Lady Wolf's Library

Wicked Tales & Wild Romances

recent posts

about

Step into a sanctuary of Wicked Tales & Wild Romances, where we explore the most captivating corners of dark fantasy and heart-tugging rom-coms. This is more than just a reading log; it’s a collection of Curated Chronicles for the Modern She-Wolf who isn’t afraid to get lost in the shadows or fall for the monster. ​Whether it’s a slow-burn magic system or a spicy contemporary trope, every story here is chosen to be Wildly Devoured.

  • Mission Completely Possible: LadyPower

    I’ve been on hiatus for a couple of weeks while trying to finish my BA in History. I will get back to the book reviews soon. I’m working on a couple of pretty amazing books that I’m really enjoying. Another piece of good news is I graduated, and I graduated with a pretty good gpa, enough to get honors recognition. Super psyched and hyped. Yes: I’m bragging. Yes: I know it’s not always the most becoming thing to do, but I worked very hard for a very long time. To be honest, it most likely it’s not over for me yet as I may be applying to grad school (more to come on that later).

    Putting aside the efforts towards self praise, the actual essence of today’s entry is something I hold super close and dear to my heart and that is the importance of women supporting–and subsequently praising–other women. I had two very excellent examples within the last week, one being from a professor I was in close contact with throughout my journey into the very relevant subject of history whom I finally had the chance to meet (I did distance learning–I work full time, it’s nearly impossible for me to drive to classes & still find time to live). The other was from today with an acquaintance-come-friend from high school (that feels so long ago) who just recently started to share a blog that she’s been working hard on for awhile and I think it’s beautiful.

    The first story is in regards to the professor whom, whether she knows it or not, was a serious guiding light both during and after I took her class. She is the kind of teacher that makes you want to learn. She provides the instructions, soil, and the sunlight needed to help a student grow. When I finally met her in person, I wasn’t at all surprised to see she was just as warm and intelligent as she was via email, but I was completely taken aback by how infectious and magnetic she was face to face. Let me put it this way: my spouse was with me when I met her and she made him want to learn things even in our extremely short interaction. My spouse, who completely abhors most educational institutions and is skeptical of most teachers. That’s saying something. I was also surprised when she turned to me and looked me in the eye and asked what my plans were. She then proceeded to effortlessly convince me that I should consider grad school, throwing in some extra incentive by offering to write me a recommendation. She is the kind of woman I aspire to be, the one who builds other people up, and guides and inspires other women to strive for their highest potential in the most uncomplicated and subtle-yet-straightforward of ways. However, I realized that the reason I know these qualities is because I look for them so often now because those are the kinds of women I want in my life.

    Sometimes all you need to do is like their post, send them an encouraging text to let them know you think they’re doing something awesome or that they’ll get through a hard time, or even by following or sharing their blog. Sometimes the best way is to create something using your own personal experiences that allows others to see our truth and commiserate and grow in the knowledge that we are all flawed and it’s not the end-all-be-all of who we are.

    So many people these days think that showing success as an uncomplicated and flawless marble staircase is the way to encourage others. “If you do ‘a’ you will get ‘b’–it’s easy! You just have to seem perfect and courageous and thin and rich and you can’t show anyone any of your flaws ever!!!! I’m totally perfect so that’s how I got here, and I also never slow down or fail.” But that’s now how you lift others up, it’s how you discourage those in this world who see themselves for who they are: perfectly imperfect humans. That’s not providing handholds, that’s building a wall. It’s just greasing those marble stairs in a way that discourages all who try to step on them and slide off due to the weight of expectation that you’re dropping on their shoulders.

    In reality, success and life in general are a messy and complicated set of wooden stairs that sometimes make you feel like the blueprints were drawn by M. C. Escher. This is why I find it so amazing that people like Ashley (http://momsbeautifulmess.com) are writing blogs about their messy lives and are realizing that their journey has brought them wisdom that needs sharing. She talks about her life experiences with anxiety, substance abuse, infertility and PCOS and how they’ve affected her journey. However, they were never the destination and that is the crux of it. She has a beautiful family and a home and although these experiences were a part of her, they never defined her. Although we’ve known one another since we were kids, I don’t think we ever actually knew one another. I’m not even sure we wanted to back then. However, as women who have lived our lives and made our mistakes and suffered mental and physical illness, our experiences and flaws have made us anew. We’re changed. We’re survivors, and we understand the importance of letting others know that the ugliness in life is only a small part. We’ve owned our experiences and through this we are able to explore the strengths that have come from them and encourage others to do the same.

    It absolutely is beautiful because life is so messy and so complicated and it’s an experience we all share, despite the scrubbed, brushed, and patched public face we try to show every day. Owning your experience is something that is so important both for the world to see and for your personal self worth. Our flaws make us human and despite what the world wants us to think, they’re part of our success as well and are sometimes the very thing that make us successful. Our flaws are the things that actually bring us closer to other people. Our weaknesses make us vulnerable enough to open ourselves so other people can see us and grab hold.

    Allowing other women to see our own vulnerabilities helps them find a kindred spirit and also helps us to find peace. Given that we’re often more empathetic because that’s how we’re built, we can connect to other women who are similar to us, and it’s through this connection that we can see their strengths and encourage them. It is so easy to step on someone to elevate yourself, but you don’t get as far as when you lift those around you to a place where they can reach a hand down and pull you up when you need it. Success comes in all shapes and sizes as well and sometimes you don’t even see it until you look at another person and see what success looks like to them, but you will never see it by stepping on them without looking. By crushing others, you are only burying yourself.

    We just need to be honest with ourselves and those around us. Encourage others to reach their potential whenever you find the opportunity. Share your experience with another person and build bridges with them so that you can know them and help them and they can know you and help you as well. Ladies, I implore you to reach out to your sisters and brothers and embrace them. Show everyone how valuable we are to this world. I truly believe that in doing so, we will create a place we all want to live in and if we can do that, we can make it better for all of humankind.

  • Book. Book…Turtle?

    Book. Book…Turtle?

    If you didn’t get the hint already, I really love to read. I really, really love to read. I also really love to buy books. If I could make clothing out of books I would do so just to make sure I always have one with me. I made my wedding flowers out of old books (I’ll post a pic another time). I have both the Nook app and the Kindle app on my phone, as well as both e-readers, just to make sure I always carry a book with me.

    Books Here

    Books There

    Books Everywhere

    Most of the time when asked what I want for Christmas, it’s pretty easy: Gift Card to Amazon, B&N, or 2nd and Charles (for those of us who like to go used for physical copies–less waste). My idea of heaven is a comfy hammock under a canopy of paper birch and maple trees, surrounded by an outdoor library that always has the right book and they all smell new. When I die, cremate me and put some of my ashes in a batch of paper that is going to be used to make fantasy novels written by a female writer featuring a kick ass heroine, or throw half of me from the highest balcony in the Library of Congress (pretty sure both are illegal, but what a badass way to go out).

    You get the point, I really love reading…and books.

    That said, sometimes I love too many types of books at the same time and it makes it difficult to decide what to read next, so I end up reading all kinds of things at once. I’m actually in the middle of writing the final paper for my degree on the Black Death, so I’m working on 4 books about the plague (super interesting, btw) my textbooks, my first ARC (yay! I will have a review up about three weeks before the book is released, so look for it in the last week of May/First week of June) and a few novels I’ve been interested in lately, namely Ash Princess, Wicked Saints, Heart of the Fae, etc. I also have a career, which just seems to get in the way of All. of. This. Reading! Actually, my job is great. It’s like a required break from my obsessions and it helps that the majority of the time I really love what I do.

    With all these books, it’s probably going to be really easy to keep up with this blog. I won’t run out of material to write about. I’ve also read a ridiculous amount of other books previously that still run up on me occasionally that I may start doing mini entries on (ACOTAR series, Folk of Air Series, Rizzoli & Isles, maybe HP?).

    TBH, I’ve been meaning to start this blog for forever, but I never really knew how to begin. I know now it’s both feet forward and take the leap as it is with most new hobbies in life, but sometimes they need to fall in front of you in a very real way when you can be most enthusiastic about them. There are seasons in life where the stars need to align juuuust so, so good things can flourish.

    Now you know my evil master [blog] plan and have a little insight into how I feel about all those little hardback things I continuously collect on various shelves both in the cloud and around my one bedroom apartment: Turtles.

    Wait…that’s not right.

  • Echo North (& East/West)

    A Review of Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

    4 Stars. Best enjoyed wrapped in a blanket thinking of all that snow!

    I’m obsessed with fairy tales. Not just any fairy tales, but the kind where the author rehashes the old tropes and injects some steroids into the often meek heroines that plague the originals, creating a stronger & smarter female lead. There are very few fairy tales where this doesn’t need to happen, and most mainstream classic Disney-type stories are often guilty of containing weaker protagonists.

    However, these are the stories that act as the gateway drug into the world of the folkloric fiction found in anthologies containing the likes of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. It was in one of these anthologies where I found one of my absolute favorite fairy tales, East of the Sun, West of the Moon. When I see new fiction which claims to take its basis off of this story, I jump on it. Echo North was one that made such claims–and delivered quite well.

    Our protagonist, Echo, is a sympathetic character who has been deemed as ‘lesser’ and ‘cursed’ by the people in her village because of the horrific scarring on her face caused by a white wolf whom she was trying to save from a trap when she was a mere child. This act of compassion led basically to social exile. However, she never lost the kindness in her heart or her compassionate nature, even when the only people in the village who looked at her as a person were her father and brother. Her new stepmother, whom her father brings home, seems revolted by Echo. Echo decides to try to leave for university in the nearest city, an endeavor which is sufficiently roadblocked by this vile woman whom has quickly driven her once somewhat prosperous father into poverty. In order to try to improve their conditions, her father ventures out to sell his most prized possessions just to keep them fed and housed. Many months pass without his return.

    Echo’s father goes missing, but the Wolf returns.

    The Wolf gives Echo a choice: She can let her father die, or she can save him in exchange for spending one year with him in a house in the middle of a deadly forest where the rooms must be kept sewn to the rest of the house. She chooses to save her father.

    In going with the wolf and staying in the house for one year, she must follow two simple rules: don’t open the door at night, no matter what is heard, and do not light the lamp.

    The bulk of the story follows East/West pretty well, but the ending–Oh The Glorious Ending. It absolutely took me into a brand new place. Although I was able to suss out a lot of the midway plot points, the end was so far beyond what I could have guessed it would be and it was so very beautiful and completely fulfilling in its unpredictability. Naturally, some of the magic revolves around the big ‘L’ word.

    “What is the oldest magic?” “Love. That is what created the universe, and that is what will destroy it, in the end. Threads of old magic, binding the world together.”

    The overall imagery and well thought out protagonist help to keep the story going at a fair clip, even though there is a slight slow down in the plot, but that’s to be expected as she is staying in the house for a year. She almost makes that full year, too…it if not for [spoiler] the Wolf Queen and her meddling. But Echo doesn’t give up, despite the trials she endures in her life and the trials she must endure to save the boy hidden within the wolf, no–she persists.

    That’s my favorite part.

  • With a Thunderous ROAR

    With a Thunderous ROAR

    REVIEW OF ROAR (STORM HEARTS #1) BY CORA CORMACK

    3.5 Stars. Best enjoyed in a thunderstorm.

    Aurora Pavan is princess and heir to the throne of Pavan, Stormling kingdom, in a completely new world, Caelira, where storms move and destroy on instinct and the only way to stop them is by stealing their hearts. Stormling royals are known to be the only people in Caelira who are capable of ripping the hearts from the storms. This makes the the only barrier keeping humans safe from these disastrous and destructive forces.

    Raised with grace, dignity, and diplomacy, the highly intelligent princess seems primed to take the throne when it is her time….except that Aurora is strangely void of the very ability to control storms that makes her an asset to Pavan. The Queen and Aurora have kept this secret for as long as they could to avoid risking the loss of their kingdom. However, As the sole heir, they can only keep this weakness hidden for so long.

    The Queen arranges a marriage for Aurora to prince Cassius of Locke, a Stormling who is well versed in bringing storms to their knees. At first, it seems like the perfect match, but the mood quickly sours when Aurora finds out that Cassius has ulterior motives. Desperate to find out what he’s up to, she follows Prince Cassius in the dead of night to a hidden black market in the heart if the city. She gets more than she bargained for when she runs into a handsome and enigmatic Storm Hunter name Locke. Because of this encounter, Aurora discovers that Storm Hunters are able to control storms.

    People who aren’t born Stormlings.

    Aurora disguises herself as a girl named Roar and strikes out on her own, joining Locke’s band of misfit Hunters. She discovers that there is more magic in the world than she knew, and slowly the gilt of her world chips away. She sees the government corruption that has taken over the world outside her ivory tower, the people put in danger by politics, and is all the more determined to gain storm magic so she can take her rightful place as Queen and right the wrongs that have been done to the citizens of not only Pavan but all of Caelira.

