Cicely Loves Books

Welcome to my stop for the REIGN OF SHADOWS Tour!!!! I absolutely adored this book and I am so excited to share with you some Nightscape images I found that I think represent the book. ABOUT REIGN OF SHADOWS: Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead. But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized. With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet. With

  Happy 100 Day, everyone!!! Thanks for stopping by today to chat about The 100 (don't forget season 3 premieres TONIGHT!). While we wait, check out some 100-themed makeup trends! ABOUT THE 100 : New York Times  bestseller  The  100 --now available in a paperback boxed set! For centuries after a nuclear war destroyed the Earth, the human race has lived on spaceships far above the radioactive surface. Now, for one hundred juvenile delinquents, it's time to return home. Their mission: recolonize the savage land. The future of humanity rests in their hands. Read the series that inspired the hit TV show.  The  100 , Day 21, and  Homecoming  are gathered together for the first time in this striking boxed set, perfect for fans and series newcomers alike. LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N ABOUT KASS MORGAN: Kass Morgan studied literature at Brown and Oxford, and now resides in Brooklyn, where she lives in constant fear of her Ikea bookcase collapsing and burying her under a mound

World building of THE IMPOSTOR QUEEN   One of the pleasures of writing fantasy is that you can be as far out as you like, invent entirely new worlds, fresh rules, odd societies, unfamiliar customs, and so on. The Impostor Queen includes all that stuff, but I chose to connect it to a very real place. The northernmost point in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is the Keweenaw Peninsula. If you know the place, you will find the map of Kupari in The Impostor Queen to be quite familiar. Part of the peninsula is actually referred to by some as Copper Island—or “Kuparisaari”—in Finnish. Copper mining was the primary industry in that area for a time, and immigrants from Finland were a large part of the population. When I create a world, I feel no real obligation to stick to facts and history (that’s why it’s called “fantasy”), but I like using them as prompts or jumping-off points, and Keweenaw was exactly that for me. I used Finnish language and mythology as inspiration, as well as the general clim

The trouble and triumphs of world building..... World building is definitely something I struggled with in the first book. Despite having a pretty thorough image of the Ward, the  Isle , and Upstate in my head, I found it difficult to translate from my head to the reader’s mind. I believe there’s a quote by Christopher Nolan, where he talks about efficiency of language… How you explain an idea to an audience a million different ways and yet no one will understand you. But if you find the right, single way to express your idea -- leaving out the unnecessary bits -- they will. That quote applies to so many aspects of storytelling, as well, but I find it particularly useful when thinking about world building. As for the triumphs, well, they’re limitless. You can build from the ground up. You can discover new species or reinvent history. You have, as Genie would say... For Type A's like myself, this is a serious joy. *********************************************************************

Title:  Mastered Author:   Maya Banks Publication Date:  12.29.2015 Series:   Enforcers #1 Source:   ARC from publisher Rating:  4 Stars Summary ( from Goodreads ): What he wants, he takes with no remorse or guilt. She stood out in his club like a gem, unspoiled and untouched. A lamb among wolves, she clearly didn’t belong. Drawn to her innocence he watched as she was surrounded by men who saw what he did—but no one but him could touch her. He summoned her to his private quarters. He sensed her fear. He also recognized the desire in her eyes. And he knew she wouldn’t leave before he possessed her. She had no need to know his secrets. Not until he had her under his complete and utter control. What he wants, she isn’t sure she can give him. The moment he told her want he wanted, she couldn’t resist. Instinct told her to run, but her heart said stay and walk the fine line between pleasure and pain. Though she wasn’t sure she could ever completely surrender, the primal part of her wanted t

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library. Right now I'm reading Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan. I started my son on the Harry Potter books when school started last year so we are listening to Order of the Phoenix (performed by Jim Dale). And I'm listening to The Martian by Andy Weir, narrated by R.C. Bray

Hi, y'all! Welcome to the TRUTHWITCH Pen Pal Blog Tour, combining my love of pen pals and blog tours (seriously, brilliant idea)! A few weeks ago I was introduced to the lovely Ellie at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm and we got to ask Susan Dennard a question (OK, Ellie's the brains behind the question). If a threadwitch was watching us read, what would she see in our threads? This can be specific to reading Truthwitch  or just in general.     Fun question! So when a Threadwitch looks at someone, she (because they’re all female!) sees winding, glowing strands hovering above the person. The color of the Threads indicates what a person is feeling. Because Iseult (and other Threadwitches) is so accustomed to reading a person’s emotion through their Threads, she’s not great with facial expressions. Not only can’t she read them easily, but she can’t even make them herself. She’s just always known “the weave of the world” by simply glancing at Threads. So if a Threadwitch was to watc