Thursday, March 26, 2015
Title: Bronze Gods
Author: A. A. Aguirre
Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work, as partners, with the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). After a House scion goes missing, things change for Ritsuko and Mikani; in the most complicated way.
The missing scion case quickly turns into a murder mystery with a magically evil twist. A murdered House scion is no small matter (no murder is a small matter really) so Mikani and Ritsuko are put under pressure to solve the murder as quickly as possible to appease House Aevar.
Let's take a step back for a bit.
In the land of Hy Breasil, ten Ferisher (a variation of Fairy) princes each took a bride from the invading strangers to bring peace after a long war (the Iron War). They formed the ten great Houses. Some Houses stood the test of time while others dwindled away. The surviving Houses keep their bloodlines "pure" to keep what little fey blood they have. The females in these Houses don't seem to have much freedom. If they do something that happens to be "unfit" for a House member, they are essentially shunned and deprived of any House privileges until they comply or for the remainder of their lives.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Women seem to be held to some pretty unfair standards in general. For example, Ritsuko is often sneered at and looked down upon for being a working woman. This is something that she deals with on a daily basis though it doesn't deter her from her duties. She's strong because she has to be.
Okay. Now back to the show.
Mikani and Ritsuko find out pretty quickly that magic is involved with the murder of miss Aevar. At the same time Aurelia, the dance director at the theater that miss Aevar is linked to, meets a peculiar character whom she has a feeling is ancient (really really old). By this point we have learned that those who have Ferisher blood have special abilities and/or can live a really long time by aging slowly. Mikani and Aurelia are such people.
*
Mikani has a gift (or curse) that allows him to sense things that cannot be seen. He senses feelings - fear, happiness, etc. - of people who have been in the area he is opening himself up to. The more recent the person was there, the stronger their presence is felt. He can also sense deception. Aurelia is also able to sense deception. Well, she's able to tell whether someone is telling the truth or not. Same thing. Right?
*
While the investigation is under way, another body is found. This time it's a girl from the Summer Clan. To be honest, I really don't get what or who the Summer Clan are. They are not part of the Houses but are important because they control the roads...? At least that is what I understood. This is what happens when you wait a long time between finishing the book and writing your thoughts about it. And I already returned the book to the library so - there you go. Anyway. The Summer Clan is pretty pissed about the death of one of their own so they put a stop to the transport of things needed by people such as food. This, of course, causes people to get upset and places more pressure on Mikani and Ritsuko to find the killer.
While M&R are searching for the bad guy and following leads, Aurelia (same name as my maternal great-grandmother - just FYI) visits her mystery man at his home. [Aurelia is the (former) member of a House and the daughter of the Architect (a person of importance). She wanted to follow her passion of dance and was banished (to a certain extent) from the House.] While walking through his garden she learns that he uses magic to create and maintain most of his organic creations. It is at this point we are given the idea that this stranger (Theron) may or may not be a Ferisher Prince (given his magical abilities). Hmmmm.
Will Mikani and Ritsuko find the killer and unearth his secrets? Will Aurelia find love with her ancient stranger? Well now - it wouldn't be much fun if I told you. But I'm sure there will be some hints once I start giving my thoughts away.
First of all...
I want to apologize for this post being a little wishy-washy. I checked Bronze Gods out from my local library a while ago. A long while ago. Like months ago. And because I have a habit of checking 8 books out at a time... I only got to read 86 pages before I extinguished all 5 of my "renew checkouts." {Fun math: The Library allows you to keep a book for 3 weeks per check out. EP Book Nerd renewed her checkout status 5 times. How many weeks did EP Book Nerd keep her book?} So I had to turn in the book and then request it again to start my 5 renew checkout limit all over again. Luckily it only took me four weeks to get through it. [What can I say? I work and have a kid. Time is not my friend.] Anyway. My point? Well, I may have forgotten little details here and there that may or may not be important to the end result. But... it doesn't change my opinion about the book at all. I still remember how I feel about it.
With that said...
I enjoyed Bronze Gods very much. I won't say that I "loved" it but I did like it a lot. To be honest, it took me a while to get into the characters of Mikani and Ritsuko. Aurelia captured my attention more. The case, however, was the reason I kept going back for more. I just had to find out who was behind the murders and why. I wasn't sure who to suspect and, to be honest, was thrown for a loop when it was revealed in the end. I mean I had a suspicion but was successfully guided elsewhere through pages of word wizardry. Towards the end I did get into Mikani and Ritsuko as well as their relationship potential.
I have to say that I enjoyed the fact that there was no horizontal tango in this book. It allowed me to really enjoy the character and relationship building more.
So there you have it! I have FINALLY released this post. I hope the next one won't take as long to produce. Thank you for your patience!
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Just finished: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
Currently Reading: Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay
Up Next: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
Happy Reading!
Author: A. A. Aguirre
Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work, as partners, with the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). After a House scion goes missing, things change for Ritsuko and Mikani; in the most complicated way.
The missing scion case quickly turns into a murder mystery with a magically evil twist. A murdered House scion is no small matter (no murder is a small matter really) so Mikani and Ritsuko are put under pressure to solve the murder as quickly as possible to appease House Aevar.
Let's take a step back for a bit.
In the land of Hy Breasil, ten Ferisher (a variation of Fairy) princes each took a bride from the invading strangers to bring peace after a long war (the Iron War). They formed the ten great Houses. Some Houses stood the test of time while others dwindled away. The surviving Houses keep their bloodlines "pure" to keep what little fey blood they have. The females in these Houses don't seem to have much freedom. If they do something that happens to be "unfit" for a House member, they are essentially shunned and deprived of any House privileges until they comply or for the remainder of their lives.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Interesting information about Hy Breasil:
Hy Breasil is a mythical vanishing island believed to be off the west coast of Ireland and has been noted on maps as early as 1325. So... if it's on a map, is it really just mythical? Well, according to The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, (found under Brazil) the island cannot be seen by any ordinary person. Apparently only a few chosen have been gifted a glance at the wondrous island (Manguel & Guadalupi, 2000).
Hy Breasil is a mythical vanishing island believed to be off the west coast of Ireland and has been noted on maps as early as 1325. So... if it's on a map, is it really just mythical? Well, according to The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, (found under Brazil) the island cannot be seen by any ordinary person. Apparently only a few chosen have been gifted a glance at the wondrous island (Manguel & Guadalupi, 2000).
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Women seem to be held to some pretty unfair standards in general. For example, Ritsuko is often sneered at and looked down upon for being a working woman. This is something that she deals with on a daily basis though it doesn't deter her from her duties. She's strong because she has to be.
Okay. Now back to the show.
Mikani and Ritsuko find out pretty quickly that magic is involved with the murder of miss Aevar. At the same time Aurelia, the dance director at the theater that miss Aevar is linked to, meets a peculiar character whom she has a feeling is ancient (really really old). By this point we have learned that those who have Ferisher blood have special abilities and/or can live a really long time by aging slowly. Mikani and Aurelia are such people.
*
Mikani has a gift (or curse) that allows him to sense things that cannot be seen. He senses feelings - fear, happiness, etc. - of people who have been in the area he is opening himself up to. The more recent the person was there, the stronger their presence is felt. He can also sense deception. Aurelia is also able to sense deception. Well, she's able to tell whether someone is telling the truth or not. Same thing. Right?
*
While the investigation is under way, another body is found. This time it's a girl from the Summer Clan. To be honest, I really don't get what or who the Summer Clan are. They are not part of the Houses but are important because they control the roads...? At least that is what I understood. This is what happens when you wait a long time between finishing the book and writing your thoughts about it. And I already returned the book to the library so - there you go. Anyway. The Summer Clan is pretty pissed about the death of one of their own so they put a stop to the transport of things needed by people such as food. This, of course, causes people to get upset and places more pressure on Mikani and Ritsuko to find the killer.
While M&R are searching for the bad guy and following leads, Aurelia (same name as my maternal great-grandmother - just FYI) visits her mystery man at his home. [Aurelia is the (former) member of a House and the daughter of the Architect (a person of importance). She wanted to follow her passion of dance and was banished (to a certain extent) from the House.] While walking through his garden she learns that he uses magic to create and maintain most of his organic creations. It is at this point we are given the idea that this stranger (Theron) may or may not be a Ferisher Prince (given his magical abilities). Hmmmm.
Will Mikani and Ritsuko find the killer and unearth his secrets? Will Aurelia find love with her ancient stranger? Well now - it wouldn't be much fun if I told you. But I'm sure there will be some hints once I start giving my thoughts away.
First of all...
I want to apologize for this post being a little wishy-washy. I checked Bronze Gods out from my local library a while ago. A long while ago. Like months ago. And because I have a habit of checking 8 books out at a time... I only got to read 86 pages before I extinguished all 5 of my "renew checkouts." {Fun math: The Library allows you to keep a book for 3 weeks per check out. EP Book Nerd renewed her checkout status 5 times. How many weeks did EP Book Nerd keep her book?} So I had to turn in the book and then request it again to start my 5 renew checkout limit all over again. Luckily it only took me four weeks to get through it. [What can I say? I work and have a kid. Time is not my friend.] Anyway. My point? Well, I may have forgotten little details here and there that may or may not be important to the end result. But... it doesn't change my opinion about the book at all. I still remember how I feel about it.
With that said...
I enjoyed Bronze Gods very much. I won't say that I "loved" it but I did like it a lot. To be honest, it took me a while to get into the characters of Mikani and Ritsuko. Aurelia captured my attention more. The case, however, was the reason I kept going back for more. I just had to find out who was behind the murders and why. I wasn't sure who to suspect and, to be honest, was thrown for a loop when it was revealed in the end. I mean I had a suspicion but was successfully guided elsewhere through pages of word wizardry. Towards the end I did get into Mikani and Ritsuko as well as their relationship potential.
I have to say that I enjoyed the fact that there was no horizontal tango in this book. It allowed me to really enjoy the character and relationship building more.
So there you have it! I have FINALLY released this post. I hope the next one won't take as long to produce. Thank you for your patience!
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Just finished: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
Currently Reading: Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay
Up Next: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
Happy Reading!
Monday, February 23, 2015
Greetings fellow book nerds! I have taken a bit of a break from EP Book Nerd. I got a bit stuck on one of my posts and kind of got a bit discouraged for a while. But, I have overcome that discouragement and have come back to my beloved blog.
I hope to have my long awaited post published no later than next week. Hopefully sooner.
Thank you all for being so patient with me!
Also, EP Book Nerd has it's own Twitter account! Follow us (me, myself, and I) at @epbooknerd. You are also invited to support EP Book Nerd by visiting our book store powered by Amazon!
If you would like to follow along with EP Book Nerd, here is what I am currently reading followed by the next three books on my list:
Currently reading: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
Next up: Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay
And after that: A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James
Last but not least: Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn
As always, I am open to reading suggestions as well as short story submissions. Suggest a book for me to read in the comments section or by sending me a message. Submit an original short story by clicking here.
Happy Reading!
I hope to have my long awaited post published no later than next week. Hopefully sooner.
Thank you all for being so patient with me!
Also, EP Book Nerd has it's own Twitter account! Follow us (me, myself, and I) at @epbooknerd. You are also invited to support EP Book Nerd by visiting our book store powered by Amazon!
If you would like to follow along with EP Book Nerd, here is what I am currently reading followed by the next three books on my list:
Currently reading: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
Next up: Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay
And after that: A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James
Last but not least: Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn
As always, I am open to reading suggestions as well as short story submissions. Suggest a book for me to read in the comments section or by sending me a message. Submit an original short story by clicking here.
Happy Reading!
Saturday, January 3, 2015
I have mentioned a couple of times that I was accepting submissions for short stories and poetry to post here on EP Book Nerd. I didn't get any. But! I did get inspired to write one of my own while having a conversation with my little girl. She asked, "I wonder what it's like to be a painting." So I told her that we should write a poem about it.
This is what we came up with.
To be a painting on a wall,
To be a painting so big so small,
To be a painting with colors so bright,
To be a painting so black and so white,
To be a painting old and new,
To be a painting just like you
Hope you enjoyed our little poem! Just for funnsies (<--- not an actual word), write a poem of what it would be like to be a painting. Send your submissions to submit@epbooknerd.com. My daughter (she's seven by the way) and I will pick our top five faves and I will post them (with full credit to the author) here. Please make sure to use the subject Poem Submission and include your name, poem, website (if you have one), and your favorite book and author in the body.
Happy Reading!
This is what we came up with.
To be a painting on a wall,
To be a painting so big so small,
To be a painting with colors so bright,
To be a painting so black and so white,
To be a painting old and new,
To be a painting just like you
Hope you enjoyed our little poem! Just for funnsies (<--- not an actual word), write a poem of what it would be like to be a painting. Send your submissions to submit@epbooknerd.com. My daughter (she's seven by the way) and I will pick our top five faves and I will post them (with full credit to the author) here. Please make sure to use the subject Poem Submission and include your name, poem, website (if you have one), and your favorite book and author in the body.
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Welcome to my first "Inspired By..." post! These posts will be dedicated to anything inspired by a book I have read. It could be a craft project, fashion, playlist, or (in this case) a recipe.
In Poison Fruit, Daisy makes some homemade hot cocoa with a little something extra for her and her friends to drink while watching the tree lighting in their town. Well I decided to create a little hot cocoa recipe myself (without the something extra).
WARNING: If you follow the recipe exactly the way it is written, you will be subjecting yourself to a whole lot of sugar. More than any one person should ingest. I believe I saw Food.com calculate it at 99% the suggested daily value in one serving. For that reason, I suggest lowering the sugar content to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup and add about 1/3 cup water to increase the servings made to 5 small servings.
The above mentioned changes have not yet been tried. Please leave a comment below if the changes suck or if they rock. I will test the changes this weekend and update the recipe on Food.com.
ALTERED RECIPE:
Replace 1/2 cup sugar with 1/3 cup sugar.
In addition to the milk, add 1/3 cup water in step 2.
Change the servings from 4 to 5.
So there you have it. You can be brave and try the sugar filled original recipe or you can be extra brave and try the untested altered recipe. Either way, feel free to leave a comment to share your thoughts, tips, or recipes of your own.
Happy Reading!
In Poison Fruit, Daisy makes some homemade hot cocoa with a little something extra for her and her friends to drink while watching the tree lighting in their town. Well I decided to create a little hot cocoa recipe myself (without the something extra).
WARNING: If you follow the recipe exactly the way it is written, you will be subjecting yourself to a whole lot of sugar. More than any one person should ingest. I believe I saw Food.com calculate it at 99% the suggested daily value in one serving. For that reason, I suggest lowering the sugar content to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup and add about 1/3 cup water to increase the servings made to 5 small servings.
The above mentioned changes have not yet been tried. Please leave a comment below if the changes suck or if they rock. I will test the changes this weekend and update the recipe on Food.com.
ALTERED RECIPE:
Replace 1/2 cup sugar with 1/3 cup sugar.
In addition to the milk, add 1/3 cup water in step 2.
Change the servings from 4 to 5.
So there you have it. You can be brave and try the sugar filled original recipe or you can be extra brave and try the untested altered recipe. Either way, feel free to leave a comment to share your thoughts, tips, or recipes of your own.
Happy Reading!
Monday, December 8, 2014
Title: Poison Fruit
Author: Jacqueline Carey
Here it is fellow book nerds! My opinion post on the third and final installment of the Agent of Hel series.
Where to begin? From the beginning of course.
[SPOILER ALERT]
This book opens up with Cody (werewolf guy) basically telling Daisy that he is falling for her but can't be with her because he has to procreate with his own kind. (Ouch right?) After a night of drink therapy, Jen, Daisy's bestie, drunk texts the hot ghoul (Stefan) from Daisy's phone telling him he's "hawt." Yeah. Enter mortified morning after realization of drunken text. Daisy talks to Stefan in person to discuss some unrelated subject and learns that he is going out of town for a while and may ask her for a professional favor as Hel's liaison.
So just to recap. Wolf boy - No. Hot ghoul (outcast) - Not now. What is a girl to do?
Distract herself with a side case of finding and capturing a Night Hag of course. What else? She learns that the Night Hag only feeds on people who have nightmares so she asks Sinclaire to take a walk on the dark side and whammy her with her worst nightmare. She sleeps over at Cody's house (strictly business *wink wink*) to have her nightmare and bind the Night Hag to do her bidding. For example, get the hell out of town.
After her major nightmare / Night Hag adventure she has a *ahem* different kind of adventure with wolf boy only to discover that he was chatting with a fellow wolfette (and possible mate). Did I mention that Cody's clan wants Daisy (as Hel's liaison) to go to the wolf mixer? Talk about torture.
