Banewreaker by Jaqueline Carey–Chapter One

In this chapter we are introduced to the people who, I assume, are going to be the major players in the story: Tanaros, Cerelinde, Aracus, and Lilias, who just might be my favorite. I won’t go into details about all of them, but they’re quite an interesting little group.

I am already loving the characters. They feel very real, and I can’t wait to get to know them better and watch their adventures. So far I know a bit more about Tanaros than anyone. His backstory is revealed to us more gradually, giving it more weight to the story. Lilias’s backstory is given in a more straight forward manner, which I like because it means we aren’t given any superfluous information so early in the book.

Anyway, that’s enough about chapter one. I’ll see if I can read at least one more chapter tonight.

(P.S. – These updates will be getting shorter as I get further into the book. As always, they will remain spoiler free, so don’t worry! And yes, I will be doing a comprehensive final review when I finish the book.)

Banewreaker by Jaqueline Cary–Prologue

I’m not one hundred percent sure how much immediate impact the prologue is going to have on the story, but it was really interesting. It explains the creation of the world, and the Gods. It was a lot like reading a story of Greek Mythology, and it really gave me a deeper understanding of the world.

All in all, so far a good read. Looking forward to reading more.

And in case you’re wondering – yes, that is a Magic: The Gathering Card. There was no bookmark close enough, but I’d just opened a pack of Gatecrash cards I got a birthday present. The token was a red/white, so I used the land instead.

Go geek!

A bunch of updates in one post!

As it’s Monday, that means it’s time for update the eager masses on what I’ve been up to over the weekend. I played Guild Wars 2 far more than was good for me, and I got very little writing or reading done. But that’s what weekends are for, right?

I’m actually a bit behind on the updates regarding my starting and finishing and buying of books, so here is all it to catch you up.

We took my grandma to a new Dollar General that opened up nearby, and I found three books that I just couldn’t resist. That’s them in the top row. As for the second row, February 28th was my birthday, and I got two books as gifts. On the left is a book a friend got me, knowing how much I love Steampunk. The one on the right is from my parents, which I actually picked myself from Dollar Tree.

(The Cover fell off. It’s not my fault, I swear.)

I finished the Hobbit. I am unhappy. Watching the last film is going to kill me. [Of course I’m not going to spoil it, although it was actually spoiled for me, even though the book has been out for decades.] [And thanks to my friends for not confirming the spoiler, and letting me live in hope. It hurt less.]

So with the Hobbit complete, I needed to choose a new book to start. I didn’t feel like jumping straight into Fellowship of the ring, which has a little bit to do with that fact that my copy is OLD and it smells kind of weird. There was a particular book I had in mind, so I just went with it.

You might recognize it from that photo above. Banewreaker by Jaqueline Carey. Have you ever looked a book and just known that you had to read it? It’s kind of like that for me and this book. the cover is gorgeous, and I can’t wait to find out which scene in the book it depicts. I read the prologue before I went to sleep that night, and my thoughts on that will come in my next post [I don’t want to put everything in the same post, after all].

In the meantime, I should wrap up this post because I should really do some editing, and then I’ll get snuggle under my blankets with Banwreaker, so I’ll have even more to tell you about!

Happy Reading!

Tea Review: Celestial Seasonings Safari Spice

I am one of those people who believe that nothing goes better with a book than tea.  So I decided that a tea review would be right at home here among the books reviews. We are big tea drinkers in this house, and the other day I tried something new. I like red and rooibos tea, and I like spicy teas, like Chai. (I’ll drink almost any chai.)

This tea had been sitting in the cupboard for a while when I found it, and when I was looking at the ingredients list, I saw something that gave me pause: sweet piquante peppers. Hmmm…..

I was wrong actually. It turned out to be quite good, and the peppers do not give it the flavor I would have thought. There is an underlying sweetness to the tea, and it certainly has a unique flavor I can’t really describe. I do recommend it for lovers of tea, especially spicy ones like Chai. (Almost all the spices in Chai are also in this tea.) Don’t let the peppers scare you like they did me! It’s probably not what you think.

I bought some books the other day…

I forgot to post this picture. The other day I was out running errands with mom and we stopped by Dollar General and the Dollar Tree. I guess I went a little crazy, but with discount books, you can’t take a chance; when they’re done, they are gone.

Most of the books are just random grabs that looked interesting. I thought I’d go ahead and grab that copy of the Two Towers, because my copies of the Lord of Rings belong to my dad, and they are old. The cover has already fallen off of the Hobbit, and it’s never been read until now. So I thought having a back up would be a good idea. I already the first book in the Fisherman’s Children series, and the Reluctant Mage is book two, and for a dollar I just couldn’t pass it up. I also have a thing for mages, anyone who knows me could tell you that, so I had to have it. I also remember putting the Red Necklace on my to-read shelf a long time ago, and now I finally have a copy.

 

In addition to the pretty picture of my awesome deals, the post comes with a general update. I know I said I would be trying to read and update this blog more, and so far, I’ve only done a little. I am going to try again to change up my schedule and read during the week. I am going to clean this place so it will be nice and shiny, for my next big review. The great folks at Quirk have offered me a book to review, and, being me, I screamed yes as soon as I read the e-mail. It sounds like a really cool book, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you all.