Book Review 6: The Seven Realms Series

I have previously reviewed "The Demon King" but now that I've completed all four Seven Realms books, I thought I'd do a overall review of the entire series. Let me start off by saying, the first time I was introduced to Cinda Williams Chima was a few years ago, when I got my hands on "The Wizard Heir" which is book two from her other fantasy series, titled "The Heir Chronicles." When I learned she wrote another series, I knew I had to read it. The Heir Chronicles are set in modern day times, while The Seven Realms is high fantasy.

As soon as I started reading The Demon King, I just fell in love with it and it became one of my favourite book series'. It had everything in it that I wanted in a book; magic, betrayal, romance, and twists and turns that leave you at the edge of your seat. The two main characters are Raisa Ana Marianna and Han Allister. Raisa is heir to the throne to her mom's Queendom. She is stubborn, headstrong, causes trouble, and you can't help but love her for it. Han Allister is a former streetlord who often tries to do the right thing, but trouble seems to find him wherever he goes. We follow their journeys as individuals and their worlds eventually collide.

As the story progresses, so does the character development. Chima does a great job of keeping you interested and getting you emotionally attached. Without giving away any spoilers, I will say this; you may get attached to some characters that don't make it till the end. Having previously read The Heir Chronicles, I knew to expect some gore and deaths. There was one particular character which I expected to die early on, but he/she (surprisingly) survived .

The series ended very well. It left me satisfied, and I felt like it tied up all the loose ends. I was happy with the way things turned out. However, I am sad that there will no longer be any future Seven Realms for me to look forward to! On the contrary, I still have to read Chima's most recent book, The Enchanter's Heir. And if memory serves correctly, There will be one more book in the Heir Chronicles after the Enchanter's Heir. I really do hope Cinda Williams Chima decides to write more books in the future, because I absolutely love her!

Finished my First "E-Book"

I finished reading The Gray Wolf Throne on my e-reader a couple of nights ago. I had a hard time putting it down. Cinda Williams Chima has that charm on me. I love all her books and love her writing style. I found myself staying up late at night, telling myself, "just one more chapter, then I'll go bed!" Raisa Ana Marianna (who is the protagonist in the story) always puts a smile on my face when she says something witty and makes everyone well aware that she can't be bullied into doing things she doesn't want. She's headstrong and stubborn and that quite often gets her into trouble with her enemies, and even within her Queendom.

The e-reader wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. I still stand by my opinion that I prefer real books over e-books. However, since the book sucked me in to the story so well, I didn't even remember I was reading an electronic book half the time.

Now that I've completed book three, it's time to read the fourth and final chapter in the series, "The Crimson Crown." I can't wait to see how Chima ends the series, and am anticipating some untimely deaths along the way! (There were quite a few heartbreaking deaths in Chima's other book series, "The Heir Chronicles." *tear*). Keep your eyes open for a book review on this wonderful book series in the next few weeks!

Happy Reading! =) 
 

Liking my E-Reader more than I expected

I've been reading on my e-reader for the last couple of weeks now. I am firm in my belief that real books are way better. However, it's not as bad as I was expecting it to be. I am enjoying my book so much, that sometimes I even forget it's not a "book." I understand why so many people like e-readers. It's so convenient to have a thin device with endless books downloaded on to it, as opposed to carrying them all in your backpack. This convenience would be most applicable to students or people who travel a lot, I would imagine. Furthermore, maybe I am just old fashioned, but I love the feel of pages through my fingers, and an old book smell. There's just something magical and wonderful about it. The book I downloaded is The Gray Wolf Throne. I've previously taken this book out of the library a few times, but never ended up finishing it. It's book three of a series of four, so I can't wait to find out what happens!

What book are you currently reading?

Books Vs. E-Readers

So I finally caved in and got myself an e-reader. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Let me explain. Nothing beats the feeling of a real book; running your fingers through real pages, and reading a book with a real book smell. However, living in a small town, my public library does not have a lot of books available on loan. Although, they do have the ebook versions of some of those unavailable titles. Since there are a handful of books I want to read (which they don't have) the only choice I had was to take out an ebook! I have not started using my e-reader, so I can't say whether I like it or hate it yet. However, I have already downloaded some books that are waiting to be read!

What do you prefer? A physical book or an e-reader? 

Small Town Library

My husband and I recently moved from a big city to a very small town. Amongst many differences between city life and country life, even the public library was very different from the ones in the big city. I went in today (for the first time) to make my new library card. The library is a quaint little building, it almost looks like a small house. The upstairs is the library portion, and the downstairs is a small thrift shop which sells used items (like clothes, toys, kitchenware, etc.) and all proceeds go to the library. When I first walked in, I couldn't help but notice the warm welcome I got from the librarians on duty. There were three female workers who welcomed me with open arms and big smiles. They were super friendly, and it almost felt like we'd been friends for years. When I looked over the front counter I noticed a dog in the library! Well that was a first for me! As far as I understand, the public libraries in Toronto don't allow animals! To my surprise, the dog actually belonged to one of the librarians. Just a lady bringing her dog to work! At the LIBRARY! The book, DVD and magazine selection was very small. However, they did have well known authors and I even saw a few best sellers. Even though they don't have quantity, they still have quality. After I was done browsing through the library, I went downstairs to check out the thrift shop. The workers and customers at the thrift shop were just as friendly and welcoming as the people upstairs! My first experience in a small town library, and I loved it!

Two Down, A Million to Go!

I learned a neat little trick from one of my dear friends, on how to read your books. I am not taking any extra books out of the library anymore. The only items I ever take out from the library are (one) book club book, DVDs and the occasional magazine. So every month, I read 2 books and alternate: one book club book, and one of my own books. Ever since I joined the two book clubs, reading just became a chore and I began dreading to read all those (boring) book club books. But, my love of reading has been restored. Yay!

So far, out of my own books, I completed The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks and am now reading the first Game of Thrones book by George R.R. Martin. Technically, Game of Thrones is not mine. I borrowed it from a family member almost a year ago, so I thought I should read it and finally return it!

Most of the books on my shelf are books which I purchased from a Clearance Book Sale last March (2012), that took place at the Toronto Reference Library. (Note: 14 used books for the awesome price of just $4.00!!!!!) The sale happened again a couple of weeks ago, and although I was tempted to go, I held back! I thought to myself: This sale happens every year. Let me just make my way through the books I currently own, and if I successfully read all of them in the next year, I can always go back to the book sale in 2014.

It will take a long time to finish reading all the books on my shelf, of course. There are almost 20 books on there, and some of them are book 1 of a series, so I will probably want to go and read the entire series! But I'm making my way through it, and even slow progress is still progress! =)

Happy Reading! 

Going Down My List.

So, some time ago I made a list of books I wanted to read. This book list is ever growing and never ending. Every time I hear about an interesting book, I add it to my TBR (AKA, "to be read") list/pile. For the longest time, I felt like this list was just growing and none of the books were being read. Furthermore, I bought so many books, and received so many as gifts that I was just overwhelmed with books everywhere!

Finally, this list seems to be slowly shrinking! Ever since I dropped one of my book clubs, I seem to have more time to read some of the books I want to read, not what I have to read. Also, I stopped taking random books out of the library, and some of the books I have on hold are currently on "inactive." This way I can read some of the books I have at home before reading library books.

So far, some of the books I've been able to cross off my list have been the following: The Coffehouse Angel, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Room, and currently reading The Lucky One.

Please note: Some books which were previously on my list, I don't want to read anymore. Plus, there have been some new books added to it! lol.