anntickwittee

[anntickwittee]

my endpaper illustrations for the Illumicrate editions of Song of the Lioness ✨

one of my favourite childhood series, it was such a dream to work on these!!

[anntickwittee]

[anntickwittee]

[anntickwittee]

May Book Reviews: Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

One of my anticipated new releases for this year. In Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame, biracial Yeva has spent nearly her whole life in service to the cruel empire of Mithrandon, slaying dragons. Until she's suddenly sent as an emissary to the land of Quanbao and its girl-king, where dragons are worshipped...

The plot of this novella has the simplicity of a fairy tale or a parable. There are no surprises here. The setting is drawn in similarly broad strokes--the oppressive empire versus the free land of Quanbao where Yeva slowly learns to live as herself rather than an anonymous masked helm. There were some nice touches--Yeva feeling out of place in both her mother's country and her father's, the complex system she designs to put on armor without using her burned right hand, the little snippets about famous dragons of the past. But overall, this novella felt a little too straightforward for my tastes.

Recommended if you enjoyed The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond.

[anntickwittee]

If you don’t, Rosethorn will hang you in the well!

[anntickwittee]

Tris was watching the clouds form.

[anntickwittee]

The storm lived in her eyes, her hair; it was as easy as breathing.

Tris is my absolute favourite from Circle of Magic. pose ref

[anntickwittee]

Daja Kisubo, from Circle of Magic >w< Based off this design by Minuiko.

[anntickwittee]

All that’s green adores him, for he is their sun.

[anntickwittee]

The Will of Lady Sandrilene fa Toren

[anntickwittee]

[anntickwittee]

DONNA TROY By Chris Samnee, on the covers of Titans (2023)

[anntickwittee]

June Book Reviews: How to Find a Nameless Fae by AJ Lancaster

I received a free copy from Victory Editing Co-op via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date June 26th.

I devoured AJ Lancaster's Stariel series in about a week, so I was happy for a early chance to snap her latest novel up. In How to Find a Nameless Fae, Gisele was bargained away to a fairy as a baby--but he never showed up, and now she's forty. Determined to end her worsening curse, Gisele plots to track down the fairy and threaten him into freeing her...

This fantasy romance had a relentlessly sensible older protagonist with a love for gardening which reminded me strongly of T Kingfisher's fairy tale romances, and a touch of Howl's Moving Castle about the plot. Unsurprisingly, I had a blast with a book that reminded me of two of my favorite authors. It's immensely readable. I started reading at 9 pm at night and finished by 7 am (Regret). Lancaster wields an expert's touch with the romance, which contains an outrageous quantity of pining tempered by Gisele's inherent practicality and prior sexual experience. The endlessly inconvenient curse forces a sort of empathetic emotional connection between the two of them, which is a fun romance trope.

The majority of the plot is set in the fae's house, which has a strong personality of its own, playfully moves rooms around, and in a particularly delightful touch, subscribes to interior design magazines. The nameless fae himself is about the sort of man you'd expect to live in a playful sentient manor with an overgrown garden and a gorgeous yet disorganized library, with the addition of cat ears and a tail. The reason he cursed Gisele is a complex story that the novel takes its time revealing, and he's spent forty years hiding in the manor from an enemy. Ultimately, the plot twists are fairly predictable, but in a way I found satisfying rather than frustrating.

My only complaint is that this book didn't include more graphic scenes of Gisele gardening. A VERY crunchable novel. If you enjoy T Kingfisher's fairy tale romances, run, don't walk, to pick this novel up.

[anntickwittee]

“I don’t know what to do.” [—Luke constantly whenever Serene is gone]

[anntickwittee]

Listening to the first Alanna book by Tamora Pierce and I actually love how often Alanna/Alan is called "a little guy"

Because SHE IS!! JUST A LIL GUY!!!

[anntickwittee]

SCHITT'S CREEK 5.13 "The Hike"

[anntickwittee]