It's been a hot second since I've done a top ten tuesday  and there's nothing I want more than to get off this campus and go home (or just travel - anywhere but here). The topic for this week is: places mentioned in books that I want to visit. I tried keeping this list somewhat realistic, but let's be honest here - we would all rather travel to the magical places so here are eight of mine.

prague - daughter of smoke and bone by laini taylor
I'm choosing this location for both the realistic and fantastical aspect. First off, I would love to travel anywhere in Europe but it'd be great to just visit and see the beautiful city that's described in DoSaB. If I could also stumble across some of Brimstone's doors that'd be a bonus.

taiwan - the astonishing color of after by emily x.r. pan
This location is purely realistic just because I miss Taiwan. My favorite part of this novel, other than the gorgeous writing, was just being to visually see all of Taiwan's sights. It was all so vividly described, I felt like I was home and it was honestly so great.

russia - the bear and the nightingale by katherine arden
To be more specific, I would like to visit imperial Russia. Just take me back and let me hang out with Vasya - not sure how we'd get along cause she's leagues cooler than me, but I just want to interact with the various wonderful Russian spirits and creatures.

the willows - the bone witch by rin chupeco
Everything about the Willows just sounds so magical to me. It is founded upon a collection of rich tradition and culture that I would love to experience. I'm not sure how well I'd do training in the Willows, but if I could do a live tour simulation of some sorts - that'd be fun.

hogwarts - harry potter by jk rowling
Um...who wouldn't want to visit Hogwarts? Every minute I'm spending at college makes me wish more and more that I could have gone to a school in Scotland and learn magic. Everything about it sounds heavenly right now - it'd also be nice to find some more Slytherins (literally none of my friends at school are in the same house...)

toyko - warcross by marie lu
Japan as a country will probably be the birthplace of a new age of technology revolution with all of its advancements now. While I would be scared of the complete and utter reliance on technology that future Tokyo and world has in Warcross, it would still be an interesting place to visit.

wonderland - heartless by marissa meyer
I just want to give Catherine a hug, like take me there just for that purpose alone.


I tried coming up with a full list of ten but browsing through my Goodreads shelf, there wasn't really anything in particular that jumped out at me other than these eight - so I guess we'll leave it at that.

- your thoughts -
Would you be interested in traveling to any of these places? We could be travel buddies! If not, hat are some destinations you would want to visit? We could add it to our itinerary.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

| ISBN: 978-1423118237 | Pages: 506 |

Publication Date: October 6, 2009 | Source: Library/E-book

| Rating: 3 out of 5 stars |

★★★

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.
One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.
Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...
The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards. 

I have a lot of feelings regarding this book and they are quite conflicted. The Demon King is a prized favorite among many readers in the BookTube community which was where I was first exposed to the title. There is so much love for this series and the mysterious Han Alister that I had this book on my TBR for a long time.

Cinda Williams Chima is a magnificent writer when it came to the creation of the world. I loved learning about the history and foundation of Fellsmarch's queendom. That along with the vast nuances of cultural differences between city and clan difference - it was clear that the Seven Realms were crafted very carefully. 

“A vocation is not something you slap on, like a coat of paint, and change whenever you want. A vocation is built into you. You have no choice. If you try to do something else, you fail.”

The plot itself takes a hot second for anything to happen. It seems as if we are being immersed in the everyday lives the characters with little blips of excitement and action sprinkled in. For the length of the book, there didn't seem to much that was happening - but it is the first book so there needs to be time to set up the series. However, the few climatic points we got were fairly predictable. I felt like I saw the big turning event that would spur the events for the second book and since it felt like we were in such a lull around, I was a bit underwhelmed.

So we have to talk about Han Alister because he's the whole reason why I picked this book up. 

I'm on the fence about him - he has a lot of potential to grow especially with what we find out at the end, but do I want to keep reading to find that growth? I'm not sure yet. He just hasn't quite hooked me in yet. 

“History. Why do we need to know what happened before we were born?' 
'So hopefully we get smarter and don't make the same mistakes again.” 

Then we have Raisa. Lord help me because I am not a fan of her. She has just come back from spending time with her Clan where there she experienced an abundance of freedom. Now that she's back in the constraints of royal life, she's looking for every opportunity to strike out. All she really wants to do is have secret rendezvous and kiss boys. Literally, every male character she meets, she has a "moment" with them - it was fine at first but it got annoying. There just didn't seem to be any substance to her character because of her focus (I know she's a teenager...but please more personality than boys and kisses...)

 There are a couple of side characters whom seem to be pretty important for the future events of this story. As of right now, I am more intrigued to see how they develop and what roles they play than the two main characters. I'm afraid if I don't jump right into the sequel, this series will end up slipping from my mind because it didn't make a huge lasting impression - but I'm not exactly excited to continue either. We'll see eventually but I definitely wished that it blew me away as much as it did everyone else. 

- your thoughts -

Have you read The Demon King? Should I really attempt to push through to the sequel? If there's one character you'd be interested in seeing grow which one would it be? 

Why hello there...it seems I have once again disappeared for a month without explanation. The only real excuse I can come up with is being overwhelmed. Everything from school to all the book related responsibilities I have bestowed upon myself - all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

I feel like I keep falling into these ups and downs when it comes to content on the bookternet and my involvement. I love the book blogsphere and booktube and bookstagram - but to be actively involved in all three, how do people do that? It seems that setting goals for myself doesn't exactly work either because I can't remember the last time I posted weekly on any platform.

So...where does that leave me? Nowhere really, but I'm back and trying once again so hello. I'm determined to be consistent at least on one platform and because blogging is where my roots are, that's where I'm falling. 

Now, let's talk about books. We're halfway through February, I'm already loads behind my Goodreads challenge, and I can't remember the last time I read a book that made me genuinely excited. It's just been all around rough, but I did read three books in January so let's discuss.

empress of all seasons by emiko jean - (★★★)  - goodreads review - I genuinely enjoyed this story. It was a unique and empowering adventure that was filled with Japanese mythology and imperial court life. The writing wasn't spectacular but it was enjoyable at the moment. My Goodreads review goes a bit more in-depth on certain plot points, but to summarize my main gripe - the resolution of the story fell too quickly and it just wasn't as satisfying as the novel had built it to be.

the romanov empress by c.w. gortner - (★★★☆)  - I'm kind of sad I didn't get to write a review down for this when I first read it, but to summarize this account in one word: regal. If you've ever watched the animated Anastasia film that DreamWorks did and you can picture Anastasia's grandmother, this novel just amplifies that by 100. She was the definition of an empress and I enjoyed following the story of her life.

the mermaid's voice returns in this one by amanda lovelace - (★★)  - goodreads review - I can never turn down a poetry e-ARC from NetGalley because they're just quick to get through. I've mentioned my opinions on Amanda Lovelace before and this book just made it apparent that while I really appreciate and support her themes, her writing style isn't my particular style. I'm still on the fence in terms of poetry as a genre but her works have never really stood out to me as much as they have for others, which is totally a-okay. I'm glad they're impacting tons of people and I wish I could see the appeal, but the content is similar to her previous collections and fights for the same issues.

Three books isn't all too terrible but I just feel a bit lacking when looking back on what I did read - might have something to do with the ratings (?) I'm working through a couple of books that hopefully will be reviewed because I realized I hadn't posted a serious review on here yet this year and that's just disgraceful.

Here's to hopefully having a consistent schedule and being more active in the community. If I don't drown amongst the load of schoolwork, I'll see if I can another post up this week.