Reader Rayna

Month: March 2016

  • The Book Drop April 2016 Unboxing

    Hey guys! Here’s another unboxing from The Book Drop. As it says on the website:

    The Book Drop is our very own monthly subscription box service. What does this mean? This means once a month we hand-select one of our favorite new books based on your reading preferences, package it up all nice and cute in a box and send it your way! Book Drop subscribers get a book delivered to their doorstep (or mailbox) once a month from Bethany Beach Books.

    So I’m subscribed to the Jane box which includes:

    • Paperback book (usually a contemporary or historical fiction novel, with the occasional literary fiction novel)
    • Indie Next list for the upcoming month
    • An occasional goodie

    This month has a book that I’m actually pretty intrigued about! I’ve never heard of it before but it definitely seems like one up my alley.

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    It came with:

    The note says,

    A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding was a recent book club pick for us and our group had one of the best discussions about this book! This is an extraordinary novel of family, loyalty, and love. It’s a novel about women and about how far we’ll go to protect those we love and cherish. Included you’ll also find a signed bookplate from Jackie Copleton. Happy Reading! Enjoy! Love, AZ

    It’s a book that reflects back on life and love, and how hard life can be sometimes. I’m excited to read it because I love reading about books of people from other cultures, as well as ones that dive into the past like that.

    Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Do you receive any book subscription boxes that you think I should check out? Let me know!

  • Beautiful Covers: Green

    Hey peeps, welcome to another Beautiful Covers! I’m working my way through the rainbow, so check out the rest of the colors when they come out over the next several weeks!

    Today’s color is: green!

    Green is a lovely color, and it’s my best friend’s favorite color (specifically lime green), so I’ve seen a lot of it in my life in many ways. Green covers are not exception, but it’s still hard to think of and find green covers of books I’ve read or will be reading eventually! So, here are my top five favorites:

    1 . Morrighan by Mary E. Pearson

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    I love the rich earth on this cover with the little dash of color from the flower. It really hints to the importance of the place where the characters are in the novella and I think that even though it’s kind of simple, it’s really elegant and beautiful. Plus, that typography is amazing.

    2. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

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    I love these covers so much, and I think that this one is definitely my favorite. It reminds me of flames, and I think that that punch of color agains the green of it all really makes it stand out. I think it also alludes to the change in Juliette because WOW her character arc is amazing!

    3. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

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    I’ve always loved these colors for their swirly, thorny vines, the typography, and even the novels. The colors used on each cover is really pretty and I think that they make lovely accent to frame the model.

    4. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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    All of these covers are epic and I think that this dynamic pose of Celaena is really cool. I love the bright and dark green combination and how even Celaena is wearing green. It’s a very beautiful color and it’s really powerful here.

    5. Splintered by A.G. Howard

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    I haven’t read this book yet, but it’s on my shelf, and I think that’s it’s beautiful! The model is very doll like and cute as Alice, and the green vines that surround her I’m sure allude to what happens in the story – at least some element. I think that it all is very Wonderland-esque.

    So there you have it for this week’s beautiful covers edition! What are some of your favorite green covers? Let me know!

  • The Wrath & the Dawn Short Stories Reviews

    thecrownandthearrowTitle: The Arrow and the Crown
    Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #0.5
    Author: Renee Ahdieh
    Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
    Publication Date: March 1, 2016
    Genre: Young Adult – Romance, Fantasy, Short Story
    Pages: 9
    Format: Free eBook

    Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

    That was it? I was expecting more, that’s for sure. It didn’t really add much to the story at all, but we got to see the very beginning from Khalid’s point of view. I mean, it was fine. You could tell he hated what he had to do, and he could see the hate burning in Shazi’s eyes, but it leaves so much that I wish could have been added. Seriously wish there was more.

    3/5 stars

    themothandtheflameTitle: The Moth and the Flame
    Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #0.25
    Publication Date: March 22, 2016
    Genre: Young Adult – Romance, Fantasy, Short Story
    Pages: 37
    Format: Purchased eBook

    It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind.

    This short story had me holding my breath and my heart racing. I thought that this was such a better short story than the last, and I was not disappointed.

    This story follows the handmaiden, Despina, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Jalal. Both of these individuals have their own tasks with which they have to think about and attend, and then when they run into each other one day, it seems like it just goes from there.

    Despina, though I was weary of her in The Wrath and the Dawn, turned out to be a really intelligent young woman with a strong will and a sharp tongue, and this short story definitely continued to show that. I enjoyed reading from Despina’s point of view to see what it was like serving the calipha and her interactions with Jalal. It was funny at first, playful even, and then things became more serious as time progressed.

    Even Jalal was likable in this story! I don’t really remember what I felt for him when I read the main book, but in this one we got to see a couple glimpses from his point of view and we got to learn a little bit more about him and his… “reflections.” He’s funny and tries to be charming, and I love how Despina can disarm him with her own retorts.

    What made me really enjoy this was the heart racing moments they had together, for sure. There was one scene in particular that I was like, “Yesyesyes!” I also enjoyed reading about Despina’s interactions with the calipha because we got to see a little bit of who this girl was before the things that happened in the main book. I wish that their relationship could have turned into somewhat of a friendship, but it didn’t happen that way.

    I just wish that the last chapter could have been a little different? I’m not really sure what I was expecting… Well, I do know what I was expecting, but it didn’t happen the way I hoped, so I’m disappointed only in that aspect, haha! But otherwise I think that seeing the progression of time and feelings was useful. I only wish there could have been one more chapter in between the last two to further dive into Despina’s, and even Jalal’s, feelings of one another.

    Overall, I think this short story added to the main one because we got to get more from two of the important side characters. I loved this a lot and highly recommend it if you’ve read The Wrath and the Dawn.

    I rate this short story 4.5/5 stars.

  • Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Love But Haven’t Talked About in a While

    Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday as hosted by the lovely people of The Broke & the Bookish. Today’s topic is all about some of the books that we love but maybe we haven’t talked about them recently or enough. I know a few series off the top of my head that I talk about all the time (Throne of Glass, anyone?), but these are some of the books that I love that I’ve maybe talked about once or twice.

    1 . The One by Kiera Cass. I actually really adored this book when I read it last year. It was my favorite of the trilogy and I just thought it wrapped up nicely. Plus it’s my favorite cover.

    2. Chobits by CLAMP. This manga series is one of my favorites of all time. I love the concept of mobile computers, and the story behind it was also an enjoyable one. I always love CLAMP’s art styles; they’re very beautiful.

    3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I loved this book so much. It was my first Gaiman read and though I thought parts were kind of confusing to get into in terms of how the language was, I still really enjoyed it because the story itself was so beautiful.

    4. Firelight by Sophie Jordan. This was a trilogy I read back in high school or early college, I believe, and I just fell in love with it. I’d never read a story involving dragons before – or rather, people that can turn into dragons, or some form of them – and it was during a time that I think I needed it most. Though the writing style bugs me now, I still really enjoy the story. It’s just addicting!

    5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I love stories about faeries and this one is just amazing. I love the concept behind this one and how iron is killing Faerie and how Meagan is part of that world… I just love it! I haven’t read it in years, and I stopped part way through the third book, but it’s definitely a series I want to reread because I loved it so much.

    6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This series will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will not apologize for it. During its time it was one of the best series I’ve read, and I still love it to this day.

    7. The Future Collection: Science Fiction Short Stories by Beth Revis. I really enjoyed this short story collection because the writing was awesome and the stories themselves had me guessing until the end. I wanted more, for sure, and I could totally see each of these stories becoming a novel of its own.

    8. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I honestly haven’t talked about this book that much recently, but I just loved it! The writing was lovely, the plot was gripping, the characters were believable and living and I just am so glad that there’s a sequel for this book because there was NO WAY they could have left us hanging the way they almost did.

    9. Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres: Celestial Legend) by Yuu Watase. I love this manga series. All of Yuu Watase’s art work is lovely, and I think that this story line in particular, though more mature and darker than others, is still beautiful. It has action, romance, revenge, death, triumph, and so much more.

    10. None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio. This book was a new one for me in terms of diversity because it dealt with an intersex individual and how she tried to cope with that realization and what it would mean for her moving forward in life. I thought that it was a great tale and one in which I pulled a lot of meaning from.

    There you have it! All of these books I love and I know I don’t talk about them nearly as much as they may deserve, but they’re all great in their own ways.

    What are some of your favorite books that you don’t talk about often? Does it make you want to reread them now? Will you recommend to me some of your favorites? Let me know!

  • Beautiful People: March Edition

    Hey peeps! Welcome to another edition of Beautiful People, a monthly writer’s meme that delves into the world of writing where you get to answer some questions about your characters. It’s hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up & Further In. If you want to know more about Beautiful People, you can check out the FAQs page here.

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    This month is all about your characters and who they are, how they’d react to things, and what they’d do if they had a rough day.

    Today I’m going to talk about my character Abigail, aka Abby. She’s my main female character in my fantasy romance novel, and I love her to bits. She’s smart, brave, and fun.

    The Questions:

    1. What first inspired this character? Is there a person/actor you based them off? I think what first inspired her was just this intense vision/scene I had of her and Maddock together, and I just knew I wanted to have her as a character. She’s not based off of an actor or anything. She did develop and grow a lot more as the story went on, and she changed bit by bit, but I think that’s a very cool part of the whole process: learning about your characters and watching them grow.
    2. Describe their daily routine. Well, as she’s a maid in a palace her day consists of: waking up and getting ready for the day ahead (bathroom, clean hair &teeth, clean outfit, etc), have a quick breakfast in the servants’ quarters with the others that she works with, then gets started doing her set of chores for the day. After completing those tasks she gets to spend some time with the other servants and talk and catch up, and then goes to bed. Though, in the story, her daily routine is anything but a routine. But if nothing was happening, that’s what she’d do.
    3. If they joined your local high school, what clique would they fit into? I can see her fitting into the drama kids clique, for sure. I don’t think she’d be an actress, but rather a stage hand and help set up the sets and all of that. She’s very handy with her hands and her imagination, so she’d definitely be an asset.
    4. Write a list of things they merely tolerate. Ex: certain people, foods, circumstances in their lives… Being treated as less than who she is. The Chancellor. Not having enough cleaning supplies at her disposal to get a job done. Cold drafts. Spiders.
    5. How do they react in awkward silences? She’d just kind of stand there, blush rising on her cheeks, as she looked around at anything to try to find something to say and break it. I can see her swaying back and forth on her feet a little before she catches herself.
    6. Can they swim? If so, how did they learn? No, actually! She’s never been taught because she’s always lived inland and so she’s never really had the opportunity before. She’s not afraid of the water, though, but she knows she won’t be particularly useful in those situations.
    7. What is one major event that helped shape who they are? Her mother’s passing definitely shaped her because her mother had cancer and was the closest person to her in the world. After losing her, Abby fell into a depression that she occasionally still has to battle through, but at the same time it also made her stronger because she knows how fragile life can be. She doesn’t take death or joking of death lightly.
    8. What things do they value most in life? Her family, for sure, as well as her friends. She’d put her life before another’s at any moment in order to make sure that they survived if need be.
    9. Do they believe in giving other people second chances? Do they have any trust issues? She believes in giving second chances, but she’s wary of that person afterward, unsure of what to really think about the whole situation at hand. She has a few trust issues after a certain event happens in the novel that I don’t want to spoil, but otherwise she’s very trusting of others.
    10. Your character is having a rough day…what things do they do to make them happy again? Is there anyone they talk/interact with to get in a better mood? If she were having a really rough day (which she’s had in the novel), Abby would try to find someone to talk to about it and try to work things out about it. Her best friend, Morgan, is one she would definitely turn to to get back into a better mood. Otherwise, she would wallow and think and overthink about the situation, causing a downward spiral. But she doesn’t try to push through and keep her head high, hence her bravery.

    There you have it! There’s a little more information about Abby. I still haven’t continued to write in a long time and I really, really need to get back to doing it. I’m most of the way through the story, I just need to finish it! I think I’m putting it off because I don’t want it to end.

    How would you answer these questions based off of one of your own characters? Do you find that you got to know them a bit more because of it? What I really want to know is how YOUR character would react if they’re having a rough day. Let me know!