Heir To The Shadows by Anne Bishop

I finished "Heir To The Shadows", book two of Anne Bishop's Black Jewel Trilogy several hours ago, and I am still processing everything. In recent years, thanks to someone I know, have been very skeptical in regards to the second book in any series. For me, the cycle has been broken. I loved this book. Easily five out of five stars.

The main story line of Jaenelle as she grows up, and the young woman she becomes despite all that transpired in the previous book is astonishing. Her relationship with Lucivar as the big guardian brother was brilliantly written.

Throughout the novel, I laughed, cried, was shocked speechless, and left with chills. There is some description of the world, but it is the exceptionally crafted characters that has blown me away. The darkness and inner turmoil Daemon Sadi experiences in his decent into the Twisted Kingdom broke my heart. 

Anne Bishop

The stakes continually get raised as Dorothea and Heckatah are quietly planning the destruction of all that is good in the world. I'm interested to see if Jaenelle's sister will show up again and the dynamics between Jaenelle and Daemon once he returns from a place that no one is meant to escape from.

For dark fantasy, I am really enjoying this trilogy. The writing is clear and engaging. I played "just one more chapter" throughout the entire novel. I will be starting "Queen of the Darkness," the final book in the Black Jewels trilogy tonight.

In The Books: Week One Done

Well friend, we are officially in our second week of the year. How have your resolutions been going? Have you made any yet? If not, it's not too late! It doesn't need to be the start of a new year to set some goals and create good habits. Here's a brief recap on mine:

Reading: I'll be the first to admit that I've surprised myself. It is January 9th and I have completed 9 books. Of the nine, four of them were on my January TBR list. This means I still have nine or ten on that list, but I am working toward my goals. It won't stay this productive as my writing schedule increases; however, I love getting a good jump start to reaching my goals.

Writing: Obviously I've been blogging regularly (yay). Over this next week I will be delving into brainstorming and outlining for my novel. I've been on the edge of procrastination here (focusing on the blog), but I am well withing my time-frame to begin the project.

Self-love/planting flowers: This one has been particularly good for me. I have a great small group of people that are encouraging me on a daily basis and at the bottom of my planner each day, I will plant little flowers for myself. They are reminders of different aspects of me that are good (physically, mentally, etc). I find that starting my day off in this positive manner tends to lead myself into a more positive day. It's not a perfect system, but I am getting a lot out of it.

75 Hard: This has been fun. The hardest thing has been drinking a gallon of water a day. Last night I was grumbling in bed because I wanted to sleep but I hadn't finished my water yet. I am proud of myself for never missing a day. Reading "Better than Before" by Gretchen Rubin has been good. Ten minutes of self development reading a day is barely a few pages. Even if it takes longer than ten minutes, I try to read at least 10-15 pages a day. I'd like to read two self development books over the course of this program. Yoga has been great for my first workout and I've taken my dog on 45 minute walks in the evening every day. She enjoys it too. I have a new set of work outs that I will be trying in replacement of yoga starting tomorrow (don't tell Gretchen Rubin about my tomorrow comment... she'd have something to say about that).

Weekly goal: Get better about writing my to do lists the night before. I really like the concept of just getting up and going. When I have to start first by making a list, everything takes a little longer and I lose some of that initial excitement to get things going.

What is something that you would like to improve upon this week? What can you do to actually achieve that goal?

Look out tomorrow for my review on "Heir to the Shadows" by Anne Bishop tomorrow morning.

Two Days with Carrie Fisher

I will preface this with, I may be wrong; however, I think Star Wars is the only film/television series I have seen Carrie Fisher in. In truth, I didn't see Star Wars until the 2011ish era. I liked the original trilogy very much. I hated every single prequel for every reason possible. I LOVED The Force Awakens and Rise of Skywalker, and I liked The Last Jedi. With Star Wars fresh in my mind, and a great library system here in Nashville, I was able to dive into the life of Carrie Fisher by Carrie Fisher.

Over the past two days I have read (listened to) three Carrie Fisher Memoirs: "Wishful Drinking," "Shockaholic," and "The Princess Diarist." I have also read her novel "Postcards from the Edge," which I feel is more truth than fiction. I feel as though even if I were obsessed, that that would be a ton of Carrie Fisher in a very short period in time. That could just be me though. Let's take a brief look at my thoughts of the last four books I have read (currently 8/100 complete).

