#I still haven’t read book 3 because I have to reread the first two

[arsonistman]

I’m not really vibing with The first to die at the end, it’s so sappy and too much of a summer book for me

[irisbleufic]

Of all the current Devil’s Minion writers your playlist is the one I want to see. Do you have one? If not, are there particular songs you’ve been listening into to while you write? The vibe of your prose with them is hypnotizing like the short story about them in the books, it’s impressive, and does your music also inform this choice if at all?

Intense question, anon. Fourteen-year-old me fucking hyperventilated after reading the DM chapter in Queen of the Damned (me, on the floor of my bedroom at 3am because I don’t want to get caught reading this book, staring dazed at the ceiling; me, now, three weeks ago, sitting shellshocked on the sofa after watching S1 and S2 over two days as a binge; me, over two of those weeks following the binge, rereading the first half of the Chronicles and starting to see double, tilt the prism, see what happens when the narratives are overlaid and blurred), and it still feels like that. Likely my prose turning out the way it is in these stories is about 90% my giddy teenage self having access to my adult self’s writing experience to finally write this beloved pairing without fear of litigious letters (IYKYK, my fellow elder Millennials in the fandom). I don’t often love film and TV adaptations of my favorite books, but I adore this show. It’s flawlessly transformative; its improvements only make the resonances and overlaps that much more meaningful. No notes.

However, I have been listening to the same small handful of songs on repeat for 6 days as I write these pieces. I imagine they are affecting my sense of scansion at points; my writing life didn’t begin with fiction, it began with years of poetry before I ever tried prose. These tracks are as meaningful to me as poems as they are songs. It’s as good a starting point for a playlist as any; I’ll keep adding and put it together on Spotify at some point.

1. Vesuvius - Sufjan Stevens

Vesuvius, I am here

You are all I have

Fire of fire, I'm insecure

for it is all been made to plan

Though I know I will fail

I cannot be made to laugh

for in life as in death

I'd rather be burned

than be living in debt

This song was my entire first 72 hours of writing. I’m that Autistic weirdo who will listen to a single song on repeat for a month and think nothing of it. Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii being the nexus point of their love story from beginning to end in QotD, this is everything to me; I was never going to be able to write about the show incarnation of them without integrating this location and this imagery in the most reverent love letter I know how. This is why my series title for these stories is Caldera. Volcanic crater blowout if ever I saw one; I ran with it.

2. I Forget Where We Were - Ben Howard

Hello love, my invincible friend; hello, love, the thistle and the burr. For you, I have so many words—and I, I forget where we were. I haven’t known this song for all that long in the grand scheme, but it found me via Spotify shuffle in 2022 right after something awful happened. The longing in this song hinges on one of the lovers in it waking up to something they’ve forgotten about their relationship, something precious, and I’m thrilled to finally have a fandom application for it.

3. Make You Better - The Decemberists

I sung you your twinges

I suffered you your tattle-tales

and when you broke sideways

I wanted you, I needed you, oh

to make me better

Oh, to make me better

But we're not so starry-eyed anymore

like the perfect paramour you were in your letters

And won't it all just come around to make you

let it all un-break you to the day that you met her

No excuse for this one; it does a great job of speaking for itself. Front-man Colin Meloy is one of my all-time favorite songwriters, and his work is frequently dark, creepy, and/or gothic enough in flavor that I could find a few more.

4. Song to the Siren - Elisabeth Fraser & This Mortal Coil

On the floating shipless oceans

I did all my best to smile

till your singing eyes and fingers

drew me loving to your isle

and you sang, “Sail to me,

sail to me, let me enfold you—

here I am, here I am,

waiting to hold you.”

This cover of Tim Buckley’s folk masterpiece completely transforms the vibe of the song, and in the kind of way you need for this pairing. This one is at responsible for the events and imagery in my “Still Life with Sunken Treasure.”

5. Hal - Yasmine Hamdan, Only Lovers Left Alive OST

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

يا عزيزة اطلعي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي شرّفي

لأ ما أقدرشي

وطلعت يا ناس، مغلوبة يا ناس

يا عزيزة اتريحي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي اتلحلحي

لأ ما أقدرشي

وسمعت يا ناس، مغلوبة يا ناس

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

يا عزيزة اتفرفشي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي قربي

لأ ما أقدرشي

فرشنا يا ناس، مغلوبة يا ناس

يا عزيزة اقلعي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي اتجرأي

لأ مش ممكن

شلحنا يا ناس، مغلوبة يا ناس

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

يا عزيزة اتغندريله

يا حبيبتي اتذوقيله

افهمي يا سيدي مش قادرة

وطبعا تقنعني مش واخدة

ايه يا عزيزة؟

ايه اللي إنتي عملاه ده؟

يا يا يا راجل يا هوه!

مش عيب عليك اختشي ونو

لأ ما أقدرشي

لأ مش ممكن

يا عزيزة اخلعي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي اتشخلعي

لأ مش ممكن

يا خيبتي يا ناس، مغلوبة يا ناس

يا عزيزة اتبغددي

لأ ما أقدرشي

يا حبيبتي جربي

لأ ما أقدرشي

وجينا يا ناس، غلبنا يا ناس

جينا يا ناس، غلبنا يا ناس

I don’t think the Arabic justified to the correct side when I copied this, but the translation is very easy to find. I don’t speak Arabic, but honestly the English translation is dull compared to the beauty of this language. If you haven’t watched Only Lovers Left Alive, what the hell are you even doing with your vampire-loving, monster-fucking life? All the tracks on it have the right vibe for DM, really.

[lavampira]

book recommendations

tysm @winedark and @rosenfey for the tag <:

passing it along to @hythlodaes @scionshtola @coldshrugs @likeabirdinflight @lesbianalicent @veeples @narrativefoiltrope @kirnet @disequilibria @jennystahl @elvves @queenofthieves @weird-ecologies @erielake @verbose-vespertine @solarisrenbeth @onceinabluemoony @queerbrujas @oldblood but ofc no pressure!!

1. the last book I read:

GOTH WESTERN by LIVALI WYLE — well. technically, it’s an indie graphic novel. but it’s a western meets magical realism about necromancy, revenge, and the power of love. and lesbians. I burned through it in a couple hours sitting because I was so gripped by it tbh.

2. a book I recommend:

THE HACIENDA by ISABEL CAÑAS — an absolute all time fave book in my heart; I would say one doesn’t even need to necessarily love horror to get invested in this one, since it also involves very interesting critique of spanish colonialism, religion, and class struggles in post-independence mexico only using hauntings as the lens to view it.

3. a book that I couldn’t put down:

THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by SAMANTHA SHANNON — I was glued to this book for a solid two weeks despite its length. I have a lot that I would change about the pacing and certain events or qualities of some characters’ outcomes, but it was such a fun fantasy read, and I had a difficult time even moving on from the setting and protagonists once I was done.

4. a book I’ve read twice (or more):

THE SONG OF ACHILLES by MADELINE MILLER — my first time reading this myth retelling was my freshman year of college, so I reread it again ten years later to see if it would still hold up for how much I loved it, and it absolutely did. the perspective of the man standing beside and in love with the hero interwoven with the tragedy of achilles and patroclus takes me right out and the passages that tumblr enjoys to quote from it have so much more impact in the full context of the narrative.

5. a book on my TBR:

OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by JULIA ARMFIELD — this poor book keeps getting knocked down on my TBR but I’m determined to read it this year. I’m intrigued by the horror of the protagonist’s wife ‘coming back wrong’ in a sense, and the recommendations based on its similarity to ANNIHILATION, but also the fact it seems to be a wlw scifi horror, too.

6. a book I’ve put down:

AFFINITY by SARAH WATERS — I wanted to like this one so bad, considering how often waters has been hyped up to me as The Author for historical lesbian novels and the fact it delves into victorian spiritualism, but the pacing felt so slow at getting to the point in the plot, and when it finally did, the twist put me off on finishing the end. it’s probably more of a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ but I def had to DNF it.

7. a book on my wishlist:

GHOST STATION by S.A. BARNES — space horror quickly became a fave niche genre that I got into last year, so I’ve been very excited for this release, too. I’m also a fan of how barnes writes atmospheric dread and I have high expectations for it.

8. a favorite book from my childhood:

WUTHERING HEIGHTS by EMILY BRONTË — it altered my brain chemistry as a teenager in high school and I haven’t been the same since I read it. I distinctly remember listening to ‘you said I killed you — haunt me then!’ read aloud and having to pretend like it didn’t make me feel so completely unhinged in the middle of class.

9. a book you would give to a friend:

PIRANESI by SUSANNA CLARKE — I was recommended this one by a friend to begin with, so it feels like an even more perfect book to pass forward. I think it’s one of those books that’s easy to get absorbed into even if it’s not a typical genre one would read, and it’s such a life-altering experience to go through with the protagonist, too. the underlying message that we’re all changed by our own trials and we’re never the same as we were before lingers with me.

10. a book of poetry or lyrics you own:

CRUSH by RICHARD SIKEN — it’s taken me so long to finally track down a physical copy at my bookstore but it was worth it because it remains my fave book of poetry to date. I could quote so many lines, after how hard they’ve hit me, and some of them have influenced my own writing or pairings in some ways.

11. a nonfiction book you own:

HAVANA NOCTURNE by T.J. ENGLISH — back in 2015-2016ish I went through a true crime phase in the prohibition era through the foundation of the US mafia, and this is a very informative book on how the mob became tied to cuba and how the revolution affected it.

12. what are you currently reading:

AN EDUCATION IN MALICE by S.T. GIBSON — I stumbled across this retelling of carmilla set in a late 60s massachusetts women’s college after reading gibson’s A DOWRY OF BLOOD and had to give it a try. I’m enjoying it so far; the prose is full of thick emotional yearning and electric chemistry, and the balance in the narrative of toxic mentorship, historical romantic and sensual attraction between women without shaming them for it, and vampiric elements is really fun.

13. what are you planning on reading next:

WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. KINGFISHER — I only found out the other day that the sequel to WHAT MOVES THE DEAD was even released but I’m so desperate for the next part of alex easton’s story (and how eerily kingfisher writes horror) that it shot up to my next read.

[perryavenue]

rainjoy Has A New Post. It's Personal

rainjoy is one of my favorite Klaine fanfic authors. Their first Klaine fanfic was published on LiveJournal in 2011, their last in 2021. Health issues have become more intense over time. Their most famous works, All The Other Ghosts and Grey, were published in 2012 and 2013. So those who've joined the fandom fairly recently may not even know about their other fics, the most recent one being from 2021. rainjoy has written Klaine in every genre: high school!Klaine, college!Klaine, married!Klaine, supernatural!Klaine, fantasy!Klaine, and even superhero!Klaine.

Here is a link to rainjoy's works on Live Journal

Here's a link for Dreamwidth

I hope that you'll help boost it by re-blogging. Thanks in advance, @klaineccfanficlibrary and @todaydreambelieversfic

This is rainjoy's post from today (October 27, 2023).

"Hello, I’m still alive.

Hello, I do mean it, hello anybody around to see this, I really hope you’ve been well, I’m sorry I haven’t been around, I *haven’t* been well. But I have, over a course of fucking months, actually written something, so I’m writing *this* here so I don’t need to leave a novel-length author’s note on it, as some kind of explanation of where I’ve been.

Largely, I’ve been in bed, I’m likely going there again after posting this, they need to invent new words for how tired I am so much of the time, my upgraded wheelchair is worth about as much as my *laptop*, my life revolves around Can I? Probably not. and lots and lots and lots of ‘resting’. I’ve not been well, but please don’t worry, I’ve not been unhappy. This is the golden age of being ill, the sheer quantity of stuff out there to amuse the bedbound – I have books and podcasts, all of Netflix, I practically live on Sky: Children of the Light, when I’m too dopey even for that I have Animal Crossing, when I am genuinely such a puddle of not-human lethargy that all I need is for time to pass until I feel just slightly better again I have videos of other people playing video games on YouTube and I’m sorry my darling baby moths I will pick you up and help you every single time but it will never not be funny watching someone go through Eden for the first time on YouTube, it just never will not make me laugh, oh my gods I’m so *sorry* my loves <3

So anyway, there’s all that, that’s where I’ve been, life really does not work out the way you planned it to, huh? Because outside of my bed, I know I have messages and emails and someone got a tattoo?? You got a tattoo and I’m just really sorry I haven’t been in touch, my energy has to be paid out like a miser, if I want to wash my hair then wow the world is really not getting anything else out of me, you know? But I am still here, and I do still love the things I love. I still think all of it is worth it. I think the world is a *lot* of fun, though I bear in mind that still, and always, we live through very frightening and distressing times. Which actually makes me think we need to cling to the things we love *more*, not less, love makes better people of us, when we let it.

So I did watch the new season of Good Omens when it came out, and safe to say I was not impressed, but it did jog in me the memory that didn’t I write a sequel to it? Yes I did, and it involved *all* that blood. But I reread it – it’s like reading a stranger’s writing after so long – and that jogged the memory: Didn’t you start a sequel to *this*?

Yes I did! Two thirds written, actually, hurrah for my past self. The last third took, I don’t know, when did the new season come out, it took that long. I used to sneeze out this sort of thing. This, now, is getting at my arms, it’ll be another lie down soon. But anyway, the point of all this: I live yet. In the next few days I *hope* I will be formatting and posting a sequel to But Thou Readst Black because of course everyone wants *that* back in their heads again, my gods. And I hope hope hope you’ve been well, I do think of people while I’m stuck doing nothing but pooling my brain out of my ears on YouTube. Look after yourselves, take care of each other, my gods you tattooed yourself I mean more power to you but it alarms me when things I make turn out to be *permanent*, you know? It feels like I barely touch the world anymore, my circumference has become so small, but it makes the world seem only more precious. Take good care of it, and of yourself as part of it. And very, very much love, to anyone remaining to see this, much love <3"

[transbutchblues]

tagged by @cattus-catos :) thanks

last book i read : The Communist Manifesto by Engels and Marx. it was over a month ago but i’ve been feeling weird so i haven’t been able to actually finish a book since then.

a book i recommend : Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, my favorite book. it’s so beautiful. everyone should read it.

a book i couldn’t put down : so many! i’d say Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott, an absolutely amazing book exploring collective and generational trauma through the presence of ghosts while also being sometimes funny and lesbian. it’s so good i read it aloud to my mother then offered it to my grandparents. as well as Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg, which opened entire new paths for me.

a book i’ve read twice : so many books but let’s say Anne Carson’s Antigonick. one of my favourite ancient greek play translations/retellings.

a book on my tbr : Aristophanes’ plays. i don’t like comedies so i keep procrastinating, but i really need to read them at some point.

a book i’ve put down : The Hera of Zeus : Intimate Enemy, Ultimate Spouse even though i absolutely loved it, because i borrowed it at the uni library and then had to give it back before finishing it. and now said library is closed for the summer. but also some other academic books that are interesting but too tiring to read right now.

a book on my wishlist : @nicosraf’s Angels and Man - i absolutely loved the first book, it’s incredible, it’s one of my favorite queer books, but i still haven’t found the time and money to buy the second one.

a favourite book from childhood : a french book collection on ancient greek myths called Saga of [Hero’s name] : greek mythology in 100 episodes. The ones on Odysseus and Theseus are the very first books on greek myths that i remember reading, when i was about 5 or 6.

a book you would give to a friend : Gideon the Ninth from The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. this is so good. lesbian necromantic science fiction, absolutely hilarious but also tragic. i should probably have put it as the book i reread because i read it exactly 4 times in 6 months (and did the same with the two following books. before writing a analysis document on it.)

a book of poetry/lyrics you own : Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s poetry, If not, Winter. and Ocean Vuong’s two poetry books, Time is a Mother and Night Sky With Exit Wounds. as well as Richard Siken’s Crush. or Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, the first poetry book that i enjoyed. all amazing works!

a non-fiction book you own : Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson (lots of Anne Carson here. maybe i have an obsession), an exploration of love in ancient greece. i read mostly pdfs of non fiction books or i borrow them from the library.

currently reading : too many books…. Lucan’s Pharsalia, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi, a french translation and commentary of Catullus’ poems, multiple retellings of ancient plays,…

planning on reading next : the Iliad! i really want to reread it, i keep thinking about it. the first time i read it it only took me 3 days but this time i want to annotate it. also, Female Masculinity by J. Jack Halberstam. and multiple academic books about Antigone.

tagging : @hiemihymni @olympianbutch @khaire-traveler but no pressure!

[jadejedi]

Fantasy Book Review: The Captive Trilogy by C.S. Pacat

JJ’s rating: 4.5/5

How feral did it make me: 5/5

My book reviews

Ahh these books. What can I possibly say about these books that hasn’t been said before? I first read these books not long after the third book, Kings Rising, was published, back in 2016. If I remember correctly, on that first read, I was sort of like, eh, these are good. I like these. And then a bit later, maybe like a year later (?) I went back and reread them and was like “oh my god?? oh my god?? OH MY GOD??!” And now they have become one of my more frequent rereads (like almost once a year), and they are easily the fandom that I most frequently return to in between hyper fixations. I only have these books on Kindle, and they are pretty thoroughly annotated at this point. Book two, Prince’s Gambit, is genuinely one of my favorite books of all time. 

Okay, if you haven’t read these books or heard of them, here’s the summary: Damianos of Akielos, the crown prince of this world’s version of ancient Greece, is captured by his half-brother in a coup and sent to his country’s greatest enemy, Vere, which is this world’s version of, like, a more debauched version of medieval France. Damen is given as a sex slave to the frigid Crown Prince Laurent. The problem? Damen killed Laurent’s older brother, Prince Auguste, five years ago, and if Laurent finds out Damen's true identity, he’ll definitely have him killed. So Damen has to make his way through the complexities of the Veretian court, ruled by Laurent’s uncle, the Regent, while trying to escape before his identity is revealed. 

There are a LOT OF content warnings for these books, but some of them are spoilers, so if you want them, DM me and I will be happy to answer any questions about content. I will say that the first book has a fairly different tone than the later two. The first book really leans in more to the master/slave kink dynamics of the whole story and is more like ~oooh look! So sexy! So provocative!~ The second and third books are more like “here, let me stab you with these heart wrenching revelations and genuine emotions!!!!!” Like the kink dynamics are still there in the later two books, but the tone is much more serious, if that makes sense. I believe C.S. Pacat has sort of talked about how the Captive Prince series was kind of her practice trilogy before writing Dark Rise (book two out now!!), and I think that is most obvious in the first book. 

The relationship between Damen and Laurent is absolutely wonderful. I consider them one of my top two or three OTPs. The hatred. The eventual respect. The yearning. The pining. The LONGING. THE TRUST. Here are some of my favorite (non spoilery) lines (all from book 2 because 2 and 3 have the best lines but the best lines in book 3 are all spoilers):

“It was like being pleased by a thorn bush, feeling fond of every prickle. Another second and he was going to say something ridiculous like that.”

“To get what you want, you have to know exactly how much you are willing to give up.” 

“A kingdom, or this.” (this line lives RENT FUCKING FREE in my mind forever)

These books also have a fairly unambiguously happy ending. The author has published several short stories, which are all very enjoyable.

Due to the content of these books, they are definitely not for everyone, but for me, at least, I think they are brilliant. They are THE enemies to friends to lovers couple, in my humble opinion. Also, there is a fairly large fandom for these books, with some GREAT fan artists and fanfic authors. Truly we are all blessed.

[butterflydm]

wot reread: towers of midnight (chapter 8-13)

spoilers for towers of midnight

1. Hmm, we open this Mat chapter with him pondering over the (still-sealed) letter that Verin left him and admiring the beauty of the female tavernkeeper (quickly slapping a “but I’m married” bandaid over his admiration). Strike two.

2. I genuinely am very curious about what notes might have been left behind about Mat (and Mat’s marriage) because... from Sanderson’s other writing, this doesn’t feel like an idea he would have necessarily come up with on his own? He admits that he’s a bit of a prude and his main go-to ‘romance’ route in his own books is “wow this arranged marriage is working out surprisingly well!”. So I’m really curious if post-marriage horndog!Mat was noted somewhere in the stuff Jordan left behind. And I’m keeping track of the moments because I want to see how much of a pattern it ends up being over the course of the ~post-marriage~ books.

I am also going to keep track of whether or not Mat notes any specific qualities about ~absent wifey~ that he likes and, if he does, if those qualities are things that we’ve witnessed her actually showing at any point.

3. Also, just to note: while Mat is trying to remind himself that he’s married, his ~wife~ is engaging in hostile combat actions against his friends, and will be enslaving forty Aes Sedai and killing an additional unknown number of Aes Sedai, Warders, and people who live and work in Tar Valon. But, you know, it’s her empire that’s his enemy, not her.

(that line really is... the sad thing is that line is actually great out of context but, wow, it makes absolutely ZERO sense in terms of Mat’s actual relationship with ~Fortuona~. It’s such a bonkers delusional line for Mat to have said at any point during their relationship as it exists in the books. It really does feel like Jordan thought up that line first and then never got around to actually writing a relationship that could live up to its sentiment but jammed it in anyway because he couldn’t let it go even though it didn’t fit with the relationship as-written. But leaving it in really makes Mat come across as extremely reality-denying in terms of his relationship. And, hey, maybe that was what Jordan was going for, idk)

4. Verin is betting here that Mat’s curiosity is stronger than his desire to stay away from Aes Sedai plans, but she doesn’t know that the narrative has spent the last few books beating his curiosity and critical thinking out of him and turning his irrational dislike of Aes Sedai up to bizarrely high levels so that he’s willing to make out with a slaver. Verin should have just ALSO shared the info in the letter with Egwene when she was with her, but it was Verin’s turn to hold the Idiot Ball of Making The Plot Happen, so she did not (honestly, either Mat reading the letter or Verin telling Egwene the contents of the letter would also have saved us a bunch of time in the story).

5. More of weird fey creature Mat here, who acts like he is bound by his Oaths in a bizarre metaphysical way, instead of him just reluctantly keeping his word because he’s a good man. Like... you haven’t sworn on the Oath Rod, Mat. If whatever Verin is telling you to do actually goes against your morals just... break your word. You were willing to do it when it came to the Seanchan Oaths, because an oath under duress is not binding, and you seemed to be aware of that back during WH. The whole “you must follow your oaths to the letter even if they lead you into immoral acts” belief is NOT honorable. But this ties back into the way that Jordan had Mat acting with Tuon in CoT & KoD -- the logic of going “because she’s ~my wife~ (by Seanchan law), I am ~legally/morally obligated~ to support and protect her, no matter what evil deeds she may choose to commit and no matter how much she might be hurting other people”.

So now keeping his promises is about Mat operating by Fey Rules of Literally Obeying His Word, rather than keeping his promises because he’s a good person despite his protests. Because a good man wouldn’t support and protect a slaver, so Jordan had to throw away the part of Mat that was a good man in order for Mat x Tuon to ‘work’. But then (this ties back to horndog!Mat), it also leads to it feeling like Mat doesn’t cheat on Tuon right now only because it might break his Mystical Fey Creature Oaths rather than him actually feeling any personal inclination towards being a faithful husband.

6. At the start of this chapter, Mat thought to himself that he wouldn’t give Melli his ~best smile~ on account of him being a married man and... well, guess what he does only two pages later? Yep, gives her his best smile that he personally believes melts women’s hearts. Two pages! Also, he thinks that he’s Not Allowed to stare at her lips (because he’s married) even as he’s calculating the precise fullness of said lips that he’s Definitely Not staring at, lol.

7. Mat notices a pretty serving girl and tips her a coin for her smile. For, um. For Thom’s sake. lol. Strike three. Technically, Mat is already out, but I will continue to count strikes.

8. lol, the bouncer at the tavern, Berg, is as dubious about Mat’s future faithfulness to ~his slaver wife~ as I am. Berg gives Mat a suspicious look despite that fact that Mat. This is hilarious. Mat SAT HIM DOWN and talked to him about how he wouldn’t be wooing away the woman that Berg is in a relationship with because Mat is MARRIED NOW. lol, no wonder the man is so suspicious of him! That just sends so many alarm bells ringing. Portrait of a Man In Denial over how unhappy he is about being married.

9. Strike four, Mat notices the golden hair, nice eyes, and full bosom of one of the women he’s gambling with at the next tavern, and tries to convince himself that he doesn’t actually find full breasts incredibly attractive anymore (he noticed Melli’s “ample bosom” only a handful of pages ago so... um, yeah, that’s a boldfaced lie to himself. Sanderson might mention breasts less often than Jordan does but when he does mention them, it’s been in Mat PoV so far). We’re several pages into Mat’s PoV at this point and we’ve mostly focused on him doing his best to pretend he feels no regret over being married and Not Being Allowed to notice all the women that he’s noticing for, um, Talmanes and Thom. He also tries to give his fellow gambler one of his heart-fluttering smiles (that he said at the start of the chapter he wouldn’t give out anymore on account of being ~a married man~) and tries to pretend that he isn’t disappointed when she doesn’t react.

10. Anyway, the plot important thing that happens here is that Mat finds out that the gholam is in Caemlyn (people found with their throats ripped out). That finally draws him out of his depressed-over-being-married funk.

11. We learn that he’s sent a letter to Elayne and gotten no reply and he’s actually QUITE worked up over it, and over the fact that Elayne has never so much as kissed him on the cheek to thank him for saving her life. And it’s an interesting change that his internal objection here doesn’t end up being “but of course I wouldn’t want Elayne to kiss me because I’m a married man” but is instead “I don’t want royalty to kiss me” which sends him down a spiral of thinking about how he’s trapped into the Seanchan nobility now. Hmm. Interesting. Anyway, that’s strike five.

12. Mat does bring up three positive qualities of Tuon here (that aren’t related to whether or not he’s capable of being attracted to her: as we’ve just been witnessing, Mat is capable of being attracted to the majority of female characters in the books, so physical attraction is fairly irrelevant here):

a. good at stones: verified true

b. keen of wit: no textual evidence that this is true

c. ‘good for talking to’: negative textual evidence that this is true; most of Mat’s conversations with her in CoT & KoD seemed to end up in frustration or unpleasantness (he even mentions here that she’s frustrating ‘most of the time’), with him thinking on at least one occasion late in KoD about how he hates that she treats him like he’s her property

So... we’re at 33% Verified True on Mat’s accuracy scale of Tuon’s Good Qualities, 33% Just Lying To Himself, and 33% is a question mark.

(though I would argue Tuon’s lack of insight or critical thinking in her own PoV chapters argues against her being ~keen of wit~, unless Mat just means she’s good at puns or something, which is also not in evidence. I suspect this is more of an Informed Attribute, where the author(s) hope that just repeating over and over that Tuon has a keen wit will make people believe she does even if she never does anything to prove it).

13. Mat feels guilt over leaving Tylin tied up for the gholam to kill back in Ebou Dar. Tylin’s relationship to Mat really does feel like it’s married so tightly to Tuon’s relationship with Mat, a transfer of ~ownership~ in a horrible gross way. Tylin’s abuse of Mat is what kept him in the situation he was in when he met Tuon, and Tylin’s abuse of Mat really does feel like it foreshadows the way that Tuon treats Mat as well, which is definitely a Bad Omen for his future.

14. Awww, for all that Mat was negatively thinking about royalty earlier, he thinks here about how the right Queen is now on the throne of Andor (with the emphasis Mat’s!).

15. Strike six. Mat sees a stately older woman in the inn where Thom is performing and thinks about how he’ll keep her in mind for later. Hastily adding ~for his men~ onto his thoughts. He tells Thom about the gholam and they leave for Mat’s camp.

16. Mat thinks with frustration about how Bayle Doman and Leilwin née Egeanin no longer have any affection for him (it’s because you’re married to a slaver and they have rejected the empire; hope this helps). We also get a reminder about the holes in his memory (foggy patches from when he picked up the dagger in Shadar Logoth until when he was healed of it in TDR).

17. Mat comes across as pretty desperate for validation & affection here (specifically from people that he already knows and respects). That’s really standing out to me -- he thought about it a lot in the last book too, about how much he wanted Joline, Teslyn, & Edesina to be grateful to him for saving their lives. He thinks the same here about Elayne, and about Doman and Leilwin née Egeanin. And he doesn’t want to think about how his own actions (being abrasive towards Elayne & co; picking the slavers over the slaves) might have made people turn away from him or think less of him. Save someone once, and it shouldn’t matter how you behave in the future, right? (wrong) It’s also interesting how the clear loyalty of his soldiers doesn’t scratch that itch for him at all. Maybe because he attributes that to the memories in his head and his luck rather than himself as a person?

18. When Mat claims to Thom that he’s a good judge of character, he gets a very doubtful raised eyebrow back. Thom’s relationship with Mat in the last few books has been... honestly, somewhat weird. I almost wonder... we haven’t gotten any Thom PoV for quite a long time, I don’t think, so I wonder if Thom is just masking his actual feelings about Mat because he knows that he needs Mat in order to rescue Moiraine. Because, for the most part, Thom has just avoided Having Opinions about the mess that is Mat’s life and choices, despite the fact that Thom is (supposedly) fond enough of an Aes Sedai that he’s desperate to rescue her from captivity, and also deeply fond of Elayne and friends with Juilin. Is Thom playing Mat the way that Mat was playing the Tairen nobles at the start of TSR? Letting himself appear to be a non-critical buddy because there’s something that he wants out of Mat? I will have to keep an eye out to see if Thom shows any affection towards/inclination to hang out with Mat AFTER Moiraine gets rescued and he doesn’t need Mat anymore. Thom is, after all, one of the best players of Daes Dae’mar in the series, we are told.

19. Mat talks to Teslyn here, internally noting that she has lost most of the “nervous skittishness” that she’d picked up when she was enslaved as damane. He likes Teslyn, he thinks, but he does not trust her. Despite Teslyn never doing a single thing to breach his trust, unlike SOME people that I could name. Ah! There are rumors in Caemlyn about the Seanchan assult on the White Tower but (just like he dismissed Tuon’s threats back in CoT/KoD), Mat has dismissed those rumors as just “stories of raken drifting up from the south” (I wonder if I should be keeping track of all of the “Mat Forces Himself Into Willful Denial Over Tuon/the Seanchan’s Evil Choices” moments). Teslyn and the others are planning to leave now to go join the reunited White Tower (which is what most of the rumors talk about).

