Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme: Scariest book covers Clearly I'm having formatting issues, but here are five freaky book covers!   

Entrusted is a young adult paranormal novel by Connie Ann Michael. Here is the cover! Blurb: Thrust into a world of Native American legends about Skinwalkers and Ancient Ones, Emma Hunter finds herself in the middle of a battle for a heart holding great powers – A heart hidden within her. Seventeen-year-old Emma wants what every teenage girl wants: a life that revolves around school, her friends, and a boyfriend who only has eyes for her. Little does she know that in order to get one, she must sacrifice the other two. After a series of events put into motion by Luke, the boy she thought loved her, Emma is kicked out of her group home and her school. Her best friend mysteriously vanishes and now she’s forced to move to a secluded coastal town, where she hopes to escape Luke’s obsessive control.  Instead, she finds her dreams invaded not only by Luke, but Solomon, a mysterious Native American warrior sent to protect her. But when Solomon shows up in her reality to explain

Title:  Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story Author:  Diane Setterfield Genre: literary fiction, historical fiction, paranormal/magical realism My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: As a boy, William Bellman commits one small, cruel act: killing a bird with his slingshot. Little does he know the unforeseen and terrible consequences of the deed, which is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to be a man blessed by fortune—until tragedy strikes and the stranger in black comes. Then he starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born. Bellman & Black is a very quiet book. Not much really happens , but that's because it doesn't need to. The story is chilling, b

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme: Top Ten Character Names I Love or Top Ten Unusual Character Names There are a lot of names that I think sound beautiful and some that are just are fun to say, so I'm going to split them into those two categories: Beautiful/cool/exotic Kieran from Julie Kagawa's Iron Prince Neeve from Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys Bhakhtiian from Kate Elliot's Jaran Kelsier from Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series Froi from Melina Marchetta's Lumatere Chronicles Ismae from R. LaFevers' Grave Mercy Fun to say Viola from Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy (think of all those times Todd yelled VIOLA!) Karou from Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series (Karooooooou!) Mr. Vandemar from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (yeah, he's evil and creepy but his name is awesome) Sansa Stark from George RR Martin's Game of Thrones series (ssssibilant

Title:  Mistborn: The Final Empire Author:  Brandon Sanderson Genre: Fantasy, adult fiction My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land. He failed. For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably. Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn. I love stories about magic and stories about heists/capers. Naturally, I loved this book, since it combined both of these elements. This isn't the best fant

Title:  Burial Rites Author:  Hannah Kent Genre: Historical fiction, literary fiction, adult fiction My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829. Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme:  Top Ten Best/Worst Series Enders The Best: Monsters of Men is the third book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. This is one of my favorite series, and this book really took my breath away. You get to see things from so many perspectives, and it's really hard to figure out who the "good guys" are because everyone believes they are doing the right thing. The characters are amazing and the ending was just perfect. I can't say enough good things about this book! Quintanta of Charyn by Melina Marchetta was a beautiful ending to a very beautiful series. I have read almost all of Melina Marchetta's books, and they are all incredible - they have very real characters that go through such painful situations with such grace that I have to remind myself that these people aren't real to keep myself from sobbing. Above all, there is always hope and lov

Hello lovely readers of my blog! Sorry I haven't been updating very often or commenting on your blogs. The first week back at college was really crazy and it took me quite a while to settle down and figure out my schedule. I haven't had as much time to read as I would have liked, and hardly any time at all to write reviews for what I have read. But hopefully I'll get on that soon! I've decided that October is going to be the month where I do a reread-a-thon. I keep meaning to reread a lot of my favorite books and series, but I always want to read more new books and I never get around to it. This month I'm going to make it a point to do some rereading, especially since two of my favorite books are going to be released as movies next month! You can find the trailers for The Book Thief and Ender's Game here and here . The list of books I'm planning to reread: Ender's Game The Book Thief The Chaos Walking trilogy, this time as audiobooks W

The Book Thief is one of my all time favorite books, and I've reread it so many times that the spine is all crinkly (and I try really  hard not to crinkle them - just goes to show how well-loved this book is!). It's time for another reread during the month of October - just in time for the movie, coming out November 7! The readalong is hosted by the Midnight Garden . If you haven't read this book already, this is your chance!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's theme:  Top Ten Book Turn-Offs Romance novels - I don't mind a little romance in a story now and then - after all, everyone deserves a chance at love - but I will not read a book that has romance/erotica as the main plot. If I see two people making out on the cover of a book, I am definitely not picking it up! zombieeeeeees - I don't mind books that say they are about zombies and are about zombies. What bugs me is when there is absolutely no indication of the undead playing a part in the story and then someone who's dead magically comes back to life or was never dead in the first place. DEAD PEOPLE DON'T COME BACK TO LIFE. (yeah, pet peeve of mine. cough cough Rory Pond...) whining/self-pitying characters - some characters have baggage, but they struggle with it and deal with it and move on. Other characters think  they have the worst life under the sun and mope and feel sorr