    Okay, so first things first, the story grabbed me from the beginning and shook me into the story, whispering ALL the promises. The start was amazing, although the characterization of Rora was a little surface-y, but that makes sense given that she was pretty much kept from society with very little consistent human interaction so as to not tip off the people around her that she was without the powers that they expected would keep them safe when she took the throne. However, she gets more and more fleshed out as the story goes on, and her determination to learn and adapt to life in the wilds with the storm hunters makes you really want to root for her. All other characters felt a lot more ‘there’. I could picture Jinx, Bait, Sly, and the rest of the Storm Hunter crew just perfectly–they were all a pretty unique and motley crew. It would have been hilarious if there was a character called Sixx…but alas, no classic rock band references in sight (yet).

    It was so interesting seeing how the characters interacted. In all honestly, though, the reason I left one or two stars off was mostly because of the middle of the book. It slowed down to a point where I felt like I was just slogging through and the new plot points were just interesting enough to keep my inner detective curious, like her strong emotional reaction to the storms, and the occasional dip into the mind of an unknown enemy who is hatching a nefarious scheme–and whose soul seems to sense Aurora’s! However, if you just keep reading, it gets so incredibly amazing near the end. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. There are so many new things that are revealed, but so few pages left that you just know that this was only the beginning.

    **Spoiler**The romance with Locke left something to be desired, although it is very clear that they go well together (it didn’t hurt that all I could picture was a longer haired version of Sam Winchester). I think maybe it’s because he never really knows who she is until near the end, and the feelings seem so surface and they purposely bait each other, with Roar getting genuinely mad but not really mad? I don’t know, it doesn’t feel deep enough for me. Cassius is a bit arrogant, but also super cunning, and his trying to play his cards close to his chest. I know this romance option is so problematic from minute one, but he also has some back story that makes me feel that all he really wants is to rule the kingdom with Aurora by his side and also to figure out a way to brush his family off. Even if it’s not love, there’s definitely some delicious lust brewing in there, and I kind of just want him to be okay? Then there’s the third option–the one I’m most curious about, the one we haven’t actually seen yet, and he’s pure evil, but I have a feeling the StormLord is going to the be Yang to Roar’s Yin.

    IN conclusion, I’m super excited for the next book. I feel like it’s going to get the true start of the Storm Hearts saga/trilogy and I can’t wait until I get the chance to devour it!

  • Heroines Are My Heroine

    Dude. Life is hard. Being and adult is never what we think it is. The freedom is nice, but it truly only goes so far. When you’re a kid, the only people you’re really held accountable to are your parents, teachers, and some religious figures, but you always have your parents as a buffer to the most other authority. As an adult, the only people who can act as a buffer between us and other authority figures are called ‘lawyers’. As adults, we have to contend with our managers and coworkers at work, the IRS, the Law, our phone companies, the power company, landlords, mortgage brokers, and all other people who may want to open a vein in our bank account and drain away the funds that we trade our souls for at our nine-to-fives.

    I love my job and some freedoms that come with being ‘of age’, but it’s an indisputable fact that being an adult really sucks most of the time–so many consequences.

    This is why it’s nice to have some kind of escape from it all. Some people choose alcohol, some choose pot, some choose hard drugs, some choose to numb their bodies and minds with strenuous exercise that takes whatever energy they have left and throws it into barbells and treadmills. I choose books and the occasional whiskey. Podcasts are probably the only thing that get me through the day at work, keeping the office dementors at bay, but when I get home there’s nothing better than climbing into my hammock with some strong female who is fighting against all odds to get what she wants, whether that be the hot warrior who struts into her peripheral or to save her entire kingdom from the hands of some conquering patriarchy. Heroines are my heroine.

    As much as I would love to get into realistic fiction and be one of those people with a history degree that likes to just read all the serious history material, my life has already been serious enough. I love the fantasy and creating a new world in my mind, guided by an author who is just as bent on escaping this time and place as I am. It’s like a friend who gets you, who understands that what you need isn’t a reminder of where you are, but that you need to be somewhere else. Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband and my baby girl-dog, but sometimes I need to be able to travel to a completely new place and our budget does not constitute a trip around the world or a time machine. $10.00 for a brand new world and seeing through someone else’s eyes for a few hours is a pretty damn good deal.

