#bookworm wins

[koresflowers]

if you have a love triangle in your book and the main character doesn’t end up with the villain/dark haired morally gray man than don’t write it.🎀🩷💕💞

[stardustizuku]

This particular passage jumped out to me.

Why I find it interesting is that it’s framing the “noble spices” as something very fancy that not a lot of common folk have and tries to portray Rozemyne as ‘better’ because she enjoys simple flavors.

This is made because she’s Japanese, and Japanese people (seem to) prefer less condiments.

In Europe spices were originally brought for nobles because they were the only ones who could afford them. Kinda like the sugar thing going on in the first volumes.

It’s sort of a way to frame her taste as something that connects her to the common folk. That makes her relatable.

But in Europe, eventually, due to the merchant trades, spices became super common, which made them cheap. And nobles ditched the spices cause even peasants could eat them.

Rozemyne describes the Ahrensbach cuisine as spicy. Which makes me wonder.

I understand a lot of people don’t like spicy food. But as someone who does, it sounds really wild to see someone describe it so unfavorably

[ming-sik]

call me a contrarian if you must but im still pulling for zent adolphine. eglantine would be quicker but if we just have adolphine divorce sigiswald and idk i guess be adopted by king trauerqual if we Must we can get someone on the throne who isnt either 1) actively trying to dodge the role or 2) sigiswald and was 3) a trained archduke candidate who actively wants a position of power and doesn't even want to be married to her loser idiot husband of two weeks. give her like a week to circle the shrines my girl can pull through

[systemelunaire]

[soupercatte]

WoL!Kel has a particular taste I've realized and the trio combo of "Highly Specialized Nerd" is very powerful and I love them.

[justmejpg]

Lesbian reviews a sapphic romance book bc I js finished it and now you need my opinion on it: book one

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

Ashley Herring Blake

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK AHEAD (Potentially)

Oh my god, Delilah green is so fucking hot. Jesus AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(Imagine the scream very loud and very high pitched, like a teenager squealing bc that’s exactly how I felt)

GOOD GOD! CHAPTER 19?! THE TAROT BUILDING INTO THE SEX?! HELLO?!? HELLO?!?

Good god, Delilah Green make me [REDACTED NAME] Green, PLEASE!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Don’t even get me started on Claire, HEY MAMA!!

god I wouldn’t mind making her a mama again, ooooooohhhh the way they describe her plush body? Munch.😋

Alexa play “LUNCH” by Billie Eilish.

Kaboom!

[azura-22]

Vorrei ringraziare la guardia di sicurezza "Casa di Giulietta'' per il suo messaggio.

[soph4estela]

if reading with huge headphones on a Friday night makes me a loser, then i’m okay with being a loser.

[starrynightsxo]

born to giggle over books, forced to dwell over academic hardships.

[kbookblurbs]

The Stone Sky - N.K. Jemisin (Broken Earth #3)

4.5/5 - at times too cerebral for my tastes; very fitting pyhrric victory; the mother-daughter relationship in this book makes me SICK. I'm obsessed.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!

In an effort to keep this a bit more concise and to the point than my review for The Obelisk Gate, I'm structuring this review into three main sections:

Worldbuilding

Pacing & The Ending

Essun, Nassun, & their relationship

Worldbuilding

I deeply love that Jemisin devotes so much time to making sure that the worldbuilding here reflects on a (sub)textual level the point she's trying to convey regarding race, oppression, and the consequences of othering people. It's rich and allows for a really nuanced exploration into what it means to consider people subhuman, what that does to their psyche, and what that exposes about that society. The section about the "Briar Patch" is ... particularly horrifying. A match to the scene in The Fifth Season with the node maintainer in terms of sheer banal evil.

I do feel, however, that sometimes the commitment to this description and this worldbuilding on every page interfered with getting to know some of the characters. Obviously Essun, Nassun, Schaffa, etc. are very well-developed, but characters like Tonkee, Ykka, and Lerna felt very one-note at times. Since our main characters are in their own heads so much, it doesn't really feel like we really get to know anyone else - though that could be a narrative technique given Essun's tendency to misunderstand or underestimate her relationships with others. Either way, I personally wanted to see a little bit more interaction between everyone.