20. Hmm, Teslyn thanks Mat here for helping her escape the Seanchan but then she talks with him about the importance of maintaining “illusions with yourself”. I actually did wonder, when I was doing my reread of CoT & KoD, if Teslyn’s patience with Mat, even when he was being a complete asshole, was due to her seeing how much he was lying to himself to try to make himself accept his fate. I think I may have been right on that. And she gives him an escape route, if he looks for it in the future -- that if he ever decides to seek out the White Tower, he has a friend there willing to help him. Considering that she knows that he’s married to a slaver (one who actively tried to re-enslave her personally), that is a HUGE offer. A way out of his trap with the Seanchan -- protection at the White Tower. And Mat, who has been desperate for validation since the start of TGS is now “feeling as unsettled as if someone had kicked his legs out from under him”. Teslyn has also, in this one conversation, shown him more kindness than Tuon has shown in their entire relationship. So... Mat has at least one place to run to now, if he runs away from ~Fortuona~ post-canon. Teslyn has seen the worst of him and extends him this offer anyway, so he knows that she won’t turn him away if he comes to her for help. This conversation is SO good. Mat is thrown so off-balance by Teslyn’s kindness and genuine care for him.

21. *sigh* I really wish that Mat were caring more about Nalesean and the Redarms being murdered by the gholam than about Tylin’s murder. I do understand why -- because Mat feels responsible for her death in a way that he doesn’t for Nalesean’s -- but... ugh, kinda sucks that his guilt over Tylin’s death is now the biggest part of how he feels about Tylin, given how much misery and pain she caused Mat when she was alive. Not necessarily... incorrect, in terms of how people’s brains can work in this sort of situation, but it does suck. Anyway, Mat is now the prime object of the gholam’s attention, having been sent to personally murder him (likely by Moridin, I would assume?). Teslyn saves his life during this fight btw, using the Power to pull him back before the gholam can kill him (she can do this because he took his medallion off to fight it). Five people were successfully killed by the gholam in this attack before it runs away (it has been ordered to try to avoid too much attention).

23. Oddly, Tuon is one of the people that the gholam threatens to kill. Honestly, I feel like it would have been smarter for the Shadow to court the Seanchan/Tuon instead of going against them, since ~Fortuona~ is already so hostile to Aes Sedai. But the Shadow cannot always make smart moves, I guess. The gholam doesn’t threaten to kill Olver but does threaten Tuon, Thom, and Noal. Given that it apparently got its information from a Redarm that it killed a few days ago or from observing Mat’s camp, you’d think that Olver would be on the list either way (and it really makes no sense that Tuon would be on the list? She hasn’t been traveling with Mat for at least a month at this point).

I suspect that the general reader is supposed to care that Tuon is under risk of assassination? But it’s baffling to me as to WHY I should care when she literally JUST had her people assault the White Tower, kidnapping and enslaving forty women and most likely also killing more people than that in total. The narrative has never given me a good reason why I should care about whether or not Tuon gets assassinated besides “vague marriage prophecy bs”. The narrative has never shown that Tuon is actually a better candidate for empress for the Westlands Seanchan than some other random High Blood would be, as long as they aren’t a Darkfriend like Suroth; it just wants us to assume that she is. Her behavior has been just as horrible as any other High Blood’s. Why should I believe she’s a better choice as empress than the next High Blood down in rank? We have never been given a reason.

Now, if Tuon had had even a single ounce of positive character development during the circus storyline, then this would be an entirely different ballgame! But she not only didn’t, she has actively doubled-down on her fear and hatred of ‘marath’damane’.

So, yeah... why on earth should I be invested in Mat wanting to save her life? The narrative never gives me a reason to believe she’s capable of becoming a worthy leader of people. She’s petty, arrogant, and cruel. Basically, a younger version of Elaida with even more power and less self-awareness than Elaida ever had.

24. Note that I do not consider Mat acknowledging Joline as pretty to be a strike against his marriage because it’s not him noticing with any kind of intent that he then tries to pretend doesn’t exist -- he genuinely does not find her an appealing temptation at this point, due to their personal history (though said negative history is pretty much entirely Mat’s fault #JolineDeservedBetter).

25. Ah, Perrin and the others have arrived by the statue that Rand told Nynaeve about back in TGS, so I’m guessing that Tam will be leaving soon to go get nearly killed by his son. Anyway, Perrin and Galad meet here face to face and agree to have their armies fight each other. So... that’s going... well?

26. ELAYNE! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

27. Trying to figure out a way to get the Andoran nobles to actually unite before the Last Battle rather than squabbling for power, Elayne decides that it’s time to claim the Sun Throne. Hmm, I do feel like Sanderson’s more casual style of narration is more pronounced here with Elayne than it’s been with the other characters. All off a sudden, it just feels like the narration is in a hurry, almost more like an outline than prose.

28. Ah, we learn that the reason that Elayne never responded to Mat’s first letter is that she never received it. Her secretary, Master Norry, dismissed Mat as just another leader of a mercenary band, which is why he was granted a space outside the city but no audience with Elayne. He does give her Mat’s second letter, telling her that the captain of this mercenary band is being particularly persistent. Elayne is keeping all these mercenary bands around because they will likely be needed for the Last Battle because, unlike Perrin, SHE isn’t a FOOL.

29. Reading the letter (which does have a lot of misspellings, etc in it, but Mat also mentions that he was planning on rewriting it to be pretty if Thom would have stopped laughing at him) gives Elayne ALL the emotions as she realizes that Mat and Thom (and maybe Olver) are alive and have escaped from Ebou Dar. Mat mentions here that he thinks Elayne’s ass is pretty but also that he barely looked because he knows that she would have kicked his ass and also he’s married w/e, which I feel like should count as strike seven even though it’s Elayne again, because Mat has an emotional attachment to Elayne that he doesn’t have to the more random women that he’s Noticing all over the place, but I’ll only count it as an additional tenth of the point and say he’s at strike six-point-one. Birgitte, upon reading the letter, mentions that Mat also has a nice ass, so I guess she was Looking in Ebou Dar.

Confirmed nice butts:

Elayne & Mat (here in ToM)

Aviendha & Rand (in TFoH)

Probably Min too, I guess

Mat being so worked up over Elayne not responding to his first letter actually makes me wonder if he deliberately put in things into this second letter to try to make her react, if only to fuss at him or tell him off -- telling her she has a nice ass, telling her that he’s married. Because he assumes that she did read his first letter and actively chose not to meet with him.

30. Elayne tells Norry to arrange a meeting with Mat immediately and to tell him to make sure to bring Thom as well. She also begins to think about how Mat and the Band could potentially be useful for bringing Cairhien to her. We get some more insight into her reasoning here as well -- after Rand dies, Andor is one of the biggest potential targets for the Seanchan empire to the south, and they cannot afford for it to merely be part of ~the Dragon’s Empire~ that will potentially fall into chaos after his death. She needs to do strong nation-building NOW, before the Last Battle, to try to make sure it will survive after the Last Battle. “The woman in her cringed to think of planning for Rand’s death, but the Queen could not be so squeamish.” She notes that, as far away from Rand as she currently is, all she ever feels from him these days is a cold anger. Don’t worry, Elayne. Min was literally right there with him and that’s all she ever seemed to be able to sense too.

But this is actually very similar to how Rand wanted to make sure that Arad Doman chose its own king to avoid falling into chaos after his death in the Last Battle, so Elayne and Rand manage to be on the same wavelength even if they are still cruelly separated by the narrative. This is one of the things that @markantonys and I strongly agree on: that a big part of the reason Elayne and Rand are separated for so long is because Elayne is the one person who could have helped Rand with his rulership struggles as an trained leader who understands the issues and understands that you NEED to be ruthless sometimes (but also understands when not to be ruthless).

31. With Elayne, we were still pre-epiphany but when we jump to Min’s PoV, it is decidedly post, as she can feel warmth in the bond and not just Rand’s cold anger.

32. “Alanna didn’t often reveal her intimate connection to the Dragon Reborn.” lol, except for all the Wise Ones, in order to wiggle out of punishments. And all the Aes Sedai, to try to establish precedence. Except for that. Anyway, she’s disappeared from her rooms in the Stone of Tear.

33. When Cadsuane and Min point out that Cadsuane cares that Alanna is missing because she’s a ~tool~ to use on Rand, Nynaeve says that Alanna is “no more helpful” to Cadsuane than Min. So... she tells Cadsuane everything and obeys her frequently? Why is the narrative trying to pretend that Min isn’t constantly helping out Cadsuane? It literally just happened again at the end of TGS! She’s been obediently telling all her viewings to Cadsuane for her to dissect! Nynaeve was IN THE ROOM when this was happening! Or is this meant to reflect Nynaeve’s own distorted view of Min?

34. oh, lol, when Min reacts to Rand arriving in the bond, her Maiden ‘guards’ promptly abandon her and race off to find Rand. So, I guess the Min-Maiden relationship is still... not great, lol.

35. Rand shows up and I really dislike that all of this new!Rand is filtered through outside PoVs. It makes it hard for me to emotionally relate with zen!Rand because I can’t see his interior world. This is also a place where the timeline fuzziness kinda hits the worst, because we’re going right from cold!Rand in Elayne’s bond to warm!Rand in Min’s bond. Moving Rand’s epiphany further back in this set of books would help with that. Min actually panics for a moment, upon seeing Rand, because his eyes look older and he doesn’t seem familiar. “Had the Rand she loved been stolen away, replaced by some ancient force of a man she could never know or understand?” Hmm.

And then he smiles and she does recognize him -- responding to her panic in the bond, maybe?

36. I will, uh, note that Rand did not go directly to Min when he arrived in Tear. Just gonna quietly note that down. He waited for her to find him.

37. He talks to Rhuarc (and the assembled Aiel, including the Maidens) and tells them that he knows that he has toh to them and that he is prepared to meet it. And Rand finally seems to have his relationship with the Maidens back (with Min still baffled at the interactions between Rand and the Aiel).

