#the burning king duology

[barrel-crow-n]

ketterdam | change the ending of one of the books (for the grishaverse ask game)

Definitely changing the ending of Rule of Wolves.

Just. Nikolai was a good king. He fought for this position, he wants what's best for his country. Let him keep his crown

And Zoya will make a bad queen

#good general bad queen #she CANNOT hold her tongue #forget peace treaties and alliances she's going to burn all those bridges #grishaverse #grishaverse asks #king of scars duology #rule of wolves #zoya nazyalensky #nikolai lantsov

[darklinaforever]

I'm going to say it loud and clear... King of Scars and Rule of Wolves are the worst books I've ever read. They have far surpassed the Grisha trilogy. I'm not for burning books... but these ? Maybe I could...

#king of scars #rule of wolves #king of scars : rule of wolves #king of scars duology #anti king of scars #anti rule of wolves #anti king of scars : rule of wolves #anti king of scars duology #obviously the idea of ​​burning these books is purely ironic #anti leigh bardugo #the darkling #darkling #aleksander morozova #pro darkling #pro the darkling #pro aleksander morozova #darklina #alarkling #pro darklina #pro alarkling #alina starkov #grishaverse

[stromuprisahat]

After reading TGT for the first time: Okay... the ending sucks, but I get where both sides were coming from. I think the Fold was a good weapon but using it on Novokribirsk was too much.

After reading KoS & RoW: Fuck Zoya. Fuck Alina. Fuck Nikolai. You're all idiots. Motherfucking fools. The Darkling was the only one with any sense. I want to grab all of them and bang them against the floor like the Hulk did to Loki in Avengers 2012. Everyone is an idiot. I hate everyone and I have a headache.

Yes, except I got there in the first chapter of Six of Crows. (I was reading whole Grishaverse chronologically.)

What had Retvenko meant about Yuri and Anya being taken, anyway? Had he been covering for Anya? Grisha indentures were kept to the house for good reason. To walk the streets without protection was to risk getting plucked up by a slaver and never seen again.

_____

... But most of the interior was taken up by a huge box—a kind of freestanding cell that looked like it was made from reinforced steel, its seams thick with rivets, a huge window embedded in one of its walls. The glass had a wavy bent, and through it, Joost could see a girl seated at a table, clutching her red silks tight around her. Behind her, a stadwatch guard stood at attention.

Anya, Joost realized with a start. Her brown eyes were wide and frightened, her skin pale. The little boy sitting across from her looked doubly terrified. His hair was sleep-mussed, and his legs dangled from the chair, kicking nervously at the air.

...

Joost looked back through the glass. Anya was staring out at him, her gaze unfocused. The day he’d arrived at Hoede house, she’d healed a bruise on his cheek. It had been nothing, the yellow-green remnants of a crack he’d taken to the face during a training exercise, but apparently Hoede had caught sight of it and didn’t like his guards looking like thugs. Joost had been sent to the Grisha workshop, and Anya had sat him down in a bright square of late winter sunlight. Her cool fingers had passed over his skin, and though the itch had been terrible, bare seconds later it was as if the bruise had never been.

When Joost thanked her, Anya smiled and Joost was lost. He knew his cause was hopeless. Even if she’d had any interest in him, he could never afford to buy her indenture from Hoede, and she would never marry unless Hoede decreed it. ...

... and that’s not even the worst yet...

#reply #grishanalyticritical #Grishaverse #Grisha trilogy #King of Scars duology #The Darkling #The Righteous Gang™ #Six of Crows duology #Six of Crows #SoC Chapter 1 #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #That world deserves to burn!

[lizanneyoung97]

ARC REVIEW: HEART OF THE SUMMER QUEEN BY HOLLY ROSE

⭐⭐⭐⭐

TROPES

Beauty and the Beast meets Snow White

Enemies to Lovers

Touch Her and Die

Slow Burn

This picks up right where the first book, Bride of the Winter King, leaves off. Adara has just tried to kill her husband, and it didn’t really go how she thought it would. Now the two of them are working together to break the curse that plagues the Winter King also known as Elaric.

While most of the first book takes place in Elaric’s castle of ice, this next book sees the two go on an adventure across the kingdom, from the forests to the seas. It was perfect because I do think the story had outgrown the castle, so it was nice to see how Adara and Elaric interacted outside of their otherwise rigid environment. 

There are some great sequences that showcase Adara’s ability to think on her feet and adapt to any situation, and it was fun to watch her continue to grow. She really gives their adventure her all, even if it could end up poorly in the end. 

Once the door opens on Adara and Elaric’s relationship, nothing can stop them (even though it takes a hot second for them to be on the same page). Though it started on rocky ground, by the end, they are in a great place and I’m so glad they made it there.

Heart of the Summer Queen is available now on KU! Thank you to the author for a chance to ARC read.

#book review #book reviewer #2024 reviews #arc reader #arc review #indie fantasy #fantasy #heart of the summer queen #holly rose #winterspell #fantasy duology #romantasy #touch her and die #slow burn #enemies to lovers #bride of the winter king

[justallihere]

I’m a slowburn girlie like you’re a slowburn girlie. Any book recs?! Just getting back into reading again 🤓 Actually obsessed with sitq and need something so I’m not focusing on when the next update will come 💀

Okay here are some of my favorites from the last couple years:

I always recommend Throne of Glass. A lot of people say to start with ACOTAR if you’re going to read Sarah J. Maas but I think TOG is her most consistent in terms of plot and characterization. And it’s completed

The Coven and The Cursed by Harper L. Woods. The villain love interest stays a villain the entire time and he’s SO HOT. It’s a completed duology but it’s set up for more books with other couples in the same world (editing this to say I read these as indies last year but they’ve been picked up by a publisher since. I don’t think you can get physical copies right now but they do seem to still be on KU)

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer is cute and fun! Slow burn and pretty light-hearted, but it is only the first book of a series and the next comes out later this year

If you like contemporary romance (slight paranormal themes) then The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston broke my heart and put it back together several times. One of my favorite books of all time. But it does deal pretty heavily with themes of parental loss and grief if that’s not your jam

One Dark Window/Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig. Very little spice but it’s a fascinating world and magic system and I loved it way more than I expected to!

Similar vibes to the above, For the Wolf and For the Throne by Hannah Whitten. Cottagecore but make it bloody (I also recommend The Foxglove King by her, but it’s only the first in an incomplete trilogy)

The Serpent and the Wings of Night and The Ashes and the Star-cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. Enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers. There’s sexy blood drinking. If you want more than that I can’t help you

I know a couple of these are pretty standard recs but hopefully there is something in here for you!! Happy reading 🥰

#book recommendations #book recs

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.

Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.

With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family…or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.

Ithaca by Clarie North

Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom.

Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.

No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive.

This is the first volume in “The Songs of Penelope” series.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson 

Phaedra has been cast to the side all her life: daughter of an adulteress, sister of a monster, and now unwilling bride to the much-older, power-hungry Theseus. Young, naïve, and idealistic, she has accepted her lot in life, resigned to existing under the sinister weight of Theseus’s control and the constant watchful eye of her handsome stepson Hippolytus.

When supposedly pious Hippolytus assaults her, Phaedra’s world is darkened in the face of untouchable, prideful power. In the face of injustice, Phaedra refuses to remain quiet any longer: such an awful truth demands to be brought to light. When Phaedra publicly accuses Hippolytus of rape, she sparks an overdue reckoning.

The men of Athens gather to determine the truth. Meanwhile, the women of the city, who have no vote, are gathering in the shadows. The women know truth is a slippery thing in the hands of men. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard. Until now.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

This is the first volume in “The Celestial Kingdom Duology” series. 

#fiction #mythology #fantasy #Retellings #Library Books #Book Recommendations #book recs #Reading Recs #reading recommendations #TBR pile #tbr #tbrpile #to read #Want To Read #Booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog

[ravenboysandcrows]

welcome to my blog!

"What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren't chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway." - Inej Ghafa, Crooked Kingdom

Hello! Welcome to my goofy little blog. I’m Maya, I’m 15, and I’m a really delusional hopeless romantic and dreamer. This is just a random little thing I decided to start. I will mainly be reblogging things and occasionally I might add a headcanon or little rambling/thought I have. As my bio says, I am obsessed with fictional bird boys, so the Raven Boys from the Raven Cycle and the Crows from Six of Crows.

some basic info about me: white/caucasian, she/they, fifteen, lesbian, infp, scorpio, ravenclaw, sweet tea addict, cat lover, huge reader, introvert, english and history lover, autumn stan, apple music > spotify, folklore and evermore girlie, kinda mentally unstable (😅), perfectionist, suffers from a lot of burn out

Hobbies: reading, listening to music, writing fanfiction, watching anime, napping, baking, hiking, deep intellectual conversations and debates, playlist-making, procrastinating, overthinking everything at 3 a.m.

Artists: Phoebe Bridgers (probably my favorite), Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, boygenius, Mitski, beabadoobee, Taylor Swift, Cavetown, Lizzy McAlpine, Searows, Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, Jason Isbell, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, the Lumineers

Books: Six of Crows duology, the Raven Cycle, King of Scars duology, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, the Secret History, Normal People, Conversations with Friends, Legends and Lattes, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Into the Wild, Slaughterhouse Five

TV Shows + Movies: Coraline, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Spy x Family, Skip and Loafer, Fruits Basket, A Silent Voice, Gintama, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Haibane Renmei, Natsume’s Book of Friends, basically any Studio Ghibli movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wolfwalkers, the Breadwinner, Juno, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Shadow and Bone, Lockwood and Co.

Characters: Wylan Van Eck, Inej Ghafa, Nina Zenik, Jesper Fahey, Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, Blue Sargent, Noah Czerny, Francis Abernathy, Connell Waldron, Coraline Jones, Alphonse Elric, Yuki Sohma, Saki Hanajima, Shoya Ishida, Kagura Yato, Natsume Takashi, Ash Fox (not a furry I promise 😭)

Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to ask or message me anytime!

#introduction #get to know me #phoebe bridgers #six of crows #the raven cycle #pinned post #about myself

[richincolor]

With summer on its way out, I thought it would be fun to highlight three books you might have missed! Have you read any of them yet?

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron Bloomsbury YA

This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street. Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business. But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers

Packed with voice, this is a powerful coming-of-age YA novel about a Filipina-American teen who tries to figure out who she really is in the wake of her mother's death. Some girls call their mother their best friend. Marisol? She could never relate. She and her mom were forever locked in an argument with no beginning and no end. But when her mother dies suddenly, Marisol is left with no one to fight against, haunted by all the things that she both said and didn’t say. And when Marisol sleeps with her best friend's boyfriend—and then punches said best friend in the face—she's left alone, with nothing but a burning anger. And Marisol is determined to stay angry. After all, there’s a lot to be angry about. But as a new friendship begins to develop, Marisol reluctantly starts to open up to her, and to the possibility there’s something else on the other side of that anger—something more to who she is, and who she could be.

