Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #6) by Juliet Marillier

Sevenwaters

Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows
Child of the Prophecy
Heir to Sevenwaters

Seer of Sevenwaters

The conclusion of the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier is Flame of Sevenwaters. In this book, we follow Maeve, daughter of Jerk Sean, who was badly burned as a child and has terrible scarring on her face and an inability to use her hands. She has been fostered with her Aunt Liadan for ten years, but must return home because her skills at calming animals are needed. She does not look forward to returning to Sevenwaters, but once she is there, she is immediately drawn into the turmoil of the place.

Otherworld fey prince Mac Dara is causing problems (AGAIN) and Maeve soon finds herself in the Otherworld with her brother trying to save both the Otherworld and Sevenwaters.

Whatever. This book is mostly about dogs. I like dogs, I like books about dogs, and there was a twist about the dogs that I should have seen coming, but didn't, so I really liked that, too. Basically, the dog stuff was great.

(Sidenote: I thought this book dealt gracefully with Maeve's disability until it didn't. I feel like this was an attempt for Marillier to have her cake and eat it, too. I just wish that more media portrayed people with disabilities having a happily ever after without their disability just going away. It's why Talia Hibbert is a huge thumbs up for me and Abby Jimenez can suck a duck.)

But honestly, as an ending to the series, it was a tiny bit wanting. I still have so many questions about what's going to happen in Sevenwaters. What of Finbar? What of Ciaran's future? Are the Old Ones going to be okay? Will Maeve ever get another dog? 

And maybe it's fine that the ending is open-ended. I can put my own happy ending there with my own imagination. But it also made me sort of sad, like Marillier didn't care enough about the characters she created to plan for their future. 

Well, the first three books in this series are excellent and the last three are pretty good. If you're into fantasy, I think I can recommend Sevenwaters without any pause.  4/5 stars

Lines of note:

For my sister, Jennifer,

who opens hearth and heart to dogs in trouble (dedication page, ii)

A special thank-you to rescue dog Harry, who worked his way through three levels of obedience training while I was writing this book. (acknowledgments page, iv)

Between these two quotes in the front matter of the book and the black dogs on the cover, I was so excited about dog representation in this book before I even got started.

"Everyone is afraid of something. Know your fears and you're a step further away from letting them rule you." (page 13)

There are hidden gems like this just laying around in Marillier's writing.

"Upstairs," Mother said. "As for you" - she glanced and Bear and Badger [two stray dogs], and I imagined they quailed at the iron in her voice - "the least misdemeanor and you're off outside. And don't for one moment imagine you'll be sleeping on the bed."

I woke to find...Bear was on the bed. (page 144)

Ha ha ha! I loved this scene so very much. 

Seer of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #5) by Juliet Marillier

Sevenwaters
Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows
Child of the Prophecy
Heir to Sevenwaters

Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier is the fifth and penultimate book in the Sevenwaters series. Sibeal is a druid seer and one of the daughters of the Big Jerk Sean and his wife Aisling. (I have lots of feelings about Sean - see my review of Son of the Shadows for more on that). However, Sibeal is sent to the island of Inis Eala to rest for the summer before taking her formal and final druid vows, so what's unique about this book is that we're not actually at Sevenwaters! Which is great! Less Sean! 

Sibeal has just arrived at Inis Eala when a shipwreck strands two men and a woman. Sibeal is helping to care for one of the men who is extremely sick, a man we soon learn has amnesia. Sibeal gives him the name of Ardal as he waits for his memory to come back. Meanwhile, the married couple who survived the shipwreck are behaving quite strangely indeed. 

I will say this wasn't the best book in the Sevenwaters series. I thought there was a whole lot of nothing happening (it wasn't until page 307 that anything resembling real action took place) - lots of weeding, watching men train, cooking, and Sibeal fainting all the damn time. BUT! I don't mind me a meandering wander through a slightly mystical world where not much happens (see most of The Tawny Man trilogy) and I actually like to see how people live their lives and spend their time. I like the hints of magic and mysticism. Sure, it was a little predictable, but it's the fifth book in the series and I am a careful enough reader to have figured out some of Marillier's tricks. 

So, this might not be as good as some of the other books by Marillier, but even her worst is still worth reading and enticed me enough to read the last book in the series.

3.5/5 stars

Line of note:

"You won't be going on without Paul. He is dead, yes. Most likely laid in his grave to the sound of my prayers. But he will walk with you step by step for the rest of your life. You will feel his presence in the air you breathe. In the cry of a gull you will hear his laughter; in the wash of the sea you'll hear him whispering to you, late at night, telling you a story after the candles are quenched. You will remember his goodness and courage every time you see a man help a comrade. You'll see his strong features, his humor, his kindness, when one day you have a son of your own." (page 157-158)

Good little pep talk.

Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #4) by Juliet Marillier

Sevenwaters

Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows
Child of the Prophecy

Heir to Sevenwaters is the fourth installment of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier.  In this book, we follow Sean and Aisling's third daughter, Clodagh. Aisling is pregnant and, as she is a woman of some age, is mostly bedridden while Clodagh runs the household. But then a stranger comes to Sevenwaters, as does an elderly storyteller, and something happens to Lady's Aisling's baby. Only Clodagh can save the day by going to the Otherworld.

This series is such a solid series. There is no bad entry. It's not as good as Son of the Shadows, but it's still So Good. I love that we just get to keep on keeping on with this family and Sevenwaters. Sean is still here being a complete jerk (remember when he HIT Niamh?!), Ciaran is here being a bit too honest while Conor speaks in riddles, the Fair Folk are still mysterious and unpredictable, the magic crow is back, and suddenly there's gay representation in the book!

You guys! What a series. 

Line of note:

If it seemed unjust, perhaps that was a reflection of real life, especially where dealings with the Fair Folk were concerned. (page 103)

Word I looked up:

coppice (page 296) - An old, even ancient, woodland management technique. Young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. Many trees can be coppiced indefinitely, providing lumber for generations without dying.

Life is unfair, isn't it?

4/5 stars

Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters #3) by Juliet Marillier

Sevenwaters
Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows

Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier is the third book in the Sevenwaters saga. Marillier does an interesting thing by having each novel told from the point of view of a child in the youngest generation. I'm really enjoying everything about this world. 

In this one, Niamh's daughter Fainne grows up isolated with her father after her mother's unexpected death. When she is a young teenager, her father gets sick, so she is sent to Sevenwaters to connect with her mother's family. But her father's mother is a sorceress who wants to harm Sevenwaters, so Fainne is torn between worlds. 

This book! There's so much here! A very morally grey main character. Complicated family relationships. A change in culture and religion. War. Transfiguration. A talking owl. A white horse. It was so very detailed and wonderful. Fainne's growth and courage proved to be catnip to me as I couldn't wait to get to bed as early as possible so I can read this book and figure out what was going to happen to her. 

It's easy to write a review of a bad book because you can rattle off ways to improve it. It's harder to write a review of a good book because if you don't want to give away plot spoilers, you're just sitting there saying "I think you should read it." And that's how I feel. I think people should read Sevenwaters and I don't know why I haven't heard other people talk about how great this series is.

4.5/5 stars

Lines of note:

A freezing terror ran through me. It was not just that I had done the unforgivable. It was something far worse. Had I not just proved my grandmother right? I bore the blood of a cursed line, a line of sorcerers and outcasts. It seemed I could not fight that; it would manifest itself as it chose. Were not my steps set inevitably toward darkness? (page 60)

Interesting that the last time I talked about predestination as absolute bunk was the first book in this series! It's obviously a trope that this author leans on.

A pity he was so old. Nine and thirty at least, I thought. (page 145)

Ha ha ha. *sob* So. Old. Obviously near death.

“You can’t order other folks’ lives, and their feelings, to suit what you think’s best..." (page 348)

Truer words have never been spoken, particularly to anyone who has ever spoken to a teenager.

I had never thought that men and women of five and thirty, or even older, might still possess such feelings for one another that it drove all else from their minds. I had thought love a fantasy, a delusion of youth...(page 392) 

Old people never have sexytimes, OBVIOUSLY.

Men do not understand what it is like to wait. Women endure it because they must. It’s the price of love.(page 449)

Interesting. Do you think women wait more than men? 

Word I looked up:

uncial (page 221) - a script type commonly used from the 4th to the 8th centuries by Latin and Greek scribes

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37773
A sample of the Latin text from the Codex Bezae, 6th Century AD

8.2 Entertainment - May 2023 Book List

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined them chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the second day of the month is "Entertainment." 

