#and no i still haven't finished crooked kingdom

[dyingstarsatdusk]

Sometimes I stay awake and think about the time when I was reading six of crows/crooked kingdom (also the time when I hadn't read a single lgbt novel) and had somehow managed to heavily delude myself into thinking that wylan and Jesper shared a deep 'brotherhood' bond.

Yeah, I know.

The shock I had when I read the scene where they kissed. Poor young me couldn't handle it at all

When I re started the series a good while later I was amazed at my own ability to lock something out. How the hell did I even manage that

[aleksanderscult]

Hello, I started following your blog pretty recently and I agree with most of what you think. I felt so confused when I finished the books and came on tumblr to see everyone hailing malina as the perfect relationship and I was glad to know that I wasn't the only one who disliked him.

I wanted to ask you something, im not sure if I saw this on this blog, but someone said that zoya is an example of toxic feminism in YA fantasy. Which checked out to me, but it also felt that bardugo added misogyny, feminism and toxic feminism in the SaB series.

Misogyny since alina had to face sloot-shaming in every book (almost entirely by Malyen ugh 😒). I felt that she really tried and suceeded to be feminist with genya, since she actually stood up for herself and had many facets to her personality. She also wasn't an important character just because of her beauty or anything super superficial. Genya IS a strong female character, and she wasn't 'broken' by the king, despite the foul things he did.

But zoya.. my god, I really wanted to like her, but I just couldn't. She is mean and hot headed to the point where I really don't see any redeeming factors to her. I always liked 'mean girl character who isnt as shallow as she seems' in fantasy novels, but she didnt exactly have a redemption arc either. If the darkling had warned her about expanding the fold in the first book, she would have fought for him. I think she isnt a strong female character, but just a girl who is a bully and decided to help mc since the antagonist hurt her specifically. She doesnt even think of the other casualties of novokribirsk. I think the 'break nikolais heart, I'll comfort him and make a magnificent queen' part was a joke, but still....

Please excuse my yapping. I haven't read crooked kingdom and nikolais duology, so I don't know if the characters had any developement since then, so please ignore any innacuracies of this text pertaining to that. Do you have any thoughts on this?

(Do you allow emoji annons? If so, can I be 🎀 annon?)

(Of course I do! You can use any emoji you want and ribbons remind me of coquettish things 😍)

Genya in S&B was my favorite version of her. She was traumatised by the King's abuse, that's true. But she wasn't solely that.

(Here's a meta about that version of her that I once did)

She was very brave, vengeful, intelligent, politically aware, had a sense of humor and was kind. There were different aspects to her personality and wasn't solely "the victim" as many fans of the Grishaverse like to portray her. But in Nikolai's duology Bardugo either forgot how to write complex situations within a court or just doesn't know how to (or it doesn't suit her 🙃).

She threw all the blame to the Darkling (as if he was entirely at fault for her sexually abuse), forgot that Grisha were serfs meant to please and serve the royal family (hence why the Darkling gave her to the Queen) and also forgot how it was the Queen who withdrew her protection and allowed her husband to abuse her. Also, a slight amnesia to how Genya herself decided to stay and take revenge. Essentially, the character became Leigh's mouthpiece to remind the reader that the Darkling is a heartless motherfucker that is undeserving of redemption. How banal.

Now about Zoya. Zoya is the typical female character that we encounter in media nowadays. A girlboss that kicks ass, is rude, has no sensitivity and threatens everyone. Again, cliché. But Leigh broke her own in-universe laws when she gave Zoya the protagonist's role.

Meaning:

The narrative with Alina as a protagonist: "You can't have feelings for your enemy!! You can't be independent! You need to depend on your toxic, childhood friend and...what is this? Power?? You took three amplifiers?? WELL SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR POWERS THAT KEEP YOU HEALTHY AND STRONG!!"

The narrative with Zoya as a protagonist: "Take the amplifiers, take the power to turn into a dragon, let's also have a Saint in your head giving you advice and guess?!? You just got promoted into a Queen and soon enough you will marry the love of your life!! Kudos!!"

That's basically what happened.

It would be an amazing end if only:

- Otkazat'sya didn't hate the Grisha's guts.

- Zoya had the qualities of a leader and a Queen instead of being handed the throne on a silver plate from an illegitimate son who failed in his job.

- The author didn't break her own rules just to prove and show how "awesome" her protagonists are.

- The same author didn't copy paste the storyline of Daenerys Targaryen into Zoya's (somehow she needed to appear cool and sympathetic)

- Half of the fandom didn't hate the primary protagonists now than they ever did before.

So basically Leigh infuriated the fandom even more about Alina's fate when she gave Zoya everything.

And about your question if the characters had any development in the later books after the trilogy. I've got some bad news, my friend. 🥲

[arany-studio]

Right after Crooked Kingdom.

This is all that he had wanted and yet panic struck him. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready. She was here.

Aproaching. He shut his eyes.

She made no sound, as always, but moved visibly this time as soft candle glow grew closer and closer. Just when his candle stub on the desk estinguished with a hiss, the warmth from the new candle engufled him.

He couldn't.

"You came." His lips trembled.

She too drew in a shaky breath. "Just in time, I see."

