Well this is just the most abysmal thing ever. What am I doing posting a Weekly Wrap-Up on a Wednesday night?! Ugh! This week just started off a little rough, I guess…
Anyway – last week! I’m actually really happy with parts of last week. Not my blogging activity, really, but I read a lot compared to previous weeks. And I’m very happy about that. This year has just started with a really crappy reading slump.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!
Tuesday 4/1: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of April 2025
Last Tuesday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the Most Interesting Looking New Books of April 2025. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time I had four books on my list.
On Friday, I finally posted another book review. This time, I read and reviewed Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton. It’s a novel that’s been on my TBR for a while that I finally got around to reading. It was pretty decent. I gave it ★★★✯☆.
So yeah. This past week wasn’t the best for the blog, activity-wise, but I did do more reading in a week than I have been doing for the past couple of months. So I’m counting that as a win. I’m hoping to do better with the blog this week however, even though I got a late start. 🤞🍀
Regarding this coming week, I’m definitely going to post my reading wrap-up for March 2025. It’s later than I wanted to, but oh well. I’m not totally sure what other posts I’ll do – probably just some of the normal weekly stuff. For reading; I’ll probably read the sequel to The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, The Runaway King. Even though I don’t think I really liked the first one, I’m gonna give it one more shot, cuz it’s middle grade and I have to up my book count. My reading of books has been terrible so far this year.
Anyway, I’ve talked more than enough here. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
The first in a new epic fantasy series from David R. Slayton, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea is a powerful story of divine betrayal, ghosts, and self-discovery, perfect for fans of the Dark Souls series or Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
When Phoebe, goddess of the moon, is killed by the knights of the sun god, Hyperion, all who follow her are branded heretics. With Phoebe gone, the souls of the dead are no longer ferried to the underworld, and instead linger on as shades who feast on the blood of the living.
Raef is a child of the night. He lives in the shadows, on scraps, eking out a meager existence as a thief. But when an ornate box is sequestered in the Temple of Hyperion, the chance of a big score proves too great to resist. What he finds within propels him on an odyssey across the sea and back again, altering the course of his life forever.
Seth is a knight of the sun. But unlike the others of his order, the fire of Hyperion only brings him pain. He believes he deserves this penance, exacted for his unknown origins. Tasked with recovering the contents of the box, Seth must also venture beyond the horizon if he’s to learn the truth about himself.
In a dying world divided by the greed of those in power, Raef and Seth find their destinies intertwined–and learn they might have more in common than they ever imagined.
My Review
Dark draws dark as light draws light, but only one may cast the other out.
So… Clearly Dragonfall didn’t work out for me. Haha. Moving on.
Dark Moon, Shallow Sea has been on my TBR for a while. Like, over a year type of a while. I gave rsr discovered it in November of 2023. I almost read it then too, but decided to read one of the author’s earlier works first, to try to get a feel for the writing style and see if I liked it. And… I did. White Trash Warlock was generally a pretty enjoyable reading experience for me. There were a couple of things that I was kind of “meh” on, but it was a positive experience for the most part.
So when my Kindle told me that Dark Moon, Shallow Sea was on sale about a month and a half ago, I finally grabbed it. And then near the end of last week, I finally got around to starting reading it. And it was perfectly… okay.
Let’s get into it.
Characters and Plot
They’d circled each other for so long. The gods had to have a hand in it, that the two of them, probably the last of their breed, should meet over and over. They’d danced like the moon and sun, like their gods, like night and day.
Our two mains are 🌙 Raef 🗡️ , a former future acolyte to the Moon Goddess Phoebe turned thief, and ☀️ Seth 🔥 , a warrior to the Sun God Hyperion with a lot of issues with his fire powers. They’re also the characters whose point of view we follow throughout the novel. I enjoyed their characters well enough – I really liked how kind Raef was despite all his circumstances and trauma, as well as how soft and awkward Seth was despite everything in his past.
The other major character here was Kinos, whom I hated since and was immediately suspicious of the second he started talking. So the thing later on with him didn’t surprise me too much – I actually figured it out a couple of chapters before it happened – nor did I feel upset whatsoever by what he did. I hated this guy – at the very least, he was annoying.
