Mrs. Autumn Riley
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"Where words fail, music speaks."
         - Hans Christian Andersen

"Music is the strongest form of magic."
     - Marilyn Manson

Reading while listening to music is something that I have always done. I can recall the song I was listening to when I reached the dinner scene in Kate Chopin's The Awakening: a song on a mix CD created by a friend in all in German, so I still to this day don't know the name of the song. The way music tethers us to memories of our lives, so, too, can it tie us to books and their characters. 

Below are some of the book inspired playlists I have created: 

A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a satisfying third book to this series. I found myself so torn about which portion of the story I was more interested in.

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The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood #1)The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The first half of this book was so fascinating and rich. The character building, the world building, the whole first act was full of intrigue and depth. I loved Alice and Ella and their whole life. The vibes were very “Little Fires Everywhere” meets Katherine McGee’s Thousandth Floor. With a mom and daughter pair taking on the bad guys and an unknown monster, I thought I was in for a really great book... but like so many other reviews, the second half from the time Finch gets “killed” (not killed?) went downhill and quickly for me. Like who is Althea, and did she even matter to the story? All that build up about Hazel Wood, the house, and Ella’s just sold it for a writer’s retreat?!? I mean sheesh... so much potential squashed here.

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Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1)Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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The Princess Trials (The Princess Trials, #1)The Princess Trials by Cordelia Castel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yeah... that’s right five stars on this. It’s definitely a Selection meets Hunger Games riff, but even though, I thought that might annoy me it didn’t. At. All. In fact, it read a bit like crossover fanfiction that I was all in on. Zea is a cool and fun protagonist that had enough of America and Katniss vibes that she felt powerful and aloof.

My major struggle with this book is who the heck is the author? Clearly, she isn’t a person named Cordelia Castel, so why publish under that name. Why publish so much so fast? Color me confused because this book has a fair number of reviews.

I was inspired by this one and even made a Spotify playlist to go with it. ? definitely reading the next one (even if it’s ghost written).

View all my reviews
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  • Mrs. Autumn Riley
    • Presentations
    • Curriculum Vitae >
      • M.Ed Graduate Work >
        • Digital Citizenship
        • Growth Mindset Plan
        • Learning Manifesto
        • Learning Networks >
          • #EdPiper Twitter Chats
          • Teachers Give Teachers
          • SpringBoard Community
        • Discussion Board Posts
        • Practicum Log Reflections
        • Evidence of Learning
  • Badges & Certifications
    • Adobe Creative Educator Portfolio
  • GoodReads Bookshelf
  • Twitter Feed