This Week’s Reads
Some of the books that I have been most impressed with over the last few years are Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone books. The last book, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, came out recently, though I was a little late in getting to read it, since I let my husband read our copy first. Given how much I was looking forward to the book, I think I deserve gold stars for this good deed. (And no, I will not revoke my gold stars just because I had about eight library books out at the time Dreams came out and I needed to read all of them and get them back to the library before incurring enormous fines. It was still selfless of me. Noble even. Totally gold star-worthy.)
Dreams of Gods and Monsters
In any case, Dreams of Gods and Monsters is a fantastic end to a marvelous series. It’s always great when a writer takes the narrative in a direction that you never saw coming, but that feels completely organic and natural and right. I can’t talk about too much of the plot of the book without heavy spoilers, but it both opened doors I had not realized were there and tied up threads that I knew were there in unexpected and satisfying ways. The worldbuilding expanded into new places that I hope (really, seriously hope) will be explored in additional books, though if not, I’ll still feel like this was a good place to stop.
One of the things that I have admired the most about these books is the humor in them. There’s wonderful romance, fantastic worldbuilding, high stakes, and devastating consequences, but threaded through it all are lines and scenes that literally make me laugh out loud. Sometimes cackle out loud. Out loud enough that you can hear me at the other end of the house and I once startled Zuul. (Who is, granted, startleable.) Being the last book in the series, this book has a lot more heavy lifting to do than the others, and is more serious in tone. But the chapter “Eyebrow Master Class” was one of the most hysterical pieces of writing I have read recently. I want to marry Zuzana. Or at least worship at her platform heel-shod feet.
In short, I’ve been saying for several years that these are among the best YA coming out now and the last book clinches it. If you haven’t read them, go now. Purchase. Borrow. Read.
Welcome to My New Website!
Hi there! I’m excited to show off my new and improved website!
I’ve been working with Jennifer Armbrust of Armbrust and Co. for the past couple of months to build a cool new website. And I’m really, really thrilled with it! Jennifer did a fantastic job with the design, especially since I’m not a very design-oriented person and my initial description of what I wanted was something along the lines of “Pretty. I want it pretty. With colors. And fonts. Pretty fonts.” From that, Jennifer created what you see here–a website that makes me feel like a real, grown-up author. Kind of the way that, as a teenager, you feel grown-up when you finally strip the unicorn wallpaper off your bedroom walls. (Though I never actually did this, because UNICORNS.)
So, I’m excited. And I think the best way to share my excitement and kick off the new website is with a giveaway! You can win signed copies of The False Princess and signed copies of the audiobook of The False Princess, read by the awesome Mandy Williams.
Win me!
To enter, fill out the form below. You can get entries by friending me on Facebook, following me on Twitter, tweeting about the giveaway, following me on Tumblr, or posting information about the giveaway on Tumblr. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents (sorry international folks, but I promise to do a giveaway that includes you soon). The deadline to enter is July 31st.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please poke around the new site. I have a few new features on the Extras page, including a certain map from The False Princess, and I’m hoping to add more extras in the coming months. And please let me know by email if you find any bugs so that I can get them fixed up.
(Also, if you’re looking for old blog posts, you can still find them at my old blog on livejournal. I won’t be posting there anymore, but I will leave them up for archival purposes.)
