#i started a court of thorns and roses months ago. i think earlier in the spring

[sakizm]

i freaking love that i’m reading books again!! especially ones i cannot put down cause i tell myself “one more chapter” like a liar and next thing i know it’s 11pm at night, i’m disoriented by reality and fiction, aND THE URGE TO READ THE NEXT BOOK IS STRONG

[elriell]

Chapter Two—  

[Chapter 1]

In The Absence of Light

Restless sleep continued to plague her the following nights, just as she had feared the cold spikes of anxiety that crippled her mind refused to ease up their battle for control.

Azriel never mentioned their tense early morning encounter, but she could not deny that after his departure she had finally managed to succumb to a few good hours of rest, and for that she was grateful. She put it down to simply feeling calmer after seeing a friend and refused to look any further in to why that would be.  

So, when Elain saw him over breakfast, she offered him a genuine smile and accepted the muffin he silently offered her in return. She tried not to dwell on the fact that he did not in truth look as if he had been blessed with a good sleep, as she had.  

~

Several nights had passed since then and time trickled by slowly, each night she found herself staring up at the ceiling, tossing and turning among the expensive linens, unable to settle down. Vivid dreams swirled around in her head; the same thoughts as always, they appeared to be taking up permanent residency, she was less than pleased with that realization.  

Every noise poked at her subconscious, taunting her mockingly. She let out a sigh at the ridiculousness of her thoughts, as if the branches crashing in the wind could possibly be trying to ridicule her, she truly was losing it alltogether. Taking a deep breath, she gave up on her quest for sleep and slid her feet in the soft pair of slippers and set off for the kitchen, doing her best not to awake anyone on her path, though she doubted she would, everyone in this house seemed to sleep through most her terrors.  

Lost in her own scattered thoughts she barely saw him lent over, in truth he looked as though he too was in his own world. Strong powerful arms flexed over the sink as he gazed out the window in to the gardens below. The dark leathery wings hung limply behind him, he painted quite the sorrowful picture, moonlight casting down upon him.

A fallen angel, infinitely beautiful and untouchable in an heartbreaking way.  

“Trouble sleeping?” His honey voice caught her off guard, she really had to stop being surprised when it came to the shadow-singer, his instincts were sharp as the thorns that she tried to avoid when gardening.  

“Seems to be going around these days.” A soft shrug. “I was just going to make myself something warm, would you join me?”  

He turned towards her at that and it struck her as it always did how easily he concealed his emotions, as if he could carefully tuck them away in a box and forget about them. His eyes however spoke volumes, they were devastating to her mental resolve, a crack splintering straight to her heart.

“I would like that very much.”  Agreeing gently.

Elain willed herself to focus on the task at hand; warming up some milk for the both of them. She felt more than heard him shuffle amongst the kitchen retrieving mugs and placing them to her left, returning to his former place. “Thank you for the other night— No, no, no... Please don't stop me, I want to, no I need to. I haven’t gotten that much sleep-in months, so thank you.”

A small blush crept up his face much to her quiet delight, it was such a rarity to pierce his stoic exterior.

She poured them both a cup each and set out to retrieve some cookies from a jar she had baked earlier in the day, once she had set a sufficient amount on a plate, she joined Azriel at the small breakfast table at the far end of the room.

Though dark out it was a beautiful spot, the whole side of the wall was built from different shades of stained glass and under the moonlight it shone a messy pattern of colors across the cobblestone floor, it had quite easily become one of her favorite places once her nightmares began. A colorful sanctuary to be at ease.

There were so many questions on the tip of her tongue, she wondered so much about him, about his troubles, his travels, about Nesta, who she had not received any letters from since her departure though that was no surprise all things considered. She wished she could tell her she had not known of the plans, wished she could have at least said goodbye, god, she wished for so many things.

Perhaps she would ask Azriel to take her on his next visit to the mountains, she filed that away for another day.  

“I suppose the tonic didn't work then?” He inquired before dunking a cookie in to his mug.

“Ah—” Hesitating for a beat too long. “It's alright you needn't lie to me; your secrets are your own. If you do not wish to say I shall not bring it up again.”  He jumped in before she finished.

Truth. She knew without a doubt he would not push her, would accept whatever she was willing to give.  

“That is quite alright, to be honest with you Azriel, I am not sure I quite know myself.” She considered it carefully. “I think deep down, beneath every excuse, I just, well I just don’t want to be...”

“Medicated.” He finished for her.

It should not surprise her after all this time, he was always able to read her seamlessly and understand her completely even when she wasn’t sure she understood herself. He was able to deduce that she was a Seer when the rest thought she was going mad, even her own mate, scoffing internally at the word. It was a shame, she supposed, that it had nothing to do with Lucien. He was a good enough man but she simply couldn’t handle the burden that such a bond posed after the events of last year.  

“Exactly.”

He was uncharacteristically sheepish when he asked, “It’s not my place, but is something wrong? Lucien?” He stumbled over the last word as if he found it hard to roll off his tongue. Odd. Azriel rarely if ever spoke on the subject of the former spring court emissary, almost seemed to avoid it at all costs.

Upon reflection she could not think of one time through their many conversations that he had ever inquired about him if she had not started the discussion.  

It was eery some days, it was as though he could see inside her soul, study her like a well-read book.

And if she was following that analogy through then she was certainly an old nattered forgotten book that was far too damaged to be of much value... She heard Nesta’s voice as the thought formed scolding her for thinking that any book would not hold its own important value in the world.  

“No.” She replied honestly. “I am not quite sure what is fuelling my problems only that they are rather determined at keeping me from a peaceful sleep. But enough about that, let us talk about better things, happier things, tell me about your favorite places to...”

And so, they would spend several hours hunched over the table talking in hushed tones about everything and nothing at all, refilling their mugs repeatedly as time faded away and all that remained was the moments within, the coloured light streaming over them bathing them in a pool of colours steadily shifting as the sun rose, not that either noticed until household staff awoke to prepare for the day.  

And when she returned to her bedchamber, she would not care on bit that she was still on the brink of exhaustion.

~

They developed quite a habit of it unexpectedly. At one point or another in the night when her sleep or lack there of, became too much to bare, she would wander down to the kitchen where inevitably he would be sat as if waiting for her.

She tried not to be so self-absorbed as to think it was solely because of her. But after the first few times happened and it became a reoccurring pattern, warm milk always lay on the table waiting for her, always warm, almost as if he could sense when she would arrive despite it changing most nights.

It did not help her ever growing endearment to him.

~

Although she knew Azriel would eventually grow bored of this habit they had formed, perhaps conversation would become tiresome to maintain for him but she promised to enjoy his company while it lasted.

He made her happy and the small private moments she would cherish among the bland parts of her day, though it wasn’t particularly healthy for either of them as it meant neither was sleeping much.

But it was a worthy sacrifice, all considered she was not sleeping before therefore she was not losing anything, however she did feel a twinge of guilt for the shadow-singer. Hoped it would not interfere with his day-to-day activities and not put him at greater risk whilst following out orders.  

But alas all good things must come to an end and last night would mark that for them both.

He had been uncharacteristically quiet all night, simply letting her ramble on about the new plans for opening up the back garden to prepare it for new flowers and wildlife, he had simply watched her for hours with a gentle “Mmm” and “Of course” along the way, in hindsight she should have guessed something was coming.

He arose from the bench first keeping his eyes locked to the ground, and fiddling with the lapels of his jacket seemingly trying to buy time, while the silence hung heavy in the air.  

“It seems there has been some problems arising in the northern territories and Rhys has asked that I head out for a few days to ensure it is nothing more serious.” Shifting his feet back and forth still reluctant to make eye contact.

“I see.” She really didn’t. “When are you to leave?”

The grimace was noticeable on his controlled face, “An hour ago. Give or take.”

He did not give her time to respond as he leaned over her, closer than they had been to each other in some time and he smelled like the woods after a rainfall if that could be a smell at all, fresh yet masculine. The kiss he planted on her forehead was so gentle had she not had her eyes open she scarcely would have felt it.  

Her lids fell and her breathing changed, and she wondered if one could feel as if their heart both stopped and raced at the same time, she was losing all sense of reason and by the time she regained her thoughts enough to open her eyes he was gone.  

His absence hit her quickly and she had to take a deep breath to hold back the tear stinging her eye, yet again she was left to her own devices. Perhaps it for the best that she not grow too reliant on his company, though she was infinitely grateful for his friendship and companionship she did not want him to feel burdened by her.  

This would give them some much needed separation and time to rebuild her mental walls and form some boundaries for herself.

~

The first night was not as bad as she expected and she tried to be optimistic that this was a new leaf for her.

Unfortunately, as she well knew nothing lasts for long, especially something good. Not for her. By the fourth night the dark void had returned in full to cause chaos on her mind, and so chaos spread, worsening night after night.  

Elaine’s nightly visits to the kitchen had not ceased they simply became a solitary adventure and as the week reached its end, she was near desperate for the relief of her favorite companion would provide.

Having overheard Mor speaking to Feyre in the lounge she was able to confirm that he had returned to the estate sometime midday, though his meetings with his High Lord kept him out of sight much to her disappointment.

She did her best to tame the growing excitement that bubbled up when she thought about his return.

Tonight, for a change she made no attempts to sleep simply busied herself with brushing out her curls and spraying her favorite perfume, feeling silly for going to such efforts. Truthfully though she knew that beneath whatever crush she had formed it had little to do with her attachment to him, it was his companionship and friendship she coveted most, he was a true and loyal friend, a rare thing to her these days.  

