#take note romantasy authors

[fluffycannibal]

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[aho-dapa]

Side note, because I'm watching a video essay that's pretty much saying everything I've been thinking about about,

With sjm's writing, what separates it from a typical romantasy not to take seriously is that post ACOTAR, the author suddenly says to take it seriously.

Feyre's Calanmai Hall scene isn't about Feyre not wanting Tamlin's advances, but that she does, she's just doing the typical romantasy protag thing of rejecting what you really desire. Think about how this contrasts with Rhysand's scenes utm, she doesn't want them and its not given enough detail, but this changes after Feyre and Rhysand get together. For example, the CoN scene. The fucking mid air thing. The telepathy sexting that can happen at anytime without true consequence. Very exhibition. Much voyeur.

This is literally sjm's fantasies played out through Feyre and Rhysand, and even through Feyre and Tamlin.

Despite how much I like Tamlin, he only really became a truly nuanced character in hindsight for me because of sjm's unintentional manipulations of her own narrative. In ACOTAR, he's also built around Feyre the same way most characters are in the first book.

He is built to fit into Feyre, he's meant to parallel her acceptance of her own desires, her own beast through him, because submitting to him is submitting to herself. That's why Feyre's themes get mixed up post ACOTAR, she loses that beast like quality to become a star to suit Rhysand. And sjm brings that back in ACOWAR with the Mirror (although it doesn't hit like it once would have because instead to fitting Rhysand to Feyre, sjm wrote Feyre to fit Rhysand).

The thing that's frustrating is that sjm is the one that is saying these are just not her fantasies on page, she's the one that brought mental health into it, brought up abuse and neglect, and handled it all so poorly.

It's this thing where sjm still wants to have the upturned-nose high ground in her books, she wants to be right, she doesn't want Feyre to be questioned or truly be in the wrong because Feyre is her fantasy. sjm likely writes Tamlin to not like human slavery, not want to be like his father, and with a self sacrificing personality while keeping his beast like qualities for the steamy parts. Because he's written to have that middle ground most people looking for that fantasy can still enjoy while not being too disturbing for our modern sensibilities.

That's why some people not looking for this find Tamlin and Rhysand's actions strange and gross, but people who already indulge in those fantasies were okay with it. And there's even people who think that ACOTAR is too vanilla (me). Anyway.

Basically, ACOTAR is not meant to be taken seriously, its literally another romance book with a fancy (?) cover. Post ACOTAR is not tho, so sjm makes a big deal about taking it seriously because she wants that middle ground with Rhysand when honestly, Rhysand could have been a dark romance ML and no one would have batted an eye. But that wouldn't work for the precedent sjm established with the middle ground, she needs that 'he's feral and sexy and toes the consent line but it's fine because xyz' in her books, and that's why the fandom is so divided. We can't decide whether or not to take it seriously or not because sjm switched up.

Her fault as a writer is that she didn't do this well at all.

I mean, this is also coming from the same woman that briefly had another one of her characters entertain their sovereign right to colonization in goodwill, so. This woman should never have been taken seriously. Unfortunately, she insists upon herself. So in order to actually discuss these books, we have to take her silliness seriously.

(Which is why I stopped because it's an endless cycle of saying sjm wrote something silly and because she's saying it's serious, now we gotta be serious about bat birthing or whatever)

Never forget how I saw a bat get birthed just to actualize how stupid the *gets shot*

[olderthannetfic]

The To Gaze Upon a Wicked God situation is more complicated than a straightforward "yes/no" on whether it's a colonizer romance or not imo.

I think the author wants to send an anti colonial message with the book, but it very much wants to have the cake and eat it too. It's written a lot like other "dark romantasy" and the marketing surrounding it went hard on the enemies to lovers thing (the Zutara comparisons especially was still being pushed even in late April). Iirc, the real love interest only appears for less than five scenes?

With that in mind, I don't think it's unreasonable to read the protagonist's rejection of the prince at the end as a set-up to a tortured "I love him but I can't trust him anymore because he's evil and lied to me" while Baihu simped for her in the background and the prince gets redeemed with a heroic act at the end of the second book or something. That was my impression until it was revealed that the childhood friend was the real love interest.

