Monday Mix || 100 Driving Songs

It's time for another 8tracks mix that I didn't make, but have been listening to a lot lately.

I found this one completely by accident. I was listening to a fanmix (surprising no one) and I didn't realize that it was over. If you've never used 8tracks before, it gives you about 10 seconds after the end of a mix to choose what to do next. If you do nothing, it loads the next mix in a "similar mixes" queue or another one by the same user.

By the time I realized I'd moved on to another mix, I was already a few tracks in.

Which is when I saw the title: 100 Driving Songs.

That's right, this mix is 100 tracks. It clocks in at just over 6 hours. "100 upbeat, feel good jams." I'm no where near done it yet, but it has not disappointed me yet.

Hopefully you enjoy it too.

by jamidanielle_

Listen on 8tracks

Review || Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge ★★☆☆☆

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

May was a strangely productive reading month, but I was starting to feel a little burned out. So I picked up the audiobook version of this on a whim and started listening. There was a different kind of concentration involved in listening to a book as opposed to reading it, and it definitely helped soothe my reading fatigue.

Overall, the narrator of this audiobook was quite enjoyable. That was one of the strongest parts of this "read", I felt.

That's not to say that Cruel Beauty didn't have its other selling points. The classical mythology references that were scattered throughout the narrative were interesting. The prose itself had a lyrical quality to it, and the descriptions were lush with detail. And the nefarious bargains made by the demon lord were fascinating--especially the way the consequences were twisted up in the seemingly harmless wording.

However, for the most part, this book just didn't really do it for me. I found myself wanting to listen to the audio often, but I think that was more because of the novelty of it. The story itself ended up just being okay for me.

Nyx was one of my major barriers. She's angry, frustrated and hurtful--all of which is to be expected. She's been preparing for most of her life to be a living sacrifice for her people. Not only that, but she's burdened with their hopes as well. Her familial love is twisted by this sense of duty, jealousy and despair. Her anger is justified.

But she blames that on herself. She thinks herself selfish for wanting a different life when she alone could save her people. The feelings twist and tangle up inside of her and she lashes out.

All of which are completely understandable. This is not the reason why I didn't like her. It's because, instead of growing, instead of taking action, Nyx is constantly waylaid by her own angst. She's so wishy-washy. She loves her family, she hates her family. She hates the demon, she loves the demon. She's going to save everyone, she doesn't care about anyone. She's going to betray her husband, oh no, maybe not.

It was infuriating.

The narrative isn't much better.

There's an entire system of "magic" that's almost completely unexplained and exists for almost no reason except to be a plot device. It's not fleshed out and despite the scraps of information we get about it, it doesn't seem to mesh well with the rest of the world here.

The plot also likes to remind you that it's smarter than you and does things like have Nyx find out everything, not explain any of it to the reader, and then have her conveniently forget it all. Why. Why.

Ignifex as a love interest was baffling as well. The relationship doesn't seem to develop at all, just suddenly changes to love for no reason. One minute Nyx is hurling crockery at him and threatening to kill him, the next she's being bedded by him. Ignifex is mocking and cold and detached for the most part. The narrative tries to play it off because they're both "monsters" (Ignifex literally, Nyx because of her hatred) but the romantic tension was never believable. Also, I really can't stand violence and emotional manipulation being played off as romantic. No. Just no.

And then the ending happened.

One of the major "twists" I saw coming, but it still pleased me to be right. But then everything afterwards got really convoluted at the end. And then suddenly happily ever after? Wait what.

I don't know if I would've finished this had I not been listening to the audiobook. Overall, I found it lacklustre, confusing and annoying for the most part. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it.

BookTubeAThon TBR

So the second annual BookTubeAThon is happening next week from July 14-20. And though I don't vlog, I'm still definitely participating. (If you want more information, you can check out their Twitter or Youtube.)

There are a number of reading challenges running, so I thought I'd post my TBR plans for the week. I'm hoping to get around to everything... but we'll see. I'm also hoping this will be a much needed distraction from all the house hunting insanity that's going on in my life right now.

Locke & Key volume 1 by Joel Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez

This will complete two challenges: read a book with pictures and read a book with red on the cover.

I picked this up at Comic Expo back in April and I've been meaning to read it. I figure it'll be nice to break up some of the marathon reading with a graphic novel!

Ship Breaker & The Drowned Cities by Paolo Gacigalupi

This will complete the challenge: start and finish a series.

I own Ship Breaker and have had it on at least 2 other readathon TBRs this past year. It's time to get to it. I'm going to have to pick up The Drowned Cities from the library, but that should be fine. I figured might as well read a duology for this challenge and keep it simple!

Dead Iron (Age of Steam #1) by Devon Monk

This will complete two challenges: read a book that someone else picks and read a book from a genre you've read the least from this year.

I haven't read a lot of alternate history type books this year, so I picked three from my shelf and posted them online asking my Facebook friends and Twitter followers to weigh in on what I should read. Dead Iron had the most votes, so there we go!

The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle

This will complete the challenge: read a book and then watch the movie adaptation.

Somehow I completely missed out on The Last Unicorn during my childhood. I have no idea how that happened! But I went with some friends at Comic Expo in April to meet Peter S Beagle and I bought a copy of the book to have him sign. And then I'll find myself a copy of the movie and finally see what I've been missing.

The only challenge left is to read 7 books and/or an average of 300 pages/day during the week. We'll see how the week goes, but I do have a few other graphic novels that I could sneak in to try and round this up to 7 books. I also just picked up Rainbow Rowell's latest, Landline and am dying to read it. So that might make an appearance during this readathon as well.

Are you participating in the BookTubeAThon? Link me to your TBRs! Any thoughts about my list? Let's chat in the comments!

Slow Burn Romance

I have a lot of thoughts about romance in novels.

The first one tends to be, "not this again".

To be fair, this mostly only applies to love triangles. Which, ugh, I have been so over forever. They all seem to be formulaic and just haven't been compelling in the longest time.

After that, my next thought is typically, "why?"

This is usually because the romance feels forced to me. We're told the characters are into each other and bam! romance. This applies to the insta-love just as much as it applies to other forms of romance in books. Sometimes it feels like it's thrown in as an afterthought. "Oh yeah, a YA book, better have a love interest!" That kind of thing.

Romance isn't a requirement for a good book. And I am especially tired of conventional romances... but that's definitely a topic for a different post.

Instead, what I want to talk about today is the slow burn.

As you may or may not have already figured out, fandom plays a relatively big part of my online life. And when I'm not reading a book, I'm probably reading fanfic.

And one of the things that fanfic tends to do really well is the slow burn. 80k of my two favourite characters realizing they have feelings for each other? Sign me up.

So, it's probably fanfic's fault that I'm not usually terribly into book romance. I like the long, drawn out, dancing around each other romantic tension. I like being able to see that the characters are developing feelings for each other, rather than just being told. I want the butterflies in my stomach when one of them finally leans in for the kiss.

I want to ship them, is what I'm saying. I want a book to reel me in slowly and make me feel for these characters. Make me want them to hook up. But without all the dumb soap opera drama/angst/misunderstanding that usually comes with.

I want to watch their journey. Have their romantic subplot run parallel to the rest of the story--not necessarily be the focus of it. I want them to struggle a bit, but that just makes the moment when they come together all that much sweeter.

And less of the, "You're the main male character and I'm the main female character: we must obviously be attracted to each other!"

I would be perfectly happy reading a trilogy where the main couple did not get their act together until the third book. So long as the narrative isn't obnoxious about it.

So give me the slow burn. Build me up. Bring on the romantic tension. Show me, don't tell me.

What do you think? How do you feel about romance in the books you read? Any fantastic recommendations to send my way? Let's chat in the comments!

Seriously Series Update 2

The second quarter of the year is over... how is half of 2014 over already?! So it's time for another Seriously Series Challenge Update! This is hosted over at Reading the Paranormal.

My current running list can be found here and I'm pretty pleased with the progress I'm making overall. I knew when I started typing out my list there was no way I'd get to all of this in one short year, but I'm happy to have the goal in mind.

My first update for January-March can be found here.

Series Started Before 2014
I broke this down into two categories: continuing (I need to read a few or the new release) and resuming (I read the first book so long ago I need to start over).

I still haven't managed to get to any of the starting over books. There are just too many books to read..!

Here's my April-June progress:

• Daughter of Smoke and Smoke by Laini Taylor
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters
• The Others by Anne Bishop
• Murder of Crows

Series Started in 2014

This section has seen quite a bit of progress. I'm going to attribute that to my recent discovery of marathoning series. Still, it feels like I'm just adding and adding to this section!

