#i want to reread all 3 + the novella but I have so many other books to read

[sochilll]

One of the (many) things I love about the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy is how Pip spirals, she finds herself unrecognizable, she can no longer firmly tell right from wrong but she never loses her loyalty to her loved ones. She is extremely stubborn, she does not know when to quit except when someone she loves is in danger or is even at risk of being in danger. Even in As Good As Dead when she is at the height of her mental distress, completely lost sight of herself-the her from before Andie Bell-she still prioritizes giving her friends plausible deniability, protecting her family, keeping suspicion off of Ravi. She loses herself but she doesn’t, not really. She’s still the same. She still knows what matters and she would still protect her loved ones over herself every time.

[avidabsurdist]

Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

[crimeronan]

Hmm. Belos being Weird and Bad towards Hunter so in his need to control the children he continues to be possessive over Hunter and uses this against Luz like 'he is only yours because I gave him to you, I can take him away'... and Luz knows this is a real threat because Belos continually Takes Hunter Away to do Bad Things so her fear that he won't come back is SO real but she also hates objectifying him like that and wants to respect hunters autonomy...

you know, if you WANT to interpret it this way.... you COULD probably make an argument that it's AU canon-compliant if something like this did happen. bc i reread the luz POV fic recently and i was like "good GOD. how many Deeply Upsetting Implications could i cram into one novella. girl what were you processing here" (i know what i was processing here)

like. it's true that luz doesn't realize hunter is being physically abused and that she thinks she's had a pretty well-adjusted upbringing, BUT.

1) even before the grimwalker horror, she acknowledges that she and hunter are both considered "eccentric" because they have no other peers;

2) she keeps insisting that belos is doing all of his worst, creepiest, most manipulative bullshit "because he's a good father and he loves her" (LEAVE HER ALONE);

3) she somehow intuitively KNOWS that acting possessive and imperious about hunter will get her what she wants. "he's mine" indeed!

and there's some separation already baked into their day-to-day lives -- luz has private lessons with belos that hunter isn't present for, hunter CLEARLY has had time alone with belos that luz isn't present for. luz doesn't know hunter is being physically hurt but she Does textually know that being around belos makes him stressed/upset. and that belos hates him. for no fucking reason. she and hunter both acknowledge that she's the favorite without any bitterness or jealousy between them, because it's just.... how things are. a fact of life.

like. belos probably never told her explicitly "i gave him to you and i can take him away," that Would be a slight AU of the AU -- it would make her a lot quieter and more fearful of punishment than she is in the text. but being told that hunter Belongs to her and she can do whatever she wants to him and if he fusses about it, she can come to belos to set him straight....?

that is like. Very Much a conversation they could have had.

[oneinterests]

Hi! i really wanted to make a post describing all of my favorite books (especially since i just reorganized my bookshelf to get one whole shelf for all of my all time favorites) They’re all technically in order from “least” favorite to absolute favorites :D

8: The Golden Compass- This was one of my favorite books/movies as a kid. I wanted my own alethiometer so bad and from what i remember i actually tried making my own with paper. Rereading it again now that i’m older made me feel very nostalgic, and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart :) also the scene where Lyra eats a seal kidney raw is burned into my mind 10/10 i love the weird gory moments in this book.

7: The Subtle Knife- i never knew that The Golden compass had a sequel until a classmate asked me my favorite book- and when i said The Golden Compass he asked me if i liked the other two books. I was so shocked and for some reason never thought they would have a second book out. I really enjoyed this one, and the deaths physically made me put down the book. I 100% need to reread this one again.

6: Bluebird- From what i can remember, this was recommended to me as a Gardians of the Galaxy type adventure with a lesbian main character fighting against oppressive governments. I really enjoyed the story and the characters developments throughout it, and i should really reread it again :)

5: The Salt Grows Heavy- I finished this one in about two hours? it’s a quick and gory read that’s basically about characters from a very fucked up horror fairytale. A mermaid traveling after destroying her now deceased husbands kingdom, and a frankensteins monster like creature being haunted by their past. i love the descriptions of the two main characters and the horror is so so good. if you don’t like flowery writing (i think that’s what it’s called lol) you probably won’t like this one. i love complicated writing, especially if it’s in a novella.

4: This is How You Lose the Time War- Speaking of flowery writing, this one is basically poetry with how in depth the authors go into their writing. Two agents named Red and Blue fight on opposing sides of The Time War. This book really just throws you right into the deep end and it’s really a sink or swim type of read. I love books that make you think or ones you have to reread multiple times to appreciate everything fully :)

3: The Spirit Bates its Teeth- How do i even explain how much i love this one. It’s so horrifying but so hopeful at the same time? Meeting Daphne for the first time made me cry, she’s one of my favorite characters in the book. So many trigger warnings for this one, i thought i was ready but i had to take a break part way through reading it. So worth it though.

2: The Entire Murderbot Series (Seven books so far, and i literally cant rank them)- Quite literally one of two of my most favorite series of all time. It’s very Sci-Fi, with a self proclaimed Murderbot grudgingly saving its humans and figuring out what it wants to do after breaking free of its governor module. All of the characters are LGBTQ+, and there’s multiple polyam characters :D The only downfall is how expensive the books are, and 90% of them are novellas. I believe when i bought the first book it was $15? But i personally think it makes up for the price since i have reread them all at least four times now :)

1. The locked tomb series. (1-Nona, 2-Gideon, 3-Harrow to be specific) :D

I physically can’t describe how much i love this book series. I’m planning on getting a tattoo of one of the quotes in GTN after Alecto drops. They’re absolutely insane books, with random meme references sprinkled in. (“None Houses with left grief.” fucking threw me for a loop when i first read it) They are absolutely books you have to read multiple times to understand- the first pages in GTN took me three months to get through because i didn’t understand half of what was going on. But as soon as it clicked i flew through it and finished the book in under a week. Nona is my absolute favorite, and i annotated the shit out of my paperback copy. (Which i might make a separate post about… because i have literally no one to talk about these books with lol)

(Also yes. I do have two copies of each book… i bought the first two as paperbacks first, and the third one only had the hardcover available. I wanted a full set of matching books after reading them all, especially because i wanted to make a mini shrine for them on my shelf. i can’t wait for Alecto to come out.)

and that’s all of them so far!! i still have 39 books on my TBR shelf, so i might update this list whenever i add to it! :)

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: July Wrap-Up.

This month, I picked my knitting back up with a vengeance, started a Three Sentences Writing Challenge, AND participated in several work-adjacent Social Events (who am I, even), On Top Of accidentally nerfing myself with several brick-like books, so! This little stack isn't half bad. Photos and/or reviews linked below:

ORDINARY MONSTERS - ★★ This was a miss for me, y'all, AND it was a brick, so it took a hot minute to read. I wanted it to be better than it was, but it rambled and wandered Too Much (which, coming from me, you KNOW is bad). Salty also-rambly 1.5k review linked.

