Tag: ya

“Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders… but her father isn’t a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife’s dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers’ pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed–and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.

But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it’s worth–especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.“ GOODREADS

This is the best book I read in 2018. It’s eerie, fairy-tale like and romantic. Naomi Novik is definitely one of my all-time favorite writers. I love love love her portrayal of girls and women and their relationships with each other. Both her main and supporting characters are fleshed out and equally engaging to read about.

The story revolves around two heroines whose fates intertwine more and more as the plot unfolds. Their male love interests (one is the king of some kind of ice elves, the other the tsar who’s possessed by a fire demon) learn to appreciate and love them for their characters, skills and actions.

Spinning Silver features almost every trope I love:

  • heroines who are capable instead of beautiful 
  • enemies to lovers 
  • arranged marriage
  • villainous crush

August Book Recommendation

the-modern-typewriter:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (+ the sequel, Crooked Kindom)

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

modern-typewriter says: Well, this series made me read everything else that Bardugo has ever written, if that counts for something. Kaz Brekker is an amazing villain/morally grey protagonist, and all of the characters in this are so unique and well developed. They really are the highlight, I struggle to pick my favourite, and the antagonists are also good. I love them all so much and the dialogue and relationships are fantastic. And this has such epic moments. I liked the second one more, but the first was still great! Although it is part of the same fantasy universe as the author’s other works, you do not need to have read these to follow on as I hadn’t. Fantasy heist and go.

It’s also worth noting that while the protagonists are YA age, as someone older than them who doesn’t particularly enjoy teenage or teenage-feeling protagonists, this did not detract. They felt very universal. I would have assumed them older if the author didn’t tell me otherwise.

If you liked this try/you might like this if you liked: Her other books! I am currently working my through them because I liked this duo-series so much.

A villainous/morally gray protagonist…interesting.

aelia-likes-monsters:

fuck-yeah-monsters-and-villains:

DRAGON’S BAIT by Vivian Vande Velde

Fifteen-year-old Alys is not a witch. But that doesn’t matter–the villagers think she is and have staked her out on a hillside as a sacrifice to the local dragon.
It’s late, it’s cold, and it’s raining, and Alys can think of only one thing–revenge. But first she’s got to escape, and even if she does, how can one girl possibly take on an entire town alone?
Then the dragon arrives–a dragon that could quite possibly be the perfect ally… .
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/372807.Dragon_s_Bait

********************************************
Finally I have found a book with a dragon I really like.
Although it’s a YA fantasy, and probably one that’s geared at an even younger audience than many of the contemporary YA books, it’s an absolute delight to read even for adults.
The themes of this book are revenge and responsibility and the wonderful thing is that the author doesn’t spell out every message hidden in this little gem of a book. Like the heroine, the readers have to come to their own conclusions.
Neither the heroine nor the dragon are morally pure to begin with nor are they by the end of the book. But both are changed by each other’s company.

The dragon in this book can change into (a very handsome) human form, so the monstrous aspect of the dragon is secondary. What makes him alien is his personality. He doesn’t adhere to human morality and his motivation is mysterious at best. His character really conveys a feeling that dragons are truly otherworldly creatures.

The interactions between the heroine and the dragon are delightful. There is bickering, there is jealousy and there is romance but it is very subtle.

Furthermore the book avoids all my personal YA pet peeves: no neverending self-indulgent introspection of the heroine, no over explaining of everybody’s motivations, no first person narrator and no fucking love triangle.

My only criticism: It’s too short. Otherwise it’s perfect.

Vivian Vande Velde is one of those YA authors whose works I’ve loved but who I always forget about. What this means is that whenever I’m reminded of her, I get this burst of happy  nostalgia for her writing. 

Companions of the Night was one of hers after I finished Blood & Chocolate (by Annette Curtis Klause.) Don’t watch that stupid movie. Read the damn book. Much like Ella Enchanted or Howl’s Moving Castle, the book is far superior. 

