#i'm reading (and very much enjoying) the second book in this series and was unfortunately remembered

[kazz-brekker]

i knowwwww that art is subjective and people can have whatever opinions on it they want but it makes me so annoyed that a lot of the negative reviews of a crown of ivy and glass by claire legrand are like "i just found the main character really unlikeable, she was so self-centered and frivolous" as if the book does not make it really clear that gemma throws herself into stuff like planning parties and having dramatic love affairs to distract herself from a chronic illness that causes her a lot of pain as well as her untreated anxiety and depression. yeah, the main character is often self-centered, she's having a physical and mental health crisis! a major part of the story is her finally accepting that she needs to seriously talk to other people about her problems and find better coping mechanisms for herself!

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! Thank you so much for all the work you put into this archive. I've spent so many hours reading fics lately and enjoying every second thanks to you all!

I wonder if you have any recs for human!au fics where Crowley and Azi meet either online, as penpals or some other way that's anonymous, but maybe they don't know each other in real life or they don't know the other is their online friend/penpal. I really like the build-up towards meeting each other and things like that! I hope it's not too confusing. Any suggestions with those themes would be wonderful ❤️

We have loads of fics along these lines on our #social media tag, a specific pen pals post here, and you'll find similar kinds of fics our our #mistaken identity tag. I've got a bunch now, but I'm sure these'll all be on the tags mentioned, because there are only so many (unfortunately; I too love this trope!)...

Texts from an Unknown Number by GaryOldman (T)

The human wrong number AU I have been craving. Trapped at a boring Halloween party, Aziraphale tries to get in touch with Gabriel but his text ends up in the wrong place.

Press L in the Chat (for Love) by Phoenix_Soar (E)

Bickering fan-content creators Aziraphale and Crowley only have three things in common — they are both avid fans of a new revolutionary TV series about pirates, they are popular for their fantastic fanfiction and fanart… and they are members of the same discord server. Neither of them likes the other, but across the chaotic virtual world of a discord chatroom, who knows what can happen when these two unlikely fans are paired up for an exciting collaboration? Us. We know ;) Discord Server AU — a collaboration between Phoenix_Soar (fic) and Djapchan (multivoice podfic organization & editing) for Pod-Together 2022

A Tricky Situation (Entirely of his own making) by sixbynine (E)

"Crowley stood up and went to leave, he turned back just as he opened the door and took a deep breath. “You know I was quite excited to come here and work with you. I enjoyed reading your work. I disagree with a lot of it, but your writing style is lovely and every so often you’d let that privileged rich white boy mask drop and it was fantastic. I was hoping to meet that Professor Fell, but I’m beginning to think maybe he doesn’t exist and I’m going to be stuck with a rude stuck up arsehole for the next five years.” He slammed the door behind him before Aziraphale could respond. Aziraphale gaped, open mouthed, at the shut door." -- Aziraphale is teaching at Kings College London. He's been teaching at King College London for a long time now thank you very much and he does not take kindly to new Professors being sprung on him suddenly. Especially when this one has quite publically made his opinon of Aziraphale's work known. Luckily Aziraphale has an understanding penpal...

Readings From the Books of Ashtoreth by Quefish (E)

Vicar Aziraphale Bookman has a comfortable life. He lives in and serves the small village community of Tadfield. He enjoys contributing to local businesses, taking walks, and of course reading. His 'guilty pleasure', which gives him no guilt and all pleasure, is a series of novels by one AJ Ashtoreth. But what happens when he reaches out with an innocent bit of fanmail?

The Anon Before Christmas by foolishlovers (E)

When Crowley’s friend, blogging buddy and business partner Anathema announces her annual Secret Santa Exchange on Tumblr, she is very adamant Crowley should join this year. The old-fashioned (but admittedly compassionate) man he gets assigned to send anonymous messages to every day until Christmas sounds awfully similar to the fussy bookseller that his friends adore, yet Crowley tries to avoid at all costs. But surely his friends would have mentioned if Aziraphale had taken an interest in the Bad Omens fandom as well… right? Or: An Enemies to Lovers Secret Santa Tumblr AU.

I Knew I Loved You by AppleSeeds (E)

In September 1999, when his family gets connected to the internet, prospective Marine Biology student Crowley discovers an online forum where he can actually talk to people who share his passion for saving the whales. He begins corresponding with a kind stranger he knows only as Ocean_Angel, and is incredibly excited when the opportunity arises to meet this mysterious person in real life. As their friendship develops, Crowley shares things with Angel that he can't talk about with anyone else, and Angel's insights help him to explore and embrace his own identity. As Crowley works towards finding a place in this world where he feels like he really belongs, he realises that a big part of the answer to that question might actually be right in front of him. What if where he belongs is with Angel?

Big Name Feelings by ghostrat (E)

FANDOM AU! • Crowley is a BNF fic writer, and Aziraphale is a lurking artist who might be just a little parasocially in love with him. How they ever became friends is beyond him, but here they are: One month out from Prophet Con, and Crowley is asking him to be his boyfriend. Just for the weekend, of course.

- Mod D

[livingformintyoongi]

— Small section to thank my dearest @parkitrighthere for tagging me, you are the sweetest, I adore you, *kiss your beautiful brain*.

— So, uhm, first of all, I really didn't expect to get this far with this blog (I mean, I already have 460 something followers and it's like, I don't know, so unrealistic, thank you so much to each of you for your love <3). It's not the first blog I have on tumblr, but it's the first ql that I really put a lot of effort into it (I lasted more than three months, it's an accomplishment, believe me). I really love writing and publishing my little random ideas here, and I'm glad that at least for some people it can be useful to enjoy their free time ^^ now that I'm on vacation I've tried to let go as much as possible, because I'll probably disappear again in March (who knew that studying Architecture was so overwhelming?). Until then, I hope I can continue writing for you as I have done so far, and again, thank you very much to all of you who read and leave messages, you really are a love, you deserve to find a bill of the highest value in one of your pockets 🫂

-> MOST POPULAR FIC OF 2024:

First Time | Min Yoongi | 1,083 Notes | May 12th 2024

-> LAST, LONGER & FAVORITE FIC OF 2024 (not sorry at all lol):

Echoes Of Love | Kim Taehyung | 53 Notes | December 20th 2024

FICS RECS OF 2024:

-> First of all, I want to add that I already had a list of recommendations before, all with small comments (you can see it here). I mention it because it never hurts to recommend those wonderful fics.

-> Dear Mate! [KTH] By @parkitrighthere | I really felt very tense reading it, like, too much, it was so exciting! I felt the conflict inside, like, for a second I really questioned whether or not it was okay to just give into Tae (because of the whole incident thing at the beginning and everything), but the scene was so well put together and I just Kjsdjksdjjjswks I gave in, I was oc, I literally gave in to her 🕴.

-> A human Touch [KTH] By @snackhobi | This was a series (two chapters, one drabble) and I literally started and finished it yesterday, it was so addictive to read! I really enjoyed with the writing of the author, it was just majestic,I could feel myself perfectly in the scene. Also Tae was so adorable, he could breathe and I was already screeching on the floor because unfortunately the character doesn't exist here and there are no dysfunctional androids in the world :(

-> Always The Bridesmaid [KTH] By @kookingtae | This is an adaptation of 27 Dresses and GOD, HOW I LOVED IT. I watched the movie before so I could get a bit of context (because I hadn't seen it in a while) and then I read it and, I swear, it was so fascinating, I loved it so much more than the movie (it's different, believe me). The author added her own touch without taking away from the essence and she did it so wonderfully, I really highly recommend it if you have free time and want to read something a little more light-hearted! (Although it has angst most of the time, if you love angst, you'll like it).

-> Ain't No Sunshine [KTH] By @whimsical-ness | Another adaptation, this time of Notting Hill. In this version, the actor is Tae and the protagonist is the one who attends the book store. Honestly, I also liked it a lot more than the movie (I found it funnier, I got more attached to the people... I don't know, but I liked it more :>). It was a pretty fun read, and again, the author did an amazing job! (It also has angst, obviously, but as an angst lover this is like, I don't know, perfect).

-> Taste Of Love [KTH] By @vopegist | In a nutshell: the sweetest thing you'll read all month. It's super fluffy and super beautiful and peaceful and wonderful and spectacular. You can really feel a warmth in your chest every time you read it, and it's so easy to get attached to both characters! (It has a sequel, which I highly recommend).

-> What do you do when you have just been cheated on? By @1uvtae | This is, literally, my favorite of favorites. I read it months ago and I can still feel the anxiety coursing through my veins when I remember it. It's an amazing story, Taehyung is a character that I consider too charismatic and I really understand why oc fell in love with him (who doesn't? Look at him). I don't even know if I can describe it in words, it really is something you must watch to understand. I highly recommend it (remember to read the warnings!).

TOP STATS OF 2024:

-> Total Notes: 6,4k

-> Total posts counted: 203

-> Total words written: 72.3 k

-> Tops muses: Taehyung & Yoongi 🩷🩵 (Honorable mention to Taylor because my inspiration comes from her music).

TOP TEN TRACKS OF 2024:

-> Who - Jimin

-> Guilty As Sin? - Taylor Swift

-> Hate You - Jungkook

-> Yes or No - Jungkook

-> loml - Taylor Swift

-> Good Luck, Babe - Chappell Roan

-> Maroon - Taylor Swift

-> How did it end? - Taylor Swift

-> Die with a smile - Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars

-> Love wins all - IU

GOALS FOR 2025

-> First, I think I would love for my college career not to drag on all my time and to be able to make good progress on everything I have planned (it's too many things for one person, but the only one to blame is me, so...)

-> Finish BOTN before the end of 2025, the series is super planned in my head, but I'm so scattered and so distracted that I always pass on writing it down :(

-> I wish I could write a one-shot over 30k... but it's so hard for me to write long fics, I always feel that the transition from one scene to another is bad for me, so I end up splitting it into parts.

-> Finish the 7 requests I have pending. Most of them are smut and lately my brain has been super negative to the idea of writing spicy stuff, I'm out of practice? Probably.

-> Socializing more with you guys. I really love the tumblr community in general, and I ADORE talking to anons/moots about everything and nothing at the same time, but I'm pretty introverted and don't really know how to bring up conversation topics 🫠.

-> I'd like to get better at making banners, there are some out there that are soooo cute, they make me envious (the good kind), I'd like to learn how to make some like that in the near future!

-> And I think that's all (? Personally I feel that I ask too little :].

Before I finish, I want to clarify that I'm not going to tag anyone because all the people I was going to name have already been named 😔 buuuut, I'd like to leave this space to give many thanks to certain people I may not have interacted with much but I still appreciate very much because they always show up in my inbox to give notes to the things I post, sooo, here we go:

Mooties~

First of all, I want to say thank you to my best friend @thunderg, She's literally my best friend, I've known her since I'm like, I don't know, 4/5 years old? We've been friends since I was about 13 or so and I'm really grateful for that, she always supports me in everything I do (which is generally a bad idea lol). I really don't think I would be here without your help, Ily 🫂💕.

Second, I would like to thank @parkitrighthere, I know we have only known each other for a short time, but I really appreciate your friendship (can you call it that? I hope so 🫡). You are literally the first person I actually talk to around here, you honestly have made being here feel so much more fun exciting, thank you so much for everything! 🩷.

Lastly, I wanted to thank @angellekookie for all your help since we met (it's only been a few weeks, but that doesn't take away from the fact that your help was very helpful). I really enjoyed talking to you, and I can't wait for you to start posting content here as well, you write very well, and I wholeheartedly believe you will be very successful here, good luck with your project! 🫡

No-mooties~

To my dearest @sunhyepark16, I know we haven't talked at all (technically we have, but not directly), but I want you to know that you have a special place in my heart since the first request you made for Taehyung 🫂💕 I never said it because the opportunity didn't arise, but in this blog you were my first protégé and I really enjoyed doing the requests you made. Thank you for requesting them <3 love you 💕.

To @lizzymizzy-blogg, we haven't spoken directly either, but I've seen you so many times on my blog that you also ended up becoming someone special (that's weird? I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable 😔) I really appreciate the support you've given me, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much 💕.

And last (but of course not least), @agustdjiminblog. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure how long I've known about your account, but lately I see it in so many things and that really makes me very happy! I wanted to thank you for giving me support on the things I do and for keeping an eye on them, it really means a lot to me. 🩷🩷

And that's it! I hope I didn't bother any of the people I mentioned, I really didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable! I just wanted to take this moment to thank those people who made this year much more enjoyable (on this platform).

Bye bye, see u later 🫡

[davyreads]

review of tomi adeyemi’s children of anguish and anarchy

zélie confronts her final enemy, the king of a foreign land who hunts her heart.

"i'm not ready for our story to end."

children of anguish and anarchy is the final entry in tomi adeyemi's legacy of orisha trilogy, and it was preceded by commercial and critical successes children of blood and bone and children of virtue and vengeance. this final book continues where the second book left off, and readers are reunited with zélie, tzain, amari and inan, as they fight to free their people and save the life of an unknown girl. the plight of the maji has always been reminiscent of the struggles of the black community, but this is made even clearer and more visceral in this final installment.

keep reading for my personal thoughts (there will be spoilers)

the story follows zélie as she frees the maji from the captivity of those known only as the skulls, for the masks that they wear over their faces. after freeing her people, during the process of which an artefact from the skulls is embedded into her chest, zélie searches for a mystery girl and aims to save her life and protect her from the skulls and their monstrous power. whilst she does this with tzain and amari, inan returns with the rest of the maji to orisha to warn the rest of their people of the threat posed by the skulls. upon returning, they find their people still at war with one another, and they very quickly understand that in order to stand a chance against their new foes, they need to stop their infighting and unite. meanwhile, zélie, tzain and amari come across an island of people with different and unique gifts, and they find the girl they have been looking for. there are many time jumps, and a sacrifice made by one of our protagonists, but by the end, the maji and zélie’s new friend, mae’e, defeat the skulls.

the aspect of the trilogy that i really enjoyed, and that i have always enjoyed, has been the worldbuilding, and this final book carries on that legacy, and expands it to different continents. we’re introduced to new worlds and new abilities and, briefly, new systems of magic, with references to different cultures and mythologies. this is something that has never been an issue for this series, and i appreciate that this is something we get to enjoy to the very end of it.

another thing is that, as i said in the small blurb i wrote, the references to struggles faced by the black community from outside the community and within it have always been part and parcel of the series, and these themes have driven the story in an authentic way that allows readers to relate to the characters. i truly appreciate these inclusions and it helps the series maintain a flavour of what initially drew readers in to begin with. unfortunately, this final entry was a major disappointment to me, and it let me down greatly. the issues that i will discuss are the pacing, the characters, the story itself and its place in the trilogy.

i knew almost immediately that something wasn’t right, because the pacing was quite fast, and it felt abnormal. around 100 pages into the book, our characters have already staged a successful revolt without powers (mostly; with the exception of tzain, curiously); in any of the other books in the trilogy, this might not have really been an issue but since this book is shorter than the other 2, this is ultimately less than a third of the way through, and with the way the rest of the story is written and paced, this speed feels unnecessary, and it doesn’t feel like there was any point to this, because there was no clear compromise on any other aspect that could possibly explain this. there are many time jumps and skips and whilst these are good, and should be used, this just left the book feeling a bit spotty. when i think of my experience reading the book, there aren’t any actual gaps in my memory, it’s just that the timing of the novel is really bad, as much as it pains me to say. we don’t see any actual training for the characters, with the exception of a singular scene for zélie and tzain, if they can really be called that, but this takes me to my next grievance: the characters.

there is no development, and certain characters just straight up disappear (roën is nowhere to be found…?). the characters don’t change whatsoever. zélie is still zélie, amari is still amari (except she’s explicitly queer now, which i will discuss), and inan is still inan. tzain doesn’t really change either, he just gets a weapon (made from his own rib, which is pretty cool, i have to say), and whilst i can appreciate that he has felt powerless throughout the series as he has had to wait on the sidelines whilst the main action happens, this almost comes out of nowhere, and it felt like there was no buildup. i might even go as far as saying that there might have been a few out-of-character moments for some characters (inan consistently making terrible decisions even though he’s the closest we have to a military tactician was annoying to witness). this doesn’t seem as big of an issue as other aspects that i will discuss further, but it’s aggravating that with all these new threats and discoveries, everyone stays the same. inan sacrificing himself at the end of the novel felt like a very cheap way to shock the reader rather than it feeling like a necessary part of the story; in the book, it’s explained (kind of terribly) that inan must exchange his breath of life for zélie’s, and it is for that reason that inan dies and zélie lives, however it felt incredibly cheap and weak because nothing has changed about inan over the course of the novel to truly make us feel emotional at his death. it felt a bit like the ending of netflix’s chilling adventures of sabrina when nick scratch kills himself because it felt less like a needed part of the book and more like an attempt at shocking the viewers. i also think the book suffers from having too many perspectives, and i truly feel that tzain’s perspective was insignificant, especially seeing as with his point of view, we still know close to nothing about his training and what his experience in new gaia is like. this was really disappointing to read and very very annoying.

as i mentioned earlier, amari is explicitly confirmed to be queer, and many have read her as such since the first book, a popular pairing being zélie x amari. however, as much as i love queer stories, specifically black and african queer stories, this felt very lacklustre. amari meets mae’e and they pretty much fall in love instantly, with a short and uninteresting throwaway line from tzain where he remarks that amari looks at mae’e the same way she used to look at him (pg. 270). personally, this wasn’t very satisfying, and i can’t tell if it’s because the romance itself wasn’t convincing or if, in the context of the rest of the novel, this was just disappointing. the villain of this book is also very uninteresting and it got to a point whilst i was reading that i was waiting for the book to end because i felt so unstimulated by it, which really upsets me.

my final grievance that i will discuss is how well this novel works as an end to the trilogy, and the story itself. in short, i think this book was an incredibly disappointing and dissatisfying end to a beloved trilogy, and it truly hurts to say that, because there aren’t many times where i will see my culture written with such love and written so beautifully. this trilogy, in my opinion, really should have been a duology, and it should’ve ended after children of virtue and vengeance, perhaps with an epilogue that explored how their world was changed by the return of magic and how they are working to rebuild their country. this final instalment was so inconsequential, and really did not change much about the world of the trilogy, and because we were being introduced to so many new things in the shortest book of the trilogy, everything felt a bit out of place and time. nothing felt earned or deserved, and the only death that really moved me was one that didn’t even appear in the book (i miss you, imani). the epilogue was also very weak, in my opinion, because whilst it promises the hope of rebuilding lives and homes and orisha as a country, i think it would have been better placed at the end of the second book as it would have allowed the series to end on a high note.

