Xepherus Reads

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   Top 5 Wednesday is a awesome Goodreads Book run by moderators are YouTubers, Lainey (GingerReadsLainey) and Samantha (ThoughtsOnTomes). I enjoy how every week this group brings the book community together. Great fun!   This week's question asks: What are your Top 5  Summer Reads ?   For this one I picked five reads that I cannot wait to begin. Some are to be released soon.       Resurgence by Kerry Wilkinson- the Silver Blackthorn trilogy comes to a close with May 31st's release of the novel. I loved the first two books, Reckoning and Renegade, and raved about them to everyone who would listen, my readers included. It is the harrowing story of one teenage girl's defiance of a king and his brutality . And the rebellion she leads against him w ith the very children that he has harmed. The first two installments were page turners that often left me breathless.   The Harry Potter Seri...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,    Tuesday Talks is a group on Goodreads that is a weekly discussion forum created by BookTubers Janie Johnson and her pal, Janelle. It is a very active group and is very fun to be a part of.   This week's question is: What are your favorite antagonists in fiction?        I have a three antagonists that I have enjoyed in the past year reading books. Janie will know what I am talking about with number one. They are: Rose the Hat- this psychic vampire and leader of the True Knot cut a bloody path through Stephen King's Doctor Sleep. Searching for those with dynamic psychic abilities, Rose encounters Abra Stone. This young girl has the Shining, and she becomes Rose's latest obsession. Traveling with the True Knot to Abra she encounters an adult Danny Torrance and the Ghosts of the Overlook Hotel. Sultry, terrifying, and cunning, Rose was my number one antagonist from the past year.   King Victo...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   Tuesday Talks is a Goodreads Group serving the book community that is moderated by YouTubers, Janie Johnson and her book pal, Janelle. Check it out!    This week's Tuesday Talks question is:   If you do not enjoy the first book in a series do you still continue reading the series?   The answer to this question is yes and no. I have started many series that have bored me, but had likeable characters. With this type of book I have been patient. What I will do is wait for a month or so, and then I pick the series up again. Usually I do not have issues with continuing on. I also find that audiobooks help a great deal when continuing a series that I have issues with. The change in presentation is sometimes what I need to make me want to continue.  I especially love it when an audiobook has a voice actor that reads in character, and grasps the narrative in a way I could not have thought.   S...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms,   In 2015 St. Martins Press sent me an advanced reader copy of Kerry Wilkinson's latest novel, Renegade, for review. It was the second book in the Silver Blackthorn Trilogy, a dystopia-futuristic, young adult series set in England. Even though I did not read the first book, Wilkinson's writing was excellent enough to catch me up on the story thus far. After reading Renegade (my review can be found in my blog archives) I was left wanting more. I decided to track down the first book, and found it on Book Outlet at a very reasonable price.     Reckoning begins an exciting and often heartbreaking coming of age story of Silver Blackthorn. She is an ordinary (to herself at least) girl living a quiet life in the post-war English village of Martindale. The world has drastically changed since her parents were children. Many wars have ravaged the world, and countries have fought against one another for years. King Victor has risen, almost god-...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms,   As many of you know I love to join book discussions or groups that love books. I just recently watched a video with YouTuber, Trina from Between Chapters, and found a wonderful group on Goodreads named, Monthly Recommendations. This book club is moderated by Trina and her friend Kayla from YouTube's Kayla Rayne. And each month we are treated to a topic that is up for discussion.    This month's topi c is: Not Another Love Story , a boo k, books, or series that we recommend that do not have love stor ies in them. And here are my four picks: The Witch's B oy b y Kelly Barnhill - this mi d dle-grade book will appeal to fans of H arry Potter, with it s whimsical narrative and mag ical characters. It follows two y oung protagonists who set o ut to protect an ancient magic from falling into the wrong hands . Filled with excellent world building and often hysterical characters, this book is a fast and joyful read that left me smiling...