Shadow of Night

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2)
Deborah Harkness
Penguin Group
goodreads

synopsis:

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

A Discovery Of Witches (the first book in this series)  left me a bit torn. I liked it, but wasn't sure how I felt about the story overall. As I said in my review (which you can read here), I was going to give the second book a try to see how I felt about the series. Well...

I loved Shadow of Night! I thought it was just awesome; It definitely exceeded my expectations.

WARNING: there are kinda spoilers from the first book, so don't read any further if you haven't read it yet. There won't be spoilers for book two.

I'm not much of a history buff, but the trip back to the past was so enthralling! Diana is a witch, and she goes back to a time when witch hunts were becoming commonplace. It was so suspenseful! I didn't think that I'd like that aspect of the book so much, but it kept me turning the pages! This is kind of a long book, but it didn't feel like it at all; I read it pretty quickly!

When I read the first book, I wasn't sure how I felt about Matthew, Diana's vampire husband. I'm glad to say that I like him much more now, even though he's still far from perfect. I think their relationship really changed for the better in this book.

You know, I'm not really much for historical stuff, but this one was so fascinating to me. I guess I liked the paranormal aspect added in.

I'd definitely recommend this series! I can't wait for the next book!

Authors Are Rockstars ~ Jennifer Castle ~ Giveaway

click on the picture above to see what it's all about, and to visit the list of all participants!

Jennifer Castle is a Rockstar!

 

Why?

Because she took on the task of writing out a gut-wrenching tale of a young girl facing life after family are all taken from her suddenly in a car accident, and totally rocked it. Rockstar, rocked it... get it? I'm such a nerd. Anyways...

I've never had the opportunity to meet her in person (someday!), but I did win an Advanced Review Copy of The Beginning of After from her! She was so nice when she emailed me, and she personalized and signed the book too! I love when authors reach out to their audience and seem like genuinely really awesome and nice people.

Jennifer's so much of a rockstar that her editor has offered her a deal for two more books, and they aren't even written yet (see her blog post about it). Rock on, Jennifer!

 

Laurel, the main character from The Beginning of After, has stopped by for a little chat!

Welcome, Laurel! You've said that "Anyone who's had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It's all about Before and After". What has been the biggest difference between your before and after?

You know what's funny? The answer to that question has changed a few times, for me. If you'd asked me in the months after the accident, I would have had a very different response, and I'm sure if you ask me in a year I'd have another one. But today, in the place I am right now, I'll say this: in my before, I was so embedded in the way things were, the way I thought they'd always be, that I thought my life would be pretty much over if I lost the people I love most. In my after, though, I understand that even when terrible things happen, the world is still full of joyful possibilities and incredibly cool people. I understand that I am stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. I can really see that difference and it's one thing I'm really glad for.

Such a great answer. It's great that you can see the good in life still. I've heard that having animals around can be good for you if you're sick or going through something difficult. Have your kitties helped you heal?

Yes they have, and in a big way. I feel like my pets don't see me any differently than they always have. They've got those piercing eyes that are so, so clear -- clear of judging or pity. I love that they don't understand how the circumstances of my life have changed. To them, I am still me, and being reminded that I'm still me...well, that keeps me breathing past the bad moments, when they come. Also, having animals around forces you to reach outside of yourself, even if it's just to pour some dry food in a bowl or stroke a soft furry tummy. It's important to be responsible for something else, although to be honest, I often feel like they are the ones here to protect me. 

OK, enough with the deep questions. How about we get to know you a little better by answering some silly questions instead, hmmm? If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Ah, I love that question! Definitely not be a weeping willow. That's totally cliche and besides, wouldn't it hurt to be bent over like that all the time? No, I would be an oak. I would spread myself wide and thick and solid over the people I care about. I would have graceful curves and big floppy leaves and just be the kind of tree people want to hang around, because I make them feel like they're home.

Your tree answer equals awesomeness! Love it. Moving on... What's in your fridge right now?

Half a grapefruit, pre-cut and plastic-wrapped by Nana. She sure knows how to give leftovers their dignity back. Some kind of mystery meat she's planning to cook tomorrow night. A jumbo bar of 70% dark chocolate that I let myself eat two squares of every day. Yogurt. Cat food. Oh, and milk and juice, in big containers again because you never know who's going to stop by (hint hint).

Ok, one last question: What's the one song you love to belt out and dance around to when no one's watching?

Oh, God. I guess I should be honest here. At first I was going to say something like "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adele, which is a respectable, un-embarrassing song to shout and shake your head to, especially in the car. But, argh. I cannot tell a lie. Sometimes I just have to channel Danny and Sandy and "Grease" because we did that musical at school my freshman year and I helped paint the sets. I know every song by heart. I sing "Summer Lovin'" in my bedroom at the top of my lungs, and yeah, I do the voices and everything, and I refuse to be ashamed!

So fun! Thanks for stopping by Laurel! Thanks to Jennifer Castle for being so awesome, too!

You can find Jennifer Castle on:

her blog 

goodreads

twitter

facebook

Giveaway:

This contest is international, as long as the book depository ships to you! Please read the rules and regulations at the bottom of Rafflecopter for the complete set of rules. Good luck! 

Thanks to Rachel from Fiktshun for donating the book for giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass

Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury USA Children's
Goodreads


Synopsis:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Raving reviews for this book have been aplenty, but I'm not sure I share their enthusiasm. I thought this book was really good, but I think there may be a bit too much hype around it, and that always leads to disappointment. For me, it wasn't EPIC, but I did really enjoy it.

The storyline was pretty good, and I think most people will enjoy it. I wish there would have been more of the assassin thing going on though. I'm not necessarily one who likes fighting or conflict, but I would have liked to see more of what makes her so amazing. Maybe a bit more of her backstory? I did like the trials and the fact that she was doing all this to try an escape an almost impossible situation though.

It was very reminiscent of Poison Study and Grave Mercy. I think if you liked those books, I definitely recommend picking up this book! Celaena is such a strong character.She has her flaws just like anyone, and I think that made her a bit more realistic. I liked that she was tough, but also a bit girly too. Who says you have to be all rough and dirty to be a strong character? Not that Celaena is afraid to get dirty, mind you. The other characters were great, too. I loved who her love interests were, and who she meets and befriends along the way. Her enemies were really easy to dislike as well.


One last thing I have to mention: the cover. I just don't think it fits this story very well. It's definitely pretty, but there is just something I just don't like about it for this story. The UK cover fits it much better, in my opinion:

Bout of Books

It's time for Bout of Books 5.0! 

Bout of books is a read-a-thon where you can join in and participate as much or as little as you want!

I'm going to try and read as much as possible this week! If you want to join in, you can click on the image above and it will take you to the site with all the rules and stuff. I'll be coming back here and updating when I can!

Here are my goals and updates:

Time Devoted to Reading

I will be reading all week, whenever I can! It's kind of going to depend on how well the kiddos behave.I'll probably only get through the first book, but I'm going to try to get through more.

My Goals

• to read books that I need to read for review so I can read more for fun!

Books to Read

This is my tentative list. I'll probably change it around as I go. 

• Embers and Echoes by Karsten knight
• On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
• Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

 

Updates

Monday
Number of books I've read today: Hardly anything!! Ugh
Total number of books I've read: 0
Books: Working on Embers and Echoes

Wednesday

Number of books I've read today: About 100 pages of my first book
Total number of books I've read: 1/4 of a book, lol


Friday

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Saturday

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Sunday

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