Top 5 of 2015

 Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists, 

The last day of 2015. What a weird, yet wonderful year. Many ups and downs for me. Many new friends. Many new favourite books. As before, I have narrowed down my top rated books from Goodreads to my Top 5 of the year. 

1. The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

Perhaps one of the best fantasies I’ve read in a long time. Cameron’s background in medieval history certainly solidifies his world. His characters are all sorts of grey, never good nor bad, something in betwk-Sniffers and Librocubicularists, 

2. Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner

I searched high and low for a decent book about dragons. None of these kookey creatures, quirky and goofy. These are believably solid, ancient creatures with a long history. A delightful journey and a relateable main character. The romance in this story is unusual. Book 2 in 2016 for sure.

3. Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Elegant. Beautiful. Exquisite. The story leaves you thinking, pondering, and wondering. Magic is sprinked in so delicately that it seems plausible. A joy to read. A book that reminds you how remarkable writing can be.

Review here. 

4. Here, There be Dragons by James A. Owen

A surprise! Has you wanting to curl up next to a cozy fire or pitch a chair at the beach. All the warm fuzzies about your most favourite literary characters. Book 2 for the bookclub in 2016.

Review here.

5. The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

One of the best future society YA novels out there. Testing the limits, combining the heart of artistic expression and the  advances of human kind’s technology. I wanted to know more about this world only hinted at.  A high recommend for those itching for a new dystopian society.

Review here. 

Honourable Mention:

Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville

I reread the first two: Into the Land of the Unicorns and Song of the Wanderer. The last two of the series were new to me: Dark Whispers and The Last Hunt. Finally completing a series that got me into fantasy, into reading, and an life-long obsession with magical creatures. Why not mention this fantastic series?

Coville can create some of the most remarkable characters, all unique and lovely. I hated to see them go. What a wonderful 20 year journey.

Merry Christmas!

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

What an odd end to this year. This seems a trend for my reading every year. Begin strong, peak in the summer months, and peter out into bare reading in November/December.

Now on holidays, I can start planning my potential reading for next year. I've been brainstorming some attack methods. Things that didn't work this year, things that did. My goals worked, the Popsugar 2015 Challenge was fantastic, and many MANY books were crossed off the reading list.

As the end of the year approaches I look at the stack of new books that I pushed aside because I had all of these other ones I wanted to read. This approach will change, though I'm not sure just yet how I will do it. I've been reading other people's blogs to see what they do, to be inspired potentially.

My bookclub with my best friend will continue. We've already got ten or so books lined up as priorities. Another bookclub invited me in. Thankfully, we're all understanding of our busy schedules, so the reading demand will be much less.

Right now, I'm hoping to end the year with one or two strong books - great characters, great story, and great fun. Three that I have in my queue are: Irenicon by Aidan Harte, Nod by Adrian Barnes, and Smiler's Fair by Rebecca Levene.

Between now and the first weekend of the New Year will be filled with resolutions and new lists. Very excited.

A very merry Christmas to you!

Reading Real Talk

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

It's been a wonderful, busy couple of months. I'm happy working and doing the thing I love. That means more time spent doing the work rather than doing the reading.

I got to a point last month where I was becoming stressed over all the books I was feeling that I had to read. My best friend sat me down and gave me a talk. Read only what I love. Read in the moment. The list is the guide, not the rule by which to follow.

Miscellaneous updates:

Patrick Rothfuss's "Wise Man's Fear" is ridiculously long. I'm 500 pages in... it's 1000 pages. At this point, I've put it down so I can feel accomplished by reading something shorter.

Blind date: My best friend got the idea that we go to a used book store and pick out a book for each other. I added that we should wrap the cover so we can't see what it looks like. Of course, it doesn't hide the title, but it certainly hides possibly AWFUL covers. And believe me, browsing through that store, there's some pretty hilarious and cringy artwork. Makes you wonder what the actual story is about.
My book that she got me is actually quite good so far. Just past the first 30 pages and it's perfect for me! Woman on an adventure. Done. I'm sold.

NaNoWriMo: The month of writing 50,000 words of your own story... yup, participating in that this year. Why? Why not! I'm clearly just making more work for myself. December will feel like a breeze when this month is done. (famous last words?)

Thank you for stopping by. Perhaps late December I'll be able to write a few reviews.

~ Happy Winter Reading ~

October is Here!

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

At this point, managing work and reading has been an ordeal. I managed to read four books in September. Two adult, one young adult, and one reread children's.

My best friend and I are reading Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, one per month. This month is "The Wide Window". I forgot how wonderfully delightful they are. Hilarious with their side narrator tangents, ridiculous bit of information, and the terrible things that keep happening.

"Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein is ...  incredible. I shall try and form words together for a review.

The realization has dawned on me that I cannot, in no way, at this point in time, complete my reading wish list for this year. So now, is knocking off those that I can find time for. It'll be a struggle. I'll do it!

~Happy Autumn Reading~

Iron, Steam, and Monsters

The Iron Thorn
By Caitlin Kittredge

In an alternate history, where the cities are driven by Engines and the streets are protected by Proctors, there is a girl named Aoife (Ee-fay). Her mother is mad - the crazy kind - and her brother became mad on his 16th birthday. Aoife is days away from her 16th birthday and she fears this same madness will consume her. The Proctors hunt down mad people and throw them into mad houses.

Aoife wants to escape. She can escape from the city but can she escape from genetics?


Let me preface my review with this: I was so very unattached to all characters, uninterested in the story, and it pained me to finish this whole book. If my review is skewed, this is why. The story might be wonderful and I was not in the mood.

Mainly I found myself uninterested because the book felt like it still needed some serious cutting. It was 492 pages. For what really happened, that is too many. There were scenes that were superflous and much of the nattering inside Aoife's head was unneeded.

The world is cool. It's steampunk basically. Aether glows in lights much like electricity, but blue. An Engine located underneath the city constantly churns and keeps the Aether going. Typical steampunk things make appearances: goggles, dirigibles, machines with gears and cogs.

The best part of the world was not the steampunk aspect, but the insertion of Lovecraftian monsters. The monsters are THE best part of the book. There's creepy undead things, skittering humanoid creatures that lurk in the night, and faeries (were they faeries?) so dark you shiver at night thinking about the descriptions Kittredge gave.

Aoife (apart from having a ridiculously difficult name to pronounce) is a believable character. She studied engineering and machinery - yay intelligence - and, for the most part, she barrels through events without needing much of anyone's help. She is anything but helpless. Instead she needs her friends for moral support. I liked this apsect of her character. Not dependant on the boys around her.

Yes, there's boys. Of course. It's young adult. First, there's Conrad her mad brother who's disappearance takes her away from the city in the first place. Then there's Cal, her best friend. He's an incredible annoying character, with a chip off his shoulder, and he's there for her through thick and thin. And finally, Dean. With a name like that, you're sure shootin' he's the romantic interest. Oh, he's a rebel, a dark mystery about him, and he's totally into Aoife.

The story. At the core, it's a great story. A great set up for a trilogy I will not read. There was too much side stuff. Cut about 150 or 200 pages from this book and you've got a story that's action-packed and moves at a clip. Looking at the second and third book, looks like the publishers, or the author, realized  that the story needed to be more compact - the last book being 304 pages.


This book was NOT for me. Every time I sat down to read it, my mind wandered elsewhere. I found myself skimming half the time. After all that skimming, I lost nothing. I still took in the details of the world and the twists and turns of the characters' journey.

Venture into this dark, steampunk world and try not to have nightmares about the monsters. I know I am happy to have left it, never to return.


2/5 STARS

Gah, that cover is gross.

September Update

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Having received excellent news of a new job, my September suddenly looks full and my reading opportunities lessening. I've a series of adult books that need reading. The most recent YA I read was more than disappointing and I need that break.

Never fear though. I shall return in form, probably sooner than I thought.

~ Happy reading! ~

Mid-Year FreakOUT

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

The middle of year was actually the first week of July... who cares?! *dances around room* Let's do this.

Total Books Read: 58
Total Pages Read: 21,014
Go here to see my 'Ultimate Reading Challenge' status

Rereads: 5
YA: 35
Adult:23

Best Book so far...
YA - either The Summer Prince (Alaya Dawn Johnson) or The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (Lelye Walton)
Adult - The Red Knight (Miles Cameron)

Best Sequel
Of Triton (Anna Banks)

New Release Haven't Read
End of Days (Susan Ee)

Most Anticipated Book in the 2nd half of 2015
Queen of Shadows (Sarah J. Maas)

Biggest Disappointment
YA - Summer & Bird (Katherine Catmull)
Adult - The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)

Biggest Surprise
172 Hours on the Moon (Johan Harstad)

New Favourite Author
YA - Leslye Walton
Adult - Miles Cameron

Newest Fictional Crush
Enki from The Summer Prince (Alaya Dawn Johnson) or Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J Maas)

Newest Favourite Character
YA - Enki from The Summer Prince (Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Adult - Laren from Song in the Silence (Elizabeth Kerner)

What book made you cry?
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - both happy and melancholy tears

What book made you happy?
YA - A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J Maas)
Adult - Song in the Silence (Elizabeth Kerner)

Best Book to Film Adaptation
Admitting, I have yet to see any this year - I do plan on watching Far from the Madding Crowd and The Martian.

