Tag: books

I love books · Nature · Photos

Winter Has Come

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It is October 5th, 2016, and here (in central Saskatchewan), we are getting our first winter storm of the season. Wahhhhhh! Winter is often five months long here, but six!?!? Anyway, I’m trying to enjoy all the good things that come with snow, like pretty pictures, extra hot coffee, soup season, scarves, and a great excuse to cuddle up with my favorite books. So, in ode to this early arrival, I thought I would to an extra post of pictures about the storm, because if you take the time to look, it really is beautiful, even if I spent half the night awake, frightened that my house was about to blow away.

The Beginning of the Storm. It just started as wind and cold rain. But in the morning I woke up to this:

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It is colder, windier and, of course, snowier than yesterday, but I have a few reason I can’t feel too bad about it: 1. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, and 1. Warm Blankets and Good Books.

Oh yeah, and the Mexico trip I booked for January. My snow break can’t come soon enough.

JEH

 

book review · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

YA Book Review: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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Okay, same old blurb here: If you haven’t read any of the Throne of Glass series, you’ll probably want to skip this post. If you have read TOG, but haven’t had time to finish Empire of Storms yet, read this at your own discretion. I try not to be too spoiler-y, but sometimes a little bit of information you don’t want to know might just leak out.

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I’m going to start by saying that the more I read of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass world, the more my relationship with it becomes love-hate. I love the world, I love the fast-pace  action and the surprising characters and the relationships, and how—thanks to Maas’s rather different writing style—there are constant surprises. But there are a few things I’m beginning to hate. Like who Aelin is with… But, I guess not everyone falls in love with the same person. Right?

I don’t think this is the strongest book in the TOG world. My favourite is still Crown of Midnight. What I didn’t like so much about Empire of Storms is that I felt like Aelin is getting away with way too much. I mean, if I knew someone who talked back that much  to almost absolutely everyone around her, I don’t know if I would really want to be her friend. And it makes me wonder if that’s why, as the books go on, there are less and less Aelin scenes.

For a few books now, my favourite character has been Manon, who is more evil by nature, so maybe she can get away with more because she isn’t supposed to be this kind of holier-than-thou character, which I feel Aelin is. The good thing is that Aelin’s attitude is kind of pointed out. Like people know Aelin is a bit… much. But like I said, it’s a love hate. I love how strong Aelin is, I love that she likes to do everything on her own. I think Sarah J. Maas’s world is so engrossing partly because of this. I think few writers can pull heartstrings like she does and keep you coming back for more (instead of slamming the book shut in disgust and refusing to read on).

I also didn’t really like all the extra S-E-X scenes in this book. I also felt it was a bit much, plus it broke with the style of the previous four books. I don’t think it was needed. TOG already has a huge fan base. I don’t think the style change was necessary, and it did not need to be that descriptive, especially for something shelved as Teen. I mean, when will Amazon and the brick-and-mortor stores put together those New Adult categories already?

But, even with all the bits I didn’t like, I will read on. I need to know what happens. I’m just not sure I’m going to agree with it.

4/5 Stars

JEH

 

Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Autumn YA Books I’m Falling For…

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Falling for, get it? Lol, okay, okay, that was pretty bad. But following with my seasonal tradition of picking out books I want to read in the upcoming season, here’s the list I’ve narrowed down. I’m going to stick to the calendar season, which means books released between September 22nd, 2016 to December 21st, 2016.

Autumn is my favourite season for many reason, the trees change colour, pumpkin spice lattes return, there are all the best holidays (Thanksgiving and Halloween), and the fall TV preview season (not that I have much time for TV anymore), and of course I can wear sweaters, scarves and hats to my hearts content (and even some fingerless gloves, which are perfect for cosying up with some fall reads).

So, without further chattiness, here’s my list of books I’m hoping to pick up this autumn:

  1. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (September 20th, 2016)

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Okay, this one falls just outside my self-imposed seasonal window, but it sounds pretty darn good to me. Three girls competing for the crown. It sounds like it’s going to bleed with drama.

2. Black Flowers, White Lies by Yvonne Ventresca (October 4th, 2016)

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This is probably my favourite on the list. When I read the blurb, I got shivers. It sounds like just the kind of frightfully delightful ghost story I like reading in preparation for Halloween.

3. What Light by Jay Asher (October 11th)

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Thirteen Reasons Why is one of my favourite YA books of all time. I see that others who have been lucky enough to get an advanced copy of What Light are saying this isn’t like Jay Asher’s first book. I don’t know if I need it to be, I just need the tension to be good, the characters to be strong, and the writing to be excellent. I’m definitely looking forward to reading Jay Asher’s sophomore novel.

4. The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby (October 25th, 2016)

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I enjoyed reading With Malice this summer, and have since decided I need more suspense in my life. With a plot that sounds vaguely like Pretty Little Liars, I have a feeling I’m really going to want to get to the bottom of this mystery.

5. Fate of Flames (Effigies #1) Sara h Raughley (November 22nd, 2016)

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I love the cover of this book so much I’ve added it to my Pinterest page of YA book covers I love (check it out here). This book sounds like an equal mix of The Selection and the Apocalypse. I hope the action is fast and the characters are strong, because come November 22nd, I plan on diving right in.

What books are you looking forward to this autumn? Anything I should add to my list?

 

J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Broken Tide, the first two books of the series can be found on  Amazon,  Kobo,  iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, was released April 1, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.