BOOK TAG: My Life in Books

I was tagged for this by Analee over at Book Snacks.

1. Find a book for each of your initials
.

A – Austenland by Shannon Hale

W – What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

U – Uprooted by Naomi Novak

2. Count your age along your book shelf- which book is it?

22 – All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr


3. Pick a book set in your city/state/country.

Hometown: Seattle – Neverland by Shari Arnold

Current Place: Utah – The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain


4. Pick a book that represents a destination you would love to travel to.


Italy – Instruction for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

5. Pick a book that’s your favorite color. 


Red – Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

6. Which book do you have the fondest memories of?

The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne


7. Which book did you have the most difficulty reading? 


Classic books in general. I enjoy them, but they’re definitely harder and taker longer for me to get through.

8. Which book in your TBR pile will give you the biggest sense of accomplishment when you finish it?

Again, just all of the classics that I’ve been meaning to read, but haven’t gotten to so far.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston [ARC]

She knew that Lo-Melkhiin would come to her village for a bride, and she knew he would choose her sister. She also knew that she must not let that happen–she couldn’t bear to see her sister’s fire smothered by this monster. She takes her sister’s place and so her journey begins.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. First of all, fairy tale retellings are always just awesome (except for when they’re unfortunately not). I was a little apprehensive about this book since the Aladdin retelling that I tried not long ago from this same publisher was not good. And by not good, I mean NOT GOOD. As soon as I started reading, however, it was obvious that this book was really something else. We never know the main character’s name. In fact, I think we only learn three names the whole book and all of them are men. I’m not sure if that’s some social commentary or what…but it kind of makes things a little easier. Instead of just calling people by their names, we get descriptions of people (even people we’ve already met) and it really helps to keep track of characters.

I love this main character. She’s so strong and confident and has good values. She draws her strength from her friends and family back home who have made her into a smallgod and are praying to and for her. I don’t want to give too much away, but as a woman, I just felt very empowered while I was reading this book.

The plot could be perceived as slow moving, but I loved that it let me get into the pace of the qasr and I felt like I was sinking into the story. I also liked that I legitimately could not tell where the plot was going or what would happen next. The only thing that I didn’t like, was that we didn’t really get to know the real Lo-Melkhiin that well. If we had, I think the ending would have felt more real and genuine, but it’s definitely something that I was okay with. Overall, I thought this was a great, fresh retelling of the classic tale and would definitely recommend it.

Disclaimer: I haven’t read The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh so I’m not sure how it compares to that.

Overall Rating: 5
Language: None
Violence: Moderate. Fighting scenes, but not a lot of gore.
Sexual Content: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild. Characters drink wine and mead.

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.