#this would be the third book i dnf this year

[amphiptere]

how much time do I give a book before it’s ok to dnf it

[astonmartinii]

Hi, love your work. Could you please write a Lando Norris x engineer!reader thank you 🥰

team bonding | lando norris social media au

pairing: lando norris x engineer!reader

people start to notice the chemistry between lando and his race engineer

yourusername

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yourusername: life between races ✨

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lilaclando part time race enginner full time mother

landonorris so where was my karaoke invite?

yourusername you'd really come all the way from monaco to do karaoke with my uni friends ???

landonorris duh

mclarenlover he's so in love you can't tell me otherwise

oscarpiastri the real question is what song did you sing?

yourusername man i feel like a women obviously

oscarpiastri taste as always

landonorris

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landonorris: what happens at the monaco after party stays at the monaco after party

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babynorris i did not know lando was friends with mick and este but i am living for this

estebanocon the best nights are the ones you don't remember

mickschumacher where is dj lando?

lando4ever are we all just collectively ignoring the girl in the last slide?

leclerc16x call me delusional but that looks like his race engineer

landonorizzzzz ur delusional (i hope you're right)

f1wagsupdates

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f1wagsupdates: in his most recent post lando norris included a picture of a girl many believe to be his race engineer y/n y/ln. she's worked with lando for just over a year and are a beloved duo in f1, with their radio conversations being a huge source of entertainment. what do you think of this potential couple: cute or unprofessional?

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babygirllando i think it would be cute... i mean we've all heard the radios... the one when lando crashed... she was so stressed

maxyverstappen i mean that's kinda her job?

kittyrussell as much as i would love this couple, they work together like HR violation ???

norrisszn maybe the issue here is y'all assuming everything all the time ? they're clearly friends? i didn't know you couldn't party with your friends

LN4 literally people assume shit every time and cause the issues

f1

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f1: lando norris is back on the podium in austria after some quick thinking from his race engineer y/n y/ln helped the brit undercut the alpines to take third!

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landonorris your fave duo tearing it up

yourusername we slayed 💅

glitterlando I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT RAT STEINER SAYS THEY’RE CUTE AND PROFESSIONAL

planetdannyric this is what you get steiner - double haas dnf and y/n being a big component of lando's podium KARMA

danielricciardo team work makes the dream work !! happy for you two 🏆

hugsforlando danny being a landoy/n shipper so true of him

landonorris

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landonorris: after the last couple weeks, y/n has been subject to the most ridiculous and disgusting ridicule from people from within our own sport. y/n y/ln is one of the most talented individuals in f1 and i am forever grateful that she is on my team! i think we all saw how important she is to my success, so appreciation post for my rock! x

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howdyricciardo god they are so cute whether they're a couple or just friends

yourusername awwww thank you lando i don't care what they say we continue to slay

landonorris lets fucking go

flowersforlando i need this couple to happen fuck steiner

smoooooothoperator no cause power couple for real

yourusername

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yourusername: don't let any man tell you that you can't do it

p.s. slagging off your drivers in your book and on national television is more unprofessional than anything i could ever do

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mickschumacher ❤️

danielricciardo as the children say - mother

landonorris forever proud of you y/n

yourusername thank you landinho

maxverstappen1 let's gooooooooo

carlossainz55 tell them !!

landonorris

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landonorris: what if i told you i don't care, our team chemistry is unmatched

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yourusername not exactly how i thought we were going to do this but i love you silly ❤️

landonorris i love you more

danielricciardo so it is true !!! was about to ask you if you finally grew some balls and asked

landonorris dude don't out me on main

lewishamilton so so happy for you guys !!

yoursricciardo omg parents

lovelylando they make me believe in love for real

yourusername

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yourusername: i'd take all the shit in the world to stay with you ❤️

p.s. let's get that win baby

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violetleclerc i will be seated for lando's maiden win and y/n excellence

landonorris i love you so much (and the win is coming, i can feel it)

yourusername you'll get what you deserve in due time

maxverstappen1 does the camera man not get a shout out?

yourusername thank you for being our personal photographer, not my fault you tackle my phone out of my hands whenever i try to take a pic of you :/

note: hope you enjoyed, i'm finally getting through the requests !! xx

[sappymix1]

Okay writing prompt -> office au dnf where George is the front desk worker and Dream is in sales and they meetup in the break room and always flirt

hi anon so funny thing it did not occur to me that you meant office au as in the show the office until I turned on the tv earlier today and it was there lmao. but anyway here is 1.3k words of dnfies working for a company that supplies textbooks to high schools lmao

[12:14] 🐈‍⬛: Dream

[12:16] 🐈‍⬛: Hellooooooooo

[12:16] 🐈‍⬛: This is so messed up why are you ignoring me

[12:19] 🐈‍⬛: Dreeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaam

[12:21] 🐈‍⬛: Stop ignoring me, idiot

[12:25] 🐈‍⬛: I’m so bored. I haven’t had to do anything all day. This is so boring.

[12:27] 🐈‍⬛: And now you won’t even text me back. You hate me. 

[12:31] 🐈‍⬛: You should come talk to me so I don’t die of boredom. 

[12:34] 🐈‍⬛: This is me because of you

[12:34] 🐈‍⬛: Ignore the caption

[12:37] 🐈‍⬛: I’m going to start texting Foolish instead of you. I’ll find his number in my computer.

[12:38] 🐈‍⬛: I’m doing it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to find his number and text him asking if he can show me his muscles

-

“Thank you, Ms. French; I’ll make sure that gets worked out for you. Have a good day.” Dream hung up his phone, posture immediately worsening as he screwed his eyes shut, trying to force down the headache that had been brewing since about the third question about the difference in price between the fourth and fifth editions of the biology textbook some forgettable high school in Vermont was attempting to purchase before the new school year began. 

Dream was pretty good at his job, mostly because he was pretty good with the people. He thought he had a good voice, one that made him good at dealing with people over the phone because it prepped them to like him by that alone. He was a bit more awkward in person, yeah – a bit too tall, not quite sure what to do with his arms or his feet – but clients were already endeared to him enough that at that point his slight awkwardness just ended up being charming. That wasn’t the point though; the point was that he was ordinarily really good at phone sales, customer service, that sort of thing. This particular call had just been a bit exhausting. He had barely even passed his own high school biology class; he definitely did not know which text book was the better option even though he had to at least sound like he did. 

Dream glanced over across the office, over to the desk up by the door. His vantage point, unfortunately, wasn’t that great these days. His boss had gotten it into his head that some change of scenery would make everyone more productive as they got deeper into the hot months of summer and, as a result, Dream had traded his desk conveniently within eyeshot of the front desk for one much farther away, and all he could see over, of all things, the fucking broken printer was a little bit of curly dark hair that drifted back and forth in a way that made it obvious that its owner was rocking back and forth in the swivel chair. 

Dream wasn’t quite sure that this rearranging was having the effect on productivity his boss had desired. He reached into his pocket, and he slid out his phone.

His lock screen was covered in a long chain of texts, all coming from a contact saved simply as a familiar emoji. Dream scrolled through them, automatically smiling as his stomach buzzed with strawberries and oranges. Apparently, he was not the only person struggling to focus.

[12:47] me: get better bait. you would text foolish telling him to die before you asked to see him shirtless.

[12:47] me: besides, you’d never do that to tina

Dream went to flip his phone over, not wanting to risk someone noticing that he was off task, but immediately, his phone buzzed with a response. 

[12:48] 🐈‍⬛: What are you doing?

[12:48] me: i was on the phone. 

[12:49] me: lunch?

This time, he didn’t bother putting his phone down, just watched the three little dots indicating someone typing on the other side of their conversation. He realized quickly that he was holding his breath, and he forced himself to let the lingering air leave his lungs. Don’t be stupid. 

When the text came, it was much shorter than the time spent typing it would have implied. Dream could imagine him going back and forth and back and forth, fingers freezing on the same anxiety that both worried and excited Dream. 

[12:50] 🐈‍⬛: Yes

Dream got up from his desk, heading to the break room to get his lunch. Once the door fell shut behind him, cutting off the low buzz of the lights and computers and air conditioning of the main office with a tight thud, he went to the fridge and pulled out the container of sliced up mango and half a sandwich in a baggie. A green sticky note with a smiley face adorned both of them, identifying them as his. He was in the middle of trying to crack the seal on the lid of his drink when he heard the door swing again and quickly felt arms encircle his waist.

“You’re so, like, needy, today,” he said without turning around. “What’s wrong?” Half teasing. Half so sincere that it made both of them squirm a little bit. Dream had always been good at that – caring about people. Especially certain ones. 

“Nothing.” George – the receptionist, the cute British guy in the office, the most important person in Dream’s phone – pressed his face against the back of Dream’s shirt, muffling his voice. “I’m bored. You were ignoring me.” 

Dream scoffed. He set his lunch down on the counter and turned around to face George. George was looking up at him, lips pressed together like he was trying and failing to keep himself from smiling. Failing, both because George wasn’t particularly good at hiding his happiness and because Dream could read his emotions from a single movement of his rich dark eyes. “I wasn’t ignoring you. I was working. I spent, like, half an hour stuck on the phone talking about biology textbooks.”

“Wow, poor Dream,” George teased, reaching to open the fridge and find his own lunch – left over chicken nuggets, apparently, as well as a plastic bag filled with apple slices – before settling across from Dream at the table. “Forced to spend all day on the phone, while I’m dying at my desk.” 

A bite of his sandwich. “Dying? Of what?” 

“Boredom and neglect,” George said, sounding extremely put upon. “It’s so messed up that you’re letting your stupid job get in the way of our relationship. Just so that you can, like, have money or whatever.” 

“I can’t believe you’d let Patches go hungry like that.” Dream reached over to steal a sip of George’s peach ice tea, and George just grinned at him before sighing. 

“I guess that’s a good enough reason.” They were both quiet for a few seconds, ankles brushing under the table as George chewed on his apple slices and Dream picked at his mango with a plastic fork from home. It was comfortable, or at least as comfortable as lunch at a tiny breakroom table that was so short that Dream banged his knees against it every time he sat down could be.  It was, arguably, one of the least remarkable days of Dream’s life. Tomorrow, he would put back on his scratchy work clothes and the shoes that pinched his toes, make a million more phone calls to talk about textbooks he couldn’t care less about, and eat another dry sandwich in the shitty breakroom. The same mundanity that he had found, despite the big dreams that he had had growing up, to be his life these days. And, just like he eventually did today, before they threw out their trash and tried to leave the breakroom far enough apart to make it inconspicuous, George would ask if he could come over after work, and everything would feel a little bit more special.

[ninja-muse]

2023 Reading Wrap-up

I feel like this year was pretty average in terms of my reading. Some great books, some awful books, a lot of books in the middle. And while I feel as if I kept hitting slumps, I don’t think my stats really reflect that. I kept reading and even though I didn’t hit my goal of 140 books, that’s more because I read more thick and dense books, spent more time writing, and am one year further from the direness of 2020 and 2021.

This also seems to have been the year of T. Kingfisher for me (and also Ursula Vernon). I read several of her horror novels, as well as Digger and a bunch of the ebooks she makes free for patrons, which are really easy go-tos when you want something light and right now. I was kind of surprised when I realized she was my top author because usually that’s Seanan McGuire.

And I read more ebooks in general, because why should I wait for two months for the library to get a physical book in circulation when I can wait two weeks for it to come in on Libby? I’m still trying to reserve Libby use for lighter, faster, less involved books, because I tend to end up skimming a little more and there’s something about physical paper that helps me retain info better when the text is dense.

Now, stats! Yearly total: 128, excluding rereads and picture books Queer books: 44 (34%) Authors of colour: 15 (11.7%) Books by women: 74.5 (58%) Authors outside the binary: 7.5 (5.8%) Canadian authors: 14 (10.9%) Off the TBR shelves: 39 (30.4%) Books hauled: 41 ARCs acquired: 57 ARCs unhauled: 60 DNFs: 9 Rereads: 3 Picture Books: 6

If you look at last year’s stats and the year before’s, I’m pretty much holding steady in terms of my diverse reading—a little more than a third queer, about 60% female and 10% Canadian, around 6% gender-diverse authors. I’m way down on authors of colour though, and I didn’t hit my stretch goal of 20 Canadians, so those are things I’ll have to pay attention to in the year to come. It would be nice if I could manage more queer books too, but that’s not something I’m going to try for quite as much.

Two of my reading goals for the year were to read more books from my TBR than I acquired, and to keep my ARC levels about even. Seems like I pretty much hit them! I expect that 2024 will see fewer book acquisitions because a lot of my 2023 haul was bookstore visits with my dad and we’ve now hit pretty much every store in the city. I was honestly kind of surprised that my ARC problem stands where it does. I was so sure that I was going to have at least 10 more incoming books than outgoing. Go me! My spring ARC purge really, really helped.

I did all right on the rest of my reading goals. All but one book read (The Great Cat Massacre), which was the real point of the list! I only managed to finish one StoryGraph challenge, if you don’t count my pages goal, and as always I failed to read as many classics as I wanted. I’m starting to suspect I’m not a classics person, despite my interest in history and historical fiction. If anyone has classics recs for me, let me know?

To be completely honest, though, I'm not sure I'm going to continue posting to Tumblr. I pretty much stopped updating my feed in the summer and I've felt more relaxed, both in terms of Things To Do Each Day but also in terms of my reading. When I was more active on here, I felt pressured to read diversely at all times and though I try to have a healthy spread of perspectives, I know that I generally don't and am therefore a bad person by Tumblr standards. I am curious what my mutuals have been getting up to this year so please, sound off! And let me know if you do want to see reviews and wrap-ups continue here.

(Friendly reminder that I'm ninjamuse on Storygraph and LibraryThing, if you'd like to follow me there.)

And if anyone’s interested, here are the rest of my year’s highlights:

Top Five Fiction (not ranked)

The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher

Menewood - Nicola Griffith

Bookshops and Bonedust - Travis Baldree

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty

Top Five Non-Fiction (not ranked)

Magisteria - Nicholas Spencer

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Evidence of Things Seen - Sarah Weinman, editor

Lay Them to Rest - Laurah Norton

Like Every Form of Love - Padma Viswanathan

Most Impressed By:

Shubeik Lubeik - Deena Mohamed

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

Most Disappointing:

Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck

British Columbiana - Josie Teed

A Killing in Costumes - Zac Bissonette

Tauhou - Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall

Longest Book: The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard

Best queer book: Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Did I beat 2022? No. Did I beat my Best Year Ever? No. That would be 2021. Did I read more classics? Not even close. Did I read more Canadians? No. I held about steady. Did I whittle my TBR shelves down any? No. Was it a good reading year? Probably about average?

Breakdowns by month:

January February March April May June July August September October November December

[not-that-syndrigast]

I think that Paul is pretty ready for a seat in F1 and would be an amazing addition, but I see what you mean

I agree that him not having any DNFs so far is slightly luck, but I think saying it’s ALLLL luck is a bit of a push. Because not DNFing requires a lot of skills to react and time his driving. It is really lucky that no one has crashed into him until recently, but I also think that’s because he’s aware of his surroundings, has fast react times, and is able to drive his car in a way that allows him to stay in

Besides, for a ROOKIE?!?! My man is crazy esp when you compare it t other rookies on the grid (who have an academy, lots of funding, etc)

Not only that, when you look at Paul’s overall situation right now: you realize how strong he really is mentally and physically

He doesn’t have any academy backing him up since Mercedes left him. He even opened up about not having enough funds to be able to do F2 again next year.

In multiple interviews he talks about how he’s in charge of a lot of his training, flights, bookings and more. Which is crazy, because that means he’s been paying for most of his expenses and been managing it all SUPER WELL

I think when you look at the overall picture, and you see that he’s THIRD during his rookie season, has made little to no mistakes, is managing all of his flights, bookings, and most of his training: it makes you wonder how AMAZING he could be with an academy backing him up to help ease his loads

Personally, I would put Paul in F2 for one more year. But sadly he doesn’t have the funds for that :( So, I’m really praying and hoping he gets into Alpine in F1 so he can prove his worth, get some sponsors, and fulfill his dream

I'm sorry if it sounded like I said all of his accomplishments were pure luck, this was not my intention but probably worded badly. In my opinion, he's currently easily in the top five best F2 drivers but that does not translate directly into F1. He's good, but if he entered F1 it would be, as you said, probably in a mid field team like Alpine.

I also agree that he has shown incredible mental strength and maturity with how he's handling his situation, but that's nothing F1 teams really look out for. It would have been great if he still had Mercedes backing him, but I think even if he did, he still would only end up in a midfield team because Mercedes is focused on Kimi.

For F2 rookies I have a good example that made me write the post originally; Gabriel Bortoleto. He's also F2 rookie, luckier than Paul because he is backed by McLaren but I think it's super interesting how a lot of people talk about Paul being a great rookie and deserving an F1 seat but i see no one talking about Gabriel?

I don't want to put Paul down but do the opposite; I think people should focus on all the talented, young drivers, because I do fear that there is a certain level of pretty privilege drivers like Paul get that others do not, which is sad, because I want to see good driving

[sizzleissues]

Are you currently reading anything?

Be prepared for an onslaught because I am not normal and I read several things at once and that’s not even counting fanfiction! These were all started within this year and I plan to finish them before next!

First section - Sizzle pretends she’s smart and knows things (non-fiction)

A village in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd - very readable and I highly recommend! Really deepened my understanding of the life of ordinary people during the Third Reich. On my need to finish list

How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch by Harry Cliff - Wonderful and I learned a lot about particle physics from what I’ve read so far!

An Emotional Dictionary by Susie Dent - What is on the tin, words to describe common feelings that you might not have known existed. Less of a read and more of a resource but wonderful nonetheless.

For a recommendation of non-fiction that I would read again, Sapiens : a brief history of humankind and Homo Deus : a brief history of tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

Second section - Sizzle is a contemporary YA reader through and through (she swears she reads many genres not just YA romance, you caught her at a lacklustre month guys) (she wanted to slam her face into a wall reading Lord of the Flies - she gets its a satire, did not help the feeling) (fiction)

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - rereading with the movie out. As remarkably witty and swoony as ever

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - rereading as well because it’s my favourite book by the author. Fun time all around

There’s a couple others but it think I’m dnf-ing them because I know my worth. Please throw me some good older thought-provoking fiction my way I need it >_<. I recommend Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson - gripping murder mystery novel in a writing style I adore (:

Final section - Sizzle faces the haunting sight of her ao3 marked for later list (fanfiction)

All the Missing Pieces by @uptoolateart - I will sing its praises from the rooftop. Amazing exploration of Adrien’s character and how canon things and the sort of au the fic is set in affects things in his future. Love me some adult Adrienette with kids expansion pack

Bon voyage by @keeperofthebox - Quickly ascending the ranks of my favourite fics with each chapter. I love seeing Adrien struggle I guess >_<

Of course I have plenty of other fics marked that I have yet to read or finish because a.time or b.they’re ongoing still.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk and wish me luck in finished all this by December.

[greenconverses]

Recently read: And it's time to start another year of reading wrap-ups! I set my goal to 80 again for the year and have decided to start book journaling, so maybe I'll have more insight for you this time around other than "I liked it! Next!"

No Way Down: Life and Death On K2 by Graham Bowley was a super engaging audiobook - I think I finished it within two days because it was so interesting! While I liked it, the writing just didn't engage me like other mountaineering books have, so it gets a slightly lower score. I've watched documentaries about the 2008 K2 disaster, so not a lot of information in here was super new to me, but if this is your first time hearing about it, it'll be a thorough read/listen. (★★★.75)

Duke Most Wanted was a flop. I thought the other two books in this series were fun, if simple, romances, but this one just bored me to death. Did not buy the romance or the hero's turnaround from being a drunk reprobate in a few weeks. Also, Lenora Bell really likes using (and overusing) similes and metaphors related to her heroine's passion/interest, and it became pretty obnoxious in this book. (★★)

I really wanted to like The Duchess Takes a Husband more than I did because Harper St. George is one of my favorite new historical romance authors, but some of the magic was lacking in this book as compared to the other three in the series. I liked the leads, but their romances could've used some more development. (★★★.5)

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune gets a star because of ACoop's audiobook narration, but this wasn't as strong as his Vanderbilt book. It's not a particularly thorough history of the Astor family and it becomes more about their legacy and cultural impact in later chapters, but I think it's a good intro to New York and the Gilded Age. (★★★.5)

Finally broke down and got new Kate Bateman books! A Wicked Game was simply fun. Loved the characters and the writing style; Bateman knows how to write effective and delightful banter! I finished this while high on various pain meds (whee root canal) so I might need to do a re-read to properly appreciate the final third, but I was very satsified overall. (★★★★)

Please welcome A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch to the top of my DNF pile for the year! God, what an insipid piece of nonsense this was. I was hoping this would maybe course correct the issues I had with the first Glimmer Falls book because we'd be dealing with the dastardly villain and the angry best friend getting paired up... but no! I should have quit this book the second said angry best friend slammed some harassing dude's head into the bar 20 or so pages in (proportional response! learn it!) but instead I toughed it out to about 40% where everyone got into a bar fight for ~fun~ and decided NO MORE. Stop giving me shitty paranormal romances with weird, half-baked acceptance politics storylines that you have to spell out like your readers are five my god. (★)

[xxxjarchiexxx]

top 9 reads of the final quarter!! Tagged by @librarycards

I've had a weird as hell reading year and would not have guessed a light novel, a romcom, and notes app poetry would end up being so important to me but. Here we are! this year has been dedicated to me realizing how much i love genres i used to think i hated.

Starling House by Alix E Harrow - gothic fantasy with a strong romance subplot about belonging and small town life and trauma, it did everything i wanted and more and made me care so much that i got mad at special edition art being inaccurate. He would not fucking wear that....

Pretty Boys are Poisonous by Megan Fox - she treated notes app poetry as a genre and it resonated with me idk man i get her!

Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan - i will read anything rick writes and most of the time i love it, this is the first time we've gotten to see low stakes questing and i LOVED it

The Poppy War trilogy - i read all 3 of the books in the same month and love them all so bad, i just downloaded the burning god to represent the series. brilliant historical fantasy

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - very voicey scifi but it landed so well for me, especially the main characters arc around self image and how she treats others

The Glow by Jessie Gaynor - one of those very very very slightly weird contemporary litfic about the wellness industry books which is one of my favorite subgenres, reads like a loving satire of the victims of That Girl mentality

Chainsaw Man Buddy Stories - does the cast of chainsaw man know how i love them. the last story made me cry like a little baby

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Parker - i mean it's a sapphic romcom, with believable characters and chemistry and character arcs i really enjoyed. the other two books aren't really good at all i had to dnf the third but this first one!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - smg always hits right and this was no exception, the world building of the weird sort of scifi was amazing, and i loved the way indigenous liberation and colonization weave in seamlessly to the plot, i have some minor qualms but overall it stuck with me and i really loved the writing and characters

[lia-land]

A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber

2.5/5

Spoilers for A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber

Why was this one of the worst books I have ever read? It's definitely the worst series finale. I’m too disappointed to even be mad. I’m being so generous with the rating.

I think this whole series is a perfect example of when an author has one good character that they really like, but doesn’t know what to do with them.

I’ve said in other reviews how much Jacks has stood out as a character in Garber’s books all the way back to Legendary. He’s an interesting character and was consistently more developed than any of the other characters. That isn’t enough to carry a whole three book series, though.

I read all the spoilers and discussions on this book before I finished it because it was just dragging on and we were given more questions than answers. I skimmed a lot of this and pretty much only read the dialogue because half of this book was just a recap of the previous two books. I can see why that might not be that jarring if you’d been waiting a year for this to come out, but I’ve been reading this series back to back. Someone on Reddit mentioned that all the recaps might have been to get the word count up and I think that’s very accurate, especially considering how short this was overall.

Apparently Garber turned off her insta comments at some point because of all the criticism? It would have been a DNF if I wasn’t still hoping for a glimpse of the Jacks we knew in Caraval. I also thought maybe it would be worth it when they got together but that was disappointing, too. We got like five pages.

I knew there was no hope when in the last quarter of the book, she introduced the storyline of Jacks giving up his heart. That’s not a storyline you should throw in at the end of a book. It was so incredibly rushed and then Aurora turns up saying Jacks beat her up and stole his heart back. That should have been a much bigger plotline. As I have said about a lot of recent books, how did this make it past an editor??? What’s going on in the publishing industry right now?

And where is Luc? Marisol?? Was there not more to Evangeline’s parents’ death? Is Castor going to keep going on killing sprees? Is Jacks now mortal since he’s in love? Where has Aurora gone off to? Why were the apples different colours? So many unanswered questions. This was all most likely set up for a spin-off series, but I will no longer be investing my time in an author who was happy to publish such a lazy book after knowing how big of a fanbase she had.

I really don’t get the point of the Valors. If this series was just set up for the Valors to get their own series in the future, it barely did a good job at that. I also feel like Apollo kept being forced into the series. It’s not like this is a TV show where the actor for Jacks had other commitments and they had to fill up screen time with Apollo. There was fully no need for him to have such a big part in this book. I can't imagine many people who read the first two books thinking 'I would really love the third book to focus on Appollo and his POV' so why was that even a thing? Evangeline was so unnaturally attached to him just to keep him a part of the plot. It got very tiring. He has barely any depth. Why was he in so much of this book? The author knows we’re mostly all reading this series for Evangeline and Jacks so why would she make the final book focus so much on Apollo and barely on any parts with Jacks? It was very lazy overall. Maybe because she knew that since the anticipation was so high for this final book, it would sell regardless? I guess you can go out with a bang or just go out with bank.

And to add to that, if it just wasn’t the right time for her to write it, then maybe don’t write it until you’re ready. She had this great legacy with her previous books and then we get this. Does anyone remember Michelle Hodkin, the author of the Mara Dyer books? She never released the last book of the sequel series and just disappeared off the internet. I don’t know if that was perhaps a better option than writing a lazy book like this.

[acey-lacey]

2024 Mid Year Book Freakout Tag

What was the best book you’ve read so far this year?

LITTLE WOMEN and I will never shut up about it, that book is an all time favorite now and I wish I was still reading it tbh I could talk about it forever

What was the most disappointing book you’ve read so far this year?

I haven’t had anything tooo disappointing yet this year, I think I know my taste pretty well but I was a bit disappointed by A Cruel and Fated Light by Ashley Shuttleworth. It was just soooo slow compared to the first one (and third one) and felt like it was just setting up the next book. But the book after it was a 4.5 read so I’m still loving the series despite that little dent in the road!!

What’s the best book recommendation you received this year?

My friend encouraged me to read the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and it changed my brain chemistry that book is incredible and I could write essays about it

What was your first DNF of the year?

I actually DNFed The Mists of Avalon earlier this year which was so sad. I read like the first hundred pages and for some reason it wasn’t the vibe I was expecting so it threw me off and I couldn’t really enjoy it. I’m gonna try and pick it up again eventually tho!

What’s a new release of the year that you read and your thoughts?

To my knowledge I haven’t read anything that was released this year yet oops

A book that came out in the first half of the year and a book coming out later that your anticipating

I haven’t read any new releases yet, but I’m very excited for the new Percy Jackson book coming out later this year!

What’s the most beautiful book you’ve added to your collection or a beautiful book you’d like to own?

I got the British hardback version of Lessons in Chemistry and my heart is fulfilled this cover fits the vibe so much better than the American version 🥹

What genre have you read most this year?

Fantasy forrrr sure live laugh love fantasy

Do you feel like your tastes have changed or shifted at all this year? (New genre new trope or new theme?)

I wouldn’t say my taste has changed, more like I’m rediscovering the genres and themes I always loved as a kid and I still love them now that I’m getting back into reading. I just read the Priory of the Orange Tree and it’s launching my back into my high fantasy kick

How are your book goals going?

My goal this year is to read 22 books and I’ve read 11 already so I’m pretty proud!

A book that you feel embodies the vibe your your reading year

Legendborn and Bloodmarked I would say are the vibes I’ve been getting into this year, I’m so glad I read them but I also can’t believe how long I have to wait for the next one. It has a great balance of fantasy and contemporary which have been my main genres this year, and I just LIVED FOR the plot and Bree has my heart

I’ve seen this all over recently and thought it’d be fun to participate, I got the questions from Jesse the Reader on YouTube haha

Anyone can and should also participate!

[ofliterarynature]

SEPTEMBER 2023 WRAP UP

[ loved liked ok no thanks (reread) book club* DNF ]

The Anomaly | Not the Witch You Wed | A Pale Light In the Black | (My Volcano)* | Klara and the Sun | Our Hideous Progeny | (A Gathering of Shadows) | A Dangerous Collaboration | Empire of Sand | (A Darker Shade of Magic) | Scattered Showers | A Treacherous Curse | Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz | The Hanged Man | Magic Below Stairs | The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy | The City & The City | The Splinter in the Sky

* * * * *

Magic Below Stairs was a charming middle-grade spin off to the Cecelia & Kate series, I had a good time and would be more than happy to read more books in this world!

The Hanged Man was the second in the Tarot Sequence, and still great! Not perfect, but the characters are so fun and the plots are extremely intense, I loved reading this. The haunted ship was scarier than the actual haunted ship horror book I just read.

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz…bad. You took this amazing set up and look what you did with it! You made it generic and boring and feeling outdated. Justice for the centuries-old, animated, sentient, sorcerous, gender-fluid puppet who deserved better (to be the main character, to start)

(Veronica Speedwell is of course, fun as always. I have unfortunately now hit the books with longer hold times and am very D: about it)

Scattered Showers was a very heartwarming collection! Perfectly (and maybe, best) suited for fans of the author’s novels. Perhaps a little one-note, but a good read. I love the cover design a lot :D

This is the first time I’ve reread the Shades of Magic books since I finished the series in 2018. I loved them dearly. But my tastes shifted dramatically between then and now… ADSOM is ok. A decently solid fantasy novel, but not one that’s delivering what I want these days. A Gathering of Shadows, however, is a hot mess. I already did some yelling about it but there’s really not a plot, the storyline seems forced, and as asexualbookbird put it, it’s really just Book 3: The Prequel. I don’t know if reading it for the first time would be better? Mostly I was bored and irritated and would have loved to quit.

Somebody help me out, was there hype for Empire of Sand? Because I feel like there was, and I was so let down. The world building was beautiful, but it felt like absolutely nothing happened for the entire middle of the book? And the romantic elements weren’t enough to tempt me, I’d have loved this if it had gone full political intrigue instead.

I’m not a Frankenstein person, but I had a great time with Our Hideous Progeny! I’m a sucker for historical fiction with smart female characters, even if I wanted to strangle a lot of the men, lol. I might have zoned out a bit during the denser paleontological bits, but I look forward to future work by the author.

Klara and the Sun is another one I don’t quite understand the love for, it just wasn’t for me.

My Volcano. YES. IT IS BACK AGAIN. FOR BOOKCLUB AGAIN EVEN. This is such a complicated book that only two of us managed to finish it for book club when we first read it last year. Now that we have some new recruits we decided to try it again (no luck alas). BUT I am still not over it, check out my tag for more yelling. Right now I’m trying to convince the group to *not* do a third read next year and maybe try one of the author’s other books (and the author followed me back on Twitter! I got irrationally excited lol)

I was a bit nervous going into A Pale Light in the Black, having had some flops from the person who rec’d this previously, but it was so fun! ‘Space Coast Guard’ is not a thing that would immediately leap to mind as something I’d be interested in, but this goes *hard* on the found family vibes and spends just as much time on the characters’ emotions as it does on the plot, in addition to being super queer! The plot is a little clunky being split in two different directions with the investigation and the military games, but I still had such a good time (and speaking from the future, book 2 does improve on that!)

When will I learn my lesson about contemporary romance? Regardless of the fact that the plot for Not the Witch You Wed could have been ripped from one of the many many Teen Wolf fics I’ve read and enjoyed, we did *not* get along. Sigh.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from The Anomaly, but I think it was something more? Probably because it was a translation? Idk, I don’t find the “are we just a simulation” discussion particularly compelling (and My Volcano deals with related topics in more interesting ways), and the rest couldn’t hold me. Really wish I’d DNF’d this one, but I pushed though in hope.

The actual DNF’s -

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy I wanted to like. I enjoy quirky world building, but it felt like a contemporary romance masquerading as a fantasy - accompanied by all those pesky cr tropes that annoy me. Most of the characters were irritating me as well, and I didn’t want to forgive Hart, even if I understand why he was being so awful, so I decided to quit before I worked myself up too far.

The City & The City had a cool concept, but after 25% I still wasn’t interested. I’d maybe try something else from Mieville, but this wasn’t for me.

The Splinter in the Sky is a book that probably looked fantastic as an outline. But when it came to filling it out and connecting the dots, well…it was lacking a lot. Readable, maybe not worth the effort, but I’d give the author another try on a future work.

[aj-pruett]

Book Search

I am trying to find an apocalyptic fiction book that I partially read a few years ago but immediately burned because it was that bad. I cannot remember the title and I'm hoping someone else may know.

I only read the first chapter before it hit my DNF list. But I do know it had a sequel since I bought and burned both at the same time. But It was hilariously poorly written and I was grossed out within those few pages.

The MMC was in his 30s, ex military (I think). Within the first few pages this MC already had the day saved; rescuing a small group of survivors, including a nun and an "exotic" 17 year old girl, from a completely overrun hospital. Somehow he manages to contact "a guy" who comes in with a helicopter to get them out.

The 17 year old girl falls asleep in the helicopter, and the MMC immediately begins lusting after her and her "perfect olive skin" to close off the chapter. The book followed him specifically, though I can't remember if it was first or third person.

I do not remember what the cover looked like but I didn't get the idea it would be like this from the cover or blurb. I bought it and it's sequel second hand for about $5 total.

