Tag Archives: war

Essays, Writing

A Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR Book Review 5)

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All images created by Rebekah Marshall’s prompts using AI on Gencraft.com website.

WARNING – SPOILERS

A Court of Silver Flames, the 5th book in the ACOTAR series, kept me on the edge of my seat. The female-centered, recovery-journey, inner-struggle deep dive is both inspirational and aspirational. I was never made to feel pity for the women fighting to regain their power but something more akin to sisterhood, hope, and absolute celebration. Every step of the way, each woman had to come into her own and claim her strength. Those are the role models girls need today.   

This book is definitely some of the steamiest spiciness out of the five books so far. I was fanning myself a few times. It is more concentrated on Nesta’s story, but all the main characters appear hear and there so we can keep up with their lives, as well. We fear for the lives of several main characters whose love has set them on a straight course for death. I won’t give anything away, but the tension and concern are intense. I’ve grown to love these characters and always yearn for happy endings.  

The newer characters that have been added to our family hold up their end of making us fall in love with them. When they are endangered multiple times, I am guilty of getting pre-mad at Sarah J. Maas. Creating characters for us to bond with only to kill them off would be the grossest form of manipulation and might lead to reader protests in the streets. I kept hoping she would not break my heart.  

Maas, Sarah J. A Court of Silver Flames. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

Poetry, Writing

Childhood

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TRIGGER WARNING: This poem contains references to childhood trauma, gun violence, animal death and desecration, and disturbing imagery involving cruelty to animals. It reflects lived experience and may be distressing for some readers. Please read with care.

Image created by Rebekah Marshall’s prompt using AI on Gencraft.

Apparently, it is not most people’s
experience to be shot at on a
summer morning before the heat
forces children indoors to rest.

I guess we thought it was a mostly
fair fight, since we were lobbing
rocks and they couldn’t hit moving
targets if their lives depended on it.

Two neighbor boys teamed up with
their boredom and a whole summer
of scheming to counter our riotous
fun they were not invited to join.

But they took it too far when they
unburied Daisy Bo Kay, our freshly
dead basset hound, and strung her up
in a tree hoping we’d find her corpse.

She didn’t do anything to deserve
such treatment, just sit and sigh,
howl when we got too rambunctious,
witness the strangeness of our survival.

Essays, Writing

A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR Book Review 3)

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All images created by Rebekah Marshall’s prompts using AI on Gencraft.com website.

WARNING – SPOILERS

A Court of Wings & Ruin, the 3rd book in the ACOTAR series, held its own in the cannon. It was not my favorite of the books but was a necessary middle step to Feyre righting her life and fully coming into her own. She must make more heartbreaking decisions to save herself, save those she loves, and end things once and for all with her past relationships that keep weighing her down.

I like that the book is messy, things don’t go as planned quite often, pivots must be made, and even immortal beings must repeatedly circle back to try to fix things over and over again. It feels very human, very relatable to not have everything be an easy win as these magnificent beings battle their way to try to save the world. There are gigantic beasts, ulterior motives, dark ancient magic, impossible choices, and unlikely alliances.

Elaine (Feyer’s sister) begins to come into her own as she wrestles with her powerful gifts in this book. And her lack of interest in the being to whom fate has declared her a mate is a fascinating twist. Nesta must figure out how to live in this world she hates, and grapple with why she is strangely drawn to Cassian. I love that her character is super cantankerous. She is not very likeable, and that makes her interesting. She doesn’t seem to care about being liked. Feyre and her mate keep our hearts pounding with their love. And Mor’s secrets about her love life are a perfectly revealing piece of the puzzle.

I must say that the deaths in this book had me sobbing. I will say no more about that, so I don’t ruin anything too grievous for anyone. I will simply say that the toll of war is well-depicted and heartbreakingly devastating.

Maas, Sarah J. A Court of Wings and Ruin. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.

Poetry, Writing

My Dearest

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(Poem 249 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

(At the beginning of the series.) https://images.app.goo.gl/TBVDoMZHe5YgNMwK7  https://images.app.goo.gl/dUFyreACvk9uV5Qo7

She’s selfish and high maintenance,
flirtatious, rude, and self-centered.
Her vanity is unmatched, and her
intentions immature and materialistic.

He is a womanizer, intent on remaining
unmarried and able to sow his wild oats.
His loyalty is only to himself and wealth,
and never becoming burdened by love.

With time and travail, the realities of
war, loss, separation, and the ordeal
of survival, she grows into a woman
of substance, and he, an honorable man.

@Home Studio – 249th poem of the year (After watching the Korean drama My Dearest.)

Kim Seong-yong, My Dearest. Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun-jin, MBC, 9ato Entertainment, 4 Aug–-18 Nov 2023.

(At the end of the series.) https://images.app.goo.gl/bdmUkA2SMwYtvapu7 https://images.app.goo.gl/NsNfnaKYvrEqAzJs5

Poetry, Writing

Turtle House

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(Poem 212 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/BsWO3A https://gencraft.ai/p/FYxwx0

Auspicious stone turtles
stand guard, gargoyles of
destiny, good fortune baked
into their shells, assuring the
dwelling longstanding fortune.
The turtles in the pond
fight for bits of mushy carrot,
stale bread, and greens,
unaware of the larger battle
being fought in the sky pond
by Grummans and Warhawks.
The people swim and love,
dream and hope, serve an
emperor or a president who
demands unwavering loyalty,
and wonder when peace will
fill the turtle house again.

@Home Studio – 212th poem of the year (After reading The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill.)

Churchill, Amanda. The Turtle House. Harper Collins, 2024.

Runner ups for the Turtle House photos to accompany my poem:

Poetry, Writing

Dragon War House of the Dragon

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(Poem 204 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/a8mUhl

“…no war so bloody as a war between dragons.” -Rhaneys Targaryen

Brother betrays brother
in airborne battle astride
gods in the form of dragons.
Perhaps a wiser head could
tame the madness and set
things straight with the rash
youth whose lust for power
outpaces both decency and
justice, but alas, even she
cannot withstand death by
fire when both dragon and
warrior’s time has come.
Peace to Meleys and Sunfyre.

@Home Studio – 204th poem of the year (after watching House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4.)

Condal, Ryan and George R. R. Martin, creators. House of the Dragon. HBO Entertainment and Warner Bros., 2024.

Runner ups for the Dragon War photos to accompany my poem:

Poetry, Writing

The Women

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(Poem 199 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/hls2hj https://gencraft.ai/p/DO4ZyC

10,000 American military women
served in Vietnam and risked their
lives right alongside the boys sent
to die in the boonies and crash in
the Hueys and swelter in country.
Doctors, nurses, air traffic control,
intelligence, not to mention the
civilian women who were news
correspondents, or worked for the
USO, Red Cross, Special Services,
Donut Dollies, the list goes on…
witnessed the atrocities of war,
the wounds that have yet to heal,
the loss of limb, life, sanity, and
humanity that stole the future of
so many who perished there in the
jungles or continued their descent
to despair for years to come thanks
to Agent Orange, depression, Hep-C,
cancer, and a big giant dose of PTSD.
And then they were welcomed home
by jeers, protests, being spit on and
insulted, reviled for their sacrifices,
and despised for their acts of service.
They were lied to and lied about, but
mostly they lied to themselves to
survive each day; how else could
they believe that all would be well,
and unfortunate sons and daughters
would get together and be alright?

@Home Studio – 199th poem of the year  (After reading The Women by Kristin Hannah.)

Hannah, Kristin. The Women. St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2024.

Runner ups for the Vietnam photos to accompany my poem:

Poetry, Writing

Impossible Peace  House of the Dragon

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(Poem 197 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/BcZSjF

The Hatfields and McCoys-like family feud
that was the Brackens and Blackwoods
paled in comparison to the bodies used
for fodder by those fighting for the throne.
The Dance of Dragons has begun in earnest,
despite the unspoken awareness by all that
bloodshed of kin by kin is a most appalling
form of violence to the gods of their ancestors.
While the men gnash their teeth, and their
dragons chomp at the bit, the women kneel
before alters of stone lighting candles and
whisper of impossible peace, the intent of
kings, and the wishes for undoing wrongs.

@Home Studio – 197th poem of the year (after watching House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3.)

Condal, Ryan and George R. R. Martin, creators. House of the Dragon. HBO Entertainment and Warner Bros., 2024.

Runner ups for the Queen Prayers photos to accompany my poem:

Poetry, Writing

War

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(Poem 130 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/0yYZ6p
AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/C9Llca

“Vengeance is mine,” sayeth Ceasar, until his
apemanity kicks in and he is able to be better
than human and allow mercy to unfold naturally.
Who gets to determine the value of a life on
this rock hurtling through space we call home?
Does intellect trump simple existence or one
form of communication imply worth over another?
Is birdsong less a language than human speech
or an elephant’s rumble less valid than words?
Someone I know once said their life would not
be affected by animals going extinct and it
made me sad because I believe the tiny pieces
of our humanity that perish with each species
we forget to save hasten our own souls’ decay.

@Home Studio (after watching War for the Planet of the Apes at Greg’s house with Greg and his family, Debbie, and Celinda on 5/18/24) – 130th poem of the year

Matt Reeves et al., War for the Planet of the Apes. Los Angeles, CA, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2017.

Runner ups for the War of Apes photos to accompany my poem: