#asmodeus/thuan

[narastories]

saved by a dragon

I wrote a fic for the Dominion of the Fallen series, by the way, in case anyone is interested :)

Fandom: Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Asmodeus/Rong Minh Thanh Thuan Tags: Developing Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Shapeshifting, Kissing, The first time Thuan shifts into dragon shape in front of Asmodeus, Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, Arranged Marriage, some good-natured blasphemy Summary:

Thuan thinks his husband would at least wait until he has recovered to get into trouble. He's wrong.

Read on AO3

This was my Yuletide fic that I have been keeping under wraps. I highly recommend these books btw if you like fallen angels, dragons, and gothic horror magic shenanigans. Just be warned that the murder-husband duo that steals everyone's heart is a development for the later books.

This is also the fandom I received my gifts in this year. Yep, not one, but two, so I totally got spoiled <3

Overall, I'm happy I participated in Yuletide and I'll probably do it next year as well.

[magpiefngrl]

halfway through 2024 book review

June isn't over yet but I'm looking at a couple of very busy weeks so it's unlikely I'll read a gazillion new books or something by end of month. So we do this now!

books I enjoyed so far

Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series, set in a post-apocalyptic Paris with fallen angels and magic and dragons in the Seine. I didn't quite love the three main novels, but I enjoyed how unique the world-building was. However, I REALLY loved the last two novellas about Asmodeus and his husband Thuan, who are a delicious pairing. The novellas are: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances and Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders.

Pacat's Dark Heir, which I enjoyed so much that I went back to reread Dark Rise and then again, Dark Heir. I liked the second novel a lot more than the first (and I actually ended up appreciating the first novel more on my reread). Needless to say, I am very, very impatient about the end of the series.

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. KJC has done it again. The sequel to her Doomsday Books series is fantastic, with a vivid cast, an excellent main pairing, and superb pacing. Couldn't put it down. A great historical m/m romance.

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'd heard a lot about Miles and it was fun seeing him bullshit his way across the galaxy.

The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold. A novella in the Vorkosigan saga. Very touching and emotional and a great character study of Miles. Really loved this.

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino. This dude is seriously amazing at crafting unusual murder mysteries. This one is structured as vignettes of shop-owners in a Tokyo neighbourhood and, as the stories progress, more light is shed on the mystery of a strangled woman.

Faithful Place and The Secret Place by Tana French. Fantastic prose, absorbing murder mysteries that are more like deep character studies as well as an incisive portrait of contemporary Ireland.

The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is pretty grim at times, ngl, but it has a daring structure with lots of POVs, switching between numerous timelines, a frame device, lots of found materials (essays and chapters from fictional books). All that worked for me very well. I love some experimentation with craft. I wouldn't say it was my fave read, but I'm happy that I finally reached the end; completing a series always gives me a dopamine rush so yay

progress on my reading goals

A reminder that my two goals for the year are:

to read (some or all of) the Vorkosigan saga

to read less or no US authors

I'm doing pretty well on those two scores. Read a few installments of the Vorkosigan saga, and (besides Bujold and a poetry anthology by Maggie Smith) have read no other US-based authors. My intention was to diversify my reading and, indeed, so far, I've read French, Japanese, Polish, UK, Australian, Irish, and currently reading a Ukrainian author.

fics I loved

I've not read as many books as I normally do so far, esp in the last couple of months, but I read a lot more fic than recent years. I've read some fab stuff in a variety of fandoms. The fics I'm going to rec below are the longer ones that I read on my ereader:

Tarnished Gold by Prim_the_Amazing (bingqiu/svsss, M, 118k) Inventive premise. Couldn't put it down.

Memory (T, 23k) and Out of the Dead Land (M, 62k), both stucky, both orphaned by one of my top authors ever. The second one gave me the worst fic hangover I had in ages. I had to go and rewatch Captain America.

contrapasso by damagecontrol (jegulus, E, 41k) Very horny. I like that.

Fire Burn and Caldron Bubble by pastapug (jegulus, E, 40k) Lush language, fascinating setting.

