A Song of Siren and Blood: A Book Review

When I first started reading a Song of Siren and Blood I was initially confused, and still am a bit (don't worry, it's easy to do)...I'll explain. 

Summary: 

The main character Minerva is a tough old singer still actively singing and performing well into her seventies. The book begins at where Minerva has just received a very long standing ovation after singing a multiple hour live performance. While the fans love her,  her success as a musician never reached its full potential, as she is under appreciated, and under achieving singer for her talent. 

Being down on her luck, she accepts a job to give vocal lessons to a very wealthy client. Things end up not being what they seem.  A very wealthy businessman has hired someone to pull Minerva's soul out of her body, and into the body of a his daughter, a young girl named Moriganne Charmer.  The moving of souls however doesn't go as planned, and Minerva displaces the soul of the girl who's body she has been placed into. 

Minerva now has to navigate being a student again, in the Halls of the Stone Singers. She has six months to fool everyone around her into thinking she is still Moriganne, while also succeeding in school.

Thoughts:

The Song of Siren and Blood started off at a great pace, however I felt the world development and character development wasn't deep. I'm still a bit confused about the world, and hope to learn more about it's history and how/who/what has magic in future books. I have not read any of Thomas Carpenter's other books, and I'm thinking that I may be missing some information because I am starting at this point. I was still able to enjoy the book however, and am definitely interested to know if I should have started at a different point in his Hall Series books.

The The Song of Siren and Blood is available for purchase March 15, 2022!

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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A Feast of Ice and Fire: A Cookbook Review

Tell me I'm not the only one with a small collection of book themed cookbooks....right?

I'm a homeschooling mom of an amazing second grader, and the last few weeks we've been studying medieval history.  One of my favorite things do with my boy is to explore what we study with food, so of course I had to find some medieval recipes to go along with our studies.  What I ran across were lots of recipes with weird things...like, what's galingale, or why does the recipe say to cook it in a coffin? Don't worry I googled the answers.

I found an unlikely book that was well researched that proved an entertaining and easy way to show my son medieval spices while comparing it our modern blends. And ya'll...I learned why white people put raisins in everything...apparently we've been doing it for hundreds (or more) years.

A Feast of Ice and Fire Cookbook by Chelsea Monrole-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer was perfect for our studies.  We purchased this book a few years ago, after we got the Elder Scrolls Cookbook. My husband is a developer at the Elder Scrolls online, and we enjoyed that book so much we had to get the Ice and Fire too. 

First we made these medieval apple cakes. First she quotes Game of Thrones, when Jon breaks his fast with applecakes and blood sausage with Samwell Tarly....but my inner history geek squealed when she also quoted Ein Buch Von Guter Spise, from 1350. Then next to this recipe she has a modern apple cake recipe that resembles an apple muffin.  We didn't make those, but we talked about the differences between modern apple spices, and the Poudre Forte mix she has in her book.  

We waited until the weekend to make our next recipe so we could all sit down and enjoy a family medieval style dinner. The next recipe we tried was her Aurochs Roasted with Leeks....aka, Roasted Beef with Carrots and Leeks. I regret not pairing this with her Onions in Gravy recipe, however we did try her Medieval Black Pepper Sauce....it was not my thing, but it was still fun to try something new.

If you liked Game of Thrones, love to try new food, and love history you might really enjoy A feast of Ice and Fire She has written quite a few books for video games, including Elder Scrolls, and World of Warcraft, and even has a one for Star Trek coming out later this year. Since I am currently reading The Hobbit with my little guy right now, I might as well try and snag The Shire Cookbook....if I'm lucky enough to find it that is.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own out of pure joy, geekery of history, food and good books. There are Amazon links, should you choose to click on them they will not cost you anything, but may give my blog a small monetary kick back if you choose to purchase anything. 

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A Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

This book was slow to get going and I had to once again, draw on my four chapter rule.  Ya'll it's a good rule, and I encourage anyone to adopt it. It gives me just enough patience to allow the story to get some direction.  It works almost every time.

Summary:

A Far Wilder Magic, by Allison Shaft  begins with Margaret Welty, who is living mostly by herself.  Her mother an alchemist is almost always gone on research trips. Her family ties are almost non-existent since her father and brother have passed away.  Her mother is buried into her work, leaving Margaret alone most of the time.  While splitting wood one evening, she sees a mythical fox called a hala, and after sighting it she knows a hunt for it will begin in her town.

Wes Winters has dreams of becoming an alchemist however he keeps getting fired from his apprenticeships. In hopes of studying with one of the most well known alchemists, Master Evelyn Welty he travels to the small town of Wickdon...out in the middle of nowhere.  This is where he meets Margaret Welty, her mother the Master alchemist is out of town, and she agrees to let him stay until her mother gets home.  However, she doesn't reveal to him she's not exactly sure when she'll be back.

When the official contest for the hunt for the hala begins, Margaret wants to join in the hunt. She needs an alchemist partner, and convinces Wes to join her even though he's not technically an alchemist. 

My thoughts:

Beautiful world building and character development.  I love how the two main character's stories slowly begin to intertwine. They're both very relatable characters with insecurities, fears and strength that really brings them to life.  There are splashes of our own world issues such as racism, poverty, and disconnected politicians to make everything relatable, but with a touch of magic and beauty that remind us we are in New Albion, and not in the Pacific Northwest of the US. It had a slow start, but by the middle of the book I couldn't set it down.  Definitely worth the read.  

A Far Wilder Magic is available for purchase beginning March 8, 2022! 

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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A review: The Magpie's Song

If writing novels was an artform it would look like this book.  When I first started this book I immediately noticed Allison Pang's writing style, and how artfully she described the world she created. 

Summary:

The story develops quickly, immediately pulling you in and connecting you emotionally to the characters. Set in a dystopian world, Raggy Maggy is a tough independent young woman with a mysterious past. She is a Moon Child, which is defined by a half breed of a Meridian...the ruling class that lives in a floating city above the world, and a commoner who lives on the ground. As a Moon Child, she is thought to be immune to the plague that has devastated the area. 

My thoughts:

I love a strong woman lead in any book, and Maggy does not disappoint.  She is unapologetically herself, she loves hard, and isn't afraid of doing difficult and dangerous things. Combine this with clockwork dragons, mystery, secrets, religious zealots, disease and brilliant world building this book I found well worth the read.

Allison Pang leaves us on a bit of a cliff hanger, but graciously gave us a sneak peak at the end of the book for the next book in the series.  

Magpie's Song is the first installment of her Ironheart Chronicles series, and is available for purchase now. You can purchase by clicking here. Please be sure to check out her website by clicking here, and if you like Instagram be sure to give her a follow here.

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book for free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive.  There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  If you really love what you've read, please consider buying me a coffee by clicking the link on the right. Thanks!

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A Review: The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah

When I first started Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah I needed to lean on an old rule suggested by my dad when I was a kid. Give it four chapters before I set it down for good. This book had a slow, and confusing start.  I'm glad I stuck it through because by the fourth chapter I was pulled in.

Summary:

This story features Vaughn, a young author struggling with writer's block after lots of early and quick success.  He travels to Wisconsin and meets a lovely family by chance, and finding a strong connection to one member of that family in particular... Riley. Riley and Vaughn both have troubled pasts that make connection difficult, and Glendy Vanderah beautifully unpacks their trauma making everything that I found confusing at the beginning fit in neatly. 

My thoughts: 

This book left me swooning. It was absolutely perfect for these last few cold winter's nights, bundled up with my dog and a cup of tea. It was very much a relaxing and thoughtful read. This is the first novel of Vanderah's that I've had the pleasure of reading.  She has two other novels that have been highly rated as well and are now on my to-read list. To learn more about Glendy Vanderah please check out her website here. 

Oceanography of the Moon is available for purchase March 22, 2022.

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book for free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking on these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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Review: After the Plague by Imogen Keeper

Ya'll what a ride.  First of all, I would like to thank dear Imogen Keeper for the last three very very late nights that I couldn't put this book down. When I started reading After the Plague by Imogen Keeper, it felt very similar to the beginnings of covid which was an eerie connection for me. The book quickly became much much more.  The world in a few short weeks overcome with a flu strain with an insane death ratio, that ends up wiping out almost everyone.  It has an 80% death rate, but not everyone is susceptible.  A small population never got sick at all, and these survivors built their new post-plague world.

One of our main character's Frankie seems immune to the flu variant, but gets through it with a deep heavy loss.  She finds a boy, Auden, and his sweet collie named Beast. (The pupper in the photo is my own sweet collie boy, Benny!)  The boy and his dog give her a reason to continue living. After settling in with Auden and his dog, she meets Yorke, and together they form a tight family-like unit.  They begin looking for people like them in hopes to be a part of a bigger community.

If you're looking for a fast paced, slow burn post-apocalyptic romance that doesn't revolve around sex then I highly suggest this book.   I'm looking forward to reading her next installment, safe.

To learn more about Imogen Keeper please check out her website!

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book for free for review. This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking on these links won't cost you anything, but any purchase you make helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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