Introducing the second installment in the Terebinth Tree Chronicles, Flames of Courage by Hannah Heath! This brilliant short story follows the same storyline about Wanderer in Colors of Fear, and fully develops the character of Jayel, a halfblooded warrior elf who seeks to cease oppression and restore justice for the halfbloods.
Aaaaand we’ve got another five-starrer by Hannah Heath! I’m so excited to share this story with you. Colors of Fear is written by my best friend, which automatically makes it very special to me, but putting that aside, the story in and of itself is so beautiful and unique. At only 60 pages long, this short story is a brilliant introduction of the main character in the soon-to-be published novel, The Stump of the Terebinth Tree.
Well, I guess I’m making it a tradition. Last year in January I wrote up a post called “Review of the Best Books Read in 2016 (With Pictures),” so I decided to do the same thing this year…just without my own pictures this time, because most of my books are still packed (a terrible thing as the second Kingkiller Chronicle is resting underneath cardboard box and packaging tape in all its unread beauty and it’s agonizing).
Have you ever read a book that took place in only one, small setting with allegorical characters, a symbolic storyline, and enough supernatural suspense to last you into your second lifetime? If so, you must have read The Tangle by Aria Maher. If you haven’t, that’s because you have not yet read The Tangle and should probably keep reading this post so that I can persuade you to actually do so.
A little while ago, I interviewed indie published author K. L. Pierce and we got to talk about her writing—Two Lives, Three Choices in particular. She has just recently revised this story, the first in a faith-based science fiction series. Since I’d only read the first version, and since I didn’t yet own the book, I decided to get her revised version of Two Lives, Three Choices, and finally write a review.
I’m a fan of comfort zones. I’m not a huge adventurer and don’t take pleasure in running risks, even the small ones. I usually don’t venture away from my favorite genres, like fantasy and science fiction. I shy away from reading other genres, and I know that I should be dabbling in all different methods of writing and storytelling. Usually I wouldn’t pick a book off a shelf about modern day assassins and say “hey, this random book looks good!” because that’s simply not my thing.
But when Brianna Merritt, one of my favorite writers/bloggers/Twitter friends asked me to read and review her book Unsanctioned Eyes before its release date (which is JUNE 27: TODAY!!!!) I didn’t really know what the book was about, but the cover was beautiful and anything written by Ms. Merritt was bound to be good. I gave it a shot. And was held in suspense the whole time. When I finished it, all I could think about was “WOW. That was SOOO good” and “WHERE IS THE SEQUEL.”
I’ve decided to experiment a bit this Tuesday. I’ve taken my favorite books I read in 2016 and compiled them into one blog post, complete with a short review and book photography of each. (Except for the books I don’t own. These are stock pictures I edited onto a picture I’ve taken.) Each book title has an Amazon Affiliate link, which means if you click the link and buy the book on Amazon, I get a tiny percentage of your money (so thank you, in advance, for your future hypothetical support).
I’ve never really shared my photography on my blog before, so this also gives me a chance to talk about and direct you to my Instagram. I try to post quality photography on there every other day at the most and I post pretty much anything from bookstagram attempts to random pictures of nerd collectibles, cosplays, tea in cool looking mugs, nature, and anything that has to do with writing and aesthetics. My siblings and I also went on a rainy, muddy photo shoot the other day in which I dressed in a cloak and held fantasy books in what we call the “woods” (a small patch of trees behind our neighborhood). Future Instagram posts will feature those, and I personally think they’re epic, thanks to my brother, the photographer (Michael Jr.).
On my blog, I’ve reviewed quite a few books that either receive 4 or 5 star ratings. I think this will be the first “critical” book review, and it’s a good one to start out with, as it is pretty popular.
I believe it’s my first time reading a contemporary distopian, popular YA novel. Picking Divergent up to proofread for my sister, I wasn’t expecting anything great; I’d heard there was teen romance combined with a poor writing style, but I was still curious. Turns out, it fit my expectations pretty well. It’s hard to say whether I actually “liked” the book or not; there were things about it I did enjoy, whereas there were things about it that makes me not want to read the second book.
Star Wars isn’t the only major fandom that decided to release a set of films for the second generation. J. K. Rowling has published several Hogwarts textbooks for the entertainment of muggles (Fantastic Beasts, Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Quidditch Through the Ages). She also wrote a script for yet another magical Harry Potter world movie: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
I have a beautiful story to tell you about. If you have not yet had the chance to read it, however, this review contains spoilers. Be forewarned and continue reading at your own risk.
This innkeeper’s name is Kote. No one else knows, but Kote is really Kvothe, among many other titles that were awarded him for his heroics, and he deserves each and every of those names. No one knows, in fact, until a scribe shows up at Kvothe’s inn and prompts the innkeeper to tell him the real story from the hero’s own lips. The true story of how Kvothe studied magic, killed dragons, chased demons, played music that made others cry, saved a whole village, and survived poverty as an orphan whose parents were killed by the Chandrian … and revenge against the Chandrian is Kvothe’s most important motive.