• Eon by Alison Goodman
• Eon
• Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns
• The Crown of Embers
• The Bitter Kingdom
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
• Under the Never Sky
• Through the Ever Night
• Into the Still Blue
• Abhorsen by Garth Nix
• Sabriel
• Lirael
• Abhorsen

Overall Results

I've completed 5 series this quarter between both sections! I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, to be honest.

If you looked at my series masterlist, I have dropped a few series off the list--mostly because finishing (or starting) them is just not a priority right now. When I first made that list in January, I pretty much put anything I could think of on it. Six months in, I think I can be a little more discerning.

Still, with the series marathoning being a game-changer, we'll see how the next quarter goes. Plus, as we get later into the year, some releases I'm waiting on start dropping. I'm eager to get my hands on Ruin and Rising which came out late in June for sure!

It's interesting how things can change in just a few short months!

Are you working on any series right now? Have you read any of these? Let's chat in the comments!

Waiting On Wednesday || The Fire Wish by Amber Lough

The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars #1) by Amber Lough
July 22, 2014

A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything...

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

This book came up on my radar relatively recently. And it grabbed my attention immediately. Because first, look at the typography on that cover. Yes please. Also a YA book about jinni? Yes please.

I'm hoping for some awesome female representation in this book (hopefully with some great female friendships). And again hopefully some slow burn romance, what with the while "young men [they] are just discovering they might love" bit. Should be interesting!

Top 10 Tuesday || Blogging Confessions

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a new category every week!

This week's topic is Top 10 Blogging Confessions. I have 5 book related confessions and the 5 blogging related ones!

1. Paperbacks
I'm just going to get this out of the way and say it first: I don't particularly like hardcover books.

...

I feel like that's a big thing in the book world. But I am a paperback girl through and through. I like the size better (generally--don't give me a chunky mass market, though). I like that I can shove them in my purse. I like holding them better (no pesky dust jacket to worry about!)

2. Cheap-o!
I am a total Scrooge when it comes to buying physical copies of books. I am always canvassing second hand shops and thrift stores for books in good condition. I don't mind if there's a little wear and tear to the book either, so long as the price is right.

3. Scratch & Dent
BUT. There better not be any damage to my brand new book. When I purchase a new copy of a book, I expect it to be in pristine condition. There have been many times where I've put a book back on the shelf at the store because it had some cosmetic damage. (And yes, I will absolutely go through all the duplicates on the shelf to pick the best one before I buy it.)

4. Library Binges
I have a TON of books on my bookshelf, but sometimes I get in these library moods where I just have to take out another ton of books. I have all these books on my shelf to read--and I actually do want to read all of them--but instead I find myself browsing at the library instead. It's like the bookish version of "I don't have anything to wear!"

5. Cover Love (or Hate)
I am the biggest cover judger. I'm so shallow sometimes when it comes to a book. When it's from the library, that doesn't bother me so much--so long as it's one I actually plan on picking up. But when it comes to buying a book, I will definitely sift through to find the best cover. (Side-eyes the US editions of the Mistborn trilogy as a pertinent example--they're just so ugly compared to the UK ones!)

6. Weird Buying Habits
If a book is cheap, or I'm in a spending mood, I tend to pick up books on a whim. But if I don't like the book, I can part with it fairly easily.

When it comes to buying books I've already read, however, I'm much more discerning. I'll only grab a copy if it's a book I've absolutely LOVED. Weird, right?

7. Commenting
I'm a pretty bad commenter, in general. I'm a big time lurker. I read all the posts and watch all the videos, but I rarely comment. I find that I don't think I have anything worthwhile to add. I'm trying to work on interacting more with my fellow bloggers... I want to feel like I'm part of the community, after all!

8. Positive Reviews
I often struggle to write 4- and 5-star reviews. When I dislike a book, it's easy to pick apart the problems I had. When I've enjoyed a book, sometimes the reasons for those feelings are harder for me to quantify. Even in the glowing reviews, I tend to mention minor quibbles. Like why a 4-star book wasn't a 5-star read for me. Or whatever.

9. Scheduling
I have recently discovered the wonder of scheduling and queuing blog posts! It's sort of silly that it took me 6 months to figure it out. I'm a very organized and type-A person by nature, so it's surprising to me that I didn't think to plan to blog like I plan for everything else. What a difference it's made for me now though, I love it!

10. Physical Copy
I'm fully prepared to admit that it may be because I don't have the right one, but I don't particularly like reading on my eReader. I much prefer having a physical book in my hand. I like the feeling of it, the weight. I like being able to flip through and see how many pages are left in the chapter. Or flip ahead and see where the next section break is. I like the physical indicator of my progress when I use my bookmark.

