#most of these have been on my tbr for QUITE some time lol

[bulletnotestudies]

23 books i want to read in 2023 ✨

or, if you know me, 23 books of which i will maybe read 5 bc i am a mood reader to a fault lmao

in no particular order:

hell bent - leigh bardugo

we all fall down - rose szabo

because internet - gretchen mcculloch

call down the hawk - maggie stiefvater

all that's left in the world - erik j. brown

if we were villains - m. l. rio

babel - r. f. kuang

the atlas paradox - olivie blake

spell bound - f. t. lukens

jade city - fonda lee

heavenly tyrant - xiran jay zhao

cursed bunny - bora chung

senlin ascends - josiah bancroft

ace - angela chen

portrait of a thief - grace d. li

in the dream house - carmen maria machado

something wicked this way comes - ray bradbury

in other lands - sarah rees brennan

the long way to a smal angry planet - becky chambers

the marriage portrait - maggie o'farrel

a gathering of shadows - v. e. schwab

a conjuring of light - v. e. schwab

why we sleep - matthew walker

tagging @upside-down-uni, @serendistudy, @selkiestudies, @dreamofghosts, @melaschnie and anyone else who wants to share (some of) their 2023 tbr! <3

[malum-af-cth]

favorites of all time!

way way way back when i set up a spam account so i could send myself things i wanted to read later. essentially turning that chat into my TBR. i have sorted through them & i think the first thing to do with this rebrand is to give you a list of my favorite fics of all time. below you will find a list of my favorite reads with their writers & a smol why for it making the list. these are in no particular order. please enjoy!

*this list is 18+. Minors do not interact!*

list below the cut.

*most of these fics either are smut or contain some through slow burn structure. Please read each author's warnings for them before you engage. *

from the last 7 years, i have chosen 20 fics that i LOVE. here we go.

from @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog we have a story i remember getting me excited about what kind of writing could be on tblr. "the arrangement" a lost love fic. 9 parts of love & angst.

2. @sis-tafics out here with a sweet sweet physical innocence trope with the hottie dean winchester. "our little secret"

3. @hrina wrote such a beautiful H. Styles fic about his character in dunkirk. "Il Ritorno" is the first part of 3 fics. i love the little coming home to a new place & new people plot.

4. @supernatural-jackles is the author of one of the only fics to make me cry. "hey handsome" i remember reading this sobbing because i felt the emotions written into this SO deeply. I reached out to them & let them know how much i loved it. & i still love it so to this day.

5. @winchest09 is adding our first dark fic to this list. the slow burn on this one is so so so so good. i found this one a long long time ago & i would say it is one of the first fics that got me to explore the mafia verse "life for rent"

6. @negans-lucille-tblr is giving us another spoicy series up in here & it even has a sequal!!!!! (look down one) the ultimate D/s winchester series. it's oh so good! "you've got me beggin"

7. & for the sequel "Mercy" this series is so good i have re-read both 2-3 times. it felt like crack the first read on both of these lol.

8. oh oh oh okay! this next. one from @pink1031 is probably one of my absolute favorite stucky series. "our best girl" was the fic that sent me down a rabbit hole of stucky fics. i was addicted after this one.

9. @pink1031 is back at it again with the ONE fic on this list i know i have read a minimum of 6 times. it is THAT good. "dirty little secret" was so scandalous and sexy. a J2 fic that had me coming back for more all the time. my escapism really shined with this one.

10. i remember finding "lemon drop" by @impala-dreamer i love the dynamic written here between Sam Winchester x the reader. the intimacy in this one-shot is beautiful. this is something i wish i could have at the end of my days or when i feel like the world is too heavy. i felt seen through this fic.

11. @tuiccim 's style of writing is something i adore & admire. I fell in love through "almost had me believing it" it is truly a work of art. I was immersed into this undercover mission with my man BUCKY BARNES.

12. oh & another from @tuiccim with "Terrigenisis" this is such a good poly-stucky fic. the way it was written felt like it could have been canon.

13. WOAH now! this next one written by @world-of-aus is ICONIC. the universe that is "starkhub" is just so delectable. i remember when it was being published in the beginning i was like a dog with a bone. i will never get enough. I can't wait to see where else it gets taken.

14. this next one is quite possibly one of my favorite mob fics. I have linked the first installment of these lovely smutty stucky fics. "tell me what you want" is the first step into such a delicious universe. thank you @angrythingstarlight for all you write.

15. an absolute banger from @sagechanoafterdark with "codename: Lazarus". i can't exclaim loud enough how good this one is. it had me on the edge of my seat. so dynamic. the order in which you read the parts for this one changes the perspective. don't worry they have put an excellent order at the bottom of the masterlist. :)

16. @avintagekiss24 i wanna start out by saying that I love the space you have created with your blog. when i found "lay me down in the tall-green grass" i thought i found fanfic heaven. i will cherish it always. i kept coming back to this one-shot to relive it as much as possible.

17. i've been thinking about "stained like georgia clay" by @georgiapeach30513 a lot lately. i remember binge-reading it & soaking up every droplet of goodness i could. ;) & that thunderstorm scene 🥵. i'll leave you with that...

18. here lies the "howling comandos tattoo au" that altered my brain chemistry just a little. @navybrat817 stole my heart long before this one dropped. however, this au had me sitting patiently waiting with my hands folded.... um no i was mentally ON MY KNEES.

19. i can confidently say that @georgiapeach30513 's "you were the one" is my favorite Lloyd hansen series ever. i crave a fics that are this good. it all started from a one-shot & then i found out a prequel was being written to it & i screamed in excitement.

20. A quality fic that i have had actual dreams about in the past. comes from @themhoodgirlz . for my 5sos girlies out there "close" tingles my brain in the right ways. i reminisce about the dynamic these two have. years ago when i was a BIG 5sos stan i lowkey hoped & dreamed for that to be me lol.

alright, alright, alright. that concludes my first rec list. I want to thank all of these amazing, amazing authors who have shared their skills & talents with the world. your works have given me sweet escapes, brightened my days, & expanded my love for all of the characters & ppl you write for. <3 all my love,

prynne

[frankenfossil]

13 books

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

Tagged by @quarkscooljacket

This is perfect because I had an extremely slow start to the year in terms of reading and then SUDDENLY in the last few weeks I got my library card un-blocked and then maxed out my reservations and am now reading a bunch of books!!!!!!!

1) The Last book I read:

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan! I extremely liked it! Very contemplative novel/nonfic/memoir mishmash threading through such things as the way scifi writers & physicists prefigured & led to & failed to prevent the bombing of Hiroshima, his father being a POW in Japan who almost certainly would not have survived (and had him!) if the bombs had not been dropped, the history of Tasmania, his own near drowning while kayaking in the Franklin river, and the way history and memory shapes us and is eternally carried forward with us while also being forgotten/rewritten/impossible to pin down for certain. At least, that's my best go of describing this book.

2) A book I recommend:

This is... so open-ended... if you want to identify native trees in Victoria and nearby areas I would recommend Leon Costerman's Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia lmao. I really like The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, a historical fiction/urban fantasy book about a golem and a jinni living in immigrant communities in New York in the early 1900s, and also the sequel.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Not a book per se but one of the webcomics I got into relatively recently is What happens next https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/ which reminds me a bit of Nevada by Imogen Binnie except if all of the characters were youtubers and/or tumblrinas and either involved in a murder or just big into true crime (in universe, fictional). It's very gripping. Of course now that I'm caught up there's the usual wait for updates but such is life.

I also read The Wicked + the Divine last week, since I'd never previously read the final 2 volumes, and that was good. I'm glad to find out I liked the ending. Comics are always a quick read but nevertheless some are more action-packed and fast paced than others lmao, and I just ripped through these in every spare second.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Naomi Novik is probably my most read author because I've read most of her books twice or more... So far I've read Spinning Silver & His Majesty's Dragon three times each; those are 2 of my absolute favourites. I've read most of the rest of the Temeraire series 2 or 3 times too but few of them grab me quite as much as the first one, & I read the first Scholomance book twice. I feel like I should reread Uprooted because that's the only one of her books I've not liked (though some of the duller Temeraire books get a bit of a leg-up from being in a series with other books I really like lol); since I only remember vague impressions of it now, which might not be accurate, I would like to see if my feelings have changed, or if not, figure out more specifically what I didn't like about it.

5) A book on my TBR:

Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright also happens to be one of the books I borrowed!! It was mentioned on a podcast along with Question 7 and Search History (currently reading, q12) so that is how I found out about these 3 books and was compelled to reserve them. However, currently I am daunted by how fat it is (700+ pages) so it's just sitting on my bedside table and I am... reading the shorter books first lmao.

I will also leave the blurb copypasted from @quarkscooljacket's answer:

Praiseworthy is an epic set in the north of Australia, told with the richness of language and scale of imagery for which Alexis Wright has become renowned. In a small town dominated by a haze cloud, which heralds both an ecological catastrophe and a gathering of the ancestors, a crazed visionary seeks out donkeys as the solution to the global climate crisis and the economic dependency of the Aboriginal people. His wife seeks solace from his madness in following the dance of butterflies and scouring the internet to find out how she can seek repatriation for her Aboriginal/Chinese family to China. One of their sons, called Aboriginal Sovereignty, is determined to commit suicide. The other, Tommyhawk, wishes his brother dead so that he can pursue his dream of becoming white and powerful. This is a novel which pushes allegory and language to its limits, a cry of outrage against oppression and disadvantage, and a fable for the end of days.

6) A book I’ve put down:

The most recent book I decided I did not want to finish is The Female Man by Joanna Russ. It sounded conceptually cool but I was just finding it way too hard to follow or care about. Too many sections where I couldn't figure out which character/s' perspective it was or whatever. I'm sure there's other books I didn't finish before they became overdue and I had to return them but can't remember, I usually want to finish them eventually. Whether I will get around to it is another matter.

7) A book on my wish list:

I don't normally buy books these days, but nevertheless tempted by A Vast, Pointless Gyration of Radioactive Rocks and Gas in Which You Happen to Occur, edited by the Daniels. It looks extremely interesting and also extremely pretty...

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Hmmmm. I guess I did choose my name from The Wind on Fire trilogy by William Nicholson. Definitely up there among my favourite childhood books.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Another very open ended one...... this depends so much????? what friend... what occasion... idk... there are books I do kind of want to give people but either I haven't decided or it's supposed to be a surprise and they may see this. although recently I have been incepting Lauren with my impeccable borrowing tastes, reading my library books after me is surely the same thing right??

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

Ismene's Survivable Resistance by Claire Gaskin... she is one of my favourite poets, and I rly like the concept of this book, and I saw her do a reading of some of the poems! However I think my favourite poems by her are ones that are not in this book.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Hmm... Evolution's Rainbow by Joan Roughgarden is an interesting book published in 2004 about the diversity of sexual and gender variation in the world. The first section is about other animals, and especially about the ways human biologists have imposed ideological frameworks in classifying them; the middle section is about human intersex variation and biology; and the third section is about human cultural sex and gender roles throughout history.

12) What are you currently reading:

Search History by Amy Taylor. About the dating life of a classic mildly messy millennial woman. In this case she goes through the facebook profile of the most recent guy she starts dating and then finds out that his ex girlfriend died, and then goes through the accounts and photos of the ex girlfriend and gets a bit obsessed with her, but has to not let on to the new guy that she has done this deep dive. It's okay! Enjoyable, pretty fast to read, some funny bits and observations and whatnot, but not particularly a stand out read. She is not as much of a freak as I expected she would be when I started reading it, which is both a relief and also a disappointment. So far everyone seems to just be normal mildly flawed people doing overall reasonable things imperfectly, and the conflict is just navigating life's complexity (there's a lot about everyday sexism though). Mostly I just keep thinking how glad I am to not be a heterosexual woman or ever had to attempt online dating/app dating, which are both quite boring and excessively smug things to feel, however, I am simply a bit boring and smug. Anyway I'm only halfway through, I'm expecting/hoping there'll be some twists or something. Maybe about the boyfriend...?

update: was talking to some friends about it this arvo and they said not only that it does get crazier, but ALSO that supposedly it's a modern telling of Rebecca, which I have not read but have now reserved lmao

13) What are you planning on reading next?

I have borrowed all of Delicious in Dungeon and am very excited to start them! Also the next books I have to read for my book clubs are Marlo by Jay Carmichael, which I'd better get onto as it is in less than 2 weeks, and Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H, which was one of the ones I put on the list myself and am very excited to read (I previously started it and got too busy to finish it but was rly enjoying it so keen to get further), but I actually still have over a month for that one since I can't make this month's meeting for that book club.

As for a shelfie... well here is a photo of all the plant reference books in my desk drawer for quick reference while working (though there's really only 4 I use very often, plus the australian standards on the side there):

Tagging (with ZERO pressure or obligation): @thesleepybabesclub @depthchargeforcutie @petricorrosion @andilovethisnovemberlife @dogelectedmayor @aesterea @commander-diomika @auntytim @zinjanthropusboisei @red-thorn

[sophielovesbooks]

I was tagged by @dauen for the mid-year book freakout tag, and I was genuinely so excited because I had been meaning to do it, but then I wondered if anybody even cared. So yes, thank you so much! <3 And let's gooo ~

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

Birnam Wood. Hands down. Everybody go read Birnam Wood.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

This question made me realise I don't read a lot of sequels. The ONLY one I've read so far this year is Hell Bent (the sequel to "Ninth House"). And it was kind of fun. But I didn't love it.

3. New release you haven’t read yet

Hm... I suppose I don't keep up with new releases like I used to. Though Carrie Soto Is Back comes to mind, if that counts as a new release. And Sea of Tranquility from last year. (I accidentally just mispelled that as "Transquility" lol)

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Okay, so this is super niche and a bit weird, but it might be The Otherworld by Abbie Emmons. I've never actually read anything by her and I'm not sure if it'll be good, but I know her from YouTube and I'm curious. Has anybody else on here read any of her books?

5. Biggest disappointment

Probably The Midnight Library. I had seen so many people raving about this book online, but I HATED it. Genuinely the most amateurish writing I have come across in years. And so, so preachy. Not trying to be mean here. But yeah, it wasn't for me.

Oh, and Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell was also bad, sadly.

6. Biggest surprise

Hm. Birnam Wood was the biggest surprise regarding how much I loved it. And also regarding the ending. And Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney had one of the coolest plot twists I came across this year.

7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)

100% ELEANOR CATTON WHO WROTE BIRNAM WOOD IT WAS SO GOOD OMG!

Also Victoria Gosling? I am currently reading Before The Ruins by her and it's quite good as well. Beautiful writing. Kind of entrancing. I feel like fans of The Secret History would be into it?

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favourite character

Hmm, I don't really get fictional crushes. But if I did, I would have to say Mira or Tony from, you guessed it, Birnam Wood. (Oh, and maybe David from Before the Ruins. Also quite cute.)

9. Book that made you cry

Hehe. What do you think. You have one guess. Oh, you said Birnam Wood? Correct. Why have I only read one great book this year so far lmao

10. Book that made you happy

Ummm... All of this is forcing me to face the fact that my reading year so far has NOT been that good. I reread If We Were Villains and that made me happy. For non-fiction I read Undrowned and that made me happy at times. But other passages were really sad and emotional.

11. Favourite Adaptation

Heartstopper! And I'm really excited for Red, White & Royal Blue! <3

12. Prettiest Cover

Though disappointing overall, Kill All Your Darlings did have a lovely cover:

13. A book you need to read before the end of the year

Gosh, so many! From a quick glance at my shelves: The Rehearsal, The Initial Insult, Outliers, Shadow of the Lions, Weapons of Math Destruction... and so many more. That I know I won't get to. So some are on my 2024 TBR.

Tagging @hrimceald @books-and-cookies @b1uetrees @jay-avian @yoongsea @r-osehips @minyardcva if you want to. Curious to hear about your reading years so far :)

[starrlikesbooks]

Hiya! :3 I absolutely love your reviews, my tbr list is like a mile long now lmao wkdbkahskaja!! Was wondering if you’ve read Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield, and if you have any book recommendations like it? Doesn’t need to specifically be ocean themed (would love if it was though lol), but rather melancholy and dealing with themes of grief (and preferably not YA?)

I have read it and love it! Here are some adult books that kinda vibe the same way

The Seep by Chana Porter this is my number one rec as a reads like, not because the plots match, but because that abstraction from reality creating a new kind of loneliness a layer away from the mundane loneliness it might have been in a world/situation you recognized. This one is also about the sudden change of a partner too!

Self Portrait With Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka is a very down to earth type of absurdity that keeps that very human feeling to it that Armfield does so well. This one is about a family member's disappearance and an uncovering of something being not quite right there, but it's the MC's birth mother who she's grappling with even partially being in her life at the same time.

