Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme:  Recently Added TBR books I'm pretty relentless about shaving down my TBR every time it hits 50 books, because I know if it gets bigger than that I'll never actually read half the books. Sometimes I shave it down by reading a lot of books that have been sitting on my TBR for a while, and sometimes I just take books off of it when I'm no longer interested in them. Long story short, I add books to my TBR very slowly, so the last ten span from last week to last November :)   Sir Terry's passing was such a sad moment for me because his children's Discworld books made such an impact on me as a child. I wanted to read more of his books, and I saw this on Netgalley, so I immediately requested it and added it to my TBR.   This one was recommended to me by Amy on the last TTT I did ( Recommendations for people who love Pirates, Thieves, a...

Title:  The Alloy of Law Author:  Brandon Sanderson Genre: Fantasy, steampunk My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads summary: In the three hundred years since the events of the Mistborn trilogy, science and technology have marched on. Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads, electric lighting, and even the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Yet even with these advances, the magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for those attempting to establish order and justice. One is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax must now put away his guns and assume the duties incumbent upon the head of a noble house—until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be eve...

Title:  The Empyrean Key Author:  J.L. Tomlinson My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: In Ardentia, a land carved by the Celestials and their magic, a great King lies dying. Narcean soothsayer, Friziel Sunrender, has foreseen a shadow that threatens this already war-torn world, and whispers on the wind hint at the return of an ancient evil. To stave off this threat, he must call upon the halfbreed girl-child he banished years ago. As a not-so-perceptive telepath and amateur scam-runner, Jahna Mornglow has filled the void left by an absent father, with the friendships of a bloodthirsty bar-maid and a bullied book-worm. Her mother, scarred by the racial prejudices of her past, refuses to nurture Jahna's Narcean abilities of prophecy and telepathy, warning her of the hate beyond the safety of Groden Cove – a beachside safe haven for misfits and those who wish to be left alone. When hidden enemies move their pieces into play as the King's condition worsens; Jahna l...

March was probably my worst blogging month on record, because I basically fell off the map for over two weeks. This winter quarter was the craziest in terms of life and hard classes, but it's finally over! Here's my update for my bingo challenge. I didn't get to read as much as I wanted to during the month, but I did make some progress. If you want to join in the Bingo challenge at any time, you can find  the original card and instructions here . You can fill out one line to make a bingo, or try and fill out the whole card. This is mainly geared towards Science fiction and Fantasy, but you can use whatever genre you want! Here's my progress for March: 1. dystopia: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi I got this book from Edelweiss, and I was really excited about it because it's by one of my favorite authors. This book is terrifying, not just because it's gritty and brutal and has a fair amount of torture in it, but because of how rea...

Title:  The World Before Us Author:  Aislinn Hunter Genre: Contemporary, magical realism My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : When she was just fifteen, smart, sensitive Jane Standen lived through a nightmare: she lost the sweet five-year-old girl she was minding during a walk in the woods. The little girl was never found, leaving her family, and Jane, devastated. Now the grown-up Jane is an archivist at a small London museum that is about to close for lack of funding. As her one last project, she is searching the archives for scraps of information related to another missing person--a woman who disappeared some 125 years ago from a Victorian asylum. As the novel moves back and forth between the museum in contemporary London, the Victorian asylum, and a dilapidated country house that seems to connect both missing people, it unforgettably explores the repercussions of small acts, the power of affection, and the irrepressible vitality of everyday objects and even...

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme: Top Ten Recommendations if you like pirates, thieves, and cons We all have a soft spot for those roguish characters that sail the seas or swindle their way through life. Who doesn't love a good pirate story? Here are some childhood favorites and recent loves of mine that I'd recommend!   If you haven't read this yet, we can't be friends. In all seriousness though, this is one of my favorite books and I have been pushing it on everyone I know. I highly recommend it!   We all know the story of the Pied piper. But what if the piper is just a con who's following the orders of a talking cat? Yeah, you read that right. Terry Pratchett's brilliant satire of fairytales is one of my favorite books from my childhood.   The Heist society series is about an entire family of cons, and it is so much fun! The characters ar...

Title:  The Rithmatist Author:  Brandon Sanderson Genre: Fantasy, children's/middle grade My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson's New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure is now available in paperback. More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that wil...

Title:  Vision in Silver Author:  Anne Bishop Genre: Urban fantasy, adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: The Others freed the  cassandra sangue  to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him. Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict. For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice o...

Book Haul I didn't get a lot of books in February, but the few that I did are books I am really excited about! Crown of Midnight  - I got this book in exchange from one of my old ARCs, thanks to Andi's ABCs and Book Addicts Guide's "Have you seen this..." feature! Basically the way it works is someone asks for an old ARC or specific edition of a book they can't find, and if you have it, you can trade it for a book you're looking for. (key word being "old" ARC - you can't ask for books that haven't been published yet). I loved this book and I'm really excited that I have a copy of it now! It also brightens my day to know that another blogger found a book she was really excited to get her hands on too :D A Darker Shade of Magic  - So...I technically don't have this one in my hands yet because I pre-ordered the UK version and it's getting shipped at the moment, but I ordered it in February so that totall...