She made a promise to herself not mare it with her growing attraction. She refused to lose another person she cared about.

Which is why when she finally made it down to the kitchen after holding off as long as possible only to be greeted by an empty room, she felt her heart twinge. Feeling silly for simply assuming he would be there, for not even questioning it. Not that she blamed him, the kinder part of her hoped he was getting a descent nights rest again, refusing to think on it for long she made herself warm cocoa and set off for bed.

Unsurprisingly sleep did not come easy to her but at least on this night it was not the terrible evil that plagued her, rather the piercing eyes of her favorite spy.

As the hours ticked on and she grew more restless her body wrenched itself out of bed as if on its own accord, and paced a way across their home, it was as she reached the West Wing she realized where she had unconsciously ended up. It was not hard through process of elimination to work out which was his, no light shone beyond the door and no detectable sound either, though she doubted she would know if he was moving about.  

It was silly to have come all this way and she was well aware of how embarrassing her need to visit him was but as she stood with only a large oak door separating them, she understood exactly why she had come, because in that moment she finally felt calmer than she had all week, the anxiety that weaved its way through her reseeded slowly.  

She figured that it couldn’t hurt to stay for a few moments to calm down a little more before venturing back, it would not hurt anyone what they did not know.  

Unaware of when it happened, she found herself sliding down against the door until her bottom hit the cold cobblestones, it was a rather strange feeling that simply being in proximity to him would bring her such small comforts but so was the case as she felt exhaustion slowly creep over and when it came, she felt safe enough to let it take her, she closed her eyes and drifted away.

~

Pheeeeew, That was long and still a little sad but i promise it is going to get less DEPRESSING™️ I just want to lay the groundwork for what is going to happen 😉 I would love any and all critique as always, it is what fuels me!

Also i was almost finished writing the chapter but the title and colourful glass is inspired by the book I am re-reading with that name.

As always anyone who wants to be added or removed just let me know 🖤

@elriel-oblivion @elriel-incorrect-quotes @tswaney17 @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn @stars-falling @verifiefangirl @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @julemmaes @thefangirlofhp @empress-ofbloodshed @elrielllll @abraxos-is-toothless @julesherondalex @courtofjurdan @amitynotpity @libraryonthepond @mis-lil-red

[myupostsheadcanons]

Books “Read” in 2020

Previous entries: 2019, 2018, 2017

I don’t rank these based on actual literary quality, but by how much i enjoyed reading/listening to them. Hopefully with Audible’s new “Premium Included” feature it would cut down on so many Average/Below Average books next year, it’ll give me more of a choice on what kind of books/podcasts i want to listen to rather than given a handful to pick from a month.

The “Top 10″

Forging Hephaestus / Bones of the Past: Villains' Code Series - Drew Hayes has became one of my fav authors over the past couple years, from his Vampire Accountant series, 5-min Sherlock, and his Spells, Swords, and Stealth books. FH is one of the few times he wrote Adult Fiction. This is the second time Drew created a world of super heroes (the YA Superpowereds), thus previous experience in dealing with the nuisances and meta of super meta dynamics. I love the main character, Tori, and especially love many of the side characters (like Ivan) and the comedy is the right tone of dark and not-in-your-face (not quite as well -written as something like The Venture Bros or The Tick, but being adult fiction you can get away with having characters named Johnny Three-Dicks and Captain Bullshit)

Dreadnought / Sovereign - the second super hero series I’ve placed on my top list this year, this one is Young Adult. This one is far more serious and deals heavily in issues like trans and women’s rights, mental abuse, and social acceptance. The main character is full of angst, but that should be a given for a 15 yo with lots of mental baggage and new social pressures. The main character is the main draw, most of the side characters are a bit more one-dimensional.

The Trouble with Peace: Age of Madness, Book 2. It isn’t a “First Law” book if you don’t want to strangle half of the main characters. Many are stepping outside of the shadow of the previous generation and finding themselves falling flat on their faces. If they aren’t at each other’s throats, they would soon have to deal with rebellion in the streets and the constant looming presence of Bayaz, who waits to sweep the board clear and rearrange the pieces the way he sees fit.

Michael J. Sullivan’s: The Riyria and Legend of the First Empire Books.

Riyria Revelations: Theft of Swords / Rise of Empire / Heir of Novron

Riyria Chronicles: The Crown Tower / The Rose and Thorn / The Death of Dulgath

Age of Death / Age of Empyre, Pile of Bones

After finishing the Legend of the First Empire books that came out earlier this year, I went ahead and read the prior series that takes place in the same world. I would suggest reading the entire series by Publish order, but they can be read Chronologically. I read the Legends books first, and it helped me see where Sullivan was heading and when he started to plan out the Legends books in more detail. (The early cameo of the Main characters from Legends in a mural in Heir of Novron, and knowing who is behind the events in Dulgath)

The Dresden Files: Peace Talks / Battle Grounds - They really should be read as one book, because that was how they were written. It is a Feast of Crows / Dances with Dragons situation, where the book got too long and got split up. The fans are pretty divided by the book(s) ending and how some of the main characters are handled, but these are Jim Butcher’s characters not theirs and he can drop bridges on whom ever he wants.

What Lies Beyond: Cycle of Galand, Book 6 - This is a “mythology” book (like Sullivan’s Age of Death was) where it introduces most of the Pantheon of their religion and corrects much of the mythology that had been lost over the decades. They seek a weapon to vanquish the Litch and save their world and the afterlife from oblivion, but not all of their Gods are happy about it.

Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash - Yahtzee (Zero Punctuation!) has to be one of my favorite internet personalities for the past 10+ years, and I eat up every book he puts out and because he wrote the books, and is an actor himself, he could deliver the lines as they are intended to be. The sequel to Will Save the Galaxy for Food does not disappoint and even ups the stakes from the previous book.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon - This has to be one of the most charming books I’ve read. It is magic and wonder at it’s finest, no need for long explanations on how the world works. If you like Ghibli movies, you’ll be interested in this book. It has its dark moments but isn’t outside of what you’ll find in something like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Nausicca.

The Goblin Emperor - the youngest son of the Elf King finds himself emperor after the death of his father and brothers in an assassination. The only problem is, that he is only half-elf... his late mother was a Goblin, and he had been in exile as an embarrassment to the family for most of his life. He knows nothing of how the courts work and what’s left of his own family work against him just for being who he is.

Lost Gods: Brom - I liked this book more than I did American Gods (which I read a few years ago). It is darker and bleaker by the bucket loads. One of the few books with a downer ending that I actually liked. I would compare this book to books like All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men-- but it is a Fantasy!

Above Average.

Siege Tactics (Spells, Swords, & Stealth. Book 4)  - What happens to adventurers after they retire? A fun concept that is explored with our party of NPCs running across a town full of epic-level characters that no longer have a player.

The Arthurian Saga - The Crystal Cave / The Hollow Hills  / The Last Enchantment / The Wicked Day - A more realistic version of the Arthurian tales, taking the POV of Merlin, bastard son of a princess, as he earns notoriety as a scholar and wizard.  The Wicked Day takes the POV of Mordred, making him far more sympathetic than other iterations of his character.

Arc of a Scythe - Scythe / Thunderhead / The Toll - Science and Technology eliminates death and in order to prevent over population and complacency an order of grim reapers are chosen to randomly deal out quotas of permanent deaths. An example of what happens when every need and want is satisfied by a higher force and the apathy that causes rot in human society and the superiority complex of those in charge of life and death.

The Diviners / Lair of Dreams / Before the Devil Breaks You / The King of Crows - Horror during the Roaring 20′s. Tackles issues as Racism, Poverty, Government Secrecy, Christian-Evangelical Cults, Nationalism Cult Mentality, Communism, Labor Unions, Eugenics, Post-WW1 trauma... It could almost pass as an adult fiction book. I wouldn’t recommend giving it to someone under High school age.

Ancillary Justice / Ancillary Sword / Ancillary Mercy - Artificial Intelligence takes over human bodies as a form of capital punishment, controlling ships and space stations. The dominate human empire outgrew the need to label any gender, using “she” to refer to everyone rather than the vaguer “them/they” pronouns, and only outlying colonies stick to the binary ideals. Think of “The Left Hand of Darkness” but on a more broader scale and as the default majority/ruling empire. Toss in a solid military action novel on top and it isn’t nearly as boring as Left Hand.

Children of Time / Children of Ruin - War destroys the human population of Earth and those that remain are the ones that headed out to the stars on tera-forming missions. A virus created to advance life forms to prepare a world for human habitation runs amuck with out its overseers, creating intelligent arachnids, crustaceans, and squid.

The Licanius Trilogy - The Shadow of What Was Lost / An Echo of Things to Come / The Light of all that Falls -  It is very heavy on info overload, there is a lot to keep track of, so much so there is a summary of book one and two at the start of the third. I like the twist at the end of the first book and that the villain is actually trying to help save the world, and you spend most of the second stuck between who thinks they are doing the right thing and who is actually doing the right thing - a lot to talk about doing the lesser of two evils.

Mythos - Steven Fry - A humorous retelling of Greek mythology. I read Mythology - by Edith Hamilton prior to this book, which is a more scholarly take on the myths, and helps if you are unfamiliar with classical mythology prior to reading Fry’s take on it.

Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History That Inspired Game of Thrones - a nice history book about Iron Age royalty. It is actually refreshing to read after going through so much faux fiction that is in Philippa Gregory’s books.

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? - Children ask questions to a Mortician about death and what happens to bodies after people die. I listened to her autobiography last year/year before and it is worth picking up this one along with it.