(Maybe I just read too many angsty "you killed my whole clan but I still love you even though I'm not supposed to" cnovels in my youth hahaha)

Imo, it was in really bad taste to do a fake out marketing, but idk if she has control over that. It feels like nobody around her understood how touchy the subject and her inspirations were, because none of these irl decisions wouldn't have happened if they did. I don't think the original anon had the right to comment like they understood everything without reading the book, but I completely get the feeling of "wtf girl you did not just write/say that." Also the writing was... not good.

I hope the "baihu cut" remedies a lot of its issues. Plenty of white authors write shit takes on history. Asian authors shouldn't be burned at the stake when they do the same

--

(Followup to last anon about to gaze upon wicked gods) One thing I forgot is that the author's notes directly mentioned the Japanese occupation and unit 731. I think it's reasonable for readers to make the connection between that and the Roman invasion + human experimentation mentioned in the book. I can't blame them from being grossed out or even outraged when everything irl points to Antony being the intended love interest even though he's the leader of in universe unit 731

I can well believe that it's mostly a skill issue.

People should be free to criticize a book for what's actually in there, but yeah, there's definitely this vibe like nonwhite authors or minority authors or whomever aren't allowed to just... not be very good.

I don't mean they should be free from all criticism, but there's a particular type of extra torches-and-pitchforks criticism that amounts to "Thou shalt be a godlike writer from birth or else!"

[procrastaenating]

Hi hello I would just like to tell you that I woke up this morning to you having scrolled through my entire Valiant tag and it brought me SO much joy!!! It always makes me happy to find someone else who loves that book (and also appreciates both The Scarlet Pimpernel (which I just watched for the first time) and the Pacific Rim soundtrack)

So thanks for the notes!! And for reblogging my Valiant/"Stand By You" post, I was very proud of that one lol

Oh, girlie, my heart!!! Valiant was one of the books that rose my head during the latter years of highschool. I managed to have an English teacher who is friends with the author, Sarah McGuire! Which was definitely God's providence in hindsight, lol. Through writing to her, my teacher was able to procur The Flight of Swans bookmarks for us English students. (Also really like Flight of Swans)

I have an obsessive, fierce love for Valiant. This novel is one of the first pieces of media in my earlier teen years that really understood me. It is probably the healthiest form of romantic relationship in my opinion. Not many have posted on Tumblr about it as a tag, which I feel renders it critically underrated; it deserves so much more as a romantasy: content like dissection, philosophy, and fanart. I came back to the tag to see how it has faired, and to my utter delight I found your takes! The "Stand By You" post is a specific favorite to me as well, since it sets literature next to literature in a sweet parallel. So finding a kindred spirit in loving Galen and Saville as much as I is a treasure, and it's like a heart wound getting healing. Would you mind swapping Spotify playlists with me?

I was Thrilled to find that you also enjoy The Scarlet Pimpernel (TSP)! I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on the novel if you would like to share them :)

And lastly, Pacific Rim theme music is just so comforting. 👌

BTW I adore the Cinema Therapy background so much.

So thank you for posting, and thank you for reaching out, @kanerallels ! This message is so sweet! It made my day ❤️

[nikethestatue]

Do you think part of the reason for the delay in acotar5 is maybe her having to rewrite the book or large parts of it because she hadn’t originally fully plotted out the cross over concept for the books that would take place after it happened (after sf) and also because she kind of wrote herself into a corner with acosf by focusing to much on character driven storyline’s? My feeling is she was so busy self inserting herself into nestas “recovery” she forgot to make any real significant plot advancement so now needs to do that in acotar5 (and acotar6) +write a convincing fully fleshed out romance? Now she only has 2 actual books to conclude the whole acotar/ic story arcs , incorporate any new storyline’s introduced in the cross over all while also having focus on 1 romantic pairing per book, that’s got to be tough to fit in and I think her record with sf shows she struggles to do that within one book. It seems like it’s either romance or plot for her if she doesn’t have multiple books to tell a story.

