Finished: Small Things Like These (Keegan). I finished this short book while I waited for The Iron Flame to be available. I'd heard so much about it, and it truly didn't disappoint. Keegan writes beautiful prose that takes you right to what the character is thinking or seeing or feeling. I don't have the wherewithal right now to write my own update, but I did really appreciate this book! Here is the Amazon blurb:  

"It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. 

Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers."

 

 Finished: The Iron Flame (Yarros). I finished the sequel to The Fourth Wing yesterday and I'm still reeling a bit from the ending! I've come to love most of the characters, and their relationships to each other. Violet and Xaden, the designated heroine and hero of the story, of course are now a couple in love who will do anything to keep the other safe. Violet has honed her lightening-wielding signet, which she developed in the first book, after bonding with TWO dragons, Tairn and Andarna. Xaden is one of the very best dragon riders and warriors, and he also has one too many secrets from Violet. He's got a secret mission going and he won't tell her about it....mainly because there are dragon riders who have memory reading abilities and he's afraid they'll see what he's up to with the secret resistance that is rebuilding by reading Violet's memories. He's also terrified of what Violet will think of a few of his secrets. Working closely with her presumed dead brother, who is very much alive, and her warrior sister, Violet, Xaden, and both of their teams put their entire energy into trying to figure out how to put power in the "wards", the magical protective barriers that can be raised around cities, by figuring out how the original ones were created, and just what the dragons have to do with it. I love that Violet finally confided in her best friend, Rhi, and their other close friends, Ridoc and Sawyer, the only four left from their wing of the first-years. It also makes it nerve-wracking to read the various battles and dangerous situations when each one of them, or their dragons, could perish at any time. It's another page-turning, really good book, as we watch all these relationships develop, watch the three Sorrengail siblings rebond after six years, and witness Violet and Xaden falling deeper in love. Is there anything that can tear them apart? You betcha. :-( Here's hoping there really are three more books to come! 

 Finished: The Fourth Wing (Yarros) This is such a good book! From the minute that 20 year old Violet Sorrengail steps into the prestigious, yet cutthroat Basgiath War College, the odds are highly against her. She's trained for years to enter the scribe academy, like her father before her. However, she is forced instead to go to the dragon riding academy like her brother and sister before her. Violet is smart as a whip, but small, frail and easily injured all her young life. Her warrior older sister tries to talk the general out of forcing violet in this direction, but the general is cold-hearted and stands by her decision to send Violet for the toughest challenge of all...to survive the dragon riding academy AND to then have a dragon actually select her to be its rider. Yes, the dragons get to choose, and often times burn to a crisp those potential riders who are too weak or not worthy. It's a terrifying process! Added to Violet's troubles is the "wing leader" she is assigned under, Xaden Riorsan. Xaden is a third year student, and the strongest and most respected in the school. He also happens to be the young man who killed Violet's brother in war....and, whose own father was killed during that same war by Violet's mother. Oh, did I mention that Violet's mother IS the cold-hearted general and head of the Basgiath War College?? There is a clear target planted on Violet's back, not just from the looming threat of Xaden, but from the threats of every other son or daughter of the people who rose up against the kingdom to break free. Xaden and the rest of the children had to watch as their parents were executed, and then they had to pledge to serve the kingdom loyally as dragon riders...if they survived the grueling process. There are lots of twists and turns as we see exactly how tough and smart Violet is, where everyone's loyalties lie, and just who is there to actually protect Violet instead of trying to murder her. This was a very entertaining read and hard to put down!! Of course, it ends on a great cliffhanger, but the sequel is out this coming week!!! I can't wait to read it next. :-)