Average, but still good.

Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet Universe: Triumphant (Genesis Fleet, Book 3) / Tarnished Knight: Lost Stars, book 1 - The realistic space battles just drag me back in each and every time.

The Case of the Damaged Detective: 5-Minute Sherlock - Drew Hayes can’t write a boring book. It isn’t quite on point as his other series, but still fun to read. Hayes is really good at making YA books with Adult Protagonists. It is a road-trip book, the main character is a washed-out operative that is getting his second chance playing bodyguard and future assistant to the 5-minute Sherlock.

Locked In / Head On - Do you remember “Surrogates”? that Bruce Willis movie where people walk around in robotic avatars, well... it’s almost the same thing. A virus kills millions, save for a select few that experience “lock in” syndrome and are able to connect to robots via their brains and the internet.  The main character is gender neutral and you get a choice to listen to the book with a male or female reader.

Murder by Other Means: The Dispatcher Book 2 - more John Scalzi! The first book was in my top list a few years ago, and i enjoyed the sequel just as much. Between Scalzi’s The Dispatcher and Locked In series, i like the Dispatcher more.

The Shattered Sea Trilogy: Half a King / Half the World / Half a War - Joe Abercrombie’s attempt to make Young Adult books. It keeps all the grim dark, but lacks all the swearing and humor that made The First Law books more enjoyable. Many of Joe’s favorite character tropes are still present and is one of the better “Fall to Darkness” stories I’ve read. It also has different POV characters each book and is one of those “faux fantasy” settings.

Mage Errant: Books 1, 2 & A Traitor in Skyhold: Book 3 - If you are wanting to get away from Harry Potter, pick up this book series. It takes place in magic school, but it is its own world and setting and not just a hidden world within our own. The main group of kids are misfits among the school, unable to master their powers, that get taken up by the badass librarian to be trained in more unconventional ways.

Dawn of Wonder: The Wakening Book 1 - the main character has ptsd from growing up in an abusive household, and i thought it was handled rather well. He would be rather competent and cleaver most of the time until he gets triggered into an episode, he fights really hard to overcome this short-falling of his. Standard classic affair else wise, family leaves home because the local authority figure doesn’t want them around anymore, goes to big city, kid wants to do good and avenge the deaths he was accused of, joins the badass school of hard knocks...  big powerful evil thing trying to consume the world.

The Rage of Dragons - It shares a lot of tropes and story points with Red Rising... just in a fantasy setting, not in space. If you are wanting fantasy with POC main characters and a non-European-centric culture, that doesn’t pull any punches, give it a shot.

Earthsea - Tehanu and Tales from Earthsea - I had read the first three books several years back, and i did re-read them in order to refresh myself prior to reading the final two.

The Secret Garden - I absolutely loved the movie from the 90′s as a kid, and finally got around to listening to the book.

Six of Crows - A heist book in fantasy world with the magic users being heavily “Jewish / Slavic” coded by how they are treated and persecuted. I might have thought more favorably about the book if i hadn’t read other books with “street rat slum” main characters. (Seriously, after spending six books with Royce in Riyria someone like Kas is just second bananas)

Unconventional Heroes / Two Necromancers - Comedic Fantasy, the humor’s not on par with say MogWorld, and has more jokes than Fred The Vampire Accountant. It is still a parody of villains and heroes in fantasy worlds. I would find it safe for a 12/13yo to read, cursing and all, though they might not be aware of many of the tropes that are being deconstructed. The reader of the book did better in this one then he did with Six of Crows and Beezer, still the audio needed some editing because it repeats itself a few times.

Once More Upon A Time (Free Audio Book)  - I don’t always care to read romance stories. I like the idea behind it however, to trade their love for each other in order to save their partner’s life, then learn to re-love one another again.

Monster Hunter International - If you think Dresden is too liberal, this takes a hard turn to the right.. replace the magic with GUNS, lots and lots of GUNS. An organization that hates the government but hunts monsters for government bounties. The main cast is multi-ethnic and they do make fun of that at one point. There isn’t a lot of thought into the plot, because action is #1, but it is fun enough to ignore the politicking.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Collection - i bitched about there not being an omnibus last year, and then Audible uploaded one. The ending is still one big clusterfuck.

Stephen King’s Insomnia - this book is the bridge between Steven King’s two universes. It is a sequel to IT and brings up the Darktower often. IT dealt mainly with childhood fears, Insomnia deals with Elderly and feminine fears.

D’Arc / Culdesac: War with No Name - I liked D’Arc more than i did Mort-e, and Culdesac is more on track with Mort-e. The virus that mutated the ants and animals reminded me of the virus from Children of Time/Ruin, even though i read Mort-e first, reading D’Arc after CoT let me notice it.

Michael McDowell’s:  The Amulet / The Elementals / Gilded Needles / Blackwater - From the guy that wrote the screenplay of Beetlejuice, and the pioneer of the Southern Gothic Horror. Gilded Needles is a bit out of place, taking place in 1890′s, and is more of a social horror rather than a super natural horror the other books are.

Gardens of the Moon: The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1 - high fantasy dark fiction. if you really want some CHONKY door stoppers, there’s over 10 of them in this series. Could’ve done less with the manipulative bastard mage that speaks in 3rd person. I had read The Willful Child, an attempted comedy science fiction novel by the same author, and it showed that the author was unfamiliar with that kind of genera and should stick to grim fantasy.

The Knife’s Edge / Citadel of Fire: The Ronin Saga - This is one of those series that I’m always going “oh, that reminds me of [insert another better series]”  At times it reminded me of The Licanius Trilogy, Shades of Magic, Arc of Scythe, Riyria, Korra... It is just shy of being as good as them, and is rather firmly in that Sci-Fi Fantasy Ghetto and has a bit of “anime” feel to it with their magic users having ‘power levels’ and the power creep. 

In Calabria - My only problem with the book is the massive age-gap between the Main character and his love interest. Outside of that, the whole Unicorns in the modern world concept is done very well.

Pout Neuf (Audible Free Book)  - Journalism and romance during WW2. A quick read and the book really shows that research had been done about the setting and time period.

Nut Jobs: Cracking California's Strangest $10 Million Dollar Heist: An Audible Original - Not only does it talk about the heist, it actually touches on the subject of migrant farmers and slave labor, as well as the desertification of the California Valley.

The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel (Free Audio Book) - a neat little informative podcast if you are looking for an introduction to some of the harder science fiction.

Mythology - by Edith Hamilton - Text book about Greek Mythology. Like “used in schools” text book. It is a good read if you don’t want to go through Ovid, Virgil, Homer, and all the other classical writers on your own.

The Space Race: An Audible Original - America didn’t win the Space Race. Russia did just about everything first. The only thing we did first was put people on the moon. It also goes into detail about how the inventor of the Nazi’s V2 rockets became employed with the US Space program. As well as the government’s announcement to let space travel become privatized.

Pale Blue Dot / Cosmos: A Personal Voyage - It’s Carl Sagan. Come on! Everyone should be reading them. Pale Blue Dot was being turned into an Audiobook in the 90′s but with Sagan’s death, only the first few chapters were read by him and his partner reads the rest of it (she does a decent job, and i understand why they wanted her to read it, it should’ve been done similarly to Cosmos, with guest readers doing each chapter)

Thicker Than Water (Free Audio Book)  - start up pharmaceutical company scams people out of millions with promises of a miracle machine that was ahead of its time. Story told from the whistleblower himself as he recounts what his job was within the company and how he knew the owner/founder of the company and how coming out about what was going on ruined his relationship with his family and friends.

Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - biography on Douglas Adams and the history behind the creative process behind the Hitchhiker’s Guide series.

The Genius of Birds - It reminded me a lot of “The Soul of an Octopus” in quality. It is rather informative about birds, how they behave, and how we judge intelligence in non-human animals.

It’s “ok.”

Les Miserabes - I can see why people favor movies and theater versions because of how dense the book is, getting the cliff notes version of the book instead of reading several chapters about the Battle of Waterloo. 

Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons (Audible Free Book) - It’s cute, and I spent the next several weeks humming that freaking song.

Challenger Deep - A book about mental illness by the same person that brought us The Arc of a Scythe series. It isn’t a bad read, but if you are prone to get panic attacks and have mental illness yourself, you might get too into it and make you uneasy. It can help with neurotypical people with understanding how some illnesses work.

Into the Wilds (Warriors, Book 1)  - Ah, the cat book. It is prob because there are soooo many books in this series that it over-saturates the kids impressionable minds.

House of Teeth (Audible Free Book)  - I read this book prior to Monster Hunter International, and thinking back on this one, i am reminded about the other. Save for this one is PG. So... the kid friendly version.

The Martian Chronicles - Space Horror, on Mars. If you like old science fiction, like Classic Trek, Wells, or Forbidden Planet stuff. There is a lot of zerust.

Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection - The third superhero series I’ve read this past year. It is not as ground breaking nor subversive as Villain’s Code or Dreadnought. The humor is a bit too forced and parts of it falls into “we can be more offensive because it is an adult book” category.

Interview with the Robot - Don’t really care for books or programs that are set up in the “interview” format where it is two people talking to one another. (I have no fucking idea how this book got top Kids book of the year on Audible, it is more of a YA book... it must been because it was Free and lots of people picked it because the rest of the choices that month were complete garbage)

Micromegas - perhaps one of the oldest examples of Speculative Science Fiction. Written by Voltaire, it is about a giant from another solar system that is so big that humans and life on Earth are microscopic. “what value are the lives of ants to a man?”