On a side note a couple of things I find frustrating in this fandom is that people make blank statements like “she’s a mates author. So elucian and *gwynriel will be her pairings” like an author can’t grow and write new concepts and in a market so saturated with fated mates why do people want the same old same old and why wouldn’t an author like sjm not want to try something a bit different? and the second thing is (and these are the same people who sprout the fated mates author bullshit) when people say things like 3 sisters 3 bothers is so cliche, cheesy or boring like why the fudge are you reading romantasys if troupe based writing isn’t your thing ffs. It’s all just regurgitated bulls*#t from book to book author to author and isn’t that the appeal of this genre?

I definitely think that she needed the crossover to build up some of the ACOTAR story because she dropped the ball in ACOSF and created such minimal plot with only the troves being of any importance that she needed to start working 'backwards' to create a beefier story.

I think it was even a bigger story on HOFAS but I think it did take over and took away from Bryce's story, becoming too much of an ACOTAR story.

While she is kind of mate-obsessed, to the point of it become boring and predictable, I am hoping that with Elain it will be something more unique. 2 mates, 1 true mate and 1 false mate, no mate at all--I don't know. I think many of her more successful couples didn't have the mate thing happening for a long time. Elorcan, Chaol and Yrene, even Feysand, UNTIL they mated (frankly after they mated they became kind of boring), and I think she had a good idea with Quinlar and 'chosen mates' idea, but it failed to execute.

Also, SJM has literally NO DESIRE to write Elucien. LOL

Like you could tell this is not where she is at mentally or otherwise. I also dont thinks he has any interest in devoting a whole book to Lucien of all people. Like I dont think she even likes him. She isnt writing a wholeass Elucien book.

[thehorrortree]

Deadline: July 1st, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Romantic fantasy that takes place in a tavern Spring Submissions Open March 21, 2024 Theme: “You Meet in a Tavern” One of the most well known tropes in table top roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons is beginning an adventure by meeting in a tavern. Taverns are a quintessential element to many fantasy stories as meeting places for not only fantasy adventures but also romance (only one bed tropes often go hand in hand with the tavern location). Give us your best Romantasy story set in the beloved tavern location! Anthology Payment: We offer $10 payment upon acceptance, a digital copy of the book, and authors can purchase physical copies of the book at wholesale price. Payments will grow as we do. Preparing and Sending Your Manuscript Deadline: July 1, 2024 midnight. Word Count minimum: 3,000 words Word Count maximum: 10,000 words Please only submit one story at a time. Simultaneous Submissions are allowed but please let us know if your story has been accepted elsewhere so we can pull it from the stack. Please include your real name, real street address and real phone number as well as your email address (presumably real) in the upper left hand corner on the first page of your manuscript. If you write under a pen name, you would put your pen name underneath the title on the first page of your manuscript. Manuscript should be in Word format with normal margins and 12 point Ariel or Times New Roman font (if you send us something in Comic Sans or Wingdings, we will cry). Title your email and cover letter with (Theme) Story and email it to submissions@wandwed.com We will let you know if your story has been accepted or not by August 1, 2024. Thank you for submitting! Please Note: Wandwed reserves first publishing rights and rights to the story for one year from date of publication. After that, you are free to post or submit your story elsewhere. Via: Wandwed.

[lexwritesgayshit]

Book reviewer etiquette question for those more experienced:

I know this is a matter of personal preference, but how honest and specific are you when reviewing Indie books?

My personal big rule with indie books is to remember that they are often scrutinized much harder than tradpub books, especially in the case of queer authors and authors of color. I keep this in mind when I'm reading and when I write up my reviews, and try to take note of if I catch myself doing this and how it informs my perspective.

The book in question is written by a sapphic white author, and admittedly a genre I'm not used to and kind of on the fence about (romantasy that feels like it wanted to be coffee shop urban fantasy but placed in a high fantasy world. Orcs putting on Drag shows in taverns - in which it's called Drag - taking a princess to get a latte, latte machines existing but not indoor plumbing, the word smut existing in universe, that kind of thing). No judgement to the genre itself; it might not be my cup of tea but the genre isn't my issue. The constant infantilization of an autistic-coded character, on the other hand, is.

