First Line Friday: 9/1

Back again for this post for a second week in a row. One more and it’s a streak!

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

Kalak rounded a rocky stone ridge and stumbled to a stop before the body of a dying thunderclast. The enormous stone beast lay on its side, riblike protrusions from its chest broken and cracked. The monstrosity was vaguely skeletal in shape, with unnaturally long limbs that sprouted from granite shoulders. The eyes were deep red spots on the arrowhead face, as if created by a fire burning deep within the stone. They faded.

Even after all these centuries, seeing a thun- derclast up close made Kalak shiver. The beast’s hand was as long as a man was tall. He’d been killed by hands like those before, and it hadn’t been pleasant.

Of course, dying rarely was.

Know the book? Here’s another little hint just in case…

Know what it is now? (And yeah, I guess that’s technically two clues, but whatever.)

If you don’t, here are some pretty pictures of books to admire while you consider it…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson!!

(Did you get it?)


The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

SERIES: The Stormlight Archive #1

LENGTH: 1007 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Tor Books

RELEASE DATE: 31 August 2010

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, Book One of the Stormlight Archive begins an incredib new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. 

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. 

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. 

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. 

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. 

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making. 

Speak again the ancient oaths: 

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination. 

and return to men the Shards they once bore. 

The Knights Radiant must stand again. 


As always, thank you so much to everyone for reading. I hope you all have an excellent day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 8/7 – 8/13

Here we are again. Another weekly wrap-up. Can you tell that I’m disappointed in myself about last week? Lol.

Ugh, I don’t know what happened during the second half of the last week. Actually, no, I do – food poisoning and the like sucks. It wasn’t exactly good poisoning (maybe), but my stomach definitely didn’t agree with a couple of things I ate. At all.

(Also, I’m not sure if I can have coffee anymore. 😭😭)

Anyway, I’m not gonna waste anymore time. Let’s wrap up the past week.

Tuesday 8/8: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter Review

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Last Tuesday, I finally posted my review of Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. It’s a Japanese manga and Final Fantasy inspired fantasy. I really enjoyed it. I gave it ★★★★★.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter Review

Wednesday 8/9: WWW Wednesday / Can’t-Wait Wednesday

On Wednesday, I double posted for the first time in a long time. First, I participated in one of my staples: WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

Then, I posted for another thing I’ve been participating in every once in a while – Can’t-Wait Wednesday. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings.

WWW Wednesday 8/9

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: “Thornhedge”

Books I Read Last Week

Goals for 7/14 – 7/20

My goals for this week are to just be better than I was last week. My blogging output was just so bad! Ugh! But yeah, I just want to be better.

For this week, I want to post reviews for the books I finished last week. I also want to participate in my favorite weekly features/memes, as per usual. Also, it’s getting to the halfway point of the month, which is around the time I participate in my other monthly post, so I’d like to do that too.

But that’s kind of all I’ve got planned. Wish me luck!🤞🍀

And of course, as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night. Thank you so much for reading.

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 8/9

Um… So, I kinda skipped this post last week again. I still posted, but it was something different! Anyway, I think that I’m finally coming out of this stupid reading slump that’s been dogging my heels since mid-May. Finally.

So yeah, here I am participating in another WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?


The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

CURRENT STATUS: 45%

CURRENT FEELS: 🥰 (really enjoying it so far – depending on how the rest of the book is, I might have to read more Olivie Blake)

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Vampiric estate agents, death’s godson and a demonic personal trainer all abound in this smart, freewheeling dark fantasy from the author of the bestselling The Atlas Six.

When Viola Marek hires Fox D’Mora to deal with her ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Viola, Fox is a fraud – despite being the godson of Death.As the mystery unfolds, Viola and Fox are drawn into a quest that neither wants nor expects. And they’ll need the help of a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel and a love-stricken reaper. And it transpires that the difference between a mysterious lost love and a dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as you’d hope.