[bloody-wonder]

making progress on old series

let it not be said that i can only start new series🧐

new releases:

empire of the damned by jay kristoff (book two in: empire of the vampire). i might have mentioned this one once or twice already so let's keep it brief. i loved it! even more than book one, i think. love liathe joining the main cast, love jean françois' everything, love how everyone got queerer, love the reveals at the end. very excited for the last book in this series, altho i'm a bit disappointed that it's now three books instead of five - since there are five vampire houses i wanted them to keep taking on a house in each book, with blood chastain being the final boss. very rude of kristoff to betray my vision.

the sunshine court by nora sakavic (book four in: all for the game). i don't think this spin off continuation was necessary and i didn't particularly enjoy it but i'm glad jean stans now have their own sacred text. my biggest fear was that nora would retcon something about the og trilogy and that didn't happen so i can just keep living in peace while mostly ignoring tsc fan content. more thoughts on why i didn't vibe with tsc in these posts.

mislaid in parts half-known by seanan mcguire (book nine in: wayward children). so this series consists of books focused on individual wayward children as well as of ensemble books which are usually weaker and this particular novella unfortunately belongs to the latter category. i still liked it fine and it was a quick read but tbh i'm ready for this series to wrap up so i hope goodreads isn't lying about the next book being the final installment.

fence vol. 6: redemption by cs pacat & johanna the mad. i rated it five stars but ngl i have no memory of what happened in this volume altho i read it in february😅 i like this series overall but i feel like the first few volumes were more exciting. weirdly now that the slow burn is finally starting to pay off i suddenly lose interest😕

heartstopper: volume five by alice oseman. i'm not a big fan of heartstopper in general, i think it's overhyped, but i did like this volume more than the previous ones. maybe i'm biased bc it features tori coming out as ace which prompted me to pick up solitaire which i loved and so it retroactively cast a more favorable light on the graphic novel. looking forward to reading the last volume bc i like finishing things and then i might as well read the nick and charlie novellas - at which point i will have become a person who doesn't like oseman's books all that much and yet has somehow read all but one of them🫤

mammoths at the gates and the brides of high hill by nghi vo (books four and five in: the singing hills cycle). i have only really liked the second singing hills novella so at this point it would be smart to admit that this series is simply not for me and stop reading it but. these books are so short and perfect for when you want to get through something quickly even if you know you're not likely to enjoy it. and if indeed eight stories are planned then it means i have now read more than half so i might as well complete the series🤷‍♀️ *gets shot by sunk cost fallacy police*

series i completed:

regency faerie tales by olivia atwater (read books two and three: ten thousand stitches and longshadow). love love LOVE these books!! i read half a soul last october and ten thousand stitches this january - both times when i was sick in bed and i couldn't have wished for better books to help me recover from a cold. the first one is pride & prejudice meets jonathan strange & mr norrell, the second one is a cinderella retelling, both have lovely romances and can be read as standalones. i think half a soul is fairly popular (and constantly compared to the book that shall not be named😒) but ten thousand stitches is very underappreciated. i for one think it's at least as good, if not better, than half a soul - apparently people just can't appreciate a love interest who isn't angsty and brooding😒 longshadow is a companion novel too but imo it features too many characters and concepts from the previous books so it should definitely be read last. i didn't like it as much bc i think it relies too much on the stuff we already know and love instead of giving its protagonists enough time to shine but it is queer which made me realize we don't have nearly enough queer fae books. what a disgrace🧐

noumena by lindsay ellis (read book three: apostles of mercy). so this was unfortunately mind-bogglingly boring. this type of sci fi is usually not my cup of tea and so i stay away from it but i decided to give this series a try bc it was written by lindsay ellis. the first book was entertaining enough but both sequels bored me to tears. it seems i was under a misconception that the story was gonna be about a sad girl trying to navigate a third thing type of relationship with a freaky alien but it was instead about her navigating instalovey relationships with random humans and the alien was also there sometimes. big disappointment👎

series i'm slowly working my way through:

the memoirs of lady trent by marie brennan (read books two, three and four: the tropic of serpents, the voyage of the basilisk and in the labyrinth of drakes). i read book one last december and liked it just enough to continue the series but every next book after that turned out to be amazing. follow lady trent, a 19th century dragon naturalist and adventurer, legendary as she is scandalous, as she travels through fantasy africa, oceania and arabia in search of dragons living and extinct, starts various political upheavals, makes breathtaking discoveries and finds love - a life journey she recounts as an old woman in a delightfully snarky narrative voice.

book two is my favorite so far bc it found a perfect balance of fast-paced adventurous plot on the one hand and character and relationship development on the other. i'm a bit sad that natalie left the main cast after this book - one of the only two criticisms i have of this series is that the titular lady trent remains the only important woman character. i think it wouldn't be too far-fetched to have one more woman on the team and natalie was a perfect protegée who, might i add, is also canonically ace. hate to see her leave😒

book three introduces a love interest who i at first found kinda bland but he grew on me in book four. my favorite relationship in the series however remains the one between lady trent and her trusted colleague tom wilker with whom they used to butt heads when they first met but who is now her dearest friend and longtime companion on her journeys. there are many books about romance and friendship but not so many about the utter satisfaction of having a coworker you can absolutely rely on. my prediction/wish for the last book is for wilker to turn out to be gay and find love too🤞

the other criticism i have has to do with the worldbuilding and i'll elaborate on it when i complete the series later this year.

the witcher by andrzej sapkowski (read books two and three: the time of contempt and baptism of fire). i'm enjoying this series much more than i thought i would. the key to success here is to leave behind all expectations you have from reading western epic fantasy or indeed from the witcher adaptations. this saga started as short stories and sapkowski remains a short story author first and foremost which might irritate a reader expecting a novel with a neat three act structure but which i personally found fascinating. the opening chapter of book two told from the pov of a messenger who encounters all major characters on the road, gets a death prophecy from a girl he doesn't know to be ciri and indeed dies as the chapter ends - i think that was a very creative way to reintroduce the reader to the main cast and plot essentially through the format of a short story.

another thing sapkowski does a lot is conveying everything through dialogue which, as you might know, is like bookish catnip to me lol. some dialogues are there just for the sake of dialogue, only bc the author wanted some side characters he made up to have a funny conversation. to be fair, at worst this structure becomes too meandering but i gotta say i find that chapters that are focused on mundane scenes seemingly going nowhere are more fun than plot focused chapters about sorceresses and wizards fighting or whatever. the witch trial chapter in baptism of fire - that's where it's at for me.

the thing i'm still not so sure about is the way women and women's issues are represented. very mixed feelings on what happens to milva in book three, tho i think i wouldn't be so skeptical had she not been the only woman on the main cast in that book. (cahir and regis are such fun characters with interesting motivations and stuff so ig i'm pissed that the only female character's deal has to be about that). ciri on the other hand is written very well imo and i totally did not expect her to be in a sapphic relationship. sure hope nothing bad happens to her gf🥲

vorkosigan saga by lois mcmaster bujold (read books one, two and four (??): shards of honor, barrayar and the vor game). so after reading the warrior's apprentice and the mountains of mourning last year i took a step back and read cordelia's books which i unfortunately didn't like. cordelia is a type of female character i don't vibe with and the gender themes in her books, while likely very progressive for their time, often made me roll my eyes, grind my teeth etc. in my goodreads reviews i explain my issues in more detail. the ethical implications of uterine replicators haunt me still😕

returning to miles in the vor game was both welcome and disappointing bc i keep expecting more from this man and he keeps falling short of my grand lymondesque expectations. in this book in particular i was immediately hooked on the arctic base plot only for it to be cut short bc this is a space opera and miles needs to go do pew pew pew in space, just like in book one. boo. now that i know weatherman was formerly a short story bujold later incorporated into the vor game i think it's curious that i seem to like miles a lot in short stories and novellas (the mountains of mourning remains my favorite) but am underwhelmed by the full length novel miles.

i will say however that now i have sufficiently adjusted my expectations and am very motivated to find out if there is a vorkosigan book out there that i will absolutely love. so i'll keep reading a few books per year - there's something soothing about slowly working one's way through a very long series😌

the realm of the elderlings by robin hobb (read books two and three: royal assassin and assassin's quest). the farseer books are the longest and (for the most part) the most boring books i have read this year. normally i don't torture myself like this but i wanted to do it for the fool and see how his relationship with fitz develops. was it worth it? i would say yes but only bc i let myself curate my own perfect reading experience and skimmed aggressively, sometimes skipping entire chapters. and i will do it again!👿 bc i will keep reading the elderlings books to see how the one million page yaoi plays out.

the only part of the farseer trilogy i really enjoyed was the second half of assassin's quest - not just bc fitz and the fool were cute and heart-wrenching together but bc of the entire unlikely fellowship on this quest. nighteyes is my favorite which is a feat on hobb's part bc normally i don't care about animal companions or am annoyed by them. kettle is iconic, always remember to take an auld woman on a quest (or she will chase you down and join despite your protests and prevarications). i hated starling but in a series where most characters provoke zero emotions that was a welcome change. kettricken was also there. their group dynamic was delightful and i wish the entirety of this series (or at least of this last book) was this slow burn psychological character study in close proximity group dynamics. but you can't always have what you want ig🤷‍♀️

what's next:

finishing the memoirs of lady trent - only one book in the main series is left and then there's also a spin off about her granddaughter, i think

rereading swordspoint which i first read back in 2020 and found underwhelming but it may just have been bc captive prince was such a hard act to follow for many gay books i tried back then. i hope i will like it more now that i can meet it halfway and if it goes well i want to complete the riverside trilogy right away

sometime this fall i'm gonna read pandora and vittorio the vampire. finishing the vampire chronicles is on my bookish bucket list and now, two whole years after i reread three of them to refresh my memory, i finally feel sane and brave enough to keep working towards that goal. so wish me luck🥲

finishing joanne harris' st oswald's series which started with one of my favorite dark academia novels gentlemen and players. i read the sequel last year and liked it a lot so now i want to read the final book a narrow door which also seems like a perfect autumnal read

the new evander mills mystery comes out in october and i'd like to read it before the year ends

2024 reading updates | goodreads

[read-alert]

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Finally got around to the first Witches book! When I first started Discworld, I had heard that it's best not to start at the beginning because not all 41 books follow the same characters anyway and the first couple of books aren't quite as good as the rest of the series, so it's best to already love Discworld when you get around to them. So I asked my followers on my main blog what book I should start with, and someone suggested Wyrd Sisters, which I have since realized is the second book in the Witches subseries, and I had wondered ever since then why someone would recommend I read a specific subseries out of order, and I finally got to find out! This one really doesn't have all that much in common with Wyrd Sisters other than having Granny Weatherwax.

But Granny isn't the main character in this book, it's Eskarina Smith, the Discworld's first ever girl wizard, in a very clear metaphor for women in STEM. I really liked Esk, she's a fun and precocious kid, and I really hope we see more of her. I don't remember any mention of her in later books I've read, but hopefully I've just been reading the wrong ones and she'll show up more in the Witches or maybe Rincewind's series. Unfortunately, I think the metaphor is a bit stymied by having such a large portion of the book be the journey to the Unseen University, rather than showing Esk's struggles to be admitted or taken seriously once she's there. What was there of that was well written, but I wish we had spent more time with that than traveling.

That said, I did quite enjoy Granny trying to teach Esk witchcraft before giving in and helping her become a wizard. I love the way witchcraft works in Discworld where yes, there is real magic involved, but 80% of it is just listening to and taking care of people and doing what needs to be done. The contrast with wizardry being academic and esteemed works well with the metaphor of traditional men's and women's work while not devaluing women's work and- to an extent- making it clear that those gendered roles are a result of tradition, not ingrained, bioessentialist aptitudes. However, I do have to say "to an extent" because Esk only becomes a wizard because she was destined to as a result of the way she was born. Which inherently works against the metaphor and carries the implication that Esk is special and 99% of women are in fact better suited to "women's work." This is helped by the ending of the novel with the acknowledgement that the gendered divide is wrong and opening the doors to future women wizards, and I recognize that destiny is just a staple of the fantasy genre. Nonetheless, it still rubbed me the wrong way. I vaguely remember a boy witch in one of Tiffany's books at least, so I'm glad the divide will continue to be broken in later books. I hope we'll see more women wizards as well.

Granny feels off from what I know of her from Tiffany's series, but that makes sense. This is Granny's first book, and Tiffany's are some of the last Discworld books in general, so of course she'd be a bit different. I still quite like her, my only real note is that I very much dislike the hints of romance with the Archchancellor. "A woman, well accomplished in her field, who never felt the need to marry meets a man who warms her heart" is such a tired trope that makes clear why the term amatonormativity was used by the feminist movement before aromantics. Thankfully, I don't recall any mentions of this romance in later books.

I do also have to note the usage of an anti-Romani slur in the middle of the book. It's not the first time I've come across a real world slur in a Discworld book, but the anti-Arab slur in Jingo at least felt like it was there for a reason, to make the reader pause and actually think about the themes of the book with the whole book being about racism. I don't think it was appropriate or necessary, but it was at least there for a discernable reason. This one wasn't. I did make a post complaining about it and got a reply that the word has been changed to "travelers" in later editions, but 1) changing the line to be about travelers kidnapping children still makes it obvious what racist stereotype is being evoked- again, for no reason that I can see that contributes to the themes or story - and 2) I listened to an audiobook that was released in 2022 and it was still there.

It was a fun book, but definitely contributes to the "early Discworld books aren't as good" idea and has its fair share of problems. 3⭐️

[pretentious-librarian]

ACOTAR Review

Unfortunately, I was not able to evade that cursed woman for as long as I had hoped. She got me, exploiting my greatest weakness in the way her own characters are exploited by that very same weakness throughout the book: fucking love. My best friend, the love of my life, has fallen victim to Sarah J. Maas and in her obsession she has forcibly dragged me down with her. Now that I think about it, my best friend is quite literally the only thing that could ever make me pick up a SJM book. So in the name of love, I subjected myself to booktok's finest (which isn't saying much given booktok's reputation) and here are my thoughts, namely the ones I couldn't bring myself to voice to my friend. After all, the whole point of even reading this in the first place was so that she could have someone to talk about it with. While I am not above pointing out it's flaws to her, I don't have it in me to spite the very thing she gets so much joy out of as deeply as I would've wanted to. Besides, who am I to talk as a Twilight enjoyer when I know damn well that series was a beloved dumpster fire just as much as ACOTAR is. And honestly, her love for the series and my love for her has dissolved some of my bias and frankly, distaste, for the book. And now on to the review.

Disclaimers: Spoilers, ADHD ramblings and tangents, ungodly amounts of pretentiousness from someone who doesn't usually enjoy fantasy, and yes I know this book functions as a prequel and the second book is way better (I started the second book last night, wish me luck)

ACOTAR felt juvenile in nearly every aspect. To be fair, I had just finished reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstien mere days before picking up ACOTAR so I had to remind myself to go into it with a level of graciousness. Yet all the graciousness in the world cannot override the horrific editing of that damn book. Attempting to fall in love with a whole new world and characters was incredibly difficult when the writer in me was literally dying inside. To be completely honest, I always evaluate the writing of any book I read, especially in the beginning. I'm not even going to discuss how the majority of the book drug its feet or worse, was filled with inescapable, constant monologuing. I could rant and rave about "show don't tell" for hours, which is why I am choosing not to spend more than two sentences talking about the god awful fucking monologuing (to be fair, I'm aware that slow starts and monologuing are often necessary in fantasy books but definitely not to this extent). But holy shit, there were way too many instances in which I was flung from my daydreams and smacked square in the face by the sheer... fanfiction-ness of her writing. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE fanfiction and I am a huge advocate for its existence and protection, especially as a purely anti-capitalist labor of love without a single care about the skill level at which it was written. But when I pick up a viral #1 New York Times Best Selling Author's book, the last thing I am expecting to see is such elementary writing--that I firmly believe could've been rectified if she had hired an editor that was even half decent at their job. My qualifications for making such a claim? Even I have edited a full-length fantasy novel and unfortunately, it took many harsh reminders from my best friend to at least attempt to focus on the story rather than obsess over all the changes I would've personally made before I considered the book decent enough for publishing.

THAT SAID: One of the reasons I always gravitate towards fanfiction when I'm in a reading slump is because it's just so... digestible. ACOTAR was also digestable in a very similar way, which is sort of what made it possible for me to finish it in about four days. Honestly, (aside from my autistic ass struggling to connect with a brand new fantasy world and characters I feel fundamentally estranged from) the fanfiction-ness of the writing made me feel the same as when I'm watching reality TV: aware of the quality but choosing to have a good time with it anyways. Because my friend loved this book so much, I desperately wanted it to be good. But once I accepted that the writing was mid, as well as a good bit of the plot and the characters, I was able to enjoy myself enough to lose myself in the story, no matter how much the pretentious bitch inside kept trying to claw her way to the forefront of my thoughts. It was almost freeing to subject myself to such a juvenile piece of literature. Speaking of, there is one aspect of it's juvenility that I will not explore, but rather, let Robert Pattinson's reaction to reading the Twilight books to voice the principle of those thoughts instead:

"I was convinced Stephanie was convinced she was Bella, and it was like it was a book that wasn't supposed to be published. You're like, reading her sort of, like, sexual fantasy about some...really sexy guy and she just writes this book about it. And like, some things about Edward is [are] so specific, it was like I was just convinced that...this woman is mad! She's completely mad, and she's in love with her own fictional creation. And like, sometimes you...feel, like, uncomfortable reading this thing! And I think a lot of people feel that is...in the same way kind of voyeuristic and and it creates this...kind of like, a sick pleasure in a lot of ways".

Although this sentiment about ACOTAR may not be exceptionally widespread, personally, as a far-left rad-fem socialist who has spent years learning to decenter men, some of what Rob said resonated with me. Despite that this type of book is not particularly appealing to me personally, that doesn't mean it's inherently bad quality (but can easily bar it from being good quality), and this aspect definitely would've connected to my younger self before I became a chronically online femen@zi.

Moving on. The pretentious bitch inside me couldn't help but quietly take note of what was executed nicely and what was not, even as I was doing my best to go with the flow. I might as well go ahead and discuss what else I liked about it before I'm written off completely. I adored the imagery and sensory details--it's truly what made the experience good enough to keep reading. Her descriptions really draw the reader in and make them feel like they're right there with characters, in the good times and the bad ones too. I definitely don't have aphantasia and am a chronic day dreamer so I absolutely love descriptive books. Colors, sensations, emotions, all of it. I loved and hated the way I felt genuine emotions in all kinds of scenes (hated not because I'm a bitter hater, but hated because I can't help but feel everything any character I'm reading about is feeling--good, bad, or otherwise. And boy did Feyre go through some shit). Typically, books that can make me feel deeply are the best books but in this case, it acted more as a saving grace, especially because most of those feelings that were present in this book, though intense, lacked a certain type of depth I tend to gravitate towards.