I suspect the autistic coding wasn't intentional, more of a product of this type of character being common in the genre and the author just going with it, without really understanding the nuances of such a character. The writing itself is....not great. Not bad, exactly, but it's obvious the writer's experience has mostly come from reading other inexperienced writers in this genre and emulating the common structure and writing style. There's a lot to be desired, but this is something I give a little leeway to with new, self-published authors. But the way the MC is just arrogant, pushing her "help" on the other character, and then complaining about how she "didn't sign up to be a babysitter" because the character, like everyone else who is searching for something they lost, doesn't know exactly where to start and has never heard of a latte (and the entire way the character reacts to drinking a latte tbh)....as an autistic person it's grossing me out.

I can hold space for the fact that I'm still early in (like 29 pages) and maybe, maybe the MC will be eating her arrogance in time, and maybe the other MC will be the one feeding it to her, but I genuinely don't know if the author knows what she's doing with this autistic-coded character. There are 284 pages so I'm still far out from reviewing, but I want to get a since for some etiquette, I guess, for reviewing marginalized Indie authors.

Feel free to reblog with commentary (or just reblog so others can see), send me an ask, or DM if you'd like to talk privately!

[elliepassmore]

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: romantasy, romantic comedy, light academia, magic

Big thanks to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My rating for this book sits somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars, though it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly where. My rating is somewhat biased. I didn't see the publisher until after I'd requested the book and so didn't realize how heavily romance-oriented it was going to be (I thought it would be more like Emily Wilde's), and that's not really a genre I tend to read. That being said, once the book got going I began enjoying it, hence the rating still being relatively high.

It took me a while to get used to the narrative style of the book. For one, it's set in the Victorian Era and with that comes a lot of thinking about societal politeness and propriety, which doesn't interest me too much. Then there's quite a bit of emphasis on insta-lust and the feelings associated with that, albeit with a Victorian slant, though as mentioned I should've been more mindful of the drama. However, once things start getting on with the Birder of the Year competition, the pacing speeds up and I stopped noticing/being bothered by those two things. I'd say around the 10-15% mark.

The plot itself was interesting and actually contained more humorous moments than I was expecting. The ornithologists take the competition seriously, and it's clear Beth and Devon do as well, but there's quite a bit of tomfoolery occurring as each ornithologist tries to one up the other, and I found some of the situations to be quite funny. I also think that these moments really go to show how far ornithologists are willing to go in this world, which helps provide some context. There are also some behind-the-scenes machinations going on in the competition, and I did have a hard time trying to figure out the true motivation of the competition. There are really two different things going on, one of them funny and one of them more troublesome, that helped add some tension to the plot.

I like the concept of magical birds and the very extra people who study and trade in them. We have the chance to meet a bunch of different birds over the course of the book, ranging from deadly to pretty. Beth takes her job as an ornithologist seriously and is dedicated to studying and protecting birds from more unscrupulous forces. While he may seem like a scoundrel at first, Devon too is intensely interested in keeping birds safe. Conversely, it's made clear that a large swathe of the ornithologist community are less scrupulous and more interested in the fame and glory than in the birds themselves. It's no wonder the competition ends up being what it is.

Beth herself is the very definition of a Proper Victorian Lady. Beth can be quite shy, though she does her best to get along with people, usually with success (the scenes with the French fishermen might be some of my favorite in the book). Part of her shyness comes from being mocked as a child for being a 'weird know-it-all' who was, and is, obsessed with birds, though another part of it comes from her struggling to find the unspoken social rules others seem to follow (as I was reading I suspected she was autistic, and the author's note confirms that Beth is definitely ND, though Holton doesn't provide specifications). As a result, she's a bit of a people pleaser to start the book, though over the course of the competition she begins to stand up for herself and others more, and by the end is truly a force to be reckoned with.

Devon is both similar to Beth and her opposite. For one, he's much more devil-may-care and rakish, willing to be loud and gregarious when the need arises. However, this also masks someone who spent their later adolescent and early adult years feeling apart from others and lonely. In his own way, Devon can also be fairly shy and at times feels inadequate. That being said, it's clear he feels deeply and has a deep respect from the get-go for Beth. I think Devon's rakishness and sensitivity work well together.

