#annette marie the guild codex

[the-guild-codex-and-other-things]

Spellbound 4

Aaron, after realizing he forgot to get Kai something for his birthday:

Aaron, after finding out Tori and Ezra ate the last cupcake:

[musthaveromance]

Chocolate and confusion

He stood at the counter, staring down at the box of chocolates, the fluorescent lights casting harsh shadows over his face. After a long moment, he lifted a hand and touched the edge of the box.His tail slashed sideways—and he shoved the chocolates off the counter. They crashed to the floor, the small delicacies scattering over the linoleum.

I would love to read this scene from Zylas' POV!!

And this scene too!!

Zylas was scrutinizing me, his eyebrows low over critical red eyes.“Um.” I blinked. “Zylas?”He turned to the demon mage. “Nailēranis et nā. Eshaillā kir?” “Probably.” Jaw tightening, Zylas returned his stare to me, his expression intent as though he were rearranging his understanding of my incomprehensible human brain.

Was he comprehending why Robin is in danger of the other mages and what it meant when they said "you have the look"? Or was he wondering about her panicked reaction to his strength when he chose to "make her squirm"?

[redraspberryleaf]

If you love:

monster of the week

found families

boys being dumbass lovable boys

the main character actually being relatable and not secretly superhuman stomping her way into the world of magic cause she's just that stubborn and broke

healthy relationships

books that feel like a really good fanfic, not from tropes, but cause the author doesn't think they're better or smarter than you

that sweet, sweet canadian content

I am BEGGING you to read The Guild Codex books.

[vibrantnostalgia]

Your body could build my grave, with leather and lace. You take all my breath away, with that face. Cause she's drop dead gorgeous, I think she knows it. I think she knows it... But if she ever left, I would just drop dead.

I animated Ashoakmaple's art of Tori and Ezra from Annette Marie's The Guild Codex! Song: Drop Dead Gorgeous by Voilà, perfectly recommended by this podcast!

[blurrypetals]

Damned Souls and a Sangria by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted nov. 5, 2024 - ★★★★☆

I don't know why I never read this back in 2020. Sure, the audiobook wasn't out by the time I finished Lost Talismans and a Tequila in September, but I don't know why I didn't return when this was finally released on audiobook in November. I do remember losing some momentum with the series at the time, but having read this now, I'm disappointed in myself for waiting as long as I did, because I know I would have liked this so much better if I'd read it when the series was fresh in my memory.

That being said, I still did enjoy this a lot. I missed Annette's easy, fun banter and I ate it right up the same way I used to.

While I didn't remember hardly anything that was going on at first, I did still care about what was going on, about what would happen to these characters, particularly to Ezra and, by proxy, Eterran. It was also incredibly wonderful to see Robin and Zylas again! They're my favorites and always steal the show whenever they're on the page.

This was definitely a good conclusion to the Spellbound books and I'm looking forward to moving on to starting Warped and Unveiled!

[anabellrey]

Im so close to finishing crochet zylas and I am so excited!! Just need to make his tail and the armor pieces pretty much!!

With a screenshot from the guild codex WEBTOON for reference!

[creative-hanyou-girl]

When you're really REALLY passionate about a book that has the same vibes as your favorite anime/manga and you just really want to recommend it to all the people in your anime/manga fandom because you KNOW they'd love it too but your worried about being annoying and overbearing with your recommendation.👉👈

[honoraofthebrightmeadow]

I don't want Alina and Mal to lose their powers. I want them isekaed in the Guild codex universe. No Grisha, no Morosovas powers. They are just mythics.... oh, and Genya and David too. Let them learn chemistry, molecular biology, and atomic physics.

Ok. I'm bitter. I'm at work and just finished "Ruin and Rising," and I need to get home to read "The Six of Crows."

[awkadoodledoo]

How did I forget how book boyfriend worthy Zylas is😭

[justmybookthots]

Guild Codex: Demonized

4/5 stars

Hello to this series that has consumed my life the past couple of days. What is wild is that I almost did not read this series. I saw in the reviews that the demon was in a contract with the heroine in exchange for cookies, and I was like, that sounds overly comedic and I personally dislike it when comedy dominates fiction, so no.

But after reading the first two books in the Red Winter trilogy by the same author, I decided to give this one a try.

LUCKILY IT WASN’T ANYTHING LIKE THAT (the cookies were something the demon had no choice but to accept because they were both desperate for a contract at the time) AND THIS SERIES HAS ETCHED ITS PLACE AMONG MY FAVOURITE BOOKS. 

