#samantha shanon

[purplepotatobread]

Just reading the Bone Season (finally) and all of a sudden there are aliens????

[meanderingstar]

Hi, I was wondering what you thought of Priory of the Orange Tree and if you're planning on reading the upcoming prequel?

I gave it 2.5-rounded-to-3 stars

honestly, I think the book was very mediocre. It took me a while to acknowledge that to myself because I wanted to like it very badly and was caught up in my own anticipation and hype, but I was very dissatisfied during my reread months ago. Please keep in mind, though, that these are purely my opinions; if I criticize something and someone else is able to overlook/enjoy it, it's fine.

Ultimately, I think the crux of my issue with the book is that a collection of interesting (albeit staple) ideas and in-depth research does not automatically translate to good storytelling.

Its pacing was abysmal - it was too long, it started too slowly and ended too fast, and it's genuinely bizarre that in a book with multiple kingdoms and a looming draconic apocalypse, we spend more than half the story following a single nation's daily court life + political intrigues that ultimately has no literal or thematic connection to the overarching plot and felt very disjointed and aimless as a result. It also wastes too much time on incessant filler descriptions about irrelevant details + scenarios that don't matter. When the grand finale against the Nameless One finally arrives, it lasts for less than a chapter and is resolved with embarrassing ease; I recently saw an ask that compared it to the final battle of Blood of Olympus, and that's a hilariously apt comparison. The book could and should have been trimmed down, because it could have been easily concluded in just half the page length.

It had an incredibly uneven and unbalanced focus: The West is given immensely more attention and pagetime than the East, which results in the latter seeming reactive, unimportant and vague in comparison. Many people have commented that dragons, despite being used to hype up the book pre-release, were minimally present in the story. The Pri/ory of the Or/ange Tree, despite giving the book its name, also plays an extremely negligible role in the story and barely receives any pagetime; it's also extremely ridiculous that a society of magic-wielding women whose entire purpose resolves around the Nameless One doesn't even fight in the final battle against him. Ead (I'll get to her in a bit, I have a lot to say) is the only one who gets a role. This is explained from an in-universe perspective, yes, but from a writer's perspective, my question is: what's the point of glorifying the Priory, of emphasizing the truth of Cleolind's history, if her legacy doesn't even matter to the plot beyond the actions of one member? I don't know if this is a criticism or a skeptical observation; take your pick.

The book also felt very flat, which was the most irritating aspect to me personally because I'm drawn to books based on their sheerness and the emotions they invoke, and while the language of this story was descriptive, the tone was dry, lifeless and monotonous. It had no sense of stakes and failed to invoke plausible surprise, tension or dread - characters having arguments is written with the exact same intensity as a world-ending apocalyptic battle. The Nameless One is an utterly lackluster villain: despite being told that he is terrifying, we don't feel it because the pov character (Ead) has a negligible emotional reaction; and he's defeated in less than a chapter with barely any difficulty.

Everything also felt far too convenient. The plot is full of ridiculous coincidences where characters just happen to stumble upon objects they need to find or people they need to meet - and so there's no actual sense of anticipation or active engagement. To give you some examples: Loth has to infect himself with a life-threatening, lethal plague to escape? No worries, it's just temporary, there's an easy cure that a group of people have vigorously hidden for 1000 years but he's given explicit directions to find. This results in a global, terminal plague seeming like nothing more than an aesthetical backdrop with no direct relevance to the story. A legendary sword has been missing for centuries, has been hunted for several queens to no avail, and is crucial to defeating the big bad dragon? No matter, it's conveniently connected to two characters despite no prior indication of such a relation, its vague location is almost instantly predicted and its precise location is directly fed to another character via a riddle that took her about two seconds to crack. Multiple nations with rivalries, cold wars, and deadly feuds are meant to ally together for an apocalyptic threat with no concrete evidence except for a random letter written by a woman who is regarded as a myth in one continent and almost completely unknown in another? It hardly matters because all of nations - I kid you not, ALL OF THEM - agree to ally with barely any conflict and without the traditionally established (as per our world and their own) pact of marriage. It's fine if these things happen once or twice; coincidences can be fun. But the plot of Pri/ory is not just laden with them, it's dependent on them. It would crumble without them.

Oh, and hardly anyone dies. A lethal plague, feuding kingdoms, fire-breathing dragons, a (poorly written) grand battle on the sea, and hardly anyone dies except for a few negligible side characters. Lmao.

The characters are stiff and abstract with little to no emotional resonance, at least not for me, which is a symptom of her descriptive but dry, overly formal tone, but also because 1) the author relied too heavily on broader concepts, aesthetics and superficial personalities to define and differentiate them, and 2) wrote a book with an incredibly uneven chapter focus between her povs. Her characters also had very similar internal voices: the vocabulary used and the way scenes/scenarios are described, for instance, are exactly the same in all their povs except certain instances with Niclays, despite their vastly different backgrounds and backstories.

I was very bored/dissatisfied with the pov characters in particular. Loth and Niclays were barely relevant to the plot and could easily be scrapped with little to no change to the overall story. Tane had the most potential: the combination of relentless ambition and haunting fear, the brief moment of greatness before the inevitable fall, and the grieving climb back to the sky was fascinating as a concept, although the dryness of the book obstructed its resonance. But she's constantly given the short end of the stick: she's barely present in the middle of the book and her relationships with people from the East are barely explored (eg: Susa's death, despite its importance to Tane's story, was utterly unimpactful to me because we barely knew Susa at all beyond what we are told about her relation to Tane). Even worse, although she's supposed to be one of the two main characters as a wielder of a jewel, her connection to the overarching story feels purely coincidental and disjointed. She had no arc of discovering the threat on her own the way characters from the West were afforded; instead, it's only due to her link to them that she becomes involved in the main plot at all. Loth tells her about the Nameless One, she and her dragon are used to heal Ead, and Ead explains the full situation and decides their course of action during the final battle. It's a massively uneven balance of narrative attention and respect, especially considering she's our only Eastern pov. This is repeated in the final battle, where she loses the sword which is retrieved by Ead; where she's unable to bear the Nameless One's voice even though Ead somehow knows how to respond to him. Tane's only able to properly succeed with Ead by her side; she's allowed no discovery or victory on her own.

Ead is probably the most irritating to me because 1) blatant authorial favoritism drives me bonkers, and 2) despite dominating this book's pagetime and clearly intended to be its main protagonist, she has no concrete personality to show for it. I loved her chapters the most and her pov the least: she, more than anyone else, is primarily defined by an Aesthetic because her narrative voice is incredibly flat and her characterization is vague and all over the place. The events that occur in her chapters are interesting in theory (although the writing remains deeply dry and unengaging) and she's the only character who's given the chance to Do Things, but that is even more aggravating because 1) she's simply not resonant or characterized enough to stand on her own and is therefore subsumed by her own story, and 2) several other characters get sidelined and disregarded to enhance her importance. She also had an incredibly static arc, imo: while her situation has changed by the end of the story (she is Prioress, in love with Sabran, saved the world, etc), her individual character has changed very little. And that's because her motivations are entirely external rather than internal: she reacts to the plot, but she's never actually affected by it. She has no journey of discovery and risk like Truyde (who was framed very weirdly by the book), arc of acceptance like Loth, or story of ambition, downfall and reclamation like Tane. I'm not saying any of these were written well, but the concepts were there and they could work for Ead as well. But she was, ultimately, stagnant. There's very little introspection, internal conflict or overarching goal for her as an individual; it's always in relation to the current plot, which arranges itself to accommodate her (eg: the moment there's a spark of tension between her love for Sabran and loyalty to the Pri/ory, it's revealed that the current Prioress wants to send her to Ungulus and murdered her mother. There's no tension or actual choice: leaving the Pri/ory to aid Virtudom is her only option, and it's conveniently the only moral one with no room for complexity or ambiguity. The isolationist plotline was also very arbitrary - we do not see Ead actually contemplating this policy in Inys, so her disagreement with Mita falls entirely flat; we don't see her contemplating it after she leaves the Pri/ory either, and so her proposal that she'll be able to "shape the future of the Pri/ory" to "ensure the stability of the new world" feels utterly random. Similarly, Ead becoming the Prioress at the end had no satisfaction or catharsis because 1) the Pri/ory barely played a role in the story, and 2) we only learn that Ead has always wanted to become a Red Damsel 150+ pages into the book. Nor does she consider becoming the Prioress/conducting a coup against Kalyba to save the Pri/ory until the queen of Lasia explicitly tells her that she'll be offered the position after they win. Compare it to Tane's overarching goal of becoming a dragonrider that drives so much of her arc, despite how flatly it's written; Ead is extremely scattered and lacking in comparison). Since she has the most pagetime and is clearly meant to be the protagonist, my irritation with her is more than the others.

I liked Sabran, though! Rulers burdened by their weight of their crowns, legacies built on dust and lies, selfhood devoured and finally reclaimed. However, when her arc reaches its pinnacle and she has to confront the truth of her family and her name ... the book falls flat. It seems like Sabran is barely affected by the reveal beyond "it will take time for me to come to terms with this". She argues for a few lines, and that's it. We're told that she's grappling with it, but we're not actually shown anything and it seems like she just moves on. And at the end, her proposal regarding abdication and succession change came from literally nowhere - she surprises Ead by saying "I have something to tell you" and surprises the reader as well because the last I checked, she was still struggling to accept the lies of her ancestry, and she led her people into war as their queen. Abdicating and removing the monarchial structure altogether is a huge decision that requires a lot of internal conflict and development that we're simply not shown; instead, we're merely informed of it once she's already made up her mind. It also feels extremely uncomfortable that the overhaul of an entire political system is limited to Sabran's own personal experience rather than, yk, an external exploration of how it affects the people who are being ruled. I also think the book would have also benefitted from her pov, at least for some specific scenes/a few specific chapters. Ead's perspective and observation has its own merit, yes, but I think it does Sabran a disservice to view her from a purely outside perspective and it lessens the impact of her arc. God knows she's more relevant to the actual story than Loth and Niclays.

One of the most potentially interesting concepts of the book to me was the intersection of history and mythmaking. However, I personally think it was executed quite shabbily? There is no proper build up or gradual uncovering or startling revelation: we are matter-of-factly informed of the truth right alongside the myth within the first 50 pages of the story. From an in-universe perspective, as mentioned before, Sabran, the descendant of Galian who staunchly believed in this lie all her life, is barely affected by the reveal. Nor is this publicly revealed to the nation as a whole; all we have is Sabran's promise that she'll eventually do it once the story is finished, so there's no proper collective impact, either. And to be really honest, how does this origin myth actually matter? I don't dispute the injustice that was inflicted on Cleolind's legacy on a personal level (although her true story is remembered and revered in the South) but how does this traditional gender dichotomy actually shape and impact the Bereth/net dynasty and Inysh society? Because as far as I can tell, it does not. Inys is a matrilineal queendom with no concept of gendered roles or customs with Cleolind as the sole, inconsistent exception. And frankly, in a world where gender is largely irrelevant, where misogyny doesn't exist, how does Cleolind get cast into such a traditionally gendered role (a "swooping waif" as Ead calls her) in the first place? I think Sh/annon wanted to explore patriarchal reconstructions of myths but also wanted a patriarchy-free society, and imo, those two ideas are pretty contradictory. Or maybe they're not, and it simply wasn't executed very well here. Either way, it ultimately felt scattered and illogical.

Religion and its differences across cultures is another major theme in the story, but I found its portrayal very surface-level. I'm agnostic, so take this with a grain of salt, but again, it feels as though Sh/annon mainly relied on aesthetics rather than exploring how it shaped her characters? Two instances where this was prominent pertained to Ead and Sabran. Sabran, by all accounts, is an extremely devout follower of her Faith and a devoted believer in the myth of Galian and Cleolind. Yet, like I mentioned, when she's actually confronted with the haunting reality of the truth, that her entire religion was a lie ... apart from a few lines here and there, she accepts it and moves on with mind-boggling ease. Another instance was Ead and her feelings for Sabran. Because honestly ... Sabran isn't just a queen of Virtudom, she is Virtudom. She is the descendant and the embodiment of a lie which she subscribes to entirely and which is the direct antithesis of the Pri/ory. Ead had to convert to remain at her court, she has called Ead's people and her beloved mentor "heretics" to her face, she commanded Ead to stop recounting the southern version of the story in favor of the Inysh version instead. The fact that Ead, a passionate follower of the Mother who holds the Inysh myth in contempt, falls so quickly for Sabran is simply bizarre. I might be forgetting, but I don't remember any guilt or anguish or fear or crisis of faith. Her love for Sabran seems entirely disconnected from virtually everything she is and everything she believes in. It could be an interesting dynamic, but the book didn't really explore or emphasize that. Maybe it's a personal issue for me, though.

That being said, I'm definitely reading ADO/FN. Despite Pri/ory's many flaws and lack of engagement, it was readable with some interesting (if staple) ideas and some genuinely beautiful lines/paragraphs; and I'm aware that it was Sh/annon's first book in the series and the genre of high fantasy. I'm also very partial to prequels, and from what I've seen regarding the world and characters of this one, it seems a lot more interesting and fairly promising. At the very least, I enjoyed her worldbuilding posts. Let's see.

Ik you sent me this weeks ago, sorry for answering so late! I'm planning on starting ADO/FN soon (probably tomorrow), so I figured I should probably write down my thoughts before I begin. Again, these are just my personal opinions and nobody has to necessarily agree or disagree!

[bees-knees-and-toes]

I will never forgive fantasy authors for writing the romances SO GOOD and making me have unrealistic expectations when it comes to love.

"I had a dream that you were still a godsinger and I was your shrine." Huh? No way people say things like that to each other.

"She would throw herself on the mercy of the desert if it meant that she could have this woman." ... I refuse to believe that anybody could think like this about me. No way.

[givethatbooknerd]

The Song Rising - Samantha Shannon 4 stars

While I was really excited for this book, it took me a bit too long to get into it. I really did like the story, and Paige's struggles as Underqueen. I just don't care that much for Warden, for some reason? Perhaps I should reread the first book, but I really didn't see that one coming and still have trouble placing it. I'm a bit nervous as to whether or not I'll like the fourth book, because SPOILER! I really loved Scion London as a setting, I think it was a big part of my enjoyment of the books, and since we're leaving London... I have a bit of difficulty with the constant changing of the people closest to Paige. I love how every book is very different, but there are still lots of connections between the books.

Oh and look, the first book of the year outside the blue/black colour scheme!

[xgingerbookworm]

REVIEW: THE BONE SEASON SAMANTHA SHANNON.

The Bone Season is a book I've been seeing everywhere since 2013. In 2015 I bought a copy and still it sits somewhere on a bookcase in my home gathering dust. I saw it up for review on Netgalley and i couldn't resist. It was only a click and an acceptance away… I could just … read. I wouldn't have to find it. I could simply read it and people could stop bugging me to pick it up. I’m not going to lie to you, i’ve held off so long as i was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. Seriously. I didn't read it as others thought it was that good. *sighs*.

Almost five years after i bought my copy i finally picked it up. And i’m so happy i did. But i’m also happy I waited 5 years. Let me explain.

I was reminded when writing this review that ‘The Bone Season’ was heralded as the next Harry Potter. A fact i’d forgotten when i started. Ignore this fact. Its nothing like Harry Potter and shouldn't be compared to such, in fact the phrases ‘next harry potter’ or ‘next hunger games’ is enough to make me run from a book screaming. It’s a cheap and insignificant review technique and one i’m afraid i don't stand for. But five years is a long time, and i’d forgotten about that. I went in knowing one thing: that was my mate Tash LOVES THIS BOOK.

The next reason i’m pleased I waited until I was the ripe old age of 22 is that this books strengths lie in its world building. The book is set in London 2059 and then it moves to Oxford -  A place I know very well and have been visiting since I was a child. And i loved it. I will admit the first few chapters were heavy and getting to grips with the world were like crawling through treacle. This leads me on to my second reason, I was a really lazy reader back then. I wouldn't have kept going, but boy am i happy I did. Saying this, the world building is incredible and Paige's world is fascinating, just be prepared to slug through the first chapters!

Its fair to say ‘The Bone Season’ isn't a mindless read, its one which will lead you exhausted and needing to nap for 30 years. You’re immersed in the world of The Seven Dials, home of the underground crime syndicate. A place crawling in the secret world of Clairvoyants and those willing to use there gifts. You're thrust into Paiges world as you're also made learn about Paige as a character and what she can do with her gift of ‘Dreamwalker’ and how this sets her apart from other Clairvoyants.

That said, all this information comes at a price. It was slow paced, believe me i’m aware how frustrating this can be but - in this it worked. It built the anticipation for the ending sequence in a way i’m sure wouldn't have been as effective had I sprinted through it as i have done with books of similar ilk. I was also never bored. Shannon creates a world you're happy to live in. No matter how slow paced. But i lived for it for three days, snatching chapters between shifts, reading late into the night. Its addictive. And i loved it. This addiction came from the care of the world building. The detail the sheer originality that kept me leaping from page to page.

That leads me to another of the novels strengths the complexity of the characters. I’m going to start with the heroine - Paige. Undoubtedly smart, but she makes mistakes. A fact i was grateful for as its become routine now for heroines to have no flaws what so ever. She's simply the saviour, or the chosen one (sound familiar?!) this can leave them feeling two dimensional. However Paige, unlike many characters in this genre felt real and complex. She led this story with less grace than others before her but with a presence which made me fascinated to see where she’d go next, she’d someone i understood and would stand by.

Warden, just. I like problematic people. Its an issue. And Warden ticked the boxes, i’m looking forward to continuing on with the story, developing his character and his and Paiges relationshop, I’m Trash.

Overall and enjoyed it but the biggest ‘thumbs up’ i can give this book is as follows - I gave it to my mum. I’ve done that 3 times. Whats more, she loved it.

Samantha Shannon is definitely a new favourite. In a genre i don't read that much from, i’m now obsessed. Ive ordered the Mime Season and honestly. I’m excited.  

Thank you Net Galley for this review copy.

[a-very-strange-girl]

Excuse me while I scream internally.

[allamericansbitch]

based on this thread, here is a list of famous people who have supported johnny depp and/or made fun of amber heard. fuck all of them:

Aly & AJ

Alissa Violet (Influencer)

Anitta

Ann Coulter

Ashley Benson

Ashley Park (actress from Emily in Paris)

Auli'i Cravalho (actress from Moana)

Bailey Muñoz

Bella Hadid

Ben Shapiro

Booboo Stewart

Chase Hudson (Lil Huddy)

Chase Stokes (actor from Outer Banks)

China McClaine

Chris Rock

Cierra Ramirez (actress from The Fosters/Good Trouble)

Cody Simpson

Connor Swindells (adam groff on sex education)

Cazzie David

Critical Role

Dakota Fanning

Dakota Johnson

Daniel Ricciardo

Diana Silvers

Dillion Francis (DJ)

Dominic Fike

Dove Cameron

Elle King

Emma Roberts

Florence Pugh

Gabby Douglas

Gemma Chan

Halle Bailey

Henry Golding

Ian Somerhalder

Jaime King

Jamie Campbell Bower

Javier Bardem

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Coolidge

Jeremy Renner

Jessie J

JK Rowling

Joe Perry (Aerosmith)

JoJo Siwa

Jordan Fisher

Julian Kostov (actor from Shadow & Bone)

Justin Long

Kali Uchis

Kat Von D

Kelly Osbourne

Kelsea Ballerini

Kyle Rittenhouse

LaKeith Stanfield

Lance Bass

Lennon Stella

Lewis Tan

Lucy Hale

Madelyn Cline (actress from Outer Banks)

Maren Morris

Matthias Schoenaerts

Michael Clifford (of 5 Seconds of Summer)

Molly Shanon

Nicholas Braun

Norman Reedus

Nyane (popular instagram model)

Olivia Jade

Paige (from WWE)

Paris Hilton

Patti Smith

Paul Bettany

Paul McCartney

Penelope Cruz

Perrie Edwards

Phillip Barantini (director of Boiling Point)

Pokimane (Twitch Streamer)

Reeve Carney

Robert Downey Jr

Rian Dawson (Drummer of All Time Low)

Riley Keough

Rita Ora

Ryan Adams

Sam Claflin

Samantha Hanratty (actress from Yellowjackets)

Samuel Larsen

Seth Savoy (Director)

Shannen Doherty

Sharon Stone

Sia

SNL cast and writers

Sofia Boutella

Sophie Turner

Stella Maxwell

Tammin Sursok

Taika Waititi

Tony Lopez

Upsahl

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Morgan

Vanessa Paradis

Vincent Gallo

Yungblud

Zachary Levi

Zedd

Zoe Saldana

Zoey Deutch

People who publicly support Amber:

Aiysha Hart 

Alex Winter

Alexa Nikolas (actress from Zoey 101)

Amanda Seyfried

Amy Schumer

Anna Sophia Robb

Bianca Butti (Amber's ex)

Busy Philipps

Chace Crawford

Chloe Morello

Christina Ricci

Constance Wu

Contrapoints/Natalie Wynn

Corey Rae

Dana Schwartz (journalist and writer)

David Krumholtz

Dolph Lundgren

Edward Norton

Elizabeth Lail (actress who played Beck from you)

Elizabeth McGovern

Elizaberh Reaser (Esmé in Twilight)

Ellen Barkin

Emeraude Toubia (actress from Shadowhunters and With Love)

Emily Ratajkowski

Evan Rachel Wood

Finneas

Howard Stern

Ira Madison III

Jamelle Bouie (NYT columnist)

Jessica Taylor, Dr

Jon Lovett (podcaster & former White House speech writer & fiance of Ronan Farrow)

John Legend

Julia Fox

Julia Stiles

Julianne Moore

Kate Nash (singer, actress from Glow)

Kathy Griffin

Kristen Bell

Lauren Jauregui

Lena Headey

Lindsay Ellis (YouTuber)

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsey Gort

Mia Farrow

Michele Dauber (Stanford law professor)

Millie Brady (actress in The Last Kingdom)

Mel B

Melanie Lynskey

Melissa Benoist

Monica Lewinsky

Nathalie Emmanuel (actress on Game of Thrones)

Neil Gaiman (writer of Caroline, American Gods, Good Omens, etc.)

Nikki Glaser (comedian)

Patricia Arquette

Rachel Riley

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator of Bojack Horseman)

Robin Lord Taylor

Rian Johnson (director of Knives Out)

Ryn Weaver (singer)

Samantha Bee (comedian)

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Steele

Selma Blair 

Sophia Bush

Uzo Aduba

Willa Fitzgerald

Zach Kornfeld (from the Try Guys)

[normanblogs]

Bb. Pilipinas 2020 Swimwear Photos: Binibinis 1-10

Bb. Pilipinas 2020 Swimwear Photos: Binibinis 1-10

Here are Binibinis 1-10 in their official swimwear photos for Bb. Pilipinas 2020.

Photography: Raymond Raymond Saldaña Team : Arnie Vergara

Swimwear: Domz Ramos

Stylist: Vhee Co Assistant Stylists: Aura Nicole de Jesus Cev Cendaña

Accessories : Adam Rico de Guzman

Set design: Henry Reyes of HGR Event

#bbpilipinas2020

[christophernolan]

Want /wänt,wônt/: desire (someone)

A kingdom of flesh and fire | Jennifer L. Armentrout

Serpent & Dove | Shelby Mahurin

The Mask Falling | Samantha Shanon

Vow of Thieves | Mary E. Pearson

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms | N.K. Jemisin

Shadow and bone | Leigh Bardugo

Earth’s End | Elise Kove

Six of crows | Leigh Bardugo

The Cruel Prince | Holly Black

Dragons of Nova | Elise Kova

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

I remember seeing somewhere that you said you realized you were Bi while reading. Do you have any WLW book recommendations for someone who is questioning?

regrettably, i actually don't have that exhaustive of a WLW rec list which i've personally read. i realised i was bi while reading Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston, which is obviously not WLW but is still a gorgeous read, and i would highly recommend it to anyone questioning.

i'm currently reading the Thornchapel Series by Sierra Simone, which has a full cast of bi characters, two of which are women who end up together. you get perspectives from both of their characters starting from book 2 and it is everything :') BUT I ONLY RECOMMEND THIS SERIES FOR PEOPLE 18 AND UP. seriously, it is A Lot for minors.

other WLW books i haven't read but have heard great things about:

One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shanon

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

if anyone else has any other recs, please shout them out in the comments/rbs! and i hope this helped, nonnie, happy questioning ���❤️

[tthankstoyou]

mid year book freak out tag!

Thank you @gorgxoxus @biblioberry and @homosandhomies for the tag!!!

best book you've read so far in 2022:

northanger abbey by jane austen & the song of achilles by madeline miller (ikik that’s such a basic answer)

best sequel you're read so far in 2022:

crooked kingdom by leigh bardugo is legit the only sequel I’ve read this year (I’m a stand alone type of girl). It was amazing tho so it fits well!!!

new release you haven't read yet but want to:

a little bit country by brian d kennedy (i just picked it up from my library so I’ll be getting to it v soon :D)

most anticipated release of the second half of the year:

babel by r.f. kuang!!!

biggest disappointment:

ali hazelwoods novellas :((( i was so pumped for those, but they’re all essentially the same book w/ diff names and circumstances

also if we were villains by m.l. rio 🦧

biggest surprise:

the song of achilles by madeline miller. that’s one of the few books where I feel like it really lived up to its hype!!

+ beautiful world, where are you by sally rooney. I read normal people earlier this year and reallyyyy disliked it so I almost didn’t pick this up, but I’m really glad I did. It may be one of my fav books for this year

favorite new author:

jane austen!! okay maybe she isn’t new, but she’s new to me and I’ve become obsessed with her <3

newest fictional crush:

I don’t really have one from this year 😳

newest favourite character:

august from beach read 😋😋

book that made you cry:

this is the third time I’m mentioning it, but the song of achilles 😵‍💫

book that made you happy:

I cant think of any 😭 i guess it would have to be the love hypothesis even tho that was a reread. beach read by emily henry also made me really happy but it got super sad at some moments

the most beautiful book you've read this year:

beautiful in content- sappho’s poems

beautiful cover & in content-

books you need to read by the end of the year:

anna karenina by leo tolstoy, the priory of the orange tree by samantha shanon, under the razors edge by w. somerset maugham, the little friend by donna tartt, basically the rest of emily henry’s books, the people in the trees by hanya yanagihara, the sorrows of a young werther by johann goethe

I tag @sscrambledmeggss @quinn-my-beloved @sapphic-squid @fettuccinecaterpillar (sorry if one of you guys have already done it ahsjjs)