The romance works well between the two main characters. Both of them have a deep love for the same academic subject and few people with whom they can let themselves relax and fully be themselves, both personally and academically. As academic prodigies they've had similar experiences in life and thus understand where each other is coming from and where their needs might be in the relationship. While I'd say the romance is definitely insta-love and insta-lust, Devon and Beth both have a wellspring of admiration and respect for one another, which I think is integral.

Overall, this was a surprisingly funny romantasy and I enjoyed the plot and characters. It isn't really a genre I read a lot, so it did take me some time to get used to the narrative style and the focus on romance vs. action + fantasy elements, but I did have a good time reading it.

[labyrinths-library]

Book 102 of 2024

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

★★★★★

Find the author here. Get the book here.

Pages: 428

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Romantasy

Spice (out of five):

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Trigger Warning:

Ophelia has a form of OCD that manifests in a negative voice in her head that threatens death and other horrible outcomes if she does not do something at that exact moment. Smith suffers from OCD and has a whole note about it in the back of her book.

Review:

Ophelia Grimm is a necromancer who takes on the mantle of the family's magic after her mother dies. She and her sister then are told that their house is being foreclosed on. Once in a blue moon, a house called "Phantasma" drops into various locations. Anyone can enter, few will exit. Contestants fight through levels based on the different levels of hell to be the last one standing and receive a boon of their choosing from the Prince of Devils who runs the whole thing. People who don't make it to the end either die in the house, forfeit before the levels, or sell bits of their soul for help during the levels. When Ophelia's sister disappears, she knows that her sister has entered this competition. She then decides to go after her into the house and has to make it through 7 levels before she can even see if her sister actually entered the competition. While in there she meets a Phantom named Blackwell and makes a deal with him for help in exchange for her either breaking the curse that keeps him trapped in the game or ten years of her life. Ophelia battles through the levels while also battling her inner OCD demon and her growing feelings for Blackwell, because everyone knows that love is forbidden inside Phantasma.

Book one in a new series by Kaylie Smith. I've seen this book described as smutty Danny Phantom meets a hellish Olympics/Hunger Games. I absolutely adored this book. It is great, great, GREAT spice, like HOT DAMN. Delicious. It was more than just that, though. The plot was really entertaining. The world building was really cool. The ending was a twist. When it comes down to it, Blackwell is one of my new book boyfriends. I made it to reading about level nine before immediately preordering book two in the series, Enchantra, set to drop Spring 2025.

[evaristo-velez]

Where Do I Begin

Most of the time when I write here, I focus on my processes. I hope other writers can learn something, or readers can see how the sausage is made.

But where the H-E-double-hockey-sticks do I get my idears?

A fine question, m'lord.

Inspiration and You

Steal.

But really, just freaking steal something. A piece of advice I wish I had when I was funning around in fifth grade English: Fanfiction is a great way to hone your writing. The sandbox exists and you write the hard part.

Thanks to Van Allen Plexico for that one. Let me pick it apart.

Worldbuilding and such is making a sandbox. Using someone else's sandbox puts you in a position to write without having to establish your setting and character. Those will come with time, and at times fanfic writers will add OC, so you're already developing further from a given starting point.

Another quote relates to this.

Boundaries: free to do anything within the limits.

By giving yourself a sandbox, you have freedom within the scope of said world.

You may be surprised how many great works started as fan fiction...

"Bad artists imitate. Great artists steal."

When you're pushing towards writing for an audience, crossing into the realm of authorship, this will become apparent.

I liken this to my experience as a nuclear technician. We were taught to learn the mechanisms and principles of operation. Most people could regurgitate the neutron lifecycle or a power plant shift after brute memorization. But why are those things important?

(To extend the metaphor) Knowing why you can shut one breaker, and why you open another first, is more important. My supervisor told us, "A monkey can stand switchgear operator. We don't train for when things go right."

Imitating your favorite author may work. Taking what they did, understanding how the dialogue instilled emotion, or how their descriptions made a setting immersive...that's the shit you steal.

Every writer has been inspired by those who came before. Harlan Ellison inspired JMS inspired The Wachowskis, et cetera. Many shows and movies work the same way. Star Wars did what Kurosawa did, and many science fiction works did a lot of Star Wars stuff (I'm so sorry, Gary Larson).

To sum this point, find what you like and make an effort to understand what you like about it. Make it your own.

