Review: When They Shine Brightest

Title: When They Shine Brightest
Author: Yordan Zhelyazkov
Publisher: self-pub in U.S.
Release Date: January 1, 2015

A character-driven fantasy novel, exploring the theme of loss and how we try to deal with it even when there is no way to do so.

Korsak Dryshore, a middle-aged war veteran, is being held directly responsible for the invasion of his home town of Seten. Everyone in Seten, including his family, blames him for losing the last ditch defense against the aggressors. Utterly defeated, and mourning the loss of his eldest son in the conflict, he has spent the last months following the battle away from home. Upon his return, he has to confront the animosity of the populace, made even worse by his bringing a heathen girl back with him.
Beaten, downcast and in despair, he is resigned to merely spending the remainder of his days in meek quietude. That would prove impossible, however, as he's soon implicated in an escalating political and religious conflict within the city. To make matters worse, his youngest son and the foreign girl are dragged deep into the whirlwind of the crisis.

And in the meantime, They are about to set over Seten."

While a standalone, “When They Shine Brightest” is also a first book in a new and vast fantasy world and gives the start of events that are yet to reach all of its corners.

Waiting on Wednesday (40) Recreated

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're really excited about.

This week, I'm waiting on...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week't theme was a freebie.  So I thought and thought and finally came up with one!  Top Ten fictional characters I would NOT want as my mortal enemy!

It's My Blogaversary + GIVEAWAY!!

Books and Prejudice is one year old today!!!

How in the world have I made it????  Well, there has been a lot of stress.  But also some really great times.

And so to celebrate, I have two giveaways going!  The first is for one of my favorite series by my favorite author.

It's the Newsoul series by Jodi Meadows!  And because I am mailing this myself, U.S. and Canada only. Sorry, but I'm super poor.

The second is Int'l!!  It's for a pre-order of The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

ENTER HERE!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Maybe Not-So Quick Update

Oh it's been a while since I've done one of these.

So a quick update on what has been going on... It is a well-known fact that I am not graceful.  I am clumsy.  And so yesterday when I was walking and my ankle just gave way, why was I surprised?

Yea, I wasn't actually.  I have always had weak ankles.  So now I have a sprained ankle.  My dad is currently being the best dad ever and driving an hour to bring me my crutches and a brace (because I can't currently walk and unfortunately my house is two floors with my bedroom being upstairs.  Not sure how I'm gonna get down there).

Anyway.

Yes.  I hurted myself.  Oops?

Waiting on Wednesday (39) My Lady Jane

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight up coming releases we're super excited about.

This week, I'm excited about...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's Top Ten theme is...Top Ten books I've recently added to my TBR!

Bookish Siblings Tag

Rules

1. Answer all the questions. Repetitions are fine!

2. You can put yourself in any of the categories.

3. Tag others!

4. Fill in the categories with bookish characters! These characters don't have to feel sibling-esque. If you don't know, you can say, for example, "A character that... I can't stand is___"

The Questions

1. Your Older Brother

Gale from THG. I can't really say why but he was the first to pop into my mind.

2. Your Younger Brother

O'Neill from The Mermaid's Sister. (I actually had to look up his name since I read that last February lol) He's just kind of witty and shy and seemed like a little brother to me,

3. Your Sister

Zoya from The Grisha trilogy.  Why?  Because my sister and I fight the way she and Alina fight.

4. The Popular One

Again, Zoya.

5. Parent's Favorite

Aza from Magonia.  She has this crazy insane illness that no one knows what it is (it's named after her lol) and her parents spend so much money on her until she... dies.

6. The Little Rebel

Noah Shaw from the Mara Dyer series!  Because he is such a rebel!

7. Your Twin

Elisa from Girl of Fire and Thorns. Because we are so much alike.

8. The One You Can't Stand

I feel like I've said this before but... Mal from The Grisha trilogy. I hate that guy.

9. The One You Could Prank the World With

Kady from Illuminae.  I mean, she would do some awesome pranks, right?

10. The Shy Introvert

Definitely me. 

11. Your Ultimate Book Sibling

Celaena! We could read all the books and talk about them!

12. Your Blogging Sibling

Um, who would blog?  I feel like that would have to be Aza.

Aaaaan I tag... Kate @ Read and Dream and Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

Bingo Reading Challenge Update

This is my first update for the Bingo Reading Challenge (original post found here).

I had initially planned on printing out the Bingo sheet and making tokens, but my printer is out of ink. BOO!  So I decided to just recreate it.  Now I'm not all that artsy, so please forgive me lol.

Review: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

Title: These Vicious Masks
Author: Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: February 9, 2016

Jane Austen meets X-­Men in this gripping and adventure-­filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

Waiting on Wednesday (38) The Beauty of Darkness

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.

This week, I'm waiting on...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten theme is top ten 2015 releases I meant to get to but didn't.

Unpopular Opinions Book Tag!

I have seen this tag floating around the blogosphere for quite a while.  I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I really just wanted to do it.  So here goes!

1. A Popular Book or series that you didn't like.

Ugh. The GREAT FUCKING GATSBY! Kill me now I want to claw my eyes out while reading this mother fucking book.  Well. Now that I have that over with... I seriously hated this book.  Fitzgerald's writing style gave me migraines.  And I had to read this for school.  I was about 10 pages from the end and had to stop for good. I ended up reading the spark notes because I couldn't deal with the insane headaches the goddamned book gave me.

2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love. 

I don't know about love... I didn't hate the Fallen series by Lauren Kate.  I hated book two.  But the third and fourth books were pretty good.

3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with  OR an OTP that you don't like. 

SPOILER WARNING

Alina, The Darkling, and Mal.  I hated Mal from the beginning of the books. #Darkling4lyfe!

4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for. 

There are a lot that I don't regularly reach for: Horror, Historical Fiction, Non-Fiction

5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.

Well, I already mentioned him but... Mal from the Grisha trilogy.

6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into. 

Stephen King. I just don't like his writing style. I've never been able to finish a book of his that I started (and I have started many).

7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)

I really have no answer for this.  If you're tired of a trope, maybe you should read different genres.  I'm not tired of love triangles.  Just bad love triangles.  Really, I just want most any "trope" to be done well.

8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

The Ender Quintet.  I will not read Orson Scott Card's books.

9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

I don't have much of an answer for this, mainly because I mostly avoid the adaptations if I've read the book.  The ones that I've seen I either hate (Lord of the Rings) or they just aren't as good.  And yes.  I really do hate those movie adaptations.

If I had to answer this, I would say I, Robot.  Granted, the book and movie are absolutely nothing alike.  But the book is fairly boring and doesn't have much of a plot.  At least the movie is exciting.

Okay, since I wasn't tagged, I won't tag anyone.  So if this looks fun to you and you haven't done it yet, go ahead!

Sunday Discussion: Reading against your principles

Guys... this discussion is really tough for me.  I want to talk about reading something by an author who stands for everything you are against.  This... it's not easy.

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: September 18, 2012

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Bingo Reading Challenge

Jessi at Novel Heartbeat has started this very interesting challenge.  And I find myself wanting to join in on this one.

It's a bingo challenge!

So, here's the challenge...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Happy New Year all!  This week's theme is Top Ten resolutions for 2016.

Review: Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Title: Sanctuary Bay
Author: Laura Burns, Melinda Metz
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 19, 2015

In this genre-bending YA thriller, will Sarah Merson's shiny new prep school change her life forever or bring it to a dark and sinister end?

When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy reputation.

In this genre-bending YA thriller, Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz, Sarah's new school may seem like an idyllic temple of learning, but as she unearths years of terrifying history and manipulation, she discovers this "school" is something much more sinister.

December and 2015 Wrap-up

What a year! I read 187 of my goal of 200 books.  Can't win 'em all, eh?

Other things that happened in December: My car maybe needs a new transmission (yay) so I'm currently driving a rental. Thankfully it's under warranty.  I learned to make cheesecake, and it was delicious.  I also just opened an Instagram. I literally only have one picture up at the moment, but I plan on changing that soon.  Gotta start somewhere, right?

Other changes I'm making in 2016: I will no longer be accepting self published books for review.  As much as I love and appreciate Indie authors (and I really do), I need to concentrate on writing.  I don't have time to read what I want to with having so many books to read and review.  So from now on I will be requesting books I particularly want from publishers so that I don't get so backed up.

Well, I've had a slightly better December than I had November.  Let's see how things went.