Lady Thief

Lady Thief by A. C. Gaughen

I previously reviewed the first book in the series, Scarlet, HERE.

I read the first book and REALLY disliked it. I finished it with a mission to hopefully see the female heroine get better.

I was atrociously wrong.

But then it had been some time since I read the first book and I heard one of my awesome book mentors talk about how she loved the first book, and I was ready to give the second book a lenient chance.

Sigh.

An amazon summary, "Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

...I can't.

I reached page 70 and quit.

Here's why.

In those 70 pages, Robin has been traumatized so badly by the previous books events that he nearly kills Scarlet TWICE while he sleepwalks/rage/hulks out. TWICE.

Try to kill an unsuspecting Scarlet once, alright. Plausible.

Try to kill a knowledgeable Scarlet that insists on being around Robin while he slumbers, I'M OUT. NO.

I don't want to read a book of a soured love where Robin is so tormented he cannot bear to talk about it, I don't want to read a book about a girl who is married to a man she doesn't love, refuses to sleep with the one she loves because it's a sin, yet loathes her husband to an excessive amount.

NO.

It is not my cup of tea, I couldn't stand Scarlet, I couldn't stand Robin being way too manly to talk about the obvious hell he's going through.

No.

Nopenopenope.jpg

On to the next book, I waste no more time on this plot.

Happy reading!

Odin's Ravens

Odin's Ravens by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

This is the second book in a series, if you do not want the first book spoiled, do not read this review.

I reviewed the first book in the series, Loki's Wolves, HERE.

Disclaimer: I read the advanced reader's copy of this book, there might be minor differences between the version I read and the published version. This book will be published on May 13, 2014.

Without further ado, an amazon summary, "Seven kids, Thor's hammer, and a whole lot of Valkyries are the only things standing against the end of the world. 

When thirteen-year-old Matt Thorsen, a modern day descendant of the Norse god Thor, was chosen to represent Thor in an epic battle to prevent the apocalypse he thought he knew how things would play out. Gather the descendants standing in for gods like Loki and Odin, defeat a giant serpent, and save the world. No problem, right?

But the descendants' journey grinds to a halt when their friend and descendant Baldwin is poisoned and killed and Matt, Fen, and Laurie must travel to the Underworld in the hopes of saving him. But that's only their first stop on their journey to reunite the challengers, find Thor's hammer, and stop the apocalypse--a journey filled with enough tooth-and-nail battles and larger-than-life monsters to make Matt a legend in his own right.

Authors K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr return to Blackwell in the epic sequel to Loki's Wolves with more explosive action, adventure and larger-than-life Norse legends." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

So....when I read the first book, I was not in the best reading mind to tackle it. With that in mind, I saw the second book and reeled from it for a bit. I had to mull it over before I decided, alright, let's do this.

I read the second book.

The amazon summary does a good job at describing the premise and what not, so I'm going to let that be a sufficient summary.

Some aspects about the last book I didn't like carried over; they still focus a lot on who they're a descendant of, what powers they're developing, and blah blah blah. The characters in some way, symbolic or real, becoming more like the gods they're supposed to be like.

Fine, that's cool, I get that. It's kind of the premise of the story. Aight. Whatevs. I can deal with that.

I didn't care for how the world was portrayed.

I didn't really care about the characters still.

I still didn't care about the sibling relationship.

....I just kind of read it, finished it, and had a huge shrug at it.

It wasn't atrocious, but it wasn't awesome either.

It feel in a weird limbo land of 'okay'.

....I probably won't be picking up the third one.

With the way the second book veered off into an ending that didn't make sense, I can't imagine how the third book is going to continue to develop the series, nor do I really want to spend the brain power to do so.

...however, I can easily see myself falling into the trap of, "Well, the first two weren't HORRIBLE, but....maybe I should try the third book" and stay in a vicious cycle of 'okay' reading.

...yup.

So.

Happy reading!

Crab Salad

I got a new phone! The photos look
only slightly less like I took them
with a potato. Crab Salad is featured
in a container instead of a bowl! YAY!

Crab Salad

I love seafood.

I don't mean fish; I mean crab, shrimp, clam, calamari, etc. The occasional tuna is alright as well.

