#vivianshaw

[raeiolene]

4 October 2022 • Strange Magic ⚰️ • #fms_red #books #read #reading #fantasy #fantasybooks #bookcover #october #octoberphotochallenge #fmspad #fmsphotoaday #photochallenge #photoaday #strangemagic #vivianshaw https://www.instagram.com/p/CjemrV8jsZd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lilspydermunkey]

#NowReading number 40 on my #PopsugarReadingChallenge 2020. #Books #Reading #BookStagram #DreadfulCompany #UnitedBookStagram #VivianShaw https://www.instagram.com/p/B-UoF8-jdj9/?igshid=kgtsw3u9piql

[gaydelgard]

There's good vampire books?

dkfnksdnnsnc

i know, hard to believe

i just read this novella called A Dowry of Blood by @stgibsonofficial and i really enjoyed that. dracula reimagining about dracula being abusive to his polycule skfbksbd ok no but seriously. told from the perspective of one of his “wives” writing letters to him about their time together after shes just killed him. (this ones explicit and lemme just cw for emotional abuse/manipulation and several times the coercion of consent thru those means) edit: REALLY good audiobook on this one. the narrator is excellent

another one i like that i read ages ago is @vivianshaw ‘s Greta Helsing books. theres a delicious mundanity to them thats hard to find in paranormal fiction. Greta is a doctor that specializes in helping the undead. ghouls and mummies and vampires, etc. the practicalities of medicine alongside the supernatural elements is just something so appealing to me, its cozy and lends a realism to the horror movie monsters thats usually lacking. turns the “ooh im an immortal monster im terrible and im obsessed with this mortal woman” on its head sort of in a way i appreciated

ok the one i JUST finished if i tell you the name of it it will be a spoiler, because its not advertised as a vampire book. knowing ahead of time will certainly not ruin the book imo but im giving you fair warning ok? so bail now if u dont wanna know, its called in the ravenous dark by a. m. strickland

that ones about a bloodmage who gets to kiss a ghost AND a princess. theres a really great ace nonbinary character shes rlly close with as well. if you had said “describe the most self indulgent thing for you personally you can come up with” it woulda looked PRETTY CLOSE TO THIS. theres death magic and everything. extremely extremely enjoyable for me. this ones less explicit than the first one but certainly more explicit than the second one, which isnt explicit at all

anyway those are my personal faves anon

[grumpyoldsnake]

Gossy Reads

I have a big pile of books that I’ve been buying but not reading over the past several years of college. My attention span and ability to invest into new original media seemed to absolutely tank these past five years.

But: I’ve finally begun reading again since graduating! And I kind of want to ramble about it.

—

1. Dreadful Company

The first fiction book I’ve finished in forever and a day was Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw ( @vivianshaw ). It’s the second book in the Greta Helsing trilogy. The series itself is highly relevant to my interests, as the main character is a doctor for the supernatural and there’s a strong value placed in friendships and the general well-being of people.

I enjoyed the first book in the series, Strange Practice, a fair amount. I don’t remember much because I read it years ago, but I do know this: the first one had baby ghouls. And chronic illness. And some neat descriptions of a frankly eerie piece of technology. And people being properly tired out by all this adventuring nonsense. And some nebulous quality to the writing that let me finish the whole book in one go even though this was in the middle of my not-reading-original-fiction drought. (I was excited enough by that last bit alone to write a thank-you to the author, hah.)

I liked Dreadful Company more than I liked the first one, though, I think. The overall arc of the second story felt more cohesive to me, the ending more satisfactory, the secondary characters more compelling.

My biggest complaint is that it’s more than a bit unfortunate that the one character most blatantly described as black-featured is also a character who is most relaxed when following someone else’s decisions. >_>;

I’m a bit conflicted; it’s a genuine character trait, heck, it resonates pretty strongly with me and it honestly felt really nice to read a character arc involving it. I enjoyed the character. But... uh. While I’ll admit that I’m not the most involved in the theory of representation and such, my gut feeling is that maybe you don’t give that trait to your one and only black main character. Maybe... maybe include a bit more variety, there, if nothing else.

