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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V.E. Schwab | 2020 | Contemporary, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Addie doesn’t want to marry and become just a wife and mother, waiting for old age and death. She wants to really live! So, on her wedding day she runs to the forest and asks the spirits there for help, just as her friend, and elderly woman, does. Addie has been warned not to make deals with the dark, but her plea for help coincides with dusk, and the wrong god/ spirit comes to her help. The deal is struck, and Addie finds herself making a deal that means for the cost of her soul, she will live for as long as she wants. It’s only afterwards that she learns that one of the conditions is that no one will remember her.

Until the day she meets Henry in present day New York.

Honestly, I don’t know why she had such a problem with the god she struck the deal with. He’s clearly rather dishy - dark, brooding, very powerful…

I’ve seen this described as Faustian, and I suppose it is. She makes a deal with a devil to live for longer. Except her deal has no time limit, or at least only the limit that she’ll give it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The Henry character was interesting as well, especially after his reveal.

This author has written a lot of YA apparently, and this is her first adult novel. It’s definitely worth keeping my eyes peeled for whatever she comes up with next!
  
46 of 220
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Plague of the Shattered ( The Gateway Trackers 2)
By E.E. Holmes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When a spirit Shatters, no one is safe...
Once every five years, the Northern Clans of the Durupinen gather at Fairhaven Hall. There at the ancient castle, surrounded by the very spirits they are bound to protect and serve, the clans settle disputes and shape the laws that govern the Gateways to the spirit world. For the first time, Jess and Hannah Ballard have to represent their clan. It is an awesome responsibility—a great honor… and they are sure it’s going to be the most boring week of their lives.
Oh, how very wrong they are.
For something dangerous is stalking the halls of Fairhaven. It lies in wait, striking down victim after victim, undetectable and inescapable. No one knows what it is, or what it wants, but one thing is clear: no one is safe until it is captured.
As their fellow Durupinen fall victim one by one, it will be up to Jess and Hannah, the newest members of the Trackers, to solve the mystery before the entirety of the castle is possessed.

I’m so happy she decided to write this follow on series. I really enjoyed this one. Was great catching up with characters even those I grew to hate. Looking forward to more. Jess and Hannah are set to prove those that doubt them wrong again.
  
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.4 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautiful descriptions (1 more)
Nice worldbuilding
Good but overhyped
So I finally got around to reading this one - people have been raving about it all year long. And honestly - I don't see what the fuss is about. It's good, sure. But it's not Girls Made of Snow and Glass, or The Crown's Game, or Uprooted. It's not The Golem and the Jinni. I enjoyed it, but I think the hype is a little undeserved. I am, however, always a sucker for Russian-themed fairytales. (Probably why I liked The Crown's Game and The Crown's Fate so much.) And I am looking forward to the sequel, The Girl in the Tower, which just came out. (I have a hold requested on it from my library.) The third book in the Winternight Trilogy appears to be The Winter of the Witch, and is scheduled to be published in August.

The Bear and the Nightingale is set in Rus - a Russia-like country, but with magic, of course. Vasilisa/Vasya is a granddaughter of a witch, and has some abilities herself. Mostly just the ability to see things that other can't, and to talk to them. Through the course of the book, she avoids an arranged marriage, saves a priest, fights a priest, and tries like hell to save her village from the demons of winter. I loved her tenacity, and her love for the old spirits. The description of The Winter King and his home was absolutely enchanting. Overall a good book, but a bit overhyped.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
Batgirl, Volume 2: Son of Penguin
Batgirl, Volume 2: Son of Penguin
Hope Larson | 2017 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I fell in love with Babs again when her story was reintroduced in DC's New 52 and she got a costume redesign. As much as I enjoyed Gail Simone's run, it was the collaboration of Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr that pulled me back in. I became obsessed with the new costume and loved Babs Tarr's art style. I adored issues 35-52, but then there was another change with DC Rebirth and Batgirl left Burnside. I was not quite as invested in the first few issues (plus I didn't enjoy the art), but that was soon remedied with the introduction of Penguin's son.

The story arc contained in Volume 2: Son of Penguin felt more like the New 52 Batgirl I fell in love with, again. Although the plot was predictable at times, it will still enjoyable. Both Hope Larson's writing and the talents of the artists gave me hope that Batgirl's run will continue to improve. As she is my favourite female superhero (other than Wonder Woman, I truly couldn't choose) I cannot wait to see where this team takes her story.

I would definitely recommend her Batgirl of Burnside arc from the New 52 and her new story in Rebirth to fans of comics and interesting female characters. I may also be biased because in this iteration she is a grad school student who is currently studying to become a librarian, which is exactly what I am doing - so I feel like we are kindred spirits, or twins. Whatever.
  
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
1993 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
Classic
Everything about this movie i love. The amimated, the visuals, the story, the songs, the charcters and so much more. It is both a halloween and christmas movie. It is not just one, but its both. Thats what i love. So lets talk about it...

The Plot: The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score, and provided the singing voice of Jack.

The charcters are so memorable, you remember what their look like, what lines their say, who their are.

Even though Henry selick directed this film, it is Tim Burton's film. Everything about this movie is a Tim Burton film- the charcters, the setting, the story, the darkness and so much more. Makes this film a tim burton film. Its also called Tim Burtons: The Nightmare Before Christmas.

It is a classic animated fantasy stop motion horror film, that is loved by all. A must see film.

Lastly shout out to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review right.
  
The Line (Witching Savannah, #1)
The Line (Witching Savannah, #1)
J.D. Horn | 2014
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Savannah is considered a Southern treasure, a city of beauty with a rich, colorful past. Some might even call it magical…

To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South.

Despite being powerless herself, of course.

Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content. But when a series of mishaps—culminating in the death of the Taylor matriarch—leaves a vacuum in the mystical underpinnings of Savannah, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that could shake her family apart…and unleash a darkness the line of Taylor witches has been keeping at bay for generations.



Ok so I have read a few books lately where a male is writing a lead female and have been so disappointed with them, not this time I loved the way Mercy is written I enjoyed the mix of supernatural and murder mystery plus the twists and turns. It was very well written and kept you wanting to read more even late into the night as it is now.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and really looking forward to book 2!