My newest character sketch is now up in the Bonus Features section of my website!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Overview:
The Cruel Prince drew me in right away with a scene that was both exciting and emotionally powerful, and that set the pace for the entire book. The plot was good, but it was the character development and interaction that really carried the story through to its satisfying conclusion.

A lot of people start their author biography with how long they’ve been writing stories... but I have no idea what to mark as the beginning. I daydreamed through my childhood. I made up stories and drew pictures of my imagination. When I was about thirteen I plotted out an epic adventure and wrote the first hundred pages of it. That barely got me through the introductions. I read endlessly. In high school and college I studied the classics. I learned the theories behind literary criticism. And I kept reading. I read so much that I earned a literature degree without meaning to.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Overview:
First, a confession: With this story, I did something I rarely do. I saw the movie first. *gasp* Horror of horrors, I know. But I did, and I worried that that experience might ruin the book. If you're in a similar boat, rest assured that seeing the movie first will not ruin the book. While the main premise stays the same, there were enough differences that I had no idea what was going to happen page to page. Yes, I knew who was going to win in the end, but that's pretty much a given for most books. Suffice to say, the book still held plenty of surprises to keep me turning pages.

My latest character sketch is up online: Emma Yamada!
Remember, you can find all of my character sketches in the "Bonus Features" tab on my website.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Overview:

Aria and Perry's story picks up right where it left off at the end of book one (If you haven't read Under the Never Sky, you need to start there). They are both searching for the Still Blue, and a way to save their people from annihilation. The characters are engaging, and I love the world this series is set in. The only downside I found to this book was that it suffers somewhat from middle-book syndrome: it doesn't quite feel complete on its own. Rather, it is the necessary bridge between the beginning and end of a larger story.