In the Lab, with a pen and a pad

Maybe I should put some exercises here?

This part is gonna vary. Let me do this section in three parts.

1) Pants

You know what you are. Jesting kindly. You're gonna go for it though, yeah? Do that. If you get stuck, skip to the next part and give yourself a note. If you cannot go further, retrace your steps to an earlier turn.

When I pants, I follow a few axioms: 'but, therefore' and character-driven.

Characterization should be formulated in your noggin enough to let the characters interact. Use b/t to see if the conflict is continuing naturally towards a pinch point or whatever style guide we're using this week.

Draft out short summaries of a story you want to tell. See if that is worth chasing or seeing through.

2) Planners

Theme? Character? Setting? What do I pick first?

Sorry, I cannot tell you. I don't know why you want to tell a story. Once you know why you want to tell your story, then picking one of those three things will inform the rest.

Theme informs character/setting:

A cast should interact and unravel questions arising from your theme. I think you should present more than one (more than two if you're juicing) sides, textually picking at as many points as your narrative can hold without becoming unwieldy. Pack that bish out and shave off a bunch during editing.

Same with setting. Why does this story exploring exploitation of minority groups best set in a western or a romantasy? Theme first will point you in the right direction, as long as you ask the right questions.

Character informs theme/setting:

I've had freaky lil guys pop into my head without setting. If you're gonna explore this character, let's call them Diego, ask yourself some questions. If your autism is advanced like mine, ask Diego! Between the two of youse, there should be a strong sense of theme or setting. Why does Diego need you to write them onto paper? What about Diego can be explored? Where best can we learn about and grow Diego?

Setting informs character/theme:

Sometimes a cool world begins populating your head. Build that world! When the time comes to write, you'll need someone to guide the reader through this world.

Who should we follow? What perspective does this character bring to the world?

These will extend to your themes. How does this setting compare to our reality? What can we learn from being in this location?

In these cases, allow your story to change as you continue. The interaction between theme-character-setting may shift where the story goes. Don't be afraid to let your story stray from a rigid plan.

3) Plantsers

Pick and choose what you like from above.

Read a damn book

You can prewrite anyway you like, but I think reading is one you should try more often. Engaging your mind with an author's will help you grow. I promise.

If you're going to watch a movie to inspire your book, please understand what can be done in different media. Each medium has limitations and benefits (consider again the idea of boundaries).

Keep writing.

[good-books-to-read]

Title & Author: Illusion of Stars by Sarah Marie Page

Score: 97/100

Publication date: 16 July 2024

Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/93103bd7-dbe3-475d-9d7a-2eb46abe2c04

Comments: This story follows the confessions of the royal physician in training, Isabel as she contends with a mad king, enemy soldiers and much more. if you like Romantasy books, with slow-burn romances and intrigue this book is for you.

I love that it includes a detailed trigger list although it’s placed at the back of the book, It also lists the sexual content within the book and what pages those are placed I really appreciated this, my copy has a link to the map but I do believe in the published copy the map will be on the page, on that note the map looks so good.

The writing initially seems a bit simple, but once you get reading you hardly notice, the characters come across as a bit flat and one-dimensional at the start, and some of the dialogue felt awkward and I was not too fond of some of the characters, however as the story progressed the character and dialogue felt a bit more natural as the pace picked up.

The story takes a while to get going and doesn’t really get good until about the 50% mark. However, after this point, it was delightful, intriguing and funny. despite its slow start, it was an absolute winner by the end.

Thank you Shadow Forge Publishing for providing me this book for review consideration via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[televinita]

Update: it's been 9 days but there's enough change for this (mostly because I'm losing track of how damn many books I've started) so BOOM.

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: 40% in; there are aspects that annoy me and it's longer than my usual quick reads so I'm taking breaks in between bits, but overall enjoying myself.

2. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: 40% in on ebook and I just got the audiobook, so woohoo!! Having a good time. I freaking love the sentient gingerbread man, he reminds me of the one in Shrek (the only good thing about Shrek) but silent

3. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: 54% in via ebook -- I forgot I had a backdoor "cheat" and was able to get on the shorter Overdrive list in the county next door -- and god this is weird, why is it sci-fi horror, but there are some interesting turns of phrase and I am STUBBORN so I will finish. Not least because I only have 75 pages left.

