The Weekly Update: 2/5/17

 
 

Ugh, why has it been so cold?! My tiny little space heater cannot keep up! Also, the only warm shoes I have are boots, and I can’t wear those with sweatpants because that looks weird. It’s a real problem lol.

Anyway, I had some fun and educational dreams last week! It was a nice change from the usual weird ones. In one of them I got to dance! The person I was dancing with in the dream was kind of teaching me as we danced, which is ironic considering the whole thing took place in my head where I can’t learn anything I don’t already know. But I was in some shows in high school, and there was one year when we had a lot of dancers in the show and almost every practice and gathering we had turned into a Latin dance party, haha, so I guess some of that came back to me in my dream. In another dream, a baseball player was teaching me, but apparently I can’t even hit a ball with a bat in my dreams lol. None of my show practices ever turned into baseball games, so I guess that makes sense. Although, actually, my girl scout meetings in middle school often did. Well, not actual games, just throwing and swinging and hitting. But I did manage to hit the ball sometimes back then, so psh, what was wrong with dream me?

While we’re on the topic though, do you ever actually learn things in your dreams? I feel like sometimes I do wake up like, “I didn’t even know I knew that…” or my brain will make up something or some sort of explanation, and I’ll wake up and be like, “Damn, brain, how you so creative? Why can’t you be like that when I’m awake??” I swear my brain has made up songs before in dreams even. Brains are so incredible.

Also, I’m buying a new bed, but I have an issue because the width of a queen isn’t necessary, but I’d like a longer length since my feet reach the bottom of twin/fulls when you include the space for the pillow and the way your feet kinda point when you sleep. Except I’m not going to have much space for furniture :-/ Thoughts?


Blog/Bookish Updates:

First of all, it appears my comment replies are going to spam again. I have no idea how often this is happening, but it’s really frustrating because my blog is not spammy -_-

Second, I won this prize pack from A.G. Howard from a giveaway at Paper Fury:

Roseblood Prize Pack

Third, I need input. I tend to be very broad with my definition of urban fantasy. I consider most books that have fantasy/paranormal/magic aspects and are set in our world to be urban fantasy. But it seems like a lot of people have a more specific definition, or maybe its definition has been shifting with this particular running-through-cities-and-killing-supernaturals thing that seems to be exploding lately, and I don’t want to accidentally mislead people by categorizing a book as urban. So anyway, I’ve changed urban fantasy on my blog to paranormal/urban fantasy. Does that better fit what I described?

I’ve also completely removed the magical realism genre because I have no clue what that is. I thought it was one thing, then I saw an explanation that it was something else, then I looked it up and found completely different definitions… I’m starting to think no one actually knows what it is lol.

Books I Received for Review:

Ensnared by Rita Stradling | reading, books
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
 

I got Ensnared from Lola’s Blog Tours, and yay, finally a book that seems like it’s going to be an actual retelling, not just something vaguely inspired by another story! Peter Darling was from NG and it was awesome, so go request it.

Books I Finished:

Scardust by Xan van Rooyen | reading, books
Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith | reading, books
Foamers by Justin Kassab | reading, books
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
 

Apparently it was sci-fi week for me since 3 of the 4 books I read were sci-fi. Scardust was a good book, but it wasn’t what I was expecting, so it just wasn’t right for my mood. Hell Divers (which I read thanks to Daniela’s awesome review) had incredible post-apocalyptic world building and was intense and amazingly well-written. I wanted to love Foamers because of the disability aspect, but there were quite a few logic flaws and coincidental things and flat characters :-/ But I loved Peter Darling! A trans Peter Pan and a Peter/Hook romance! It was short but super sweet and still satisfying.

Song of the Week:

“Wings” by Hurts – This song is absolutely beautiful. It will give you all the feels. Trust me. I found it on the author’s Pinterest board for Scardust.

 

In Case You Missed It:

– I reviewed Unfolding by Jonathan Friesen, a paranormal YA with disability and amazing characterization/voice.
– I discussed how POV affects the way we “see” stories in our minds.
– I reviewed Rogue Magic by Kit Brisby, a realistic look into what might happen if we had magic in our modern world, plus some m/m romance in the background.
– I reviewed Blackwell by Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor, a book with a villainous protag that unfortunately fell flat for me.

