The #CoverLove Tag

I stole this from Hamlette over at The Edge of the Precipice. Make sure to check out her blog and give it some love, if you haven't already! 

A Book Cover Featuring a Gorgeous Dress

Curio, by Evangeline Denmark

This was a surprisingly hard category for me to fill. Most of my reads seem to feature weaponry or people in fighting outfits. However, I do love the deep red on this dress, even if it's something I wouldn't pick it out for myself. It has also come to my attention that I have not reviewed this book on the blog, which is something I will have to remedy. 

A Book Cover with No People, Just Pretty Scenery

Dreamtreaders, by Wayne Thomas Batson

I'm not entirely sure if  this is what they meant by "pretty scenery", but I absolutely love the mystery and magic of this cover. It's a perfect fit for the book. Check out my review here. 

A Well-Loved Cover

A Time to Rise, by Nadine Brandes

I think they were getting at a "well worn" book cover, but I didn't have my camera handy. (Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan would have won that contest). This book cover holds a special place in my part after being part of the cover reveal. 

A Book Cover That Just Makes You Smile

Hello, My Name is Single, by Adriane Dorr

We're taking a brief break from fiction for this one. Hold on here, I know it sounds depressing, but this book's mood matched its somewhat quirky, fun cover. It might not be the cover that makes me smile, per se, but the book has made me laugh (and cry) every time I've read it. Recommended to anyone who has met an older woman who, upon learning of your single status, has tried to be an instant matchmaker for you off the simple criteria that you have a pulse and so-and-so has a pulse, triggering the urge to pound your head repeatedly into the wall. If that fits you, you'll likely love this.

A Book Cover That's Your Favorite Color

Storm, by Evan Angler (Swipe Series, Book 3)

I absolutely love purple, so much so that it was a nickname on a volunteer trip because everyone could pick me out from a distance. If you like post-apocalyptic fiction, I would recommend checking out my review of the first book in the series. (And Evan, if you're out there, you need to continue the series. I'm dying over here. It's been six years)

A Cover with Fond Memories Attached to It

Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini

This book has two sets of fond memories attached to it. The first was bartering with my informal book club of friends over who would get to be the second to read the lone copy we had between the five of us.(I won because I said I could read it in under two days. I did, but I hardly slept. I have no regrets). The second was finding it at my favorite used bookstore back home for very, very cheap and in good condition.

A Book You Wanted Solely for the Cover

Firebird, by Kathy Tyers

I think I've waxed eloquent on this cover before. This was one case of the cover selling the book for me. I just couldn't resist it. I'm beyond happy I picked it up, too. After recently re-reading the book, I think I might be re-evaluating my review from 4.5 to 5 stars and re-shelving on the favorites shelf. It just keeps growing on me.

Do you have any covers you'd like to share? What's your favorite book cover?

Friday Fiction Fix: "Curse of the Spider King"

I'm trying out a new/abbreviated review format so I can bring you more book reviews! (Err...so I have fewer excuses for neglecting to post them.) Let me know what you think in the comments!

5/5 Stars

If you've been following the blog for very long (granted, I haven't been posting much recently, so maybe it would be more apropos to say, "if you've perused through my archives"), you've likely noticed that I'm quite the fan of Wayne Thomas Batson. He seems to find the right blend of dread, mythicalness, and high adventure to incorporate into his fantasy works. Curse of the Spider King, authored by him and Christopher Hopper, is no exception. 

This middle-grade to YA novel centers on several young people in the present day. Unbeknownst to them, however, they have unbreakable ties to the fantasy world of Berinfell-where elves face off with swords against the dreadful Spider King. Soon, they're caught up in a quest to save a world that none of them even knew existed. 

The resulting tale is one of intrigue, urban fantasy, and self-discovery. While there are many, many characters to follow, the authors do a good job of differentiating the characters and their abilities. The prose occasionally reminds you that this is intended to be a book for younger audiences, but overall doesn't get in the way of the rich worldbuilding and otherworldly adventure. I truly look forward to reading the next installment in the series. 

Recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy novels set for a younger audience that focus on world-traveling and self-discovery/coming of age. Some Christian elements are alluded to. 

Avenger's Blog Tag

As we all await the Avengers: Endgame movie, I thought it would be fun to fill out this tag I stole from The Mad Dragon Hatter. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to steal.


Iron Man
A book that made you laugh

The Pig Scrolls by Paul Shipton
Fourth grade humor (think underwear jokes) mixed with Greek Mythology and dry wit makes this one a fun read that you have to be in just the right mood to enjoy. Maybe my sense of humor is weird, but I about laugh my socks off every time I read it.

Thor
A character with strength you admire

Aragorn, from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
I had a serious debate between Samwise and Aragorn on this one, but I think more ink has been spilled lauding Sam on this case. Aragorn might not be the character you pick for moral fortitude, but he shows remarkable moral strength. He refuses the Ring as a mortal man and refuses to give into temptation. Seeing as hobbits seem to be somewhat naturally immune, I think this is more noteworthy than most people would give him credit. He also is never depicted as whining about his lot in life, even though he faces a hard uphill battle to reclaim what's rightfully his, and his prospective father in law is rather demanding.

Captain America
A book set in another era.

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
This didn't fall under my fantasy/sci-fi theme on this blog, or else I would have reviewed it here (and perhaps I still will). I truly enjoyed it. Nazi Germany has been the setting of many, many novels, but I felt this one gave me a fresh take on it. This was the first historical fiction novel I had enjoyed for some time, so it was a nice change of pace.

Hulk
A book that made you angry

The Gladiator and the Guard, by Annie Douglass Lima
First, let me say I love this book. It wasn't the book that made me angry, but rather one of the characters who I had come to love in the previous novel. He just...regressed...so much. And it nearly cost the protagonist his life. I wanted to reach into my ereader and physically shake some sense into him. So, well written. Go read the series, or my review of book 1 if you want more info.

Hawkeye
An underrated book

C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy
I don't know if this is just an unknown series or if it's truly underrated. I was very surprised to find that I had scrolled through the entirety of my Goodreads list and not found a book that jumped out at me for this one. Anyway, if you like 20th century sci-fi or just C.S. Lewis' thought processes, go check this lesser-known trilogy. (And don't dislike Hawkeye. He's a cool dude because archery.) An alternate answer would be The Silmarillion, but I already picked one Tolkien item for the list.

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch
Sibling Love

Meg and Charles Wallace Murray from A Wrinkle in Time. 
I don't have any siblings, so I've lived vicariously through books. I have to say that I found Meg and Charles to be quite charming. They disagree and fight from time to time, but they genuinely love each other without being creepily/unnaturally well adapted.

Antman
A book you want to read but can't

The War of Swords by D. Barkley Briggs
I have searched everywhere for this. Legends of Karac Tor is one of my favorite series, but it's gotten kicked around from publisher to publisher and very few copies of the final book were printed. Even Amazon doesn't have it. I finally managed to scrounge up a digital copy for NOOK, but I can't get the ereader app to work. *Headdesk*

Loki
An antagonist you like

Murtagh, from Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle
Honestly, I don't know how I haven't thought this before, but Murtagh's one of my favorite antagonists. He's one of those "between a rock and a hard place" antagonists who was forced to be a bad guy. However, he also displays how adopting the attitude that you were forced to be the bad guy can turn you into one at heart, though he redeems himself in the end--or perhaps all along. One wonders what his life would have been like if he hadn't been betrayed.

Who's your favorite Avenger? Do you have a burning answer to any of the tag questions?

What I've Been Reading

I promise I haven't entirely neglected the blog..there's about a half dozen articles and reviews typed out on my computer that I keep stalling on because I can't find the way to say what I actually want to say, if that makes sense. In the meantime, I'm going to follow some advice I heard a while back: if something's worth doing 100%, sometimes it's better to do it 80% than 0% if you can't quite muster full strength. So, here's my 80% post with some thoughts on my recent reads:

Children of the Blood Moon Trilogy

I just finished off this trilogy that I started reading over a year ago. It's an interesting Christian fantasy trilogy that, even if a little heavy handed on prophecies and special powers at times, is worth the read. S.D. Grimm manages to weave a tale that's well balanced with regard to action, character development, and a bit of romance. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future as her writing style continues to develop. Overall, I'd give the trilogy 4/5 stars. (Review of Book 1).

