#STAND-ALONE

[sorbusscriptor]

“Really. You're the best they could send?"

"The best! At least, the best that was willing and physically able to assist."

"So, what, is everyone else dead?"

"Oh, only half a dozen or so, but that's only actually preventing two of them from coming."

"So four of them--"

"Could assist, yes. They declined due to other obligations. Dr Peren and Professor Cales are, unfortunately, physically unable to meet with you."

"Because they're dead?"

"Well, they are dead, but that isn’t entirely the reason. Doctor Peren is of course a Litch, and while that usually wouldn't hinder her movements her phylactery is, well... her entire office. A dispute with a coworker, you know, the location was quite coveted. Beautiful windows. 'Not even over my dead body' was what she'd said, and, well..."

"She bound her soul to her office so her colleagues couldn't steal her spot?”

"Yep!"

"...And the professor..?"

"Oh, he implemented a do-not-resurrect policy on himself, wished to study the planes beyond more thoroughly. He’s planning on returning with his findings eventually, which lots of people think is madness, but if anyone could draw themselves back through the planes without an established anchor it would be him. I wouldn’t bet against it.”

"So they sent you, even though we asked for an experienced necromancer, one at the top of their field. And you're telling me that you are the best they could do because the rest are either busy, or, and i cannot say this with any more emphasis on the irony of it, dead. Who the hell even are you?"

"Oh, i'm Professor Cales's assistant! Just graduated, needed some work. Now that he's on sabbatical--"

"—dead and likely never coming back because he didn't anchor--"

"--I have much more free time while i'm waiting for him! Need to keep myself sharp without any grading to do, after all! And this puzzle—“

“—Mystery with the potential to unravel death and magic as we know it—“

“Yes, that, it seems a perfect learning opportunity!”

[quirky-book-reads]

Her Convenient Vow to the Billionaire

Genre: Mills & Boon, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance The shocking twist to their reunion…She must marry the tycoon! Playboy CEO Rafael is determined to demolish the biggest demon from his past: the Greek orphanage he once called home. It’s a cruel reminder of all he’s lost, including his childhood sweetheart Sabrina. But then she shows up to stop him! When Rafael offers to hand over…

[egg-a1]

Sometimes, A1 could hear people talking through the glass of the experiments and the padding of her room.

She never saw them. She could always hear them.

It was always stuff she didn't understand. Residents and islands. Eggs with names not like hers at all (no letters, just numbers- but someones someone will slip up. Words. Actual names-), gods and angels and fucked up creatures. Robots. Ducks and whatever a human resource or a cryo chamber was. Nothing she could visualize; though she's fairly certain she was shown a picture of a duck, once.

She's not positive, though.

They call her specific things, so she picks up what kids are- kids like her. Egg. Kid. Dragon. The most common was "Ay-One." It's the thing darkened on her clothes and into her skin. A1. Group A, Egg 1. She always wondered if that meant she was the first- maybe the oldest?- but there was no way to answer. If she asked, there was a punishment for speaking out of line; it's against the obedience training, it's the 'curiosity killed the cat', it's tougher trials to go through.

So she doesn't ask. Just like she never mentions 'residents' or 'cryo chamber'-es. She stays quiet. Like she's supposed to. Like she was taught. She stayed quiet, eats the food they put through the slot in her door, and waits until they're gone- (the workers. The ones who stare at her with empty eyes like she was just another thing they've seen; nothing unique and nothing to spare a thought for-) to curl up in the corner, knees to chest, face smushed into the soft skin of her arm.

The floor was never quite warm enough. The food was never quite filling. One day she hopes to find something better.

Tomorrow was another day. Maybe she'd learn more through the door tomorrow.

[2ndaryprotocol]

The sort-of sequel, sort-of spin-off, sort-of standalone ‘An American Werewolf In Paris’ stormed theaters this week 25 years ago. 🇫🇷🐺🌑

“𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙸 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎 𝚞𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚏.”

[paragraphs-and-pages]

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Happy release date to Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood! I’m so happy to be celebrating the release of this book with you all, especially with the team at Berkeley and everyone else on the blog tour! I absolutely devoured this book (and definitely lost sleep because of it), and I’m so happy it’s finally out in the world for you all to devour too! My review is below, and I hope it convinces…

[momoyukiis]

technoroid 🥺 them.

[karinakantas]

One woman holds the key to his destiny—and his people's salvation.

One woman holds the key to his destiny—and his people’s salvation.

The next exciting and hot book in the fabulous PNR fantasy, The Titanian Chronicles. Hagen drags himself to the gates of Hell, body and soul shredded by the bloodlust that consumes all the unmated of his kind. Awaiting the painful atonement that will buy him ten more years to find his eternal mate—or face oblivion. But Hades himself kicks him out with the bloodlust still prowling, unsatisfied,…

[vreugd-madelon]

Project Hail Mary Review

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a 476 adult Science Fiction Stand-Alone novel. 

A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone. Or does he?

I rate this book 5/5 stars.

I loved this story in the end while in the beginning there were a few speedbumps because I don’t usually read sci-fi books.  I really like how we slowly but surely learn about Ryland’s past and now he came to be on the spaceship. But there is still one question that I have in my mind. How did his crew die? It’s never really clearly explained within the book. While I do have that one thing life bothering my mind, it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book and story.

The character work was amazing, Ryland feels like a Gary Sue in the beginning since we don’t have any background on him and he’s able to just know/do all types of things. In the beginning the flashbacks were to establish certain details that were needed to progress the story, but later they just provide background information. (When I wrote my notes, apparently I found them annoying, but looking back on them after a week or 2, I don’t anymore).

Rocky is my favourite characters. More I’m not going to say, because I don’t wanna spoil the entire book but when Ryland and Rocky split up to go home I genuinely bawled my eyes out and had to put the book down for a moment.  The ending itself was a twist as well which I didn’t see coming in a million years, and I’ve yet to decide whether I’m happy with it, but it’s a very closed ending which it really nice. Maybe in the future a short story of Eva Stratt’s POV would be really nice, just saying.

Do you have any questions? Or maybe some recommendations? Send me an ask here on Tumblr or tweet me.  If you wish to support me, you can buy me a coffee! Or even buy my debut fantasy novel, The Mending Road.  

[chloesimaginationthings]

Pomni and Gummigoo reunite in TADC!

[thatskindarough]

“‘I just…I thought you might like to come back, one day,’ Crowley said very quietly. Aziraphale’s foot pressed against his again, and Crowley drew in a sudden breath, as if he hadn’t been breathing properly since Aziraphale had stopped touching him.”

This piece was a commission from the lovely @fellshish for their lovely friend, @alphacentaurinebula ‘s fic What Are You Doing Here? This fic is cute, funny, heartwarming, and incredibly spicy, and I’m very much looking forward to finishing it! Thank you Fells for being wonderful to work with, and happy (belated) birthday to you Alphacentauri, I’m very happy I could do this for you!

[madlovenovelist]

#bookporn #coverlove

I’ve heard so many great things about ‘Beach Read‘ I bought it off the hype alone. Can’t wait to find a quiet spot by the water to set the mood and dive on in! What novel have you purchased purely from the marketing buzz alone?

[quirky-book-reads]

A Mother's War

My 3.5* review of A Mother's War by Helen Parusel (@HelenParusel). A Mother's War is an emotive story about one woman's journey of friendship and other experiences as she falls in love with the enemy... #historicalfiction #ww2 #comingofage #debutnovel

Genre: Historical Fiction A forbidden romance in occupied Norway… Narvik, 1940. After Laila awakens to the sight of warships in the fjord, it isn’t long before she turns resistor to the brutal Nazi regime. She is horrified when local girls begin affairs with enemy soldiers, yet against her own principles, she finds herself falling in love with German soldier, Josef. Josef is not like the…

[notaplaceofhonour]

Not At Odds

Ceasefire Now + Bring Them Home Now

Jewish & Palestinian safety & freedom are not at odds with each other; they are interconnected. These things can must coexist.

[spookberry]

Idiot to Idiot communication

[theoldkyokodied]

One wedding and three funerals

Background paintings under the cut

[paragraphs-and-pages]

In the Ravenous Dark by A. M. Strickland

In the Ravenous Dark by A. M. Strickland

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