megan’s Comments (group member since Jun 26, 2015)

megan’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Winter is #4 in the series, but we will likely fill that goal before the BOM discussions start. If not, we know it will be covered.

I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend and Santa deemed you all worthy of the nice list. My husband grew up Jewish, so we did Hanukkah then steam rolled right into Christmas. I made at least 10 dozen cookies.

I'm starting Red Rising, which has survival in it's first page of top shelves.

Fate of the Union
28 Dec
305 pages

Supreme Justice
27 Dec
338 pages

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
26 Dec
184 pages
No goal

Hot chocolate goal is taken care of!

More Than Cocoa
25 Dec
326 pages
Goal: hot chocolate on cover

I'm reading for the cocoa cover goal.

Uprooted
22 Dec
435 pages
BOM

I found a hot chocolate book.

December 21: Chapters 18-23

24. The book has been set so far in Agnieszka's village, the Tower, the Wood, and now the Court. Which setting has been your favorite to read about? Why?
The Tower. It's where she figured out her place in the world. The village is more bittersweet and the Woods makes me nervous. The court has its high points though. I'm really like Alosha. She's a female Dumbledore with a dash of Hagrid's brawn and Snape's apprehension.

25. Agnieszka has really been struggling with the etiquette required at court, and with trying to get her point across about sending an army to fight the Wood. Would she have fared better with the Dragon by her side, or would he have made it worse? Should she have joined up with the Falcon, like he wanted her to?
Glad she stayed away from the Falcon. He's not really a bad guy, his intentions just cast him in a bad light. But, if the Dragon were there, Agnieszka wouldn't need to do a lot of what has been required to make her grow. Things would have been smoother but he might have held her back potentially.

26. Alosha made a great point: Why don't the people living in the Valley simply pack up and leave? Do you think there is something in the river or air that lures them to stay? Or is it more of a case of them not wanting to leave where they were born and have lived for generations?
home is home. Leaving is a lot of work and costs even more. They know the land and survive season by season. Is there and underlying pull? Likely. They've had to adapt and think differently, which is why the witches who have come from the valley have worked magic differently.

27. What do you think is behind Queen Hanna's surprising recovery? Is she actually cured, or is the Wood still somehow controlling her?
Nope, not cured. I think Ragostok is in with whatever juice is cooking in the Woods.

28. How do you think the title of the book fits in with what has happened so far?
The book has slowly worked its way around the title, giving it more and more meaning. I hope it continues.

"We had better take poor Georg's head off the wall in the parade-room."
This line made me laugh way too much.

December 20: Chapters 14 – 17

18. They didn’t have much of a plan going into the Wood. I was surprised they even managed to find the Queen so quickly. What are your thoughts on their preparation and planning?
Agreed! But I think it was supposed to feel like it happened so fast because the Dragon’s opinion is that they are rushing it. The Prince was the one to push for such a quick retrieval, which is exactly what happened. It’s more believable that they saved her than how fast they found her. After 20 years, and such a powerful tree, they should have had to march for days looking for her. The quick escape shows that Agnieszka is improving as a witch.

19. Kasia is turning into quite the hero. Do you think she was always like this or the Woods changed her?
Both. She had to be brave growing up knowing she would be selected for the Dragon. But, I think her trip to the Woods and the wooden changes to her body have made her more mentally capable of such bravery.

20. What are your thoughts on the rescue of the Queen? Was it worth losing 28 men? Do you think she will recover?
The motive of rescuing the queen was always to put try to put a stop to the problems between Polyna and Rosya. Polyna would get their Queen back, but Rosya is still missing a prince. Not worth losing 28 of the best soldiers on the team. If the King was a better diplomat, the Queen would have been remembered as the hussy who ran off into trouble with another man. If she does recover, this might be an eventual problem. I think she might be more easily recovered than we think, but knowing what she will face, the Queen might choose to remain blank.

21. They made it to the city and the townspeople’s people seem to rejoice but the King doesn’t. Why do you think he doesn’t seem pleased?
I think it’s more that she ran from him than the King punishing her. She betrayed him as a wife. Dragging her back doesn’t change that. The King seems to hold on to his grudges.

22. Do you think Agnieszka will be recognized? What do you think her animal name will be?
I think the Falcon will be sure everyone knows of her, but it won’t be that easy. She’s a healer but she also uses elements and song to weave her spells. So something river related and nurturing. Does it have to be an animal? Isn’t the Willow a witch?

23. Any predictions for the rest of the book?
Only prediction is that Agnieszka ends up with the Dragon. Maybe the Queen is saved and they conquer the Woods, but I hope it’s not easy for them.

ɽɵɓɵɕɕα wrote: "What January BOMs is everWinteryone doing? I'm doing The Nightingale and Winter."

I'll be doing Winter as well, and A Darker Shade of Magic. I read The Nightingale in September for another group's historical fiction of the month. One of my favorites of the year!

Grace wrote: "I am almost done with which will cover the chess piece goal then I am going to look at some Christmas books.

Does any one have hot chocolate on the cover ?"

I can try to find one with hot chocolate on the front. I think I remember one I found from a chocolate challenge last Valentine's Day.

None of our unclaimed books have text that begin with "The"?

Yay! The perfect excuse to read this one.

December 19: Chapters 9 a 13
12) The Summoning is a truth spell. Were you surprised to find out that both Agnieszka and Kasia had secret hatred and jealousy towards each other? That doesn't seem to be normal feelings between two best friends...
Not surprised at all. Their situation isn't really a 'normal' situation.

13) Agnieszka and the Dragon work another spell together, but this time things get pretty romantic, even ending in a kiss! Do you think it's their magic alone that's making them attracted to one another? Will they end up together in the end?
Their magic is the reason they work so well together. Their personalities are polar opposites but it's as it their magic is positively and negatively charged and they can't help but allow it to flow. I think the magic has helped open a door they weren't expecting, especially the Dragon.

14) Is it a good idea to go into the Wood to find Queen Hanna? What do you think 20 years of being corrupted in the Wood has done to the Queen (if she's even alive)? Would you be willing to play the hero and go into the Wood to find her?
No it's not a good idea. It's crazy, but they will do it. If ordered to they must or be charged with treason or something for defying royal order. I would be a coward and go back to my tower and spend some more time making magic with The Dragon.

15) I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but it seems as if every time Agnieszka is thinking, the Dragon always answers her. Do you think he is able to read her mind/thoughts?
Noticed, but I don't think it's something he is consciously doing.

16) The Dragon doesn't seem to be as cruel and violent as everyone believes him to be... so where do you think the nickname "The Dragon" came from?
Hmm, maybe something for his ability to make that super fire potion. I assume the nickname is from court and all wizards are named after an animal of some sort. The Falcon is a Seer and the birds tend to have crazy good eyesight.

17) If you could put a face to the Dragon, what would he look like?
It's all about aging well. I like the Jude Law thing. Maybe someone like Dylan McDermott. Or totally original and can pull off a harshness: Idris Elba.

DQ team Athena

December 18: Chapters 5-8

6. Agnieszka finds herself back home to help when the villagers is infected by The Wood. How do you think the town felt that she came instead of The Dragon? If you were living there, how would you react?
I’m sure the town was confused, likely thinking it a joke or that The Dragon was blowing them off. I would have assumed the same. Only when she started performing her magic would I have tried to put two and two together. I would have assumed The Dragon took a girl for his pleasure, not to teach.

7. The Dragon should not have been able to recover from the sickness of The Wood. How do you think Agnieszka was able to save him. How do you think he is so familiar with the spells?
Just as The Dragon chose her because he could sense the magical ability in her, the kind of magic waiting in her seems to come looking for her. Like The Dragon claimed that Agnieszka was a healer because that would have been her specialty, maybe there are different types of magic. Like strands of it that flow differently and Agnieszka feels and creates with them in a rare way. Maybe she was Jaga in a past life, when Jaga quit wandering through her death, she took her place in reincarnation. Or the type of magic chooses the witch.

8. The Dragon and Agnieszka seem to be working closer together. How do you feel about their relationship? Do you enjoy seeing The Dragon struggle? What do you thing they were both feeling when they performed the rose spell together?
I don’t like that The Dragon struggles. It make it more difficult to get Agnieszka where she will need to be in case of a war. I think it goes back to why Agnieszka can conjure different magic than The Dragon. They are different types. Like a ying and a yang of magic. When they come together like the rose spell, they work in perfect harmony. It just seems that most wizards and witches only work in the verbal ying fashion of magic, while the yang remains a rare, more physical side.

9. How do you think Agnieszka is able to free Kasia? DO you think she was strong enough to defeat the hold of The Wood or do you think The Wood let Kasia ago?
I think The Wood let Kasia go because she is likely easy to replace, but was thrown off by the magic of Agnieszka. I think The Wood was caught unaware and will be more ready next time. Like there is a singular power controlling The Wood.

10. Do you think The Dragon will be able to help Agnieszka to save Kasia? Will Kasia have lasting effect from being trapped in The Wood?
I don’t think The Dragon will be able to help her, only guide her. This is assuming Agnieszka will be able to remove the dark forces from Kasia. If there is no lasting power over other’s pulled from the brink, then there shouldn’t be any lasting effect on Kasia. I hope she is saved. That’s how a YA novel should end. It’s getting there in a totally unique way, like the path Novik is taking us on, that makes the story worth reading. I’m very impressed with her story telling ability so far.