#Kel reads books

[summersfirstsnow]

Mid-Year Book Meme (2023)

@sixappleseeds said that anyone who wanted to could do this so I have decided that includes me

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023? I've read a lot of good books this year! Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh was a good read, the Will Darling trilogy by KJ Charles was also really good. My favourite debut so far is To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. Some others will be used later but have a right to be here too.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023? The Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson! Nice fun sequel novella that ties up some loose ends and lets readers spend more time with the characters (and the house, which has Opinions).

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To? The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon is next on my list. And on my library borrows pile.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023? Moon of the Turning Snow by Waubgeshig Rice is definitely up there, as are A Power Unbound by Freya Marske and The Salvation Gambit by Emily Strutskie.

5. Biggest Disappointment? Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall, which made me feel like my brain was being eaten by gummy worms. In a bad way.

6. Biggest Surprise? A Half-built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys! I was expecting to like it, but I wasn't expecting how often I just... think about it apropos of nothing now. It's one of the first cli-fi stories that is optimistic but avoids becoming too saccharine for my taste.

7. Favorite New Author? Terry Pratchett is kind of new to me, I had read Nation but this was my first time picking up Discworld books. KJ Charles is the other new author whose work I've read quite a bit of this year.

8. Newest Favorite Character? I don't have that many characters that I'm WILDLY attached to any characters that I read about this year. Emily Wilde from Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is very good. I like that she's better at relating to fae than humans due to autism social awkwardness of no particular diagnosis I'm sure.

9. Newest Fictional Crush? *flashback to that time everyone thought I was lying when I said I didn't have a crush on anyone during an icebreaker due to my brain going completely blank* Uhhh...

10. Book That Made You Cry? And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda, in the The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021 collection definitely brought tears to my eyes (older sibling FEELINGSSSSS etc), but the last book had me an utter wreck was last year when I read Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

11. Book That Made You Happy? The Luminaries by Sarah Dennard was fun and made me laugh as I liveblogged it for my friends. A Half-built Garden also merits a second mention because it was nice to find a book in the genre that didn't make me either deeply despairing or violently annoyed.

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year? I guess Nimona wins by default, I don't think I've watched any other adaptations.

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year? I guess my June reading list wins by default also because I don't think I've written any other reviews.

14. Most Beautiful Cover? The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty has a gorgeous cover, I like that it looks kind like it's printed from woodcuts almost.

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year? The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill is on my list.

And I'm tagging: @lloonlloon, @notpuckconnolly, and whoever else wants to do it!

[sleepinglionhearts]

@vinosscum introduced me to the first Mistborn book,

[gracecarstairss]

thinking about how Mayesh is the mirror for the Ashkar people - being human in the eyes of House Aurelian means that they think all Ashkar are human. He protects them all in this way, ensuring that the Sault will be safe and that what happened in Malgasi (murdering all Ashkar) will not happen in Castellane.

this also applies to Kel, in a way. Kel is the person Conor loves/cares for above all others, yet he is a common citizen of Castellane - technically, the lowest possible class, since Kel is an orphan without a significant name, and family names are the most important source of power in Castellane. therefore, Kel is the mirror for the common people of Castellane - although he is considered an object/property in the eyes of nearly all of House Aurelian, being human in the eyes of Conor, the person who will one day be King, shows the future ruler that the people he rules are actual PEOPLE, not just subjects to use and manipulate to the ruler's liking. in this way, Kel protects the commoners of Castellane, which is so interesting. we see him do this multiple times in Sword Catcher when he is trying to instill empathy in Conor for others, including Lin (when Kel talks sense into Conor and and says "do you want her to be afraid of you?" which really hits Conor hard because he doesn't realize the full scope of his power and the fact that he uses it carelessly).

and what makes this more insane is the way that Mayesh doesn't even see Kel as a human, just an object, even though they serve similar important purposes for their respective classes. on my third read of Sword Catcher, I really honed in on the way that Mayesh treats Kel, and he really does not treat him as a damn human being!!! it's so awful. the hypocrisy of Mayesh is so wild, he is such an interesting character because of all his contradictions. anyways i'm so unwell about this!!!

[bookquotesposts]

“This is heavy. What have you got in here?”

“My emotional support book. I mean, I know I probably won’t have time to read, but I like to have it with me just in case.”

- Elizabeth Helen, Woven by Gold

[raiiny-bay]

considering making yet another AU with the boys....

[kazz-brekker]

read sword catcher by cassandra clare and i'm amused that kel being attracted to both merren asper and antonetta alleyne confirms that his type is "blondes who look kind and innocent but are actually somewhat scheming"

[kingjasnah]

fantasy audiobooks my BELOATHED.......dont tell me how to pronounce something with 11 consonants ill do that shit myself

[newnamesamecharlotte]

Kel wondered what they'd say if he told them he'd spent the afternoon not in the exercise of sybaritic pleasure but rather poisoning himself in a noodle shop with two criminals.

