#c.s.e. cooney

[drastrochris]

Hi! Go read Saint Death's Daughter!

Do you like Gideon the Ninth, and Harrow, but want to think about if she were sunshine and rainbows?

Let me tell you about Lanie Stones!

She's got:

This whole religion thing around her.

Toxic relatives.

But if SexPal was royalty.

Best friend: Dead friend.

It's a baby. I'm not going to be a jerk to a frickin' baby.

Did you order the skeleton war? I've got a delivery here for "skeleton war," and it has your address.

[literary-illuminati]

50 pages into Saint Death's Daughter and I will admit that my extremely uncharitable first reaction is 'publishers have really noticed The Locked Tomb, huh"

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Saint Death's Daughter | Author: C.S.E. Cooney | Publisher: Solaris (2023)

[rhetoricandlogic]

Breathcatching: The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E Cooney

Posted 3rd February 2023 by Sia in Fantasy Reviews

I was so determined to write this book a review that did it justice, I actually ended up reading it twice – once over a period of weeks; the second time, I gulped the whole thing down in a single day.

I REGRET NOTHING.

For real, though: this is a book that lost none of its lustre on a reread, which is a noteworthy accomplishment all by itself. I wasn’t bored for a moment, even when I knew exactly how everything was going to go down; I still felt all the Feels; I still got thrill-shivers at the breathcatching parts. I still loved getting to see an older (‘older’; 38 isn’t actually old, but you know what I mean) protagonist who is equal parts cynical and hopeful, snarky and smart; I was still gleeful over the system of holy benisons-as-currency; I still adored Betony, from her platinum crown to her dusty feet. I still wanted to watch movies at the Quick and wander beautiful, fruitful Bloom and take a peek at what books a public library in a city ruled by angels might hold.

But.

Cooney routinely leaves me speechless, and The Twice-Drowned Saint is no exception – despite having read it twice, I have no idea how to describe, never mind explain, this brilliantly, beautifully bizarre little novel, with its properly unbiblical angels, a possessed police-force, and a sacred cinema of silent, black-and-white movies! What am I supposed to say???

I loved it. Obviously.

I was not completely sure I would, at first! I dove in as excited as I could possibly be, but I was not expecting first-person narration, and was a bit disappointed, since first-person makes it hard to justify the gleefully ostentatious syntactical and lexical extravaganza that is Cooney’s prose in third-person. But I shouldn’t have doubted her; she’s established in multiple short stories that her first-person writing still glitters and gleams and glitzes, and so it does here in The Twice-Drowned Saint. In fact, I might actually recommend this as a good place to start if you’ve never read Cooney before and are wary of the purple prose (a term I use not derogatorily but with love) that I’ve raved about in her other books, because here, the dial’s turned down on the logophilia, but the story still sizzles and sears with Cooney’s signature quixotic whimsy and vivid, fantastical weirdness.

There were two things every Gelthic citizen knew. One: only saints could see the angels who ruled us. Two: Alizar the Eleven-Eyed, Seventh Angel of Gelethel, had no saint. He hadn’t had one for a long time. Now I will tell you what the angel Alizar looks like.

Neither of which would shine quite so brightly seen through the eyes of a lesser narrator, but Ishtu Q’Aleth is a main character whose personality and voice are every bit as uniquely distinct – and perfect for the story she’s telling – as were Maurice’s of The Bone Swans of Amandale or Mar’s of The Witch in the Almond Tree (short stories that can be found in Bone Swans and The Witch in the Almond Tree: and other stories respectively). But rather than being a shapeshifter (Maurice) or a witch (Mar), Ishtu is a little bit of both; a saint hiding in plain sight, having refused the call to serve the angel Alizar – at least, in the traditional way.

I was the Seventh Angel’s best kept secret. And he was mine.

Instead, she and Alizar are secret besties, while Ishtu runs the only cinema in a literal city of angels and Alizar does his best to mitigate the bloodthirstiness of his peers, the rest of the angels who rule over Gelethel, a rhombus-shaped city surrounded by a ginormous wall of ice in the middle of the desert.

Oh, and there’s holy popcorn.

Are you intrigued yet?

There’s so much to love here – silent movies so lovingly described I wish I could watch them for myself; a crime family that is also a charity family; attention to detail that goes right down to Gelethel’s very unique currency; and of course, the thing I was most excited about going into this book: Cooney’s take on angels. As someone ardently following #biblicallyaccurateangels on every platform that lets you track hashtags, I loved the angels of The Twice-Drowned Saint, because although Gelethel’s angels are not made of wheels and fire, Cooney has absolutely captured the vibe of Eerie Alien Otherness, the visceral feel of terror-glory-horror-awe that imbues old-school angels, and channelled it through her own aesthetic.

The angel Alizar sometimes looked like a human-shaped paper lantern, or a sudden release of soap bubbles, or a cloud. He glowed on the inside as if he’d swallowed a hive of horny fireflies, and on the outside, he looked as if a toddler with a glue gun had gone wild with the craft buckets containing outrageous feathers, and twining golden vines, and trumpet-like lowers, and thin, prismatic insect wings.

Superficially, The Twice-Drowned Saint is about how 38yo Ishtu (I’m still so delighted to see an MC who is neither a teen nor in her 20s!) wants out of Gelethel – which is completely forbidden – to get her ailing parents the medical care they need in some other city (angels, apparently, not being fans of public health care). Due to belonging to what I can only call a charitable crime family, Ishtu and her parents could sneak out – but Ishtu doesn’t feel she can abandon Alizar, who is the least of the angels who rule the city, bullied by the rest.

So it’s a good thing another saint of his appears to get the story rolling.

Because really, The Twice-Drowned Saint is a book about a revolution, a massive subversion of our typical assumptions about strength and power, about the rewards of violence versus the rewards of open hands and open hearts.

“That ain’t weakness, Q’Aleth. Weakness is killin’ someone for their bread. Strength is splittin’ your last loaf with them.

It’s about many different kinds of faith, and the treatment of refugees and immigrants, about the hoarding of resources when there’s plenty to go around. It’s about movie-making and storytelling and upending the status quo.

Of course, the poets and the outlaws won against him in the end. That’s what they did, in movies. Maybe the only place they ever did. And that’s why we need movies, Uncle Eril had once told me. That’s why it was such a great good thing–the day your father came to Gelethel.

Which is not to say that this is a preachy book bluntly bleating Moral Lessons at you; instead it’s scintillatingly electric, twisty and rich, fierce and gentle and sizzling. This is a book that bats its eyelashes at you and invites you in, then pours a cocktail of invisible wonders and sheer heart-full humanness down your throat; it’s sitting down in a theatre to a black-and-white silent movie and being blasted with sparkling jewel-tones and a full orchestral soundtrack instead. It always feels a little tongue-in-cheek, as though the story is giving you a wink and letting you in on the joke, even as it takes itself seriously with punctilious care.

Which, yes, sounds like a contradiction, DO YOU SEE WHY I’M HAVING TROUBLE EXPLAINING IT???

It’s so weird! It’s so wonderful! It is such a big glorious story somehow distilled into a powerfully short novel, and I am not doing it justice at all, but please believe me when I tell you it is marvellous.

As in, excellent.

As in, full of marvels and miracles.

Alizar the Eleven-Eyed was waiting there to welcome me. He was there, in the firmament, in the clusters of star-like eyes and the spaces between them. He was also all around me, sitting in my bones: jewel-flame flower bells, feathering ferns, the fluttering of membranous wings, a warm and golden thing, like a lamp filled with fireflies.

Do I have any critiques? Sure, but they’re extremely minor; I found it a little too easy/obvious that Alizar, the one good angel, is also the only angel who is aesthetically pretty – the others we see are all quite horrifying and monstrous. And although the grand finale was appropriately goosebump-giving, I didn’t understand why A Certain Thing was necessary – even on my second read, I didn’t catch any explanation or follow the reasoning.

You know, you gonna be a poet, you gotta get yourself some ink. In the real world, poets are head-to-toe tattoos. ‘War flowers,’ we used to call ’em, in Rok Moris.

But I really don’t care, because literally everything else is freaking EPIC. The surreal, wildly imaginative setting and worldbuilding; the pretty incredible complexity of each member of the cast and their relationships to each other (the uncles!!!)(no for real though THE UNCLES!!!); the frankly ridiculous number of times this book took me by surprise – both in terms of big plot twists and itsy-bitsy details–

And, of course, Ishtu herself.

He was like a cricket some kid had poured diatomite over. He was a murderer. A fanatic for the angels. Worse, a teenager.

Oh, Ishtu. *happy sigh*

In short? Yes, I loved it. Obviously. And I will be reading it again – not least because I caught two Easter Egg nods to Saint Death’s Daughter and Bone Swans, and am sure there are more that I missed!

[freshlybrewedbookreviews]

Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney

A friend gave this to me: she'd picked it up as a "blind book date," as it was marketed for fans of the film Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro, shapeshifting, and one other thing that I'm blanking on, but the first three are all things that I enjoy! This book definitely has some of these elements and echoes of some of those things, as well as beautiful prose at times, but I didn't care for any of the characters. I'm not one to be unhappy with unlikeable characters or characters who are complex who make me feel a variety of ways about them, but this spoiled rich girl going off on a quest to satisfy some small moral uncertainty within herself didn't quite convince me. I wish I had more to say either way, but I felt pretty "meh" upon completion, but I think I'm in the minority opinion on this one.

[good-books-to-read]

Ooh Fae

Sounds interesting

2023 reads // twitter thread

Desdemona And The Deep

historical fantasy novella

the spoiled daughter of a rich mining family discovers that her father tithed the lives of miners to the fey underworld, and goes on a whimsical adventure to bargain them back

weird fey & goblins

explores the relationship between fey & human artists

trans girl major character, sapphic MC, no main romance

[victusinveritas]

In case you are wondering what I've been reading this year... here's a list from Goodreads (which I largely use so I don't have to update my handwritten book journal as much). Favorite off this list is probably C.S.E Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep, but it's a close run between that and a few others (Middlesex, Manhunt, The Mushroom at the End of the World).

[annleckie]

Just finished reading St Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney and HIGHLY recommend it.

[booksandchainmail]

What books other than Nona did you nominate for the Hugos?

Babel, by R.F. Kuang

Last Exit, by Max Gladstone

Wrath Goddess Sing, by Maya Deane

Saint Death's Daughter, by C.S.E Cooney

Things I didn't nominate but almost did:

Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo

The Thousand Eyes, by A.K. Larkwood

The Oleander Sword, by Tasha Suri

[sleepnoises]

book ask book ask book ask! 3, 4, 5, 16?

3. What were your top five books of the year? Okay, in chronological order, The High Sierra: A Love Story, Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes, Unraveller by Francis Hardinge, A Visit from the Goon Squad and Never Let Me Go (last two being rereads). Maybe also The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada trans. David Boyd. See also my answer to 24. Also maybe Chelsea Manning's memoir!!

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year? Hmm I'm gonna try to keep an eye out for more C.S.E. Cooney, I love her prose!

5. What genre did you read the most of? Probably fantasy/speculative fiction. Due to who I am as a person.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year? -> Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow babyyyyy

[anntickwittee]

Books I read in 2023:

January:

Petty Treasons by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spellbound by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Suki, Alone by Faith Erin Hicks, Peter Wartman, Adele Matera

Legend of the Fire Princess by Gigi D.G., Paulina Ganucheau

Babel by by R.F. Kuang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Eidolon by K.D. Edwards ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February:

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Starcrossed by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wonderstruck by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

March:

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greenwode by J. Tullos Hennig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