So Stefan returns from his trip and makes true to asking for that professional favor. What is this favor (you may ask)? To put down a friend of Stefan's with dauda dagur (the only weapon that can kill the undead permanently). Daisy has an inner battle but does it anyway. She is a little freaked out by the whole thing and asks for some time to process. So we're back to "not now" status for the hot ghoul outcast.
I could go on a play by play commentary here but I'm not going to. Lets double-time it.
Eventually Daisy and Stefan hook up in an extremely intense way. Seriously. Wow. All the while Pemkowet is under attack by the mysterious hell-spawn lawyer (remember him?) and his even more mysterious employer. With Pemkowet under the fire of a lawsuit, Daisy gets her scooby gang together to see if they can save the judge and jury from the hell-spawn's power of persuasion.
After losing the lawsuit, the big cards are dealt and we finally see who exactly is behind the lawsuit and purchases of land - Hades' wife Persephone. Hel, not wanting to give up her territory so easily, accepts the challenge and bids Daisy to put an army of the Eldritch kind together and get ready for war. Oh snap!
[MY OPINIONS]
Okay so I really enjoyed this book. I felt that it was just genius how Daisy saves everyone, Eldritch and Mundane alike, by claiming her birthright and then gives her dad (a demon) a big "F*ck you" by bargaining with God for the Outcast to have a chance to die (it makes sense if you read the book - better if you read all three) and to help end the current battle in exchange for her renouncing her birthright forever. Apparently that's allowed since she didn't technically use the power she claimed.
For this being the last book I have to admit that I would have liked to see an Epilogue portraying a "five years later" scenario but I'll settle for what I got. Daisy saved her community and got the guy she wanted all along. She also gave all the Outcasts a second chance to die and earned more street cred as Hel's liaison. That's a happy ending all around.
One thing I would have done if I was in the book and possessed the magic killing dagger was kill that sneaky lawyer before he even had a chance to persuade the judge and jury in the lawsuit case. Then there would have been no need for Persephone to have bailed the town out of the financial mess which led to her taking legal claim over Hel's demesne. But then that would have made for a very very short book. So on second thought - I wouldn't do anything differently.
[EXTRAS]
So I'm a person who gets easily distracted. My mind tends to hop from one subject to another with little provocation. My point? I'm sure I had one. Ah yes. While I was looking up the word eldritch to make sure I was spelling it correctly (I didn't want to skim through the book), I found the word in the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Eldritch (adj.) - weird, eerie.(Merriam-Webster)
Possibly came from the Middle English word elfriche meaning fairyland.(Merriam-Webster, 2008)
I also found out that there are people with the last name Eldritch. Now from what little I know about last names (also referred to as surnames), having the last name Eldritch means that, back when surnames started being used (around 1200 A.D.), the head of the family had a weird or eerie personality. Or if the name evolved from Elfriche then it could have meant the head of the family lived in or came from a magical place (fairyland). Of course it could have also meant that they had fairy or elf-like physical features or looked otherworldly. In those times people believed in fairies and/or magical creatures more so than now.
This is all speculation of course. Pure fun speculation.
[YOUR TURN]
Have you had the pleasure (or displeasure) of reading Poison Fruit? Feel free to share your thoughts on the book in the comments section below.
Also, if you take a look to the right you will see a widget for the book club I participate in. And by participate I mean I read one of the books (most of the time) and watch the Hangout every last Tuesday of every month (unless otherwise specified). I have officially checked out Wolfsbane and Mistletoe from my public library but will not actually read it until I'm done with my current read - Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre.
[CREDITS]
Author: Jacqueline Carey
Here it is fellow book nerds! My opinion post on the third and final installment of the Agent of Hel series.
Where to begin? From the beginning of course.
[SPOILER ALERT]
This book opens up with Cody (werewolf guy) basically telling Daisy that he is falling for her but can't be with her because he has to procreate with his own kind. (Ouch right?) After a night of drink therapy, Jen, Daisy's bestie, drunk texts the hot ghoul (Stefan) from Daisy's phone telling him he's "hawt." Yeah. Enter mortified morning after realization of drunken text. Daisy talks to Stefan in person to discuss some unrelated subject and learns that he is going out of town for a while and may ask her for a professional favor as Hel's liaison.
So just to recap. Wolf boy - No. Hot ghoul (outcast) - Not now. What is a girl to do?
Distract herself with a side case of finding and capturing a Night Hag of course. What else? She learns that the Night Hag only feeds on people who have nightmares so she asks Sinclaire to take a walk on the dark side and whammy her with her worst nightmare. She sleeps over at Cody's house (strictly business *wink wink*) to have her nightmare and bind the Night Hag to do her bidding. For example, get the hell out of town.
After her major nightmare / Night Hag adventure she has a *ahem* different kind of adventure with wolf boy only to discover that he was chatting with a fellow wolfette (and possible mate). Did I mention that Cody's clan wants Daisy (as Hel's liaison) to go to the wolf mixer? Talk about torture.
So Stefan returns from his trip and makes true to asking for that professional favor. What is this favor (you may ask)? To put down a friend of Stefan's with dauda dagur (the only weapon that can kill the undead permanently). Daisy has an inner battle but does it anyway. She is a little freaked out by the whole thing and asks for some time to process. So we're back to "not now" status for the hot ghoul outcast.
I could go on a play by play commentary here but I'm not going to. Lets double-time it.
Eventually Daisy and Stefan hook up in an extremely intense way. Seriously. Wow. All the while Pemkowet is under attack by the mysterious hell-spawn lawyer (remember him?) and his even more mysterious employer. With Pemkowet under the fire of a lawsuit, Daisy gets her scooby gang together to see if they can save the judge and jury from the hell-spawn's power of persuasion.
After losing the lawsuit, the big cards are dealt and we finally see who exactly is behind the lawsuit and purchases of land - Hades' wife Persephone. Hel, not wanting to give up her territory so easily, accepts the challenge and bids Daisy to put an army of the Eldritch kind together and get ready for war. Oh snap!
[MY OPINIONS]
Okay so I really enjoyed this book. I felt that it was just genius how Daisy saves everyone, Eldritch and Mundane alike, by claiming her birthright and then gives her dad (a demon) a big "F*ck you" by bargaining with God for the Outcast to have a chance to die (it makes sense if you read the book - better if you read all three) and to help end the current battle in exchange for her renouncing her birthright forever. Apparently that's allowed since she didn't technically use the power she claimed.
For this being the last book I have to admit that I would have liked to see an Epilogue portraying a "five years later" scenario but I'll settle for what I got. Daisy saved her community and got the guy she wanted all along. She also gave all the Outcasts a second chance to die and earned more street cred as Hel's liaison. That's a happy ending all around.
One thing I would have done if I was in the book and possessed the magic killing dagger was kill that sneaky lawyer before he even had a chance to persuade the judge and jury in the lawsuit case. Then there would have been no need for Persephone to have bailed the town out of the financial mess which led to her taking legal claim over Hel's demesne. But then that would have made for a very very short book. So on second thought - I wouldn't do anything differently.
[EXTRAS]
So I'm a person who gets easily distracted. My mind tends to hop from one subject to another with little provocation. My point? I'm sure I had one. Ah yes. While I was looking up the word eldritch to make sure I was spelling it correctly (I didn't want to skim through the book), I found the word in the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Eldritch (adj.) - weird, eerie.(Merriam-Webster)
Possibly came from the Middle English word elfriche meaning fairyland.(Merriam-Webster, 2008)
I also found out that there are people with the last name Eldritch. Now from what little I know about last names (also referred to as surnames), having the last name Eldritch means that, back when surnames started being used (around 1200 A.D.), the head of the family had a weird or eerie personality. Or if the name evolved from Elfriche then it could have meant the head of the family lived in or came from a magical place (fairyland). Of course it could have also meant that they had fairy or elf-like physical features or looked otherworldly. In those times people believed in fairies and/or magical creatures more so than now.
This is all speculation of course. Pure fun speculation.
[YOUR TURN]
Have you had the pleasure (or displeasure) of reading Poison Fruit? Feel free to share your thoughts on the book in the comments section below.
Also, if you take a look to the right you will see a widget for the book club I participate in. And by participate I mean I read one of the books (most of the time) and watch the Hangout every last Tuesday of every month (unless otherwise specified). I have officially checked out Wolfsbane and Mistletoe from my public library but will not actually read it until I'm done with my current read - Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre.