Beholden by Faith Wood (faithwood) (drarry, E, 123k) Gave me all the drarry feels.

Shout out to @hoko-onchi-writes's WIP: To Hold You in the Earth's Unholy Din, which I am loving <3

That's all, folks. Here's hoping for more wonderful reads till December!

[aurorawest]

Reading update

I Am Not Your Chosen One by Evelyn Benvie - DNF

Another one of those 'reads like something I would have written as a teenager' books. Definite cozy fantasy undertones to this one. I just don't enjoy the subversion of the Chosen One trope with this kind of winking, genre-aware character. I also don't enjoy when things read like video game walkthroughs.

The Charioteer by Mary Renault - 5/5 stars

I bought this because Cat Sebastian recommended it. I had actually never heard of Mary Renault, nor was I aware this book is a queer classic (FAKE BOOK FAN). But I. Wow. The basic story is a love triangle between our main character, Laurie, who was wounded at Dunkirk and is recovering at a convalescent hospital; Andrew, a conscientious objector and orderly at said hospital; and Ralph, who was a prefect at Laurie's school until he was expelled for being queer. It's so much more than that, though. Very rarely do I read a book that's so gorgeously written. I actually kept thinking as I was reading that I bet Natasha Pulley is a Mary Renault fan, because the prose had that same aching quality.

It's not an easy book to read—there's as much that's unsaid in the dialogue as what's actually said (probably more, actually), so you definitely have to read carefully. And of course it was written in 1953 so blah blah blah problematic something or another. With that out of the way, please, please read this beautiful book.

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard - 3.75/5 stars

I don't think my rating is entirely fair, because I haven't read the main series that this novella is based on, so it was very much getting chucked into the deep end of a world that I didn't understand and wasn't ever explained, because familiarity was assumed. That said, I still enjoyed it. I might eventually pick up the main series just to see how Thuan and Asmodeus got together.

Liar City by Allie Therin - 4.75/5 stars

Honestly, the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was because I wanted more romance. I'm hoping assuming there's going to be another book and that this is a slow burn romance between Reece and Evan. Might flip a table if not.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy - 4/5 stars

Obviously a book called The Ministry of Utmost Happiness written by Arundhati Roy isn't going to be a lighthearted read, and surprise, it wasn't. What was weird, and very am-I-in-the-matrix, is that the day I started reading this, someone referred to the conflict in Kashmir as "their little conflict" (for those keeping score, it was the same lady that said lab created diamonds have no intrinsic value; clearly a real winner of a human being). Then later in the day I started reading this because it had risen to the top of my TBR, and it's...largely about the conflict in Kashmir.

Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly - 4.5/5 stars

Man, I really like Anita Kelly. This is only the second book of theirs I've read but I just really vibe with their style. This was a super quick read. I hadn't read the first book in the series, but that didn't seem to matter at all.

Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C Van Alst Jr. - 3.75/5 stars

This is an anthology of Native horror stories written by Native writers. Some of these stories were REALLY REALLY good, but there was a run of pretty bad ones in the middle that kept me from rating it higher. There was one in particular that was like...did someone owe you a favor because this is straight up awful. But the ones that were good were very creepy and unsettling. There's also one that was less a horror story and more just a horrible story. I didn't think it really belonged in this anthology but I really enjoyed it regardless. Good spooky read.

The Emperor's Bone Palace by Hailey Turner - 4.75/5 stars

The end of this book wrecked me. It's the middle book in a trilogy so I'm hoping for a happy ending in book 3.

The Venetian and the Rum Runner by LA Witt - 4/5 stars

Irish thief meets, works with, and falls for an Italian underboss in Prohibition-era NYC. This was a slooooooow burn and the romance at times almost felt secondary to the rest of the action. But I enjoyed it and felt like the historical stuff was really well done. Plus as an Italian-American I always appreciate reminders that there was a time when Italian immigrants weren't considered white enough (fun fact, I've been subject to more anti-Italian sentiment in my life than homophobic sentiment). If you're looking for a light hearted historical romance this ain't it. I was kind of shocked by the body count, and some of the deaths really got to me.

