The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

It has been said that all good things must come to an end. I have said so must things that you know were good, but you didn't fully connect with. Let me preface the rest of my review with my rating of the final installment in the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. This book scored a four out of five stars.

Blue, Gansey, Noah, and Ronan's story comes to a breaking point as the mystery of Glendower and Cabeswater are resolved. We also discover the true meaning behind the psychic reading that has been haunting Blue for most of her life.

I felt the Glendower reveal was anti-climatic. Stiefvater spent the better part of four novels building the mythology around this ancient sleeping king, and I was let down by the reveal.

The biggest surprise came by all that Ronan had created once you are able to look back to the very first novel.

Ultimately; however, I think that Maggie Stiefvater has a brilliant imagination. I just don't think this series was the right fit for me. It was very good, no question. I rated the series as a whole four out of five stars. I'm older than the age range this was intended for, and I'm guessing that is what was missing out for me. If I had read this as a teen, I have a feeling my reaction would have been much different.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Well, well, well. Color me corrected. It took me three books to finally hop onto the Raven train, but I am 100% in. For those not following along, "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" is the third book in the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. And shit is getting real. Really weird, but in the best of ways.

If you've not read my previous review on this book collection, although it has scored decently, it hadn't taken me to any wow moments. I like it, but I wasn't connecting with any of the characters, and the fantasy aspect of the story... well, I was just trudging along. I was basically at the point of reading to finish the series and not reading to find out what happens next.That is no longer the case. I'll be starting the final book today.

In this book, we continue our search for the Welsh King Glendower as Ronan continues to dream walk, Adam embraces Cabeswater, and we finally discover more about Blue and her powers to amplify other people's magic. The stakes are raised when Blue's mother disappears, and death becomes a very real reality in their lives. The power of magic and the consequences are through the roof as Blue and the Raven Boys get closer to waking the king.

This book has a little bit of everything: magic, a touch of romance, suspense, danger, and mystery. My first five out of five star rating for a Maggie Stiefvater book. Well done.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

"The Dream Thieves" is the second book in the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. I read "The Raven Boys" last year and rated it a four out of five stars. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it took nearly two-thirds of the book to get interesting. It was from a nearly 'Did Not Finish' (DNF) to its current score. "The Dream Thieves" kind of sat in the middle of the road for me.

The journey to search for a long dead king named Glendower continues in Henrietta, Virginia for Blue Sargent and the Raven Boys. This book focus's a lot on Ronan Lynch and his secrets. There are many, but the main one is his ability to pull objects from his dreams into reality. As we discover more about Ronan, the gang gets closer than ever to the mysteries that surround their town. I do have to say I did like what we learn about his mother and the powers of Cabeswater.

We learn more about the characters and how they're all connected

Maggie Stiefvater

to the mythical and mystical in this small town. I had absolutely no connection or interest in the Gray Man. Most of the characters in this book are teenage boys. That is very likely why I'm not connecting with it. I scored this book three stars out of five.

Will I finish the final two book in the series? Yes. I own the last two books and have already started book three "Blue Lily, Lily Blue." I'm about a third of the way in, and I dare say that there is still hope. Is there a series out there that you like (not love) but cannot seem to not finish it anyway? This is that series for me.

January Progress Report

We are nearly three weeks into the new year, and I am still going strong. Writing my goals down and how I am going to accomplish them has been a game changer for me this year. I know exactly what I want and I know what I need to do to accomplish them.

Let's consider this an update of sorts, a mid-month progress report.

Writing: I've maintained my blog posting to every day, even on days I absolutely did not want to write or look at a computer screen. A great example was last night. Let me tell you, even the idea of opening my computer was off putting to me. But I had made myself a promise, and I deserved to hold myself to the promise of writing. I'd only be disappointing myself otherwise, and I'm worth more than that.