"Wishful Drinking" was published at the end of 2008. I found Carrie Fisher to be a riot. If she had something to say, not only would she say it, but she would say it with color. I knew nothing of her personal life so learning she had EST (electroshock therapy) to help battle depression and lost a good part of her memory... I was not only shocked, but I was intrigued and want to read more. The book felt a little manic but it really added to the urgency of the stories that she had to tell. This was a solid start but it did not blow me away earning a three and a half stars out of five from me.

Next, I listened to "Shockaholic," and I will be the first to admit that I thought she was going to talk about storm troopers. At the beginning of this book, Carrie Fisher goes into detail about her very regular shock treatments. I've got to ask, is this really a thing? And does it really work/help? It seemed absolutely fantastical. She goes more into depth regarding family and spends focused time on her father, especially towards the end of his life. This was a little calmer, had more emotional gravitas; however, it still was very Carrie, and very tell it like it was-- at least how she remembers it to be. Because it hit me in the feels a little more than the initial memoir, I rated this four out of five stars.

I took a memoir break and listened to Carrie Fisher's first novel "Postcards From The Edge." I heard it was semi-autobiographical; however, it felt mostly like a true story (and a lot of what I heard in her first two memoirs) with fictional bits about when it came to the exact conversations her main character had. Because of this, and I think reading the first two memoirs so close together, I didn't like it as much since it was basically a retelling of stuff in her memoirs. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I rated this three out of five stars.

 The final memoir by Carrie Fisher that I read was "The Princess Diarist". This was the most recent of her books and there was a new air of grace and maturity (and her free flowing dirty mouth). This audiobook felt as though you were sitting across from her asking her questions and her sharing stories that in forty years, have never been told. The biggest being Carrison.

Billie Lourd, Carrie's daughter reads her journal entries during the filming of the first Star Wars movie. It was nicely done. I found Carrie Fisher's poetry to be intriguing and uniquely composed. I enjoyed her rhymes. Ultimately, this was my favorite of the three memoirs and earned a five out of five stars from me.

I had considered reading the one about Debbie and Carrie that her brother Todd Fisher wrote, but I think I am Carrie'd out. She will forever be beloved. She will always be missed. May the force be with you, always.

The Path Made Clear by Oprah Winfrey

This review is going to be a little different. I listened to the audio book of Oprah Winfrey's book "The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose" yesterday. What I was expecting was a book of Oprah wisdom (and I got bits of that), but what I mostly got was quotes and interview responses regarding a whole array of topics by actors, authors, and more. It was very difficult for me to keep track of who's who when I didn't know a lot of the people. It felt like it was 20% Oprah and 80% others. I would have liked it much better if those numbers were switched. Ultimately, those things bothered me enough to drop my rating down to a three and a half out of five.

What truly caught my attention was this quote by Oprah:

Whatever your calling, it's already rooted within you, and those roots can be trampled or tugged at but never removed. They grow stronger only when tended, nurtured, and most important, shared with others.

I will be the first to admit that I have tried my damnedest to ignore or diminish my calling. I have trash talked myself, thrown an entire manuscript into the fire (literally... I wish I wasn't joking... this was before I owned a computer so all 750 pages were hand written), and talked down to myself. I admitted to a friend today that I felt an embarrassment about even sharing story ideas with another human. This friend hit the nose on the head identifying not embarrassment but a deep seeded fear and shame that has been long repressed.

My flowers today are simple, but important. I am unique. I have a voice. I have something to say. I deserve to tell my story. I am worthy of loving and being loved. I have a calling. I have a calling and I will embrace it instead of running from it. My roots are strong. My heart is good. I will achieve anything I put my mind to.

Thank you Oprah for your book, even though it wasn't what I was expecting.
And thank you, friend, for seeing past my darkness into a light I am just beginning to acknowledge.

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

The first movie most of us saw Drew Barrymore in was ET. I don't have crazy fan feels for the film. Probably because I only watched it once and I was a kid. I think I would like to revisit this particular movie and see how it translates in my adulthood.

The movies that really captivated my attention and adoration for Drew Barrymore were "Ever After" and "Never Been Kissed". I really enjoy retellings of Cinderella. I thought the acting and cinematography was absolutely stunning. "Never Been Kissed," was two fold: 1) Drew, of course and 2) Michael Vartan. I didn't see the movie until after I had started watching Alias, and his... acting skills are what made me want to watch the film. If you know what I mean. Look, I was twenty. Whatever.

I've never been big on learning about a celebrity's personal life; however, throughout the years you hear things even when you don't want to. I heard bits and pieces of Drew Barrymore's wild child days, but not much else about her life.







Through the Nashville Public Library's Libby app, I spent the last two days listening to Drew Barrymore narrate her book Wildflower (published October 25, 2015). I think the best way to describe this book would be as a collection of short stories from her life. It does not go in chronological order and it was a little jarring going from baby Drew to Drew having babies, back to being on the set of ET.

I appreciated her unique voice and dramatic performance with her stories, but I legit tore my airpods out of my ears when she started screaming. She does this more than once. Overall, I really enjoyed the stories about life on the set, her dogs, her girls, and her journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur. She had to overcome a lot of obstacles to become the woman she is today, and I appreciate her even more now knowing all that she has been through. Four out of five stars.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

I was utterly enthralled with "Daughter of the Blood" by Anne Bishop this evening and knew there would be no sleep until it was finished. Which is why, on a work night where I have to get up at five in the morning, I'm sitting in my living room, the only light is the harsh glow of my laptop screen. Silence surrounds me except for the soft ticking of our clock. It's been less than five minutes since I've finished the book and I am still lost in the shadows.

This is a dark fantasy with all of the adult themes you would expect; however, Bishop weaves a very different web in this world. The leaders are women. There is a jeweled caste system. There are realms, there is hell, and an abyss that stretches beyond our imaginations.

As the first book in a trilogy, there is a lot of world building, character development, and setting up the story. That being said, aside from a few pages in the beginning, I was never lost. This world made sense. The read was surprisingly quick, and yet it felt whole (and made me want more immediately). I haven't read a ton of fantasy, but if there is more like this out there, I'm in.

I love when books can draw me in so much that the rest of reality fades away. That is exactly what "Daughter of the Blood" did for me. Getting lost in stories brings so much joy to my heart. I was shocked and surprised, elated and disgusted time and time again.

An excellent second read of the year and another five star rating. This was also book one in the BBC (Badassery Book Club) 2020 list! Strong, strong, start.

**Additional note**

I picked up (via the Libby app) multiple audio books from Carrie Fisher that I will tackle this week adding to my January 2020 TBR list. Yay! I think reading 100 books this year is going to be easy.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

"Becoming" by Michelle Obama was the first book on my 2020 TBR list. I had been interested in the title all of last year; however, the wait time for the library copy of the audio book was months long and I didn't have the space to put it on hold. On the first of the year, it popped up for me as a "skip the line" short borrow read, meaning instead of a two week borrow, I got it for a mere seven days. Because "Becoming" was read by Michelle Obama herself, I knew it had to be audio and that it was going to be epic. I wasn't disappointed.

I'll be the first to admit I don't follow politics. To be completely real with you, politics gives me anxiety and stress me out. I made assumptions on what I thought would be in this book.

Becoming opened my eyes. It opened my eyes about the incredible story of Michelle Obama because basically, I knew absolutely nothing about her when her husband was the president of this country. Her story spans from her early childhood until just after they left the office of running America. This memoir is full of life and love, tragedy and heartbreak. It's a story about a person of color, a woman, a wife, a mother, an advocate, and an influencer.

I wish I knew back then what I know now. Michelle Obama is a beautiful human with a beautiful soul, incredibly intelligent (I knew that part), and an eloquence for writing. I couldn't stop listening. I cried as she told the story of when they announced that her husband had won the presidency. Literally everything about this book moved me in one way or another and once the book was over I felt a surprising kinship with her.

As you will soon learn, I don't recommend books often; however, I think absolutely every person could benefit from reading this one. There are so many life lessons you can learn from her stories, and if you ever need an example of what a strong woman is supposed to look like... look no further. Five out of five stars.

Michelle Obama is one of the many wonder women that are in this world. She is the type of person you want your kids to admire.

Read this book.

Just kidding, listen to the audio book! You will not be disappointed.