Promise Not Kept | Original Poem

Hello, reader friends! Recently I've been wanting to share more of my writing. I'm currently working on outlining a novel and have another planned to start just after I finish the first draft of this one. Here on my blog I want to share some of the short stories and poetry I am writing. And there is no better time to start than the present!

This poem is one that I recently used in a goodreads writing group. I was very happy with how it turned out and thought I would share it with you. Comments and feedback are always welcome, so feel free to tell me what you think.

Promise Not Kept

Whispered promises
in the dark of night
You brushed my lips
with a kiss
Feather light fingertips
across my skin
The space between us
was so thin
Until the cold like a knife
cut right in
Whispered promises
touched by the light of day
We never could have
kept them anyway  

~C.P. Cabaniss~

Note: This is my original work, please do not copy without permission.

The Eye of the World~Robert Jordan | Review

Title: The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1)
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: 814 Pages (Paperback)
Release: January 1990
My Rating: 3.5/5

Review

This was a difficult book for me to rate. The beginning was intriguing and I was interested in this novel the whole way through, but the beginning was missing something. I am very much a lover of character driven stories and this introduced the characters in too much of a rush for me to really determine if I liked one before another was thrown at me. 

I really enjoyed this novel and by the halfway point I was fully invested, if not entirely in love with the characters. The story had me flipping pages and eager for more. Rand, the main character, is the only perspective you see for the majority of the novel, and really the only one until nearly the halfway point. I wanted to like Rand, but he was one of the few characters that I never really came to care for. It's not that I didn't like him at all, I just didn't like him as much as many of the others. He had a very typical fantasy-lead story: farm boy with questionable origins, loves a girl but doesn't really know how to approach her, longs for adventure at the same time liking his quiet life, his world is forever changed by a huge revelation that takes him far from everything he's ever known. You know, the usual. And while there were some less typical things also, he never stood out to me individually as more than an ok character.  I also never really felt much for Mat (he was too whiny) and Egwene just irked me from beginning to end. 

As the story progressed I did start to enjoy several of the characters. Among my favorites are Perrin, Nynaeve, Thom, and Lan. Each of these seemed to develop more than any of the other characters and Lan, while similar to many characters in other loved fantasy works, was fascinating nonetheless. He was my personal favorite and I'm excited to see more of him in the coming novels. 

The world building in this novel was well done, but a little forceful at times. I would have been able to connect more from the beginning had I not had so much thrown at me in the first chapter. With just a few more explanations in the beginning to open me up to the world, I might have been able to connect to the characters more easily. As it was, it felt like each character was just layering on another piece of the world that I still didn't understand. This eventually worked out (for the most part), but could have been smoother from the beginning. The writing could also be a bit too descriptive and "tell" rather than "show" at times, with dialogue somewhat stilted and confusing. This smoothed out as the novel went on, so I have high hopes that it continues to improve in the future books. 

This, overall, was a very enjoyable read. It's not the best fantasy to start with if you're not already a fantasy fan, but if you are then it's a great story to jump into. There's a quest, magic (after a fashion), prophecies, ancient evil, three plain boys forced to either save or condemn the world, and some fun times along the way. Interesting enough to begin with and gets better as you go. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy high fantasy.  

Tuesday Talks | Anticipated Releases of 2016

To find out more about Tuesday Talks, a discussion group created by Janie and Janelle, visit the goodreads group. There are new topics each week and it always makes for interesting discussions.

Most Anticipated Books of 2016

I already talked about anticipated releases in a recent booktube video, so for now I'm just going to focus on one book. And that book was released today! 

 This is the sixth installment in the Mistborn series (the third in the Wax and Wayne books, which is a separate series). I've been looking forward to this read for ages now. The most recent book, Shadows of Self, was released late last year. 

This series is set three hundred years after the original series ended and follows Wax, a Lord with a desire to keep the peace, and his trusted sidekick Wayne, who gets his hands into every mess. The magic has evolved and shifted in the three hundred years that have passed. In some ways I like it even more here, which is saying a lot, since I loved the original magic system. 