[gaydragontournament]

ROUND 1: PART 4

Propaganda under cut

Rong Minh Thanh Thuan (aka Thuan)

● Thuan is a dragon (of the sort native to Vietnam) from a dragon kingdom under the Seine River in Paris. As a member of the kingdom's royal family and a shapeshifter (who can fake being human as long as no one is particularly spiritually sensitive), he is sent as a spy to House Hawthorn, one of a number of houses ruled by fallen angels in a post-apocalyptic Paris. Hawthorn has been making overtures to the kingdom, you see, and Thuan's cousin was offered in a political marriage to Asmodeus, head of House Hawthorn. Also, someone is smuggling additive drugs into the kingdom, destabilizing things further, and it's one of the Houses or someone connected to them.

Thuan actually did a decent job of keeping his cover, doing his duty to House Hawthorn as a servant trying to learn full dependent status, and making sure his family knew what was up and what information he could find. Only shit hit the fan, and suddenly Thaun is the best remaining choice of the correct gender for the marriage, and the various crises for both the kingdom and House Hawthorn causes everyone to re-evaluate their plans. Especially Asmodeus, who had planned to use the marriage to screw over his consort to save House Hawthorn, but Thuan actually having been doing good-faith work (within what his prior allegiances allowed) made Asmodeus reconsider this as an actual alliance.

Which, surprisingly worked. It turned out that Thuan being bookish, compassionate and having strong convictions worked with Asmodeus, who was loyal to his people, had good people skills and the capability to be utterly terrifying, forming a functional partnership. They spun out into their own set of novellas (Dragons and Blades) dealing with the politics of the alliance, and cross-cultural factors. The two also seem to develop actual affection (and, even before that, sexual chemistry).

Ventuswill

● Ventuswill is a dragon who tries to hide her less serious side from the townspeople who revere her. As the protagonist is the only one who has seen her more casual demeanor, she becomes rather close to them — and while her dialogue is slightly different depending on selected player gender, either comes off as having a bit of romantic tension.

Also, the art book lists her gender as "???".

[sixth-light]

Yuletide reveals 2020

This year I wrote a Daevabad Trilogy ficlet about Ali and Muntadhir finally talking abour Muntadhir’s relationship with Jamshid. The brief was ‘good things for Ali’ and it’s entirely post-canon coziness and al Qahtani sibling feels. 

My gift was casefic for Thuan and Asmodeus from the Dominion of the Fallen series. I particularly loved the way it thinks about Asmodeus’ relationship with Christianity from the PoV of Thuan, who is from such a different religious tradition.

[winter-wise]

Asmodeus: You had a crush on me? That's embarrassing.

Thuan: We're married.

Asmodeus: Still...

[entazis]

So I finished The House of Binding Thorns and now I need to wait for another book that will ultimately focus on some other House instead of Hawthorne? I’m appalled - says me who hated Hawthorne at the end of The House of Shattered Wings and now I’m in the need of the new Asmodeus, Thuan and Hawthorne material. Not to mention Berith, Françoise and little Camille! 

At least it looks like my favorite disaster bi Dragon Prince and his murder husband are going to be featured in the new book, because it would be really disappointing if this book ended giving as a glimpse of a new power couple, only to leave them behind for a new House. Even thought I expect  that some new and interesting characters wait for us in the third House. 

[dr-dendritic-trees]

How do you have so many villains working peacefully in this AU university?

Well, you see, its simple, the protagonists who also work peacefully in this AU university turn them loose on the True Source of Evil (university administrators) whenever Evil starts kicking off again, so the villainy never has a chance to build up and they can be chill.

The only trouble with Academia AUs is I start checking dates and I realize everyone in this series is a goddamn infant.

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard

Preorder

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Publication Date: June 28, 2022

Synopsis:

From the author of the critically acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen trilogy comes a sparkling new romantic adventure full of kissing, sarcasm and stabbing. It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics and arguing about the proper way to brew tea. But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost and everyone involved. Asmodeus wants revenge for the murder; Thuan would like everyone, including Asmodeus, to stay alive. Chased by bloodthirsty paper charms and struggling to protect their family, Thuan and Asmodeus are going to need all the allies they can—and, as the cracks in their relationship widen, they'll have to face the scariest challenge of all: how to bring together their two vastly different ideas of their future... A heartwarming standalone book set in a world of dark intrigue. A Note on Chronology Spinning off from the Dominion of the Fallen series, which features political intrigue in Gothic devastated Paris, this book stands alone, but chronologically follows Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders. It’s High Gothic meets C-drama in a Vietnamese inspired world—perfect for fans of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's Heaven Official's Blessing, KJ Charles, and Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves.

My Rating: ★★★★★

***My review and favorite quotes below the cut.

My Review:

I loved the previous novella about Thuan and Asmodeus, so when I got the chance to read an early copy of this I jumped at it. This met and exceeded all my expectations. I absolutely ADORED it.

I haven't gotten a chance to read the initial trilogy about Thuan and Asmodeus, though I immediately bought them after reading the first novella. I must remedy that soon. I can't wait to explore the beginning of their relationship because everything about their dynamic here is brilliant.

We have Asmodeus, a very stabby fallen angel with a protective streak a mile wide and at least as much sarcasm and hidden knives. Then we have Thuan, a Vietnamese water dragon who loves books and believes in talking before stabbing (in most instances) but has a tendency to be attracted to stabby people.

Whilst visiting Thuan's family and babysitting a horde of children, they uncover a murder and things get... interesting.

The pacing was excellent (and fast), the writing was gorgeous, the plot kept me guessing, and the emotional struggle between Asmodeus and Thuan was one I might have expected in a longer book. The story and emotional struggle was satisfactorily resolved within the novella but leaves enough that there could be future novellas. And I desperately hope there will be because I am not ready to leave these fascinating characters.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Aliette de Bodard, and JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. for providing an e-arc for review.

Favorite Quotes:

They fell asleep by each other’s side in their common bed, with the silence between them like a drawn sword.

---

They’d been on the ground for five whole minutes and nothing had attacked them yet, which was a great improvement on previous minutes.

----

“We are going to strip naked, and I imagine most of your spirits don’t approve of random exhibitionism.”

---

Thuan contemplated lying to her. It was really, really tempting, but nothing good ever came of lying to children.

----

Adult fun—in this specific case, figuring out what was wrong with a ghost—was really overrated.

---

And if there was anything Asmodeus was good at besides stabbing, it was stepping up when no one did, or when he thought no one did.

----

Words came welling out of Thuan like blood from a wound.

---

Thuan’s grandmother was a force of nature, an utterly scary old woman and a big proponent of killing everyone who stood in her way. She and Asmodeus had hit it off almost immediately.

----

Anything written was like catnip to Thuan, but at the moment even the thought of curling up with very large piles of written materials didn’t spark much joy.

---

Asmodeus put on his gloves slowly and deliberately, a gesture that looked much like a preliminary to drawing multiple knives.

----

“You mean Thuan has a type?” “Thuan absolutely has a type,” Diem Chau said. “I’m right here,” Thuan said. Being teased simultaneously by his husband and his ex had definitely not been on the to-do list for today.

---

Thuan was impressed by her capacity to get tea made in any circumstances.

[booksforthegays]

“Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders” by Aliette de Bodard

Description: Lunar New Year should be a time for familial reunions, ancestor worship, and consumption of an unhealthy amount of candied fruit. But when dragon prince Thuan brings home his brooding and ruthless husband Asmodeus for the New Year, they find not interminable family gatherings, but a corpse outside their quarters. Asmodeus is thrilled by the murder investigation; Thuan, who gets dragged into the political plotting he’d sworn off when he left, is less enthusiastic. It’ll take all of Asmodeus’s skill with knives, and all of Thuan’s diplomacy, to navigate this one—as well as the troubled waters of their own relationship…. A sparkling standalone book set in a world of dark intrigue.

Representation: Thuan is bisexual and Vietnamese. He is in an established relationship with Asmodeus who is gay.

