#miss Dennard you’re better than this

[maddenikaris]

The luminaries series is one of the worst book series I have ever read holy shit

[lettercollectors]

The best day of the year, Galentine’s day, has arrived! The day before Valentine’s day is one dedicated to female friendships (curtesy of Parks and Recreation, a brief shout-out to one of the best tv-shows ever written!), and a chance for you to celebrate all the ladies in your life. Because romantic love might be good, but platonic love is amazing. So we thought we would take this opportunity to celebrate our favorite literary gals and their favorite gals, by compiling a list of some of our favorite female friendships. These girls all fiercely protect, love and cherish each other, and if they’ve taught us anything it’s that you can do anything with the right friends at your side. So ... do you agree with our picks?

Gwen & Lesley, Ruby Red by Kerstin Grier

“Don’t forget, this is a matter of life and death,” said Lesley. “You think I want to lose my best friend just because she couldn’t think straight after a bit of snogging?”

Safi & Iseult, The Witchlands by Susan Dennard

“I hate this. Both the storm and the plan. Why does it have to be ‘we’? Why not just me?” “Because ‘just me’ isn’t who we are,” Iseult hollered back. “I’ll always follow you, Safi, and you’ll always follow me. Threadsisters to the end.”

The Gallagher Girls, Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter

“What is a Gallagher Girl?” Liz asked one final time. “She’s a genius, a scientist, a heroine, a spy. And now we are at the end of our time at school, and the one thing I know for certain is this: A Gallagher Girl is whatever she wants to be.” Thunderous, raucous applause filled the student section. Liz smiled and wiped her eyes. She leaned close to the microphone. “And, most of all, she is my sister.”

Celaena & Nehemia, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

“But no matter what I did, Elentiya, I want you to know that in the darkness of the past ten years, you were one of the bright lights for me. Do not let that light go out.”

Emma & Cristina, The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

“Cristina I love you,” Emma said. “I will marry you. Marry you.” Cristina giggled. “My mother’s already picked out who I’m going to marry, remember? Imagine what she’d say if I brought you home.” “You don’t think she’d like me more than Perfect Diego?” “I think you would be able to hear her screaming from Idris.”

Cinder & Iko, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Iko held up a hand. “You need a system debug if you're suggesting that I would abandon you now.”

Claudia & Iris, Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

“Good.” She looks away, fussing with her straw again. “Don’t think that just because you said a bunch of nice stuff about me, I won’t poke you for making that sound,” I say when I can speak again. “I would expect nothing less,” Iris replies.

Eelyn & Mýra, Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

She would have to lead with her left and her left wasn’t her strong side. But I’d done as much for her in the past. It’s what we did for each other. It’s how we survived. And being back on the front line with her was like going home. A home that could never be burned or broken.

Ava & Gen, I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin

“I am extraordinarily proud of you and can't wait for the entire city of Boston to both love and fear you. Just remember that NO ONE will ever love (or fear) you like I do.”

Lily & Rose & Daisy, Addicted series by Krista & Becca Ritchie

We promise to always be there for one another, to support each other’s choices, to be the tides that wash away negativity and foes. However long we live, however hard life becomes, we’ll never lose sight of this sisterhood.

Mia & Lilly, The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The people who are your friends before you got the crown are the people who are going to be your best friends no matter what. Because they are the ones who love you for you-in all your geekiness- and not because of what they can get out of you. Weirdly, in some instances, even the people who were your enemies before you got famous can end up being better friends to you become friends with after you become famous. And even when those friends get mad at you, you still need them, even more than ever. Because they are the people who are willing to tell you the truth.

Lena & Carmen & Bridget & Tibby, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

“The word friends doesn't seem to stretch big enough to describe how we feel about each other. We forget where one of us starts and the other one stops.”

Amani & Shazad, Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

I thought of Shazad. My sister in arms. We had recognised something in each other the first time we met and we were tied. By more than blood.

Nina & Inej, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Jesper expected Inej to laugh and was startled when she took Nina’s face between her hands and said, “Thank you for keeping me in this world when fate seemed determined to drag me to the next. I owe you a life debt.” Nina blushed deeply. “I was teasing, Inej.” She paused. “I think we’ve both had enough of debts.”

“This is one I’m glad to bear.”

“Okay, okay. When we’re back in Ketterdam, take me out for waffles.”

Rose & Lissa, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

“If you try to turn me against Lissa one more time the stories are going to be about you bleeding because I'll have ripped your throat out!”

How did we do? Did we miss your favorites? Let us know and we might include them next year!

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review... Susan Dennard, “Truthwitch”

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Reviewer Comments: I bought this book after seeing it recommended on YouTube, by a BookTuber whose opinions I like listening to. It was presented as the more satisfying alternative to Sarah J. Maas novels, and in some ways, that assessment was correct. There was a diverse cast, female friendships were prioritized, there was no abuse or love triangles. Everything I seemingly wanted in a YA/New Adult novel. However, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the implausibility of a lot of the events in this book, as well as the lack of agency of the main characters for much of the plot. While the setting was interesting and the female friendship was immensely enjoyable, the reliance on coincidence and A LOT of vaguely-alluded to details made my personal reading experience not as fulfilling as I had hoped. Even so, I found the book engaging enough where I’m considering reading the sequels, so there’s that.

***Full review under the cut. Mild spoilers for dislikes #1.***

Summary: Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home. Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself. In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Things I Liked

Characters: Safi and Iseult felt like fully-fleshed out characters. They had personalities that were different from one another, which made their voices and demeanors feel distinct. They also had flaws that prevented them from becoming generic and good at everything, so I was happy to see them struggle and make bad decisions rather than do everything perfectly.

Female Friendship: Safi and Iseult complimented each other very well, making up for each other’s flaws in ways that made them a formidable team. I loved reading about their scheming and planning, and how they relied on one another when the stakes were high.

Setting: While this novel isn’t heavy on the worldbuilding, it does have an interesting premise in the form of different kinds of witchery. It reminded me a bit of Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha, but with its own spin on magic and powers.

Pace: Things move fast in this novel, so there’s not a lot of down time. For readers who aren’t a fan of fantasy that bogs down the plot with details, this book might be a good fit for you.

Things I Didn’t Like

Plot: Despite all the twists and turns, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot. The reason for the main characters being hunted wasn’t very new or engaging for me, and when big things did happen, they relied so much on coincidence that I wasn’t able to suspend my disbelief. For example, there’s a point when Iseult seeks out her tribe for refuge (people from whom she’s been estranged), and suddenly, within the span of not even an entire night, the tribe’s leader/purist has convinced a good portion of the town to kill her because of fear mongering and a rumor Iseult has just heard that very night. It’s then implied that the leader has been planning this - but how would he know she would come to their tribe? Some time to breathe and build up these big moments would have helped me feel like they were plausible.

Lack of Agency: For the first few hundred pages, it seemed like Safi and Iseult got swept away in other people’s plots and didn’t have a lot of agency. This was frustrating to me as a reader because our main characters weren’t making many informed decisions. We didn’t see them plan or plot, just react. It gets better as the book continues, but because so much was frontloaded, I had a hard time getting into the story.

Merik and Aeduan: Merik’s that broody type of character that I’m personally tired of seeing in fiction. He’s not abusive, which is refreshing, but I didn’t personally find him likable or interesting, either. Aeduan is the same type of character, but the antagonist. I didn’t personally find his motivations interesting, and would have preferred a more complex villain.

Side Characters: There are a number of side characters that would have been more interesting if fully developed, but as the book stands, I felt like they were only there to service the other characters’ stories.

Prose: The prose style itself isn’t bad by any means - it does its job. But there were times where I felt like I was being told that some aspect of the worldbuilding was important rather than being shown. In other words, some details seemed only important because I was told they were, not because they were integrated into the worldbuilding or the plot. For example, the concept of the Cahr Awen seemed... convenient? Like it was only brought up to make our characters seem more important, but it didn’t have much to do with the plot of this book. I also think the voice that Iseult hears is a bit too dropped in. It doesn’t quite build suspense - it talks about things that don’t seem to be problems in the real world (like they will be future problems, not ones we’re dealing with or alluding to now). Details felt revealed out of the blue instead of foreshadowed, but maybe that's just me missing a lot? I'm not sure.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in

witches, magic, classifications of magic

female friendships

Similar Reads

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to the first Calendar Girls post of 2019. What exactly is Calendar Girls? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let’s talk about all those details before I start talking about this month’s theme and all the possible book options.

Calendar Girls is a monthly blog event that was started by Flavia and Melanie, but is now being hosted by Katie and Adrienne. They are all wonderful ladies, and you should check out their lovely blogs. Oh, and if you go to either Katie or Adrienne‘s Calendar Girls post each month, they will have links to all the other wonderful book bloggers participating in this event.

First, more about the Calendar Girls. It is designed to ignite bookish discussions among readers, and was inspired by the 1961 Neil Sedaka song, Calendar Girl.

Just like the song, each month has a different theme. Each blogger picks their favorite book from the theme, and on the first Monday of the month reveals their pick in a Calendar Girls post. Make sure to post back to the hostess’s post, and both Katie and Adrienne will make a master list for the month. The master lists allow everyone to see the other Calendar Girls’ picks and to pop on over to their blogs. Thus, we all get to chat about books and even make some new friends!

Oh, and you don’t have to identify as female to join the Calendar Girls. We welcome readers of all types. So if this sounds like fun for you, join us in all of the fun bookish conversations. All right, let’s go ahead and get to talking about the January theme, and then the runners up and the winner. Forewarning, this is a pretty long post and I talk about quite a few books. Sorry, not sorry. I love books.

The theme for January is…

Happy New Year

2019 Release You’re Most Looking Forward To

Oh man, there are so many 2019 releases that I’m looking forward to…and I know I’m probably missing some great ones too. So, I really look forward to reading all the other posts for this month, just in case there are books that I really should have on my release calendar.

But, for the purposes of selecting a pick for this month, I managed to narrow my options down to 12 books. So I’m going to start with talking about my contenders, and then I’ll have to choose my winner from all of them.

Obviously, most of what I’m excited for is fantasy releases. What can I say? They’re my favorite.

First up is the newest release from Brigid Kemmerer, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, which is coming out January 29th. This is apparently an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, so I’m definitely excited about it.

Then there is Imprison the Sky by A.C. Gaughen, expected January 22nd. The first book, Reign the Earth, was outstanding, and I’m really curious to see what will happen next, because the magic and the politics were very intriguing.

Obviously, King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo has to make this list. This first installment of a Nikolai centered duology will be released January 29th as well, and I’m hoping for wonderful and diverse characters, plenty of drama and complications, and a romance I can root for.

Next, I have to mention Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard, which will be released on February 12th. Now I just talked about this book a little bit a couple days ago, so I don’t want to say too much this time, but I love all the different witcheries in this series, and I’m happy that this book will have a focus on Aeduan, because he is a fascinating character.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto is a relatively new add to my release calendar, but we’ve been getting a lot more Asian inspired fantasy books these past couple years, and I have been super pleased with pretty much every one I’ve read, so I can’t wait to see what other wondrous reads we get. This book will also be released on February 12th.

Rin Chupeco’s conclusion to The Bone Witch trilogy–The Shadow Glass–is definitely one of my highest anticipated books. I was lucky enough to be granted an e-galley of the first book and an ARC of the second book, but no such luck with this one, so I have been waiting for what feels like forever. I can’t wait to pick this one up March 1st.

I won’t spend much time at all talking about Emily A Duncan’s April 2nd release, Wicked Saints. If you want to know all my gushy feels, go check out my early review for it. But this is a book that makes my D&D cleric loving heart so dang happy. This is definitely a contender for one of my favorite books right now.

When I read Ashley Poston’s Geekerella, I loved all the fandom and charm. So to find that it is getting a sequel/companion just made me super happy. I’m ready to go to another fandom and have more cute geeky interactions. I wish I didn’t have to wait until April 2nd to get my hands on The Princess and the Fangirl.

