#the innkeeper chronicles

[acotars]

Read in 2023:

He said he'd met a girl with stardust on her robe, and when he looked into her eyes, he saw the universe looking back.

THE INNKEEPER CHRONICLES by Ilona Andrews ★★★★½

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[its-to-the-death]

Fictional Weapon War Preliminary Round #14

Only one of these will make it into the bracket so choose your favorite!

[iambibliophilic]

My all-time favourite books &recs!

1. The murderbot series by Martha Wells. I truly cannot fault these books. Sci-fi with an undercurrent of the ethical ramifications of a society with human/robot constructs. First few are very short, then book 5 is a full novel. Diverse cast of characters, casual non-binary rep (esp later on), polyamory, asexual rep. 10/10 humour. What more could you want?

2. The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews. Spicy urban fantasy. First trilogy revolves around human lie detector Nevada, second trilogy from the point of view of her sister. My favourite books are 4 and 5 (especially 4!). Such a cosy cast of characters I love them so much. Prepare for some problematic stuff in book one though omg I did not remember that the love interest did THAT how did they recover from that I’ll never know. Also stop whitewashing these characters they’re mixed race and it’s mentions that explicitly (although one criticism I have of Ilona andrews is that even their POC read like white characters. More depth needed)

3. The innkeeper chronicles by Ilona Andrews. I think it’s described as paranormal romance? But I would describe it as urban SCI-FI. I would say consider the first book a prequel of sorts and judge the series more starting from the second book. Again they’re pretty short. Defo get better as the series progresses since the world-building takes a while. Maud’s book was so unexpectedly phenomenal I highly highly recommend. Technically this series is most enjoyable after reading the author’s On The Edge series but I won’t put you through that. (I love those books but objectively only book 4 is perfect so decide for yourself if you want to give that series a go once you’ve seen Ilona Andrews’ other work. It’s their oldest series so the fact that it’s not their best is actually a really good sign - you can really see their growth and how they’ve improved as authors with every publication.) Don’t get excited they��re not non-binary: Ilona Andrews is the name of a husband and wife who write books together. They also happen to be my favourite authors so get ready for me to recommend all of their books to you

4. Red, white and royal blue by Case McQuiston. The perfectest perfect book out there. I’m just putting it on here to show you I have good taste

5. The Second Mango series. I’ve only read the first two but now that I’m getting better (I’ve been sick for the past couple of years) I’m rereading them and looking forward to reading the rest of them. Very short little books only available on Amazon unfortunately and no audiobooks rip. The most heartwarming story ever - lesbians, dragons, Judaism, magic, what more could you want? Fantasy series with quite simple storytelling. Lots of brown people yay. Kind of accidentally forgets trans people exist in the first book

6 There is a light by Ban Gilmartin. Love it. So full of humour it’s impeccable. Brown rep, gay and bisexual rep. Poetry, trans rep. Non binary rep. I’m just listing types of rep but in my head I’m telling you all the ways in which this book rocks. One thing is rep and another is doing it well. This book does it well and then some. Highly recommend. Tw: suicide

7. All for the game series. Do I really need to recommend this to tumblr though this is literally the only place that knows about these books. Gay, crimes, sports but don’t let that dissuade you the sports is actually a highlight of the series. I love my child Neil Josten and I love these books an unholy amount. If you do read them half of the enjoyment is looking through the content on tumblr so definitely do that after. Ooo also check out the art of one ‘polarts_’ on insta

8. The name of the wind books by Patrick rothfuss. The most misogynistic series I know but the world building and storytelling is impeccable. I would say these books are the polar opposite to the second mango: no gays, too many white people and it takes itself so seriously. The writing style is a bit much sometimes but I seriously love the story so, so much. It’s rich and well constructed and funny and yes. Also sad omg you don’t even know

9. The stormlight archives by Brandon Sanderson. Anything by him to be honest and like Ilona Andrews you can really see his growth as an author as time passes - in his case it’s to do with misogyny bc his earlier series (mistborn) reeks of Patrick rothfuss-level sexism but unlike Patrick he does something about it. Stormlight is way less sexist, almost not sexist actually, and his sci-fi series Skyward is even better in terms of that. Stormlight is a CHONK though so buckle in for a good time and a long time. High fantasy, lots of brown people and actually unexpected non binary rep? But don’t get your hopes up cos it’s not a human being. And it’s not till like book 4. Better than nothing though! Not gay enough

