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The Last Namsara (Iskari, #1)
The Last Namsara (Iskari, #1)
Kristen Ciccarelli | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Last Namsara is Kristen Ciccarelli's debut novel and I am in love. The world building was brilliantly done and laid a strong foundation for her story to grow and develop.

Asha is a dragon hunter and a feared Iksari who is strong and dedicated to her role in the kingdom. Despite the fact that her actions as a child called the dragons who burned her city, she fights every day to redeem herself from her past mistakes and make her father, the King, proud. It was nice to see the main character learns to value herself, even though she has grown up shamed and feared by the people. She overcomes her prejudices and the damage instilled upon her over the course of the novel.

Her transformative journey begins when a slave, Torwin is introduced to her life. He treats her like a normal person, just as she learns to treat him as one. He opens her eyes to the truth of the world and thaws her damaged heart, leading her to learn so much about the people in her kingdom and a better way to live.

There was also a well-written antagonist who was so controlling and cruel that you couldn't help but hate him. It was a nice juxtaposition to Torwin's character and helped push the plot along. For me, the romance was a secondary plot point and sometimes only slowed down the pacing. It wasn't the most important element of the story.

The world building, mythology and the dragons are what shone for me. I cannot wait to see more of this world. I listened to this via audiobook and the narrator, Pearl Mackie did a fantastic job. I loved the authenticity she brought to Asha's character and would highly recommend this audiobook.
  
Here We Lie
Here We Lie
Paula Treick DeBoard | 2018 | Mystery
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two Worlds Collide
Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are polar opposites. While Megan comes from a middle-class family in Kansas, Lauren hails from a wealthy Connecticut-based family. While Megan’s father slowly succumbed to mesothelioma which he referred to as the poor man’s cancer, Lauren’s father is a well-liked U.S. Senator with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. While Megan has to use her father’s life insurance money to pay for tuition and housing at Keale College (a prestigious, private, and all-girls school), Lauren is given a continual allowance that gets her through her college years with utmost ease. When they meet during their freshman year at Keale College, they unexpectedly become the best of friends. Sharing clothes, secrets, roommates, ambitions, and more, the pair goes through many ups and downs in their friendship during the following years. But one fateful night while they’re vacationing with Lauren's family on an island off the coast of Maine, something terrible happens to Megan and their friendship is irreparably damaged afterwards.

Told in an alternating first-person perspective between Megan and Lauren, Here We Lie is a powerful and relevant story about friendship, betrayal, political scandal, and abuse. I enjoyed everything about it, from the back-and-forth jumps between past and present to the incredible growth of both the main characters. The narrative is fast-paced and compelling, and the ending is beautiful and inspiring. With the rise of the #MeToo movement in the present-day world, Paula Treick DeBoard’s incredibly timely latest novel is sure to spark plenty of conversation about sexual abuse victims and perpetrators, motivation for reform and accountability, and at the very least food for thought.
  
Micah P. Hinson & the Gospel of Progress by Gospel of Progress / Micah P Hinson
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I forget quite which year this album came out [2004], but it was an astonishing time for new music. There were wonderful albums by Martha Wainwright, Antony And The Johnsons and Arcade Fire. Micah P. Hinson's record was another – it was so simple. It didn't really have choruses or verses – he had a thing which I call a 'ver-chorus', which is something in between the two. It was totally memorable and his words never fail to hit the mark. The simplicity means that the album depends very strongly on the arrangement and they are impeccable. They remind me of Leonard Cohen in some ways. He has a wonderfully deep voice. He seems to have gone through some kind of hell. I am not quite sure what it was – he made reference to it when I saw him play a show. Every single lyric hits home to me. Some of them sound a bit like homilies to me, but the way he sings them makes you believe him. There is not a dud track and I still listen to it, to this day. I have tried many of his later songs, but this is the record if you want an introduction to Micah P. Hinson. It's a great record. When you asked for the list, I could have chosen bands that meant more to me – I didn't choose a record by The Doors – and I could have easily included Martha Wainwright's debut, but in the end I had to be honest with myself and come back to the records I cannot stop playing. This is one of them. It was a toss-up between Martha and Micah, and I went for Micah in the end."

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    SkySafari 5

    SkySafari 5

    Reference and Education

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    SkySafari 5 is the newest version of the world's best astronomy app!! If you've used an older...