Better than Avatar | Air Awakens by Elise Kova

Air Awakens

By Elise Kova
Air Awakens #1
Published on August 27, 2015 
377 pages
Young Adult, Fantasy

This book was provided to me from YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

Vhalla wakes up in the morning as a library apprentice, content with her place in the world. She works in the stacks of books, reads more than she probably should, eats, and goes to bed. She fears the magic in the Tower of Sorcerers just like everybody else. 
But her view of the world changes with the letters from a mysterious writer and the new feeling that is awakening within her. 
This magic that is suddenly apparent in her becomes a problem in a world where magic is frightening and shrouded in mystery. Vhalla must decide if she is willing to pursue her new magical path in life or if she will reject her magic and the responsibilities that come with it. That decision is rather complicated when both the Minister of the Tower of Sorcery and the Crown Prince both had secret agendas that involve Vhalla and her powers.

Top Ten Tuesday | Songs I Wish were Books

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

I am so excited to discuss more music with you guys since the last TTT I did with discussing the songs that have been stuck in my head lately.

Today, we are discussing songs that I wish would be make into books. Some of these picks are because the songs are so lyrical and beautiful that I would love to see more of the writing in novel-form, and others are due to the unique premise or story already shown in the songs.

Art, Life, and Love according to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch

By Donna Tartt
Published October 22, 2013
773 pages
Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction, Art

Theodore Decker's life was a mess, even before he stumbled museum, and subsequently, into a terrorist bombing with his mother.
As fulfillment of an old man's dying wish in the wreckage of the museum, Theo leaves with a priceless painting, but without his mother. 
From that day on, Theo's life is spent bouncing from place to place, and family to family. He starts at the house of a wealthy family friend in New York to the dusty streets of Las Vegas and the quiet isolation of Amsterdam. The only thing that stays with him is the painting from that cursed day in the museum.
One stolen painting in his childhood leads to a life on the edge, where there is a fine line between good and bad. Theo must decide if life, love, and art are valuable enough to keep fighting for.

In Defense of Reading Multiple Books at Once

I am not one of those people who systematically eat their meals in order. (I hope we have already established the fact that I am far from normal, if not, here is your first clue.) For example, if I were to have a hearty and delicious meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas, I would not eat anything in order. I would probably start with the meatloaf, and eat a couple of bites of the surprisingly delicious protein yes, meatloaf can be amazing. Then, I would take a couple of scoopfuls of mashed potatoes, maybe even mixing the meatloaf and the potatoes. I would then rotate to taste the peas. This process would repeat until I finish the whole meal.

I read exactly like I read. I love to nibble on one book, then snack on another, then return to the first one. (See, there was a point to that intro besides making you incredibly hungry.)

I read multiple books at one time, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

Size does matter | Demon Princess by Kassandra Lynn

Demon Princess

By Kassandra Lynn
Demon Kingdom Fairy Tales #1
Published on December 21, 2015
162 Pages
Fantasy, Young Adult

This book was provided to me from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

Adriana's coronation day did not go exactly as planned. She is not even supposed to be the Demon King yet. But in the absence of both her father and her brother, she is forced to step up to the throne and take charge of the Demon Kingdom. 

But before Adriana even has a chance to feel the crown on her head, she is summoned to a fledgling mage who has no idea the power that he just summoned. Now instead of wearing her crown and controlling the power of the Demon Kingdom, Adriana is forced to obey the will of a weakly mage who cannot even light a candle by himself. 

If Adriana wants to keep her kingdom safe, she has to hide her identity from the mortals who trapped her and get back to her leaderless kingdom before it falls apart.  

Preparing for Heartbreak | The OTP Tag

The charming Carlisa at Confessions of Carlisa tagged me for the OTP tag, just in time for Valentine's Day (really it was a couple of weeks ago, but we are going to pretend that I am not a procrastinator for this post).

The rules of this tag are pretty simple, even if the decisions are not. Many of you probably know that a "ship" is, and no, we are not talking about the kind that floats on water, a relationship between characters that you promote, love, and in dire cases, cry over. The OTP, or ONE TRUE PAIRING, is the same thing, but they do not have to necessarily be the relationship in the book. You can think anything is an OTP, like peanut butter and jelly or chocolate, and, well, anything. 

Also, just so you know, these are my personal opinions. You may not agree with me, which is fine. But please let's just keep this fun and civil.

Top Ten Tuesday | If I Cannot Travel Through Time, Then I Will Read Instead

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

First of all, here is a little disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of historical fiction. I do read it from time to time, but it is not my area of expertise. At the moment, my head is too stuck in fantasy and science-fiction worlds for me to attempt to get back into historical reality. 

But, today's topic will helpfully get both me and you into the mood to try some historical fiction. I am going to describe my favorite historical settings that I would love to read about.