It’s Friday again, so you know what that means: it’s time to fangirl! Fangirling on Friday is hosted by Books in the Skye! Today we’re going to talk about best friends in books.
The first pair of best friends that I thought of when doing this prompt was Clary and Simon from The Mortal Instruments. Even though their relationship is strained once Clary finds out she’s a Shadowhunter, they remain friends. That whole Shadowhunter thing eventually works out, too.
A more controversial best friend pair would be Alina and Mal from the Grisha Verse books. I happen to be someone that roots for them, although some people don’t agree with me (that’s okay). I love how they were two orphans that grew up together and still stick by each other’s sides, even though they end up going through a lot.
I don’t get to talk about Elise and Mariko from The Last Year of the War a lot, but these two are an amazing best friend pair. They both meet in a concentration camp during World War II, and are forced apart by their parents, never to see each other again. Until the end. This book put me in tears multiple times.
Another book that I don’t get to talk about a lot is When Elephants Fly, but it does have a good best-friend dynamic. Lily is so concerned about her mental health and all the drama going on in her life that she doesn’t see the stress that her best friend Sawyer is under. Their friendship isn’t the focus of this story, but it is an important subplot.
What best friend relationships do you like in books? There don’t seem to be that many of them, even though they add color to a story.
Next week, in honor of Father’s Day, we’re going to talk about favorite fathers. Fortunately, there are more fathers in YA books than mothers.
Alex, Approximately is a sweet, enemies-to-lovers story where the characters unknowingly already care for each other.
At the beginning of the summer, Bailey moves across the country to a small town in Northern California. Her online friend Alex lives here, but because of a tragic event that happened in her past, she’s afraid of telling him that she moved into town. Instead, she tries to find him first; if he seems like a cool guy in real life, she’ll reveal herself to him.
After starting a summer job that her dad makes her get, she begins to be tormented by Porter, one of the security guards there. He’s probably tormenting her because he’s attracted to her. At the same time, Bailey finds that she can’t act normal around him because she’s attracted to him as well. Over the summer, she finds herself drawing closer to Porter and drifting away from her online friend Alex. Although if you read the synopsis, you know that Alex and Porter are the same person. Eventually, they find out the truth.
What I Loved
I loved Alex, Approximately and devoured it in two days. When I couldn’t read the book, I kept thinking about the characters. Both Bailey and Porter had previous hurt in their lives (which we do find out about) and it affects their relationship in a realistic way. They’re three-dimensional characters who have a variety of interests, friends, and family relationships. Bailey (oh my) acts like a teenager sometimes, getting upset and doing stupid things. I love how she develops as a person.
The setting was great as well. I’ve been to Northern California a few times before, and I could just picture this little town near the redwoods and the ocean. The museum where they worked at was another setting that stood out in my mind.
What Could Have Been Better
Bailey doesn’t hear from her mom the whole summer. She lives with her dad, but wouldn’t a teenager at least want to hear from her mom every once in a while? Other than this, there wasn’t really anything I could think of.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a cute contemporary romance to read this summer, Alex, Approximately would be a good choice. It has beaches, summer jobs, great characters, and a sunny (well, sometimes foggy, this is Northern California) setting. I’m glad that I read it and definitely recommend it to others.
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, where we book lovers make lists about a different topic every week! Every week, it’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Today’s topic is Unpopular Bookish Opinions. Ouch. I hope I don’t make too many unfriends today, but I’m going to tell you what I think? So here goes:
1. I’m Not a Fan of Katniss and Peeta
So I’m starting off with an easy one. I don’t really ship Katniss and Peeta. I thought Peeta was too weak for her. I would have preferred that she ended up with Gale. I’m not of the opinion that she should have ended up alone, but maybe she could have found someone else? Maybe she could have met someone after the games?
2. I Like Alina and Mal
So right now you’re thinking that I probably have , the Darkling was hot, but he was evil. and Alina and Mal were best friends since they were children. I just think with that backstory, they were really sweet together.
3. I Think People Should Be Able to Write What They Want
Now I suppose I’m really showing myself for the monster that I am. Ouch. But I think people should be able to write about the things they love without being shamed for it. If you’re white and have always been fascinated by the tale of Mulan… okay. If you’re black and want to write about mostly white people (like my husband) that should be okay too.