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This month felt very meh in reading. Lots of just sort of okay books. Bummer.

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5/1: One Night on the Island by Josie Silver (library ebook, 2022) - Huh. Is a story about infidelity romantic? Turns out that it's a no for me. 2/5 very angry stars

5/2: When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant (library, 2000) - Interesting, but I didn't love it. 3.5/5 stars

5/4: In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer (library ebook, 2022) - Pretty okay romance novel. 4/5 stars

5/6: Seer of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #5) by Juliet Marillier (library, 2010) - Not the best in the Sevenwaters series, but even a bad entry in this series is worth reading. 3.5/5 stars

5/8: Will Supervillains Be on the Final? by Naomi Novik, illustrated by Yishan Li (library, 2011) - Leah's a student at a school for superheroes, but the first week is not going well. I am starting to think that I should be a Naomi Novik completionist, so I grabbed this graphic novel when it was available at our library. It was fine, but graphic novels are not really my thing. 3/5 stars

5/9: Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O'Clover (library, 2023) - Weird mashup of The Soulmate Equation (an app that tells you what partner you're compatible with!) and Just Listen (teen trauma that impacts friendships for years). I liked it, but it wasn't mindblowing or anything. 3.5/5 stars

5/10: Pivot by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy, and Rebecca Zanetti (library ebook, 2020) - Barely readable novellas if you're not already reading the series that they are set in. I just needed something on my Kindle when my library holds weren't coming in fast enough. 2/5 stars

5/15: The Stand-In by Lily Chu (library, 2021) - Just a lovely, thoughtful romance novel. I enjoyed it. 5/5 stars

5/16: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (library ebook, 2014) - Okay book about zombies. 3.5/5 stars

5/16: What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) by T. Kingfisher (library, 2022) - Retelling of a Poe short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" in novella form. Creepy and gothic. 4/5 stars

5/20: It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (library ebook, 1994) - I never warmed up to either of the main characters in this romance novel. Also, the random references to O.J. Simpson and Donald Trump as pop culture icons really dates the book. There's also a lot of trauma from sexual assault that's not really dealt with. Hm. Not my favorite. 2.5/5 stars

5/20: True Story: Murder, Mayhem, and Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel (library audiobook read by Rich Orlow) - More of a true crime book and less of a memoir.  3/5 stars

5/21: Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #6) by Juliet Marillier (library, 2012) - The last book in the series. Marillier is a solid writer and I'm so happy I spent time in this world. 4/5 stars

5/22: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (library, 2023) - Satire? Maybe? Confusing book. 3.5/5 stars

5/23: How to Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder (library ebook, 2022) - Nothing worse than beautiful, rich white people whose lives are So Hard that they end up doing copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. I have no place for book in my life. 1.5/5 stars

5/24: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (library, 2023) - So muddled. 2.5/5 stars

5/30: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Llloyd-Jones (library, 2009) - This main character in this book is just like me. Of course I liked it. 4/5 stars

Total: 17 books
Average star rating: 3.24/5 stars

Did not finish:

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeycutt by Annie Lyons - This seemed like A Man Called Ove if Ove was irredeemable. Maybe at a different time in my life, I would have powered through, but I was not into it. DNF at 19%. 

Small Island by Andrea Levy - Ugh. I just couldn't get invested in this book. DNF at page 52 (11.8%). 

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - I was frustrated with the opening pages of this book when it acted like introverts were so rare and were hiding their introverted tendencies from the world. It gets such good reviews, but I was out almost immediately. DNF at 5%.

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse - I would have finished this a lot earlier, but I didn't have another book on my Kindle. Ha. I made it about 30%, but this was just a book that never hit with me. I thought the character was annoying, the narrative structure made it impossible to tell what was going on, and I wasn't a patient enough reader to give it time to develop.  Maybe I'd be into it at another time, but right now this was a disappointment for me.

Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest 

Son of the Shadows is the second book in the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier.  Daughter of the Forest was a good first book - it really set up this world and introduced some of the conflicts that are coming up in this book. But there were some unanswered questions in the first book and this book swoops in and sort of answers some of them.  I mean, there are six books and a novella in this series, so presumably more of this will get fleshed out as we move on.

Okay, so our main couple from the first book have had three children: Niamh, a beautiful, pampered princess; Sean, the only boy and presumed heir to Sevenwaters; and Liadan, our intrepid protagonist, who, like her mother, has Sight and some healing abilities. Liadan is kidnapped as she travels with her newly married sister to her sister's new home (at this point, my eyes rolled back into my head because this is an exact same plot point in the first book) and of course, falls in love with a brigand. He falls in love with her because of course he does. Plain women who have healing skills are obviously irresistible to all men. She returns home, pregnant and unaware of all the implications her love will have.

Liadan is a tad bit "not like other girls," which is something that can grate. Niamh has a sexual relationship outside of marriage and her brother HITS her and she's forced into a marriage she doesn't want. Liadan has a child out of wedlock and no one gives her the least bit of crap for it. I don't know, my friends. The family dynamics in this one are wild. 

But boy was it ever a page turner. I felt like some parts of the first book were homework, like I was wading through text that was obvious worldbuilding without really adding much to the characters or plot, but this book was just excitement after excitement. The villain was interestingly complex, the magic was just slight enough to entertain, and love interest was exactly what I imagine a fantasy hero to be like. I liked this one more than the first one and can't wait to read the next one.

4.5/5 stars

February 2023 Book List

February was a great reading month for me. I had four 5-star reads and four 4.5-star reads, so I am going to count that as amazing.

2/1: Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls #2) by Ashley Herring Blake (library ebook, 2022) - Pretty good, but not as great as the first book in this series. 3.5/5 stars

2/3: Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang (library, 2022) - Sometimes I marvel at how smart people are. The scope and ambition of this book were awe-inspiring. Very clever fantasy novel. 4.5/5 stars

2/4: May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes (library audiobook narrated by Andy Paris, 2012) - Ridiculous book. 2.5/5 stars

2/4: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (library, 2022) - This was a bad book. I don't get the hype. 2/5 stars

2/4: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams (library, 2021) - I adored this romance novel with a zeal you don't normally hear from me. 5/5 stars

2/9: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) by Nghi Vo (library, 2020) - Lovely little fantasy novella. 4.5/5 stars

2/10 Scruples (Scruples #1) by Judith Krantz (library ebook, 1978) - What a weird Rube Goldberg machine of a book. Krantz introduces a character and then all of a sudden we're following an extensive backstory of a minor character in the original character's life and this cycle repeats. Interesting. Dated, offensive language, and extreme homophobia. 3/5 stars

2/11: Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library by Amanda Oliver (library, 2022) - Mismarketed and therefore very disappointing. 2.5/5 stars

2/14: Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree (library, 2022) - An entry into the world of "cozy fantasy" and I am here for it. It's like a hug in a book. 5/5 stars

2/16: This is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods (library audiobook, 2021) - If you like the podcast Ear Hustle, you'll like this. If you haven't listened to the podcast, I think you'll be utterly befuddled. Definitely listen to the podcast, though. 4/5 stars

2/17: Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by Patricia C. Wrede (library ebook, 1990) - A sweet, charming middle grade fantasy. 4/5 stars

2/17: Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #4) by Juliet Marillier (library, 2008) - Another solid addition to the Sevenwaters series. 4/5 stars

2/19: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins (library, 2020) - I have a lot of thoughts about this book. It's accessible and easy to read, but I don't understand the turn the character made at the end of the book. 3/5 stars

2/20: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks - Dalton (library, 2022) - Near future climate fiction in which a young girl, born in the middle of a hurricane, must survive as climate change destroys her way of life in Florida. Frightening, but masterfully written. 4.5/5 stars

2/22: Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn (library, 2023) - Fabulous romance novel. Kate Clayborn can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned. 5/5 stars

2/23: The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones (library ebook, 2021) - Very well done examination of the history of the US told through the lens of slavery. Definitely recommend everyone read it. 5/5 stars

2/24: Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle #3) by Nghi Vo (library, 2022) - This is such a good series of short novellas. 4.5/5 stars

2/26: From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon (library ebook, 2018) - YA is just not for me. I thought the main character was really selfish and the whole book was a slog. 2.5/5 stars

Total: 18 books

Average star rating: 3.83/5 stars

Did Not Finish:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente - DNF at about 15%. The little girl in this book just rubbed me the wrong way and I think we can all agree that YA is no longer for NGS. If I had read this as a small child, I might have thought September, the little girl, was awesome. Instead, I just got really upset on September's mother's behalf and wanted September to be a little more grateful for the sacrifices her mother had made. So, hey, you know, this is all about me and not the book itself.

