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Showing posts from June, 2019

A Curse of Gems (The Classical Kingdoms #7) by Brittany Fichter (ARC)

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I received a free copy of this book, and I am voluntarily posting my review. Wow! This book dragged my emotions in so many directions (in a good way). One of my pet peeves is when I can tell that an author is deliberately playing with my emotions just to get a reaction. Fichter excels at writing organic drama. It's not contrived, and I appreciate that so much. This book has everything: adventure, drama, horror, humor, romance, good vs evil, etc., And these elements are so well rendered. The horror scenes are frightening, but not graphic. While the romance takes place over a short period of time, it's a slow burn, and the relationship between Lucas and Jaelle is one of the most unique I've encountered. This book took twists and turns that I did not see coming, and I love it when a book surprises me like that.

Week 26- #GRIMMread2019

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http://shonnaslayton.com/grimm-read-2019-challenge/      This week's stories feature magical porridge, another ex-soldier who makes a deal with the Devil (this one had a happier ending), a wife beater, and a senseless war between animals. I'll be focusing on this last one, The Willow-Wren and the Bear.      The Bear and his buddy, the Wolf, are strolling through the forest when the Bear hears a bird singing and asks about it. The Wolf tells him that it's the King of the forest, who is a Willow-Wren, and that they must bow down to him. The Bear is very eager to see the palace, and the Wolf tells him he can't just waltz in. He needs to follow protocol. So, they do this, but when the Bear finally gets to see inside the palace, he is disappointed, and he insults the King's children, by calling them disreputable. Maybe, the Bear's expectations were too high, maybe they were just ugly children. Whatever the reason, the Bear is being mean. He really should have

Week 25- #GRIMMread2019

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http://shonnaslayton.com/grimm-read-2019-challenge/          This week I am focusing on a tale, which I did not like. "The Devil's Sooty Brother" is pretty creepy. The protagonist isn't a likeable man, and he is rewarded for doing evil. An ex-soldier is down and out, when the Devil offers him a job, under some pretty gross conditions. He cannot wash himself, nor can he cut his nails, nor his hair while he is in the Devil's service. The man agrees to this, and he works in hell, where he finds his former bosses, each in a boiling pot, and he tortures them further by adding more wood to the fire. He was warned by the Devil not to open the pot lids before this, but when the man's contract is up the Devil just tells him that it's a good thing he added more wood to the fire under the pots, or else his life would've been lost. He is let go with a bag of sweepings that turns into gold. He is told not to clean up his appearance, and to tell anyone who asks

Inspired by #GRIMMread2019: Weeks 21-24

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I don't have a regular blog post this week due to Illness, but I managed the photo edits. _

Week 23- #GRIMMread2019

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http://shonnaslayton.com/grimm-read-2019-challenge/      This week I'm focusing on the Goose Girl. I found The King of the Golden Mountain very interesting as well, and wanted to write something about it, but my response to the Goose Girl just ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would. Blood Magic- The Queen slices her own finger and let's three drops of blood fall onto a white handkerchief, which she gives the Princess. This imagery is very similar to that of the three drops of the mother's blood on the snow in "Little Snow White". She advises the Princess to keep it carefully because it will help her on her way. It isn't entirely clear what sort of power the blood magic gives her. The drops of blood speak disappointment when the princess drinks from the stream like an animal. How does this help her? Is the blood just letting her know that the Queen would be distraught to see her brought so low? That doesn't seem very helpful to me. Or is