#the adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

[katiifaye]

the queen, Amina al-Sirafi

[aroaessidhe]

faves of 2023: adult high/historical fantasy

The Art Of Prophecy + The Art of Destiny

The Stones Stay Silent

The Water Outlaws

He Who Drowned The World

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

A Day Of Fallen Night

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

The Heretic’s Guide to Homecoming: Book 2 Practice

The Pomegranate Gate

[traeumenvonbuechern]

🏴‍☠️ Books To Read If You Love "Our Flag Means Death" 🏴‍☠️

Can't get enough of Our Flag Means Death? Read these books!

Also, check out my list of trans books for OFMD fans here: Trans Books To Read If You Love "Our Flag Means Death"! 🏳️‍⚧️

Book titles:

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Tell No Tales by Sam Maggs and Kendra Wells

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black (comes out November 21, 2023)

[howlsmovinglibrary]

Top 5 Books of 2023!

I don't know if this blog even counts as a book blog anymore, but this year I read 60 books, which is twice as many as last year (and therefore also double my 2023 Reading Goal). I'm so pleased to have overcome my three year reading slump that has plagued me since Covid, and wanted to celebrate by... yknow. Actually doing a book blog post lmao. So here are my five favourite books of 2023!

1) Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Not only was this book written Specifically For Me (faeries, rivals-to-lovers, academia), I just think it's a really good example of a cosy fantasy that is well-written and well-paced. The vibes are wholesome and fanfic-adjacent, but that doesn't mean that nothing happens. I'm not a fan of the new 'cosy' subgenre generally, but I think this book combined the right amount of comfort with action.

2) The Thousand Eyes by AK Larkwood

I read the Serpent Gates duology this year, and while the first book was good, the second book was just overwhelmingly brilliant. I loved the way this author manages time and character development - we follow all the characters for decades of their lives, so the final heroic triumphs in each of their stories just... hit different. It was such a wonderful book series, that left me feeling inspired to write.

3) The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

I love Shannon Chakraborty's writing generally, but it was really fun (after the slowburn pining of the City of Brass books) to give her a far less pious and brazen heroine that resulted in an entirely different tone of story from her previous trilogy! I loved the narration and plot of this novel, also obsessed with this pirate milf and her demon boyfriend.

4) A House With Good Bones by T Kingfisher

I love T Kingfisher but I've never been able to get all the way through one of her horror books before - idk why, I just don't tend to vibe. But this book, which leaned more towards Gothic horror, twisted to fit a modern setting, was so gripping - I read it all in one sitting. I love the funky little bug archaeologist protagonist, who's first sign that her house is haunted is the fact that there are no insects in her mother's garden.

5) You and Me On Vacation by Emily Henry

I went on a beach holiday for the first time since Covid and proceeded to devour every single fucking book Emily Henry had ever written. Although I loved all of them, You and Me On Vacation was the one written Specifically For Me, which was surprising given that the other two most popular releases by her are about books (oh well...mutual pining, my beloved).

Special Mentions:

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

I read all of the Tiffany Aching books for the first time this year, based on a diagnosis from a pal that Wintersmith would be 'my' Terry Pratchett book. Reader, she was right... (which says more about me as a person than I'd like).

If anyone wants to give me any recs for good books they read this year, feel free to reply to this post!

[agardenandlibrary]

now on my podcast Backlog Books (link in pinned post)

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Amina is many things: pirate, saboteur, ship captain, trader, friend – but above all of these things she is a mother. So much of this book is Amina missing her daughter, or worrying about her, or wishing to show her life on a ship – a life Amina loves. I made the mistake of thinking this was a standalone book. It's the first in a trilogy! I enjoyed it anyway.

Recommended:

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

[nimblermortal]

Fic request: Raksh discovering he has a daughter, including phases such as:

Oh yes, he's known for ages that Amina has a daughter, it's written all over her ambitions, just not a very interesting one

Why should this have anything to do with him?

Sexual intercourse leads to babies?? since when???

Behold ME, the Creator of Life

I must find this child so that it can serve me, its creator

I hate children, their ambitions are so... fluxy, it turns my stomach

Children are people????