4. Scrappy Little Nobody - Anna Kendrick: a random audiobook pick from my back-burner TBR, because I was DESPERATE last night (literally about 16 hours before Kingfisher's title popped up). 30% in; I'll progress further when my other audio(s) run(s) out.

AVAILABLE NOW

5. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: still a possibility

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: still a possibility

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: still a possibility

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: now at the bottom of my interest list but keeping just in case

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: same, though the odds of reading one of these are a bit better

10. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: well look what got here surprisingly fast! Picked up today; I will be starting and maybe finishing it in the next 2 days; guys, even calling this a "novella" is a stretch; this is closer to a long short story. Exactly 120 pages + author note, visibly at least 1.25 line spacing, and a smaller-than-average-sized book.

11. The Woman in Black - Susan Hill: I completely forgot to mention that after rewatching the movie, I wanted to try reading this, and the weather now is frankly perfect. Picked this up today. It's 2nd highest priority in this category, though will be kicked down when books from the next one start showing up.

COMING SOON

12. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: in cataloging!

13. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: estimated wait for audio (only option because it's far too long to tolerate an ebook) now ~4 weeks hmmm

14. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: releasing on November 12th! It's long too so I'm kind of nervous about whether I should freeze my hold and wait for 2nd round of checkouts (pushes me out 3-4 weeks), so I can get through all the new releases above first, or if I can realistically get to it in the next 4 weeks -- max. wait time before I pick it up + 3 weeks + if I need to be a dick and keep it a couple days late I will, since I'm sick of being well behaved about that while everyone else takes advatage.

COMING EVENTUALLY!

15. The Wren in the Holly Library - K.A. Linde: the sprayed-edge version is beautiful and I have not learned any hesitancy yet about trying fantasy (romantasy?) if the cover is pretty and bookish enough. Although one glance at the reviews has me lowering my expectations to "3-star time with a 40% chance of DNF."

16. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: I refuse to pick this up for at least another week but I still can't wait!

Reading Triage

I'm in a bit of a reading slump at the moment (a word which here means: I have only finished 4 books in 2 weeks), so what better way to fix it than by chucking back all my library books, picking out a brand-new set and/or placing holds, and then talking out the options!

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: this was all the rage last fall and I shrugged it off as "fantasy, not my thing," but fantasy IS kind of turning out to be my thing this year. So when I saw the new special edition w/ stenciled edges (featuring shelves of old books) in a Goodreads giveaway, I immediately investigated it further and oh, we're starting in dark academia, in an architectural college?? There's a house design contest?? Well that sounds great! So I'm giving it a go; got about 40 pages in last night.

2. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: this is my 2nd time around with it, because I wanted to hear the audiobook version. About 90 minutes left, and I better hop-to because it's due in 2 days.

3. One Of Our Own - Lucinda Berry: this is a just-under-4-hours audio exclusive thriller (is thriller the right word, it seems like a pretty domestic mystery), and I am literally only here because it's dual narration and the main narrator is A.J. Cook. The plot looks bland and unpleasant and after only 8% in I can all but guarantee it would be a 2-star in print, but I might give it 3 because listening to her voice is a treat.

AVAILABLE NOW

4. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: attempt #2 to salvage the cozy coffee shop vibes out of an otherwise uninteresting story, now that the temps are finally about to drop down into at least the 50s, and if it doesn't work this time I quit forever because I have better fantasy places to be (but I really do wanna savor the romanticizing of coffee + baked goods).

5. Strongheart, Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen - Candace Fleming: I didn't buy it, but I am now more motivated than ever to read this. It's actually much shorter than I thought, being about 50% illustration, and I want to dive right in. Might even do so as soon as I post this, tbh.

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: I feel honor-bound by winning it to read enough to offer a review. Honestly, the first chapter was quite fun, so if I just go in with determination to skip straight over the porn and judge the rest of the story on its own merit, I might enjoy it. (I will of course be judging more harshly for its Goodreads rating)

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: a 1920s Rebecca-esque novel that I own and have been meaning to read for 2 years now. I got so close to cracking it open this time...and I still might, but more likely the other books on this list will take priority.