I also enjoyed Raef’s and Seth’s relationships with the parental figures in their lives. Raef’s relationship with the old lady he lived with – Eleni – was great. I love how they were both snartasses to each other. It felt really genuine. Raef’s past relationship with his teachers when he was still a ward of the tower he grew up in was also wonderful, as well as heart wrenching later on in the story. I loved Seth’s father-son relationship with Father Geldar as well – it was so sweet.
The 📖 plot 📖 itself was pretty engaging and interesting. I always enjoy a good light vs. dark / sun vs. moon motif in stuff; it’s the contrast, I think. Also, the last quarter of the book felt a little rushed with everything that was going on, but it still worked fine.
Romance and World Building
“I, uh-like your mask,” Seth said nervously. It disarmed Raef a little, despite his mounting panic. How could it not? Seth wasn’t trying to burn him. He was trying to what, flirt?
“Thank you,” Raef said. “I like your, uh, helmet.”
I didn’t like the 💘 romance 💘 here. Honestly, I think I just don’t like the way that Slayton writes his romantic relationships, because that was what I felt was one of the weakest aspects about White Trash Warlock as well. They always move way too fast for me.
In this book, I actually didn’t mind at first because I knew the first romance initially introduced wasn’t going to be the endgame relationship. But then the second relationship took forever to get going and then there wasn’t really any time spent on it besides the he fact that the two characters were drawn to each other, and then they pretty much felt like they got together offscreen at the end of the book. Ugh. It was very frustrating to read, especially because I thought that Raef and Seth were especially cute together and had a lot of potential as a couple.
The 🗺️ world building 🗺️ and ✨ magic system ✨ was interesting, but I was having a little trouble determining what the setting was supposed to be emulating. Like, there was clearly a lot of inspiration taken from Greek myths – particularly in some of the names – but the world itself didn’t feel like it was a fantasy land based on Greece itself. The relationships between some of the gods, as well as many of the names of the gods and what they were the god of, were also vague and generally undefined.
Final Thoughts
A lifetime ago, the Knights of Hyperion had been his cousins, worshippers of his goddess’s brother. No one would have batted an eye to see them friends or even more.
All in all, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea was a pretty decent book, even though I think it could have done with a bit more polish. I also didn’t think the book really felt like the games in the Dark Souls series either. Like, I guess because the dead couldn’t move on properly and some of the stuff surrounding that? It didn’t really have the same vibe though, if you get my meaning. Anyway, I guess readers who like high fantasy, really fast romance and LGBT+ rep might enjoy this novel.
As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Yes! I am on time this week! Happy Monday everybody!
I’m mostly happy with my posting from last week – probably because I did three posts (that weren’t a weekly wrap-up which I never count, or else it would’ve been four posts). But three blog posts is generally enough to satisfy me for the most part. I would have liked to have done a book review as well, as I’d been aiming for.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!
Tuesday 3/25: Top Ten Tuesday
Last Tuesday, I participated in a Top Ten Tuesday for the first time in a few weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was Books I Did Not Finish.
On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in a couple of weeks. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
Last Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays for the first time in a few weeks. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.
So yeah, I’m mostly happy with the posting I did on the blog last week, but I wish I would’ve done a book review as well. The book review didn’t happen because I ended up DNF-ing Dragonfall by L.R. Lam about a third of the way through. The book just wasn’t doing it for me, unfortunately. Now I’m reading Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton, which is both by an author I’ve read before and enjoyed, as well as something I’m enjoying more than Dragonfall. I’m also almost done with it; I’ll probably finish it tonight.
I’m hoping to really get back into reading next month – the first day of April is tomorrow. I already have one book I’m really looking forward to coming out – a very anticipated sequel. But there’s a series that I started reading several years ago – but not too long ago – but never finished and am still kind of interested in. (Yes, another one.) Who knows what’ll happen though? My TBR can, and quite frequently does, change on a whim.
Anyway, I’ve talked more than enough here. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Ugh, late again with this one. Oh well. Anyway, hi everyone!
So I’m mostly happy with everything I did last week. I would’ve liked to do one more blog post, and I almost did before I lost track of time on Thursday and Friday last week. I also would’ve liked to have read more books, but well… I’ll explain that a little later.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!
