Tag: Books

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The Bookish Owl – Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Girls of Paper and Fire Natasha Ngan

Another day, another book. This time it’s Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

This story deals with the horrible themes of sexual assault, but despite that it manages to be heartwarming when it focuses on the bonds created between the girls who have to endure these awful things.

And – if you ignore the small epilogue – the ending is immensely satisfying.

Girls of Paper and Fire
by Natasha Ngan

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it’s Lei they’re after — the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king’s interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king’s consort. There, she does the unthinkable — she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world’s entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Girls of Paper and Fire Natasha Ngan

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The Bookish Owl – The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

This Saturday, we’re showing off The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty!

I know I’m coming back with a vengeance after my earlier absence, but if I don’t do these daily for a while, I won’t be caught up before the end of the year. Hopefully you’re not sick of photos of my grumpy, one-legged owl yet. If you are, well… too bad.

The Kingdom of Copper is the sequel to The City of Brass, and the second book in the Daevabad Trilogy. And really, it has it all: politics, plotting, ancient djinn soldiers, scary-as-hell water demons, and a batshit healer or two.

Basically, I liked it a lot.

The Kingdom of Copper
by S. A. Chakraborty

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.

Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her familyand one misstep will doom her tribe.

Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid, the unpredictable water spirits, have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.

And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad’s towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

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The Bookish Owl – Truckers by Terry Pratchett

Truckers by Terry Pratchett

Next up is Truckers by Terry Pratchett.

This is about garden gnomes from space trying to hijack a lorry.

No, really. That’s what the book’s about.

As much as I adore the late sir Terry Pratchett, I can’t help thinking that he sometimes smoked some questionable stuff while writing…

Truckers
by Terry Pratchett

Imagine that all around you, hidden from sight, there are thousands of tiny people.
They are four inches tall, brave, stubborn and resourceful.
They are the nomes.

The nomes in this story live under the floorboards of a large Department Store and have never been Outside. In fact, they don’t even believe in Outside. But new nomes arrive, from – where else? – and they bring with them terrifying news: the Store is closing down and Everything Must Go . . .

Truckers by Terry Pratchett

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The Bookish Owl – Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

Dragon Age Tevinter Nights

Let’s get geeky with Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights!

This is a collection of short stories from the Dragon Age universe by several different authors. So many, in fact, that I’ll just list them at the end of the post, instead of at the top like usual.

As regular readers will know, I’m obsessed with the Dragon Age games and the lore behind them. So I had to read the antrology that’s clearly meant to create hype for the upcoming fourth Dragon Age game.

And guess what? I’m hyped.

The stories turned out to be much darker than I expected, but that is in no way a bad thing. There’s also some funny moments between all the horror, and I think Lessef from the story An Old Crow’s Old Tricks might be my new favorite character of all time. A tiny old lady, who’s a scary and professional assassin one moment, and the next jumps onto her servant’s shoulders and yells “Onward, to cookies!”

Definitely what I needed, after the nightmares The Horror of Hormak gave me…

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Tevinter Nights include the following stories:

Three Trees to Midnight by Patrick Weekes
Down Among the Dead Men by Sylvia Feketekuty
The Horror of Hormak by John Epler
Callback by Lukas Kristjanson
Luck in the Gardens by Sylvia Feketekuty
Hunger by Brianne Battye
Murder by Death Mages by Caitlin Sullivan Kelly
The Streets of Minrathous by Brianne Battye
The Wigmaker by Courtney Woods
Genitivi Dies in the End by Lukas Kristjanson
Herold Had the Plan by Ryan Cormier
An Old Crow’s Old Tricks by Arone Le Bray
Eight Little Talons by Courtney Woods
Half Up Front by John Epler
Dread Wolf Take You by Patrick Weekes

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

Ancient horrors. Marauding invaders. Powerful mages. And a world that refuses to stay fixed.

Welcome to Thedas.

From the stoic Grey Wardens to the otherworldly Mortalitasi necromancers, from the proud Dalish elves to the underhanded Antivan Crow assassins, Dragon Age is filled with monsters, magic, and memorable characters making their way through dangerous world whose only constant is change.

Dragon Age Tevinter Night

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The Bookish Owl – Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I’ll continue my marathon-blogging with Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

This was the second book in the Six of Crows Duology, and it might just have contained even more devious plots and unexpected twists. I have come to really love fantasy books about criminal underworlds, where the characters are not traditional heroes. And Crooked Kingdom has a fantastic set of characters, all deeply flawed and damaged, but somehow still likable.

I think this duology has become my favorite of the Grishaverse series, and I see a rereading in my future.

Crooked Kingdom
by Leigh Bardugo

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo