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Les bons romans sont l'histoire du coeur humain.

Jean de La Harpe, Lycée

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Based on the RE wiki, I know that Navier won’t choose him, but I really want her to choose Kapmen over Sovieshu and Heinley :’(

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“...I avoided his gaze and said what I wanted to say all this time.

“You’re mistaken, Your Majesty.  But even if I want love.  It’s funny.“

“...Funny?”

“You’ve proudly shown off your concubine at parties, so I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with interfering with my love affairs.” “ (Ch.85)

Finally!  I’m so glad Navier finally called out Sovieshu on his hypocrisy!  This has been driving me nuts through all 85 chapters lol

I’m sad for Rashta that she had to hear him say “...A concubine is just a concubine...” though 😔  I hope somebody assassinates Viscount Roteschu, ‘cause he just keeps continuing to be the Worst.

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Thinking more about Rashta & Sovieshu's relationship this morning. As one does lol

I actually find them to be pretty sad. I'm on chapter 56. Sovieshu is ill, away at the country house (can't remember what it's actually called) with Navier. Rashta is told that he's sick, but her first thoughts aren't even for him, she's only concerned with the fact that it's Navier who is with him & not her. She worries that he might not even be sick at all. She's terrified of him actually falling for Navier instead of her. She's literally just been told that Sovieshu is sick & one of her first thoughts is "But even if he was sick, that was still a problem. If the Empress stayed by his side and cared for him, he might forget his feelings about Rashta. " (ch.55)

It's honestly sad to me. Exactly what Sovieshu deserves, considering how awful he is to Navier, but still sad. If he wasn't the Emperor, if he was just some random commoner, Rashta wouldn't give him the time of day imo.

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I’ve reached chapter 48 in Remarried Empress.  I am absolutely inhaling this book!  Granted, the chapters are pretty short, but I wasn’t expecting it to be such a quick read.

My hatred for Sovieshu and Rashta continues to grow :/ More about that + other probably spoilery thoughts below the cut!

I sympathize with Rashta.  She sucks and I still think she’s dumb, but no one deserves to be enslaved :(  Her past is tragic and it makes sense, with her background, that she would aspire to reach a position where she would never have to worry about being a slave again.

My main problem with her is that she seems way too dumb to be able to scheme at all.  The way she acts with Navier makes no sense - is she trying to supplant Navier and become Empress?  Is she just acting dumb?  Is she actually magic and her constant crying puts a spell on people to make them feel sympathy with her?  The whole imitating Navier’s voice to - was it Kapmen? - was super creepy!

Sovieshu continues to be literally the worst!  I can’t stand him!  It makes me so angry that he’s jealous and a bit controlling of Navier when he’s already thrown her aside for Rashta.  He’s a bit boring - Rashta at least has some mystery to her character.

Count Roteschu is also complete garbage!  He’s so gross trying to manipulate Rashta.  He may have killed her baby - who was also his grandchild - or he may not have and either way he’s trying to use that child to manipulate Rashta.  His son also sounds like he was awful; he clearly didn’t love Rashta ever.

I still like Navier a lot - she’s a bit bland, I wish she had a bit more personality but Remarried Empress is a looong book so hopefully she’ll get more character development as it goes on.  I love how competent she is as a ruler!

I don’t know what to think about Heinley...  He’s kind of a huge creep?  With the whole pretending to be a bird thing and getting close to Navier that way.  So far though, at least he’s better than literal garbage Sovieshu :/  I do hope that Navier finds out he is literally a bird shapeshifter soon though...

Of all of Navier’s potential love interestes Grand Duke Kapmen is so far the most interesting, though he’s the least developed.

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Oh. My. God.

Rashta is literally the dumbest person alive???

"Yes, let's be sisters. I took away your husband, but can we get along?" Are you kidding me Rashta?! Do you hear yourself?! Edit: whoops Rashta didn't actually say this lol 😅 This was Navier's interpretation of what she said.

What an infuriating character!! 😠

I hope Navier divorces Sovieshu real quick! He deserves Rashta >.>

Was not expecting this book to be aggravating lol

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School is finally over for the semester!!! :D

I need to do a proper post on what I’ve read this semester - surprise, surprise it wasn’t the books on my tbr :/

Returning to my tbr, today I re-started Remarried Empress.  I started reading it over the summer, but didn’t get very far (maybe 2-4 chapters in iirc).  One of my best friends really likes it so I want to give it a try.

I’m putting my first impression under the cut.

Chapter 1:

I like Navier a lot so far.  She seems like a really cool, strong character.  I’m liking the world a lot so far too, even though I’m just on chapter 1.  I love how much Navier’s ladies seem to care about her.  I hope that continues, ‘cause I love stories that allow women to have female friends, rather than all the women in the story being rivals/jealous of each other.

Sovieshu comes across as kind of an idiot.  He’s surprised to learn that Navier knows about the woman he rescued and brought back to the palace... and yet he had her ladies-in-waiting clean the woman up...  Did he think they wouldn’t say anything to Navier?!  I really hope he’s not the male lead :/  Do not like! lol

Chapter 2:

I like how complicated Navier’s emotions for Sovieshu are.  She says she doesn’t love him, but she also doesn’t want him to be with other women (understandably so!).  She’s deeply hurt, in her own words heartbroken, that he has brought another woman into the palace and wont even talk to her about it.  They didn’t marry for love, but she seems in love with him and obviously wants her feelings reciprocated.

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August Wrapup

August went much better than I thought it would ^_^

I managed to completely read or finish five books!  Gideon the Ninth, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Fire Logic, Red, White, & Royal Blue, and Bloodchild and Other Stories.  I stayed caught up on both the Husky & His White Cat Shizun and My Darling Sick Beauty and re-started and got farther in Inland.

Of course, I would have loved to have read even more, but I’m proud of myself for having read half of my tbr :)

& I adored pretty much everything I read this month, which feels very lucky

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I’m going to combine the last four months of the year into one big tbr, because classes are starting up again T_T and I know I won’t have as much time as I want to actually read, between school & work -_-

So between September & December I want to:

-Finish Inland by Téa Obreht.  I’m, I think, 18% of the way through Inland currently.  I don’t love it :(  It’s not as engaging as the Tiger’s Daughter, mainly because I’m less interested in the Arizona Territory points of view then I am in Lurie’s point of view.  Lurie’s first person voice is much more compelling than Nora’s 3rd person point of view, and I suspect this will be the same for the other POV characters in Amargo.

-Finish Nan Chan by Tang Jiuqing.  I haven’t touched Nan Chan all month -_- unfortunately.  I really like what I’ve read of it and very much want to continue.  I’m going to restart it, as I originally just read it here & there and I’m not sure how much info about the plot/characters I retained...

-Continue Remarried Empress by Alphatart.  This is another one I didn’t read at all in August.  I want to get caught up with the translation by December.

-Continue Erha by Meatbun.  At this point Erha is an all time favorite and it will not be difficult to stay caught up on it throughout the Fall :D

-Continue Case File Compendium by Meatbun.

-Continue My Darling Sick Beauty by Dao Xuan.  I’m currently caught up with this webnovel’s translation.  I love it; it’s still just cute, fluffy, fun.

-Continue Copper Coins by Mu Su Li.  I started reading this in August and immediately fell for it.  The translator is currently revising their translation, so I kind of want to wait until they are finished before I read more of Copper Coins.  I love Xue Xian; he genuinely seems like someone who isn’t human and I can’t wait until he gets his true dragon body back.  & I’m so curious about Xuanmin is!  He seems much more powerful than most of the characters think he is, right now, and I really want to know who he is.  I’m also very much anticipating watching Xuanmin and Xue Xian fall in love <3

-Continue a Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.  Didn’t get around to reading any of a Little Life in August, but I did get my own copy :/

-Finish Victory's Price by Alexander Freed.  Didn’t read any of Victory’s Price either T_T

-Continue the Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.  Another book that I read none of in August *deep sigh*

-Read Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.  The only book on this list, at the moment anyway :), that I haven’t read any of.  I finished Gideon the Ninth in August; which broke my heart in the best possible ways.  I adore Tamsyn Muir’s writing style, the world she’s created, everything about the Locked Tomb.  I can’t wait to read Harrow’s perspective!

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I'm a little more than halfway through Bloodchild: and Other Stories and it's amazing! Octavia Butler's writing is so captivating. She doesn't have a super stylized writing style or anything, nothing like Piranesi for example, but her characters and her worlds feel extremely real, lived in. No matter if the story takes place on another planet or in a bleak future, everyone feels like a real, complex person.

I'm kicking myself for taking so long to read her works! 😑

So far the stories I like the most are: the titular Bloodchild and the story about the degenerative disease that the main character realizes can be controlled/managed through certain pheromones.

The only story I didn't really like, so far, is the one about the extremely depressed woman who works in a factory.

My most favorite parts though are Butler's afterwards and essays.

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I need to scream into the void with excitement lol Can't believe that MXTX's books are getting an official English language release!!! 😆 All 3 of them!!!

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August Reading Goals + June/July Wrap Up:

Haven't felt like updating this little blog in recent months :/ Mainly because, between work and family, July was extremely busy and I didn't have as much time or motivation to read.

But now it's August and things are starting to calm down, so hopefully I can find my motivation again ^_^

In June I managed to read, or at least start, a few of the books I wanted to get to. I finished This is How You Lose the Time War, Fangirl, and Golden Stage. I started Gideon the Ninth, Fire Logic, the Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Erha), Tian Guan Ci Fu, and Inland.

In July I got caught up on Erha, and got further in Tian Guan Ci Fu. I also read Spring Trees and Sunset Clouds and started My Darling Sick Beauty.

For August, I'm flip-flopping between giving myself a tbr or just seeing where things go :/ Tbr's haven't really been working for me, but I'm reluctant to let go of the format...

I guess if I do try to stick with a tbr these are the books that will be on it:

-Tian Guan Ci Fu by MXTX:  I’m about 86% of the way through TGCF.  Things have really taken a turn regarding the identity of White No Face :’(  I’m really looking forward to completing TGCF, but I also don’t want to say goodbye to these characters...  I really adore Xie Lian <3  Finished 8/30/2021

-Erha by Meatbun: I’m caught up with the current human translation (ch.160).  *deep sigh* There aren’t enough words in the English language to express how much I love Erha lol  It’s one of those rare books that I start and it immediately hooks its claws into my soul and just burrows there.  Mo Ran and Chu Wanning just constantly break my heart, with all of their misunderstandings.  Mo Ran 2.0 is best boi; seeing him trying so hard to be a good person and come to terms with Taxian Jun/Mo Ran 0.5 and the things he did in that lifetime is so well done.  And Chu Wanning! I love him so, so much <3 He is very much my favorite Erha character. He's so awkward and full of self loathing and I cannot wait to see him finally get past all of that 😭 I’m dying waiting for the next chapter lol  Can’t wait to see where this whole drama with Ye Wangxi/Nangong Si/Song Qiutong is going, especially with the ch.160 reveal :O  I also really want to know who the antagonist is!!!  He reminds me so much of Taxian Jun...

-My Darling Sick Beauty by Dao Xuan:  This one is just kind of fun and funny and fluffy. I really love Jiang Zheliu and Wen Renye and seeing their relationship develop.  I wasn’t sure about it at first, wasn’t completely getting into it, but I stuck with it and now I’m hooked :D

-Remarried Empress by Alpha Tart:  This is my first Korean webnovel.  I’m not really far enough in to have much of an opinion yet.  I like Navier and I’m curious to see where this goes.  It came highly recommended by a friend, so I’ll probably love it ^_^

-Nan Chan by Tang Jiuqing:  Not super far into Nan Chan either, just got to chapter 12.

-Inland by Téa Obreht:  Intriguing, but I’m only 5% in.

-Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks: I adore this book & very much want to read the whole quartet (which my library happily has :D).  Right now, I’m only 90 pages away from the end.  Will probably finish it either tonight or in the next few days. Finished 8/4/2021

-Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Love, love, love this book!!!  I’m a little less than halfway through and am excited to get back to it.  Finished 8/25/2021

-Bloodchild: and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler: I haven’t touched this one since April -_- It’s my first Butler and I really want to get into her works, especially since I have a ton of her other books!  After finishing Fire Logic, I’ll probably prioritize this one. Finished 8/10/2021

-Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston:  Read like two pages of this in May and haven’t touched it since :/  I think it’ll be a quick read, though, once I get back to it.  Finished 8/18/2021

-the Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon:  Haven’t read this since May either.  I do want to get back to it.  I definitely don’t expect to finish tPotOT this month, but I would like to continue it rather than leave it hanging.

-Victory's Price by Alexander Freed:  Haven’t touched this since March :(  I love Star Wars and I really love the characters in Alphabet Squadron.  Very much want to find out how the trilogy ends.

-a Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara: Haven’t read since February :(  Like with Victory’s Price, school got really busy and I didn’t have time to read.  I’m only 90 pages in, so not very far, but I really love what I’ve read so far.  I’m going to go pick up my own copy this weekend, ‘cause too many other people have holds on the library copies and I know I’m not going to be able to finish it before I need to return it :/

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OHMYGOD we are officially getting a fourth book! Not a novella, a novel! And it’s going to have a A DOG IN IT?!? 💀

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book hangovers are a real thing. what do you do, read another book? fucking cheaters. process that shit in tears and stare into space as if your whole life is a void. because it is.

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forget writer’s block. let’s talk about reader’s block. you’re sitting there scrolling through your marked for later, scrolling through your favourite tags, scrolling through your bookmarks, scrolling through your favourite authors’ profiles and no matter what you do you can’t find anything you want to read

even though you are surrounded by things you would love if you could only frickin’ start

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do we have like a tentative release date for the next priory book?

Aiming for next year.

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I have been birds and branches.  I have been bees and wolves.  I have been ether flooding the void between stars, tangling their breath into networks of song.  I have been fish and plankton and humus, and all these have been me. But while I've been enmeshed in this wholeness - they are not the whole of me.

Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, This is How You Lose the Time War