38. It actually seems clear here (even filtered through Min) that Rand is still somewhat of a boiling pot, though the wound has been lanced. But now he really FEELS the pain over Lan heading towards Tarwin’s Gap, when before he was able to numb most of his emotions through the general ice-cold/molten-hot anger that he was constantly repressing with the flame & void. Now he’s feeling again and that can be... difficult. But he’s still rush-rush-rush and talking about potentially dying soon. So it’s clear that there’s complicated stuff going on in his head and we are TRAPPED in Min’s PoV and only get hints of it second-hand through the bond! But he does promise Nynaeve that he will send Lan help.

39. Rand gives Min the mission to find out why Callandor is key to the prophecies. lol, sure, whatever. I guess we have to give Min ~something important~ to do because she doesn’t actually have a plot purpose and hasn’t had one in quite a long while. Hey, if it means she’s actually doing something and not just surgically-attaching herself to Rand at all times, then I guess it’s worth it.

40. Anyway, Rand tells Cadsuane that she succeeded by failing, lol.

41. Min bashing on the nobles for not having a purpose when she only has a job because her boyfriend gave her one, lol.

42. Anyway, Rand lines up the nobles and susses out that Weiramon and Anaiyella are Darkfriends. If I recall correctly, I’d guessed on Weiramon back during my initial read of TPoD (way back when it was first published) so it was very vindicating for me when he was finally called out as a DF lol. I remember feeling vindicated, anyway, lol. Anaiyella was one I could have gone either way on, but it makes sense for Weiramon to have an accomplice. I... don’t mind Rand’s Darkfriend-vision because, yeah, let’s move the plot along, lol. I just, again, wish that it had been pushed towards the end of this book instead. But the talent itself kinda goes along with the other stuff Rand has been saying about how he’s a bright beacon for the Shadow now and cannot avoid TDO’s eyes.

Instead of killing Weiramon and Anaiyella, he sends them off to bring a message to the Shadow that they will no longer be able to hide among his allies.

43. There’s a great moment with Rand and his dad, though I kinda roll my eyes at Min needing a ~very special~ formal introduction to Tam (who she already knows at this point because he’s been hanging around Tear for three days).

Ah, well. If I do my best to ignore Min, lol, I really liked that scene.

I really do wish that we’d had even a tiny bit of Rand PoV, though. It’s very frustrating only seeing him through other people’s eyes.

I feel like this has gotten long enough (I spent... a lot of time talking about Mat, as I’d suspected that I might, lol) so I will end this post here.

[obstinaterixatrix]

also went on a paddle boat with sister, it was fun I haven’t done it in like 7 years. we stopped by a book store, and

1) there’s a physical copy of A Hero in the Demon King’s Castle which was surprising to me because syohei(/inutoki)’s got really off-beat style so I’ve figured they’d be too niche to be licensed, plus it had a dust jacket WITH author/artist bio AND the extra comics on the actual cover… I didn’t get it because I’m not quite ride or die for it, but I am reconsidering because syohei’s art is just really fun. plus it’s just a well-printed book, how often do you see manga printed in eng with dust jackets? I’ll probably reread it and see if I Really Do Want It. if anyone wants a bit of a wacky read with interesting art, give it a look. I actually… really like inutoki & syohei’s other anthology more because I really like the love interest of the main oneshot but it also has one oneshot that’s pretty vicious to the point I’m not sure I’d actually get a physical copy lol

2) speaking of pretty vicious, a physical copy of one of asada nemui’s works was there which I think is pretty cool, her art is sooo interesting to look at. it’s not as crazy as syohei’s, but it just feels… direct? impactful? just an appealing style. I wouldn’t buy a physical copy of that one, but I’d get one of sleeping dead… I’d consider getting the anthology but she really paired two of my favorite oneshots while having the main story have My Hardline Exclusion Criteria 😞 I’d get the other anthology tho, no hard no’s in that one. where was I going with this? well, if you like strange morose rancid toxic romances, definitely look up asada nemui and also a list of content warnings

3) on that note, it made sense to list manga alphabetically by title back when it’d take up a single shelf max, but I think book stores really need to rethink manga shelving, especially since more bl with smut/het with smut/yuri with smut is getting licensed and distributed

3a) by the way there were quite a few yuri titles, which is a cool change! I already had the one I liked

3b) buy ‘5 seconds before a witch falls in love’ it’s so good. I LOVE the main story. I am lukewarm on the other oneshot. the main story is SOOOO fun, zeniko sumiya has kind of a more shounen-esque art style and she usually draws bl so you need to treasure her fun & dumb witch/witch hunter shenanigans

3c) I mistyped shenanigans as shenanigals lmao that kinda fits still

3a) and the other ~15 I’ve read and dropped because I wasn’t interested in them (I showed sister the cover of SHWD—like, I also want muscular women but I cannot get over some of the anatomy, those are beach balls attached to her chest? like it’s not the aesthetic of Anime Titty Jiggle Physics but I really cannot get over it) but I’m glad there’s more yuri. mostly. I hate that the gamer one is there, the art and writing is so weirdly uncomfortably… H for something that is a SFW slice of life, and I didn’t like a few of the other series that sister pointed out because they were really. too long with not enough sense of direction/momentum to have satisfying character/relationship progression. BUT IT’S GOOD THAT MORE YURI IS BEING LICENSED.

3) anyway I was thinking that there should probably be more a delineation between either genres or age of audience, but at the same time, that’s tricky—having an 18+ section could make it uncomfortable for folks who enjoy being able to browse without a glaring neon sign that indicates they’re looking at smut, dividing by genre can make it tough for folks who want to take a look at gay romances/lgbtq autobio more surreptitiously,

3d) well, I would imagine it’s less of a huge deal now than it was ~15 years ago, but homophobia still is a thing

3) so in the end I have no defined conclusion to my thoughts on manga shelving in english-speaking countries

4) I saw several copies of nagisa furuya’s works! I might go back for number call, that was the first one of hers I’ve read and it’s really cute. I was telling sister, this might sound bad but I like how… standard her art & writing is, it’s very clean and pleasant, her low(ish)-stakes slice of life fluff is really good. also nice to have sfw options for introducing folks to bl

5) this is completely unrelated to this bookstore trip but a couple of weeks ago I saw an m/f romance and was like. do I know this artist from bl??? but I looked up the artist and didn’t see anything I would recognize, it’s just… the way older men is drawn is so…

5) like I know I’m stupid biased because I read an inadvisable amount of bl but he looks like a guy straight out of my miserable office worker bls. I feel like I should know him from bl. I guess I just forget that m/f fans also like older men because all the josei romances I’m involuntarily exposed to are very (…) Like That

5a) mangaplanet REALLY needs to reorganize its genre divisions. hardcore josei smut shouldn’t be lumped with shoujo. hentai should not be lumped with shounen. guys what is going on there

5) but I’ve been thinking of reading it because even by style alone it looks like it’ll at least be unique m/f (though, if I’m gonna read m/f, my preference would be for a miserable older office lady and kinda punk-ish younger guy, but oh well…) it’s just, the cognitive dissonance of squinting at this guy and being like. you belong in a bl.

6) I need to get back out of the habit of reading bls to pass out at 2am 😔 for a while I finally dragged myself back to sleeping at 1am with my baby leash (screen lock) but I’m back in my bad habits. I could at least look at the unhinged horror m/f racher’s been begging me to read just to diversify what I’m pouring into my brain. oh, also sister gave me night is short walk on girl to read and the writer really did deserve all his awards, his character voice is extremely arresting

[magpiefngrl]

mid-year book freak out tag

Let's talk about books! Thanks for tagging me @bloody-wonder ❤️😘

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023?

I've read 48 books till now but nothing leaps to mind as The Best. Like a novel that knocked me out, you know? If I had to choose one, I'd say Seven Summer Nights, a romance by Harper Fox, because I adored the first half and because it's the only book so far that gave me a book hangover.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023?

The 2nd novel of Alexis Hall's trilogy, How To Blow It With A Billionaire, was delightful. Judging by the title I'd braced myself for angst, but instead 90-95% of the book was Arden and Caspian falling in love and getting closer (until the last chapter and the inevitable heartbreak). It is one of the most skillful, heartwarming and sexy relationship progressions I've read.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

This has been on my sights since 2021 but still haven't got around to it: She Who Became The Sun.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023?

There's nothing that I'm truly impatient about. The first that comes to mind is KJ Charles's A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel.

Also, A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. I can't say I was blown away by the first two novels, but I have a feeling the ship in this one is my kind of ship.

I'm curious for a lot of books, but not eagerly anticipating them.

5. Biggest Disappointment?

Oh boy. I left a long review on GR about it and I still cry bitter tears about how let down I was by Alexis Hall's third installment of his Billionaire series. Like I said above, I really enjoyed the second book. It ended in heartbreak but I assumed we'd see the pairing work their way through their issues together and end up HEA. What I did NOT expect was that they'd be apart for most of the novel, only getting together at 90%. I don't want to be (even more) spoilery so I'll say nothing more. Just that this book had the promise of being truly spectacular and it turned out all over the place, and it hurts.

6. Biggest Surprise?

The Lodestar of Ys by Amy Rae Durreson, a short novel I got because a GR pal left an enthusiastic review and said that it was available for free. I don't know the author and mostly read it for research and was not prepared to enjoy it as much as I did. The writing is solid, the worldbuilding fascinating, the rivalry between the ship is realistic and convincing as is their growing attraction to each other. Good smut, which isn't normally the case with pub romance. Becomes a tad too cute for my tastes towards the end, but still a great read. And free!

7. Favourite New Author?

No one stands out. I guess Amy Rae Durreson (see above) is a new to me author that made me go and check out her other books, so let's go with her.

Oh I'm also really enjoying The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi so her too.

8. Newest Favourite Character?

Bucky Iain from The Scottish Boy, I guess?

9. Newest Fictional Crush?

No one. How weak has my reading year been??

💕Best Ship💕

Richard and Alec from Swordspoint. I refuse to read the sequels where they (I think?) break up. NOPE.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

I cry pretty easily and I'm sure I cried at a novel this year (if not more) but for the life of me I can't remember which.

11. Book That Made You Happy?

I had the most fun during my reread of Scum Villain's Self-Saving System. Gods, what I wouldn't give for more authors having so much fun with their stories.

12. Favourite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year?

I watched the final season of BBC's The Dark Materials early this year. It makes me happy to have such a great adaptation of one of my fave series of all times.

13. Favourite Review You’ve Written This Year?

I haven't written a lot of reviews this year. In the past there were times when I'd write long essays; now I'm all for short and sweet. Can't be arsed for more tbh. Unless I disliked the book and I need to rant.

14. Most Beautiful Cover?

I mostly read ebooks and I rarely notice covers. I did, however, notice the stunning cover of A Taste of Gold and Iron, which turned out to be a book I hated, so I'm even more distrustful of covers now.

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

I have a bunch of unfinished series to complete (see 2023 reading goals), so that's my first goal. My second target is reading some of the dozens of unread books I own (both on the shelves and my ereader). I do need to finish Checkmate, this is getting ridiculous, but I keep getting distracted by romance.

++++++

Overall, it hasn't been a spectacular year. I've read a LOT--esp in June I couldn't stop reading--but I've reread a few series to complete them, which ranged from meh (The Nikolai trilogy and Darker Shades of Magic) to flawed-but-interesting (The Dreamer trilogy) to seriously uneven (the Billionaire series). Early in the year I finished JS&MN and Spinning Silver which were great, but they feel a long time away and nothing amazing has come since. Idk. Some of my reads were unusual and made an impression, but can't say I enjoyed them fully. The most satisfying books these past few months have been a few romance novels. Fingers crossed for a more exciting second half of 2023.

++++++

follow me on goodreads!

2022 mid year book tag

++++++

tagging: @lettersbyelise @tackytigerfic @julcheninred @lqtraintracks @shealwaysreads @the-starryknight @wolfpants @violetclarity

[neixins]

mid-year reading wrap-up

most of what i’ve read so far this year’s been…aggressively fine, which is just not that fun or interesting to talk about tbh. however, there have been some delightfully high highs and atrociously low lows that i do wanna talk about!

but first, some stats for any mathematically-minded curious imps in the audience

average rating: 3.15 (i know i'm stingy with my ratings but yikes!)

number of books read: 27 -> 11 novellas, 10 novels, 5 short stories, and 1 nonfiction

i’ve also picked up 26 different manga series and oneshots. some i’ve read start to finish, some i’ve only read a few volumes of (and i plan to continue most).

highlights

mammoths at the gates by nghi vo: it’s no secret that i adore the singing hills cycle and this installment was a poignant tale of grief and memory and change, and it was just as brilliant as the rest of the series.

from far away, vol. 1-14 by hikawa kyoko: a wonderful, gentle story about the power of love, compassion, and community, featuring well-written protagonists who are full of love for each other and the world around them.

on the fox roads by nghi vo: this novelette is free to read on reactor mag (aka tor) so i’m not gonna say anything else except that nghi vo never, ever misses. go read it now!!

seven little sons of the dragon by kui ryoko: i don’t need to tell any of u how talented of a writer and artist kui is but this collection was truly one hit after another

two rogues make a right by cat sebastian: i’ve read only two cat sebastian books so far but she’s quickly become my go-to romance author. she just Delivers romances that will make u giggle and kick your feet! this one is about a guy who whisks his best friend away to the countryside after his chronic illness gets worse and they slowly realize that they’re in love <3

a little light mischief by cat sebastian: an absolutely delightful little novella about a lady’s companion who’s been disowned by her family and the pretty ex-thief maid who’s being very distracting!!

i decided not to include any manga series i’m still reading on the list but frequent visitors to neixins dot tumblr dot edu know how much i adore yona of the dawn, even when it’s trying its hardest to murder me. but u’ve probably heard me ramble about it enough already (and if u haven’t: my tag). and since i’m doing honorable mentions, i’d be remiss not to mention dungeon meshi (read vol 1-5 so far) and natsume’s book of friends (read vol 2).

and another honorable mention goes to the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo which i’ve reread multiple times in the past few years and it never fails to dazzle me. this time around i listened to the audiobook (narrated by cindy kay, one of my favorite narrators).

boo tomato tomato

nothing but blackened teeth by cassandra khaw: this was more of a disappointment than a book i hated so i feel bad lumping it in with the rest of these but i did buy a physical copy at full price so it gets a mention. this novella’s biggest flaw was that it kept saying that the characters were part of a toxic codependent friend group but they just felt like strangers who didn’t like each other, which made it seem like they were staying in the creepy haunted house just because the plot needed them to, rather than for the reasons they claimed. khaw’s prose is quite unique though so i’m excited to check out the salt grows heavy despite not liking this one.

the woods all black by lee mandelo: i wanted to love this so badly because the themes were so up my alley and i love slowburn horror with an explosive final act. but unfortunately, it was so so bad

love on the other side by nagabe: literally half of this collection included relationships between adults and children (which definitely weren’t platonic/familial like the blurb led me to believe….) and the vileness of those stories was enough to drown out anything good in the rest of the collection. i actually also read two other nagabe works (before this one; if i’d read this first i wouldn’t have bothered). monotone blue would’ve been fine if there hadn’t been an assault scene that got brushed off way too quickly…and the wize wize beasts of the wizarding wizdoms was a mixed bag; some of the stories were just as terrible as love on the other side but “marley & collette” was very sweet, not gonna lie…..

i’ve also had many, many dnf’s which i don’t log, but i simply must give a shoutout (derogatory) to romancing the duke by tessa dare which i had high hopes for and which instead made me read this godawful sequence of words with my own two gay eyes (during pride month no less!): "He was just so near. And so tall. And so commanding. So male. Everything female in her was rallying to the challenge." thanks i hate it……

in conclusion, my hopes for the second half of the year can be boiled down to: save me nghi vo and cat sebastian save meee

[smalltownfae]

My Top 10 Favourite Fantasy Series

I just saw a top 10 fantasy series video that upset me so I am sharing my own (current) top fantasy series. Since it’s about series as a whole I am taking that into consideration instead of ratings for individual books. I am aware that this is really petty. I am counting series that aren’t finished but I read all the books that came out so far too. Also, some of the placements surprised even myself, but stay with me.

Some extras about fantasy series I want to read/continue at the end.

1. Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb

I doubt this will ever change. I read this series for the first time in 2018/2019 and I already reread most of the books in such a short period of time. I also didn’t have an obsession hit me this hard ever since I was a teen. It is very rare for me to get to these levels (thankfully to my poor irl friends that had no idea what I was talking about at the high of my obsession with this). Now, it is in normal levels of loving a series but at the time I even created another tumblr blog in order not to bother my followers because I swear this series was all I posted about. The writing is beautiful, the plot is very emotional and the characters are the most realistic I have ever seen in fiction. There are some things I hate about this series, but also many things I love and those are in greater quantity. Funnily enough this series sort of saved me because at the time I was having some suicidal thoughts but wanting to know where these characters ended kept me going and eventually I got better. Who says fiction doesn’t save lives? This is the most personal series to me and I doubt any other will ever make me feel the same way. As sad as it can be at times, it also makes me laugh a lot and the quiet talks between the characters by the fire give me a comforting feeling like no other.

2.  Discworld by Terry Pratchett

I might not have read all the books in this series. Not even close. But I read at least 10 of them so I am counting it! Since most of the books can be read as standalones anyway I feel like I am in my right. This series wouldn’t be this high if it wasn’t for Reaper Man, Hogfather, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay and the Witches series. I started with The Color of Magic and enjoyed quite a bit, which seems to be an unpopular opinion. However, that can’t compare with the later books and I see that now. The characters are very cartoon-like, but can be surprisingly deep at times and I love how Pratchett explores very real difficult themes through humour and imagination.

3. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The one that is in most lists of this kind. The OG! I must say I am not the biggest fan of the Hobbit and I haven’t read the Silmarillion yet, but besides this trilogy (or one big book, whatever) I have read his essay on Fairy stories and the short Leaf by Niggle and damn me if the man couldn’t write. I know a lot of people struggle with his style, but this exactly the kind of beautiful evocative writing that I like and wish more authors would do. The big themes of Lord of the Rings are heart warming and there is still no place I would rather be but the Shire. I really like the characters too even if I have read the books a long time ago and ever since I have heard people say they aren’t the most complex. I remember the nature descriptions most of all and how Tolkien could be surprisingly funny at times. So, yeah, this warms my heart and I definitly need to give the Silmarillion a try someday. But, please do not talk to me about the world building. That is not the reason why I love this, but it seems to be a big one for most fans.

4. Pandora Hearts by Jun Mochizuki

I trusted two online friends and bought the beautiful box set for this series without having read it and I think the experience of reading it and having such a beautiful thing in my possession helped my enjoyment of this. Mochizuki’s style is very beautiful (and it was only improved in Vanitas), I really like her character and the plot - even though I saw some of the things coming - it’s magnificent. It builds slowly but it’s really worth it. The main character, Oz, appears to be the typical dumb shonen protagonist but very quickly the reader can see he is smarter than he lets on. I never saw a main character like Oz in other shonen manga. There are many characters I could praise and some I am upset about, like Alice. I feel like she could have had so much more development and it’s a bit sad that she didn’t. This series made me laugh, made me gasp and made me tear up, like all series should do to be honest.

5. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie

The reason this is in number 5 is because this man likes war and battle scenes too much. Those are not my favourite things. Still, I find First Law bleak but, most of all, funny. Abercrombie crafted some of my favourite characters like Savine, Jezal, Vick, etc. I have beef with many people in this fandom that doesn’t appreciate my favouries and only talks about the action scenes, but I guess that is the way it is when you get into a series loved by mostly men. I might have my criticisms of the books but Abercrombie knows how to wrap up the themes of his books. It all feels right for the kind of project he has. This series loses points, however, for not bringing me any comfort. The landscapes are mostly empty and I like my nature and quiet moments that are lacking in this.

6.  The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang

We could have had it all, but you had to write two books with added characters I didn’t care about and make the ones I cared about feel stale. The first book in this trilogy is still my favourite. Even though it has flaws I don’t think they are as many (and don’t bother me as much) as the flaws in the two books that follow. The first book was the only one to make me cry and I felt so much for Rin, who had a big character development that stabilized at the end of that book for the most part. This book had some shonen moments, it was funny at times and even a little bit gay. It was great. Then, the second book was a little less great and the third was just disappointing. I know Kuang was just following real historical events, but I still think it could have been done better and that some characters that lasted so little time were unecessary.

