Sixth of Dusk

Sixth of Dusk is a novella by Brandon Sanderson that is set in the world of Mistborn and Stormlight Archive. I have read Mistborn and part of The Way of Kings. Despite this knowledge I really had no clue what was going on in the novella at all.

All I really got was the island wanted to kill Dusk and anyone else on the island. Thanks to a bird with a talent the trapper, Dusk, was able to avoid death. That is really all I understood. Maybe if I read it more times I would understand more but it was tedious for me to read the first time. A shame since I generally adore works by Mr. Sanderson.

The White Queen

I have read and enjoyed books by Philippa Gregory so when I saw The White Queen on the shelf at the second hand bookstore I had to buy it.

The war of the cousins, the mystery of two young princes locked in the Tower of London never to be seen again yet no body ever found, a roadside beauty, and an ambitious family make up the tale of The White Queen. The more I read by Philippa Gregory the more I want to read by her.

Elizabeth is a young widow who lost her lands during the war when her family chose to support the losing side. Desperate to get her wealth back she appeals to the young King Henry begging him for justice. Taken aback with her legendary beauty the young King not only grants her land back but makes her his queen in secret. So begins the story of a bloody battle between cousins and brothers for the throne.

I did like the take on Elizabeth and while it was clear it was following a chronicle order of dates that are proven a fascinating tale was still put together making me want to keep turning the pages to see the fate of everyone. I did have a couple problem with the writing this time, for some reason (I have never noticed in any other books by Philippa Gregory) much of the writing was poor especially the first half of the book. Lots and lots of use of the word he and she. Many times a whole paragraph would be sentences that all started with he and it did interfere with my enjoyment of the book at times. The second half the writing picked up a little becoming less tedious. I do hope to read more of Philippa Gregory's work in the future.

Nefertiti's Heart

I am a major fan of steampunk and Egypt so seeing the those two things woven into a book immediately caught my eye. Even more exciting Nefertiti's Heart was a Free Friday book.

Sadly despite my excitement for Nefertiti's Heart I was bored with it and just wanted it to end. Cara drove me crazy I was sort of hoping she would die at the end. I saw no development in her and so many scenes just dragged and it kept feeling like I had read her parts before.

Nathaniel was not much better. I did not care about him or about his quest to pursue Cara. Nate also felt majorly undeveloped and just seemed to be there for a love interest.

Not nearly enough steampunk attributes for me just small mentions of them. Also it was portrayed on Nook as young adult and is not young adult at all, heavy intimate scenes that I did not care for. The writing was boring to me and I wont be continuing the series.

Friday 56: The White Queen

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

 

The White Queen page 56:

Sister, they were pissing in the fireplace rather than leave the great hall - and then the door opened and the king came out looking grim and the king put on his happiest smile and said, "Well, my lords, I thank you for your patience."

 

Starglass

The local bookstore is going out of business so I went in and bought up a bunch of books. The vivid cover is what made me decide to give Starglass a try.

Terra dreams of life outside of living in outer-space and as Asherah, the spaceship she is on, approaches Zehava, the planet her people abandoned earth for five hundred years ago, Terra grows increasingly restless. Anxious from spending all her time in the dome upon the Ashera Terra struggles to feel normal and accept her upcoming responsibilities as an adult. I was not a huge fan of Terra, she felt extremely flat and under developed for most of the story. Terra did seem to pick up a bit as the story progressed so I feel this is a write getting used to a character a bit. 

The pacing was steady, no part felt slow or fast but I did read Starglass fairly quickly considering how busy I am. Despite not caring much about Terra I do find myself terribly curious about what is going to be Terra's fate so I do want to read Starbreak. 

Friday 56: Starglass

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

Starglass page 56:

"Like what?" I demanded. "I don't know the first thing about botany."

Arabian Nights

I have read previous books by Kathryn Wesley so when I saw Arabian Nights at a second hand store I had to buy it.

The Sultan is plagued with madness ever since his first wife plotted to kill him with his brother. Forced to marry again to stay Sultan he decides he will have his wife killed after one night.

Shahrazad is the daughter of the grand vizar and not about to let any women from the harem be killed for the Sultan's madness. Having known the Sultan all his life she agrees to marry him. Believing that the kind boy still exists Shahrazad starts weaving a story and catching the Sultan's interest. Soon it is morning and the Sultan needs more of the story. 

As far as stories by Kathryn Wesley go this one was not my favorite but it was entertaining. My one complaint is all the names were super similar and started with an S. At times I was trying to figure out if the Sultan or the Sultans brother.