but that one now got bumped to next week.

 

Tonight's choice blazed into life over the course of this weekend when I sat down and was like, alright, fair, let's see what this is all about since people are talking about the sequel all over BookTok at this point.

 

Not that I follow a lot of BookTok, but it sometimes bleeds into my Youtube and Bookstagram, of course.

 

Without further ado, it's time to travel to the past, fling some magic into the air, and pretend that we know what we're doing with this shape-shifting thing.

 

That's Juliette Cross' Firebird for you.

 

Tome Thursday: Elemental Awakening

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome to tonight's book of choice, which landed in my lap literally forever ago and completely at random - so random, in fact, that I can't even remember how!

 

Although I have vague recollections of finding a post asking for ARC readers for it, and applying thinking that it was never going to happen, yet here I am.

 

Having read the ARC, backed the Kickstarter project, and now seeing the book release into the world.

 

Because yes, it's release week, bby!

 

The official published prints went live February 9, and it has been a WILD ride. It's only getting better too, because the second book is coming this summer, there's a novella focusing on a fan favoured side character slated for autumn ... it's a good time to be in this world, is what I'm saying.

 

So buckle up, get your fingers all flexed and ready, sharpen those swords, and dust off ye ole leathers from our Empyrean drought; here there be dragons!

 

Let's walk with them in Elemental Awakening.

 

Tome Thursday: Heart of Faelithia

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to the next installment in our book reviews saga here on the blog.

 

I have some really fantastical books to talk about this month - and for the next few months, actually, because I just looked at my list and I'm pretty much all squared for this little space for the next who knows how many days.

 

Life just happens while you're having fun reading, is all I'll say!

 

But tonight's book is a very lovely choice, and, conveniently, it JUST released out into the world.

 

Happy release, Magdalena Gavlasova! You really outdid yourself with this book.

 

I do know she has at least two more that you can read either concurrently or as prequels before this one, because they happen in the same expanded world, but tonight's choice was my entry into the universe she's crating, and that's what we'll be talking about.

 

So hold onto your butts, grab a comb, and make sure you look presentable, because we're headed into a world where beauty is everything and cheating isn't an option, in Heart of Faelithia!

 

Tome Thursday: Onyx Storm

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welp. We back, baby.

 

I'm not entirely sure how long it's been since the last time I set foot onto the Continent (literary speaking, of course), but I do know it's been a WHILE.

 

And man oh MAN have things gone from bad, to worse!

 

Now that THAT's out of the way, let's dive right into the nitty gritty of it all, shall we?

 

Because these dragons aren't messing around.

 

Neither, it turns out, are their riders either, which means that we really should be prepared for the fourth book when it eventually releases.

 

For the time being, buckle up, bring all them alloy daggers that you own, make sure you tell the people you love that you love them, and above everything else: do NOT, I repeat, do NOT piss off the largest dragons on the Continent.

 

And no, you don't need an umbrella to brave this Onyx Storm.

 

Tome Thursday: Shadows of the Dark Realm

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome to the last "regular" book review until 2024, because as of next week, we begin our Christmas-themed extravaganza which has seen us through many a-holiday season here on this blog, of course.

 

Hey, let a girl live. I LOVE me some Christmas!

 

But I also love picking up new and exciting stories, too.

 

Tonight's choice is one of them, although it still has some ways to go before it can be perfectly polished and on par with the greats like Tolkien and Jordan.

 

Nevertheless, it's good. It drew me in and made me want to figure out where the heck it was going, and how it was going to end, and definitely gave me some twists along the way as I read it.

 

I was also pleasantly surprised to be approached by the author who so graciously sent me an ARC of his book in the first place. Doesn't matter for how long I've been doing this, it still humbles me immensely when people reach out like that. I'm here for it!

 

And so without further ado: Shadows of the Dark Realm, by Tyler Edwards.

 

Tome Thursday: Iron Flame

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome back to Basgiath.

 

Oh you all knew I'd be going there, particularly after being LATE as all get-out for Fourth Wing thanks to my laptop issues back in the day.

 

I have no such ones now.

 

And I have a physical copy for the book to boot!

 

Ahem.

 

So let's not chatter too much and waste time while we have it, because there are a bunch of impatient dragons waiting, one of which is probably the biggest, grouchiest, sarcastic Dragon Dad of all time, and who needs to hang with Optimus Prime just so they can compare experiences.

 

I bet that would make for an awesome conversation.

 

But without further ado - ladies and gentlemen: Iron Flame.

 

Tome Thursday: Fourth Wing

 

Hello everyone!

 

As you can see, we're back on the blogging grind, which I'm happy with to be honest.

 

I've missed being able to type my thoughts out haha!

 

Tonight we take a look at internet sensation which has taken the book world by storm. Literally and pretty much also figuratively and everything in between.

 

I'll admit that I never would have picked it up ... but a really good friend of mine, one of my best friends even, just kept on and on about how good this was, so I thought to myself, you know what? If so many are saying this is good, then I'll read it too.