The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

#1 New York Times Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us a gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different worlds must compromise and work together to save their worlds from ruin.

Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each other’s communities from certain disaster?


The Thing I’m Gonna Read Next

My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi

My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi

(I haven’t read a light novel in years, so I’m kind of excited about this. The anime for this started airing this summer, and it’s so, so good so far. 5/5. I’ve cried every episode. I just had to continue it because I’m impatient, lol.)

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

IS THIS MARRIAGE A BLESSING? OR A CURSE?

​Born talentless to a noble family famous for their supernatural abilities, Miyo Saimori is forced into an existence of servitude by her abusive stepmother. When Miyo finally comes of marriageable age, though, her hopes of being whisked away to a better life crumble after she discovers her fiancé’s identity: Kiyoka Kudou, a commander apparently so cold and cruel that his previous would-be brides all fled within three days of their engagements. With no home to return to, Miyo resigns herself to her fate—and soon finds that her pale and beautiful husband-to-be is anything but the monster she expected. As they slowly open their hearts to each other, both realize the other may be their chance at finding true love and happiness.


What books are you guys currently reading? Have you read any of the ones on my list this week? What did you think of them, if you had? How do you feel about the book(s) you’re reading now?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar

“Yumi and the Nightmare Painter” by Brandon Sanderson | Book Review

The star was particularly bright when the nightmare painter started his rounds.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

My Review

Yes, she said, bowing her head again. Tell me what you need, and I will do whatever I can.

Please, it said. Free. Us.

All went black.

So, after reading A Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, I decided that that would be it for Brandon Sanderson novels for awhile. Most of his books were set in the same universe – even if they’re on different planets and stuff – so I kind of felt intimidated by it all.

But then I saw the cover for Yumi and the Nightmare Painter and read the summary, and I absolutely had to read it. Even though it was set in the Cosmere universe, and I knew it would be filled with all kinds of references, and might even feature other characters that I didn’t know, I really wanted to read it.

And despite this, that there were a ton of references that I didn’t understand, and that there was at least a character or two from other books, I was still able to really enjoy it. Honestly, that’s probably because I don’t need the most context to enjoy a book, even when it’s a spinoff or something. I know, that’s really weird. But it’s something that I’m able to do for whatever reason. Maybe it’s because I’ve read so much fanfiction, and I’m used to jumping into a new fandom where I’ve never seen or read the original media, and then I have to figure out the original story on my own. Yeah, that’s probably it.

Anyway, I really, really enjoyed this book. I should probably just give up the ghost and start reading an actual Brando Sando series already.

The Characters

Once, she would have assumed that she couldn’t hide, no matter how good the disguise. She would have assumed that people would instantly know a yoki- hijo. But she had lived in Painter’s world. She’d been normal for a week and a half at this point.

I loved the characters in this book so much. They were so relatable in their own ways, despite the fact that they came from such different worlds to each other, and to our own.

Nikaro “Painter” is our male co-protagonist. He’s the embodiment of “deep” and an “angsty teen.” Or at least, that’s the front that he puts up – that’s what he wants himself to believe. But what he actually is, is a lonely, sensitive young man, who feels a little aimless. I loved his character development into someone who accepts who he is, and becoming a so-called “hero” in his own right. He was a great character to follow, and his dialogue with our leading lady was fantastic.

Said leading lady is Yumi, one of the yoki-hijo, a young woman that has the power to summon the spirits of her land and assist the people with them. She’s quiet and reserved, and she holds the entire world on her shoulders, and the stress that builds up because of this is what triggers the inciting incident. Her character development was also fantastic, and I loved watching her grow into an independent young woman.

Most of the other characters were very minor, but they were still pretty good, even if their impact on the story is smaller.

Our narrator, Hoid, has appeared in many a Brandon Sanderson novel. Admittedly, I did a little research after I read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter in order to find this out, though I suspected as much. I liked his narration, and the little bits of his personality throughout. His spren, Design, was also a highly enjoyable character, and I loved hee interactions with Yumi and Painter. Both Hoid and Design made me want to read the Stormlight Archive very, very badly, so despite its length, I’ll probably end up reading it soon.

Design nodded toward Yumi. “Why do you like her?”

“I don’t. We’re forced to work together.”

“Nikaro. Do you want to try that again, and make it sound persuasive or something? Because I’ve only had eyes for a few years, and even I can see straight through you.”

The romance between Painter and Yumi was very sweet. They were a very easy couple to root for from the beginning – they’re such cinnamon rolls! I also love how obvious they were about it, even though they tried not to be.

The other character relationships were also nice. I liked how Yumi bonded with Painter’s former friends. There’s a few nice female friendships here. I also liked Design and Hoid’s relationship, and how you can infer so much about it, even with their pretty much non-existent interactions throughout the novel.

The Setting

The hion lines were the colors of Kilahito. Needing no pole or wire to hold them aloft, they ran down every street, reflected in every window, lit every denizen. Wire-thin strings of both colors split off the main cords, running to each structure and powering modern life. They were the arteries and veins of the city.

The setting was so cool. I loved the contrast between Yumi’s bright and warm world, to Nikaro’s dark, cool one. The hion line lights that powered and lit everything up were also very interesting. I also really loved the contrast of cyan and magenta (it made a very pretty cover).

The matter of how Painter and Yumi’s worlds were tied together was something that I was guessing until it was revealed. Why, oh why, did I wait until this year to read a Brandon Sanderson book? Why? They’re just so good!

The Plot

The story of this book – or should I say stories – was so, so good. Sanderson said he was inspired by the manga Hikaru no Go, Final Fantasy X, and the anime Your Name, and it really shows. Before reading this book, I was aware that it was inspired by some Japanese media, and I’d already guessed that Your Name was one of them while reading, because of what happens after the inciting incident.

The B other plot wasn’t quite as interesting. I don’t care what Hoid says in his narration – this was Yumi and Nikaro’s story! And even though I’ve read this book cover to cover, I still consider it to be the primary plot.(Again, I don’t give a crap about what Hoid claims.)

This was a very character driven book as opposed to plot, however. There was quite a bit of plot, don’t get me wrong, but it was what one would call a slow-burn. That didn’t mean the book was boring – far from it, in fact. The characters were so entertaining, and narration so fun, that it made up for that entirely. Such a well-written novel.

Final Thoughts

Art doesn’t need to be good to be valuable. I’ve heard it said that art is the one truly useless creation-intended for no mechanical purpose. Valued only because of the perception of the people who view it. The thing is, everything is useless, intrinsically. Nothing has value unless we grant it that value. Any object can be worth whatever we decide it to be worth.

So yeah, do I recommend Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson? Hell yeah I do! It’s a wonderful story, with a sweet little romance, as well as lots of interesting commentary about art. (Particularly with the AI stuff going on now.)

This book was wonderful, and the art was so pretty. I love, love, loved the art so much! Aliya Chen is a fantastic artist, and the art also added to the slight anime vibe of the novel.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed! And I hope that you have an awesome day/night!

What Brandon Sanderson books have you read? Have you read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter? What did you think of them if you have?

See ya ~Mar


MY LINKS:


Weekly Wrap-Up: 7/31 – 8/6

It’s Monday again, which means that it’s once again the beginning of another week. So it’s time to wrap up the last one!

I didn’t do everything that I’d wanted to, but I’m somehow okay with that. I think it’s because I did a lot of varied posts, and even started participating in a new one. I also finally finished another book, and a review for it will be making its way onto this blog very soon.

Enough of my talking. Let’s just dive right in!

Tuesday 8/1: July 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Last Tuesday, I posted my monthly reading wrap-up for July 2023. The earliest I posted it in a month yet! (You don’t get any earlier than August 1st after all.) Yay!