I always refer to this book as a "if this bullshit was published, then I am doing just fine and will be just fine". Just as a moral boost to myself and my close writer friends whenever any of us get self conscious over our WIPs. And I would like to find another second hand copy to keep on hand as that motivation

[the---hermit]

The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Straub

I listened to this audiobook while crocheting and I honestly could have done without it. I was looking for a quick thriller to keep me company, and although it wasn't insanely long (about 9 hours) it was definitely a waste of time. I found it predictable and I hated the characters, so it's really surprising I did finish it insead of dnf-ing it. The premise sounded interesting, a family is moving from L.A. to New York and they find out only after the move that thirty years before a whole family was murdered there. In the meantime we find out one of the girls in the family is particularly interested in true crime, and someone in the family seems to be hiding something. It's a very simple premise, that could have made a good thriller, but it was not for me. I surely didn't vibe with the author's writing. The characters were so annoying, the kids are made to look and sound edgy™, which is already annoying itself, but then adults are also insufferable. There were more than a couple of scenes in which the dialogue and what was happening made no sense to me, it felt not natural at all. As for the twists they were so predictable it hurts. I don't want to play the smart kid saying I am so intelligent I got the twist when I was a third in, I think it was the writing making the clues way too obvious. I really didn't enjoy this. I would have dnf-ed if it were a physical book and not an audiobook. I almost considered not writing a post for this book since I don't have much else to say, but then I gave in and decided to write one at least to record I read this. Clearly I wouldn't recommend this, I would very much suggest going for another thriller, and I doubt I will be reading more by this author, because I really didn't vibe with the writing.

[thischarmingand]

12, 22 and 25 for the book ask!

12. Any books that disappointed you?

A few thinks really annoyed me but as far as things I assumed I was going to enjoy the heck out of, I'm shocked by how cold I was left by the final volumes of DIE, Keiron Gillen's insanely successful comic series about adults forced to return to a DnD inspired realm they got trapped in as kids. I really really enjoyed Gillen's The Wicked + The Divine (minus the Harry Potter-esq epilogue that we don't talk about) but this was just too self consciously clever and every interesting, big idea it had was over to fast to get at the raw bleeding heart of the thing. None of it made me feel more than 'huh, interesting idea.'

I think the RPG based on it has promise, though. The character classes (especially Emotion Knights, who burn through a specific feeling to use their powers, and Dictators, who can change reality with their voices) are so juicy.

22. What's the longest book you read?

Alanna and I have been reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco for over a year, so longest both in page count and timespan. I still love this book but oh man it's not a good one to read aloud. As I've said to Alanna, in retrospect this is a book that feels like it's intentionally written so that sometimes you look at a page that's just full of an innane list of items, or untranslated Latin, or what have you and go 'ah, I see, Umberto Eco is fucking with me,' and skim.

On my own, it was The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan, a weird novel set in a not-very-futuristic all-too-realistic dystopian Toronto where sentient mold is slowly taking over everything and sinking the town into Lake Ontario, not that anyone cares. (Would recommend. It's quite weird.)

25.What reading goals do you have for next year?

I wanted 2023 to be the year I read a lot more horror by women and... I failed. I read two amazing horror novels by women at the start of the year (two of the best books I read all year even!) but then it was dud after dud after DNF from then on. I'd love to find some more authors who are writing horror as opposed to romantic thrillers that get misfiled. I don't need a third act twist, I just need ghosts.

Anyway, going to keep trying. At least Alison Rumfitt (of second-best horror novel of the year) has a new one out.

[theinquisitxor]

Best & Worst Series 2023

I saw a booktuber do a video of these questions and I really liked them, so thought that I could answer them here! Credit goes to bookslikewhoa & thoughtsontomes on youtube. Feel free repost and add your own answers!

My post from last year

In total I read roughly 32 series in some shape or form:

I read and completed 12 series this year (meaning I read books 1-- end)

I finished/wrapped up 2 series this year

I started 11 series

I caught up with 2 series

I continued with 0 series

I DNF'ed 7 series

1.What is the best series that you caught up with this year that is still a work in progress? Legendborn by Tracey Deonn for sure. I read books 1 and 2 this spring and it's a new favorite. Also the Wayward Children series deserves to be on here, because I finally caught up with the books back in Jan/Feb.

2. What is the best completed series that you are still catching up with? Technically I'm reading the Damar books by Robin McKinley. I read book 1 a few days ago and I'm currently reading book 2, so I guess I'm catching up on it.

3.What was your favorite first book in a series this year? Favorite was Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, but I also really enjoyed A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by HG Parry and The Fifth Season by NK Jeminson too.

4.What is a first book in a series you read this year that you think should have been a standalone, not a series? Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I think it should have been a standalone. I did not read the sequel, nor do I plan to.

5.What is your most over-hyped series of the year? The Poppy War by RF Kuang 😬. I generally liked it, but by no means thought it was worthy of the hype it got. Same with Empire of Sand.

6.What is a series that you DNFed this year? A bunch: Empire of Sand, The Last Binding, Six Crimson Cranes, The Isles of the Gods, Fourth Wing, The Mimicking of Known Successes, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

7.What was your favorite series finale of the year? The finale to The Expanse series, Levithan Falls. A very satisfactory and good conclusion.

8.What was the biggest cliffhanger you had in a series this year? Probably the ending of The Stolen Heir by Holly Black.

9.What is your most anticipated next book in a series that you read this year that will come out next year? Again, Emily Wilde- with the second book coming out Jan 2024.

10.What is your most anticipated series to catch up on with? The third Crescent City book by SJM. This is shaping up to be my favorite sjm series so far.

11.What was your favorite series that you finished this year? I had so much fun with the Age of Darkness series by Katy Rose Pool that I just have to include this one. It's maybe not the best ever, but I really enjoyed it. Also the Broken Earth series by NK Jemison.

12. What is the most surprising series you liked this year? I decided to give the Mistborn Era 2 a try, and I ended up enjoying it. It was a good audiobook to listen to during my drive into work, and I'm glad I read another Sanderson series.

13.What is a series you finally bailed on after holding onto it for a long time? None.

14.What is the series you meant to catch up with or finish this year that you didn't? Possibly the Veronica Speedwell books, but I haven't read one of those in a few years now, so it might just be a dnf 🤷‍♀️

15.What is a series you finished or caught up with this year that you think is greater than the sum of its parts? I reread the Heroes of Olympus series on audio and while there are certain books/scenes I like from the series, I would consider it overall greater than the sum of its parts.

If you're still here and reading, then here are all the series I read this year. This is obviously more for my record keeping than anything else!

