Get Lost in Literature

"One sailor saw a dead eel in a barrel of vinegar. But it might not have been dead, because you know what eels are like." In 1628, Mayken and her nursemaid Imke set sail for Batavia on the Batavia.  Imke is taking Mayken to live with her father after her mother dies. During the journey Mayken learns of a monster that lives below deck and takes the form of a giant eel, Bullebak. Mayken comes to believe Bullebak is real when Imke's toe is bitten and begins her quest to capture the monster on board. In 1989, newly orphaned Gil is sent to live with his ill-tempered grandfather, Joss, on the island where his mother grew up. Once on the island, Gil is ostracized by the small community and left alone most of the day while his grandfather goes out fishing. Left to his own devices, he learns about a ghost that haunts the island and the ship that wrecked just offshore. I loved the tone of this book. While killing mothers in the opening act is nothing new - Disney has made a fortune...

The A-Z Challenge is almost here and I'm pretty excited about it. (I think I started working on my posts in December). Last year I focused on posting A-Z Reviews, some new and some old, for the yearly April Challenge, but this year I decided to go a different way. This year, I'm going to be posting A-Z Bookish Topics/Discussions . I'm going to make sure to add a related question at the end of each blog post, hoping to make my blog a little more interactive this time around, and I look forward to hearing what other people will have to say. Be sure to leave me a link to your Theme Reveal, I'm curious to see what everyone else will be doing!

"Betrayal lodges in my heart like a hot coal trapped behind the grate of the hearth." In this final installment of the Forging Silver into Stars trilogy, Grey has been chased from the Crystal Palace in Syhl Shallow and has returned to Ironrose in Emberfall, leaving his wife Queen Lia Mara to rule her country alone. Like with the first two novels, the continuation of Grey and Lia Mara's complicated love story is a delicious side plot to compliment the story of Tycho, Jax, Callyn, and Alek. Tycho, who promised he'd only be gone for a few days, returns to Emberfall after months away from Jax. Jax had spent his alone time making friends and a not-so-secret admirer. They both feel a little guilty; Tycho per usual looking to hide his emotions behind a wall of toxic masculinity, and Jax trying to hide his emotions with fake indifference. Both agonize over the distance growing between them, neither willing to yield. Callyn is living under the weight of her anxiety; Alek upon ...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Sing me, O Muse, the unheroic morning. When the bruised world begins to fracture for them all." The Brides of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire The book gets off to a pretty, lyrical start with a small sense of foreboding. I couldn't resist seeing what happens next. Book Blogger Hop Q: If you had to, would you pass your book collection on to someone special? If not, what would you prefer your family or friends do with your books after you’re gone? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer) A: If I had to, I would pass it on to my two nieces. If they don't want the whole thing, they can pick the titles they do want and donate the rest.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday was listed as: " Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it. You could do historical fiction featuring strong female leads, contemporary romance set in foreign countries, mysteries starring unreliable narrators, lyrical fiction books in verse, historical romance featuring pirates, Gothic novels with birds on the cover, etc. There are so many options!) " I decided to make a list of my favorite historical fictions that have a foot in the door of a second genre. 1. The Map of Time by Felix J Palma. Historical Fiction x Science Fiction 2. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Historical Fiction x Fairytale 3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith . Historical Fiction x Horror 4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Historical Fiction x Fantasy 5. Devil's Lair by David Wisehart. Historical Fiction x Fantasy 6. The Terror by Dan Simmons. Historical Fiction x Horror 7. The Reckoning by John Grisham. Historical Fiction x Mystery ...

"Cossy didn't know much about memory.  All existence measures itself in creeps and ticks, as far as she knew." The seven brides of Maracoor Spot, a small island off the coast of the greater Maracoor Abiding, are left in isolation to safeguard an ancient relic. There can only ever be seven brides and when one dies, the overseer will bring another. They hold tight to their rules and ceremonial obligations until a strange woman washes ashore, increasing their population to eight. This is the continuation of Rain's story; Rain who flew from Oz on her grandmother's broomstick, to find herself trapped on an island of bickering brides. Helia, leader of the brides, and Cossy, the youngest, wish to keep Rain on the island and want to hide her existence from the overseer. Mirka, second in command, wants to be rid of Rain by any way possible. Unbeknownst to Rain, on the same day she washes ashore, strange things begin to happen across Maracoor. Spirits revealing themselves, ...