Monday 3/17: St. Patrick’s Day / The River Has Roots Review
Last Monday was St. Patrick’s Day!! ☘️🍻🍀🪙 Yay! We didn’t really do anything to celebrate, though. Except eat some St. Pat’s themed donuts, I guess.
I also posted my review for The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar. It’s a new fantasy novella that came out a couple weeks ago. I ended up giving it ★★★✯☆.
On Tuesday, I participated in a Top Ten Tuesday for the first time in a few weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was Spring TBR.
Last Friday was the First Day of Spring!! 🌸🌱🌼🌿 Woohoo! Goodbye winter! I was kind of getting tired of the cold – not to mention March has been really nice so far where I live.
I was also planning on posting something on this day as well, but the time got away during part of last week. I’m a little disappointed about that, but it’s honestly fine.
Saturday 3/22: Birthstone Book Covers
On Saturday, I finally got around to joining in on my favorite Monthly post, Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.
Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was March, and its birthstone is aquamarine. So the colors are aquamarine and light blue.
So yeah, I’m a bit disappointed with my posting for last week. But only a little – I’m actually pretty okay with the stuff I was able to do on the blog overall. Novel reading on the other hand… yeah that definitely could’ve gone way better. And it already is for this week! I’m making my way through another book, finally!
I’m hoping to at least start another book before the end of the week as well. Not necessarily finish another book, just start one. I’m also hoping to do four blog posts this week in addition to this weekly wrap-up. Fingers crossed.
Also, regarding the reading thing from last week… I was actually stressing myself out a little with trying to finish The Dragon Heir. I just didn’t feel like reading that book and trying to force it was getting me all anxious. I guess it’s still not time for me to read it – at this point, I’m not sure when that time is gonna come. Oh well. A similar thing also sort of happened with The Shattered Realms. I just didn’t want to read that major character death again (I actually DNF-ed Flamecaster about nine years ago, about halfway through). I also know that there’s like eight POVs by the last book in this series and that there’s several loose ends… and I don’t think I’m up for that, honestly. So yeah, that’s why I didn’t read anything last week.
Last week I also did some spring cleaning. The third Wednesday of the month is usually Cleaning Day, and that was also the case with March, so that’s what went on. It was pretty productive this time as well – I cleared out a couple of things I’d been meaning to get to, as well.
For this coming week, I’m planning on finishing the book I’m currently reading – Dragonfall by R.L. Lam – unless I decide it’s not for me and DNF it (though I don’t anticipate that happening). I’m hoping to at least start another book after that as well; right now I’m thinking either The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson or A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand. We’ll see what happens.
Anyway, I’ve talked more than enough here. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Whoops, it’s been a couple of weeks. Oh well, Happy Tuesday everybody!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List. And… I think it’s pretty self explanatory, haha.
I have a lot of books that I’ve acquired recently. Firstly, because the holiday season was just a few months ago and I got several books for Christmas. And also because I went to a book fair a few weeks before that where they were practically giving the books away, so I accumulated several there. So yeah, who knows which of everything I’m eventually going to end up reading, but several of these novels are on my TBR nonetheless.
So anyway, in no particular order (because I don’t really have a planned order of reading most of these), here are the books on my spring TBR!
Luminous by Silvia Park: I’m not sure when exactly I’ll read this, but I’m hoping in the next month or so. This one looked interesting to me.
The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson: I’m not super sure when I’ll read this one either, but I’d also like to read it in the next month.
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune: I’d definitely like to get to this one sometime this spring.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallero: I’d actually been planning to read this one earlier this year in like January or February, but it didn’t happen. It’s also one of the books I got during the holidays. Now I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, but it’s still on my more immediate TBR, so…
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas: This one has been on my To Be Read Pile for forever. Like, at least a year or two. Hopefully I’ll at least get started on this book by Easter, but I’m definitely planning on finally knocking out the Crescent City novels sometime this year.
Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima: This is something I’m going to read very soon, actually. It’ll probably even be what I read next. I’m feeling nostalgic for The Seven Realms quadrilogy, so what better to read than its sequel series?