So! There are my blogging confessions. Are they similar to yours? Let's chat in the comments!

Monday Mix || Ludo

It's time for another band that I adore.

I first started listening to Ludo in 2009 and the whole album "You're Awful, I Love You" is 110% worth your time.

But one of the things I adore about this band is their ability to write the most unconventional love songs. Love Me Dead and The Horror Of Our Love come to mind immediately. But also the newer Anything For You from their 2011 album.

If you like catchy and slightly offbeat, then you're going to enjoy this. And like last time, I had to use my favourite site: Best Of.

I JUST WANT TO LISTEN TO THE BEST OF

LUDO

Review || The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1) by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

Oh my goodness, this book was so good. Yes, it was slow and dense at time, relying on a lot of intentional worldbuilding and info-dumping, but I actually really love that.

Unlike some of the mediocre books I've read as of late (and even some of the quite good ones), there is no doubt that this world is fully realized. Sanderson knows the politics, religion, geography and history of this alternate history he's created. And he knows the laws and rules of Rithmatics inside out. From the way the characters speak and act, to what's hinted just slightly out of view, to the drawings that preface each chapter, it's a fully realized and tightly constructed world.

Not to say that it wasn't confusing at times. I spent a lot of time at the beginning of chapters trying to really understand the Rithmatic drawings. But it got easier and easier each time, as I became more familiar with the rules. I can understand, though, how some people might feel bogged down by the complexity.

But truthfully, this book made me remember why I love epics and fantasy so much. It's bolstered my courage to pull some of those chunky books off the shelf and give them a go. Because I adored the way this book was set up.

Also, this book was supremely creepy. Sanderson has successfully made me afraid of chalk. Seriously. It's more his storytelling, it paints such a clear narrative picture (combined with the well placed illustrations) that just have my imagination acting overtime. I was more freaked out after the prologue of this book than I ever was during 172 Hours on the Moon--which has been lauded as genuinely terrifying (but that I found lacking). I loved it.

That said, I've gone with 4.5 stars instead of the full 5 because of a few minor quibbles.

Because this book is very plot heavy, I found my attachment to the characters came second. I enjoyed everyone well enough, but I was never totally attached to them. Granted, this is the first in the series, and about half the length of Sanderson's usual fare. It's not a dealbreaker by any means here, just something I'm looking forward to Sanderson expanding upon in future books.

And then there's the whole thing about women in this book. Okay, look, I get it. You're setting this in an alternate early 1900s. I understand that the few disparaging comments about women are meant to be "period accurate". But the lack of female diversity was a real bummer. It just felt like a big old boys club at times, and I think there could've been more representation.

Still, despite my annoyances, this was a fantastic book. I read it almost reverently. And smacked my hand against the front cover when I was done because it was just that good. Highly recommended!

June Book Haul

As I've alluded to previously, my personal life got crazy in June. First, it's the last month of school and everyone (8th graders and teachers included) go a little mad in anticipation of summer. But before that there are the dreaded final exams. Which are hell to mark.

Then, because it's June, every sub-group at school wants to have a year end party. I went to three separate parties in one week. It was fun, but exhausting.

And then, I sort of got thrown into a house-hunting scramble because my landlady decided to give me notice on the apartment I'm renting from her. I have until September 30 to find a new place to live. It was really sudden and through no fault of mine (she wants her son to move in for college), so I basically spent a week crying. And now am looking at properties to buy because I figure I'm a grown up now and should own property.

So all of that combined lead to a bit of retail therapy. In the form of books. Oops?

Value Village
TBR Pile

I actually really like book hunting at Value Village, because even though it's hit or miss, sometimes you can snag some amazing finds. I've never read this classic, so I decided to give it a try.

Classroom Library

All of these books were in great shape and will make a nice addition to my little classroom library. (Though, I may have to curate my collection a bit since I'm teaching senior high in the fall instead of grade 8!)

BookOutlet
Already Read

I have a copy of this book already, but I let a friend borrow it quite a while ago and she shows no signs of returning it any time soon. So I wanted a replacement copy because I've been thinking I'm overdue for a reread of this!

TBR Pile

... Oops?

Most of my justification for this is that I was sad, they were cheap and on my TBR for the most part anyway.

Also, moving into a new place will mean more bookshelves, right?

Haha. Sorry not sorry.

Anyway! What did you pick up this month? Have you read any of these? Let's chat in the comments!