Reading Round Up (84)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. 

Reading Round Up is back!! I went away for London and then kinda forgot to post, but I'm back with regular journaling now! Plus it's my birthday this month, so you all get to hear my opinion of my most-anticipated reads (An Ember In The Ashes, The Wrath and The Dawn, The Orphan Queen, to name a few!!) and witness my crazy book haul (I have it all planned out because I NEED those books.)

Also I forgot to post this Monday. Oops.

27th July

I'm reading The Dryad of Callaire (my book!) all this week, while I finalise everything, so my actual reading will probably slow down. Today I read 45 pages of that, and 213 pages of Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder, which I really enjoyed. I love Kade and the exceptionally unique glass magic. Maria's books are always crazy imaginative, and this was no different.

28th July

Today I read 52 pages of DRYAD and 7% of This Book Is Gay by James Dawson, which I am loving and learning a lot from.

29th July

I started The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton (12%), which is pretty cool already. I love ships and maps and this book has them in abundance. I think we're going to get along pretty well, this book and I. (I also read 9 pages of DRYAD)

30th July

Having a hard time pinning down the actual time period of The Vanishing Island. But I'm interested in the story anyway, so I guess I'll roll with it. Today I read 10%, and also 42 DRYAD pages.

31st July

I read 26% of The Vanishing Island and FINALLY we're on the ship.

1st August

I read nothing of The Vanishing Island today because I read 120 pages of DRYAD and finished proofing it. It was a nightmare. I didn't sleep until sunrise. I hate being an author (sometimes.)

2nd August

Today I read 22% of The Vanishing Island and I think I like it but this part is meh.

Books finished this week: 2
Books DNF'd this week: 0

For review:

Night Owls | Jenn Bennett

Simon & Schuster sent me this lovely for a blog tour I'm participating in. Catch it on August 14th!! (And find out why you should love Jack Vincent, because he is one hella swoon-worthy guy.)

LGBT genre fic, thank you v much. Also Daughters Unto Devils HELL YES, I've been eyeing this for DECADES.

The Cage (5 STARS+FAVOURITE)

The October Faction, vol 1 (4.5 STARS)

The Waterborne Blade (3 STARS)

Fire Study (Review)

Yelena Zaltana: Fire Study | Maria V. Snyder

Published by: Mira Books, January 16th 2009

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 441

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

The apprenticeship is over
Now the real test has begun

When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder — able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena's fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.…

Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

I was kinda disappointed with Magic Study. It took a different direction than I expected, lacked a lot of the stuff I loved about Poison Study, and it it just fell short for me. But Fire Study blew it out of the water. It was so good. It was everything I wanted, and I couldn't put it down.

Fire Study is my favourite book of the series. Every page is filled with action. The romance is perfect. The friendships are fun and fulfilling to read. The stakes are high and intimately personal for Yelena. I loved the addition of the Fire World, and how the danger spread across all of Sitia and Ixia. We even got a few insights into the clans we haven't seen, which I adored, because the world-building in this series is second to none.

I honestly can't find a single fault with this book. I loved everything.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world-building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

Reading round up (71)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

23rd March

Finished Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter and all the things I didn't like about the first book were improved upon! Only 1 sex scene! And only one use of the word decadent (and even that was decadence, so it doesn't really count.) This book was just what I needed.

I also started Fire Study by Maria. V. Snyder (101 pages read!) which is ALREADY PERF. Somehow way better than Magic Study, so I guess I just didn't like the Keep. I'm really liking Moon Man, and loving Leif (Always loving Leif!)

And I read 12% of Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison, a book I've recently had the urge to read for no good reason. So far Of Sea and Stone is alright, but I can tell it's just set up. Waiting for the good stuff! (Although loving the hate-hate relationship between the two MCs!!)

24th March

I read 51% of Of Sea and Stone and this went in a completely different direction than expected. Hate Nol. Not sure about the story. And I'd like the setting if it didn't have the feel of an ordinary city plonked underwater... And that's not even mentioning how the MC and her situation feel entirely disassociated... (A girl who hs been a slave her entire life, and been punished by her masters, would not just shrug off a mistake. She'd wait for the blows to fall.)

25th March

I finished Of Sea and Stone which wasn't terrible but not good either, and I read 103 pages of Fire Study which is way better than Magic Study but I can't put my finger on what makes it so awesome.

26th March

I started Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich (10% read.) It's a strange mash of futuristic dictatorship and 19th century traditions. I don't see how the US could have reverted to a 1800s society but I don't hate the idea of it.

I also read 72 pages of Fire Study, bringing me to 276. This book just gets better and better.

