Look, so I get the appeal of making Kaz in modern AUs be the delinquent who spends every Saturday in detention and that’s cool and all, but consider… Van Eck says in SoC that Kaz hasn’t been arrested since he was 14, and he always puts on the respectful “yes sir” act around Per Haskel. So imagine, little demon-child middle school Kaz was every teacher’s worst nightmare, but contrary to all the horrors they heard, the high school staff find him to be oddly pleasant. Like honor roll, does extra credit, total kiss ass to teachers. But then stuff happens. School website was hacked. The school board president’s shady emails are published online. The lion mascot costume always ends up missing before pep rallies and is replaced with a giant crow one. The school’s 5 month supply of chicken casserole is one day just gone. Someone scaled the gym wall to hang up a banner reading “fuck Principal Rollins” from the ceiling. They all know. Everybody knows. They just. can’t. prove anything.
Also him and Matthias have the catty better-than-you antagonism that only ever spawns between AP kids and student athletes.
Tag: soc
Hello Sarah, have you liked the six of crows serie ? What do you think of the main couples in it ?
Hello! I loved the Six of Crows series! I have both of my copies signed (and I get to see Leigh again in just a couple of weeks–I’m so excited)! I really enjoyed the main couples in the series because none of them felt cliched in any particular way. They all brought something new to the table for me in terms of their dynamics and their individual struggles that they brought into their relationship. I just about died at the Kanej scene in Crooked Kingdom when he tells her how hard he was going to fight to rescue her!
Top Five Wednesday!
Welcome to Top 5 Wednesday! Every week, join me and other bloggers/booktubers as we discuss our Top 5 Books according to the theme from the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group! This group, started by @thoughtsontomes and @gingerreadslainey, has prompts every week.
Today, the theme is FREEBIE (FAVORITE FANTASY WORLDS)!
In celebration of my birthday week (and because there are 5 Wednesdays this month), this is my gift to you. Pick any topic you want this week! We have years worth of archived topics you can look through if you are having trouble deciding.
#5 – THE LONDONS from The Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab
One of my favorite parts of this entire series was how interesting the concept of several dimensions bound together by the city of London was. I loved how Schwab worked with that concept and managed to make all the realms different without making it twee or overly simple.
#4 – JOYA D’ARENA from the Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson
I thought the culture and variety in this world were really well-written, and it’s one I’m always eager to go back to. It was one of the first Latinx-inspired fantasies I’d ever read and it made me hungry for more!
#3 – POLYA from Uprooted by Naomi Novik
First of all, I love Slavic-inspired fantasy worlds, and since Polya is based on Poland, this really shined through. I also loved how lush and elegant this world was and how beautifully the magic intersected with it all.
#2 – KETTERDAM from the Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
This city was so beautifully conceived and described, from the atmosphere to the culture and the blend of modern and magic. I loved the concept of a nation and culture built so thoroughly on trade, and I thought it was used really well in this duology.
#1 – LE CIRQUE DE RÊVES from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book is the world, and even if it is technically set in our late-19th century, the world inside the circus seems like something entirely separate, and the beauty with which Morgenstern describes it is truly captivating.
I love hopping off to fantasy world for a sense of escape and adventure. Where do you like to go when the normal world gets too boring?
Top Five Wednesday!
Welcome to Top 5 Wednesday! Every week, join me and other bloggers/booktubers as we discuss our Top 5 Books according to the theme from the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group! This group, started by @thoughtsontomes and @gingerreadslainey, has prompts every week.
Today, the theme is BOOKS YOU LIKED WITH TROPES YOU USUALLY HATE!
Pick some of your most hated tropes and discuss books (or other media) that actually handled that trope well.
#5 – Divergent by Veronica Roth
The whole sorting-people-into-discreet-groups trope is one that I’ve started to find old, and I think I felt that way even when I first read Divergent. But I do remember liking this book, so I must have been impressed enough!
#4 – Fairest by Marissa Meyer
I’m very skeptical of villain-perspective stories because they so often go the route of “they were good all along!!!” But this one did an excellent job of showing the ugly circumstances Levana was in without ever excusing the choices or actions she made as a result.
#3 – Caraval by Stephanie Garber
I did not expect to like this book when I picked it up because I was skeptical of the whole “naive girl meets dark mysterious guy far older than her” thing. I don’t know if that trope has a name? But I felt burned by dark mysterious guys in books a long time ago and was concerned about it going into this one. Thankfully, this didn’t unfold at all how I expected, so I enjoyed it a lot!
#2 – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I did not think I would like a heist book, but this was so much more than I expected and it’s one of my favorites now!
#1 – To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
I don’t hate the enemies-to-lovers trope, far from it, but I find that it’s not often done very well because it usually involves one of the characters sacrificing much of what makes them an interesting character in the first place. I was so relieved that this wasn’t true in To Kill a Kingdom! I found that instead of compromising her personality, Lira simply was able to uncover values she already had and actualize them, and I really liked that a lot.
This one was actually a harder list to put together, because I’m usually pretty good at avoiding books with tropes I hate. One such trope is the love triangle, and I couldn’t come up with an example of a book with one in it that I liked (and still like). What about you? What are the tropes you hate, and have any books you’ve read been the exception?
Top Five Wednesday!
Welcome to Top 5 Wednesday! Every week, join me and other bloggers/booktubers as we discuss our Top 5 Books according to the theme from the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group! This group, started by @thoughtsontomes and @gingerreadslainey, has prompts every week.
Today, the theme is FAVORITE JOKESTERS!
In honor of April Fools (a bit late but hey, I don’t control when Wednesdays fall), talk about your favorite jokesters, pranksters, and funny characters.
#5 – BABA YAGA from Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
She’s not a “jokester” so much as a trickster, but Baba Yaga was one of my favorite parts of this book. She had my favorite lines and was such a captivating and entertaining–but definitely not benevolent–character.
#4 – THORNE from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Mayer
Thorne’s swagger and arrogance were always so much fun read, especially because they contrasted so nicely with his more somber and series moments. He annoyed me at first, but I really began to enjoy him over the course of the series.
#3 – KENJI KISHIMOTO from the Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi
I think Kenji really brought the whole series together for me. I loved the angst and drama of Juliette and Warner, but Kenji was able to lighten the mood at just the right moments and made the whole series feel more dynamic.
#2 – JESPER FAHEY from the Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
Jesper was an absolute delight every time he was on the page, and he was guaranteed to make me laugh. Get him going with Kaz or Matthias and I was bound to be splitting a rib!
#1 – FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY from The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
This was probably seems way too obvious, but these two were absolutely a childhood staple of mine and Deathly Hallows hit me way too hard. Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes is my favorite shop in the Harry Potter parks and I’m just utterly delighted by everything they do. Fred and George forever!
This one was a little tricky to put together, because I guess I don’t read that many books with jokesters (or, as my brother puts it, I have no sense of humor). But these guys definitely are my favorites, and I’d love to hear yours!
I was supposed to finish painting Maven from Red Queen but I forgot my file at work during the weekend. x_x Sooo…I Decided to pickup one of my inktober sketch and paint it, it’s Inej Ghafa dressed as Kaz Brekker for halloween.
Inej is from Leigh Bardugo’s six of crows
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23437156-six-of-crows?ac=1&from_search=true
Y’all. I am ready for in-world cosplay… uh… Kazplay. (And this is stunning!)
little kanej things
– inej is the only person that kaz feels comfortable enough with to take his gloves off when she’s around,
– inej didn’t tell anyone that kaz fainted because she knew how embarrassed he would be, also she knew that he hates skin to skin contact so she never even talked about it,
– it was inej’s voice that helped kaz come back to consciousness,
– kaz said he would literally die to make inej smile that way
– the way kaz talks about inej’s laugh or smile in general is so important
– kaz tortured a guy who stabbed inej and then threw him over a side of the boat (what a charmer)
– also he thought that killing a guy who threatened to break inej’s legs would be a mercy to van eck so he came up with a whole plan as to how make van eck’s life miserable so he needs to suffer instead of just being dead (not really romantic but it’s kaz so cut him some slack the boy’s tryin’)
– “i would have come for you. and if i couldn’t walk, i’d crawl to you” i mean COME ON
– kaz said that he wants to be a better man for inej, he knew that he could become a decent boyfriend if only she would want him
– inej was the only person that could push kaz out of his comfort zone without making him feel like he was weak or like he needed to be someone entirely else just to please her
– hand holding,
– kaz treating inej’s wounds and iconic neck kisses
– kaz for the whole six of crows was like “i don’t care about inej, i care about the money” but in crooked kingdom he literally bought her a ship just because she said it’s her dream to have one so she could fight slavers
– also he found her parents and brought them to her so they could meet
– and last but not least, before meeting inej’s parents kaz, the Bastard of the Barrel, the king of thieves, the Dirtyhands, the biggest bad boy in Ketterdam, fixed his tie and asked inej “is my tie straight?” (what a badass, i can’t believe)
I loved Six of Crowns and I want to read Crooked Kingdom. Which one did you like better? :) Have you read Wonderwoman?
I actually enjoyed Crooked Kingdom even more than Six of Crows, but the whole series is good! I have a signed copy of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, but I haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet!
Top Five Wednesday
Welcome to the first edition of Top 5 Wednesday! Every week, join me and other bloggers/booktubers as we discuss our Top 5 Books according to the theme from the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group! This group, started by @thoughtsontomes and @gingerreadslainey, has prompts every week.
Today, the theme is GENRE BENDERS!
Books that defy genre or are hard to place in a certain category.
#5 – Animal Farm by George Orwell
This book claims to be a “modern fairy tale,” but it is also political satire/commentary and contemporary. There’s a lot of suspension of disbelief that goes into reading it, but no matter how you slice it, the book doesn’t fit neatly into any modern genre categories!
#4 – They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Is this a contemporary? Is it science fiction? Speculative? This book is set on September 5th, 2017, but it is not our 2017. The premise is something out of science fiction or even horror, but for the most part is resembled our world, plus some new technology that I’ve yet to see. I find it hard to categorize this one, but I definitely recommend it.
#3 – Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
This book dwells in the gaps between contemporary and portal fantasy. It’s whole premise centers on children who have once been in some kind of fantasy realm, but who currently have returned to the modern world. These characters, and the whole novella, for that matter, dwells in the margins between the genres.
#2 – The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman
The entire point of The Princess Bride is that it is constantly arguing with itself about what it wants to be. The narrator insists that the story is a true history written by S. Morgenstern about his country, but of course we know that these nations don’t exist. It reads like a fantasy, but there is less literal magic than absurdities empowered by the suspension of disbelief. I love this book because of the way it defies genres and plays with layers of narration, and I plan to teach it someday!
#1 – Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
This one is generally categorized as fantasy, but it’s got so much else going that I think of it as a genre-bender. It’s got steampunk, science, a pseudo-historical edge, and a heist narrative all blended together, so no one genre label seems to do it justice! I was skeptical when I picked it up because of this, but now I count it as an all-time favorite.
What are your top-five genre benders? Do you agree with these? Comment or reblog to join the conversation!
Plenty of you lovely book nerds already spotted it but now I can share my Six of Crows gang illustration for the @illumicrate Grisha Box! ✨
For those asking: it’s currently exclusive to Illumicrate but might be available in my shop in a few months, if I can sort it out 🙂
Sarah Viehmann 