The Three Musketeers - i had forgotten how much espionage there was in this book. I would say this is a good companion book to Don Quixote, as it takes its fair share of inspiration from and even name-drops the character a couple times. 

Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist / David Copperfield / A Tale of Two Cities - DC is the standout IMO among the three, it is Dickens’ Magnum Opus. Les Mis did a far better job with the Revolution than Tale did as well. I felt rather obligated to reading these books because of the subplot in the Age of Madness books being about Poverty during the Industrial Revolution and Workers Revolts against the Ruling Class.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - the version i listened too made most of the Americans sound like GWB... which is funny because one of them is Canadian, and the Comic Relief character about how boorish Americans are.

Stuck (Free Audio Book) -  it is a neat idea, getting jarred free of time but everybody else isn’t and doesn’t remember. It gets a little heavy for a kids book near the end, edging into YA territory as the character gets older mentally and the people around him age physically.

Phreaks (Free Audio Book) - i knew a lot about Captain Crunch and other phone hackers of the 60′s. There is a subplot of the big radioactive corporation covering up causing cancer to their workers, and the father (voiced by Christian Slater) being in the closet but still homophobic about it.

Silverswift (Free Audio Book) - If you like fairy tales set in modern times, it is worth a look. It is similar to In Calabira in that way. The mom being the nonbeliever and thinking grandma is off her rocker, but the granddaughter knows it in her bones that grandma is telling the truth.

Sleeping Giants - alien mechs from the distant past, once mistaken as the titans and gods form mythology, now being studied and experimented on by the government. This is another “interview style” story telling.

Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes - there is a lot of names and stories, it is worth prob getting a physical copy of the book to keep things straight and to use as a reference.

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps - A love letter to The Legend of Zelda’s Ocarina of Time and other RPG games.

Casino Royal: James Bond - the movie was rather faithful, including the part of being tied to a chair. I do wish they kept more of the book’s ending where Bond was ready to retire prior to his secret-spy love interest gets killed.

Aliens: Bug Hunt - a compilation of Alien stores about people landing on various planets and encountering aliens, not always the Xenomorphs we know, but the term “Bug” came synonymous to any dangerous alien lifeforms encountered.

Macbeth: A Novel - retelling the story of Macbeth but in a novel form. If you can’t get past the language of the original play, this would help. It sets it more firmly in historical fiction.

Hannibal: A Novel -  I went ahead and re watched the tv show after finishing the book. I’ve seen the movie a dozen times, and i understand why they changed the ending to the movie. The book is the main one that characterizes Hannibal and the show uses a lot of the plot. Hannibal Rising wasn’t really needed because Hannibal (in this book) does think/talk about what happened to his sister and home, and i can see why Harris didn’t want to write that book either. The audiobook is rather poor quality, they talked too fast in places and i don’t really care for their acting...

The Power of Six - I read I am Number 4 several years back and this one popped up on sale so i nabbed it. I like Neil Kaplan, and i think this one is better than the first one and actually gets into the meat of the story.

Cut and Run: A Light-Hearted Dark Comedy - body parts harvesting.... mmmm.

Calypso - non-Fiction, biography of the author. Talks about his family, his life with his partner, and what he does. Much of it is charming and it is read by the author. this was prior to him loosing his marbles about retail workers and becoming a karen.

Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster - the history of Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance. I didn’t mind this podcast so much because i was reading The Diviners during the same time.

Malcolm and Me - another biographical book. one of the free books i got during Feb’ Black History Month.

History of Bourbon (Free Audio Book) - Informative about the liqueur industry in America.

Junkyard Cats: Shining Smith Book 1 - post apocalyptic action science fiction novel. the moment that guy showed up i was “that’s your bf.” and it was so... the plot wasn’t hard to figure out, it’s all about the action and setting.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - One of the better Heinlein books. The man can’t write romance and he is rather big on casual polygamy and open marriages. An anarchist-revolution book written by someone that is more on the Libertarian side of the aisle. Mycroft (the computer) comes off as rather antiquated, an AI that runs on a closed server, communicating through the telephone lines and printed paper, makes me wonder what Heinlein would’ve done if he was told about the internet and Deep Fake tech. (the book takes place in like 2075, but written in 1966)

Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World - the production of coffee and it’s prevalence around the world.

The Life and Times of Prince Albert - Exactly what it says on the can. *rimshot*

The Real Sherlock: An Audible Original - a biography of Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Design of Everyday Things - using psychology to improve the design of systems, products, and the modern business model.  It gives proper terminology for several common design features and how to improve on existing structures.

Bottom of the Barrel.

The Pagan World: Ancient Religions before Christianity. I was hoping there would have been something in there about European Religions, there isn’t, and the book was mostly Greek and Roman life styles and how gods are worshiped. It let me know where the word “auger” came from and why it was used in the Licanius Trilogy.

Life Ever After - disjointed at best. a couple that aren’t good for each other spend the next several hundred years in a crappy relationship.

Beyond Strange Lands: An Audible Original - The audio was complete crap on half of the voices. Which is bad because this could’ve been better. It is a Pod Cast Show and the director couldn’t make sure everybody had decent recording equipment and the sound effects often drown out the actors.

Henrietta & Eleanor: A Retelling of Jekyll and Hyde: An Audible Original Drama - They were going for a modern telling, but the language used is archaic. They speak like Dickens characters even though they talk about cellphones and computers.

A Crazy Inheritance: The Ghostsitter book 1 - The concept is there, but it is too nerfed. It was made for the 8-12yo crowd in mind by people that don’t know how to write for children.

Tell Me Lies (Free Audio Book) - It really wants to be smart. Who’s playing who and who is the actual villain of this story? If you want a quick “who done it?” maybe look into it.

Evil Eye (Free on Audible Plus) - told through phone calls between a mother and daughter. The whole genera of evil boyfriends/husbands isn’t really my cup of tea, and the boyfriend’s actor was too fake and the set up to the meat of the story was annoying.

The Half-life of Marie Curie - I didn’t mind learning stuff about Marie Curie... falls squarely in “made for TV lifetime movie” quality though. You should not carry around a vile of uranium where ever you go.

Alone with the Stars - A girl in Florida hears the call for help from Amelia Earhart, but nobody listens to her. Part fiction, part biographical. It would’ve been better as a biography and talking about various conspiracy theories about what happened to her and finding the pieces of the airplane.

Beezer - The son of the Devil learning to become a good person with a found family... however, most of the characters are annoying.

The Year of Magical Thinking (Free Audio Book) - very heavy on the subjects about loss and death.

Complete Garbage.

The Getaway (Free Audio Book) - A man being a POS by stalking and abducting women. It broadcasts just about everything that is going to happen.

Agent 355 (Free Audio Book)  - Do you like “American Mythology?” Like the whole “the founders are the greatest people in the world” kind of vibe? I don’t. I also hate the main character for being one of those “i’m smart, because i read books that women aren’t supposed to” girls when she doesn’t really think for herself at all.

[redisriding]

Reading Schedule

{UPDATED 16 SEPTEMBER 2020}

As the winter is starting to draw in, I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to be reading in the coming months. I thought I would share in case anyone is looking for book recommendations, has recommendations, wants to read along, or chat about books.

September

Serpent & Dove - [READ] I really adored this book the first time around, and while wouldn’t say I enjoyed it AS much on the second read, I would still absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves an enemies to lovers troupe. Overall, I’m glad I did reread it ahead of the sequel release because I had completely forgotten what happened in the end!  

Blood & Honey - [CURRENTLY READING] I wasn’t expecting this book until 17 September, but it arrived at my local Indie a few days earlier than expected - although a full two weeks after the release date in the US. I am only about 100 pages in and have some issues with the writing (which I only noticed on my second read of Serpent & Dove and which continue in this book) although I do have to remind myself that this is YA which might explain some of my issues with the pace (still not an excuse for plot holes/poor writing though). Nevertheless I am enjoying it thus far and am actively trying to avoid spoilers! 

A Promise of Darkness - This was one of the books recommended for fans of ACOTAR by Amanda in the podcast linked below. It was between this and A Song of Blood and Stone as to which series I would read first, but the description of A Promise of Darkness was marginally more captivating (although I’m sure I’ll get to A Song of Blood and Stone at a later date). I just need to get around to ordering it now...

October

Ninth House - I have been waiting to read this book for ages as I love Leigh Bardugo. I went to buy it a couple of weeks ago but my local Indie told me I was better off waiting until the paperback comes out as it will be cheaper. I have placed my order for the paperback and it is due to arrive on 20 October. 

November

I don’t think there are any books coming out in November that I am waiting to read, but I will update this as it changes.

December -  January

A Court of Thorns and Roses/A Court of Wings and Ruin/A Court of Mist and Fury/A Court of Frost and Starlight - Towards the end of December I plan to kick off my ACOTAR reread ahead of the Nessian book release at the end of January. I don’t know how long a total reread will take me but I’ve put aside a month because I’ll be working and along with Christmas/New Year celebrations it might be slower than I anticipate. I plan to post a lot about it though, if anyone would like to read along with me :)

A Court of Silver Flames - HOOK IT TO MY VEINS.

I’m a pretty ferocious reader so obviously this is not the full extent of the books that I will read over the next few months, but I will update this post as I go with what I’m reading. I am trying to get through my “Want to Read” books on GoodReads so the gaps will either be filled in with choices from there, or books that were recommended in these two @smartbitchesbooks podcasts:

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/414-listener-mail-and-fantasy-romance-recs-with-amanda/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/418-romance-recs-with-amanda-and-sarah-psychic-pining/

[illyrian-bitch-queen]

Flaming Stars-Chapter 1

I’ve been promising this for I don’t know how long, and it’s been on the backburner for a pretty long time, but here’s the first chapter of the Crossover fic between Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses that @bookworm-addict requested (forever ago, I’m sorry about that).

I’m planning on posting a chapter of this once a week until it’s finished, but I moved to a new country a couple months ago to study abroad and will be going back in a little over a month now (I’m going to sob like a baby when I leave the UK, not gonna lie) so I will be pretty busy at the same time, and I can’t promise I won’t fall behind. I’m going to try really hard to keep to the schedule though.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this :)

~Aelin discovers some strange Wyrdmarks in the Orynth library and struggles to find their purpose~

Chapter Two ** Aelin’s temper was legendary. Everyone in Orynth knew that the queen had as much fire in her temperament as she did in her power. And everyone knew when that fire was stoked, when smoke curled from her nostrils and flames burned in her eyes.

Word got around quickly when the Queen of Terassen was on a warpath, and Rowan typically knew when she was in a mood before he encountered it for himself.

This time was no exception. Apparently, she'd had an encounter with one of the more...difficult Whitethorns. Endy had warned the king about that much. But Fenrys was the only one who knew exactly what had been said when the two collided, and he refused to repeat whatever had put his queen in such a mood.

Rowan had yet to see her, but she had apparently locked herself in her study and refused to see even Aedion when he tried to speak with her. Probably because her pride was hurting over losing her temper, Rowan mused.

When he approached the door, he saw Aedion leaning sulkily against the opposite wall. Rowan raised a brow at Aelin’s cousin and he just scowled over at the door Aelin had barricaded herself behind--the door to her study. Rowan sighed.

“Aelin,” he called, rapping his knuckles briefly against the door before trying the knob. Locked indeed. Not that a locked door could stop him--or even Aedion, if he was willing to risk the queen’s wrath. “Let me in.”

A low snarl echoed from within the room, apparently the only response Rowan would receive. He sighed, shaking his head. “Aelin, you're a queen. That means you don't have time to act like a child.”

“Actually, that's exactly why I can act however I wish,” she called back, her voice no closer to the door than the snarl had been. Her mate huffed.

“Fireheart, I want to talk to you without a door between us.”

She made a little ‘humph’ noise, and he heard papers rustling, the scratch of a pen, but no footsteps.

Rowan widened his stance, growing impatient. “Aelin, if you don't open the door, I'm going to snap the lock.”

Aedion scoffed from behind him. Rowan tossed the male a dirty look over his shoulder. Aedion just smirked.

“Boyo, if you don't find a reason to be somewhere else within the next twenty seconds, I'm going to give you a reason to be in the infirmary,” Rowan growled.

The two usually got along fairly well, but sometimes the young male forgot his place--a youth and prince facing a king. Aedion’s smirk turned immediately into a scowl at Rowan’s threat.

“Both of you knock it off,” Aelin snapped, swinging the door open without warning. She pointed a slim finger at her cousin. “You, get out. Go find Lysandra. She was looking for you earlier.” Aedion narrowed his eyes, probably recognizing that Aelin was just trying to get rid of him. He did as she ordered anyway, giving her an unimpressed look as he did. She waited until Aedion sulked off to turn to her husband. “And if anyone’s cousin is going to the infirmary, it's going to be yours.”

She turned and stomped inside, her long hair swaying with every purposeful step. Rowan sighed and followed her, his eyes going skyward as he prayed to the gods for help to calm his fireheart--enough at least to get her to the meeting they had later with the diplomats from the Wastes.

“I heard you had a run in with Alisto,” Rowan started, naming his least favorite cousin. He had been visiting Terassen from Doranelle, where Selene was leading as Aelin’s head of state. “I promise, he's the nastiest of them.”

She huffed, dropping down to her seat with a half-assed glare in the king’s direction.

“I mean, if you can handle Lorcan, Alisto couldn't have been so bad.”

“He, in fact, reminded me quite a lot of Lorcan,” she said flatly, looking down at her paperwork for a moment before glancing back up at Rowan. “Except he was more devious. He didn’t outright insult me, but did it slyly enough that I could only insult and threaten him slyly in return without looking like the offending party. I hate conversations like that. I’d rather just have it out with people like him than talk circles.”

“But you’re so good at it, Fireheart,” Rowan returned, smiling down at his mate. Indeed, her clever tongue was one of his favorite parts of her, in more ways that one.

Aelin looked up at him through her lashes and fluttered them a little. “Oh, I know. And Alisto knows that now as well. But you see, he wasn’t a very fun partner when it comes to verbal sparring. There was almost no competition.”

“Is there ever competition when it comes to you, love?” Aelin’s lips turned up at the flattery, and she chuckled quietly, raising her eyes to meet his fully.

“You only encourage my ego when it’s beneficial to you, buzzard.”

“That’s just not true,” Rowan purred in return, leaning a bit closer to where she was seated. “I believe that half of the words I speak a day are probably spent telling you how beautiful and intelligent and clever and lovely you are.”

Aelin huffed. “Yes, and they all work towards you getting your way. Not to mention, I’m quite sure Fenrys does the same thing.”

Rowan laughed. “No, Aelin, Fenrys spends at least three quarters of his words on flattering you. I at least tamp down on the flattery enough to keep your head from growing too large to hold the crown.”

Aelin laughed fully then, her eyes lighting up. Rowan smiled back at her, and they fell into a comfortable silence for a long moment before Aelin spoke again.

“We don't have to invite all of your relatives to our wedding, do we?”

Rowan couldn't help a chuckle. The wedding, a mere formality really, was being planned only so that they could have a ceremony that their friends and allies could attend, rather than rushed, secret vows spoken in the middle of a war. “Aelin, if we invited all of my relatives, we would need a much bigger venue than Mistward.”

Her eyes lit up. “We don't have to invite the ass then?”

Rowan laughed, coming forward to lean his hip against her desk. “Not if you really don't want to. He'd probably take it as a personal slight, but his opinion really doesn’t matter.”

Aelin smiled then, reaching out across the desk to take his hand. Rowan tried not to think of how easy it would be to push the papers and writing tools off of the desk and put her on it instead.

It wouldn't be the first time, and probably not the last time, they'd fucked in this room, or even on that desk. It was exactly why Rowan tried not to go in her study unless they had something important to talk about.

He cleared his throat as Aelin looked up at him, her lips curling into a knowing smirk. Her mate glanced down at the papers she'd been looking at to avoid meeting her gaze.

“This again?” he said with a frown, turning one of the papers so he could read it properly. She sighed, leaning back in her seat.

“Rowan,” she whined, her lower lip jutted out slightly in a pout. He knew what she wanted, and he carefully kept his focus on the paper when she leaned forward, purposefully showing her cleavage.

“Aelin,” he groaned, tapping his fingers on the paper. “We don't have time for that today. We have to meet with the Ansel’s diplomats in half an hour.”

She looked up at Rowan through her lashes. “I can work with half an hour.”

He raised his eyes skyward to attempt to pray for some self-control. She knew full well that, once he got his hands on her, they'd be busy for much more than half an hour.

She pouted fully at him now, recognizing that she was getting nowhere. She leaned back in her seat with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. “Ass,” she hissed.

Rowan chuckled. “Are you really so impatient for me already? You just had me this morning.”

Aelin rolled her eyes. “You're the one who came in here when you knew what always happens when you come in here.”

“Because you were sulking,” he returned, raising a brow at her crossed arms and slouched posture.

She pursed her lips, recognizing that she was, once again, beginning to sulk. She sat up straight, uncrossing her arms and pushing her papers into a pile, shoving a piece of her hair out of her eyes as she did, as if she could pretend that she wasn’t pouting by organizing herself a little.

Rowan put a palm firmly over the papers she was gathering, not moving until she met his eyes with frustration.

“Aelin, you should give this a rest. It could be dangerous, it could be beneficial, or it could just be someone’s rutting doodling. No matter what, I don't think it's worth the stress you’re getting from it.”

Aelin sighed, resting her chin on a fist. “I just can't get it out of my mind.”

She looked down at the papers strewn around her desk. They'd found them a week ago in one of Orynth’s smaller, more secret libraries while Aelin was looking through for reading material. They'd instantly recognized wyrdmarks, and Aelin had ordered the library be scoured for more of the marks, enlisting the help of their closest friends.

They'd found three collections of these new wyrdmarks, written along pages with arrows and words in a strange language between them. Nobody had been able to tell them what the language was. Aelin had been struggling to comprehend them since they'd found them.

“I think they're instructions,” she muttered now, more to herself than to Rowan. “I don't know what they could be telling us to do, though.”

Her eyes flicked rapidly back and forth along the pages. The king began to gather them up again for her, drawing her attention back to him. “Well, maybe they're instructions on how to get yourself out of your damned office and go help me handle the diplomats sent from your lovely friend in the wastes.”

A wry smile curled at the edges of her lips. “I assumed Ansel would send her most difficult emissaries. I would've been disappointed with any less.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “Well, I would have been thrilled,” he grumbled.

Aelin grinned at him, standing slowly and stretching her arms up with a quiet moan. Although her face was completely innocent, her mate knew that she was aware of what that sound did to him.

Rowan sent his eyes around the room, focusing on anything but the way her tunic rose up as she stretched, showing a sliver of her tanned abdomen.

She chuckled as she came forward and grabbed his hand, drawing his eyes back to her. “Something wrong, buzzard?”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “Absolutely nothing, Princess.”

