Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Currently Reading
Monday, March 28, 2022
Music Monday - Bridgerton Covers
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Friday, March 25, 2022
Friday 5 - Duke Romances
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
A Webtoon & A Manga Walk Into A Bar... (Book Reviews)
Well hello there. Welcome. You might be shocked that today I have two reviews and my friend, you're not alone. I actually read something! *Insert fireworks here*
I've been in such a terrible reading slump and it seems I'm coming out of it... very slowly.
So I decided to pick up something easy to read, to ease myself back into the grind. That's where the two stars of this post today come into play! Let's go!
Monday, March 21, 2022
Music Monday - Lindsey Stirling
Sunday, March 20, 2022
The Sunday Post
Friday, March 18, 2022
Friday 5 - YA Fairytale Retellings
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
A Touch of Darkness By Scarlett St. Clair - Book Review
Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.
Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.
After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.
The bet does more than expose Persephone's failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows - and it's forbidden.
Book Breakdown
I’ve seen this book hyped around the blog and vlog world for quite some time and finally I caved into the hype and got the book. I love the Hades and Persephone myth, and while I’m getting a little tired of retellings, this one still grabs my attention.
Now, before we recap this book, I’ll say this: it’s not perfect, but it was an entertaining read.
Persephone is a Goddess that no one knows about because her mother hid her away in a greenhouse. But at the start of this novel, Persephone is out and about in the town that all the Gods and Goddesses live in. Which makes no sense if her mother is trying to keep her hidden.
But through some luck, Persephone and her best friend Lexa get into the club owned by Hades. The one God that her mother has demanded she stay away from more than any other. But, naturally, she meets the God of the Dead and enters into a bet with him...
This bet is for her to make life in the Underworld. Which means she’ll be spending a lot of time with him. Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for these two. Persephone is a bit dense and very untrusting of Hades even though he gives her reasons to trust him and treats her well.
There’s also Persephone’s mother, who doesn’t want them together at all. She just wants to keep her daughter under her thumb.
But in the end, Persephone gets her head outta her butt, and she and Hades come together.
This is a trilogy, so I’m hoping in the next book that Persephone’s character grows. I also really hope there’s no more breakup/makeup in the rest of the series because that’s such an overdone and frankly immature trope at this point.
The writing is alright. Nothing to write home about, but it’s easy to understand. I really did like Hades. I felt he had more layers to him and I’m interested to see more of him in the next one.
Rating:
Spice:
Monday, March 14, 2022
Music Monday - Outlander
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Share A Poem on Sunday - Annabel Lee
EDGAR ALLAN POE - ANNABEL LEE
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Friday, March 11, 2022
Friday 5 - Hades & Persephone
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Guide To The Blue Beech Series (Sorta)
Monday, March 7, 2022
Music Monday - Bad Dance Music
Friday, March 4, 2022
Friday 5 - Ukraine
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what's going on. Now, as I write this, it's Sunday (2/27/2022). I can't see the future, so I have no idea what's going to actually be going on when this goes live. I don't even know if any of us will be alive after Putin has ordered his military command to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert.
It's a very scary time, to me at least. All I do is watch the news. I feel so bad for the Ukrainians. But they are putting up one hell of a fight!
Since this is all I can seem to focus on, I thought I would share 5 books that all have one thing in common. Ukraine.
Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense battle with Russia to preserve its economic and political independence. But today’s conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign nation. As award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine’s past in order to understand its fraught present and likely future.
Situated between Europe, Russia, and the Asian East, Ukraine was shaped by the empires that have used it as a strategic gateway between East and West—from the Romans and Ottomans to the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, all have engaged in global fights for supremacy on Ukrainian soil. Each invading army left a lasting mark on the landscape and on the population, making modern Ukraine an amalgam of competing cultures.
The crisis in Ukraine and its implications for both the Crimean peninsula and Russia's relations with the West.The current conflict in Ukraine has spawned the most serious crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. It has undermined European security, raised questions about NATO's future, and put an end to one of the most ambitious projects of U.S. foreign policy--building a partnership with Russia. It also threatens to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts on issues ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation. And in the absence of direct negotiations, each side is betting that political and economic pressure will force the other to blink first. Caught in this dangerous game of chicken, the West cannot afford to lose sight of the importance of stable relations with Russia.
This book puts the conflict in historical perspective by examining the evolution of the crisis and assessing its implications both for the Crimean peninsula and for Russia's relations with the West more generally. Experts in the international relations of post-Soviet states, political scientists Rajan Menon and Eugene Rumer clearly show what is at stake in Ukraine, explaining the key economic, political, and security challenges and prospects for overcoming them. They also discuss historical precedents, sketch likely outcomes, and propose policies for safeguarding U.S.-Russia relations in the future. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive and accessible study of a conflict whose consequences will be felt for many years to come.
- More than 200 easy-to-follow recipes
- An introduction to Ukraine’s history, culture, and cuisine
- Helpful tips and notes with many recipes
- Charming illustrations by renowned Ukrainian-American artist Laurette Kovary
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Random Update
First off, I must confess that I’ve read no new books recently. Instead, I’ve been... pressured to read things I’m not into and it’s kind of put me into a slump. Something I really don’t respect is when people push their interests onto someone else.
Hopefully, I can find a way to fix the situation without hurting this person’s feelings and having them ruin my entire schooling experience. Fingers crossed!
But I have been re-watching Outlander to get ready for March 6th! Are you excited about the season premier? I also watched The Hating Game, and I really enjoyed it! This may be a very unpopular opinion, but I think I like it just as much as the book! I hope we get more romance movies in the future.
I’ve also been following the Ukraine and Russia news coverage. That’s a whole terrible mess.
So instead I thought I would share a few books that I have on my bookshelf waiting to be read. Here we go!
A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that she’ll be the one to bring him to his knees.
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara's homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.
Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save… and which kingdom she’ll destroy.
Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.
Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.
After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.
The bet does more than expose Persephone's failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows - and it's forbidden.
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
When Crown Princess Justine of Wesloria is sent to England to learn the ropes of royalty, she falls under the tutelage of none other than Queen Victoria herself. Justine’s also in the market for a proper husband—one fit to marry the future queen of Wesloria.
Because he knows simply everyone, William, Lord Douglas (the notoriously rakish heir to the Duke of Hamilton seat in Scotland, and decidedly not husband material), is on hand as an escort of sorts. William has been recruited to keep an eye on the royal matchmaker for the Weslorian prime minister, tasked to ensure the princess is matched with a man of quality…and one who will be sympathetic to the prime minister’s views. As William and Justine are forced to scrutinize an endless parade of England’s best bachelors, they become friends. But when the crowd of potential grooms is steadily culled, what if William is the last bachelor standing?