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Enchantée vs. Splinters of Scarlet: Which Historical Fantasy is Right for You?

haleylynnthomas22

Oct 17, 2020
4 min

Enchantée vs. Splinters of Scarlet: Which Historical Fantasy is Right for You?

WHAT ARE ENCHANTÉE AND SPLINTERS OF SCARLET? Enchnatée by Gita Trelease and Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy are two YA historical fantasy novels that share several similarities. Enchantée follows Camille who uses magic to disguise herself as a baroness and gambles in Versailles. Splinters of Scarlet follows Marit who becomes a seamstress for a wealthy family she believes may be responsible for her father's death. Both novels feature orphaned girls who are elder sist

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I Read Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer for the 2000's Nostalgia (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Oct 3, 2020
4 min

I Read Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer for the 2000's Nostalgia (a review)

WHAT IS MIDNIGHT SUN?/A SHORT HISTORY If you weren't a teenage girl (or her mom) during the height of Twilight's fame then you may be unaware. Twilight is a YA paranormal/fantasy romance novel written by Stephenie Meyer. It depicts the love story between a mortal girl (Bella Swan) and an immortal vampire (Edward Cullen). Twilight is the first in a series of four books known collectively as the Twilight Saga. Twilight is told from Bella's perspective. Midnight Sun is the same

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haleylynnthomas22

Aug 29, 2020
3 min

Beauty & The Beast Book Tag

This is a tag I've wanted to do for some time as I love fairy tales and Belle is a huge book lover like myself. The creator of this tag is Kirsty and the Cat Read. You can find her blog linked at the bottom of this post. 1. Tale As Old As Time– A popular theme, trope or setting you will never get bored of reading. Setting: I love own voices fantasies (fantasy stories set in worlds inspired by the author's own cultural background). I think it's such a fun way to explore a cult

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Reading My Favorite Author's Favorite Book: Charlotte's Web

haleylynnthomas22

Aug 15, 2020
3 min

Reading My Favorite Author's Favorite Book: Charlotte's Web

Introduction: James Howe's book Bunnicula is a children's paranormal mystery about a vampire rabbit told from the perspective of the family dog. It's the novel that first sparked my creative writing itch when I was very young. Due to this, I often refer to James Howe as my favorite author. He is, without a doubt, the person outside of people I know personally who has had the greatest influence on my life. I thought it would be a fun experiment to read my favorite author's fav

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haleylynnthomas22

Aug 1, 2020
5 min

June-July Reading Wrap-Up and Stats

Monthly Stats (YTD) Books Read (completed): 16 (72) Total Pages Read: 5,933 (25,407) Average Rating: 3.80 (4.03) Average # of Pages per Book: 370.1 (352.9) New Reads 1. Beach Read by Emily Henry (361 pages) (5 stars) This adult romance follows author January who is suffering from writer's block after her father's death and the revelation of his affair. Spending the summer in his beach house, she reconnects with her college rival. The two make a bet to write in each other's ge

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haleylynnthomas22

May 22, 2020
1 min

Seeking a Literary Agent Diaries - Chapter One

+There will be no blog next weekend (May 30/June 1). The next blog will be June 6th. #literaryagent #writing #bookblogger #vlog #bookreviews

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Recommending Reads: Based on Your Hogwarts House

haleylynnthomas22

May 9, 2020
4 min

Recommending Reads: Based on Your Hogwarts House

I placed book characters into Hogwarts houses! For each of the four houses I chose two characters/books that, based on your house and personality traits, I believe you're likely to enjoy. I hope you enjoy my suggestions. This blog took me over a month and a half to curate, but was so much fun to do. I definitely intend to do another one of these at some point in the future! Slytherin Traits: Slytherins are known to be resourceful, cunning, determined and ambitious. Characte

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4 Books to Read During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (Bonus Blog)

haleylynnthomas22

May 6, 2020
2 min

4 Books to Read During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (Bonus Blog)

1. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan This YA magical realism novel follows 15 year old Leigh who is convinced that her late mother has turned into a bird. Following what she believes to be her mother's instructions for her to connect with her estranged grandparents, she travels to Taiwan to meet them. This novel is full of Taiwanese culture and is beautifully written. It is one of my all time favorite books. There is a trigger warning for mental health/suicide

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A Nostalgic Look Back at: The Bunnicula Books by James Howe (50th Blog)

haleylynnthomas22

May 2, 2020
5 min

A Nostalgic Look Back at: The Bunnicula Books by James Howe (50th Blog)

The Bunnicula books are favorites from my childhood. Bunnicula is actually the book that inspired me to be a writer. I have more nostalgia from some books in the series than others, but for my 50th blog here on Haley's Book Haven, I decided to reread all 7 books in the series (spin-off books not included) and review them. Genre: Children's Paranormal Mysteries Series Length: 895 pages Series Rating: 4.07 stars 1. Bunnicula (co-authored by Deborah Howe) Length: 98 pages Rating

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haleylynnthomas22

Apr 24, 2020
4 min

March Reading Wrap-Up

Monthly Stats (YTD) Books Read (completed): 13 (28) Total Pages Read: 4,379 (10,140) Average Rating: 4.48 (4.34) Average # of Pages per Book: 336.85 (362.14) New Reads: 1. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (442 pages) (5 stars) The sequel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. It follows Felicity and two new characters; her estranged childhood friend Johanna Hoffman and new acquaintance Sim, a pirate. This novel is perfect for someone who loves books with a sens

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A Review of: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2)

haleylynnthomas22

Mar 14, 2020
2 min

A Review of: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2)

Genre: YA Historical Fiction Length: 442 pages Rating: 5 stars Plot: This novel is a sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and follows one of the main trio from the first novel, Felicity Montague. The novel is about Felicity’s attempts to find work as a female in the medical field, reuniting with an estranged friend from childhood, and discovering an unknown species of sea dragon. Characters: The novel has a huge focus on sisterhood/female friendships. The three

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A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 29, 2020
1 min

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy (a review)

Genre: YA fantasy Length: 351 pages Plot: In the queendom of Myre there live two sister princesses. Eva and Isa must, upon their seventeenth nameday, fight to the death. Whichever princess remains will be the next queen. In order to survive, Eva must learn to use her rare magick of blood and marrow. Characters: I loved the main protagonist, Eva, who was very compassionate and committed to social justice. She wanted the throne not for her own vanity but for the good she could

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We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 7, 2020
2 min

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (a review)

Genre: YA fantasy Length: 369 pages Plot: The novel follows the story of a continent that once was rich in magic but has since lost it and now is in danger of being devoured by a dark, encroaching forest. Two people, Zafira the huntress and Nasir the crown prince/assassin, set out on an adventure to the cursed island of Sharr to restore magic to the land. Characters: There are quite a few characters and for the most parts my thoughts on them ranged from indifferent to liking

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haleylynnthomas22

Jan 31, 2020
3 min

January Reading Wrap-Up

This month was a pretty good reading month for me in terms of number of books/pages read. I'm pleased to have gotten off to a good start in the new decade! Below I've listed the books I read in order of my level of enjoyment. For any I already have thoughts/reviews on either here on the blog or goodreads will have a link you can copy and paste to find my full thoughts. Monthly Stats: Books Read: 7 (6 new, 1 reread) Total Pages Read: 2,675 Average Rating: 3.96/5 stars (approx

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Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Jan 9, 2020
4 min

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan (a review)

GENRE: YA Fantasy LENGTH: 397 pages PLOT Set immediately following the events of Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei, Wren and their companions travel across Ikhara in search of allies in the coming war against the Demon King. CHARACTERS There are quite a few new characters introduced within this novel. There are, of course, Lei and Wren, but there is also Shifu Caen and Hiro, Merrin, and Bo and Nitta, among others. Shifu Caen was Wren's mentor growing up (and is now Lei's). He's th

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haleylynnthomas22

Feb 28, 2019
3 min

February Reading Wrap-Up

It’s the last day of February, which means it’s time for brief overviews of the books I read this month and to let you know if I’d recommend them to you! 1. The Similars by Rebecca Hanover (January 31st-February 1st): A young adult science fiction novel about six clones attending an elite boarding school, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. Unfortunately, I found the characters difficult to connect with and the plot extremely predictable. I rated it 7/10 and wo

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