I get the #OwnVoices thing (and feel we need those too) and realize that publishers can only publish so many books per season. Historically, there has been bias against people of color and publishing can do better in that area. But I don’t think we should put people into boxes. Black people shouldn’t be told that their stories “aren’t black enough.” We don’t know how a person grew up. My (black) husband likes to listen to Disney and Amy Grant.
That being said, if a book is disrespectful to people or has bad representation, by all means, book bloggers and Goodreads reviewers should let people know that. But judge a story on its own merits, not by who wrote it (unless the author is a complete ass or something like that, but that’s a different topic).
4. People Should Be Able to Read Whatever Book They Want
I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or not? At any rate, by this I’m not talking about piracy (bad) or selling ARCs (also bad). I’m talking about how countries license their content in certain countries, and it’s almost impossible to get them in other countries.
The world has become a much smaller place, and people are in contact from people that live in other countries every day. Perhaps books should be more portable too? I realize that there are translation/country rights and it’s convoluted, but I think publishers can do better here. It shouldn’t cost me $60 to buy a used copy of the Russian edition of Insurgent (or $582 if I want a new copy).
5. I’m not a big fan of Illuminae
I know lots of people love this book, but although there were things that I really loved about this book, I’m not a big fan. Part of it might have been that I read it on the Kindle (it was so hard to read!). However, the book really annoyed me in the middle when the computer was lying. It really pissed me off and I almost put down the book in frustration. I googled the ending to see if it would be worth finishing, and even then, I went to bed and didn’t finish it until the next day.
6. I Think It’s Okay to Assign Kids Books to Read
It seems to be popular right now to just let kids read whatever they want, and while I think that the majority of what a kid reads should be up to them, I also think it’s okay to assign kids to read a book. There are plenty of reasons why you might want to assign a book: perhaps the class is studying a related historical subject, or maybe they need something to challenge them. I used to tell my boy that he could check out so many Minecraft books, as long as he got another kind of book too.
7. I Don’t Like the Covers to Most Romance Books
I guess this would be an unpopular opinion, because if people didn’t like the covers, they’d do something else? They just seem to be so generic to me most of the time. They usually have some sort of theme of 1) a guy without his shirt on, 2) a couple making out, 3) a girl in a bonnet, or 4) a girl in a fancy dress. It doesn’t really tell me much about the story.
8. YA Books Aren’t Exactly Children’s Books
It’s right there in the category. Young adult. Certainly Sarah J. Maas books aren’t children’s books? I don’t think so. Teens are the main demographic for YA books (again, perhaps Sarah J. Maas books shouldn’t be here) but I wouldn’t exactly classify them as children either.
9. There Should be Younger and Older YA Categories
YA in general spans a pretty broad range of life experiences. My boy is right at the edge of Middle Grade and YA. He loves Lauren Magaziner (MG) but at the same time he also loved the Warcross duology (YA) and the Legend Graphic Novels (YA). Would he enjoy A Court of Mist and Fury? I don’t particularly think that book would be appropriate for him.
I’m reminded of a review I saw once of A Weight of Feathers. The boy writing the review thought it was inappropriate for the female MC to swim in front of her love interest without a top on, and thought her excuse that she didn’t have anything to match the mermaid bottoms was a flimsy excuse. There’s a lot of YA books that would be too mature for a young teen like this, yet they’re all lumped into the same broad YA umbrella.
The solution was supposed to be New Adult, but that ended up with a terrible reputation. I hope things change in this area, because as it stands, we seem to have a lot of edgier YA books at the moment that are appropriate for older teens and adults, and fewer books that are appropriate for younger teens that might want something beyond middle grade.
10. I Hate Most Prologues
Maybe this isn’t an unpopular opinion, but I had trouble coming up with a tenth item. I don’t like most prologues. They’re usually unnecessary and add little to the story. I read them, but if I’m not enjoying a story and I’m still on the prologue, I figure the book will get better once I get the prologue over with. Usually I’m right.
So there’s ten items for this week! Do you agree with any of the above, or disagree? Next week, we’re going to focus on what I’m looking forward to at the end of the year!
