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[kittymaine]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: ダンジョン飯 | Dungeon Meshi | Delicious in Dungeon Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chilchuck Tims & Marcille Donato Characters: Chilchuck Tims, Marcille Donato, Izutsumi (Dungeon Meshi), Senshi (Dungeon Meshi), Laios Touden Additional Tags: chilchuck tims' family, Nightmares, Accidental Bonding, Sharing a Bed Summary:

Chilchuck Tims is not a good person. This is a simple fact of life. An untenable truth. An undeniable reality of the universe. Except this lot that he’s managed to get caught up with are trying to convince him otherwise. (Everything reminds Chilchuck of something else.)

[kittymaine]

Hey everyone, please consider buying the 2024 itch.io Palestinian Relief Bundle- it's 373 games, game-making assets, tabletop roleplaying games, zines, and comics for a minimum of just 8 USD! They have a goal of 100,000 USD, and as of the time I'm writing this post, they have 8 more days to reach it.

Link will be in the reblog!

[kittymaine]

Fiorenzo by Sebastian Nothwell

I finished Fiorenzo the latest novel from Sebastian Nothwell over the weekend.

Fiorenzo is set in a low magic historic version of Venice and switches points of view between the two protagonists: Fiore, the beautiful sex worker and Enzo, his mysterious masked lover. They are drawn to each other as soon as they see one another, but they're both carrying around a boatload of secrets and baggage. They must struggle to overcome murder plots, duels of honor, and an unfortunate bout of appendicitis if they're ever going to be together.

It's been such a long time since I read a straight-up romance without any other genres taking up the foreground, that I sort of forgot how pleasant they can be. Especially when both the main characters are likeable, and you're really rooting for them to get together. I also enjoyed that, while there are a few misunderstandings in this story, none of them are especially drawn out or frustrating. That's probably one of my biggest pet peeves in romance novels.

My one big complaint about this book would be that it suffers from this weird trick of the plot. After a certain point, the plot sort of lurches from sick bed to sick bed. The formula that sets in after the first act is completed seems to be: something exciting happens, someone gets hurt, let's all remember how low fantasy this book is oh yeah real low, okay now our characters are going to sit in a room for fifty pages until one of them physically recovers, rinse repeat. This definitely isn't the worst formula I've ever read, but I do think that it's overused. I wonder if there was some kind of point the author was trying to make or if maybe they were just trying really hard to be realistic with the amount of danger the characters were in? I'm honestly not sure.

Otherwise, I thought the setting was fascinating and the cast of characters around our main characters were also really intriguing. It reads like a much older book, but with much more modern sensibilities. It goes a little bit into the history of castratos in opera, it uses an alternate history setting where women and homosexual relationships are not stigmatized, and has little hints of fantasy creatures tossed in here and there. One of the main characters is also a hermaphrodite (I use that word as the closest one that fits their anatomy, since they don't really fit into intersex), probably the most concrete 'fantasy' part of this romance fantasy.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes classics like Jane Austen or Count of Monte Cristo, but would like a much gayer, spicier version of those books.

[kittymaine]

Hi! I love Life Down on the Farm, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read it. Especially with the new stardew valley update the whole dropping city life and retiring just feels so cozy and healing. (I can’t remember the title but I read a good jayroy fix recently where Tim shows jason stardew valley and jason decided to go buy his own farm lol).

I’m just obsessed with Jason being vindicated about how shitty Bruce is by finding Tim retired but then also realizing that he wasn’t innocent in the whole mess. But also the end of Two Weeks Notice when Alfred admits that he was guilty in isolating Jason from the family after he came back but apologizing for it and owning up to the mistake and encouraging Jason to do the same for Tim in his own way. Gah it’s amazing, I really hope you do decide to continue the series someday, I can’t stop thinking about what wrapping it up would look like. Obvs there’s Jason going to meet Tim and actually talking to him but I love the idea of it turning into more people visiting Tim gradually and making up for how they treated him but not just bc they hurt him, bc he’s made an environment where they can heal and there’s character development through that that begins to heal the relationships. Also I can’t imagine a world where Damian finds out Tim has squired and farm and doesn’t show up one day in the middle of the night with a blind llama or an actually magical reindeer or something. Anyways, I hope you’re doing well and even if Life Down on the Farm has run it’s course you’ve built such a beautiful world that’s very entertaining to continue picturing.

Thank you so much for this lovely message! I'm really glad you liked the Life Down on the Farm series. Y'know it's funny I got a little burst of comments on that series and some of my other stuff and I was wondering if it was because of the 1.6 update, but I thought it was more likely I just got recced somewhere.

Anyway! I do have plans to continue that series! I have a lot of thoughts about Tim and Jason and how effective they could be if they decided to work together. And I'd love to bring in a more extended cast of DC heroes to make it even more chaotic! But I've been focusing on an original story lately. Hopefully I can get that wrapped up soon so I can finish this and so some rewrites on my mothman fic. Haha, it's a lot but it's a lot of fun.

[kittymaine]

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I read Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir last week, the sequel to Gideon the Ninth and second in the Locked Tomb series. I read Gideon the Ninth last year and, like Bookshops & Bonedust, finally scrounged around and found a used copy of the sequel so that I could continue with the series.

And, holy shit, this book CONSUMED every bit of brain space I had to spare. I started this book as a way to tell myself, "Come on, stop reading ebooks. Read a physical book, okay? You liked the first one!" I was hoping it would hook me enough to keep me from picking up my ereader. Boy, did it ever.

This book is so incredibly different from the first book. It's also almost impossible to talk about the second book without spoiling the ending of the first book, so I'm going to put the rest of my review under the cut.

This book follows Harrowhark, picking up immediately from the conclusion of the first book. She is mentally devastated from losing Gideon in the way she did, haunting the med bay of God's spaceship like a vengeful ghost. She's hallucinating constantly, hearing thing that aren't there, feeling sensations that aren't real, and especially seeing Gideon or some sort of shade of her haunting her steps. Despite all this, God needs her to step into her role as a Lyctor and start learning how to support him. Because all this time, God has been fighting a secret battle of his own. He needs more Lyctors to help him, which is why he put out the call to all the nine houses in the first place. Now, Harrow needs to struggle against not just her own fractured mind and failing body, but against her fellow Lyctors and their web of cruel lies and assassination attempts.

This book is so dark, guys. But, it's also so much fun. This is the kind of book that makes you constantly question what is real and what isn't. Harrowhark is an unreliable narrator in such an amazing way. While we, the reader, may question whether what she's seeing and hearing is real, so is she! You're on the journey of the mystery with her, but you have the context of the first book to work from, while she does not. It has a small cast, but they feel very dense. The other Lyctors have been alive for 10,000 years, and they all have these laundry lists of problems with each other, while also having a sort of fatalistic affection for one another. Even though the cast and setting are relatively small, it has a similar theme of distrust weaved together with a desperation for survival.

I would recommend that if you're squeamish to look up a list of trigger warnings for this one, especially if you're sensitive to blood and gore or mind games. Or, feel free to ask me and I can put one together. But, if that stuff sounds more enticing than off-putting, I think you should definitely dive into this one. It won't make sense without reading the first book, but I thought it was such a great sequel. I immediately bought the third book, so I'll be reading Nona the Ninth soon. I'm looking forward to it!

[kittymaine]

The Dark Star That Shines For You by NISIOISIN

Because I am a dumbass with no impulse control, I bought the Kodansha bundle on Humble Bundle. I was immediately filled with regret, because I don't think I've ever enjoyed a light novel in my life, but hey now I have about a hundred of them. To the great misfortune of myself and you all, I guess I've got to read them.

So, I started with, The Dark Star That Shines For You by NISIOISIN. This is the first in a series called Pretty Boy Detective Club, which so far has three books.

Within Yubiwa Middle School, there is a rumor of a secret club called the Pretty Boy Detective Club. Nobody knows who belongs to the club or exactly what they do, but the rumors say they're nothing but trouble. Our protagonist is Mayumi Dojima, a second year student at Yubiwa, who has been looking for a star that she saw while on vacation since she was four years old. She has promised her parents that she will stop looking once she turns fourteen, and it is the last night before her birthday when she'll have to give up her dream. As she stands on the roof of her school at night, gazing forlornly at the sky, a plucky and mysterious young boy approaches her and offers her the help of the Pretty Boy Detective Club to find her star before her time is up.