There are some other books I'm looking forward to, but perhaps none quite so much as this. And of course Calamity, the conclusion to the Reckoners trilogy which comes out in February. 

What releases are you most excited for this year?

Anna and the Swallow Man~Gavriel Savit | ARC Review

Title: Anna and the Swallow Man
Author: Gavriel Savit
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 240 Pages
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 3/5 Stars

I received a physical ARC of this novel during a giveaway hosted during Yallfest.

Review

Novels set during WWII have a special place with me. I don't know why, exactly, but that time period holds a great fascination for me. When I was given this book, I didn't even realize it was set during that time period, but once I knew that I was very intrigued. 

The story follows, Anna, a young girl in Poland who is alone after her father is taken with the other intellectuals in 1939. Then Anna meets the Swallow Man, who is mysterious and fascinating. The two set out on a journey that takes them through the heart of the war, crossing over dangerous territory. 

What I enjoyed most about this novel was seeing this war and what it was doing to the world through the eyes of a young child. Anna is only seven when she and the Swallow Man set out. A very intelligent seven year old with a lot of knowledge, but seven nonetheless. The two mainly stay on the fringes of the war, but you can feel it wearing on them throughout the narrative. 

The story is shrouded in enough mystery to make it fun to read, the story is compelling enough to keep me flipping pages, and it's an easy story to delve into, but I didn't find it great. Character driven stories are what I love most, and while this was character driven in a lot of ways, there was too much passage of time and not enough meat to really have me amazed. 

I really enjoyed the setting. Recently I've heard a lot of people say that they don't think that Poland gets enough attention in novels and histories of this time period, so I appreciated reading something set in its borders. 

This was an enjoyable read and I'm glad that I took the time to delve into its pages. If you're a fan of historical fiction, I think you should definitely gives this a try. It wasn't my favorite, but I enjoyed it a lot.     

Gypsy of the Sea~Cecelia Lefgren | Review

Title: Gypsy of the Sea
Author: Cecelia Lefgren
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 17 Pages
Release: October 2015
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review

This is a well written, beautifully depicted short story about a young woman who slaves away in her fathers inn, never able to earn his love. When a female Pirate Captain shows up, things start to change. Abigail must rely on her own strength to survive. And she's dealing with more than she ever expected. A fun, fast paced read.

Just a note, that did not impact my reading of this little story in any way. Cecelia and I have known each other practically our whole lives (though we haven't seen each other much in the past several years), and I am excited to see her finally able to publish some of her stories. I used to read stories she was working on and remember loving them. I'm excited to see where her writing goes in the future. So my recommendation is to start reading her now, because she will only get better with time.  

City of Blades~Robert Jackson Bennett | ARC Review

Title: City of Blades (The Divine Cities #2)
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Length: 464 Pages
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

I received a copy of this novel through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review

I've heard so many great things about this series that I had to pick them up. Fantasy is my favorite genre and I love exploring new worlds with fun characters and high stakes. But this series just hasn't done for me what it has for others. 

Mulaghesh is now the main character, not Shara, and is called out of retirement when Shara believes that there are divine forces at work in a continental city. The premise was interesting enough, but similar to the previous installment, I couldn't connect to the characters. The reading was really slow for me because I was never truly invested in what was happening. Sigrud did show up, but he didn't live up to my expectations from book one. The characters that I enjoyed most didn't get much time in the book. Character wise this just didn't cut it for me. 

The idea of these ancient gods continuing to influence life years after their deaths (if they really are dead), was fascinating, but the mystery was lacking. Many of the revelations made near the end were glaringly obvious to me from near the beginning. At least in some way. I can't go into much detail on this, as I don't want to give out a ton of spoilers, but it just wasn't a wow type of mystery for me. 

This installment lacked the cohesiveness of the previous novel. The connections were not as strong between the characters, so much was already known, and the flashbacks to the past didn't do much to fill in the gaps. The main thing they helped with was in better understanding Mulaghesh, but didn't add a lot to the story. 

Had I been able to connect more with the characters perhaps I would have enjoyed this more, despite the issues I had with the mystery and story. But alas, even the characters I thought I would love I didn't. If you loved City of Stairs, then I'm sure you will enjoy this novel.   

Monthly Recommendations | Fantasy

Monthly Recommendations is a goodreads group created by Trina (from Between Chapters) and Kayla Rayne where bloggers and booktubers recommend books to each other (and others) based on a different genre/category each month. You can visit the group to find more posts for each month's topic and to share your own.

January: Fantasy

As most readers of my blog probably know, fantasy-particularly high fantasy-is my favorite genre. That being said, I don't really feel that I'm widely enough read in this genre. So this year I plan to change that! Anyway, here are some of my recommendations to you. These are in no particular order and may have appeared in previous posts, but I'm going to try and keep them mostly new. 

The entire Septimus Heap by Angie Sage series is a favorite of mine. It's middle grade fantasy with adventure, dragons, magic, time travel, mistaken identity, it's got everything. Definitely a fun series that is a quick read. 

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is another absolute favorite of mine. It's middle grade/lower YA. Artemis, the main character, is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who kidnaps a fairy in order to ransom her for fairy gold, but that's only the beginning. We get to follow Artemis through eight books, so be prepared. This is another quick read. 

 Of course the Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien must be mentioned. I haven't read any of these books in a few years, but I've enjoyed them all. They aren't very long, for high fantasy novels. They are a bit descriptive, which I personally enjoy, they have a lot of long poems/songs-again, this is something I really like. They are older and the style is a bit different than more modern stuff, but I think fantasy lovers would enjoy them anyway. 

The Harry Potter series by J K Rowling has to be included. This is one of the things that got me super into reading. I haven't read the series in about eight or nine years (I really need to do a re-read), but it's still a favorite. I have a lot of fond memories with this series. If you haven't read these, you definitely should. They start out as middle grade books but grow into YA/adult as Harry grows up over the years. 

The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill is a series of YA fantasy books that I read several years ago and then reread a couple of summers ago. The main character in the first book is a girl princess warrior who is training to rule her country. She befriends a warlock, rides a snow leopard, and humanizes vampires. It's a fun series. 

This one always comes up. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is set in the same world as the Grisha trilogy (which I also really enjoyed), but follows a new cast of characters in a different country. Just go read this. Kaz is my favorite and Inej. I love the other characters too, but those two are amazing. 

The Arros Chronicles by P D Kalnay are a new favorite of mine. Only two of the novels are out so far, but I've loved them both. It's a middle grade/YA series set in a kingdom with six princesses. Each book kind of focuses on a different princess, but all of them are present in some way. The first one is free for kindle on Amazon, so you should check it out. 

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan is one that I hope to finish this year. I've read four of the twelve books and really enjoyed them all. There isn't really magic in this middle grade series, but it's set in a fantasy world with some fantasy type creatures. There's a little bit of sorcery stuff, but not much. They are fun and quick reads. 

Paladin by Sally Slater was one of my favorite Netgalley books last year. It took me by surprise honestly. It's YA and there's some romance, but I didn't feel that it overshadowed the entire story, like is often the case. It was just so much fun to read and I really want her to get that sequel out! (But don't worry, this can stand alone just fine.)

And finally, I think everyone should read Brandon Sanderson (he's my favorite author). I would recommend starting with his Mistborn trilogy (starting with The Final Empire)

if you're just getting into his work because they give you a good idea about his style overall and are just super good. Honestly, you can't go wrong with a Sanderson book. The man has not disappointed me yet (fingers crossed he never does!).

Please leave me any of your favorite fantasy reads in the comments! I would love to hear what they are and add to my TBR.

Ivy's Tangle~P. D. Kalnay | Review

Title: Ivy's Tangle (Legend of the White Sword #1)
Author: P. D. Kalnay
Genre: MG/YA Fantasy
Length: 138 Pages
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review

This was a really fun middle grade story. It follows Jack, a young boy who is sent to live with his grandmother in her Inn when his parents get tired of him. The Inn, which is inside an old mansion, is mysterious and enticing for a young person wanting adventure. There are also some intriguing guests: Ivy, a girl who has never watched TV, doesn't know about the internet, and seems to speak in code. And Mr Ryan, a business man who happens to be an expert at martial arts. 