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

[dozyisdead]

i just got through reading this one book series that i adore for the like 1000th time!!

it’s called Protector of the Small, it’s a 4-part series and it’s amazing. my favorite thing about it is that the author has like 20-30 books set within the same universe (i believe) and i could totally read more about the world, but i just love the actual series to much to go past it.

i might buy more of her books later on, but i just love Kel so much :)

also wishing i could have seen in Kel and Dom got together 🫠

[mariedemedicis]

I wonder what Beka’s like as a mom

Has Pierce mentioned if she’d ever return to Beka’s era?

[summersfirstsnow]

June Reads 2023

A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larson aka Local Spinster Has to Do Everything Around Here. This is the reading experience:

MC: is this a romance me: MAAM YOU BURIED YOUR BROTHER'S CORPSE IN THE BACK GARDEN THREE DAYS AGO MC: okay well I have to prepare this random girl's dead body for viewing, a job that is for some reason mine MC: * physically relocates the dead girl's jaw * MC: okay back to what I was saying about this being a romance! me: the fact that you are capable of contemplating romance in this murder mystery is amazing

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee: if you watched How to Train Your Dragon and thought "okay but what if the dragons WERE incapable of loving you and would leave you for dead in a heartbeat and might try to eat you, wouldn't that be great" then good news! This is the book for you. I did enjoy this one, it's a very quick read (or listen, in my case). This is about giant birds (love it) and hunting monsters!

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall: This was. Almost painfully tedious. If you're writing a story where both the romantic leads are women, then you NEED to conceptualize women as active characters who are allowed to be both funny and stupid or your sapphic romance will be so so extremely boring. If your female characters are all reactive rather than active, they will never be able to play off each other, because nobody in that relationship will actually provide the initial motion. And an object at rest will remain. At rest. Until we all die of boredom. Also the narrator choice was genuinely baffling, in all honesty. Like. I don't know why the author went "you know what this novel needed? Someone to constantly comment on how stupid all the events are, in case the reader hasn't noticed." Don't worry, Alexis Hall. I noticed. I noticed.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021 edited by John Joseph Abrams & Veronica Roth: These were varying levels of enjoyable for me, but overall, it was a good collection! And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda made me cry from older sibling feels, among other things. Beyond the Dragon's Gate by Yoon Ha Lee was also a stand-out for me.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose: only YA novel on the list for this month, I think! I enjoyed this one a lot. Anequs is definitely a main character who pulls her own story along, and I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel when it comes out. I liked the organic integration of different ways of knowing very much! It does have some of the usual debut novel issues, but hopefully Blackgoose's writing will grow and those will get worked out at the series goes on.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty: this book rollicked along well! The notorious pirate captain Amina Al-Sirafi is retired, and for a good reason, but finds herself pulled back into the world of supernatural creatures, mythical treasures, and high seas misadventure when she is asked ("asked" in heavy quotations) to track down a noble family's missing daughter. This book takes place in the same extended universe as the Daevabad trilogy, but doesn't require having read it.

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns: when Mackenzie, a young Cree woman living in Vancouver, begins bringing things back from her nightmares, she finds herself drawn back home to the rest of her family, to try to figure things out, especially as the dreams get more dangerous. This is a horror story about monsters, but also a horror story about grief and colonialism. It's about a family of magical dreamers, but also about the ties of family and the strength of those ties, no matter how tattered, in the face of generations of horror. This one is an atmospheric story that I found somewhat disorienting as a read, and has a couple debut quirks, but overall was a good reading experience. It got spooky and I just went "the only way out is through" and finished it at 1 AM.

Spectred Isle by KJ Charles: I feel like Saul just goes "well this might as well happen" about basically everything in his life at this point, which definitely brought a certain energy to the story. This one isn't my favourite KJ Charles book (not that I've read all of them but still), despite the fact that usually fantasy is me preferred genre.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant: This is a reread for me, and still the Seanan Mcguire/Mira Grant book that appeals most to me. Still really enjoy the merfolk in this! Deep-sea dwelling and very toothy. Jurassic Park vibes overall. The dolphin sideplot still feels misplaced with the rest of the story, doesn't really accomplish much of anything, which made it a frustrating digression in an otherwise tightly plotted novel.

[oflightningandstars]

I have been thinking about this for a while, but I love the idea of Kate getting really into the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce.

I think normally Kate doesn't have the patience for reading books but [maybe Milligan wants to find a way to bond with her and Mr. B suggests reading a book together and is like "I have just the thing" and hands him First Test] and Milligan starts reading it to her.

Kate is enthralled because she sees herself in Kel, a character who is strong and determined and will not abide a bully, and Kate wants to be exactly like her.

[Eventually Kate starts stealing the book during the day to read ahead, and Milligan laughs and ruffles her hair and continues reading it to her at night, even after she's finished reading it herself]

Kate is almost disappointed that she's not still at the circus because if she was she would figure out how to get other people into jousting with her.

She reads the part in Squire with the griffin while sitting outside, and looks up to see Madge diving to catch some prey and smiles.

She practically begs Milligan to teach her everything he knows about fighting [he is somewhat concerned by this, but you know, he ends up having a lot of fun swinging wooden swords around in the back yard with her].

Mr. Benedict finds all of the books in his library that talk about knights, and sword fighting, and armor, and any other related topic for Kate to peruse [what ends up happening is Sticky reads all of them and then Kate asks him to tell her about it over dinner].

Kate decides she wants to make a real sword and a suit of armor and there is a bit of chaos among the adults as several of them are immediately terrified of the idea of Kate with a real sword, while others of them immediately start trying to figure out where they could add a forge to the house [I will not specify who falls in which category because I think any of the options are equally good/amusing]. They compromise by getting Kate into stage combat classes for the swords part, and Kate gets really into the stage combat classes. The adults also help with the logistics and supplies for her to make a suit of armor, which Kate is immensely proud of and brings it with her wherever she lives, long after she grows out of it.

[gracecarstairss]

From my reread, I have noticed multiple discrepancies in Sword Catcher when it comes to age and years gone by, relating to Artal Gremont and Kel's age specifically. Kel is 23 years old (Conor is said to be 23 on page 40, and Kel is known to be the same age as stated in the prologue where they are both 10), and was taken by the Palace at 10. Therefore, he has spent 13 years on the Hill. However, he says "I have been watching the nobles of the Hill for fifteen years now." on page 418, which does not make sense because that means he would have been 8 instead of 10 years old when taken into the Palace.

Then, we have Artal Gremont. On page 153, Kel reminisces that when he and Conor had been 14, Gremont was sent away due to a scandal. However, on page 145, Kel is thinking back to when he was 15 (page 142) and gave Antonetta the grass ring. Months later, she has her debut (she is also 15) and he is searching the room for her and "It had been Conor who tapped him on the shoulder, directing his attention to a young woman speaking to Artal Gremont" (page 145). (The young woman is Antonetta, but he doesn't realize it at first). This is more of an offhand comment where Gremont doesn't have much relevance. However, this does not make sense chronologically if Gremont was sent away when Conor and Kel were 14, but he is still attending Antonetta's debut ball when they are 15? This could have easily been an editing mistake. Let's go by the idea that Gremont was sent away when they were 14. Now they are 23, so it has been around 9 years since his departure. This is reinforced by this quote, where Kel is overhearing Bensimon saying that he doesn't want Gremont to come back to take over his father's charter: "Whatever Artal Gremont had done, it was bad enough that Bensimon disliked the idea of him returning, even a decade later" (page 262). This tracks with Gremont being gone around a decade, so this timeline works out with them being 14 when he was sent away. However, on page 285, Kel is asking Merren what Gremont did and he says this: "He's a figure of curiosity on the Hill. He was sent off into what amounted to exile nearly fifteen years ago-". Fifteen years ago??? What? If Kel and Conor were 14 when he was exiled, and it had been 15 years, then they would be 29 years old in this book!! What the hell is going on with this timeline? Maybe I am getting way too deep into this but I had to write out all these discrepancies because the timeline was making me go crazy. I think most of these are just editing mistakes but it’s kind of interesting how many mistakes have to do with the number “fifteen.”

[jedaos]

now that i'm thinking of it i really do think the reason why i found second sister's discussion of sexual relations in the military and the power imbalances often found in those situations so lukewarm at best is because i think machineries of empire did it better despite it not being a main focus in the series (as compared to the plot of second sister). but since the focus of machineries as a whole is empire as a military complex there are a lot more instances of different types of sexual relationships and also the implications of it in both an interpersonal and professional/systemic lens. like (original) jedao was most definitely being abused by his superior but that cannot be said for sex between consenting kels of equal rank for whom sex is a liberation against their military-programmed bodies. and then there's moth jedao who was definitely abusing his power as a superior officer even if his proposition was an offer—an ask—because choice is an illusion in kel programming

[sleepinglionhearts]

Who's the bigger bitchy man kelsier mistborn or howl book version

All I know is that if you locked the two of them in a room together for an hour one of two things will happen:

-Howl will be crying and Kelsier's hair will be a new color

-they will be making out

That said, I think Howl could out-bitch Kel, but this is mostly because Howl is more pathetic than Kel is. Hope this helps.

[bloodsbane]

(on the second protector of the small book) oh i looooove a boy who starts ironically flirting w his gal pal in a playful and exaggerated way for a goof and then they become good friends and then uh oh suddenly the fake pretend funnyhaha flirting is NOT ironic anymore