I didn’t read or review – or even post – as much as I’d hoped to, but that’s in the past now and there’s nothing I can do about it. All I can hope is that I have a better August!

July 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Wednesday 8/2: Can’t Wait Wednesday

On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in foreverCan’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings.

Can’t Wait Wednesday: “Masters of Death”

Friday 8/4: First Line Friday

Last Friday, I once again participated in First Line Fridays. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.

First Line Friday 8/4

Saturday 8/5: August 2023 Spell the Month in Books

On Saturday, not only did I do a rare Saturday post, but I participated in Spell the Month in Books for the first time. Spell the Month in Books is a monthly post created and hosted by Jana @ Reviews from the Stacks.

Spell the Month in Books – August 2023

Books That I Read Last Week

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Goals for 8/7 – 8/13

So yeah, I didn’t get any reviews out last week like I’d wanted. But, like I mentioned earlier, I still finished another book, and I did a bunch of different posts this past week. So I’m gonna count that as a win this time!

This week, I’m going to definitely post a book review (in the very near future), and hopefully I’ll get around to reading another book and posting another review. I’m also going to do the usual posts I participate in (of course), and maybe another Popular Books post. We’ll see.

And of course, as always, thank you to everyone so much for taking the time to read my little bookish blog. It means the world. And I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 7/26

So, I skipped last week. I know, a rare occurrence for me, who participates in this post almost religiously, regardless of whether anything’s changed or not.

But last Wednesday, I was still making my way through the Deltora Quest books – for almost a third week in a row – and I wanted to do a different post last Wednesday… so I decided to drop it for the week.

But I’m back! And with some new books to read!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?


The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

CURRENT STATUS: 32%

CURRENT FEELS: 🤩 (loving it, even though I don’t understand any of the Cosmere references, and find the narrator a bit annoying)


The Thing I Just Finished Reading

Deltora Quest: The Complete Series (21st Anniversary Edition) by Emily Rodda

Deltora Quest: The Complete Series (21st Anniversary Edition) by Emily Rodda


The Thing I Might Read Next

Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker

Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker


As always, thank you so much for reading, and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday: 7/21

Ugh, I ended up skipping a week again. Cuz stuff happened. Again. But what can you do? Anyway, I’m back to posting on First Line Fridays again.

(Also, I totally crossed 200 blog posts without realizing it. Yay for me! 🎉🎉)

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

The star was particularly bright when the nightmare painter started his rounds.

The star. Singular. No, not a sun. Just one star. A bullet hole in the midnight sky, bleeding pale light.

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson!!

(Did you guess it??)

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

SERIES: Secret Projects #3, Cosmere Universe

LENGTH: 481 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Tor Books

RELEASE DATE: 1 July 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

#1 New York Times Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us a gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different worlds must compromise and work together to save their worlds from ruin.

Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each other’s communities from certain disaster?

As always, thank you so much for reading and have an excellent day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Popular Books That I’ve Read Never #3

So, it’s a couple of weeks later than I wanted to post another one of these… and I have absolutely no excuse this time, haha. Nonetheless, welcome back to Popular Books That I’ve Read Never!

Now, as I’ve said before, it’s not that I only read unpopular books, it’s that I don’t only read the popular books. I also don’t read hardly any of the really popular books, because those are usually nonfiction or memoirs (which I don’t usually like), or they have a TON of romance (which I also don’t usually like).

This post is primarily going to focus on SFF novels, mostly because SFF is primarily what I read. It’s gonna be of five books, because I don’t want it to get too long. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!


ONE:

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door. 

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. 

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

TWO:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. 

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. 

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. 

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. 

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. 

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making. 

Speak again the ancient oaths: 

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination. 

and return to men the Shards they once bore. 

The Knights Radiant must stand again. 

THREE:

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. 

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow–and Reds like him–are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. 

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. 

FOUR:

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery–magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. 