I've always been intrigued by old houses and thought it would be fun to explore one, so that aspect of this novel was a lot of fun. The Inn reminds me a lot of Biltmore Estate (a house in NC), which I've toured before. I'm not sure if this Inn is supposed to be quite that big, but it's what I imagine. 

The characters and mystery throughout the story were fun and kept me interested from beginning to end. It felt more like a setup for the next book than an entire standalone story, although I wasn't disappointed with the ending. Most of the first half or so was leading up to the big reveal toward the end. Jack has stumbled into a mystery far bigger than even he could have imagined. And Ivy, the odd cute girl staying over the summer, is right in the middle of it all. 

Jack is the first person narrator of the story, so you have to pick up things and piece the story together from his observations. Sometimes the things that he overlooks can be important, and as a reader you will figure things out before he does. At times I felt that Jack was a little too gifted in certain aspects, picking up new skills almost without trying, but he was well written and flawed enough that I didn't mind overly much. 

The story revolves around a mystery with fantasy elements that become more apparent as the story progresses. As the first novel in a series, I think this was a great read. Again, it's not a perfect standalone, but that is not its purpose. It's just the beginning of a new fantasy adventure that middle grade and young adult readers will enjoy. I highly recommend picking up this authors books, you won't be disappointed.

Tuesday Talks | Challenges

If you want to find out more about the discussion group Tuesday Talks, visit the goodreads page. There is a new topic every week and it's always fun to hear what people are thinking!

Reading Challenges in 2016

First of all, I am participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, as usual. I'm setting my goal at 50 and don't plan to go over that by too much. I felt that I read too much last year that I didn't truly enjoy, so I'm going to focus on reading books that I'm truly interested in. There are also a lot of other things I want to get done this year, and I felt that I spent too much time last year reading my over 200 books. 

As far as other reading challenges go it will really depend on when I hear about them and what they are all about. I do have some yearly reading goals, but I don't have any specific reading challenges that are taking place over the full year. I do belong to a couple of reading challenge groups on goodreads that have monthly challenges, so I will likely participate in some of those. 

I know there are also a lot of bloggers who start yearly reading challenges, so if I see one that gets me very interested I might think about joining in with some of those. 

What about you, are you doing any reading challenges this year? Let me know so that I can check them out!

Redeem~Donnielle Tyner | Review

Title: Redeem (The Caelian Cycle #2.5)
Author: Donnielle Tyner
Genre: YA Dystopian/Science Fiction
Length: 66 Pages
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

Review

 This novella follows Kian, one of the main characters of the Caelian Cycle. Throughout the first two novels Kian has been somewhat of a mystery. Pieces of his history have been revealed, but I never really felt like I knew where he came from. This novella delves more deeply into his past, giving more insight into why he showed up in Lost. 

Throughout Redeem we get to see Kian grow up, in a way. He's running from mistakes he's made, trying to find a way to survive in a world where he thinks nobody cares about him. He becomes a bounty hunter, but has a hard time facing the consequences of some of his cases. Then he starts delving into cold cases, going under cover, and helping others find closure. He finally feels like he might have a purpose. 

While I did really enjoy this novella, I feel there were a few things that I didn't quite understand. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I read Lost and Bound, maybe it will be revealed in the next book, I don't know. I do recommend this for those who enjoyed the first two books in the series. It explains Kian's role throughout those books a little more than either of them did, since we aren't limited to Sadie's perspective and are instead inside Kian's head.

Finding Daylight~Mara Dabrishus | Review

Title: Finding Daylight
Author: Mara Dabrishus
Genre: YA Equestrian/Romance/Sports
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

Review

Mara does it again, delivering a powerful novel that's not only filled with spot on horse racing jargon, but is also full of real family drama. In this novel we follow a young jockey, Georgie Quinn, through a year of life dealing with racing setbacks, love, loss, and the pain that comes with life. 

Horse racing was an obsession of mine for a long time and I still have much of that knowledge stored in my head, waiting to be tested. Waiting to see if I can find flaws in what people are writing. It's not something I do on purpose, but it happens. But there was nothing to cringe at here. The aspects of racing that needed to be explained for the story were presented beautifully. During the racing scenes I was literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen. I felt like I was there, in the saddle, or the stands, urging and cheering along with the characters. And it was amazing. 

The other aspect of the story that was done brilliantly was the drama. Georgie comes from a racing family, has racing family friends, and is a jockey. Her life is woven into the horse racing world, so tightly knit that you can't have one without the other. And while I've never been in her position, all of the rivalries, manipulations, and backstabbing made perfect sense. Everyone has  experienced these same things, to a degree. But horse racing attracts an interesting crowd. And those who make it work are sometimes among the most fascinating, for a variety of reasons. 

The romance in this book lacked the near innocence of that from Stay the Distance, Mara's first book. Georgie and Harris were more intimately connected here, through their families, sometimes almost painfully so. Even with all of their obstacles they still managed to be a nice match and seeing their progression from beginning to end was beautiful. One thing that I loved about them was also there connection through horses. They actually genuinely care about the horses they own, race, train, and breed. And sometimes that's the only thing that holds them together.  Sweet Bells and Roman were wonderful horses that made me want to go ride my own Thoroughbred, though not at the same speed.

The story is told from a third person perspective, following Georgie. Scenes from her past are woven in to the present, filling in holes from the very beginning. And it's just beautiful. So if you like horse, racing, and want to read about some crazy family drama with a nice love story thrown in the mix, definitely give this a try.  

Ashley Bell~Dean Koontz | Review

Title: Ashley Bell
Author: Dean Koontz
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Paranormal
Length: 560 Pages (Hardcover)
Release: December 2015
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Review

It's always exciting to step into the world of a Koontz novel. I never quite know what I'm going to get, and I always end up loving it. Ashley Bell is no exception. 

To truly discuss this book would be to give away major spoilers. The characters are a major selling point for this novel. Character driven stories are always the best for me, and I feel like this one had a nice mix of character and plot. The narrative follows different characters at different points, keeping it flowing and fresh. 

Bibi Blair, a young, vibrant writer, is given months to live. Her response: "We'll see." Then Bibi has a miraculous recovery and is told that it's all to save someone named Ashley Bell. The only problem is that Bibi has no idea who Ashley Bell is. The story sweeps you away from there, weaving together scenes from the past and present to give you a glimpse of the future. It's a paranormal thrill ride with twists and turns. 

If you enjoy suspense, mystery, or Dean Koontz novels, you should read this. There is so much I want to say, but can't. I feel that to really tell you about this novel would ruin its magic. So pick it up and enjoy the read.

Tuesday Talks | Bookish Resolutions

Tuesday Talks was created by Janie and Janelle and is a discussion group where we discuss a new bookish topic each week. You can visit the goodreads group to participate in the discussions!

Bookish Resolutions 2016

Since I already posted my 2016 Reading Goals last week, I'm going to go at another angle for this one. I'm going to discuss my goals for blogging, booktube, and writing in 2016. 

Write Blog Posts Consistently

Last year some months were sparse and some kind of overloaded here on my blog. This year I want to keep more of a consistent pace. I don't have a target for a certain number of posts per week or anything, and it will still fluctuate based on month, but hopefully not so much! I've really enjoyed my blog and hope to be able to introduce new and different content; more original writing in particular.

Post a Booktube Video Each Week

My computer has had a lot of issues and I have yet to get a new one. It also doesn't get along with my camera, so I have to work around that. I've been using my phone to post videos and I think I will continue to do so until I have the computer issues resolved. I don't care if anyone even watches them, I just enjoy making videos and think it's a good experience. 

Write a full length novel and at least 26 Short Stories

I want to finish at least one more full length novel this year, hopefully with editing included. I would like to write a short story a week, but I'm allowing myself some leeway and saying every other week. That way if I get really into one I don't have to pressure myself so much to finish it. It's better not to rush creativity too much. I also want to continue writing poetry, so hopefully I'll be posting some of that here on the blog soon. 

What are some of your bookish goals for 2016? Let me know in the comments!

Unbroken~Laura Hillenbrand | Review

Title: Unbroken
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: Historic Nonfiction
Length: 473 Pages (hardback)
Publication: November 2010
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Review

I am fascinated by history, particularly that regarding WWII. Several months ago I saw this movie and had to pick up the book. Louie's story was compelling, heartbreaking, and inspiring. 

This book follows the life of Louie Zamperini, who was lost at sea when his plane crashed, declared dead months later, and lived for over a year in a Japanese POW camp. But first he was an Olympian, competing in track and field events. 

There are so many people who's stories will never be told, but finding the ones that are always fascinates me. And one thing that I loved about how Laura constructed this story was that she incorporated so much about the other prisoners and Louie's family into the story. I felt connected to the other POWs through the stories and connections that were made. 

I don't feel that there is any way to adequately do this book justice with a review. It spans years and continents. There is horror, hope, love, happiness, and redemption. It's educational without reading like a text book. I highly recommend that you go and pick it up right now. 

This was an incredible read for me and has been one of the things inspiring me to read more about this era in world history. There is so much to be learned from the experiences of those who came before us. So go read this. 

Tuesday Talks | Favorite Series of 2015

To find out more about Tuesday Talks and to get involved with the discussions, visit the goodreads group by clicking on the link. It's a lot of fun with a lot of bookish people.

Your Favorite Book or Series of 2015

As most of you know, I posted a My Top Reads for 2015! a few days ago, so I'm going to approach this a little differently. Instead of rehashing a post you can go and read for yourself, I'll pick a series or two that I read and loved in 2015. These books may or may not have appeared on my favorite reads list. I'm going to try and stick with only series that are complete. 

The Ascension trilogy by Jennifer A Nielsen was by far my favorite series of 2015. It's a middle grade story that follows a charming and clever boy as he is taken from being a street orphan to become an impostor prince. It was so good. 

The Skinjacker trilogy by Neal Shusterman is another favorite of 2015. It follows children who are stuck in an in-between state between life and death. They are creepy and fascinating. 

And finally, the Swimming Through Clouds trilogy by Rajdeep Paulus. These books follow two siblings living in an abusive household and their fight to break free and the people who help them do it. It's gritty, sad, happy, and just good.













What were your favorite books or series of 2015?

2016 Reading Goals!

For my first post of the year I thought it would be fitting to share with you my reading goals for 2016. I'm not one to set insane resolutions, preferring to set smaller goals along the way. But when it comes to reading I do like to set myself some goals for the entire year. So here they are!

Read 50 books this year!

According to goodreads, I already have one finished...but I started it in December, so to me that doesn't really count. Particularly since I was already halfway through. Last year I read over 200 books, but this year I want to focus more on just enjoying the books that I'm truly interested in reading. 

Read more fantasy!

Fantasy, as many of you know, is my favorite genre. However, I do not feel that I am widely enough read in this genre and want to try out some different aspects of it. 

Read more science fiction!

I really enjoy science fiction novels, but again, I don't feel that I am as widely read as I would like to be. They are something that I enjoy and I want to read more in the genre.

Read more historic fiction/nonfiction!

I love history and I want to read more historical books. This can be fiction or nonfiction. The World War Two era tends to be the most interesting to me, so that's where my focus is right now, but I'm sure I'll try some other things along the way as well. 

Read more middle grade!

I really enjoy reading middle grade novels and I want to read more of them. So that's a goal this year, to find some middle grade fiction and read it. This will still likely fall into the fantasy and science fiction genres, but I want them to be written for middle grade readers. 

Read a book in another language!

This will likely be a middle grade book, in an attempt to make it a little bit easier on me. I've studied some French and Spanish, but am not fluent in either. I don't know if the book will be in one of these or not. I would like for it to be one that has not been translated and was originally written in whichever language I'm reading. 

So there are some of my reading goals for the year of 2016. Do you have any reading goals? Share them with me in the comments! And please, leave me suggestions you think would fit any of my goals this year-particularly that last one.