They’re not Terato, but A Well Timed Enchantment and A Hidden Magic were both books by her that I’ve loved. (At least, they’re not terato that I remember.)

If you’re looking for more Dragons, check out One Good Knight (by Mercedes Lackey, it’s part of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series, but it doesn’t really need to be read in order.) 

Or for Dragon-shifter-smut there’s always Ruby Dixon. She writes some dirty stuff. (Her Fireblood Dragons series is specifically what you want if you like Dragons, but Ice Planet Barbarians is all naked aliens wooing human women if that’s your thing.)

Now that I’ve totally derailed this with stuff about other books, to get back to the original point. YES! I agree, OP!

I love recommendations so thanks for derailing!

Source: fuck-yeah-monsters-and-villains

DRAGON’S BAIT by Vivian Vande Velde

Fifteen-year-old Alys is not a witch. But that doesn’t matter–the villagers think she is and have staked her out on a hillside as a sacrifice to the local dragon.
It’s late, it’s cold, and it’s raining, and Alys can think of only one thing–revenge. But first she’s got to escape, and even if she does, how can one girl possibly take on an entire town alone?
Then the dragon arrives–a dragon that could quite possibly be the perfect ally… .
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/372807.Dragon_s_Bait

********************************************
Finally I have found a book with a dragon I really like.
Although it’s a YA fantasy, and probably one that’s geared at an even younger audience than many of the contemporary YA books, it’s an absolute delight to read even for adults.
The themes of this book are revenge and responsibility and the wonderful thing is that the author doesn’t spell out every message hidden in this little gem of a book. Like the heroine, the readers have to come to their own conclusions.
Neither the heroine nor the dragon are morally pure to begin with nor are they by the end of the book. But both are changed by each other’s company.

The dragon in this book can change into (a very handsome) human form, so the monstrous aspect of the dragon is secondary. What makes him alien is his personality. He doesn’t adhere to human morality and his motivation is mysterious at best. His character really conveys a feeling that dragons are truly otherworldly creatures.

The interactions between the heroine and the dragon are delightful. There is bickering, there is jealousy and there is romance but it is very subtle.

Furthermore the book avoids all my personal YA pet peeves: no neverending self-indulgent introspection of the heroine, no over explaining of everybody’s motivations, no first person narrator and no fucking love triangle.

My only criticism: It’s too short. Otherwise it’s perfect.

May Book Recommendation

the-modern-typewriter:

The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

modern-typewriter says: This is a popular fairly recent release, so you may have heard of it. If you have heard it and are debating whether or not you want to read, or haven’t heard of it but like stories about fey/faeries – read it! I loved this book. I think it balanced the danger and the beauty of faeries well, and every character felt like they had their solid motivations. The antagonists were good. I admit, I am skeptical of magical bad boy set ups, but this one actually worked for me. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series to see how everything develops! May always seems like a fairy time of year for me, so have at as the weather warms!

If you liked this try/you might like this if you liked: “The Darkest Part of The Forest” also by Holly Black, The Shades of Magic series by V.E Schwab, numerous other fairy tale feeling stories.

This sounds really good!

claudiagray:

thepaige-turner:

ig: thepaige_turner

It’s DEFY THE WORLDS launch day! Hit your local bookstore to find out what happens next for Abel and Noemi. Separated by the Liberty War for the independence of planet Genesis, Abel and Noemi have an entire galaxy between them. When Earth strikes at Genesis through biological warfare, however, Noemi is forced to venture back into the greater galaxy in an attempt to find help. But doing so puts her incredible danger–from which only Abel may be able to save her. Yet Abel knows that stepping forward to help means exposing himself to his creator, Burton Mansfield, who will stop at nothing to reclaim Abel for his own. 

Did I mention DEFY THE STARS is $2.99 on all online platforms this week? BECAUSE IT IS. Time to plunge in, people! 

Soldier girl and robot boy are back!!!!

Source: instagram.com