The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah: I really enjoyed The Stardust Thief when I read it a couple years ago, and I’ve been watching for the sequel ever since.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand: This is another book that I’m not sure when I’ll get to. I’m hoping sooner rather than later, however.
The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde: This is another novel I got during the holidays. I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, but like the rest of the books here, I’d like to read it sometime this spring.
Drwgonfall by L.R. Lam: Once again, yet another novel on my To Be Read Pile that I’m not sure when I’ll get to. Hopefully soon, though.
Are you looking forward to spring? It’s just a few days away now – March 21st is this Friday! How’s the weather where you’re at? What new books are coming out this spring that you’re excited for? What’s on your TBR this season?
As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!
So… I didn’t post as much last week as I’d planned to – I had wanted to do at least one more post. But what can you do. This weekend kind of got a little busy, so I wasn’t able to squeeze another post or two out.
I have started reading books again! Or, at least, a book. It’s a novella too, but I’m feeling in the mood to read books again, which is so awesome. The past two or three months have been really rough in that regard, unfortunately. I’m really hoping that March will end up differently.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!
Wednesday 3/12: Can’t-Wait Wednesday
Last Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in a couple of weeks. There’s a good chance it’s the first of some in a row. There are just a bunch of books coming out lately that look interesting.
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
On Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays for the first time in a few weeks. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.
This past Friday was also Pi Day – 3/14. We forgot to get a pie to celebrate last week before Pi Day, and then the weather sucked too much to go out and grab one, so we didn’t do anything for it this year. Oh well. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to do it.
So yeah, last week wasn’t what I was planning regarding posting and it wasn’t as much as I normally would’ve wanted, but I’m actually okay with how stuff turned out. And hey, I’m not only reading novels again, but I’m in the mood to be reading novels again. So I’m counting that as a win.
In relation to books and reading, the things I’m gonna read next are a couple of fantasy series from the ’00s and from the ’10s. Well, the one from the ’10s is actually a sequel series to another quadrilogy that I read and absolutely loved that I’ve never read, but they’re by the same author, so I’m kind of grouping them together because of that.
It’s been about ten years since I read that series – The Seven Realms – and I’m feeling nostalgic. Which is why I think I’m finally ready to read its sequel quadrilogy, The Shattered Realms. I also want to read The Dragon Heir, the third book (and possibly the original final novel) in The Heir Chronicles, before the author added more books several years later. I read the first two books about five and a half years ago, and I want to finish the original trilogy. So March might be Cinda Williams Chima for me this year.
So for blog posts this week: I want to do more of them than last week. I want to do a couple of my usual weekly posts of course, a book review and the monthly post that I usually like to do. I had intended to do this one this weekend actually, but time got away from me – I think I might double post today because of that, actually.
Anyway, I’ve talked more than enough here. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
In this mesmerizing, wonderfully moving queer cozy fantasy, an immortal ghost hunter must confront his tragic past in order to embrace his found family.
Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.
After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.
Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.
But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.
As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.
Are you looking forward to the release of The Keeper of Lonely Spirits? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
It’s a couple of days later than last month, but I think I’m posting my reading wrap-up for February 2025 at a pretty reasonable time. The contents I’m gonna be analyzing here… are not so great in comparison.
Yeah. My reading last month sucked. I only read one book, and I didn’t even get to reviewing it until this month. But seeing as in February 2024 I only read one book as well, I guess I didn’t do worse than last year. So I guess that’s something. Technically.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into my StoryGraph statistics from last month!
February Reading 2025
I read 1 book and 356 pages
😐 MOODS: I had three Moods in February, which was the same as in January. They were all the same size slice. The Moods were: Adventurous, Lighthearted and Funny.
👢 PACE: The book I read last month was medium-paced.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The novel that I read was 356 pages.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. But when you only read one book and it’s strictly fiction, it’s impossible to also read nonfiction.
🎭 GENRES: There were two Genres in the books I read in February. They were Fantasy and Romance.
📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was actually correct for once. Or twice, since this is the second month in a row this has happened. The only novel I read was a physical copy.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.0, and it was my only rating.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading for February basically sucked until the last week. As in, I didn’t read anything. The only reading I did was between the 22nd and the 28th.
