Books I Want to Read

I have an enormous To Be Read pile, both in a physical sense and in a more technology-based sense.  But here are some books that I just know I won’t be able to resist the call of:

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFeversI absolutely loved Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.  Seeing things from another person’s point of view in the same world will be fascinating, especially with all of the politics going on behind the scenes.  I’ll miss Ismae, but seeing more of Sybelle will be awesome.  It’s also nice to see things from a completely different perspective sometimes and I think Sybelle will have a very different worldview than Ismae.  She’s had different life experiences and I think she’ll add a lot more to Robin LaFevers world-building because we’ll be able to see more of the political machinations that are more implied with Ismae’s point of view.

 
King of Thorns by Mark LawrenceAfter reading and thoroughly enjoying Prince of Thorns, I need to read King of Thorns immediately.  With my current schedule I won’t be able to, but I can’t wait to dive into Jorg’s world once more.  Will Jorg become ‘good’ or will he continue on his awesomely ruthless path, defying traditional YA sensibilities of what good and evil are.

 

 

 

Vanish by Sophie JordanFirelight, a novel of the descendants of dragons, draki, was a surprisingly good read.  With Jacinda in the situation she’s in now (spoilers!), returning to the Pride I’m hoping Sophie Jordan won’t do the love triangle trope.  If she doesn’t, I will be ridiculously happy because it will allow Jacinda to grow out of the whole forbidden love trope.

 

 

 

The Grass Crown by Colleen McCulloughThe First Man in Rome, the first book in Colleen McCullough’s classic Masters of Rome series was a long read, but it was so good.  It’s nice to be able to curl up with a long book that you need to actually engage your brain to enjoy.  That’s why I’m definitely going to continue the series with the next book that chronicles Sulla’s rise.  The only problem is finding the time to read the 1000+ page book.

Well, those are some of the books I really, really want to read.  But now I want to know: what do you guys want to read?  What’s stopping you from reading them?  (Unless they’re not out, of course!)  See any books on my list that you’d like to read?

Why no Writer Wants to Tackle Chronic Pain

Warning: depressing article ahead.

As I sit here in my computer chair, there are constant stabbing pains all the way from the base of my spine up until between my shoulder blades.  I have a lingering stiffness in my right leg from a little unplanned hike earlier in the week and my knees are starting to ache because it’s late in the day.  Even though it’s only around 8:00pm on a Sunday I’m exhausted, despite sleeping in until noon.

This is a good day for me.

My as yet undiagnosed chronic pain has taken so many things away from me, mainly the sports I used to enjoy and are still listed on my ‘About’ page because they’re too painful to take down.  I have no social life and just surviving a full day of work takes enormous effort.  And you know what?  Compared to some people with chronic pain, I have it easy.

Yes, I’m trying to go somewhere with this rather than having a pity party.  My point is that chronic pain is hard because it’s, well, chronic.  As in you’re in pain for every single waking moment.  That’s what makes it so hard for normal people to even begin to understand, let alone feel comfortable talking about.

So how does this relate to books?  Well, in YA you see all kinds of different people being represented and that’s awesome.  It’s nice to see LGBT people and people of various races finally being represented in fiction, even though we still have a long way to go in regards to fair representation.  I think it’s amazing that YA authors are able to talk about things like terminal illnesses such as cancer or self-harm and suicide.  But as someone with a very limited support group trying to deal with chronic pain, it would be nice to be represented in even just one book.  Yet I also have a practical streak, so here are the reasons why no author wants to tackle chronic pain:

Balancing-Act

1.  It would be a tough balancing act. Continue reading →

Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian

Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)

COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death’s ultimatum to the world.

What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?

In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary “pocket” of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill….

Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness… Her skin is cold as snow… Her eyes frozen… Her gaze, fiercely alive…

While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war… A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father… Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court…. Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living…

Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars…

And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.

As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death’s own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North…

And everyone is trying to stop her.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

An unique alternate history?  A fast paced plot with lots of twists?  Awesome main characters?  Great writing?  You seriously can’t ask for anything else in this fantasy/alternate history book.

After reading Cobweb Bride I can’t believe that I didn’t discover Vera Nazarian sooner.  She’s an amazing writer!  Not only can she write great suspense and throw insane plot twists at her readers, she actually knows how to describe her scenery.  One of the major downfalls of fantasy novels today is that there isn’t enough description of the setting.  The author knows what their world looks like so they don’t feel it’s necessary to describe everything to readers.  But Vera Nazarian has not made this assumption and her descriptions throughout the novel are beautiful.  The world she’s created is so vivid, so real and gorgeous!

It’s Percy’s gradual development as a character that I liked best, though.  In her own house, overshadowed by her beautiful older and younger sisters, she’s shy and very timid.  Yet at the same time, you can sense an inner strength about her.  It’s only when she decides to join the other Cobweb Brides heading for Death’s castle that you see the real Percy shine through.  She’s tough, smart, resourceful and a brilliant leader.  Authors take note: this is what a strong female lead really looks like.

I could rave on and on about the characters like Vlau and Percy, but I don’t want to spoil too many things.  Let me focus on the plot for a few sentences, if you’ll indulge me: I was glued to my computer for all 293 pages.  I’m dead serious here.  The apocalypse itself wouldn’t have stopped me from reading Cobweb Bride.  Vera Nazarian added some incredible plot twists and it ended on such a cliffhanger that I want the next book, Cobweb Empire, right now.

Seriously, I can’t praise this book enough.  You need to read it.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble

I Need an eReader

I’ve given you guys lots of book recommendations over the year and a half I’ve been blogging, which is why I’m turning to you now: I need an eReader.  In light of my little health problem that makes it hard to sit in one place for a long time, I can no longer stand to read books on my computer.  Therefore, an eReader is the perfect solution.  But to be perfectly honest, I have no idea where to start.  All I really know is that I have a few pre-requisites for an eReader:

1.  It must be a Kindle because indie authors who contact me are generally selling their books through Amazon.

2.  It must be light so I can hold it even on bad days.

3.  It must be under or only slightly over $200.

So, what do you think I should get?  Why?

The Mad Reviewer is Closed to Submissions (Temporarily)

With so many requests coming in as well as my own not-so-great health, I’ve decided to close submissions for reviews from authors until the fall.  This will give me more time to focus on my health, but also to catch up on those authors who have been waiting and waiting for months while I’ve only had time to process the numerous review requests I’ve received.  If you got your request into me before 8:26am MST I’ll still process it.

There are, however, two exceptions for the closed submission policy:

1.  If you’re an author who has a series and I’ve read your first book and liked it, you are free to submit your second book for review.  If I like that, then your third book and so on and so on.  This is so I don’t forget the characters’ names in a series, let alone half of the plot points before I get to finish it!

2.  If you are a publisher contacting me to review an ARC or galley copy as long as it is a print copy I will process your request.   This is because I usually have more time to read print copies.

For those of you wondering, I will likely be re-opening for business sometime in the fall.