Books Via Ashley

Ink and Bone - Rachel Caine Book 1 of the Great Library series Synopsis What if the Great Library of Alexandria had never been destroyed? In Jess Brightwell's world, it hasn't. Independent and above any nationality or people, the Library is present in every city around the world and rules all knowledge that's given to the people. Through Alchemy, information can be shared, but private ownership of books is forbidden. Jess comes from a family that runs a thriving black market book business. He is sent by his family to train to be in the library's service, but soon finds his loyalties tested, and comes to find that the Library has secrets of its own. Review I really enjoyed this book. I love books and libraries and alternate histories, and this has all three. In any good alternate history, the world-building has to be fantastic, and in this case it really was. It was interesting to see how the library's dominance and technology had changed the cours...

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas Warning: This is Book #2 in the series, so there are some *spoilers*.  Title is abbreviated as "ACOMAF" Synopsis Picking up where A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) left off, Feyre has survived the ordeal Under The Mountain, defeating the dark High Fae Amarantha, and has returned to the Spring Court. But she can't forget the horrible things she had to do to save her love, Tamlin, and all of the Fae. She also has a bargain with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, that she can't break. As she's walking down the aisle for her wedding to Tamlin, Rhy calls in their deal, and Feyre is forced to navigate dangerous politics, her burgeoning magic, and an even greater threat than the one she already faced. Review First off, WOW. I read the first book, ACOTAR, earlier this year, and I really enjoyed it. It started off as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and then took a very different and much darker tu...

September is looking like THE month for book publications! Here are 5 books that I'm looking forward to: 1) The Reader - Traci Chee Release date: 13 September I've heard a lot of hype about this book and the premise sounds interesting. A world where reading is illegal. After Sefia's father is murdered, she finds the only thing that holds the answers is a strange, rectangular object he left behind--a book. 2) A Shadow Bright and Burning - Jessica Cluess Release date: 20 September Again, a book that has received a lot of attention. Henrietta Howel is the first female sorcerer in a hundred years and has been heralded as the Chosen One. Except she isn't. But she can't let them know. 3) Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake Release date: 20 September I love Kendare Blake and everything she's ever written, so when I heard about this new series I was beyond excited. Besides that, the story sounds very intriguing. And, knowing Blake, it will b...

This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab Review: The newest book by one of my favorite authors, V.E. Schwab (She goes by "Victoria" for her YA novels). I love the premise for the book: violent acts create actual monsters. The two main characters are a human girl named Kate who desperately wants to be a (figurative) monster: a big, bad crime boss like her father, who runs one half of V-City. The other is August, who is a literal monster, a Malchai, one that drains the souls of his victims through his music, who desperately seeks his own personal humanity. I loved them both, and their personalities and characters and drives are so multi-faceted and real. They interact with other characters in believable and different ways. The juxtaposition of these two characters in and of itself is one of the driving things behind this story, and one of the things that makes it so compelling. Even though marketed as a YA, it really delves into the deep questions: What makes us human? W...

In honor of just having been recently married last Friday (!!! :D), here are five books that have to do with love and marriage: 1) Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen I mean, you all had to know this would be on here. This book is ALL about marriage! I love Pride & Prejudice because it's about flawed people (both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth) who realize their mistakes and work to become better people for each other and slowly build up their love and trust. Plus Mrs. Bennett's (and everyone's, really) obsession with marrying off all her daughters is fun and ridiculous to behold. 2) Les Miserables - Victor Hugo This book has a ton of things going on in it, from the heavy themes of justice and mercy, to the plight of the lower classes, but mixed in among everything is a very sweet love story. The musical makes the love between Cosette and Marius seem very fast, but if you read the book, it happens over the course of a few months, and after all the craziness...