Forged by Blood (The Tainted Blood Duology #1) by Ehigbor Okosun Harper Voyager

In the midst of a tyrannical regime and political invasion, Dèmi just wants to survive: to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her ancestral homeland of Ife; to escape the King’s brutal genocide of her people—the darker skinned, magic wielding Oluso; and to live peacefully with her secretive mother while learning to control the terrifying blood magic that is her birthright. But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. She bides her time until the devious Lord Ekwensi grants her the perfect opportunity—kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. With the help of her reckless childhood friend Colin, Dèmi succeeds, but discovers that she and Jonas share more than deadly secrets; every moment tangles them further into a forbidden, unmistakable attraction, much to Colin’s—and Dèmi’s—distress. The kidnapping is now a joint mission: to return to the King, help get Lord Ekwensi on the council, and bolster the voice of the Oluso in a system designed to silence them. But the way is dangerous, Dèmi’s magic is growing yet uncertain, and it’s not clear if she can trust the two men at her side. A tale of rebellion and redemption, race and class, love and trust and betrayal, Forged by Blood is epic fantasy at its finest, from an enthusiastic, emerging voice. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

#book lists #you're not supposed to die tonight #i'd rather burn than bloom #forged by blood #weneeddiversebooks

[kimoko92]

Just finished Rule of wolves of King of scars duology. Now what am I to do?? Loved the slow burn romance, the characters and plot. Would want another grishaverse book so happy to also see the crows be part of the book 🤩

I was honestly worried since the book got further and further and there were so many loose plots I'd thought it wouldn't have room to finish them all but I liked it!

#leigh bargudo #rule of wolves #sankta zoya #zoyalai #grishaverse

[oneidiotwithasword]

since some of y’all may be looking for new books to read/buy for others this holiday period, under the cut are books i’ve read this year (with a little legend). please feel free to ask questions about anything! i love chatting about books

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️: gay and/or trans characters/themes/etc prominent

🗡️: fantasy

🪐: sci-fi

🫧: non-fiction

🧡: books i particularly liked

1. the locked tomb series - tamsyn muir 🧡🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🪐🗡️

2. trials of apollo series - rick riordan 🗡️

3. the once and future witches - alix e. harrow 🏳️‍🌈🗡️

4. wayfarers series - becky chambers 🧡🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🪐

5. to be taught, if fortunate - becky chambers 🧡🪐🏳️‍🌈

6. gathering moss - robin wall kimmerer 🫧

7. legends & lattes - travis baldree 🧡🏳️‍🌈🗡️

8. the murderbot diaries - martha wells 🧡🏳️‍🌈🪐

9. emily wilde’s encyclopaedia of faeries 🧡🗡️

10. house in the cerulean sea - tj klune 🧡🏳️‍🌈🗡️

11. the bruising of qilwa - naseem jamnia 🧡🏳️‍⚧️🗡️

12. kaiju preservation society - john scalzi 🪐

13. the burning kingdoms series - tasha suri 🗡️🏳️‍🌈

14. a psalm for the wild-built - becky chambers 🧡🏳️‍⚧️🪐

15. smoke gets in your eyes - caitlin doughty 🫧

16. teixcalaan duology - arkady martine 🧡🏳️‍🌈🪐

18. witch king - martha wells 🧡🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🗡️

19. jurassic park duology - michael crichton 🧡🪐

#going through and bolding the stand outs made me realise how many great books i’ve read this year #had very few misses honestly #also i’ve read barely any non-fiction this year after having a 50/50 split in 2021 and 66/33 split last year #too much good fiction around

[platoapproved]

okay okay my shadow and bone season 2 hot takes are burning me from the inside out so here we go:

these are in no particular order but sadly it did feel kind of like a miss for me with nikolai :/  i was worried it was going to be way worse but there were a few changes that were just Not It for me. like you CANNOT just bring in Dominik and have him still be alive. he should’ve been dead the whole time, because that’s nikolai’s whole thing.  he has his charming prince / dashing privateer / all around witty fun guy façade, and underneath it is grief. over a normal commoner, who died wastefully in an unimportant battle.  it MATTERS that that death matters so much to nikolai

AND it’s really not the same for him to get randomly wounded 0.02 seconds before the civil war is completely over, and then later realize some weird magic shit is going on with the wound.  like instead of being DELIBERATELY made into a monster and then spending weeks? months? however long as a mostly mindless monster, unable to help his friends or his country and lowkey maybe eating people.  like that’s that 👏 good 👏 shit 👏 .

it also matters that he’s not visibly scarred afterwards? like literally “king of scars” hello? even if people outside his inner circle don’t know what really happened they still think the darkling tortured him for months or whatever.

anyway the point is the show needed to hurt nikolai a lot more.

kaz was perfect i love him, love how they delivered on his story, definitely the thing this season landed the best.

BUT it does somewhat irk me that pekka is still in the mix after kaz’s takedown.  he runs away, and then just as he’s thinking about maybe coming back, inej finishes it and he’s just OUT. the last chapter of the duology is him just being like “i can’t DEAL with how vicious these teens are i’m too old for this shit i’m FINISHED”.  i just think kaz brekker would not be satisfied with him still being in hellgate having any power whatsoever.

LOVED how little mattias content there was.  cut him out entirely. five of crows.

giving the darkling a weird underling with bad bangs and 90s lipstick and spending so much time on her was a strange move considering how many other things they were trying to cover, like y’all don’t have room to be adding new OCs.

JUSTICE FOR DUNYASHA why was inej fighting some random taxidermy man instead.  her appearance in crooked kingdom always DELIGHTS me because she just shows up out of nowhere declaring herself to be inej’s great rival and being psychosexually obsessed with her and inej is just ?????? because she has no idea who this fucking person is. changing her to some random dude is a homophobic attack on me personally.

i am glad they gave jesper some serious moments this season finally, but also a little sad with how much they rushed the grisha stuff for him. i think it’s probably an inevitable book-to-movie thing but they didn’t do enough with how much hiding his powers was fundamental to who he is. it’s like, the root of his frankly suicidal recklessness and addiction and shame.  his feelings about his powers are tied to his mother and her death but also to his father and how he taught Jesper to lie about himself and also made him feel ashamed/guilty to have powers.  AND most importantly it’s not just parent stuff, it’s a response to the world around him where grisha are hunted and persecuted and kidnapped and enslaved and conscripted and experimented on.  it’s not just that he’s sad about his mom.  it’s one of the many responses we see in the books from grishas towards a world that is so hostile to them.  you can’t just make it about the personal circumstances.  the social and political ones have an impact too.

i do get why they never get into it but man. i also missed jesper’s pathetic fucked up crush on kaz.  just another moment where the show provided the outer show (jesper being charming and having plenty of little flings and encounters) but not the knife-twist beneath it (him pining for kaz all those years and both of them kind of knowing it but never saying anything about it, and kaz just absolutely 100% not into him like that but not NOT stringing him along with little bits of kindness, unintentionally or intentionally).  like one of the things that is great about wylan and jesper is that it’s jesper deciding finally that he deserves more than waiting for little scraps of nothing from kaz and just going on a date with a nice boy, y’know?

i wish nina and inej had more friendship moments :c they haven’t known each other as long in the show. :c they’re supposed to be besties. :c i need them to be in love. :c

okay that’s all the hottest of my hot takes i think, overall i had a lot of fun with it and the main takeaway was that the kaz stuff was /chefkiss

#/ #// #/// #//// #///// #shadow and bone spoilers #six of crows #also i'm like DESPERATE to chat w someone about the show so you know message me if you've got hot takes too

[graysonfamfan2021]

13 books 📚 to get me better

1.unseelie , it’s part of a duology and I loved 🥰 that it was written by an autistic author ✍️ ivelisse housman and featured an enemies to lovers between raze and unseelie and found family and an autistic Fae protagonist as I’m autistic and it’s a fantastic book 📖.

2. the secret 🤫 of service of tea and treason by India 🇮🇳 holton , a autistic author ✍️ and it is part of a trilogy about autistic witches , spies 🕵️‍♀️ and witches in a magical 🧙‍♀️ Victorian world 🌎 and has an enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between Alice and Daniel and it’s an phenomenal book 📖.

3. a duel with the vampire 🧛‍♀️ lord by Elise kova and it is amazing 🤩 book 📖 with the found family trope and an enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between Floriane and Ruvan and it’s an amazing 🤩 book 📖 and a retelling of snow ❄️ white.

4. a taste 👅 of poison ☠️ by tessonja odette is an excellent book 📖 and a wonderful book 📖 featuring Fae in a beautiful 🤩 magical 🧙‍♀️ Victorian inspired world 🌎.

5. court of dragons 🐉 by frost Kay and it’s an epic fantasy romance 🥰 and it’s part of a trilogy and has dragons 🐉, romance 🥰 and elves 🧝‍♀️ and badass ladies .

6. Midnight 🕛 in everwood by m.a kuzniar and it is a wonderful retelling of the nutcracker and has an rivals to lovers story, and LBTQ representation as well as many other representations and relationships as well .

7. A throne of shadows by tessonja odette and it’s part of a trilogy and has unicorns 🦄 and magic and Fae and second chance and enemies to lovers romances respectively between the two different characters, Cora and teryn and larylis and mareleau.

8. These vengeful souls by Kelly Zekas and Tarum shanker and has an LBTQ relationship with the main relationship being enemies to lovers and has villains 🦹‍♀️ and heroes 🦸‍♀️ living in Victorian times and I’m a history buff 💪 and it’s x men meets the Victorian era. It also reminds me of the heroine complex series by Sarah Kuhn and the renegades trilogy by marissa Meyer as well as my favorite 🤩 shows titans and doom patrol and x men evolution.

9. Ana Maria and the fox 🦊 by Liana de la Rosa is a historical romance 🥰 set in the Victorian era in England and has a slow burn 🔥 romance 🥰 between a Mexican heiress Ana Maria who is the sunshine ☀️ to the grumpy African politician, Gideon fox as well and a marriage of convenience and Ana Maria and Gideon’s relationship is amazing 🤩 and I love ❤️ how he knows to speak 🗣️ Spanish and can talk to her and her family in their native language and I’m so excited 😆 to read the next book 📖 in the luna sisters trilogy next year as well as India 🇮🇳 holton and Elise kova and tessonja odettes books 📚 too etc.

10. the moonfire bride 👰‍♀️ by Sylvia Mercedes has Fae , slow burn 🔥romance and combines beauty and the beast with the Greek myth of Eros and psyche and it’s so good 😊 and the protagonist is a seamstress and she can weave dresses 👗 out of moonlight and other things in the Fae world 🌎.

11. Bellegarde by Jamie lilac it’s a retelling of the movie 🍿 she’s all that in 18th century France 🇫🇷 and has two slowburn romances between evie and beau and evie’s best friend Josephine and beau’s cousin , Mia Bellegarde and I love 💕 these two couples and the book 📖 is very well written and phenomenal and it’s awesome 😎.

12. Daughter of the pirate 🏴‍☠️ king 🤴 by Tricia levenseller has an abundance of magic 🪄, sirens 🚨, pirates 🏴‍☠️ and a heart ❤️ pounding enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between riden and alosa and it’s a stellar book 📖 .

13. Queen bee by Amalie Howard is a retelling of the count of monte Cristo by Alexander dumas and takes place in the regency era and has an array of different romances from enemies to lovers and slow burn 🔥 and friends to lovers and LBTQ relationships and representation from the many biracial characters in the book 📖 and it’s a fantastic book 📖

I’m tagging my besties @selinascatnip and @escapism-through-imagination and @not-so-mundane-after-all and @itsjustafia and @majima4587 and @ambelle and @amberpride and @ships-bynoa and @blackloislane and @amberpride and @lady-stirling and @meerakory and @meetmeunderthestarrynight

#13 books 📚

[uovoc]

2022 media consumption year in review

God tier

Matthew Swift series and Magicals Anonymous duology by Kate Griffin (reread). London sorcerer is raised from the dead and accidentally gets fused to the blue electric angels of the telephone lines along the way. Luscious prose, best urban magic I've ever read, and wickedly funny sense of humor.

Kane and Feels - podcast. Paranormal investigators go around London poking the mystic forces with a sharp stick. Surreal. Funny. Moderately comprehensible. There's nothing else quite like it. Someone described it as "the anti-TMA: you cannot form any theories about it no matter how hard you try."

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (reread) - two time travelers, defined as people stuck in time loops of their own lives, attempt to unravel the mystery of their existence. Suspenseful and beautifully constructed piece of nonlinear storytelling.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (reread) - Rose tastes people's emotions in food. Her brother disappears into thin air. Their parents are fine. Surreal and haunting pearl of a story.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - after a family tragedy, the surviving Blackwoods live in isolation from the village. A little Piranesi-ish subverted horror: the sense there's a secret at the heart of the world, and the secret is both joyful and terrible.

Our Flag Means Death - the crangst-filled pirate show that it seemed like the internet lost its mind over, for good reason.

Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space - Bee travels between the island and fishbowl space working temp jobs with Puppycat, until their pasts catch up with them. Dreamy, bittersweet, and gorgeous. Season finale was a banger.

Vesper Flights by Helen MacDonald (reread). Nature essays on humans and birds. Quiet, luminous, and filled with love of place. Faves were "The Human Flock", "High Rise", "Eulogy", and "What Animals Taught Me"

Natsume's Book of Friends (anime) - Technically about boy who can see youkai, learning how to navigate the world of human relationships. But really about masking, healing from trauma, and learning to trust.

Decent entertainment

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes

Encanto (2021) - movie

The Witcher, season 2 - show

What We Do in the Shadows - seasons 1-3, got bored afterwards

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (reread)

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Touch by Claire North (reread)

Sing - movie

Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare (reread)

The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren

Moon Knight - show, season 1

Moon Knight comics - 2011, 2014, 2016, 2021

The Batman (2022)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts (reread)

The Bad Guys (2022)

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (reread)

The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker

The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North

Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard (reread): Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, Johannes Cabal the Detective, Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute, The Brothers Cabal, and The Fall of the House of Cabal

The Owl House season 2

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (reread)

Strider by Beverly Cleary (reread)

Loki - show, season 1

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Paprika (2006) dir. Satoshi Kon (rewatch)

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (reread)

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Supernatural - seasons 1 – 6, selected episodes

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - comics (reread)

The Sandman - show, season 1

Microcosmic God: The complete short stories of Theodore Sturgeon, volume II by Theodore Sturgeon

Various Dick King-Smith books (reread): The Merman, Harry's Mad, and Harriet's Hare

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Girl From the Other Side - anime

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Farewell (2019) dir. Lulu Wang

Horatio Lyle series by Catherine Webb: The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle, The Obsidian Dagger, The Doomsday Machine, and The Dream Thief

Mononoke (2007) dir. Kenji Nakamura - anime

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson. Fave: "The Beautiful Stranger"

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson. Faves: "Like Mother Used to Make" and "Flower Garden"

Legend of Nezha (哪吒传奇) - the 2003 cartoon

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Lucie Babbidge's House by Sylvia Cassedy

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Pinocchio (2022) - dir. Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

You Suck by Christopher Moore

Bite Me by Christopher Moore

Disliked and usually DNF

Guardian (cdrama)

The Gameshouse by Claire North

Kim's Convenience - show

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

Victoriocity - podcast

Sporadic Phantoms - podcast

Guardians of Childhood series by William Joyce - okay I finished it out of loyalty but it was no rotg that's for sure

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken - anime

Arcane - show

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender

Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender

The Color Master by Aimee Bender

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Megan's Island by Willo Davis Roberts (reread)

First Light by Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

To Your Eternity - anime

Bloomability by Sharon Creech

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) dir. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Malevolent - podcast

Midnight Burger - podcast

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

M.E. and Morton by Sylvia Cassedy

Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

The Stench of Adventure (podcast)

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Assorted nonfiction

Songs of the Gorilla Nation by Dawn Prince-Hughes

The Organized Mind by Daniel J Levitin - nothing new except for the part about using your spatial memory to hack organization.