Her nose wrinkled. She always pretended to hate being called princess now that she was fully crowned as the queen, but Rowan knew she liked it because it reminded her of when things were easy, when it was just the two of them training in the woods at Mistward.

They could use a reminder of the beginning every now and then. It kept them grounded.

“I figure we should go see to the diplomats, then. Hopefully they at least speak our language this ti--”

She stopped suddenly, her eyes widening, her lips parting in shock. Rowan turned to her in alarm, resting a hand on her shoulder. Before he could say anything, she held a hand up, her eyes going to his, asking for a moment to think. Rowan fell silent, letting his queen sort through her thoughts.

Then she rushed back to her desk, shoving through the papers they’d just stacked and leaving them a scattered pile again. She held up the page that had puzzled them the most.

It was just a single, large wyrdmark.

“Translation,” she breathed. “This is for translation. I knew it had some meaning to it,” she said quickly. “I could feel it teasing at my mind, but this is it! I know it.”

Rowan looked at her hesitantly. “Aelin, there's no way to be sure of that. What if you're wrong?”

She paused, her brows furrowing as she lowered the page. “Rowan, I can feel it.”

Her eyes were dancing with the joy of discovery, and they were darkened with passion and surety. She had no doubts.

Yet, Rowan hesitated. Even if she was convinced she was right, it didn't mean that she was. She was wrong every now and then, even if she preferred to pretend she wasn’t.

“It's not safe,” he said, shaking his head and moving over to her side. “Please, Aelin. Just think about it.”

“I have,” she said back, her tone adamant. “I've thought about it for a week now. But I understand.”

Rowan wasn’t near as sure as she was, but he didn't stop her as she reached for the dagger she had strapped to the underside of her desk, a small measure of defense that was useless, really, when she could use flames easier than she could free the weapon to use if someone were to attack her in the study. It was mostly there as a comfort, and maybe as a way to defend herself without taking the risk of setting any important documents on fire.

Or apparently, Rowan noted with alarm, in case she needed to slice her palm open at the drop of a hat. He lunged forward to stop her, but she’d already cut a thin line into her palm. Rowan still pulled the weapon from her. “Rutting hell*, Aelin!” She gave him a look, raising her brow.

“Oh hush, you mother hen.” Her lips twitched at her own sly pun--she loved bird jokes as much as she loved getting him into a panic--and Rowan just scowled at her. “I’m just going to try something,” she assured him. He wasn’t comforted in any way.

She pressed her first two fingers into the blood she'd drawn and paused for only a second before dragging the fingers along the paper, tracing the shape the the strange wyrdmark made.

The second she was finished, Rowan reached forward and pressed his hand over hers to staunch the bleeding and push a little of his healing power into her body. It was a shallow cut, but enough to make him uneasy. Any blood drawn from Aelin made him uneasy.

He was relieved when nothing happened as her blood soaked into the paper. It was rather anticlimactic, and there was a moment of charged silence, but nothing exploded. Nobody came rushing in to say that the world had just been set on fire.

Nothing had happened.

But Aelin’s sharp gasp was enough to draw his eyes back down to the mark. She shoved that paper aside, and Rowan swore under his breath at the papers below it.

She'd been right. It was a translation. The words on the strange papers had arranged themselves into letters and words that he recognized.

And she'd been doubly right. They were instructions. She began grabbing papers and reading them, flipping them under and on top of one another. Rowan grudgingly began to help, and they worked until they managed to get them all in order. Fifty pages in total, all with wyrdmarks and the order of them, the placement.

It was for a ‘transport’.

Aelin read the word aloud, tapping her fingers against the paper thoughtfully. Her eyes were swarming with curiosity and determination, her hair falling around her face and her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Rowan loved when she looked like this, so deep in thought. But these wyrdmarks were giving him a bad feeling. They didn't know what we were toying with here. And transport? Transport to where?

“Fireheart,” Rowan murmured, resting his hand on her back. “We can get to this later. We have foreign diplomats to worry about right now.”

She nodded slowly, but he knew she wasn't really listening to him. Her husband sighed, tugging gently on her arm now. He just wanted her away from this whole situation. He was terrified that it was going to put his mate in danger, danger they had left behind years ago, at least for the most part.

“Aelin. It's time to go. We can worry about this later. You need to go run your kingdom right now.”

She looked up at him before sighing heavily and forcing herself to push the papers away.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Okay. Let's go.” She stood up straight, pushing her hair back and adjusting her clothes so that they sat properly again, giving herself a moment to recollect while she fixed her appearance.

Rowan knew it was hard for her to push back the curiosity boiling in her veins, and he kissed her on the forehead, guilt pulsing in his blood for denying her the indulgence that she wanted to explore this new discovery. She stood, pressing her lips to his briefly in return.

The crown was a weight on her still, even if she had steadily grown accustomed to it. She loved being the queen. There was no doubt about that. But sometimes, like now, she hated having to choose her responsibility to her kingdom over satisfying her curiosity or exploring her freedom.

He remembered her saying once, what felt like eons ago and yesterday all at the same time, that her kingdom was just another set of shackles. He knew she didn’t feel that way anymore, that she loved her kingdom with her whole heart, that she would put it before anything else, even herself or her mate, but he felt guilty for reminding her of her responsibilities when she was so excited to be focused on something else.

Rowan found himself looking forward to the trip they’d planned for after their wedding ceremony, for the weeks she would get a break, and leave Aedion and her other advisors in charge or Terassen for a while. She needed the rest and the escape.

She sighed deeply, exaggeratedly, to cover her disappointment. “Alright. Let's go run this place.” She rolled her eyes. “Gods know that it would fall apart without me.” Rowan smiled slightly at the humor lacing her tone.

He held his arm out for her and she hooked her hand around it, her rings glinting in the light from the lamp.

Always one for accessories, she was wearing three rings on her left hand. The ring Rowan had gotten her for their wedding--once he proposed the idea of a full ceremony--was the most ornate, the bronze topaz stones winking like flames around the gold band, dark diamonds interspersed with light ones. All together, it was still only half as beautiful as her, but even Lorcan had admitted that it was a beautiful piece. Yrene had cooed over it with Aelin, and Lysandra had simply grinned at him, proud to have pointed him to the right jeweler.

Aelin adored it, which gave Rowan unending satisfaction. She cleaned it every few days, ensuring that its shine was as perfect as the day he'd given it to her.

Her other rings were slim golden bands from Eyllwe, given to her by one of Nehemia’s brothers. They were simple and unadorned, and had belonged to Aelin’s friend. The brother had given them to Aelin in memory of Nehemia, and as a token of friendship between their lands. Aelin had nearly cried when she'd unwrapped the silk they'd been passed to her in.

Now, Aelin fluttered her fingers a bit, eyeing the shine and sparkle from her jewelry. Rowan had a feeling it was more than just a vain gesture, although that wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility either.

He kissed her cheek before leading her out of the study. She walked beside her mate, but dragged her feet a little. Rowan found himself tugging on her arm, reminding her that it wouldn't look good to make foreign dignitaries wait.

“Oh, please. It's Ansel’s people. Remember when she sent us a mule as her ‘diplomat’?”

The king hummed in thought. “I think that ass was the easiest to work with out of all the ambassadors that she's sent.”

He was rewarded with Aelin’s laughter as she leaned more heavily against him, tipping her head back and letting her hair fall down her back.

“Gods, I love you,” she breathed. Rowan kissed her again, slowing their steps as they got closer to the throne room where the guests waited.

“And, love, when I said that, I was including Ansel herself.”

Rowan pulled her through the doors while she was still laughing, her hand now wrapped around his upper arm.

Three heads swung towards her laughter as the door opened. Aelin shook off the laughter and released her husband to move forward, greeting them with a somewhat pleasant smile. And so the politics began. 

“Welcome to Terrasen,” she greeted. “I trust you had a pleasant journey?”

[drabblesfromthemoon]

Serene

Serene

Chapter 1

Sighs of Mystery

Disclaimer: I don't own A Court of Thorn and Roses and all characters in the series. All of the characters and dialogues are the property of Sarah J Maas, and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Spring Court – After the Chaos

Spring breeze in the Spring Court is always has been – inviting. Inviting any Fae to stop by, sitting on the green, soft grass and enjoy the smell of roses. To bring lovers after their long fight, in a hope that they will reconcile after listening to the sound of birds chirping. Or for the adventurers who happens to pass by, to pick some Calla Lily for their beloved. Not even Amarantha's wrath years ago could stop nature to keep flourishing the land with flowing, lovely abundance.

The visitors in Spring Court has been increasing day by day as their High Lord Tamlin reduced his Tithe offerings amount. The mountains of jewelry he had collected through brute force has turned to many tourist attractions. To make people enjoy their days in the Court. The forced collecting soon gone as the villagers trusts their High Lord more and more and offer their Tithe with all their hearts.

Spring Court still never boasts any city, unlike the Nights' Velaris. But there are many amounts of little village spread here and there. People lived relying on farming and planting flowers to trade the goods to other Courts. Winter Court, for example, would die for Spring's flowers to add some color in their crystal realm.

Months, years had gone after the War, some villagers tried to move on from the gruesome tragedy which befallen the lands over and over. Some still being forced to be awake by nightmares, but Spring's realm was so peaceful, the birds' singing and the smell of flowers quickly beckoned them back to their sleep. Ensuring that this – this peace – is real.

The Land of Flowers has found their calm.

But little did they know – not even His Majesty Tamlin himself – that across the mighty castle, almost in Day Court territory, hidden in the lush forest, lies a mystery.

Spring Court Mansion Library

Tamlin sat on the high stool, flipping through books in the Inner Library. He was desperate to find some information about cross-breeding flowers method that he saw long time ago. Damn that Winter Court High Lord, challenging him to make another flowers creation. Never enough variation for those fools, he thought. The golden haired man wanted to find the information to pass it to his engineers, so his people can play with it later on.

It's been ages since he last proceed with his education on how to rule a land. But as he walked through his realm, seeing difficult his people lives is, he ended up cares. He called every scholar to taught him what happened beyond his lands and what can he do to fix it.

He lost many things, already. All he has is time, endless time, to redeem himself.

Years after the war, Tamlin had found himself growing tired. Tired of the chase and finally learnt to accept. Accept that she was not for him right from the start. Their relationship was bound to fail no matter how hard he tried. Accept how unfair it was, the mating bound. Pairing two souls which never knew each other to become one. Nothing will come between the pair, ever.

He groaned.

Once in awhile, the High Lord would take a glance to his table. The object was a place of many books he'd found, but he was looking at a tiny piece of paper which he pressed to become is favorite bookmark.

"I hope you find happiness too." It says.

His eyes will wandered, then. To the first day when his dear lover came to the mansion, her deviant eyes toward him and his entire Court. Her cheerful reply when he asked her hand for marriage...

And it stopped there – only at the happy parts, just how he loved to remember her – until he found himself back to his search.

"Your Majesty," a woman's voice came to his senses.

"The dinner is ready," she continued, bowing.

"Later," he replied, clearly uninterested.

The maid dismissed herself with a sigh and one last bow and went back to the kitchen. There, many maids has gathered, waiting for their friend to bring the news.

"How is it?" asked the red headed one while swarming their returned friend. Her question answered with a gentle shook of her head and yet another sigh.

"Maybe we should just stop making dinner," she fumed, "he never eat any of it!"

"His Majesty hardly ever eat anything these days," said another, "all he did was work."

"That and staring at a piece of useless paper...," one of the maid said, which soon had her lips covered.

"Holy Cauldron! Shut your lousy mouth!" one of them exclaimed. It was a maid that offered a dinner to Tamlin,"If His Majesty hear we will all be in trouble!"

The rest of the maid exchanged glances and slowly sighed as they go back to their work. There's nothing they can do except accepting the fact that their master has lost his spark. Not that they're complaining, because the times when the human lady left the palace, his 'spark' was too much as he wrecked everything on sight.

His temper soon declined after the war.

The High Lord suddenly ordered to reduce the Tithe and start rebuilding his realm. He would spend his days outside, surveying the areas for nights after nights and came back only to dwell in the library. Sometimes, he went to the tower and howls will soon be heard. The agonizing howl which trying to call his lover back.

At that time, the entire workers in the Court knew. That even the most fierce beast can have his heart broken.

Soft creaks heard echoing across the West Wing – Tamlin's Chamber. The poor man tossed and turned, letting out growls as he did. His face contorted in agony, fighting whatever it was running in his mind tonight. Last night was when he witness Feyre's battle with the Middengard Wyrm, another was her authoritative voice of hers during the war. It's all the despair about her that he refused to think at day came to hunt him at night.

He bolted up from his bed, cold sweat covered his body as he snatch his robe and walked into the balcony. He bit back a growl as if holding himself back not to howl. To call for her, beckon whatever feelings left in her to come back to him and soothe his entire being.

She would never come back, fool.

The High Lord let his eyes look up to the sky, to the bright Fullmoon. He let himself relaxed at every caress of the light touched him. He was closing his eyes in attempt to go back to sleep at the bench in the balcony until a loud noise came from outside of his room.

He tilted his head as he walked outside, only to find his maid trying to pick up the mess she dropped. Broken plate and glass scattered along with a thick piece of meat, and purple liquid which smells like wine. Probably the dinner he had left earlier.

"I'm sorry, Sire. I didn't meant to..."

"Clean up and leave," he retorted, walking back to his room.

"Y-Your Majesty!" she mildly shouted to him which earned her a glare, a very adorable glare, she must say, with that bedhead and sleepy eyes. He quietly moved to face her, almost daring her to talk with that same tone she used earlier.

"I'm sorry but.. there's something I wished to tell you.. your nightmare..."

"It's none of your business," he growled audibly, "leave."

"I know how to make it stop, Sire!" she shouted, forcing the words out of her throat. Tamlin had really tried to be kind to his people, but his cold demeanor still there. One wrong move and you will receive his roar. She wouldn't want to test him. Not at all. Not when her family all depend on her for food and shelter.

The High Lord eyed his maid as if trying to reason with himself. Inhale, exhale. Remember the anger management lesson, Tamlin, he thought. But a little Fae girl telling him that she knows how to control what he can't with all his power...

The girl gulped as she handed him a folded piece of paper.

"There's... a tale among my tribe, Sire. About a place, a little pond inside the Dark Wood which holds a power, a true power... to retrieve what was lost," she explained as he opened the paper. Inside it was a map of where the Dark Wood is.

He scoffed.

"It's a myth. A myth to send poor lazy men to the Dark Wood and die," he said, "and the last time I retrieve something, I did unforgivable things. I have no need of this."

"I wouldn't lie to you, Sire," she replied, "please, please, just try to find it. Dark Wood isn't dangerous for a High Lord as you are. There's nothing to lose."

"Near the pond was a silver tree, a tree which only could be seen by those who truly needs it. Many has fallen, My Lord. For it was greed that calls for them, not humble wishes. The force refuse lust, greed and anger, and it will twist every path in the woods and let them those who unworthy lost in darkness, eaten by the beasts."

"I'll think about it," he said as he walked back to his chamber.

"But it has to be tonight, My Lord!" she exclaimed, earning another annoyed glare, "the Silver Tree only glows in Fullmoon, it will be harder to find it otherwise."

An old tree glowed dimly on the vast land, seemed ready to collapse at any minute. The thin branches ready to crack if the wind blew too hard. That poor tree stood alone in the mountain woods, away from any lands in the Spring Court. Rusty stone paths led the way from forest ground, across the crystal water to the elder tree. By the time the moon lit, graced the lands, fresh cold wind sweeps across the holy soil, causing the little branches to dance.

Each second the moon glows stronger, so is the tree roots. Its feet reach further and stronger to sustain the other transformation which awaits. The trunk grows thicker, higher, releasing the power hidden within. Little branches sway, slowly expanding its coverage, releasing more and more branches follows, until hundreds of it scratching the skies. When the final stage of moon ensue, silver leaves burst forth filling the branches. The vulnerable tree turns into the Silver Ancient Tree.

As it waits. Waits for those who it deemed worthy.

[reincarnatedasacupcake]

art by Neverblue t-shirts

Can you believe that 2016 is over? I can, and thank goodness for it. I know that 2016 seemed all bad, but there were some good things too. Like I, not only, beat my reading record from last year, but I doubled my goal!

Holy shit, that's a lot of reading.

Speaking of which, here's what I read this month:

The Little Mermaid

by Hans Christian Andersen

64 Pages

For love of a handsome prince, the youngest mermaid makes a bargain with the evil sea-witch and endures great suffering in order to become human.

This has always been one of my favorite stories, from the Disney version to the Toei Animation version, I couldn't get enough of it when I was younger. But despite loving it, I'd never actually read the original. Thanks to Serial Reader, I finally got the chance.

And it was good. I really liked it. I can see where both studios pulled their ideas from the book, little things like Ursula's garden full of creatures and her two eels. 

It's a sad tale, of course, with the little mermaid (no name) dies at the end due to the Prince marrying another girl and her hurling herself off the boat and into the water to become sea foam.

Agave Kiss (Corine Solomon #5)

by Ann Aguirre

336 Pages

Once Corine Solomon only had the touch—the ability to read an object’s past by handling it. Then she inherited her mother’s magick, and that ended up being a hell of a burden. But if Corine can wrestle a demon queen and win, she can bring back her lover Chance after he’s made the ultimate sacrifice. Can’t she? All Corine knows is that she can’t leave Chance behind if there’s anything she can do about it.

But the clock is ticking—and she still has to deal with debt-collecting demons and a maniacal archangel who’s running a recruitment drive. The stakes have never been so high…and this time it’s truly Corine’s last chance to save the love of her life.

This was the last book in the series, but I was okay with seeing it end. It wasn't the greatest book that she's wrote, but like all her other series, she manages to wrap things up like no one else I've ever read. Little things that are just asides in earlier books get wrapped up. It's incredible. This is another one of her series that is totally worth reading.

Holly

by Jude Deveraux

277 Pages

A relentless campaign by phone, letter, and email has persuaded Hollander Latham's parents to purchase the home of her dreams: Spring Hill, a beautiful North Carolina plantation where Holly spent her memorable thirteenth summer. Now a successful architect, Holly is intent on reuniting with Spring Hill's neighbor and her love from that long-ago summer, wealthy heir Laurence Beaumont she dreams of working her way into Lorrie's heart while restoring his historic estate, Belle Chere. But as Christmas fast approaches, Nick Taggert a mysterious stranger who makes her laugh and tempts her with a surprising passion turns her plans upside down. One man can seduce her with fortune and privilege; the other can promise her the simple gift of love. And on a frost-covered Christmas night, Holly's choice will unmask astonishing truths and hidden dangers revelations that will forever change her charmed life and her vulnerable heart.

I waited all year to read this book (tbr). All year..... Yup, I thought it was a Christmas book. I mean, look at the cover and read the blurb. Totally a Christmas book.... Nope, not at all. Not only does most of this book take place in the summer, but Christmas is just an arbitrary day that's thrown in at the end with absolutely no meaning.

