Like a River Glorious by @raecarson {Review}

Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson
(The Gold Seer, #2)
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow; 432 pages
Rating:

After a harrowing journey across the country, Leah Westfall and her friends have finally arrived in California and are ready to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Lee has a special advantage over the other new arrivals in California—she has the ability to sense gold, a secret known only by her handsome best friend Jefferson and her murdering uncle Hiram.

Lee and her friends have the chance to be the most prosperous settlers in California, but Hiram hasn’t given up trying to control Lee and her power. Sabotage and kidnapping are the least of what he’ll do to make sure Lee is his own. His mine is the deepest and darkest in the territory, and there Lee learns the full extent of her magical gift, the worst of her uncle, and the true strength of her friendships. To save everyone, she vows to destroy her uncle and the empire he is building—even at the cost of her own freedom.

Top 10 of 2015 {Day 3} Best Couples

The Top 10 of the year is back & I couldn't be more excited. It’s hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Jamie from Two Chicks on Books, Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, and Nancy from Tales of the Ravenous Reader.

I really wanted to do best characters of 2015 but it wasn't on the list so I'm goig to go with couples (which I think I did last year but let's face it, there are too many amazing couples). You may see the same book on this list more than once but it's because it was filled with many fantastic couples (I'm looking at you, Winter and Six of Crows . . .)

Top 10 of 2015 {Day 2} Best Book Covers

The Top 10 of the year is back & I couldn't be more excited. It’s hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Jamie from Two Chicks on Books, Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, and Nancy from Tales of the Ravenous Reader.

I will admit - it was hard choosing 10 for today. When you only have 42 to choose from and it has to have been released in 2015. The struggle is real.

I am including a book that I'm currently 60% of the way through because I will have it done before 2016.

Top 10 of 2015 {Day 1} Best Books Read

The Top 10 of the year is back & I couldn't be more excited. It’s hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Jamie from Two Chicks on Books, Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, and Nancy from Tales of the Ravenous Reader.

This is a little late, I know...but today was my day of recovery after working at a movie theatre for opening weekend of Star Wars. It was much needed. But now that I've had my rest...it's time to have fun!

This has been a REALLY bad year for me, reading wise. While I normally reading 100+ a year, I've read a whopping 42 books and will not be reaching my goal of 50 books. This is a first for me and it kind of depresses me.

BUT I have read some bloody fantastic books. And really . . . that's all that matters.

Short, Sweet & To The Point Reviews

Welcome to another edition of Short, Sweet and to the Point Reviews! I wasn't planning on doing another one of these so soon but I'm just struggling writing reviews lately. There are some books that I've loved but really can't put my feels in to words but then there are books that I only felt 'meh' about and honestly, don't know how much time I wanted to waste on writing a review. So short & sweet are what they're getting.

This edition I am featuring: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman, The Rose Society by Marie Lu, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway and a few words to get you excited about some 2016 books that I've loved (Starflight, The Mirror King & Truthwitch).

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson Review

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
(Fire and Thorns, #3)
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 435 pages

The epic and deeply satisfying conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most. Riveting, surprising, and achingly romantic, Rae Carson has spun a bold and powerful conclusion to her extraordinary trilogy.

The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson Review

The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson
(Fire and Thorns, #0.6)
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 106 pages

On the outskirts of Joya d'Arena, small villages fight for survival against the onslaught of sorcerers and raiders. Mara's village has been safe--so far--but Mara decides to escape anyway. Escape from her harsh, abusive father. Escape with her first love. But when their plans fall on the same day that the animagi burn the village to the ground, Mara faces losses that could destroy her. She's a survivor, though. She is going to make it through the mountains, and she is going to protect the refugees following her. Because there's a rumored safe haven . . . and some say they have found the Chosen One. Told from Mara's point-of-view, The Shattered Mountain is an alternate perspective of the beginning of the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson Review

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
(Fire and Thorns, #2)
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Green Willow Books; 410 pages

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

The Shadow Cats by Rae Carson Review

The Shadow Cats by Rae Carson
(Fire & Thorns, #.5)
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 54 pages

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. And it was not Alodia.

Alodia is the crown princess of the realm. The sister who knows how to rule, and the one who is constantly reminded that she has not been marked for a grand destiny. But Alodia has plans, and she will be the greatest queen her people have ever known. So she travels--with her hopeless, naïve, chosen sister--to a distant part of their land, to begin to secure her supporters. This region needs its princesses, for it is plagued with a curse. The crops don't grow, the spring doesn't arrive, and a fierce jaguar stalks the shadows, leaving only empty homes splashed with blood behind. If Alodia can save them, no one will be able to deny her strength and her sovereignty.

But what she discovers could change the fate of her kingdom, if not her world. And it will most certainly change her opinion of her younger sister.

Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
(Fire and Thorns, #1)
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 432 pages

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.