May

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nimona by ND Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check, Please! Book 1 by Ngozi Ukazu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check, Please! Book 2 by Ngozi Ukazu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

June

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heartsong by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Command by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

July

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brothersong by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

August

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sourdough by Robin Sloan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic edited by g. haron davis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once a Rogue by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lion's Legacy by Lev A.C. Rosen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Legacy of Yangchen by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The House Witch by Delemhach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fence Disarmed by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

September

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aurelius (to be called) Magnus by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Circe by Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

October

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

November

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Top Story by Kelly Yang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If Found Return to Hell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Death I Gave Him by Em X Liu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

December

Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some Desperate Glory Emily Tesh ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Husband Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[literary-illuminati]

I admit I am finding Saint Death's Daughter a slog. I'm not opposed to a 650-pg book in principle but I'd at least like the sense you're doing something with the length.

I guess it just feels kind of...fanficcy? In the sense that there is an overarching plot, but frankly the story doesn't seem particularly interested in it compared to delving at length to the specific outfits worn by secondary characters at a midsummer festival and just generally happily meandering in between the points where things would happen.

Which can absolutely work where I already know the plot and am invested and charmed by these secondary characters, but at the moment-

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Twice-Drowned Saint | Author: C.S.E. Cooney | Publisher: Mythic Delirium Books (2023)

[webedragons]

What I read in 2023

And what I thought about it. Pretty much all Scifi/YA, read on if you want book reccs or just to be nosy <3 Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Do you have a favorite book of 2023? please let me know <3 Images and image descriptions included below the cut.

I will be using a 5 star system to rate each book.

(Image Description, 4 books covers in a collage including half a soul, the house of lost wives, Saint Deaths Daughter, and The stargazers war). Half a soul By Olivia Atwater. I picked this book up on sale on kindle, and I liked it! It was easy to read but covered some interesting topics. The main character is cursed by the fae as a child and the book covers her dealing with this curse as an adult in victorian england. Think pride and prejudice but with curses and wizards. 4/5 stars. The house of lost wives by Rebecca Hardy. This was another kindle sale book and while i liked it, I think it could have used another run through editing as the pacing was strange. This book follows a young woman who can see ghosts and is trying to find answers behind the death of her sister. 3/5 stars. Saint Deaths daughter by C.S.E Cooney. This book was probably my biggest surprise of 2023. I loved this book, its beautifully written and very fresh. It follows the daughter of 2 famous necromancers as she struggles with family members both alive and dead. 5/5 stars, excited to see more from this author. The Stargazers war by JP valentine. This author has become one of my favorites this year. I love his sense of humor and the fact that his books often have found family feels. 5/5 stars, cannot wait for the next book.

(Image description, 4 book covers in a collage including Briar heart, The false princess, Nona the Ninth, and This quest is Bullshit). Briar heart by Mercedes Lackey. This is a fairy tale retelling that plays with the usual tropes of that genre. Any book by this author is very comforting to me and this one was fun but not stunning. 3/5 stars. The false Princess by Eilis O'neal. This felt like a book 12 year old me would have been obsessed with, and 24 year old me really liked it too. It follows a princess who finds out she was a body double this whole time, and her journey after leaving her childhood home. 4/5 stars. Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Listen, this is Tungler dot com, I do not need to sell this book here. 5/5 stars, I will break into your house and leave copies of this series for you to start reading :) This quest is Bullshit! By JP valentine. This is this authors second appearance on this list and for good reason. This book was my first foray into LitRPG - fiction written as though the characters are in a roleplaying game. It was extremely funny and very fresh and exciting to me. If you enjoy playing DND or baldurs gate, you will probably like this series. 5/5 stars.

(image description; 4 book covers in a collage including Terrier, A coup of tea, Wolfsong, and Hyperbole and a Half). Terrier by Tamora Pierce. This was a reread! I love Tamora Pierce, she is one of my go-to comfort authors. This series is not my favorite of her Tortall series, but it still stands up! 4/5 stars. A coup of tea series by Casey Blair. This series follows a princess who chooses her own path - which turns out to be making tea! If you loved Uncle Iroh, you will like these books. 5/5 stars, I wanted more! Wolfsong by TJ klune. This was my first TJ klune book and it delivered. This book will have you asking "Did TJ klune grow up reading high quality werewolf fanfiction?" because it reads like high quality werewolf fanfiction. 4/5 stars. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh. This is the only nonfiction on the list but for good reason! It is an absolutely hilarious collection of true stories that had me hooting like a goose. 5/5 stars.

(Image description; Just one book cover, Girls made of snow and glass by Melissa Basherdoust). Girls made of snow and glass by Melissa Bashardoust. This book is an honorable mention because I'm pretty sure I read it in 2022, but I really loved it. This book was special to me because it involves a positive relationship between a stepmother and stepdaughter and nice sapphic representation (NOT between stepdaughter and stepmother you guttersnipes). 5/5 stars for me :D

[swordofsun]

Wanted to do something for the new year, so I guess I'll do a 2023 book wrap up. In chronological order from the beginning of 2023 to the end.

Putting in a read more because this is 90 books and that's too much to not hide it.

Rereads marked with a *

The Iron Dirge by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #2.5

Three Axes to Fall by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empries #3

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin - Great Cities #2

Unbreakable by Mira Grant

Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box by Mira Grant

Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #4.5

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #8

The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #1*

The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #2*

The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #3*

The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #4*

Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #5*

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Saga #1 (Publication Order)

The Coup of Tea by Casey Blair - The Tea Princess Chronicles #1

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Lyconthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde - Gemworld #1

Sandry's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #1*

Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds

By A Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron - DFZ Changeling #1

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older - Mossa and Pleiti #1

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney

Tris's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #2*

The Bones Swans of Amandale by C.S.E. Cooney (Novella)

Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard - Unseen World #1

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Servant Mage by Kate Elliot

The Warden by Daniel M Ford - The Warden #1

Daja's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #3*

Jackdraw by K.J. Charles - A Charm of Magpies World #1

The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung - Amra Thetys #1

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot

Lexicon by Max Barry

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #2

Briar's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #4*

The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #3

Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1

Ebony Gate - by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle - The Phoenix Hoard #1

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #2*

Rogue Protocols by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #3*

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4*

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from "Zen in the Art of Archery" by John Stevens

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diareis #6*

Apparently I've hit the character limit without a paragraph break. So, we'll be starting over from 1, but it will really be #54.

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4.5

Compulsory: A Murderbot Story by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #0.5*

Magic Steps by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #1*

Murder on the Lamplight Express by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #2

Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney (short story collection)

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Themis Files #1

Mammoth at the Gates by Nghi Vo - The Singing Hills Cycle #4

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M Valente

Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #1

Street Magic by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #2*

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - The Foundryside Trilogy #1

Advanced Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #2

Inda by Sherwood Smith - Inda #1

Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - Tomes and Tea #1

Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan

Dracula by Bram Stoker - via Re: Dracula

Beholder by Ryan La Sala

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

System Collapse by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #7

Cold Fire by Tamara Piece - The Circle Opens #3*

Dream of the Falling Axe by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #3.5

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Hikaru No Go Vol 1 Decent of the Go Master by Yumi Hotta - Hikaru No Go #1

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs - The Kingdom Trilogy #1

Shatterglass by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #4*

Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher - The Saint of Steel #4

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon - The Downworld Sequence #1

On The Fox Roads by Nghi Vo

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrom by John Scalzi - Lock In #0.5

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

Okay, and according to Storygraph:

My longest book was Three Axes to Fall at 806 pages

My most read authors were: Tamara Pierce, Martha Wells, and Rachel Aaron. Which is due to re-reads. I re-read 16 books this year.

My average rating was 4.14 out of 5.

I read the most in June.

I read 41 new-to-me authors.

52 of the books I read were part of series.

So, I guess, feel free to ask me any questions.

Happy New Year!