A Court of Thorns and Roses // An Overdue Review

Four Stars—Great

I had meant to post my review of Sarah J Maas’ A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES sometime during Valentine’s week. I’d also intended to review A COURT OF MIST AND FURY and CRUEL BEAUTY during that same week so I could tie them all together with a neat little bow, which obviously didn’t happen. I finished ACOMAF on the last day of February and, as of writing this post, still have yet to read CB. 

Le sigh. 

When I do get around to reading CB (and since my Kindle reading habits have been sporadic and spastic of late, who knows when that will be?), I still hope to do a post comparing and contrasting ACOTAR and CB. I also plan to buy A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN when it comes out, and I might even read and review it in a reasonable amount of time. We’ll see. 

For now, let’s talk about ACOTAR. 

The Set-Up.

While ACOTAR is primarily a “Beauty and the Beast” retelling (yay!), it also inlcudes elements of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” (a story that has haunted me for years) and “Tam Lin” (which I was less familiar with). When it comes to retellings, it can be difficult to process and repackage a popular, oft-retold story and still produce something fresh, which is why I think the combination of these three fairy tale storylines is one of ACOTAR’s greatest strengths. 

Feyre.

For whatever reason, I came into the story not expecting to relate to or appreciate Feyre all that much. I think this partially had to do with the fact that I knew ACOTAR is a romance (and if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know that romance is usually a miss for me). But Feyre’s combination of tough and soft won me over. 

She sacrifices so much of her time and energy to support her family, which did remind me an awful lot of Katniss from THE HUNGER GAMES. Despite the similarities, though, Feyre is still her own character. She is practical, yet artistic, and she somehow finds a way to balance these two aspects of her personality. It can be so easy to see art as non-essential, the first thing to go when life gets hard, and I loved that it doesn’t get displaced in the face of Feyre’s abject poverty—that it’s recognized as a part of who she is. Also, I love that her relationship with painting mirrors her emotional state throughout ACOTAR and ACOMAF. 

Confession time.

Every time a book description mentions fairies/the fae, I find myself losing interest, even though I love books like THE PECULIAR and THRONE OF GLASS. I’m not really sure why this happens, it just does, and I almost skipped out on ACOTAR because it’s a) a romance and b) a book that heavily features the fae. However, I ended ACOTAR feeling more favorable to books of it’s ilk. I consider that a win. 

Content warning.

There is some sexual content, and I am squeamish, so that accounts for the dropped star. 

In Conclusion. 

I’m sad that I didn’t review this book right after reading it because, now that a fair amount of time has passed, my memory has gotten a bit vague on some of the nuances I wanted to discuss. The busier I get with writing, the more I find myself forgetting small details, like my name, or a book’s storyline, so I can’t give you as well-informed a recommendation as I had hoped. But I do remember that I very much enjoyed ACOTAR (especially the ending), and I will eventually want to reread it. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES? Will I ever spell “thorns” correctly on the first try? (No. Because I always type “throns.” Don’t ask me why.) What are some of your favorite fairytale retellings? Have you read CRUEL BEAUTY/do you recommend it?

The Inspire Me Tag

Back in January, my lovely friend Karyssa @ No Coffee, No Can Do nominated me for The Inspire Me Tag (which was created by Hannah @ Ink Blots and Coffee Stains). Thank you, Karyssa! Before you get too excited, though, be advised that this post is a discussion of what inspires me, not, in fact, an exploration of how I manage to be such an inspiring (and wonderful and amazing and humble) person. I know you’re disappointed, but please don’t cry. 

The rules are thus and such: 

1) Include these rules in your fabulously-written post. 

2) Smile and twirl in a circle and look at your favorite inspiring thing (while trying not to fall over because now you’re dizzy) as you prepare yourself for the wisdom I’m about to impart to you. 

3) Thank your gorgeous, lovely tagger. 

4) Tag however many bloggers you please. 

5) Have fun, be honest (we’ll know if you’re not), and answer all the questions (feel free to add some of your own!). 

1. What is one of the most inspiring things for you? 

Coffee. 

Bet you never saw that answer coming. 

Naturally, I’ve already discussed this multiple times, but you can never talk about coffee too much. 

The long and short of it is this: caffeine doesn’t make me feel more awake, but it does focus my mind. The biggest reason I drink coffee is the flavor—a comforting mixture of nostalgia and possibilities—that gets me right into the writing mood. Sometimes, when I get an especially good coffee (or when I get any sort of coffee after craving it long enough), I will almost start crying because it’s so beautiful. #sorrynotsorry. 

2. Where do you look for inspiration? 

I refer you to the above. 

Beyond the magic that is coffee, I also find inspiration in all sorts of places. Sometimes when I’m reading, I have to keep putting my book down so I can take notes, because even the smallest thing will get my mind going. Graveyards and rainy days and all things macabre and morbid catch my fancy as well. I like bog boardwalks and early mornings and velvety nights. History and science also give me ideas. Abandoned buildings, damaged street signs, cracked sidewalks, lonely porch swings—the list goes on. 

3. When and where does inspiration tend to hit you? 

Anywhere, anytime. Inspiration comes most often when I am calm, quiet, and slightly melencholic—I call this my writing mood and it’s more common early in the morning and late at night. Other times, it comes to me when I’m washing dishes or working my custodial job or showering or doing any other ask where it’s difficult/impossible to take notes. Usually, though, I have to hunt down inspiration and drag it back kicking and screaming. 

4. What’s the first thing you do when inspiration strikes? 

If I’m in a position where I can write down my thoughts, I’ll take the time to flesh them out a little. If not, I’ll chant the idea over and over in my head until I have, hopefully, memorized it. (This works about 75% of the time.) 

5. What’s the most inspiring book/song/website/etc. you’ve found? 

I’m going to cheat here and say anything by Ray Bradbury. 

6. What’s one piece of advice you would give to people struggling for inspiration? 

Cue cynical Liz time. 

Inspiration isn’t the silver bullet that will make your book a success or even just a finished product. Sometimes the stuff you write under the influence of inspiration isn’t even as good as the stuff you have to struggle to get down. It can be tempting to rely on inspiration and forget that writing is, first and foremost, work, and no amount of inspiration will do your work for you. I say this, not to rain on your parade, but because I really wish I had had this hammered into my head when I was a younger writer. I wasted so much time assuming writing was going to be an easy journey, and when inspiration failed to visit me, I thought it meant I had hit a dead end and needed to start over rather than power through. 

That being said, there is nothing wrong with inspiration, and if you really need a little extra oomph (because who doesn’t want that?), remember that it typically comes when you least expect it and when you’re not actively looking for it. Try exercising or doing some mundane, mindless task. Flip through your favorite novels and remind yourself of the small things that made you like them. Go somewhere with the kind of atmopshere you hope to recreate in your writing. Dive into nostalgia (for me, that primarily means brewing coffee). And then remember that sometimes you have to dig in and get word goop up to your elbows before inspiration decides to visit (that whole “if you build it, he will come” idea). 

I hereby tag Aimee, Ashley, Cait, Katie, Victoria, and Victoria. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? What are some of your main sources of inspiration?

THE COLOR PROJECT

I beta read THE COLOR PROJECT for Sierra Abrams a while ago, and it was amazing. Amazing, I tell you. Since then, Sierra has decided to publish it non-traditionally (*cue incoherent screaming*). On Saturday, she posted the cover reveal, and oh my goodness, I’m trying not to drool. 

Without any further ado, here it is: 

*attempts to regain composure* 

Here’s the Goodreads description: 

Bernice Aurora Wescott has one thing she doesn't want anyone to know: her name. That is, until Bee meets Levi, the local golden boy who runs a charity organization called The Color Project.

Levi is not at all shy about attempting to guess Bee’s real name; his persistence is one of the many reasons why Bee falls for him. But while Levi is everything she never knew she needed, giving up her name would feel like a stamp on forever. And that terrifies her.

When unexpected news of an illness in the family drains Bee's summer of everything bright, she is pushed to the breaking point. Losing herself in The Color Project—a world of weddings, funerals, cancer patients, and hopeful families that the charity funds—is no longer enough. Bee must hold up the weight of her family, but to do that, she needs Levi. She’ll have to give up her name and let him in completely or lose the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

For fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson, THE COLOR PROJECT is a story about the three great loves of life—family, friendship, and romance—and the bonds that withstand tragedy.

As of right now, the publication date is set for July 18, 2017, and Sierra hopes to have a pre-order link up soon. In the meantime, you can add it on Goodreads, stare at the pretty cover, and try to figure out ways to time travel. 

Lastly, in case you don’t have money to throw at books right and left, now’s your chance to win a pre-order of THE COLOR PROJECT! 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you heard of THE COLOR PROJECT? Are you planning to read it? What are some non-traditionally published projects you've enjoyed? 

Busyness

Confession time. I am a good deal busier than I had planned to be, though I should have seen this coming. I have never tried to edit three projects simultaneously in the past, much less while on a tight (although self-imposed) deadline, much less while trying to keep up with blogging and other activities on the side (like my custoidal job, and socializing, and oh, also trying to make myself eat food, among other things). 

That’s not to say I’m discontent or floundering or whatever. And I’m not going on hiatus, because I have taken enough breaks already and I’m itching—itching, I tell you—to get back to a twice-weekly blogging schedule, if I can possibly manage it. I am loving this—I am loving learning to deal with heavy workloads and tight deadlines in a controlled environment (since I don’t have the teeth of an acutal publishing deadline). I’ve found that I am more productive by far if I have a fire lit under my butt, because if I don’t, I tend not to prioritize writing. Which is lame, because I love writing. 

That being said, I think I am currently behind on all fronts, but I am also doing far more writing/editing work each day than I was before I set my crazy deadlines, so even if I don’t make a single one of them, I will still come out ahead. I should at least be able to finish the final draft of DRACONIAN on time. Contrary to my fears, I have not been hating working on it. In fact, I’m loving this draft so much I’ve been working overtime and, consequently, slacking off on reading. I have hit a roadblock on BMT, but that always happens at least three times in the second draft stage, so I just need to be a big girl and power through it. And I am making a little bit of headway on my novella sideproject. You can sort of track my progress here, but I’m finding I’m kind of terrible at remembering to update my word counts, so most of the time it will probably only be accurate for DRACONIAN. 

But back to blogging. I am hoping, hoping, hoping to be able to, as soon as possible, reach a state of equilibirum where I can post reviews on Mondays and regular posts on Thursdays (reviews being the first to go if I get too busy). I had meant to start that schedule last week, but I’m in a weird rut where I’ve been coming up with ideas and drafting them like crazy, only to lose myself in other edits and forget to finish getting anything ready to post. So I have the material, I just have to prioritize it a bit more. One thing I have done to maybe help myself out a little on the blogging front is organization (Yay! Scrivener index cards! Color-coding! Scrivenings!). 

In summary, I am busy, busy, busy, and I'm having lots of fun, but I need to ease up on the throttle a little so I can get more reading done, which will help with my anxiety. 

Before I go, can I just say? This music video is weirdly inspiring and I love it probably more than I should. That is all. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? What projects have you been working on lately (writing or otherwise)? What are some ways you deal with stress? Do you struggle with balance? What are some weirdly inspiring things you’ve stumbled across recently?