​A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses)
by Sarah J. Maas
Hardcover, 705 pages
Published May 2nd 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit - and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords - and hunt for allies in unexpected places. In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all. 
My Thoughts:
I will try to make this as non- spoilery as I can though as it is a third book in a series I don’t quite know how that will work. This book was masterful in its own way. That being said it took me a really long time to read it. It took me about a month to get through. This was partially because I was quite busy with work and I didn’t want to read it fast, but also it defiantly felt to me at least like this last book was three separate books. I think this was because each time I put it down for a few days it was right around a new part of the book. This thought could also have occurred to me because there are just SO many details in this book. While the book was a whopping 705 page book that we all had no problems reading, I feel like it could have been split into two longer books in order to give some of the scenes the extra time it deserved. Since some of the scenes felt a bit clipped to me. Not in the sense were it didn’t do it do it justice, but more that it was rushed. I felt very rushed in this book compared to the others. It was partially due to these scenes but also the freaking war that was starting/ about to happen.
This war is another reason I feel like the book should have been split in half. I really enjoy reading books where a war takes place, particularly a fantastical war. And I feel like Maas really captured the high a stakes of war really well. She didn’t just through her readers in as she eased Feyre into war she eased us in, using the supporting characters to well support us as we learned what the fighting style of each of the characters was like and to see them in their own element. (I will get back to the characters in a bit) I wanted to see more scenes like the war counsel. I wanted to learn even more about the different courts and how they are all interconnected. I wanted to see how they think. How they appreciate, or don’t, Feyre being the first High Lady. Maybe in the spin off?

​Let’s talk about the characters a bit. Particularly they differences in the characters we are finally seeing. While I am new to Maas’s writing I have read other reviews etc. that have mentioned the lack of diversity in her previous books. But in this last book we got a taste of it. Helion the High Lord of the Summer Court is described as a dark skinned fae who wears gold and is whom Feyre received her ability to glow from. But not only is Helion a dark skinned character, but he is bi- sexual, who likes to joke about having sex with Az, Cass, and Mor. I don’t know about you but I got a sort of genie (Broadway Genie) vibe from him? It was weird.
​Another character we learned about was Mor! I’m sorry for the ones who haven’t read the book but this spoiler must drop. Oh my lord did this make me excited, but this was another scene I wanted to be extended or to be touched on at a later time. It is relieved that Mor is actually gay, and that is why she has been keeping the males at length. She has sex from time to time with men, like Hellion to just sort of keep them at bay. But in the 500 years she has know Cassian, and Az she has not been able to tell them that she prefers females. I am really, really intrigued to see where this goes.
There is much more I could talk about but that will have to wait until you read it. I want to say I give the book… a 4 ¾ star rating. I wasn’t a huge fan with the ending, it seemed to neat and tidy. Though maybe in the next few books we will see that it wasn’t so neat and clean. The other reason is as I said before, it felt rushed and I wanted to have those genuine moments with the characters.
If you are of an age to deal with sex, and some blood and gore, and have read the other two books in the series my recommendation is go get the damn book right now. 
Katelyn Costello
Twitter @Scripturienting
IG: @Scripturient101
Facebook: The Scripturient 101
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The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2)
by Maggie Stiefvater
5 Stars
​Hardcover, 439 pages
Published September 17th 2013 by Scholastic Press
Book Synopsis:
If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.

One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.

And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.

Ronan is one of the raven boys - a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.

My Thoughts:
The Dream Thieves started a bit slow for me but in no way was it uninteresting. This book really focused in on the ever mysterious Ronan Lynch and get an answer to the last scene in book one. If you remember in the last book,  Gansy found Ronan and little Chainsaw his little raven. Later in the last scene Ronan tells the crew that he pulled her from a dream. In this book we discover what that means. Ronan is a Greywaren, he is able to pull things, whatever item he wants from his dreams. Over the course of this book we watch as Ronan learns to control it more and get specific items. We also watch as Blue and Adam attempt to work through their strange relationship. I thought it was cute at the start but now I don't know how I feel. We also see the first admittance between Blue and Gansy that they may like each other but they promise that they can't tell anyone. Especially Adam. This book was so much about the characters. Them growing and facing a different level of adversity. Yet again this book was amazing and I can't wait to read the last two books in the series and see what happens. 
PS.
That WHITE RAVEN THOUGH
Katelyn Costello
twitter @Scripturienting

​The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
​Hardcover, 1st Edition, 440 pages
Published February 3rd 2015 by St. Martin's Press
​Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository
​Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her. 

As the war progresses, the sisters' relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

It is no new fact that I am a history buff. I took every available history class in high school and am still facinated by it today. So it is no surprise that I am drawn to historical fiction. However for some reason I have always strayed away from stories revolving around World War II. I have been in shows set in World War II, met jewish survivors, and studied it extensivily in school. However when it comes to reading it I have always shied away. This book has changed that sort of fear for me. 
I think I have been uncomfortable with how painful that time was for people. This book didn't dispell that feeling for me, but it made me understand the pain in a new sense.
This book follows two sisters Vianne and Isabelle, as they do what they think is best for themselves, their family, and for France in a Nazi occupied world. Vianne while quieter, more introverted and with a daughter to look after is a more subtle rebel has the danger of a Nazi Captain living in her home. Isabelle is more open and clearly against the Nazis and decides to leave after a time for she knows her actions endangers the family. These to very different women embodied a showed me a different side of the war, it showed how easily people fell under the thumb of the Nazi's and felt crushed. It showed how people turned on each other and how people supported each other. It showed hate and love to their extreme. This was a war of fear and courage.  
At times the attention to detail had me questioning whether or not this was based on a true story or if this was just amazing fiction. After some research I found this interview with the author:
In a note to readers, you said you were inspired to write this book after doing some research on World War II, and you mentioned one story in particular that captivated you: the story of a Belgian woman who created an escape route out of Nazi-occupied France. Can you tell readers a little more about the genesis of this book and about that original story?
Kristin Hannah: The idea for this novel came to me several years ago, when I was researching another of my books, Winter Garden, which was set in Russia during World War II. While reading women’s war stories, I came across the true story of a 19-year-old Belgian woman who created an escape route out of Nazi-occupied France. Her name was Andrée De Jongh and her story — one of heroism and loss and unbridled courage — inspired me to write The Nightingale.
Obviously I couldn’t use this research in my Russian novel, but from that moment on, I was hooked. Her story was magnificent, mesmerizing, and perhaps most importantly, I hadn’t read about it before. As a bona fide World War II buff, I had read countless novels set during the war, and yet I had never read this particular story; I didn’t know that downed airmen had hiked over the frozen peaks of the Pyrenees Mountains in boots that didn’t fit, in coats that were too small, with both German and Spanish patrols searching for them. I didn’t know about the ordinary French and Basque citizens who risked their lives to help the Allied soldiers on this dangerous, arduous journey. As I delved deeper into the research, I discovered a wealth of stories that spoke to me on a profound level. Quite simply, the heroism of the women of the French Resistance captured my imagination. For years, I collected their stories, read their accounts. Then I tossed the magic words into the mix — what if — and I was off and running.
So while it isn't quite true it does have a basis in face, which is a fact I love about historical fiction. I say that if you want an amazing book, that may give you a book hang over, that will make you cry. That will have scenes that will stick with you for a very long time. Pick up The Nightingale. It is an easy 5 stars.
​Katelyn Costello
Twitter @scripturienting
Instagram: @scripturient101
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Hello My little scripturients,
I kinda can't believe that it is already July.... I only have a month left of my summer which is crazy! While my summer has been very busy so far, I did get a ton of books read during the month of June. By A ton I mean I have beaten my monthly reading record. This month I read seven books! What was my rating for the month? Drum Rolllllllll my average was 4.5 out of 5 stars for the month, with only 2 books below 5 stars. So what did I read? Full on reviews of these books will follow shortly on here and or on youtube so head over to my youtube channel and subscribe to see what I post.

​

​Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3)
by Gail Carriger
4 Stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style—with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. 

No one suspected what—or who—they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

Milk and Honey
by Rupi Kaur
5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
Review >
Youtube video >
​milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. It is about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose, deals with a different pain, heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.

Manners & Mutiny
Gail Carriger
5 stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
If one must flirt...flirt with danger. Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sootie Soap nearby. She would rather thwart dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored. Who can she trust? Royal werewolf dewan? Stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way. Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster

The Thief
Clive Cussler
5 stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
On the ocean liner Mauretania, two European scientists with a dramatic new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency's intrepid chief investigator, Isaac Bell. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky the second time. The thugs attack again-and this time one of the scientists dies. What are they holding that is so precious? Only something that will revolutionize business and popular culture-and perhaps something more.

For war clouds are looming, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted a priceless opportunity to give the Germans an edge. It is up to Isaac Bell to figure out who he is, what he is up to, and stop him. But he may already be too late . . . and the future of the world may just hang in the balance. ​

​

The Dream Thieves 
Maggie Stiefvater
5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book DepositoryIf you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?
Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.
Ronan is one of the raven boys - a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.
Of THE RAVEN BOYS, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY wrote, "Maggie Stiefvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.

The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository
​Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her. 

As the war progresses, the sisters' relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

So what after reading so much last month, what do I wanna read this month?

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3)
by Sarah J. Maas
​A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.


I am almost 2/3 of the way through this one and am taking my time but I need to just sit down and pound it out and cry my life away.

Caraval (Caraval #1)
by Stephanie Garber 
Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.