So yeah, my reading from last month really sucked. I’m hoping beyond anything that it improves in March. Like, just about anything would be better than my performance in February.
March has a couple new books that I’m particularly interested in, so there’s a good chance I’ll read at least one or two of them. I might not get to one of them until a later month in the year, though. I also have a bit of a backlog of a TBR I’ve been wanting to get to, as well as a sequel series that I’ve been thinking about continuing with for a while. We’ll see what I end up reading.
Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my February reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project yet: studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world: How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
My Review
“Where would I be without you, Em?” he said. It was an old joke of ours, but it wasn’t a joke now, the way he said it. I did not reply, merely straightened the hair he had mussed, brush-ing it back into place. He took my hand and we kept going. Soon, the castle came into view-its light was visible first, a glow that silhouetted the nearby trees.
Yes! I finally finished and posted this review! It only took me forever. Ugh, I don’t know what it was about February this year… I just couldn’t get into reading for whatever reason. (I also can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted a book review. Grrr. I’m a little frustrated with myself.)
Anyway, let’s talk about Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales.
Despite how long it took me to get to reading this book (the end of February) and how long it took me to compose this review (now), I really did enjoy it. It wasn’t my favorite in the series – that’s still the first novel, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries – but it was still very good. Honestly, I found that I enjoyed it about the same as book two, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands.
And so, without further ado, here I go. This ended up being a longer review, so I had to break it into sections, lol.
The Characters
He rose, shaking the dew from his cloak. “You have that look.”
He had mirrored my own train of thought, which made me scowl at him irrationally. “Which?”
“The one you wear whenever you outsmart me in some area,” he said.
“Well,” I began with a shrug, then stopped. My magnanimity was wearing thin, I’m afraid. “Haven’t I?”
He laughed, a clear, bright sound, and then, before I knew what was happening, he had lifted me off my feet and spun me through the air, the greenery and shadow of the forest a whirl all around me.
“My beloved Emily,” he murmured in my ear.
📒 Emily Wilde 🖋️ is still a fantastic protagonist. I still love her narrative voice and the trajectory of her character arc was awesome. Her relationship and banter with her academic rival and heir to the faerie realm of Silva Lupi, 🍃 Wendell Brambleby 🪡 (and yes, Wendell is still just as ridiculous as he’s always been) is also just as wonderful as it’s been the past two books. I really love where their relationship starts off from in this book, and where it finally ends. Everything about it was beautiful.
I always enjoy animal companions in stories, and Emily’s Black Dog 🖤 Shadow 🐕 and Wendell’s faerie cat 🧶 Orga 🐈⬛ have been fantastic ones for this series. It’s been a little sad seeing Shadow slow down, as he’s an old dog now, but he’s still as sweet and loyal as ever, and it made me happy every time he appeared on page. And Orga… well, a cat is still a cat even if it’s a faerie one, and I enjoyed all of her appearances as well. I just love doggos and kitties.
📚 Niamh Proudfit 🌳 is, I believe, the only new major supporting character introduced in Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, but I felt she was a strong one. I really enjoyed reading about her, as well as her developing friendship with Emily. And we got to learn more about characters introduced near the end of the last book that didn’t get a lot of pagetime before, like Taran (a faerie lord who is also Wendell’s step-uncle as well as apparently like a million years old – as well as a sadist) and Callum (Taran’s mortal consort who has the faerie lord wrapped around his finger, but is unfortunately still kind of a non-character here in book three).
As this was the last book in the series, we also saw the return of pretty much all of the relevant cast from the first two books, which was phenomenal. I always love it when final books do this; it gives the impression that the series has come full circle. So yeah, Lilja and Margret, Farris Rose, Ariadne, Poe, Wendell’s stepmother, and even the freaking Hidden King all make appearances. And none of them feel like they’re out of place.
The Plot
I paused as the weight of what he was saying sank in. “Then-you haven’t the slightest idea how to rule a kingdom.”
“Does anyone?” He took my hand, discomfort shifting suddenly into earnestness. “We will learn together.”
“Oh God,” I said faintly.
He studied me. “Is it that bad? You already know more about faerie kingdoms than any mortal.”
