Month: May 2016

The Rose & the Dagger Book Review

Title: The Rose & the Dagger
Series: The Wrath & the Dawn #2
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy, Romance, Retelling
Pages: 416
Format: Purchased Hardcover

I am surrounded on all sides by a desert. A guest, in a prison of sand and sun. My family is here. And I do not know whom I can trust.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse—one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid’s empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan.

While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn’t yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

As this is a sequel there may be spoilers!

This second book was full of a heightened sense of urgency, of magic, of love, forgiveness, friendship, and more. I honestly enjoyed this sequel more than the first book and I think that it was a really great wrap up to this duology.

The plot starts right after the events of the first book after everything has pretty much gone to hell after a magic storm that Jahandar cooked up in order to “save” Shazi. Everything is in ruin and while Khalid works to restore the city and look for Shazi, she’s in a Badawi encampment being kept there for her own safety as well as Khalid’s. It continues to show more of the magic in this world because we got just the barest glimpse of it in the first book, as well as how Shazi’s magic actually works.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding several of the characters, and plenty of romance to drink in. I thought that, the plot itself, was a solid one, driving each of the characters into the next course of action that needed to be taken in order to break the curse over Khalid and Khorasan, as well as other opposing forces in the story.

I will say, though, that I thought the threat of danger wasn’t as immediate in this book as it was in the first. Yes, there were still threats and still concerns that had to be addressed, but otherwise I thought that it was more of a story of action than of danger. It didn’t take away from the story at all, but there was a difference in tone between the first and second books given the circumstances.

Shahrzad is as strong willed and silver tongued as ever in this book, and I kind of really missed that. I forgot how she can have such witty banter and come up with such awesome insults on the fly:

A rush of blood heated her cheeks. “If I had a fireball, I’d send it straight between your legs. But I worry there would be little to burn.”

OH SNAP. That part made me laugh quite loudly. But aside from that, she still uses her mind and her resources around her to get where she needs to go and do what needs to be done. I thought that her relationship with her sister, though strained at times, was still one that I could see the true love from them in. Shazi really cares for Irsa, even if she doesn’t reveal many things to her because she views Irsa as a child still. Through the many ups and downs and revelations, though, Shazi remains strong and brave. She’s a really amazing heroine, in my opinion.

Khalid is just as temperamental as ever, but we get to see a much more human side of him than we have before. We see him helping to rebuild his city and him trying his best to look out for those around him because he doesn’t want to shed any more unnecessary innocent blood. His love for Shazi is beautiful and I loved reading the moments with them together because they so perfectly reflect one another so well. I thought that he was a strong character, like usual, though he fought with a lot more conviction now that he has something to fight for. And we got to see him with some of his military skills, which was pretty strategic and cool.

Irsa, I think, was a welcome sigh of relief when it came to this story. As Shazi’s younger sister, you would think she would be a little more headstrong and quick to act, but I felt that she was very mature for her age in some of the ways she acted and how she responded in certain situations. She was very knowledgeable on medicinal herbs and her love for her sister was very strong, though she knew that Shazi would lie to her constantly to protect her. Irsa was a welcome surprise and I thought the interactions between her and Rahim were so adorable.

Tariq was just as angry as he was in the last book when it came to him thinking about Khalid, and he acted with a blind heart instead of an open mind on more than one occasion, causing something almost terrible to happen to Shazi. Even though he and Khalid had an altercation, an understanding on Tariq’s part happened and I think that’s when he became a more agreeable character after that. Though he still reacted on pure guts than brains, I thought he did his best in the situations handed to him.

Jahandar, I thought, was trying to do so many things for the wrong reasons and I was so mad he seemed to care more about his book than his daughters. He tricked and lied, and he did it with the best intentions, but I think the gift he gave in the end was fitting and right.

We didn’t have as much Despina or Jalal at all in this book, which made me very sad because they’re two of my favorites, but there was still an interaction with them that made me smile at the end.

There was fighting, blood, worry, curses, magic, and more in this book and I thought that it did very well for a conclusion, for sure. And I just want you to know that I ALMOST CRIED at one part – like, there was a tear and everything – because holy carp was it sad and OH THE FEELS. Renee Ahdieh’s writing is very beautiful, just like the last, and will capture you with lush details and exquisite settings, sprinkled with awesome banter.

I rated this book 4.5/5 stars.

My duology review: 4.25/5 stars

May 5, 2016
Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Like to Revisit in 10 Years

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday as hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke & the Bookish. Today’s topic was sort of like a “pick your own” kind of thing, and so I decided to talk about some YA and adult characters that I’d like to revisit in the next 10 years. These are characters that I want to see if I’d feel the same way about them now in the future.

1 . Aelin Galathynius/Celaena Sardothian – If you didn’t think she’d be on my list, then you must be new here. I love Aelin to bits and as she’s one of my favorite YA characters, I definitely want to revisit her later on. Will I think she’s still kickass? Will I think she’s kind of a bit too high strung and quick to act? So many questions!

2. Kaoru & Akiva – You guys have no idea how much I LOVE these two characters. I love them individually, but I REALLY love them together. Oh man, they’re beautiful, tragic, flawed beings and I just want to wrap them in my arms and keep them close to me. Will I still love them ten years from now? I hope so!

3. Zuzana & Mik – Okay, okay, I know they’re in the same series as Karou & Akiva, but THEY BRING ME SO MUCH JOY. If they can still make me laugh and smile, then I definitely want to revisit them in ten years. They’re just such a fun couple! Zuzana is so witty, sarcastic, and she has this killer eyebrow thing; Mik is kind of laid back and tries to be the hero, and really, he’s just a great guy. Love. Them.

4. Cath & Levi – I felt such a connection to Cath and her story when I read it a couple years ago because I had just graduated college that past spring and so everything that was talked about, and issues that happened, I could almost totally relate to. It was incredible. I wonder if I’d feel the same ten years from now? Maybe I’ll end up forgetting my entire college experience, because that’s also very possible.

5. Lia, Rafe, & Kaden – My bae, Kaden, oh how I will always want to revisit you. Creepiness aside, I love these characters and this trilogy. The world is dynamic and large and mysterious, and the characters in their world are all so riveting and awesome. I’ll definitely want to revisit not only these characters, but also the world they live in because there are so many mysteries to be had there.

6. The Raven Boys & Blue – I think I need to reread this series anyway because there is just soooo much that happens, and there’s little hints and threads of what’s to come hidden throughout the books, and it became one of my top ten favorite series, so there’s that, too. I fell in love with the Raven Boys and Blue and so I want to see their story once again ten years from now.

7. Kelsier & Vin – They are just so amazing! Kelsier is always on the path of revenge and always has tricks and secrets up his sleeve; Vin is a stubborn girl who’s ready to fight to get her way. The magic system is also amazing and different and I just… I need more. Maybe I should finish the trilogy for the first go around before revisiting them, huh?

8. Miaka & Tamahome – As my favorite manga series and one of my favorite couples, of course I’ll want to revisit them one day! They’re funny and silly, sweet and serious, determined and stubborn, and I love them to bits. Plus, visual stimulation is always nice and I love Yuu Watase’s style!

9. Kate & Curran – I love this series and how much it’s growing and how the characters have grown, how there’s romance and violence and magic and technology, and just so much about it. As my first urban fantasy series, it definitely has a special place in my heart, so I’ll most likely revisit it in ten years and see how I feel looking back on them and their situations.

$theirfracturedlight$

10. Lilac, Tarver, Lee, Flynn, Gideon, & Sofia – I. Love. Them. All. The Starbound trilogy is one of my favorite trilogies and so I definitely, definitely want to revisit all of the characters in the near and far future. There’s just so much to take from it and so much to think about and see and how everything intertwines. Maybe I’ll find something different the next time I revisit, too.

Ahh, just thinking of all of these characters makes my heart feel all warm and such. I love each and every one of them and I can definitely see myself revisiting them in ten years to see how I feel about them and if my thoughts have changed or not.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

Who are some of your favorite characters either from YA or adult novels, or anything in between, and do you think your opinions on them will change if you revisit them?

May 3, 2016
Beautiful Covers: White

Hey, remember this weekly thing that I was doing and I only had the color white left to do? Yeah, I don’t know what happened! But, here it is! The last color for Beautiful Covers that I’m going to talk about. I love covers and seeing what publishing companies and their teams can come up with, and I definitely haven’t been disappointed.

Today’s color: white.

White is a beautiful color and it can really make other colors stand out against it. It can mean the difference between a sleek looking, well put together cover, and a hot mess.

1 . The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I got the special anniversary edition specifically because of this cover. I’ve never read the story, but I really want to because so many people love it, and as soon as I saw this cover I just knew that I NEEDED it. It’s really beautiful in real life and it has a really cool texture.

2. The One by Kiera Cass

These covers are all beautiful, but this one is definitely my favorite. I love how it looks like a wedding dress and how the dress bunches and has curls and stuff. It’s so lovely.

3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Awesome female power! This is a book about being able to see colors with the magic of breath (not what you breathe), and so I love how the cover alludes to that detail from the book. (Yes, I got the UK cover specifically because it’s way lovelier than the US version.)

4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I’ve loved this cover since I saw it: how there’s nothing up top but everything down below. There’s so much color and vibrancy and it hints to a lot of allergies people have and what the main character has. It’s really lovely.

5. When We Collided by Emery Lord

Okay, this is more of an off-white kind of color, but I just love this cover, okay? The splashes of color make it stand out more and the “handwritten” title looks playful and fun against the background. So pretty.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

I can’t believe Beautiful Covers is coming to a close! For now, anyway. I’ll probably do more in the future for different categories, but I thought that this was a fun little thing to do and share some of my opinions on some beautiful covers out there.

What are some of your favorite white covers? Do they have any splashes of color on them or are they all white?

May 2, 2016
Camp NaNoWriMo Week 4 Recap & Wrap Up

Well, this month was very difficult for me to get into my writing mojo, but I started several projects, wrote more for some over others, so I’m interested to see if I’ll continue with any of them.

Goal

50,000 words total by the end of April 30th.

That’s the equivalent to a 200-225 page book. So my average daily word count goal to reach my main goal is to write 1,667 words per day.

Stats for Week 4

Day 23: 0 words for a total of 18,273 words
Day 24: 0 words for a total of 18,273 words
Day 25: 0 words for a total of 18,273 words
Day 26: 2,617 words for a total of 20,890 words
Day 27: 1,397 words for a total of 22,287 words
Day 28: 0 words for a total of 22,287 words
Day 29: 395 words for a total of 22,682 words
Day 30: 0 words for a total of 22,682 words

This Week’s Advice: Don’t Feel Rushed or Pressured to Write

I think this is an extremely important point to remember when writing: don’t feel rushed or pressured to finish in a certain amount of time (unless you’re on deadline, then good luck to you!). When writing for a competition like this (even though it’s not really a competition), it can get overwhelming to write a certain amount of words in a month if you’ve never done so before.

If you’re like me and a lot of other people, you’ll expect perfection and everything to flow smoothly your first go around, and that’s just not the case. Even seasoned writers and well known authors don’t even have that luck. I think it’s fairly common to get into the mindset that your writing is the best or maybe it’s not good enough, and you end up comparing yourself to another writer.

Stop that. Because there will always be someone better than you, but you have to remember: what you do is your best at this moment. You can, and will, get better with time and practice.

This past month I’ve barely written anything toward my goal. Well, okay, I’m a little over half way to my goal, but if I had actually written the past two weeks instead of derping around then maybe I would have actually reached that goal this month. But the reality is that I struggled a lot with my original idea, I wrote three or four other things before finding one that I really enjoyed writing, and even that changed in front of my eyes as I wrote it and got to know my characters more.

But there’s something important that I realized while I was writing this new idea: I can’t rush it.

I want to take my time to get to know my characters, to learn who they are, what they like and don’t like, what their mannerisms are, their backstories. And I can only learn that by writing them out and letting them lead where the story needs to go. I can only interfere so much before I know that something isn’t working and my characters take the lead again.

Writing isn’t about rushing or having the most perfect piece of work ever, but it’s a slow process of learning your characters, your story, and most importantly, yourself as a writer. Keep your chin up, fellow writers, because even though Camp NaNoWriMo happens twice a year and NaNoWriMo happens once a year doesn’t mean you can’t write throughout the entire year.

Take the time to slow down, reflect on what you’ve written, and keep going because YOU created that new piece of art. YOU created something only YOU can tell. And that’s the most important part.

Wrap Up

So this last month was less than stellar for my writing, but I still made progress on several stories, so that’s really what matters.

My ending total: 22,682 words

My Goal: 50,000 words

If I had stuck to it I definitely could have reached my goal, but life and other things got in the way, unfortunately. I still had fun and will probably participate again.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

How was your writing month? Did the words flow or did you struggle like me? Did you find out anything new about your characters when you were writing that you weren’t expecting? Let me know!

May 1, 2016