84 Ribbons by Paddy Edger

To any serious dancer, to dance is their life. They eat, sleep, and breathe dance, that is Miss Marta Selbryth. She has danced since she was five, and at seventeen she has been accepted into a professional dance troupe in Billings Montana. At first it's a dream come true, but it's a lot of hard work. She has to move and live on her own for the first time in her life. When the pressure starts to build she turns to diet pills to keep her weight down and her energy up. Will she be able to handle the pressure of the troupe and beginning of her first relationship?

I really truly enjoyed this book. I liked observing Marta, she's driven, talented, and intelligent. She is so focused on her goal that she refuses to let anything be more important than dancing. It's why she makes some of the decisions that she does. Because she need to have some semblance of control, when it seems like everything is going wrong.

This book talks about addiction, and weight issues in a very real way. It shows that anyone can have problems. Even if someone insists that they're fine, they may not be, if you never see them eat.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

Murdress by Daya Marnin

Lu Killer has never had a home. She has been bounced around from boarding school to boarding school for as long as she can remember. In her latest school, things start to change for her. For one a guest lecturer completely loses it and starts trying to kill her after he learns her name, calling her a murderess. If that wasn't enough to deal with she ends up porting into what seems to be a parallel universe, where she learns she is from an ancient clan that has been at war with the royal family for generations. She also learns that she has magic, and after she has to fight and kill to survive she decides to embrace her destiny, no matter what it may be.

I loved this book. It was an amazing read, the characters are great. I loved Lu, how she transforms from an apathetic teenager, into... well you'll just have to read and see won't you. All of the other side characters were wonderfully crafted, and there are some that I've begun to believe, okay, maybe hope will become main characters in books to come.

I also enjoy the play on her last name. Killer, and she is very strong and adept at killing people fittingly enough. Which is not a complete surprise seeing as your name can actually determine your fate in some cases. So please be kind and don't name your kids something completely ridiculous it could affect their life adversely.

The world is vast and varied, with many different humanoid species that I hope will come more into play in the next few books. This book was so masterfully written that I can't wait to find out what happens next. 

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for my sincere and honest review.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Imagine a library that instead of books you can check out objects. Everything from Marie Antoinette wig to Ming dynasty vases, and even things from fairy tales. This is where Elizabeth begins her new job. She's a page, someone who finds the items people are looking for in the repository. While there she learns about the Grimm Collection, items from fairy tales from around the world. The best part is these items work. The mirror from snow white? Snarky and sarcastic. Seven league boots? Work just fine. However some of these objects have gone missing or have lost their magic. Can Elizabeth and the other pages figure out what's happening to the items before all of the magic is lost?

This is an amazing take on fairy tales. While it's not overt the entire story is a fairytale, it has all of the traditional rules, and some new twists. I loved all of the pages, Aaron took a bit to like, but he grew on me. Marc was arrogant, and Anjali is seemingly perfect and sweet. They all changed and made me like them more and more.

The main setting of the book is the repository and I loved it, if I could work at a place like that, I doubt I'd ever leave. They have something from every part of history, including stuff that technically shouldn't exist.

I also enjoyed the tests Elizabeth had to take to become a page and receive her key to the Grimm Collection, they were unique and really fit in well with the story.

Anyone who loves fairy tales should read this book. It won't disappoint I promise

 I'm excited to read book two The Wells Bequest, because as the Grimm Legacy is to fairytale The Wells Bequest is to science fiction. And I can't wait to see where she takes it.

Why I don't do a rating in my review

After looking at some other review blogs one thing I consistently see is ratings. A scale of 1-5 or 1-10, but I'm not comfortable rating books. This is because I know I don't get out of a book exactly what someone else will, and that I'm not a true judge of what is a good story. Since I think Lord of The Rings, is ridiculously hard to get through, but I love children's books. There are also so many types of books, to rate a fantasy compared to a historical fiction is weird to me.

So I'll never rate books, I'll tell you what I like and don't like about them. Because if I give you a number will you really want to read it more or less?

Adventures in Funeral Crashing by Milda Harris

After her mom's death Kait started funeral crashing. To hear the stories of peoples life, and feel closer to her mom who died recently. When she runs into Ethan Ripley at his sister's funeral, life takes a turn for the dangerous. Ethan thinks his sister was murdered, or at least didn't purposefully OD because there had been two other girls who had died from a heroin overdose, from the same college. So after accusing Kait of being a druggie she decides to help him figure-out what really happened to his sister.

This book isn't what I expected, in a very good way. The protagonist has dimensions, she has her likes, her dislikes, isn't a miss perfect. Also her thought process is defiantly what mine was like when I was her age. Ethan is also a really intriguing I love how he is consistently focused on his sister, while still living his life. Kait and Ethan's romance also develops at a believable pace, no instant love.

All in all it's a book that I would happily recommend to anyone in high school.

The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick

Breeze is a half-breed, half human and half Tal'mar (the equivalent of an elf). A half breed is something that is unheard of, due to the fact that humans and the Tal'mar have been at war for a thousand years. When her father is recalled to war she is left to live with the Tinker. A man who makes the most marvelous inventions, he's also the only one who doesn't judge Breeze automatically for her heritage. With the help of one of his creations she discovers something that will change her world. The only question is, will she have enough time to save it?

This was a captivating story. Even more so when you remember Breeze is only four at the beginning of the story. I know, t hard to believe but the Tal'mar mature quickly. She is a protagonist that you can fall in love with. Her only goal is to be accepted and to get people to look at her for who she is, instead of what.

Things do seem a bit too fast, after all they create brand-new physics defying technology in a few months.

However I really did like this book, it's a good read and I really hope to find the time to read the rest of the series.

1,000,000 Challenge!

I have decided to start the 1,000,000 challenge, meaning see how long it takes me to get to a million pages read. I'm starting this on September 1st 2014 and I will do my best to keep it updated with a cumulative total at the end of each month. With a complete total and a monthly total. I'm going to be completely honest here, I will forget and probably not update all of the books that I read, but I will keep it as close to accurate as I can.

The first book on this list is The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick for 278 pages.