Showing posts with label library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library. Show all posts

Thursday

A Curse As Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

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Publication Date:
March 1st, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
ISBN: 0439895766
Age Group: Young adult
Genre: Fairy tale/adventure/fantasy
Source: Library
Buy the Book
Lootability: ***
Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family's woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother's ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner-and a romance with the local banker-she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she's always called home

Mistwood by Leah Cypess

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Publication Date:
April 27th, 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN:  0061956996
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adevnture
Source: Library
Lootability: ***
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.
But when she is needed she always comes.
Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.
Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.
Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.
Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.
The Kings of Samora have always had one great weapon to protect the royal line. The Shifter is an ancient creature of unknown power that resides in the Mistwood. An ancient spell keeps the Shifter loyal to the royal family after it has been summoned to protect them.
When Prince Royan summons Isabella to be his Shifter he unleashes a series of evens that may do more harm to his Kingdom than good.

What I Liked: Isabella's exploration of herself through her discovery of her abilities as a shapeshifter and the recovery of her unwanted history. As she discovers new things about herself and her powers, Isabella finds her loyalties are being twisted in a way the Shifter has never been before.
The characters are complicated, determined to hide 'unnecessary truths' and manipulative to the point of forcefulness and more resourceful than I could have imagined.
Isabella's memories and history remained an intriguing mystery until the moment of revelation. I wholeheartedly enjoyed the surprise and was able to understand the clues retrospectively. I appreciated Cypess' imaginative writing.

What I Didn't Like: Sometimes, to keep secrets hidden and mysterious, it felt like Cypess just made the narrative confusing. Particularly when sorting through Isabella's thoughts. It was almost as though she was trying to stop anyone guessing the twist.
Raiding Bookshelves Rating


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Monday

Pegasus by Robin McKingley

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Publication Date:
Publisher:
Putnam Juvenile
ISBN: 0399246770
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre:Fantasy
Source: Library
Lootability:***
Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication. But it's different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close-so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo-and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.

Sunday

Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

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Publication Date: October 1st, 2010
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN: 
0545136059 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Digger thrives as a spy and sneak-thief among the feuding religious factions of Gerse, dodging the Greenmen who have banned all magic. But when a routine job goes horribly wrong and her partner and lover Tegen is killed, she has to get out of the city, fast, and hides herself in a merry group of nobles to do so. Accepted as a lady's maid to shy young Merista Nemair, Digger finds new peace and friendship at the Nemair stronghold--as well as plenty of jewels for the taking.But after the devious Lord Daul catches her in the act of thievery, he blackmails her into becoming his personal spy in the castle, and Digger soon realizes that her noble hosts aren't as apolitical as she thought... that indeed, she may be at the heart of a magical rebellion.

Monday

In My Mailbox (6)

I'm still moving through my NetGalley books from last week but I spent some time at the library today.

Pegasus by Robin McKinly
Goodreads | Amazon
A Brief History of Montmoray by Michelle Cooper
Goodreads | Amazon
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Goodreads | Amazon



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In My Mailbox (5)

I have so many books to read this week that I'm tempted to skip work and just read all week!

 From the Library:


 Meridian by Amber Kizer
Goodreads | Amazon
Hereafter by Tara Hudson
Goodreads | Amazon
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Goodreads | Amazon
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Goodreads | Amazon
0.4 by Mike Lancaster

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