[pippareads]

mid-year reading wrap-up

sabriel by garth nix

ella enchanted by gail carson levine

the heiress gets a duke by harper st. george

the duke and i by julia quinn

when he was wicked by julia quinn

the viscount who loved me by julia quinn

the cruel prince by holly black

before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi

to sleep in a sea of stars by christopher paolini

the wicked king by holly black

too much and never enough by mary trump

the queen of nothing by holly black

the pale dreamer by samantha shannon

the bone season by samantha shannon

the mime order by samantha shannon

the song rising by samantha shanon

the mask falling by samantha shannon

when no one is watching by alyssa cole

hood feminism by mikki kendall

lock every door by riley sager

the removed by brandon hobson

black buck by mateo askaripour

girl a by abigail dean

the fifth season by n.k. jemisin

the obelisk gate by n.k. jemisin

the vanishing half by britt bennet

the stone sky by n.k. jemisin

one to watch by kate syman-london

the flatshare by beth o’leary

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

get a life, chloe brown by talia hibbert

the hating game by sally thorne

code name verity by elizabeth e. wein

raybearer by jordan ifueko

take a hint, dani brown by talia hibbert

the nightingale by kristin hannah

a curse so dark and lonely by brigid kemmerer

home before dark by riley sager

luster by raven leilani

dash and lily’s book of dares by rachel cohn and david levithan

legendborn by tracy deonn

send for me by lauren fox

uncomfortable conversations with a black man by emmanuel acho

caste by isabel wilkerson

crazy rich asians by kevin kwan

the lost apothecary by sarah penner

arsenic and adobo by mia p. manansala

illuminae by amie kaufman/jay kristoff (disclaimer: bought the book on a recommendation before i knew about the whole j k/ristoff….thing. if i read the other books in the series, they’ll be coming from the library or used)

a court of silver flames by sarah j. maas

the ex talk by rachel lynn solomon

interior chinatown by charles yu

the gilded ones by nanina forna

the making of biblical womanhood: how the subjugation of women became gospel truth by beth allison barr

king of scars by leigh bardugo

rule of wolves by leigh bardugo

fable by adrienne young

from blood and ash by jennifer l. armentrout

a kingdom of flesh and fire by jennifer l armentrout

a crown of gilded bones by jennifer l armentrout

anna k by jenny lee

imposter syndrome by kathy wang

verity by colleen hoover

realm breaker by victoria aveyard

the ivies by alexa donne

the assasin’s blade by sarah j. maas

severence by ling ma

the maidens by alex michaelides

uncanny valley by anna wiener

namesake by adrienne young

the wolf and the woodsman by ava reid

admission by jean hanff korelitz

can’t even: how millenials became the burnout generation by anne helen petersen

survive the night by riley sager

TOTAL JAN 2021 - JUNE 2021: 73

[ivycrowned]

If you could recommend two books to a stranger, what would they be?

Oooooh this is oddly so much harder than you'd think! I usually try to base my recc's off of what I know of a person and what they enjoy! Let's see.... total blank state recommendations....

Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shanon

A stand alone high fantasy epic in the same vein as lotr, or maybe Authuriana. It's also queer as hell and has lived rent free in my brain since I first read it on release.

Sabriel, by Garth Nix

I genuinely still reread this book and the sequels almost yearly. It has such a unique world and magic system that scratches all the itches in my brain so beautifully.

[charles-rxwlands]

wait you sound like you have good taste can you give me book recs because chances are I haven’t read it-

Y E S im thrilled you asked me this. prepare yourself for a long ass list

1. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

2. Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston

3. Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

4. Anything by Alice Oseman

5. The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare (it's a long ass book series tho)

6. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shanon

7. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

8. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

9. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

10. Everless by Sarah Holland

11. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

12. The Last Sun by K.D Edwards

13. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

14. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

15. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

16. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

17. Scythe by Neal Shusterman (it's the book im reading rn lmao)

[bloodfestgf]

"Words give wings even to those who have been stamped upon, broken beyond all hope of repair."

- The Mime Order by Samantha Shanon