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire, and Elisabeth is implicated in the crime. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them. 

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught–about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

FIVE:

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Persephone, young goddess of spring, is new to Olympus. Her mother, Demeter, has raised her in the mortal realm, but after Persephone promises to train as a sacred virgin, she’s allowed to live in the fast-moving, glamorous world of the gods. When her roommate, Artemis, takes her to a party, her entire life changes: she ends up meeting Hades and feels an immediate spark with the charming yet misunderstood ruler of the Underworld. Now Persephone must navigate the confusing politics and relationships that rule Olympus, while also figuring out her own place—and her own power.

This full-color edition of Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story, and brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.


Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Monthly Wrap-Up: May Reading 2023

May Reading 2023

Sooo… this is a bit later than I hoped it’d be, but here it finally is – my monthly wrap-up with my May 2023 Reading statistics!

Anyway, talking about May – I’m not super happy with how much I read last month. My statistics were meh on The StoryGraph. It was the least amount of reading that I’ve done yet this year. But I kinda get that a lot of stuff went down this past month, so I didn’t have the time or the mental energy to get the stuff done that I wanted to.

Anyway, I’ve prattled on enough. On with the stats!

May 2023 Reading Stats

I read 3 books and 1171 pages

😐 MOODS: Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie once again. But there are a lot of different kinds of pie on the Moods graph this time. And they’re all pretty equal, which I found kinda funny.

👢 PACE: Unlike pretty much all of the previous months, fast-paced books were the biggest part of the pie. There’s still a chunk of medium-paced, though.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: I read a lot of shorter books in May, similar to what I read in April. 300 to 499 was the only kind of pie here.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: I read a nonfiction book this past month! Yay, finally! This is probably gonna be a once in a blue moon kind of thing though, as I rarely read it.

🎭 GENRES: Fantasy was the biggest part of the graph this time, as per usual. Science Fiction was also on here like it normally is, but Memoir also made an appearance this time… cuz I read a memoir.

📄 FORMAT: The little StoryGraph pie chart for this is wrong once again. (Yeah, I’m never gonna fix it, lol.) 33% (one book) were printed copies, and 66% (two books) were digital.

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for the month of April was 4.33. I wasn’t all over the place with my ratings in May. I gave two books 4 stars and one book 5 stars. (According to my StoryGraph stats anyway. Once again, I didn’t add any of the manga I read to it. Otherwise there would’ve been two books with 5 star ratings.)

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read quite a bit during the first week and a half, but dipped down a ton in the middle. During the last few days of May though, I read a bunch.

The Books I Read in May

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

★★★★☆

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

★★★★☆

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (The Manga) by Akira Himekawa

★★★★★

(rating is for entire manga)

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

★★★★★

Wrapping up the Wrap-Up

So yeah, May 2023 reading was kind of a bust. I know that a crap-ton of stuff occurred that I couldn’t control, but I’m still irritated with the reading and blogging that I was able to do.

I’m determined for June 2023 to be different. I’m going to read more books than I did in May, and then I’m gonna write reviews and post them. I’ve had an okay start so far, and I’m determined to keep up the momentum. And the May 2023 Reading Wrap-Up comes to a close.

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 5/31

This past weekend! Again! The power went out, and I couldn’t get any reading done because all of my reading spots were too dark! Argh!! So I still haven’t made a lot of book progress, unfortunately. (But that’s gonna change this week!)

Anyway, WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?


The Thing That I Still Haven’t Finished Reading

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

CURRENT STATUS: 70% (planning on finishing it tonight!)

CURRENT FEELS: 😍 (absolutely loving it)


The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

★★★★☆ • 4 / 5


The Thing I’m Definitely Reading Next

Witch King by Martha Wells

Witch King by Martha Wells

(Ahhh!! I’m so, so, so excited for this! I’ve been wanting to read this ever since it was announced last year!)


Thank you all so much for reading, and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar