The Elyrian (The Emerson Chronicles) by D P Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Elyrian" for me was fire! I adored each moment I spent with this book. As of now, I feel like I should grant this book the award of the best book I read in 2019.

This is one of those books where you read and feel the need to embrace the Author. I respect the creative imagination of D P Rowell, and I undoubtedly will lookout for more books by him.

It was magical, adventurous, suspense-packed, and entertaining. What else will one ask of a fantasy novel! It is not just the kind of material one would turn out badly with.

The story encompasses a family where a more significant part of them didn't know about their family's secret. Notwithstanding, inquisitive Ace, who was 12 years of age, was told of his family's secret by his grandpa. The 12 years of age was recounted of his duty to protect his family with the help of a Drake.

I genuinely cherished my time with this book. I was delighted with the fact that the book was simple but progressed into something convoluted, yet not exhausting and straightforward.

My preferred characters were the young "Peppercorns"; Julie and Tamara. These two are the most irritating characters I have read of or even observed in real life. In any case, they helped in lighting scenes up with there annoying personalities. At a point, I felt like pulling them out of the book and pounding them myself; lol!

This book is a decent one! I recommend it if you like yourself some fantasy novel. As for me, I will readily read another material by this writer.

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These witches aren't the sickly green, wart-faced witches from bedtime stories. They hide in plain sight. And they're everywhere.

When Ace Halder discovers a mysterious stone on his grandfather's ancient Earth ship, he learns of a power he can neither contain nor understand. Now he's faced with a choice. Run and hide? Or risk everything to save Yutara.

Preview here↑

Out of the Ashes by Michele Pollock Dalton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was well composed, very steady, and had some extraordinary highlights that will make a reader go gaga for the material.

I observed this book to be moderately paced; however, I truly valued how it swung to develop into something delightful.

Catherine is my preferred character in this book. She displayed some gracious features that will make anybody fall in love with her. Her agonies and fears are things that got to me to such an extent. Regardless of whether those were some negative things. I cherish how I can feel all of her feeling through this material.

The children inside the book were another character that one can love effortlessly. Their essence helped up the most scene. They were a much-needed refresher considering the tension and tragic vibes the book gives here and there.

I truly understand the fact that Christian Romance books can be mushy, which is tiring at times. In any case, I adore the way that the book did not focus on two people who were continually kissing or making out to speak to their adoration for one another. Love was represented as forgiveness, sacrifice, selflessness, and understanding.

I truly delighted in the book with an expectation the following book will be comparable to this one.

A shot of  Pisa Cathedral from the side.

Pisa Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic house of prayer committed to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. It is a prominent case of Romanesque engineering, specifically, the style known as Pisan Romanesque. 

Surveying this cathedral in real life is an encounter. The finishing on the walls where excellent. 

On second thought, as at the time this church building was worked, there were no machines to carry out these heavy duty responsibilities.

Each one detail was a consequence of individuals with creative minds working together. I assume with their punch chisel and mallet to bust through the stones.

My Moment of Truth was the point at which I squeezed through the gate and got into the square, Piazza dei Miracoli (English: Square of Miracles). What I saw was jaw-dropping, heavenly and to a degree unimaginable. Before me was standing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The square itself is a major one; "Piazza dei Miracoli (English: Square of Miracles)". It comprised of various diverse structures which were made in white stones. Regardless of the fact that the leaning tower stood out, the building around was an outstanding also.  There as the  Pisa Baptistery of St. John (Italian: Battistero di San Giovanni), Pisa Cathedral, and the Campo Santo, also known as Camposanto Monumentale. For me everything inside the Piazza dei Miracoli is unique.


As you can envision, the compound was exceptionally packed. There were lots of people from different walks of life going around.


Your young lady got extremely parched as well. I just couldn't wait to explore. I was really curious to see what the tower resembles from within.

I just couldn't envision what work has been put into this development.

The tower's tilt started amid development in the twelfth century, specifically, August 9, 1173. Because of delicate ground on one side, which was unfit to appropriately bolster the structure's weight. The tilt expanded in the decades prior until the structure was finished in the fourteenth century. It steps by step expanded until the structure was balanced out (and the tilt halfway revised) by endeavours in the late 12th and mid 21st centuries.


My imaginations can't stop to run through the fact that this building was started in the year 1173.  I do not seem to understand how men in that time could create this kind of masterpiece! With no special machinery. Just with their hands, brains and time. After decades of completion, the leaning tower of Pisa is still standing!

Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to get into any of the buildings.

Considering the fact that we visited during the peak season and my health situation, it was messed up. In Italy, the peak season is between mid-June through to August.

Don't get me wrong, summer is a great time to travel — except for the crowds and high temperatures. Families with school-age children are usually locked into peak-season travel.

At the time we visited it was crowded, and the queue to get into the tower was super long and I could not just support it. Standing for long will not just work for me especially when I was not with a wheelchair.

We settled for going around with the aim of visiting this year. So stay tuned for an updated post on my visit to Pisa.

From my observation and time spent in Piazza dei Miracoli (miracle square), here are my recommendations.


Go as early as you can.

Visit the restaurants inside the square to make your reservations. This way you are sure to have a place to eat at a given time. Not doing this might leave you with the option to do street food. I can't recommend any restaurant because we did the last thing first. As at the point we needed to eat, all the restaurants were full.



There are lots of places you can eat at, the list below might be of help.
Osteria in domo
Cafe Pasticceria I Miracoli   
Subway Pisa   
Ristoro Pecorino   
Paninoteca Il Canguro
Pizzeria Trattoria La Buca and lots more.

Instead of looking around, go get your tickets. Do your visitation inside the building before taking note of what is happening in the environment.

If you are coming with your family, make sure to walk together. The crowd could be overwhelming depending on the time you choose to visit.

After your visitation, you can take pictures in the compound all you want.

Pay special mind to your items. There is always that one person who is looking to pick someone else's item.

The best season to visit totally depends on what you can tolerate. If you love the crowd and have plenty of money to spend, visit during the peak or shoulder season. If you just can't deal with the crowd, I will say you settle for the offseason. By the way, visiting during offseason is cheaper.


I would love to visit Piazza dei Miracoli again. Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to enter the tower.

To get into the of the leaning tower and different structures around it isn't over the top expensive.

You can take a look at the cost of a ticket on their official site.