"Kaz!"

"What?"

"Look!"

He couldn't.

"Look!" her voice trembled.

He forced himself. He opened his eyes, he spun his head towards her and struggled not to shatter. Gold flicked on her like an apparition. Her gaze was intense, her mouth awaiting. Her free hand shook in front of him. Permission.

"Go on."

He couldn't, but it was too late now, unfortunately. Thankfully.

She let her hand wonder behind his neck, his shirt buffeting the touch. Or not. Litghing shook him.

"Kaz!"

"What?"

A small playful smile flickered on her lips "Guess."

"Your parents are settled?"

"No - I mean, yes, they are, but no - guess again!"

"You've decided when you leave?"

"No."

"The Black Tips are staging a coo?"

She burst in laughter. "No."

His gaze wondered downwards. She wore something that looked traditional.

"This blouse is new."

"It's my favorite kameez. From before... it still fits me. My mother brought it."

He swallowed. "Looks good."

Her mouth quirked mischievously. "Kaz!"

"What?"

"I love it when you small talk."

"I do no such thing."

"Your tie is missing."

"It wasn't straight."

She burst in laughter again, sending his damned heart galloping.

"You haven't guessed."

"I'm hanged."

He let his eyes wonder back up into hers, when she squinted. She seemed to believe him though. About the hanged part.

"Roeder is in my room." she wispered.

"Not any more." He made a move to lift, but she didn't have to press too hard to keep him in place.

"Roeder is in my room. I'm not going back to the van Eck residence."

____

I dare you. Reblog and finish the story.

[hauntedwitch04]

Secret lovers

Morpheus x Godess!Reader

Words: about 0.7k words 

Warnings: None, just fluffy 

Author’s note: Hi love! I finally wrote again after two months and it felt so good, but before I could not write because I was totally full with school and than I had a terrible flu. I wrote it as the reader is Hecate, because I love her and her power. 

Requests are open I Ask

My masterlist

Join the Taglist

You can't help but smile as you see the small gift your lover has left on your throne. You take it in your hands and read the title of the book that was just left for you, as you realize that a note is hidden inside. I take it carefully and see that it is nothing but Dream's handwriting, and I can't help but smile even more like a silly little girl in love with her first crush. I read the note carefully.

"To my beloved, who has bewitched me since our first meeting with her cursed eyes, casting a spell on me from which I cannot and will not break free. I miss you, please meet me in our place when night falls. I love you.

Forever yours, your humble servant."

I clutch the letter to my chest before hiding it, hearing the throne room door open and the faithful guard speak to me.

"My Lady Hecate, the librarian of the Kingdom of Dreams requests an audience with you, to discuss a book." She says bowing, I nod hastily and wave her in.

Lucienne enters smiling as my guard leaves us alone in the room.

"Hecate, lady of magic and of all witches, it is a pleasure to see you again." She says, continuing to maintain the facade we are obliged to keep. Sogno and I have been lovers for centuries now, but because of bad relations with her family, she is afraid that if they knew that about our relationship, something might happen to me.

I run to hug her, and she merely reciprocates that gesture of affection.

"I have missed you my friend." I say while still holding her in my death grip.

"You too my dear." She replies.

"Why are you here? I just saw Sogno's message. Something didn't happen, did it?" I ask anxiously as I look into her eyes.

"No, don't worry, nothing happened. My king, however, was dying of anxiety in not knowing whether I had received his message and whether I had come this evening, so he asked me to accompany you." She says as she looks up at the sky, smiling, only to darken for a moment. "You know lately Desire has been causing him a lot of trouble, and he's just afraid for you. Every second I see him not busy with the realm, I see him pining in terror of losing you,, he's afraid it will happen as with-"

"With Calliope and Orpheus." I finish for her with the same veil of sadness. "I understand, I've been very worried lately, too. I haven't heard from her in a while."

She smiles and nods at me, before reaching out her arm to embed it in mine.

"Then I'd say it's time to go to him and end everyone's worry." I smile and nod as we leave the room and make up yet another 'excuse to get away from my lover.

The only people who know about the history between me and the dream lord are my trusted advisor Thali and Lucienne, and I can't help but be glad about that because they are two of the people I trust the most.

In a few easy steps I find myself in our favorite hangout, a beautiful flowering forest with a bench on which we often sit and chat or just quietly enjoy each other's presence.

As soon as I see his messy hair and long black coat I start running toward him, wrapping my arms tightly around my chest, while my heart can't stop beating wildly. He does the same, putting his head in the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent.

"God, how I have missed you my love." He says, and finally in that moment, in hearing his voice, I can say I feel at home again.

[nerdferatum]

Books recommendations

Thank you for the tag, @veeples ! I have a few books to add to my TBR now thanks to your post.

Tagging: @brightpinkpeppercorn @plasticdodecagon and @lookingforsomethingcuzimbored

1. The last book I read:

More days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa. I really enjoyed the first book, but unfortunately this one didn't hit the same. I'm also blaming the translation, which was weird and definitely made some choices. Most people reviewing it seem to like it even more than the first one, though.

2. A book I recommend:

This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar. It's such an emotional story. I really liked how the author uses common techniques and tropes in such a unique way that I finish the book knowing that no other book would feel the same. I often struggle to connect with the characters in epistolary literature, but this book is one of the few exceptions. And the world building is incredible.

3. A book that I couldn’t put down:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I have to agree with Vee, Six of Crows (and the sequel, Crooked Kingdom) are such fun reads. You have fantasy, heists, humour, realistic romances... It was the first time reading a book about teenagers as an adult that I thought that only a bunch of problematic teens could pull this off.

4. A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Dracula, by Bram Stocker. If you are into fantasy and want to read a classic, you should read Dracula. As much as I also love Carmilla, knowing what we do about vampires, seeing how much of Dracula has impregnated our pop culture, this book is almost a comedy. Don't get me wrong, it is scary and there is more gore that I would have assumed for my first read, but it's almost better when you already know what's going on. And seeing the source of our current vampire knowledge (or most of it) is very interesting. Also there's a cowboy.

5. A book on my TBR:

Stone butch blues, by Leslie Feinberg. I've seen it recommended everywhere by older queer people, but it was never in stock. So when I saw it a couple moths ago, I had to buy it, and this time it's not only going into my collection, I plan to read it.

6. A book I’ve put down:

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie. I don't like not finishing books. Even when I don't like them, I try to finish them so I can complain properly. I couldn't do that with this one and it pains me because I love Agatha Christie. I've read all the books available in my library. I tried to read it after the movie came out and was so disappointed. Maybe it was the digital format that took me out of the story, but it hasn't happened with any other Christie book. It was so slow and I couldn't get invested.

7. A book on my wishlist:

Señoras ilustres que se empotraron hace mucho tiempo, by Christina Domenech. The translation would be "Fancy ladies who banged a long time ago". It's an illustrated book about historical sapphic women throughout history. I have the two other books by this author, and her sense of humour mixed with the respect towards these women and the emotionality of finding yourself everywhere in history are such a good combination. I don't think they have been translated to English, but if anyone understands spanish, they should consider a read. The only reason why I don't own this one yet is because illustrated books are so expensive that I haven't come up with an excuse yet.

8. A favorite book from my childhood:

Kika Superwitch, by Knister. I can't choose one because all of them were so important to me as a kid. I wanted to be Kika so badly. She was incredibly cool and brave on top of being a modern witch. I also loved the little tricks at the end of the books when they taught you how to do "magic" with ordinary tools and ingredients. I still have all of them.

9. A book you would give to a friend:

The adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. I don't have a particular reason aside from knowing that my friend will love this book because I loved this book. It isn't the type of fantasy we are used to see here, so I think she will appreciate the change.

10. A book of poetry or lyrics you own:

Rhymes and Legends by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. I have stupid beef with this man, but he has a unique way of create the atmosphere for his stories. He will transport you to that place.

11. A nonfiction book you own:

Señoras que se empotraron hace mucho by Christina Domenech. Sorry, I don't read too much non-fiction. These two books became my favourite when for one entry, the author introduced a writer by saying they didn't the world to intrude into their life, so she wouldn't tell us their story. The project started as curiosity from a literature student who never saw herself in the stories and people talked about in class, so she started her own research. Still, she decided to respect the privacy of this person because, even if they lived a long time ago, they still deserved our respect.

12. What are you currently reading:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. It's actually a buddy read and I'm so curious about this re-read. It's been ten years since I read the series for the first time and it's been fun to see what 18-year-old me decided to underline or how I've changed my mind about certain things.

13. What are you planning on reading next:

Either the next Raven Cycle book or The Flood by Michael McDowell. I don't know if it's been just a local thing, but this series blew up a few weeks ago, everyone is so excited and I finally got the first one as a gift. So here we go.

[cancelmecowards]

JUST FINISHED SHADOW AND BONE spoilers maybe

firstly i feel like the experience of watching the show wouldn't be as good to people who haven't read the books? or i might be completely off. because it was. SUPER rushed, obviously. but now that I'm thinking of it maybe having it be an entirely different plotline might have sorta helped i suppose. idk people who haven't read the books yet please tell me your thoughts.

secondly. i wasn't really a fan of a lot of the things and how they really crammed everything up until the end???? like damn???? im intrigued now???? it really is a whole new plotline and I'm living for it let's fucking GO. also. loved the malina conclusion. i REALLY hope Nikolai and Alina don't become a thing.

THE CROWS. MY DARLING BABY CROWS. again, was not a fan with how they incorporated elements from fucking CROOKED KINGDOM!!! but at the same time i get WHY they did it. and for that I'm grateful (like if the show doesn't get renewed hey we atleast for wesper!!! and the 'i will have you without armour' and KAZ ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING PEKKA??? FREDDY CARTER I LOVE YOU FOR THAT) am i happy they speedran NO but am i happy i got to see it YES???? LIKE WESPER OMG "wait we haven't really put labels on it" we all got it wrong the series is actually about wylan and jesper trying to be Functional Boyfriends™ everything else is secondary plot.

(Inej!!! wielding neshyenyer!!!! did not know i needed that!!!! also inej just being a badass in general i just uGH)

i have a LOT of questions though??? if the show DOES get renewed hooowwww the fuck do they plan to move forward???? like uh??? six of crows? why was the cut dark when alina used it is it some merzost thing??? and alina still has?? her powers??? inej isn't with the crows rn??? are they going to integrate king of scars??? what the fuck is??? Alina doing????

absolutely unhinged i am living for this.

[morfinwen]

Fortnight of Books (in one post)

I'm so happy i read enough books last year to do this for once! Here's hoping for a repeat this year. Next year. Whenever.

Overall - best books read in 2023? Tress of the Emerald Sea

Best series you discovered in 2023? The fun thing about "best" is that it doesn't necessarily mean "good". And while i hold out slightly more hope that future Margery Allingham mysteries will be more captivating than The Crime at Black Dudley, i have to admit that there was something about Ngaio Marsh's utterly underwhelming mysteries that kept me reading. So congrats to her for her single victory.

Best reread of the year? Watership Down. Granted it was only one of two re-reads this year, but it's usually the best anyway.

Most surprising (in a good way) book of this year? A few books were minorly surprising. Certain elements of The Sunlit Man were … not unexpected exactly, but took things in interesting directions. I was not expecting to find a book that took place in Wisconsin and was by a nosleep author (Dead Eleven). And Overture to Death and Surfeit of Lampreys were surprisingly enjoyable for having been written by Ngaio Marsh!

Most disappointing book/Book you wish you enjoyed more than you did? I was hoping that The Crime at Black Dudley would show Allingham to be a better author than Marsh. It did not.

Book you recommended most to others in 2023? I don't do book recommendations, but i very nearly suggested Tress of the Emerald Sea to a friend on FB asking for suggestions, and the only reason i didn't is because someone else already had. I believe i also recommended Shardik in a discord group, which i did not re-read in 2023 but definitely should at some point.

Alt question: A book you did not finish in 2023? I really need to finish The Lost Metal. It's not that i was disliking it or finding it boring or anything, i just had trouble maintaining momentum for reading it. Unfortunately, a very common problem.

Alt question: A book you bought in 2023? The Kingdom of Heaven by tumblr mutual Evelyn M. Lewis (i haven't read it yet i'm so sorry i promise i will get to it!!)

Author you read the most in 2023? Ngaio Marsh. She did not deserve it.

Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2023? "Thrilling" is … not the right word, to put it mildly, but there was something gripping about Dead Eleven nonetheless. At the very least, there was something that made me stay up way longer than i should have fine-tuning my review of it. Someday i will understand what it is that makes certain books good but not gripping/gripping but not good, and how to recognize it, etc.

Book that was most outside your comfort zone/new genre exploration? Dead Eleven again, for being a book i just picked up at the library without having heard of the author before or having any idea of it beyond what the dust jacket/first chapters indicated.

Favorite cover of the year award goes to: All of Sanderson's Secret Project books had beautiful covers, but i'll probably give the prize to Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. It's currently my phone background!

Most beautifully-written book you read in 2023? Hmm … I wasn't quite as impressed with Stiefvater's prose in my re-read of All the Crooked Saints as i was the first time, but i think she still gets the credit. I love Sanderson, but his prose is more utilitarian than pretty.

Most memorable character: Does Hoid count? His role in Tress and the Emerald Sea was his best appearance yet (second place going to his role in "Yumi and the Nightmare Painter", where he was a coatrack for most of it).

Most annoying character: Lily Beckett from Dead Eleven. I had some sympathy for her at the start, but … ugh. None of the characters in that book were very good, but she was easily the worst.

Favorite couple: Charlie and Tress from Tress and the Emerald Sea.

Worst character death: Obviously a spoiler, but, Yumi's (temporary) death in Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Props to Sanderson that i actually thought she was gone for good for a moment.

Favorite non-romance relationship: Nomad and Aux from The Sunlit Man.

Alt: A book you enjoyed well-enough but wasn’t a stand-out? Giving Death in Ecstasy a shout-out for being the first Ngaio Marsh book i almost kinda enjoyed, sorta.

The book I read but have already forgotten: Turns out i read The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages last January, and completely forgot about it. Oops.

Book with a scene that left you reeling: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. If you've read it, you know the one. Not quite on the level of the basement in Warbreaker, but pretty darn close.

Alt question: A book that made you laugh? Surfeit of Lampreys, believe it or not. Though the title still sucks.

Book you read in 2023 and are most likely to reread in 2024? Tress and the Emerald Sea.

Alt question: A book you struggled with but completed? The Crime at Black Dudley. I think the fact that it's ostensibly a murder mystery, but switched less than halfway in to a "escape the criminals" plot, then back to the murder, was not in its favor.

Series you gave up on in 2023: I think i'm done with Ngaio Marsh.

Favorite passage/quote of 2023: Maybe i should have taken notes. Since i didn't, i browsed the quotes page for the best books i read, and came up with the following selections: “Do you have darkness inside you?” “Yes,” Tony said. “And do you want to be rid of it?” This is a harder question to answer than one might think at first blush. Almost no one would think it’s correct to answer this question with a no, but the truth is that we men and women often hate to be rid of the familiar, and sometimes our darkness is the thing we know the best. ~ All the Crooked Saints All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed. ~ Watership Down Memories are fossils, the bones left by dead versions of ourselves. More potently, our minds are a hungry audience, craving only the peaks and valleys of experience. The bland erodes, leaving behind the distinctive bits to be remembered again and again. Painful or passionate, surreal or sublime, we cherish those little rocks of peak experience, polishing them with the ever-smoothing touch of recycled proxy living. ~ Tress of the Emerald Sea

Book which had the overall greatest impact on you this year: Perhaps Dead Eleven - i already mentioned how it kept me up late writing a review. A mostly negative review, but still.

A book you didn’t read this year that will be your #1 priority in 2024? I've got a long list of books that i checked out from the library (or wanted to) that i never got around to last year, hoping this one works out better. I suppose the priority goes to The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, which i started last year but haven't finished yet.

New book you are most anticipating for 2024? I don't really anticipate books, and i'm out of relevant alternative questions.

I had an amazing 20 books on my "read" list this year -- not sure if it beats 2019 or whenever my other reading spree was, but it blows most other years out of the water, and i'm hopeful for 2024.

[greypetrel]

8, 10, 35, and 47 if they haven't been asked yet! 💗

Hi Mo! ✨

Tis the prompt list

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Oh this is nice!

Mh, as a reader, I tend to prefer the end. In sagas of more than one book/movie, I noticed that usually my favourites are always the ending ones. (Return of the King, Crooked Kingdom, Ptolemy's Gate, Revenge of the SIth... The notable exception is Hunger Games FINNICK and His Dark Materials -for which I can't choose one, but I'm not starting to talk about Philip Pullman or we'll end this ask in a month's time).

As a writer... I'll tell you when I'll have actually finished one fic, LOL. But I think the end would be an answer for all that. I like the sense of closure of a well told story, when push comes to shove and everything falls into place.

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

Pretty disappointingly answered here!

35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? 

For me it's the reason they act. Give them some relatability.

A teeny, tiny bit of reason that you can see they act upon, and they twisted to make it unacceptable.

I don't like villains with nothing at stake, that just act because they're evil. The example I can think about is Doctor Strange. The villain wants to conquer the Earth because they desire it above everything else. Why they desire it? Why in the multiverse and in an infinity of planets they particularly want EARTH? WHY, MOVIE? I liked that movie, but that thing made me roll my eyes inside my head twice in a row. I won't talk about Star Wars episode IX that episode never existed and it can't hurt me.(Joking, I'm really happy if you enjoyed episode IX, for me it was everything I didn't want to see unfortunately, I liked Kylo Ren as a villain A LOT.)

It shouldn't mean that villains should be justified for acting out of ethics and morality, no. But just knowing why they are doing what they can, without excusing what they do is the bare minimum.

Also, keep them a constant threat looming over the horizon. Make them limit your characters' moves and actions. Make them felt, even if they're not visible. But this is the Tolkien fan speaking. (but isn't it wonderful how Sauron never appears in LOTR -books- and you still can sense him looming around?)

47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

At least two.

One to check if the structure and pacing is ok or if I need to move some scenes around or expand them (it happened in chapters 27 and 28 in Monster Fic. Initially they were one. I realised something was off and decided to pull whatever got in chapter 28 in a new one, expanding some things better, adding others.)

There's one revision every time I change/move around something, just to check if everything flows.

Then another one for grammar, spelling and so on, and to add html for AO3 if needed.

And another one when it's posted just to check, which usually brings out more mistakes I didn't notice, ends up in me rushing to correct it and hope I was quicker than any reader. xP

[wanderingwolpertinger]

finished Six of Crows yesterday (yes I skipped shadow and bone entirely the opening exposition was annoying me buuuut I'll go back later. Blame my friend she said I should start with SoC) and I haven't started Crooked Kingdom (no spoilers please!) however I wanted to dump my thoughts for a bit (I probably ended up being overly critical so if this is your fav series maybe scroll by lol)

-the characters were the highlight of the story for me, super well executed banter. Tie between Kaz and Matthias for fav POV. (Kaz's backstory was especially well done, the way it influenced his actions throughout SoC was very natural)

-worldbuilding/lore was pretty easy to follow even though I did not read S&B or watch the show. magic system is pretty cool, excited to see it fleshed out in S&B

-not sure how I feel about how ship-happy this series is (maybe the author was trying to outrun ship war potential idk). possibly makes more sense when viewed as a series? (will have to update my opinion later) but overall having every main pov character paired off somewhat sappily by the end of book one was ehhh? I'm not opposed to romantic subplots but I felt they may have held too much influence in the main plot here.

-hrrmmm love me some GrimDark (not) (ok not when it's not done very impactfully imo) (mmmm let's not explore the ethics of casually taking lives for more than 0.5 seconds) (yes it's a fantasy book but still) (particularly Jesper's pov was ... odd) (he seemed to have issues with his actions but also didn't?) (maybe it will make more sense upon reread)

-Standard Heist Plot (no notes) (yes to explosives)

-ok back to the crit. one of the reviews in the front of my copy compared SoC to ASOIAF (haven't read it but I know enough to verify) and like yes actually it really did feel somewhat like aggressively PG-13 Game of Thrones. (I dunno this is more of a personal gripe with authors feeling the need to inject the sexual exploitation of women into their fantasy novels in order to be more Realistic) (especially when it's minors) (bleh)

-idk a lot of the side worldbuilding choices felt like something an edgy 14 year old would choose because they were Dark ™️

-however props for character design, the appearance/physicality of each of the Crows was wonderfully distinct

-not in loooove with the ending. It sets up book two nicely yes but kinda gave me KOTLC cliffhanger flashbacks

-sort of feels like this book is a sanitized adult fantasy novel with de-aged protagonists (could be being unfair here) and a YA plot

-no actually the number of times Nina's breasts are mentioned is absurdly high, the heck was up with that

-so Matthias being a ex-witch hunter = bad (duh) cause he was going to send Grisha to their deaths. Ok makes sense. Now tell me why Kaz/Inej/Jesper killing somewhat indiscriminately is not really addressed in moral terms beyond "necessary"? (Actually ignore this one for now I would need to do a reread before I have full thoughts on this) (But there will be thoughts)

-overall, I had a good time reading this book. Yeah I had problems with it but some of that could honestly stem from the fact that I am not 15 anymore and have different taste in books. (ok ok also I am actively comparing this with Lockwood and Co and I feel that series took equally dark topics but explored them much more maturely) (and honestly also Mistborn. That series also had dark worldbuilding but didn't linger on what it didn't have to?)

[bethanyactually]

@pressdbtwnpages tagged everyone who felt like doing this, and I enjoyed reading her list so here we go.

last song: uhhhh I think it was Dead in the Water by SPELLES

last show: I am also not much of a live-music person generally, but I went to see Barenaked Ladies last summer in Oregon with my best friend, a show that had been postponed since 2020, and it was super fun.

currently watching:

Thanks to @itsactuallycorrine putting it on my dash a lot lately, I've started my first Ugly Betty rewatch, and I had forgotten how goofy and hilarious and sincere and full of heart that show was, so I'm super enjoying that.

@wereadtoliveathousandlives and I are coming to the end of our slow rewatch of Nancy Drew because S4 is FINALLY ALMOST HERE, May 31st on the CW, 8pm EDT!! (@samirant, take note!)

Troy and I are slowly making our way through the most recent season of Mythic Quest, and we just watched the first episode of Night Agent (@andyouweremine kept putting it on my dash) and might keep going with that.

We've paused on Ted Lasso so we can marathon it once the season is through.

currently reading:

I just last night finished my re-read of the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology. I might give the Nikolai Lantsov books a try next, since I haven't read them before and now I've met him and some of the other characters on the Netflix series Shadow and Bone (my annoyance with S2 is what prompted my re-read of the Crows books).

Technically still in the middle of listening to Broken Homes, the 4th Rivers of London book, with Troy.

Also, thanks to @amazingstacey's recommendation, I've listened to most of Mrs. Wickham by Sarah Page, a fun audio play about what might have happened with Lydia Bennet after her marriage to Wickham.

I just finished Contested Will, a book about the history of anti-Stratfordians who doubt that William Shakespeare was the guy from Stratford.

I read about ten pages of Murder Must Advertise, the 8th Peter Wimsey mystery, before getting distracted by the Crows, and I'll get back to that at some point (cc: @preux-chevalier)

Elliora and I will start our last two books for the school year on monday, First Light by Rebecca Stead and My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson

current obsession: Yeah, it's still the CW’s Nancy Drew. If you are at all interested in people solving mysteries, found family, how people deal with trauma, ghosts, or sloooow burn romances, (to quote Kelsey) please join us, this fandom is so small and the text is so rich.

tagging: everyone I already tagged in this post, plus anyone else who feels like doing this.

[sleepless-crows]

Get to Know Me

i have 2 sideblogs that have nothing that isn't here @afraid-to-jinx-it @thepretentiouspoet

if you haven't watched the new black panther movie, please block the tags 'black panther wakanda forever spoilers', 'wakanda forever spoilers', 'bpwf spoilers', 'black panther 2 spoilers', and 'black panther spoilers'. i'll use all these tags so you can do only one! but these are the ones i've noticed many people use

actual post under the cut

favorite books: six of crows, crooked kingdom, king of scars, rule of wolves, the ballad of never after (currently)

favorite authors: marissa meyer and leigh bardugo

what do i post: fandom stuff (so mainly grishaverse), lots of taylor swift stuff, funny reblogs, and rants

my MAIN fandoms:

taylor swift (like very prominent in my blog)

grishaverse (also very very prominent)

riordanverse (i post/reblog at least once a day, or not)

the lunar chronicles (i post sometimes and i love basically any marissa meyer and I HAVE YET TO READ CURSED)

keeper of the lost cities (i still haven't finished stellarlune please tag your spoilers <3)

once upon a broken heart (i reblog but never post but i love ouabh and tbona so much i swear)

i have read other books but these are just the ones that i really, really love and hold a very special place in my heart and what i made a tumblr account for)

HI THERE

you are welcome on my blog unless you aren't

what do you put on these things

my favorite characters ever are Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Zoya Nazyalensky, and Nikolai Lantsov in no particular order (i do have in other fandoms but in my life currently, it's them)

i should tell you what i post/reblog about but i myself can't even count them. but if i had to give a generalization, 85% of the things i post are either about six of crows or taylor swift. but i post a lot more so, should i write that down??

okay so. taylor swift. six of crows. rants. percy jackson. the lunar chronicles (i never post but i reblog, i don't know why). keeper of the lost cities (i liveblog reading stellarlune and its been *counts on fingers* a few weeks since i actually made progress help). short short essay rants. mbti. once upon a broken heart (only reblog because i don't think a lot of my followers have read it lol). trying to get haiku bot's attention. humor or stupid posts (its subjective, you tell me). omg wednesday now too.

please send me asks. i am bored. everything is still and unmoving. literally say or ask anything. just ask. please.

i also have a knack of making six of crows x taylor swift songs lyric analyses because so if you like that great

Renegade and Kanej

All Too Well and Kaz Brekker

Hoax and Kanej

also a ton of other ones that are just a lot. dwoht with kanej and zoyalai. ciwyw with zoyalai.

and some that aren't analyses but treacherous is kanej. new romantics is the crows. mirrorball is nikolai lantsov.

(and a lot more in my drafts and probably some i forgot)

(you can find them better in @afraid-to-jinx-it than in this account if you want to search my blog for them)

i tag queues with "tryna block queue out cause i'll never impress you"

[traveltherightroad]

because I don't have a microblog anymore but I'm possessed with the ever-present need to talk about things, here are my June books

Crook o'Lune by ECR Lorac

Incredibly atmospheric murder mystery, with a stolid and unassuming but still intriguing detective -- just a regular old police detective guy, no fancy frills about him. This was set in the highlands of Scotland with sheep farming and little villages' ancient history and weather and hiking and postwar as the atmosphere. I like ECR Lorac as a new-to-me "classic" detective fiction writer. There's always something just a little bit amiss about the crimes themselves, and I think it's something to do with the craft but I still can't put my finger on it, so I keep reading them to try and hone in more and more.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

oh my WORD, 10 out of 10. This book fundamentally changed how I view myself and womanhood in a really subtle but important way. On the surface it's just a nice little novella about a grandmother and her grandchild on a small island (based on Jansson's childhood). But whoaaaaa is it much more than that!

The Road from Belhaven by Margo Livesey

I'm not quite sure, still, what to think of this book. It's a story of a girl who can see little glimpses into the future, but that's not really what the story is based around -- it's about the choices you make, and the repercussions of choices, and family ties, and destiny... but kind of in a mid way.

Death of Jezebel by Christianna Brand

Another new-to-me detective book! I liked this one a lot. Nice and convoluted locked room mystery and a really good cast of characters, even if a little one-dimensional. Stories from the past surfacing in the present, funny costumes, British dry wit, great.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Don't get me wrong, the content of this book is horrifying. On so so so many levels. Horrifying white people making horrifying choices and killing plenty of innocent Native Americans. But unfortunately it was not written as well as I'd hoped, as well as I'd wanted it to be after the reputation it has had over the length of time since the movie came out.

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

Moving memoir about a woman who got acute myeloid leukemia at the age of ~20. Especially moving to me, the wife of a cancer patient who got chronic myeloid leukemia at the age of 27. Lots of it really relatable and horrifying in equal parts. Meditations on death and mortality and yet somehow not too depressing.

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

Two girls go missing; what happens to the community they've left behind? Set in a really remote part of Russia's far east, the Kamchatka peninsula, this book was equal parts horrifying and enthralling. Not your typical "thriller" but thrilling nonetheless. I think I got a recommendation to read it from an NPR best books list (although I could be wrong about that).

Current reads I started or read some of in June but haven't finished yet: To Kill A Mockingbird (along with Close Reads); Dracula (with Dracula Daily), Kristin Lavransdatter: The Cross, book 3 (along with Close Reads)

[vegancas]

i finished watching shadow and bone and i really enjoyed it, right up until they made it seem like alina's gonna be a bad guy??? like i was never really a malina shipper when i read the books but i was a bit sad about them not getting their happy ending yet, but like i could accept it. but after that??? no happy ending and possibly ruining alina's character??? :/ i am also a bit disappointed that they condensed all three books into only two seasons as well? like if you wanted to keep mal and alina around for longer why not draw out their story? i know it's so they can start on the actual six of crows stuff but it's still a bit annoying. and apparently they want to do a spin-off for six of crows too? like i don't get it, why not just end alina's story and say okay this is the six of crows show now? tbf i have only read up to six of crows and haven't read any of nikolai's books so maybe it makes sense idk. at least i don't feel like i was spoiled at all for anything in crooked kingdom (if there were spoilers don't tell me, i'll figure it out when i read it eventually lol)

[evenstarfalls]

Finished my goodreads challenge for the year and there's no way I could put together a top 10 bc I read a lot of good books so I'll just do a recap/roundup I guess!!

Kind of started off the year with a reading slump, something I'm hoping to change in 2023. Didn't get through a book til March, when I discovered VE Schwab through Vicious and blazed through her adult books. Was a wild few weeks. I also read Cinder's Adventure in March, which was a wild ride let me tell you.

In April I read the last Wings of FIrst book, flames of hope. I also watched Netflix Heartstopper, which is not a novel, but I immediately read the graphic novel, watched it a few more times for good measure, and then read all her books. Loveless was actually a reread, but I did enjoy them.

That also kinda kicked me into an agressively looking for queer books to read phase. Made me realize how badly I needed them, I guess. Cinderella Is Dead, Evelyn Hugo, Cemetery Boys, all of Casey McQuiston's books, and a handful of others were read in May and June and July. Also read the first two ember in the ashes and continued my Schwab marathon with Gallant, Monsters of Verity, and the first cassidy blake and everyday angel.

This was also the year I reread Percy Jackson, which was a lot of fun. Got through the whole first series and half of HoO over the summer. I still need to finish that, actually. I also reread Renegades, and Vicious and Vengeful in June. (2nd of 3 times reading Vicious!) It has been an exceptionally reready year.

This summer my local bookstore had a summer reading challenge. There were like 25 books to read and I got through about half of them; fewer than I'd been shooting for, but still good all things considered. Most of them were lame. some were books I've already mentioned that were coincidentally on the list. Best book I got out of that? The Count of Monte Cristo. I read it in August, and it was definitely my longest book of the year.

This fall I also fell into a reading slump, busy with school. I read the next two cassidy blake books, Cursed released and I got to meet Marissa Meyer (!!!), I read Schwab's ExtraOrdinary and hated the art, Ninth House, but wasn't that many by my standards. Sad times. College is unfortunate like that sometimes.

Just this month I've been able to get back into reading more. I reread Six of Crows, read Children of Blood and Bone and the rest of Everyday Angel, They Both Die at the End, The Girl from the Sea, and yes. These Violent Delights (the gay one). Jumped in at the last minute as one of my top books of the year. I am thinking about it right now and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon.

Tonight I finished reading Vicious for the third time. I liked it that much. Definitely my top book of the year, and the only one I feel like I can definitively rank...it gets messy after #1. My sister bought me a signed copy for my birthday, and I can't wait to finally get it in my clutches next year.

And next year? I'm hoping to finish my read/reread of the Riordanverse (I've never actually read the last 3 or 4), reread Crooked Kingdom and Vengeful, and maybe some Marie Lu, read The Archived (I've been avoiding it because idw be through with schwab), Warcross, Children of Virtue and Vengence, and the last two ember in the ashes books. Also planning to get through a bunch of other books that I own but haven't read because reasons and reading slumps. Excited for Hell Bent, The Stolen Heir, Stars and Smoke, With a Little Luck and, of course, Threads of Power. I miss my babies and I want the book title.

On the off chance you read all this rambling, thanks bestie ily

[wildwood-reader]

Book Haul

November 20, 2022

So, I've gone to the bookstore three times in the last couple of weeks. The first time was after work where I bought three books. The second time was last weekend when my bestie/roomie went to pick up one she'd ordered, but I didn't get anything that time. And then I'd planned not to buy any more books this month, but ended up at a bookstore again yesterday anyway, and really splurged that time. 🙈

These are the books I bought during my first visit:

The Martian by Andy Weir

I originally read this as an ebook back in 2015 and I've been wanting to get a physical copy of it for years now, but for some reason I put it off time and time again. But then, during this bookstore trip, I finally decided enough is enough, and I finally got it. 💪🏻 This book is one of my favorite books of all time and I'm really happy to have it on my physical shelf now. ✨️

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

The Last Hours is one of the series in the Shadowhunters franchise I haven't read yet and since the covers are always beautiful, I of course wanted a physical copy of them. The bookstore I went to only had a copy of the second book, not the first, so I'll have to go back at some point to see if they have the first one in stock again. I'm still reading The Bane Chronicles, so it'll be a little while until I get to this trilogy, but for now, I'm happy to have it. 😋

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

I watched the movie for the first time several years ago and loved it, so of course I also want to read the book it's based on. This edition of it has a very charming cover, I think, so I'm excited to read it in the near future (though likely not before 2023). 💪🏻

And this is the splurge I went on during my third bookstore visit 🙈:

The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo, illustrated by Dani Pendergast

I've been seeing this beautiful graphic novel prequel of the Shadow and Bone trilogy in bookstores for a while now and kept wanting to get it, but always ended up walking out without it, but not this time! 🤣 This time I got it and immediately read it when I got home, which you can read a little more about in my reading update for this week. 😇

Shadow and Bone / Siege and Storm / Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I got this one as a box set. Similar to The Martian, I've been wanting to get physical copies of the S&B trilogy for aaaages. While I have only read the first two books and still need to read the third, I love this world a lot and the conflict and dynamic between Alina and the Darkling. I'm really excited to finish the trilogy and see how it ends. 👀👌🏻 And the covers and the spines are so pretty! 💖

Six of Crows / Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I started reading Six of Crows as an ebook after I watched the first season of the S&B show on Netflix because I really fell in love with the Crows in it. I have yet to finish it, my ADHD brain got distracted after a while, but I really enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to reading the rest of the book. 💪🏻

And now I really need to take a book-buying break, this is getting out of hand. 🙈

[august-anon]

Me: this is gonna be a short one shot, just so that I can feel out these two It characters. Barely over 1K at most

The oneshot: is 2.4K and not done