Jennifer Estep crown of shards
Kill the queen
Summer queens are fine and fair, With pretty ribbons and flowers in their hair. Winter queens are cold and hard, With frosted crowns made of icy shards. —Bellonan fairy-tale rhyme
I’d learned long ago that someone was always ready, willing, and eager to take away what little that I had. Not because they needed or wanted it, but just because they could, just because that sort of pettiness amused them
Sometimes in the arena, you killed your opponent in an instant. But other times, most times, you had to wait and plot and plan. You had to cut down your enemy one small, shallow slice at a time. Playing the long game meant being patient, inflicting the wounds you could along the way, and waiting for that perfect moment to strike and finally finish off your enemy.
Protect the prince
I knew exactly how important it was to spend time with the people you loved before they were taken away. I didn’t want to stand in the way of Sullivan reconnecting with his father, especially since Heinrich was so ill.
I wondered who would win in the end—or if the currents, people, and agendas that went along with them would suck me under and drown me for good.
Even though Gemma had survived, she had the same sort of scars on her heart as I did.
Whether you were rich or poor, noble or common, royal or not, someone always coveted what you had, even if they already had more than you. That was just the way the world worked,
Because life can be a cruel, heartless bitch,” Helene snapped. “Because we should hold on to the happiness we have and not worry about what other people think of it, or especially of us. Because caring about someone occasionally means compromising something about yourself for their benefit and not your own. That’s what real love is,
Sometimes, the only thing you could do was decide who you could hurt the least.
Karen Chance has Released a few more Q & A to go with the release of Ride the Storm
http://www.karenchance.com/news/q-and-a-61/
http://www.karenchance.com/news/q-and-a-63/
http://www.karenchance.com/news/q-and-a-63-2/
http://www.karenchance.com/news/qa-64/
Ride the Storm
Fiction
Penguin
2017-08
608
Cassie Palmer can see the future, talk to ghosts, and travel through time--but nothing's prepared her for this. Ever since being stuck with the job of pythia, the chief seer of the supernatural world, Cassie Palmer has been playing catch up. Catch up to the lifetime's worth of training she missed being raised by a psychotic vampire instead of at the fabled pythian court. Catch up to the powerful, and sometimes seductive, forces trying to mold her to their will. It's been a trial by fire that has left her more than a little burned. But now she realizes that all that was the just the warm up for the real race. Ancient forces that once terrorized the world are trying to return, and Cassie is the only one who can stop them...
Sherrilyn Kenyon’s DragonSworn
I love the Dark Hunter world as well as the Were Hunter and Lords of Avalon worlds. I loved this book, as it returns to the stories that are as typical as a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon can be in that they are all atypical. This book was a little bit difficult for me as there are so very many story lines and interrelationships to try and keep straight. Even using the website as a cheat sheet, when the Lords of Avalon, dragon, were hunters and dark hunter worlds intersect things can become complicated and this book added in the Apollites as well. Put a cameo in by Simi and you have all the parts of Kenyon’s world in one place. It seems that this book may be a two for one in that Blaise makes a romantic connection as well.
So, my review of this book is overwhelmingly positive. My only complaint is that I have trouble keeping everything straight and that is a failing on my part but given that we book 28 and the length of some of those novels, I’m going to give myself a break. And admit I used Sherrilyn Kenyon.com as a cheat sheet when I got a little confused, but I figure that is why the character directory is there.
Dragonsworn
Fiction
Dark-Hunter Novels (Hardcover)
2017-08
352
There is nothing in the universe the cursed dragon, Falcyn, hates more than humanity . . . except Greek humans. In a war he wanted no part of, they systematically destroyed everything he’d ever cared for. Now he waits for the day when evolution will finally rid him of the human vermin. Medea was born the granddaughter of the Greek god Apollo, and among the first of his people that he cursed to die. But she will not let anyone rule her life. Not even her notorious grandfather. And when Apollo sends a new plague to destroy what remains of her people, she refuses to stand by and watch him take everything she loves from her again. This time, she knows of a secret weapon that can stop the ancient god and his army of demons. Once and for all. However, said device is in the hands of a dragon who wants nothing to do with politics, the gods, humanity, demons or Apollites. And especially not her. He is the immovable object. She is the unstoppable force . . . When Apollo makes a strategic move that backfires, he forces Falcyn back into play. Now Medea either has the weapon she needs to save her people, or she’s unleashed total Armageddon. If she can’t find some way to control the dragon before it’s too late, Falcyn will be an even worse plague on the world than the one Apollo has set loose. But how can anyone control a demonic dragon whose sole birthright is world annihilation?
Hooray, Hooray Hooray today will be a beautiful day…
OK, Fangirl has emerged at this end of the computer. It is completely in charge of all content from this point forward
Seanan McGuire is an amazing writer and has been one of my favorites since I read her first October Daye novel All her book titles come from Shakespeare. Her sarcastic wit, her amazing take on old lore and the incredible way she spun a tale.
When the Incryptid series came along–OMG there is no end to the “soundbite” moments in these books. From the quotes at the beginning of each chapter to the millions of quirky statements made back and forth as well as just the familial dynamics. Add in a world of supernaturals trying to stay under the radar but who nee help to survive, the Price family of cryptozoologists who are familiar enough with all the cryptids unique biology, an organization dedicated to the elimination of all cryptids from the planet that the Prices defected from generations ago. Add in talking mice (who worship the human prices and record every word ever spoken as gospel and created a religion around them) and you have got an addicting series of books!
Next up came the kindle serialized indexing and Indexing Reflections stories and not only did we get a covert agency dealing with the supernatural but we learned that there is an actual folk lore and fairy tale index!
When I learned she was up for a HUGO, I was super excited! But on Monday, while I was attending parent teacher conferences and mourning the fact I have a high schooler now (who by the way is Seanan Mcguire’s absolute biggest fan) Seanan Mcguire won the HUGO award !!!!
[Top]Review of Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price
Let’s take a second and catch up to the storyline when Grave Ransom starts. Alexis Craft started out as a grave witch at the beginning of the series—one who is able to make “death” and other ghosts visible. She is the daughter to the governor, but since he is a fae hiding as a human and a member of the “Humans First” Organization which demonizes all things magic witches and fae included, he has distanced himself from her and created a clean identity for her that buries their familial ties. But as weird cases start cropping up, Alex is slowly revealed to be more than just a Grave witch. She is actually fae and a plane bender. This means that she is able to merge realities. And since there has not been a plane bender in a really long time, all of the fairy courts want her to join them. The most vehement of these is the Winter Queen, who badly wants Alexis to join her court. In the first novels it is revealed that the annoying Fae Investigation Bureau agent who has been driving Alex crazy is actually the Winter Knight, but not before Alex and he begin a sexual relationship that quickly develops into true love. But the Winter Knight is bound to the Queen and must follow her orders in all things. This has led to a horrible situation for Alex and the Winter Knight. And , just to complicate things a little more, through the series Alex’s relationship with the soul reaper whom she calls Death has also become a physical and sexual one.
This book was a great addition to the series, but unfortunately ends on a somewhat sour note. I am trying really hard not to write spoilers in this review, but its’s difficult. In this book, Alex goes up against a true necromancer who is putting peoples souls in other peoples bodies. In her quest to find the necromancer, she and Death end up on opposite sides of the issue.
I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/
If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/
Grave Ransom
Alex Craft
Penguin
July 4, 2017
384
In the thrilling new novel from USA Today bestselling author Kalayna Price, Alex Craft comes face-to-face with the walking dead.... Grave witch Alex Craft is no stranger to the dead talking. She raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But the dead walking? That's not supposed to happen. And yet reanimated corpses are committing crimes across Nekros City. Alex's investigation leads her deep into a web of sinister magic. When Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau gets involved, Alex finds herself with an unexpected ally of sorts. But as the dead continue to rise and wreak havoc on the living, can she get to the soul of the matter in time?
Another Quote from my latest reread…
“Fairy tales are true in one respect. Before you get to the story’s end, bad things and hard choices are lived through. In a way I’d come to my happily ever after ending, but unlike fairy tales, in real life there’s no ending, happy or otherwise. Your story, like your life, goes on. One minute you think you have your life relatively under control, and then the next minute you realize that all that control was just an illusion. ” Laurell K Hamilton, Divine Misdemeanors
[Top]A Quote and Some Hope
“but fairy tales only end well. While the story is going on, horrible things happen. Remember Rapunzel? Her prince got his eyes scratched out by the witch, which blinded him. At the end of the story, Rapunzel’s tears magically restored his sight, but that was at the end of the story. Cinderella was little better than a slave. Snow White was actually nearly killed four different times by the evil queen. All anyone remembers is the poisoned apple, but don’t forget the huntsman, or the enchanted girdle and the poisoned comb. Pick any fairy tale that’s based on older stories, and the heroine of the piece has a miserable, dangerous, nightmarish time of it.” Laurell K Hamilton, Swallowing Darkness
Once more for all my friends who are struggling, just remember you are in the middle of your story
[Top]And these burned pure, cold silver. Of course, I thought dully. Because a raging river, a bunch of rock-wielding savages, and a nonexistent power stream weren’t enough. That would be easy mode. And somewhere along the line I’d transitioned over to expert. Which would have been fine if I had as many lives as a video game character. But I had only one. Which I was about to lose. “—then again,” Pritkin shouted, because he was still talking , “there’s a slight chance they may not have had time to absorb my particular brand of charm on my last visit—” “You don’t have any charm,” I snarled, and shoved him off the rock.
Karen Chance,
Reap the Wind Cassie and pritkin