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery Length: 80 TW(s): Implied sexual assault, torture, violence

[rhetoricandlogic]

Liz Bourke Reviews

The House of Sundering Flames

by Aliette de Bodard

November 22, 2019

Liz Bourke

The House of Sundering Flames, Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz 978-1-473-22340-0, £16.99, 550pp, tp) July 2019.

Also on the list of books I can’t recommend highly enough: Aliette de Bodard’s The House of Sundering Flames, the latest – and for now final – novel-length instalment in the series that began with The House of Shattered Wings and continued in The House of Binding Thorns. It’s worth reading the first two books in the series, for not only are they excellent in their own right, they lay the foundations for this capstone volume, which builds on their successes to make something even better than what has come before.

(Yes, I’m a fan.)

The powerful, magical Houses of de Bodard’s decayed, post-apocalyptic Paris are at peace, at least for now. House Silverspires, once in the first rank of the powerful, is much diminished; House Hawthorn is still strong, but its internal dynamics have changed since the dragon prince Thuan staked his claim on a true partnership in leadership of the House with his political-arranged-marriage husband, Asmodeus. Among the Houseless, the Annamite Immortal Philippe has been building himself a place in the community, along with the once-Fallen, now-human Isabelle, whom he brought back to life. (The complicated history is worth reading.)

But the peace of Paris is blown apart when an explosion levels House Harrier, one of the more powerful – and more bigoted – Houses. Emmanu­elle, partner and lover of House Silverspires’ head, Selene, is caught in Harrier’s territory, forced to navigate the disaster and a civil war playing out in the ruins of the House while suffering from a head injury that means she can’t remember what led up to the explosion, and to rely on allies who can’t be expected to have her best interests at heart. Thuan is negotiating challenges to his authority when war comes to his doorstep – for Hawthorn borders Harrier – and trying to establish himself as someone who can protect his dependents while also navigating his sometimes-fraught relationship with his husband. Internal power struggles threaten his ability to rise (alongside Asmodeus) to a threat to the integrity of the House itself. The wards that protect House Hawthorn and link the House heads to their dependents are cannibalising the people that both Thuan and Asmodeus would prefer they protect. If Thuan and Asmodeus can’t find a solu­tion, the House will eat itself.

Emmanuelle just wants to go home. Well, no, that’s not all: Emmanuelle wants to right the world’s wrongs, but, failing that, she wants to survive them and get home to Selene.

Philippe has been visited by an Immortal emis­sary from Annam. This emissary beseeches his help, because the Immortal court back home is essentially under siege from colonising Fallen. She wants Philippe to help her find a power – a warrior – kidnapped from Annam decades ago and brought to Paris to be a pawn in the struggles of the Fallen, an experiment or a tool. Dân Chay has suffered greatly, however, and in his freedom may not be inclined to help anyone when instead he could be burning the world to ash. And Philippe finds his capacities challenged, for the Houseless, too, are threatened by the power now burning through Paris, and Philippe’s best may not be enough to protect them.

This is a story about families and consequences, about power and what you make of it – the power to dominate and destroy set against the power to pro­tect and liberate. Emmanuelle, Thuan, and Philippe all in their different ways want to protect people, and to build a kinder, more forgiving world – a better one. If they can’t achieve that, they at least want to protect the people they care about from the worst of the cruelties of the world as it exists. But they’re faced with some pretty terrible choices, and the consequences of legacies of cruelty and domination – and Paris is burning around them.

De Bodard’s prose is precise and elegant, and her characters are compelling and fascinating, even – especially – when they’re making terrible compromises and impossible choices. They’re very human – even the immortal and the dragon prince. Events mount with increasing tension, histories hinted at with terrible implication, until the revela­tions and resolutions of the climax. This is a clever book, and a nuanced one, and to me it feels like a tour-de-force of storytelling. I deeply enjoyed it, and I recommend it highly.

[narastories]

I have finished reading the Dominion of the Fallen series with the two shorter ones about Thuan and Asmodeus, and even though in terms of execution I have some criticism towards this book series (the lack of foreshadowing mainly for something that is supposed to be a murder mystery at its core...) but there were still plenty of things I loved.

The character design for one. Esp Asmodeus, of course, I mean he is your run-of-the-mill sadistic bastard that I can't get enough of anyway but he's covered in motifs of life, and plants and (re)birth. That contrast is just so delicious to me. This is the exact reason why I lost my shit when it practically got confirmed that Nicodemus was a plant guy...

The other thing is this theme that comes up a handful times. The idea that you can be tender and compassionate towards someone who scares the living shit out of you. Yeah, it's the wider concept of loving monsters. But it's specifically two very platonic relationships that higlighted it for me, one was Madeline with Asmodeus ofc and the other was Thuan with Lan.

That is pure catnip for me...

[magpiefngrl]

mid-year book tag

Thanks for tagging me, @bloody-wonder! It's become a fun tradition to do this every year and I've been eagerly anticipating it :)

This hasn't been as prolific a year for me as the last several years have been. I've read 34 books by end of June, so about 10-20 less than I used to, and a lot of these have been rereads. The past couple of months have been super busy and I read a lot of fic, but struggled to finish novels. Fingers crossed for a better reading summer.

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2024?  I haven't read a book that blew me away so far. I've mentioned some of my faves here. I did enjoy most of my reads this year, but there isn't one book that stands out. (a fic, does, though. More on that later)

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2024? Dark Heir by Pacat. I was very invested, went back to read it again a week later, and it's made me very excited about the last novel.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To? The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo is definitely on my list (this will wait for 2025). There's also a new fantasy novel called Foul Days by a Bulgarian author that I'm curious about. Finally, Rebecca Roanhorse's Mirrored Heavens comes out soon but I still haven't read the second one in the series, so it'll also have to wait.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2024? Like you, KJ Charles's The Duke at Hazard is the one I'm most eagerly waiting.

5. Biggest Disappointment? I've been reading The Master and Margarita for two months now, forcibly stopping myself from DNFing it these days, because I don't actually hate it, it's just I can't bring myself to read it. But I also want to have read it, to be done with it. Idk why I'm struggling so much. Perhaps I'm not in the mood for it and would appreciate it at a later date. Based on the title and the positive reviews, I expected something more fascinating.

6. Biggest Surprise? The above, I guess.

7. Favourite New Author? Somehow, the only new authors I've read this year are Aliette de Bodard and Lois McMaster Bujold, and Bujold is the better one of the two. (The rest of the authors were people I've read before and I knew what their writing was like.)

8. Newest Favourite Character? Miles Vorkosigan, for his cleverness and his ability to always get in trouble and then to get creatively out of it.

9. Newest Fictional Crush? Not quite a crush, but my latest obsession is Bucky Barnes, entirely because of the fic I mentioned above (Out of the Dead Land, orphaned) which gave me the worst fic hangover. It's a stucky fic, a ship that never interested me, and it gave me feral feels about Bucky; it made me go back and rewatch a few Marvel films (and I had to torrent them since I'd ended my disney subscription; in other words, I had to go to some trouble); and it was a fic I kept thinking for days after I finished it. I'm actively stopping myself from rewatching Winter Soldier again today. And yes, not a book character, but the obsession is based on a fic and he's fictional so I say he counts :)

💕Best Ship💕 I loved Asmodeus and Thuan in de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series. Asmodeus is a Fallen Angel who likes stabbing and torture, Thuan is a dragon prince who tries to temper down his stabby husband. Will and James from Dark Rise are also a ship I enjoyed, though I'm more interested in their past selves.

10. Book That Made You Cry? There hasn't been one this year so far. And I cry easily, and I consider books that make me cry Superior. This tells you how mid the year has been.

12. Favourite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year? I really liked Dune II but haven't read the book yet so don't know if it was a good adaptation. It was definitely a great film.

13. Favourite Review You’ve Written This Year? Have written a couple of longer reviews on GR but nothing that stands out as more creative or unique. I've been thinking about posting reviews on my website and I'd like to figure out a unique or unusual or at least a me way to do them.

14. Most Beautiful Cover? I read almost exclusively on my Kobo and pay scant attention to covers.

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year? Many!

