Waiting on Wednesday

Queen of Air and Darkness
by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: December 4th, 2018

Synopsis:

Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness, the final novel in the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling The Dark Artifices trilogy.

What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

My Thoughts:

This book is coming out a year from now and I am still the most excited I have ever been. We finally have a cover for this beautiful finale and I can't wait to actually get my hands on a copy. This series has been the best one Cassandra Clare has released yet and I have no doubts that this final installment will make the first two books look boring. 

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Top 10 of My Recent Favorite Things

I feel like I've been a bit talked out with the book lists lately, so I figured I would do something that would be a bit like a get to know me sort of thing. So this week I decided to just do a list of some things I have been absolutely loving lately, other than books, like tv shows, movies, makeup, et cetera.

1. Stranger Things 2

It took me forever to finally watch this, I was going to binge it on Halloween but I ended up having to work and didn't get around to it until this past Saturday. Needless to say, I was hooked. I was a bit worried about it not being as good as the first season since I absolutely loved the first season, but I can honestly say that the two are tied.  I have so many emotions on this show that I may end up doing a review for it. I don't know yet.

2. Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear Foundation

Something you probably don't know about me is that I am a makeup junkie. I spent as much of my money on makeup as I do on books. I recently tried the Teint Idole Foundation and I just loved everything about it. It leaves your skin looking flawless while feeling sheer and leaving you with a natural finish. It's a bit pricey, but it's worth it in my opinion.

3. Thor: Ragnarok

I had low expectations for this one, I don't really know why I just wasn't anticipating it all that much. I really only saw it in theaters because my friend asked me to go with her so I did. This was probably one of the best movies I have seen this year. Albeit, I haven't actually watched that many movies this year, it was still one of the best. This movie was so fucking funny and I may have to write a review for this one also.

4. Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick (Personal Fave: Stepping Out)

This stuff doesn't leave a sticky residue, you can barely feel it on your lips, it's incredibly pigmented, and it stays on forever. This stuff is actual magic and if you like lipstick at all you should definitely have some of these in your collection.

5. Serial Killer/Unsolved Mysteries Documentaries

I'm obsessed? I don't know what it is about these documentaries, but you just get so much information and a story and everything is real, this is stuff that has happened which makes it all the more fascinating. I watch a lot of youtube videos on these on channels like Vintage Files and Buzzfeed Unsolved. I've also seen some really good actual films like the Amanda Knox documentary which is on Netflix and another good one was Casting Jonbennet. It's addicting.

6. Tea Tree Oil

I've always had really bad texture on my skin and I really didn't think anything was going to help it. I used this stuff for two weeks and my skin is so smooth. It's like I have a new face. The beauty bloggers aren't lying, tea tree oil saves lives unless you're allergic, then you definitely shouldn't use it.

7. Friends

This is actually an all time favorite but I'm in the middle of my fifth or sixth watch of the show and I can't seem to watch anything else.

8. Presidents Choice Mango Ice Cream

My favorite ice cream, it's just so delicious. It's creamy but has mango swirls which add a little bit of sourness to it. It's an A+. It tastes how happy feels.

9. The Pretender by Foo Fighters

This is the best song to rock out to when no one else is around. You have to blast it and sing along and headbang. That's what this song is meant for. I love my Dave Grohl.

10. The Killers

I've recently developed an obsession with this band. They just released a new album a couple of months ago and their songs old and new have taken over my life force. New favorite band.

What are some of your favorite things that are unrelated to books?

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Huntress of the Night Spoiler Free Review

Huntress of the Night
by Rita Stradling

Release Date: November 21st, 2017

Synopsis:

In the arid Santa Monica Mountains, between the gnarled branches of towering oak trees, lies an entrance to the realm where the virgin goddess Artemis has hidden for the last millennia. 

With only animals and her immortal handmaidens for company, she’s never quite able to conquer her boredom. That is, until the day werewolves come hunting in her woods. 

Alpha of the Los Angeles pack, Jackson Hunter, has come to the enchanted forest desperate to find a solution for a deadly problem—his packmates are being hunted and eaten by a mysterious monster that is impossible to track. Jackson is out of luck and nearly out of hope … until he accidentally challenges the immortal goddess by saying she’s not up to the task of hunting the beast. 

Tempted from her seclusion by the mortal’s challenge, Artemis goes with the alluring werewolf into a world now entirely unfamiliar to her. But the hunt is more dangerous than she could have imagined. 

And nothing is in more danger than her heart. 

My Thoughts:

***I received an ARC from the author for an honest review***

I gave this book 4 stars. It was quick and steamy and I couldn’t get enough of it. I pretty much read this book in one sitting.

I have now read 3 books by Rita Stradling and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them a lot. She has become one of my auto-read authors because she hasn’t disappointed me yet.

One thing I’m a bit confused about is that it’s said to be the sixth book in the series, but I can’t seem to actually find the rest of the series. I’m not even sure if that was a mistake or if it’s one of those series’s where each installment is written by a different author. I’m really not sure about that. What I do know is that this book can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

I feel like the bases of the romance was a bit wishy-washy considering it was about the VIRGIN goddess, Artemis. It’s kind of her whole thing that she would never lay with a man so I feel like that may have weakened her portrayal a bit. However, I can’t be too mad because I really really enjoyed said romance and Artemis was a fantastic character.

Jackson is definitely a new book boyfriend. There are two things you should know about me: I love the name Jackson, and I love alpha male love interests. A lot of people hate cocky one interests and if this is the case for you, this probably isn’t the best book for you to read. However, I personally love it.

If you like romances and mythology, this would be a great little read for you.

Rave: Telling

In the writing and reading world, there is this known rule when writing books "Show don't tell". I, however, love when authors write telling books, just as long as the author is good at doing the telling. There are cases where showing just doesn't satisfy you as much as telling does. However, some books *cough cough* Twilight, aren't so good with their telling and should honestly have more showing. I'm here today to talk about how telling in books isn't always a bad thing.

To be more specific, when the book is in the third person. It feels like someone is sitting there telling me a story. I have nostalgic feelings of sitting in front of the fireplace on a rainy day listening to my grandfather telling me old tales. I mean, I've never actually had those experiences, but that's what those books feel like to me.

A prime example of this is Practical Magic and it's prequel Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. These two novels have very limited dialogue, there's almost none at all, but the stories are still so rich and you don't even miss the dialogue. Rules of Magic was so full of emotion and characters that I loved and a plot that was very real despite being about witches. It was just so beautiful that I cried numerous times while reading it. The fact that it was mostly telling made it feel seamless when we went from one character to another, going along with their experiences and feeling their emotions. You can't get a lot of that through showing.

And then there are books like A Dog's Purpose where the author has almost no choice but to do most of the telling. Dogs can't talk unless they're Scooby-Doo. Even when the main character is mostly telling you what is happening around them it also creates an atmosphere for the character. You're seeing how they perceive these events int heir lives. Just look at Lolita, that's considered a classic and is critically acclaimed and most of that book is telling because that is the only way for us to see how truly unhinged Humbert Humbert is.

My point is I just like when I'm reading a book and it feels like someone else is reading a story to me. It feels so nice and especially works well for when that book is made into an audiobook. After all of my points, I honestly can't say that I agree with the saying "Show don't tell".

What are your thoughts on the subject?

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Scion of the Fox Spoiler Free Review

Scion of the Fox
by S. M. Beiko

Synopsis:

As the winter ice begins to thaw, the fury of a demon builds — all because one girl couldn’t stay dead . . .

Roan Harken considers herself a typical high school student — dead parents, an infected eyeball, and living in the house of her estranged, currently comatose grandmother (well, maybe not sotypical) — but she’s uncovering the depth of the secrets her family left behind. Saved from the grasp of Death itself by a powerful fox spirit named Sil, Roan must harness mysterious ancient power . . . and quickly. A snake-monster called Zabor lies in wait in the bed of the frozen Assiniboine River, hungry for the sacrifice of spirit-blood in exchange for keeping the flood waters at bay. Thrust onto an ancient battlefield, Roan soon realizes that to maintain the balance of the world, she will have to sacrifice more than her life in order to take her place as Scion of the Fox.

American Gods meets Princess Mononoke in this powerful first installment of a trilogy sure to capture readers’ imaginations everywhere.

My Thoughts:

I would like to thank the author and publisher for sending me a physical final copy after my difficulty reading the eARC.

I gave this book 4 stars. Scion of the Fox was unexpected. after trying to read the eARC and having an impossible time doing so, I didn’t have very high hopes for the rest of it. However, the author completely turned that around. I loved this book. It was full of complex characters and the thickest of plots, and a relationship that I’m not sure will ever even happen, but I’m really excited for.

I was kind of stupid and I read someone else’s review before finishing this book. I know, that’s the number 1 no-no for book reviewing, but I was looking for something specific (I didn’t find it), but I am happy to report that I didn’t actually agree with this other review of the book. That review was a bit negative, especially about the ending of the book. I, however, think it ended on a good note. It was left a bit open-ended because this is going to be a series and the epilogue was there to get you even more excited for the next book in the series. 

Roan was a character that I needed a bit of getting used to, but once that was all said and done with I grew to love her as a character. She wasn’t annoying or overly rude. She had no sense of entitlement or whiny at all. I genuinely liked her as a character. Reading the first chapter snippet of the second book at the end of this book, it doesn’t seem like she’ll be in it, or she may come in later. It really isn’t clear as of yet, but I really hope she is in the next one because I don’t think I’m done with her quite yet.

I like the dynamic going on between Roan and Eli. They spent most of the book hating each other and fighting, not just in the “I like you so I’m going to pick on you” kind of way, I mean the “I’m going to actively try to murder you” kind of way. They have something going on and I am here for it. I could see something possibly happening. Possibly. I would really like it if it did.

What I loved was that it was set in Canada. I find that most books are set in the U.S. and reference a lot of things only Americans are very familiar with such as historical events that are smaller than full-blown wars. It was nice to actually understand what was being referenced for once, such as Red River. Not enough books are set in Canada and usually if they are they take place in Toronto or just Ontario in general. It’s a bit annoying, so this book was very refreshing.