Also this book plods along at a nice pace for most of it and then suddenly does a 180' and spirals weirdly from there. I was disappointed in this book

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)

by Sarah J. Maas

662 Pages (23:16 Hours)

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

I really loved this book. I mean, I loved the first one, but this one was sooooo much better. All those things that made me feel icky about Feyre and Tamlin's relationship comes to a head and she realizes that even though she's sacrificed so much for him, their relationship is super unhealthy. This book is very much about healing, both mentally physically and emotionally and that is wonderful. So many authors skip that healing phase, when in fact, it is the most character building phase there is.

I'm so sad that the next book isn't out yet. I want to read it so badly!

The Chimes

by Charles Dickens

117 Pages (3:42 Hours)

This classic story is the second in a series of five Christmas books Dickens was commissioned to write - beginning with A Christmas Carol. A haunting tale set on New Year's Eve, The Chimes tells the story of a poor porter named Trotty Veck who has become disheartened by the state of the world - until he is shown a series of fantastical visions that convince him of the good of humanity. Though much different from and certainly a bit darker than A Christmas Carol, the moral message of The Chimes is equally poignant - touting the importance of compassion, goodwill, and the love of friends and family.

This was a gift from Audible last year as a thank you for being a member. Thinking it was a Christmas story and Christmas already being past, I did the only reasonable thing, I waited the entire year to listen to it before Christmas. Turns out that it's actually a New Years story and I could have listened to it last year. Also turns out that Charles Dickens isn't all that great. This story was an awful mess. It sort of started out as a "treat those less fortunate than you better" and turned into a weird ghost story full of visions (you feeling like you know this story yet?) that are suppose to convince him of humanity's goodness, but it doesn't quite pull it off as well as A Christmas Carol. In fact, I was confused as to the impact the nasty visions were suppose to have.

I guess I did learn not to read Dickens unless you have to

Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #6)

by Joanne Fluke

352 Pages

When it comes to holidays, Minnesotans rise to the occasion—and the little town of Lake Eden is baking up a storm with Hannah Swensen leading the way. The annual Christmas Buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook.

The recently divorced Martin Dubinski arrives at the buffet with his new Vegas showgirl wife—all wrapped up in glitter and fur. His ex-wife, however, seems as cool as chilled eggnog. And when Hannah’s mother’s antique Christmas cake knife disappears, its discovery in the décolletage of the new—and now late—Mrs. Dubinski puts the festivities on ice.

With everyone stranded at the community center by a blizzard, Hannah puts her investigative skills to the test, using the ingredients at hand: half the town of Lake Eden—and a killer. Now, as the snowdrifts get higher, it’s up to Hannah to dig out all the clues—and make sure that this white Christmas doesn’t bring any more deadly tidings…

Another murder? How do these keep happening at such a regular interval to be conveniently found by our Heroine? Ah, who cares, these are always silly fun and truth be told, I read them for the recipes.  Best thing about this book: It was only 252 pages long and had 100 pages of recipes at the back!!!!

Yay! That's what I call a Christmas miracle! 

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

112 Pages

In October 1843, Charles Dickens ― heavily in debt and obligated to his publisher ― began work on a book to help supplement his family's meagre income. That volume, A Christmas Carol, has long since become one of the most beloved stories in the English language. As much a part of the holiday season as holly, mistletoe, and evergreen wreaths, this perennial favourite continues to delight new readers and rekindle thoughts of charity and goodwill.

With its characters exhibiting many qualities ― as well as failures ― often ascribed to Dickens himself, the imaginative and entertaining tale relates Ebenezer Scrooge's eerie encounters with a series of spectral visitors. Journeying with them through Christmases past, present, and future, he is ultimately transformed from an arrogant, obstinate, and insensitive miser to a generous, warm-hearted, and caring human being. Written by one of England's greatest and most popular novelists, A Christmas Carol has come to epitomize the true meaning of Christmas.

Wait... did I just say that I learned that I shouldn't read Dickens unless I have to? Yeah, I did. But if you're going to read Dickens at all, this is a pretty good one. I actually quite enjoyed it. I haven't read it since I was a kid, so it was nice to revisit it without having to watch one of the terrible reiterations of it. (which I refuse to watch after nightmares of Uncle Scrooge trying to drag me to hell with him)

This book does have one of my new favorite analogies in it though: 

"Marley's face. It was not in impenetrable shadow as the other subjects in the yard were, but had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar."

After much laughing and much research, I discovered that when lobsters go bad, the bacteria that eats at it glows slightly in the dark. See? You just learned something. No go out there and make "Like a bad lobster in a dark cellar" a thing

Spells and Scones (Magical Bakery Mystery #6)

by Bailey Cates

320 Pages

When the bookshop next to the Honeybee Bakery hosts a signing for a Savannah radio celebrity's new self-help book, magical baker Katie Lightfoot is happy to provide some delectable desserts. A big crowd has turned out for the event, curious about the book (and maybe to sample some goodies), but the final chapter comes too soon for the author when she is found dead at the event.

The prime suspect is Angie Kissel, a former witch whose familiar was once Katie’s own terrier, Mungo. Katie is at first hesitant to help, afraid of losing the little dog who has become so important to her. But after a little nudge from Mungo himself, Katie decides to try to conjure up the real killer—before Angie gets served...

A Bakery next to a Book Shop! My dream come true! Not so much the murder, but you know what I mean. The more I read this series, the more I want to have baking magic. It's amazing how much I actually think about it; what I would bake, how it would help people (Don't even get me started about the baking magic in Fantastic Beasts) sigh....

Anyway, this book was fun and I really enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed with the recipes at the back, but they can't all be magical scones (just Greek scones this time... gross..)

Hopefully the next book will be just as good.

Some Short Christmas Stories

by Charles Dickens

108 Pages

Includes A Christmas Tree, What Christmas is, as We Grow Older, the Poor Relation's Story, the Child's Story, the Schoolboy's Story and Nobody's Story.

Remember above when I said you shouldn't read Dickens unless you have to? Well, I didn't listen to myself. I was trying so hard to get in as much Christmas reading that I forced myself to read these awful, awful short stories. Only one of them had anything to do with Christmas at all, and that was A Christmas Tree; where he talks about the decoration on his tree and what they remind him of. This includes Ghost Stories, which he tells 3 or 4 of in the middle of the story. It's really awkward. The other stories only mention Christmas in them but aren't actually about Christmas at all. It's really weird. I don't recommend.

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

462 Pages (15:25 Hours)

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes 

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

I kept hearing great things about this book, so I finally picked it up in an Audible sale and I'm very glad that I did. It was excellent. If you want a great Ocean's 11 style story based in a fantasy universe with crazy magic and fun characters, I suggest picking this up. I enjoyed that they actually hired multiple voice actors for all the different characters, it gave it more life that some other audio books have. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go get this book.

The Wives of Bath

by Wendy Holden

468 Pages

Four parents-to-be seem ante-natally sorted. Flash Hugo and Amanda have booked a chic private clinic and royal maternity nurse. Right-on Jake and Alice want an all-natural home birth with whale music and tree-hugging nappies. But nothing goes quite to plan. Amanda finds motherhood less glam than the stars make it look and disappears back to her career. Which leaves Hugo with the child and without a clue what to do. 

Alice has problems too. Bringing up baby to Jake’s eco-fascist standards means home-made organic everything and a recycled cardboard cot. Will nappiness bring happiness to anybody? Not before bedhopping spouses, beastly bosses and bitchy nursery mothers have all done their dreadful worst…

I've had this book for years (trb) but never got around to picking it up. I really didn't want to read about parenting, even if it was in Wendy Holden's awesome style. But I'm glad I picked it up because it was great. I shouldn't have been surprised. Wendy Holden always makes he books clever and funny and full of heartwarming characters and horrible people that you love to hate and who always get their comeuppance. I need to find more of her books.

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2)

by Leigh Bardugo

560 Pages (18:00 Hours)

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

While you're out buying Six of Crows, you might as well pick up the sequel as well. You're going to want it as soon as you finish the first one anyway. Although not quite as good as the first one, this one has just as much fun and the antics will make you want to keep reading. It's more like Ocean's 12. Still great, but lacking a little bit of the charm and style that the first one had.

After finishing this, I had to look up more books by this author. I'm very excited to know that she has an entire other series based in this land. I may have to head back to the bookstore....

Hogfather (Discworld #20)

by Terry Pratchett

445 Pages

It's the night before Hogswatch. And its too quiet. 

Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...

Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too). 

As they say: 'You'd better watch out...'

Oh Terry Pratchett, you get crazier and crazier with every book of yours that I read. I saved this one for Christmas and it was the best holiday story I read this year. I already loved Death as a character, but him putting on a red suit and fake beard to take on the mantle of the missing Hogfather made me love him all the more. There are a lot of different plots going on in this book, which can make it hard to follow sometimes, but it's worth it by the end when you finally figure out what's going on.

So I did pretty good on the challenge this year. I gave up on Trends While Reading, but only because it was making me depressed I didn't need that. I finished reading the rest of The Wheel of Time and finished 11 of my 12 TBR pile (and only had to replaced 2 books on it) Not too shabby if I do say so myself  (and I do)

Books that I am currently reading

Vision of the Future (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn #2)

by Timothy Zahn

57 of 694 Pages

Andersen's Fairy Tales

by Hans Christian Andersen

161 of 343 Pages

The Selection (The Selection #1)

by Kiera Cass

3:33 Hours of 8:07 Hours