August 12 | Currently Reading

I think the fact that the year is now half over is what's giving me the "I must read all the books!" panic again. This year I've been enjoying reading what I want when I want, but next year I need to plan to read a few of the books that truly haunt me from the bookcase.

Last week I posted my review of Nancy Bilyeau's excellent historical thriller The Crown.

I finished reading Red Hill by Jamie McGuire and Hounded by Kevin Hearne. I'm still mulling over my thoughts on Red Hill, but Hounded was definitely a fun read. I decided to DNF The House of Secrets by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini. I think a lot of kids will love it, but as an adult I just wasn't feeling it.

I'm currently reading The Troop by Nick Cutter. How could I pass up a book that scared Stephen King? It's a disturbing book for sure.

I hope everyone is having a peaceful end of summer. I'm so jealous of everyone on twitter who already has their school shopping done! I'm always a last minute gal, and we aren't prepared for the new school year at all.

Let me know what you are reading this week or leave me a link!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Journey's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau | Book Review

Thank goodness for Nancy Bilyeau's The Crown. (And for Becky at No More Grumpy Bookseller.)

I've been very much in the mood for a Da Vinci Code type of book lately. I still haven't read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol so I put the audiobook on hold at my library. Wouldn't you know when it was my turn, I had too many digital copies of various things checked out, and I had to let The Lost Symbol go to the next person. I was in mourning about it, but Becky came to my rescue. She recently posted a review for The Crown on her blog. As soon as I read her review, I knew I had the answer to my Da Vinci Code craving! I also watched both National Treasure movies last week. I had it bad.

Book Description

In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear from Cromwell’s ruthless terror.

When novice nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and run away from her Dominican Order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side.

Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London. Joanna’s father is brutally tortured by Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester who leads the Catholic faction bent on saving England’s monasteries from destruction. In order to save her father, Joanna must submit to Gardiner’s will and become a pawn in the struggle between religious extremes. Gardiner forces Joanna to return to Dartford Priory with a mission: find the long hidden crown worn by Saxon King Athelstan in AD 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain. Gardiner believes the crown itself to possess a mystical power that will halt the Reformation.

Uncovering only dark betrayals and murder at Dartford, Joanna flees with Brother Edmund, a troubled young friar, and with time running out, their hunt for the crown leads them through royal castles, to Stonehenge, and finally to the tomb of the mysterious King Athelstan under Malmesbury Abbey. There Joanna learns the true secret of the crown, a secret tracing all the way back to Golgotha and the Relics of the Passion. Now, as Cromwell’s army of destruction advances, Joanna must finally determine who to trust and how far she is willing to go to protect a way of life that she passionately loves.

Review

The Crown is a debut novel?! Nancy Bilyeau has some serious skill. This was truly a fantastic novel.

The characters had a lot to do with my enjoyment. Joanna was such a wonderful character. She evolved so much as a person through the course of The Crown. I can't wait to meet her again in The Chalice which thankfully has already been published. All of the characters in The Crown were so flawed and so passionate.

Oh, and the history in The Crown. I'm not even a fan of historical fiction really, but I'm totally singing the praises of the history in The Crown. Even though Joanna's story is fictitious, it is intertwined with real historic figures, places, and events. The amount of research that went into writing The Crown is very apparent.

If you enjoy thrillers with a lot of depth and research behind them, I recommend reading The Crown. I highly, highly recommend The Crown to anyone who loved The Da Vinci Code.

8/10: Great Read

August 5 | Currently Reading

Happy August everyone! This summer is FLYING by!

I posted my review for The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson last week. It's an exciting start to a series I'm very excited about.

I finished reading The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau. It was very good. My review will be hard to write for that one. I think that's the only book I finished last week.

I'm still listening to and enjoying Hounded. I also started reading Red Hill by Jamie McGuire. I expected a lot more romance in that one - not sad at all that it's mostly zombilicious so far. I also started listening to The House of Secrets by Chris Columbus.

Gah - I tried to listen to the audiobook of Red Moon by Benjamin Percy this past weekend - the narrator was horrible. I got 4 minutes and 47 seconds in before I returned it to the library. I have a print copy of Red Moon so I will absolutely be reading that copy instead!

Let me know what you are reading in the comments or leave me a link!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Journey's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Get to Know Stephen King's Family | NY Times Article

The New York Times posted a huge article (9 pages) about Stephen King's family earlier this week. Did you read it?

It's a really great read. It gives us a personal look at Stephen King, his wife, his three kids, and his daughter-in-law. It's full of family stories, and I loved getting to know his daughter-in-law, too.

It now makes sense why I had no idea Joe Hill was Stephen King's son when I bought Heart-Shaped Box. It was probably years later when I saw a random comment on Goodreads that they were related. It was truly a what the fuck moment for me, but it makes sense now. It was probably another couple of years after that that I finally read it. That's how it goes with my bookshelves.

I have nothing else to add to article, I just thought it was an excellent read and I wanted to pass it along.

Stephen King’s Family Business - NY Times

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson | Audiobook Review

This is the not the first version I wrote of my review. The first version was a whole lot of fan girl spoiler action. I can't have any of the spoiler business on my blog so after getting it all out of my system, I scratched it and started anew.

Book Description

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.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense—the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

Review

I tried explaining what this book is about to my husband, and I bumbled through it rather incoherently. I'm not going to try to recreate that here. I will point you to the book description ^ to learn what The Rithmatist is about.

So, yeah. Basically these kids draw shapes with chalk to defend themselves against chalk creatures who can and will try to kill them.

It's kind of a nerdy book with the math and the unicorns, and I seriously loved it. 

I love when a book's excitement builds and builds for me. I was hooked early on because I like nerdy things, and I really liked Joel's character. Then students started disappearing and we started getting to know Melody and all of the teachers including that one new teacher you just know you can't trust.

Joel and Melody are trying to figure out who has been taking the kids, and a lot of awesome that I won't spoil ensues. I was so hooked to the story I was practically fist pumping for Joel and Melody in the end.

And the bad guy... I'm so excited about the bad guy, and I can't wait for the rest of this series. I mentioned the other day how frustrated I am that series books never give me a whole story anymore, but The Rithmatist gave me a complete story and a big dose of excitement over what's to come.

This is my first Brandon Sanderson book so I had no expectations going in, and I have no reference or comparison to his adult books. My library has two of his other series so I will be checking them out eventually.

If the book description sounds good to you, you should definitely read the book. The only comparison I have is it reminds me of Harry Potter. That's dangerous territory, I know, so take it how you will. As for me, I cannot wait to read the next book.

8/10: Great Read

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I listened to The Rithmatist on audio. The audiobook was narrated by Michael Kramer.