#fantasy books that make me happy

[exordium-graphx]

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

[egophiliac]

I always though Mal's mom was meant to be like "Eleanor" but they stuck an M at the start honestly, Sobbing Emoji. But "Maleanor" also makes me feel less insane since in that scene where she's just handed egg Malleus to Lilia and went to battle, it sounds more like Lilia is saying "Maleanor" than "Meleanor" (Japanese accent pending). Mayhaps they went more with what it sounded like the characters were saying :0 (we don't talk about Doodle Suit to Paint The Roses)

the transliteration of her name is Marenoa (マレノア), which is what all the voice lines are saying! all the Draconias' names start with マレ (Malleus' grandma is Maleficia/マレフィシア) as a nod to Maleficent. :D it's almost certainly a take on Eleanor, which is Erenoa (エレノア), but her name is written in English at a couple points, and I was pretty surprised to see it was Mel instead of Mal!

and, like, that's fine, it wouldn't be first Twst romanization that's tripped me up (like Keito for Cater, I know that's something to do with the loanword specific to playing cards(?) but it's just not how my brain wants to read it). but now Eng has given us Maleanor! and someone else said it was spelled inconsistently between Maleanor and Maeleanor??????? so WHO KNOWS it's a SPELLING FREE-FOR-ALL

I AM torn on which I want to use, because Mel just sounds so cute to me (and is what I'm used to now), but...the Mal consistency is kinda too good to pass up. alas, alas, truly these are the most difficult conundrums of our times. 😔

[moonilit]

Thinking about these two beautiful strong ladies becoming best friends 💙🤎

*psst* chapter 19

[hagnoart]

Grey: Jesper and Wylan

[fantasiavii]

I think my favorite thing that has happened in the Wheel of Time so far is Mat makin up elaborate DnD aliases for his friends so they can go into town and spy for him 😂 They’re all making fun of him for being so detailed and he’s like “dammit there’s good drama in there, look at page 4!” and I have never loved him more 😂

[sluttyten]

personal rant

[asvospace]

୨୧┇"What are 5 Things that make YOU Happy?" ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀ‧₊˚ ⋅🧘🏻‍♀️🌷

For me personally (not ranked):

1. Sunny Afternoons/Golden Hour -> When I come home, I usually see the sun’s warm rays filtering through the trees outside my bedroom window, and it just fills me with so much love and admiration for nature and just the little things yk? (+ It’s so relaxing to see<3)

2. My Headphones & Music!! -> I own the Sony WH-1000XM3 (I totally recommend it, best type of headphones out there imo, the noise cancelling is heavenly and the headphones themselves are super comfortable<3), and listening to music like r&b, bossa nova, the wonder girls, kali uchis, asian hits from the 80's and sometimes just a chill instrumental is so wonderful<3

3. Reading Cozy Fantasy Books<3 -> I’m getting back into this genre and honestly, I should’ve done so sooner! All I can say for this one is that I love love love cozy fantasy, it’s such a comfort to me<3 I’m currently (slowly) reading two books that have been recommended a lot in this genre (both covers are so beautiful too!):

♡ “Can’t spell Treason without Tea” by Rebecca Thorne

♡ “Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree (a lot of people love this one!)

4. Nature Walks at the Park or a National Reserve -> (with good weather) This is honestly such a good way to improve your mood, reduce any anxiety or worries you may have as well as just helping you feel more relaxed and at ease.

5. Sleeping!!!!! -> Being able to just sleep peacefully without having to anticipate when your alarm is going to give you a mini heart attack or when you have to get up early is so magical to me for some reason. I can just sleep without a care in the world and wake up on my own terms.

🎀 notes: I wasn't able to fit this in but spending time with my family (and friends) is definitely up there of course! I love family movie nights and hanging out! There are so many things that make me happy and that I'm grateful for, I can't possibly fit them all in to one post..I think Tumblr would crash if I did lmao :3

xoxo,

⌗ 𐑺・raine 𓂃꒰🧸꒱ / @asvospace

[tbookblurbs]

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!

[chloristoflora]

I found my voice. "I'm going to—"

Riddle crossed his arms on his chest. His nostrils flared and he exclaimed defiantly, "I don't care what you do. Understand that. Do whatever you wish, but it won't change anything."

"—be a grandfather." I choked on the word. Incredulity melted his face and he stared. It gave me the moment I needed to organize my thoughts. Words tumbled from my lips. "I have money saved. You can have it all. You must leave soon, before travel is too difficult for her. And I think you must flee the Six Duchies entirely. She is the Skillmistress; she is too well known for you to..."

"We are not leaving!" Anger tightened his slack face. "We refuse. We were lawfully wed—"

Impossible. "The king forbade it."

"The king can forbid whatever he likes, but if a man and a woman make their vows before the Witness Stones, with at least two witnesses—"

"Only if one is a minstrel!" I interrupted him. "And the witness must know both parties."

"I wager the Queen of the Six Duchies knows us both," he said quietly.

"Kettricken? I thought Kettricken was a party to forbidding the marriage."

"Kettricken is not the Queen of the Six Duchies. Elliania is. And she comes from a place where a woman can marry whomever she wishes."

It all fit together as tightly as the blocks that make up an arch. Almost. "But your other witness had to be a minstrel…" My words trickled away. I knew who their minstrel had been.

"Hap Gladheart." Riddle confirmed it quietly. A smile almost twisted his face. "Perhaps you've heard of him?"

Fool's Quest, by Robin Hobb (Fitz and the Fool Trilogy #2)

[dragonanne]

Thank you to the people who have ordered the five copies of my book from Amazon the last couple of weeks. Maybe it doesn't sound like much to some people, but I can assure you, each sale means so much to an indie author like me. I hope each and every one of them are going to good homes and that those readers are entertained and blessed by my book baby.

[exordium-graphx]

The House Witch (2) by Delemhach

[catboydan]

fiance got me a kindle for my birthday <3

[eskawrites]

if i die tomorrow i will be satisfied knowing i lived within the era of erathia and was lucky enough to read the first official drabble of the fourth installment.

we are truly living in a golden age

[tj-crochets]

Hey y’all! The kidlet I used to babysit wants me to play Roblox so he and I can play it together, but I know absolutely nothing about it. He knows I don’t like jumpscares or horror and can’t do flashing lights, and he says we can “just play other games on Roblox” but I have no idea what that means

I don’t even know what question to ask here, but like do you know what Roblox is? Because my brother described it as “like virtual legos” but the kidlet said we could play something something pet simulator and I have no idea if that’s like a subset of Roblox or if he’s just talking about like your character can have a not-lego cat or whatever

[rochellehassan]

🌟 PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN 🌟

The Summer Queen (book 2 of The Buried and the Bound trilogy) is out next month! If you preorder a copy, I’ll send you a bookmark and sticker as a thank-you for supporting my work 💕

The adorable bookmark design is by danisaur.art, and the magical sword sticker is by emeldraws!

DETAILS/ELIGIBILITY:

* US & international OK. * Trade edition only (pictured above). * Hardcover/ebook/audiobook OK. * Open through 1/22/24.

GENERAL PREORDER: After pre-ordering, fill out this google form. You’ll be asked for a shipping address and to upload proof of purchase.

IF PREORDERING FROM BOOKS OF WONDER: You don’t need to fill out the form. I’ll be signing & personalizing all pre-orders through BoW, and your bookmark & sticker will be tucked inside your copy of the book.