1984

This dystopian classic has been on my radar for a while now; it wasn't exactly on my personal reading list because I wanted to read it (I knew it was depressing), but because I feel it's one of those books that you should read if you claim to be a reader. While I don't think it's something I'll be inclined to re-read anytime soon, I'm glad I did finally pick it up. The story was less horrifying for its ending than its startling parallels to the 21st century--the best way to keep people missing holes in their logic is to keep them shouting about something. Stir up enough emotion and you can have them change which enemy they're facing and completely ignore objective truth. Not a light read, nor for those looking for a clean book, but nevertheless worthwhile to chew on for a bit. 

Rome: A History in Seven Sackings

This was a pure impulse buy; whenever I travel somewhere and find a local bookstore, I feel it's my bookish duty to support them. It's another volume that I won't be rereading for a while, but intriguing in its own right. If you have a general interest in history or in Rome in particular, the author's description of Rome's architecture and culture through the centuries through the lens of seven invasions was captivating enough to get me through the whole volume. 

Kiss of Deception 

My family generally tries to pick me up a new series every Christmas; this was one such book and may eventually make a full appearance on the blog. Although a little heavy-handed on the romance, it was an enjoyable read and I plan on continuing in the series. 

Upcoming

I'm looking forward to reading the very-long awaited Forsaken Continent by Wayne Thomas Batson. This third installment of the Myridian Constellation (formerly the Dark Sea Annals) is slated to arrive at my door in paperback on my birthday this week, which is pretty much the best bookish present I could ask for. 

As far as other long-expected books go, I'm working up the courage to open my copy of The Fall of Gondolin. It's the last Tolkien book to be released--probably ever--so it'll take the perfect day to read it. However, I'll probably tackle it just in time for the Tolkien biography movie set to be released in May. 

Friday Fiction Fix: "Mark of the Raven"

The Short

Mark of the Raven
The Ravenwood Saga, Book 1

By: Morgan L. Busse

5/5 Stars

What: In a world where the ruling houses have supernatural gifts, the heiress of one house must decide how to best utilize her family's long-kept secret.

Recommended to those who like: Fantasy, Christian, Assassins

The Long

Morgan L. Busse doesn't readily come to my mind when I think of my favorite authors, but she really should, especially after this opening to her latest Christian fantasy series. It was absurdly close to making it onto my favorites shelf, and it may eventually work its way there when I re-read it.

Lady Selene of House Ravenwood has a secret that no one can know. Ravenwood, long thought to be the only ruling house without a supernatural gift, holds one of the most powerful gifts of all--dreamwalking. They've been using it to gather information from people's dreams for the past few centuries and Lady Selene is now thrust into the position of using her gift for her house's benefit.

But when the time comes to choose between her house's benefit and the good of the entire kingdom, what will she choose?

This book was darkly captivating and heart-wrenching at some points. I really like Selene and how three-dimensional she is when she has to face the various moral quandries presented to her in this book. She feels real, with conflicted emotions, but she has enough drive that she doesn't come across as wishy-washy.

The world-building in this book is also fantastic. Unlike many Christian books, multiple religions are presented and they aren't so clear-cut as to be unrealistic. The different houses and their heads are fleshed out enough to make it feel like a real world without being overwhelming to the reader.

The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend this book to fans of Christian fantasy who are looking for a darker, richer tale of how to deal with moral dilemmas. Due to some mentions of adult themes, I would recommend it to teens and up.

Looking for more by Morgan L. Busse? Check out my reviews of her other fantasy series  and her steampunk novels. 

Sequel Review: Through Chaos

Well, I had to slip in one last post before the end of the year, though this review is a month overdue. This is the third book in the Chronicles of Sarco Christian sci-fi series by Joshua A. Johnston, and I would highly recommend it. If you're looking for the first book in the series, you can find my review of Edge of Oblivion here.. 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.*

The Short

Through Chaos
Chronicles of Sarco, Book 3

By: Joshua A. Johnston

4.5/5 Stars

What: The crew of the Hattan find themselves facing a two front war that only they can win.

Recommended to those who like: Christian, Allegory, Sci-fi, Space Opera, Space Battles, Ensemble Casts

The Long

I always approach the end of a series with a certain amount of trepidation. Will it finish well? Or will it bust. That underlying anxiety is heightened when I get the chance to review a copy of the book for the author.

All of my fears were unfounded with regard to this series, however. Mr. Johnston did not disappoint. The allegorical elements continued to be well-executed, the sci-fi backdrop remained rich and vibrant, and I can imagine no better way to send off some of the characters I've grown to love in the series. My only complaint was that it got a little challenging to keep track of all the characters that had joined the story, especially since it had been several months since I had read the first two installments.

Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this series to fans of Christian sci-fi/space opera. You'll find that it's hard to beat.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

"A Wrinkle in Time" (2018) Part 2

I started last week with some thoughts on the plot and characters of the 2018 adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. This week, I'll be finishing up my review/rant with thoughts on thematic and cinematic elements of the movie. This does contain spoilers. 


Thoughts--Themes
Obviously, everyone has a different thought on the theme of a book, so I can only speak from what A Wrinkle in Time did for me as a novel and what it did for me as a movie.

The movie picked up on some themes of the novel--the iconic love conquers all, for instance--and light vs. the darkness.

Light vs. darkness took an interesting twist in the movie adaptation. The discussion of giving into evil is turned into invasion of evil--an interesting choice for a world that doesn't seem to believe in a devil any longer. People's role in giving in to evil, choosing to satisfy their inner greed and jealousy, is sidelined for a theory that something from the outside comes in and fills the emptiness. It's a subtle change in nuance.

Unsurprisingly, they opted to eliminate Scripture references from the cinematic adaptation. While not shocking, I thought at least one of the quotes (John 1:5) would have been pertinent to the themes expressed in the movie. I was also mildly surprised at the neglect of referring to the Mrs. W's as angels (or even stars)--it seemed an interesting part of backstory that was cut out. It would be a far stretch to call the novel a Christian novel--it's really rather Universalist, listing Christ right next to Buddha as a warrior for the light. But someone would have thrown a fit over religion if it had been included, I suppose.

I was also disappointed that the concept of tessering was not explained further. There's a really interesting explanation in the book that's rather iconic and I thought they had set up a nice play into it with Meg's folding note she received from her father, but I suppose they thought it was a little overfull for a kid's movie.

On a really petty side note, I was also bummed that they didn't include one of my favorite lines--"Like and equal are not the same thing at all!" The neglect of it plays into the overall botching of the Camazotz plotline. I thought it would be an interesting play considering the increased diversity of the cast. (Which they didn't beat into your skull, so it worked nicely. It felt pretty organic, really, so points for that.)

Thoughts--Movie Stuff

Alright, here we get to the part that I don't usually get to review--the cinematic appeal of things. Overall, I felt the movie was just too bright. It's a sci-fi movie, so it'll by necessity have loads of CGI, but it felt like it went out of its way to be bright, obnoxious, and almost overly stimulating. Camazotz (with the exception of IT), felt just the same as Uriel, which was ludicrous. The portrayal of IT was unconventional, but creative--a series of neuron connections instead of a disembodied brain. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of it, but hat tip for the neurons firing.

The music, overall, didn't impress me. It just felt overwhelming and climaxed a bit too much for my taste (every little thing got a music climax). The actual plot climax didn't feel like it got a deserving score. That being said, some of the tunes repeated rather nicely.

The CGI was good, though that's not always saying much anymore. There wasn't too much that took me out of the movie with thoughts of, "Holy cow, that's a green screen!". I'm still not sure why the changed the pegasi-creatures on Uriel into flying cabbage monsters, but I'd heard about that in reviews, so it didn't shock me too terribly much.

Alright, I think I finally got all the ranting out of my system. Any thoughts? How's NaNo going?