The Reason I Love Reading

Hello my loyal readers, whoever you are (if you exist at all),

Today on my horribly maintained blog which I feel bad about every time I think about it you get to hear about why I personally love to read. I got this idea from another book blog, because surprise surprise I read more than I write. The blog is Short Girl Writes and she wrote a post about why she loves to read and thus inspired me to share my own story of where my love of reading comes from.

Books have surrounded me my entire life. For as long as I can remember there's been a bookshelf in my room and books piled on my parent's night stands. I some of my earliest memories are of being read to by my parents, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, basically anyone I could convince. They weren't chapter books or anything fancy, I remember the Berenstain Bears and Doctor Seuss more than anything else. Harry Potter which if you're new here plays a rather large role in my life came later but it was always there and the movies were there before that. My family loves to tell the story of a little toddling me carrying around a magazine because I wanted to read like my mom did all the time. I remember always wanting to share in this magic that they so often disappeared into and occasionally shared with me.

When I started kindergarten at the tender age of five, I was a teacher's pet from day one and came home distraught telling my grandmother "I can't even read yet!" My grandmother being my grandmother set out to remedy that problem that moment. I can assure you that Dick and Jane has never had a more thorough use, unless it was my brother a few years later. We read that book over and over again and she made flash cards of all the words in that book and any words I didn't know in the books that were sent home. By Christmas I had mastered little words and was reading fairly well. By the next school year I had surpassed little books like The Three Billy Goats and moved onto chapter books like Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones.

By second grade I had moved onto books like Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie. One of my favorite memories of that time is when I had to read a story for class. I read it in a few minutes and told my dad I was done. He naturally didn't believe me because what seven year old can read an entire story in five minutes. So he made me read it again with him watching and tell him what it was all about. I did and blew his mind. That Christmas I got a nook and Nancy Drew books and my own set of digital Anne of Green Gables books. That Easter I became the first grandchild to go on vacation with my grandparents was presented with The Little House in the Big Woods as a present from my parent on the way home.

Skip a couple of years with very similar reading habits complete with all the Nancy Drew books, Anne once or twice, and all the Little House books. Fourth grade comes around and I finally got around to reading Harry for the first time. And thus I completed my foray into fantasy and finish becoming the bookworm I am. 

I completely blame my love for reading on my family. They've always surrounded me with books and a deep love for reading. It's a love I hope to pass on to my children someday (that day's a long way off but someday). I've already tried with varying levels of success to pass on this love to my younger cousins because I'm the super nerd over here. I can only hope that y'all will see this and go forth and share your love for reading with the world. I however leave you with this question: What inspired your love for reading? Is there one person in particular who did it? 

Happy reading,

Merlin:)

Throne of Glass Sarah J Maas

So when all this started, I said I was going to blog more and actually be consistent with my reviews. But I didn't. At least I'm consistent with my inconsistency and not blogging. I read Throne of Glass several years ago and absolutely fell in love with Celaena Sardothien and all the characters and honestly it's a crime I haven't reviewed it sooner. One night I pontificated on for hours explaining the plot of the first four or five books however many were out at the time to CA because that's just the kind of person I am and that should tell you just how much I love these books. CA still reminds me of it when I talk too much. Anyway the series follows Celaena, an assassin through her various adventures.

Characters!

So bear with me as I try to remember who were the major characters were in the first book, and describe the without giving away anything more than is in this book.

• Celaena Sardothien- of course we have our main character. She also happens to be one of my absolute favorite characters. She's pretty badass even in this book. She's an assassin and thus trained in all sorts of deadly arts and generally keeping her head while having an amazing temper and ability to hold a grudge. She's spunky and determined and a bookworm to boot.
• Dorian Halivard- He's the Crown Prince of the Adarlan Empire and I love him a lot. He's a sweetheart and also a booklover and if you can't guess I love booklover characters. He disagrees with his father on pretty much everything and I really need to start rereading books before I review them. Honestly I know so much about his personality and character but I'm just not sure how much of it goes with this book and how much character growth is involved. So I'm going with sweetheart who stands for what he believes in.
• Chaol Westfall- No I don't actually know how to pronounce that, I think it's something like Kale but I don't actually know. He's the captain of the guard and Dorian's personal guard and best friend. He's not my favorite character and that's partly because of this book and partly because of the rest of the series and the way he acts toward Celaena. Anyway he's naturally suspicious and watches out for Dorian and wants the best for him. He's also judgemental, less so in this book if I remember correctly but he's still judgemental.
• Nehemia- She becomes one of Celaena's best friends. TBH I don't remember much about her but what I do remember is that she is sweet and strong. She comes from the the country Eyllwe, a former country in Erilea that Adarlan conquered. She encourages Celaena and helps her to continue on even when she's discouraged. I'm also not entirely certain she's in this book.

There are so many characters that I absolutely love and some I really hate but I can't talk about them because they haven't come in yet or the reasons I love or hate them give away too much. Basically from this point on I'm going to be screaming READ THIS SERIES! at you.

Plot!!

So the plot is a little fuzzy for me because it's running into the next book so bear with me here. So we start the book with Dorian and Chaol in the Endiover Salt Mines demanding that Celaena be Dorian's Champion for this contest his father is putting on. The reason they have for wanting Celaena is that she is or at least was before she got caught (and that's a whole other plot point that belongs in the short story collection) the most feared assassin in the entire empire. Here's the catch she's eighteen, and a girl. Her trial was held behind closed doors and after the trial all record of her was struck from the record. So she can't go by her actual name so they come up with an alias Lillian Gordaina and offer her relative freedom if she competes. If she doesn't she goes back to mining in Endovier and you don't really say no to the Crown Prince and Captain of the Guard. So she does and enters into a competition that should be to the death (it only kinda is). She trains and competes in various trials of fighting and poisons and other assassin skills. And of course dodges suspicion  from the other contestants all while trying to stay alive and facing off against magic. Magic that shouldn't exist. It disappeared from the continent ten years ago when the King took over. 

Review!

So I love this entire series, but honestly this book isn't my favorite. Celaena isn't as awesome here as she is in the next book even and the magic is kinda forced. It is however worth reading because it opens up the whole universe. I give it five paw prints with a note of you should definitely read the rest of the series and it gets so much better. 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾   READ IT

Happy Reading!

Merlin:)

We're still pretty much stuck inside

So everyone here is pretty much still stuck inside, but we're starting to be able to get out, a little. I thought I'd share what I have been doing for the last month and half two months stuck inside.
I haven't had much to do, being inside in all, but I've become the perfect house wife. I cook, clean, and do housework all day long. To add to my housewife/grandmother presentation I've taken up knitting again. I rather enjoy the activity, it's very relaxing, but it still makes me seem like really old soul. It makes me wonder why I stopped in the first place, I figure it'll come back to me and I'll once again stop all handicrafts much like I do this blog. It comes in spells. I've also done a ridiculous number of puzzles. And yet some how, in all this time I've had I've managed to fall behind on my reading. I don't really know how. I just haven't had the motivation to read instead watching three seasons of Star Trek Voyager in a week and a half. So I pose the question to all of you what have you done during this? I really want to know.
Hopefully this will all be over soon,
Merlin:)

A Short List of Things to do While Stuck Inside

Hello all,
We've made it this far without going completely insane, I hope. So in an effort to stave off boredom, mine and yours, I'm compiling a list of things to do. Feel free to add to this list, I take suggestions.

• Do a puzzle (this is one of my favorites)
• Bake (I know CA likes when I do that)
• Clean
• Read (after all we are here to discuss books)
• Binge Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime/Disney+ (which is fun but not useful)
• Learn a new skill
• Do crafts
• Try new recipes
• Take photographs
• Enjoy nature
• Take up a new hobby
• Do art (you know draw, paint, whatever it is you do)
• I've run out of things to put on this list 

This is all of the puzzles I've done thus far except one, mostly because I'm missing like 4 pieces that I'm sure I'm somewhere. Cinderella was a nightmare to put together the frame inside is flimsy and the pieces bent and don't like to stay together. I'll add more here and on Instagram as I do them.
Happy social distancing try not to go crazy,
Merlin:)

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

Woohoo another review. That's two this week. I'm very proud of this. It may be the only thing good coming out of having to social distance, well that and keeping other people from getting sick. Anyway we're moving on to 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston. It's set at Christmas and I read it around Valentines day but being a ROM-COM it still fit the mood. I then immediately begged CA to read it an she loved it. So now I'm spreading the love, and hopefully much needed joy with all of y'all in this depressing time. I also met the author on a rainy February day, she's really nice, so there will be some random facts I gained from her included. So the basic premise is that Sophie is spending Christmas at home with her friends and boyfriend rather than with her family. That goes down the drain and she goes to her Grandparent's house to spend Christmas with her rather large family.

Characters!

I'm only going to do the big main characters being Sophie, her cousins, Wes, and her boyfriend because I just don't want to go through every aunt, uncle and relative and I just don't have the energy.

• Sophie- She's a senior in high school and still figuring out where she wants to go to college and basically staring down the nose of the rest of her life and is understandably a little overwhelmed. She's also sweet and loves her family more than anything, even if they do get on her nerves sometimes. After all when her Christmas plans fall apart that's who she runs to. Sophie also will not take crap from people.
• Olivia- Sophie's cousin who is sweet and excited that Sophie is with them for the holidays. She wants Sophie to be happy and have fun this Christmas like they used to. She's on Sophie's side, most of the time, and much like Sophie stands by her family.
• Charlie- Sophie's other cousin I'm actually going to talk about and not just mention in passing. He's hilarious in that 17 year old boy kind of way. All of the Fab Four, being Sophie, Olivia, Charlie, and Wes (he's next) are about the same age. It's very important to remember he's a 17 year old boy from Louisiana and not to expect much more of him. The family and Louisiana play a very big role in who he is and I can just tell you this coming from a close Southern family.
• Wes- The final member of the Fab Four. He's super sweet and caring. He's not even genetically part of the their family and yet they mean so much to him too and his family is practically part of their family.
• Griffin- I don't like Griffin. He's Sophie's ex-boyfriend. He's your regular southern douche who doesn't know what he's lost until it's gone and then proceeds to be over it like that. He really irritates me.

Plot!

So we start our story with Sophie's parents leaving her at home for Christmas. They are going to see her sister, who is on bed-rest with pre-eclampsia, and the plan is for her to go spend the vacation with her grandparents and very very large family. She on the other hand plans on sneaking away and spending most of the break with her friends and boyfriend. She goes to tell Griffin this and overhears him talking about wanting to break up with her, so she saves him the trouble and breaks up with him and drives to her grandparents. While she cries, her grandmother, Nona, comes up with a plan to help her feel better. Over the rest of Christmas break, excluding Christmas Eve and Day, members of the family are going to set her up on ten blind dates. And that's where the title comes from. Some dates are great like Olivia, Charlie, and her cousin Sara's dates which include an underground Christmas party. Other's like Aunt Patice's or the Evil Joe's aren't as great, I'll leave you to decide which is worse. And of course to make it interesting Griffin comes crawling back asking for a second chance with Sophie. And makes her question everything.

My Opinion! (mixed with some random facts I learned from the author)

I personally loved this book and can't wait for 10 Truths and A Dare which is set to come out some time next year I think. The spirit of the book is incredible it's set at Christmas, came out in October and I think it would be a good read any time of the year, especially now when we need something light and happy. Ashley breaks the rule about having a cast of thousands but it just doesn't matter all of them are so much fun and a family. I mean when my entire family gets together there are fifteen people and we don't hold a candle to this family with our loudness and craziness. All of the dates are fun to read, even the ones that gave me second hand embarrassment. When I met Ashley she said the reason behind all the blind dates stems from the fact that she and her husband met on a blind date. And to top it all off this wonderful book is becoming a Netflix movie done by the same people who did To All the Boys. I'm very excited about this and can't wait. Ten of ten paw prints if you're in the mood for a cheesy romantic movie 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Enjoy social distancing (as much as you can and I hope you don't have a family like mine or Sophie's and you can get together with some of the younger members if you live really close together) Stay safe,

Merlin:)

My Lady Jane by The Lady Janies (Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows)

Hello and welcome back to we're all stuck inside for the good of all humanity so we might actually get semi-regular updates.
Today we're going to talk about My Lady Jane an absolutely fabulous magical historical fiction book. It was recommended to me by CA several years ago. And I'm just now reviewing it... Oops I guess. Well My Lady Jane is the semi true story of the woman who was queen for nine days before Queen Mary the First of England and after King Edward.  She was a real person and really was queen for nine days. History has pretty much forgotten her, except for maybe in England, but trust me she existed. Basically before Edward died of tuberculosis Lady Jane's father, Lord Henry Grey, convinced him that Jane, a protestant, was a better choice for a successor than his half older sister Mary, a catholic. So when he died, Jane was declared Queen of England. A month before she had married a man named Lord Guilford Dudley (who is also a character and I absolutely love him) who  took an army to stand against the people and Mary. With him gone Jane was declared a traitor and her reign came to an end. On July 20 she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and Guilford was arrested. They were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death but due to their youth and innocence Mary wouldn't execute them. Unfortunately, early the next year Lord Grey, Jane's father, led a rebellion and thus to end the rebellion Mary had to execute all of her opponents including Jane and Guilford. On February 12 1554 both of them died and the executioner held up her head and said "So perish all of the queen's enemies! Behold the head of a traitor!" Well this is the story of Jane and Guilford with some magic mixed in and a healthy dose of fiction thrown in because why read what really happened when you can make it so much more interesting.

Characters!

• Lady Jane Grey- She's nerdy, she's badass, and she doesn't want to get married. She also wears pants which is very against the status quo in Edwardian England. She's awesome and really annoyed about being married off. Also she loves to read which is amazing.
• Lord Gifford Dudley- Call him G. He's sweet and not really what you expect. He's an Eðian (eth-y-un) which I will talk more about in a minute. He also writes poetry and is a romantic at heart.
• Edward- King Edward really the one before Mary. He's sweet and kind and wants to believe the best in everyone. He's also an Eðian. And that's all I've got for him partly because he's not a main character and partly because its been a minute before I read it.
• Gracie- She's Scottish and spunky. Being Scottish she really doesn't like the British. If that isn't enough she's an Eðian.

Plot!

So in this magical version of England and history, rather than being split between Protestants and Catholics England is split between Eðians and Verities. Eðians are those with magic, they can shape shift into another animal, just one though. Verities are those without this magic who hate it and believe all with it should be killed. Given that there are a fair few Eðians the extermination of them could cause some problems. You can also see how this could cause a problem for our characters. Anyway Edward is told he has less than a year to live and is convinced by G's father to name Jane as his successor over Mary or Elizabeth. Edward is true to his time and doesn't believe that a woman should rule the country so Dudley (G's father) arranges for her to marry G. G is cursed to stay in his Eðian form, a horse, from daybreak to dawn everyday and neither of the two can break this to Jane. Jane being the feminist that she is is very annoyed by being married off and goes to G's family to meet her soon to be husband. Being cursed, G is unable to meet her and his brother makes some crass jokes and comments about G being a womanizer , which he isn't, that kind of irritate Jane. In this time Edward has discovered he's being poisoned and flees. Jane and G get married at dusk, G gets drunk to tell Jane his secret, doesn't and passes out on the floor of their room, and Jane wakes up very surprised to find a horse in her room. It's announced Edward has died, and Jane is queen. Mary decides to take back her thrown, but unlike in history Jane and G escape and the story truly begins. There's an army or two and a group of Eðians running rampant. It's tons of fun.

My Opinion!

Personally I love My Lady Jane all the characters are great and funny. There's some swearing, and romance, and the very end is a little more risque than the rest of the book as it ends with Jane and G's second wedding night. But nothing too out there. Personally I say 14+ to read it just for some maturity but it's great. The Lady Janies have written another book too, My Plain Jane, which I will review soon, and another set to come out in June, My Calamity Jane. Ten of ten paw prints🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 

A Brief Word On The Current Situation

Let me begin with LET ME OUT OF THIS HOUSE. I can't stand it anymore. I need to see real life people in person. So to all of you people not staying at home because you just don't want to STAY HOME. If you're a healthcare worker or business owner or necessary personal I salute you, especially healthcare workers. Everyone else refusing to stay at home I hope you step on a lego. I've taken to putting together puzzles I've been meaning to do for a while. I just finished a 3D Diagon Alley which is super cool and now I'm working on a 3D Cinderella's castle. I've read, watched an inordinate amount of TV (hulu/netflix/dvds), and cooked. I want out. I want to go see people, I won't but I want to. So now that I've vented some of my crazy I invite you to do the same. Also go outside and enjoy the sun I know it makes me feel better.

Enjoy social distancing,

Merlin:)

House of Salt and Sorrows Erin A Craig

Hello my dears,
Tonight brings you a review of House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig which is part fairytale, part Victorian England fantasy, part gothic Edgar Allen Poe-esque story, all amazing. House of Salt and Sorrows is a gothic retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" or "The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces" and I absolutely adore it. Mind you I love retellings (most of the time). In this story the princesses are *whisper* cursed. Slowly the sisters are dying. DUH DUH DUNN!

Characters!

• The Sisters (listed in roughly age order)
• Ava- We start the story with her dead so there's not that much to say about her
• Octavia- She's also dead to begin with
• Elizabeth- And her
• Eulalie- We start off with her funeral
• Camille- Finally a sister I can talk a little bit about. She's super sweet and helps Annaleigh with all the death in their families. 
• Annaleigh- Our main character. The one I remember the most about, because honestly I should probably reread this book before I review it but I'm not so bear with me here. I love her. She's inquisitive, and absolutely done with these rumors that her family is cursed. She doesn't like the way everyone says Eulalie died and sets out to find out what really happened.
• The Triplets
• Lenore- Approximately sixteen and a typical teenage girl.
• Rosalie- Much like her sisters she's very excited to be turning sixteen and wants to debut with a ball
• Ligeia- Also very much like her other sisters. A very typical teenager
• The Graces (Not triplets but very close and all named after graces of humanity)
• Mercy- Young excitable, sweet
• Honor- Also young and excitable and kind
• Verity- The youngest, excitable, and kind. Yes I know these are very vague descriptions but the story is all about Annaleigh and dancing and magical balls not all the sisters and who they are. Like I said I need to reread this but I'm not right now. Anyway she can see things that others can't.
• Morella- The girl's stepmother. She's from the mainland and doesn't quiet understand the traditions of the island. This is kinda important because she's pregnant. She has her moments but she's not the greatest. 

Thats all the characters I really remember anything about and that's a stretch. So moving onward.

Plot!

We start our story with a funeral. Eulalie has died and is being buried. Fun fact, I met Erin at an event at my local book store, won a contest for sparkly shoes (and impressed her with my ability to walk in heels which at 5'2" is not a really impressive feat) and won a face mask, a beach towel, and the necklace that Annaleigh noticed Eulalie wearing at her funeral. Yep I own a copy of the necklace a dead girl is buried in. Well Morella tells the girls' father that she's pregnant and they decide to end the mourning period that's been going on for years. One death after another after another has lead to years and years of mourning. And this ends. Annaleigh and the older sisters are not in favor of this and first and then they get into it. Annaleigh personally decides to figure out what happened to Eulalie because she doesn't want to believe she killed herself. And then the balls start. They start normal enough with an actual celebration of the triplets sixteenth birthday, and then lead to magical parties in different places each night. Annaleigh's investigation brings up some interesting things and that's all you get. If you want to know more read the book. CA if you're interested I might be convinced to loan you my signed copy.

My Opinion!

Personally I loved this book. To start with, all of the children of this Duke on this island are all girls and they aren't treated as inferior in anyway. This island that's part of a patriarchal society has it's own traditions where the oldest child of the family gets to inherit the Duchy. I love that so much. All of the girls have unique personalities and no one is shamed for their interests. It's awesome to me to see that in writing. I've never been shamed per se for my interests but when I say things that are scientifically correct and true or "I want to be a cardiac thoracic surgeon" I get looks like I'm crazy. My grandmother actually told me I should be a nurse instead. I have nothing against nurses, they do more than doctors do most of the time, their job is basically to make sure the doctor doesn't kill you. I just got offended because she told me she wanted me to be a nurse because who would take up for me if I was a doctor. So to see this in action in a book that is set to become a TV show at some point that I'm hoping will take the world by storm, is amazing. Also I love gothic retellings of fairy tales. The original fairy tales are really dark anyway but to spin them in a different way that brings a different darkness to light. And I enjoy reading Poe when I'm not being made to analyze it so adding Anabel Lee as twist to a fairy tale is like top level of awesome. Also the love interest who's just kinda there is awesome. He's a secondary thought though, her primary thought is always figuring out just what on earth is going on. Which is also really cool, a love interest that is a secondary thought. I love it. I cannot stop singing it's praises. Ten of ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Enjoy social distancing and stay healthy and safe,

Merlin:)

We've Been Social Distancing For A Week Now (But It Feels Like Forever)

Hi!
So we've been social distancing for a week. Maybe longer depending one where you are. I have only left my house and interacted with people I'm not related to in person twice in the last week. It's beginning to feel like torture. I've cleaned, and cooked, and done laundry and generally been a housewife. And I'm tired of it. I want to go see people. I get why we need to do this. I really do. There are others who would be a lot worse off than me if they got it and I don't want to be spreading it around. That being said LET ME OUT OF HERE. I want to see people again and talk to them. I want time to actually have meaning again. What does it matter if its ten or two? It makes no difference in what I'm doing. Normally I have a schedule, it gives the day meaning.
Today I went outside with my dog. I stood in the light rain and looked at the flowers growing in my yard and the grass. I jumped in puddles. It was honestly amazing. I felt so much better just being outside in the fresh air. It may be rainy, which is normally a reason for me to stay inside, but today just being out brought me joy.
Good things are coming out of this social distancing/quarantining too. There are dolphins in Venice for the first time in sixty years, and they water is clear. There are blue skies in China because the factories are closed. Maybe we can learn something from this and preserve the beauty we're gaining from not being out.
I've been able to do some things I've been putting off while I have all this time. I've copied my notes from classes down legibly, cleaned my room (it really needed it), and blogged more. And I had a movie night with my friends. Netflix Party is an amazing thing, we all live far apart (me more than them) but we managed to watch A Cinderella Story together in our homes and chat while we did. All y'all need to check it out. You can download it from the chrome store and movie night away. I may see if I can get CA on here to talk about A Cinderella Story with me. That would be fun. You hear that CA. We should try to do that.
Well happy social distancing (I hope you don't go crazy),
Merlin:)

Serpent and Dove Shelby Mahurin

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live
I have to say that really sounds pretentious and snotty and it is but this book is not. Can I just talk about the magic system?!?! It's so complex and amazing. Where exactly the magic comes from is never explained but the system that governs magic is incredible. One magic requires balance but the way another works it doesn't. It's all so amazing. I love that. Also this fictional France is amazing. The way that the church is integrated into France shows how the Catholic church truly was in France.

Characters!

• Louis le Blanche- She typically goes by Lou because a couple of years before she ran away from her family for various reasons, that you have to read to find out. She's also a witch, an earth witch to be exact. So running away means she's got tons of personality and spunk and an absolute refusal to be told what to do.
• Reid Diggory- I know if you're a potterhead I you thought about Cedric in that moment. Alas he's not. He is pretty cool though. He's a Chasseur which I'm sure is French for something but here it means he's a witch hunter. See the problem here? He's completely devoted to his job and the church, but he's still pretty great even if he's kinda pretentious.

Yeah we only really have two main characters. There are lots of other characters, otherwise this might get kinda boring, but it's been a minute since I read this and I don't remember all of them...

Plot!

Lou ran away from her family two years before the start of this book. She's been living in basically fictional Paris. It's not actually Paris and this isn't actual France but it's basically Paris. What is it with France and having sort of a dark fantasy thing going on? So many books are set in France. This one, Beauty and the Beast, I want to say Sorcery of Thorns. I mean it's kind of fitting, the atmosphere always seems so magical. Anyway, to support herself, Lou has taken to being a thief. One of her misadventures goes slightly wrong. She ends up with a choice either marry Reid and save his reputation, or spend the rest of her life in prison. Having a brain, and knowing how to use it Lou agrees to marry Reid. Now here's the problem a) she's a witch and he's a witch hunter b) they absolutely hate each other. Now that they're married there's a whole slew of other problems that pop up and make the rest of the book. Along with an enemies-to-lovers thing going on that is amazing.

My Opinion!

This is an amazing book. That's the short of it. The world building is done really well and the systems of magic are to die for. I love the differences in the magic systems, and the whole relationship between Lou and Reid is amazing. The world and the way the Church and Chasseurs are integrated into it is really good. I might be a little bit of a history nerd so this really reminded me of how the Church was in actual France pre-revolution. Also "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" is a pretty neat motto even if its awful. The whole way characters question authority and who they have been lead to believe is right their whole lives just makes me happy. Ten of ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 

Stay Healthy,

Merlin:)

The Giver Lois Lowry

Good day reader, *employ cultish tone*
The cultish tone I feel truly embodies the feeling I get from The Giver. The first time I read it I really didn't enjoy it, but when I read it again along with the rest of the series I loved it. It's a very odd series, not dystopian but more utopian. And spoiler alert utopias don't ever work. Also congratulations on making it to day five of the apocamaybe quarantine/social  distancing. Extra congratulations if you haven't gone crazy yet. I'm writing this from my dining room eating my very basic boring lunch. I've become a regular little house wife, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry ALL DAY LONG. And CA, and CR I'm doing my very best to stay home where I belong, and it's working, to an extent. Anyway on with the book!

Characters!

• Jonas- Jonas is our main character who may be eleven but that seems really off so maybe not. He's mild mannered and quiet generally obeying the rules until he becomes the Receiver of Memories.
• Fiona-One of Jonas's friends she's kind and nurturing, and accepts all the rules given to the people of this place. It's also important to note that she has red hair, we'll get to why in a minute.
• Asher- Jonas other friend. He's loud, always late, and tends to speak before he thinks. CA don't even I know what you're thinking. He's basically the life of the party, if they had parties, as it he's frowned upon. 
• Gabriel- the new child that Jonas's family is taking care of. He's very important.

Plot!

 The Giver is set in a utopia that doesn't have a name and is at some point in the future. We don't ever know what caused the Community to form but it did. To keep everything perfect, the Community elders enforce Sameness which is pretty much what it sounds like, everything is the same. The Elders assign homes, bicycles, spouses, and jobs. Jobs are what start our story off. Every year there's a ceremony, and when you come of age you get assigned a job. Well everyone is assigned a job, except Jonas. He's skipped which doesn't ever happen. As it turns out he has been selected to be the Receiver of Memory. He was selected because he can see beyond. Remember when I said Fiona had red hair? Well Jonas is the only one who can see it. As the Receiver of Memory, Jonas gets all the memories of humanity basically ever, good and bad. During this time his father brings home a struggling new child to stay with the family at night. The memories combined with Jonas's new found knowledge and emotions lead him to do things. And that's where I'll leave it.

My Opinion!

The Giver is really good, especially when you read rest of the series with it. It explores why utopias aren't really perfect and how being the same isn't a good thing. It also sends the message, at least to me that emotions are good, especially love. It's a little weird but also good. Weird because it's a utopia with Sameness and no emotion going on. Nine of ten Paw Prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Enjoy the apocamaybe,

Merlin:)

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

Well hello my dears. Come in sit a spell.
Feel free to read that in a horribly stereotypical southern accent. I hate those accents but well it goes with the story, ish. I will continue to hate and be insulted by those accents forever. I don't sound like that, nor does anyone I know. And for those of you not from the south, and I mean deep south, and not just the southern united states. Think bible belt, good old fashion racism (something I do not and have never supported in any way), and ridiculous summer heat. Anyway, To Kill a Mockingbird is widely regarded as a classic, which typically means that it's boring as crap and horrible (I thought this when I first tried to read it) but it's actually really good. Given that I had to practically psychoanalyze this for my Lit class my opinions may be kind if weird but it's great. The morals. The plot. The characters, static and dynamic. I can't believe I actually went there, so weird. But that's all I'm going to say about static and dynamic characters. Possibly ever.

Characters!

• Scout Finch- Scout is a little girl at the beginning and the book follows her growing up over the years in the 1930's. She starts out as an innocent six year old. She doesn't really understand how the world works and what's going on but she's full of spunk and character and absolutely refuses to take crap from any body. 
• Jem Finch- Jem is Scout's older brother. He understands more about the world than Scout but he still doesn't quiet understand the world and why it is the way it is. But then again who does honestly. As much as Scout grows Jem grows and learns just as much. He's a young boy, he's mischievous, and constantly into trouble, and unwilling to let anyone tell him how things have to be.
• Atticus Finch- I freaking love Atticus. He's like the perfect southern gentleman. He's chivalrous, and kind, and willing to stand up for what he believes in. Why can't more people be like Atticus? Life would be so much better if they were. He also gives really good advice. 
• Boo Radley- I can't say much about him because he's an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He lives in the Radley house and may have killed someone but who knows.

There are a lot more characters. Tom Robinson springs to mind and I probably should have talked about him more than I did but I don't want to go on and on and on about characters. Some of the characters I love, others not so much but all together the cast of this book is fantastic.

Setting!

This is a rarely seen heading isn't it, but I think this is a book that the setting needs to be talked about. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama, in 1933-1935. Maycomb is your stereotypical small southern town. Everybody knows everybody, and the problems that you associate with Small town Southern America are prevalent and then some. Everybody knows about slavery and the Civil Rights movement but this falls in between the two (a lot of things did). This story shows everyday racism and sexism and all these problems, but also the wholesome community and love in the south that I know. So I just ask, if you read this book and aren't from the south, please keep this in mind.

Plot!

The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is very simple, its just the life of a young girl growing up in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout is growing up with her father, Calpurnia, their cook/housekeeper/mother-figure, and her brother. Her life is very ordinary, happy, and to her amazing. Then Atticus takes a rather controversial case. This leads to all sorts of problems, for the children and the town. It brings to light racism that Scout and Jem didn't know existed and shows them how unfair the world is.

My Opinion!

I love this book. The first time I read this book I was too young to truly enjoy it and was horribly bored.  Reading it again later made me truly appreciate it and it's message.  Atticus says "You don't know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes." and he's quiet right. The whole book explores life in the south in the 30's and how people aren't always what they seem. Many characters in the book seem to be one way, (Boo, Tom, Mrs. Dubose) when they turn out to be completely different person. It shows how one person can slowly make all the difference in the world. I love it. Everyone should read it at some point. Read it to your children. Read for your self. Just read it. Eleven of Ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

I wish you the best in the apocamaybe and in life,

Merlin:)

The Hazel Wood Melissa Albert

Welcome to day four of the apocamaybe quarantine.
Today we're going to talk about The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. She calls it fantasy noir, which is a pretty good description of the mood. Its about Alice, her weird family, Ellery Finch, and secrets. So even though its a weird time in the rest of the world, we're going to continue in the normal fashion.

Characters!

• Alice- Alice is Alice. She's lived her entire life moving from place to place with her mom, Ella, running from bad luck. She's not particularly spunky, that's not to say she's just blah but she's not my favorite protagonist ever. Her grandmother wrote a book of fairy tales called Tales From the Hinterland, and she's never met her grandmother.
• Ella- Alice's mother who's missing for most of the book. That's basically the plot, Ella goes missing and Alice has to find her. She's weird and just wants the best for Alice even if she goes about in weird ways.
• Ellery Finch- His name is actually a lot longer but I don't really want to type it out and he goes by Ellery anyway. He's a nerd, and a rich nerd at that. His father is really rich, and his mother is dead. And to top it all off he's low key obsessed with Tales From the Hinterland.

Plot!

So like I said, Alice and her mom have spent her entire life moving from place to place running from bad luck. Alice's grandmother wrote a book, and is very wealthy because of it. But Ella hates her mother, and as a result has kept Alice as far away from her, and her estate, The Hazel Wood, as possible. You know how I said that Alice and Ella were constantly running from bad luck? Well Ella gets news that her mother has died and they finally settle down in New York City. Ella meets a guy, they get married,  he turns out to be a jerk yada yada yada. Then Ella gets kidnapped, and had only one thing to say to Alice "Stay away from the Hazel Wood". Well Alice can't do that. She just has to go and find Ella. Well Alice met Ellery at school and he found out who she is. And they became friends by virtue of his minor obsession. So she manages to drag Ellery out to the Hazel Wood on an adventure to find Ella. Of course chaos ensues because they find the Hinterland, and all of it's messed up stories.

My Opinion!

The Hazel Wood was pretty good. It's not the best fantasy I've ever read but by far not the worst. The plot gets really confusing because well if you have a series of stories with in a story and the world the stories are set in really exists it can get confusing. That being said it was really good. Alice may not be the best character ever but she has personality unlike some characters. Ellery is fun but also a little lack luster. All of the fairy tale characters are really cool and they have rather interesting names (Alice-three-times, Twice-Killed-Katherine, etc.). The writing itself was very good. I give it six out of ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Wishing you all the luck with the quarantine/social distancing and not going crazy,

Merlin:)

The World Seems To Be Coming To An End (Or At Least A Screeching Halt)

SO it's March and I haven't really posted anything this year. I have but not really. Oh well. Sorry.
It's day two of our supposed quarantine. I personally turn into a Disney Princess when I get cabin fever, but I've also decided that this seemingly endless detainment to actually blog for once. I might as well put this craziness to use. So prepare for an unusually constant posting. For a while. Maybe. I've read a lot this year but I haven't reviewed hardly any of it (which if you've been reading this the entire time it's existed, you know isn't an unusual thing) but that is going to change. And now I'm just being repetitive. 
Well I wish everyone who's reading this the best of luck with this maybe apocalypse. Wash your hands. Dracula sneeze and cough. And please don't a) panic b) hoard toilet paper. The weirdest part of this apocamaybe is the toilet paper hoarding. What are we weird dragons that hoard paper instead of gold? This thing has no GI symptoms and I for one like my Charmin.
Best of luck and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor (not really y'all will all be fine)
Merlin:)

One of Us is Next Karen M McManus

It's back my wonderful readers. Scandal and mystery have returned to Bayview once again.
About That may be gone, and Simone's death solved but Bayview is far from done with scandal. That's right my wonderful readers, there's a sequel to One of Us is Lying. Now you have two options a brief recap or reading the review I did here. So here's the gist of One of Us is Lying, five people go into detention one day only four come out. Simon Keller has died and all in the room are suspect. In the end with the plot twist of the year (maybe) it turns out that Simon was crazy and killed himself to cause a news story that would last for years. One of Us is Next is set the fall of the next year, after the Bayview four have gotten on with their lives and are moving on. This book follows three new teens, Phoebe, Maeve and Knox as a new twist on Simon's legacy takes Bayview by storm, Truth or Dare. TBH not gonna lie, when I saw Maeve's name I gasped and almost fell out of my chair It's Bronwyn's SISTER!!!

Characters!!

• Maeve Rojas- Bronwyn's sister. She had Leukemia but recovered four years ago. Super nice, but a little off on social cues after spending most of her childhood in the hospital. She's also like some technology super genius as I'm sure anyone who has read One of Us is Lying will remember.
• Knox- Maeve's friend and all around sweetheart. He's smart and sweet and logical and I LOVE him! He want's to do good in the world and is already on his way working with Eli at Until Proven.
• Phoebe- Her secret comes out first and shocks everyone and sends her family into pieces. Her dad has died some years previous to the book and she's still feeling the effects of his death. She's the party girl, the girls who hooks up with everyone, who splits up people without really meaning to, and yet still liked by many. 
• Unknown- Unknown starts the game with a text. He challenges Phoebe to pick Truth or Dare. If you don't pick it's Truth and you have to suffer the consequences. 

Plot!

So One of Us is Next picks up a year after One of Us is Lying ends. Bronwyn is at Yale, Addi is figuring out what she wants to do, Cooper is playing baseball at CalTech, and Nate is working for Knox's dad and going to college. Maeve is starting her junior year and navigating high school which is tons of fun, Knox is figuring out who he is, and Phoebe is dealing with her family and how they've fallen apart after her dad's death. The Unknown texts. Simon's legacy lives on and this time it's a game. Truth or Dare. It's up to you but I'd take the dare.

Review!

I LOVE this book. Honestly nothing Karen M. McManus has written has let me down yet. This was another what's going to happen next page turner. With huge plot twists. If you thought One of Us is Lying had a big plot twist you are in for a surprise. Full of suspense and thrills One of Us is Next will thrill mystery fans. I love the characters. Maeve is awesome! This is a truly wonderful mystery. Ten of ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Happy Reading,

Merlin:)

P.S. Always take the Dare