Jinx's Fire by Sage Blackwood

Well, I was supposed to have this reviewed Saturday, but did not finish it until last night. I have got to get back into the habit of reading more.

Katherine Tegen Books

Jinx knows he has to protect the Urwald from all outside threats, including the evil Bonemaster and his former friend Reven. On top of this, he needs to figure out what the Bonemaster did to Simon and get Elfwen away from the Bonemaster. With the help of Simon's wife Sophie, his Samaran friends, and the human and nonhuman inhabitants of the Urwald, Jinx may have a chance to save the trees and all those who depend on them. First he must figure out how to embrace his destiny as a wick to the power of lifeforce and avoid the temptation of seizing power for himself. Will he be another Bonemaster or can he truly be a Listener, one who does what is best for the forest?

Without having read the others in this series, my short summary is a bit confusing. What I like about the series is the character development of Jinx and Elfwen and even the adult characters of Sophie and Simon. Is Simon evil or good? Can Jinx avoid power while embracing it? Is Elfwen's truth telling curse a liability or an asset? Can Sophie forgive her husband? I also love the humor of this series, a bit dark at times, but I usually laugh out loud a few times while reading the books.

There are some good quotes too, but I forgot to take notes. One of my favorite sections focused on the idea of evil. Jinx is asked by the Elf Princess, his thoughts on evil. He replies, "I think it depends on what you actually mean... I mean, what you meant to accomplish. When you did the thing. Whether your intentions are evil." I am not for sure if I agree with his statement. The Princess responds, "That may be part of it, but it is also very much a matter of what you've actually done." This adds to it a bit and there are lots of discussions on evil in the books. I do think intentions and actions both determine the morality of what we do. Another good quote I like is from Elfwen. "If this was a story that was coming to an end, then my curse would be magically fixed because everything would have to come out exactly right for everybody. But real life isn't like that, and sometimes you just live with things."

Overall I really liked this series. I loved Jinx and Elfwen and Sophie and Simon's relationship. The dark humor and deep messages are wonderfully done without being morbid or preachy. 5 cups of cocoa and this is a series I will likely reread at some point.

Spring Into Horror Wrapup

Well, I didn't read any on Clockwork Princess like I planned and I didn't finish a book, but I am really close to finishing two. I read 220 pages in Jinx's Fire and 142 pages in This Side of Paradise, so not too bad. Thanks again to Michelle for hosting!

Dewey's Read-a-thon Finish Line

So I never truly made it back to the readathon after hour 10, but I did read a bit more on This Side of Paradise. I read about 50 pages in it and 138 pages in Jinx's Fire, so I am happy with that. I also completed one mini-challenge and visited a few blogs. Thanks to all the hosts, cheerleaders, and readers for a fun readathon!

End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? All after 10 ;)
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Harry Potter, Percy Jackson
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I love it!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I liked having a cheerleader, this was a first for me.
5. How many books did you read? I read parts of two books and listened to part of an audio.
6. What were the names of the books you read? This Side of Paradise, Jinx's Fire, and HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban on audio
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Jinx's Fire
8. Which did you enjoy least? I liked them all this time.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I am definitely going to try to participate and it will depend on my work schedule how I participate. I like being a reader, but I think being a cheerleader or hosting a minichallenge would be fun!

Dewey Hours 5-10

Errands and chores dominated these hours! I did finish three more chapters in Jinx's Fire and I hope to read a bit more in it by the 10th hour. I have friends coming over around hour 12 and they will be here for awhile. I am happy to have been able to read as much as I have so far and I have found some fabulous new blogs!

I have finished 4 more chapters in Jinx's Fire. However I will not be reading for the next few hours. Hopefully I can get back to reading after going out to dinner with friends.

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 2-4

I read almost the whole first hour and finished two chapters of Jinx's Fire and 10 pages of This Side of Paradise. Took a breakfast break during the second hour and had delicious biscuits and sausage gravy, which actually helped to settle my stomach. It is amazing what comfort food can do! I hope to get back into the swing of things during the third hour. Hope everything is going well for you all! I have now finished 20 more pages in This Side of Paradise.

Classic Words of Wisdom Challenge hosted by A Literary Odyssey

“Once a King in Narnia, always a King in Narnia. But don't go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don't try to get there at all. It'll happen when you're not looking for it. And don't talk too much about it even among yourselves. And don't mention it to anyone else unless you find that they've had adventures of the same sort themselves. What's that? How will you know? Oh, you'll know all right. Odd things, they say-even their looks-will let the secret out. Keep your eyes open. Bless me, what do they teach them at these schools." The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I have always liked the last line in particular and used it as an excuse to learn anything and everything outside of school. When school was particularly dull, I thought about what I could learn outside of the walls and read everything I could get my hands on. I always liked the idea of being able to come back to a story, once a king or queen in a story, you always have that story to come back to and relive.

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hour 1 and Opening Meme

I am going to try to read in bed for a bit, which means I may fall back asleep.

My reading stack:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread)
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Jinx's Fire by Sage Blackwood
Death at Pemberley by PD James
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Pet and the Pendulum by Gordon McAlpine
The Wizard's Statue by Debra Doyle and James McDonald



Opening Meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Indiana
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably Jinx's Fire, since I need to finish it today.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Right now my stomach is still hurting, but once I feel better, probably leftover Easter candy
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am a librarian and this is my first year as our library's director, which is a scary, stressful job, but at least I still get to order the books! I love to read, of course, and read a wide variety of books, mainly though I read YA.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? This is my third Dewey's and I think this time I will let myself wander off list, if I start getting tired.

Spring Into Horror Readathon signup

This is hosted by Michelle at @ The True Book Addict and Castle Macabre and you can sign up at this link. So I forgot to signup until the actual start day, even though I thought out it about a week ago. You can read what you want, but at least one book needs to be "scary," which for me usually means a paranormal book, which means Clockwork Princess for this reading list.

My reading list:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread)
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Jinx's Fire by Sage Blackwood
Death at Pemberley by PD James
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hopefully I can finish a book this week!