I just binged this entire series (all four books) from Sunday to Thursday, wtf. I started the first book on Sunday and finished it on Monday (I think??), then tried to take a break but ended up bingeing anyway. The first book was pretty much near perfection; there was almost nothing I could critique about it. Every scene with Zylas (ZYLAS!!!) hit the spot and while I feared their exchanges would become repetitive, each scene was chef’s kiss and had a purpose that led to a greater picture. The other three books weren’t as perfect, especially the last one, but they still had me in an iron-grip and had me zooming through all of them.

The last time I was this engrossed in a series, it was with Cruel Prince. I think it was my obsession with Zylas that really sucked me in. I haven’t loved a male lead like that in a while. At some point, I thought he even rivalled Cardan (now, maybe not? I don’t know). He was rude, cruel, even kind of sociopathic in the first book, which made sense because he was a demon. I was so worried he’d soften up right away and just end up behaving like a normal person (which so many books make the mistake of. Being arrogant but tortured does not make a male lead a demon, just a stereotypical hero, thank you very much) but he was always so unpredictable. I loved how he touched Robin’s hand - then grabbed her into the summoning circle and asked how her blood tasted. It was totally out of nowhere in an otherwise soft moment that had lulled me into a false sense of security. 

I also loved that he wasn't considered strong for a demon, and had to use his cunning to fight a lot of times. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° My heart almost broke, though, when Robin forced him to fight the demon from the First House and nearly got him killed. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh. I don't know why, but I found that plot point soooo good.

Also, in the second book, him harassing Socks (the cat) was EVERYTHING:

I also really liked Robin - she wasn’t the badass, snarky heroine that I’ve read in so many fantasy books. She was timid, and combat-wise really useless. She had to struggle to make herself useful during battle, and was more book smart than street smart. AND I LOVED IT. It was such a refreshing change from what I was used to, and what I’d been looking for. I’d even asked Reddit for recommendations… I wonder why they didn’t recommend this to me? Or maybe they did, and I forgot.

But I digress. 

I think Annette Marie is really talented, and while the language is very straightforward and not very pretty or flowery or anything like that, the story is extremely well-written. My eyes started glazing over when the action got too intense, though, and I ended up skimming the fight scenes. I’ve never really cared about action in fiction, if I’m being honest. I always skim that, including in thrillers. 

The last thing I’d like to add is that after Robin and Zylas consummated their relationship in the last book, their tension kind of ebbed for me, and I wasn’t as invested in them anymore. I’m not sure why - was I so invested in their slow burn that I didn’t care afterwards? I also think the sex scene was meh, and could have been done with better foreplay and all that shit to make it more intense, because it felt - no pun intended - kind of anticlimactic. If the romance is slow-burn, so should the. Fucking. Sex!!!!!

(Also I would have liked Zylas to be more... in pursuit, lmao, but that's neither here nor there.)

Overall, it was so FANTASTIC, and I just loved, loved, loved their little makeshift family with Amalia (GO AMALIA!!! Loved how Robin and her formed a friendship that lasted all the books) and Socks. I was terrified of finishing the series too fast because I’d have a massive book hangover, so… yikes. Thankfully, I think I’m okay, because the last book wasn’t hitting as hard.

I hope I'm okay...

Also, some of my favourite quotes:

❤️❤️ (Can I also say I'm obsessed with his tail? FIRST CARDAN, NOW ZYLAS. WHY DO I KEEP FALLING FOR MEN WITH TAILS?)

- 20 July 2023

[halogencat]

“If you are smarter than your enemies, you do not need to be stronger.”

- Stolen Sorcery & Other Misadventures (The Guild Codex: Warped #4) by Annette Marie

[musthaveromance]

He straightened, pushing away from the table with the air of someone planning to change the subject. “Drādah, I want to know.” “Yes?” I asked cautiously. “What”—he canted his head—“is abs?”

[val-ritz]

I do love the various series of the Guild Codex, but I'm definitely hungry for just one powerhouse protagonist. Saber took some pretty great steps toward that near the end of Unveiled, and Kit's had a few flashes of realization of his powers, but we don't really get to bask in viewpoint character having their shit together for very long.

Let me see Tori doing Bartender Batman stuff, or Robin doing some more demon arcana, dammit.

[vibrantnostalgia]

Character art of Zak Andrii, the one and only Crystal Druid. From the Guild Codex book series by Annette Marie.

[niaskywalk]

Hunting Fiends for the Ill-equipped (Guild Codex: Demonized #3) by Annette Marie.

Read ALL the Guild Codex (Spellbound, Demonized, Warped and Unveiled).

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading