Sarah A. Parker Archives - A Literary Escape

Book Review: To Snap A Silver Stem by Sarah A. Parker

Published on March 6, 2023March 6, 2023 by Celeste6 Comments

Today’s review is for TO SNAP A SILVER STEM, the second book in Sarah A. Parker’s Crystal Bloom series. It began as a dark Rapunzel retelling. Now Auren, the main character, tries to reclaim her sense of self and identity. This is a series the fans of The Plated Prisoner will appreciate.

Author: Sarah A. Parker
Series: Crystal Bloom, #2
Age Category: New Adult/Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: August 8, 2022
Print Length: 572

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of To Snap A Silver Stem on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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2022 Top 10 Favorite Books

Published on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 by Celeste14 Comments

It’s that time of year in the book blogging world where many of us list our favorite books from the whole year. This is my second round up of this kind and it always serves as a nice way to look back at what I read. This year I read over 60 books, so I have a lot more from which to choose some favorites. I can’t rank them since I loved them each for different reasons. (Don’t make me, it’s too hard to choose!) So here’s a list of my top 10 favorite books of 2022 in no particular order. Actually, I lied. I listed them in ascending reading order (January to December).

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Get To Know the Fantasy Reader Book Tag

Published on August 11, 2022August 7, 2022 by Celeste7 Comments

The point of this book tag, as you could probably discern from its title, is to get to know a fantasy reader better. I first saw this tag on Aster Marie’s blog at Happy Bookish After. It looked like fun, and I hadn’t done a book tag in a while, so clearly I decided to participate! Bree Hill originally created this tag as the Get to Know the Romance Reader Tag, which appears to be a broken link now. However, The Book Pusher adapted it for fantasy readers. I pulled the questions from The Book Pusher’s YouTube listing.

Before I get started, I want to tag Caitlin @ Realms of My Mind, H.C. Newton @ The Irresponsible Reader, and Ellie @ Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. And even if I didn’t tag you, feel free to tag yourself! Onward to the questions!

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Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

Published on July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 by Celeste6 Comments

I’ve seen this tag floating around a ton on book Twitter and other bloggers’ sites, so I thought I’d join in the fun! The original tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books.

By the end of June I’d read 34 books. I set my goal for 52 this year, so it looks like I’m ahead of my pace of one book per week. I’ll take it since you never know what might randomly pop up in life. Without a doubt most of the books I’ve read so far fall within the fantasy genre. I haven’t read much nonfiction this year, but I have a few in my queue at the moment that I really want to read.

Anyway, let’s get on with the questions!

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The Dark Side of Fantasy

Published on May 20, 2022June 11, 2022 by Celeste2 Comments

IMAGE CREDITS: tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com. The gorgeous tree wolf is not royalty-free, but is licensed for use to promote Wyrd and Wonder online. You are welcome to use the banner on your Wyrd and Wonder posts, but please make no changes (except to resize if needed) and always credit the artist!

Wyrd and Wonder is a celebration of all things fantasy. The format of figurative consumption doesn’t matter. You can read, watch, game, puzzle, etc. anything fantasy! To learn more visit my introduction post, which includes links to the hosts and more information about this month-long appreciation of the fantasy genre.

Today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt is “dark:”

Time to celebrate a subgenre – choose your path wisely, whether you love grimdark, dark fantasy, or horror.

When I stop to think about the type of fantasy I read, it comes down to either fantasy with romance or dark fantasy. Usually there’s some of both subgenres in a fantasy book that I pick up.

What is dark fantasy? Fantasy Book Fanatic describes this subgenre as “typified by a deliberately ominous tone, reinforcing what is commonly perceived as a “gloomy” atmosphere. Standard features of fantasy are deliberately intertwined with a sense of terror and dread to create this sinister subcategory of fantasy.” FBF lists characteristics often found in dark fantasy books, which can include a deliberately ominous tone; the possibility that evil can win; themes of good vs. evil; a lack of heroes; elements of horror; and a gloomy atmosphere.

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