The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Not planning on continuing any time soon.

Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. Read books 4-7 on audio. (caught up)

Ninth House (reread) + Hell Bent by Lehigh Bardugo (caught up)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (new series)

The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black (reread on audio)

Kingsbridge books 2 , 3 & 0 by Ken Follett

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black (new series)

A Day of Fallen Night by Samatha Shannon

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (new series)

The Expanse 7, 8 & 9 by James SA Corey (completed series)

Legendborn & Bloodmarked by Tracey Deonn (caught up)

The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordian (reread on audio)

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (series dnf)

The Mimicking of Known Successes Malka Ann Older (dnf on audio)

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri (series dnf)

Age of Darkness trilogy by Katy Rose Pool (completed)

The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang (completed)

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (series dnf)

The Shadow Histories by HG Parry (completed)

The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman (series dnf)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (series dnf?)

Skyhunter & Steelstriker by Marie Lu (complete)

The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemison (complete)

Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab (reread on audio)

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordian

The Fragile Threads of Power by VE Schwab (series start)

Mistborn era 2 by Brandon Sanderson (complete on audio)

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini (inheritance spinoff?) (series start)

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (reread) & All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows (complete or caught up?)

Howl's Moving Castle trilogy by Diana Wynne Jones (partial reread)

Damar by Robin McKinley (complete)

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (reread on BBC radio version)

[fusillisarah]

2023 Reading Roundup (44 books, Predominately Romantasy)

I graduated from university and started my big girl job this year, take a look at what I was reading as I passed these milestones! I read FOURTY FOUR books this year and I’m so proud :)

Vampire Academy Series: Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy, Frost Bite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice

10/10. Comfort books. Love the arc, love the direction. Slow burn mentor/student. Set in modern day. Romantasy.

Dune & Dune: Messiah: Frank Herbert

Dune is a 10/10. Incredibly worldbuilding. Anyone with any interest in sci-fi should read. Messiah went a lot quicker, less complicated and fleshed. 5/10 I didn’t really enjoy it. Maybe I’ll push through one day…

King of Scars Duology: Leigh Bardugo

King of Scars, Rule of Wolves

I love love love Six of Crows, and I didn’t feel like reading Shadow and Bone just yet, so read King of Scars. 7/10 I probably should have read Shadow and Bone but now I probably never will, basically got the gist of it. Didn’t have a lot of background but the story is rly good. Love love love Zoya!!

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series: Sarah J Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses, a Court of Mist and Fury, a Court of Wrath and Ruin, a Court of Frost and Starlight, a Court of Silver Flames

12/10. Perfect down to the last minute detail. Epic fantasy, worldbuilding that had my jaw on the floor. Must read.

Fourth Wing: Rebecca Yarros

9/10 quick and easy read. Loved the dragons in this one. I’m a sucker for Enemies to Lovers so I basically exactly what i signed up for. Little scared for series though… ahh!

From Blood and Ash Series: Jennifer L. Armentrout

From Blood and Ash, Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, Crown of Gilded Bones, a War of Two Queens, a Soul of Ash and Blood

4/10. First 2 books were really interesting, third one actually totally lost me and in the middle of the fourth I ended up reading all of the Cruel Prince books in the middle of it lol. Determined to not have a DNF this year so I came back, finished it, and read the god-forsaken Soul of Ash and Blood. 0/10 I hated every second of that book. It’s a complete retelling with maybe 2 or 3 chapters that are actually interesting. Yes, I know I read all 5. No, I have no technical regrets. Take that as you will.

The Cruel Prince: Holly Black

The Cruel Prince, the Wicked King, the Queen of Nothing

Good, no spice obvi and super popular but I loved Jude’s character and was obsessed with the politics. Super intriguing I blew through these. 8/10

Verity: Colleen Hoover

6/10, read it in like a day and a half but I don’t rly like thrillers, they scare me lol. It was good tho and my first Colleen Hoover book, not sure if I would read another one but I did really like this one and the ending was super crazy. read it as a palate cleanser after Cruel Prince. I’ve realized if I don’t have a non-high fantasy palate cleanser I fall into a reading slump lol.

Once Upon a Broken Heart Series: Stephanie Garber

Once Upon a Broken Heart, The Ballad of Never After, A Curse for True Love

OUABH is 9/10, honestly such a wonderful book, perfectly captures the hopeless romantic of Eva and allure of Jacks, but TBONA is SHOWSTOPPING!!! 12/10. So amazing, love the storyline, never bored, such good romance it’s the most well written romance I’ve read in a while- screeching halt for ACFTL- I’ve put my thoughts on this blog but it felt so empty compared to the lifeblood in the first 2 books in the series. Definitely worth the read though.

Throne of Glass Series: Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash

Nothing to be said that’s not already been said. Amazing. I love sprawling epics. Not a ton of romance and tbh I’m not a Rowan girly. Defending Chaol til I die tho. 10/10

Twilight: Stephanie Meyer

6/10. I’ve written about this one but I just felt like it was super juvenile for my tastes, I was expecting to like it more and it was just kinda eh. Needed a little more something something but that is of course a me problem. I just think I am not a big fan of YA anymore.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: V. E. Schwab

Wonderful story, totally lust for life after reading, made me so excited about the ending. I felt like there was so much more to be told which is like exactly how I wanna feel reading a book. 8/10

Divine Rivals: Rebecca Ross

At first I was not rocking with the pacing, I feel like this book could have been a lot longer. But when I finished it I actually was more on board with the speed and it was super sweet. Good found family aspect. 7/10 will for sure be reading the next one.

Plated Prisoner Series: Raven Kennedy

Gild, Glint, Gleam, Glow, Gold

I love love love LOVE these books! Pacing is amazing, you can see exactly how Auren’s trauma affects her character, Malina has gained a fan, just huge fantastic series here. Cannot wait until the last one is out. 10/10

Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop me a book review for 2024! Happy new year everyone!