Another thing I liked was Lucien! Lucien is by far my favorite character, not because he's particularly extraordinary, but because he feels...real? rather than being another one of SJM's romantic projections. (Sorry the writing style changed half way through, I was lowkey writing like SJM because I thought it was funny but I got tired of that real quick.) In the same vein, every now and then Feyre would get real as fuck, which was greatly appriciated when reading about such intense situations. Nightmares feel like a cheap excuse to avoid having to deal with your MC being traumatized because it's not uncommon for nightmares to be one of the only aspects of trauma focused by YA/new adult writers as well as a trojan horse a romantic scene. ACOTAR felt more believable (or maybe the word is genuine?) because Feyre dealt with real consequences from her trauma such as DSM-5 accurate depression, chronic low self esteem, mistrust, trauma bonding, etc. Lastly, I can't tell if I loved or hated the way SJM tied up all the loose ends (excluding some intentional cliffhangers). On one hand, it was satisfying as a reader to not have found any glaring plot holes yet I can't shake the feeling that she was making it up as she went. Source: trust me bro

As for Feyre's flaws, I feel that other readers have already explored in those depth and I don't feel the need to keep beating a dead horse. Same goes for Tamlin--I didn't find him all that interesting or charming even when Feyre was falling for him, so my already subpar opinion of him got worse and worse and will likely continue to do so as I continue reading the second book. He is so incredibly immature I can hardly stand it. Don't even get me started on how he always wants to fuck and thinks that suffices as an expression of love and care for Feyre. Even if that's technically not how it is, that is definitely how it read. To be clear, I'm pretty sure readers aren't meant to adore Tamlin; my issue is that Feyre goes through hell for someone so mid and we as readers are supposed to think her love and devotion are justified.

Now, let's get back to some hardcore griping! Amarantha's villain origin story makes sense until you actually meet her. Interacting with her felt like interacting with a cartoon villain from a shitty kids show. She was terrifyingly sadistic yet the justification for it was too weak to uphold her sadism. She felt like evil personified rather than a fleshed out person suffering the human condition (I know she's not human but you know what I mean). Good villains don't have to be redeemable, but they do have to be somewhat believable. These fae are all centuries old and have been through so much but somehow lack the emotional maturity I gained at the ripe age of seventeen?! I too have been a woman scorned enough to do make some interesting choices but jesus christ, Amarantha, it's really not that deep. Maybe it's the trauma that makes them like that, because I certainly have not endured what they have, nor have I ever held the amount of power they wield and I will never be able to fully comprehend what that does to a person. So who am I to talk. Anyways, I could ramble endlessly about Amarantha's shortcomings as a character but I think I've touched on her most glaring offenses.

Ugh. Now I'm gonna acknowledge that damn riddle and Tamlin's heart of stone concept that was executed so, so...let's just say, uniquely. When I read Amarantha's riddle, I came up with an answer so quickly that I was certain was it was incorrect. My personal belief system is centered around love (obviously not just the romantic kind) so I thought maybe I was biased since I try to see love in everything, not to mention the answer I had come up with seemed way too on the nose, given Feyre's circumstances and how much of the plot was driven by romance/love/attachment. But to my surprise and simultaneous disappointment, the answer to the riddle was love. I feel like even Feyre should've got that because of her Amarantha-enforced circumstances. And as for Tamlin's heart of stone--that Feyre figured out surprisingly easily even though she couldn't figure out that obvious riddle--it certainly wasn't something I was predicting, and the concept of it felt a little...elementary? Not because it was predictable or anything, but because of how squarely SJM looked that heart of stone metaphor in the face and decided to... well... do that....

I'm just glad she made Feyre grapple with her decision to kill the two innocents and let it haunt her afterwards, especially when her motives are called into question. She loves Tamlin (somehow. but maybe I'm just a manhater) which is what drives her to do what she does and what puts her in direct conflict with Amarantha but I'm just glad SJM bothered to create circumstances that let Feyre's selfishness (I'm not saying I would or wouldn't have done the same thing in her circumstance) also happen to benefit the entire kingdom-world thing. Basically I feel fundamentally estranged from Feyre because I see the value of all people and would like to think I'd do the right thing based on love and respect for all living things rather than for a whiny man child. I feel like I'm getting sidetracked somehow.

TW: SA

I'm hesitant to even talk about Rhysand because I'm not sure I fully understand him as a character yet. However, I love him as a character so far even if I don't love him/his personality that much. He felt developed in ways other characters didn't, similar to Lucien but I actually liked Lucien's personality from the start, even when he pisses me off sometimes. But on the topic of Rhysand, I was uncomfortable with how SJM wrote about SA in general. As a woman, I'm certainly not unfamiliar with the topic and have had my own share of experiences, although I will honestly admit that I haven't had any big T trauma in that area of my own life so this may not be my place to discuss this. That may also be why I can't quite put my finger on what about the way SJM wrote about SA bothered me. All I know is that something about it rubbed me the wrong way, almost as if it bordered on disrespect. But again, I'm not entirely sure.

In conclusion, my best friend just texted me not five seconds ago: "I think you just have a hard time comprehending that people write fun little fantasy stories simply because maybe they just like writing fun little fantasy stories". And she would be correct. I am too pretentious to truly love and appreciate this series the way it was meant to be. I've always felt the need to look deeper in anything that I enjoy, I've always felt the need to connect personally with each work of art I choose to dedicate my time to. I am first and foremost a Supernatural fan if that tells you anything, and even my love for Twilight grew from a specific, deep personal connection I had the concept and characters. I have just driven myself mad trying to figure out why this book was written, why I as a reader should care, and what exactly fueled SJM with so much passion that she felt the need to write an entire series (which is why I'm suspecting she wrote it as a self indulgent piece; that's the only logical explanation I can come up with, anyway). ACOTAR was not written for me and that is okay. It doesn't help that I tend to avoid fantasy as a genre anyways. Yet, I'm going to keep reading it. Because I still managed to have a good time with the story and characters, and of course, I'm going to thug it out no matter what because I love my best friend. Lastly, one thing SJM did a good job with was, in spite of it all, making me curious enough about what happens next to genuinely want to read the next book.

edit: it’s been a few days and ive gotten further into the second book. sjm really got her act together, that’s for sure. im beginning to understand why people obsess over this series. it’s a shame the first book is such a dumpster fire but im glad the story is redeemed in the rest of series (fingers crossed); the characters and world building had so much potential and im extremely happy to see sjm giving them the writing they deserve in the second book. with this new perspective i also realized that acotar was so genuinely awful that it literally made it impossible for me wrap my head around why she wrote it. thank god she get her shit together so that i can finally see the beauty of the series

[spookfished]

media roundup sep 2024

hello! havent done these in a while. im currently "extremely unemployed" lol well see if i go back and do any of the previous months i skipped ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ i think its nice to force myself to summarize my thoughts like this

BOOKS: the tyrant baru cormorant by seth dickinson: most recent book in the masquerade series, which is a thriller (?) about the mechanics of empire. dude this book was so great. no notes. there were some incredibly gratifying payoffs in here and some craaazy twists. idk i wish i had something more to say i just thought it was really really good im glad that baru gets to have some good things as well as bad. of course, seth dickinson has amazing prose and the ending was so like, uplifting? and inspiring? i was very surprised lol

when the angels left the old country by sacha lamb: queer jewish immigrant YA, apparently for fans of good omens. an angel and a demon from a small, small town go to america to track down one of the town's mising daughters. despite neither being a gomens fan (although i did read it) nor jewish, i really enjoyed this! it has a dreamy, fairytale, eva ibbotson-like tone to it that made it a pleasure to read, despite the somewhat foreboding topic (let's all have a fun time on ellis island while visibly jewish!) the stories of the humans and the non-humans feel equally important, but i really especially enjoyed the way the angel changed over time as a response to the world it saw. its just a really nice book :3

long live evil by sarah rees brennan: villainess isekai, but western tradpub. a woman dying from cancer at a young age is given the chance to live again--as a two-bit floozy villainess the day before her execution?! how will rae find a way out? and how well, really, does she remember the time of iron? sarah rees brennan is sort of a comfort author to me; in other lands meant a Lot to me as a mentally ill teenager. all the same, i almost dropped this book during the first couple of chapters. in my opinion, this book has a REALLY rough start that evened out into a ride that i enjoyed quite a bit despite many other factors. while some parts of the part are clearly deeply personal (this is the author's first book published after recovering from late stage cancer), it also has a tendency to hammer in its points over and over again and undercuts too many serious moments with quippy dialogue in a way that deflates tension rather than increasing it. also, one b-couple takes clear inspiration from one of her previous works (but this time more #toxic --they kill each other in time of iron) and as a result unfortunately outshines the main couple at times, who also have to share screentime with a huge cast that often feels improperly balanced. but also, i thought the main couple was pretty cute, actually! the ending twist, while not unpredictable (and also very, uh, danmei?) was also very enjoyable and nice to let creep up on you. i feel like i'm being more strict with it than i am with a lot of villainess isekai i read though, haha… i agree with ineedacatchyname's review of it (and a lot of these thoughts just echo theirs. woops!)--a lot of this could be fixed with a bit more editing, but ultimately i spent the second half unable to put it down and i'm still going to read the sequel.

against football by steve almond: fairly short nonfiction. one diehard football fan's searing condemnation of the state of american football today (and what we could do to make it better). this was recommended to me by megafaunatic, and i really enjoyed it :3 i come from a pretty "ugh, sportsball" type of family, and so it was really interesting to see why people love watching football (especially a team as "wretched" as the former oakland raiders) as well as playing it--but also how the continuation of football in its current state is pretty much inexcusable (one bright side is that division i graduation rates have actually gone up quite a bit since this book was published in 2016!) id easily recommend to both football fans and non-fans.