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer 🙂

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Did you find any good books or music last week?
Have you had any good dreams lately? Or have you ever learned from your dreams?
Do you think "paranormal/urban fantasy" suits my broad definition?

 
 
[shared_counts]
 
 
 

Your Thoughts

 

56 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 2/5/17

I'd love if you'd share your thoughts, too!

 

Leave a Reply to roro Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 
  1. Dragonfly

    O
    M
    G

    Y
    O
    U

    R
    E
    A
    D

    H
    E
    L
    L

    D
    I
    V
    E
    R
    S
    !
    I was going to leave a comment yet because I got the flu and I’m miserable right now ? BUT I had to say that! ?
    I’ll be back in s few hours with “omg you are TALL” “I love your giveaway prize” “my brain never does anything brilliant when I dream” “the line between paranormal and uf is very thin” and other comments I want to make because I love your post today
    But
    Before I go…, O.M.G you read Hell Divers ?
    See? I also know how to latin dance ?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I forgot to mention in my post that it was your review that made me read it, I’ll have to go back and add that. But I’m so disappointed for that reason that I asked you about! Now I know why you didn’t answer lol. I’m still crossing my fingers it’ll turn out different than it seemed.

      I’m only 5’5″ actually but it’s just when you add the stuff I mentioned, my toes either hit the footboard or hang off which makes the blanket pull or hang off the edge and let cold air in and it’s annoying.

      Lol your comment is great how it is. I’m sorry you don’t feel well 🙁 Get better soon!!!

      1. Drangonfly

        oh I was gonna say not to worry to add my name but I see you did it already 🙂 I hope… no let me rephrase… THEY BETTER GO BACK AND GET MY BELOVED X. Or else!!! I guess we’ll have to wait until the summer to find out. Only 5’5″?? lol that’s 4″ more than me 🙂

  2. Greg

    Those are some interesting dreams! I don’t know if I’ve ever learned anything from dreams, other than how weird they can be lol. I mean the way things from the past or whatever are all twisted around and sometimes just ridiculous- they can be so goofy and unrealistic! I just shake my head sometimes…

    I think your UF definition is pretty accurate. I kinda fall back on the old if-it’s-primarily-about-fantasy it’s UF and if the focus is on the romance it’s PNR, but I’m no expert on either! But yeah… Everyone might have their own ideas though.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol dreams are so interesting sometimes, and it’s crazy how our mind comes up with them on its own.

      I still have subgenre for paranormal romance since yeah, that’s something different since it focuses on the romance. I just wanted to make my urban fantasy subgenre more clear since i don’t just use it for books set in cities or with monster killing. Genres really need some better standardized definitions!

  3. Christy LoveOfBooks

    Haha! Yes, brains are incredible. 🙂 You can buy longer mattresses in twin and full. I’m 5’ll and have a California Queen, but my son is 6’3″ and has a full XL. His feet hang over regular beds. And yay for all the sci-fi! I’ll have to read Hell Drivers for sure.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I just looked that up tonight, but then isn’t the selection for bed frames and mattresses and even sheets super limited since its not a common size? But seriously, how does your son fit in ANY bed??? I never even thought about super tall people and beds.

      1. Christy LoveOfBooks

        lol. Yeah, just think of those 6’7″ dudes trying to fit in a regular bed. But yeah, you’ll have a lot more selection with twin xl, than full xl. We got the frame when we got the mattress from the store. And he likes solid color sheets, so they’re easy to get from a lot of places. But I’ve seen lots of cute sets in twin xl. I think longer beds are becoming more in demand, so they’re making then more.

        Btw, I meant California KING, not Queen.

        1. Kristen Burns

          Seriously, that must suck! The full xl is tempting, but I really want a specific look to the bed frame, and I’ll never be able to find that in a full xl.

  4. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    I love how my brain works when I sleep! I have a notebook next to my bed just for that, as I will often dream of some great sentences with definitions or something I have tried to formulate about my thesis. And I’ll wake up with two or three amazing sentences ready to go. And I know I have to write them down, or I’ll have forgotten them in the morning… So yeah, dreaming and how my brain continues to work is amazing!
    Are twin beds shorter than queen beds in the US?? Have you tried IKEA? they have the same length for all the different sizes, I think. And their mattresses are SO comfy!
    Your new books look great, I hope you’ll enjoy them all.
    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      When I was in school, I would do my studying before going to sleep since your brain does keep going over information and consolidating (is that the right word?) it as you sleep. It’s so awesome how it does that!

      Yes, twins and fulls are shorter than queens here :-/ I’m just afraid my selection for everything will be too limited if I go with an uncommon size.

      Thanks! Same to you!

  5. chucklesthescot

    The definition of urban fantasy for me is what Wiki says-“Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Urban fantasy exists on one side of a spectrum, opposite high fantasy, which is set in an entirely fictitious world. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements.” That’s pretty much what your definition is as well. Maybe others have a tighter definition based on what kind of UF they like. Me, my favourite UF is ass kicking male or female MCs, with amusing sidekicks or animal companions, battling evil and monsters in a modern day world.

    I definitely want to read Hell Divers soon!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well see, that’s the thing. There’s high fantasy and there’s urban fantasy. But there’s no rural fantasy or small town fantasy or wilderness fantasy. So I classify things as urban fantasy even if they’re not set in a city, even if they’re not set in the present time (though I also use a subgenre of historical fantasy if they’re set in the past, even though I have no clue if that’s a real subgenre), even if they don’t have supernatural creatures (depending, like if there’s no creatures but there’s still magic). And I’ve seen other sites define UF in the same broad way I do. But what you described as your favorite is what I feel like a lot of people’s definition is. But to me, that’s like one type of UF. They should give that type a more specific name.

      Hell Divers was so good! I feel like you’ll like it.

  6. sjhigbee

    Those are some interesting dreams – something must be going on in your life that is dredging this stuff up. I may not learn things in my dreams, but they surely help with my writing as I regularly wake up knowing a sub-plot or character development that I couldn’t figure before. Or a teaching strategy to help my students.
    As for magic realism – I agree it’s a plastic label that generally is put on the more literary efforts to distance it from more commercial fantasy. And I sympathise with your quandary regarding the UF term – I tend to add paranormal adventure when I tag something that isn’t straightforward running-through-a-city-chasing-magical-monsters these days.

    Have a great week Kristen – I love the look of those sci fi books:). My Sunday Post – https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2017/02/05/sunday-post-5th-february-2017/

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve never put too much stock into dream meanings. My dreams are usually just ridiculously weird. That’s awesome that your mind thinks of story and teaching stuff while you sleep though!

      Yes, I read something about that, how it’s used to distinguish it from escapism fiction. But that was what really made me confused because, in that case, I don’t think anything I’ve read is magical realism? No clue. Yeah, that’s why I figured adding paranormal to the urban fantasy genre would help broaden it up lol.

      Thanks, you have a great week too!

  7. Karen Blue

    I try to remember my dreams as soon as I wake up and look up the meaning in a dream dictionary app on my phone. Most of my dreams symbolism fits what is going on in my life. I don’t think I have ever been surprised by what I know or learn in a dream. I do have frustrating dreams of fighting/beating things up, when I know that is never going to be me irl. That’s just me venting my frustration at life. Lol.
    Anyways, I am 5″8″ and found that a twin is enough when I am alone. I always smush my pillow into the headboard, so that may be why. We current have a king sized bed and we sleep on either end far away from each other, so it’s kinda silly. I hope you figure something out. Maybe a daybed would work for you, since you can sit on it like a couch too?

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve always felt like most of my dreams didn’t have meaning because they’re usually just so random and weird. But that’s cool that yours usually do fit with the symbolism!

      That might be what I’ll end up doing, just smushing the pillow into the headboard. I like to have a separate couch though, and I already have a couch (even though it’s old and kind of terrible lol), so I’ll just make the space for that.

  8. Michelle

    I have Hell Divers and Might now have to read it. I wasn’t sure about it but you have me curious! I got it at BEA last year.
    I saw Peter Darling on Netgalley but am really trying to avoid getting anything but maybe…maybe 🙂

    I hope you are able to find a bed. My house is very small and with four of us we have a queen and it takes up a lot of room but also fits. My husband, the dog and myself, sometimes the cat too. So it worked for us however we have a full at my parents shore house and I am short and my feet hang off the end 🙂

    Have a great week, Kristen! Happy Reading

    1. Kristen Burns

      If you have Hell Divers then you definitely need to read it! I take that back, don’t read it, just send it to me, I’ll take that pesky thing off your hands 😉 I loved Peter Darling! I’m still not sure your taste though, so I can’t really say whether you should request it or not… It was M/M but not explicit and was short but sweet.

      Thanks. I’m still trying to decide. I’m realizing it may not really make much difference what size since hardly anything will fit in the room either way.

      Thanks, you too!

  9. roro

    Dreams and minds are fasinating. I was an alien guidance counseler on a mothership. Kinda like men in black.

    Yes magical realism is very fague. I define magical realism where magic spontanously happens. A lot of magical realism started in latin america. Some examples are like water for chocolate by laura esquivel. Tita embuess her recipes w emotions that affect the eater postively or negatively. An other example is Ava in the strange and beautiful sorrows of ava lavender by leslye walton was born with wings.

    Magic in urban fantasy has stricter rules. Magical creatures live among humans be it in secret or in the open but in a urban setting or a city. Certain dark things by silvia moreno garcia for example has vampire gangs in ciudad méxo or mexico city. An other example is the dresden files by jim butcher. And dark days by jocelynn drake.

    Rural fantasy is a close subgenre to urban fantasy but in a rural setting. Stookie stackhouse is rural. I know it seems confusing because i feel like a lot of genre fiction is mash of multiple elements.

    Stookie stackhouse is paranormal and rural fantasy. Dark days is urban fantasy w paramormal romance elements. It’s more paranormal when the romance is more in the forefront

    1. Kristen Burns

      An alien guidance counselor?! That sounds awesome, haha.

      Water for Chocolate sounds a lot like Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet. But anyway, I’ve seen some definitions that it’s when there’s something magical or paranormal but it’s accepted as a normal part of the world. I’ve seen other definitions that it’s used for books that are fantasy but literary type books rather than typical escapism fantasy… so idk. I don’t feel qualified to use that genre lol.

      Rural fantasy is a thing??? See, I consider that part of urban fantasy. Or at least part of my new “paranormal/urban fantasy” genre. Amazon has a “paranormal/urban” genre, so that’s basically what I’m going with. I guess rural fantasy just isn’t common enough and I wouldn’t even be sure what qualifies. Like, Unfolding, a book I recently reviewed, was set in a small town and one character was prophetic and there were some paranormal elements. Not set in a city, no supernatural creatures, not focused on romance, so it seems like “paranormal” is the best fit. I still have a separate genre for paranormal romance though since, yeah, that’s when a book is focused on the romance.

  10. Lampshade Reader

    I’ve had dreams where I’ve learned different languages, even some I’ve never even heard of. But yet, I spoke and understood it in my dreams. I’ve also “written” stories in my dreams that have sounded so good, but of course I never remember any of it when I wake up. It’s so frustrating LOL! So I know how you feel.

    Sorry, I have no opinion on beds. I don’t know if they make anything longer than a twin, that’s not a queen. Maybe this might help? http://www.beddingexperts.com/mattress-sizes-chart/ I don’t know how big of a space you have.

    Hope you have a great week! ~Aleen

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s awesome about the languages! And yeah, I’ve literally narrated stories in my dreams, as though I was writing, but of course I can’t remember when I wake.

      Thanks for the link!

      Thanks, same to you 🙂

  11. Samantha

    I have struggled with so many genre definitions! I never really understood what urban fantasy was or how it was different from paranormal. And I had no idea magical realism was a thing. Isn’t that kind of an oxymoron? I suck at categorizing books.
    Enjoy your new books!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Seriously, genres need better standardization! And I agree, to me urban and paranormal are basically the same. I mean, even on Amazon they just have a subgenre of “paranormal/urban.” And don’t worry, the magical realism genre is even more confusing so you’re better off just not using that term, haha. Thanks!

  12. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I can’t say I’ve ever learnt anything in my dreams, but then I always struggle to remember my dreams apart from when I first wake up so maybe I have? I do think it’s crazy how creative our brains can be, they can dredge up the most random stuff they you can’t even remember about. I guess our brain makes connections than we realise and that’s why you dreamt about stuff you can’t even remember learning?

    And I really struggle with book definitions in general, I prefer broader genre terms. I don’t fully know the difference between urban fantasy and paranormal and magical realism is a whole other thing. In my mind it’s magic set in the real world, so when a book is set in the real world, just with magic but I don’t actually know what the definition is. Books should just come with their genre printed on them as defined by the author and publisher. That would be really great.

    Oh yeah and new bed thoughts. I say screw having space for furniture, sleep is important and you want to be comfortable. I may not be able to fully reach the bottom shelf because of my bed being in the way but I don’t regret getting a bigger bed purely for comfort reasons. I sleep so much better now I can fully starfish on the bed.

    1. Kristen Burns

      You’re better off not remembering your dreams. I remember way too many at this point, and it’s exhausting. I don’t even bother writing them down anymore because that only encourages my brain. But it is cool how our brains can do this stuff.

      Yeah, genres need better standardization of definitions. Exactly, to me urban and paranormal are pretty much the same, hence my combining them on my blog lol. But no, books should totally not come with the genre printed on because I’ve seen authors and publishers completely miss the mark on genre. For example, I read one book that was very clearly high fantasy (set in another world), yet they labeled it urban fantasy. I’ve also seen books labeled LGBT that didn’t have any LGBT main characters. So I don’t particularly trust author/publisher classifications.

      That’s a good point actually. I was leaning toward a full and now you’re making me waver back toward queen lol.

  13. Maureen Beatrice

    I love that you have those dreams. I barely ever dream.. or at least I don’t remember. When I do remember it’s mostly not a very nice dream.
    I used to get your comment replies in my spam box. But lately they’ve just been appearing in my inbox. 😉
    Peter Darling sounds great. I’m definitely checking out NG.
    Have a great week and happy reading!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Remembering so many dreams is actually just exhausting.

      Oh, well, yay! Maybe once people mark it as not spam enough times it just keeps going to the inbox how it should.

      Peter Darling was great! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts if you end up reading it. Thanks, you have a great week too 🙂

  14. S. J. Pajonas

    I say go with a queen bed even if you don’t have room for it because a bed will last you about 10 years or more and I believe that eventually you’ll have lots of room for it. It’s a long term investment. 🙂

  15. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    I tend to think of urban fantasy as fantasy that takes place in our modern world. It’s broad, yes, but a lot of genres are. And magical realism confuses me a bit but I tend to think of it as magic that occurs in an otherwise normal world and everyone accepts it. Something like that.

    I just requested Peter Darling and I’m so excited that you enjoyed it. It sounds really cute!

    -Lauren

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly, that’s how I think of urban fantasy too. And I’ve seen that as one definition of magical realism, but then I’ve also seen that a book can’t be magical realism unless it’s literary rather than escapism, and idk. That just confuses me.

      Yay! It was so good, I can’t wait to see your thoughts 😀

  16. Lola

    It’s been very mild weather here this week. i even opened the windows a few times this week. Educational dreams, that’s new. It does sound kinda interesting how you sorta remembered those things by dreaming about them. Hmm not sure if I ever learned something new in my dreams. I do have these story like dreams sometimes where right before I wake up I am sure this would make for a great story, but once I wake up half of it doesn’t make sense at all. But most of the time I just have these weird dreams that don’t make sense. I sometimes meet online people in real life in my dreams, which is interesting. And I have a lot of scary and creepy dreams as well.

    I’ll remember to check my spam again this week. And yay for winning that giveaway! I always thought of urban fantasy as books that have paranormal/ fantasy elements in them and take place in our modern world as broadest description. And often they have some daily life and paranormal aspects intermingled. They usually involve paranormal creatures and if they have romance it’s often a sub plot. I often would go with paranormal or fantasy if it doesn’t take place in our world. Or paranormal romance if the focus is on the romance, instead of the daily life/ action etc. But genre categorization is at best difficult and at worst everyone has a slightly different meaning for each genre.

    Magical realism is one of those genres that’s very hard to define, I can remember a few books that I would consider magical realism/ were named that way by the author, but not a lot. Usually they aren’t quite paranormal, but sorta hint to it? I read a series where inanimate objects had souls and could talk that was categorized as magical realism. And a series where it seemed there were druids, but it also could be explained in a non magical way and the reader never knows which of the two it is.

    I am very curious to hear what you think of Ensnared, I was almost tempted to get a copy myself, but not sure if I will enjoy it or not as Beauty and the Beast isn’t my favorite retelling, but the sci-fi/ near future part of it does sound good. Looks like you had a good reading week and I just read Danielle her review for Hells Divers earlier this week. I am looking forward to read your review for it. I hope you’ll have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Sounds like you’ve had nice weather! Everywhere else it seems the weather is all over the place. Lol, yeah, it was definitely interesting learning how to dance in a dream. How weird that you meet online people in your dreams!

      Exactly, that’s how I think of UF too. Except, if it doesn’t take place in our world, I go with high fantasy, not paranormal. And if romance is the focus, then I go with paranormal romance. But I’ve been considering just adding plain “romance” or something to any book that features romance as the focus since that might be easier.

      See, I’ve seen one definition that magical realism is when there’s something magic or paranormal in the world but it’s just accepted as part of the world that’s otherwise normal. But then I’ve seen another definition that it’s only magical realism if it’s more literary and serious, not typical escapism fantasy. So idk.

      I’ve never read a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so I’m looking forward to it 🙂 You have a great week too!

  17. Lauren @ Always Me

    I hardly every remember my dreams, but if I every do they are very strange – usually they are recurring dreams, too.

    Congrats on winning that RoseBlood prize pack! I’m reading the book right now and I’m enjoying it!

    Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      My dreams are usually super weird, though I don’t have recurring ones.

      Thanks! I didn’t actually win the book though, so I still haven’t read it, haha. Glad you’re enjoying it!

  18. Wattle

    You need some uggs! Or fake uggs…when I was in the USA the first time I spent winter there, I brought my ugg boots with me, but we don’t wear them outside (because they are slippers, damnit) so I bought some fake ones, wore those outside and felt like a heathen, but I was (mostly) warm lol

    Dreams are so weird, I’ve only hallucinated spiders recently in my dreams (happens every summer), I sometimes am not quite awake but not quite asleep and end up in the hallway trying to escape said spiders :/

    There’s so many subgenres, I don’t know what is what these days. To me urban and paranormal are sort of the same thing, but I’m probably wrong (I just lump them together under paranormal to be honest!)

    Good luck finding a new bed! I find it so difficult to choose big things like that, beds seem very important and a Big Decision lol I am weird, yes.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah definitely can’t afford real Uggs lol. Actually I love the boots I have, they just aren’t the kind that look good with sweatpants.

      My dreams are usually super weird. Ugh, that sounds awful. I’ve had some bad dreams involving bugs but have never gotten up to escape them.

      Exactly, to me urban and paranormal are basically the same, so now I’m just putting both words in the genre tag, haha.

      I’m so indecisive as it is, and I don’t want to have to buy a new bed again soon, so it really is a big decision!

  19. Bookworm Brandee

    Why can’t you wear books with sweats? I see no problem! lol I wear birkenstocks with everything so maybe I’m not the best to give fashion/shoe advice. 😀 As for a new bed…well, I sleep curled into a ball so I don’t have this problem of my feet reaching the end of any bed. (it must be said that since I’m 5′ 1″ I wouldn’t have this problem anyway) Good luck with your bed search though. Oh, they do make long twin beds though…they must because they make extra-long twin sheets, so….
    I want to read Hell Divers because of Daniela’s review too. lol Glad you enjoyed it! And Peter Darling too. I’m not going to request it because I don’t want to add anything to my NG list until I read a few more from my backlog but I’ll add it to my (your) list. 🙂
    Wings *is* a great song!!! Thanks for sharing it. And have a great week, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I feel like the only boots that look ok with sweats are Uggs. My boots are great, but not with sweats lol. Haha, unluckily for me, I don’t sleep in a ball. I pretty much always have at least one leg stretched out.

      Thanks! It was a really intense kinda book. But Peter Darling was so cute!

      I’m glad you like the song too! I’m surprised more people aren’t loving it because I think it’s amazing! Same to you 🙂

  20. Literary Feline

    I think definitions of genres and sub-genres can be a bit murky at times, everyone with their own opinions. I probably overuse the label urban fantasy too.

    Good luck with the bed buying! We have a king size now (not a Cal King), but had a queen sized bed for a number of years and a full size bed before that. The king is way too big, if you ask me, but given how often my daughter ends up in my bed, I guess it’s worth it.

    I’ve always been fascinated by dreams, and enjoy “analyzing” them from time to time, especially the ones that repeat themselves frequently. The brain is such an amazing organ, isn’t it? The entire body is amazing, really.

    Off to read the discussion about “how POV affects the way we ‘see’ stories in our minds.” I hope you have a wonderful week, Kristen.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly, since there’s no standardization, everyone just has their own definition.

      Thanks! If I was sharing a bed I think I’d definitely want a king since I move and flop around a lot lol. I’m not good at sharing beds.

      Dreams are definitely fascinating but I’ve never put stock into analyzing mine since usually mine are just really weird and random. And I don’t have recurring dreams. The brain is super amazing though!

      Thanks, same to you!

  21. Amber Elise @ Du Livre

    Wahoo, congrats on winning the giveaway! The weather in Chicago has been really…weird. Yesterday was 30 degrees and today is 50…then we go back to the 20s. It’s not right!

    Magic realism is a genre that is a bigger miss than a hit with me. I’ll have to listen to Wings! I love listening to author playlists! <3

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Unfortunately I didn’t win the actual book, just the extra stuff lol. The weather has been super weird everywhere. It’s kind of alarming.

      From the definitions I’ve seen, I’m not even sure I’ve ever read anything that was magical realism, so idk. Wings is so great!

  22. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    Your educational dreams are interesting. I sometimes dream that I totally have a skill that I really don’t – but then I can’t actually remember the skill in the morning. Or I’ll dream something that I’ve dreamt before, but didn’t remember until I’m in the dream again… Dreams are so strange! I once kept a ‘dream diary’ for about a week and that was really interesting. 🙂

    Urban to me is anything set in a city… Fantasy is fantasy and for me paranormal is a sub genre of a fantasy…. I don’t know… Paranormal Urban Fantasy sounds good?

    What was your definition of magical realism?? Mine was pretty much magical aspects in the real word… So like a hidden organisation with telepathy or something… But I actually have no idea. 😉

    Anyways! I hope you’ve been having a good week! I’ve been so slack in visiting blogs this week – just so busy! But I hope to catch up with what’s been happening in your bookish world.

    P.S. – The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger are totally interrupting my Black Snow read… Also – it says on GR 350 pages but I really think that it’s a much longer book than that… What do you think?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol dreams really are weird. I kept a dream journal most of my life, but now I remember like a million dreams every night which is just exhausting and writing them down only encourages your brain to remember more, so I only write them down if they’re super interesting.

      To me, it doesn’t have to be in a city to be urban. Your definition of magical realism is my definition of urban fantasy lol. I’m not even sure what my definition of magical realism was. I based on a feeling, haha. I think it was kind of like a less intense or less supernatural form of UF for me? Like, if people had magic but it was a learned skill rather than something supernatural. Idk. I have no idea either lol.

      I never trust GR page numbers. I think according to Amazon it’s like 500-something. It definitely felt long.