Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Title:  And I Darken Author:  Kiersten White Genre: Historical fiction My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way. Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets. Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point. The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she'll stop at nothing to kee...

Title;  Strangers Among Us: Tales of the Underdogs and Outcasts Editor:  Susan Forest Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, anthology My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: There's a delicate balance between mental health and mental illness… Who are STRANGERS AMONG US? We are your fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and lovers. We staff your stores, cross your streets, and study in your schools, invisible among you. We are your outcasts and underdogs, and often, your unsung heroes. Nineteen science fiction and fantasy authors tackle the division between mental health and mental illness; how the interplay between our minds' quirks and the diverse societies and cultures we live in can set us apart, or must be concealed, or become unlikely strengths. We find troubles with Irish fay, a North Korean cosmonaut's fear of flying, an aging maid dealing with politics of revenge, a mute boy and an army of darkness, a siste...

Title:  The Raven King Author:  Maggie Stiefvater Genre: Contemporary, young adult My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted. For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey… and is certain she is destined to kill him. Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path. I have never, ever, been so emotionally bruised and exhilarated by a book before. Serious whiplash, got everything I wanted and more, 200% would recommend. Prepare to cry. Okay, time for an actual review. When I started this series, I was completely hooked by the prologue of The Raven Boys. Blue Sargent sitting across from the church on St. Mark's eve, seeing...

It's been a couple of months since the last update, and we're just about halfway through the year. Thankfully I'm more than halfway through the alphabet! Unfortunately this means I'm hitting a lot more letters that are difficult to find at the beginnings of titles, so fingers crossed that I'll actually be able to get to them all :D A: And I Darken by Kiersten White (2/26) B: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (2/8) C: Court of Thieves by Kate Elliott (1/12) D: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (4/3) G: A Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (1/22) H: His Majesty's Dragon (3/30) I: The Immortal Heights (1/5) M: Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (3/21) N: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff (6/18) O: Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine (3/12) P: Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov (6/15) Q: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a world that cannot stop talking by Susan Cain (3/27) R: Rook by Sharon Cameron (3/7) S: Shadows of Self (1/3) T...

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme: Top Ten 2016 releases (so far) In no particular order, here's a mix of ARCs and books published this year that I've really enjoyed! 4 and 5 star books only. Since I only had 9, there's also a book on here that I'm highly anticipating this year and I'm pretty sure I'll love even though I haven't read it yet :D   Dark and disturbing, yes, but also poignant and full of dry humor. I loved this!   If you thought Golden Son ripped the feels out of you...oh god this book just takes everything to a heart-in-your-throat conclusion.   Such a cool premise and an amazing amazing badass protagonist.   This book is also very dark, but so lushly written. Complicated characters and their even more complicated relationships dominate in this political historical fiction book. Possibly the worst  book hangover I h...

I finally graduated! I'm officially done with college! I'm a real adult now! AAAAAAAAAAH Okay so I just finished my first week of work! A lot of the work I'm doing right now is testing all sorts of things and that involves a lot of mindless preparation of different samples and waiting for things to dry or react or heat up. I was bored out of my mind until I realized I could listen to an audiobook while I was just waiting around. It was a fantastic idea...except that I'm going through audiobooks way faster than I expected. I finished a 12 hour audiobook in 3 days. Now I'm working on Way of Kings because it's over 40 hours long and will hopefully get me through a week or two :) I didn't realize how tired I'd be when I got home, because I'm used to a crazy-packed schedule with multiple 12-hour days when I was still a student and involved with different clubs and a dance team and research and all that good stuff outside of class. I figured that ...