Favourite Review
Here, There Be Dragons (James A. Owen)

Most Beautiful Book Acquired
Either The Assassin's Blade (Sarah J Maas) or End of Days (Susan Ee)

What books need to be read by the end of this year?
For a full answer see my Books To Read tab. But the Top 5 I need to read are:
1. The Wise Man's Fear (Patrick Rothfuss)
2. Sheepfarmer's Daughter (Elizabeth Moon)
3. Bitter Greens (Kate Forsyth)
4. Drams of Gods and Monsters (Laini Taylor)
5. Hild (Nicola Griffith)

We Are Not Alone

Earth & Sky
By Megan Crewe

Skylar, 17, is bothered by passing feelings that parts of the world around her are wrong. When it happens, she has panic attacks. Then she meets Win. Suddenly her whole life is explained to her and the answer is both cool and terrifying at the same time.

ALIENS!

No seriously. Aliens. And time travel. This book was such a happy surprise!


Ok, clarification - generic without spoilers, I promise. Our planet is the subject of alien experimentation. Whenever Skylar feels something wrong, that's because they have been interfering. They mess with time.

Win is a part of the rebels who want to end this interference. So yes, he is alien. Having fun yet?

Crewe took this really cool idea and turned it into this crazy, time hopping chase between the rebels, the human Skylar, and the alien scientists. So neat!

How did she manage to create this story and keep it from being off-the wall cheesy? Her characters are believable and very flawed, details of the world are explained slowly (apart from one possible info-dumping section that I'm going to ignore because I loved this book so much), and her world is created with real science. In order to get the reader's mind around the complexities of time travel, Crewe was able to explain it in such a way that felt neither dumbed down nor overly unnecessary.

For the most part, the book focuses on the interactions between Win and Skylar. There's conflict - believeable conflict - between them, but also a mutual push to save the world.

My ooooone complaint. At the beginning of the book, I was pleased to be reading about a girl with anxiety issues. I was loving the way it was explained. Her coping mechanism was real and carried throughout the book. My complaint is that part of her anxiety is explained away by the alien interference. On one hand, wouldn't it be cool if all those with anxiety be given a logical (loosely logical... because aliens) reason as to their paralyzing panic attacks. On the other, it's a real issue that cannot be fixed that easily. The redeeming factor of this thread is that she continues to feel panic, even though now she knows what causes it and she retains her coping mechanism. In the grand scheme of things though, it's a minor complaint.

I'm a sucker for anything time travel related... so this book was right up my ally. AND, Megan Crewe is Canadian. Whoo Canadian writers!!!

Highly recommend for the young adult, sci-fi enthusiast.

4.5/5 STARS

Ugh, Summer

We'll Always Have Summer
By Jenny Han

Belly is now in college! We've grown with her through the high school to college years. She's in the middle of a really great relationship (no spoilers I promise) when he proposes. Then chaos ensues.

Teenagers wanting to marry. Exactly what I wanted to read *rolls eyes*. This is my least favourite of this series. The whole book I wanted to end sooner rather than later.

Good things:
- characters grow up, mature, evolve
- I really love Belly's mother. She and I would be great friends.
- Return to the beach house and heart-warming memories (present and past)
- Han is great at complex characters. She loves to reveal parts of them that change how you view them. Excellent!

Awful things:
- young people wanting to marry when Han clearly writes that they are not ready
- the drama of the love triangle... I still dislike love triangles. I've only ever read one that worked.
- SO MUCH DRAMA, yuk

Overall, read the first one "The Summer I Turned Pretty".

2/5 STARS

Filed Memories

The Archived
By Victoria Schwab

Mackenzie is a Keeper of the dead. When people die, their memories become Histories and are filed away in a library between worlds. Sometimes, the memories wake and it's Mackenzie's job to return them to rest in the library. When she moves to a new place, her family reeling from her little brother's sudden death, and the converted hotel in which they live in is full of mysteries and waking Histories.

A richly imaginative world. The concept is unique and every time there's an answer, five more questions pop up. Memorable characters and a deep world I'd love to visit.

Mackenzie seems super human - if this could be her only flaw. She is dealing with issue after issue and I wonder how she didn't break down a cry. I don't think she slept much. This girl is go go go and business like. I liked that about her.

