The Joy of Christmas Book Tag (2018)

Today, I wanted to participate in one last book tag before the year is over. Instead of finding one I haven’t done before, I decided to do The Joy of Christmas Book Tag again to see how much my answers have changed after 3 years. Before I get started, I have to go over some of the technical details.

This tag was created by Sam’s Nonsense (Novel and Nonsense). The original video can be found HERE. And the updated video is HERE. 

Anticipation: The Christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?

• Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan 

• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 

• The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory 

• The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie 

• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing it's praises?

I have two answers for this one. Mem by Bethany C. Morrow: it was a short book but an incredibly good one. And Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about sleep and dreams, then this would be the book to start with.

Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world building?

Oh, this one is easy: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and the entire Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. The world building in these books are among my all-time favorites. They’re immersive and atmospheric tales with layers of detail that make the settings vivid with scenery with a bit of political intrigue and magic. I’ve already done a review for Spinning Silver HERE and also talked about it on another post HERE. And as for the final book in the Winternight Trilogy, The Winter of the Witch, I’ll share my thoughts about it closer to the release date.

A Christmas Carol: Favorite classic or one that you want to read
One of my favorite classic novels is Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott, and the one I want to read is Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas

Any volume of The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki.

Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feelings

The first story from Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi: Death and Night. It’s by far my favorite of the three stories from the collection. And while it’s technically the backstory of some of the prominent characters from the series, it was excellent and there were some cute moments.

Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favorite book covers?

The book covers from the Heroine Complex series by Sarah Kuhn as well as the ones for the Tales from the Chocolate Heart series by Stephanie Burgis. And, of course, the book covers for the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, because John Harris did the illustrations.

Christmas Joy: What are some of your favorite things about Christmas And/Or some of your favorite Christmas memories?

My favorite thing about Christmas is probably everything—music, an excuse to bake, spending time with family, etc.—and the fact that it’s in December means that the weather is cooler.

So, that’s about it for today. Don’t forget to check out Sam’s Nonsense over on youtube, and I tag anyone who wants to participate.

Music Monday (67): Two Steps From Hell, Stevie Wonder, & Andra Day

   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: My pick this week is Christmas Medley by Two Steps From Hell. I’ve been a fan of them for a number of years and their music is best described as epic. And while their Christmas Medley is perfectly festive, it's clearly influenced by their style.  It's epic, which is one of the reasons I enjoy listening to this song around this time of year...

Andrea:  My playlist this week is filled with Christmas Music by several of my favorite artists. One of the songs I’m listening to is Some Day At Christmas by Stevie Wonder & Andra Day.

What's some of your favorite holiday music?

Review: The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

Title: The Masked City
Series: The Invisible Library #2
Author: Genevieve Cogman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Paperback
More Details: Historical; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Ace Books; September 6, 2016

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Working in an alternate version of Victorian London, Librarian-spy Irene has settled into a routine, collecting important fiction for the mysterious Library and blending in nicely with the local culture. But when her apprentice, Kai—a dragon of royal descent—is kidnapped by the Fae, her carefully crafted undercover operation begins to crumble.
Kai’s abduction could incite a conflict between the forces of chaos and order that would devastate all worlds and all dimensions. To keep humanity from getting caught in the crossfire, Irene will have to team up with a local Fae leader to travel deep into a version of Venice filled with dark magic, strange coincidences, and a perpetual celebration of Carnival—and save her friend before he becomes the first casualty of a catastrophic war.
But navigating the tumultuous landscape of Fae politics will take more than Irene’s book-smarts and fast-talking—to ward off Armageddon, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear....

Since I recently read and loved The Mortal Word, book #5 of the Invisible Library series, I’d decided to make it a goal to read the other three books I’d missed. So the obvious place to start was The Masked City.

I loved this book. It combined elements of historical fiction with those of fantasy with an added touch of futuristic technology in certain aspects of the setting. The Masked City was also fast paced and packed with enough danger, action, and mystery to make the story an exciting follow-up to The Invisible Library (book #1). All of my favorite characters—Irene, Vale, Kai, and Silver—were present as new and familiar worlds were further explored. Although, this time around, Irene’s usual duties as a Librarian were mostly put on hold in favor of rescuing her apprentice.

There were some parts of the mystery that got solved relatively early on, but it wasn’t bad considering the answers brought more questions rather than a firm resolution. The Masked City also delved into more of the politics between dragons and the Fae with the focus on the latter since the story mainly took place in a world heavily influenced by chaos. These details are somewhat beneficial to know when trying to understad the Fae of Cogman’s series. It not only provided context for their nature it showed it as well through Irene’s interactions with Silver and others—something that was especially highlighted given the setting being in an extremely high chaos zone, which was a stark contrast to the other worlds Irene had been to. To say the least, it was interesting how stories/personal narratives came into play. There were also some new enemies, as well others who were very familiar, working behind the scenes toward their own goals.

So, overall, the story was good, and I plan to read The Burning Page sometime soon. I’ve already read the synopsis for it, and I’m interested in seeing how the Alberich situation gets resolved....

Music Monday (66): Pentatonix, Snow Miser/Heat Miser

   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: My pick this week is Where Are You, Christmas? by Pentatonix. 

Also, has anyone watched The Year Without a Santa Claus? It came out in 1974, and there’s two songs from it that I’ve always loved: the Snow Miser and Heat Miser songs. If you haven’t listened to them, search for it on youtube or just watch the movie. I don’t know why but they're catchy....

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (144) & Book Beginnings: The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Working in an alternate version of Victorian London, Librarian-spy Irene has settled into a routine, collecting important fiction for the mysterious Library and blending in nicely with the local culture. But when her apprentice, Kai—a dragon of royal descent—is kidnapped by the Fae, her carefully crafted undercover operation begins to crumble.
Kai’s abduction could incite a conflict between the forces of chaos and order that would devastate all worlds and all dimensions. To keep humanity from getting caught in the crossfire, Irene will have to team up with a local Fae leader to travel deep into a version of Venice filled with dark magic, strange coincidences, and a perpetual celebration of Carnival—and save her friend before he becomes the first casualty of a catastrophic war.
But navigating the tumultuous landscape of Fae politics will take more than Irene’s book-smarts and fast-talking—to ward off Armageddon, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear....

Beginning: "Introduction.... By now you will have passed basic training, and will either be working in the field with a more experienced Librarian or be preparing to do so." 

56: "Vale nodded. "Given subsequent events...In any case, I returned here to find Strongrock had come by. He was met at the door by a street urchin, who directed him to an address in the East End. Fortunately, one of the newspaper vendors was close enough to hear the details. I followed." He looked down at his hands. "I was too late."

Comments: I recently read and enjoyed The Mortal Word. So, I made it a goal to go back and read the books I'd yet to get to from the Invisible Library series. I started with The Masked City. I loved this book.  What are you reading this week?