The Protection of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:

Barely surviving her first term at college, all Ren wants to do over break is relax and bond with her roommate—not get eaten by a sentient building or attacked on the street. But with increasingly open warfare brewing between the magical factions and Layers of the world, this time, Ren will not fail in making sure everyone she loves stays safe and protected. 

That includes doing things like filling her parent's house with personal art heavily embedded with wards, bubble-wrapping her increasingly imperiled roommate, and even making sure that a certain sexy thorn-in-her-side continues to breathe free air.

Finding herself on duty protecting the entire university alongside campus god Alexander Dare...was not what she'd had in mind. 

But this time it's not only her life on the line. And Ren will do anything to protect those she loves.

My Thoughts:

While I loved the first book in this series, the second was even better. We get to see the characters grow throughout the story. No stale, static characters here.  I really enjoyed getting to know Dare better.   Excelsine, the world the author has created just keeps getting better.  Ren has worked her magic when it comes to friending people. Olivia has started to come around now.  Reading this book is like peeling an onion one layer at a time. The story line gets sweeter and sweeter.

The Awakening of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

From Goodreads:
Ren Crown is a high school senior searching for her identity when a devastating attack on her twin brother thrusts her into a hidden world of magic. Fighting forces that she is woefully unprepared for, Ren illegally enrolls in a prestigious secret university where magic is plentiful and danger is absolute.

Determined to set her family back to rights, she is blocked at every turn and faced with a new reality of boundless fascination and possibility. Animated creations, enchanted gadgets, and marvelous machines vie with the students themselves: mischievous engineers, diabolical tacticians, battle-hardened warriors, and terrifying roommates.

But even amidst an eclectic student body, there is something off about Ren's magic...and the wrong people have started to notice.

Caught in a tightening web, Ren's values stand trial, as does the fate of the world.

My Thoughts:

I loved how thought out the characters were. They became real on the pages. The love Ren feels for her twin brother goes above and beyond. It made me ask how far I would go for one of my siblings, and would I know when enough was enough? I really liked that the romance/crush wasn’t over done in this book. I hate mushy romances, always have. We didn’t find what is found in so many stories, instant love. Instead the author let feelings develop slowly and naturally. The creation of all of the magical creatures shows how well developed the author’s imagination is. That for me is a big plus.

The title was the best at describing what happened to Ren, her magic awakens.  Awesome characters, great world building, make this a series to be read.   Come back tomorrow for the second book in the series, The  Protection of Ren Crown and then Saturday for the final book in the series, The Rise of Ren Crown.

Five Very Cute Picture Books

Opposites by Kerry McQuaide
This is another Midge and Moo Adventure book. Walk through a day of opposites with Midge and her stuffed cow Moo as they explore words that are opposites. Watch them make loud music and read a quiet book. A wonderful beginning book to teach opposite words.





Me Too by Lea Kirshenberg
Puggy is a little dog who admires his neighbor dog, a big black dog they call King. He has become quite jealous of him. Then one day he has to stay with the neighbor while his owner fixes up their houses. After a couple of days he realizes he misses his things and that Kings things aren't really all that special. This is a wonderful book for teaching children to appreciate the things that they have.

Rowdy the Pirate Who Could Not Sleep by Darcy Pattison
Rowdy the pirate can't sleep she claims she would give a chest of gold just to be able to sleep. Her crew sets out to find a way to help their captain sleep and claim the prize. But, nothing seems to work. They steal items and try them on their captain; scary tales, and songs of war. Who will claim the prize and help the captain sleep?  Told in great rhyming pirate "speak". Another great book by this wonderful author.



Oliver and Jumpy 37-39 by Werner Stejskal

Rescue in the Picture - Oliver, Jumpy and Joey travel through his painting to a deserted island where they use their kowledge of superstitions to rescue a young native girl
Wet Cat - For Joey's birthday Oliver and Jumpy take him on a boat ride to hear his favorite group sing. On the way back Oliver is thrown overboard and no one notices. Who will rescue Oliver before he drowns or is eaten by a shark?
Down River - On an adventure to Ghost Castle, Oliver and his friends take a ride downa white water river. They have to prevent a crocodile and tiger from eathing them for lucnh. How will they survive and get back home

A Sunny Day by Eric Jay Cash
Four young paleolithic children learn new words. This is a very simple book for the youngest child in your house.