Month: February 2022

top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Duos

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

It’s a shorter work week for me but this Tuesday morning still feels like it’s been the longest week already. Does anyone ever feel that way?

Anyway, this week’s TTT is all about those awesome duos. I tried to stay away from just romantic couples because that’s a completely separate thing. These are the power duos who work so well together, who have amazing camaraderie, and honestly aren’t their best without each other.

Starting with…

1. Safi and Iseult

These girls are the definition of besties and they fight like a well honed unit. Where one is, the other surely isn’t far behind. Unfortunately they do get separated a lot in this series, but they always have each other’s backs regardless of the distance between them.

2. Katsa and Po

Okay, these two are also romantic partners but their Graces and fighting styles are so well matched that it’s hard not to see how great they are beyond just the romance of it all. They make great investigative partners and their loyalty to each other is everything.

3. Puck and Ash

In this original trilogy, these two boys are part of the love triangle, but they also have such a complicated history with one another. There was even another girl that once came between them, but here we are having the two fight on the same side again against all odds. Their banter makes the series, let’s be honest!

4. Janco and Ari

These guys aren’t the power twins for no reason! You’d rarely see them apart from each other and they make the best pair of loyal friends/guardians anyone could ask for. But watching them fight together is truly a wonder to behold! Even better would be to learn from them.

5. Nate and Bronwyn

Also a romantic couple, they had to be included on the list because their chemistry is off the charts in this opposites attract kind of duo. Their problem solving, the ups and downs of being murder suspects, yep, these two make quite the pair.

6. Will and Jem

I will end off with these two. As part of a complex love triangle where everyone is absolutely lovable, these boys are bound by love themselves as parabatai. Their friendship is to die for, and any snippets of just the two of them in a story is enough to make me tear up. Enough said, they’re the best duo I’ve ever read.

I’m keeping the list a little shorter this week. These are my favourite duos for their chemistry, bond, and ability to be half of a whole. Who’s your favourite duo?

book tag

Real Neat Blog Award Tag

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Thanks to Moya at The Moyatorium for tagging me on this one! What a fun thing to do during the dreary winter in Canada for sure! The rules are simple and I hope that the nominees will participate as well. And without further ado, here we go!

The Rules

  • Display the award logo
  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog
  • Answer the questions of the one who nominated you
  • Nominate 5-10 bloggers
  • Ask them 7 questions

Questions

  1. If it doesn’t smell bad, how long past the expiry date would you still drink the milk?

    This is an absolutely hilarious first question, and I love it. It’s a good question! I would say milk is risky, it really does go bad quite quickly especially if it’s under-refrigerated or left out. I don’t have the best nose, so actually I can’t smell spoiled milk that well (unless it’s really bad). One easy way to tell is to poor it out and see if it’s lumpy at all though—that definitely means it’s gone bad. Taste some to make sure before putting spoiled milk into any food! I’d say a couple of days past expiry is already very risky.
  2. What’s your opinion on Wordle?

    I usually don’t buy into any hype or trendy things. So I was resistant to starting Wordle for the longest time. That being said, I was bored one day and I tried it. I then realized you can only play once a day, which I found to be very low commitment (something I like nowadays during my busy life). It is fun! I don’t really understand the hype still though. It’s essentially hangman and mastermind combined, if you’re familiar with those two. I like the game, but definitely confused why it has blown up the way it has.
  3. If I stole your phone and changed the lockscreen, what’s the worst thing I could change it to?

    Probably some embarrassing picture of me. Close-up of some insects or something gory would also be awful. Mine is currently a picture of my dog, whom I love dearly.
  4. How do you feel about the smell of cigarettes?

    Absolutely not. Tobacco or even marijuana smoke, I’d really rather not. I don’t think I have the worst reaction to it compared to some people, but I definitely don’t enjoy it and it makes me feel a bit nauseous.
  5. Do you like the scent of rain, or does it smell like misery?

    Petrichor—I definitely love it! It smells earthy and fresh and reminds me new growth and something alive. It really reminds me that the earth is alive and that nature is at work even when sometimes the city just feels so cold. I don’t think I have ever thought of the rain as misery, though sometimes being stuck inside because of the rain when you were planning on going out can be quite miserable. The scent of rain is great though!
  6. When was the last time you broke the law, and are you proud of it?

    I decline to disclose. Haha, just kidding. I’m sure I broke some speeding law or something most recently. I’m not particularly proud of it, but I don’t think I consider it of much importance either. Speeding laws are meant to be keeping us as a community safe, and if you’re driving safely 5 km over the limit, I don’t really think anyone is put in danger…even though you’re technically breaking the law.
  7. What do you do when you can’t fall asleep?

    I don’t usually have a problem with this but I think I end up watching YouTube videos or reading something. Tiring out my eyes is an easy way to just make me lie down and close my eyes. And when those things happen in the dark, I tend to fall asleep soon after.

Nominees

Here are some blogs that we think are neat! We’d love to hear from you:

Leslie @ Books Are The New Black

Louise H @ Life in the Book Lane

Kaya @ A Fictional Bookworm

24hr.YAbookblog @ 24hryabookblog

Marta @ Monogamist Reader

Nehal @ Quirky Pages

Questions for You

  1. If you could live in any book world in a villain’s shoes, which book would that be?
  2. If you could have a superpower that you could only use once a day, what would it be?
  3. If you had to rename the colour purple, what would it be and why?
  4. How much pulp is appropriate for your orange juice?
  5. If you could give years of your lifespan to others (including pets), how would you choose to spend it?
  6. Is low battery or no signal scarier?
  7. If you could be anywhere in the world and read (no restrictions whatsoever), where would you choose to do so?

Looking forward to all your wacky and/or insightful answers!

3.5 star, NA

Review: The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Blood and Ash #3

She’s been the victim and the survivor…

Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.

The enemy and the warrior…

Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.

A lover and heartmate…

But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.

And now she will become Queen.

After the absolute bore-fest that was book 2, I’m actually happy to say book 3, The Crown of Gilded Bones, did better at holding my attention. Maybe being a glutton for punishment isn’t so bad? Sometimes?

The story starts off where the cliffhanger ending left us. We finally (finally!) get to know more details about who or what Poppy is. She’s got that *special* main character thing going for her since Day One when she was simply called the Maiden. Clearly that doesn’t mean anything like she was taught to think it represented, but it seems Atlantis’s enemies may know that she’s special in some way too.

The world building is also picking up. Atlantia has so much to offer and we’re finally HERE (after two super long books but whatever). And it doesn’t disappoint. We get to meet the different citizens that make up this kingdom, learn more about the lore of the gods and what happened while they were still awake. The action is there from the start and it doesn’t lag too much because the enemy kingdoms are finally feeling like they’re near the tipping edge towards war.

Continue reading “Review: The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout” →