Reading – Page 15 – Lyndsey Hall

The Mystery Blogger Award

Mystery Blogger Award Lyndsey's Book Blog

My first blog award! A huge thank you to Ronel @ Ronel the Mythmaker for nominating me for the Mystery Blogger Award, which was created by Okoto Enigma.

What is the Mystery Blogger Award?

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates, it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.

– Okoto Enigma

Rules

Put the award log/image on your blog
List the rules
Thank whoever nominated you
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
Nominate some fellow bloggers
Notify your nominees
Ask your nominees 5 questions
Share a link to your best post
There are only 9 rules, but I’m just going to leave this here to appease my need for symmetry…

Here goes!

3 things about me:

I speak Spanish, I studied it at Uni and did a Masters in Translation, but I’ve never used it and sort of fell into Marketing and retrained. I love Spain though, and everything about the culture and history of the country. I don’t holiday there enough, and when I do I’m too shy to speak Spanish to people!
I’m the proud fur-parent of a beautiful German Shorthaired Pointer named Bailey. We re-homed her just over a year ago when she was seven months old, her previous owners couldn’t give her the time and exercise she needs. It’s without a doubt the best decision me and my husband ever made, we love her more than life.
I have a bucket list of things I want to do, accomplish, achieve etc. Ten by the time I’m thirty, ten more by the time I’m forty, and I’ll choose ten more for the decade between forty and fifty. I’m one away from completing my list for my twenties, which included things like: complete my degree, get married, buy a house, ride a horse and go to Disneyland Paris. My list for my thirties includes things like go scuba diving, go to Las Vegas, go skiing, learn another language or an instrument (I have zero musical talent though so it’ll probably be a language!) and for my 40th birthday I want to go to Australia.

OK, that was probably way more than 3 things, but welcome to a brief history of Lyndsey Hall!

What’s next? Nominate some fellow bloggers. OK, I nominate:

Don’t worry if you’ve already done this award or don’t fancy it. And if I haven’t nominated you but you want to answer my questions, feel free! I’d love to see your answers.

The five questions Ronel gave me are:

Who is your favourite author and why?

This is such a tough question because I love so many authors for so many different reasons, but the author who has made the biggest difference in my life is definitely J.K. Rowling. I always loved to read as a kid, but Harry Potter started my obsession with fantasy, long book series, and MG/YA lit. Rowling inspired my reading, and she’s inspired my writing too. I wouldn’t be who I am today with HP.

What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?

I’m currently listening to the audio book of A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, it’s a great fantasy series, I absolutely love the characters and the world Maas has created. It’s not for everyone, there are quite a few steamy scenes and I’d definitely call it NA rather than YA, so it’s not for younger teens. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping fantasy with an amazing cast of talented and fascinating characters. And one incredible book boyfriend!

How long have you been blogging?

I’ve tried blogging a few times in the past, my first one was a personal blog with posts about my life and inner thoughts, then I had a craft blog and I sold bits and pieces on Etsy and Facebook for a while, and finally I started this book blog when I started writing my first novel last year in September. I’ve always been creative and I’ve been trying to find my outlet for years, and I think I’ve finally found it with writing and this blog.

Which four fictional characters would you invite to a dinner party and why?

Ooh, good question! Ron Weasley for a bit of down-to-earth humour, Rhysand (I just realised I don’t know his last name, maybe he doesn’t have one?) for a bit of eye candy and flirtation, Aelin Ashryver-Galathinius – or actually I’d prefer Caelena Sardothien, but same difference – for her wicked snark. I think she and Rhys could give each other a run for their money. Magnus Bane, because everyone needs a bit of fabulousness in their lives and he’d have so many stories to tell. And Ronan Lynch, because if a party doesn’t end in a bust up with the police called is it even a party?

What would your supervillain name be?

Hmm. I like Enchantress but it’s already taken. I actually really like Paige’s code name from The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon, Black Moth. But my Patronus according to Pottermore is White Mare, so maybe that would work? Plus my Mum always says I’m a mare, so it’s accurate…

My 5 questions for my nominees are…

Which fictional character would you play in a movie?
Would you rather have wings and be able to fly, or turn into a mermaid when you enter water?
If you could harness any of the elements (wind, fire, water, earth), which would you prefer?
Which fictional school do you wish you had attended?
If you could have any mythical creature from any book as a pet, which would you choose?

My best (most popular) post for writers is Caring for Plot Bunnies and for readers is Ten things that make me NOT want to read a book.

That was fun! I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me, I can’t wait to see your responses to my questions and get to know some of you a bit better. Tag me in your posts so I can find them!

Lyndsey

Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Haven’t read The Raven Boys yet? Check out my spoiler free review here. There will be spoilers for book one in this review so don’t read on if you haven’t read it!

I listened to the audio book of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater earlier this month, the second book in The Raven Cycle series. It’s narrated by Will Patton again, who does a great job of creating tension and giving each of the characters their own sound. His voice is very gravelly, which is perfectly suited to Ronan!

The Dream Thieves shifts focus slightly away from Gansey and on to Ronan, who’s learning more about his strange ability to take things – like Chainsaw, the raven – out of his dreams.

“He danced on the knife’s edge between awareness and sleep. When he dreamt like this, he was a king. The world was his to bend. His to burn.”

Adam is now living in an apartment he rents from the nuns, refusing to move into Monmouth Manufacturing with the other boys. Typical Adam.

