Reading~Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis: (from goodreads)

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Words I learned:
※glow: to shine with low light and heat but usually without flame
※barrack:a building or set of buildings used especially for lodging soldiers in garrison.
※garrison: a military camp,fort ,or base
※pavilion: a building in a park or garden that usually has open sides and is used for parties, concerts ,or other evens.
※wriggle : to move forward by twisting and turning
※covet: desire,
※cartographer: a person makes maps 
※glean: 
(1)to gather collect (something )in a gradual way
(2)to search carefully
※drowse: almost asleep or sleep lightly
※lurch: 
(1)to loiter about a place furtively;to move in  a way that is not regular or normal, especially making sudden movements backwards or forwards from side to side.
【Making sentence】: The train lurched forward and some of the pepole standing fell over
【Synonym】: prowl
(2)to act or continue in away that is uncontrolled and not regular ,often with sudden changes.
※furtive: done in a quite and   secret way to avoid being noticed.
【Making sentence one】:He cats a furtive glance in our direction
【Making sentence two】:We exchange a furtive smiles across the table
【Synonym】:sneaky, shady, shifty, slippery, sly, sneaking, stealthy

furtive glance

※puke : to empty what is in your stomach through your mouth 
【Synonym】: barf, gag, heave, hurl, vomit, retch, spew, spit up, throw up, upchuck
【Making sentence】:The drunken reveler staggered out the door and promptly puked in the bushes
※reveler: a person who is celebrating with other people in usually a wild and noisy way ;a person who is taking part in revelry
※revelry : a wild and noisy celebration
【Making sentence】:The lottery winner was exhausted after a long night of revelry
 【Synonym】: conviviality, festivity, jollification
※gust: a sudden brief rush of wind
※aggravate: 
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
→Making a Sentence: 
It really aggravates me when I arrive 10 minutes before the stated closing time,and the store's closed already.
(1)to make (an injury ,problems ,etc)more serious or severe
(2)to make (someone)angry: to annoy or bother(someone)
※cringe:
(1)to feel disgust or embarrasment and often to show this feeling by movement of your face or body
(2)to make a sudden movement from fear of being hit or hurt
(3)to shrink  in fear or servility 
※servile: 
(1)showing ,expressing ,or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
(2)very obedient and trying too hard to please someone
※fling: 
(1)to throw or push (something) in a sudden and forceful way
(2)to forcefully move (yourself or part of your body)in a specified way
※specify: 
(1)to name or mention (someone or something )exactly and clearly;
(2) to be specific about (something)
※emulate: 
to try to be like(someone or something) you admire
(1)to strive to equal or excel 
(2)imitate;especially to imitate by means of emulator
※emulator: a person who tries to be like someone else
※dismiss: 
(1)to decide not to think about or consider (something or someone)
(2)to send (someone )away:to cause or allow(someone)to leave 
(3)to officially make (someone) leave a job;to end the employment or service of (someone)
※bibliography: 

(1) the history, identification, or description of writings or publications
(2) a list often with descriptive or critical notes of writings relating to a particular subject, period, or author
For Example:  a bibliography of modern poetry
(3) a list of works written by an author or printed by a publishing house
For Example: compiled a complete bibliography of John Donne.

Some Vocabulary bumped in my head
wistful:(=pensive)
(1)sad and thinking about something that is impossible or in the past
(2) having or showing sad thoughts and feelings about something that you want to have or do especially about something that made  you happy in the past
【For example: a wistful memoir】
【Synonym of Pensive: broody,cogitative, meditative, melancholy, musing,contemplative,ruminant, thoughtful 】
executioner: a  person who performs executions
barmy: Having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind
【Synonym 】balmy, insane, bats ,batty, bedlam, bonkers, brainsick, 
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《Intriguing Books》
I.The Sin Eater's Daughter

Blurb
A startling, seductive, deliciously dark debut that will shatter your definition of YA fantasy. Sixteen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, no one speaks to her. No one even looks at her. Because Twylla isn't a member of the court. She's the executioner.As the goddess-embodied, Twylla kills with a single touch. So each week, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love her. Who could care for a girl with murder in her veins? Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to her touch, avoids her.But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose playful smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the goddess. Yet a treasonous romance is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies-a plan that requires an unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?
※embody: 
(1) to cause to become a body or part of a body 【Synonym:  incorporate】
(2)to give a body to a spirit【Synonym:  incarnate】
※belie:to give a misleading impression of
◎Making a sentence→His bright smile belied his actual mood, which was really one of great sadness.
【Synonym:  misrepresent】
【Related Words:camouflage, contradict, cloak, conceal, counterfiet,disguise, hide  】
※counterfe
※swordsmanship
※treasonous

Blurb
Return to the darkly beautiful world of The Sin Eater's Daughter with a sequel that will leave you awed, terrified . . . and desperate for more.

Ever since her brother Lief disappeared, Errin's life has gone from bad to worse. Not only must she care for her sick mother, she has to scrape together rent money by selling illegal herbal cures. But none of that compares to the threat of the vengeful Sleeping Prince whom the Queen just awoke from his enchanted sleep.

When her village is evacuated as part of the war against the Sleeping Prince, Errin is left desperate and homeless. The only person she can turn to is the mysterious Silas, a young man who buys deadly poisons from Errin, but won't reveal why he needs them. Silas promises to help her, but when he vanishes, Errin must journey across a kingdom on the brink of war to seek another way to save her mother and herself. But what she finds shatters everything she believed about her world, and with the Sleeping Prince drawing nearer, Errin must make a heartbreaking choice that could affect the whole kingdom.

Blurb
The final battle is coming . . .

As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on Lormere and Tregellan, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him. Twylla and Errin are separated, isolated, and running out of time. The final battle is coming, and Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever . . .

Explosive, rich and darkly addictive, this is the stunning conclusion to Mel Salisbury's internationally best-selling trilogy that began with The Sin Eater's Daughter.
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《New Book Genre》Steampunk

Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. It could be described by the slogan "What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner." It includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes. 

It is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where STEAM POWER is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. 


Dieselpunk takes over where Steampunk leaves off. These are stories that take over as we usher in the machine-heavy eras of WWI and WWII. The use of diesel-powered machines plays heavily. In this (like its steam counterpart), the focus is on the technology.
※speculative: 
(1)based on guesses or ideas  about what might happen or be true rather than on facts
(2)marked by questioning curiosity 
＃Making a sentence: 
She gave him a speculative glance. [=she looked at him in a way that showed she was thinking/wondering about him]
※anachronism:
(1) something (such as word,an object, or an event)that is mistakenly placed in a time where it does not belong in a story, movie etc.
(2)a person or a  thing that seems to belong to the past and not to fit in the present
※quasi-(Victoria): in some way or sense but not in a true ,direct,or complete way

quasi-Victoria

(3)the state or condition of being chronologically out of place
※diesel-punk: a vehicle (such as truck or bus)that has a diesel engine
※diesel fuel: a type of fuel that is used in vehicles with diesel engines
※To say to a T means that something is exactly or precisely so.