As with the other two books in this series, I rather 💖 enjoyed the plot 📖 – I’d put it on par with book two. I think the strongest part of this novel for me was the middle, but the beginning was also pretty good even if it was a little slow.
The ending was also something that I thoroughly appreciated. I think that it was a wonderful way to end not just this book but the entire series as a whole, and can’t imagine a different denouement. Though I will mention that some of the chapters leading up to it were slow and felt like the book was being drawn out a little. Yeah, some of the pacing of the last third of the book was kind of… yeah. But I still really liked the story of this novel as a whole!
The Romance and Prose
He took my hand. His eyes were greener in the dappled sun-light and emerald murk of the lake. “Will you marry me?”
As always, 💞 I adored the romance 🔥 between Emily and Wendell. Their banter, was of course, impeccable, and the respect and love and trust between these two characters is my favorite part of their relationship. These are two people who know and understand each other very well, even despite the very inhumaness of the way one of them feels sometimes. I can’t stress enough how much I love reading about a deep relationship between two mature (for the most part) adults that is very consentual and full of communication. This is why they’re one of my favorite couples in fiction.
Not to mention these two start dating near the end of book one, so the rest of the series sees their relationship continue to evolve beyond the “finally getting together” phase that most books with romance end on. Just, so much of their romance is refreshing to read. And they complement one another so well.
Regarding the 🖊️ writing and prose 📄 … well, of course it’s still fantastic. As I mentioned above, I love Emily’s distinct voice, but I also love the way her journal entries are written. Even though I admittedly skipped most of them, unless I needed or desired further clarification, I appreciated the footnotes. They were – and always are – a very nice touch in the Emily Wilde series, and even if I don’t always read them I like that I have the option to, if I so choose.
Final Thoughts
“What can mortals learn of the stars, given that we cannot walk among them? Yet we try.” I opened my notebook again. “Others have argued that it is the endeavour itself that is the point of scholarship. I am not so certain of that, for I can never stop yearning for new discoveries. Even the smallest are as precious jewels to me.”
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales was an amazing addition to the Emily Wilde books, and an awesome conclusion to the rest of the series. I enjoyed reading about these characters and their world, and am very satisfied with the way things finished off, even if I’m a little sad to say goodbye. But it had a good ending, and that’s always one of the things I hope for the most when reading a series.
Of course I’m going to recommend this book, just like I did the rest of the series. Heather Fawcett is just a fantastic writer all around, and this book and especially the Emily Wilde series, showcase it beautifully. So yeah, if you like fantasy, romance, well-written romance and characters, and enjoy the occasional epistolary novel, then I can’t recommend this book enough. This trilogy enough. Heck, if you just enjoy good books – just read the Emily Wilde series, okay?
As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Hey everyone, Happy Wednesday! It’s been a couple of weeks since one of these from me, but there are still books coming out lately that I’m interested in!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
A highly anticipated, sweeping debut set in a unified Korea that tells the story of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood, perfect for fans of Klara and the Sun and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
In a reunified Korea of the future, robots have been integrated into society as surrogates, servants, children, and even lovers. Though boundaries between bionic and organic frequently blur, these robots are decidedly second-class citizens. Jun and Morgan, two siblings estranged for many years, are haunted by the memory of their lost brother, Yoyo, who was warm, sensitive, and very nearly human.
Jun, a war veteran turned detective of the lowly Robot Crimes Unit in Seoul, becomes consumed by an investigation that reconnects him with his sister Morgan, now a prominent robot designer working for a top firm, who is, embarrassingly, dating one of her creations in secret.
On the other side of Seoul in a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scraps looking for robotic parts that might support her failing body. When she discovers a robot boy named Yoyo among the piles of trash, an unlikely bond is formed since Yoyo is so lifelike, he’s unlike anything she’s seen before.
While Morgan prepares to launch the most advanced robot-boy of her career, Jun’s investigation sparks a journey through the underbelly of Seoul, unearthing deeper mysteries about the history of their country and their family. The three siblings must find their way back to each other to reckon with their pasts and the future ahead of them in this poignant and remarkable exploration of what it really means to be human.
Are you looking forward to the release of Luminous? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
