Books Via Ashley

April was a great month for reading! I read a total of 10 books: Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver (3.5 stars) Crocodile on the Sandbank - Elizabeth Peters ( reread ) (5 stars) Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor (5 stars) City of Miracles - Robert Jackson Bennett (4.5 stars) Daughter of the Pirate King - Tricia Levenseller (4.5 stars) Dumplin' - Julie Murphy (3.5 stars) Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (4 stars) Nefertiti - Michelle Moran (3 stars) Given to the Sea - Mindy McGinnis (2.5 stars) Quest of the Kings - Robert Evert (2 stars) Well, this month certainly had some incredible quality books! I got to read three highly anticipated novels from this year and oh man they did not disappoint! I LOVED  Daughter of the Pirate King  from the first chapter and can't wait for the sequel. Robert Bennett perfectly finished his Divine Cities trilogy with  City of Miracles . And now I have to go read everything Laini Taylor has written because I LOVED  Stran

Tomorrow my husband and I are off on a holiday to Egypt! We're going to tour from Cairo to Aswan and back again and see EVERYTHING. Ancient Egypt has always been a fascination of mine. I remember getting one of those Discovery Books about mummies when I was about eight years old and being totally mesmerized by it and everything Egyptian. When we learned about Ancient Egypt in sixth grade, I read the entire textbook and then some. To top it all off, I recently completed my MA in Egyptology. To celebrate, here are some novels I've read that have to do with Egypt, both ancient, modern, and fantastical. Nefertiti - Michelle Moran This book, told from the perspective of Nefertiti's little sister, Mutnodjmet, chronicles the rise of one of Egypt's most famous queens. While I don't love Moran's writing or characterization, she breathes life into Ancient Egypt, vividly describing the beauty and wonder of the civilization and the people. She's also writt

Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever." Review " On the second sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky. Her skin was blue, her blood was red. " How about THAT for an opening line? (read the rest of the prologue here ) And that GORGEOUS cover! This is the UK cover and I am in love. Usually I don't really care about covers one way or another but I can always appreciate a beautiful book. Ahhhh what ca

Hey everyone! Head on over to the Goodreads BooksViaAshley book club page for the discussion for the book of the month, Crocodile on the Sandbank. I want to know what you thought of the book! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18584048-crocodile-on-the-sandbank-discussion

Quest of the Kings  - Robert Evert I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author and the publisher for this opportunity. Synopsis Sixteen-year old Natalie is a peasant who dreams of more than mucking out stables to support her impoverished family. After a nasty run-in with an adventurer named Brago, Natalie seeks help from another adventurer, Sir Edris. With Brago after Natalie, together, they seek the elusive golden harp to win the contest and save her loved ones. Review This story has SO much potential. I liked how Natalie fights against the barriers imposed on her by society and shows that she can be just as tough and clever—more so even—than any man. I liked the idea of a quest for treasure! However, the writing failed to draw me in. The dialogue felt stilted, the characters more caricatures of types rather than fully realized people. Natalie was so naive and a brat. I felt like there was no growth on her part.

City of Miracles - Robert Jackson Bennett Synopsis  ( from Goodreads ) "Revenge. It's something Sigrud je Harkvaldsson is very, very good at. Maybe the only thing. So when he learns that his oldest friend and ally, former Prime Minister Shara Komayd, has been assassinated, he knows exactly what to do and that no mortal force can stop him from meting out the suffering Shara's killers deserve. Yet as Sigrud pursues his quarry with his customary terrifying efficiency, he begins to fear that this battle is an unwinnable one. Because discovering the truth behind Shara's death will require him to take up arms in a secret, decades-long war, face down an angry young god, and unravel the last mysteries of Bulikov, the city of miracles itself. And perhaps most daunting of all finally face the truth about his own cursed existence." Review I discovered City of Stairs last year and quickly devoured that and the sequel,  City of Blades . Then I won an ARC (Advance R

The Magicians  - Lev Grossman Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) Like everyone else, precocious high school senior Quentin Coldwater assumes that magic isn't real, until he finds himself admitted to a very secretive and exclusive college of magic in upstate New York. There he indulges in joys of college-friendship, love, sex, and booze- and receives a rigorous education in modern sorcery. But magic doesn't bring the happiness and adventure Quentin thought it would. After graduation, he and his friends stumble upon a secret that sets them on a remarkable journey that may just fulfill Quentin's yearning. But their journey turns out to be darker and more dangerous than they'd imagined. Review Promoted as "Harry Potter for adults", I would say that's somewhat accurate. There's a magical college. And it's very adult. As in lots of sex and drinking, etc. The school part is actually only the first half of the book. I felt like there was just a bunch of

Empress of a Thousand Skies - Rhoda Belleza Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "Rhee is the only surviving heir to an ancient Kalusian dynasty. Alyosha is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence: Rhee is attacked, barely escaping with her life. Aly is blamed for her presumed murder. The princess and her accused killer are forced to go into hiding - even as a war between planets is waged in Rhee's name. But soon, Rhee and Aly discover that the assassination attempt is just one part of a sinister plot. Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy." Review This was our March 2017 Book Club pick! This book received a lot of hype. I actually got the physical paperback, and the cover is gorgeous, plus there's a great map. I think the biggest thing that bugged me about this book was the blurb