Q [5] What was the first book you read and reviewed?

Now, without looking... do you remember your very first book review? What was it? I recently realized my one-year blogoversary was coming up, so I was double checking the exact date when this question popped into my head. I started reading some of my reviews from a year ago, and it was like I was seeing them for the first time. It had been so long since I'd written them, I'd almost forgotten what they said!

My first book review was The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral, #1) by C.L. Wilson. I remember loving the book and immediately pre-ordering the second! It's still sitting on my shelf (unread), but I've already made plans to read it soon. Re-reading my review made me want to start it right away!

Another post I did in the beginning was Bitten at BEA. A few years ago, when I attended the Book Expo of America, a women bit the flark out of my arm (on purpose) at one of the book drops. Karen from For What's It's Worth mentioned the incident on her blog, and when people started asking questions I decided to write a post that explained the entire thing in detail.

What about you? Did you write something really amazing when you first started blogging that you feel didn't get the attention it deserved? How did you feel after re-reading some of your older reviews? Do you think your method for writing reviews has changed? Is there anything you wish you'd done differently from the beginning?

Let's do something fun! Please leave a link to the very first review on your blog, and also any really old posts that you think deserved more attention than they received.  We all know that starting a blog is a lot of work, and it takes time to build relationships and make friends, so it makes sense that our blogs received very little love in the beginning. Were there books that you enjoyed and still want others to read? Share those reviews here! I want you to dig deep and find those long-forgotten posts that are in need of a little dusting.

I know some of you have been blogging for years, so it'll be interesting to see what you come up with! You can add your link below, or just paste them into the comments. Be sure to list the title of your post (since you can leave more than one) and your blog name -- that should make it easier to locate specific posts and who wrote them.

The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral, #1) by C.L. Wilson

Synopsis (via Goodreads): After three long years of war, starkly handsome Wynter Atrialan will have his vengeance on Summerlea's king by taking one of the man's beautiful, beloved daughters as his bride. But though peace is finally at hand, Wynter's battle with the Ice Heart, the dread power he embraced to avenge his brother's death, rages on.

Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, has spent her life exiled to the shadows of her father's palace. Reviled by her father, marriage to Wintercraig's icy king was supposed to be a terrible punishment, but instead offers Kham her first taste of freedom—and her first taste of overwhelming passion.

As fierce, indomitable Wynter weathers even Khamsin's wildest storms, surprising her with a tenderness she never expected, Kham wants more than Wynter's passion—she yearns for his love. But the power of the Ice Heart is growing, dangerous forces are gathering, and a devastating betrayal puts Khamsin and Wynter to the ultimate test. 

"Your father thought he scored a victory over me when he tricked me into marrying you instead of one of your sisters, but he unwittingly gave me the one daughter I wanted most." 

It has been a long time since a book has been capable of consuming me so completely. I think my husband thought it was glued to my hands at times, and he wasn't afraid to make little jokes about it. I'm not going to lie... I would disappear on the pretense of housework and he would find me later sitting in the closet or on the bench in our shower, just reading away. We'd laugh, he'd roll his eyes, and I would reluctantly put the book down to continue later (read: stay up way too late once every one else was asleep and then drink entirely too much coffee the next day to make up for it).

Initially, I picked this up thinking it would be a light paranormal romance with a simple plot—but it completely exceeded my expectations. The story is rich, the characters are layered, and I was genuinely surprised by its depth.

There were a few things about this book that irked me. Khamsin and her sisters are supposed to be formidable Seasons, yet they let their father treat Khamsin so poorly. If they are so incredibly powerful, why didn’t they come together to stop it? I have no doubt that the four of them combined could have easily overpowered him. It was really frustrating to read about how cruel he could be without any consequences.

I also wish Wynter and Khamsin had been more open with each other about their thoughts and feelings. Honestly, I think they really understood one another, but they only ever admitted it to themselves instead of saying it out loud. I feel like a lot of misunderstandings could have been avoided if they had just said what they were thinking.

Additionally, I would have liked it if the secondary characters had been given a little more focus. I found them all to be incredibly interesting. Galacia Frey, Krysti, Valik, Bella, Falcon—I feel like they were developed just enough to feed the overall story, but for the most part we only scratch the surface of who they are as people separate from Wynter and Khamsin. There could have been some really fascinating details there.

I am so thrilled the second book in the series comes out next month! I know a lot of people have been waiting years, so a month doesn't sound too bad at all. (★★★★☆)