[CREDITS]
Merriam-Webster. (2008, October 28). Word of the
Day: Eldritch. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster Online:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?10.28.2008
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Definition: Eldritch. Retrieved
from Merriam-Webster Online: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eldritch
And that, fellow readers, concludes my opinion post on Poison Fruit.
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Happy Reading!
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Happy Reading!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Title: Wicked As They Come
Author: Delilah S. Dawson
What would you do if you went to bed in your comfortable bed with your lovable cat awaiting to wake to your safe predictable life but instead you wake up naked in front of a stranger who's natural instinct is to drink you dry? And in this terrifying new world, you are the stranger - and you are being hunted.
That is exactly what happens to our main character Tish (Letitia).
[SPOILER ALERT]
Tish is a 26 year old Hospice nurse getting over a controlling and abusive relationship. She finds a locket at an estate sale one day and is drawn to it immediately. Later when Tish opens the locket, she is stained with a red liquid. She goes to bed that night thinking everything is normal. When she wakes up, she is in a different world (Sang) full of Bludmen and Bludcreatures who will drink your blood. (Seriously, the Bludbunnies are a little twisted.) It is there that she meets Criminy - a Bludman who runs and travels with a caravan of peculiar performers.
While in Sang, Letitia (Criminy likes calling her by her given name) learns that she is a glancer (someone who can see a person's past actions and future outcomes by touching them). This causes Criminy to take her on, against her initial will, as the caravan's fortune teller.
When Letitia falls asleep in Sang, still wearing the locket, she wakes up as Tish in her ordinary world. She is once again a Hospice nurse. And when she falls asleep in her ordinary world, still with the locket, she wakes up in Sang. Doing this makes her exhausted.
In Sang, Letitia meets Casper. Like her, he exists in both worlds. In her world he is a Hospice patient under the care of Tish. In Sang he is a member of Criminy's caravan. Letitia immediately feels a pull towards him.
One night, while asleep in Sang, Letitia's locket is stolen causing her to wake up and remain in Sang. Devastated, she and Criminy set out on a tough journey to find her stolen locket and put an end to a tyrant disguised as a savior.
Alright. As adventurous as all that sounds you have to admit that it also sounds pretty frightening. Imagine not knowing if you will be able to see your family or friends ever again... While being trapped in a land you are unfamiliar with... With people you don't know. While I would love to think that I would take the bull by the horns, put on my brave face, and find my way home (or embrace the adventure of a new life).... in reality I would probably just curl up in a ball and cry while letting cute little Bludbunnies eat me alive.
To be honest, although totally understandable, Letitia got on my nerves every time she would bring up her controlled past and use that as an excuse not to trust Criminy and let him in. No matter how many times he proved himself to her and protected her. I guess it wouldn't have been so annoying if she didn't swoon right away for Casper. She trusted him instantly just because (and I'm just speculating here) he was from her world... He could have been a serial killer for all she knew. (He wasn't. But she didn't know that at the time.)
One more little bone to pick with Letitia. After an encounter with a witch and a moment of "I just want to keep my options open." Letitia has five years taken from her. Yup... she aged five years in a matter of five seconds. She then proceeds to tell Criminy, "But I don't want to be thirty-one." She seriously complains about being 31 years old to someone who is like four times her new age (or older - I can't quite remember).... please.
I know I seem to be a bit harsh on Letitia. So here is some good stuff about her. She comes out of a controlling and abusive relationship and lives an ordinary life trying to find herself again. She finds adventure in a terrifying new place when all she wants is to live her life and do her job back home. She manages to pull herself together (for the most part) and go on this dangerous journey with a man she really just met and who is in love with her. In the end she gains back control of her life and finds a way to live in both worlds. She also opens up her heart again. She has her cake and eats it too. For now at least...
So. All in all... I really enjoyed this book. For me, it incorporated my favorite ingredients. Part Alice in Wonderland, part "Vampire" romance, and a pinch of Steampunkery (not exactly a word but it works for me). I would love to see what Tim Burton would do with a story like this!
YOUR TURN
Have you had the pleasure (or misfortune) of reading Wicked As They Come? What are some of your thoughts on it? Would you ever try to own a Bludbunny as a pet? Let me know in the comments section!
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Happy Reading!
Author: Delilah S. Dawson
What would you do if you went to bed in your comfortable bed with your lovable cat awaiting to wake to your safe predictable life but instead you wake up naked in front of a stranger who's natural instinct is to drink you dry? And in this terrifying new world, you are the stranger - and you are being hunted.
That is exactly what happens to our main character Tish (Letitia).
[SPOILER ALERT]
Tish is a 26 year old Hospice nurse getting over a controlling and abusive relationship. She finds a locket at an estate sale one day and is drawn to it immediately. Later when Tish opens the locket, she is stained with a red liquid. She goes to bed that night thinking everything is normal. When she wakes up, she is in a different world (Sang) full of Bludmen and Bludcreatures who will drink your blood. (Seriously, the Bludbunnies are a little twisted.) It is there that she meets Criminy - a Bludman who runs and travels with a caravan of peculiar performers.
While in Sang, Letitia (Criminy likes calling her by her given name) learns that she is a glancer (someone who can see a person's past actions and future outcomes by touching them). This causes Criminy to take her on, against her initial will, as the caravan's fortune teller.
When Letitia falls asleep in Sang, still wearing the locket, she wakes up as Tish in her ordinary world. She is once again a Hospice nurse. And when she falls asleep in her ordinary world, still with the locket, she wakes up in Sang. Doing this makes her exhausted.
In Sang, Letitia meets Casper. Like her, he exists in both worlds. In her world he is a Hospice patient under the care of Tish. In Sang he is a member of Criminy's caravan. Letitia immediately feels a pull towards him.
One night, while asleep in Sang, Letitia's locket is stolen causing her to wake up and remain in Sang. Devastated, she and Criminy set out on a tough journey to find her stolen locket and put an end to a tyrant disguised as a savior.
Alright. As adventurous as all that sounds you have to admit that it also sounds pretty frightening. Imagine not knowing if you will be able to see your family or friends ever again... While being trapped in a land you are unfamiliar with... With people you don't know. While I would love to think that I would take the bull by the horns, put on my brave face, and find my way home (or embrace the adventure of a new life).... in reality I would probably just curl up in a ball and cry while letting cute little Bludbunnies eat me alive.
To be honest, although totally understandable, Letitia got on my nerves every time she would bring up her controlled past and use that as an excuse not to trust Criminy and let him in. No matter how many times he proved himself to her and protected her. I guess it wouldn't have been so annoying if she didn't swoon right away for Casper. She trusted him instantly just because (and I'm just speculating here) he was from her world... He could have been a serial killer for all she knew. (He wasn't. But she didn't know that at the time.)
One more little bone to pick with Letitia. After an encounter with a witch and a moment of "I just want to keep my options open." Letitia has five years taken from her. Yup... she aged five years in a matter of five seconds. She then proceeds to tell Criminy, "But I don't want to be thirty-one." She seriously complains about being 31 years old to someone who is like four times her new age (or older - I can't quite remember).... please.
I know I seem to be a bit harsh on Letitia. So here is some good stuff about her. She comes out of a controlling and abusive relationship and lives an ordinary life trying to find herself again. She finds adventure in a terrifying new place when all she wants is to live her life and do her job back home. She manages to pull herself together (for the most part) and go on this dangerous journey with a man she really just met and who is in love with her. In the end she gains back control of her life and finds a way to live in both worlds. She also opens up her heart again. She has her cake and eats it too. For now at least...
So. All in all... I really enjoyed this book. For me, it incorporated my favorite ingredients. Part Alice in Wonderland, part "Vampire" romance, and a pinch of Steampunkery (not exactly a word but it works for me). I would love to see what Tim Burton would do with a story like this!
YOUR TURN
Have you had the pleasure (or misfortune) of reading Wicked As They Come? What are some of your thoughts on it? Would you ever try to own a Bludbunny as a pet? Let me know in the comments section!
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Greetings fellow book nerds!
I am currently in the middle of updating EP Book Nerd's look. There may be some funky stuff going on until it is 99.9% complete (design is always changing so it will never be at 100%). I hope you like the new look.
Do you have a suggestion of what you would like to see incorporated? Leave a comment and I will consider it!
Happy Reading!
I am currently in the middle of updating EP Book Nerd's look. There may be some funky stuff going on until it is 99.9% complete (design is always changing so it will never be at 100%). I hope you like the new look.
Do you have a suggestion of what you would like to see incorporated? Leave a comment and I will consider it!
Happy Reading!
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