[reader44ever]

Today's October 22nd task for #bookscoasttocoastoct was to share #monsters! So I present for your consideration the two books I read over the weekend for the #deweyoct #Readathon! 😄😍❤ . . . . Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw DEFINITELY has monsters in it: wellmonsters and a whistle-monster to be exact. They were a LOT of fun, too! And that's not to mention the vampires and werewolf that featured in this story! 😄❤ . . . . And Nevernight by Jay Kristoff features human monsters: contract killers and their foes, the suns god's people, who want to eradicate them. And I imagine some probably consider darkin to be monsters, with their shadow animals and ability to call shadows. 😄❤ . . . . Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff is in this shot because it's my #CurrentRead! And so far, I've met a darkin and slavers, and slavers ARE monsters, don't you agree? 🤔❤ . . . . I'm not very far into it, yet (only on page 33/421 presently), but I'm hoping to read this second Nevernight Chronicle book faster than the first. 😕❤ . . . . #DogsofInstagram #bookstagram #VivianShaw #JayKristoff #books #DreadfulCompany #Nevernight #CurrentlyReading #Godsgrave #series #DrGretaHelsing #NevernightChronicles https://www.instagram.com/p/BpQuo2xHmkA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1x9fwa544ht2h

[specs99]

Reading a new book always calms me. I love roaming around a book shop and picking something by someone I haven't read before...im rarely disappointed #books #book #bookstagram #read #reading #newbook #waterstones #bookshop #strangepractice #drgretahelsing #vivianshaw #reader #writer #author #narrative #fiction #gothic #horror #ghoststory

[booksabound]

If you haven't picked up Strange Practice by @vivianshaw from @orbitbooks, you really should! Dr. Greta Helsing has carried on the family’s medical practice tending to the otherworldly and in this first series installment we meet some of the most wonderful characters. Set in modern day, this book was pure delight (even if it did make me cry at one point). Following along as Dr. Helsing and friends try to solve the mystery behind brutal attacks and murders, I couldn't help but fall in love with them all from humans and vampires to ghouls and mummies. The first chapter of the second installment is included at the end and I cannot wait to read it! . . . . . #amreading #booksabound #fantasy #igreads #igbooks #morningread #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookaholic #book #orbitbooks #sff #genrefiction #monsters #vampire #vivianshaw #strangepractice #bookworm #booklover #bookhangover

[hiridraws]

so yesterday i got my copy of strange practice and absolutely fucking loved it

so here’s a ruthven because i love my new gay sensible vampire dad

@ceruleancynic @vivianshaw

[saltandlimes]

Just finally bought @vivianshaw‘s Strange Practice so if you don’t hear from me, know that the monsters got me.

[screamingatbooks]

@vivianshaw's Strange Practice gets me on a deeply personal level.

[giantsquidkid]

Can’t believe I was lucky enough to win a copy of @vivianshaw‘s new novel, Strange Practice! I’ve been following her fanfic for several years now and had been eagerly waiting to pick up this novel ever since she first announced it. She’s an incredibly talented writer and I seriously can’t wait to get started with this long-awaited work. Thank you so much, CC!

[sunderedstar]

@vivianshaw it's here! it's crisp! it's so new and colorful!

[specspectacle]

@ceruleancynic @vivianshaw

I just got my copy of Strange Practice in the mail, it was such a surprise and I’m really looking forward to reading it! It’s been a real pleasure to follow your work over the years! Thank you for holding the giveaway!

[sourblues]

Aaaaaaa! I won the giveaway! I'm so so excited to read @vivianshaw 's new novel. It looks wonderful

[reader44ever]

#Readathon Update! It's #Hour14 and I am DONE with Nevernight! Also, this post serves as this hour's #ReadingCompanion and, if you turn to Photo Two, #Hour13's #moody share for the #deweyoct #ReadathonHourlyPhoto challenge! 😄😍❤ . . . . I finished Nevernight by Jay Kristoff at 6:45p. Pages Read so far: just 213 (from page 217 through page 429). But these were hardcover pages with lots of text. If the mass market paperback edition of this book has less than 600 pages, I think I'd be very surprised. 🤔😄❤ . . . . Books Completed: just one so far. 😕❤ . . . . Photo Two shares my next read AND it's a book with a moody character! Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw has Sir Francis Varney in it (I hope), and he was moody-depressed in book one, Strange Practice. He had a reason to be happy by the end of book one, but that might make him moodier in book two! 😄😍❤ . And my Reading Companion is shown in both photos! My Max, my buddy, my pal, my love, my puppy-son, my savior, my life, and my service dog! 😍❤😍 . . . . #DogsofInstagram #bookstagram #JayKristoff #VivianShaw #books #Nevernight #DreadfulCompany #series #NevernightChronicles #DrGretaHelsing https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLXao4H-Cz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14q8m1hu1w425

[thewritehag]

my friends are doing a reading round robin, where each of us rereads a favorite book, annotates it (not like homework, but thoughts and observations), then passes it along to the next in line. I chose Strange Practices by @vivianshaw and, if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. It’s got lots of interesting ideas, is funny, and endearing. I love Greta’s relationship with Fastitocalon, and especially the ghouls.

Plus, there are vampires. I mean, c’mon.