Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Title:  Hexed Author:  Kevin Hearne Genre: Urban fantasy, humor, adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II. With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex. You know those books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . Top Ten Books/Movies To Read Or Watch To Get In The Halloween Spirit I have been kind of AWOL for a couple of weeks because life has been so so busy. I feel like I haven't had time to breathe because every day is a 12 hour day, and then homework and dance practices and midterms and applying for jobs...whooo college! It's times like these when I really want to be out of here! Ok, mini rant aside, I think getting into the Halloween spirit will help calm me down and make life a little happier , so here are some books I have read or want to read! 1. Neil Gaiman is the master of making truly chilling creatures as well as sinister characters that turn out to be lovable in the end. I really liked The Graveyard book, which has a bit of both. I recently found out was loosely based on The Jungle Book (how did I never pick up on that? Mindblown) 2. The Monstrumologist FREAKED ME OUT. It&

Title:  Murder of Crows Author:  Anne Bishop Genre: Urban fantasy, adult fiction My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more. The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat. As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and

Title:  Mortal Heart Author:  Robin LaFevers Genre: Historical fiction, fantasy, young adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has... I missed the rich history and political intrigue that was so prominent in the previous two books, but this one delved a lot more into the mythology of Brittany. It's definitely the most personal story out of the three, and while there were a couple of things that continue to tug at the back of my mind,

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish .   This week's theme:  Top Ten bookish places I want to visit 1. Turn of the Century New York Inspired by... 2. Magical Version of Renaissance Venice Inspired by... 3. Prague Inspired by... 4. London and London Below Inspired by... 5. Neverland Inspired by... 6. Lumatere and Charyn Inspired by... 7. Discworld Inspired by...

Title:  The Dream Thieves Author:  Maggie Stiefvater Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy, Young Adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after... I really love the idea of ancient mythology weaving in with the present day. It just makes daily life a little bit more magical, a little bit more beautiful. There is a poetry to the legends from hundreds if not thousands of years ago, and Maggie Stiefvater weaves that poetry into her books. The Dream Thieves picks up almost immediately after the epilogue of Raven Boys, with Ronan's little...revelation. Ronan is front and center in this book, and I loved it. You find

I know audiobooks are very hit-or-miss for people. Some people love them, some people hate them, and some people just haven't tried them. I've discovered that I really like re-reading  with audiobooks. Sometimes it's just hard to pay attention when you're listening to something for a long period of time (ahem physics lectures ahem hem), and if it's a re-read it doesn't really matter. I know how the story goes, so if I miss a few details here and there I won't be lost. It also depends on how long the audiobook is. The longest one I've done is Mistborn: The Final Empire, clocking in at 20 hours. I think the only reason I finished was because I looooooooooove Mistborn (If you haven't read this yet, GET ON THAT ASAP) and I was already emotionally invested in the story because I'd already read it. If I hadn't already read it, I would have been bored to tears after a couple of hours. My limit is usually 9 or 10 hours because if it's

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish .   This week's theme: Top Ten Character-driven books 1. What would a list of character-driven novels be without the charismatic con artists, Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen ? If you haven't read Lies of Locke Lamora , you really should. It's witty, intelligent, very emotional (heartbreaking at times, in fact), and tons of fun. Honestly, I would read anything with these two characters in them because no matter how crappy the other aspects of the books are (the third book was definitely lacking in a few ways...), Locke and Jean make it worthwhile. 2. Just because a novel is character driven doesn't mean you actually have to like them, right? Gone Girl has two complete wrecks as main characters and narrators, and no matter how ugly it gets, you just can't look away... It's scary how charismatic Amy and Nick are. No matter how twisted they are, you still want to know the