7.  The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

In general, this is a 4 star series to me. However, I feel so cozy and nostalgic everytime I read it. I didn’t even read this as a kid, I am in my 30s, but the plot and characters are very familiar to me and remind me of similar stories from my childhood. For that, I have to put it in my favourites for now. This is another series that wraps up so well thematically that I love it as a whole. It’s the coming of age of coming of ages and even though Taran is the protagonist, all the other characters are also interesting and fun to follow. I have some complains about it (mostly about Gurgi’s reverence towards Taran), but I still like it a lot. Doli of the fair folk is the best character, followed by Eilonwy.

8.  Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh

I didn’t think this will be in my top, but here we are. These short novellas are just so cozy, especially the first one. The nature, the kind giant man, the badass mother, the mischievous fae... it’s all such good vibes. The perfect ones for my tastes. 

9.  Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch

Unfinished and I really dislike the second half of the second book, but I love Sabetha, Jean and Locke. Locke could be such an annoying character if he didn’t got kicked in the ass so much. I like that he has that know-it-all attitude but things never go his way in the end. I like my characters to be flawed. Pretty fun and interesting series that I wish would be continued and finished, but I am glad I have two and half books I really like.

10.  Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Another series of ups and downs. I still have the last 2 books to read, but I finished the original trilogy. I absolutely despise the second book in this series and that main character annoys me to no end. The fourth book also made me really mad. However, I love the first book and really liked the third. I even liked the romance in the third, which is a rarity for me with this author. Why must people with this talent for writing so beautifully use it to write crap? I swear Marillier has one of the most beautiful and evocative styles but then some of the character’s moral values do not align with me at all. Thank you for the side gay character reveal in the later books though. I wish that was explored, but I understand that we are just doing heterosexual romances here. This, like the one that came before, will probably not stay in my top as I read more series that I like better, but it’s here for now.

Series I want to continue:

Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore (read 1 book)

Malazan: Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (read 1 book)

Chocolat series by Joanne Harris (read 2 books)

The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (read 2 books)

Riverside by Ellen Kushner (read 1 book)

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (read 2 books)

Chronicles of Tornor by Elizabeth A. Lynn (read 1 book)

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (read 1 book)

Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (read the first book in the Harper Hall)

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (read 1 book)

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (read 1 book)

Series I want to start:

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander

Regency Faerie Tales by Olivia Atwater

The Councillor by E.J. Beaton

World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold

Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey

Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger

Sorcerer Royal by Zen Cho

Winds of the Forelands by David B.Coe

Tales of the High Court by Megan Derr

Chronicles of Ghadid by K.A. Doore

The Hythrun Chronicles by Jennifer Fallon

Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling

Lays of the Hearth-Fire by Victoria Goddard

The Light of the World trilogy by Nicola Griffith

Poison Wars by Sam Hawke

Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes

Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn

Soldier Son by Robin Hobb

Quarters series by Tanya Huff

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Inheritace trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

The Serpent Gates by A.K. Larkwood

Windsingers by Megan Lindholm

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock

The Squire’s Tales by Gerald Morris

The Swan’s War by Sean Russell

Twelve Houses by Sharon Shinn

Arthurian Saga by Mary Stewart

The House War by Michelle West

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

The Darkwater Legacy by Chris Wooding

[lia-land]

Tower of Dawn

3/5 stars

Spoilers for Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas.

This book is one that I like to refer to as an 'amnesia book' because it's one that you don't like at all while you're reading it, but once you're done, you look back and think of it as an an okay story overall. That's why I'm giving this 3 stars, but really, it was 2/5 while I was reading it.

I'm going to start with how I feel about the ending because it just didn't sit write with me. I don't understand what the problem would have been if Chaol would have just stayed in a wheelchair. This is my biggest issue with this book: SJM created a ridiculous plot line at the end, just so Chaol could walk again. Was it really necessary to bind his life and leg strength to Nesryn? Was that really the better option compared to just letting him be disabled? There's like a million main characters in this series. What would be so wrong with one of them being in a wheelchair? It annoys me that the plot was stretched like this just to avoid that outcome.

A lot of this book was descriptions and the thoughts of the characters, rather than actual plot. It felt veryyyyy dragged out. I read this after the full series was complete, but I’d be annoyed if I’d read Empire of Storms and then had to wait two full years to get answers from Kingdom of Ash since this book takes place at the same time as the events of EoS.

SJM said this was originally intended to be a novella and I think she should have kept it that way. So many words and sentences were unnecessary. It felt like when you’ve said you all you need to in an essay, but still haven’t met the word count, so you ramble. It was frustrating to read. This could have been 400 pages at most. It took so long for any sort of plot to pick up and I don’t even know if it ever did get interesting for me. Bearable, maybe. It got okay around 75% but at that point, I had the audiobook on 1.7x speed because I just wanted it to be over with. I literally couldn’t get through more than a page before wanting to put the audiobook on. My mind would just drift elsewhere and I’d end up having to reread the page. I appreciate ‘setting the scene’ but the descriptions were too much. I don’t want to read an interior design textbook. I’ve seen design proposals with less detail.

I wanted to experience the series how the author intended, so I didn’t do the tandem read, but in hindsight, the tandem read would have made ToD go by quicker and I should have done that.

I kept confusing all the siblings at first. They just weren’t introduced as well as they could have been, so it felt skimmed over and drowned by the information of how the Khagan’s worked. Lots of information very fast. For a lot of Chaol and Nesryn’s interactions with them, I had to go back to the start to remember who they were.

If I look at this from a perspective of us seeing the aftermath of Chaol’s injury and him coming to terms with his disability, it’s an okay book, but I don’t care about Chaol or Nesryn and having to read this book after the cliffhanger and fast pacing of EoS is annoying. We’ve had 6 books of plot and then we have to get through this book of descriptions. Reading ToD felt like when I was younger and my parents would host dinners with relatives I didn’t know and I had to sit through the boring dinner before I could go back to my room and play Nintendogs.

I will say that I enjoyed the cultural aspects of this and the city itself is portrayed beautifully, but there is such a thing as too much description.

I really thought Nesryn and Chaol would stay together so the introduction of new love interests surprised me and I really like Yrene and Chaol together. Not a big fan of them as characters but it was probably the most interesting aspect of this book.

[tinx-methinks]

43, 44, 45, and 49! 💕

Thank you lovely~! I was hoping I'd get more than one of these. <3 Hope you're ready for this answer lol

43. Title of a book you own that’s in the worst physical condition you have. Explain what happened to it. Post a picture if you want.

I waited till now to answer this cause I wanted to include a picture of my shame and these books were tucked safely away in the back of my bedroom bookshelf where my partner was sleeping so I couldn’t get them. Confession time: I love reading in the bath. And in the days before my waterproof ereader I have destroyed a book or two simply by rereading it and exposing it to my wet and wild habit over and over. Please don’t judge me for the severity of these pictures, it was a different time.

All trigger warnings for severely abused books apply.

That is my copy of The Good the Bad and The Undead by Kim Harrison which is the second book in her The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series and the first one I read after finding it in my dad’s rejected books pile. It’s probably the book I’ve reread the most besides Reaper Man by Terry Prachett as I recall finishing it on occasions and immediately restarting it. I loved it. I actually own three copies of this book. This one. A digital copy in a full series omnibus. And another copy of the paperback bought recently as I’d love to own the entire series so I’m trying to pick the ones I’m lacking. 

The second is my copy of Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning this is the first book in her Fever series which I to this day haven’t finished but at the time it was a favored because of its interesting world building, angst ridden characters, and of course the sexy potential of its (poorly aged!) love to hate ‘em alpha-male romantic interests. Still I used to wait for each new book of the series to be available at the library and while I waited I used to reread my copy of this one to keep the characters fresh in my mind. Funfact: I also bought a digital bundle of this series which I was reading as my “work book” (the book I only read at work) for a while. And I made it all the way to where I originally stopped. The last book in the original series, book five: Shadowfever. I made it halfway through it when the lockdowns hit and at that point I didn’t want to start reading my work book at home so I still haven’t finished it. That’s probably ok though, while I enjoy the nostalgia of the characters and world it’s not so great in 2023! 

So yeah I think they’re both pretty banged up but I think Darkfever might be a little worse? It certainly feels worse to the touch! Pages clumped and stuck together and edges destroyed. Its more waterdamaged at least, but the other one is split down the middle so I guess that’s also pretty bad! I'm posting both tho because the other one def looks worse.

44. The book(s) whose stories have become part of your very makeup.

Reaper Man. Dragonlance: Chronicles, Legends, Tales, the Lost Chronicles, and the Raistlin Duology in particular. The Count of Monte Cristo. Cyrano De Bergerac, The Art of Asking. American Gods. Countless short stories, fairy tales, myths and legends. The first six books of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison also need to be mentioned. Particularly the one above. You can’t imagine how mortified I was when I got my partner to read them and he commented “Hey, you, like, took some of your personality from these didn’t you?” Yeah. Probably bruh. But you don’t have to call me out like that.  Books five, seven, and eight of the Women of the Otherworld Series probably deserve an honorable mention for the same reason tbh. More recently I think the series of Bring Me Their Hearts, and The Library of the Unwritten definitely rewrote something in my brain. 

45. What book(s) would you sell your soul to get a TV or movie adaptation of?

Listen the other day I was imagining a Monty Python style variety show adaption of Daniel M Lavery’s book Something that May Shock and Discredit You which a WILD PULL but the only answer I have for you right now. I think it would have animated parts like Python did but they’d be stylized like The Simpson’s animation. I don’t fantasize about adaptations but I think they really work best for children’s books so if you made me answer seriously I guess I’d go with The Tales of the Frog Princess by E.D. Baker and maybe that should’ve been in the question above too lol. 

49. Do you prefer hopeful, humorous, very emotional or darker books?

I think I tend to err toward darker and angstier books. I get a lot of catharsis from them but I think most of the time books like The Bone Orchard or Leech or Iron Widow or whatever I’m reading that deals with dark topics usually benefit from that undercurrent of hope. I don’t think dark and emotional needs to lack hope and I tend to most enjoy ones that allow space for both. 

