Monday, November 18, 2019

Music Monday (96): Doja Cat, Deadmau5, Post Malone Featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott

   Rules:
  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I'm currently listening to Doja Cat's new album, Hot Pink. I liked all of the songs. One of my favorites is Say So.


Adri: Of course, I'm back to missing new music releases. This time I missed the release date for Deadmau5's new song SATRN. I enjoy most of his music. So if you've read my previous post, you already know I like my pick for today.


Andrea: This week I'm listening to music by Post Malone. Better Now is one of my favorite songs by this artist. I also like Post Malone's recent release Take What You Want featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott. You can check out both of the songs below. I look forward to discovering what you're listening to, and although I didn't get a chance to comment I absolutely loved the 8 track music found on Fundinmental November 4, 2019. And as always have an amazing week.





Is there any new music you're listening to this week? If so, tell us about your favorite songs or albums in the comments down below.


Friday, November 15, 2019

The Friday 56 (165) & Book Beginnings: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


42642065Synopsis from Goodreads...
Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes—Wonderland is trying to save her. There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own. Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.


Beginning: "Alice couldn't run. She couldn't hide."

56: "Frozen, her hands still in the air, she nodded slowly. The way he said her name, like he wasn't certain it was her but desperately wanted to believe it was, sent a not-unfamiliar thrill through her."


Comments: I finally got around to reading the sequel to A Blade So Black, A Dream So Dark. I liked the story, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. What are you reading this week?

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Review: Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

25526296Title: Every Heart A Doorway
Series: Wayward Children #1
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; April 5, 2016

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children....No Solicitations....No Visitors....No Quests...
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter. No matter the cost.
Lately, I’ve been reading some of the backlist titles that have been on my TBR list for a while, and Every Heart A Doorway was one of them. Portal fantasy is one of my favorite fantasy elements ever— The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman, and Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova—so Every Heart A Doorway was right up my alley. The story wasted none of its 173 pages, and by far, my favorite part was the very concept at the center of the novella: children returning from different fantasy worlds, and after going on such fantastical adventures (and often wanting to go back to the worlds that cast them out) a school that takes them in while they try to readjust to the people and the lives they left behind.

There were a lot of aspects about the novella that I absolutely loved. Such as the themes explored in the story and the setting, Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. The introduction of the school not only introduced Eleanor West, it also set up the some of the basic rules about the Home for Wayward Children and magic that would later play a bigger role in the story. It turned out to be one of my favorite story beginnings that I’ve read so far this year. The characters were a unique bunch, and while some of their worlds could be called similar in some small way (in terms of the classifications used in the story), the traits that made them interesting were distinctive. Those traits were often shaped by the worlds they’d visited (and called home), for example Nancy and her “stillness.” There were a lot of different worlds needed to fill the story, and the ones that were talked about were unique and interesting. I almost wished those worlds would have appeared on the page (which is one of the reasons why I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the series).

All in all, Every Heart A Doorway was as excellent a read as it was the beginning of a series. The ending, while a satisfying conclusion to some points (and for some characters) in the story, it still left the door open for more. I’m looking forward to getting caught up with the series before Come Tumbling Down is released in 2020.

Have you read any of the Wayward Children series?

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

5 Star Books In 5 Words

It has been a long time since I participated in any kind of book tag, and recently I was tagged by Ronnie @Paradise Found for the 5 Star Books in 5 Words book tag. It looked like something fun and easy to do. So I decided to go ahead and participate. Before I begin, I need to quickly go over some of the technical details. This tag was originally created by Matthew Sciarappa over on Youtube. Check out the original video HERE.

The rules
  • Pick 5 five-star reads 
  • And Pick five words that best describe what it is about the books that made me like them as much as I did
And thank you to Ronnie @ Paradise Found for tagging me. Make sure to visit the blog post over there at this link: 5 Star Books in Five Words Halloween Edition. Let's begin!


43069601. sy475 Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Spooky; Ghosts; Lodge; Isolated; Snowstorm









42642065A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

Retelling; Action; Wonderland; Nightmares; Knights









36896898. sy475 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Wintry; Atmospheric; Gold; Fire; Mountain

25526296





Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Portals; Fantasy; Mystery; Home; Magic









40969531. sx318 A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegarde Serle

Mirrors; Arrangements; Scarf; Danger; Cold


That’s about it for today. I’m not tagging anyone specific, because I hardly ever do. So if this seems like something you want to participate in, then you can consider yourself tagged!


Friday, November 8, 2019

The Friday 56 (164) & Book Beginnings: Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


25526296Synopsis from Goodreads...
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children....No Solicitations....No Visitors....No Quests...
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter. No matter the cost.


Beginning: "The girls were never present for the entrance interviews. Only their parents, their guardians, their confused siblings, who wanted so much to help them but didn't know how."

56: ""Finally, silence fell, and Nancy realized everyone was looking at her. She shrank back in her seat. "I don't know if the place I went was wicked or not," she said."


Comments: I have been reading some of the backlist titles on my TBR list, and Every Heart A Doorway was one of them. I loved the story and the world McGuire created. What are you reading this week?

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