    I’m closing a chapter of my life right now, nearing the end of one thing that I’ve always wanted, getting my Bachelor’s. It’s in history with a minor in Gen Bus. I’ve been an accountant by trade for about 10 years, and I honestly all I have every wanted was to find a thing I’m passionate about and make it my bread and butter.

    However: not how life works.

    Most people end up doing something to put food on the table and find their passions through hobbies. What’s one thing I’ve always loved? Books. So now I’m going to take that love and put it toward something constructive. Even if my book blog doesn’t take off, it’ll help my writing–yeah, I kind of want to write a book. It’ll keep me going. It’s something I’ll have fun with. Plus, it’ll give me some place that I can refer people to when they want book recommendations, because that happens ALL. THE. TIME. Sometimes I can’t even remember why I like a book, I just remember the amazing high that the story gave me and I want to share that experience. Books are a great drug in that way. They’re fully legal, people encourage you to share the habit, and they don’t cause physical dependency (though I have a book on me in some form at all times–just in case).

    I’m heading into this rabbit hole and you’re all coming with me.

  • Warrior of the Wild Won My Heart

    Warrior of the Wild Won My Heart

    Review of Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

    4 Stars. Best enjoyed with a Blackberry Smoothie and a Pine Scented Candle

    After reading Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, I was looking everywhere for another Viking-esque YA fantasy adventure that was similar. I saw WotW was on its way to us and patiently waited with baited breathe. Admittedly I was a little busy around the release date, and read some reviews. A few were a tad discouraging, but as with anything, I had a craving that needed to be fulfilled the best thing in that situation is to have a taste for yourself and see if it satisfies your palette. Fortunately, one taste of this led to a full on feast and I was left fully satisfied. 

    WotW takes place in an alternative timeline where the trees hide dangerous things and legendary beasts are very real. Rasmira, the youngest daughter of the chieftain of her village, is the next in line for leadership, which obviously doesn’t sit well with her peers. She experiences a deep betrayal that leads to her exile, and the only way to lift it and return home to her sisters–the only people in the world that truly love her–is to kill Peruxolo, the god that has been terrorizing their villages. A seemingly impossible task, yes, but one that she is absolutely determined to take on–or die trying. 

    One of the things I loved about Rasmira is that these events really did have an impact on the characterization we see throughout the remainder of the book. When she meets up with two other exiles, the mistrust and hesitation she has is palpable and completely understandable given the events that lead her to be stuck in the Wild. The character build is dynamic and realistic–we see her grow throughout not only as a person, but as a leader. Even though she is hurt and betrayed, she also is made to feel human and admits to some of her personal downfalls and grows from those as well, learning to forgive herself. She never seems to wallow in self-pity, despite her circumstances.Some of the auxiliary characters don’t experience as much growth and admittedly they remain somewhat shallow in their characterization. To be fair, I don’t believe they are the main focus.

    If you’re looking for a fiery romance, look elsewhere. Although there is a romance, and said romance is sweet and definitely helps the character development, it’s not the center focus of this story. I love a good romance as much as the next person, but to be honest, the more important romance in this book is the one that Rasmira has WITH RASMIRA–having a character that learns to love herself after being treated like she is unloveable is worth its proverbial weight in gold. 

    This is a tale of personal growth, strength, forgiveness, and determination in the face of great adversity. I think it’s an important story for younger girls and boys who love a good adventure but also need to know that if they put their mind to something, they can be unstoppable–and also for adults who need that reminder.

  • The Origin Story

    I’m always getting lost in words. I love the shapes that can be made by using the same symbols over and over. The worlds they build and destroy. The people who are birthed and killed by a few simple finger strokes or scratches of a pen. I’m just one of those people who love to read. There’s nothing better than finding a book to get lost in, and I’ve read so many that were so so good down to the last page number.

    I wanted to find a medium to share these experiences with other people like me, people who love a good book. My favorites are usually YA fantasy, something easy to read for the most part, something that keeps my interest and often ends up being wild ride. I also love historical romance, some non fiction history books, sci-fi, paranormal–anything that can hold my interest from page one to the acknowledgements. Hell, I’ll be honest: there are some books I’ve read the acknowledgments of, too, because I just didn’t want them to end.

    I hope that if you find yourself here, you will also find yourself picking up some of the really good ones and letting me know what you think.

    All the Best,

    The Traveler