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker - how to organize social gatherings for meaningful and memorable experiences

Rust: the Longest War by Jonathan Waldman - investigative journalism book about corrosion, the hazard it presents to physical infrastructure, and how we mitigate it

Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 by Naoki Higashida

Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life by Yiyun Li - DNF

The One-Minute Manager: The World's Most Popular Management Method by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson - techniques for one-minute goal setting, one-minute praisings, and one-minute reprimands

The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage by Daniel Kane. Good concise history of the development of written Mandarin Chinese and the underlying structure of the characters.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - essays on the American landscape and conservation ethics ca. 1950. Neat from a historical standpoint, but nothing to write home about these days. Which kinda is the point I guess.

Oregon Salmon: Essays on the State of the Fish At the Turn of the Millennium, ed. Oregon Trout

Caring for your Parents by Hugh Delehanty and Eleanor Ginzler

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks - DNF

The Grid by Gretchen Bakke - history of how the physical and regulatory infrastructure of the American power grid was developed, and how it needs to be reimagined for the future.

Wildlife Wars : The life and times of a fish and game warden by Terry Grosz. Tales from his career as a California game warden catching poachers.

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. DNF. author's writing voice was supremely annoying

Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash, 3rd ed (1982) (reread) - history of Americans' changing attitudes towards nature and definitions of wilderness. A classic banger.

Black, Brown, Bruised: How racialized STEM education stifles innovation by Ebony Omotola McGee - good summary of what the successful programs for STEM students of color are doing right, everything else is the same old same old

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb. Account of the experience of going through therapy while working as a therapist. Excellent look at how we construct our personal narratives, and how to change them.

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Gremmy, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Strategies for having effective high-stakes conversations and managing your emotions. Good stuff.

Engineering and Social Justice by Donna Riley. Pretty entry-level, but it's a good bibliography for further reading.

Send in the Idiots by Kamran Nazeer

Why Are We Yelling? The art of productive disagreement by Buster Benson - DNF. disliked his writing style.

#Media consumption #Patter

[duckprintspress]

Duck Prints Press Celebrates Folktales and Fables Week with Our Favorite Folktale-Inspired (often Queer) Fiction

This week, March 19th to 25th, is World Folktales and Fables Week! Duck Prints Press is celebrating with two blog posts: yesterday’s, which focused on the folktales, fables, and myths that influenced us as creators, and today’s, about our favorite folktale-inspired fiction (queer and otherwise).

Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold by S.B. Divya (suggested by Dei)

This past year I read this story in Uncanny Magazine Issue 46, and it’s really stuck with me. It’s a retelling of a folktale very familiar to many Westerners, and the changes made turn it into a very compelling new story all on its own. No spoilers on what story it is, but suffice to say it takes a new perspective and I love this piece to bits.

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy and A. R. Capetta (suggested by Tris Lawrence)

I’m currently really enjoying the duology by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy which is an Arthurian retelling in space with a female Arthur and multiple queer rep. It’s YA, and it’s just… fun? I love how it played with the the known pieces, and plays with Merlin’s aging backwards, and works to both fit within the expected and turn things around at the same time.

I’ve finished Once & Future (in Space) and just received Sword in the Stars (confronting the past) and can’t wait to get to read it after I finish what I’m already reading.

One For the Morning Glory by John Barnes (suggested by Nina Waters)

My favorite folktale-inspired book is John Barnes’s One for the Morning Glory. It’s just beautiful.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (suggested by Owlish)

Unfortunately, it does have a major character death because…well… Achilles. It is so beautifully written, though.

Burning Roses by S. L. Huang (suggested by Shadaras)

This novella takes inspiration from the fairytale Red Riding Hood and the legend of Hou Yi (as well as other classic Germanic fairy tales and Chinese legends!), and imagines both of those characters as middle-aged women uncertain of their place in the world. They travel together, fighting monsters, and tell each other about their youths and families (both of them have wives and children). The ending is happy, but the path there takes time and reflection from everyone involved. I love it because of how it blends two wholly separate mythologies together into one cohesive world, as well as for showing what might happen after the stories we know end.

The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne (suggested by Owlish)

It’s a feminist retelling of Repunzel from the point of view of Mother Gothel setting her story straight.

Robin McKinley’s Fairy Tale Novels (suggested by E C)

Robin McKinley’s fairy tale novels are beautifully written (but sometimes brutal) retellings of some classic stories.

Guardian/Zhen Hun/镇魂 by Priest (suggested by boneturtle)

A danmei featuring humans, ghosts, demons, zombie kings, and all sorts of otherworldly creatures all wrapped up in an apocalyptic chinese folktale mashup from the master herself. taught me that 1) you are allowed to play with your own mythology, 2) fairytales are gay, 3) the apocalypse isn’t the end, just another spin of the wheel.

October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire (suggested by Sebastian Marie)

I love this series, there’s like eleven books, the first being Rosemary and Rue. They’re inspired by Irish folklore concerning the Faerie people.

Ash by Malinda Lo (suggested by E C)

“Ash” by Malinda Lo is a very queer Cinderella retelling.

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed (suggested by Adrian Harley)

A gorgeous graphic novel of the modern world, but where wishes are a commodity, bought, sold, and processed. The graphic novel follows three people who come into possession of a “first-class” wish and their intertwining tales. It’s a beautiful exploration on a global and personal scale (what does colonialism look like in this world? How does law enforcement treat those who are seen as unworthy of having wishes? But also, if you’re a queer college student with major depression, what do you wish for to fix the mountain you feel crushing you? Are you even worthy of a wish?)—and it’s also really funny! I cannot say enough good things about this book, because I discovered it by chance on my library shelf last month and want everyone to know about it.

The Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer (suggested by E C)

It’s sci-fi that brings Cinderella, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel characters into the same universe.

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (suggested by Anonymous)

[[[A retelling of a Russian folk tale about Koschei the Deathless.]]]

Saiyuki by Kazuya Minekura (suggested by Anonymous)

It’s a manga with a distinctly retro anime-style retelling of the Journey to the West that bluntly confronts themes of loss, grief, redemption, and the long, long road to admitting you care about other people. It’s been on and off hiatus for years due to the author’s poor health, but I still adore it. This series taught me that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.

Bonus!

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (an inspiration to multiple people, suggested by multiple people)

When we asked our contributors to suggest the folktales and fables that inspired them, and their favorite folktale-inspired stories, The Mists of Avalon ended up getting nominated in both categories!

boneturtle said: retelling of Arthurian legend from Morgana’s POV. Not explicitly queer but features the women of the story with the men as sort of incidental, and given to me by my bi friend who said it helped her understand her own sexuality. and it’s beautifully, beautifully written.

-

There’s a wonderful number of fiction stories, novellas, novels, and series inspired by folktales and fables, and a growing number of those are queer. Have you got a favorite we didn’t mention? We’d love to hear about it!!

Who we are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Love what we do? Want to make sure you don’t miss the announcement for future giveaways? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more!

Want to support the Press, read about us behind-the-scenes, learn about what’s coming down the pipeline, get exclusive teasers, and claim free stories? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi monthly!

#duck prints press #world folktales and fables week #rec list #book recs #queer books

[corvuserpens]

Okay. I’ve given it some thought, so here’s my two cents for the fandom:

Overall, I enjoyed season 2. I did. I binged the whole thing in less than two days, it was THAT good. And I’m rewatching it while I still can bc I won’t have Netflix anymore at the end of the month (thanks for ending the password sharing bullshit Netflix, y’all are losing five clients in a single go, congratulations). So just listen.

I had so much fun watching this, through and through. I laughed, I mourned, I aww’d, I nearly ripped my hair out at the character shenanigans (looking at you, Kaz). It was GOOD, it was cool. The changes, though... I’m not entirely sure I’m all about them. I’ll speak for the Six of Crows and King of Scars duologies because I’ve read those, I haven’t picked up the Shadow & Bone trilogy so I won’t touch up on those plots much because I have nothing to compare them to. I thought they were fine, it was fun watching it all play out and how it ended.

The good stuff first, then. The characters are all PERFECT. In fact, I think what held this show together so well was the characters themselves and seeing them all interact. WhiCH MEANS I NEED MORE TOLYA AND NINA BONDING OVER FOOD AND NIKOLAI AND KAZ TRYING TO OUTSMART EACH OTHER AND INEJ AND JESPER DYNAMICS AND-- You get it. 

I guess I’m just... disappointed that it was all so rushed. Like, when I realized we were watching basically the whole plotline for Crooked Kingdom BEFORE Six of Crows, my whole heart dropped to my feet. It was like “woah, what?” What does this mean for the Crows’ future, then? And the reason why I’m disappointed is because I was expecting it all to come MUCH LATER when we have Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom as it’s own show, just like the books.

This feels like... ew, it feels like fanservice. Like they didn’t know what to do with the Crows until they became relevant for the Shadow & Bone plot so they shoe-horned CK into it to play for time, and it made all those delicious scenes that were carefully built up in the story fall flat due to lack of context. Examples:

They killed Heleen off-screen so Inej won’t get to screw her over and get much deserved payback for being trafficked into sexual slavery; 

We don’t get ANY Helnik development that culminates into that heartbreaking last scene, and in fact we don’t even get to see Nina and Matthias interact except for a couple of scenes from a distance and Matthias’ horny daydreaming;

We don’t get to see how Wylan not being able to read affected HIS ENTIRE LIFE until he ends up with the Crows;

We get a snippet of Jesper’s backstory but THAT’S IT; 

Wesper was CUTE AS HELL I LOVE MY TWO LITTLE GAYS SO MUCH AAAAAA but again, I was looking forward to the slow burn;

Matthias allying with Pekka Rowlins in prison is kinda cool actually, I’m interested to see where that’s going plus the fact we’re not done with Rowlins yet, but I swear if they butcher Matthias’ arch for something more action packed and exciting, I am going to physically vomit;

Kaz breaking into the Slat to beat up Per Haskell’s gang as a one man army running on THE POWER OF TEENAGE HORNINESS, one of my most favorite scenes in the book that I was looking forward to, makes no sense because we never see the Dregs in the show again (that I remember, we’ll get back on that after a rewatch) so what was the point?? 

We got Kaz’s backstory, but it was spedrun through so it ends up not having much of an impact. I know if I had gone in blind without all I know from reading the Six of Crows duology, it wouldn’t have mattered much to me no matter how much I loved the character. We don’t even get to know Jordie much, and knowing a little about him is what makes his demise and Kaz’s story so crushing and compelling. This is one of the core rules of character writing, for fuck’s sake! I’m no professional but even I know this! If you don’t get to know the character, you can’t connect with that character and so anything that happens to them is just “oh that’s sad. ANYWAY.” Without having read the books, the whole thing falls apart! Can you tell how much I detest fanservice? I went into this show knowing basically nothing about it and I loved it because the story’s pace and the character moments and the twists were SO WELL CRAFTED AND PUT TOGETHER. Hell, this show is what got me running to the store to buy Six of Crows and devouring it all the way to Rule of Wolves, so again, and I cannot stress this enough, what the fuck is going on here??

Individually, the scenes related to Crooked Kingdom were great. Pretty decently adapted, and like I said, perfect character emulation. The only one I didn’t enjoy as much was Kaz helping Inej with her arm because the baggage that was supposed to build it up is missing, so it got watered down to him just cleaning that cut instead of battling through his touch aversion and winning just long enough for him to actually bandage her and treat her wounds and even managing to kiss her neck! It feels like such a victory in the book before it all comes crashing down because we got A BOOK AND A HALF worth of mutual pinning and learning how crippling it is for Kaz to even think about skin-to-skin contact. The scene I read over and over again for days, cut down to a couple of minutes of basically not much. Sad.

Also they’re setting up for Tolya to fall in love with Inej (which I can’t blame him for, I mean, it’s Inej) and I’m like “uh, NO?” Not just because Kanej is THE SHIP for me, but because... Okay, no, I admit it’s just because Kanej is THE SHIP for me, but that’s my fault. Who knows, maybe they’ll make something interesting with this. I mean, they wouldn’t permanently break up one of the most iconic couples in literature just for the giggles or (dreaded) subversion of expectations, right?... Right..........?

For the rest of it, because I read the King of Scars duology, I’m kinda mad at some of the things they changed because I was expecting Alina and Mal to have a happily ever after taking care of their 500 orphans in Keramzin? I was expecting Genya to have SOME happiness before David is killed, just cut this girl some slack, would ya??? And Mal becoming Sturmhond?? Where did THAT come from??????? WHAT ABOUT INEJ GETTING HER OWN SHIP FROM KAZ AND FOLLOWING HER NEW-FOUND DREAM OF BECOMING THE SCURGE OF ALL SLAVERS?? Sure, she’s gotta find her brother first and then they gotta find their family and all, that’s fine I guess?? At least were giving THAT some room to breathe!!

*Sigh* Look. I got a couple of theories for why this is happening.

One: as previously mentioned, Leigh Bardugo and the rest of the team didn’t know what to do with the Crows so they put in the plot of Crooked Kingdom to buy time for them. I believe it’s well understood within fandom that Shadow & Bone couldn’t have gotten as big of a deal as it did if it weren’t for the Crows, but the Crows would have stood on their own easily enough without Shadow & Bone, so they needed to give them screen time from episode one forward to keep the audience, like they did with season 1. 

Two: Leigh Bardugo and the rest of the team don’t trust Netflix to renew the show to conclusion OR green-light the Six of Crows show (which, y’know, fair), and their faith is so shaky they decided it was best to have Siege & Storm and Ruin & Rising put into a single season (heard book readers say this is what happened), plus bring in the Crooked Kingdom plot to at least give the book fans a consolation treat while still leaving enough loose ends to continue the story IF they do in fact get good news. And since I trust Leigh Bardugo to write a good story because she can, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and willing to believe the second case is true, because that at least makes SOME sense. If the show gets cancelled and Six of Crows never comes to life, I can live with that.

All in all, it was a hell of a ride and I enjoyed myself. It’s not what I wanted, but I had fun and that’s all that matters in the end. I give Shadow & Bone season 2 a solid 7/10. Yup.

Crow out, or... something.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone season 2 #shadow and bone review #spoilers #a Crow's rants

[sleepy-gardevoir]

book list 2023 📚

i read 21 books this year! i also read 21 books in 2022 LOL

as usual, my reading slowed down in the second half of the year (15/21 were done in the first six months...), so i'm going to work to avoid that in 2024. i think that part of the slow down was because i was reading larger books, but that definitely didn't account for all of it.

i'm going to aim for 24 read books in 2024! it's a nice number match AND it'll be two a month, which i think is totally achievable. i'm looking forward to it!

below is the list of books i read in 2023 (in chronological order of starting them)! ratings and reviews can be given on request :) fiction is in red, nonfiction/self-help is in blue, and fantasy is in purple

legends and lattes (travis baldree)

renegades (marissa meyer)

project hail mary (andy weir)

billy summers (stephen king)

counting by 7s (holly goldberg sloan)

essentialism (greg mckeown)

she's gone (david bell)

archenemies (marissa meyer)

supernova (marissa meyer)

vicious (v.e. schwab)

vengeful (v.e. schwab)

so much pretty (cara hoffman)

lifespan (david a sinclair)

grace (maggie gee)

because you'll never meet me (leah thomas)

the ones we burn (rebecca mix)

the naming (alison croggon)

the riddle (alison croggon)

the crow (alison croggon)

the measure (nikki erlick)

AUDIO: i'm glad my mom died (jennette mccurdy)

..... can you tell i like books with magic? LOL

i also started two other audiobooks (dracula and down the drain), but didn't get past the first chapter in either yet

my favorite new reads of this year were probably the books of pellinor by alison croggon (so excited to read the last book!) - i'd had them sitting on my bookshelf for YEARS and finally cracked them open. i also really loved project hail mary; i so admire andy weir's writing, and need to get my hands on the book i haven't read by him (i think it's called artemis). the measure and so much pretty were also really interesting, and i absolutely loved the ones we burn - gosh, i can't choose!

my favorite rereads were because you'll never meet me (one of my favorite books EVER; i need to get my hands on the sequel) and the villainous duology!!

looking forward to a literature-filled 2024 - leave recommendations below if you'd like!

happy new year!!

#happy new year #happy 2024 #from the horse's mouth #stack of books #books of 2023 #books of pellinor #alison croggon #vengeful ve schwab #vicious ve schwab #ve schwab #v.e. schwab #marissa meyer #renegades trilogy #stephen king #andy weir #project hail mary #book recs #book blog #book reviews #bookblr #books #studyblr #college student #student life #studying #study inspo #university student #chemistry student #studying inspiration #studying motivation