(Don't You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn - DNF at about 20%. I really struggle with books told from the perspective of an addict. This was not for me.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black - I'm not really into vampire books anymore and I find YA tiresome in its general dramatic nature. Maybe if I'd read this fifteen years ago, I might have had a different reading, but 2023 me DNFed at page 64 (15%). 

5.19 Library - March 2023 Loans and Holds

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Paper books checked out:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook Collection by America's Test Kitchen

The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman

Spanish books checked out:

Las mujeres mueven montañas by Pepita Sandwich

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 

(Yes, these are the exact same as last month)

Ebooks checked out:

Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Audiobooks checked out: 

The Road Home by Rose Tremain 

Paper books on hold:

Seer of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #5) by Juliet Marillier

Changes (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles #3) by Mercedes Lackey

Black Sun Rising (Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman - It looks like there's only one copy of this in our library system and it's currently missing, so I've had this on hold for months. I'll have to talk to a librarian about this the next time in the library to see what I should do next.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Ebooks on hold:

Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels #7) by Lisa Kleypas

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita

In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Misconduct by Penelope Douglas

The Heir Affair (Royal We #2) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

Have you read any of these books? What do you think about them?

January 2023 Book List

 1/1: A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore (library, 1995) - Just a weird little book about incest. 3/5 stars

1/2: The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz (library, 2022) - I adored this book.  Lutz is such a reliably consistent author who always works for me no matter what she writes. 4.5/5 stars

1/4: Amari and The Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations #1) by B.B. Alson (library, 2021) - A perfectly good, heartfelt fantasy novel for kids about a girl trying to find her missing brother, learning she's a magician, and figuring out her place in a new world all at the same time. 4/5 stars

1/6: Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier (library ebook, 2000) - Second book in a series and the plot really ratchets up in this one. 4.5/5 stars

1/6: Correction in Ink: A Memoir by Keri Blakinger (library, 2022) - Former heroin addict writes about her time in prison. I thought the most interesting part of her story was her re-entry, but, sadly, that was only the last few pages of the book. 3.5/5 stars

1/7: Hello Stranger (Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas (library ebook, 2018) - This historical romance novel about a doctor and her studly suitor really appealed to me. 4.5/5 stars

1/10: American Royalty (American Royalty #1) by Tracey Livesay (library ebook, 2022) - Black American rapper meets white prince and they fall in love. These two cannot possibly make it. 3.5/5 stars

1/11: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (library, 2020) - Book club book of the month. Just fine. 3.5/5 stars

1/12: Magic's Promise (Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage #2) by Mercedes Lackey (library, 1990) - Valdemar is living up to its promise as a good fantasy epic so far. 4/5 stars

1/15: Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert #1) by Olivia Dade (library audiobook narrated by Isabelle Luther, 2020) - Terrible romance novel. 1.5/5 stars

1/16: Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse (library ebook, 2020) - Fantasy I wanted to like more than I did. 3/5 stars

1/16: Magic's Price (Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage #3) by Mercedes Lackey (library, 1990) - Pretty good. I enjoyed spending time with Van. 4/5 stars

1/18: Devil's Daughter (The Ravenels #5) by Lisa Kleypas (library ebook, 2019) - I'm enjoying these books now and that's all there is to it. 4/5 stars

1/18: Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay (library, 2022) - Lovely story about how friendship grows. 5/5 stars

1/20: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (library, 2022) - What a weird book. It's a mashup of an adult romance and a YA novel. I have some issues with lax parenting and excessive drinking and drug usage with this book, but it was also really hard to put down. 4/5 stars

1/21: Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels by Paul Pringle (library, 2022) - Wild ride about corruption in Los Angeles from city hall to USC to the police to the editors of the newspaper. 4.5/5 stars

1/22: The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka (library, 2022) - Romance novels about two authors in which writing takes center stage. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. 2.5/5 stars

1/22: Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters #3) by Juliet Marillier (library ebook, 2001) - Really good fantasy.  4.5/5 stars

1/24: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (library, 2022) - Really interesting premise, but I didn't really love it. 3.5/5 stars

1/24: Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (library ebook, 2022) - How romance should be done. 5/5 stars

1/26: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (library book, 2012) - My beloved nerdy nephews were talking about this book at Christmas and they really recommended it. It's a pretty intense rip-off of Harry Potter. I can see why they liked it, but it wasn't for me. 2.5/5 stars

1/26: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman (library ebook, 2022) - A journalist writes a profile of an actor that makes her career and years later they meet again. There's a dog and that really improved this just sort of meh romance novel. 3.5/5 stars

1/28: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (library, 2022) - Simply beautiful and admirable. 4.5/5 stars

Total: 23 books (calm down, a bunch were early readers or romance novels - I'm not reading War and Peace over here)
Average star rating: 3.8/5 stars

DNF:

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride - I don't have the patience to wade through stream of consciousness, let alone stream of consciousness with a child as a narrator. I'm sure it has a great payoff, but it's not my jam. DNF at page 10. Ha.

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips - I downloaded this audiobook because it was on my list and available immediately. It wasn't very long before I realized it was about a child abduction and I was made uncomfortable by it and stopped early on. DNF at 5%.

6.19 Library - April 2023 Holds and Loans

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Paper books checked out:

Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O'Clover

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England

Verity by Colleen Hoover

When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant - The only book available in our library system for this was a large print edition. There were no other holds for it. I have it now. Is this unethical?

All That Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay

I Love Myself When I Am Laughing...and Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader by Zora Neale Hurston

Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justic for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid

Seer of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #5) by Juliet Marillier

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

Will Supervillains Be on the Final? by Naomi Novik, illustrated by Yishan Li

Spanish books checked out:

Los buscadores de las nubes (Amulet #3) by Kazu Kibuishi

Con cariño, Amalia by Alma Flor Ada and Gabriel M. Zubizerreta

Ebooks checked out:

Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita 

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

Paper books on hold:

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Ebooks on hold:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Misconduct by Penelope Douglas

What's on your library shelves these days?

Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier

Published in 1999, Daughter of the Forest is Juliet Marillier's debut fantasy novel.  It's the first book in a highly lauded six volume series.

In this book, Sorcha is the only daughter of seven children of Lord Collum of Sevenwaters. Her father marries an evil enchantress who beguiles him and Collum's children are defenseless when the stepmother puts an evil spell over Sorcha's six brothers and she is the only one who can free them. 

This book is so good. Sorcha is such a great character. She's spoiled and immature at the beginning, sure, but she's the youngest sister with six older brothers, so that's to be expected. She's also very skilled in healing and herbs and has interesting interests. Marillier does a great job of introducing just enough magic to the world that you know this is not our world, but it's not a world too far removed from our own history. I guess this is a retelling/extension of "The Six Swans" by the Brothers Grimm, but I didn't know that before I started reading and I'd never read the story before. (The whole short story is available for download/viewing here.)

But this book is also very hard to read. There are graphic depictions of sexual violence and other physical violence. Sorcha's journey is incredibly difficult to want to be a part of because no matter what she does or how much effort she puts into something, you always know something bad is going to happen. There's also no resolution with the evil stepmother, but I guess there are five more books in the series.

So, this is a good book, it really is. But I'm nervous to dive forward into more of the series because it was such a challenging read for me.  In general, I can see why this series was so favorably received. 4/5 stars

Lines of note:

If you are lucky enough to grow up the way I did, you have plenty of good things to remember. And some that are not so good. (page 2)

What a delightful way to look back at one's childhood.

It wasn't like this in the stories. In the old tales, when a young man went forth to have adventures, he endured his trials and came forth triumphant. He became a leader, or acquired a magical skill, or at the very least wed a princess. Maybe all three. There was never any question, not even in the darkest moment, that the hero would conquer both his enemies and his self-doubt. (page 107)

Sometimes the meta-commentary in this book was spot on.  Also, holy foreshadowing.

...sort of love that strikes like a lightning bolt, that clutches hold of you by the heart, as irrevocably as death; that becomes the lodestar by which you steer the rest of your life...(page 614)

Is this a thing? Do people really feel love like a lightning bolt? I have never felt this, only a love that has started as a tiny thing and flourished as you get to know someone. 

"...The gift of such love is given to but few. You must make each day count." (page 636)

A rare bit of clunky dialogue. Even in this exaggerated world, this is not how people would talk. 

...this meeting of spirits was as inevitable as the path of sun and moon across the sky. (page 638)

Do you believe in this sort of predestined thing? That you were supposed to meet your partner/get that job/have that child? Or do you think that your life could have been or maybe even should have been different if you'd just chosen a different path?

Things I looked up:

Tuath (page 5) - Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland

Bodhran (page 34) - A frame drum used in Irish music ranging from 25 cm to 65 cm in diameter

Brithem (page 41) - A hereditary legal expert in medieval Scotland, charged with upholding the laws within one of the provinces of Scotland

7.19 Library - May 2023 Loans and Holds

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Paper books checked out:

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones - Book club book

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Property by Valerie Martin

Vita Nostra (Vita Nostra #1) by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer - This is a very well-received book by a local author and it's supposed to be my non-fiction read for the month, but I just don't want to read it. It feels like homework.

I've Got You, Babe by Lynnette Austin

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #6) by Juliet Marillier - The last book in the series!

Spanish books checked out:

Los buscadores de las nubes (Amulet #3) by Kazu Kibuishi

Con cariño, Amalia by Alma Flor Ada and Gabriel M. Zubizarreta

Ebooks checked out:

It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - This might end up being my non-fiction of the month, sorry Braiding Sweetgrass.

Audiobook checked out:

True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel

Paper books on hold:

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman - The eternal hold.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano - #157 in line

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai - #55 in line

Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson - #1 in line

Yellowface: A Novel by R.F. Kuang - #14 in line

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, An Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work by Hayley Campbell - shipping soon

Audiobooks on hold:

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders - #40 in line - When I'm in the mood for an audiobook, I just look for one that's available, but this was recommended by my friend Dana on the Culture Gabfest specifically as an audiobook, so I'm waiting for this one.

Ebooks on hold: 

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse - #4 in line

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - #11 in line

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - #29 in line

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid - #63 in line

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton - #17 in line

A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford - #2 in line

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker - #5 in line

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - #8 in line

What books do you have checked out from the library?

4.19 Library - February Book Loans

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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I only have five physical books checked out right now and one of those is a cookbook and one is a super short novella, so I'm starting to get a bit antsy and it's quite possible that I'm going to go on a spree of ordering physical books. I mean, what if we go on lockdown again and I only have four books to read?! 

Paper books checked out:
Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #4) by Juliet Marillier
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook Collection by America's Test Kitchen
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle #3) by Nghi Vo

Spanish books checked out (paper books):
Las mujeres mueven montañas by Pepita Sandwich
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Ebooks checked out:
Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by Patricia C. Wrede - It's due in two days and I haven't started it, so I don't know if I'll get to it
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Audiobooks checked out:
This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods

Paper books on hold:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (shipped)
Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman (1 of 1)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (91 of 143) - This is our book club book. I have serious doubts about whether I'll get it before our next meeting.
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn (3 of 21)
Happy Place by Emily Henry (26 of 34)

Ebooks on hold:
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (six weeks)
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (six weeks)
The Heir Affair (Royal We #2) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (six weeks)
Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6) by Lisa Kleypas (eight weeks)
In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer (eighteen weeks)
Misconduct by Penelope Douglas (twenty weeks)
How to Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder (twenty-one weeks)
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons (twenty-three weeks)
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (several months)

Have you read any of these books? What books have you read recently that you recommend I check out to avoid only have a few physical books?

8.1 Hat - In the Books

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the first day of the month is "Hat."

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I spent the last few weeks collecting a bunch of quotes from books I was reading that had the word hat in them. I was thinking about how one of the first words I learned in Spanish was hat and how weird that is (like why hat before dress or pants or whatever?), but as I started looking for it, it seems like it appears in most books.  So I guess it's a noun that does come up regularly in speech.

It was such a fun thing to do, too. It felt like a scavenger hunt while I was reading and it was a good time. 

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I promised you more creepy kid sculptures from around town. 

