Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

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Cast in Shadow (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1)

"Cast in Shadow" is a fast paced fantasy that keeps you turning pages and wondering what's going to happen next! In this story we follow Kaylin Neya, a girl who grew up in the fiefs, but escaped and now works of  branch of the law known as the Hawks. Kaylin's history is complicated, and forever marked by the killings that happened 7 years ago. Now, similar killings are taking place, and Kaylin's heart is breaking.

Kaylin knows that somehow these killings are connected to her because she's known every single victim and because of the strange symbols that connect them. Each victim is found, disemboweled, with their arms and legs covered in symbols that look like tattoos, but weren't formed in ink. Kaylin bears the same symbols on her body, and no one knows why. 

Now, the Hawk Lord is sending her back to the fiefs to discover why the killings are happening, and he's saddled her with some unusual companions. One, Severn, is a man from her past. Someone she tries to kill on sight, but it takes a long time for us to learn why. Their other companion, Lord Tiamaris, is of the rarely seen dragon race. Each of these strange companions has their own secrets to keep, and each holds a piece of the puzzle. Will they be able to trust each other enough to reveal their secrets? Before more deaths occur?

I found this book to be fascinating. I love reading fantasies that explore their own set of races, and there are many in this book! It was definitely a page turner, but it was also confusing at times. The quality of writing wasn't super-high and it depended more on the action that it's literary quality. Having said that, I'm curious to see what else the author puts out and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! 

Aria's Quest - Robyn has an Idea

Welcome to Aria's Quest! If this is your first time here this is what you need to know. Aria is a young woodland fairy on a quest in the big city to find a human she can help. If she's successful she can return to her tribe as a full adult. Aria's chosen to look for a true believer (one who already believes in magic and fairies) because she thinks that will make her quest easier...but finding a true believer may be harder than she thought! Read the rest of the story here. 

Section 2

Searching

Part 8

Robyn has an Idea

It was tempting to head back to “Brew it Up” again to watch the people, but Aria knew she’d become too fascinated and forget to work on her quest again. So she flew in the opposite direction today; looking for anything that might catch her eye. It was hard to know what to even look for. How do you identify a place a true believer would hang out?

True believers really weren’t that different from regular humans. They ate the same food, lived the same lives, they simply also had a belief in magic and all that accompanies that. If anything their lives were richer and full of wonder, but they still had the same needs for food, shelter, and security. 

It was a long fruitless day for Aria. She was feeling slightly discouraged by the time she got back to Gina and Darryls, but she quickly perked up when she saw who was sitting on the breakfast table. “Robyn! How are you?” She exclaimed.

“I’m doing great! How’s your quest going?”

“Well…” Aria tried frantically of a way to put a positive spin on the situation.

“That well eh?”

“Well it’s not that it’s really going bad, I just haven’t found anyone yet.”

“And that’s not bad?”

“Well, ok, yeah it is, but I’ve been learning a lot and figure that has to be good right?”

Robyn laughed, “That’s a great way to look at it! What have you learned about?”

“Coffee!!!”

Robyn started laughing so hard he fell from the edge of the table and hovered next to it, still shaking with laughter. “And what did you learn about coffee?”

“Oh it’s wonderful! Your Mom made me some for breakfast this morning. Well not for breakfast, there was food too, I think.” Aria broke, off slightly confused, “I know I ate something! Anyway, it was really good, and humans drink it all the time! I don’t know why we don’t drink it back home.”

“Coffee’s a good thing to learn about I suppose. I certainly enjoy my coffee! So what are you going to try next?” Robyn asked as he settled back down on the table.

“I don’t know. I flew all over today and tried so many strange buildings. No one noticed me though. No matter what I tried. I know I should have some sort of plan other than just flying aimlessly, but I just don’t know enough about the city, so tomorrow I guess I’ll just look for more places I haven’t been.”

“Have you gone to any of the pubs?”

“What’s a pub?”

“Well you woodland fairies have ale right?”

“Of course!”

“Pub’s are places humans get together to drink ale and other strong drinks.”

“Why would I find a true believer there?” Aria asked with her nose wrinkled up in confusion. Robyn paused for a moment, distracted by how cute she looked when she did that, and then answered her.

“Well some of the pubs are designed to reflect the old countries, like Ireland, and the Irish are famous for their belief in the ‘wee folk’ as they like to call us. So stands to reason that you might find someone there.”

“Oh, well, can you tell me where some are? I’ll check them out tomorrow!”

Robyn shook his head at her. “Not tomorrow, tonight. Pubs aren’t open during the day. And I’ll do you one better than telling, I’ll take you myself.”

Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint

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Little (Grrl) Lost

In this "Little (Grrl) Lost" by Charles de Lint we enter another modern fantasy world. This story focuses on T.J., a normal teenage girl, and Elizabeth, a not so normal teenage girl. You see Elizabeth is a Little, a race of human-like beings that only reach 6 inches high. The Little's refer to normal humans as Bigs, and normally do everything they can to hide from them.

Well, Elizabeth is accidentally "seen" by T.J., and two slowly become friends. Then Elizabeth gets lost, and T.J. becomes frantic trying to find her. Along the way they both make some new friends, and get into some sticky situations! Both girls learn a lot and grow up a lot in this book.

Most of Charles de Lint is meant for adults, but this is actually written for young adults. If the plot sounds similar to Mary Norton's Borrowers series, it's because it is. He even mentions her books! It's a totally unique story though, and the only thing it has in common with the Borrower's series is the size of the characters and their mistrust of the bigger humans. Well worth the read and great for any younger readers in your house. 

Laundry Day

First of all let me say that I will get Aria's Quest up this week, but I randomly wrote this story this morning and decided I wanted to share it today instead of Aria's Quest :) I have done one edit on the story - but please forgive me if there are errors I missed because I've only done that one edit.

Laundry Day

Anne stretched her arms above her head, arching her back, and wiggling her shoulders as she tried to work the kinks out. She was still so tired! It was her only day off this week though, and the laundry had to be done if she wanted to have clean clothes to wear to work the rest of the week. Anne hated doing the laundry, but she knew she had to get it done, so she got up, put her breakfast dishes in the sink, and got to work. 

An hour later Anne's laundry was sorted, the first load was in the dryer, and she'd cleaned her kitchen. She still couldn't really shake that lethargy that she'd woken up with, and there was almost an hour left on the dryer, so she decided to lie down for a little cat nap. Couldn't hurt right?

Normally it would take Anne awhile to fall asleep. Her mind was always so busy that getting her brain to slow down was always difficult. This morning though she drifted straight into dream land with hardly a stray thought crossing her mind as she journeyed. 

Later that morning Anne woke up, more refreshed than she thought possible, and the first thing she noticed was the silence coming from her laundry room. With a groan she rolled off the couch and headed through her kitchen to the little laundry nook. There she stopped in the door way. Stunned. "What on earth?" She asked, still sleepy, and trying to decide if she really was awake. 

Quickly she backed into the kitchen and checked the clock on the coffee maker. Only an hour and a half had passed since she'd curled up on the couch and closed her eyes. Unless...

Anne hurried back into the living room, grabbed her phone and checked the date, not sure if she was relieved that it was the same day or not.

She'd only been asleep for an hour and a half, and she lived alone, so how on earth was it possible that all her laundry was clean and folded? Even if someone had done it for her it would have taken several hours for the machines to go through their cycles! 

Standing there holding her phone Anne was suddenly reminded of the stories her grandmother had told of the old country, and of the benevolent fairies who would some time choose to help the humans around them. Could this be? Fairies aren't real are they? It was just stories...right?

Still musing over the wonder of it all Anne started to put away her laundry. When she was finished she went back to the laundry room and just stared for a moment. Finally she said, "I don't know if this is possible, I don't know if you can be real and if you are listening, but if you are, thank you so much for this gift! I can't tell you how much I treasure having the time to do what I want today. If there's anything I can ever do for you, don't hesitate to let me know. I know the old stories all say your supposed to leave gifts for the fairies, but I don't know that I have anything that you'd want. If I do, take it with my thanks."

Smiling Anne slipped on her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and phone, and decided that today would be perfect for a walk in the hills. Maybe she'd find some wild flowers and bring them back to the apartment. Surely fairies would enjoy some of natures bounty!

A Simple Tribute

Patriotic Handwoven Bracelet

There's a lot that I could say today - despite the fact I usually avoid politics like the plaque! Supporting our troops is one of the few things I AM willing to be vocal about. However, I know there are going to be a million blogs out there today about this subject. So I simply want to say thanks.

To those who've served our country, to those who are serving our country, to Paul, Luke, Jesse, Christian, and Chelsea, thanks :) Thank you for doing what I never could. Thank you for standing for your nation.

Four Stupid Cupids by Gregory Maquire

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Four Stupid Cupids (Hamlet Chronicles)

"Four Stupid Cupids" is book four in the "Hamlet Chronicles" by Gregory Maquire. Our school friends are rapidly approaching Valentines day, and it has struck fear in the hearts of many of them! After all, in 5th grade, who wants to be thought to be in love? On top of that, their beloved teacher is moping around because the day of love reminds her of the death of her beloved. 

Then Fawn Petros receives an amphora from her Greek Aunt, and it turns out to contain some baby cupids! The girls immediately realize this could be just what they need to cheer up their dear Miss Earth, so they set off to help her fall in love, with hysterical results! The boys even get in on the action, because of course all the students love their dear teacher!

Along the way the kids will learn some valuable lessons about what love truly is, and how much power words can have. I've been really enjoying this series, but I think this was one of the cuter one's so far! 

Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin

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Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1)

"Magic Lost, Trouble Found" tells the story of Raine Banares. As she introduces herself, "My name is Raine Benares. I'm a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound..."

As a seeker, Raine is a magician of moderate powers, something she knows and fully accepts. Unfortunately her life is about to be turned upside down as one of her friends, a semi-reformed thief, gets himself in trouble trying to steal an amulet. Raine puts the amulet on to keep it protected, and discovers that it won't come off! 

The longer Raine wears the amulet the stronger her own ability with magic grows. She also has become the target of just about every bad guy in the city! Raine soon learns that this is because the amulet is the key to an ancient, soul-stealing, stone. The amulet has latched onto her, something that wasn't supposed to be possible, and now she has to find a way to get rid of it with out getting killed by her enemies, the amulet itself, losing her soul to the stone, or letting her enemies get a hold of the stone! Raine certainly has her hands full.