Book Thoughts – Always Lost in Words

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.

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.