GAMES: pikmin bloom: pikmin bloom is a game about walking around, growing pikmin, and planting virtual flowers. i didnt play this game for a while bc i was like "well, its pokemon go but with pikmin -_-" and like. it is. but niantic has also taken the opportunity to overhaul a lot of its base game mechanics with a focus on actually getting you to GO OUTSIDE and WALK AROUND, which i think is to its benefit! like, yeah it actually did get me to go on some walks when i wouldnt have otherwise. the microtransactions kinda suck but as long as youre willing to kill your darlings (pikmin) its fine i think. < guy with a very high deathcount in pikmin 3 and 4

return of the obra dinn: stylized mystery game about unpacking what happened in a scaaary voyage by seeing the moment surrounding the crewmembers' deaths. dude. this game is so fucking good. it was like everyones goty in 2018 and as soon as i finished it i was like "i wish i could get hit in the head so i could play it again." imo, its a really good game to play as a group (with one person driving) bc so much of the gameplay takes place outside of the game--deducing, speculating, etc and it's really fun to do that as a conversation with someone else! the game does a good job of disincentivizing random guessing--when i played this game with my family, we did guess on a couple but it was almost always a 50-50 "choice A or choice B". and the game can (apparently) be completed without any chance guesswork whatsoever! can be a little gory at times, but its all in this sort of dithery monochrome style so you don't really think about it until you're walking to the bathroom in the halflit moonlight and youre kinda like hey this kinda looks like return of the obra dinn haha. wait. anyways play this game!!

unpacking: cute little game about unpacking/moving in during the various phases of one person's life. probably a masterclass in "environmental storytelling" that invites you into making your own stories for our unseen protagonist while also providing these understated beautiful little moments of understanding. also, it was really theraputic getting everything perfectly placed in order when i currently live in a very messy house ;-_-

umineko chapter 2: ahhh year of umineko 2024 continues. im definitely not finishing the whole game this year (lol) but i might end up finishing the question arcs at least..? anyways ive been lbing this the whole time (#year of the seacat 2024 for blacklist) but man this was pretty harsh compared to the first episode. it even makes battler break down..! i was secretly wondering how it was going to try and turn around my opinion on rosa, but, well, i still really dont like her. has bright points in more beatrice!!! the introduction of the meta, some ???really horny??? parts and the [You are incompetent] scene. also, everyone seems to really hate george for some reason but i feel like i still dont get it.

SHOWS:

the decameron: drama about fucking and dying in black plague-era italy, and a villa meant to be a getaway from it all. in high school i wanted to read the decameron because it was mentioned in theatre of coolty--just so you know, this is nothing like it. its just really fun! and full of light intrigue and twists and reveals and tragedy. a lot of the plague-based humor hit in some pretty uncomfortable places, which the showrunners were definitely going for. neifile and panfilo hands down had my favorite relationship.

witch from mercury: revolutionary girl gundam?? this is how everyone pitched it to me, which honestly put me off a little bit. wfm is clearly aware and respectful of its predecessors but also takes the first episode to go "nah were going to do something a little different though." like, its kind of like instead of tackling rape culture it decided to tackle the military industrial complex instead ? ? i guess?? it seems like a good entry point into gundam for many (including me!) i enjoyed the first season very fun and currently watching the second. looking forward to seeing how sick and twisted things can get

in terms of music ive been listening to a lot of zerobaseone.. every time were in the car together neil is like lets listen to yurayura and im like yessss. yurayuraa oh ive also been listening to counter//weight while driving but im not going to include it bc its been slow going lol. all my thoughts about it so far is like "this is the thing neil really likes"

anyways if you got to the end or skimmed or whatever, thanks for reading! hope u have a good one.

[munchkinmarauder]

My review of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver #4

I would give it 4/5 stars - lots to like but not without its problems - probably could have used another issue to flesh it out. Spoilers below the cut

I enjoyed it a lot more on my second reading than my first! However I would say this is one of the weaker of the 4 Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver issues. Stronger than the first one but #2 and #3 were better.

Firstly the art and the colours are killing it. I am going to miss Tammetta's work going into the next series. Williams also does a great job with his bold colours.

The summary of this issue following the announcement of the scarlet witch book did get this on the wrong foot for me because it is all about Wanda which I felt was disrespectful for a co-lead 60th anniversary series for both characters. While the last book itself is a little more Wanda heavy it has a much better balance than issue 1 did and Pietro walks away from this book with his head held high in my opinion (and if the Q&A at the end is to be believed he will have more regular appearances in the Sclaret Witch solo as the Giver is still after him as well - good he brings the missing piece to Orlando's books - a lot of fun and someone Wanda can genuinely emote off of and who matches her beat for beat)

How Orlando would write Pietro was one of my biggest worries going in but I have been really happy with his portrayal so far and wouldn't mind him writing Pietro more. We see a good exploration of his powers and his emotional maturity after his growth in Quicksilver no surrender is on full display! He shrugs off the reveal from Magneto's letter to give his sister the pep talk she needed to control her full power, takes out the frightful 400, lands a solid blow on the Wizard and his confrontation at the end with Magneto was a good one - hes so done with his fathers BS and shrugs it off, tells his sister how much he loves her and leaves. I like that his relationship with Monet St Croix has not been forgotten - Orlando and Tammetta were really like - we're going to have a parent say one of the worst things they can to a child so we're gonna get this man laid (Pietro and Monet messy sex marathons was not something I thought would become cannon but I'm happy it did - I hope the comics keep this couple around for a while and explore them - I hope Monet appears in Wanda's next solo cause I want to see her interact with Wanda).

Cthon Wanda was very very cool. I am excited to see what is coming up with the Giver plot however I do feel this mini could have benefitted from an extra issue, cause having to set up the next Scarlet Witch solo does bog things down a bit. The twins don't actually interact much this series, for something that was advertised as being about their relationship I think it really needed a lot more of that - they spend nearly two issues separated so I think we needed more of a moment between them to resolve their fight. Unfortunately my fear that Magneto would overshadow everything sort of happened with his small appearance at the end immediately making it all about Magneto.

Speaking of Magneto the revelation in the letter is one I liked the more I thought about it. It's not a big reveal but it is Magnetos abusive tactics on display at his finest- a clear setting up of a narcissist parent creating a golden child and Scapegoat dynamic. I know a lot of people are taking what he says as him being right at face value and crying about Magneto being character assassinated or this being an affront to Pietro and I disagree. Yes it's a bit over the top considering what we saw in RoM and Krakoa but it is not out of character. Magneto has always been a dick to his children, Pietro in particular - I could go on for days but this review is long enough - but let's not be surprised that the man that murdered his son and was willing to let his daughter be murdered for mutant kind is a good father in any sense of the world. I think the story itself and Wanda and Pietro saying so to Magneto's face that he is wrong about the twins is very apparent. Tammetta emphasises the physical resemblance between Pietro and Magneto to make it clear that Magneto is projecting onto his son and to a degree wants to seperate the twins. A tactic he also used when the twins were under his "care" in the brotherhood.

Pietro and Magneto were done well in that scene, however, Wanda's response is what is off and I believe that is what does Wanda disservice as a character. She sent the Wizard to a hell dimension for hurting her brother but only gently tells Magneto he is wrong when he tells his only son that he should have stayed dead and calls him poison to Wanda. Orlando's finally calling out Magneto for what he is but the way he won't let Wanda herself go at Magneto or yell at him feels out of character for Wanda. Also the fact she agreed with Magneto initially pissed me off (though maybe this was her self blaming) Is this building up to something more? Will we get and explanation for it? I hope so but until then I am not happy with how Orlando writes Wanda around Magneto. She did overall take a back seat to the men in this series a bit, Magneto infantalise her and she takes it, vision talks down to her and is the kne figuring everything out for Wanda (I'm glad the vibe seems to be they're friendly ex's with no intention of getting back together and it shohld stay that way- though we got a forced cheek kiss - two series now which forces a Wandavision kiss but not Wanda giving her brother a hug when he's emotionally vulnerable - all for a racist MCU show it's very dissapointing) and a lot of the really good moments are taken up by Pietro until she has her main moment at the end - however twins dynamic is even,their partners, Wanda has a solo coming up so I think this last point can be forgiven.

Overall to wrap up this long review I have enjoyed and had fun with this series overall but it has it's flaws - the Wanda/Magneto dynamic being a big one and sometimes Orlando gets a bit too wordy (maybe a bit rich coming from me) which derails the pace a bit and makes my eyes glaze over - but I'm really happy with this series and hope it's success means we get more co-lead series with the twins or more Pietro in comics in general (and Wanda to keep being as prominent as she is)

[zenosanalytic]

Just finished The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon, and in general I liked it.

I think it's a Gr8 setting(more scifi/fantasy stories pulling on non-western inspirations, plz) and a Gr8 PERSPECTIVE on a Gr8 setting(bscl everyone in it is a refugee, and it takes place almost entirely within refugee communities), and a wonderful take on Mecha, a genre you don't usually see in novels, in the metaphysically Weird Evangelion vein(which you don't often see, or see done well, in Mecha, Period). I love how unabashedly queer it and its world is, that it's a M/M/M story that isn't disinterested in, oblivious of, or actively hostile to female characters, and that all of it's characters are so MESSY and Real in their own unique ways. I love it's Compassion. It engages deeply with "faith" in all its variegated meanings in a really interesting and sustained way(tho unfortunately not one that grabbed me as powerfully as The Locked Tomb's approach to these topics does). I thought it did a Really Good Job of expressing thought, confusion, and overwhelming, shifting experiences through text. It has ALLOT of wonderful, subtle worldbuilding in it which I really adore; like the bit ~halfway through the book were a cheeky fondly-mocking comment from one character to another implies that "hermit" can also mean "homosexual" in this setting.

I DID have a hard time getting into it though. It picks up in the second half, but getting through the first half was a bit of a slog for me and I fell asleep allot(tbf: I've also been SUPER BUSY and dealing with numerous Events, so I didn't have allot of time to read and it took me FOREVER to finish this one, so maybe that was a consequence of how disjointed my reading experience was). I'm also willing to accept that getting me to care about such a male-focused story these days is a bit of an uphill battle, tho I don't have that problem with Temeraire so maybe I just didn't vibe well with the protagonist, or I'm being too hard on myself.

Part of it, though, I felt is just how resistant to being understood this book is. Not, like, in a thematic sense, that's all pretty clear, but in a Plot-events sense. Allot of stuff happens very quickly with not much explanation until the very end of the book(by which time you may have ceased to care about an explanation for it), and it relies heavily on Implication; on people Understanding things and acting on them without that being explained to the reader. If that's something you enjoy I think you'll dig this, but if it's something that annoys you, or if you don't like reading books that seem to actively "resist" you, then this is probably not for you. I also feel like(I don't want to be explicit about this as it might be spoilery) particular Shocking Discoveries in the last quarter or so of the book make its world much smaller, kind of undoing the worldbuilding done in the first three-quarters of it? I also-also feel like there are just TOO MANY TWISTS at the end, like: it got exhausting for me how many Reversals of Fortune didn't stop keep happening, though I suppose that's pretty true to its very obvious Anime/Manga roots/inspirations.

Overall though I enjoyed the read! It's being presented as the first in a series so I hope it does well enough to see the future stories Candon wants to tell in this setting get a genuine release ^v^

[littlecritterz]

Urusei Yatsura Art Book Review!

Before I get into the review, I want to gush about how much I adore this book, the series as a whole, and its characters! I started watching the 2022 anime, after seeing a clip of it. The art style is so cute and very colorful!

Prepare for a long read!

I've been keeping up with this series a lot lately, I recommend it if you like slice-of-life mixed with some silliness (and great animation)! Recently, I started watching the original series, which is just as amazing as this one- there's also things that weren't shown (yet?) in the 2022 version of the series. I would like to read the original manga soon, too!

Alright,

Time for the book review! Please note that I'm not showing things in any particular order, and that I'm mainly going to be talking about how cool stuff is lol. I got the book from Ebay (that's what I use the most), and it arrived safe and sound a few weeks later.

The cover art is really cute, especially with the two chibis on the bottom left! I really love how they went about shading Lum's hair in this iteration of the character. I don't have any translations for anything in this book, unfortunately, but we can still appreciate the art!

Upon opening the book, there is a poster that unfolds- above is the front:

And here is the back! The art on both sides is really charming, and the backgrounds are absolutely stunning, especially in that front image. There's just something about it that I really like, from Ataru and Lum's interaction, and the lighting: it works together so well!

On the flipside, all of the characters running is really fun to look at- each character is running (or flying) in a different way, it's subtle, but it shows a small piece of their personality, in a sense.

This is the page before the character design section of the book, which is absolutely stunning: The artists use a lot of patterns and shapes, and I'm all here for it!

Here are some snippets from the character design portion:

One thing I really enjoy about character design is the expressions, and the various outfits the characters are drawn in. Each character has their own unique sense of fashion! I like Ataru's clothing choice, it's stuff that I could see myself wearing- comfy long sleeved tops and simple, cute button downs!

The expressions are so cutesy and cartoonish, I can't get enough of it! As a character artist myself, these pages are great references on how to go about fleshing out my own characters.

Here is Lum's character sheet, as well as the expression part of Mendo's- his expressions are extra silly so I added them!

This art for the Highlight and Staff Interviews are super cute! Lum's outfit with the suspenders is adorable- and the fact Ataru's outfit is coordinated makes it all the more cute!

The visuals for the opening and endings are stunning- I have to sit and watch them each time, plus the music that accompanies it makes it even better! I need to go back and watch it frame by frame, its a masterpiece~ I can't get over the use of color in this series, it's amazing!!! Take a closer look at the visuals here, it's worth it!

You know what, watch the first Opening/Ending here

And the second Opening/Ending here

And check out the channel I got these from (UruYatsu Sensei), they've got full episodes of another series by the same creator, Maison Ikkoku, and a few Urusei Yatsura episodes as well. I appreciate them uploading these, because all the other ones were those interpolated 60 FPS nonsense (ugh).

That's all I got for this review, I hope you enjoyed reading/looking at all the art here, If you're an art book enjoyer like me, I recommend getting this book! And check out the series (OG and 2022 ver.) if you're interested!

Thanks for reading! (Back of book illustration below)

-Imp

[blubushie]

This is gonna sound weird bc we are on the site that has a huge fan base for it bit have you read any of Terry Pratchett's Disworld books/series?

Because if not I feel you'll enjoy them bc there MO is basicly Sir Terry flipping tropes/archetypes on their head while giving damning thought provoking commentary on society but in that same breathe give hopeful encouragement for change/ the future. His word play is also very witty and sticks with you. Some of his older works have blatant prejudice bc you know author bias but he has apologized for such things and worked to learn more about the groups he was prejudice towards and has rectified it the following books related to those older works.

The Witches series and the City Watch series I feel would mesh well with you bc it has its main characters that it sort of centers around be curmudgeons who prove that doing/being good is an action and a discipline.

The Witches series play with the genre of fairy tales and Shakespeare and it's sort of interesting how the Witches series play with that; in the aspect that the Witches in that World are self aware of the tropes. ( The third book of this series plays with it as the Main Character goes off on how they wanted to be one half of a duo trope (like red oni, blue oni) but since the other half of the duo chose that part they resigned themselves to play the remaining part/trope.)

The City Watch is what would happen if the noir genre was dropped kicked into a fantasy world. Here we have our main character introduced with him drunk in the gutter and he is one of the most noble and righteous man in the city and it's bc of that, is way he's drunk and in the gutter. This series deals with if fantasy aspects were real how would it become mundane and off course police corruption/brutality and reform.

I also feel the Mort series would entertain you since it's about Death as a character and in a way slowly becoming humanized. Like he is Death but it's also his job to be Death and on his off time he enjoys other things and is not just doom and gloom. He has family, he likes cats and his horse name is Binky. The Reaper Man even though it's the second book in the Mort series, it's the book that plays with the Western genre and it's the one where Death gets fired from his job. It also has one of my favorite and comforting quotes, '“LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?”' [To me, maybe bc I'm Mexican, I enjoy when death is not viewed as a horrible thing but as a process of life and as a being that will be your companion when you leave life behind.]

Sorry for the short info dump 😬 😅😅 just thought you might like the series.

I tried to get into it sometime last year at the recommendation of a mate and basically got the reading version of executive dysfunction that I get whenever I try to get into a long-running series, which is to say I started reading Men At Arms (as I like crime novels I figured it was a good place to start, at least to picque my interest in the series as a whole) and just got overwhelmed with the sheer amount of books. There's a reason I never finished the Warriors series and never touched Harry Potter—you kinda lose me past three installments. It's one thing if I'm growing up with them and have time to process the lore (looks at World of Warcraft and their expansions that I can remember Too Much Lore About even far after I've stopped playing the game) but if I'm coming into a long-running series... Well, unfortunately my information retention isn't that good. I don't have time to mull over and learn things before I'm hit with the desire to pick up a new book, which means I don't retain much at all.

It's not that things get confusing, just that they get extremely overwhelming. Choice overload. There's this intense dread of "I am not going to have time to finish these books" and the awareness that I will get bored of them quickly as they won't provide much in the sense of having accomplished something, unlike when I've actually finished a novel or shorter series. This is also a lead reason why I haven't worked on LTBs in a while—the sheer scope of how much I have left to write has burnt me out.

ADHD is a bitch.

[magpiefngrl]

8, 12, 17! for the book asks 🥰

Hello, hello! Thanks for the ask and for the excellent questions!

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I did, some of them. I posted about this year's reading goals in January and I'll make a more detailed post later in the month, but as you can see from the crossed out sections, I did pretty well in two out of three. Namely, I wanted to read series I'd left unfinished and I managed to read most of them, which makes me very happy. And second, I'd created a reading challenge to inspire and motivate my readings and I did very well there too.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Yes, unfortunately. I won't talk here about books I DNF'ed or books that I just didn't like, but about books I had high expectations of.

The biggest disappointment of the year, in this regard, is the final novel of Alexis Hall's Arden St.Ives trilogy. I... I don't know what that book was. It wasn't romance (and it was marketed as such), it wasn't sexy, it wasn't what I expected in any way or form. I loved the first two novels, and the main pairing is one of my faves of Alexis Hall's works, but somehow this potential got all squandered. I honestly don't remember feeling so disappointed about a book in years.

I was also not happy with Rule of Wolves by Bardugo, the second in the Nikolai duology.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes! I won't mention the books from authors I love that I expected to enjoy, but the ones that were a surprise.

They were three:

A Lodestar of Ys is a free m/m romance novella, which I got mainly because it was free and I saw a good review. It turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year. I already read it twice and I'll definitely revisit it.

Heated Rivalry is an m/m hockey romance. I bought it ages ago because of some good reviews, but didn't read it because I don't actually like contemporary much and I know zero about hockey. It's a very exotic sport to me. Anyhoo, lately I've seen it recced to high heavens--I'm talking rave reviews all the way. So I finally read it with scepticism and, turns out, it deserves all the rave reviews.

The Amberlough trilogy. I expected it to be decent. It was recced by a fandom author (currently published to much acclaim) years ago (you might see a pattern here), and I expected it to be good, but I ended up appreciating a lot more. Compared to some of the bland US SFF stories I've come across recently, this is miles better.

2024 end of year book ask

(other replies here)

[wutheringmights]

2023 Reading Wrap Up

I tried starting this post about 20 times already, and no introduction is really hitting. I am quite a bit hungover, and in dire need of a rest. But alas, I want to talk about all the books I read last year.

So I had the goal of reading as much as I physically could last year. Why? After finishing my degree, I was having trouble reading for the sake of reading. I wanted to be someone who read a lot, but my self-motivated reading habit was in the dumps. My sibling and I ended up making a bet to see who could read more in 2023, and I was determined to win.

I did win, but that's besides the point. My importantly, I am now back in the habit of reading again.

I really enjoyed starting my reading tag and making little write-ups summarizing my thoughts. I really appreciate everyone being so patient with my book-posting, especially as I gradually went from writing a sentence or two to rambling bullet point lists to well-thought out reviews. If you ever interacted with one of those posts-- thank you so much! I hope to continue in this upcoming year.

So to wrap up my year of reading, I figured I would rank all of the books I read. If I read an entire series, I'll count it as one entry on the list. Also, the ranking is going to be determined less by quality and more by personal enjoyment.

All that being said, let's go~

Ranking My 2023 Reads

#17) Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg - This was my first read of the year, and my worst. This book is near unreadable in terms of prose, and features one of the most infuriating lines I have ever read in my entire life:

Add the most unoriginal plot I have ever seen, and this makes for one bad read. I knew it was going to be bad going on, but the levels of incompetency on display here was mind-boggling.

#16) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - Is this the worst book I read this year? No. But it definitely pissed me off more than the others. I didn't need this book to be good; I just wanted it to be fun, but it couldn't commit to a plot line long enough to do so. I will give this book credit for having one of the unintentionally funniest villains I have ever read. That man failed upwards and it was GREAT. No notes.

#15) Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - I don't think this book is terrible, but its flaws are the most glaring to me. Structurally, it's a mess. The prose tries to use imagery to cover up how much telling it's truly doing. Both hampered an overall decent plot.

#14) Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - This book wasn't really for me. It was an entertaining read, but the references to pop-culture were more cringey than humorous. I also could not stand how the book was ashamed to be escapist literature and tried to uplift itself with shallow critiques of American politics.

#13) Lightlark by Alex Aster - That I am putting this book so high on the list is a crime and an insult against every book ranked below it. If I was ranking off of quality alone, it would be the second worst book I read this year. Unfortunately, I started an inside joke with my friends about how I'm Lightlark's #1 Fan, which ended up increasingly my enjoyment of this very stupid book exponentially. #TeamOro

#12) Garrison Girl by Rachel Aarons - This book really isn't anything special, but its place in publishing and anime history tickles my brain. It's not bad but it's not all that good either.

#11) The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack - Someone with a more thorough baseline on science would probably find this book more enjoyable than me. As is, I didn't understand half of it.

#10) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A fast, enjoyable read. I think it reveals its hand a bit too quickly, but the plot overall is really fascinating. Lacking on prose, but it didn't need a lot of it. This is a book begging to be made into a movie (which will probably be better than the book itself).

#9) A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes - What this book lacks in originality and plot, it makes up for with comprehensiveness. As much as I enjoyed reading all of its varied perspectives, I am still peeved by how Penelope's perspective was wasted and how Haynes had no interest in writing from Helen's perspective.

#8) The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - A prime example of a book series that is objectively excellent, but was simply not for me. My interests didn't align with what the narrative thought was important. However, the characters are fantastic and what there is of the central conflict between mother and daughter is earth shattering.

#7) The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang - An incredible fantasy series with some excellent characters and ideas. While I do think that the series is a little simplistic, it makes up for it by being endlessly entertaining. Except for the last book, which leaned too heavily into its grimdark flares.

#6) Beowulf by Unknown (Translated by Seamus Heaney) - A reread featuring a fantastic introduction from Heaney that connects the text to his Irish roots. The translation itself, while good, prioritized brevity a bit too much for my taste.

#5) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - A long overdue reread that reaffirmed why I found this book life changing when I first read it in junior high. Lyrical, brutal, and surprisingly funny, this book paints an honest picture of depression and trauma in adolescence.

#4) In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - A lyrical, dreamy exploration of an abusive relationship. I love how this memoir pushes the limits of its own medium as it also tries to establish a canon for abusive queer relationships. Machado's imagery is insane, and I devour it every time.

#3) The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger - My last and most surprising read of the year. I did not expect to love this novel as much as I do. I will never forgive the world for insisting that Holden Caulfield is an archetypal male manipulator when he's a traumatized kid (albeit a bratty one) who desperately wants to be feel happy.

#2) Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price - An incredible, comprehensive look on the history, culture, and legacy of the vikings. Price parses through popular fiction to bring humanity back to a historical group of people every subculture wants to claim as their own, for better and for worse. This book broke a damn in my head that was preventing me from doing world building for a piece of original fiction I want to write.

#1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - I have been haunted by this book since I was a little kid, promising myself that I would one day gather the courage to read this behemoth of a story. As long as it is, every word was worth it. It was both parts entertaining and stimulating, and I ended by the book knowing why so many people call this the best book ever written.

--

And that was my year! Please feel free to share what you read this year. Let me know if there's anything I should try to read in 2024. You can also fight me about any of my opinions lol

[mylittlesapling]

My opinion and rating. Spoilers below:

I usually find that the third book in a series disappoints me, and unfortunately, this one was no exception. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it didn't live up to my expectations. The overall tone of the book felt off compared to the rest of the series. Some scenes felt rushed and lacked the depth that I loved in the previous books. Additionally, some of the ideas didn't fit together as well as they had in the author's earlier works. While I understand that others might enjoy this book, it just didn't resonate with me. There were also certain characters, ideas, and scenes (especially the kiss scene, that was very disappointing) that I didn't care for in the slightest. (Someone needs to rewrite this book on Ao2 please. I am begging some good writers to get on this). You have no idea how disappointed I am and how much I want to curl up in a ball and mourn for what we could've had.

I give it a 2.5 stars, and even this rating is extremely generous

If you haven't read the book yet, don't let this rating scare you. I'm just a very picky reader and this is my opinion.

What I didn't like:

- Jacks training Eva had no purpose within the book

- Aurora held his heart for 2 seconds and not longer

- The kiss was way too short and underdone

- The one bed trope was written terribly (but I did like the scene)

- Some parts were confusing and hard to follow

- Like the scene where she had the letter and was remembering and suddenly it was morning and she was upset he was gone? Where did the time go?

- I hate Lala, and I'm jealous Chaos likes her (he's mine)

- The whole bracelet and heart thing felt rushed

- The characters were barely explored (I wanted more of Eva and Jack's past as they tried to get her memories back)

- She was lusting after Jacks while married (granted, he sucks, but still)

- Jacks' entire personality changed. I liked how he was before he was more human. He doesn't feel like Jacks anymore, it feels like a terribly written fan fiction of him

- Chaos killing the Futuna's (annoying and felt off)

- Very rushed pace with dropped plot points (we need foreshadowing bro, we wanted a wedding with Jacks and Eva)

- No exploration into their pasts

- Patchwork book (felt like a few ideas were glued together with only string to attach them)

What I did like:

- The undressing scene

It just felt like she got bored and wanted to start working on her next series.

[lindrill]

Green Rider

I found this book while browsing around Barnes and Noble!

Written by Kristen Britain

Very much enjoyed it, though wasn't too sure about the romance that snuck in...

I've said I'm picky, and I'm SUPER PICKY about romance. I easily get second hand cringe :p

But this story follows Karigan G'ladheon, who suddenly takes on an important job of delivering a message to the King. After this the story is quite exciting as she runs from assassins attempting to stop this letter from being delivered, "What could be written inside?"

The pace was a stop and continue type pace. Danger, then a break, more danger, another break. I quite enjoyed both the danger and break parts, there was a lot I learned of the world in the breaks and then back into action sitting on the edge of my seat sometimes.

Characters were great! I loved a lot of the characters, especially the horse and Karigan's relationship as it grew. There were fun mysterious characters and characters you hated. The Berry Sisters were especially interesting.

When we started nearing the end is where I started to struggle, the romance gave me a bit of a cringe feeling. It wasn't in most of the book but when it made it's appearance I had already made it so far I might as well finish.

I unfortunately haven't continued reading the series after this book, I was afraid of the continuing romance in the next one...

So the story isn't life changing, but it was very entertaining