Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Bryony and Roses

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Release date: 10-13-15 by Tantor Audio

From audible

Fantasy

I was sure I had written a review already, but I guess not.

This is a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, but really close to the actual story.

Bryony is trying to get home and seeks shelter in an seemingly abandoned mansion. But there lives a Beast, and the house seems alive and magics things for her.

She starts to garden. The beast cant say what is wrong...but something is wrong in this spooky house.

A bit darker than the original. Not dark dark, just spookier. But for me to close to the original.

Good narration. But then I really like Eyre.

Bryony and her sisters have come down in the world. Their merchant father died trying to reclaim his fortune and left them to eke out a living in a village far from their home in the city.

But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor, or a fellow prisoner? Is the house her enemy or her ally? And why are roses blooming out of season in the courtyard?

Armed only with gardening shears and her wits, Bryony must untangle the secrets of the house before she—or the Beast—are swallowed by them.

Book Review: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Hero of Ages

Series: The Mistborn Saga #3

Genre: Fantasy, SciFi

Format: ebook

Pages: 586

Published: October 14, 2008

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

Who is the Hero of Ages?

To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.

Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. Vin can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!

Review:

Finished this on the plane ride on the way home from the UK. And it killed me because I had to quietly say, "WTF" even though I wanted to emote loudly.  

The end is here. Something was released and now ashfalls are heavier and more earthquakes. Humanity is doomed unless Vin, Elend, and the rest can stop Ruin. 

Things got hairy and scary. I'm glad I ended up getting the ebook so I could quickly read this. Loved the narrator for the other two, but this allowed me to read through at my own pace. The ending had to be rushed and I read as fast as I could. WHAT ON EARTH!?!?!?!?!

The first half was so stinkin' slow. It took me a while to find my footing, but then it took off like a rocket. I kept gasping quietly (bc yes, plane). I wanted to throw my phone at the pilot when I read the last page. Not "bad" as the way you may think I'm meaning, but WTF!!!!! I had a bunch of theories on how it would end, but holy Fing cannoli batman...I didn't expect ANY of this. I'm happy, but mad. Sad, but joyful. Lots of conflicting feelings. 

There are more in the series, but this one ends this chapter of the world and these characters. I'm sad to say goodbye. Not sure if I'll move forward with the series though.......we'll see. 

I enjoyed the journey as a whole, but I feel like there was a lot of questionable decisions made especially at the end here. 

Is it worth the read? Sure! If you want some big fantasy books under your belt that will make you feel all the emotions...sometimes at the same time. 

All-in-all, I am having conflicting feelings for this one because of the ending. 

2 stars from me. 

Favorite Character(s): Elend

Least Favorite Character(s): Ruin 

 Challenge(s):

- Library love #11

Blodeuedd's Friday Review: The Housemaid by Feida McFadden

Series: The Housemaid (#1)

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

Published: August 23, 2022 by Grand Central Publishing

Thriller/own

I really do not want to say too much about this one. You have to experience it for yourself.

Millie needs a job, but as an ex convict that is hard. She gets a job as a housemaid. The wife is a total B*tch, the kid is a brat, and the husband rather handsome now isn´t he.

She sleeps in the attic in a strange room that locks from the outside. Jane Eyre vibes here

I would have quit that horrid place. She got so much shit, and she is just trying her best because she needs money.

But...yes twists, a punch in the gut, and I just did not see things coming. Recommended.

Will I read more? Honestly, I am not that interested. The only bad thing about the book is that it gave us an insight into what happens next and they kind of lost me there. So like round 2? Not that interested in that.

But yes read this one!!! And if someone has read book 2...is it just the same formula again? I have read one and I am happy. I like when I do not see things coming

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…