This is a blog where I mostly review books. However, the occasional ‘random topic’ will be added.
My idea for this blog would be to create a space for the love of books, but also including some personal stories/events which truly affects each and every human being. 04 July 2017, 17:55 PM, we received a phone call… My husband’s grandfather just died. Questions containing how’s, why’s, when’s etc. are quite irrelevant at this stage. Sadness crept in. An overwhelming sensation of hollowness grew larger within us…second’s and BAM! It hits you. It hits you again. It hits you over and over. Fear creeps in. Slithering through your system. Poisoning your blood. Nausea is overwhelming. Panic causes havoc. Heart rate spikes. Breathing becomes hollow. Tears blind you. Cringing forward, we hold one another and weep. It’s Saturday morning, 8th of July 2017, 8:04 AM. The funeral is today. Grandma is all alone in that big house. Family offered that she lives with them…but, how can she? Grandpa still lingers. His scent is everywhere. She touches his clothes. It still feels warm. She stares at his side on the bed. Creases still fresh. Can’t touch it. No…leave it as it is. Slowly she’ll slip into her side on the bed. He’s there. Breathing, softly and slowly. She can hear his heartbeat. His voice silently, yet loudly echoes in the house. Grandma has to leave Tiny behind this morning. Tiny is barking and crying… feeling… knowing… his dad has gone home. But Tiny wants to go with. Grandma can’t stop crying. In fact, she hadn’t stopped crying since Grandpa said good-bye 4 days ago. She needs to get ready for the funeral. Tiny has been their only child for years. He isn’t familiar staying home alone. He needs his Mom and Dad each moment of every day. Family came to fetch Grandma for the funeral. She’s confused. She’s heartbroken. She’s lonely. She doesn’t like this. Why is Grandpa not here with her? They were supposed to go home together. Why did he leave so early? Why did he leave her and Tiny? You see, Grandpa had this energy about him. He always smiled, laughed, made jokes and most important of all encouraged us constantly. He was the only person that never judged us. e was the only one to say: “You just watch…Rowan is going to stand out and surprise you all. You just wait and see.” Rowan is my husband. Grandpa is actually his grandfather. He always believed in Rowan since childhood. While mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles doubted and judged Rowan, Grandpa waved it all away and only always saw the best in his grandson. We decided to become Vegetarians…Grandpa never asked why. We decided to home-school our children…Grandpa never judged. We decided to follow our spiritual journey…Grandpa only encouraged us. We decided to follow our hearts and walk our own path…Grandpa never condemned us. Family will die. We’ll be sad, grieve for a moment and then life simply continues. However, this time is different. A legend in our eyes and hearts has passed. An energetic shift has taken place. Grandpa touched so many lives unknowingly. He was the anchor. He was the boat. He was the Captain of the ship. He held everything together. Grandpa Dirkie…Thank You for who you were. Thank You for all the good and fun times. Thank You for joking constantly and making us laugh that our tummies hurt. Your laughter alone was incredibly contagious. Thank You for your kind, loving and encouraging words always. Thank You for believing in me – Rowan. Thank You for accepting me – Ashleigh. Thank You for cherishing me – Arjay. Thank You for adoring me – Saskia. We’ll miss your voice. Your touch. Your hugs. Your laughter. Your words. We’ll miss you. Go now Grandpa. Go home. Your mother, father and brothers are waiting for you. Go now. Be still child. You return to your creator. We love you forever and always. R.A.A.S Family
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Wow, another month has sped past us. We simply can’t keep up with…time. 2017 came… a few more months and we’re entering 2018… a… moment…a philosophical one. Let’s get talking about ‘The Book Case’ is in the house once again! Constant progress updates on their social media tabs… CHECK. Delivery time AMAZING… CHECK. Awesome bookish goodies… CHECK. This case was truly filled with Legendary Ladies. We had Hermione; Katniss; Feyre; A House Targaryen and then Mariko. What a powerhouse! I love the scented, natural soy candle. Hermione’s Enchantment was the theme of the candle. I loved the small 100g tin. It’s a fusion of marshmallow and caramelized pear – very nice smell and color. Not sure out of which cave I crawled, but this is my very first tinned scented candle I own. The hype over all the beautiful scented soy candles has certainly taken its rounds. I’m one of them fans! However, I would’ve loved it if the label had some colour…something was just missing. C’MON – give me some color!! Let’s talk about another cave dwelling moment… I’ve until this day not yet read any of the ‘Game of Thrones series’ books, nor have I watched the TV series either. Yes, Yes...okay. I’m only waiting for the next GOT novel instalment to arrive! Thank you for my ‘A House Targaryen’ coaster. Now I’ll go and buy me some Game of Thrones books to add to the collection. Who doesn’t want a Mockinjay key ring?? I really like the key ring, but it does have a very plastic feel to it. Something that can break easily. I do realize these kinds of merchandise can be quite expensive. I’m kind of 50/50 on this one. However, in the end…my son gave me those puppy googly eyes and begged me for it…how can a mother possibly say no? ME!! IT’S MINE! (okay, okay..sonny boy did receive it 😉) Continuing to the next item. I do own the ACOTAR trilogy…which is still on my TBR pile. Yes, I’m dragging it out as long as possible. I really like the ACOTAR Night Court sterling silver pendant necklace by Bee-autifully Yours. However, hubby already claimed the necklace. But it has inspired me even more to dive into the ACOTAR series. We received a ‘Flame in the Mist’ art print from Jonathan Ball publishers. Stunning art print! Gorgeous. It’s tucked safely into my book…which we’ll soon discuss. ‘Make a Wish’ bracelet by Bee-autifully Yours. I thoroughly enjoy these bracelets. They’re so pretty. I’ve actually been collecting these wish bracelets for my daughter. She’s 9-years-old. Last night this excitement over-flowed within me. I asked myself, why wait till she’s a bit older. Time truly never awaits anybody. Sooo…ding ding…And the wish bracelet goes to…Baby Feet! And now, for the goodie we’ve all been waiting for…WHAT’S THE BOOK ASHLEIGH…you would ask? ‘Flame in the Mist’ by Renee Ahdieh. I shamefully have to admit, I’ve never heard of this author or read any of her books for that matter. Immediately I ran to the laptop and googled her. I’m really intrigued by this story. Never have I read something like this. What makes this story even more special is the author’s personal letter we received with the book. She explains why she wrote this story and how the protagonist resembles herself. The cover is absolutely stunningly beautiful. Definitely a hard cover goody to be added to my book case. We received the soft cover which is also absolutely gorgeous…but yes…this one I want in hard cover format as well. Thank You The Book Case for delivering another AWESOME book case box! The fate of the fae world is in her hands…
Violet Fairdale is in big trouble. Her home is gone, her beloved forest lies in ruins, the guy she gave her heart to has deserted her – and she doesn’t remember any of it. The powerful Lord Draven is taking over, brainwashing guardians into fighting for him. No one is safe from the evil spreading throughout the fae world. As alliances are forged between the remaining free fae, Vi struggles to reclaim her identity and figure out where she belongs in this new world. When someone from her past shows up, things get even more complicated. He brings with him a long-forgotten weapon and an ancient prophecy that places Vi at the centre of the fight against Draven. With the future of the fae world at stake, can Vi carry out the prophecy’s instructions before it’s too late? 5 stars If you’ve been following my reviews on the Creepy Hollow series, you’ll remember what I wrote about Nate in book #1 ‘The Faerie Guardian’. If you’re new to this blog…let me fill you in a bit. Nate was a character I couldn’t really place. He was introduced in a subtle way. No solid back story there. Violet fell in love with him. He betrayed her. She rejected him. Thus, Draven, the most powerful halfling was born. That’s roughly described in a nutshell and not nearly as cliché as it may seem. Rachel Morgan (author) in my opinion did an excellent job at introducing, developing and ending this character, we learned to love, then basically despise and ultimately felt extremely sorry for. I would’ve enjoyed or understood better or even connected with Nate’s character if there was more solidity and a better understanding of his sudden change of heart. A bit rushed at times. He was the lord of destruction – caused great havoc within the fae realm – so maybe he deserved more story… With this said, Nate leaves much food for thought. The story builds up beautifully and engages the reader in such a way where you feel you could duck and dive. Chapter 28 really concluded what caused or rather what it meant to bring Nate to his death. Actually, really sad…swallowing hard…lump in throat! “They didn’t know the real Nate.” “By the strike of the sword, and the death of innocence, evil will be laid to rest. Nate was the innocence. Lost. Confused. Alone”. New characters were introduced. Jamon and Tilly stood out the most. In fact, Tilly reminded me so much of Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Incredibly unique in her own way. A real hero saving Violet and Ryn from those bounty hunters. I really enjoyed all the twists, plot building becomes thicker and messier…in a good clean way. Suspenseful action scenes and so much more. Violet…This awesome heroic faerie has endured so much heartache…don’t even mention the physical injuries! She’s grown so much. Naïve and innocent, but yet incredibly tough and strong. Each action Violet performs is fueled by passion. She wanted to be the next best guardian…no…she needed to be the best. For good reason, though. She desperately wanted to ‘meet’ her mother even if it were only contact through energetic presence and a wooden box (since her mother died a long time ago). The guilt, hurt, pressure and anger was simply too much. She became vulnerable and cracked. The scenes were described vividly. I wanted to weep and grieve for Violet’s part…and that right there is the ultimate goal from an author’s perspective…drawing the reader into the world of the creator. Pulling cords. Knock you off your feet with gut-wrenching scenes! Where is my tissues?! Let’s briefly touch the scene where my stomach literally plummeted…Violet and Ryn seeing one another for the first time after ‘The Destruction’. Slow motion…tense…painful. We got to know Ryn pretty well in this book. Violet for sure brings out his best and not so good sides. I enjoyed reading where he never once forced himself or his feelings upon Violet. He gave her space irrespectively of the turmoil he himself experienced. He let her be. Let her discover her own truth when she was ready to face it. Would you want an ability to be able to feel other’s emotions? Ryn actually had such a burden of an ability. I’m sure it served him well in times of need, but in general...pretty overwhelming if you ask me. What would you do if you knew you were responsible for creating so much havoc, destroyed your world, caused too many deaths, especially those you loved? Imagine this was real. Would you want to forget? Would you want to perish rather than face the havoc you’ve created? These are the questions that really pull you in when reading this story. Yes sure, it’s fantasy fiction about butt-kicking faeries, goblins, trolls and whatnot! Yet, words are written in such a way that evoke all these emotions and questions. Creating curiosity, luring you in for more. Lastly, but not least…YES! I want a shrinking dragon too! So freakin cool. While writing this review, I ran back and forth between the books I’ve read for reference and only now realized… Was this the end of Violet’s story? Was this the end of Ryn’s story? No, can’t be! I want to read more of them. I’ve grown attached to them. So…run with me to the next book. We need to dive in and continue our journey. Maybe Vi and Ryn will come and say “Hi”. Let’s go and meet... Calla Larkenwood. |
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