IF FOUND, RETURN TO HELL - ★★★½ Way cuter than I was expecting!! I had a good time with the second person. Hugely relatable (which. wild. all things considered.).

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - ★★★½ Funnier than anticipated, and very readable for something out of the '50s! I see why it's a cornerstone of the (sub)genre. Glad I have a copy on hand now.

THE ACTOR AND THE TARGET - ★★★★★ This Rewired My Brain. It took me three (3) weeks to get through. It was so good. If you're a writer, definitely check this out, 10/10 recommend.

WHEN AMONG CROWS - ★★★½ I checked this out from the library because hardback novellas are Expensive if you're not sure you vibe with the author's style, but I had a good time! Witcher fans should descend on this, I think.

ALWAYS COMING HOME - 76*/618 pages read; will report back later. I asked the People about this one, and the People have Spoken (read: this won my What Do I Read Next Poll), but I may or may not have miscalcuated how many brain cells I have available lately between work and writing, so I may or may not be cutting this with library books. I'll finish it. Eventually. (*asterisk because she keeps referencing Other Pages In Line, and every time she does I jump ahead to read those pages instead and then come back to where I was. I'm dual wielding bookmarks through this tome, it's an Experience™ so far!)

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. I am refining this as I figure out my wrap up posts (epiphany of this month: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[quietbluejay]

Prince of Crows

atmospheric so i wonder will i get more of a grasp on Lion from this novella

this is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny good guys bad guys and explosions as far as the eye can see anyways looks like ADB is enjoying some purple prose huh how did Curze survive this he's been badly wounded by Lion, many, many times lion externally: fall lion internally: why won't you die???

you know what, considering i was sitting alone in the dark on my computer during my dnd game, i get it so there's 3 sets of red eyes glowing why is this so funny to me so from context we can gather that: -these 3 are night lords -possibly the only three that escaped a battle -battle started with ambush -opponents are dark angels

the other problem is figuring out who is in command of these clowns okay they have Curze and they're trying to treat him also it got mentioned that Sevatar sacrificed himself well surprise he's here

sevatar: well i guess we know how the raven guard felt sevatar: things are looking bad sevatar: i like you three the least dude 1: This is not the time for your sense of humour he's got a fun sense of humour, Sevatar, I see why people like him

so they want to regroup and strike back at the dark angels sevatar calls them idiots dude's also got style honestly i think maybe i just have a disconnect a lot of the time when it comes to ADB's writing like I feel like it should be emotionally affecting me more but it doesn't well the Black Legion books did more, also I should reread them at some point lol but i had the same experience with Betrayer it's still a good read though don't get me wrong as usual when i feel like i should be getting something from a book that I'm not, I go into overanalysis mode "i should be loving this, why don't i" anyways tldr he leaves his spear there, it's got a special effect, one of the three notices and goes for the door and the other two don't sevatar: you noticed so you get to live dude who noticed calls him insane

so Sevatar doesn't feel sorrow when he sees Curze in the apothecarion meanwhile he hears all his brothers, murderers, torturers, flayers etc weeping

yikes also apparently curze talks to the bodies!\ I like this guy Trez

dude hasn't slept in 2 weeks oh it's another chronic pain dude

eyes emoji

time to meet the new night lord command crew interesting bunch

lmao also owo what is up with the Raven Guard dude who switched sides after isstvan v?? gahh i keep wanting to read about isstvan v but it's in a bad book

click click aw man he really does care about curze

is this baby curze??

i think it is baby curze man like were they babies or young children when they came out of their pods i guess it varied??

the night haunter grapples with concupiscence:

owo

oh this is very interesting also another point in favour of the foiling of dorn and curze in that they both deny themselves personhood for the sake of a higher ideal

wow the emperor straight up blinded people lmao and thus Curze and Sevatar meet inside Curze's head

i dunno, I don't think well okay, Angron doesn't hate his legion he just doesn't care one way or the other about them

uh aren't space marine recruits children

ah man

he doesn't get it and there's no way for him to get it

DRAG HIM

i am kissing sevatar on the mouth do you know how long i have waited for SOMEONE, ANYONE in warhammer to give a speech like this and Sevatar is back in the real world and they're about to be attacked by the Dark Angels

XD also very interesting is the focus on servitors as lobotomized slaves in the POV of all the characters in this or well not focus but how it gets brought up multiple times everyone else in other works just sort of treats servitors as things interesting

you know what sevatar is a great character to throw at idw1

ah konrad is up and about

sevatar internally: sigismund doesn't have to deal with this shit

WOW HE CLUNG TO SIDE OF SPACE FIGHTER SHIP TO MAKE IT TO THE DA SHIP

incredible anyways finished it! very interesting

[darcyolsson]

In the shadowhunter universe i think the circle has the most amount of fucked up relationships. Like everybodys got complex outside the norm relationships with at least two other members. The circle is so fascinating to me. The most popular and charismatic guy is evil and the few people who figure it out takes forever to do so. People are properly rebelling against their parents. They make themself a big menace as teenagers. And on the other side youve got the downworlders reaction to this. Tessa and Magnus are heartbroken. They give up on Stephen. There is so much going on but we are given so little.

YEAH i think the circle is such an underexplored aspect of the tsc universe!! i highly doubt we'll ever get any sort of series or even a full side book dedicated to them but the tidbits of info we do have from the short stories are so fascinating. it honestly brought some much-needed nuance to the tmi parents, bc even though we do have a few details about what went down (like the circle originally not being anti-downworlders, but sort of gradually moving in that direction after valentine's father died) i did feel like tmi left me wondering a bit how they all ended up as a part of an extremist group.

my favourite thing about the circle is that, at least at the start, they all have very similar views to the tmi gang: that the clave is corrupt in many ways (objectively true), and needs to be reformed. especially in tftsa it's a statement we hear simon say over and over and over again and i just LOVE that juxtaposition, the implication that if a different kind of person had gotten a hold of simon & clary and even the rest of the gang they could've ended up exactly like their parents.

and tbh, i just love reading about the circle and their drama and misery, lol. i love it when characters act really terribly i love it when characters manipulate & get manipulated and are then eaten alive by guilt. the evil we love is a gem, just robert experiencing flop after flop and ruining everyone's lives. and then becoming miserable for the rest of his life because of it. genuinely very fun. i think cc does morally gray characters very well (when she wants to, which is rarely </3) and i just love to watch miserable people be miserable what can i say!!

also, so true what you said about fucked up relationships. the circle didnt fit into the big love web i made for all of tsc because there's nothing linking them to any of the tmi/tid/tda/etc characters (thank god lmfao), but behold, i made them their own tiny love dodecahedron for funsies:

is it more contained than the 74-people big tsc love web*? perhaps. is it any less insane? absolutely not.

*which, by the way, misses many people, as i've found out in my tmi and novella reread. but they dont fit on there so i'll have to recreate it in its entirety if i want everyone to fit, which is not something i want to spend my time doing, because i am insane but not that insane

[felinemotif]

also, uno reverse, book rec ask game questions 9, 22, 25, 48, 85, 89, 124, 131! feel free to pick and choose <3

<3333

9. your favorite book of 2020

i can't remember what year i read most of my books, let alone years back, but upon some googling my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell was originally published that year and since i love that book, let's just say it was that one.

will say though for anyone considering reading it that as a warning, the ending isn't what most would find satisfying but it did make sense to me.

22. your favorite thriller

i don't read thriller as often as i would like to, to be honest. i usually get distracted by books from different genres (namely historical fiction). always open for recs though!

in the future for this genre i am looking forward to reading the paris apartment by lucy foley. i've been told that it's good.

25. a book by your favorite author

perhaps the easiest question i've ever been asked in my 20+ years of life. without a doubt this would be in the dream house by carmen maria machado. i've recommended this book + author countless times on my blog and irl for good reason; carmen is a master of her craft, and this was such a raw and intensely honest memoir.

there's a long list of content warnings as it dives deep into domestic abuse in a sapphic relationship so for anyone who would like to read it, please take care to check that ahead of time.

i think it's the most important thing i have ever, and will ever, read.

48. your favorite sci-fi novel

without a doubt this would be into the drowning deep by mira grant. this is about terrifying mermaids and sisterhood and is soooo atmospheric. it's a follow-up to the author's novella rolling in the deep, and i do think it needs to be read in order. lots of horror elements too. overall it's just a really enjoyable book.

i think i actually have a pdf of into the drowning deep saved somewhere on my laptop and can send it to anyone who would be interested.

85. your favorite book about magical realism

it's been a while but i want to say that the gilded wolves by roshani chokshi was magical realism??? possibly??? it was found family + heist + paris, 1889 + magic with a beautiful and diverse set of characters and touched on issues like ableism, anti-semitism and racism.

honestly just talking about it makes me want to reread it. i still need to get the sequel dkfj

really upped my standards for ya.

89. a book that disappointed you

...i don't like holly black's the cruel prince at all. i wanted to, but i couldn't get into it. i think she's a talented author though! this one was just a miss for me.

124. the book you're currently reading

house of hunger by alexis henderson.

this is a sapphic retelling of the blood countess; it's been described as kinda vampires, but not really and... yeah that's really what it is. it has the vampire aesthetic; one of the main characters has her teeth fashioned into a vampires' fangs and she drinks blood. but she's not a vampire. you know how in the past some ppl thought drinking or washing yourself with someone's blood was thought to be a cure for ailments or like. a fountain of youth type of situation?? that's what's happening here. very gothic and atmospheric and i am already planning on buying henderson's other book, the year of the witching.

131. tag somebody with whom you would want to buddy read a book

apologies in advance if any of you don't like being tagged! feel free to just lmk and i can remove your @. but oh my so many people on here would be fun to read with! i know @hexgh0ul and i seem to have very similar tastes in media (yellowjackets, interview with the vampire, dracula to name a few) so i feel like we could definitely find smth we'd both enjoy and have a good discussion on.

@waffleinator-inator is another one!!! maya has great taste and i already do really enjoy talking literature with her so buddy reading smth new to both of us would be fun <3

@ladytauria is someone i have exchanged recs with as well and another one with excellent taste in fiction so hmu sometime /hj

and ofc you as well, it turns out, since i'm learning today that we both really enjoy some of the same books, at least for ya which you're never too old for imo

i'd be happy with buddy reading with anyone though tbh i read a pretty wide variety and each mutual could be matched with something different :)

bookish asks

[twistedpagesbookblog]

My July TBR

My July TBR

Hi, guys! Thank you for all the love on my first blog post! Today I am making a list of books that I want to read or finish in July. 

Shadow Of The Fox By Julie Kagawa (Status Unread)

This is a fantasy book that is written for Young Adults. It pulls from Japanese mythology, and has a heavy romance plot. It has magic and an epic adventure plot. I haven't read this book yet so I don’t really know what its about. But this is the blurb from goodreads. 

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.

Assassin's Blade By Sarah J. Maas (Status: Reread)

This is a Young Adult Romance with elements of high fantasy. This is a novella which has five different short stories from before the events of the first Throne Of Glass book. I wanted to reread it since it’s been two years since I first read the Throne Of Glass series. Here is the blurb: 

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Infinity Kings By Adam Slivera, Book number 3 (Status currently reading)

This is a fantasy book written for Young Adults. This book has LGBTQ+ characters and other Queer Representations. This book has an urban fantasy setting and has some elements of sci-fi. Another perk is that this book has really cool magic. 

This is the blurb for the first book, since the third blurb contains spoilers of the series. 

Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.

Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.

Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.

Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.

Well that is it for today’s blog post. Don’t forget to show it some love! Bye!

[oysters-aint-for-me]

Hello there! thank you for responding to my excited tags. I'm glad to know that you're open to talk about the book. There is a lot of potential for spoilers in the Becky Chambers tag, so be aware of that if you look through it.

my favourite about the series is that rereading the books is very rewarding. I've found more details even on the seventh reread, and enjoy the connections to the other books very much.

What is important to know before starting the next books is that apart from one character each the other characters in the books are all new. Pepper is in books 1 and 2, books 2 and 3 don't have any characters in common. Ashby is mentioned in book 3, while his sister Tessa is a main character in book 3. Pei from book 1 reappears in book 4 and Ashby is mentioned again. so while they share the same galaxy, we get a new set of characters and places each time. Lots of people are sad that we don't get more about the Wayfarer crew, so if you don't know in advance that the further books are about other people, you might be disappointed.

There is a short story about the Sianat woman we meet when Ashby and Kizzy go down to their planet. It is part of a short story collection called "Infinite Stars - Dark frontiers" and I liked the story very much. Should you want to read it but not buy the entire book, I'd be open to scan the pages for you.

Have fun!

SEVEN REREADS?! omg that’s awesome that you can get that many out of it! im on book 2 now and have started rereading the first one by listening on audiotape and i’m already like OOOH that was FORESHADOWING and OOOH i get why that’s called that now! like for a very long time i had no idea why they called it “sib” or “the stasie” but now i get it! i really love how immersive the books are though, that it doesn’t necessarily explain every little thing to the reader, you just are kind of thrown in and you learn what something is if the characters need to learn something but otherwise it’s like you’re just thrown into this world and for some reason that makes it feel more real??

and yeah, i see what you’re saying about missing the wayfarer crew - i also wish i got to spend more time with them (esp. jenks and sissix and kizzy and dr. chef!) but i do think it’s cool to get other perspectives of different characters in this universe. i feel like maybe there might be some fanfic out there that could soothe the ache of missing the wayfarer crew but i haven’t looked into it much for fear of spoilers.

i would love to read that short story! i’ll have to find the book. (thank you for offering to scan but i don’t mind buying it, lol, i collect books and i’m just owning that now)

have you read “to be taught if fortunate”? it’s like a novella that is also sort of part of the wayfarer series - i don’t remember what it is supposed to be about, but i ordered it along with the other three.

(also sorry for not responding to this for a while - i am so bad at noticing when i get messages in my inbox because i have had my asks closed for like the last two years! 💜 i was very excited to see this message when i did check tho so thank you!)

[skrs-cats]

yea!! not to spoil too much but it focuses on her grieving and finding friendship in dove who shes only just really met as it takes place after tigerhearts se and fills the gap before tbc begins, its sweet sometimes the novellas really hit sometimes they dont i have a friend who skips them completely and i dont get it they add so much NIGHTSTAR MY BELOVED </3 i first read about him in yellowfangs se and thought damn i wish i could read more about him and then his manga came out and i was so happy lol, hoping we get cannon merch of him someday i love how hes written, gonna make a note to make fanart of him aha, unfortunate how he was treated but it feels like it shapes who he is i suppose ohh that makes so much more sense now i thought i was just loosing touch with the fandom and not being able to keep up with names, i was never rly good at it. 💀 i was talking about that with a friend recently too tpb used to repeat backstory about characters so much that it became frustrating but the newer books cut back on it and now when they introduce a character you have to really sit and remember it because they arent explaining it EVER again yaaa!!! u get it lol i started reading other YA series i never read as a kid and thought id reread wcs with a friend for the hell of it (and cause i had so many of the books i never got to) and it was great but as soon as i got to new stuff id never read before it kinda lost its charm and i took a break, sometimes you just arent feeling it, tho the longer you wait the more there is to read when you come back to it who knows maybe holly will be back from the dead again or we will get a jay, holly or lion se, were getting an ivy one after all and theres holly and jay content in the bonus scene for tbc 1

that sounds so sweet ToT SOMEDAY ILL FIND THE TIME TO READ AND REREAD THESE NOVELLAS ive forgotten most of them LMFAO. i think the ones i remember most are hollyleaf's, leafpool's, goosefeather's and dovewings which is.. wow. i def dont have a preference

and yes ur def right that the way nightstar was treated added to how he is generally perceived and his character, it kinda reminds me of mudclaw too! (whos manga i have also still Yet to read rip) i feel bad for them both but their unfortunate circumstances are what makes them such interesting characters T-T

i feel like we are old men yelling at the clouds but in a GOOD WAY HAHAHAHA im glad that despite it, we are talking about the series either way so i guess that means we still feel quite passionate about it, whether in positive or negative manner lmaooo

i think whats stopping me from continuing in reading the new books is that i want to reread it from the very start first, so i am very much stuck in my own way khkjahkljf tbh though whenever i see snippets of the new books in socials i actually find them very interesting! but i def also had moments where i just grew tired and felt like getting away from it all. i am praying so fucking hard for more og po3 content i miss them SO damn MUCH WAHHHHHH

speaking of the bonus scenes, a few weeks back i found out i completely forgot they happened! MORE SPECIFICALLY W HOLLYLEAF, WHAT. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST W JAYFEATHER AND HIM GRIEVING FOR LEAFPOOL. YOURE TELLING ME THERE WAS HOLLY CONTENT TOO??? what the fuck is my brain doing forgetting this information what the hell im such a fake fan TTTTTTOTTTTT

[btssavedmylifeblr]

you mentioned that youre reading some of sarah j maas’ books, what do you think about it so far? i read her stories (the acotar series and the tog series) as a younger teen and reread it again recently now that im older. when i learned that youre allowed to criticise a book (i was a blind follower with weak opinions 😅) i found out that there are some readers who arent too fond of her and her writing, it was quite a shock for me cause she used to be my fav author (i read only her books as a preteen 😂). personally, from her books that i’ve read my favourites are throne of glass and crown of midnight (the novellas were really good too)

So I’ve really only read the acotar series so far, so that’s the only one I can comment on (my favorite book was a court of mist and fury, followed by a court of silver flames). There are a bunch of things that I really enjoyed in that series and a bunch of things that annoyed me about it. There will never be an author that every reader agrees about. My favorite living author is John Green, but there are people who criticise/dont enjoy his books. I hate Catcher in the Rye but it’s considered a classic. Different readers are going to resonate with different books more or less and certain things will bug some people more than others. For every author that is someone’s favorite author, there will be a bunch of people who hate them. I think it’s more interesting to look at what book does well and what it doesn’t.

Things I enjoyed about acotar:

1. The main characters, love interests and ensemble casts are great. I really like Feyre and Nesta. They are both flawed and fierce and show real character growth over the series. I love Rhysand. He is pretty much everything I want in a love interest, wings included, haha. I love Azriel and Cassian too. The whole Inner Circle is well drawn and makes you want to read more to find out what happens to them.

2. The romance is great. The whole misunderstood villain/enemies to lovers aspect of Feyre and Rhys is great and made especially compelling because it plays out over such a long time. It’s also some of the most enjoyable smut I’ve found outside of fanfiction.

3. The action scenes are great. When there is a lot happening and things are changing rapidly, it’s very fun to read. Her scene and action description are very immersive and she does a good job of keeping you surprised and invested in the outcome. The scene with the giant worm, the scene in the weaver’s cottage, the battle of Velaris and Nesta in the Blood Rite are all still things that I can picture very clearly in my head.

4. It’s easy to read. And the combination of compelling romance and good action makes it very hard to put down when you’re in the middle of it. So for someone who wants a fun, quick, romance series, I would highly recommend it.

Things that bugged me about acotar:

1. It really needs more editing. The prose on a line by line level is sometimes infuriatingly bad. She will have paragraphs that are just the same sentence written three different ways. There are weird descriptions of internal reactions that get way overused. Like I think Feyre’s “bowels turned watery” at least three times in the first novel alone, which is three times too many. There are long stretches with no action where characters just wander around big houses doing nothing that I found hard to get through.

