Andria Potter's Blog, page 21

Book Review: A Deadly Education

Summary From Goodreads:

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students. 

My Review:

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is adult fantasy, with a unique story plot, featuring a girl named Galadriel and a boy named Orion Lake. I wanted to really like this more than I did, but I wound up dnf’ing the book at around 200 pages. Galadriel was rather harsh towards Orion, and the plot wasn’t keeping my attention.

The magic system was good. I liked the whole school set up. But otherwise? I hated how the students treated one another, as though each of them were nothing more than cannon fodder to the other. It seemed rather callous between the students. I understand the whole ‘fight to survive’ element going on, but it seemed as though they could have banded together to accomplish more.

The pacing for the story was well structured, and I did like how the characters all felt real. The magic system was slow to be explained as were the monsters within and without the school. I generally was overall? Not a huge fan, but still liked it enough to make it past the halfway point. I’d recommend this to those looking for another fun fantasy setting set at an educational school.

Final Rating: 3/5 stars

February is my Netgalley Reading Month: Here’s What I Plan to Tackle

Lately there’s a lot of books in my Netgalley account. Roughly 150+ books. I really need to tackle a lot of them, and get my ratio back under control. So for February I plan on reading nothing but Netgalley arcs. I’m going to try an arc a day, if I can manage it. If not, then I’ll stick close to it. Here are the books I’m most eager to get to in the next month:

There’s lots more of course. And I need to finish catching up on some of the series like The Relentless Moon for example. Many books in my Netgalley account are sequels to series I haven’t read or started, though thankfully I am all caught up on Mrs. Kopp-an absolutely favorite historical cozy mystery series that I adore. I’m lucky to get all these delightful looking books, and hope to review at least all these that I listed in this post for the next month.

Wish me luck!

Book Review: Winterwood

Summary From Goodreads:

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic,where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

My Review:

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw is a fantasy novel that’s beautiful, lyrical, atmospheric, and mysterious. It involves a witch, a dead boy, and a missing boy found. It blends magical realism with witchcraft, history with enchanting tales of witches throughout the Walker family, that live near the Wicker Woods. It tells about Oliver-the missing boy found in those woods, and Nora Walker-the witch who found him. It has a hint of romance, that’s barely there within the pages. It was perfect for the winter season in terms of when this book should be read.

It’s lyrical prose was enchanting throughout the whole book. It reminded me of why I adore witches in small towns, of haunted forests, of magical spells and enchantments. I was reminded quite strongly of Alice in Wonderland, before she went off to her adventures, eager to see what lay beyond the fantastical. There’s an all boy’s school, there’s a mystery to the story, of what happened to the lost boy, as well as the dead boy. The writing was beautiful, and perfectly captured the atmosphere of the small town setting, back when things were mysterious and wild.

Its easily one of my new favorites of the year (though we’re early in the year, I know, lol) and I’m hopeful to snag The Wicked Deep by the author soon as well since I missed out on that one as well. I’m going to go ahead and rank this one five out of five stars. I really loved this book and hope to buy a copy to add to my collection because the binding of it is beautiful as well.

Final Rating: 5/5 stars!

Top 25 Books on my 2021 Most anticipated reads

It seems as though all the bloggers are making top ten lists, top twenty, so on and so forth. I thought I would do a slightly bigger number. Top twenty five books on my tbr pile that I’d like to get to. I chose random books from fantasy to romance to historical fiction. The choices were hard to pick, but I narrowed it down at last.

#1:

To survive the Holocaust, a young Jewish woman must pose as a Christian farmer’s wife in this unforgettable novel from USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Robson—a story of terror, hope, love, and sacrifice, inspired by true events, that vividly evokes the most perilous days of World War II.

#2

In The Need, Helen Phillips has created a subversive, speculative thriller that comes to life through blazing, arresting prose and gorgeous, haunting imagery. Anointed as one of the most exciting fiction writers working today, The Need is a glorious celebration of the bizarre and beautiful nature of our everyday lives.

#3:

Inspired by the true story of a daring deception that plunges a courageous young woman deep into the horrors of a Nazi POW camp to be with the man she loves.

#4:

An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death—and last case—than she ever could have imagined.

#5:

A traveling librarian ventures into the mining towns of Kentucky on horseback and rediscovers her passions in this powerful novel from the best-selling author of A Silken Thread.

#6:

Combining the emotional power and dual narrative style of ‘Before We Were Yours’ with the nuanced, layered, and atmospheric mystery of ‘The Dry’, a powerful debut novel revolving around a shocking disappearance, two neighbor families, and shameful secrets from the past that refuse to stay buried.

#7:

Happily ever after is only the beginning as Belle takes on the responsibility of becoming queen and learns to balance duty, love, and sacrifice, all while navigating dark political intrigue—and a touch of magic.

#8:

A propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two adventure-seeking brothers, the enemies who threaten them, and the women who reveal to them an unjust world on the brink of upheaval.

#9:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression.

#10:

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

#11:

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.

#12:

An unforgettable tale of what we owe to those we love, and those we have left behind

#13:

A queer retelling of “Snow White and Rose Red” in which teenage twins battle evil religious extremists to save their loves and their circus family.

#14:

A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.

#15:

Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downs’s debut is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.

#16:

Bestselling author Nancy E. Turner returns to the world of Sarah Agnes Prine through the wide-eyes of her irrepressible young niece, Mary Pearl.

#17

It’s late summer, war is raging, and families are torn apart by divided loyalties and deadly secrets. In this complex and dangerous time, a young French Canadian lieutenant is captured and billeted with a Long Island family, an unwilling and unwelcome guest.

#18:

When fragmented images and unfocused panic force Noelle St. Claire to flee her wealthy, sheltered life in New York, she gains sanctuary on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains.There Noelle finds solace in the breathtaking scenery she paints. But as the attentions of two brothers, Rick and Morgan Spencer, breach the wall she hides behind, the past she yearns to escape becomes a menacing threat from which she can no longer hide. Award-winning and bestselling author Kristen Heitzmann has skillfully created a story resonating with emotion and depicting a poignant spiritual journey.

#19:

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

20:

All the Light We Cannot See meets The Nightingale in this literary WWI-era novel and epic love story of a brilliant young doctor who races against Einstein to solve one of the universe’s great mysteries.

#21:

Li has a father and a sister who love her. A best friend, Mirabae, to share things with. She goes to school and hangs out at the beach and carefully follows the rules. She has to. Everyone she knows–her family, her teachers, her friends–is an alien. And she is the only human left on Earth.

#22

From a beloved, award-winning writer, the much-anticipated novel about what happens when two families go on a tropical vacation and the children go missing.

#23

An instant New York Times Bestseller, this is a stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of. Perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone

#24

Set in a magical world of terror and wonder, this novel is a deeply felt epic of courage and war, in which the fates of these characters intertwine—and where ordinary people become heroes, and their lives become legend.

#25:

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the incredible true life story of Mrs. Grace Humiston, the New York lawyer and detective who solved the famous cold case of Ruth Cruger, an 18-year-old girl who disappeared in 1917. 

And those are my top 25 books I’m anticipating in 2021. I should note, all of these are backlist titles, except Kristin Hannah’s, and maybe a couple other historical fictions that I couldn’t resist adding onto the pile. This list was also in no particular order, as I’m determined in getting all these read, as my library has ebook copies, as well as physical copies, of all of these apart from the new releases. I hope some of these caught your attention. I also hope that y’all can send me more recommendations in the comments for backlist titles!

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book.

Book Review: Splinters are children of wood

Summary From Goodreads:

The wildly unrestrained poems in Splinters Are Children of Wood, Leia Penina Wilson’s second collection and winner of the Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry, pose an increasingly desperate question about what it means to be a girl, the ways girls are shaped by the world, as well as the role myth plays in this coming of age quest. Wilson, an afakasi Samoan poet, divides the book into three sections, linking the poems in each section by titles. In this way the poems act as a continuous song, an ode, or a lament revivifying a narrative that refuses to adopt a storyline.

Samoan myths and Western stories punctuate this volume in a search to reconcile identity and education. The lyrical declaration is at once an admiration of love and self-loathing. She kills herself. Resurrects herself. Kills herself again. She is also killed by the world. Resurrected. Killed again. These poems map displacement, discontent, and an increasing suspicion of the world itself, or the ways people learn the world. Drawing on the work of Bhanu Kapil, Anne Waldman, Alice Notley, and Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Wilson’s poems reveal familiarity and strangeness, invocation and accusation. Both ritual and ruination, the poems return again and again to desire, myth, the sacred, and body

–Craig Santos Perez 

My Review:

Splinters Are Children of Wood by Leia Penina Wilson is a poetry novella.

Poetry is a new genre for me. All that I’ve read of poetry thus far is Emily Dickenson, and I adored her works, as well as that of Robert Frost. This was…not that sort of poetry at all. For a word of warning, this book contains harsh language that I wasn’t quite prepared for. And their misspelling of the word “girl” to “gurl” was irritating after the sixth or so page.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I really wanted to dip my toes back into poetry, but this was extremely off putting. I can, on the one hand, see why some people enjoyed this book. But to me? No. Two stars, and I will probably not be reading from this author again any time soon. I will say that I still rather like the book’s title and cover, and that’s pretty much it.

Final Rating: 2/5 stars

2012 Reading Goals

Hello all. I have a fair few plans in place, all reasonable or so I hope. I’m eager to meet my goals this year, as opposed to last. Let’s get to it, shall we?!:

–Read 200 books. I managed to read almost 250 books last year, and because of a reading slump that hit hard, as well as other issues, I failed in making it to 250. I’m already nearing 15 books read this year, and its only halfway through the first month. If I manage to make it to two hundred, then I will increase it to three hundred books.

–Make my Netgalley percent ratio better. Right now, it’s not at a good spot. I think its around 30%? Maybe? And I’m not even going to discuss my older account which has been languishing for almost a year…best not to. I’m wanting to make this back up to 100%. I will be reading a Netgalley ebook at least two a month, to start with. January is to ease into things, so only one book is being read at the moment, but soon by summer, I want five Netgalley books read at a time. I’m hoping to make this better.

–Post frequently. Last year, I took an unexpected hiatus from my blog due to not having any wifi, family member deaths, and basically not being happy with blogging in general. Now, I’m back in the saddle, so to speak, and eager to renew all my things. There will be more updates, more guest posts, more things that I promised before but didn’t deliver. I apologize, but the tail end of 2020 was awful. Hopefully this year will be better-in a lot of ways.

–Grow my blog. Currently I have about 250 followers. Not bad. Especially with the hiatus. But I’m aiming to do better. I’d like to have 500 followers by summer. Maybe 1000 by winter. I’m hopeful, but I’m also not holding my breathe for this either.

–Learn more skills about blogging. I’d like to learn more html. More graphic designing. I’d been watching a lot of how to clips on Youtube, about how to grow and expand your business, your blog. A lot of them are good tips. I’m determined at getting better at this and really making my blog stand out amongst the crowd.

Those are pretty much my plans for 2021. I’m aiming high because I’m ambitious, but I am well aware of another reading slump hitting hard this year being a real possibility. Also, I’m anticipating more disasters and dark days ahead, though trying hard not to think of such. Thanks to all who hung out with me, and are still sticking around. I’m hopeful my blog will continue to be a place y’all come back to.

Book Review: deep woods

Summary From Goodreads:

I was barefoot, sobbing, running for my life. But the men hunting me made one mistake: they chased me into *his* woods.

Cal Whittaker. Big, gruff and gorgeous, he’s made his home in the heart of the forest and has barely spoken to another person in six years. He deals with the men chasing me with a brutal efficiency that hints at a dark past. I should be scared…but when I look into his eyes, I feel a soul-deep longing I can’t explain. And the way he looks at me, like he just wants to push me up against a tree and tear my clothes off…

He offers me shelter on his smallholding. I’m used to the big city but I’ll have to learn a whole new way of life: a cow for milk, a wood stove for warmth and no one but the two of us for miles in any direction. I learn that Cal’s carrying a guilt that won’t let him get close to anyone…but neither of us can fight the attraction and in his tiny cabin, it’s impossible to keep our distance.

Even in the forest, though, we may not be safe. My escape has threatened a conspiracy so vast, so evil, that the men behind it won’t stop until they’ve silenced us. They know where we are. And they’re coming.

My Review:

Deep Woods was a fast paced, steamy romantic survival trope that I like. It’s got an adorable dog. An enormous giant of a man whose wildly protective towards our damsel in distress, as well as being the big, gruff, strong silent type-with a beard. The romance in this book was a bit of a slow build, though it felt a hint like instalove. The action in the book was…well. All over the place. You really need to suspend disbelief for a lot of it. It goes from action scene googly eyes action scene action scene googly eyes/wistful longing lots of action to backstory with hand holding…its pretty entertaining, but I definitely fiction.

That’s not to say I didn’t absolutely fall in love with the book. The characters were easy to like and get to know. Cal and Bethany are an awesome couple. Bethany wasn’t one of those annoying giggly heroines that’s To Stupid To Live, she’s smart and gutsy though she’s also a bit too weak compared to Cal. Cal was a tall, bearded, muscular man who was once a marine. Another perk for this romance novel. There’s surviving out in the woods. There’s guns, bears, cabins, and swoon worthy romance that’s a steady build into a solid relationship you believe in. I flew through the book in an easy two days, not wanting to put it down and only doing so because real life kept getting in the way.

For a brand new to me author? This was high on my list of favorites. I enjoyed this. A lot. It was full of romance, of action, of gruff alpha male heroes rushing to protect the damsel in distress.

It was as described-a wild, fun ride through the woods with a gruff grizzly of a man and his dog, taking down baddies one bad guy at a time. Definitely worth checking out for those who like that sort of thing. 4 out of 5 stars, and I’m definitely looking into the other works by this author.

New Year, New Look, New Style

Hey,

It’s been a few months since I’ve been bloggin’, I know. I had some close to me deaths. Grandfather passed from cancer. It was rough. Then a few months later, a close friend of the family also passed. Again from cancer but a different kind. We knew it was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier for both of those people we cared about.

So I apologize for my absence. I got a lot of catching up to do. Shit’s changed, and I’m WAY behind on reviews to the point I don’t think I will ever catch up. Sure, I still posted vaguely to twitter and Goodreads, but otherwise?

All was quiet on the western front.

It’s been rough, but I’m eager to get back to it. New year, new look, new style. I’m trying to learn more HTML. By the way?

This blog is run by ONE PERSON. Not many all at once. I do all the html editing, I write the reviews, I read the books, I do the emails…a lot of work, pride, and joy goes into this blog. I spent years working on it. Sure, I might go quiet now and again, but that’s because real life sucks. It’s why I escape into books to begin with.

So I apologize for my long absence, friends. I appreciate all those who stuck with me, through and thin. I was gone almost half a year from my blog, longer than what I’d done previously. I will make up for it.

And for all those politics going on? This blog is meant as a safe haven away from that sort of thing. Reading is an escape. It’s entertainment. Its fun and rewarding. Please keep your political thoughts and feelings off this blog. That’s all I ask. Thanks.

So, let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?

And make this blog into something stupendeous!

(As far as book blogs go anyway, lol.)

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

A (Somewhat Belated) October TBR

Hello friends,

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post of any sort on here. I just felt really ‘blah’ about my blog, and couldn’t muster the energy. But enthusiasm has semi-returned. Let’s hope it stays, and grows stronger, as I catch up on book reviews, tags, memes, and so on and so forth. As it’s already the midway point of the month of October, its a bit pointless in doing a tbr, but I’m hoping to try anyway, to get a lot of backlog books read. From overdue arcs, to library books that are giving me angry looks at not being read yet despite having them checked out weeks at a time. Here’s what I’m currently reading:

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It’s a buddy read, but it’s not going well. Though both of us have been reading, we’re both apparently not inclined to keep up the pace. I think I’m ahead of my buddy, though not sure. I will need to check it out, and get in touch. Other than that single book, I’ve read plenty of others. I’ll share them at the end of my monthly wrap up soon. But for the rest of October? I’d like to read these:

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All of these are quite decent in size. I’m planning on writing reviews again and posting them quite soon, as I’ve seriously been slacking on such just not feeling the energy or wherewithall in doing so lately. But, as mentioned, prepare for a return of more frequent posts! I’ve dozens of books that I’m planning on getting to before the end of the year, and with the reading slump and ‘blah mode’ finally gone, I’m hopeful that I can successfully knock out several of my goals!

Are any of these on your radar? Have you read them? Let me know what you think.

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book.

Arcs, Updates, & Status

Brief update. My internet went away and therefore so did I. I’ve read a few arcs, but haven’t been on here much less written a review in ages. I’ll be uploading a fair amount later in the next couple of days.

Updates:

-arc apocalypse

-October tbr

-monthly wrap ups

-new updates on my review pages

Overall I will be quite busy. Apologies for the unexpected hiatus but I have returned and plan to once I update regularly!