The Glass Spare & The Cursed Sea by Lauren DeStefano This duology intrigued me simply because the magical power of the protagonist, Wil, was turning alive objects -- humans, plants, animals, etc. -- into gemstones. Kind of a bizarre concept, except DeStefano makes it work. That is what fascinated me. Unfortunately, that's the only thing which fascinated me. Sure, the plot is a bit predictable, but there's enough differences the reader stays entertained long enough to finish the books. ...
teen fantasy
WOMS: Grishaverse
Let me start by explaining I'm going to begin referring to my "What's on my Shelf" posts as WOMS. Makes sense, right? And now your mouth isn't too full. As I catch up on these posts, I'm going to work backwards through what I've most recently read before recommitting to build my consistency, but this post is going to be the odd ball out. While I have recently read some of the books within Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse, I read the first installment trilogy last summer. Here's hoping I ...
For the Love of Reading
How many times have you ever heard that to be a good writer you need to first be a good [avid] reader? I've lost count myself; I think it was this cliche which I gritted my teeth or rolled my eyes at the most. My annoyance or anyone else's, however, does not negate the truth behind this advice. It's a cliche for a reason. The greatest problem I had overcoming my agitation any time someone mentioned this to me was first admitting to myself I did not read anymore. Shocking, I know, but a ...