2. The world building is shallow. There are all these different courts (spring court, fall court, night court, etc) but other than aesthetic differences it’s really not clear how they are in any way culturally or magically different. There are different classes of Fae, but the potential political or social repercussions of that are rarely examined. Some classes of fae are just ugly and bound to serve the pretty High Fae, which is a fairly problematic trope. The villains are rather generically evil without really examining what their motives are. There are characters of different races, but their race has no impact on their character or story arc. Certain cultures like the Illyrians are written as fairly monolithic except for our few “enlightened” main characters.

3. The stuff around gender is not great. One of my favorite booktokers (pagemelt) explained this better than I can, but the whole series and potentially all of Sarah J Mass’s writing, suffers from what she calls “gender essentialism”. All the women are small and thin and young and beautiful, and they might be warriors, but they never overpower the main male characters. The men are all large and strong with giant *ahem* “wingspans”. The male love interests are all much older than the female love interests (like centuries older) and vastly overpower them in both physical and magical abilities and familiarity with the world around them. SJM frequently uses the terms male and female in descriptions such as “he gave her a male smirk” or “looked at her with a male gaze”. I think because she wants to emphasize that they are Fae and not humans, she always uses the terms male and female instead of man and woman, but it creates an atmosphere where the terms male and man always mean the same thing and there is only one specific way to be male. There’s also a whole bunch of stuff about fated lovers and soulmates and such that seems to only leave room for cishet relationships (though there are hints that this may change in future books).

4. It’s fairly predictable. This may be a pro for younger readers or people just getting into fantasy/romance books but it fairly obvious where things are going in advance. The answer to riddle at the end of the first book is so glaringly obvious that it makes the whole ending of that book and the fallout from it seem kind of stupid.

So for someone looking for a complex fantasy story with elaborate world building that more accurately reflects the complexities of the real world, there are a lot of other books that will provide that better than this one.

[ryttu3k]

End of the year book asks! Which I'm just... going to fill out. Original post here.

1. How many books did you read this year?

As of posting this on December 15th, it's 36, with a note that I am including zines over 100 pages. Will update at the end of the year! Edit: 38!

2. Did you reread anything? What?

Reread Gideon and Harrow the Ninth in preparation for Nona's release!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Okay. I am going to categorise.

Favourite novel: Tamsyn Muir - Nona the Ninth

Favourite novella: Becky Chambers - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Favourite series: Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children

Favourite anthology: Xenocultivars - Stories of Queer Growth

Favourite zine: Archive of the Odd (available here, only read issue 1 so far but I have issue 2 purchased and ready to go!)

Favourite unexpected addition to my reading list: Bram Stoker - Dracula

Other favourites of note: Travis Baldree - Legends & Lattes, RoAnna Sylver - Stake Sauce 2 and Life Within Parole vol 2, Freydis Moon - Exodus 20:3

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Read the Wayward Children series, would be quite happy to look into more of Seanan McGuire's writing!

5. What genre did you read the most of?

I am sitting comfortably in my SFF hole, thank you.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

*laughs in excessively long TBR*

7. What was your average Goodreads Storygraph rating? Does it seem accurate?

4.32, which seems pretty solid!

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I did, averaging three new reads a month!

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Is 'gothic horror that is actually all about The Power Of Friendship' a genre?

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

Nona the Ninth Nona the Ninth I cannot reiterate how much I goddamn adore Nona the Ninth. Sob.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Dracula has been out for. A while lmao

12. Any books that disappointed you? 13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

Mm. I don't like naming names because I can totally see people enjoying it, but there was one novel in particular that I felt didn't quite stick the landing. I gave it a 6/10 rating.

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

I'd like to get in Where The Drowned Girls Go (the last Wayward Children book currently out, the next one is due in January!), which will be easy enough because it's a novella, and probably one other. Edit, 16th December: Done!

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year? What did you think of them?

I got into the Wayward Children series, most of those either won or were nominated for the Best Novella nebulas, and which won this year's Best Series. This Is How You Lose The Time War won that category for the Hugos, Nebulas, and Locus in 2020; Binti: Home and Night Masquerade were also nominated for Hugos.

Also I feel Dracula's probably won a few awards. Probably.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Oh, hm! I don't know, most felt like a suitable level of hype.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Dracula. Dracula. I expected to read it as like, a pivotal vampire/horror novel that I felt lowkey obligated to get through but I fucking loved it. At least part of that was the Dracula Daily experience but damn, I really liked that book.

18. How many books did you buy?

.......significantly more than I actually read. Awkward laughter at my Kobo account.

19. Did you use your library?

I did!

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Nona the Ninth, and it absolutely did. I knew I would be goddamn deceased after it and I very much!! was!!

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

No drama here!

22. What's the longest book you read?

The Harrow reread is the only one that tops 500 pages, although both the Gideon reread and Nona are in the 400s.

23. What's the fastest time it took you to read a book?

I mean I can knock out a novella in an hour?

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Nope!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Read more novels. I read a lot of novellas and anthologies this year!

[thenightling]

Hello. I have noticed your posts, and figured that it's worth a shot to ask you. I apologize if this has been asked already. I have long planned to get myself the Sandman comics, as I am fond of Neil Gaiman's works. I keep putting them off, though, but it's always been in the *files in the back of my head* priority. But now that the show is here, I am reminded that I need to work on getting meself the Sandman.

I would like to add that I am what the internet calls a weeab, so anything past the original storyline and the Overture extras is a big ??? this is elvish to me. I am baffled with the western market's offerings for the Sandman editions as well. Do you have any tips on what editions to get ie Omnibus or The Expanded editions (trade pb; boxed set). I am something of an hobby artist so extra artworks are SWELL. I assume that extra artworks are often included in the deluxe/absolute/omnibus editions, my basis for this assumption is my lone copy of Alan Moore's Watchmen (what edition? I also have no idea) Would you rather an artist/weeab fan get the trade paperback expanded editions (at the risk of missing the art extras, if there are any at all) and purchase the omnibus editions one at a time? I've read that the omnibus contains the variant illustrations ie James Jean's variant for Overture.

My only gripe with the Omnibus edition is the weight and possible binding issues would make rereading a challenge.

PS

is there any way we can get the novella edition of Dream Hunters? A friend lent me their P. Craig Russell edition back when I was in uni, but I'm a huge fan of Yoshitaka Amano's art.

PPS

I would also like to apologize for my shoddy English and the long ask

The current version of The Sandman box set is fourteen volumes (including the novella version of Dream Hunters and graphic novel version).

The Omnibuses are three volumes now.

The Absolute editions are five volumes then Overture, and if you want the Death books as well.

The Sandman graphic novels individually used to be ten volumes but now there are officially fourteen.

There is a 30th anniversary edition of both versions of Dream Hunters.

The cheapest way to collect all of the Sandman is the new four books that just say "The Sandman Book 1, The Sandman Book 2, The Sandman: Book 3, The Sandman: Book 4" and then buy The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Both versions), The Sandman: Endless Nights, and The Sandman: Overture separately. (Though those will eventually be sold as The Sandman: Book 5.

For price you could get those but for quality I'd get the Absolute editions.

After you read The Sandman there are the Death stories that can be bought as Death Deluxe edition or Death: Absolute edition and can be read at any point after The Sandman: A Game of you. The books of Magic (30th anniversary edition by Neil Gaiman, not the spin-off versions by other authors). And that's pretty much it.

That's all that's officially canon to The Sandman. There are many Sandman Presents and Sandman Universe spin-offs but their status as canon is precarious at best and Neil tends to ignore them whenever he adds on to The Sandman mythos. Just stick with the stuff he wrote.

[courtofwingsandruin]

Does anyone else ever think how we know that originally, Lucien and Nesta were supposed to end up together, not Cassian and Nesta? And how that means that this bond between Lucien and Elain probably was a very sudden idea SJM had when writing ACOMAF out?

She decided to change it because this relationship wouldn’t work. I’m not gonna lie that this is slightly perplexing to me. Lucien, especially ACOTAR-era Lucien, probably could’ve gotten along with Nesta quite well. I know SJM knows her characters better than us, but I just can’t see why they wouldn’t work, y’know?

And now, with the whole 3 brothers/3 sisters thing...I’m wondering if that’s part of the reason why. If SJM realized she wanted Lucien to have some connection to one of the three (a mating bond, rather than a romantic relationship), but doesn’t get with them. Because in the end, she had these two Bat Bois sitting right here who would work with them just as well, if not better, than Lucien could with either of them—and it would give her a future story to tell with the three brothers/three sisters and Koschei storyline.

I feel this can be reinforced by the fact that SJM has been planning Elain’s specifically but also Nesta’s story since ACOMAF. She made a lot of decisions while writing ACOMAF and began preparing things for the future books she wanted to write. Choosing not to have Nesta and Lucien get together, instead the tension between Cassian and Nesta the moment they meet. The way Elain and Azriel seem to click and focus on each other the moment they meet, too (if you reread that first meeting I promise you’ll see it. Elain specifically looks to Azriel, not her newly-fae sister, not the High Lord, not the much louder Illyrian right next to Az—not even Nesta. She looks to Azriel every single time when she was unsure, and he’s constantly reassuring her that she’s good to speak up and try). I don’t think that was a coincidence.

Not to mention that if she was planning for Elain and Lucien to be together, she would’ve most definitely given them at least one romantic coded moment together. The closest thing I’ve seen is when Lucien is leaving once and Elain nearly steps down the stairs to say something to him but he’s already gone. And honestly, I blame that completely on the bond. We know they can feel each other’s emotions, Rhys and Feyre can feel each other’s even with their mental shields up (or are supposed to be able to at least)—and we see that Lucien had “longing and sadness” in his eyes just before he disappeared there, which was when Elain almost stepped down. Then Lucien had winnowed away, and she walked away without any other care (likely because the farther away he was the less strong the pull of the mating bond, so she couldn’t feel him as strongly then). This is chapter 34 of ACOWAR. This is the only scene we see that seems like it has slight potential of Elucien in canon.

However, we have many, many scenes to support Elain and Azriel. Their friendship started in ACOMAF, was seen throughout ACOWAR, throughout ACOFAS, and even though we don’t see them even in the same room together but three or so times in ACOSF, there is some kind of tension between them every time (Azriel’s clear protectiveness of Elain when his shadows gathered in the corners to strike, the clear liking of each other when Elain looked away from Azriel’s smile, Nesta noticing a charged look going between them). As well as the many scenes where Azriel and usually Cassian discuss Elain and Azriel’s protectiveness comes back up. As a disclaimer, I don’t like that Azriel is also supporting not allowing Elain to go on these missions and try to prove herself. But every single other couple in the books is protective of each other. Cassian didn’t want Nesta to even let go of his hand to get the harp. Rhys had multiple occasions where he was angry and protective over Feyre doing something dangerous—when instead of going to the townhouse she fought in the streets of Velaris, when she went to find the Suriel during the war. Saying “oh but they’re mates” ignores the fact that it’s said most all males are possessive and protective like this in their world, regardless if it’s a mating bond or family or love. And it also ignores the very plausible theory of Azriel being Elain’s second and/or true mate. I won’t get into that right now though.

And then, of course, the bonus chapter proved that Elain and Azriel’s feeling definitely are not just platonic, and they both have a lot going on behind the scenes. I won’t get into the chapter much because I have plenty of other posts on my blog where I or someone else dissected and discussed it. But they definitely have both romantic and sexual interest in each other.

I truly, truly don’t see why SJM would set that up over the course of three novels and one novella to suddenly not put them together. Especially knowing that she’s said she doesn’t like couples that were built up over long periods of time (4 books is a very long time) and then don’t end up together. I don’t think she introduced Gwyn to be a romantic interest—I do think she included Gwyn in his extra chapter to confuse us and cause panic and chaos, sure, SJM is like that, remember when we first met Emerie? And then Emerie turned out to have no connection to Cassian other than him being her mentor/trainer and she being Nesta’s friend? I don’t think Gwyn will have any actual potential as a romantic partner. This also parallels Cassian and Nesta’s story—with them both mentioning another girl pre-getting together and (likely) nothing actually comes of it. She does parallel things a lot, and I don’t think she did this on accident.

To round this out, I’d like to bring us back to Lucien and Nesta. If she originally had them together, I think there can definitely be an implication there that she had considered them working some. And Cassian and ACOTAR-era Lucien are similar, as well as...well, Nesta and Vassa. The firebird and the silver flames. A human Queen and the Queen of Queens. Vassa has shown a great backbone, will openly bicker with people (we hear about her and Jurian fighting a lot), she’s just this woman who seems like she could be similar enough to Nesta to warrant the idea that Nesta/Lucien could’ve possibly worked if Nesta was a little more like Vassa or Lucien was a little more like Cassian.

I also want to clarify that I’m not against the Elain and Lucien ship, nor am I against Gwyn and Azriel. I actually ship Elain and Lucien—just not as much as I ship Elain and Azriel, because I’m 99.9% certain that Elriel will be endgame (always leave room for error). And once the next book is out and this whole mess has cleared up, I could definitely get behind Gwyn and Azriel as a non-canon sorta-crack ship. I read about pairings that completely disregard canon all the time (Feycien is hardcore slept on). But I can’t find myself supporting Gwyn and Azriel right now, not while this ship war is happening, because I feel right now is the time to actually look at canon and focus on what’s obviously there—not what, to me, is more of just a fun little ship that could work in theory and fanfics and that’s about it.

And that’s all. End rant. I’m so sorry if you actually read all this. This stuff has been on loop in my head for days and I had to word vomit again.

[agrippinaes]

books i read in 2021

i read a total of 290 books in 2021. i wanted to round it up to 300, but other things got in the way, but obviously i can't complain about the final total. one of those was read twice in the same year.

i was unemployed for a big chunk of the year and this is reflected in my reading habits. my most productive months reading-wise were all ones shortly after becoming unemployed in march: i read the most in may and april, with 37 and 32 books read in those months respectively. my least productive month for reading was october, which is the month i started work again. i read 15 books in october, with november having a similar count.

of the books i read, i gave the majority of them a 3 star rating, followed by 4 star. i only read 2 book this year that i rated as 1 star. of the 290 books i read, 259 of them were romance books, which is very similar to the year before. i read 25 mystery/crime novels. the rest were non-fiction or other genres. of the non-romance books, 11 of them had romance as a major subgenre.

in terms of the romance novels, 140 of them were contemporary, followed by 51 historical novels, 34 romantic suspense novels, and 22 paranormal/fantasy romance novels. there were some other subgenres, but not in great number. my most-read trope was enemies-to-lovers, with 53 books containing that trope, followed by forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, boss/employee, and age gap tropes.

i also tracked things outside of genre/tropes. 264 books i read this year were ebooks - only 26 of them were physical books. 279 were first-time reads, 12 were rereads. 287 books were fiction, 3 were non-fiction. 242 were novel-length, 48 were novellas.

i also tracked cover types this year. i was curious because of the current debate in romancelandia about the new wave of cute illustrated covers - i wanted to know how many books i read followed this trend, as there seems to be this general opinion that the illustrated type are "taking over". i was surprised to find that the 'cute' illustrated covers were not in my top 5 cover types by the end of the year. most of the books i read this year - 91 - featured a lone man, followed by the more traditional 'clinch' style covers, of which i read 61. only 23 of the books i read had this new kind of 'cute' illustrated covers.

outside of numbers - generally i feel very satisfied with my reading habits of this year. i read some really good books and i continued to indulge myself in reading things that made me happy. that said, i would like to read a bit wider this year. i'm going to be setting myself a goal to read certain things - i want to read more non-fiction and more physical books, and i want to read more outside of genre romance. but i'm not going to be strict with myself - i got back into reading romance because i was losing enjoyment with reading in general by forcing myself to read in certain genres. i don't want to go back to that, so i'm going to set myself realistic goals, likely based around the numbers for 2021. i'm also going to continue keeping track of all the details above, as i've found it really interesting to see my habits in number-form.

finally, some highlights. books that immediately spring to mind as having been the highlights of my reading year: it happened one summer by tessa bailey, her soul to take by harley laroux, marrying winterborne by lisa kleypas, the amelia peabody series by elizabeth peters, the veronica speedwell series by deanna raybourn, priceless by miranda silver, and you deserve each other by sarah hogle. i also want to mention cate c. wells, who i only read 3 books by but 2 of them were real standout reads if you like darker romance: run posy run and the tyrant alpha's rejected mate.

i've put the full list below. all my 5 star reads are in bold, rereads in italics, non-fiction asterisked.

the bromance book club by lyssa kay adams

love scammed by rilzy adams

natives: race and class in the ruins of empire by akala *

filthy by serena akeroyd

a wolf in duke's clothing by susanna allen

the unwanted wife by natasha anders

a husband's regret by natasha anders

his unlikely lover by natasha anders

a ruthless proposition by natasha anders

playing by her rules by amy andrews

bite me, your grace by brooklyn ann

the spanish love deception by elena armas

still standing by kristen ashley

at peace by kristen ashley

the boss who stole christmas by jana aston

wrong by jana aston

fling by jana aston

trust by jana aston

the next mrs. russo by jana aston

rake by sophie austin

it happened one summer by tessa bailey

follow by tessa bailey

taking liberties by jackie barbosa

the lesson plan by jackie barbosa

king's captive by amber bardan

scandalous by sybil bartel

private practice by samanthe beck

light her fire by samanthe beck

my (mostly) temporary nanny by penelope bloom

shame by ainsley booth

hate f*@k by ainsley booth

booty call by ainsley booth

bittersweet by sarina bowen

wrong bed, right roommate by rebecca brooks

tailspin by sandra brown

smoke screen by sandra brown

maybe later by claudia burgoa

how to catch a duke by grace burrowes

the highwayman by kerrigan byrne

the importance of being wanton by christi caldwell

make it sweet by kristen callihan

exposed by kristen callihan

those people by louise candlish

barista and the bear by rebel carter

honey, honey by rebel carter

ten things i hate about the duke by loretta chase

beginner's luck by kate clayborn

fool me once by harlan coben

don't let go by harlan coben

caught by harlan coben

a substitute bride for the prizefighter by alice coldbreath

her bridegroom, bought and paid for by alice coldbreath

blame it on the champagne by fiona cole

wolf gone wild by juliette cross

the duchess deal by tessa dare

do you want to start a scandal? by tessa dare

the king of bourbon street by thea de salle

dirty like me by jaine diamond

the pretender by helenkay dimon

the protector by helenkay dimon

everything you need to know by helenkay dimon

ice planet barbarians by ruby dixon

barbarian alien by ruby dixon

birthday girl by penelope douglas

radiance by grace draven

press play by ash dylan

everything's better with you by lucy eden

a lady's formula for love by elizabeth everett

driven to distraction by lori foster

slow ride by lori foster

all fired up by lori foster

my true love by melissa foster

this is love by melissa foster

running on diesel by melissa foster

the alpha's mate by piper fox

bitten by her mate by piper fox

refuge by julianna foxe

tall, duke and dangerous by megan frampton

a wicked bargain for the duke by megan frampton

put up your duke by megan frampton

the bride by julie garwood

i hate you more by lucy gilmore

puppy love by lucy gilmore

lady vivian defies a duke by samantha grace

marry in scandal by anne gracie

caging the wolf by sofia grey

the investigator by anna hackett

the troubleshooter by anna hackett

the specialist by anna hackett

mission: her protection by anna hackett

mission: her rescue by anna hackett

mission: her security by anna hackett

mission: her defense by anna hackett

mission: her safety by anna hackett

mission: her freedom by anna hackett

mission: her shield by anna hackett

undiscovered by anna hackett

the royals next door by karina halle

did you see melody? by sophie hannah

if the duke demands by anna harrington

payback by kristin harte

heartbreak for hire by sonia hartl

romancing the beat: story structure for romance novels by gwen hayes *

smuggler's lair by virginia henley

skulls and scares by jo henny wolf

you deserve each other by sarah hogle

twice shy by sarah hogle

saving the CEO by jenny holiday

sleeping with her enemy by jenny holiday

the wisteria society of lady scoundrels by india holton

deep down by mia hopkins

the marker by ann howes

when a rogue meets his match by elizabeth hoyt

sweetest scoundrel by elizabeth hoyt

twisted love by ana huang

love next door by helena hunting

games we play by dana isaly

to wed a rake by eloisa james

the housekeeper of thornhallow hall by lotte r. james

the virgin and the rogue by sophie jordan

tides of time by luna joya

coaxing the roughneck by jessa kane

the devil you know by emma kavanagh

hidden by emma kavanagh

fighting for what's his by laura kaye

daring to resist by laura kaye

dancing in the dark by virginia kelly

the deal by elle kennedy

the mistake by elle kennedy

coldhearted rake by lisa kleypas

marrying winterborne by lisa kleypas

devil in spring by lisa kleypas

hello stranger by lisa kleypas

devil's daughter by lisa kleypas

chasing cassandra by lisa kleypas

devil in winter by lisa kleypas

lady sophia's lover by lisa kleypas

worth any price by lisa kleypas

suddenly you by lisa kleypas

a deal with the elf king by elise kova

brutal prince by sophie lark

her soul to take by harley laroux

her soul for revenge by harley laroux

the dare by harley laroux

sweet filthy boy by christina lauren

dirty rowdy thing by christina lauren

beautiful bastard by christina lauren

good girl by piper lawson

bad girl by piper lawson

wicked girl by piper lawson

forever wicked by piper lawson

beautiful enemy by piper lawson

walk of shame by lauren layne

good girl by lauren layne

that time i got drunk and saved a demon by kimberly lemming

mistlefoe by kimberly lemming

always only you by chloe liese

like lovers do by tracey livesay

kissing lessons by stefanie london

the maddest obsession by danielle lori

the darkest temptation by danielle lori

alliance by natalia lourose

nine rules to break when romancing a rake by sarah maclean

mudlarking by lara maiklem *

marriage for one by ella maise

the billionaire's wake-up-call girl by annika martin

perfection by r. l. mathewson

falling for the groomsman by jen mclaughlin

wrath by gwen mcnamee

a brazen curiosity by lynn messina

a ghastly spectacle by lynn messina

a malevolent connection by lynn messina

miss fellingham's rebellion by lynn messina

the fellingham minx by lynn messina

the scoundrel's lover by jess michaels

knot my type by evie mitchell

big, bossy mistake by lilian monroe

after the billionaire's wedding vows ... by lucy monroe

blackstone ranger chief by alicia montgomery

mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia

the viking chief's marriage alliance by lucy morris

knockout by hannah murray

one hit wonderful by hannah murray

not the marrying kind by kathryn nolan

a deadly education by naomi novik

battle royal by lucy parker

crocodile on the sandbank by elizabeth peters

curse of the pharaohs by elizabeth peters

the mummy case by elizabeth peters

lion in the valley by elizabeth peters

the deeds of the disturber by elizabeth peters

the last camel died at noon by elizabeth peters

just one night by carly phillips

wrecked by c. c. piper

love, laugh, lich by kate prior

ten things i love about you by julia quinn

the lost duke of wyndham by julia quinn

mr. cavendish, i presume by julia quinn

fireman daddy by taryn quinn

hot as hades by alisha rai

love bank by marika ray

a curious beginning by deanna raybourn

a perilous undertaking by deanna raybourn

a treacherous curse by deanna raybourn

a dangerous collaboration by deanna raybourn

a murderous relation by deanna raybourn

josh and gemma make a baby by sarah ready

(not) the boss of me by kenzie reed

just like that by nicola rendell

do you feel it too? by nicola rendell

the man in the black suit by sylvain reynard

the amber shadows by lucy ribchester

the fabric of sin by phil rickman

my dad's best friend by katee robert

seducing my guardian by katee robert

seducing mr. right by katee robert

in bed with mr. wrong by katee robert

neon gods by katee robert

the last king by katee robert

the bastard's betrayal by katee robert

forbidden promises by katee robert

the bastard's bargain by katee robert

desperate measures by katee robert

mafia daddy by renee rose

the director by renee rose

alpha's temptation by renee rose and lee savino

alpha's danger by renee rose and lee savino

the predator by runyx

the reaper by runyx

the emperor by runyx

mr. perfect by j. a. russ

the perfect wife by lynsay sands

forever never by lucy score

pretend you're mine by lucy score

finally mine by lucy score

riley thorne and the corpse in the closet by lucy score

fake by kylie scott

repeat by kyle scott (x2)

pause by kyie scott

it seemed like a good idea at the time by kylie scott

the rhythm method by kylie scott

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society by mary ann shaffer and annie barrows

trapped by vialli's vows by chantelle shaw

mayhem by jamie shaw

the lady gets lucky by joanna shupe

priceless by miranda silver

scoring the player's baby by naima simone

scoring off the field by naima simone

my keeper by stefanie simpson

trouble in a tight dress by lori sjoberg

danger in a dive bar by lori sjoberg

indecent obsession by lori sjoberg

can't hold back by lori sjoberg

rich daddy by amelia smarts

simmer down by sarah smith

matched to the mafia by jenika snow

big bad wolf by suleikha snyder

a touch of darkness by scarlett st. clair

here we go by shannon stacey

a second shot by shannon stacey

anne of manhattan by brina starler

a death, a duke, and miss mifford by claudia stone

the penalty box by odette stone

a rogue to remember by emily sullivan

pestilence by laura thalassa

second first impressions by sally thorne

the simple wild by k. a. tucker

dirty boss games by sedona venez

deal with the demon by chace verity

one by one by ruth ware

charge by cate c. wells

run posy run by cate c. wells

the tyrant alpha's rejected mate by cate c. wells

for the wolf by hannah whitten

going nowhere fast by kati wilde

secret santa by kati wilde

a governess should never ... tempt a prizefighter by emily windsor

claiming her forever by alexis winter

tell me you want me by willow winters

built to fall by julia wolf

unrequited by julia wolf

blossoms and bones by julia wolf

the favor by suzanne wright

reckless at heart by zoe york

a navy seal for christmas by zoe york

white nights by anna zaires and charmaine pauls

midnight days by anna zaires and charmaine pauls

all rhodes lead here by mariana zapata

under locke by mariana zapata