I recently finished reading Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (thank you Netgalley, for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy) and I loved it! Just look at that gorgeous cover! And there’s magic! After reading this book, I definitely plan on reading the second book in this series.
I have to admit though, for a while I wondered “why did I request to read a book about sewing?” Because as much as I love the cover and the whole magic thing is great, there was a part of me that started thinking what can be interesting about sewing? As it turns out, there’s way more to this story than a girl making clothes.
Maia has always wanted to be a tailor. I love her. She has three brothers, but loses two of them in the war. Her father isn’t the same as he used to be, debilitated by a broken heart. And when her other brother comes back from the war, he has a bad leg. And he’s never been able to sew. So when the emperor sends envoys planning to take a family member to become the emperor’s tailor, Maia decides she needs to impersonate her brother and go in his place. She can’t go herself because girls can’t be tailors. It’s either that, or she’ll have to marry the baker’s son. Eew.
When she gets there, things aren’t as easy as they seem. She has to compete for this position. And the other tailors play dirty. But even after the competition, that’s not the end of the story. There’s way more to it. So much more, that there’s another book (which I definitely plan to read). But I can’t say much more because spoilers.
Not only are there evil villains, magic, and political intrigue in this story, there is also a love interest. I really like them together. But I can’t say any more about that either.
Can I think of anything I didn’t like? Not really. It’s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it for people that enjoy fantasy. The book isn’t out until July 9th, but you can pre-order it now.
Scotland: Land of Magic, Castles, and will-o’-the-wisps
Name a Magical Book Setting
For this prompt, I’d have to go for the world of Caraval by Stephanie Garber! The whole premise of the world of Caraval is that everything is magical and you don’t know what is real.
There’s magical dresses, time that seems to slip away, people that end up trapped in playing cards, and villains who can end your life with just a kiss. What could be more magical than that?
Clan Dunbroch: Merida’s family clan
Name Your Favorite Bookish Family/Gang
For this prompt, I’d have to go with Kaz Brekker and his literal gang in Six of Crows. While they don’t all choose to be part of the group at first (Matthias certainly wouldn’t have chosen to begin this adventure with the rest of them) they all seem to belong together by the end. They all have faced hardship in their lives, and with the help of their friends, they become better people. I just love this group together.
Merida: princess, brilliant archer, and doesn’t need any man
Name a Heroine Who Doesn’t Accept Her Fate
Do evil people count as heroines? I don’t know, but I’m gonna go for it anyway. Adelina Amouteru of The Young Elites certainly doesn’t accept what fate was going to throw her way.
Her dad was going to sell her to a guy who was going to use her as a mistress and then probably throw her away, she runs away and is almost burnt at the stake, and then she ends up becoming one of the most powerful people in the world… I would call that not accepting your fate.
The Highland Games: Eligible Fight for Merida’s Hand in Marriage
Name a Book Where the Stakes are High
Literally, the fate of the world is at stake in City of Heavenly Fire. I can’t think of any higher stakes than that. We learn later, when reading Queen of Air and Darkness, just how high the stakes in this book really were. Thule (the world where they don’t win during this time period) is a complete nightmare. Good luck to these people, because I don’t want to live in the nightmare world where they lose.
Elinor: Mama Turned Mama Bear
Name a Character that Goes Through a Big Transformation
This particular prompt doesn’t say that it has to be a good transformation, so I’m gonna go with Catherine from Heartless. She goes from this sweet girl that just wants to bake to the ruthless Queen of Hearts. Is there any bigger transformation than that?
You have to feel sorry for her. And a little angry with her parents. But ultimately, we choose our own fates.
Bear Brothers: Adorable, Mischievous Baby Bears
Name Some of Your Favorite Scene-Stealing Characters
For this prompt, I’m going to have to go way back. I’ll nominate Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the Dragonlance Chronicles. He’s a mischievious kender who is innocent like a child, but at the same time, always manages to rob you blind (although he’d say he was just borrowing things).
While he’s not the star of this show, he’s definitely an important part of the story and these books just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Mor’du: Demon Bear, Secret Prince
A Villain with a Complex Backstory
There are actually multiple villains in Muse of Nightmares, and quite a few of them have complex backstories. One of the villain characters is Minya. She’s angry about what happened, and from her perspective, she has a right to be. But she also doesn’t see the full story.
One of the things I like about this story (in addition to the gorgeous writing) is that as readers, we see that both sides are harboring unnecessary grudges and have misunderstandings about the other side. And fortunately, it all works out.
So that’s the Brave Book Tag. If you’d like to do this tag, I pick you! If you decide to do this one, please let me know so I can see what you came up with!
I recently read The Land of Yesterday by K.A. Reynolds. Isn’t that a gorgeous cover? It’s an adorable middle grade book that deals with the feelings one experiences when dealing with loss.
When Cecelia’s brother Celadon dies, she’s left feeling guilty. In order to get her brother back, she attempts to travel back to the Land of Yesterday — a place full of magic and dangers. To top it all off, her mother has also left for the Land of Yesterday, plus the house has gone crazy and is imprisoning her father. Will Cecelia be able to fix everything? Or will she also end up trapped in Yesterday?
On the surface, this book seems like a scary adventure full of magic, but there is a deeper meaning to this book. There are several beautiful quotes in here, such as this quote about recovering from grief:
When we’re ready, we can finally move beyond Yesterday and return to living in Today
p. 235
Or how death is permanent:
If someone died in Today, they couldn’t return to the land of the living.
p. 244
The book is full of clever names, like the town they live in: Hungrig (it means hungry in German). The book seems to capture the world through a kid’s eyes and seems to have humor that a kid would enjoy. For example, some characters that haven’t experienced loss speak gibberish in the land of Today.
Although this book isn’t on my list of favorites, I thought it was cute and had a lot of beautiful quotes. My boy (who is 12) also read it. He didn’t gush over it like he does with Lauren Magaziner’s books, but he didn’t have anything negative to say about it. I think some of the clever names went over his head.
I would recommend this story especially to kids that are dealing with the loss of a loved one.
It’s Friday again, and time for another edition of Fangirling on Friday (hosted by Books in the Skye). Since it’s a new month, we’re going to talk about our favorite books from last month. This month I picked two books!
The first book I picked for May was Rebel by Beverly Jenkins! I was so very happy to be picked to read an ARC for this book (although it’s out now!). I found this book after reading glowing reviews by Bookish Pisces, and I’m glad I did. There’s history, romance, and some really great characters in this book!
In October, another book named Rebel that I expect to love is coming out (the fourth book in the Legend tetralogy by Marie Lu) so I’m guessing there will be two books that I love with that title coming out this year. In my blog notes, I’ve had to be careful to designate which Rebel book I’m talking about!
I tend to read a lot of fantasy, and many of the best of the month posts I’ve written are dominated by that genre, but not this month! The other book that earned favorite-of-the-month status for May was Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett. I kept thinking about this book, even when I had to go to my job.
I’ve been trying to read some of the books I purchased on sale a while back, and this was one of the books one the list. Even though a lot of them are on my summer reading list, I’m not doing a very good job of it. There were a lot of books on sale Sunday, so… even though I read one, I bought six more. But I’m never at a loss for books to read?
Jenn Bennett has a new book coming out later this year, The Lady Rogue, and I was fortunate enough to be approved for an ARC of that book, so I’m looking forward to reading it soon.
So those were my favorite books from May! Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox and Soul of the Sword were also outstanding, but I had to narrow it down somehow. Next week, we’re going to talk about bookish best friends.
Cassandra Clare’s Ghosts of the Shadow Market came out on Tuesday, and I was so excited to read it! While I know a lot of the novellas came out earlier, I didn’t buy them and decided to wait until this week to read them. I loved this book, and am now excited to try to find time to reread some of these books!
This book assumes you are familiar with The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices. My review may contain spoilers for these books.
Ghosts of the Shadow Market contains ten short stories (some of which are novella length). Jem/Brother Zechariah is a constant presence in these. They should probably be read in order (at least for the first read-through). There is a common thread running through these stories: Jem is looking for the Lost Heir. The stories take place between 1901 (with the children of The Infernal Devices characters) and 2013 (which occurs after The Dark Artifices).