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand obviously has to make this list, considering how much I loved reading Furyborn last year. I want to know more about these women, this world, and the magic and politics going on. This book will be released May 21st.

I love some good epic fantasy, and I was expecting quite a bit when I read Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep last year. It didn’t disappoint, but I’m still hoping for more with the sequel, Protect the Prince, expected May 15th. I want more badass gladiator women, and obviously more tantalizing descriptions of food.

Give me more fun and tricks, plus more action, drama and romance, with Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa, to be released June 25th. I absolutely adored Shadow of the Fox when I devoured it last year, and I need more of this fantasy adventure with Asian mythology and folklore influences. So good.

Finally, I have The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee, set to be released on July 16th. This is a book set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and follows a previous Avatar, namely Earthbender Kyoshi. My fiance introduced me to both Avatar and Korra since we started dating, and I have watched both shows, as well as reading all of the comics. I am so ready to see what we’ll learn with this book series.

Okay, so there are a lot of fantastic options here. And I’ve already realized that I’ve missed a few books. More than a few if I’m being completely honest, but I read a lot of books, so my release calendar is pretty full already. But the more I look at all of these, the more I’m thinking that my choice actually isn’t any of the ones I’ve mentioned already. If this had been the theme a couple months ago, my answer would have been Wicked Saints, but I feel bad picking that now because I already have read it and I know that I absolutely love it. So I can’t really call it an anticipated book any more; all I’m anticipating is having a final edition in my hands.

So I’m going to pick another book, and that’s great. I love getting to talk about even more books than I originally planned. All right, so here is my final choice for this month’s Calendar Girls theme.

I think I need to re-read the first book before I write up the review for it, but the Tales of Pell series is utterly hilarious. It is filled with so many classic fantasy tropes that get turned on their heads, as well as pun after glorious pun. This isn’t a dark or serious fantasy, like some we’ve come to expect, but it is still entirely worth a read.

Based on the summary, I’m thinking No Country for Old Gnomes will be just as entertaining.

Go big or go gnome. The New York Times bestselling authors of Kill the Farm Boy return to the world of Pell, the irreverent fantasy universe that recalls Monty Python and Terry Pratchett.

War is coming, and it’s gonna be Pell.

On one side stand the gnomes: smol, cheerful, possessing tidy cardigans and no taste for cruelty.

On the other side sit the halflings, proudly astride their war alpacas, carrying bags of grenades and hungry for a fight. And pretty much anything else.

It takes only one halfling bomb and Offi Numminen’s world is turned upside down—or downside up, really, since he lives in a hole in the ground. His goth cardigans and aggressive melancholy set him apart from the other gnomes, as does his decision to fight back against their halfling oppressors. Suddenly Offi is the leader of a band of lovable misfits and outcasts—from a gryphon who would literally kill for omelets to a young dwarf herbalist who is better with bees than with his cudgel to an assertive and cheerful teen witch with a beard as long as her book of curses—all on a journey to the Toot Towers to confront the dastardly villain intent on tearing Pell asunder. These adventurers never fit in anywhere else, but as they become friends, fight mermaids, and get really angry at this one raccoon, they learn that there’s nothing more heroic than being yourself.

In No Country for Old Gnomes, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne lovingly tweak the tropes of fantasy and fairy tales. Here you’ll find goofy jokes and whimsical puns, but you’ll also find a diverse, feminist, and lighthearted approach to fantasy that will bring a smile to your face and many fine cheeses to your plate.

Come on. Does that not sound like an absolutely hilarious and awesome book? I’m thinking I may actually try to pick this series up in audiobook. I have the hardcover of the first book, but I think this might be a good series to listen to.

I laughed so much while reading Kill the Farm Boy. I’ve read quite a bit of Kevin Hearne, but not much Delilah S Dawson, which is going to change sometime soon-ish. But they have co-authored an amazing series, set in an awesomely put together world, with a random and hilarious cast of characters.

Wow…this post went so much longer than I expected it to. Oh well, there were lots of great books to talk about. That’s all from me today, but I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Calendar Girls: January 2019 Hey all, Dani here. Welcome to the first Calendar Girls post of 2019. What exactly is Calendar Girls?

[maryreadszbooks]

2017 End of Year Reading Survey

(format/questions via perpetualpageturner)

Number Of Books You Read: 58

Number of Re-Reads: 1

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy

(rest is under the cut because it’s long af)

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

Tie between:

Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff

and

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Expected a 5/5 read but I think I only gave it 1 or 2 stars.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

The Girl With All the Giftsby M.R. Carey. It sounded interesting and I thought it’d be fun to step into a different genre than my usual. Did not expect to fall in love as much as I did. This book is phenomenal.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Can’t say I successfully persuaded many people to read my favorites this year. I think one friend started Red Rising, but she didn’t end up liking it.

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?

Series I started: Illuminae Files

Best Sequel: Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Best Series Ender: Morning Star

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Victoria Schwab. I’ve known of her for years, but 2017 is when I finally got around to reading her stuff. And I only read two or three new authors in 2017, and of those she has the most books available for me to read, so she gets this title by default.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

The Girl With All the Gifts.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

I read a fair amount of books I couldn’t put down, but I think Illuminae probably wins this one. I talked about it for months.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time-Pirates’ Treasure by Alex Hirsch. I really miss Gravity Falls, and this was just a super fun read all-around. I’ll probably do a full rewatch of the show and accompany it with reading the deluxe edition of Journal 3 and a reread of this book.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Sevro. Au. Barca.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2017? 

Not *technically* a book, but since it’s got a Goodreads entry...the Great Courses lecture The Native Peoples of North America, presented by Daniel M. Cobb. I learned a lot from this lecture, and it certainly gives a lot to think about.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?

Illuminae

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

"Sevro, you're a lot of things. You're smelly. You're small. Your tattoo taste is questionable. Your pornographic proclivities are...uh, eccentric. And you've got really weird toenails." He swivels to look at me. "Weird?" "They're really long, mate. Like...you should trim them." "Nah. They're good for hanging on to things."

Morning Star page 412

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Shortest: Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson

Longest: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The Girl With All the Gifts.

Or maybe Illuminae. Or Morning Star. Or The Mark of Athena. I read a lot of shocking books this past year.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Percy/Annabeth <3

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:

Darrow, Sevro, and Ragnar’s friendship from Golden Son and Morning Star.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously:

Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

I don’t really get crushes on book characters anymore, especially now that I’m in my mid-twenties reading primarily young adult books. I adopt them as my children instead.

My new favorite book son: Sevro.

My new favorite book daughter: Eva Nine (from The Search for Wondla)

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

I didn’t read any 2017 debuts.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

I’m not finished with it yet, but The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the least Earthlike of the Cosmere worlds so far, and it’s nuts. I’m about 400 pages into it, reading it mostly in audio format since I find that less intimidating than staring at a giant brick of a book, but of course that means I’m only 40% through  

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Any of the books from the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. I read books 2-5 this year and they’re all tons of fun.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

Morning Star.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Over the Garden Wall, Volume 1 by Jim Campbell

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. For a number of reasons. First, because of what Percy and Annabeth spend the entire book doing. Second, because I listened to the audiobook. Now, for some unfathomable reason, the narrator is different than the first three books. And he’s not a good fit. At all. His reading style was so inconsistent and stilted, I had to bump up the speed to 1.5x just to make it bearable. He did get a little better as the book progressed, but he is still absolutely nowhere near as good as Joshua Swanson or Jesse Bernstein. I’m a little reluctant to listen to The Blood of Olympus just because I know the same guy narrates that, too.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

Gonna go with The Search for Wondla. Whimsical middle grade scifi with a smart heroine and one of the most amazing father/daughter relationships I’ve ever read in any book ever.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Truthwitch. I was angry just about every chapter. Safiya is such a goddamn idiot.

Aaaand that about wraps it up! There’s more questions on the full survey that I linked above, but I didn’t have answers for most of them so I cut it off here instead. 2018 is off to a slow start in reading so far, but I’m hoping to get back into my groove soon. Hopefully this brand new blog will help motivate me for that.