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BOOK COUPLES COUNTDOWN | Day 6: Agnieszka & Sarkan

February 12, 2018 , Mon | Book Couples Countdown | 0 or add you thoughts!

Day 6 of Book Couples Countdown has arrived, and my chosen pair for today are new, but absolute, favorites. If you haven’t read Uprooted by Naomi Novik, I recommend it with my whole heart! Seriously I love this book so much that I could start raving about all its beautiful themes and dynamic characters and stunning prose, but I’ve already written a full review on it, and today, we’re talking about the main couple within it: Agnieszka and Sarkan!

Art by Gabriela Aguilar Ortega.

A characteristic I think distinguishes this from most book romances is how slowly, and believably, the love builds. I don’t know if you can tell from the fact that I’m writing a weeklong series dedicated to the topic, but I live for a good love story. So naturally, I’m always on the lookout for a budding romance. I’d also heard that this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so I was fully expecting an epic love story. What I got was better than what I expected. After they spent some time together, it really seemed to me that Sarkan and Agnieszka wouldn’t end up together. I adored them each as individual characters and enjoyed the unspoken connection they were building through magic. Then—oh wait—that is the romance. The magic. Novik begins to tell the love story through their magic wielding. It’s subtle and exquisite, and I’m obsessed with it. read more

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FOUND FIVE | My 5 Favorite Books of 2017

December 31, 2017 , Sun | Found Fives | 0 or add you thoughts!

It’s almost 2018!! That is so crazy to me! Not because this year seemed short, but because the number 2018 just seems too big, if that makes sense. Anyway, as 2017 comes to a close, I thought it would be interesting to go through my year in books and pick five that jump out at me as I look through them. So these are my five favorite reads of 2017—sort of. Some of these I went back and forth on, because there were other books I felt could have been on this list too. But, in the effort to choose just five I think I’ve done quite well! Each of these has really stuck with me, and I definitely feel they will all remain long-term favorites.

As difficult as this is for any avid reader, I’ve also managed to choose a single, overall favorite: Uprooted by Naomi Novik.

1. Archangel by Sharon Shinn

My Aunt Diane gave me this for my birthday last year, and I’m so grateful to her for that! A romance, high fantasy, and science fiction rolled into one, Archangel is a fantastic read from all angles. Shinn has a writing style that is quite unique to me, which is always something I enjoy. I find she’s particularly good at building genuine drama. It doesn’t feel ridiculous or overdone, even when it involves the romance part of the story. And the series this is a part of, Samaria, has the COOLEST overarching plot. I’ve only read one other book in the series so far, but the larger plot starts to become clear, and since my aunt and now my dad read them too, I’ve heard hints! 😉 Archangel in particular was so fun for me. read more

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WRAP-UP | September 2017

September 30, 2017 , Sat | Wrap-Ups | 0 or add you thoughts!

September has been a dream for this bibliophile! I went to a local book festival and several exciting author events, and I got to visit the most adorable independent bookshop near me for the first time. This was also the month of exciting new releases! But most importantly, I read some wonderful stories. I’m fairly selective with what I call an all-time favorite, and I am designating two of my reads from this month as such, so that should tell you how good September was to me!

“I was not happy as a child, although from time to time I was content. I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”

This was such an incredible little novel. It is one of the two aforementioned new favorites, and I am already itching to reread it! Before this, I had only read Norse Mythology and a few chapters of American Gods. Now, I’m realizing what a mistake it has been that I haven’t previously made Neil Gaiman’s work more of a priority! This book delighted and surprised me in so many ways throughout. Absolutely charming! read more

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REVIEW | Uprooted by Naomi Novik

September 29, 2017 , Fri | Reviews | 0 or add you thoughts!

“I hated her; I wanted her to burn, the way so many of the corrupted had burned, because she’d put her hold on them. But wanting cruelty felt like another wrong answer in an endless chain. The people of the tower had walled her up, then she’d struck them all down. She’d raised up the wood to devour us; now we’d give her to the fire-heart, and choke all this shining clear water with ash. None of that seemed right.”

Themes:

  • Cyclical violence
  • Female empowerment
  • Humanity’s destruction of the natural world

Oh my goodness, how I adore this book. It is already on my favorites list!

Uprooted gives the reader that old-timey fantasy feel. It reminded me almost immediately of The Charwoman’s Shadow by Lord Dunsany, but it also makes me think of Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. So if you enjoy elements of those, this is a book you should give a try. If you have never read those or don’t enjoy them, you should still give this one a try.

I love the way magic works in this story and how Novik allows the reader to slowly discover it. Sarkan and Agnieszka’s magic operates so differently, yet creates beautiful results when worked together. It is a fascinating element of the story and inspires growth in Sarkan and Agnieszka’s relationship. read more

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