August 2021- Family trips and more fantasy

Hi friends, 

We had a lot of fun in July at a Woodbury family reunion, and I read a few fantasy books in and among our summer fun and the Olympics. 

Let me know if you have suggestions for further reading or thoughts about these books. 

Happy reading! 

Tonya

Hard Magic (Grimnoir Chronicles #1)by Larry Correia 

Rating: 3 of 5 stars 

Recommendation: if you like fantasy and guns 

Review: This was a recommendation from my sister and my second Correia novel. I liked it a lot better than the first. The story is set in an alternate-reality post-World War I world where a small percentage of the population developed magical abilities about 50-60 years prior at the end of the 19th century. The book follows a few point-of-view characters including a private eye named Jake Sullivan who has the power to manipulate gravity, and a young, orphaned woman who has the power to transport herself instantaneously. It has all the proper elements for an excellent fantasy setting: a mysterious magic system for our characters to figure out, a secret society of nights dedicated to protecting those with magic abilities, and an extraordinarily powerful bad guy to pit them against. As with his other book, there’s a lot of discussion on guns, which I thought could have been greatly edited down or removed and little in the way of character development. The setting was on point, and I thought the concept behind the magic system was cool. Also, he does write a heck of a violent action sequence.

 

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor 

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Recommendation: yes! So good! 

Review: This book will probably be one of my favorite read all year. I don’t want to give away too much because part of the fun is learning about the premise and the world as the characters do, so suffice it to say that it has all the right elements needed for a good fantasy series, and they’re all executed remarkably well. I loved the earnestness of the protagonist, and I loved how we gradually unraveled the mysteries of the lost city and our main characters at the same time. Not gonna lie, I enjoy a good teenage romance as well, and this book has an excellent one.

 

Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor 

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Recommendation: yes, but need to read the first one first 

Review: This sequel to Strange the Dreamer picks up right after the revelatory and exciting climax of the first book. It focuses more on the female protagonist than the first one did, and I loved seeing more of her point-of-view. The character development really stood out for me in this book. I loved that my most-hated characters got redemption arcs that didn’t feel disingenuous to their characters or try to justify their mistakes and actions. I also really liked how this book explored how different people react to really traumatic situations and how everyone can find healing. The moral questions and predicaments that the characters have to navigate work together well to highlight some very emotional themes surrounding forgiveness and understanding your enemies. Also, there’s a pretty excellent teenage romance. Highly recommend!

 

The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time #5) by Robert Jordan 

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Recommendation: yes, a solid entry 

Review: The 5th installment of the most epic fantasy series I’ve ever read didn’t disappoint. True to form, there were several subplots that felt extraneous, and the whole thing could have probably been about 200 pages shorter, but I like these characters so much at this point that I just enjoy spending time with them meandering through a slow-progressing plot. I particularly liked Moiraine’s arc and to see her character develop as she comes to terms with the visions of the future she saw in the previous book and has to adapt to effectively reach Rand. I still found Rand to mostly be annoying, but he always gets the best action scenes, and the climax in this book was very exciting. I’m coming to understand why Mat is a favorite character to many fans. He’s pretty impressive, and I love seeing him in action in the battle scenes. I also really enjoyed Nynaeve’s character arc again as she comes to terms with her fear and finds her courage in her fight against Moghedien. So good. Can’t wait to read the next installment.

Mommy Corner

We had a lot of fun at the Woodbury family reunion over the 4th of July at Grandma's and Grandpa's cabin. They even have an ATV that we enjoyed taking rides on. 

We went canoeing at 11Mile reservoir!

We went on a fun hike and got to climb a waterfall!

Dan and I escaped for a day while my in-laws watched the girls. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and enjoyed the amazing views and a short hike.