I really feel like I shouldn't be 'reviewing' (for a given value of reviewing) this book, because it was so incredibly not for me. A lot of the things I didn't like about it, I am aware are things that are kind of the whole point of light novels, so I'm going to try and keep my criticisms to things that I think some light novels haven shown they can do well.

My primary complaint would be that I found the protagonist very bland. She's meant to be a sort of Watson-type character, one who in later books I suspect will only contribute sparingly and will instead mostly be used as a device for the audience to view the story from. But, because this initial story revolves around her, I think the overall story suffered. She takes very little or no action most of the time, she has only one notable trait that sets her apart from everyone else, and most of her dialogue is her setting herself up so the other characters can either make fun of her or explain something. It doesn't help that she spends the entire story telling us, the reader, that both she and the detective boys are awful people, until the third act when she changes her tune.

Some more minor complaints would be that none of the kids act like kids. I'm sure some of that is sort of the point, seeing as all the boys meant to be secret geniuses, but they're also supposed to be between 12–15 years old, so I guess I expected them to be a little more earnest or self-involved or something. But they all, protagonist included, walk and talk like adults for the most part, including having really deep discussions about what it means to have a dream, what is the real meaning of beauty, etc. Another minor complaint would be that a lot of the dialogue is jokes and none of the jokes landed for me, though maybe that cultural.

Positives! I actually really did like the cast of boy detectives, and I honestly wanted to know more about them. Even though I would say I had a pretty lackluster experience with this book, I am considering reading the next one just to see if they reveal more about the rest of the characters and their backstories. We just got little tiny hints at what their backgrounds are like, and I am thirsty to learn more. Plus, this book was so tiny, like 250 pages and maybe not even that. I feel like I can get through at least one more book to see if I get some character backgrounds.

Anyway, uh... If you like light novels, please don't listen to me. I'm sure you know what you like anyway. If you don't like light novels, this one didn't really convert me, so I can't in good faith recommend it. Maybe I'll find one in this bundle that I do like, though! Stay tuned for more news from the front.

[kittymaine]

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

I finished Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree last week. This is the prequel to the author's debut novel, Legends & Lattes, a book I read last year and absolutely loved.

This book follows the protagonist of Legends & Lattes, Viv, in her youth before she ever held any inclination of opening a coffee shop. She's injured on her first serious outing with a famous adventuring party and left behind in a sleepy seaside town to recover and hope that her adventuring party doesn't forget to turn around and pick her up on the way back. While recovering, Viv happens to stumble on a shabby rundown bookstore on the boardwalk and ends up with a great book recommendation, despite not really being someone who thought they could enjoy reading. She begins hanging around the bookstore to while away her days. She should focus on recovering, but something sinister is going on in town, something she can't quite bring herself to ignore...

I don't think I enjoyed this book quite as much as the first one, but it was still a really solid book. There's an ephemeral feeling to the whole story, because you know that Viv isn't going to give up a life of adventuring to stay with her new friends. Legends & Lattes exists, so you know that Murk isn't where she ultimately is going to settle down. And the book is super self-aware of this. There's a really sweet bit at the end where they talk about how, sometimes, you meet people, and you know that you're only looking at them through a window and neither you nor they are ever going to step through that window to enter each other's lives. But, you should still let yourself look, let yourself meet people where they are and let them leave if that's what right for them. It lends a sort of sad, melancholy air to the whole book, which makes it feel a little sadder and quieter than the first one.

Still, I think if you liked the first book, you should give this one a try. This book is also very readable if you haven't read the first book, so I think if you find the premise interesting, you should just give it a try. And, if you're into cozy fantasies or low stakes fantasies, you should definitely give it a try!