10. Kate daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Listen, I love this series wholeheartedly. Favourite author, remember? But the first two books and the first book in particular is not very good. The authors themselves say that. I recommend starting at book two and waiting till book three to decide whether to read the series. It’s urban fantasy with the best chemistry between characters I’ve ever seen. (Can start with book one if you want but be warned there’s gratuitous sexual assault descriptions/ sexual harassment. It was the urban fantasy scene at the time but yeah not the mos pleasant reread. Can be tricky to get your head around the world building but it’s so worth it I promise!) Not enough queer rep but they tried a little. Some brown rep but not really enough. (Again, main character is brown but doesn’t read like it. I understand why given how she’s raised but then there’s a few kinda racist/ fetishising things said about her appearance so -_-). Excellent epic storytelling, excellent humour and phenomenal characters. Can skip book 5.5 if you want but don’t skip Hugh’s book - read it between Kate Daniels books 9 and 10. It’s excellent you won’t regret it. And don’t forget to read Aurelia Ryder when you’re done with Kate Daniels.

11. SAGA graphic novels. Graphic is correct cos there’s explicit everything in these books. Amazing storytelling, diverse set of characters. Sci-fi, feminist. Yes yes very recommend

BONUS: 12. If you’ve already read six of crows and crooked kingdom then king of scars and rule of wolves by Leigh Bardugo. Best enjoyed if you’ve read the grisha trilogy too but once again I won’t put you through that if you haven’t. These books defo smack of YA especially in the plot at certain points but OH MY GOD they are so epic and fast-paced and heists and shenanigans. 10/10 so enjoyed them. Warning I repeat: only read AFTER the six of crows duology, especially Crooked Kingdom for spoiler reasons. Once you have read king of scars and rule of wolves I recommend checking out jaded.draws’s art on instagram and also polarts_ again. Both make such beautiful art but it is slightly spoilerly if you haven’t read all the books. Also can we talk about the Shadow and Bone tv show because they did such a good job with it somehow?? It is it’s own work of art and I highly enjoy it

I recognise that my favourite books are overwhelmingly (exclusively?) written by white people and there’s varying amounts of diversity in them. I’m actively working to remedy that and I plan to post an updated list once I’ve read a little more broadly. These are just the books that are closest to my heart and I’ve wanted to share them on here for a while (read: a decade 💀). I hope you find a new book to love on this list but if not you can make fun of me for the ones I do! Also the format of this post is unforgivable but it’s my first one and I’m chronically ill so I’m not gonna put any more effort in that I already have. Xoxo have a good day!

[sapient-locations-bracket]

Name: Gertrude Hunt

Pronouns: she/her and it/it's I believe?

Media they're from: the Innkeeper Chronicles (book series and webcomic)

Interesting info: the Gertrude Hunt is a living inn that bonds with an innkeeper who assists with the safety and protection of the inn and it's guests. An inn relies on the presence of guests to live. They are neutral zones on earth for intergalactic travelers. The Gertrude Hunt specialises in taking care of high profile, more difficult guests than other inns.

Oooh, never heard of it but sounds interesting!

[persephinae]

My Innkeeper Chronicles books came today 🥰

I love this series so much that I bought physical copies

(I love the Kate Daniels series too but there's like 12 of those lol)

[that-wolf-blob]

Actually, love the 3rd book so much

Nothing is better than right now

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Tapas Tuesdays: The Innkeeper Chronicles

Genre: Action, Romance, FantasyAvailability: PaidStatus: Updating Summary: Dina Demille runs an extraordinary inn that masquerades as a quaint bed and breakfast to those who don’t know the truth. That truth? The Inn, Gertrude Hunt, caters to aliens visiting Earth. It’s Dina’s job to keep these guests safe while ensuring they break no rules. When the dogs in Dina’s neighborhood begin to die,…

[graphicpolicy]

Around the Tubes

Some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day #comics #comicbooks

It’s one of two new comic days! What are you all getting? What are you excited about? Sound off in the comments! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web. The Beat – Graphic Novel winners at 2023 ALA Awards: Victory. Stand!, Frizzy, Himawari House and more – Congrats to all the winners! CBR – American Born Chinese: Gene Luen Yang & Kelvin Yu Detail…

[paladin-tourney]

Round 1, Side A - Arland Roburtar Gabrian Krahr (Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews) vs. Solaire (1HP Club (Webtoon))

Propaganda:

Arland Roburtar Gabrian Krahr (Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews)

He is the Marshal (military head of their house) of House Krahr. He belongs to an intergalactic race of vampire knights who live in high tech but essentially mediaeval castles and who value rules and martial prowess highly. His first major command was of the Nexus conflict, a three-way intergalactic war for the planet Nexus. Very obsessed with the vampire version of chivalry.

Solaire (1HP Club (Webtoon))

He's adorable without the helmet (and even with it tbh), but also really strong when he needs to be. He can literally smell evil. Like, with his nose. At one point he rushes into danger and almost gets the party killed and he feels so guilty that his friends got hurt. I love him, your honor. Also his helmet does expressions, like if he makes an angry face the metal on the helmet goes down like his eyebrows. It's kind of hard to explain but it's really funny imo. And his player's name is Jesus which is so fitting for a paladin.

[wannabe-british-fangirl]

~ books read in 2023 ~

#19: Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

The hot wind flung brown dust into Maud's face.

Rating: 5/5

[littleevil0ne1]

Olasard, Ripper of souls

This is how I imagine him when Helen first gets her hands on him and names him 🤣🤣🤣 I might draw beast too

[best-childhood-book]

Suggestions for fantasy books:

In Other Lands - Sarah Rees Brennan

Beauty - Robin McKinley

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

The Broken Earth (series) - N.K. Jemisin

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

The Deep - River Solomon

Poison - Chris Wooding

Inkeeper Chronicles (series) - Ilona Andrews

The Witcher (series) - Andrzej Sapkowski

The Poppy War (series) - R. F. Kuang

The Live Ship Traders (series) - Robin Hobb

Sorceror Royal (series) - Zen Cho

The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson

The Curse Workers (series) - Holly Black

Alice (duology) & Lost Boy - Christina Henry

Ring Shout - P. Djèli Clark

Kingkiller Chronicle (series) - Patrick Rothfuss

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree

Iron Widow - Jay Zhao

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi

Thursday Next (series) - Jasper Fforde

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter

The Dark is Rising (series) - Susan Cooper

Wicked - Gregory Maguire

East - Edith Pattou

Knights of Liofwende (series) & The Welkin Weasels (series) - Garry Kilworth

Old Magic - Marianne Curley

Book of the Crow (series) - Catherine Fisher

Mongrels - Stephen Graham Jones

The Last Binding (series) - Freya Marske

Sorry, I know that's a lot! Anyway, thank you for running these polls and breaking my heart again and again, lol.

What a list! You've got a lot of great ones in here (I love you, Poppy War, Uprooted, and Iron Widow). I've added them all, though some of the names changed due to series vs book titles

[agwitow]

Can I just say how much I appreciate how you managed to: -Break down an entire series with interesting snippets without massive spoilers -Give some insight for those who charge from one book to the next, versus those who don't (Hi, I am both of these people) -Went over the comic and gave some actual insight to who may or may not like it (versus just going "This doesn't follow at all, ergo it sucks") -Read a multi-book series in 48 hours (holy shit, I miss having that power, you are incredibly skilled and impressive) It is seriously helpful to anyone looking for a new book/series, and I am absolutely going to check out the Innkeeper Chronicles now. Thank you for your knowledge and hard work!

I hope you enjoy the series! ^.^

When giving reviews, I try to provide the kind of information I'd want to know. Glad I seem to have been successful!

As far as the comic goes (and for every other story I don't enjoy), I try to appreciate it for what it does, not what I wanted it to do. It's not always an easy task.

I think it helps that I love this series so much and am also a voracious consumer of webtoon type comics. Made it easy to see why some of the changes were made. (There were still some changes that legitimately made zero sense to me, which is why I said readers of the books wouldn't enjoy the comic version)

Anyway, thanks! Happy reading!

[risstormblessed]

I started reading Ilona Andrews' books and lemme say....SO FUCKING GOOD. so good. Reading slump? OVER. Depression? CURED!! Skin? well that's still meh BUT WHATEVER!!!! NEW BOOKS TO READ NEW CHARACTERS TO SHIP NEW MAGIC SYSTEMS TO EXPLORE!!!

[persephinae]

Yasssssss the new Innkeper Chronicles book has a release date of December 13th