With that in mind, I love to make things with seafood (in case you couldn't tell) and I recently tried out a recipe and flavored to be awesome to me.

So.

Without further ado, Crab Salad.

ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces small sea shell pasta
• 1/2 cup of purple onion
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• 1 cup of miracle whip (or mayonnaise I suppose)
• 1 teaspoon of ground mustard
• 4 teaspoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of sour cream
• 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 40 ounces of imitation crab

Directions:

1. Cook small sea shell pasta per packaging instructions.
2. Mince the onion, hard boiled eggs, and the crab.
3. In a LARGE bowl (I hilariously/inconveniently always misjudge appropriate bowl sizes which results in disastrous stirring adventures) mix together miracle whip, parsley, ground mustard, sugar, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, and paprika together.
4. Add onion, eggs, and crab to bowl. Mix.
5. Add pasta to bowl. Mix well.
6. Let cool for 25-30 minutes (for optimal chilled flavor; you can eat it right when you're done stirring as well but it'll be warm from the pasta most likely).
7. EAT. Enjoy the leftovers, unless you made this for a large party, then yay for trusting my dish creating abilities!

I've made this just once but I love it and had to share.

Happy cooking!

The Boundless

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

Disclaimer: I read the Advance Reader's Copy of this book and the published version will probably have minor differences than the version I read. This book will be published on April 22, 2014.

As a teen, I loved Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and managed to follow the series through my life into college; which was very rare because college left very little time for pleasure reading for me. I was thrilled to come across The Boundless.

There has been something about Oppel's style of writing that has swept me thoroughly into the story where it's hard to put it down and do anything else. The characters are all vivid, the world building not only captures the physical aspects of the world but also the different tones of society within that world.

I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Let's get to the amazon summary, "All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy.

The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life!

When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past.


In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Honestly, I've never quite understood that more romantic and nostalgic culture that seem to surround trains. I've ridden on a train, it was pretty fun, but it's not my first choice for mode of transportation if it's an option. Or second, or third, or well ever. Riding on a train, to me, is chosen more for the journey of riding on a train rather than the destination that I'll reach.

With that in mind, I loved this book even though about 99% of the story took place on a train.

Will Everett is a shy artist; he carries around a sketchbook that he fills with whatever captures his eye. His father works in the railroad business and rose through the ranks under the powerful Mr. Van Horne who builds the Boundless; the greatest locomotive of the time. His father is chief engineer of the Boundless and Will is invited along for her maiden voyage.

There is a circus on board that is full of colorful cast of characters; most notably Mr. Dorian as the ringmaster and Maren who Will met three years prior and who also has his Sasquatch tooth.

...Sasquatch tooth? In this world, there are several creatures from myth who are very real and involved with the story. You'll have to read the book to learn more about them though.

So, on the first night that Will is on the Boundless with his father in their cabin, Will learns of the key that unlocks Mr. Van Horne's funeral car. Will knows his father has one and the guard of the car has the other.

The next day, the Boundless makes a stop in a city and Will wanders from the train to explore the city and to also see if he can find the girl who has his sasquatch tooth. He happens to wander too far and witnesses the murder of the guard, and finds the key before running for his life back to the boundless. He barely manages to catch the last car on the train and needs to journey through the long train to reach his father to let him know of the tragedy, and that some unsavory men are on board.

I'll stop there so I don't spoil anything about the book.

I really enjoyed Will's character development and seeing all the different people that the Boundless hosted on its journey. The action and suspense were very well timed and I was thrilled that there wasn't anything I could predict entirely in regards to the plot.

The book is truly a delightful adventure and I hope it continues to become a series.

Happy reading!

LE WHOOPS

So.

Last week I reported that I would be posting every Friday about Tamora Pierce in honor of March being reading month and that I would be joined by Brittany.

Well, Brittany is AFK to some extreme measures right now (she's okay, she's just away from keyboard for a bit), and I am about to go away for the weekend to visit some old friends for their birthdays.

SO.

A Tamora Pierce post will not be happening today.

BUT IT WILL BE SOON.

It will probably appear early next week.

....


HAPPY READING MONTH!!!

Some inspirational reading images from around the internet:

Pretty sure this is from a pinterest somewhere.

someecards.com I suppose

Pinterest or reddit. Unsure.
BUT IT STILL APPLIES.