[darthteeth]

This is the best book ever written

[ofliterarynature]

JUNE 2024 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

The Language of Thorns • Transitions: A Mother's Journey* • Sipsworth • The Watchmaker of Filigree Street • Sunbringer • Someone You Can Build a Nest In • The Curse of Chalion • The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi • Heartstopper Vol 5 • Knit One, Kill Two • A Letter to the Luminous Deep

Slim numbers this month! But we had a few days off of work, and a couple of these were long -

The Language of Thorns (4 stars) - I don't really enjoy Bardugo's work anymore, but this survived my very first TBR poll by my interference because I love fairy tales and retellings! I think Bardugo had some cool stories, made some cool twists, the illustrations were nice to look at - I think she definitly has the structure of fairy tales down, but I don't think she quite has the language. I don't love her writing style, but it really doesn’t fit here all of the time. I'm still trying to decide if I want to keep it, but I think I'm leaning towards not. I don’t own it, but I also plan to read the Hinterland collection by Melissa Albert.

Transitions (3 stars) a graphic novel based on the real-life experiences of a mother coming to terms with her child’s transition. I could maybe see this being a helpful book for someone whose parent is also struggling, but it was a bit too short and occasionally abstract for me to really understand the mother’s behavior - we definitely struggled to find anything to talk about at the bookclub meeting.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (3.5 stars) - I wanted to like this more. I definitely liked parts of it, most of it even! I just really hated the entire Grace subplot and it dragged the rest of the book down for me. Also, major deja vu at the ending? I don't know why, I can't remember reading this before. Will probably read the sequel and more of the author’s work, but I'd love to read KJ Charles’ version of this.

Sipsworth (4 stars) - it was fine? But I was also bored enough on occasion that this really should only be 3 stars, and I only finished it because it was short. Overly sentimental.

Sunbringer (5 stars) - fun! Really wish I could have picked this up right after book 1, it gets right into things and I’d forgotten a bit more than I liked. I didn’t realize that this series was set up to be more than just a duology, so news on book 3 soon I hope!!!

Someone You Can Build a Nest In (4.5 stars) - also very fun, would recommend to fans of fairy tales if you don’t mind some gore and body horror.

The Curse of Chalion (4 stars) - did I love this to the bottom of my heart? No. Did it hold my attention and keep me entirely engaged! Yes! So overall I’d call it a great read, and I really need to get the next book(s) on my reading schedule.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (5 stars) - WHAT a delight!!! Sailing ships, a reluctant hero, non-romantic relationships at the forefront, what’s not to love? I wish some of Amina’s friends had gotten a bit more development, but I also dearly love her and her terrible cringe-fail husband. While we wait for the next book I should go back and actually finish the author’s earlier series.

Heartstopper Vol 5 (5 stars) - also fun, and if I had more time I would have absolutely launched myself into a full Oseman read/reread (I wish her later novels had been released in the US when they first came out, but I’m glad we have them now!)

DNF

Knit One, Kill Two (4%) - the problem with cozy mysteries, especially with the slightly older ones, is that they tend to give strong vibes of having been written by women of a certain social class with certain views, and the writing just does not age well. Within 4% we got a conversation about dieting and calories and a tasteless comment about a homeless individual, and I was out.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep (31%) - this one’s been getting a lot of buzz, which, honestly, means it could have gone either way for me. It did not go, alas. The story was dragging, the back and fourth between timelines was frustrating, and the letters were not really convincing - if the siblings had set out to solve their siblings disappearance, maybe it would have had more pull, but it really felt like a lot of spilling your guts to a stranger and not much else. Too bad, because I do enjoy an unusual story structure if it works.

[dragonhoardofbooks]

Stayed up late last night to finish this - an excellent read! ☺️

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[newnamesamecharlotte]

For while the pious claim money doesn’t buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing. It is a monster who’s claws grow deeper and more difficult to escape with each passing season, with even the slightest misstep setting you back years, if not forever.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

[waywardangel-wilds]

I know Raksh is literally a demon but he has no right to be this funny. 'It's your fault I almost died from starvation! You married me and left me for dead! Evil wicked woman!' 'Yeah, that was kinda the point of leaving you buried underneath the ocean.'

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

I just bought a bunch of books and already had a bunch of books I either bought or was gifted relatively recently and haven’t read yet, but I can’t decide what to read next so I’m leaving up to you guys (and also if you have any other recs let me know!) 🖤

Thoughts about whatever I’m reading will probably show up on here at some point because I had fun sharing my thoughts on The Familiar on here :)

[dragonbadgerbooks]

Tarot October BPC: October 6, 2023 Strength - Strong Characters

Some actual Strong Female Characters!

[saessenach]

It's been a chapter and a half, and Amina al-Sirafi owns my entire heart

[nimblermortal]

Raksh: This is terrible. I am stranded on an island surrounded by a court of powerful beings who want balance between the worlds. :( Raksh: On the other hand, I have just come up with a foolproof plan to force my wife to let me give her a makeover :D