That being said I read a lot and I think what I like most is having options and variety.

Asks for Bookworms here

[readingbooksinisrael]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you've read so far this year

Well, I reread Spinning Silver/Naomi Novik again… But besides rereads I really loved two non-fiction books: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood/Nathan Hale. It’s a graphic novel with the characters being represented as animals, so I was really nervous at first that it would make light of something tragic but it didn’t at all, and I think the illustrations emphasized the horrificness while still being appropriate for its intended audience (4th graders). (It also finally convinced me to pick up Maus.) 

The other was The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos/Judy Batalion, which was an extensive following of a number of women resistance fighters in the ghettos, which is a subject that I hardly know about.

2. Best sequel you've read so far this year

It absolutely has to be Ribsy/Beverly Cleary, the last in the Henry Huggins series. I was nervous because it follows Ribsy the dog rather than Henry the human, but it was great. I liked the look at all the different families (except one) and Ribsy’s perspective. It nearly made me cry even/exactly when the good things were happening.

Also, special mention to The Chalet School in Exile/Elinor M. Brent-Dyer for acknowledging the murder of Jews by regular citizens back in the first year of WW2 when that’s something plenty of people refuse to admit to this day. (Though maybe it was easier then when it was an enemy country.)

3. New release you haven't read yet

All of them lol. I’ll choose six notables (one for each month):

The Dos and Donuts of Love/Adiba Jaigirdar--I loved Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating so much! I’m so excited about this I’m nervous

The Luis Ortega Survival Club/Sonora Reyes--I love a story about messed up experiences in high school

The Home for Wayward Girls/Marcia Bradley--See above

The Mimicking of Known Successes/Malka Ann Older--I heard it described as a Sherlock Holmes type mystery in space, and I’ve really wanted to read something by this author for a long time but this was the first book that really caught my eye

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride/Roshani Chokshi--It is my favorite sub-genre (fairy tale retelling) of a fairy tale that I find really interesting (Bluebeard) by an author I already know I enjoy

Sorry, Bro/Taleen Voskuni--Jews often feel that they have a lot of common with Armenians (for good reasons) so I’m really interested to read this story of someone claiming both her culture and her sexuality (even my mom was interested and she tries to not be homophobic but she winces at bi characters)

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Delicate Condition/Danielle Valentine. This absolutely sounds like a book that is going to make me cry.

5. Biggest disappointment

Catherine, Called Birdy/Karen Cushman. This seemed like a book that would be right up my alley--historical, mg, epistolary, rebellious and funny main girl character--but it just fell flat for me in so many ways.

6. Biggest surprise

Leave It to Beaver/Beverly Cleary surprised me by actually being pretty good, which you don’t usually expect for a novelization of a tv show. It wasn’t her best work, but I do want to read the rest of the series.

And, then, one I saved for here, Top Secret/John Reynolds Gardiner. This was recommended me as a funny, gross book and it was that (admittedly, a bit light on the grossness but what was there was good), but it also very much talked about repressing creativity for bad reasons and I loved that.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

A.J. Sass. I read Ellen Outside the Lines in one night and immediately put two more of their books on my tbr.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

Just the one? Well, Ead Duryan from Priory of the Orange Tree/Samantha Shannon is exactly the type of character I love; but have you read about the angel/Uriel Shtetler from When the Angels Left the Old Country?! It thinks in such an interesting way about things and so it changes in a very odd way. (Also, it becoming more ‘human’ doesn’t make it stop using it/its pronouns!)

9. Book that made you cry

Ribsy, I’ve mentioned, but I don’t think any other book made me cry.

10. Book that made you happy

I reread The Girl With the Silver Eyes/Willo Davis Roberts to see if it still held up after over a decade since I first read it and it absolutely did. It acknowledges that grown-ups can make mistakes while trying to help children and that children have the right to defend themselves from that as well as actually evil adults. Also, read this fanfiction of Katie as an adult.

Riding Lessons/Jane Smiley also made me happy because it didn’t attempt to pathologise a kid whom I think would be pathologised today.

Tagging @ninja-muse @bookcub @opalescentswan @books-are-portals and @gigilberry (Only if you want to, obviously.)

[mejomonster]

Silent Reading reread, I've been highlighting areas the show almost directly adapted. The idea of Luo Wenzhou thinking he'd save the universe.... that Tao Ran and Luo Wenzhou responded to Fei Du's call of his moms death....that they felt for the kid and Tao Ran took him on holidays and the both of them kept in contact with Fei Du... and they realized Fei Du had a talent for crime. 1. All of that hits very well, this little dialogue chunk is critical to the trios history setting up their starting dynamic. 2. The show stating the "skill for crime" similar to the book gives off a similar enough effect. 3. I appreciate the shows gratuitous use of flashbacks I would've Love to read to tell Tao Rans story visually... because the shots of Luo entering from the light, covering Fei Dus eyes, and taking him from the dark mansion and dead body and into the light, is so symbolic of their relationship and view of each other! And the show full on decided their personal dynamic is so central the Show is Titled after it (光渊 light in the abyss, with Pei Su in the Abyss and Luo Weizhao his path to the light). And the light language visually communicating it constantly, nearly every shot with Pei Su uses light that way. I also just love the show visualizations of all of Pei Su's younger memories so far rather than just telling us in dialogue only or omitting the scenes. I love seeing his nightmares with cgi a action thriller probably didn't Strictly need but I appreciate deeply, the scene of Luo Weizhao giving the psp to Tao to give to Pei Su I'm so glad to see in a scene instead of just an offhand mention cause I'm a mushy sap who loves seeing flashback scenes. 4. This scene still just hits me so hard....

Quote:

Tao Ran paused, then simply said, “In a case Wenzhou and I once handled, Fei Du was…the one who reported it. This was seven years ago.”

Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran had just graduated then. They were callow youths, unsteady in their work. Especially Luo Wenzhou. He was the child of a government official and had been very arrogant when he was young, insubordinate and displeased with everything. He thought he was overflowing with talent, Number One in the world—Number Two being an English fellow named Sherlock Holmes.

 

He didn’t think he was going to work every day, he thought he was going out to save the galaxy. His handling of affairs was highly unreliable. When he was just starting out on low-level field assignments, if he was sent out to reconcile a community dispute, he could easily reconcile it into a battle.

 That afternoon, there was a band of robbers roaming around who needed to be caught. All over, police reacted. The City Bureau, every sub-bureau, and even the local police stations sent people over. Only the youthful Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran, who had been judged by their elders as likely to do more harm than good, were left on duty.

"110 got in contact and said a child had called in a case in their jurisdiction. He’d gone home from school for the weekend and found his mother’s corpse at home. That child was Fei Du. He was in middle school16 then.”

Lang Qiao froze.

“Later, the investigation showed that his mother had killed herself. Wenzhou went to tell him in person, but he didn’t believe it… Since then they haven’t quite gotten along.” While he spoke, Tao Ran had already reached the sub-bureau’s gate. “You must have been able to tell that his family is fairly well-off. His father was a standard businessman, away for work all the time. When his wife died, it was several days before he came back. Fei Du wasn’t very sociable when he was little. He went through several housekeepers, and none of them stayed. He was usually alone in that big house where his mother died. That was the first proper case that had passed through our hands. It had a special significance. We couldn’t let it go. I felt bad whenever I thought of that child having no one to mind him, so during the New Year and other holidays I would take him in for a few days. He had a fair amount of contact with us during that period. As time went on, we found out the child had a special talent.”

“For what?” said Lang Qiao.

Tao Ran paused, then quietly said, “Crime.”

[luvrodite]

tag game!!

thank u lovely @lauraneedstochill for the tag <3 adding a cut because my answers got a bit long at the end hehe

your name? it’s not actually my name but for the sake of privacy i go by aurore/ro on here xx

your sun sign? scorpio baby

the last thing you listened to? heat wave by snail mail! i’m at the hair salon and their playlist is really good)

what are you wearing? bell bottoms and a green cropped flowy top

how tall are you? 5’7 i think?? or in between 5’6 and 5’7

piercings? two on each ear!! i want a helix and nose piercing but i’m too chicken (i also choose peace while living with my parents)

tattoos? none and i don’t have plans for any but they’re so attractive

glasses, contacts? glasses. i used to wear contacts when i was in high school for a period of time but ultimately returned back to old faithful

last drink? water

last thing you ate? avocado and egg on toast!

any pets? no </3333 one day i will have an orange cat and my life will be complete

do you have a crush? once more, i wish but i get the ick so easy and i haven’t met anyone i actually want to crush on

favourite fictional characters? jo march (laura how kindred of us!!) anne shirley cuthbert, jason todd, alicent hightower - there’s SO many but jo and jason are so dear to my heart

a movie you think everyone should watch? i was wracking my brain for an answer to this and then i realised the movie i tell everyone to watch the most is the boy!!!!! i genuinely unironically love that movie, like, i loved lauren cohan from the walking dead and supernatural, and she was great (speaking subjectively as someone who doesn’t Watch Films). it’s probably not objectively great and it’s a bit silly but i love it anyway, and my best friend and i love brahms. he is my friend actually.

a book you think everyone should read? you deserve each other - romcoms get such bad press but i am a rom com girl till the day i die!!! this one was so special to me because i don’t think i’ve actually read second chance (?) romance books that actually convince me they should have given it another go. it sounds silly to say but i learned so much from this book and the characters are so so dear to me even in their ridiculousness. it’s very much millennial humour and cringey at times but i love them anyway and i think sarah hogle wrote a masterpiece. i recommended it to all my friends because it was so important to me. i could write an essay on the feelings i have about this book. so so good. so important. i loved the characters and their insecurities and miscommunication and how they addressed every issue that had caused their relationship to sour in the first place and worked to do better!! usually with second chances/grovelling it feels very superficial and i still hate the male lead even by the end of it but i came to love nicholas by the end. he and mr darcy are the only two times i’ve ever seen characters pass the reread/rewatch test - every time i watch it/read it i get nervous i’m gonna realise they’re still an asshole at the end but they always prove me wrong. i hated him so much in the beginning and by the end i was wishing he was real.

last place you travelled? the gold coast

no pressure tags: @st-eve-barnes @rottingviserys @1800-fight-me