Foe by Iain Reed is one of those quiet pieces of domestic horror as you wait with dread for something to change your known existence, as your loved ones pull away, and as you question your place in the world. This is definitely more grief for what you expect to be lost than a concrete grief.

A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgen is the most out there of these suggestions, and YMMV, but if you want something weird and unsettling all playing out alongside a girl who doesn't know her worth and who you grieve for even as she perpetuates the humdrum horror, this is your book. The grief is far more subtle and twisted here!

And if you just want ocean, Drowning in the Deep by Mira Grant is great piece of oceanic horror with some very well created characters and complex emotions!

[boydykepdf]

@fastasyoucan1999 ty 4 the tag!! <3

book that pleasantly surprised you: do androids dream of electric sheep? by philip k. dick! read this like a month ago + had only read one other philip k. dick book + didn't really enjoy it so i was surprised by how much i liked this one <3

book that disappointed you: quite a few recently which is...unfortunate. just been reading a lot of books that i end up not really liking :( most recent was the girl in red by christina henry which i read last week after having it on my tbr for so long that i forgot why i even added it and it was simply. not good! writing ranged from mediocre to bad + the actual plot was not particularly interesting or well-executed so :/ second most recent was bad feminist by roxane gay which just. did not have good politics lol

your current read: living a feminist life by sara ahmed but it's slow going bc i am...not really enjoying it </3 giving her a chance bc i've only just finished the first 3 chs but...honestly had higher expectations...

top 2 books on your tbr: my tbr is sprawling + disorganized i don't really have any particular order in mind for it but! i do want 2 read young mungo bc i've seen all my tumblr mutuals raving abt it + i've also been meaning 2 read on earth we're briefly gorgeous for a really long time!

an author you’re loving: having been reading some engels + marx this year + loving them lol & have also read a couple books by leslie feinberg + bell hooks + have really enjoyed those as well!!

rec a book to the person who tagged you: ummm my go-to rec right now is. the archive of alternate endings by lindsey drager simply bc it is my favorite thing i've read this year <3 but also!! since u enjoyed the captive prince series...the feverwake duology by victoria lee has kind of a similar vibe although v different setting etc....one of my faves <3

no-pressure tags: @pomegranate-pill @loseraccount @suspendedinbush @boyjoan @steelycunt @twisted-tales-told

[eldritchsurveys]

1145.

Last Best and Final Survey by foxandforest

Is there anything that you continue to do despite always regretting it/paying for it later? Why won’t you give it up? >> there really isn't anything like that for me and I don't think anything that truly felt awful after doing would be something I continued doing. like, I just don't have the impulse to do things that feel that bad, even if the badness is delayed. this sounds great but unfortunately the aversion applies universally -- so it also applies to having to do things that feel bad the whole time but do have a payoff, like, you know, chores

What was the last “unpopular opinion” you saw that gave you a visceral oppositional reaction? >> this happens to me so regularly that I don't even mark the occasion anymore so I have no idea. like even if I agree with the opinion sometimes my mind will be like "well now I'm gonna argue for the opposite opinion" for no reason except pettiness lol

Do you feel the need to do and see a lot of different things in life—as in having as much of a full and varied life as possible? >> hmm. sometimes, but like... as a reaction to feeling activated. like, when my nervous system is out of whack it just reaches for every possible thing to show me how my life is Bad and Sad and Not Enough, and "you need to Do More" is low-hanging fruit in that regard. but I don't actually believe I need to do and see a bunch of stuff in order to feel fulfilled, I just think that at the moment, I'm not getting the things I do need to feel fulfilled I do enjoy interacting with a lot of different art/media, though, I feel like that enriches my life

What was the last thing you lost your fucking mind over—something so awful or stupid you couldn’t believe it? .

What are some books you’re interested in reading soon? >> eh, idk. the most recent book I added to my tbr is Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

What’s an item of clothing you think your wardrobe lacks and would benefit from? >> that's a question I've been asking myself repeatedly especially after having done the wardrobe cleanout (finally). the fact of the matter is I have a hard time actually envisioning what kind of clothes I want (aside from fantastical ass shit that I'd either have to make myself or pay someone oodles of money to make), I just know I definitely do not have enough for my comfort

What is an old person, out-of-touch, things were better in my day, etc. thought you’ve had? >> I had that feeling when Sparrow was telling me about the state of youth literacy these days (good reminder, I meant to do some research about that because what the fuck is going on) (ok I looked it up and this article elaborates more on it while also reassuring me that there's been backlash at least)

What is the worst (i.e., lowest paying, poorly compensated based on intensity of work, etc.) way you’ve ever made money? >> begging the government for pennies so I can avoid starving or freezing to death

Do you have anything going on that could be your signature look, such as always having the same go-to hairstyle or lip color or anything? >> my battle vest is my signature, I think

What is something that you used to put a lot of effort into but not anymore? >> bios/about pages/that sort of thing on social media

If you have children, what are some things you want to make sure they experience or have the chance to experience if they desire? .

On a scale from 1 to 10 how much confidence do you have in your country’s government? When was the last time this number was different? >> I have no confidence in the US government and I don't recall ever feeling otherwise

What is something that a lot of people do that you don’t find the value in? >> a lot of social rituals feel like this for me, like I just don't see the benefit. I don't mean like small talk and shit, I mean like going out to bars and drinking a lot and then feeling like shit the next day but you do it because your friends wanted you to or whatever

Do you ever think about quitting taking surveys? What about just quitting taking them on LJ? >> nah. I mean, I think about it in the abstract, because I've been taking them for literally half my life and that sometimes strikes me as pretty wild, but I know if I haven't gotten bored with the practice by now I probably won't any time soon. I think it would be real neat to be still taking surveys in my 50s, 60s... like, I don't keep diaries well, but I do have these! they serve a similar purpose, I think -- sometimes even better than just open-ended journalling as far as quitting taking them on LJ specifically -- yeah, lol, I was thinkin about that last week in fact. mostly because I am on the fringes community-wise and generally don't get much interaction so there's no real benefit to posting in one place vs another, so I tend to come and go at whim I was gonna just go back to my survey tumblr but I think I'll do the secret third thing and post in both places. I have no actual reasoning for this decision except "fuck it, why not" which is the best reason to do anything

[bonaesperanza]

Okay, I finished it and I LOVED IT and I’m gonna be talking about it incessantly in the next time period. I’m gonna be making a series of posts about what I liked because I just can’t stop thinking about it, I’ve screenshotted paragraphs I really loved and made notes and stuff, which I actually NEVER do but I just loved it this much, and I am so in love with how nuanced and well-constructed everything about these books is, but I guess I first wanted to kind of… explore what made me react so negatively to it at first and how I was really really wrong? In case it convinces someone to keep on with it?

Full disclosure, I decided to finally read this after having it sit in my TBR pile for around 2 years because I love strategy, whether military or political, and I love guile-based competence porn, but I also love character studies of fucked up people with intense personal relationships, and it’s really hard to find both in the same narrative. I’ve been on a binge of the former for a while now and I was craving the latter without wanting to let go of my competence porn lol. I was first recommended this in a Reddit thread on political fantasy and that’s why it was in the TBR pile, but I was also told that it was quite sexy, and then in the meanwhile I saw a poll on “oversexualized stories” where it was next to ACOTAR, my most hated book of all time, and tbh by the time I cracked it open I had lowered my expectations to “it’s gonna be a decent dark erotica with crudely sketched in ‘scheming’ that I can only hope doesn’t strain my sense of disbelief too hard”.

And this was actually really working against my enjoyment of the book, because at its core this is not dark erotica the way I define it, and I’ve read a lot of dark erotica when I was younger. Basically for me BDSM-flavored dark erotica works by… externalizing a fantasy, like I don’t know, in the simplest possible terms with a noncon fantasy there’s a part of you that wants it and part of you that doesn’t and this gets externalized into one character forcing another one into something but you are actually controlling both parts of the narrative. Or like you have this constant sense of hyperactivation/danger around sex so the love interest in the dark erotica fantasy really IS dangerous and therefore your anxieties are externalized and your feelings are justified. And this is usually done in one of two ways: you make the characters basically sketched in blank slates and let the readers fill it all in with how they themselves feel about what’s going on, which usually leads to lots of people loving it and some people hating it because they are filling it in with their own dislike of what’s going on, OR you build 3D characters whose psychology is magically tailor-made to have them somehow be compatible and make each other better and benefit from the dark erotica situation in some way, making a work of a higher literary quality because now you actually have fully realized characters.

So I came into the experience fully expecting that I was supposed to vicariously sorta enjoy what was happening to Damen, and some of your tags/comments on my previous post really made me wonder why I was reacting so viscerally to this because I have read books with worse assholes and grimmer worlds and more orgies with dubious consent without blinking an eyelash.

And then I figured out that this was all a feature and not a bug, because Damen actually isn’t either of the character types that I described above, and actually one of the few things you learn about him in like chapter 1 is what kind of sex he likes, and he immediately comes off as a bit of a service top, and also as someone who takes a lot of pure, honest joy in his body unblemished by self-consciousness or shame, and he fucking hates all that’s going on around him and I was supposed to hate it too, but I was operating under the reflexive assumption that this is erotica so the author expects me to enjoy myself while reading it. Which actually… yeah, looking back on it it’s excellent writing, because in one offhand paragraph about Damen reminiscing about some random people he’s fucked you’ve set the key through which the events of the next 200 pages will be framed, and I as a reader didn’t even notice how it happened for a long time while fully reacting based on those setups. And I REALLY should have just based on the accurate and TBH kinda haunting depiction of derealization that Damen has at some of what’s happening to him.

Basically the basic-ass dark erotica recipe that I was expecting would have been for Damen to start being a bit more submissive due to external pressures (like having to cooperate to free the slaves), and then Laurent rewarding him for it with affection, and then Damen learning that he enjoys this, and I DID NOT want this to happen to Damen because it was completely incongruous with his character and his desires and the way the world was presented, so I felt really scared that it would go that way and was reacting really viscerally to it.

Uh, on a more personal note, and in retrospective having read the entire series, I feel like there’s a lot there about submission when it’s coerced or expected vs. submission when you want it and it pleases you, and how the first fucks up the second, and as a pretty subby person I really vibed with that.

Reading the Captive Prince books and it's the most surreal experience ever. I hate all the characters and think it would be for the best if that entire geopolitical region was just glassed with some sort of out of orbit weapon. I spent the first half of the first book disgruntled because I had been promised politics and strategy and leadership and all I got was awful arrogant shitheads indulging in society-sanctioned BDSM, which I can get at home by simply calling one of my exes without taking the effort to read an entire book. There's a twist and I could tell what it was at the 20% mark.

BUT. Then the actual politics start and it's actually... great? And the author actually... understands how things work? Very very well? And is also great at illustrating it in an engaging manner? Like here is this extremely skilled person who perfectly understands architecture and supply lines and political maneuvering and military discipline who wrote a book about things they enjoy and that I typically don't, but I have such mad respect for their skill that I am actually getting seriously into it. I love me a scheming mastermind where the author takes the time to explain HOW they gain everyone's loyalty or pull off the political scheme instead of just going 'oh, this character is a scheming mastermind!!'.

Also once both the boys turn out to be Secretly Competent and show it to each other they get the best Grudging Respect vibes and I am just a sucker for that way more than I am for the whole pet kink. Yesterday at this time of day I was swearing up and down that this was just another run of the mill fantasy-romance-erotica thing like a SJM book or, like, that Gild series, and that I would never be sold on it but right now I am 98% sold on it and staying in on a Friday night to finish the second book.

Storytelling skill really does matter.

[bookaddict24-7]

I said at the beginning of the year that I would share my reviews more on my blog instead of just on Instagram and Goodreads. I’ve been reading a lot so far this year, so my reviews will be delayed on here. I upped it to 10 reviews per post so I can do most of the reviews before the end of the year!

Friend me on Goodreads here to read my reviews in real-time!

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207. Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine--⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shane is such a dick LOL like…this poor MC literally has no choice in some aspects, same with another character he’s a dick to. Am I supposed to empathize with Shane?

I’m continuing to read this one because I hope Shane grows as a character and because I have the whole series.

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208. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read this book in 2021 and I still love it just as much as I loved it in the last!

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209. The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There was quite the twist in this one, which makes me excited to see where the next few books will take us. I am always saddened to see them make the same mistakes, but then I have to remember that they’re just children. Can never get used to the music in the audiobooks 😂

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210. Paper Princess by Erin Watt--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2021 Re-read: I saw the audiobook was on promo on audible, so I just went for it because I've been feeling nostalgic for this book. I devoured it, like i did the first time, and then proceeded to get the sequel. I never finished this series (I was one book away from finishing), and I think it's because this series gets super dramatic later on (not that it isn't dramatic as it is). Listen, I know the love interest is problematic. I know this book is super over the top and has so many issues ready to be unpacked, that it would take hours to do so. But I'm such trash for books like this one. Absolute trash. Especially the whole "he's such an asshole to me, but oh no, I'm in love with him!" high school romances. No regrets for this re-read because I still loved this dramatic trash. In fact, it makes me want to re-read other books I love that feature these tropes.

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211. Blood of Zeus by Meredith Wild & Angel Payne--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have been going back and forth on this book for months, it seems! I just kept getting sidetracked by other books on my TBR (mainly work-related books, or library audiobooks). But I’m happy to be finished because I really enjoyed it! And the extra great thing is that book 2 & 3 are waiting for me on my shelves. If you love angsty, sort of instalove, and sexy characters in your romance novels, this one might be for you. Also, this book is connected to mythology and has some super powerful beings.

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212. Fresh by Margot Wood--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I received a copy via the publisher. This did not affect my rating in any way.

TW: Sexual assault

The only reason why I'm not giving this a five-star rating is because of the beginning (it took me a little bit to get into the story because the MC was so high energy at first). Other than the beginning, this book was such a unique gem. It was unapologetic, fun, and carried some pretty amazing lessons. I loved how progressive this book was, and how it wasn't afraid to tackle that big monster that some authors seem to avoid when it comes to the YA age category: Sex. I thought the MC had a fantastic character growth arc because the girl in the very beginning of the book gave me anxiety, but the girl at the very end made me want to hug someone. That conclusion was just so pure and cute. I only want the best for the MC, especially after everything she's been through. My biggest advice for anyone jumping into this book is to give the MC the benefit of the doubt. She comes off as super intense at first, but breathe in and out and tell yourself that this is the MC's world and we're just characters experiencing it. You'll soon come to love the cast of characters, the quirky sisters, and the unforgettable experience of being a freshman in university/college.

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213. Broken Prince by Erin Watt--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-Read 2021: So much more drama than the first one in the series. This is truly a book the signals what's coming and what to prepare for. It feels like a soap opera and I am debating on whether I want to re-read the next book or not. Will have to sit on that for a bit.

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214. The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THAT ENDING. Honestly, I’d have done the same if I were her. While this one wasn’t as spicy, it was still an entertaining read! It was also a massive reminder that I’m almost done this series. I just know the power of this MC will fully come out in the next and final book.

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215. Line Mates & Study Dates by Eden Finley & Saxon James--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love these books so much. So, so much. I love that these characters communicate whenever there are any misunderstandings and that they grow together. I love stories like this one where characters love each other, give us spicy times, and go through the troubles they experience together. It just gives me such a pure and heartwarming experience—and that’s honestly rare in romance novels. Every book in this series has been incredible and I can’t wait for the next book!

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216. Bully by Penelope Douglas--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read in 2021: I can totally see why the younger me absolutely adored this book and devoured this series. I’m kind of craving the rest of the books in this series tbh. Audible had this audiobook on promo so I immediately bought it. While I can see where it is super dated (slut shaming, for example), I can also see why it’s one of those books that romance readers devoured back in the day. Also, the MC’s friend…she’s something. I recommend it if you love high school bully romances, but keep in mind the year it was published. Also, I’d forgotten how spicy this book was.

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Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

[seungmoes]

end of the year reading tag

Thank you @moejra for tagging me!

I’m not sure who to tag because most people I can think of already were tagged and my brain can’t compute today lol. So I’ll tag my sister @eblairproject and then I tag anyone else who wants to do it!!

Did you reach your reading goal for the year (if you had one)? I did! I finished 2020 with a pretty good reading speed so I set my goal at 65 books for 2021 and I ended up finishing 74!

What are your top 3 books you read this year? Asking for my favorite children? I will try? - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Do I understand technical jargon about space travel or anything related to such? Pretty much not at all. Did I love everything and everyone in this book? YES. Would give more than 5 stars. - The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time #1) by Robert Jordan. I just somehow discovered these books and how I missed an entire fantasy series (14 books!!!!) like this is a mystery to me. However, I have read the first 2 and I love them. -The House in the Cerulean Sea by Tj Klune. This book is so cute and I loved every character in it.

What’s a book that you didn’t expect to enjoy quite so much going in? The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi. I enjoyed the first book and I thought the characters were great, but I wasn’t sure if I was really invested enough in the story. It took me awhile to get around to the second book, and I ended up liking it and the third book a lot more than I expected to.

Were there any books that didn’t live up to your expectations? For sure. The Maidens and Survive the Night were both hyped up but when I read them I loathed them and still don’t know what so many people loved. I also didn’t enjoy Dune. I don’t know what I missed there either lol. Something that REALLY disappointed me though was The Hollow Heart (The Midnight Lie #2). The Midnight Lie was so good and complex and set up such a great story for the next book and then The Hollow Heart was absolutely none of those things. And it left a sour taste in my mouth about authors bringing back fan favorites from previous stories just for the nostalgia of it all.

Did you reread any old faves? If so, which one was your favorite? I actually didn’t reread much this year because I’ve accumulated so many books on my TBR and I needed to keep going on those lol. BUT I did reread Sideways Stories from Wayside School and it was exactly as great as I remembered it from when I was a kid. I was so obsessed with those books.

Did you DNF any books? I definitely did. I used to feel so bad about the possibility of not finishing things and I would push myself to finish no matter what, but I’ve gotten much better at accepting that I don’t need to read something I’m not enjoying at all. I stopped reading The Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) halfway through and I don’t feel bad about it. I also didn’t finish Cloud Cuckoo Land. I didn’t even understand what I was reading.

Did you read any books outside your usual preferred genre? I read On a Sunbeam, which is a graphic novel. I don’t have much experience with graphic novels so I didn’t know if I would like it, but I ended up enjoying it a lot!

What was your predominant format this year? Definitely physical books but I did get better at actually reading some of my massive ebook TBR

What’s the longest book you read this year? The Eye of the World. 788 pages without the glossary at the end. 

What are your top 3 anticipated 2022 releases? I read Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves as an arc and I’m excited to see the final version and hear from everyone else whether they liked it. It comes out on my birthday (jan 11). Other than that, my brain is refusing to remind me of any sequels I’m waiting for lol

What books from your tbr did you not get to this year but are excited to read in 2022? I have this poster called “100 epic reads of a lifetime” and I have some books from there to read that I’m excited about. Also, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow has been sitting on my bookshelf since last January when I read the first book so I’d like to get to that one soon 

[theladymeera]

End of Year Reading Tag

Was tagged by @motherofkittens94. I did already do this on my booklr, so I am giving some different, but still true, answers for this one.

did you reach your reading goal for the year (if you had one)?

Yes, and surpassed. If there’s something I’m good at, it’s getting reading done.

what are your top 3 books you read this year?

Three that I didn’t list in my original reponse and that weren’t re-reads are Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson, and Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

what’s a book that you didn’t expect to enjoy quite so much going in?

Hmmm... there’s a few that surprised me. One was The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino. I expected to have to force myself to get it read and was pressed for time, but the story sucked me in and it flew by. Only took three? four? afternoons to get it read.

were there any books that didn’t live up to your expectations?

Oh several. Most of the really disappointing ones I DNF’d but I stuck all the way through Get a Life, Chloe Brown because I’ve been hearing/ seeing people gush about it for years! And then it was just so... empty. The characters even technically developed a relationship but the plot was so completely full of “I am soooo attracted to this person” monologues that the sexual attraction ended up being the crux of the relationship and the impetus for what happens, in my view. I just didn’t get it. I don’t get it. I should have been fine with it and liked it but it just didn’t add up or maybe I was just so annoyed with the “they’re so hot, I am having sex dreams about them, I’m masturbating about them, I can’t focus on our conversation because I’m so attracted” monologues which made up a significant portion of the book because I want a bit more plot. When the book’s premise is that one main character has a list and is trying to “get a life” and that list is only, like, five items long and is completed in a few simple steps and all of the miscommunication and drama stems from one item on the list it just fell flat. I wanted that list to be a bit longer and harder and I wanted something driven by a lot more substance than “we’re nice people who are very attractive and very attracted to each other despite our initial dislike of each other.”

did you reread any old faves? If so, which one was your favourite?

Oh several. If I have to pick a favorite then it will have to be The Martian. What I wouldn’t give for Mark’s sense of humor and ability to think things through and get stuff done. I’m funny but I’ve gotten the impression that my stress jokes are more like red flags than actual humor.

did you dnf any books?

Yes, several. I just deleted the ones I didn’t get to a certain point of, so it’s hard to remember but there are at least six I got more than ~20% into before dropping.

did you read any books outside your usual preferred genre(s)?

Yes; I read my first couple of westerns this year. Not so great. I’m also trying to continue reading out of my comfort zone in other ways and further diversifying my reads. (This year I’m planning to read more books by Indian and Australian authors specifically.)

what was your predominant format this year?

Audiobooks. Since I can do other stuff while I listen.

what’s the longest book you read this year?

Les Miserables. Yeah it was the audiobook, but it is a loooooonnnng audiobook.

what are your top 3 anticipated 2022 releases?

the third Beartown book by Fredrik Backman, I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, and The Winds of Winter (lol)

what books from your tbr did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2022?

Most of my TBR. 

Tagging: anyone who wants to do it

[beautyiisterror]

10 questions tag 📚

Rules: answer 10 questions and ask 10 new ones. Thanks so much @therefugeofbooks for tagging me in this, i’m so excited!!!!!

1. What's your favorite cold drink?

if we are talking about alcoholic drinks, caipirinhas are the utimate cocktail, do not @ me!!!!! all flavors, are just *chef’s kiss*, but like in general i love orange juice and ice tea.

2. What's the first thing you notice about a person?

i honestly don’t know??? i mean, if they are goodlooking and not a bad person??? those are literally my two criteria. i like people who are smart and have pretty smiles and kind eyes, just not to sound shallow (which i kinda am lol)

3. Do you have any pets? What would you name if you had one (more)?

I DO!!!!!!! i have two pets acctually, a cat and a dog and they are EVERYTHING TO ME!!!! their names are jake (the dog) and belo (the cat). if i had one more, i would like to have a black cat named luna, because i’m a sailor moon trash.

4. What was your favorite TV show growing up?

i don’t really remember, but i used to love all shows with girls doing stuff? like winx club and totally spies. i used to love those!!! i still kinda do actually. 

5. What's your ideal vacation?

i love travelling with friends, and unfortunately, i don’t get to do as often. so i think my ideal vacation would be like travel to a really cool, unexpected place, with the biggest number of my friends that we can gather to such adventure. 

6. Is there any book that you want to read but by any reason you keep avoiding it?

you mean like, 70% of my bookshelf/kindle library????? hahahaha honestly, i buy books faster then i can read them so is always a HUGE tbr pile all around my room, i’m a chaotic reader, and i take no pride in that. but usually the books i keep avoinding are the classics, and the bigger ones. specially because, from a little time now i’m trying to add diversity to the cultural stuff that i consume, and it doesn’t help that most of the books i have here are from dead cishet white dudes. but i will get around reading them, even if is just to complain about it. 

7. What book do you hope will be turned into a movie or TV show one day?

one of the best books i’ve read this year was my sister, the serial killer by  oyinkan braithwaite, honestly, this book has everything that i love in fiction: complex women, sibilings relationships, FAMILY DINAMICS TO DIE FOR, pretty women comiting murder, humor... honestly five out of five stars, and i would love to see a movie adaptation of it. i would also love a kyoshi duology adaptation, even if i’ve only read the first book yet, i just love avatar universe so much, and kyoshi is my favorite avatar (ALSO A BISSEXUAL WOMAN OF COLOR IS JUST EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it would be awesome to see a show about her. bonus points if it is animation, but honestly, there are so many great asian actresses around, i would love anyways.

8. Are there any books that are really popular but you dislike?

i can’t really remember many of those, even if i’m really picky with my readings, i’m quite easy to please. but a recent reading that was ABSOLUTELLY FRUSTRATING because i really wanted to like the book, was hanya yanagihara’s a little life. once again, the book covered subjects that i usually fell really drawn to, such as coming of age, found family, FRIEND GROUPS THAT DON’T FALL APART AFTER ADULTHOOD, non white writer/main characters, lgbtqia+ characters. honestly, a nox’s favorites textbook premise. AND YET, I HATED IT SO MUCH!!!! all the unecessary pain that some of the characters go to, that at one point through my reading i just rolled my eyes when something terrible happened/was revealed about the past of one of the main characters. and the identity of the non white characters wasn’t really explored as they should? it honestly felt like just more excuses to make those characters go through MORE PAIN. it was honestly hard to finish it up. and the more frustrating thing is that so many people seem to think this is a great representative book, just doesn’t sit well with me. i also think is impotant to say that there are SO MANY POSSIBLE TRIGGERS IN THIS BOOK, AND I DIDN’T SEE ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS BEFORE I READ IT!!! so i’ll leave a list of the triggers i was abble to notice throught out my reading, in case anyone is thinking about give it a go:

content warnings for a little life by hanya yanagihara: self harm, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, disordered eating, physical abuse of a minor, domestic abuse, abuse of character with a disability, loss of a child, drug abuse/addiction, sexual assault/rape, pedophilia, ptsd, forced prostitution of a minor 

9. When did you last visit a library?

wow it has been so long... i think it was sometime in march of this year, that i went to my college library to pick up some class readings that i had to do, and then QUARENTINE HAPPENED, and i still am with the books i picked up lol. thank god that they lifted up the tax for late books or else i would have to sell my soul to pay it hahahaha i really miss going to college...

10. Could you recommend me a book that you think is underrated?

THIS IS SUCH A HARD QUESTION!!!!!!!!!! as i’ve said, i’m trying to do more diverse readings, and in this time i have come in contact with celeste ng’s work, and it’s honestly SUCH GREAT STORIES!!! i also love some contemporary brazilian authors like vitor martins and lucas rocha (both were translated to english recently, and i really recomend that if you are a english speaker you check their work), i also loved laura pohl’s debute novel, the last 8, she is brazillian as well, but her work is published in the us so no excuse not to check out. also, if like me you are a big fan of avatar universe you totally should check the kyoshi’s novels by f.c yee!!!! i also been meaning to pick up the trilogy of the poppy war written by r.f kuang and children of blood and bone by tomi adeyemi, simply because: WOMEN OF COLOR WRITTING FANTASY!!!!! but it’s not really a recomendation, as i have not read those books, but i am definetly doing it in a near future. 

(another author that i can’t go without mention is olivia pilar, she is a black bissexual woman who writes love stories between black women, and some of her short stories are available in english as well, and honestly WHOLESOME CONTENT!!!!!)

— Here are my ten questions, i don’t really know who to tag, but if you see that, and want to answer it i would love to see your answers, so feel free to keep on the tag! i had a lot of fun answering it, and i hope you guys do to!!!

what is your top 5 literature characters, and why?

are you a tea, coffee or hot chocolate kind of person?

what is your favorite/chosen aesthetic?

if you were the final girl in a horror movie, which song would you like to play in the soundtrack when you got away?

who are your favorite relationships in fiction (of any kind)? 

how do you feel about villans?

what is your favorite boyband?

do you prefer physical or digital books?

what is your favorite type of story?

what is your favorite season?

Looking forward to see your answers ✨

[thecloserkin]

fic rec: Where the Heart Is by Alixtii

fandom: Folgers “Home For the Holidays” Commercial

pairing: Folgercest

word count: 19k

Is it canon: Yes

Is it explicit: Is it ever

Is it endgame: Yes!!

Is it shippable: Yesssss

First off if there’s anyone who has not yet read the epic GQ Folgercest Fandom 10-year-retrospective which i still can’t believe was written by a bona fide journalist, RUN DO NOT WALK over there and do it now. I find it hard to believe there’s anyone with an internet connection who hasn’t seen it?? It’s fucking ubiquitous, there’s a finance & economics blog I follow that linked it lol.

There’s so many Folgercest stories where the tension builds & builds and I respect this one for being like NOPE here’s an explicit sex scene in the first chapter, merry christmas to MEEEEE. I thought the sex was dope but I also think it serves the important function of getting the “longing” & “pining” components out of the way so we can take seriously that the whole “go on the run & get fake married” proposition is a big ask. Luke asks Lexie to come away to Africa with him, and it takes her the seven days of Christmas + New Year’s to say “yes” (with Auld Lang Syne playing in the background)—ngl I may have emitted an actual squeeing noise when she said yes.

The setup for the New Year’s Kiss occurs as soon as Luke arrives home from Africa:

”it’ll be our first New Years after turning 21. We rented a limo and everything. Jane and her boyfriend just broke up a couple of weeks ago, though, so we have an extra ticket if you want to come."

This is pretty nearly “I accidentally-on-purpose brought my brother as a date” territory—it’s not the Most Formal of Formal Events like a wedding but it still puts her brother in a role her romantic partner would normally occupy, and we can expect either (1) lots of “is he single??” female interest or (2) fake relationship!!! Spoiler alert there wasn’t enough fake relationship to satisfy my trope-loving ass but when he let his teleconferencing coworkers assume the hot girl who wandered into camera range was his girlfriend that made me a happything.

It’s a very absorbing story with gobs of Catholic guilt thrown in but the thing that shook me most about this fic is probably that the alternative to “another round of morning sex” is “let’s build a snowman.” Like!!!! Could anything have been better calculated to push all my buttons.

Luke didn't expect to return to find her still a virgin--hell, he's not even sure she was a virgin when he left. Still, he can't help wonder how many times she's done this, with how many boys, and feels an incredible irrational, hypocritical resentment against them for defiling his sister.

This, THIS right here is what I came for. She’s still his baby sister and he can’t turn off a lifetime’s worth of protective instincts even if he’s the one defiling her now. It crops up again with his discomfort at her holding a beer he’s like is she even old enough to drink??? Lmao.

Btw I have zero complaints about the quantity of sneaking-around that occurs in this fic: They make out in their mom’s kitchen when Mom herself could pull into the driveway at any minute!! They park the car in the woods and give each other handjobs!!! Incredible. “What are we, teenagers again?” Luke wonders, and the entire point is they’re not, even if the woods are crawling with teenagers they are adults, and they’re making up for lost time. Luke made a conscious decision five years ago to leave rather than initiate a relationship with Lexie:

”I needed to get away so I could find myself. But, yeah, one of the things I needed to get away was that I couldn’t help spending every moment thinking about how much I wanted to fuck my sixteen-year old sister.”

Lexie studies him, curious. “And did that work?”

Luke shrugs. “Did I stop thinking about it? No. But at least it kept me from doing something I would regret.”

Lexie nods, thoughtful. “I’m not sixteen anymore, you know.”

“You’re still my sister,” he points out.

Oof. It’s a very different dynamic when you try to navigate these shoals as adults, instead of the scenario where you move seamlessly from platonic forehead-kisses to tongue-kisses. I appreciate Luke for attempting to do the whole courtship dance, take her out to the skating rink and the fancy French restaurant and meanwhile Lexie just wants to cuddle.

He said, “You never opened your present yesterday.” She smiles at him, a lascivious grin. “I really think I did.”

Damn but this callback to the iconic “You’re my present this year” line is unalloyed genius.

I did not expect this OC their cousin Gwen to play such a big role. She’s crushing on Luke and she ain’t subtle about it and since Luke can hardly tell his cousin “I’m not interested because I’m already fucking my sister,” the whole situation makes for comedic gold. At one point Lexie makes a quip about her and Gwen having similar taste in men and I was DYING:

“Oh, she was hitting on you hard,” agrees Lexie, “Not that I can blame her. She doesn’t know you’re already taken.” Luke puts his head in his hands. “God, this family is so fucked up.” “It could be worse,” points out Lexie. “It could have been Aunt Mary.”

That Lexie has got quite a mouth on her. The point of Gwen isn’t that Lexie feels threatened by her interest in Luke; it’s that Gwen may be a vexatious person who inserts herself where she is not wanted but she’s still family, and Luke and Lexie choose to take her wasted ass home with them rather than allow Gwen’s mother to witness her inebriated condition. Because you stick by your family. Even if it cuts into your limited one-on-one time with bae because now you have third wheel Gwen.

Side note I love that Luke is a huge nerd who’s lugged a whole roster of interesting books back from Africa, I realize this is a Folgercest fic and not a book blog but I swear my TBR just grows of its own volition. The payoff for all this geeking out on Luke’s part is, he gets a concussion and has a pretty surreal dream featuring some real, some fictional characters, and a good dollop of his own id. Later on, Lexie and Luke are quoting poetry at each other and when he casually dropped a line from’Tis Pity She’s a Whore I was legit s c r e a m i n g. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Tis Pity She’s a Whore is a Jacobean revenge tragedy prominently featuring a pair of incestuous siblings and while the genre is incompatible with happy endings, the incest is not presented at all unsympathetically. It’s worth reading even if you’re not into incest, it’s that wild of a ride.

All right folks this is how we go out with a bang:

The last five years--the last twenty-eight years, really--may have been long and difficult as he was forced to lose and find himself, but he knows they were all worth it, because they culminate in this moment. This is who he is: brother, lover, and companion, until death do them part.

they’re SOULMATES i can now die happy

[dysphoric-dumbass13]

All of the bookish asks. I hate you. And your stupid fucking face. Im so tired dude i stayed up ridiculously late to finish that

Hey I stayed up ridiculously late to finish mine too. Well not ridiculously late because me and then I couldn't fall asleep anyways but whatever. And you literally love me you jackass.

1. (what book did you last finish? when was that?) Willingly? Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, in July. For school? Of Mice And Men. I didn’t care that much, and I forgot to finish A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I still finished my project fine without any issue whatsoever and should get at least a B, if not an A. But whatever.

2. (what are you currently reading?) The Odyssey, for school. But also I’m like ¾ of the way through What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. (what book are you planning to read next?) Well for English it will have to be A Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass, Night by Elie Wiesel, Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, or Lord of the Flies by William Golding. However, I really want to read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. And I’m also trying to get a hold of the Harry Potter books because I haven’t read them since I was 7, and I was a compulsive moron so I read them out of order based on length and the title. I did that a lot.

3. (what was the last book you added to your tbr?) I don’t fully know what it means by that, but I’ll give this a try. The last thing I remember actively seeking out that I need to read again (for writing purposes, and the fact that I’m a nerdy bastard) was the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

4. (which book did you last re-read?) Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, I loved it so much that I read it twice in one month. I also re-read Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli twice before moving to the former.

5. (which was the last book you really, really loved?) Again, Leah on the Offbeat. I loved that book so much oh my god.

6. (what was/were the last books you bought?) I actually bought 3 books in September (after I got all my books for English), which were Leah on the Offbeat, Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, and The Song of Achilles.

7. (paperback or hardcover? why?) Paperback. The hurt less to hold while reading, and they’re cheaper so I can buy more of them. But I do love a hardcover book if the cover is really intricate and beautiful.

8. (ya, na, or adult? why?) Idk. To me it doesn’t matter all that much as long as it’s a good book. I really like anything that isn’t racist, sexist, super heteronormative, transphobic, or hating of any particular religion (except like if it’s vaguely poking fun at catholicism and christianity because we deserve it)

9. (sci-fi or fantasy? why?) Fantasy. God I just fucking LOVE fantasy. I wrote a 20,000-word oneshot that was of the fantasy genre. I just love it too much.

10. (classic or modern? why?) Idk. Doesn’t really matter, again, as long as it isn’t racist, transphobic, against a religious group, or too heteronormative.

12. (political memoirs or comedic memoirs?) Idk man. But I hate politics in every way, shape, and form, so I’m gonna go with comedic memoirs.

13. (name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaptation) Um………. idk. I’m gonna go with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire simply because of the fact that they cut so much out and, sorry not sorry, if the whole series was written by someone not transphobic, homophobic, and antisemitic it would be better. It’s great, but it could be so much better.

14. (name a book where the movie/tv adaptation was actually better than the original) Again idk. I’m gonna say The Princess Bride because that movie is so fucking good guys.

15. (what book changed your life?) I know it’s not technically a book book, but Unknown Colors by Gabriels_Wings on Wattpad. It got me into reading again and that’s only benefitted me so far (except for distracting me from homework, but who cares).

16. (if you could bring three books to a deserted island, which would they be and why?) Well, obviously, Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat (ok I’m gonna some up with abbreviations now, LotO for the latter and SvtHA for the former), and the last spot would be between The Song of Achilles and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. Because they’re good books. And I’m gonna end up dying on said island and I need my gay fix with me.

17. (if you owned a bookshop what would you call it?) Oof, that’s hard. Probably….. Narnia. And it would be a very gay place with beanbags and a small coffee shop inside and it would be like this one place my mom went to all the time where you could buy a book and if you wanted to you could bring it back and they’d buy it back for slightly less than you bought it for. It was a great place. And my bookshop would be amazing.

18. (which character from a book is the most like you?) Toughie. I’m gonna go with… Blaise Zabini from Harry Potter or Abby Suso from SvtHA and LotO. Because Blaise is very gay and sassy (idk if he actually is in the books but hey, fanfiction) and Abby is a bi disaster and relatable af.

19. (which character from a book is the least like you?) Idk. Hannah Abbott? Because she’s a Hufflepuff? Idk man.

20. (best summer read?) LotO.

21. (best winter read?) Been a while since I actually remember reading a book in winter. I remember when I was in 5th grade I really loved reading Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin. That was good. But I think The Hobbit would be good too.

22. (pro or anti e-readers? why?) Pro, it makes reading at random places so much easier. Plus, I can then read gay fanfic at my christian grandparents’ houses.

23. (bookdepository or amazon?) I’ve never used Book Depository, but I looked it up (omg Kass you aren’t going to believe it, I googled something on my own!) and it seems smaller and cooler because it’s just books. So I’m gonna go with that one.

24. (do you prefer to buy books online or in a bookshop?) In a bookshop without a doubt, you can browse for hours. I love bookshops

25. (if you could be a character in a book for just one day, who would you be and why? bonus: any specific day in the story?) Simon Spier. From SvtHA. On the day of the carnival fair thing. Because zqawxsedcrfvtgbyhnujmikolplomiknujybhtvgrfcedxwszqa

26. (if you could be a character in a book for their entire life, who would you be and why?) Again Simon Spier. Because infdjfcdncewhfiubdkjcnsoawehfwedscnsaoufgrwiofbv cisahcsoainh

27. (if you could change one thing about mainstream literature, what would you change?) NO. MORE. DISCRIMINATION! And I swear to god people, quit idolizing authors who are racist or sexist or transphobic or homophobic or against certain religions or anything else because I swear they don’t deserve it! No more discrimination in the media guys.

28. (how many books have you read so far this year?) A lot. Idk the actual amount but a lot. Especially if we’re counting fanfic.

29. (how do you sort your shelves?) I don’t actually own enough books to sort lol. But I assume I would sort them alphabetically by author. And if I had a ton of books, I’d sort them further into genres.

30. (who’s your favorite author?) Becky Albertalli.

31. (who’s your favorite contemporary author?) Idk. I’m not that smart, I don’t put authors into genre categories.

32. (who’s your favorite fantasy author?) See above.

33. (who’s your favorite sci-fi author?) See above.

34. (list 5 otps) Oh god, here I go. Pansmione (Pansy Parkinson x Hermione Granger from Harry Potter), Wolfstar (Remus Lupin x Sirius Black from Harry Potter), Sabriel (Sam Winchester x Gabriel from Supernatural), Johnlock (John Watson x Sherlock from Sherlock), and Merthur (Merlin x Arthur Pendragon from Merlin).

35. (name a book you consider to be terribly underrated) What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli.

36. (name a book you consider to be terribly overrated) Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck.

37. (how many books are actually in your bookshelf/shelves right now?) 19, including a book I accidentally stole from my 7th grade LA teacher (sorry), and a college workbook I stole from my dad on lifesaving first aid for heart problems. + 1 movie (Love, Simon), 5 comic books, and an adult coloring book because why not. I also have 2 full boxes downstairs full of kids books (about half of which I've never read or have any interest in reading) from when I moved.

38. (what language do you most often read in?) English because I’m a dumb bitch and don’t know other languages well enough. I might be able to stumble through a kid’s book in French, and I could read a basic novel in Spanish.

39. (name one of your favorite childhood books) Goodnight Moon was one of my favorites. I also was obsessed with Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin, and when I was about 5 my mom would read The Hobbit to my brother and I when she got home from work if she was working a half day, or she wasn’t held up too late on a normal day. Ah, some actually decent childhood memories.

40. (name one of your favorite books from your teenage years) SvtHA.

41. (do you own a library card? How often do you use it?) Yeah, and decently often.

42. (which was the best book you had to read in school?) The Outsiders. In 7th grade.

43. (are you the kind of person who reads several books at once or the kind of person who can only read one book at a time?) Multiple at once. I kind of have to if I want to read for fun while I’m in school.

44. (do you like to listen to music when you read?) Honestly, my mind is like an iPod I can’t fully control, I was laying in my bed half asleep singing What I Got yesterday morning for no reason, so I don’t have a choice. There’s more of a choice if I’m listening to music, so yes.

45. (what is your favorite thing to eat when you read?) Nothing? I don’t really like to eat when I’m reading, unless I’m reading on my phone and then it doesn’t really matter. But when I'm reading I usually forget to eat.

46. (what is your favorite thing to drink when you read?) Tea. Without a doubt. If I’m not too lazy to make it, that is.

47. (what do you do to get out of a reading slump?) Well, I do one of two things. I either try to convince Kass (@eyeforaneye-toothforatooth) to write something for me, or I’ll write (because I know I have to read over it a bajillion times, and I write too much for anyone’s good)

48. (where is your favorite place to read?) In my mind palace. I have a little place in my mind palace that I go when I’m reading or writing, and it changes. Sometimes it’s in a cottage at night with the only light a fireplace that I’m sitting in front of, sometimes it’s leaned against a tree. Three of my favorites are leaning against a cherry blossom tree looking out at a river, on a beanbag in a cozy, quiet bookshop/library, and on a beach in Roatan, Honduras. Other than that, it’s curled up on my UFO couch in my front living room, in front of the gigantic window.

49. (when is your favorite time to read?) It actually depends on the season. In the summer, always because I don’t want to go outside because it’s too hot. In the winter it’s during the evening. Spring it’s early in the morning. Fall it’s around sunset.

50. (why do you love to read?) Because you’re taking yourself and delving into a different universe, where nothing you know exists and only what you’re reading does. It takes me away from the world and all of my struggles, and puts me somewhere where that doesn’t exist. It’s refreshing. I hate you too

[the-owleryreader]

so here’s some words

just a little (that turned into a not so little) update post

mainly to say, fyi, from now on I’m probably going to be posting most of my original posts (reviews, challenges, etc) over on my website (which you can find HERE) and then posting links to them here on tumblr, instead of posting full reviews on both sites. It’s just so much work and it’s making me not want to do reviews or blog at all and like... that’s not fun and I’m sad ‘bout it lol

It means I can get back to using Tumblr a lot more than I have been, I’ll be reblogging stuff a lot more and I’ll still do tags and things like that here. I’m keeping the ABC book challenge over here too because it’s way too much work to transfer those posts, especially as they’re pretty much all done now and just sitting in my queue or drafts.

This truly didn’t need an announcement lol who cares!!! but here you go, that’s what’s happening

Also I’ve been reading like, exclusively ARCs the past month which is messing with my reviews too - normally I’d post a review within a couple of days of reading it but now I gotta schedule it so it comes out at the right time yada yada which is why i’ve read a TONNE the past month or so but barely done any reviews because they’re all queued!!! but I’ve read some greeeeat ARCs so I’m not complaining! But once I’ve finished the batch I’m working through atm I’m gonna get back to my own TBR. The Romanovs is glaring at me from my bookshelf because I KEEP. PUTTING. IT. OFF. and apparently no amount of self-shaming (or Goodreads shaming) is making me read it

so I’m planning to maybe read that when I’m done with these ARCs. maybe. 

lastly u can follow me on twitter where I talk about books quite a bit I guess? 

hope y’all are having a fantastic January xxxxx

[w-ngs]

dec21 wrap up

time is a human construct but it's always so odd when a new year arrives. like, already? now? i don't know if i'm ready for you. but, well, here it is anyway. now that i've turned over a new leaf in my life, i'm going to be reading a lot more from now on. let's get it, 2022.

***

ariadne, jennifer saint

i love greek mythology, and i’ve always disliked how women were constantly victims to the whims of men in most, if not all, of the stories. i really enjoyed circe by madeline miller and i was hoping i’d enjoy this retelling from a female perspective as well.

i didn’t.

my first complaint: too much narrative, not enough plot. i was curious to see how the author would stretch out the story of the minotaur over an entire book, and i was only mildly disappointed when i realized that it barely took up a quarter of the entire book. at this point, i was already disappointed with the pacing but i was curious to see how the rest of the book would play out, so i kept reading. sigh. it was honestly even more boring (until about the last twenty pages).

to mildly summarize the entire book: ariadne, but also every other greek legend you can think of. her name’s in the fucking title, this is supposed to be her story. maybe miss saint could’ve pulled an othello where yeah, the title’s named after the supposed hero of the story, but he’s not really the hero because he lost against iago’s massive brain and that makes it even more tragic. ariadne’s supposed to stand out because this is HER story, but there were so many other myths rolling around to add padding that she became more of a side character. to her own story. not even phaedra, who was a tiny bit more interesting, could pick up ariadne’s slack. like, yes, they were both destined for tragedy because what woman in greek mythology isn’t, but their stories were just so passive and banal that i literally did not care when either of them died.

passivity and lack of plot was probably the main issue here. it felt like things were just happening to these women, and only at the very end, when phaedra confesses to that teenager and ariadne defies her husband (or whatever she tried doing) does it feel like things are actually HAPPENING. guh.

also, i understand this was supposed to he a book to redeem women in greek mythology but i didn’t really see any of that until ariadne’s death, and even then it seemed like the author put it at the end to just, like, have it there. anyways, overall a disappointment.

a 4/10.

***

the invisible life of addie larue, v.e. schwab

the hype around this book was too giant for me to not read. honestly, it’s been on my tbr for over a year now and i’m glad i finally got around to it. it was good. and, um, that’s it. i mean, i guess i expected more? even besides the insane publicity this book got, i expected more from the plot and the main characters. my expectations were not met.

for one thing, miss addie larue was, hm, how to say… underdeveloped? she lived for HUNDREDS of years. but she still sounded like a girl in her twenties, which made me confused. you would think that a literal forgotten woman who’d lived through centuries of history would have some more depth, but she didn’t.

luc and henry were mildly interesting in their own right. i liked the idea that both men were made for addie in their own ways. luc, in his timelessness and henry, in his once-in-a-lifetime presence. i thought i would be really into luc, but i wasn’t, which was a disappointment, but that’s mostly a personal preference. tall, dark, and handsome, but also without enough substance. and little henry… he needed therapy lol.

i was also quite satisfied with the ending. i’m glad she didn’t die for henry, cuz that would’ve been icing on the cake of lameness. go girl, get your revenge on the being that ruined your life.

ANYWAYS. pushing all that aside. i knew this book was going to be overwhelmingly white because i’d heard some rumors floating around. and clearly, they were right. people of color where??? miss girl wanted to travel the entire world and then had the audacity to only explore western europe??? girlie. please. i’ve referenced this youtuber a few times beforehand in my previous posts, but cindy (@/withcindy on youtube) delves further into this issue in her video here. the book also had pleeeenty of opportunities to tackle deeper, more philosophical questions about what it means to live, why we’re on this earth, what is life, etc, etc. but they weren’t. like, almost not at all. this aspect definitely isn’t as important as the wholly white pov this book took, but still.

at least the writing was good. it wasn’t phenomenal or anything but i enjoyed it the prose. it gave the book a nice overall aesthetic.

a 6/10.

***

rebecca, daphne du maurier

lmao. guys. guys. PLEASE. PLEASEEEEEEE. communicate with yall’s partners. or else you might end up thinking your new husband is in love with his dead ex-wife but in reality he hated her and murdered her himself because of his intense hatred and all this time you wanted to be just like her. so just. talk to your partners. for me.

the narrator got on my nerves!!! i could not STAND her!!! mostly because she reminded me of myself. lol. my takeaway: the first person pov can be really powerful when used properly, like it was here. powerful are the daydreams and thoughts of a naive 21-year-old. when i realized that we were never going to get her first name, i thought, oh there is definitely some sort of meaning in this. genius. she’s nameless, identity-less, and this basically describes her entire personality. but at the end, when she realizes there was never a need to define herself in comparison to others and stands upright on her own, even without a name… good shit. this is exactly what i like to see.

it gave me jane eyre. it kind of felt like if you’ve read one, you’ve read the other. i mean, both are great books in their own right and each imparts a different message. but the gothic themes and atmosphere of the story with the dead wife/attic wife were pretty similar. i think i do prefer jane eyre because there are stronger feminist themes and rochester was funny lol. max de winter was charming in his own right, but he was kind of wimpy :(. anyways, a good literary novel. i always like enjoying one of these from time to time to cleanse my brain from YA.

an 8/10.

***

just one last thing. i don't know if anyone actually reads through all these long ass posts and wrap ups and disjointed rambles i post on this website, but for those who do, i hope you had fun with me this year! i'm nowhere near or remotely close to being consistent, but i appreciate all and any who interact with my posts. have a happy happy new year and good luck in 2022!! ^-^