Pacing & The Ending

At times, the book dragged for me. I think this may be because I felt some scenes with Schaffa and Nassun were somewhat repetitive, but I understand the need to keep them in. They each show something different and unique and horrifying, to be perfectly honest, about their relationship and Nassun's underlying traumas.

The ending, however, was everything I could ask for. It's felt all along like Essun wouldn't survive this, but through books one and two, I had imagined more of a go-down-swinging type of exit. This one was, frankly, all the more heartbreaking. She loved her daughter more than she loved humanity, more than she loved herself.

And what a blow for Nassun. To be orphaned twice over, basically, and to have a hand in the death of each of your parental figures makes my heart ache for her. She's so young to have experienced the world like this. It's especially tragic and fitting, as far as endings go, that she loses her orogeny at the end of the series. It's not a stretch to say that Nassun literally lost everyone who ever loved her and a part of herself she loved (and an arm!). What ultimately brought her the most happiness was also the seeds of her own personal tragedy.

Essun, Nassun, & their relationship

Few things have made me more sick, angry, and deeply conflicted than the twisted ties between Nassun, Essun, & Schaffa. How tragic to be so traumatized by even the attempt to live a normal life that you inflict the same pain upon your child. That your abuser can recognize your actions as wrong. That there's no way you could have known any different!

That said, Essun being afraid of her daughter and understanding that she is afraid of Nassun because Nassun is just like her was, again, deeply sad and frustrating on my part. It was understandable, because even as Essun has attempted to accept the whole of her life, who she is, and what she's done, good and bad, she hasn't really forgiven herself for it. She hasn't forgiven herself for being born powerful and stubborn and ambitious and seeing those traits reflected back in her daughter made her frightened!

From Nassun's point of view, for her to know, but not quite understand, that Schaffa had a hand in making Essun who she was and is, made me as the reader miserable. Schaffa is treating her better than many of the adult figures in her life. But he's also grooming her into a weird, toxic, codependent relationship that only serves to confirm Nassun's impression of her mother as someone who doesn't (or can't) love her when Schaffa is literally the reason that Essun acts and parents the way that she does. It goes round in circles and makes me sick and ill and I will be thinking about this for the foreseeable future I fear.

Overall - an excellent book and an excellent series that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a dense high fantasy or science fiction story. It packs a punch!

[tolive1000lives]

Never talk to me or my Little Free Library haul ever again

[cuntstable]

once again im the one person in the world saying this but jojo fans need to notice pucci and kakyoin parallers more. wake UP PEOPLE.

[bookworms-haven]

True pain is trying to read more books than your friend whose main hobby is reading. (She is on 40 and I am on 34)

[fuckyeahelijahwoodfan]

Couple goals 😍

If your guy likes to do his top button, you should too 🥰😍🥰

[i-am-the-page-turner]

"First Lie Wins: Reese's Book Club Pick" by Ashley Elston.

"First Lie Wins: Reese's Book Club Pick" by Ashley Elston is a thrilling novel that follows the story of Genevieve and her twin brother, Jack, who are forced into a dangerous game of deception. The siblings find themselves entangled in a web of lies when they witness a murder while on vacation in France. Desperate to protect themselves and their family, Genevieve and Jack must navigate a maze of secrets and betrayal as they race against time to uncover the truth. With their lives on the line, they are forced to confront their own past and the lies they've told themselves and each other. As the stakes escalate, Genevieve realizes that the first lie might just be the one that wins. Ashley Elston crafts a suspenseful narrative filled with twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Through Genevieve's voice, the novel explores themes of identity, loyalty, and the consequences of deception. With its fast-paced plot and well-developed characters, "First Lie Wins" is a gripping read that will leave readers eagerly turning pages. Reese's Book Club Pick status adds to its allure, ensuring it's a must-read for fans of thrilling mysteries and suspenseful tales.

[doomsday-apparatus]

Fanfiction is better than drugs