Chapter 7: Whether there Will Be Weather

So, as I mentioned in my last post, this book was suggested to me by Felicia Day who is totally my role model. She's so cute and smart and talented *sigh*

At least I have the red hair going for me right?

Anyways, as I also mentioned before, I didn't have very high hopes for Ill Wind by Rachel Caine, the first book in the Weather Wardens series but I thought it looked like a fun book and something light that I could enjoy before jumping back into my lit classes (my semester started this week by the way and despite having 21 textbooks, it doesn't seem like it will be horrible...yet). And I was right!

The book takes place around the modern day but there is this society (semi underground semi not) called the Wardens who are responsible for keeping Mother Earth from swallowing us all whole (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally!). Wardens come in three basic favors: fire, earth, and weather which I thought was an interesting touch on the traditional four elements ideas. People who have a talent in one can study it at the college level and then join the Wardens in a kind of environmental police type of capacity. The twist is that there are also Djins (think nontraditional genies) that have all three powers and are in service to Wardens so they can be used as an extra power boost. I won't give away too much of the actual plot since figuring that out is most of the point of the book but it starts with the main character, Joanne, running for her life and in a lot of trouble.

Now, I won't say this is the best book I've ever read but it was certainly fun! Joanne is really candid and sassy (hmm, reminds me of a few people I know) and the humor is great. I like the writing style a lot, there is definitely a lot of creativity in plot and word choice alike. I'm also a huge fan of the backwards story where you start in the middle of the plot and figure out what's going on later. It's kind of like jumping into a movie near the middle and you get to guess not just the end but the beginning.

 This was one of those books that I rarely run across where I just wanted to be reading it all the time! I was heartbroken when I had to put it down for work and anytime I ran to the bathroom, ate lunch, or hopped on the bus it was glued to my hand. Maybe part of that is there's only like 4 chapters so nowhere is a safe place to put it down! There's always more to know. I really appreciated that because it helped to remind me what a real love of reading can feel like. I love really deep, introspective, life changing books but sometimes you just need something light to make you smile and make you gasp and make you yell.

Let's just say this, I definitely want to read the next book in the series. However, the library is taking forever to get it to me so I've picked up something else to tide me over in the mean time. I've been told once I pick it up I won't be able to put down so hopefully you guys will have another article before too long!

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine (337 pages)

Judgement: Addictive Summer Read (7 out of 10)

Fictitious Fridays: Falling In Love Again

I could site lots of reasons for why this blog fell into a lull yet again and all of them would be true. I got really wrapped up in my internships this summer and had very little energy left for anything else, I was constantly encased in crippling worry over whether I would have money for rent and food (don't worry, I didn't starve), my relationships with both the people around me and my spirituality were crumbling... Overall, I did some great things this summer, I worked harder than I have in a long time and it paid off (for some idea of what I've been doing you can check out this project I worked on ^ ^). But, summers are never really good for me, no matter how many fun things I do. Maybe I have reverse SADs or something? Anywho, getting off topic, the real reason I let this blog dangle is, I'd fallen out of love with reading.

You've WHAT?!?!?

Think about it, I spend all school year being forced to read and read and read. Some of the material is great and I love and some of it gives me the same queasy feeling I get when there's a torture scene and someone pulls out pliers. *shiver*

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the Milton way..."

It got to the point where I was only reading to finish a book, regardless of enjoyment factor, because I was always on a deadline! This mentality crept into my recreational reading and made it feel more like work than fun. So I stopped reading for a few months. I focused on my jobs, I started a role play, I got back into TCG's again, and I let my brain rest a bit.

What happened next was mostly due to Felicia Day! Felicia (who is what I want to be when I grow  up) has a vlog called The Flog which I absolutely adore. She has a segment that starts the show called Fave 5 (but now Fave 3 *sadface*) where she talks about some of her favorite things. One of those things was The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine. Now, Felicia also has a book club that she runs called Vaginal Fantasy (awesome name right?) which is all centered around Fantasy Romance book, not a topic I have ever been interested in. However, Felicia is so cute and bubbly and charismatic, how could I say no?

Oh please no! No, make it stop! I'm too young! >.<

So, here's one thing you should know. I hate gratuitous sex in books. If I'm reading along and everything is great and then all of a sudden, people start taking off their clothes, I'm gone. It completely loses me. Maybe that's why I tend to stick more to YA because if there is sex (and it's rare) there is no throbbing, no quivering, no source of manly power, or any of that BS. So, I have no idea why I decided to pick up Ill Wind.

But I loved it! I felt my love of reading come back as I read it. I never checked how many pages were left, I didn't force myself to read just another 10 pages, and I felt that ache you get when you have to put down a book just as you're getting into it and you can't stop thinking about it ALL DAY! I'm not going to lie and say it was the best book I've ever read but it was fun and well written and engaging and I am so grateful to it for helping me find my love again. I'm almost finished so look out for another article coming soon.

P.S. Just in case you think I'm suddenly into really dirty books, no. There was only one sex scene in this book and was surprisingly very tame. I was so thankful for that, you have no idea how nervous I was about this.