#Of Vows and Betrayal

[thereadingcafe]

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW TOUR:

OF VOWS AND BETRAYAL by R.G. Angel at The Reading Cafe:

'The premise is dark, gritty and raw'

[akkivee]

i’m not posting this for any other reason than to cry over ichiro’s voice as he teases kuukou lmao 😭😭😭

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Bloody Betrayal

Artist: Brian Valeza TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[randomnameless]

RE thinking about King Gerard in Unicorn Overlord -

We knew the man was a trash dad and a trash king, but thinking about his "sacred blade" and the ring he gives Alain in the main quest...

Both items are supposed (?) to be blessed, somehow, by the holy Unicorn and prevent, gameplay wise, status/afflictions : Alain with his grandpa's sword cannot be frozen or poisoned anymore.

Ludonarration being a thing, if Gerard died to poison while he had access to this kind of equipment, it either meant the sword+ring didn't work when he was shot, or, he didn't have them when he took his "let's travel around the world" trip.

However, lore wise, we know the Unicorn is a symbol of faithfulness, trust and oaths - Rosalinde warns Alain that if he betrays his covenant, he will suffer a fate worse than death

(which might have been done by Zenoirans with their whole "sacrifice that horned pony Baltro said it'd be fun" which condemned them to the netherworld)

What if Gerard was spurned/couldn't wear any "unicorn blessed" stuff during his reign, because he was not the kind of king who could uphold covenants, be faithful and trusted etc etc?

I mean, bar his implied affair with Alcina - while Ilenia and Ilenia's sib were kiddies and most likely had their mom around - Gerard effectively ditched his duty as a King, going as far as calling his coronation something like a nice distraction/event.

Sure, his musings about what makes him more competent than a random to rule and reflection about status could have stuck a chord with some people about general themes like classicism* and all -

Nonetheless ditching your country and the oath to protect/rule/govern it that comes with being its ruler, especially when your family is magically bonded to a fantasy creature that values faithfulness and adherence to vows, is a dick move and I can't unsee the "he was suddenly hit by a poisonous arrow" as some sort of karmic retribution : unicorn themed accessories could have saved him, but King Gerard was - from what we know - spitting on the Holy Unicorn's principles and covenants, so he was banned/couldn't use those accessories and died as a result.

And died because back then, Alcina didn't buy a charm that cures poison.

*Clive seems to have been his biggest supporter, talking about the Province of the Ashen Blue and its creation but from a ruling/Cornian royal family standpoint, the creation of the Ashen Blue was akin to lighting a bomb - and Gerard ran away before being caught in its explosion, leaving his kid daughter deal with the consequences.

The Ashen Blue Order and Province, per Clive's story, is basically a land Gerard gave to minor knights who would only obey to him, and not to their feudal lord (the pecking order seemed to have been this King > Big Noble > Smaller Noble > Random Noble > Knight with the > noting the bonds of vasselage existing).

Gerard thus erased Big, Smaller and Random Nobles, so the Knights would be able to administrative their province themselves, and only obey to him (and not to their lords).

Of course doing something like this, and we have enough examples IRL, would alienate those nobles, and they wouldn't be super happy with the King or Royal Family who decided to pull something like this.

We know in the prologue that nearly all Lords from the Kingdom of Cornia turned against Ilenia, is it because they were all fooled by Galerius-Valmore, or because they were all corrupt? Or because some of them had legit grievances they fostered since Gerard's days and the dude being killed like bum their grievances were transfered to Gerard's daughter, Ilenia?

Shit dad, shit king and most likely shit husband, hopefully he passed the "be a broken unit on a pony" genes to his grandson, because otherwise... He'd be a total failure lol

Still, I like how UO spends time telling and showing the player that the various countries had their own issues before Zenoira rolled over them - unlike a certain verse it doesn't make Zenoiran invasion and occupation uwustified and no one wants to walk with Galvius nor hold his hand - and it's up to the newer generation, or Alain's friends, to change that for the better.

[books-and-strawberry-tea]

Oh god here we go…

Okay so…I picked A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal. I loved the first book. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but I enjoyed the drama and suspense.

The second book tho…I remember why I put it down. And at first I thought maybe it was cause I had a long break. But after searching goodreads reviews turns out I wasn’t alone in my feelings.

No plot, only smut, FMC is frustrating and very all over the place going back and forth with her emotions. THE ENTIRE BOOK! I’m at 56% and I just….I’m bored.

After research, apparently nothing plot related happens to the last 3 pages. I’m sorry what?? How?? How can you right a book where nothing happens till the end??

After researching the 3rd book, I’m definitely not continuing this series. Apparently it’s even worse. So goodbye Adara and whatever MMC’s name is. The beginning of your story was fun but I’m definitely leaving you guys to your over saturated smut/no plot universe.

(ALSO!!! I feel lied to. Vampires??? Where??? Honestly where???)

[amphiptere]

Mary E Pearson book staples:

Vibing and having a good time building friendships and a temporary life in a unique setting, in a culture you are unfamiliar with, but grow to love

A spunky child

[jessread-s]

✩☄️📜 Review:

There is no better way to return to the Remnant Universe than reading Pearson’s expanded prequel!

After learning bits and pieces about Morrighan and Jafir in Pearson’s other works, I enjoyed getting the opportunity to finally read from their perspectives! Pearson allows the reader to view what life was like for both characters after the Devastation. Their gradual development from enemies existing in rival camps to lovers braving hardships together gripped me like no other novel and brought tears to my eyes. 

In addition to Morrighan and Jafir’s story, the prequel includes gorgeous interior illustrations by Kate Ohara. Ohara does a fantastic job capturing Morrighan and Jafir’s budding romance on the page. The illustrations in conjunction with Pearson’s text immerses readers in the world of the Remnant and creates a storybook feel that mirrors the tales Morrighan told to her tribe. 

“Morrighan” will forever be one of my favorite works by Pearson. Readers often skip prequels because they view them as unnecessary, but “Morrighan” truly is a must read for fans of The Remnant Chronicles and the Dance of Thieves duology!

➤ 5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[seleneastra]

ok you know how rafe and lia have a daughter named aster? what if they have a son named jeb who loves clothes and he’s loves dressing in cruvas linen?

[myatlantispoets]

the originals/mikaelsons really said "our family bond is a curse it is our biggest strength our parents didn't make us monsters we did it to ourselves we don't have to repeat our parents' mistakes we can break the pattern we're broken and damaged beyond repair loving any of us is a death sentence you've broken my trust more times than i can count i'll be by your side always and forever

[lostnlife75]

Lost

I feel so lost in life. How do I start over at 48 with zero savings, no degree, no home and because I took care of the family for so long, my work experience is only so-so.

He broke every promise he ever made to me. Every wedding vow broken & every I’m sorry, was followed by another broken promise. I’ll never love again, I’ll never be vulnerable to another person like I was with him. I’m so lost in this life.

[catwings-writes-things]

Chapter Three of my Dracula/The Magnus Archives fusion AU where Mike Crew’s story happens to Mina and Lucy is up! Mina has entered into the feelings of the hunter. She’s also accidentally summoned some dogs. Unlike when Arthur did it in Dracula, this is not helpful.

[t-u-i-t-c]

chapter xix

[runningfromadream]

To you even betrayal can sound like a vow.

Anna Akhmatova

[dontyoulistentome]

Zero. My one kryptonite is not on there. I have avoided kiwi fruit like the plague, since The Incident.

This could be fun. I scored 11. How about you?

[gamethon-official]

Broken Promise - This Song Will Move Your Soul to Tears | Gamethon Music