Book Review // Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Hello again!

I am so sorry for posting so infrequently right now. Things have been a little hectic with going back to school and everything, so I am hoping to get back into the swing of things in the next couple weeks. I have been reading pretty often, however, and am a little backed up on writing posts, so expect a few more than usual over the next few days.

Also, Megan and I are discussing a new posting schedule - one that is less restricting and will allow for more posts on the blog. This is the tentative new schedule:

Top Ten Posts // Tuesdays by both Caelyn and Megan (prompted from The Broke and the Bookish)
Reviews // Whenever a book is finished and simultaneously posted on Goodreads
Features and Misc. // Again, whenever we feel like it.

In addition, I am really trying to get our social media up and running. Thank you to those of you who have followed us there despite the lack of posts! I have been building up a collection of photos and have an idea as to how to conduct the social media in my busy life. 

Whew. It feels good to have that all out there. 

Okay, now onto what this post is actually about. A book review!

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

"Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now the Winterians' only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter's magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter's defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter's future king—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter's magic, Meira decides to go after it herself—only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics—and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. "

I really, really liked this book...not quite a five star review, but really, really close. Now, this could have something to do with the fact that my brain was rather muddled as I decided to get sick on my FREE WEEKEND after working for pretty much 2 WEEKS STRAIGHT AT SCHOOL (yes, that includes an entire weekend).

No, no. No problem there.

I read this book (at least the beginning part of it) very fast, which could be another reason I didn't give it five stars. It was one of those things where my brain was slightly switched off and was kind of skimming for part of the time, which made me not super involved in the plot. But I still really liked it.

Things I Loved:

• All the twists and turns of the plot. There were totally some things that I did not see coming! The whole plot enthralled me, and there was pretty much something happening at all times, which I really liked. 
• The relationship between Mather and Meira. I love how flawed it is because I am really looking forward to seeing how it progresses. This might sound like a weird opinion...but I see a lot of potential growth there. 
• I really love that feeling in a book where something completely unexpected happens and your jaw just drops and you start saying, "No...did that really just happen?" out loud and get weird looks from the people around you. It is also one of those things where your adrenalin spikes and you feel like you need to go release all of your energy by talking yelling about it with someone who has already read it. Or not. This book had a lot of that, and it was so enthralling that, just...I don't even have the words. 
• The full on girl power and female strength (go Meira!). Meira shows us that girls, too, can change the world and make a difference.
• I also loved the uniqueness of the world. Each kingdom is so different and amazing that it is easy to tell them apart.
• The ending.
• There was a lot more that I loved, but I finished it about a week ago and not I cannot remember what else I wanted to say about it. Darn my school-stuffed brain. But there are a lot more positives. Just trust me on this one.

Things I Didn't Love As Much:

• Some of the characters annoyed me from time to time (namely: Sir), but I know, I know. There was a reason for it. But still!
• I was slightly confused at some parts about the layout of the land. The kingdoms also confused me for a little while, but it became clearer in my mind as I kept reading. 
• This is something really small and nitpicky, but as a writer, some of the names bugged me. Not so much those of people, but mainly those of places. I felt like they were jumbled from everywhere and did not have a flow to them (such as all Anglican names for one place, African names for another, etc.). But this is a really small detail that I really don't think a lot of people would notice. I apologize for pointing it out...

Overall, this book was very good and I highly recommend it. I just finished reading the sequel, so stay tuned for a review on Ice Like Fire tomorrow or the next day. 

The final thing I would like to point out is that you should visit our new and improved quotes page. Feel free to repost any of the social media quote photos (but only if you give credit to us). 

Thank you so much for reading, and check us out on social media (Twitter, Instagram, and Bloglovin'). Our links are on the top right of the blog's homepage.

Book Review // My Lady Jane

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts these past few weeks. I went on vacation with my family and then school started, so there has been a lot of transition over the past few days. That is also why I have not been able to post on social media. I need to find time to take Bookstagram photos (hopefully this weekend!), so stay tuned for that. For now, here is a book review.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

"Who on earth could feel comfortable enough to sleep in a room with no books?"

I really, really liked this book for so many reasons. It gets five stars. For one thing, it was centered around books. I mean, a book about books! What could get better than that? But that's not all...here is a list of all of the things that I loved about this book!

Things I Loved:

• The main characters - they are all so unique and really grew as the novel progressed. They also all possess traits that you would expect the actual people in history to have while being adapted to relate to our modern society.
• Magic, but not normal magic. This was magic that was used to show the disagreements between two religions - talk about plot device! Basically, people have the ability to turn into their animals - randomly or not at all at the beginning and with control as they learn to embrace their abilities and believe in themselves.
• Evil advisers, evil sisters, and evil animal-people-magic things. 
• Backstabbing and attempted (and believed) murder!
• I also really loved the whole (SPOILER ALERT) arranged marriage = falling in love thing. 
• The fact that the authors stole Shakespeare and had G write his poems. There was controversy anyway...
• The comedy! I was laughing so hard throughout this book. If you want to laugh, read this. 
• The dedication. Trust me.
• And lots, lots, LOTS more! I read this book a while back and I absolutely loved it, but I can no longer remember specifically why. Argggghhhh! Anyhow, I really want to read it again at some point, and I highly recommend it. Read it. Now. Seriously, I mean it.

Things I Didn't Like

• I can honestly think of nothing bad about this book. I'll get back to you on that if I thing of anything. 

Thanks for reading! I hope to be back with more posts soon! But until then, have a wonderful everything! :)

Book Review // Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I love dystopian novels.  I have grown up with my mom telling me to always finish what I start, including books.  So I regret to say that I did not finish this book.  
The society in the book believed love was an awful disease.  The citizens awaited the day they turned 18 and could be "cured" from this disease running through their veins. The characters were believable, and interesting, but for me, this idea of love being a disease was too awful for me to get past and look at the people and characters.  So, for those who love a good dystopian book, try this.  Just for me, it didn't work.  

Book Review // The Girl From Everywhere

Hello Everyone! I come to you today with a book review - and my first one for that matter.

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

“His eyes were so inviting that for a moment, everything in me wanted to reveal this part of myself, as though the truth was a butterfly, wings fluttering, green and gold and quivering to be free. I was a closed book, a rolled map, a dark territory, uncharted; I was surprised by my urgency, but after all, to be known was to exist.” 

I really enjoyed this book. It is hard for me to put my feelings about it in words, but let me try.

Things I Loved:

• The characters, who were all fully fleshed out and had deep personalities. Each one had their own quirks and was very much their own person. They were all really deep and had great connections with one another. The author also created in-depth backstories for each one, which is really impressive considering they are all from different countries AND time periods. 
• This leads to the next point: DIVERSITY. This book was full of it! Each character seemed to be from a different place, some of which include modern day New York, 1860s Hawaii, Africa, and China. There is yet another character who is Persian. I loved it!
• The storyline is great! Is it unique, compelling, and has lots of conflict. 
• The prose! This was probably the best part of the book for me. Everything was written so poetically, and the book was rich with metaphors, similes, and allusions.
• I love how the author incorporated so many myths! Some of the locations that they visit are even "mythical," as the version of the place that they are sent to is based on what the mapmaker believed. My favorite was the pocket-sized dragon (I want one!). 
• Another thing that I almost forgot: the way that they time traveled. I found it very creative! I especially loved how it allowed people to go to mythical places, as I mentioned above. It literally made the story magical. 

Things I Didn't Like:

• The romance. Honestly, I was shipping Nix and Kash the whole time and there was very little romance. I wanted more!
• Some parts of the novel were slow and I felt like they didn't contribute to the book overall.

When all is said and done, I really liked this book. Not my favorite book ever - the four stars is because I felt like it could have been more compelling overall. And the romance... 

Other than that I loved it! I highly recommend it.