[kittymaine]

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Animated) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jokester vs. Batman, Jokester vs. Joker, Jokester & Robin, Batman & Jokester Characters: Jokester, Batman, Robin (DCU), Dick Grayson, Joker (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth Additional Tags: Earth-3, Mirror Universe, Mirror Universe Crossover, Humor, Mistaken Identity, Heroes, Arch-Nemesis, Improvised weapons, Misunderstandings, Explosions, Child Briefly In Danger, Snark, Team Up, Batmobile, Clowns, Defenestration solves all problems, Dynamic Duo, Optimism, Class Issues, getting shot is not good, the Batcave was decorated by a hyperorganized eight-year-old wasn't it?, Christmas Presents, The Buttlemeister, scentless baby penguin, irrepressible urge to quote Victor Hugo Series: Part 1 of Sideshows Triumphant Summary:

The Jokester has gotten used to his face not being the most reassuring sight in the world, what with the scars, but everyone he meets all of a sudden acting like they think he's some kind of puppy-kicking monster, that's...new.

It's almost a relief when Owlman shows up. The black outfit is also new, but at least here's someone who's supposed to hate him.

[kittymaine]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Batman (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dick Grayson/Wally West, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Wally West, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Mary Grayson, Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Unconventional Soulmates, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Humor, Fluff and Humor, at least that's what it was supposed to be, then i added in some, Angst, Light Angst, and also a side of, Feels, Pining, Mutual Pining, just a forewarning, all the characters' characterizations are silver age, bruce especially, Silver Age, because they were emoTIONALLY OPEN BACK THEN, AND I WANNA BRING THAT BACK, Dick Grayson is Robin, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Romani Dick Grayson, Dialogue Heavy, not plot as in "plot", but plenty of emotional plot, A Loving Tribute To Dick Grayson's Ass, (and also hella angst about his individual personality and relationships and stuff), (but you don't wanna hear about that do you?), Dick Grayson-centric Summary:

Talking over Bruce's attempts to desperately stop the unwanted laughter, Dick said, "I don't really understand what my soulmark means. It doesn't have any hints about their identity, so I just memorized the words instead."

Bruce fought for control and took a deep, sobering breath. “Whoever your soulmate is, I can’t decide whether I hate them already or need you to meet them.”

“Need me to meet them?”

Bruce chuckled—he chuckled—and said, “Dick. I have a feeling the two of you are going to be a particularly troublesome pair of best friends.”

[kittymaine]

All Hail the Underdogs

Last of my read an e-book week haul was All Hail the Underdogs by E. L. Massey. This is the third book in the Breakaway series, but you don't have to read the other books to read this one (I sure didn't). It is a gay hockey romance book following two eighteen-year-olds who end up on the same team during their senior year of high school and the story of how they get together.

Patrick Roman enters a private boarding school on a full scholarship in his senior year with a chip on his shoulder. He's lived in poverty all his life and doesn't trust any of the children of the 1% who attend the school. Damien has been at the boarding school for a while, but he's also one of the few black kids there, singled out despite having grown up in upper crust society. As soon as they meet, they rub each other the wrong way, and it takes time before they realize they have more in common than they initially thought.

Unfortunately, I was not super into this book. Or, I should say, I was really into for the first half. But, around the halfway point of the book, there's a big surprise twist that takes the story in a different direction that I didn't really like. I don't want to spoil the twist, since it is legitimately surprising, but it just wasn't for me. From a writing perspective, it also felt like the halfway point is about the point in the book where some of the narrative drive sort of drains out of the story. The mid-point, Christmas break, feels like it should be the climax of the story. In my opinion, the biggest emotional punches of the book are there. All the stuff that happens afterward feels like it should be its own separate story, or maybe even just tossed into an epilogue or something.

All that to say, this is certainly not a bad book by any stretch. I think it just didn't work for me.

If you like enemies to lovers, cozy romances, opposites attract, or marriage/adoption stories, this might be the book for you! It was very sweet, all the characters are kind and well-meaning, and nobody is the bad guy even if they misunderstand each other sometimes.

[kittymaine]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Young Justice - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dick Grayson/Wally West, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Garfield Logan & Wally West, Bart Allen & Wally West, Background Barry Allen/Iris West Characters: Wally West, Dick Grayson, Garfield Logan, Bart Allen, Barry Allen, Iris West Additional Tags: Cannibalism, Blood and Injury, Kidnapping, Starvation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Rudolph West is a Bad Parent, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Dehumanization, Wally West is Alive, Hurt Wally West, Minor Memory Loss, Wally Gets To Bite Someone, Romani Dick Grayson Summary:

“You don’t eat bacon because tiger-brain thinks people are meat,” Wally says, just to make sure he’s on the right track.

  “You say that like people aren’t made of meat.”

  “It’s- we’re people,” Wally says, his mouth running without consulting his brain.  “Isn’t that different?”

  The look Gar gives him is half frustration and half pity.

  “Wally, the biggest difference between pigs and people is opposable thumbs,” he says.

Wally has a couple brushes with cannibalism over the years. It's probably fine.

[kittymaine]

His Sacred Incantations

I absolutely devoured His Sacred Incantations by Scarlett Gale, the second book in The Warrior's Guild duology. Since this is the second book and I don't want to spoil the first book or the ending of this book for people who haven't read them, I'm going to put my recommendations at the top and then put my squealing under the read more break.

This is a romance story with a role reversal, meaning the male character using the stereotypes that usually apply to the heroine, while the female character takes the stereotypes of the hero. It's set in a high fantasy setting with magic, but no fantasy races. It has a great adventure story involving an abandoned magical city and a necromancer. This book also deals with religious guilt, Dom/sub relationships, and embracing yourself for who you are and finding your people. If any of these things interest you, I highly recommend this series! It's an amazing read.

Okay now onto the squealing.

So the first book, His Secret Illuminations, ends with our protagonist Lucian finally confessing to Glory (the main love interest) that he loves her back! And they have a really steamy love scene that ends with one final warning nightmare to tease that the grimoire is still looming on the horizon.

When we pick up the second book, Lucian and Glory are in an established relationship, but Lucian finds that he still feels unfulfilled in some way. They're having great sex all the time, but he finds himself wanting Glory to be rougher with him, to play a sort of role that he feels uncomfortable asking her to play. He keeps trying to remind himself that he should be happy with what he has and not ask for more.

While all this is going on, they travel to Granite Falls, where the next two books they're searching for are located. They've also been asked to investigate reports of monsters attacking people from the city. Once there, it becomes obvious that the monster attacks are even more serious than anyone feared. But, luckily, Lucian and Glory don't have to figure things out alone. Our Lady of Love and Service, a convent, is also located in Granite Falls and there Lucian learns a lot more about where his magic comes from and what it can do with the help of some badass nuns.

Before long, a team of intrepid heroes have to head into the northern mountains to track down the final book and whoever is using it to cast dark magic that menaces the land.

This book was so so SO satisfying. The build up was done so well, the climax was so tense, and the conclusion was so incredibly sweet and happy. I loved loved LOVED this series so much. I know that I'm definitely going to be coming back to this one for rereads a lot. Much recommended.

[kittymaine]

His Secret Illuminations

I read His Secret Illuminations by Scarlett Gale. This was the first of my random pick-ups from all the sales that went on during read an e-book week. I knew nothing about this book or this author, but the summary sounded fascinating and up my alley, so I wanted to give it a try. I'm very happy to say that I was super pleased with it.

So this is the first book in a duology following the protagonist Lucian, a monk that's spent most of his life living in a monastery secluded from the rest of the world. He and his brothers take vows of poverty and chastity and work day in and day out brewing magical potions, copying books by hand and occasionally healing sick nobles who can afford their treatment. When he was taken in by the monastery at the age of two, he was taken in under an indenture contract, which means that the monastery owns him until he can pay off what he owes the monastery for raising him, something he's unlikely to do since he doesn't get paid or only gets paid very little for all the work he does.

He never saw a woman in all his twenty-three years living at the monastery until this big, beautiful Norse beefcake called The She-Wolf started showing up to take jobs from the Abbot. Listen, she is ripped, she's tall as hell, she's got tattoos, wears armor, dual wields swords, and oh yeah she's kind. I'm literally over here mad that she's not a real person that I can pant over and Lucian definitely feels the same way. He spends years thirsting over this big beautiful tall drink of water, but all the brothers are strictly forbidden from speaking to her. But, it's okay because she notices him anyway and buys his indenture contract from the Abbot so that he can go on adventures with her as her pet mage.

What follows is a really great adventure/love story with the two of them working together to track down a number of books (many of which Lucian made himself) that the She Wolf was hired to recover. Adventures which completely reshape Lucian's world view as well as lead him into danger.

Like I said up top, I really loved this book. As soon as I finished the first one, I bought the second one. Like, I was hooked bad. But okay, I want to give more info on stuff other than plot.

Firstly, I would warn that this is a full size novel (~145k words / ~325 pages) compared to all the other shorter stuff I've been reading the past week. And, I would definitely consider this first one to be a slow burn. It does have a happy for now ending at the end of this first novel, so it does pay off! But you have to work for it. It's also role reversal, which is probably obvious from the description. Lucian takes a lot of the stereotypically female roles in a fantasy story (mage, small, weak, naive, etc) while She-Wolf takes the stereotypically male roles (big and strong, worldly, warrior, a hero, etc.). The setting is like any Dungeons and Dragons campaign, minus all the fantasy races. Magic is real, but it's something most people don't come into contact with much. Being a warrior is a legitimate career path, and the warriors guild features heavily in the setting. There's not a lot of technology and while science exists that knowledge is largely hoarded by universities and religious sects. The world they live in is also inclusive and interesting, with different races and gender expressions all throughout the extensive supporting cast. Lucian is implied to be Latino, though that doesn't get expanded on a lot until the second book. Also, also, also, there are definite Dom/sub overtones in this book. Lucian is trying to deal with a lot of new desires and emotions, and it's all covered with a fine film of religious guilt and fear. So, if that's a turn-off, beware of that.

Otherwise, I thought this was a really engaging and sweet love story. I feel like I'll be thinking about these two for a long time. Much recommended if you're looking for something new to try!

[kittymaine]

Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts

Alright so I started another series from Lyn Gala, Claimings, Tails and Other Alien Artifacts. I really loved her other series, Gods of Misfortune and Earth Husbands, and decided this was the next one to start.

And, listen. Okay. I had to look at this cover every time I locked my ereader, and it fucking haunts me. I WISH THIS BOOK HAD ANY OTHER COVER! But I'm also a grown ass adult and I understand that there are lots of reasons to make a cover a certain way, little of which has much to do with what's in the actual book. Please don't let the faceless purple dude bod put you off. Because, this was a very good and steamy sci-fi romance!

It follows Liam, a guy with a painful past who turned to the military out of desperation to escape a bad situation. At the beginning of the book, he has finally gotten a nice boring posting on an alien world as a linguist and trader. There is only one human base on the planet belonging to the Rownt people, a race of aliens that humans consider to be simple and emotionless, but who have valuable ore that humanity badly wants. However, to get it, humans have to trade with the aliens on a one to one basis. The Rownt society is very focused on their barter based economy, their own self-worth and societal standing often determined by how good they are at trading.

Liam is determined to succeed at this posting so he doesn't get sent back to the front lines of humanity's civil war. So when he finally seems to get a good deal out of one of the tall purple aliens, he follows the man and stumbles through trying to talk to him and learn more about the Rownt and what they like to trade for while also providing information on what humans want as well to make the exchange of information fair.

A lot of this book has to do with translation and the difficulties of communicating when two cultures are so different. Earth Husbands had similar themes, so I was really pleased to see them here! The author is really gifted at making the aliens in their books feel really alien, while also communicating clearly their point of view. It's interesting to read about the things that Liam tries to communicate carefully, but then later see things from Ondry's (alien love interest) point of view.

This book also deals a lot with being submissive in a relationship. Liam knows that he's submissive and what he likes from a partner, but he's had so many absolutely bad, awful partners in his past that he no longer trusts his own instincts. Despite his feelings for Ondry, he can't bring himself to act on them anymore. Unbeknownst to him, the Rownt have a special place in their society for people who are submissive. It's extremely rare and treasured for a Rownt to be submissive. Ondry has suspected that Liam is also submissive for a long time, but most Rownt don't think that humans are capable of it.

And, I don't think I can talk too much more about what happens because I don't want to spoil the main thrust of the story. It's really emotional and has a sweet hopeful ending, and I'm really excited to read the rest of the series! I think if any part of this description is interesting to you, you should absolutely give it a read.

[kittymaine]

Born of Scourge

These e-books keep slapping guys I don't know what to do.

Okay so next up I read Born of Scourge by S. Jean. This is the second book I've read by this author, the other being Hymn of Memory (also a good one). It is a dark fantasy set in a world where every few hundred years or so the entire world is shrouded in darkness and all living things are attacked by something called the Scourge. The only way to save the world, restore the sunlight and beat back the scourge is to deliver a falling star to the Onyx Spire. The book follows the sixth star to ever fall to earth, Sol, and his journey with his assigned heroes to save the world.

Except nothing is quite as it seems.

So, maybe I'm reading a little too much into it, but this felt like an interesting look at subverting the normal hero's journey. There's a lot of fantasy media that has a plot like "bring a special magic person (usually a girl) to a place so they can do the thing" and whatever happens to that special magic person after the fact usually isn't all that important. People like to focus on the retinue of normal heroes that escort this person more so than the person themselves. And this story instead focuses on them. It focuses on our protagonist Sol, on what he had to give up to go on this journey, on what he really thinks about humanity and the cycle of light and dark, and what it would really be like to travel through a dark desolate world alone.

Sol is really likeable. I think his character really straddles the line between being competent and capable while also being kind of helpless and lost really well. I found myself really empathizing with him throughout the story and hoping against hope that he would somehow find a happy ending. There is some romance between Sol and the hero he connects the most with, Loren. But, it's all pretty tame if you dislike spice in your romance. I also enjoyed that it was a fairly diverse cast, with a lot of women in a lot of different roles, despite the main characters being male. There's also a really heartbreaking platonic romance in the beginning of the story which I found really sweet.

If you love fantasy stories, and you're down for a dark depressing read with a glimmer of light at the end, then I think this one is for you!

[kittymaine]

Binding A Page

Guys, read an e-book week is going great for me. I can't even express it. All bangers this week.

Keeping up with the trend! I read Binding a Page by Key Dyson and Raymond Roach. It's a short erotica story (around 30,000 words) about two vampire dudes getting tossed together and falling hard and fast. This was very steamy and sexy, and I loved all the intimate stuff, but honestly the world building was the real star for me on this one. I LOVE A GOOD WORLD TO PLAY IN! Authors, please bless me with another story in this world I just love it.

Anyway. Chris is the main character, a young guy from West Virginia with not a lot of schooling or world experience, but a heart of gold. Through a wild series of events, he went from working at the local gas station to being a vampire lord, the highest status that a vampire can be. Other vampires, being really up their own ass about their own importance, absolutely hate that Chris even exists. As an attempt to sort of smooth over the big social faux pas of his existence, he has to go on this American tour of all the big vampire families to show off that he's not like a psycho who's going to ruin all their good names. Gabe, our main love interest, is a vampire with the status of page, a special class of vampire that are built just to be lovers/assistants to vampire lords. He's incredibly smart and works very hard, but he's also really outspoken and strong-willed, a characteristic that his old dude vampire lord did not appreciate.

How these two get together is like a mix between the fuck or die trope and the arranged marriage trope with a dash of a/b/o trappings thrown in here and there? I don't want to spoil too much about it, since it is short, and I enjoyed slowly teasing apart what was really going on in between bouts of cute boys tumbling in the sheets.

I really enjoyed it all around! Highly recommended! If you like smut and sweet boys being sweet to each other, and vampires (with bonus bat wings!), and a little bit of Dom/sub stuff to spice things up, I think you should definitely give this one a try.

[kittymaine]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: 二哈和他的白猫师尊 - 肉包不吃肉 | The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chu Wanning/Mo Ran | Mo Weiyu Characters: Chu Wanning, Mo Ran | Mo Weiyu Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, camboy au, Camboy Mo Ran, Professor Chu Wanning, Identity Porn, Mildly Dubious Consent, plot as an excuse for porn, Mo Ran's Canonically Massive Dick, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning's Canonically Long Laundry List of Kinks, Dom/sub Undertones Summary:

Chu Wanning is a professional. He abides by the strictest standards of etiquette; his conduct is, at all times, beyond reproach.

This gets a little harder to maintain after he stumbles upon Mo Ran's side job as a cam boy.