Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #30

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

My current read is:

I, Guinevere

(Mythic Maiden)

by C. K. Brooke

Synopsis:

If you think you know the story of King Arthur and his mythical sword, think again. Your legends have it wrong. Here’s the truth: I was never married to Arthur, and he wasn’t a king. Because Arthur never pulled that sword out of the stone. I did.
I, Guinevere.

On the winter solstice, a mysterious sword in a stone appears in the churchyard. Not even the mightiest of the village men can remove it, until fifteen-year-old Guinevere gives it a try. The sword heeds the unsuspecting maiden, proclaiming the unthinkable: she is the blood of Pendrakon, heir to the vacant throne of Camylot.

Guinevere never dreamed she was born royalty. Now, between apprenticing the eccentric wizard, Merlyn; swordplay lessons with an abrasive—albeit, attractive—boy named Lance; and clandestine, magical meetings with the formidable High Priestess of Avalon, Guinevere is swept up in a whirlwind of training and preparation for her monumental new role as future queen. But invasions by the barbarous Saxyns and visitations from mysterious dark forces continually warn that she may be in over her head. Can Guinevere defend the kingdom from the darkness and deception that threaten to seize it? Despite her doubts and the sinister forces working against her, can she harness the power to wield Exkalibur and rule the realm? Or is Camylot already destined to fall? 

Book Beginning:

If you think you know the story of King Arthur and his mythical sword, think again.

Go on, I'm paying attention...

The Friday 56:

A grin broke through as I bent to retrieve my favored sword. 

It glowed lambent for me, grateful that I held it again.

I wonder if she'll have to use that sword.

What are you reading this week? Don't forget to share your link in a comment below!

October Wrap-Up, Novermber TBR

October was a decent little month this year. There was lots of work to do, but I managed to finish three books (and one long poem – The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes – that Goodreads counted as a book, yay!)

I'm glad I picked a theme for this October – witches and wichcraft – because my reading materials sort of set the atmosphere for the end of the month which we are awaiting eagerly each year (despite the fact there is no trick or treating in my country, I just love Halloween and everything to do with it).

On Halloween night we switched my chain of pumpkin lights on, lit a candle, watched Sleepy Hollow and ate Halloween chocolate. I know it's not much but it was nice (also, it was the first time I saw the Tim Burton movie, and yeah... it was definitely worth to watch).

On November 10 we are planning to go on a trip with my friend (the one who came home from England recently), I'm looking forward to that a lot. 

I really hope my reading month will be at least as good as October was, since the end of the year is coming and I still haven't finished my Goodreads challenge.

Here is a summary of October on Paradise Found:

I've finished three books:

Time Crawlers by Varun Sayal – My Review

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox – Bolg Tour + Review

Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein

Other posts on the blog in the month of October:

Book? Movie? Both? – Books I'm planning to read because I'm excited to see their adaptations on screen

Review – The Crucible by Arthur Miller

 

Weekly Memes:

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (Oct 12, Oct 19)

Plans for November:

I'd like to read the following books in November (in no particular order):

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Aaru (The Aaru Cycle #1) by David Meredith

The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

 The Oddling Prince by Nancy Springer

What are you planning to read in November?

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #29

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

 My read for the week of Halloween:

The Spellbook of Katrian Van Tassel:

A Story of Sleepy Hollow

by Alyssa Palombo 

Synopsis:

When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.

But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.

Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo's The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won't erase.

Book Beginning: 

Washington Irving got it wrong. I don't know what secondhand version of Katrina Van Tassel's story  he heard, but it was all wrong.

I'm curious what the twist will be compared to the original.

The Friday 56:

The vision that had come to me in the candle flame came back to torment me in its every detail. Two figures in the woods, one chasing the other. The unmistakable sounds of struggle. The whinny of a horse, and the sound of a blade – a great blade like the horseman carried – being drawn from its sheath.

 This is so atmospheric, I like it a lot!

What are you reading this week? Don't forget to share your link in a comment below!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #28

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

 

 This week I'm reading a Shakespeare retelling:

Lady Macbeth's Daughter

by Lisa Klein

Synopsis:

Albia has grown up with no knowledge of her mother or her father, the powerful Macbeth. Instead she knows the dark lure of the Wychelm Wood and the moors, where she's been raised by three strange sisters. It's only when the ambitious Macbeth seeks out the sisters to foretell his fate that Albia's life becomes tangled with the man who leaves nothing but bloodshed in his wake. She even falls in love with Fleance, Macbeth's rival for the throne. Yet when Albia learns that she has the second sight, she must decide whether to ignore the terrible future she foresees or to change it. Will she be able to save the man she loves from her murderous father? And can she forgive her parents their wrongs, or must she destroy them to save Scotland from tyranny?

 

 

 Book Beginning:

The nameless baby lay on the cold ground, wrapped in a woolen cloth.

A very simple introduction to our protagonist. After encountering her in this helpless state it will be interesting to see how she'll turn out to be a strong woman once grown (if the cover is any indication).

The Firday 56:

Then, out of the gray murk steps a deer as white as the moon. She gazes at me with glistening black eyes that seem almost human and inclines her head as if beckoning me. My desire to follow her is like a hunger for sweetness and rest and drink all at once. I wonder if I am dreaming, but the pain stabs my belly again. I feel something wet between my legs, and looking down I see blood on my thigh.

I wonder if the deer is a wandering spirit of someone.

Happy reading!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #27

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

This week I'm reading:

The Witch of Willow Hall

by Hester Fox

Synopsis:

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it.

Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences, but those around you, as well.

New Oldbury, 1821

In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall.

The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline.

All three daughters will be irrevocably changed by what follows, but none more than Lydia, who must draw on a power she never knew she possessed if she wants to protect those she loves. For Willow Hall’s secrets will rise, in the end…

 
Book Beginning:

It was the Bishop boy who started it all.

Great first line. You instantaneously wonder what the boy triggered.

The Firday 56:

At home I always feel on edge, as if I were holding my breath, waiting for something to happen, and that's to say nothing of the torturous nights with their evil dreams and the footsteps and wailing. Here I can just be, and with Mr Barrett no less.

 Awww, the budding romance...

Happy reading!

September Wrap-Up, October TBR

October is here!! *happy dance* 

The leaves are already changing colours outside and Halloween is a mere month away. This is my favourite time of the year (besides Christmas).

It's wonderful to live together with my other half and to have some routine in my life at last. I still miss the adventure I had in London sometimes, but I learned to appreciate what I have here and I think I made a good decision when I stayed at home.

September started with a challenge for me at the workplace, because I got promoted to an English/Spanish speaker agent, which means now I have to use my Spanish too sometimes. I've been learning the language since I was a teen but never really had to use it much, so now I have to grow up to the task. I'm watching some series in Spanish and will pick up some books written in Spanish too from now on to practice. Wish me luck!

September was a much better reading month for me than August had been, I finished 3 books (almost four, I got to the end of The Crucible today but that doesn't count because it is the 1st of October already, ugh). 

I'm hoping to be bewitched this October by my reading list. See what books I'm planning to read at the end of this post!

Here is a summary of September on Paradise Found:

I've finished three books:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Blackmail, Sex and Lies by Kathryn McMaster – My review

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Other posts on the blog in the month of September:

Review – Claire's Last Secret by Marty Ambrose

Books Around The World #1

Weekly Memes:

WWW Wednesday (Sept 26)

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (Sept 7, Sept 14) 

Plans for October:

  

I'd like to read the following books in October (in no particular order):

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa M. Kline 

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo

Time Crawlers by Varun Sayal

 What are you planning to read in October?

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #26

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

This week the spotlight is on:

Blackmail, Sex and Lies

by Kathryn McMaster

Synopsis:

For 160 years, people have believed Madeleine Smith to have been guilty of murder. But was she? Could she have been innocent after all?

This Victorian murder mystery, based on a true story, takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, 1857. It explores the disastrous romance between the vivacious socialite, Madeleine Hamilton Smith, and her working class lover, Pierre Emile L’Angelier. 

After a two-year torrid, and forbidden relationship with L’Angelier, that takes place against her parents' wishes, the situation changes dramatically when William Minnoch enters the scene. This new man in Madeleine’s life is handsome, rich, and of her social class. He is also a man of whom her family approve.

Sadly, insane jealous rages and threats of blackmail are suddenly silenced by an untimely death.

Book Beginning:

Pierre Emile L'Angelier thrashed and writhed in excrutiating agony.

 The only book I've read so far that involved arsenic poisoning was We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It must be very painful, dying of arsenic.

The Firday 56:

It would break my mother's heart. Oh, Emile, be not harsh to me. I am the most guilty, miserable wretch on the face of the earth.

From a letter from Madeline Smith to Emile L'Angelier

I hope your week has been splendid!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #25

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

Take a look at what I'm reading this week:

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

Synopsis:

Set in the deep American South between the wars, it is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually, Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.
 

 

 Book Beginning:

You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy.

A powerful first line. Actually the whole book is a series of letters to God, then to someone else.

The Friday 56:

Me and Sofia work on the quilt. Got it frame up on the porch. Shug Avery donate her old yellow dress for scrap, and I work in a piece every chance I get. It a nice pattern call Sister's Choice. If the quilt turn out perfect, maybe I give it to her, if it not perfect, maybe I keep. I want it for myself, just for the little yellow pieces, look like stars, but not.

 It's nice Celie can appreciate such small things.

What are you reading this week? Are you enjoying it so far?

August Wrap-Up, September TBR

August was a busy month for me, the number of books I managed to read shows that pretty clearly.

Anyways, this previous month was about moving and settling down, starting a new exciting life and, naturally, that began with packing, organizing, doing lots of shopping and stuff. 

I'm hoping in September I'll be able to chill a bit and read more, watch more tv shows and just generally enjoy autumn, my favourite season of the year. I can't wait for the wather to turn a bit cooler to create the perfect autumn feel...

I already can't wait for Halloween... But let's not jump ahead, let's enjoy September first. And without further ado, please see the summary of the month of August on the blog below!

Here is a summary of August on Paradise Found:

I've finished two books:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Review

Claire's Last Secret by Marty Ambrose

Other posts on the blog in the month of August:

Book Haul

Events in my life

Happy Birthday, Mary Shelley! 

Weekly Memes:

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (Aug 3, Aug 17) 

Plans for September:

I'd like to read the following books in September (in no particular order):

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Blackmail, Sex and Lies by Kathryn MyMaster

In Azgarth's Shadow by Cassie Sweet

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

(For the Timeless Book Club. Join here if you're interested: Lucy Preston Literary Society)

 How did your August go? Did you reach your reading goal?