Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The Virus of Beauty Series by C.B. Lyall

 


Today we welcome C.B. Lyall back to the blog with further installments of her Virus of Beauty series. Read about all of the books and get a peek inside. Then get to know the author better in a new interview. Be sure to download your own copies and then follow the tour for more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Monday, May 2, 2022

Thoughts on All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

 


Considered by many the greatest war novel of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front is Erich Maria Remarque’s masterpiece of the German experience during World War I.

I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. . . .

This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army during World War I. They become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches.

Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principle of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another . . . if only he can come out of the war alive.

“The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure.”—The New York Times Book Review


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**My thoughts**
This is one of those books that was required reading back when I was in high school that has held up for me well into adulthood. I've read it several times, though probably not in the past decade (until recently). As I approach middle age, I think it has an even more profound effect on me.

What drew me to this book in my teen years still holds true. You almost forget that this is told from the point of view of a German soldier - one of our enemies in the Great War (aka WWI). Instead it personifies almost any soldier - the chaos and destruction of battle, the importance of friendship, the fear and hunger of the unknown, the frustration of not really understanding what you are fighting for while someone else - in a safe place - is calling the shots.

The horrors of trench warfare are tastefully, yet explicitly described in such a way that you feel as if you are there, but still have the protection of not being there. Remarque, through Paul, waxes rather poetically about all of the trials and tribulations of being on the front and how it changes a man. I'm often moved by the sincere and intense emotions - and abrupt lack thereof. Paul becomes almost a friend. And though he is the enemy as a German soldier, my humanity roots for him and his friends to come out of it okay in the end

It's been over 100 years since World War I ended, of course, but I still think this is an important book to continue reading from a history perspective, but also a human perspective.

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Of Kingdoms and Crowns (Heir of Blood and Fire #4) by Cameo Renae Release Blitz

 


Title: Of Kingdoms and Crowns
Author: Cameo Renae
Genre: YA Dark Fantasy
Cover Designer: Jay Villalobos - Covers by Juan
Publication Date: April 30th, 2022
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR




From USA Today bestselling author Cameo Renae comes the highly-anticipated conclusion to her gripping Heir of Fire and Blood saga!

With the King of Morbeth dead, Roehl seizes control of the kingdom. Capturing the late king’s witches and head guards, Roehl sends a message to Calla and Nicolae.

Come to Morbeth within twenty days, or they will all be executed.

Calla refuses to allow those who served her great-grandfather to die because of her. Yet to face him in battle she needs allies who will stand with her despite knowing they are walking into Roehl’s deadly trap.

War is imminent. Lives will be lost.



As Calla rallies her allies together, can she trust her powers to find victory and end Roehl’s evil reign? Or will she be the next to fall?



 

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Cameo Renae, was born in San Francisco, raised in Maui, Hawaii, and now resides with her husband and children in Las Vegas.

She's a daydreamer, caffeine and peppermint addict, who loves to laugh, and loves to read to escape reality.
One of her greatest joys is creating fantasy worlds filled with adventure and romance and sharing it with others. It is the love of her family and amazing support of her fans that keeps her going.
One day she hopes to find her own magic wardrobe and ride away on her magical unicorn. Until then...she'll keep writing!

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