Books Beauty Bling

 I started this series a while ago, and was hooked. Lia is a princess who is set, by her parents, to marry a prince from a neighboring country. She's less than thrilled by this edict, and instead of submitting, runs away with her lady-in-waiting, Pauline. The first book sees them on the run, and hiding out from bounty hunters they've been told were sent by Lia's father. Assuming new identities, they find work at an inn, and when they meet two young men at the inn, things go from bad to worse. Neither men is who they seem, and this spells trouble for everyone. I don't want to spoil anyone, so I won't go into what happens in the rest of the book, or book two, but if you're a fan of badass ladies, who are fiercely loyal, and like to buck tradition, this is a great series for you.  I will say, in parts of the book, I think the author is alluding to the fact that the Remnant (those chosen after an apocalypse wipes out all of society,) is the United States, and ment...

I love YA Fiction. I have no problems admitting that, and while there are certainly detractors, I have found so many incredible story tellers within the YA community, that if you are avoiding the titles simply because they are "for young adults," you are really missing out. I was introduced to Maggie  Stiefvater's work in 2009 when I picked up the novel Shiver, the first in the series The Wolves of Mercy Falls. I enjoyed the series, and while it wasn't my most favorite ever, there was something about Stiefvater's writing that hooked me. When the first book in The Raven Cycle came out, The Raven Boys, I was obsessed. Here's the thing. I'm a sucker for fantasy, and for magic, and while The Raven Cycle has that, it also has realism. Maggie Stiefvater is a master of magical realism in this series in a way that I haven't seen before. She creates the world of Henrietta, Virginia, and weaves in the magic so seamlessly, that even the most impossible ...