What I Loved
The Characters. Because this book takes place over a long period of time, there are a ton of characters in this book. Some you’ll be familiar with, but there are others that will appear in The Last Hours trilogy. I never realized that Lily (the head of the New York vampires) was so smitten with James Carstairs! It was fun to see little Jace and the little Lightwoods years before The Mortal Instruments, along with the other characters.
The Worldbuilding. This is one of the things that I love about Cassandra Clare’s books. The world and lore is so intertwined and full.
The Historical Background. I’m a student of history, so I’m familiar with The Great Depression, World War II, etc. The book was well-researched, and I even learned something. When London was bombed, the shops tried to stay open. Some of them that had been bombed were still open, hanging out signs saying they were “more open than usual.” I thought that was funny (I checked, and they actually did have these signs out).
The Humor. I laughed out loud in several places in this book. “Isabelle is the love of my life, but her seven-layer dip is like the nine circles of Hell,” Lily’s constant nicknames for Jem, and several other places in the book were quite funny.
The Story. In Ghosts of the Shadow Market, you get to find out things that happened after Queen of Air and Darkness, and how Alec and Magnus ended up adopting Rafael. While it won’t be necessary to read this book to enjoy The Last Hours or The Wicked Powers, this book enriches the Shadowhunter universe.
What Could Be Better
Because The Last Hours won’t be released until next March, it took me a while to figure out who was whose kid (and don’t quiz me even now, I’m still a little fuzzy on these). I still enjoyed the stories that took place in 1901, but I think I will like them better once I’m more familiar with these characters and who is who.
One of the stories takes place in 1989 and one of the characters refers to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. The song came out in 1983 and was mostly popular in that year and 1984. I really couldn’t imagine someone referring to the song in 1989 unless they were hopelessly behind the times. Which perhaps the character is.
Conclusion
If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices, I recommend this book. If you haven’t read all twelve of those books yet, I recommend you read those first. Ghosts of the Shadow Market adds to the Shadowhunter world and advances the story. It’s made me more excited for Chain of Gold, which is coming out next March!
Hello! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl)! Today we’re talking about books from our favorite genre. I like all sorts of books, but I tend to read a lot of fantasy books, so we’re going to go with that (although dystopian might be making a comeback soon, so there’s that). This week, I’m picking five fantasy books (or series) that I love, and five that I’m looking forward to reading.
An Ember in the Ashes Quartet – Sabaa Tahir
I’m looking forward to reading the final book in this series next year, but for now, this series belongs up here. I read these three (long) books in three days. They were difficult to put down! I originally got the first two books from the library, but then I had to own the set (even though they don’t match, because one’s Kindle, one’s paperback, and one’s hardback).
Shadowhunter’s Books – Cassandra Clare
I love these books! I guess this would belong in the upcoming release books too, because we have Chain of Gold to look forward to next March, but these definitely belong on this list. I’m also getting Ghosts of the Shadow Market today, which I’m excited for. They’re shipping via UPS (which typically arrives later at my house than the post office) so I guess I’ll be reading something else until it arrives.
The Young Elites Trilogy – Marie Lu
Of course this one had to make my list. I adore Magiano and Adelina! Even though Adelina is evil. I really need to finish the fanfic I started writing telling this series from Magiano’s POV (which will continue on and will have a happier ending). This is my first week as a full-time writer/homeschooler, so I should have more time to work on it now!
Flame in the Mist Duology – Renée Ahdieh
I was originally going to put the Grisha Verse books in here, but then I realized “didn’t I talk about all these books last week?” so I decided to throw in something new instead. This might be the first fantasy book I read based in a medieval Japan like place, and I loved it! I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was at work.
I wasn’t sure about reading Ms. Ahdieh’s new book about vampires, but I got the chance to read the beginning of The Beautiful the other day, and it was really good, so I’ll probably read that one too.
The Cruel Prince Trilogy – Holly Black
This book had me hooked from the first page! I love Holly Black’s writing. I can’t wait until The Queen of Nothing comes out later this year! Yes, I know Jude and Cardan don’t really have the model relationship, but they’re not exactly model citizens themselves. I couldn’t put down the first two books in this series and think I finished them the day they came out.
New Books I’m Looking Forward To!
I’m really looking forward to Wicked Fox by Kat Cho! I got to read the first part of the book through Bookish First, and I won an ARC through them! I haven’t received it yet, but I’m going to my mailbox with expectation every day (although I have some other books I need to read first). I actually won three books (two through them, one through Goodreads) so this isn’t the only bookmail I’m anxiously awaiting.
October 1st is going to be a huge release day for me, because not only is Rebel coming out that day, but so is The End and Other Beginnings (Veronica Roth) and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo! The cover features Matthew the famous Book Snake (who also appears on the cover of Queen of Nothing, another book I’m getting)!
Speaking of The End and Other Beginnings, here it is! It is a collection of short stories, including two stories from the Carve the Mark universe and “Inertia”, a story I adored from Summer Days and Summer Nights! I don’t own that book so I’ll be happy to read that story again.
Oh, and I just read in Entertainment Weekly while writing this article that “Inertia” is going to be turned into a movie! If you read this blog a lot, you know I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I definitely want to go see this one!
I really liked Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett (my review will be up in a couple of weeks) and when I found out that she’s coming out with a fantasy novel where a girl has to hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring, I thought “sign me up!” Netgalley was nice enough to approve me to read The Lady Rogue, although it’s in protected PDF format and I’m having trouble downloading it, but I’m sure I’ll get that figured out before it comes out in September.
I’m excited for The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White to come out this November! Camelot is such an interesting legend (I happened to get Once and Future on sale on Sunday) and this sounds like a great book. I’ve still only read one short story by Kiersten White (despite owning more than one of her books) but I hope to remedy that soon.
So there’s ten books from the fantasy genre – 5 I love, and 5 I’m looking forward to reading! What books are you looking forward to reading? I can’t wait to see what you all came up with today.
We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Disney cartoon came out over 80 years ago and, to be honest, the story feels dated. The Evil Queen is a Snow White retelling that gives the story an interesting twist.
Everly is a girl who grew up in a typical high school in America. Only she’s not normal. Everybody seems to hate her for some unnatural reason. She doesn’t know why. She’s only had one boyfriend (over the summer) but he broke up with her before school started again because he was embarrassed for people to think they were together. She’s very cynical towards life.
Her mother always told her fairy tales, like most mothers do, but she doesn’t think anything of it until she starts seeing a girl other than herself in her mirror. The girl is kind to animals, helps the villagers… the calls the girl Angel.
One day, Everly’s world is turned upside down when she realizes that the girl in the mirror is an actual girl living in a land called Enchantia, she is a sorcerian, and she has to leave her current world for the fairy tale one. She falls for a boy who hates sorcerians (although he doesn’t know she is one). Events outside of her control force her to do things that make her think that she’s the Evil Queen in the Snow White story. While everybody seems to be against her, her sister seems to be in trouble and she’s helpless to save her.
Things aren’t exactly as they seem, but you’ll have to read the story to find out what happens.
What I Liked
This story is unlike other fantasy books I’ve read. In most fantasy books, the characters talk differently. Everly, who came straight from your local high school, talks like a teenager. Sometimes the locals in Enchantia don’t really understand her, since she’s using contemporary slang.
The Enchantian characters in this book also don’t seem like your typical Disney characters straight from the 1930s. Prince Charming and Everly exchange sexual innuendos, and two of the female characters are romantically involved. It’s nice how the story breathes a spark of new life into an old classic story.
This story also conveyed the message that we are who we choose to be, not who we are fated to be. I can’t say much more without giving away the plot, but not all the characters seem to fit into their given roles.
What I Didn’t Like
I didn’t care for the prologue, but I don’t like most prologues. Everly had her problems at time, but that’s typical of teenagers.
Overall
Overall, I thought The Evil Queen was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale. If you’re looking for a story about a damsel in the forest washing clothes for some elderly dwarfs, this isn’t it. What it is is a story about a girl from today, who gets thrust into a fairy tale world, thinking she’s expected to be one character, but discovering that she can make her own choices and isn’t necessarily stuck to one particular role. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the second book in the series when it comes out.