“It was nothing, but it was Adam Parrish’s nothing. How he hated and loved it. How proud he was of it, how wretched it was.”

Gansey is still looking for Glendower, and now Cabeswater, which has decided to disappear from its usual spot in the forest. The now live leyline is tripping the electrics across Henrietta, power surges causing the town’s generators to blow on a semi-regular basis.

A sinister man dressed in grey has arrived in town and is on the hunt for the Grey Warren, unaware that it’s a who and not a what. And an angry, shaved-headed who at that.

“He was clearly related to Declan: same nose, same dark eyebrows, same phenomenal teeth. But there was a carefully cultivated sense of danger to this Lynch brother. This was not a rattlesnake hidden in the grass, but a deadly coral snake striped with warning colours. Everything about him was a warning: If this snake bit you, you had no one to blame but yourself.”

I really enjoyed this book, it was great to slip straight into the story without too much introduction as we’re already well acquainted with the characters. I actually really liked the change of pace and getting to know Ronan a bit more, and the new characters that were introduced were fascinating and layered.

I’ve seen some people complain that it’s not really a sequel, it’s more like a spin off about Ronan, but I completely disagree (plus, there’s an entire series about Ronan coming soon!). We see plenty of the other characters, I would just say that whereas the focus of book one was Blue and Gansey, in this one it’s Ronan and Adam. I actually think it works better as a sequel than if we’d stuck with Blue and Gansey and left the others as somewhat secondary characters – this way it’s more of an ensemble cast.

“So what you’re saying is you can’t explain it.”
“I did explain it.”
“No, you used nouns and verbs together in a pleasing but illogical format.”

The group dynamic is just as dysfunctional and hilarious as in book one, with the relationships between Blue and Adam and Gansey becoming ever more complicated. I loved seeing more of Gansey’s and Ronan’s families, and it goes without saying that some of my favourite parts happened at 300 Fox Way. Maura, Calla and Persephone are great characters and add a lot of humour to the book.

“I thought you said scrying was a bad idea.”
“It’s like vodka,” Calla said. “It really depends on who’s doing it.”

I gave The Dream Thieves 4 stars, I really loved being back in Henrietta with this co-dependent, magical bunch, but it has a slightly different feel to The Raven Boys. If I’m honest, I’m not sure about the whole Kavinsky thing, it felt a little bit too convenient, but that might become clearer in the next book.

I’m currently listening to A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, and as soon as that’s finished I’ll be jumping straight into Blue Lily, Lily Blue, so expect a review of book three soon!

Have you read The Raven Cycle series? What did you think? Who’s your favourite character? I was leaning towards Adam but I’ve taken a liking to Noah after this book!

Lyndsey

I am a member of the Book Depository affiliate program, so if you click through and buy any of the books mentioned in this blog I might make a little commission, but I am not paid to review books and all reviews are my own opinions!

My Summer TBR

It’s been a few months since I shared what I’ve got on my to-be-read pile, so I thought I’d give you all a little insight into what I’ll be reading and listening to over the next couple of months.

King of Thorns & Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

I picked these up from the library today after putting them on hold pretty much as soon as I finished reading Prince of Thorns. I can’t wait to get lost in Jorg’s deliciously dark and bloody world again. If you love adult fantasy like Game of Thrones then you’ll love the Broken Empires series by Mark Lawrence. I think I’ll move onto Red Sister once I’ve finished this series, and then jump back to The Red Queen’s War series.

Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

I also grabbed this from the kids’ section of my library while I was there (all the best books seem to end up in the children’s section – this, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Ness, Terry Pratchett…). I got the Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them companion books when they originally came out, so this is the only one I never got my hands on and as soon as I saw it I had to bring it home. It’ll be a nice, heart-warming read after the Broken Empires series. Or, if the Deathly Hallows tale is anything to go by, it won’t be.

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

I bought this book on Amazon after coming across it whilst researching similar titles to my current WIP, The Fair Queen. I figured I should give it a read now I’m almost finished so I can use it as a comparable title in my query if it really is similar. I’m excited to read it and see how Pierce has done it – here’s hoping it doesn’t make me hate my own work, either for being too similar or painfully inferior!

On the other hand, I’m always keen to read fantasy authors I’ve never come across before, so I’m looking forward to discovering a potential new favourite!

The Scarecrow Queen by Melinda Salisbury

I cannot wait to read the conclusion of The Sin Eater’s Daughter trilogy! I’ve seen some great reviews online, and this has really become one of my favourite series, so I know it’s going to be a great read. I’ve also seen that there’s a new e-book collection of companion stories so I’ll be getting my hands on that as soon as possible when I finish this one.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

No TBR list is complete without at least one Stiefvater book. I’ve just finished listening to the audio book of The Dream Thieves (review to come) and I’m still absolutely adoring this series, so as soon as I’m done listening to A Court of Wings and Ruin by S.J. Maas I’ll be diving into the third book in the Raven Cycle series.

There you have it, those are the books I’ve added to my towering TBR and am hoping to read by the end of this summer. I’m sure my pile will continue to grow (I’ve still got a couple of others on hold at the library that haven’t come in yet) and I’m still trying to catch up with some of the books I already had, but I’ve almost finished my second draft and will soon be shipping my novel off to beta readers which will give me more time for reading.

What’s on your list for summer reading? I’m dreaming of reading more YA contemporary, but I keep being sucked back in by fantasy books! There have been so many incredible new releases this year, I’m spoilt for choice, but leave your recommendations in the comments!

Lyndsey