Living Literarily

I am not the kind of person who will reads the books synopsis before starting it. In order my priorities in choosing books are: 1. Author Style 2. Friend Recommendation 3. Popularity 4. Teacher Recommendation 5. Author 6. Cover 7. The Synopsis (always my last resort) Given my dislike for spoilers, I downloaded Rebel Belle  on my phone and finished listening to it in 2 days. I had no idea what to expect, but it certainly was words like "paladin" or "oracle" being calmly discussed in a classy southern drawl. I did not expect heels to become weapons or for me to be furious when an opportunity to break the enemy's neck is lost. I am not a violent person, and I do not like violent books. And while there was fighting, I was never disturbed by it. It is kind of like how the main character refuses to use the "F" word (which I much appreciated). There is an air of class thrown over the whole thing and you come out wondering if you want to move to the...

I saw this book all over book social media and wondered if it was good as everyone was saying. It seemed like a stereotypical contemporary young adult fantasy novel. I kind of did not want to read it and waste my time on something I had read before in the myriad of other novels that fall under the same genre. Oh, I was very wrong. I fell in love with this book partially because it was like nothing that I had expected. It began slow and a bit sluggish at moments. There were facts and moments I didn't understand and it all seemed to be a bit surreal. I was uncomfortable with the erratic pacing of the book and wondered if I should just stop. If you feel this way, I encourage you to do what I did and not stop. IT is a lot less fantasy, and more character development and deep mental exploration. The magic naturally flows in and out of the world and every piece miraculously falls into place. The characters are real. They are gritty, they keep secrets from each other, and they a...

I originally bought this book for its exquisite cover and title. It looks so interesting, morbid, and beautiful at the same time which fits perfectly into "my type". The slow-witted person that I am did not recognize the name of one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Donnelly. Her Tea Rose trilogy also comes highly recommended by me. Now, why does this book warrant five stars? First, the female lead is perfectly human, but still spunky and a strong feminist. Jo is the only child born to wealthy blue-blooded parents in the middle of the most fashionable part of New York. From the beginning you can see that she knows there needs to be a change. She was not meant for the life of leisure and breeding that the other girls her age are so eager for. Soon she is faced with the mysterious death of her father, confused by the differing accounts of his past, Jo begins to dig. Donnelly loves portraying strong females with ambition and passion. However, Jo is a bit different from ...

In all of literature there are hundreds of genres. Every person finds their little cubby-hole filled with familiar sights and sounds that lulls you into a deep trance that doesn't end until the book is closed. Fractured fairytales are my little nook. I have heard people ask me if I feel like I'm reading the same book over and over, but it has never felt that way to me. To me I get to step into someone else's childhood home and explore a bit. I think most of us have pretended to be some fictional character at some time or another. I have gone through Madeline, Belle, Cinderella, and so many other beloved characters, but what brought the most fun was infusing those characters I so admired with my own personality, dreams, and aspirations. Suddenly they all had older brothers and younger sisters, they were forced to go to school, or they had powers stolen from another magical tale. Authors who can successfully write a fractured fairytale are masters in my mind. As I sai...

Okay, I am not normally one to go off on a mad rant against anything, but I am completely horrified by the book Sweet Girl  by Annabel Lyon. I was browsing through the clearance section of my University's bookstore when I found it. The cover is beautiful and the main character is the daughter of Aristotle and the summary promised the beautiful tale of a young girl challenging gender roles. I love Aristotle, I love Greek history, and I love a book with a strong female lead and so I snatched it up for a what seemed like a bargain at the time. I will say, with the exception of a slightly forced voice and the use of the word "daddy" a few too many times, I enjoyed the beginning of the book. It was simple, it was a little complex with her scholarly and femine side at war with one another, and it seemed light. About a third of the way through the book the author began forcing everything. The book became edgy where it had no right to be edgy, there was no cohesion between ac...

Some of you may be familiar with the author Brandon Sanderson. He is famous for finishing The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, his The Mistborn Trilogy, or his The Way of Kings books. Regardless of if you have heard of him before, the point of this post is to make sure you understand the genius that is this man. He is my favorite fantasy writer. I used to think of fantasy in this limited bubble full of mystical creatures in a medieval-esque setting. Lord of the Rings, The Name of the Wind, Harry Potter...etc. while I adore these books (and highly recommend them to all of you), they all felt very similar to me. Sanderson managed to redefine all of this for me. The imagination displayed in these books and the details included are incredible. Creating new types of geography, vegetation, even setting one of these books in a steampunk setting after writing about what could be compared to the Victorian era. His books are varied and interesting.  I admit I have not read...

If any of you are ever in doubt over what to read! Look no further than Jessica Day George. I adore all of her writing and will continue to read her books as she has yet to disappoint. I can still remember reading Dragon Slippers when I was in middle school. While I am now in college, I can still appreciate the charm of her books and fall in love with the magic behind the words. Her most recent book is Silver In the Blood (shown below) and I think it is one of her best yet! My personal favorite is still Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, but this is a very close second.