Almost done reading From Blood and Ash

 

Hey there Bookies,

I have almost finished From Blood and Ash and it was a task. There are things about this book that show its potential but its still pretty boring. I remember nothing from this book other than the interesting parts where it caught my interest. Like the battle on the Rise against a hoard of Craven. The attack during The Rite. I know some people love this book and some hate this book. I'm kind of in between. The book is okay but needs some improvement. There are two ways this book could be improved. The first way is that we eliminate the whole romance thing. No love or lust interest. Just Poppy's journey of being the Maiden and trying to figure out if that is truly want she wants. Where during her journey she finds out the truth of all that is going on and her process of accepting what she as discovered. The second option is we focus on the romance. Eliminate the whole Maiden thing and make it like a Romeo and Juliet retelling. And how they use their love to overcome the obstacles in there way. Mixing the two options together in my opinion is actually hurting the story. But will I read the second book of the series? Maybe. Did I hate the book? No but I do think it could be improved. I think it is a little harsh to see people call this book trash. It's not trash. It's just okay. If you read this book and you love it, more power to you. Love what you want to love. I'm a huge fan of Jennifer L Armentrout. She wrote one of my favorite series, if not my favorite. But to read this book and not get what I expected from her is a bit of a disappointment. I'm not sure what I'll be rating this book but I'll have to sit down and really think about it for a bit. 

So until next time....

-Lys

Dragonbane by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

Hello Bookies,

Did I forget to update you on this lovely book? Yes. Yes, I did. In my defense it was an audiobook and I was listening to it while doing stuff for my business. Did I pay attention while listening to the book? Not really. But honestly, not a whole lot happens since the last time I updated you on the book...three years ago. The pandemic was rough with my love for books. But now that the library is open I can officially finish this book. Of course, that isn't why we are here. I need to update you. I don't remember any of the names of the characters so I'll just be calling them lead male character or lead female character. Stuff like that. So our two leads are finally together but our lead female character is slowly turning back to stone. In a desperate attempt to save her, our lead male character asks for help from....I can't remember his name. This is why I wish I had the book actually in my hands. I can look up names. Anyways, the person our lead male goes to helps the lead female and she is no longer turning to stone. With that they dive into the pit of demons wanting to kill our lead male for something he has control of. I guess they are trying to overtake the world, the same usual stuff that demons do in this series. Our lead gets some sort of tablet but not all is good. He comes back and he has to go on trial to see whether his friends are going to kill him or not. Then we get a little bit of history on our lead and see how he became what he was. The dragonbane. That is also pretty much where I left off. I'm almost done with the book and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you names. I feel a little bad about it, but I'll try to do better next time. Anyways, if you want to know how the book ends, you'll just have to read it yourself like always.

So until next time....

-Lys

Started reading From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout

 

Hey there Bookies,

It's been a while but I gave up on the whole audiobook thing. Also the ebooks. It turns out that if I don't physically have the book in my hands, I forget that it exists. So now I'm just requesting one book at a time right now through my library. And the first one I got is From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout.

We all know how much of a fan I am of Jennifer Armentrout. She is the author of one of my favorite series, which reminds me that I need to replace the ones that got water damaged. Anyways when I saw this book, I had high expectations. I did see a review on Youtube about the book and the person was a little harsh in the book. I thought to myself that it can't be that bad, so I got the book. I'm about a fourth of the way through the book right now and right now, I'm a little disappointed. The book has a bit of a slow start and it is a little boring. I'm going to give the book the benefit of the doubt and continue reading, but it isn't looking too good. I can't even remember half of the things I read because it just felt like it was repetitive or was too focused on a certain scene for too long. So far if feels like the book focuses on things that aren't that interesting and not on the things that are interesting. Like the part where a girl is found dead in the castle. That would have been interesting. Instead our main character just get a glance and the body before being casted away back to her room where she just speculates what happens. Yeah, she goes back the room to see if she can find anything. Which she finds a petal of a flower that isn't even in the room, thinks it's strange, and then leaves. Never to be visited again as far as I know. Then there is the part where Rylan gets shot with an arrow. A huge epic fight scene could have taken place, Royal Guards could have come to see the assailant and chased after him. Or even having someone save Poppy right at the last second before the assailant takes her life, and it could be her love interest in the book. But instead we get her attacking the assailant twice and then him running off after hearing a whistle. Now let's talk about the things I found completely not important enough to focus so much time on. Like when Poppy came into contact with the guard she admired at the Red Pearl. The whole time she was focused on his looks and was talking about how inexperienced she was. She talked about how what she was doing was completely forbidden because she was The Maiden. With how long this part was, I actually got to a point where I wanted to be like "Okay, I get it. She is being awkward around a hot guy. Can we get a move on?" Another part that I felt like didn't need a lot of focus on it was when she went with Vikter to take care of the cursed. When this came up, I was expecting someone going insane in the town and they had to fight them in order to protect everyone. That wasn't what I got. Instead I got a slow scene where Poppy felt the pain of a grieving wife whose husband was bitten and was turning into a monster. I get that this scene is to make Poppy look more human but it was boring. She talked to the husband and did things she wasn't supposed to before ending his suffering. There is so much that I could have changed in this book and I'm only a quarter of the way. I'm disappointed so far and like I said, there are high expectations because this author wrote one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, book series. I just hope the book improves the more I read. 

So until next time...

-Lys

Had to return Hereafter

 The problem with audiobooks is that you tend to forget that they exist. Also if you are listening to them on your computer, you easily get distracted by other websites. Also I have just been too busy to listen to the audiobook. Work has been pretty crazy now that school is out. But I hope to get back to the audiobook soon. I had to return it and then request it again to finish it. The library wouldn't let me renew it and that is a little disappointing. I don't know how long I have to wait until I get the book back, so now I'm just trying to find a new book to listen to until Hereafter is back in my hands. Not sure what it is going to be but I'll figure it out. But I'm going to head out for now. I have to find that new audiobook to read.

So until next time....

-Lys Robison

Started listening Hereafter by Tara Hudson

 

Hello Bookies,

I started a new audio book. It is still weird for me to fully grasp a book without actually reading it. I probably missed a whole lot trying to listen to this one at work. I'm about a quarter of the way through the book and I feel like I haven't learned anything. All I can remember is that our main character is a young female ghost. She has no memory of why she died but she knows how she died. Also she doesn't remember much about her life before she died. But the story starts of with her trying to save someone who was drowning in the river that she had died in. Eventually she saved him in a way or encouraged him to save himself. The benefit of this is that they boy she saved, who appears to be around her age, can now see her. They can also touch each other even though our ghost girl is dead. But I ended the audio book right when our ghost girl went to school with the boy I think she saved. Also is it bad that I can kind of see where this book is headed? Where we have a ghost fall in love with a mortal and vice versa. Its a predictable storyline but not one that I haven't read much about. I wonder how the author has this one play out that is different than the similar story I read in the past. Got some big shoes to fill.

So until next time...

-Lys Robison

Manga post #29

 

Hey there Bookies,

I should really stop calling these manga posts if it is only one manga. 

Anyway I just got done reading One Piece volume 17. Still a refresher for me, but it is still nice to be reminded of the things I saw about 100 episodes ago. Also it is just better to read something than see it play through on an anime. Well, Chopper has officially joined the Straw Hat Crew. Even if Luffy only wanted him because he thought he was cool. Nami had to remind everyone or at least inform everyone that Chopper is a doctor. But now they are on their way to Vivi's home to save it from the evil Crocodile. But did I just see a glimpse of a cute pirate named Ace at the end of this volume? Looks like my other favorites will be showing up soon the more I read. Sorry that I don't have much to say. I never do with it comes to these. Just check out the series and you won't be disappointed. 

So until next time...

-Lys Robison

Almost done listening to Wicked

 

Hey there Bookies,

I have no idea where I left off with my posts on this book. But our main female character is has finally given into her desires for her co-worker? Fellow Order member? I don't really know what he is to be honest. Anyway our lead female character finally has fallen in love and given into her lust. Of course, it took knowing that she could die to finally do it. Also I had to make sure my sound was really low for this part because someone had walked off with my headphones. I don't need looks at work or at home for the spicy scenes in this book. I have enjoyed it so far and am curious if there is a sequel. That is on my to-do list to figure out if this is part of a series. I just need to catch up on my reading first. Anyway I'm still a fan of this author and it was weird to actually not read the book, but when you live a busy life you have to make adjustments. I'm sure I will pick up the book when I get the chance and read it for the parts I missed. But from what I have heard, I really enjoyed the story. I always want to promote any of Armentrout's books because she hasn't disappointed me yet. So go check out this book. I'm not going to tell you the ending just so that you will read this book. Because it's totally worth it. But I'm going to go read or listen to my next book on the list. 

So until next time....

-Lys Robison