In Pursuit of My Own Library

I have previously mentioned that every now and again I need a genre cleanse. I started reading way too many fantasy novels, and my head looses itself in the clouds. The whole world gets an aura of the unreal. So, I need a good grounding novel. I was searching through the ARC stack that had just come in to work. The title was intriguing; the cover was eye-catching; and the description seemed like a definite fit for my grounding experience. That is how I picked up No Baggage and definitely brought my head back to the Earth. I hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and the best of wishes for 2016. No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale of Love and Wandering by Clara Benson This year has been a year; let me tell you. I have had some very strong highs and some incredibly low lows. I have had an existential crisis. What is the entire meaning of my life? Am I really doing what I want with it? The questions that we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives. Hopefully most of you have an

I apologize for falling behind. The holiday season is a very non-internet focused time for me. I truly hope every enjoyed their time however they choose to spend it. There is just something magical about the end of the year. For me, it is time to reflect and release all the tensions that I have unwittingly let build up. I eat way too much unhealthy food and waste time playing with toys (and am grateful for every minute that I get to do those things). I do miss the snow, though. When I was a kid, this was the time when the first snows were coming, and they added to the magic of Christmas. Now winter doesn't seem to come around until January. Sigh. Two things for today 1. Congratulations to the contest winner Joyce M for getting an excellent book to kick off the New Year. 2. A book review Devices Brightly Shining by Shelley Adina I bought this when it first released but saved it to read on Christmas day. I am really getting on board with the little holiday novella concept.

I am pleased to announce that this review also comes with a FREE BOOK! That is right. I have a giveaway for an autographed, first edition of  Soul of Smoke  to get you started with the series if you have been holding off to see my final review on the value of the entire trilogy. Take this chance to get your copy and get started down a path you won't regret. Soul of Smoke Giveaway!! Truth of Embers by Caitlyn McFarland We have come to the conclusion of the Dragonsworn trilogy. And let me just say, it has been a journey. I felt the potential in the first novel, but that doesn't always pan out the way a reader hopes. I am very pleased that I decided to stick with this series. Every novel was better than the one before. The emotions were heartfelt, the tensions were greater, and the stakes for humankind were higher. We still get some excellent thrills from the dragon battles and tension from Juli the spy.  The war between Rhys and Owen hits a new level of strategy and

So why did I pick this novel? The description actually gave me some hope for a good mystery, but mostly it was the name. It has been sitting on my Kindle shelf for a little while being neglected in favor of my more favorite authors. And that just really isn't fair of me. I have found some truly good new authors on Netgalley. Very few picks have led me astray. Most all of them have been in a mystery/thriller capacity. I seem to be very hard to please in that matter. But this one got an award. It has to be better, right? Found out below. The Labyrinth of the Scriptorium by Hitoshi Goto Can I just take a moment to say--cool title!! I have spent many hours pondering why mystery/thriller genre titles do not amuse me (I know, I know, what sane person wastes hours pondering such things?--a bookworm). Modern mystery writers are too glitzy. That is what I came up with in the end. The stories now are so focused on some action or racy, edgy detail to set their mystery apart from every ot