Holy Sister
By: Mark Lawrence
“Remember mercy. Mercy for others in victory. Mercy for yourself too. You deserve happiness child. Never forget it.”
Tag: strong female characters
Magic Libraries & Living Books: Sorcery of Thorns
Sorcery of Thorns
By: Margaret Rogerson
Elizabeth has grown up as a child of the library. A world filled with librarians and living books. The books sing, the cry, they live, they feel pain and are various degrees of dangerous.
She’s happier there than anywhere. She dreams of being Warden one day and as such one rule she must live by- stay away from magic.
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Stranger Things: Thoughts & Questions on Season 3 (Spoilers!)
So I watched the 3rd season of Stranger Things in record amount of time (for me.) I think 3 goes down as my favorite season. I had some issues with it but for the most part I can say I love these characters, love spending time with them and am already excited for season 4.
My standouts and a very important Hopper question below as well as…
Spoilers!
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Space is too Big & Cool for Earth Style Bullshit…
Honor Bound
By: Ann Aguirre and Rachel Caine
So after the first book Honor Among Thieves once the MC Zara bonds with the Leviathan ship I couldn’t help think there were certain elements that where described as near sexual. Not to mention Zara’s growing attraction to her ship mate Bea.
And yeah, she starts thinking threesome with the ship here. Which naturally made the super mature me go, “I knew it!”
But also where would alien space ship fall under sexuality? I suppose that’s definitely in the old “other” category on the old book chart I’m keeping this year.
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No Sophomore Slump Here: On the Come Up
On the Come Up
By: Angie Thomas
Grade: A
On the Come Up about an aspiring rapper named Bri- her start, her friends and her family- is Angie Thomas’ follow-up to the enormously successful The Hate U Give. I read that book thought it was fantastic and deserved all the hype so I was very much interested in seeing if Thomas could pull it off again.
And she very much does.
The Mermaid is Beside the Point
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
By: Imogen Hermes Gowar
Grade: A-
It seemed like there were a million books about the sea or some creature in it this summer but I knew I wanted to read this one ages ago. It’s an adult novel about a merchant in 1700’s London whose Captain sells his ship for a mermaid corpse. (He takes it a hell of a lot better than most people would by the way.) And how his life intersects with a courtesan trying to manage a better position for herself.
Mermaids and courtesans seemed like a great combination.
Atomic Blonde
Atomic Blonde
Directed by: David Leitch
Grade: C+
Charlize Theron is taking this action heroine stuff super seriously. She plays an MI6 agent sent to Berlin right before the Wall comes down in order to find a missing dossier full of super secret confidential information that will expose all the spies in the field and put their lives in danger.
I feel like that was a James Bond thing once. Why does this stuff keep getting written down in one place?
Daughter of the Pirate King
Daughter of the Pirate King
By: Tricia Levenseller
Grade: B+
Alosa is the badass (she’ll totally tell you that) daughter of the pirate King who allows herself to be captured by an enemy ship in order to pull of a heist for her father. A Lady Jack Sparrow according to the cover blurb save for the fact I definitely don’t think we were supposed to find Jack Sparrow to be the greatest thing going.
Spoilers below for this one. Though I got to say the title of the sequel spoiled it for me so be careful looking that up!
Mechanica
Mechanica
Author: Betsy Cornwell
Genre: Fantasy/ Retelling
Grade: A
I have to be honest this went on my list original because the cover is so beautiful!
This is another retelling of Cinderella. Our main character is called Mechanic by her stepsisters because on her sixteenth birthday she finds her mother’s hidden workshop and with the help of the most adorable little horse called Jules, begins to invent her own things and imagine a life of her own.
This is not a character that dreams of marriage or some fairy tale escape but someone who pretty much develops a business plan and puts it into action. It’s also a story that with the added politics of a possible war brewing with the fairy kingdom (and her mother’s inventions possibly being somewhat questionably enhanced by by magic) and a romance that is back seated for a strong friendship with a young girl that works in the palace.
In other words there was a lot I found to like here.
I quite enjoyed the ending as well. I can see why it might not be everyone’s cup of tea or what everyone might want from a fairy tale but I found it very believable and it was just what I was in the mood for at the moment.
The only thing that brought me down was a character death I did not get over for most of the book so beware of that one if you’re giving it to young kids who might take that kind of thing hard.
Recommend: Yes. If you like your fairy-tale retellings with some unexpected twists, a bit of a modern element and a strong message about friendship check this one out.