The Master and Margarita! hahah sobs :((

Finish a Lymond reread

reread tgcf now that I got all the novels

Harrow the Ninth

Some more Vorkosigan novels

Vita Nostra, which I've just begun

a couple of novels I bought YEARS ago and still haven't finished

and if I can read at least one of my 60-odd unread physical books I'll consider it a triumph

Tagging anyone who wants to do this! Perhaps @skeptiquex @hoko-onchi-writes @wolfpants @lettersbyelise and @gracerene might want to get the ball rolling?

2022 mid year post

2023 mid year post

[meowmageddon]

My Best Reads of 2022!

I've only got one book I know I may finish before the 1st, and it's not going to make this list, alas. So now's the time!

These are the best books I read in 2022, based on enjoyment and memorability for me. They are not necessarily 2022 releases, though most of them happen to be, this year.

It's gonna be a Long Post. Read on for the list!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The two honorable mentions I have this year were disqualified from the main list because they were actually rereads of books that are already favorites! Keeps it fair, you see.

• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (2017) - Conclusion of the Broken Earth trilogy. Still fantastic, of course.

• The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (2015) - Beginning of the Dandelion Dynasty series. "Silkpunk" epic fantasy heavily influenced by the evens surrounding China's first emperor etc.

THE TOP 7 READS OF THE YEAR:

I'll have read 28 or 29 books this year, which is about half of last year's 53 (it's okay, it was a rough year tbh). So this list naturally ended up about half as long as last year's Top 12. Since I don't need the anxiety of conforming to specific numbers, I pick an organic amount I feel strongly about.

"Rank" 7 through 4 are not in any particular order, and are general favorites. The top 3 are very close, and their final ranking is almost negligible in difference. They were the real standouts!

7: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (2020) - First of (currently) three novellas about the cleric Chih and their birb companion Almost Brilliant. They visit the palace of the late, once-exiled empress and hear some vignettes about her from Rabbit, who had been her servant and companion.

6: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard (2022) - Second of (currently) two novellas in Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen world, which features dragon prince Thuan and his Fallen angel husband, Asmodeus. They visit Thuan's family at the dragon kingdom beneath the Seine and encounter a ghost and a murdered corpse. Loved the action, murder mystery, and Thuan's adorable nieces!

5: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey (2022) - This was a polarizing horror/thriller about the daughter of a serial killer and her complicated relationship with her mother and home. Gross and engrossing, and I personally fall in the "Loved It" camp. I've grown very fond of "unlikeable" heroines.

4: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (2022) - I still have to review this, even though I technically finished it months ago (I mentioned it was a rough year). But this was an intense and messy (in non-aggravating ways) romance from one of my favorite authors. Note: Emezi had two other books release this year. Both were also very good, but this was my favorite of the three.

3: Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (2022) - Interconnected stories about the same narrator from throughout his life, as he grows up on the Penobscot Rez and deals with different forms of sickness and healing. The characters and their relationships felt so real, I grew super attached to them. Still think about it a lot.

2: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021) - A story of giant mechs battling aliens featuring altered versions of historical Chinese figures, an absolutely unhinged main character (Wu Zetian), and the best possible type of love triangle. Despite my disinterest in mechs (and standard love triangles), I found this to be fantastic and fun.

1: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (2022) - YA Queer contemporary romance... yet it didn't annoy me?? I loved Yamilet, her humor, all her relationships--not just the romance. But the romance was also fun and sweet! I wish teen me had been able to read this.

Anyways, I didn't really think about it until putting the list together, but nonbinary authors really cleaned up this year! At least four of the authors on this list! That's in no small part because I often read along with Enby Book Club, highly recommend.

It was a great reading year. Though 2023 is going to be super busy for me, I'm hoping what I do manage to read will be just as good!

[horsearmz]

WHICH of you was posting about Asmodeus and Thuan from the Aliette de Bodard book bc I know I saw someone doing that but idr who it was

[sahibookworm]

ARC Review: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard

It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics and arguing about the proper way to brew tea.But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost…