#Cinda Williams Chima

[nobeerreviews]

There's something about a roof isn't there? It makes you feel like it doesn't matter what's going on below. All of those things that get in the way of your dreams - you're above them. Anything is possible.

-- Cinda Williams Chima

(Krakow, Poland)

[meganwhalenturner]

I've been organizing a writer's retreat since 2018 and this was our first year back since the pandemic. Here's a video of what a house full of writers (at work) looks like. 😁

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (October 22nd, 2024)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Releases:

Love & Lattes by Beth Reekles

The Sweetness Between Us by Sarah Winifred Searle

Thief of the Heights by Son M. & Robin Yao (Illustrator)

Eleven House by Colleen Oakes

Happy Head by Josh Silver

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

The Hollow & the Haunted by Camilla Raines

New Sequels:

The Blood Orchid (The Scarlet Alchemist #2) by Kylie Lee Baker

Spectacular (Caraval #3.5) by Stephanie Garber

Bane of Asgard (Runestone Saga #2) by Cinda Williams Chima

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Happy reading!

[haveyoureadthisseries-poll]

1. The Warrior Heir

2. The Wizard Heir

3. The Dragon Heir

4. The Enchanter Heir

5. The Sorcerer Heir

[dragoninthestars]

I love Evan and Destin as a couple because they're so in love with each other in completely different ways they're both so funny.

Evan brings up Destin at least once a chapter and is just constantly like, "I wish Destin were here. Destin would laugh at my jokes. Destin would know how to sail my pride and joy boat that I named after him without ever telling him. Destin so cool. I wonder if I can get away with writing more love letters to Destin.

Meanwhile Destin never mentions Evan and largely pretends he doesn't exist. Yet, every time he shows up or anyone so much as mentions the name Evan Strangward, Destin does the equivalent of choking on water while trying to act natural

[bookishlyvintage]

Children of Ragnarok, Cinda Williams Chima

☆☆☆☆☆ || full review

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

I think seven books in a month is a record for me. Thank you, Narnia.

Uglies

By Scott Westerfeld - Haha, wow, this was a book. I remember growing up seeing the Uglies series populate library endcaps and book fairs. I remember friends toting the series. I don't remember anyone ever recommending it. Still, I respected that it was a piece of YA lit at the forefront of the dystopia craze, and I knew I wanted to read it one day. What luck! I found it on sale for all of ¥800, and I took it as a sign. It was time to read Uglies.

This book is nuts. While the prose is serviceable, the story explains so much to me about the YA dystopia cancer of the 2000s. The Hunger Games takes an idea and builds a frightening, believable world around it. Uglies takes an equally compelling idea and creates some real goofer-goober shit. I told myself Uglyville, Pretty Town, names like those were all a part of the satire, and I found myself having a grand ol' time. Until the middle of the book.

This is not a good book. Like Poor Things, after you get past the silliness of the world, Uglies has itself an intriguing, compelling narrative. A girl obsessed with her own appearance comes to realize this obsession stems not from herself but from the culture of her society. Beauty is subjective, and she is fighting to believe otherwise; beauty does matter, and she must not be ugly. A challenging narrator like this is a great idea, and she made me want to learn more about this fucked-up world. I wanted to see how it functioned, how beauty as a foundation for a society would change everyday living. I wanted the message to be in my friggin' face.

Would you believe that this book takes place almost entirely in the woods? And in an old timey, absolutely normal log-cabin town? No, not the dystopian city that intrigues you, not the interesting stuff. We're hanging out with the trees!! Exclusively!!

The story is bonkers rebellion bullshit. Chemistry between anyone other than Tally and Shay is rushed and unbelievable. The story squanders potential for adventure and exploration and instead parks the reader into normalcy ("Wow! This thing that the reader finds silly and boring is bonkers to us future-world characters!!") It seems like the second book explores this stuff better, but why couldn't it have been the first book? Because I'm no longer interested! You lost me!

Lots of good ideas about beauty standards and self-esteem in Uglies, but ultimately it's not worth anyone's time. The highlight is a narrator who sees appearance in everything; that is well done, but the plot is a whole lot of nothing. Don't waste any time on this one. SKIP IT!

The Horse and His Boy & Prince Caspian

By CS Lewis - Oh, Narnia. Such interesting reads as a liberal, female atheist in the year 2024. I could easily write up a hundred-page essay on this series, and I haven't even finished it yet. Yes, I am reading the books in order of the publisher's numeration, I don't wanna hear about the issues with that.

Horse perhaps is my favorite Narnia book so far--which is crazy, because no one else seems to feel this way. The book is full of problems that would not fly in today's worlds--the first being a poor little white boy is trapped in the savage desert land of heretic brown people who see Narnia as blasphemous beast country. Christianity and racism persist in every Narnia book though, so aside from how uncomfortable that shit made me, there was a great adventure story. Having a book set outside of Narnia was refreshing and expanded on the previously very small world. Horse felt far more adventurous than its predecessors; Magician and Wardrobe were mostly "things-happen-to-the-protagonists" kind of books, but Horse gives our main character and his partner real agency. This was a great bedtime story; I liked this one a lot!

And I didn't really care for Caspian! I know the Pevensies are the main characters of Narnia overall, but I seem to have the most fun when they're not around. Their return did nothing for me. Plus, the Christianity message in this one was especially strong, and that made me particularly uncomfortable (Ah, the religion of old usurps the religion of new, how joyous...). Outside of that, Peter is a flat, lackluster MC, and I never believed the siblings were ever as smart or strong or capable as Lewis tells me they are. Horse had me believe otherwise, so Caspian was a disappointment.

Will continue reading this series next month, hopefully! So far, my opinions seem to differ from the masses, but we'll see how that continues later!

Interview with the Vampire

By Anne Rice - When books are good, I don't have a lot to say about them. I don't have a lot to say about Interview, besides it's a masterpiece.

Not having a lot to say is always a good thing. Rice's prose is phenomenal; I more than once forgot I was reading a modern publication, instead believing I'd slipped into Lovecraft or Shelley or Wilde. The story is deeply emotional, just about to the point that I could not read much in each sitting because I'd start to feel ill. The mind of Louis felt so raw, so real, and the torment of his existence felt believably horrifying. The characters were incredibly compelling, and if I had a free month of time, I'd fully analyze this book front to back for its themes and messages and character relationships. This is stunning, deeply psychological horror. No wonder it's so loved today.

If you love vampires or horror or, hey, LGBT stuff (I'd count it), this is a must-read, and you don't need some random woman on tumblr.com to tell you that. BUY IT!

Black Sun

By Rebecca Roanhorse - I read the first half of this book in September and then put it back on the shelf. I didn't know if I wanted to finish it, but I decided to this month. I bought this book, after all, because it was so widely praised. It had to be good in the end, right?

Well, why did I put Sun down in the first place? A lot of reasons. I picked it back up for a couple reasons, too. The fantasy world is based on Colombian lore, and there's a heavy plot surrounding accension to godhood, which is one of my favorite types of stories. Crow gods and Jaguar gods were incredibly interesting. I liked the two main characters and their chemistry a decent amount, so for these reasons alone, I picked the book up again. Otherwise, I would have DNF'd.

I don't know where the praise is coming from for Sun. The prose is lackluster and at times laughably bad--I'd get horribly sucked out of the scene when a character just had to say, "I'm about to freeze my tits off." While two of the four characters are complicated and interesting, they still are stereotypes; all four characters are tropey, and Roanhorse does not shy from cringey, Marvel-esque one-liners. The plot gives absolutely nothing to chew on; characters set upon a goal and achieve them without complication. If something crazy does happen, the characters don't ever seem to react; they just carry on for the plot, unfeeling, or feeling the exact opposite of what I'd expect. The book is flooded with explanations--telling instead of showing--that leaves no impact on the reader; it's just noise. I rarely DNF books, but this one was close.

Sun is bad, and I don't know what I'm missing about it. The finale is incredibly bland because, as I said, nothing ever goes wrong. There's no emotion or fight in our characters; they just watch things go by. And by GOD, do I hate flashbacks, and this motherfucker is chock full of 'em. For the love of god, SKIP IT!

Children of Ragnarok

By Cinda Williams Chima - I read Chima's Seven Realms series and really, really loved them. So much, I decided I'm going to read everything else she's written. First, I'm reading the first book in her newest series, and I am happy to say Chima continues to satisfy my love of fantasy with Ragnarok.

The book suffers some pacing issues in the middle, but before and after that is some nonstop binge-reading. The intro sucks you in immediately; our two main characters are likeable and mysterious, though the male lead is especially compelling. Questions pervade his side of the story, and I was constantly trying to solve the mystery of his family. I've never cared more about the fate of someone's farm! Juxtaposed beside him, the female lead's tale offers necessary context for much of the male's story, but Chima has written an idiot. She is incredibly stupid, and the twists were very, "Well, no shit, sherlock." That made her half of the book fairly boring and...confusing? Why is she so dumb? How is she so dumb? Or am I genius??

The prose was acceptable, if not sometimes a little repetitive. How could Eiric's story be so good and Reginn's...not? There are intriguing element's to New Jotunheim in Reginn's story, but I was constantly wondering, "When do we get back to Eiric's story?" Eiric's character is harsh and complicated. His twists were frightening and shocking, his sister compelling and mysterious, his finale disturbing. How could one story be so successful and Reginn's so...meh?

Still, I loved this book. The world is rich and rooted in Norse lore, and Eiric's story was strong enough to carry me through to the end. Chima understands irony and pacing and good stakes, and despite the failings of Reginn's story and Chima's sometimes annoying prose, I'd still recommend you BUY IT!

Moloka'i

By Alan Brennert - I only tend to enjoy historical fiction if it somehow surrounds the suffering of women. Is that weird? Maybe, if not just cathartic. It's nice to read about women who are going-through-it.

Moloka'i follows the story of a girl's long life on the island of Moloka'i, where she lives inside a leprosy colony in the early 1900s. It details the trials and tribulations of living with Hansen's disease, all the while exploring how the illness impacts a person's life in this time period. It's a deeply moving story about love and loss and all the adventures of life, but more importantly, it transports the reader into a world mostly forgotten. The colony on Moloka'i is deeply realized and incredibly immersive. I often forgot this was historical fiction and not biographical. Brennert does a fantastic job paying tribute to the real people of Moloka'i, though I can only guess as much. He did inspire to me a wish to visit the island one day and tour the museums.

A greatly endearing piece of historical fiction about illness, prejudice, family, and spirituality. Not a page-turner for me, but definitely a tear-jerker. RENT IT!

[okerum]

to the people of tumblr. i implore you to read my favorite book series of like 6 years, the shattered realms by cinda williams chima, which contains my #1 ship of all time and happens to have like 5 other fans on planet earth and im not sure any of them are alive today. you cannot give up at the first book you have to make it to book 3 because thats when my alltime favorite characters start getting more attention (in the first two they're established as antagonists from other characters' povs but theyre trying to do good :c)

if it'd help persuade a single person, i drew all the main characters here as well.... i just need someone to talk to about desvan....... please ......

if u want more info abt the series, it's a young adult wartime fantasy that has a good amount of focus on the political aspects of the war. my fav is destin karn, lieutenent and spymaster for the 2 kings of the antagonistic kingdom :P

he and evan are in a canon queer relationship which brings me such joy and its such a fun dynamic, with a troubled soldier x free pirate, bonded through an unlikely encounter. they have such fun exchanges as well!

when i say i need someone to talk to about it i MEAN it i would like nothing more than to compare notes i have been keeping this to myself since early middle school and theres, like, one substantial post abt the series on tumblr and no other social media apps and hardly any more fics about it. ive reread the third and fourth books probably like 8 times (+ at least 8 more for just the beginning of book 3 and the end of book 4) and it just sits in my head rotting because i can only turn destin and evan over in my microwave brain so many times before they get burnt or something

this is a cry for help and tumblr is my final hope. tumblr, home of the niche fandoms and readers and also gay people.... heed my call !!! i beg of thee!!!!! read my favorite series !!!! whole post literally begging and pleading!!!!

[lilabyrne]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Shattered Realms Series - Cinda Williams Chima Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Destin Karn/Evan Strangward Characters: Destin Karn, Evan Strangward, Jenna Bandelow Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, During Canon, Fluff, Character Study Summary:

A small collection of scenes that could quite possibly fit into the canon events of Flamecaster and Stormcaster, all from Destin Karn's point of view regarding Evan Strangward. The first extends the scene of Destin being tasked with finding Jenna to his thought process afterward. The second is Destin's point of view of the Baston Bay meeting in Stormcaster. The third is a new scene that I made up, taking place directly after the Baston Bay meeting.

[kbkirtley]

Let me introduce you to the White Knight’s titular hero, Lance Locke, through similar characters/character inspirations!

If you’re a fan of characters like Percy Jackson, Adrian Everhart/Sentinel, Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts, or Jack Swift, you might find a new favorite character in The White Knight!

The White Knight is available for pre-order right now! Learn more at KirtleyBooks.com!

[kpopandbookschild]

Book poll round 2 #3

[mbrainspaz]

Audiobook reader of the Demon King is killing me slowly. Her voice is so good at the narration where she has an American accent but for some reason she decided to try different vaguely English sounding accents for most of the characters??? It’s a fantasy world so alright but … she’s so bad at it. A character will start speaking with a BBC accent that slowly slides in to cockney and slips out the other end as Australian, sometimes with a brief hint of Scottish. And there’s literally no reason for it. Most of the characters with this bizarre accent so far are stand ins for native Americans and Appalachian folk. She could have just not. I don’t know if I can survive three books of this.

[calowlmitygoddess]

i've had a small freak out on twitter after deciding to read ahead on Stormcaster and finding out Han eventually started to use the sul'Alger tittle/last name

[dragoninthestars]

Highlights from my first time reading Deathcaster Part 1

Talbot: Oh my gosh! Breon's alive! This is great!!!

Adrian: Who the hell is Breon?

Talbot: He tried to kill your sister!

Adrian: -_-... what.