Her family dynamics are lovely. The main character switches between present and memories from the past of her Da, her grandfather, who trained her to be a Keeper. For the first part of the book, I could not make the distinction between her Da (grandfather) and Dad (father) - quite a bit of confusion between those two.

Her fellow team mate Keeper, Wesley, is equally likeable if not more so. I liked their ambiguous chemistry. Business like, but possible hinted at romance. Not sure if this was a romance or a great friendship. Either way, the chemistry between these two is tentative and delightful.

The unravelling of the world was done in a delicate manner. The reader is confused for the first few pages, then slowly Schwab begins to explain the mechanics. This is one that takes a bit to get into, but once you do, be prepared to fly away to another dimension.

Would I want to visit the Library? Yes. But I would refuse to see any filed relatives. See people I don't know, for sure. And, hello, I'd love to meet Roland (who Schwab says is based on David Tennant's Doctor). Uh, yes please.

Overall, really cool. Really REALLY cool. Recommend for those wanting a sorta creepy, dimension expanding, library kinda story.

4/5 STARS

Book-Tube-A-Thon ~ Wrap Up

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

A successful reading week! I hope yours was too.

In all I finished 5 novels, 3 graphic novels, and 6 short stories.

Challenges fulfilled:

1. a book with blue on the cover
 'Here, There Be Dragons' and 'The Archived'


2. an author with the same first initial of last name as you. For me 'P'
'Squire' by Tamora Pierce
 
3. someone else's favourite book
Tricky, I'm sure one of the books I read is a favourite of someones. 'Squire' is one my ALL TIME favourite books... Let's count that.
 
4. last book acquired (library, haul, borrowed...)
'We'll Always Have Summer' and 'Earth & Sky'
 
5. a book without letting go until it's finished (hold it until it's done)
'1001 Nights of Snowfall' or 'Wolves' (both graphic novels in the Fables series)

6. a book you REALLY want to read
Always want to reread 'Squire', currently reading (did not finish within week) 'Swordspoint', definitely 'Earth & Sky', and I challenged myself to read 3 short stories - I read 6.

7. 7 books
Are we counting graphic novels?
Books: Here, There Be Dragons (I); The Archived; Squire (III); We'll Always Have Summer (III); Earth & Sky
Graphic Novels: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Fables); Wolves (Fables); Motherland (Y the Last Man)

Total Pages Read: 2124 

For funsies, I attempted the book tower challenge from Day 3. I even based it off of Orford Castle. Awwwww yeah.

I get my book pics from Pintrest. Check out my board.

A-Thon: Day 7

Day 7

Pages Read Today: 192


Finished overall: 4 books + 3 graphic novels + 6 short stories


Continuing:

Swordspoint
By Ellen Kushner
Pages: 148-190

I don't want this story to end. In hindsight, it's not a good read-a-thon book, but this will easily be on my top list of 2015.



Short Stories:

Rysn
By Brandon Sanderson
Pages: 7

This was alright.
 


From
Epic: Legends of Fantasy
Edited By John Joseph Adams

A-Thon: Day 6

Day 6

Pages Read Today: 49


Finished overall: 4 books + 2 graphic novels + 5 short stories


Continuing:

Swordspoint
By Ellen Kushner
Pages: 124-148

The writing is so lush. I wanted to read this quickly, but the writing is having none of it. So I'm delightfully savouring the story.


Short Stories:

Bound Man
By Mary Robinette Kowal
Pages: 25

I liked this one. Out of time, alternate historical, fantasy with a compelling main female character.


From
Epic: Legends of Fantasy
Edited By John Joseph Adams

A-Thon: Day 5

Day 5

Pages Read Today: 342


Finished overall: 5 books + 2 graphic novels + 4 short stories

Earth & Sky
By Megan Crewe
Pages: 1-298
Challenge: Last Acquired (most recent library visit)

Whew. Yay. Sci-Fi! Review coming soon.





Continuing:

Swordspoint
By Ellen Kushner
Pages:80-124






Back on the reading traaaaain. All aboard for the weekend!

A-Thon: Day 4

Day 4

Pages Read Today:52


Finished overall: 4 books + 2 graphic novels + 4 short stories



Continuing:

Swordspoint
By Ellen Kushner
Pages: 28-80

The writing is so lush. I wanted to read this quickly, but the writing is having none of it. So I'm delightfully savouring the story.




Today's reading flew way under yesterday's outcome. I spent the afternoon and most of the evening writing - working on my 2014 NaNoWriMo story. I do not mind having read little. It is the middle of the read-a-thon and I didn't expect to go as full-throttle as I have been.

Tomorrow will go one of two ways: read-write-read or write-read-write. Neither way is a loss.

Happy reading!

A-Thon: Day 3

Day 3

Pages Read Today: 516

Finished overall: 4 books + 2 graphic novels + 4 short stories

Finished:

Squire
By Tamora Pierce
Pages: 183 - 380
Challenge: Author who shares same last name initial.

3rd book to the "Protector of the Small" series. Reread for probably the millionth time. Pierce is, hands down, my favourite author. She carries the nostalgia of my teen years and whenever I read the books I think about how much they influenced my life. They contain the best role models. Shall I ever have daughters, I only hope they find role models as strong as the women in these books.


We'll Always Have Summer
By Jenny Han
Pages: 1 - 291
Challenge: Recently Acquired

Review to come. Got this at the library today, therefore, recently acquired.





Started:

Swordspoint
By Ellen Kushner
Pages: 1-28

Not exactly on my TBR, however, this will fulfill one of my "Ultimate Reading Challenge" challenges. Esquisitely written so far.

A Retelling?

A Court of Thorns and Roses
By Sarah J. Maas

Feyre's family has fallen into poverty after her father loses the family's money with a bad financial decision. The youngest of three, and perhaps the most responsible, she teaches herself how to hunt to keep her family fed. On one of her hunting trips she kills a giant wolf. As it turns out, that wolf was a faerie - a fearful creature from beyond the mysterious borders that keep humans out. Because of an age-old truce, Feyre must pay for killing the faerie by going across this border with one of these terrifying creatures.

Sold as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I immediately picked this book up. I am also a huge fan of Maas's writing style, so I knew this would be good.

Think of a faerie. Now erase that and think of the elves from Lord of the Rings and you'll get the image of the faeries in this book. You might ask: But they are attractive and isn't this supposed to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Yes. It is retold very loosely. The bare bones of the story at least. Instead of being a beast, Tamlin, the elf fae who takes Feyre, is a hot-damn-warrior. The beast part is that fae are considered dangerous, murderous, and terrible.

Maas knows how to write a world that can EASILY be made for fangirls/boys. Much smoldering. Much chiseled abs. Much golden frollicking and sexiness.

And even with this, there's one hell of a story. The first part moves slowly building toward an action-packed, wow-holy-wham-bam-I-did-not-see-this-turn ending.

Is it without flaw? No. It's still incredibly enjoyable. Look past the flaws and find the moments of wonder.

Are the characters compelling? Yes. Feyre isn't your typical protagonist and some might not enjoy reading from her perspective. But her development is compelling. Tamlin is the golden boy - figuratively and literally. Lucien (Tamlin's second-in-command) is as devious and moody with biting humour as he is witty and loyal. There are many more characters of the like.

Are they frustrating? Sometimes. If characters always did what we wanted them to, they'd be perfect and boring.

How about the world? There are creation holes, however, I am fully on board for the world to expand and be explained in the following books. Yes, there will be two more (at least).

I really REALLY liked this. But it is not for everyone. Keep in mind, Beauty and the Beast is a tale about a beauty falling in love with a beast. There is romance. If you like that, read this. If you like fairy tales with a twist, read this. If you like Sarah J Maas. READ THIS. Otherwise, find something else.

5/5 STARS

A-thon: Day 2

Daaaaaaay 2

Total Pages Read: 574

Finished overall: 2 books + 2 graphic novels + 4 short stories

The Archived
By Victoria Schwab
Pages: 120-321
Challenge: Blue Cover

Totally cool concept. Review here.





Fables, Vol 8: Wolves 
By Bill Willingham
Pages: 1-159
Challenge: Read without letting go

Carrying on with this series. I didn't particularly like this one as much, however, it's a strong installment.




Short Stories:

Strife Lingers in Memory
By Carrie Vaughn
Pages total: 14

Heart-breaking. Real. This story gets you thinking about the heroes after the tale, after the win, after the legendary quests. 



Sandmagic
By Orson Scott Card
Pages total: 17

Exceptional storyteller, of a boy that witnesses a traumatic event and lives his whole life with the darkness of hate feeding his ambition. I didn't dislike the story, but I wasn't ga-ga over it. Card can do no wrong though with skill in writing. The story didn't connect to me though.

Stories from:
Epic: Legends of Fantasy
Edited by John Joseph Adams


Started:

Squire
By Tamora Pierce
Pages: 1 - 183

This is a reread for me. Only to fulfill the shared initial challenge ('P' for me). Seriously, of all the books on my TBR, not one author with a P last name. Apparently, the only 'P' author in abundence on my bookshelf is Tamora Pierce (by design). So of course, any excuse to reread a favourite.