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The wizard on his T-shirt's half-hidden beneath the table, so it looks like he's just a decapitated, pointy-hat-wearing head. - Seven Percent of Ro Devereaux, page 130

"Then I'd wander through the market and look in some stores to buy things I don't need, like a hat." - The Stand-In, page 286

If she makes the hat-trick, maybe Parks will even start to relax a little around her. - The Girl with All the Gifts, location 3099

Four of the Old Ones stepped forward. The hedgehog-dwarf; two small, cloaked, manlike beings; a beady-eyed creature in a green hat. - Flame of Sevenwaters, page 409

I understand now why this took so very long to write - the painstaking research bleeds through in every paragraph, from the standard-issue fur-lined hats to the enamel mugs the laborers used to drink their watered-down tea. - Yellowface, page 28

...serenely sleeping princess could turn into a drooling, snoring ogre at the drop of a hat. - How To Fake It In Hollywood, location 2574

Fran had wrapped herself already in her scarf, parka, mittens, hat. - I Have Some Questions for You, page 157

She’s flanked by a middle-aged man in a Silver Belly cowboy hat and a teenage boy in army fatigues who looks a few years younger than me. - Trail of Lightning, page 1 (PAGE ONE! - This sort of ruined the fun of the scavenger hunt, if you know what I mean.)

I threw on two fleeces and a hat. - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, page 72

He tugs his knit hat down over his ears. - The Starless Sea, time stamp 56:49 on the audiobook

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What's another word that you don't necessarily say every day, but is still common enough that you'd find it in most books?  

2.19 Library - December Books

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Paper books I have checked out:

The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge #0) by Ken Follett (finished reading, so good, needs to be returned)
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
The Last Herald Mage Omnibus by Mercedes Lackey
The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernandez
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston 
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins 
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
Inda (Inda #1) by Sherwood Smith
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore

Ebooks I have checked out:

Kushiel's Dart (Phedre's Trilogy #1) by Jacqueline Carey 
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Books I have on hold:

Physical books

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (this is my book club for next month, so I need it relatively soon - still pending in the system)
Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman (am next in line for this)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (27 of 57 for this one)

Ebooks

Hello Stranger (The Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas (2 of 15)
Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier (next in line for this one)
American Royalty (American Royalty #1) by Tracey Livesay (6 of 12)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo (3 of 8)
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (11 of 233)
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls #2) by Ashley Herring Blake (37 of 48)
Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse (10 of 21)
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (9 of 11)
Funny You Should Ask by Elisssa Sussman (12 of 166)

Have you read any of these books? What's up next for you to read?

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To see what Bestest Friend has to say about her library, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.

3.19 Library - January Library Loans

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Our library has this sign by the book return. I'm pretty sure I am single-handedly responsible for 1000 visits to their website. 

Paper books checked out:
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger
Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels by Paul Pringle
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Spanish books checked out (paper books):
Las mujeres mueven montañas by Pepita Sandwich
Finding the Music/En pos de la música by Jennifer Torres
Yo no quiero irme a la cama/I Don't Want to Go to Bed by Julie Sykes

Ebooks checked out:
Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters #3) by Juliet Marillier
Devil's Daughter (The Ravenels #5) by Lisa Kleypas

Audiobooks checked out:
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips (this is about a child kidnapping - I've listened to about 5% and am not sure I'll go back for more)

Paper books on hold:
The Measure by Nikki Erlick - has shipped, should be here in the next day or two
Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman - 1/1 on the hold list
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - 4/116 on the hold list
Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang - 9/13 on the hold list
Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree - 5/7 on the hold list
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver -146/150 on the hold list (this is our book club book for early March, fingers crossed I can get it before we meet)

Ebooks on hold:

The Heir Affair (Royal We #2) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - 6/10 on the hold list

Scruples (Scruples #1) by Judith Krantz - 2/4 on the hold list

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley - 6/94 on the hold list

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones - 5/70 on the hold list

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) by Nghi Vo 2/2 on the hold list

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls #2) by Ashley Herring Blake - 14/59 on the hold list

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez - 6/13 on the hold list

Funny You Should Ask by Elisa Sussman - 5/187 on the hold list

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan - 4/266 on the hold list

Have you read any of these books? What's up next for you to read?

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To see what Bestest Friend has to say about her library, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.