#2023 fantasy reading challenge

[bulletnotestudies]

Welcome to the 2023 Fantasy Reading Challenge!

i created this one because fantasy used to be my top genre, but i kinda strayed the last couple of years and while i do love my contemporary romances and fucked up horror books, it's time to return to my roots :)

if you wanna join me as i rekindle my love for fantasy, here are the challenge rules: 🔮 REBLOG this post if you're participating! 🔮 join the challenge over on storygraph (optional) 🔮 for each of the prompts, read a book of your choice and cross the prompt out on the above template 🔮 post your updates in the form of text posts, bookish photos, or anything else you come up with under the tag #2023 fantasy reading challenge! 🔮 the challenge will last until the end of the year, but feel free to finish it at your own pace

[transcript and explanations of the prompts below the cut]

THE 9 PROMPTS IN THIS CHALLENGE ARE:

HIGH FANTASY Set in a magical environment that has its own rules and physical laws, this subgenre’s plots and themes have a grand scale and typically center on a single, well-developed hero or a band of heroes, such as Frodo Baggins and his cohorts in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1954).

URBAN FANTASY Urban fantasy is generally understood to be a low fantasy set in a real-world, modern, urban society (or something closely resembling one). The fantastical elements are usually not known to the general population. i.e. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

FANTASY WITH A ROMANCE SUBPLOT pretty self-explanatory :)

LONG-OVERDUE SERIES Read the first book of a fantasy series you've had on your tbr for ages!

GRIMDARK FANTASY A high fantasy with a gritty or grim setting, often focussing on characters with less-than-impeccable morals, anti-heroes, or on criminal underworlds within fantasy societies. This sub-genre provides a contrast to more traditional fantasy worlds and their moral heroes, quaint medieval villages and resplendent cities. i.e. The Lies of Locke Lamora

YA FANTASY also quite obvious, but just in case: A fantasy that is primarily aimed or marketed at a young adult (teenage) readership, usually with young adult protagonists. i.e. Six of Crows

SCIENCE FANTASY A blend of science fiction and fantasy, where advanced technology and the supernatural both come into play, or tropes from both genres are used. Often fantastical and impossible things occur under a thin guise of scientific credibility. i.e. Senlin Ascends

OLD FAVOURITE Reread an old favourite fantasy book.

CHILDREN'S FANTASY

If you want to join the challenge on storygraph too, check the notes for the link xx

[the---hermit]

Fantasy reading challenge #1

This post has been sitting in my draft for longer than I had intended. As I mentioned in other posts 2023 is my year of fantasy, for some reason I am really into a fantasy mood and this challenge came at the perfect time. I did join it on the storygraph at the beginning of the year, so I am doing pretty well with it so far. This first update has quite a few books I have read in the past months, and I imagine I will wait until I am done with it to post a second update (if I will in fact finish it, since last year I almost finished but never completed challenges).

Individual book reviews are linked in the book titles below as usual.

The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon for the high fantasy prompt

I have spoken about this novel so much in many other posts, so I won't spend too much time in this one, but I loved it. It might seem intimidating because of the lenght, but it's incredibly accessible (so much so that I would even venture in recommending it to people who don't really read this genre). It's a very well done epic fantasy, the writing is great, the world-building is absolutely amazing, I loved it and cannot wait to read the prequel.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman for the urban fantasy prompt

Another book I have spoked about in other posts, this was the last unread book on my Gaiman shelf, which means I definitely have to get the books I am missing by him. Urban fantasy is not my favourite subgenre, and this wasn't my favourite Gaiman book, but it was entertaining and fun, so I have nothing so say against it.

The Tower Of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski for the grimdark fantasy prompt

Me and my Witcher books. I have been reading this series for a few years now, and it's been a lot of ups and downs. This was a down. I found this novel very slow, and it kinda killed my hype for it, I really hope that the next book in the series will be better.

Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir for the science fantasy prompt

One of the best books I have read so far this year. I have fallen in love with this series, and this book was simply amazing. The idea behind this story is very unique, and the writing is incredible. I didn't get into this expecting it to be funny, but I laughed a lot. I adored my time with it, and this is already in my rereading list. (If the Italian publisher would release the thrid book of the series now I'd be very grateful, this waiting is painful).

Geronimo Stilton and The Kingdom Of Fantasy 1 for the children's fantasy prompt

This is a beloved childhood series I hadn't read in so long. It was magical to get back into it, and relive this story. I am so so happy I did pick it up again, because it made me fall in love with this series all over again.

[larissa-the-scribe]

Terrarium Lights, Part 2.1

Continuation of my Inkling's Challenge story, started >>here. Next part >>here. Not sure if I'm supposed to tag @inklings-challenge anymore since times have moved on, but will do so just to be on the safe (the tag may be ignored if so desired). Last time on Terrarium Lights: The ghost disappeared after getting an existential crisis when he realized he didn't know his own name, to everyone's surprise.

"I'm sorry."

Gail nearly jumped out of her skin, scattering her basket of freshly cleaned rocks across the dining room table. She wheeled around toward the kitchen, which had been empty a few moments earlier, to see the lad from before standing sheepishly in the middle of it.

She released her apron and took a deep breath.

"Oh?" She replied—with only a slight quiver in her voice—and allowed him to insert his own explanation.

Truth be told, she wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, unless it was scaring the living daylights out of her. It was, however, reassuring to see him again and to know she wouldn’t be stuck for the rest of her days with the mystery of what on God’s green Earth had happened.

"Well, I feel like I may have overreacted." He was looking at the floor, so she couldn't see the state of his eyes.

"About your memories?" She asked, and then mentally smacked her palm against her forehead. Perhaps it wouldn’t be wise to bring up the incident that had so upset him right the second he came back—in her defense, her heartbeat was still rather drowning out thought.

"Yeah."

"I see." Gail turned back to the table and started picking up the rocks—mostly shale and creek pebbles—from where they'd been flung, gathering her wits with them.

It had been several days since the ghost had come and gone.

At first she toyed with the idea that her mind was going on ahead of her to heaven. They did say solitude did odd things to mind, but while she didn't have concrete proof that the lad had been there, in the end she had decided to regard it as fact until proven otherwise. There were her sodden clothes and her pail of moss, confirming that she'd gone out in the rain at the very least.

After she'd settled that, she started to go over the interaction in her mind.

She had had no idea if he'd come back or not. Her gut reaction was that he would, someday. The whole venture was rather too strange and unfinished—he was clearly haunted by something, still. Whether or not she would be there to see it, she did not know.

Eventually, she decided that if he did return to her, she should handle him with more care and tact, and make him feel more generally comfortable before prodding at him again. That seemed like the best way to figure out what was going on, at least. From there—well, she didn't know. But one so rarely did know what one was doing, so that wasn't a great matter in the long run. Besides, if this was the Lord’s doing, he’d hardly abandon her here. Wasn’t His style.

And here the lad was, once again standing in her kitchen, though this time much shyer and more unsure, and she’d already prodded him more than she meant.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," she replied, rubbing her thumb across a smooth piece of shale. "Though I suppose I should apologize, myself, for startling you."

"Well, technically I think that was the kettle," he said with a nervous chuckle.

She snorted. "True. Dreadful loud that kettle is."

As she swept the last bits of rocks towards her, she heard him shuffling his feet. It was an odd sound. Not quite all there. "It… it doesn't seem to be raining anymore."

"Nice and sunny out, indeed." She kept an ear on him, still managing her rocks.

"Um. Thank you for letting me borrow your roof."

The rocks clattered back into the basket. "You're welcome to it as long as you might need."

"…Even if it's not raining anymore?"

She turned back round to face him and smiled. His eyes were a satisfying shade of brown. "Even then."

He beamed back.

Gail walked over to a makeshift desk to the side of the room and started sorting the rocks into their proper containers. Hesitantly, the lad hovered into the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room space.

“I… I still don’t really remember anything,” he said. “I think I have amnesia.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Gail gave him a sympathetic look. “I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do to help with that?” She gestured for him to come closer.

“Well, I don’t know.” Like a puppy prepared to be yelled at, he edged further into the house. “In all honesty, the fact that I couldn’t remember anything terrified me. Still does, kind of, but it’s not as shocking now, I suppose. I don’t know why I didn’t realize. I mean, how do you forget your entire life but just not think about it? Doesn’t make sense.” He trailed off with an attempted chuckle.

“Maybe it was something that happened recently?”

He squinted at what she was doing, seemingly half-intrigued about her activity, half-absorbed in his own nervous narrative. “I… I don’t think so. Or maybe the amnesia was recent? I don’t know. I kind of… remembered bits? But it’s very fuzzy, like it might have happened in some odd kind of dream, a long time ago. Or maybe not that long ago. Dreams can be weird. But so can memories. Like when something happens yesterday but it feels like it’s always been your past, that kind of thing. Or at least that’s what last time I was here felt like, I think, but that could just be because that’s all I can remember right now. But I don’t even know how long ago it was that I was here. I get the impression that memories are tricky.”

“True, that,” Gail chuckled. “You said you remembered something, though?” She rubbed her thumb over the ridges of a large creek pebble appreciatively, then dropped it into its jar with a satisfying clink.

“What are you doing?” He asked, tilting his head, curiosity temporarily overshadowing his dilemma.

“Oh, me? Sorting rocks.”

“Why?”

“If I don’t, they’ll just be a mess.” She waved her hand over the assortment. “This way it’s easier to get at the ones I need.” She wasn’t sure if he was dodging the question again or just distracted.

“O-oh.”

She chuckled again. “For terrariums, that is. I’m not just mad about rocks, though I do like them.”

“Terrariums?”

“It’s a hobby of me and my husband’s. While he’s away, I gather materials—and sometimes do a few myself—and then when he’s back, we work on one together.” She was sorting them roughly by size and color. Absently she wondered if she’d need to take a trip to the shore sometime soon to stock back up on driftwood.

“Could I… maybe… see one?” He had his cautious puppy act on again.

Resisting the urge to kid him a bit for his skittishness, she nodded and went to the living room (really only a bulge on the side of the dining room, but still rather nice for sitting), and picked up one of the first ones she and Michael done together, in the bottom of a large, broken canning jar that had once been the size of a small bucket.

“Here,” she said, and held it towards him. “The edges aren’t sharp anymore. We sanded what we could and covered the rest with a sealant.”

It was a simple terrarium, really. Not much more than moss arranged around a large lump of red flint they’d found when wandering along the creek, with a few small little plants stuck in. And the container wasn’t the prettiest, with the sealant smeared across most of the edges around the opening. Still, it was a good memory, so she liked to keep it watered and tended, and even though she didn’t know what kind of moss they’d gathered, it was one of her favorites—it flowered in the summer and smelled lovely.

"Can I touch it?" He asked. When she nodded, he slowly reached out and put his hand in the container, running his fingers along the rock and pressing their tips gently against the moss. "It's so strangely soft and not soft." He looked up and smiled and his eyes were very brown. "It feels nice. Almost scratchy, but comfortable. I like its texture."

"Isn't it just lovely?" Gail agreed. "Moss is one of those things that isn't hard to find, but is still so satisfying every time you do. I think it's one of the marks that God made this world with love."

The lad nodded absently. He was frowning slightly, and for a moment didn't seem quite all there, his edges ever so slightly blurring.

"I think I remember something about moss," he said. "I'm not sure. But it wasn't very green, and there were whole plains of it. Underground, I think. And blue. I think we might have been safe there, but I don't know." He looked back up at her. "Does any of that sound… familiar? Since you know about moss."

The lad looked so hopeful, Gail wished she could say yes. "Well,” she replied, pursing her lips as if in deep thought, “we don't have many caves around these parts. Soil's not built for it. And I don’t profess to know much about the subject one way or the other, but I can't say as I'm familiar with blue moss."

"Oh." Feeling along the edges of where the rock and moss met, he pressed his hand down again, softly. Gail noticed that it did not leave much of an impression, if any. "Maybe it was just the way it looked? Maybe it wasn't blue." He withdrew his hand. "But if there are no caves around here… I don't know. It was certainly underground." He frowned. "Well, I'm pretty sure. I… I guess I can't say for certain, can I? Since I don't know."

Gail resisted the urge to set her terrarium down and pat his back or try to hug him. The poor lad looked frightfully lost. "Perhaps you were a traveler in your time, before coming here. I will admit, I don't know much about what lies beyond my little corner of the world, so who's to say caverns of blue moss might'nt be out there, somewhere?"

Even as she said the words, they felt unlikely. Maybe because she didn't quite believe them herself—but it was true, at least, that she didn't know much about the world beyond Florida, or even beyond this northern slice of it. She could have hope in her own ignorance, for the lad's sake. Perhaps her Michael might know, or she could write to her son up in the Northern colonies. They were both much more widely traveled.

"As your memories come back, mayhaps you might learn to know more about it."

He nodded, stuffing his hands in his pocket, eyes still on the ground. "I hope so. It's… disconcerting, to know so little about what you can trust from your own head."

"We'll figure it out," Gail said, wondering if there was any way to physically console someone who couldn't be touched.

"I… I also really don't mean to drag you into this," he said. "We're both just strangers to each other. I wouldn't want to presume too much on your hospitality."

Gail clucked her tongue at him as she put the terrarium on the table, where he could still find it if he wanted. "Trust me, young man, this would be the best use of my time. I couldn't in good conscience just turn you out, anyway, and well, what can I say? I'm a meddlesome old lady. I like fixing other peoples' problems, if I can."

"Oh." He picked at the edge of his waistcoat. "That's… that's really kind of you. I… I'm not sure what to say to that."

"You don't have to say anything, if you'd rather not. You're welcome to just be here for a bit, if you'd like."

"I… I think I'd like that." He looked up at her again. "I wouldn't be a bother if I just stood by and watched you work?"

"No bother at all." Gail waved a dismissive hand. "I guarantee you'll be a lot easier to work around than toddlers, though admittedly it has been… a few years, since I've had to do that. I'll just be working on a new terrarium, anyway, for old Mrs. Oberson. She's been quite sickly for a while now, and having living things about you really brightens a room up."

He followed her back to the desk, where she pulled out a largeish jar and set it up, hunting down the different components she needed from the desk, and adjusting her glasses to a higher zoom setting to better view the details. The plan for this terrarium lay on a card pinned to the desk, half-recipe, half-sketch. Michael had helped her come up with it before he left, and now was as good a time as any to get it going. She’d need more time, too, since her hands weren’t as steady as they used to be.

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[ben-learns-smth]

2023 fantasy challenge update

babel (r.f. kuang), 5☆

particularly liked the etymology bits as a vital part of worldbuilding and narration

when the angels left the old country (sacha lamb), 5☆ *

the friendshipTM made me cry multiple times and the writing is simply delicious

the priory of the orange tree (samantha shannon), 5☆

re-read? more like treat! shannon just knows how to write fantasy

a day of fallen night (samantha shannon), 5☆

pure joy to dive back into the roots of chaos universe and meet new characters (I might even like this one more than priory). I'm gonna need to cuddle an ichneumon real soon please

* fyi, I only put this down as romance subplot bc i didn't know where else to put it for this challenge but I wanted to mention it because I Loved it so much and there is indeed a romance that is very much a subplot not a second plot or anything. the focus is very much on friendship, what makes a home, standing up for yourself and an angel and a demon being awesome

[libertyreads]

Book Review #88 of 2023--

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Rating: 5 stars.

Read from July 8th to 10th.

Am I really giving a Fantasy Romance a 5 star rating right now?? Well, hopefully you’ve seen me live blogging my reactions to this one over the past few days so you know how this book was making me feel. Do I realize this is probably not the next great American novel? Of course. Was I a giddy school girl the entire time I was reading this one? Yes. This was so fast paced (and done well) and I just wanted to keep reading. Yesterday, I read 290 pages in one day (and I would have read more if I had the time) because I had to keep reading. It’s such a compelling story. Let me back up and give you a quick synopsis: We follow Violet who is entering the war college at the age of 20, but instead of going to the scribes like she always thought she would, this disabled young woman is forced to enter the quadrant for the dragon riders. The most physically and mentally demanding quadrant at the school. But when your mother is the general of the war college you do what she demands. While in her first year, Violet must overcome the physical challenges her disability and the school put in front of her. She uses her daily pain as a beacon to light her way and uses every advantage she has to survive.

I don’t know where to start. I loved the world building and felt like it was done in a way that made sense. I could see not only the setting that this was taking place in, but also the magic and the way it worked. I could picture all the different magic types and how their magic worked with the connection between dragon and rider. I could also picture all of the dragons and the way they moved in flight and in battle. I absolutely LOVE Tairn and Andarna. I cannot tell you how quickly these two dragons wormed their way into my heart. A magical companion will always, always become a favorite character. Another character I basically adopted as one of my children immediately is Xaden. Look, morally grey is my favorite color and I have to adopt all of the morally grey characters. It’s practically a law at this point. He is such the dark and brooding villain hero, but at the same time, when you hold him up in comparison to Dain (Violet’s best friend at the start of the novel), he is just the better person when it comes to how he treats Violet. Well, as long as we ignore the first part where he’s threatening to kill her. But you can’t have an excellent enemies to lovers without the enemies first. And that is what this novel has as the Romance part of Fantasy Romance. There were some solid romantic moments in this novel for me. It starts with Knife Flirting--the sharpest and most elegant of flirting styles in Fantasy. There’s also Hand-to-Hand Combat Flirting which I didn’t know was a thing but now want in every. single. Fantasy I read that has even a moment of a romance. Two of the other big, non-sexual, moments for me were when he had daggers made for her and when he had a saddle made for her dragon (and then just approached the most deadly dragon in the quadrant to ask if it wouldn’t mind acting like a fucking horse). But speaking of sex scenes, there are a few which would normally bother me as someone who is asexual and has a lot of trouble with how specific sex scenes get with what the characters like and how uncomfortable that makes me. But these were some good, and still spicy, sex scenes that I actually enjoyed reading. And if you can make me like a sex scene then that alone almost deserves 5 stars.

And that was a long paragraph. Okay, I also could note how the book had a few moments of not 100% great writing, but I had such a good time with this one. I really enjoyed it and I hate that I don’t have a copy. And I also hate that I can’t read this for the first time again. Overall, this is great for someone who likes Fantasy, likes Romance, likes the combo of the two. If you’re looking for something that just hits all the right beats in a magical world with dragons, a deadly war college, and political machinations, pick this one up and thank me later.

[otakutemmiebooks]

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'd say there was a lot of plot twists like everyone else but I knew that one guy wasn't to be trusted the entire time. He was giving me bad vibes.

[bekah-reading]

Not me having friends that ask for a recommendation and I am shamelessly dropping The Stardust Thief every chance I get. I really want more people I know to read it so I can talk about it.

[shesamreads]

Ooo, Helen is vying for Ares' position. This will be interesting.

I thought this story was going to be between just Achilles and Patroclus, but Katee is throwing Helen into the mix.

You know, it's funny. I didn't plan on using this for the PopSugar Reading Challenge, I was just finishing the series. But it's funny how many prompts it fits! That happened a lot last year, too.

[kkayslibrary]

This audio was made for this content. You can’t convince me otherwise.

[b1zarre08]

Inktober #10 - Fortune

hey i'm new here, heres my deviantart account

[ya-world-challenge]

Half-year wrap-up and 1 Year Anniversary!

I posted the first review for my YA World Challenge reading project on June 24 last year, so I just realized it's my 1 year anniversary!

So far I have finished 40 countries/regions! Including 2 trilogies and 1 duology that makes 45 books, at a rate of almost 4 per month. I'm pretty happy with that progress! I finished 20 books in 2023 so far.

I'm also happy that I'm still enjoying this project. Sticking to genres I like has helped, and I'm amazed by the diversity of new YA releases coming out lately, which has made it easy to pick up new books (thanks, Netgalley!!)

Challenge progress:

40 of 208 countries/regions (newly added in bold)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan - One Half from the East, Nadia Hashimi

🇦🇷 Argentina - Furia, Yamile Saied Méndez

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan - The Orphan Sky, Ella Leya

🇧🇸 Bahamas - Facing the Sun, Janice Lynn Mathers

🇧🇴 Bolivia - Woven in Moonlight + Written in Starlight, Isabel Ibañez

🇧🇼 Botswana - Entwined, Cheryl S. Ntumy

🇨🇦 Canada - This House is Not a Home, Katłıà

🇨🇫 Central African Republic - Beasts of Prey, Ayana Gray*

🇨🇳 China - Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan

🇨🇿 Czech Republic - Torch, Lyn Miller-Lachmann

🇪🇪 Estonia - The Man Who Spoke Snakish, Andrus Kivirähk

🇫🇯 Fiji - The Wild Ones, Nafiza Azad

🇫🇷 France - Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, Faïza Guène

🇬🇷 Greece - Tina’s Web, Alki Zei

🇬🇱 Greenland - Last Night in Nuuk, Niviaq Korneliussen

🇬🇩 Grenada - Sugar Money, Jane Harris

🇮🇳 India - Lioness of Punjab, Anita Jari Kharbanda

🇮🇶 Iraq - Yazidi!, Aurélien Ducoudray & Mini Ludvin

🇮🇪 Ireland - All Our Hidden Gifts, Caroline O'Donoghue

🇯🇵 Japan - Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura

🇱🇹 Lithuania - Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepatys

🇲🇾 Malaysia - The Weight of Our Sky, Hanna Alkaf

🇲🇽 Mexico - Secret of the Moon Conch - David Bowles; Guadalupe García McCall

🇲🇦 Morocco - Thorn, Intisar Khanani*

🇳🇬 Nigeria - An Ordinary Wonder, Buki Papillon

🇲🇰 North Macedonia - A Spare Life, Lidija Dimkovska

🇵🇸 Palestine - Travellers Along the Way, Aminah Mae Safi

🇵🇱 Poland - When the Angels Left the Old Country, Sacha Lamb

🇵🇹 Portugal - Mariana, Katherine Vaz

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico - The Wicked Bargain, Gabe Cole Novoa

🇷🇴 Romania - And I Darken (trilogy), Kiersten White

🇷🇺 Russia - Night Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko

🇼🇸 Samoa - Telesā: The Covenant Keeper, Lani Wendt Young

🇬🇧 Scotland - The Library of the Dead, T.L. Huchu

🇸🇬 Singapore - Sofia and the Utopia Machine, Judith Huang

🇸🇪 Sweden - The Circle (Engelsfors trilogy), Sara Elfgren & Mats Strandberg

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago - When the Vibe is Right, Sarah Dass

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates - Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson*

🇺🇸 United States - Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe - All That It Ever Meant, Blessing Musariri

*inspired fantasy world

Currently reading:

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka - I Am Kavi, Thushanthi Ponweera 🇨🇺 Cuba - A Tall Dark Trouble, Vanessa Montalban

[the---hermit]

Geronimo Stilton and The Kingdom Of Fantasy

I had a minor emotional breakdown and of course the only logical thing to do was to pick back up one of my favourite childhood series and binge read the volumes I own. In this review I will be only talking about the first book of The Kingdom of Fantasy series, but I'll write posts on the other books aswell. Apparently this year had to start with lots of children's books, and although it is unexpected I am really happy about it. I grew up with Geronimo Stilton books, and this series in particular holds a special place in my heart (although I own only the first four books). Despite loving these books I had not read one in ages, I don't think I had ever reread them before, and it surely was a journey. This series follows the adventures of Geronimo Stilton in the kingdom of fantasy, a place populated by witches, trolls, gromes, dragons, faries and many more creatures. In this first novel we are introduced to some of the kingdoms of this amazing world, and I must say it hold pretty well to this day. The illustrations are stunning, I love the fact that each kingdom gets its own map, and there's lots of additions of mythology and fairytales, it's just a great book, and I realized that it might have influenced me more than I thought. It's also a very nice introduction to the fantasy genre for children, I think it gives off the exact same feeling of any other fantasy novel, so the fact that I love this genre so much might also be due to these books. I really recommend going back to these books, or in general to any books you loved during your childhood. This series has well over ten books but I guess most of them came out when I was more grown up idk, because I only own the first four books. This has certainly inspired me to go back to more childhood favourites in the future.

[protagonistspub]

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey is the first published book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. It is an adult fantasy book, despite it frequently being labeled as a middle grade fantasy. I am hesitant to share even a brief blurb about this story, it would give up too much information and spoil what is a truly enjoyable story. This is a story that perfectly straddles the line between science…

[artemismatchalatte]

2023 Pinterest 50 Book Reading Challenge

35. Set in High School

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

[libertyreads]

Book Review #90 of 2023--

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. Rating: 3 stars.

Read from July 14th to 16th.

I feel like I need to be careful with how I review this one since this series is beloved by one of my mutuals here on Tumblr dot com. This is a middle of the road novel for me. I would say it has more to do with my preferences than with this writer or writing style. This is a historical fantasy novel that follows the Montague siblings and their friend as they have their Grand Tour through the continent. They run into some dastardly Dukes, some kind pirates, a pair of creepy siblings, and an island sinking into the sea.

For me, I enjoyed the characters (who are the true highlight of the story) and felt they all had things they had to overcome in order to be who they want to be, but I felt pretty distant from them. It felt like I couldn’t really get to dive into the characters and know them well enough to feel a connection. The plot itself was pretty bland for me from page to page despite having an amazing sounding premise. I think it was just how the characters got from each plot point to the next that felt like it dragged on for me. I wanted to like this one so much but it didn’t hit in a way that I could really dive in and feel immersed. I think part of that was the way the characters felt removed, but also I’m just not a historical fiction kind of girl. I love Fantasy novels that can feel historical because of the setting, but anything grounded in our actual history just doesn’t jive with me. That part is totally a me thing and not a novel thing at all.

Actually, this novel was a quick and easy read for me. The pages were so quick to get through each day and the plot would keep you moving through the story (for the most part), but I couldn’t get grounded into the world and I never felt like I absolutely had to read the next chapter. I had page count goals for each day of the read and when I hit it I would stop. I guess my biggest take away here is simply that I needed to either feel more immersed in the world or I needed a better connection to the characters. I’m still unsure about reading the next one but the next one has more piracy and a lady wanting to do work she’s not supposed to be doing in the 18th century. So, we’ll see.

[fearsomeandwretchedandwrong]

Bingo progress

Read in June:

Angels and Demons - Witch King by Martha Wells

Druid - Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country by Emily Tesh