Novel brain storming has been a little slower than I would like; however, I did give myself 75 days of planning so official novel writing won't begin until the middle of March. My plan; however, is to have a full outline before the focused writing starts.

I also have a drabble about Bucky Barnes to complete before my friend's birthday in May. That one should be interesting. She'll appreciate seeing it in writing that after two years I'm finally committing to writing it AND I've given myself a deadline. What have I gotten myself into...

Reading: I've been kicking ass at reading. As of today, I've read 17 books in 19 days. I have one that only has about 50 pages left too. I've added a few unplanned reads along the way, but I'm still pushing to get to the rest of the to be read list I created for January.

What do I have left? I have the three remaining books from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. Four books is totally doable. I think I will also throw in the three novellas that are attached to The Selection series if I can manage it. I know this is a lot, but "The Hazel Wood" by Melissa Albert is also looming in my mind. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I am still interested.

I haven't even begun to think about what will be on my February TBR list aside from the BBC (Badassery Book Club) read of The Count of Monte Cristo. We have a three month time limit read on it since it's massive... but part of me wants to do it all in one month. If I do that though, I might not read anything else.

Health/Wellness: I've changed my eating habits yet again. Well, not changed... just refined. I'm getting better with my portion sizes and I'm very pleased to be eating very clean. My body seems to like it for the most part. I've also got a daily vegan chocolate and banana smoothie with unsweetened vanilla almond milk that I adore! Eating can still be fun even when you eat healthy.

Fitness: I am still going strong on my 75 hard journey. It's mentally gotten tougher as I feel exhausted all of the time. Two work outs a day is a lot when you don't have a ton of spare time. My pup; however, is enjoying her longer walk in the evening. I'm also doing a Barre Blend workout everyday as well. What I'm loving about this is that it's reintroducing me to ballet. I haven't danced in about 25 years, and I didn't realize how much I miss it. It kicks my butt each and everyday, but I love how quickly my balance and strength is improving (I have a LONG way to go). I'm in the middle of my second week of that.

Planting Flowers: Positive self-talk hasn't been 100% over the past three weeks, but I didn't expect it to. I am; however, greatly improving in that department. I am an intelligent and capable woman and can do anything I put my mind to. See y'all, I did that with a straight face! Progress.

Ultimately, this year is starting out so incredibly strong. I have had some really good boundary work with some of my closer relationships and I'm learning to open up more and allow vulnerability into my life. I'm excited to finish this month off strong and head into our leap year month.

I'm not really a sports fan... but... TITAN UP!

Steel Scars by Victoria Aveyard

"Steel Scars" by Victoria Aveyard is considered a novella set before the first book in the Red Queen series. This story gives us a background on Farley and how she eventually connects with Mare Barrow, the protagonist of Red Queen.

I scored this a 2.5 out of 5 stars. I probably should have rated it lower too. It's not that it was bad, because it wasn't, but it wasn't good enough to want to read any more. This novella was very military focused and apparently that is seriously NOT my thing. The secret missives that never seemed to end bored me from start to finish. If I were more invested in the story, then maybe I would want to take the time to try to decipher them. As it stands, I'm glad I read it, and I am glad it is gone.

Of all the stories in the Red Queen world, this was my least favorite. I am very happy to move on from this series, probably for good. "Broken Throne" is a collection of three novels coming out in April and I just can't think of anything that might spark my interest. Maybe Maven... Maybe Cal... Maybe not. I think I'm done and that is okay.

What I am currently reading:

"Dare to Lead" by Brene Brown
"More than This" by Gretchen Rubin
"The One" by Kiera Cass

What is upcoming over the next couple of weeks:

Finishing up The Selection series by Kiera Cass (2 books)
Finishing up The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (3 books)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Current Podcasts being listened to by me:

http://www.chipperish.com

David Tennant Does a Podcast with... by David Tennant
Awegasm by Chipperish Media

Current Writing Projects:

Novel brain storming planned for the next couple of months. Now that I have my protagonist's name, I can start building her world.

Upcoming goals:

Join a writing/writers group.

January 2020 TBR

Good Evening, lovelies! I hope everyone is holding strong on their new years resolutions/goals. Day two is nearly in the books and I am happy to report despite my everlasting cold and my ten hour work day that I've read some in all three of my first books of the year (because I can't be normal and just read one at a time).

"Better than Before" by Gretchen Rubin is my least captivating book so far; however, that is mainly due to the fact that I am only reading for ten minutes a day. Which means, I am on page 15. Yup, I'm really rocking my 2020 reading schedule. Of the four tendencies theory Rubin proposes, I am most certainly an obliger. I focus on making others happy before myself. I will help the outside before I help myself. This is something that I need to work to balance better, and I am hoping that as I progress through this book, it will open my eyes to opportunities.

Y'all, "Becoming" by Michelle Obama is incredible. I'm borrowing this audio book through the Nashville Public Library's app, "Libby." Becoming is read by the author, and let me tell you... it is something very special. Michelle Obama is an amazing story teller, and the story she has to tell is important. I am excited to learn from and be inspired by one of the strongest and most intelligent women on the planet. As of this post, I'm nearly a third of the way into the book.

The slow burn of these three books has been "Daughter of the Blood" by Anne Bishop. It's a dark fantasy set across many realms of light and darkness. The blood magic is nothing like I have ever read before. It is dark and mysterious and intriguing. This is not for the feint of heart. I came across a passage this evening that really took me from serious interest to "I don't want to put this down" kind of reading. Here is the passage that was a game changer for me:

"You cannot prevent the ssmall sspiralss, the flashess of anger. You cannot prevent her from sspiraling down to her core. All the Blood needs to desscend from time to time. But the maelsstrom..." Draca slipped her hands into the sleeves of her robe. "Sshield her, Ssaetan. Sshield her with your sstrength and your love and perhapss it will never happen." "And if it does?" Saetan asked hoarsely.
"It will be the end of the Blood."

I absolutely know that this won't be as impactful to those who haven't read this book before. But let me tell you. Shit is getting real and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Well, now that my current reads update is out of the way, let's talk about why we are really here: My January 2020 TBR list. If you don't know, TBR means "To Be Read". This list is mostly my wish list of novels that I would like to read. The list may change depending on my mood, and sometimes life happens and the ten books you wanted to read turns into two.

You obviously know my first three; however, for completion's sake, I will include them all (in no particular order):

1) Becoming by Michelle Obama (audio book borrowed from the Libby app)

2) Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin (husband picked this one up when we were in Bath, England last month).

3) Daughter of the Blood (Book one of the Black Jewels trilogy) by Anne Bishop (birthday gift from Alice)

4) The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Christmas 2019 gift from Steve)

5) Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (Christmas 2019 gift from Steve)

6) The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Christmas 2019 gift from Steve)

7) The Elite by Kiera Cass (Amazon)

8) The One by Kiera Cass (Amazon)

9) The Heir by Kiera Cass (Amazon)

10) The Crown by Kiera Cass (Amazon

11) Wildflower by Drew Barrymore (audio book borrowed from the Libby app)

12) The Strange and Beautiful Sorrow of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Birthday 2019 gift from Steve)

13) Heir to the Shadows (Book two of the Black Jewels trilogy) by Anne Bishop (Birthday 2019 gift from Alice)

14) Queen of the Darkness (Book three of the Black Jewels trilogy) by Anne Bishop (Birthday 2019 gift from Alice)

That's all I have planned for now. Its day two and I already feel a little behind. I'm looking forward to creating a reading schedule this weekend. Structure and I work really well together. When I set these micro-goals, it motivates me to not only achieve them, but find ways to blow the goals out of the water.




What is on your January TBR list? What is one book you read last year that you think everyone should read? Looking forward to your lists and your recommendations!