#Saturday

Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson: Review

nikiflorica

Oct 17, 2020
2 min

Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson: Review

War is fracturing a once-unified people, darkness looms on the world's horizon beyond the sight of most, and the Knights Radiant—an ancient force all but forgotten—must rise again. First comes the Bondsmith, who alone sees the storm coming to destroy his world unless he can defeat it. The Lightweaver struggles to uncover the truth while living within a precarious lie. Balancing on an edge between honour and vengeance, the Windrunner must choose light before darkness consumes

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Sky Without Stars, by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell: Review

nikiflorica

Aug 1, 2020
2 min

Sky Without Stars, by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell: Review

On the planet of Laterre, the oppressed Third Estate lives to provide for the privileged higher classes beneath a sky that never clears. Unrest is kept in check by the ruling Second Estate and their propaganda: "honest work for an honest chance." All Chatine wants is a ticket off this planet to a better life somewhere in the galaxy. Her opportunity arrives in the form of Marcellus Bonnefaçon—a young officer who is beginning to question everything the Second Estate stands for.

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nikiflorica

Jul 18, 2020
2 min

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio: Review

Fifth grade is a challenge for any normal kid, but ask Auggie Pullman and he would tell you that he is far from normal. Born with a facial anomaly that has subjected him to a cycle of surgeries for as long as he can remember, he's been homeschooled all his life and is almost accustomed to life with an extraordinary face. It isn't until Beecher Prep middle school that Auggie begins to understand the massive potential of his fellow fifth-graders for cruelty. It takes time, brav

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Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cosette: Review

nikiflorica

Jul 4, 2020
2 min

Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cosette: Review

Sold into servitude to cover her family's financial disgrace, Kiya's life of Egyptian luxury is replaced by enslaved humiliation. When plagues begin to ravage Egypt at the hand of the Hebrews' mysterious God, Kiya has a slave's-eye-view . . . and if joining the Hebrews will save her older brother from death, so be it. Thrust into the Exodus alongside a people that despise her and a God she does not understand, Kiya is caught between loyalty to her family, her feelings for the

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A Darkling Plain, by Philip Reeve: Review

nikiflorica

Jun 27, 2020
2 min

A Darkling Plain, by Philip Reeve: Review

London has been a ruin for decades, but when Tom and Wren Natsworthy discover rumours of stirrings in the wreckage, they can't resist an investigation into Tom's long-abandoned home. What they discover in the ruins may be the hope for London's future, and when a powerful weapon is turned upon the entire human race, it may be the hope for the world's future as well. Living divided adventures, Hester and Tom are once again caught in the throes of the ongoing Traction war, but o

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nikiflorica

Apr 11, 2020
2 min

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Review

Bilbo Baggins is a very respectable hobbit: he lives in a fine, cozy hobbit-hole and never does anything unexpected. So when the wizard Gandalf and a party of 13 dwarves select him for an adventure, Mr. Baggins steps quite suddenly and jarringly into a quest to reclaim a hoard of gold from the clutches of the wicked dragon Smaug. A journey of perils lies ahead, but there is more to Bilbo Baggins than anyone expects, and one should never underestimate the cleverness—or courage

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nikiflorica

Mar 21, 2020
2 min

Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve: Review

London is on the hunt—one of the great Traction Cities that prowls the desolate Hunting Grounds in search of towns to devour. To young historian Tom Natsworthy, the mighty city is home . . . until his childhood hero, famed adventurer Valentine, pushes him down a waste chute to die in the wilderness. There, alongside scarred and vengeance-seeking Hester Shaw, Tom discovers a darker plot beneath the facade of London: a deadly new weapon with the power to destroy cities and rewr

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The Forgetting, by Sharon Cameron: Review

nikiflorica

Mar 14, 2020
2 min

The Forgetting, by Sharon Cameron: Review

In the city of Canaan, seemingly peaceful life is overshadowed by the Forgetting—the terrifying phenomenon every twelve years in which everyone loses all memory of who they are. To the people of Canaan, memory is everything. They record their lives in the books they carry with them at all times so that, after the Forgetting, they may continue from where their pasts ended. Those without books are without memories. Those without memories are nothing. Nadia the Dyer's Daughter i

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nikiflorica

Feb 1, 2020
1 min

Kyrian is at The Bookshelf!

I have lots of hopes and dreams for the year 2020, many of them (or rather, most of them) pertaining to The Heir of Ariad, The Ariad Series, or bookishness in general. At the top of that list until days ago was a very simple desire: to see The Heir in at least one physical, authentic bookstore, Lordwilling. CHECK! The Heir of Ariad is, as I type, a proud resident of The Bookshelf store in downtown Guelph. I popped in for a visit today and was just so delighted to see this lon

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nikiflorica

Nov 9, 2019
2 min

Forest Born, by Shannon Hale: Review

Rin used to feel at home with the trees—as if they understood her, the way no one else could. But something has changed in the way the Forest speaks to her, something that fills her with darkness and guilt instead of the peace it once brought. Rejected by the trees, she travels to the city with her brother, Razo, in search of a new Rin. When a mysterious threat against Bayern is discovered, three powerful nature-speakers—Isi, Enna and Dasha—set out to find answers and protect

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Winter (#4 of The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

nikiflorica

Oct 5, 2019
2 min

Winter (#4 of The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

Princess Winter, stepdaughter of the ruthless Lunar Queen Levana, is as beautiful as she is crazy. Well-beloved for her kindness and revered for her breathtaking beauty, she is loathed by her stepmother, pitied by the court, and wholly devoted to her loyal guard and childhood friend, Jacin Clay. Seen by most as delusional, her strength is hidden beneath her striking scars . . . until the chance to join a revolution against the queen turns her into something powerful—a weapon

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nikiflorica

Sep 14, 2019
2 min

David Copperfield: (official) Review

I know what you're thinking. I did a Saturday Spotlight on Davy Copperfield a little while back, but having only read the first two hundred pages I had barely scratched the surface of how profoundly intricate, touching, and heart-wrenching this Dickens special truly is. The story of David Copperfield from infant to mature adult is the heartfelt reflection of a writer upon his own life, filled at every turn with quiet introspection, longing, regret, pain, joy, dread, and excit

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NIKI FLORICA

The Quiet Quill