Bone Shaking Witches

Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice)

By Joseph Delaney

Old Gregory has been a spook for years, ridding the county villages of evil. He needs an apprentice, he's already had twenty-nine. Thomas Ward will be his next apprentice, the seventh son of the seventh son. This is the first in a long series (13 books, plus additional short stories and novellas).

Honestly, I half expected this book to unimpress me. Boy was I wrong. Gripping action, creepy lore, and wonderful, yet mysterious characters. Sold.

Thomas Ward is an enjoyable character. He is terrified when he needs to be and resourceful. His actions are completely believable. The girl with pointy shoes, Alice, is an enigma. I expect her to come back, no doubt. And Spook, Old Gregory, the master knows more than he is telling. He is the right amount of mysterious.

Let's talk about the creep factor. Wow. This book has some serious elements of horror. I had to remind myself I was reading a middle grade book because the way Delaney wrote the Mother Malkin scenes and the last apprentice's appearance (no spoilers) had me biting my fingernails. I was on the edge of my seat. Surely, I would have nightmares.

Hands down, this is a great book. I might even continue with the series... if the length didn't daunt me.

4/5 STARS

Up is Down, Down is Up

Summer & Bird

By Katherine Catmull

Summer and Bird are sisters. Their parents disappear and they decide to search for them – this leads them to the magical, the enchanting bird-dimension world of Down. There, an evil puppeteer queen that swallows birds whole manipulates the birds and the two sisters' paths.

First off, I chose this book solely on the cover. The picture does not do the texture and metallic sheen justice. Inside, each chapter title is delicately outlined with an illustration of branches and birds (much like the front).

The writing deserves 5/5 stars. Beautifully written. I couldn't get enough of the writing style. Crisp, enchanting, mind bending, and lyrical.

However....

... the story I can only give 2/5 stars. For most of the book, I had no idea what was going on. It was written in a dream-like manner, abstract and vague. Up was down and down was up. Topsy turvy. Like Alice in Wonderland - minus the whimsy, more confusion.

The description in Goodreads says blending reality with magic. That is one way to put it.

I couldn't grab hold of the characters. Their motivations were clear, their feelings were clear, and yet, I felt very distant from them. The world probably was the reason for my disconnection. Dream logic - you think you're one place, and blink, you're in another. Highly imaginative settings; surreal landscapes.

Perhaps I missed the point. Like a piece of artwork so unusual you feel like there's a deeper meaning that you missed...

2/5 STARS

Purple Iron

Iron Hearted Violet

By Kelly Barnhill

Most princesses are beautiful, dragons are terrifying, and stories are harmless. Princess Violet is plain and clever. When she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room with a powerful book, they release an unknown evil power upon their world.

I don't know why, but I got serious "The Princess and the Gobin" vibes. It read very much like an old-world fairy tale. Not exactly immersive, yet relateable.

Unfortunately, I did not connect to any of the characters. That does not mean I did not connect to the story. In fact, there were many elements that I did like. It began simply, then blossomed to complex. 

I admire what Barnhill was writing. She tackled multiple universes, challenging story norms, playing with the narration, and of course in the tag-line, changing the stereotypes of typical fairy tales.

The ending was satisfying and flowed much more quickly than the beginning. I did feel as though the book could've been shorter...

All in all, a solid fairy tale.

3/5 STARS

Bout of Books 12.0 ~ Wrap Up

The week long Bout-of-Books is over. I'm very pleased with my results.

My goal was to complete 2 books and I ended up finishing 3. As well as originally reading 500 pages, and I upped it to 1000, and ended with 1,314 total.

All in all, a wonderful reading week. What a great way to start off the year!

Stay tuned for reviews on "Iron Hearted Violet" by Kelly Barnhill and "World After" by Susan Ee.

15 of 15

New Year. New list of all the books I want to read. This year's list is daunting. As a challenge, somewhat, these are my top 15 most excited to read books. They are not necessarily new. They are the books that I am most looking forward to read.

1. Summer & Bird ~ the cover had me sold immediately

2. The Red Knight ~ a knight, defending the innocent, monsters, a kingdom threatening plot

3. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender ~ gorgeous writing, whimsical fantasy

4. The Wise Man's Fear ~ continuing this incredible journey

5. The Winter Crown ~ you had me at Eleanor of Aquitaine

6. Entwined ~ retelling of a fairy tale, one of my favourite fairy tales, 12 Dancing Princesses

7. Dreams of Gods and Monsters ~ finish the series that captured my fantastical heart

8. The Mime Order ~ find out what happens in this complex society

9. Hild ~ cover and premise, early Medieval/Iron Age, the king's seer

10. Afterworlds ~ meta story about writer and their characters, love the idea

11.The Ladies of Mandrigyn ~ ladies with swords

12. World After ~ evil angels, cruel world, fast action

13. Bitter Greens ~ Rapunzel retelling, 3 separate stories woven together

14. Clariel ~ if only to go into The Old Kingdom once more, return to the place that helped me fall in love with fantasy

15. Bitterblue ~ finish the series, enter the incredible world and love all new characters

Bout of Books 12.0

Bout of Books is a week-long read-a-thon. I've often thought about participating, on a low key level. Not doing the challenges, instead reading more than I usually do. 

Here are my book goals for the week:

- Finish 2 books
- Read more than 500 pages

Possible books to read:
- Shada, by Douglas Adams (Gareth Roberts)
- Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill
- Summer & Bird, by Katherine Catmull
- World After, by Susan Ee

It started last night at midnight. Aaaaaand go! 

Day 1
Shada, by Douglas Adams (Gareth Roberts)
~ page 111 - 376 finished

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill
~ page 1-23

Total pages read: 253
Books completed: 1

Day 2
Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill
~ pg 23 -280

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 1 - 21

Pages read today: 278
Total pages read: 531 -- Goal increased to 1000--
Books completed: 1

Day 3
Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill
~ pg 280 - 424 finished

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 21 - 65

Pages read today:188
Total pages read:719
Books completed: 2 -- Goal increased to 3--

Day 4
Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 65 - 138

World After, by Susan Ee
~ pg 1 - 90

Pages read today: 163
Total pages read: 882
Books completed: 2

Day 5

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 138 - 138

World After, by Susan Ee
~ pg 90 - 144

The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron
~ pg 1- 33

Pages read today: 87
Total pages read: 969
Books completed: 2

Day 6

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 138 - 160

World After, by Susan Ee
~ pg 144 - 314 finished

The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron
~ pg 33 - 58

Pages read today:217
Total pages read: 1186
Books completed: 3

Day 7

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull
~ pg 160 - 254

The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron
 ~ pg 58 - 92

Pages read today: 128
Total pages read: 1314
Books completed: 3
  

Top 5: 2014

Looking through my list of 70 reads from 2014, I have compiled the five-most favourite and stick-with-me books.


1. The Shadow of the Wind ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is what love reads like. 

I fell in love with the characters, the style, and the world.

Because of that, I gifted this book to my soul mate. 

Exquisite.

2. The Story of Owen: Dragonslayer of Trondheim ~ E K Johnston

Was this book written for me?

Marketed as Young Adult, that is far from the truth. 

Passages detailing the Dragons in an alternate history fill out the incredible world.

Memorable characters, impeccable writing, coolest story.

Dragons in Canada. Need I say more?

3. Crown of Midnight ~ Sarah J Maas

Having read and loved Throne of Glass last year, 

I continued the story and was not disappointed.

The series is now one of my top fantasy favourites, hence why both books are tied for third.

World expanding, characters deepening, plot twisting.

Heir of Fire ~ Sarah J Maas 

Ended 2014 with this incredible intallment.

Simultaneous storylines that kept me reading, never once hating any of the voices.

New characters. New favourite characters. 

Same old characters, reminding me why I love this series.

Brava Maas! Consider A-Game brought.

4. Shadows Cast By Stars ~ Catherine Knutsson

First to support a fellow Canadian,
second drawn in by the premise, and

third because it encorporated elements of the mythos of west coast First Nations.

Reality blurs between a dystopian world, barren and lost, 

and the spirit world, in need of healing.

The story was a journey, one I'd like to take again and again.

5. Green Rider ~ Kristen Britain

Found by happenstance. My year's goals changed because of this series.

Fantasy became a bigger part of my reading life.

Karigan (main character) is happily one of my most favourite characters ever. 

The High King's Tomb ~ Kristen Britain

Blown away by the complexity of the story.

I've never read a book like this.

I could hear the whispers of autumn clearly in my mind.

Pastoral and smooth writing helped me finish this 670 page tome in a week.

I want to write like Britain.

These are low on the list because the other books in the series did not receive as high a rating. 

Still good. Still excellent. 

These two are the stand outs in this series,

of which I devoured all published books this year - all 3,202 pages of it.

Cheers to another good year of reading!

Challenges: 2014

[Moved from page to post form to accommodate the 2015 list.]


Vlain and Kron's 2014 Challenge

For 2014, I borrowed and tweaked this couple's challenge. I was inspired by a few BookTube videos where each partner in the relationship challenges the other to read five books chosen by them.

I asked my best friend, Vlain, whether that sounded like fun. We would choose five books for the other person, that we had read, from our library. Together we could not narrow down our list to five books, so we agreed pick ten and the other person could choose five from that list of ten. If we were so inclined to read others, we most certainly could. After all, to read five books over a year is an easy challenge.

If anything, the biggest struggle was to choose books that we not only liked but thought that the other would like as well.

My Challenge List:

Enchantment ~ Orson Scott Card
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ~ Philip K Dick
The Silver Chair ~ C.S. Lewis
The Eyre Affair ~ Jasper Fforde
A Wrinkle in Time ~ Madeleine L'Engle
Pirates Passage ~ William Gilkerson
Hood ~ Stephen R Lawhead
The Dream of Perpetual Motion ~ Dexter Palmer
The Water Room ~ Chrisopher Fowler
A Walk in Wolf Wood ~ Mary Stuart 

Vlain's Challenge List:

Sabriel ~ Garth Nix
I Capture the Castle ~ Dodie Smith
Poison ~ Chris Wooding
The Blue Sword ~ Robin McKinley
Snow ~ Tracy Lynn
The Book of Knights ~ Yves Meynard
Trickster's Choice ~ Tamora Pierce
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray ~ Chris Wooding
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase ~ Joan Aiken

Update: We each read 5 on our lists, taking the others as recommendations for another time.



Page Count

Currently at: 27, 974 pages
Goal: 20,000 pages// Met. Keep going.
Updated: December 31, 2014

Book Count

Currently at: 70
Goal: 55 // Met. Keep going.
Updated: December 31, 2014

A-Z Challenge (See blog post)

BookTube-A-Thon 2014 (See blog post and TBR)
Daily updates: Click on each for the daily blog update
Day 1 --- Day 2 --- Day 3 --- Day 4 --- Day 5 --- Day 6 --- Day 7

Books To Read: 2014

[Moved from page to post form to accommodate the 2015 list.]

In no particular order, the books I've on my reading list:

The Diviners ~ Libba Bray
Ender's Shadow ~ Orson Scott Card
Unbecoming of Mara Dyer ~ Michelle Hodkin
Shadows Cast By Stars ~ Catherine Knutsson
Interview with the Vampire ~ Anne Rice*
Evelina ~ Fanny Burney*
Angelfall ~ Susan Ee
Falling Kingdoms ~ Morgan Rhodes
Allegiant ~ Veronica Roth
The Archived ~ Victoria Schwab*
Vicious ~ Victoria Schwab
The Darkest Minds ~ Alexandra Bracken
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown ~ Holly Black
The Name of the Wind ~ Patrick Rothfuss
Crown of Midnight (2) ~ Sarah J. Maas
Fangirl ~ Rainbow Rowell
Landline ~ Rainbow Rowell
Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer
Wither ~ Lauren DeStefano
The Maze Runner ~ James Dashner
The Bronze Horseman ~ Paullina Simons*
The Iron Thorn ~ Caitlin Kittredge *
Witchlanders ~ Lena Coakley
Keturah and Lord Death ~ Martine Leavitt  
The Scroll of Years ~ Chris Willrich 
Elske ~ Cythia Voigt



Series:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone ~ Laini Taylor
Days of Blood and Starlight (2) ~ Laini Taylor
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (3) ~ Laini Taylor*
Mistborn: The Final Empire ~ Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2) ~ Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (3) ~ Brandon Sanderson
The Knife of Never Letting Go ~ Patrick Ness
The Ask and the Answer (2) ~ Patrick Ness
Shadow and Bone ~ Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm (2) ~ Leigh Bardugo
Shatter Me ~ Tahereh Mafi
Unravel Me (2) ~ Tahereh Mafi
The Green Rider ~ Kristen Britain
First Rider's Call (2) ~ Kristen Britain
The High King's Tomb (3) ~ Kristen Britain
Blackveil (4) ~ Kristen Britain 
Mirror Sight (5) ~ Kristen Britain
Graceling ~ Kristin Cashore
Fire (2) ~ Kristin Cashore

Bookclub:
The Monuments Men ~ Robert M. Edsel 
The Imp of the Perverse ~ Edgar Allan Poe
A Descent into the Maelstrom ~ Edgar Allan Poe
Vampire, Interrupted ~ Lynsay Sands


Graphic Novels:

Saga: Vol. 1, 2, & 3 ~ Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples
Locke & Key, Vol.1: Welcome to Lovecraft ~ Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games ~ Hill & Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows ~ Hill & Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol 4: Keys to the Kingdom ~ Hill & Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol 5: Clockworks ~ Hill & Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol 6: Alpha and Omega ~ Hill & Rodriguez
The Unwritten, Vol 1 ~ Carey & Gross  
Y: The Last Man, Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 ~ Brian K. Vaughn, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr*

*Unread for 2014. Moved to 2015.


Additionally see Challenges, Alphabet Challenge

2015 - New & Old

Happy 2015!

Another year, more goals to make and challenges to fulfill. Last year, I aimed to read 20,000 pages and surpassed that by 7,000! Which roughly added up to 70 books. I am very pleased with that result. The list of books I made, I checked off all but 5 or 6, and I'm pretty satisfied with the result.

This year, I've upped my challenge to 25, 000 pages. Averaging out to 83 books at 300 pages each... but fantasy will lower that number significantly. I have many, MANY fantasy books on my list.

I will continue the Young Adult reviews, though most likely I will be reading more adult fiction this year.

There are some exciting and new goals I've been brewing. Changes to the site will happen this week as I wait for school to start.

Here we go. Happy reading everyone!!!!
~SK