 

I haven't regretted it since, and have picked up an actual physical copy of the book.

 

Because this is what I do: I read e-books then decide whether or not I want the actual thing.

 

So without further ado, it's time to put on our flying leathers, pin our hair back, and get ready to kick some serious ass.

 

Basgiath college awaits in Fourth Wing.

 

Saturday Snippet: The Red Queen

 

"Boo."

 

xx

*screencap by me

Tome Thursday: Fire & Blood

 

Hello everyone!

 

So with House of the Dragon being a smash hit on HBO - but did anyone REALLY expect anything else? Really? - I thought it was time to have a little look at the book that the show is based off of.

 

And no, unlike with Game of Thrones, there's no WIP attached to it ... at least not for the era the show's covering.

 

Which is the best thing possible given we know what happened when the original show ran out of published material and needed to figure things out on its own. I'm not saying it was all horrible, but the steady decline was quite obvious, just the same.

 

House of the Dragon has no such imminent problem on the horizon because the entirety of the Dance of Dragons is written out and detailed down to the last squire fighting on one side or the other.

 

This removes a lot of uncertainty and potential problems, as well as, supported with the knowledge that Martin is actually an executive producer on the show and consultant, we all know it's going to be OKAY. Or at least, that's the general consensus.

 

So without further ado, let's dive right into it, shall we?

 

Because before the Starks and Lannisters went at it, dragons ruled Westeros, with Fire & Blood.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Raya and the Last Dragon

 

"Someone has to take the first step." 

Hello everyone!

So this Sunday marked the break day for Men in Kilts, aka they didn't air the next episode and so I'm saving the fifth for next week because I decided to watch something entirely different on my one afternoon off.

If you look back through my blog posts you'll see that, often enough, I'll run into these Disney animated movies.

I mean, I grew up on these!

Not the 3D ones, obviously, but the original animated cartoons!

Still, Disney has definitely managed to hit the success button with a number of their newer animations, so when I saw the trailer for their latest endeavour, I thought to myself it was something I should probably watch eventually.

This past Sunday turned into that 'eventually', and then it was time for Raya and the Last Dragon.

The Inheritance Cycle (Booktober)

 

"Learn to see what you are looking at."

 

I first stumbled over Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle by complete accident - I liked the fact that the first book was blue and had a dragon on it. But then I read it, fell in love with Eragon and Saphira, and ended up impatiently waiting for the conclusion of the saga. Elves, talking cats, and most importantly dragon riders with their dragons may have been invented before, and yes, true, Paolini found inspiration pretty much everywhere in fantasy and science fiction, but that doesn't mean reading the books isn't an absolute joy. So come along for the ride, and join Eragon and Saphira as they set out to destroy a tyrant and return magic to the world!

 

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. He is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king? Not so very long ago, Eragon — Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider — was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders. Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chance. The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? 

And if so, at what cost?

(from Goodreads)

 

xx

*image not mine

 

His Dark Materials (Booktober)

The White Queen (Booktober)

The Thorn Birds (Booktober)

The Bourbon Kings (Booktober)

Cop of the Year (Booktober)

Nefertiti (Booktober)

Timeline (Booktober)

The Murder at the Vicarage (Booktober)

Persuasion (Booktober)

The Longest Ride (Booktober)

Midnight Sun (Booktober)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Booktober)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Booktober)

Atlantis (Booktober)

Origin (Booktober)

Quo Vadis (Booktober)

Death on the Nile (Booktober)

The Little White Horse (Booktober)

The Sign of Four (Booktober)

Harry Potter #2 (Booktober)

Troublemaker (Booktober)

The Lord of the Rings (Booktober)

Tome Thursday: The Werewolf's Dragon Defender

Hello everyone!

FINALLY back with another book review after the computer chaos of last week.

This was the blog post that SHOULD have gone up last Thursday, but unfortunately, I don't always schedule my posts since I quite like the routine of sitting down two to three times a week and typing them up, usually on the day they're getting posted.

I know it may not be the most effective way of doing things, but it's worked for me so far! 

It did, however, also mean I didn't really have a post to share after the old computer said farewell, so this one had to wait a little bit.

Here we are now however, back in Supernatural Suburbia, and Riley Rivers has two other books after the first, Nymph Neighbor, which is all well for me since I usually like to read them in a series and not just stand-alones.

So I think I'm going to actually stop blabbering now and do something productive, aka, get right into the post.

The Werewolf's Dragon Defender is next!

Game of Thrones: The Last of the Starks

"We have won the Great War. Now we will win the Last War."

Hello everyone!

We are now officially in the very last leg of this Game of Thrones season, and I have to say that fans are beginning to see just what a shortened season has caused in the overall plot and development. 

Not that this wasn't obvious on occasions prior to this week's episode, but it's usually when everything really comes to a head that you see whether a show can sink or swim.

It seems like Game of Thrones is beginning to slowly sink, which is sad news for something that's been so epic since the beginning.

Was it all bad? Of course not. It IS still Game of Thrones, after all.

But unfortunately it also wasn't all good, either, and that seems to be the standard by which people in general look at these episodes. I have to admit I'm one of them, too. There's a lot of things to sink your teeth into on television these days, but truly remarkable ones remain scattered and divided.

With now only two episodes to go, and five promising to be a smackdown of epic proportions, let's take our leave of the North, shall we? The Last of the Starks is basically a relocation.

Tome Thursday: The Fork, the Witch and the Worm

Hello everyone!

Back with another book review and this one, I was SUPER excited for.

I mean, granted, a lot of readers critique and complain over Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, but it's one of the series that I fell in love with when I was younger and re-read now on a regular enough basis. I actually re-read Eldest a little while back.

The only thing that's changed, for me, is that I see several things from a different perspective now that I did when I first read the books.

The tribulations of reaching adulthood, I suppose?

In any event, aside from my nit-picking of why nobody lets Eragon do anything on his own if he's SO powerful, when Paolini announced there would be a compilation of short stories to sink our teeth into, I WAS SO STOKED.

Because there was also a promise of catching up with Eragon and his babysitting job of dragon egg-guardian, and THAT WAS EVERYTHING.

So without further ado, let's dive right into The Fork, the Witch and the Worm, shall we?

Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

"We must fight together now ... or die."

Hello everyone!

Winter is here. 

No, I mean, it's LEGIT HERE.

Not many people have missed the second episode of the Game of Thrones final season this weekend/Monday (depending where you live), so I'm going to bet that pretty much everyone knows what I'm talking about .

After all, there's really only one Night King.

And he means business.

With basically a third of the season already over (ZOINKS!) you best believe that it's not going to ease up any time soon.

There's too many people still alive, after all.

Brace yourselves and sound the horns; A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has arrived.

Game of Thrones: Winterfell

"We must fight together now ... or die."

Hello everyone!

IT'S HERE.

WE MADE IT.

Almost two years after season seven wrapped up, season eight of Game of Thrones has finally landed.

And boy, is it promising to be a whopper.

We've only really seen the introductory first hour to the last six episodes HBO will give us of this narration (the prequels and sequels and whatever else they cook up don't count at the moment), but already, things are gearing up. An exposition of a premiere, we've pretty much set it all.

How did Gandalf put it?

The board is set. The pieces are moving.

It's time to call the banners and pull out your dragonglass. Winter is here.

Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall

"The Great War is here."

Hello everyone!

Even at the seaside, I can't resist the lure that is Game of Thrones. I mean, come on, who could?

Definitely not me. 

Besides, there's something incredibly poetic about watching a big-ass dragon torch anything and everything in front of him while I'm sitting on the large terrace listening to the sea on the beach not too far away.

But I digress.

The penultimate episode of the season left us with one big-ass WHAT just as the episode ended (and you can see I love the term big-ass; I'll be using it a lot when it comes to the dragons, sorry-not-sorry!), but also with a sense of ... hey, guy ain't fooling around no more.

Beyond the Wall promised a lot - and delivered.

Tome Thursday: Dragon Rose

Hello everyone!

I apologise in advance if there will be typing errors in this post. A little bit earlier I managed to nick a finger and, as you all well know, fingers tend to bleed like you lost at least an inch of them even though it's just a teeny, tiny scratch! So I had to improvise a bit with a bandage as a normal one just didn't cut it, ergo ending with some sort of stump on top of said finger which makes typing ... difficult.

But anyway.

I did in fact finish quite a few books in the last couple of days, and any one of them would have probably been quite a good cut for this week's blog post, but I need to cool off from one of them (I'm looking at you, Warden) so I decided to go for a lighter reading material today.

Turns out, I'm a Beauty and the Beast nut for certain.

Lo and behold, I found yet another retelling of the story, although truth be told the more I look at this, the more it sounds like it might be a combination of a lot of things, not just one particular fairytale or even legend, actually.

In any event, however, I fell in love with the author's writing style and the pretty much non-drama issues in the book, a realistic approach to the main heroine, and so, without further ado, allow me to present Dragon Rose.

Tome Thursday: The Inheritance Cycle

Hello everyone!

Back to books, since it's Thursday and all, I would have gone to my trust little notepad where I keep my notes on reviews and the like, but then I had a different idea. 

Sometimes, when I feel like it, I can read just about anything, and then at other times my brain is pointing me to a specific book or series. In this case, it just so happened to be one I'd already finished a couple of years ago (and even so it took a freaking DECADE to get to its final point, which is probably less complicated than with GRRM's books, but, you know). But hey, my head didn't want me to read anything else, so I couldn't argue much about it and I just went with the flow I guess.

I first bought Paolini's Eragon book on a whim waaaaaay back when, I think I was still in grade school at the time actually, and the hardcover was really, really cheap. I didn't even know much about it, the blurb on the back sounded interesting, and it had a blue dragon up front.

Yeah, I know, pretty superficial.

But hey, it got me started with the Inheritance Cycle!