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: the references in Middle of the Night finally got me interested in these 2 I skipped the first time around, but it's still just...so hard to convince myself to try them, even when I crave a guaranteed good thriller. There's a reason I skipped over them the first time around, and that reason is they just look and sound generic as hell.

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: I spent literally the entire month of October a) not reading any ghost stories for lack of good options and being sad about it, and b) forgetting about this author literally every time I went to the library until the 28th. But now they're here! So...maybe! (more than likely pushed off til next year though. I don't feel particularly excited when I look at them, even though the first book at least has been on my TBR since its release)

10. The Widow of Rose House - Diana Biller: almost forgot one of the few remaining from my last round! A random checkout because it looks like an unusual sort of historical romance with like seven different appealing elements; lemme just copy the summary:

It's 1875, and Alva Webster has perfected her stiff upper lip after three years of being pilloried in the presses of two continents over fleeing her abusive husband. Now his sudden death allows her to return to New York to make a fresh start, restoring Liefdehuis, a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. However, fresh starts aren't as easy as they seem, as Alva discovers when stories of a haunting at Liefdehuis begin to reach her. But Alva doesn't believe in ghosts. So when the eccentric and brilliant professor Samuel Moore appears and informs her that he can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Liefdehuis, she turns him down flat. She doesn't need any more complications in her life--especially not a handsome, convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, though Alva is loath to admit it, Sam, a pioneer in electric lighting and a member of the nationally-adored Moore family of scientists, is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva's new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva's history--and her heart

COMING SOON

11. Tracker's Canyon - Pam Withers: a YA novel about a teen using his outdoor/trailing skills to find his dad and evade people who may want to harm his dad (or him). It's been on my Goodreads TBR for 5+ years, picked when I was scrolling through looking for I.L.L. options. Looks fun and also relatively short, under 200 pages. Should be here in a week or two at the most.

12. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: library doesn't have a physical copy so waiting on the e-book, estimated 3 weeks. I haven't read her before but I kept seeing this on BookTube and its title and cover looked so fun and cute. Probably a 3-star time but I still want in.

13. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke: this was on my original fall TBR at the beginning of September, and I've been slowly making my way towards it. No promises I'll read it this year, but if I don't get too distracted by the new shinies, the fact that this is much shorter than I thought has made me more willing to listen to its many rave reviews. Currently on a waitlist; "my" copy is due back on Halloween but I of course have zero faith in the people of this county at this point, so I'm going to bet more realistically on the second week of November (next copy is due back 11/9).

14. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: romance about an engaged woman who develops amnesia, not only forgetting her (relatively new) relationship but still viewing her middle-of-nowhere job at his family resort as a pit stop and ready to get the hell outta dodge; he must convince her to fall in love with him again. I WILL be going full Chuck/Sarah with this. Currently on-order at the library and I am first in line.

15. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: This whole summary just sounds Immediately Great and like the kind of historical (1903) romance I love; wish I had access to a physical copy but waiting on the audiobook instead, estimated time 3 weeks. Love 2 have everything come crashing in at once!

All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. . . . At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building--and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor. Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask

COMING EVENTUALLY!

16. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: the reviews are so middling and I am also sure it will be a 3-star at best, but damn it, I got excited about this one months ago and now I HAVE TO KNOW (this is why knowing about new releases sucks! don't do it!). Waiting on an ebook copy because the library doesn't have a physical one. It is an absurdly long wait for such a short book (14 weeks?! i am PRAYING for a physical copy to be ordered soon).

17. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: on the other hand I am first in line when this releases in a couple weeks. Beyond excited for a collection of short stories and novellas aka BONUS SCENES for The Inheritance Games. (sometimes knowing about new releases doesn't suck)

18. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: a "Thanksgiving to Christmas" novella romance about a department store in the 1940s. I have been excitedly waiting for it to be seasonally appropriate (for maximal impact) since spring. I still gotta give it 3 or 4 weeks though.

19. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: 12th in line for 8 copies, at the library that doesn't show due dates so I'm guessing this may not arrive until December, at which point I might roll it over to the new year. Still, if it comes sooner, interested in this novella mirroring her real-life health crisis.