Tag: toil and trouble

Lists & Recommendations

#Blogoween | Top 5 Books about Witches

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Blogoween

Prompt: Thursday 4th: Top 5 Books about Witches
List your five favourite books about witches.

This prompt is just wonderful! I love sharing books about witches, I don’t know what it is but I love reading about them all the time and throughout the year. I don’t know if it is because of my early love of the movies Practical Magic or Hocus Pocus, or just who I am and my beliefs. But, I just feel at home reading about witches. So I am here to share some of my favorite books that surround witches.

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

The Witches: Salem, 1692

So, this first book I always rave about. It is an amazingly written nonfiction account of the Salem Witch Trials. While this book does not deal with “real” witches, the theme and historical beliefs of what a witch are throughout this novel. This historical book is written in a manner that it makes you feel like you are reading a novel and I think it is perfect for people who are afraid to dive into nonfiction or have difficulties getting into the books they have tried.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Many Authors and Editors

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

This is a great anthology dealing with witches stories. What I love most about this collection is the fact that each author either approached the idea of a witch from a different culture or different time period. Due to this it was a fast read that I loved. If you want more details I did write a full review here. I will add that I was given a copy by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

The Winter People

Now, this is not a typical witch book, but I think it deserves a place here. It is a mixture of  a thriller, paranormal, and horror. It really just depends on how you perceive it. I read this novel in one day and I really loved it. It went in a direction I did not think it was going to go at all.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic

Now, I know I only mentioned this book a few days ago, but it is the perfect fall book. The cover has fall colors and the book followed a family of witches, specifically two sisters who descend from a long line of witches. This story is heart follows twists and turns and the growth of these two sisters that is heart warming and filled with twists and magic.

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe

Now I cannot make a list about books involving witches and not talk about the original witch according to greek mythology, Circe. This is a wonderful story that follows the life of Circle that is mentioned in Odyssey. I loved this book because it give humanity and life to this character I previously had no idea excited. It showed you the court of the gods and what happens when you are banished for something you cannot truly help. I really loved this novel and I can easily see myself rereading it in the future.

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What book do you love that has to do with witches?

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Reviews

REVIEW |Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft Edited by Tess Sharpe & Jessica Spotswood

bookishluna

BookReview12:17Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
* I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description

A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely–has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

 

 

What I Liked

Both Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood did an amazing job editing this short story collection together. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single short story that I read. Normally, in a short story collection there are one or two duds that just lay flat or I disliked the authors writing style, but that is far from the case with this collection.

This collection of stories that revolves around witches was amazing for multiple reasons. The first being that each author had their own view of what a witch was. You can see that these authors come from different backgrounds and have heard myths from their cultures about witches. I loved this. Not only did I get to read about witches, but I got to read about different interruptions on what a witch is.

On top of there being different takes on what a witch is the stories in this collection are not just modern, but also some are written in the past. Being a history lover myself I loved that some of the stories were from along ago when in the United States were just colonies. Even if history is not your thing I feel like you would love those stories anyway due to the plots of the stories themselves. Even though these stories are short I felt connected with the characters I rooted for them.

What I Didn’t Like

The only fault I have with this collection is the fact that it ended. I wanted the book to keep going and going.

Overall Thoughts

I adored this collection of short stories so much. I have to openly admit that this short story collection has truly been a winner in my eyes. There was not a single short story that I did not love. All the authors writing was wonderful and the varying takes and time periods that their stories took place in were all done so well. Each story was its own and was wonderful.  I even loved that there was LGBTQ+ elements to this collection.  I know that I am going out to the store and buying this collection when it comes out in stores. I will be rereading it and annotating it so much. I highly recommend this collection of you love reading stories about witches from long ago to modern times.

5stars

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Editor Links

Tess SharpeTwitter: https://twitter.com/sharpegirl

Website: http://www.tess-sharpe.com

Jessica Spotswood

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessica_shea

Website: http://jessicaspotswood.com

List of Contributing Authors

  • Brandy Colbert
  • Zoraida Córdova
  • Andrea Cremer
  • Kate Hart
  • Emery Lord
  • Elizabeth May
  • Anna-Marie McLemore
  •  Tehlor Kay Mejia
  • Lindsay Smith
  • Nova Ren Suma
  • Robin Talley
  • Shveta Thakrar
  • Brenna Yovanoff

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Book Information

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: August 28th 2018

List Price: $18.99

ISBN: 9781335016270

Pages: 416 pages

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* I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Wrap Up

#NEWTsReadathon2018 | August 13th – August 19th

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NEWTs

Books I Finished

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)

I can finally say I read Strange the Dreamer! I feel like I have been wanting to read this book for so long, I am glad I did. I really ended up enjoying myself while reading it and I plan on getting the next book from the library as soon as it comes out and I can put it on hold. Reading this allowed me to get an O in Potions. Also, can I say, WOW that ending?!

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance

So, this book I was not meant to actually finish this week, but I am a bad reading buddy and I was loving the book so much I ended up reading and finishing it a bit too early. I know that my reading buddies do not mind and are really enjoying it too. If you like magical realism type books I recommend this. It is a lovely book, it was cute and had great characters. Finishing this allowed me to get an A in Herbology.

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NEWTs Progress

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I am Still ReadingToil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft Edited by Tess Sharpe

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

So I am currently reading Toil and Trouble and I am LOVING these short stories. Right now I am about 60% through and they are all so varied and unique from one another. When I finish this collection it will earn me an A in charms. When I am done I will share a full review with all of you.

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NEXT BOOK

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas, #1)

I have been wanting to pick up this book so much for the past month so I am going to be picking this up sometime this week. Doesn’t that cover just look magical? I think it is perfect for this readathon. When I finish this one it will give me an A in Arithmancy 

Fresh Ink: An Anthology

Fresh Ink: An Anthology

This upcoming week I want to pick up Fresh Ink, I think it will be perfect to pick up at the end of the day and read one or two short stories. This will work for an E in Charms. 

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What are you currently reading?

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Wrap Up

#NEWTsReadathon2018 | August 6th – August 12th

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NEWTs

Books I Finished

Night Shift by Stephen King

Night Shift

This is a short story collection by Stephen King, I read this to complete an E in potions. Some of the stories I loved, and some were just okay, but over all I really enjoyed it. Even though Stephen King is known for writing monstrously long books, I do find he does very well with short stories and I find them a good way to get a good sampling of this work.

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NEWTs TBR Updates

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I am Still Reading

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft Edited by Tess Sharpe

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Since I am horrible about sticking to my TBR, I have decided to read this eArc to fulfill my requirement to read a book with magic in it to achieve an A in charms. I at this point in time I have read 6 of the short stories and I loved each of them even though they were so different from one another.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)

If you read my recent post, Lists | Un-listened to Audiobooks, you will know that I have quite a few audiobooks I need to get through. Strange the Dreamer is once of them. So I decided to listen to it so I can get an O in Potions. At this point I am a little over an hour into it, not too far, but I am enjoying it.

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NEXT BOOK

Fresh Ink: An Anthology

Fresh Ink: An Anthology

Next I want to pick up Fresh Ink, I am so excited to read these short stories since there are quite a few authors in here that I truly enjoy their work. This will work for an E in Charms. 

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What are you currently reading?

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Tags

TAG |The Sunshine Award Vol. 5

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TagTimel12:17

First off I would like to thank Regina over at bookishinbed for the tag! This is my 5th time getting this award and it s truly amazing. I would have never though I would be nominated for these awards when I first started my blog and here we are. You guys are all amazing, thanks for continuing to support me!

For this nomination there are 4 rules to follow:

1.) Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you for the blog post and link back to their blog.

2.) Answer the 11 questions that the blogger asked you.

3.) Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 questions.

4.) List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or blog.

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Previous Sunshine Blogger Award Posts

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1.) Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog because I wanted a place I could have to discuss the things that I loved. While it is mostly books, you may have seen a few of my others posts about DIYs, cooking, and hobbies. While I write mostly about books and such I like to spread into other things I enjoy as well. You never know what you will have in common with someone unless you share it.

2.) What is some advice you have for other bloggers?

Just write about what makes you happy. Everything else will fall into place as long as you remember that this is meant to be fun and enjoyable.

3.) What fictional place would you travel to if you could?

If I could travel to a fictional place it would be Bag End or Hobbiton. I love the Hobbit and I always wanted to see what the little town and home would be like if I was truly there.

4.) What author do you wish you could be friends with?

I would love to be friends with Louisa May Alcott, I think she would be supportive, but would put you in your place if needed.

5.) Whose your favorite author that you’ve met?

I honestly have not met any authors at book signing or anything. I am hoping to change that in the future.

6.) What author would you trust to write your biography?

Gah, I have no idea. I think I would go with Stacy Schiff, she did a great job writing The Witches so I think she would do a great job.

7.) What is your favorite book to movie adaptation?

Harry Potter of course, but if I had to name a different one it would be The Shining by Stephen King. I love the 6 hour edition, yes there is a 6 hour edition.

8.) Which book to movie adaptation do you wish never happened?

I honestly cannot answer this. When I go to see a movie adaptation I go into it seeing it as something completely different. There is no way to make a perfect adaptation.

9.) What book do you wish would be turned into a movie?

I think I would love to see Jackaby by William Ritter make into a movie. It has adventure, lovable characters, and mystery. It is my second favorite series, only beaten by Harry Potter.

10.) What book do you wish had a cookbook for it?

I think I would love it if there was a cookbook based off of a biography. That way I can try all the foods that person loved. I mean if I am reading a book about them I would be interested in them so why not have a meal like them at least one time?

11.) What is your most anticipated release of 2018?

I think my most anticipated release for this year was The Hazel Wood, I did a full review which you can find here: Review | The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I was looking forward to this the moment I saw the description and it did not disappoint. If I had to pick one that is not yet released it would be Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Tess Sharpe or The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye.

DividerI hoped you enjoyed reading, please feel free to do this tag for yourself!

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