27th March

Had a strange day today so didn't get much read. I'm at 18% of Rite of Rejection (8% read today) and I don't know where this is going. Part of me likes it, part of me doesn't. I'm on page 396 of Magic Study (120 pages read) and this is perf. Valek almost dying and Lief being angry at Yelena both made me cry but it's still perf.

28th March

Finished Fire Study (45 pages) which was AMAZING. I am so glad I didn't read this series years ago, because now I have more Yelena and Valek to read!! <3

29th March

I read 23% of Death Marked by Leah Cypess which isn't as good as the first book so far :(
I also read Assassin Study by Maria. V. Snyder (15 pages) which was SO DAMN COOL. Valek POV makes my heart do a happy dance.

Books finished this week: 4
Books DNF'd this week: 0

 Witch Hunter | Virginia Boecker

Starborn | Lucy Hounsom

I AM SO DAMN HYPED TO HAVE THESE. ESPECIALLY STARBORN. THE PRECIOUSSSSSS.

I also got these AMAZON FREEBIES:

Divided | Eloise Dyson

Vengeance | AE Watson

Awoken | Sarah Noffke

Snow White Sorrow | Cameron Jace

The Arctic Code

Beauty Awakened

Magic Study

Of Sea and Stone (scheduled for April 1st)

Fire Study (date TBC)

Magic Study (Review)

Yelena Zaltana: Magic Study | Maria V. Snyder

Published by: Mira Books, May 16th 2008

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 419

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster... 

With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.

But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye.

Suddenly she is embroiled in battle of good against evil. And once again it will be her magical abilities that will either save her life...or be her downfall.

I went into this expecting something amazing, but I didn't exactly get it ... sort of. It wasn't as good as Poison Study, although I kind of expected that - a bunch of people had said the same. But it was still so good, compared to a bunch of other high fantasies I've read recently.

This suffered badly from SBS (second book syndrome) though, and felt like it was setting everything up for the next book. I liked it - liked everything about it - but I didn't love it. I didn't exactly warm to the setting; I kinda preferred Ixia. I enjoyed the story, though, and Yelena's training and shenanigans.The characters were as good as book one (maybe the only thing that was?) Irys became pretty cool, and I love Leif, and the way Yelena was around her parents. And the fact that Opal was involved! (Opal, as in the heroine of the Glass series...)

The awesome moments for me were when Yelena was with Valek. Their chemistry and the way they interact just brings this book to life. They saved this book for me, along with Yelena's usual badassery and complexity of emotion.

I liked Magic Study, but I expected more. Still very excited for Fire Study though, because FIRE.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

This book counts toward my Monthly Key Word challenge. 

See my progress on my Read in 2015 page!

Key words: Power (Magic)

Reading round up (56)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

8th December

Currently Reading: Poison Study | Maria. V. Snyder
Current page/percent: page 127
Read today: 127 pages
Thoughts: HOLY HELL. Yelena is one of those rare characters I fall instantly in love with. I don't know what makes her special or the one but I'm gonna love this entire series, I know it.

9th December

Currently Reading: Poison Study | Maria. V. Snyder
Current page/percent: page 295
Read today: 168 pages
Thoughts: I am officially hooked on Valek/Yelena. Pls pls kiss. C'mon. Just kiss each other. Just once or a hundred times. That's all I ask.

10th December

Finished Poison Study (114 pages) and whoa boy. Astounding high fantasy. AND YELENA AND VALEK DID MORE THAN KISS yasssssssssss.

I also started Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore (9 pages) and it interesting so far.

11th December

Finished Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore and it was wonderful. Just simply wonderful. Highly recommend for a quick, cute read.

12th December

Today I'm starting a readalong of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray!! I've been meaning to read this book for EVER so I have super high expectations. I only read 70 pages but I like the tone and the voice so far.

13th December

Read 65 pages of A Great and Terrible Beauty, but it's a little slow going for me personally, so I ended up reading 10% of The Jewel by Amy Ewing in between. Not sure about it so far. I'm a little bored but maybe it's not kicked in yet.

14th December

I'm not reading much of this at a time and it's frustrating me. Ideally, I'd finish tomorrow. Realistically? Probably Tuesday. Today I read 71 pages.

Books finished this week: 2

Slated | Teri Terry

Another £0.99 Kindle book. Been meaning to read this one for literal YEARS.

Foretold | Rinda Elliot

Forecast | Rinda Elliot

Foresworn | Rinda Elliott

I love love love these covers, especially the third one. These were dirt cheap on Kindle, especially for new releases, and they're about Norse mythology and prophecies and powerful ladies, all of which I am super into. They're also pubbed by Harlequin/Mira, home of two of the most amazing series (Soul Screamers; Blood of Eden) so I trust they'll be good.

Poison Study

Magic Under Glass