New Releases ~ week of 07/09/2018

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo (#10 Kate Burkholder)
A Soufflé of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber (#2 A French Bistro Mystery)
Awaken the Darkness by Dianne Duvall (#8 Immortal Guardians)
Baby Blue by Pol Koutsakis (#2 Stratos Gazis)
Bright We Burn by Kiersten White (#3 And I Darken)
Broken Edge by CD Reiss (#3 The Edge)
Broken Love Story by Natasha Madison (#3 Love Series)
Buckled by Pam Godwin (#2 Trails of Sin)
Dead Ringer by Pandora Pine (#6 Cold Case Psychic)
Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys (#2 The Innsmouth Legacy)
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss (#2 The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club)

Final Resting Place by Jonathan F Putnam (#3 Lincoln and Speed Mystery)
Freed by Carly Phillips (#3 Rosewood Bay)
Friends with Benefits by Nicole Blanchard (#3 Friend Zone)
In the Valley of the Devil by Hank Early (#2 Earl Marcus Mystery)
Issued to the Bride One Soldier by Cora Seton (#5 Brides of Chance Creek)
Learn About Loss by Cassandra Clare, Kelly Link (#4 Ghosts of the Shadow Market)
Light Unfolding by Rebecca Royce (#8 Wings of Artemis)
Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (#1 Seaside Cafe Mysteries)
Lost by Kristin Cast, P C Cast (#2 House of Night Other World)
Marry Me By Sundown by Johanna Lindsey (#3 Callahan-Warren)
Murder at the Flamingo by Rachel McMillan (#1 Van Buren & DeLuca Mystery)
Murder Girl by Lisa Renee Jones (#2 Lilah Love)
Paris by Audrey Carlan (#1 International Guy)
Poisoned Pages by Lorna Barrett (#12 Booktown Mystery)
Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert (#2 A Blue Ridge Library Mystery)
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Broken Vow by Scott Westerfeld (#2 The Spill Zone)
The Dam Keeper: World Without Darkness by Robert Kondo (#2 Dam Keeper)
Walk the Line by J. Kenner (#12 Man of the Month)
Warrick by Dale Mayer (#15 Seals of Honor)
Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton (#2 The Paternus Trilogy)

This Week's Reads

Skull-Mountain Gate
by CursedhandArt (DeviantArt)

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels #2 (Goodreads)
**I finally started this series last week. Book One was a fast read and I really enjoyed it. I cannot wait to find out more about Kate, Curran, and the rest of the characters that make up this world.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Temeraire #1 (Goodreads)
**I think I mentioned this one before but was not in the mood for it at the time. I've seen this series around on many fantasy lists. I've doing good with other fantasy this summer and hoping this one continues along that track.

New Releases ~ week of 06/13/2016

Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh (#15 Psy-Changelings)

Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts (#2 Guardians Trilogy)
Blood In the Water by Taylor Anderson (#11 Destroyermen)
Charcoal Joe by Walter Mosley (#14 Easy Rawlins)
Claim Me by Anna Zaires (#3 Capture Me)
Death On the Sapphire by R J Koreto (#1 Lady Frances Ffolkes Mystery)
Dominance Never Dies by Lexi Blake (#11 Masters and Mercenaries)
Duty and Honor by Grant Blackwood (#9 Jack Ryan, Jr.)
Escape from Asylum by Madeleine Roux (#4 Asylum)
Falling Free by Tina Wainscott (#3 Falling Fast)
Fixin' To Die by Tonya Kappes (#1 Kenni Lowry Mystery)
Foreign Agent by Brad Thor (#15 Scot Harvath)

Gods by Ednah Walters (#3 Eirik)
Going Deep by Jayne Rylon (#2 Divemasters)
Ink Enduring by Carrie Ann Ryan (#5 Montgomery Ink)
Into the Light by Aleatha Romig (#1 The Light)
Jack by Grace Burrowes (#4 Jaded Gentlemen)
Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige (#2 First and Last)
League of Dragons by Naomi Novik (#9 Temeraire)
Lost Dog by Alan Russell (#3 Gideon and Sirius)
Murder on the Quai by Cara Black (#16 Aimee Leduc)
Nightstalkers by Steve Alten (#5 Meg)
Out On Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler (#3 Radleigh University)

Project (Un)Popular by Kristen Tracy (#1 Project Un-Popular)
Reliquary by Sarah Fine (#1 Reliquary)
Rise of the Robot Army by Robert Venditti (#2 Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape)
Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson (#2 Kavanagh Legends)
Scorch by Dani Collins (#2 Firefighters of Montana)
Sea Spell by Jennifer Donnelly (#4 Waterfire Saga)
Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation by James Runcie (#5 Grantchester Mystery)
Some People Talk with God by John Enright (#2 Dominick Chronicles)
Steeplejack by A J Hartley (#1 Alternative Detective)

Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley (#2 The Checquy Files)
The Devil's Cold Dish by Eleanor Kuhns (#5 Will Rees)
The Ghostfaces by John Flanagan (#6 Brotherband Chronicles)
The Kidnap Plot by Dave Butler (#1 Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie)
The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker (#2 The Witch Hunter)
The Rise of Earth by Jason Fry (#3 Jupiter Pirates)
The Saddle Maker's Son by Kelly Irvin (#3 Amish of Bee County)
Title Wave by Lorna Barrett (#10 Booktown Mystery)
Unchained by Elisabeth Naughton (#7.6 Eternal Guardians)
Widowmaker by Paul Doiron (#7 Mike Bowditch Mystery)
Wyvern's Mate by Deborah Cooke (#1 The Dragons of Incendium)

Some Thursday Randomness

Around the House

I like weird, quirky, unique things. Especially household items. Came across the site Medieval Collectibles (website) and wanted just about everything.

Dragon Bookends
(website)

Dragon Cross Table
(website)

Geared Steampunk Dragon
(website)

ART

Wizard - Blood and Fire Hydra (fan art)
by  DarkAkelarre (DeviantArt)

Shenlong the rainbringer
by  VampirePrincess007 (deviantart)

Books
I'm always looking for new books. I came across this series by Naomi Novik called Temeraire. It is an alternate history series based on the Napoleonic Wars but with dragons. The first book is His Majesty's Dragon.(Goodreads)

Haven't read any of these books but the video is cute.

Book Review ~ Uprooted

Uprooted (Goodreads)

by Naomi Novik
published by Del rey
genre: Fantasy, YA,

Summary: “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

My Thoughts: I kept passing over this one every time I saw it at the library. I finally decided at the end of the year to just grab it and give it a try. I'm glad I did. This is the first I've read from Naomi Novik and I enjoyed her writing.
I found the world and story unique and engaging. Once Agnieszka was "chosen" and taken to the tower I was hooked. While I didn't like all her crying at first, it seemed at odds with her character, when she finally got it together she became a strong character. The Dragon, while a nice contrast to Agnieszka, was kind of a flat character at times.
What made this story was the magic and the story of the Wood. The author did a great job showcasing the sharp contrasts between the Dragon's and Agnieszka's magic. This made the times that they joined their magic that much better.
Overall, I'm glad I took the time to read it. I cannot say that it's something I would read again which is why it's not a 5 rating but would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy of any sort.

Rating: 4.5

This Week's Reads

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Goodreads)
**Kept seeing this at the library but wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to read. Decided to give it a chance.

Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions by Sheila Grau illustrated by Joe Sutphin (Goodreads)
**I find if I mix a middle grade book into my reading rotation it helps keep me from burnout.

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman (Goodreads)
**I've been really into fantasy of all kinds lately. This sounds to have a mix of both epic fantasy and historical fiction.