Silverlegs part 1- Seeds of Rage by Camilla Monk

“And it was done; I no longer had a face. I wasn’t Constanter; I was Silverlegs, and in that moment I felt like I could take on an entire army.”

A Roman style setting, vicious, well written battle scenes, epic sword fights. A female mc who refuses to be used and abused. Hell yes. Fantasy has been spoiling me lately with some fantastic books and Silverlegs by Camilla Monk is another top notch read. (How badass is the title and cover by the way!!)

The Law of Inertia by S. Gonzales

“See, the thing is that happiness is a whore. I’ve never met a more disloyal emotion in my life. Nothing like misery, which proposes to you on the first date. Yet, like a mistress I swear off every time, all happiness has to do is peek it’s head around the corner, contrite and apologetic, and I give myself over to it completely. It’s transient and fleeting, and I know it won’t still be in my bed the next morning, but while I have it, it’s everything.”

January wrap up.

 

I started this month with the best of intentions, I was going to knock out a heap of books from my shelves, get some challenge books ticked off and you know, just be awesome at posting, taking bookish photos for Insta and as it’s School holidays here, so enjoy some time with the kiddies.

Within the first week I pretty much killed my chance of hitting my tbr goals for the year. I finally worked up the courage to sign up for NetGalley and whats even more crazy is that I have been accepted for over 10 books. Um, not going to lie, this was such a bloody thrill. I’ve been wanting to do it since I first heard of it several years ago and I finally did it. I really didn’t think I had a hope, lets face it, my audience isn’t huge, but by some miracle I’m in and its all looking good…. Just not for all the unread books on my shelves.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

I received this e-book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Partial synopsis from Goodreads – Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

I received this arc e-book from the publishers via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Space pirates, an all female crew, gallivanting across the stars, lots of kicking arse, this book sounded amazing. I was pretty excited, it was my first NetGalley and I expected to enjoy it..

Andi aka the Bloody Baroness, is the captain of the Marauder. Her and her all girl crew of mercenaries fly from planet to planet, thieving, killing, making money and a name for themselves. When they are caught by a bounty hunter, who just happens to be her ex boyfriend, she doesn’t think it can get any worse, until the Govenor of her home planet gives them a job in exchange for a clean record. They have to sneak into a top-notch prison and rescue his son who has been missing for two years. The premise promises lots of action, intrigue and excitement.

Ok, where to start? Lets start with the characters and see where they take us. Androma aka Andi aka the Bloody Baroness. She is the ruthless, feared Merc who has been running from her past since she was 16. She has blood on her hands and the only thing she cares about are her girls and her ship. Andi is a complicated woman, she is a total badass and kills indiscriminately, but when she gets home she keeps a tally so she can brood over  it later. She has trouble sleeping because of events from her past, and of course she wears a skin-tight leather bodysuit.

Androma’s pale, ghostlike hair was now streaked with purple, and hung out from beneath a black hood, which was pulled low. He could barely make out her grey eyes, and the smooth metallic plates on her cheekbones. But he could make out the rest of her: perfect curves beneath a sleek, skin-tight leather bodysuit, the hilt of a knife sticking out from her black boots. And of course, outside of the hooded cape, her trademark glowing katanas strapped across her back like an X of death.

December 2017 – Books, Music and Kittens.

This has not been much of a reading month. Life has been distracting me and I think along the way I lost my mojo. I haven’t really felt the need to pick up a book for most of the month. As someone who reads 3-5 hours most nights I found it a bit weird to start with, but then I decided to go with it. I watched tv, harassed my husband more, paid a bit more attention to the family and completely ignored this blog.

Top 5 reads from 2017

Narrowing down a list of my favourite reads to just 5 is tough.  I’ve done it, but I’ll probably cheat at the end and tack on a few others, cause its my post and I can…

5. Hello, Goodbye by Emily Brewin. This was a total surprise packet. I won it through Goodreads, and it’s my favourite win of this year. Its set in 1968 Victoria, where country girl Maya’s world is turned upside down when she finds out she’s pregnant to her boyfriend, who is awaiting draft orders. It is wonderful Australian historical fiction. You can get it from Amazon, Booktopia, Book Depository.

4. Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson. Containing a collection of not so short stories from his different planets in the Cosmere, it brings all his ideas, world building and hints together, to give you a greater understanding of what he has built with his other books. It is worth a read, just beware of possible spoilers. Even his novellas are epic. You can pick it up from Amazon, Book Depository, Booktopia

Gather the Daughters – Jennie Melamed

As this blog progresses, we will all see just how opinionated I am. I love rating a book on Goodreads, it’s an acceptable form of judging. So when I tell you that I can’t rate this book, please know, I have put a lot of thought into it, but i think this book is about more than how many stars i can give it.

I can’t even tell you if I liked the book or not, I mean the writing is gorgeous, but the story, it hurt my heart. I think the book overloaded my ability to be shocked and horrified and then broke my feelings valve.

Gather the Daughters is set on a remote island hidden from the ravages of mankind and what the community calls the Wasteland. Many generations have lived on the Island, occasionally the wanderers find new families and bring them in, but all in all the island is very remote, isolated. It’s steeped in tradition, ruled by the Church and Wanderer’s and nobody questions their existence or way of life.

One of those traditions is that every Summer, the girls are let loose, they run free and wild, they sleep on beaches, they explore, play and live. Girls from four can join in this Summer fun, but once a girl gets her period another tradition is waiting for her.

This year a girl, reluctant to head home as the frost hits the ground, sees something that she was never meant to witness, something that could make her question everything she has been told to believe.

We get a feel very early on in the story, that not all is right with the community. We get subtle hints here and there, of whats happening; then we get the big bombshells tucked away so neatly, that you have to go back and reread it, just to make sure you didn’t misread it. Chances are you didn’t. I initially questioned why a few things were so casually mentioned and then I had my light-bulb moment and realised that in this Community, it isn’t a big deal, it’s the way it’s always been, it’s very easy for people not to question tradition and social expectations. It takes a thinker, someone who questions, a rebel if you will, to wonder why life is that way, why can’t it be different. It takes someone who is willing to be labelled and judged, who not just sees the worth in the oppressed, but sees they are actually oppressed to start with.