Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers

Happy Tuesday everybody! It’s been a while, but I just wasn’t feeling the last couple of prompts (I don’t have a bucket list and I couldn’t think of ten books that described me). I’m cutting it a little close, but I really wanted to participate this week!

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 April Showers. It’s a very open prompt, and can be anything from rainy day reads, to books that made you cry, to books that wash away a bad reading experience.

I’m going with Books That Washed Away a Not Great Reading Experience. And by this I mean: books I DNF-ed, books I read but didn’t like, or books I didn’t hate but were very slow for me to get through. (I consider a book feeling too slow to be a bad reading experience for me personally; even if sometimes I end up thinking the book itself is alright (around three stars) after the fact.)

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recent to least recent.

Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews: I didn’t really enjoy the book I read before it.
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe: It took me a while to get through the last two books I read before this one, even though I ultimately thought they were alright. It was a real slog for me to get through them though, and I was in a slump for a bit until I read this.
Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone: I didn’t hate the book I read before this one, but it irritated me a lot. This book being so good helped turn my mood around.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I didn’t really like the book I read before this one.
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton: I didn’t really like the two books I read before this one.
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan: I really didn’t enjoy the two books I read before this one.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune: The book I read before this one was a slog for me to get through. This was a real pick-me-up.
In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens: I really didn’t like the book I read before this one.

What did you do for April Showers? What books washed away your not-so-great reading experiences?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

End of the Year Book Tag 2025

Hello all and Happy New Year’s Eve!! 🍾🎉 Since it’s the last day of the year, I thought I’d do the End of the Year Book Tag like I did last year. It’s just the perfect thing to do. Also, Leslie @ Books Are the New Black tagged everybody, which reminded me about it, sooo… yeah.

The End of the Year Book Tag was created by Ariel Bissett over at YouTube. There are six questions, and the tag focuses on reflecting on the past year’s reading, as well as looking forward to future reading. Once again, I’m kind of posting this at the eleventh hour, but oh well.

Anyway, here we go!

📖 Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? 📖

No. I think I finished all of the books that I’ve intended to. Especially considering that it’s the last day of the year; had it been earlier, my answer here might have been different.

🎆 Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year? 🎆

This isn’t exactly a Christmas themed book, but it does take place just before it. Plus, there’s magical stuff going on, so it’s kind of got a holiday vibe on that front.

🕛 Is there a new release you’re still waiting for? 🕛

No, all the books I was looking forward to in 2025 have already come out.

📚 What are three books you want(ed) to read by the end of the year? 📚

Out of all three of these books, The Ashfire King is the one that I definitely wanted to read the most. Like, by a wide margin. But as the days crept closer to the end of the year, I realized I wasn’t going to have time, considering it’s size. Which is disappointing, because I got this book the day it came out way back in April. I’m definitely reading it next year, though – hopefully in January.

I’ve wanted to read This is How You Lose the Time War for a couple of years now, and after I got it for Christmas last year, I was determined to read it within the year. Which is why I read it in January – to make sure I read it in 2025.

This was another book that I’ve had my eye on for a while, as well as received for Christmas last year. I was also resolved about reading A Study in Charlotte in 2025, especially during the last third of the year after the really bad thing happened in my personal life. And I did, and I was very happy that I was able to read it.

💘 Is there a book you think that could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year? 💘

No, I don’t think so, not with the end of the year being hours away. Not to mention, I’m not going to read anything else this year, and I don’t believe I’m going to change my mind about anything in the meager time remaining of 2025.

🗒️ Have you already started making reading plans for 2025? 🗒️

Somewhat. As always, it’s nothing too specific, nor do I have a certain order I want to read any of these books in, if I don’t change my mind about reading them. I’m definitely planning on reading The Ashfire King very soon, though. I’ve sat on this book for more than long enough. I’m pretty sure I’m going to read this one next, but we’ll see.

So, I guess I’ll tag everyone who wants to do this tag again, even though it’s basically too late to do this tag at this point. Unless you’ve got some time and you’re quick, lol. This was a fun little tag, though, and I’m glad I managed to squeak this out.

As always, thanks to everybody so much for reading, and I hope that you have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Three Years of Blogging About Books

It’s been over three years since I first started this blog. I can’t believe it. Time really does fly, sometimes.

Happy 3rd Birthday to the blog! 🎉🎁🎈🎂

My original plan was to post this on or just after October 18th just like I usually do, but sometimes shit really does hit the fan. (I’m also back-posting it because I forgot to have it go live last night. You stop blogging for two weeks and this happens. Blegh.) I’ve been dealing with a lot the past couple of months, and it finally all crescendoed a couple of days after my last post here. My world is now forever irrevocably changed, and not in a good way. But I’m getting used to it and moving forward.

Anyway, moving on.

Like the last two years, I want to thank everyone who’s ever liked or commented on my posts here, or followed The Blog That Nobody Knows. Heck, even if you’ve ever just clicked on (or tapped on mobile) one of my posts and didn’t even finish reading it, I’m eternally grateful. It means a lot. Even those of you who aren’t human, lol.

As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I started this blog for fun three years ago. I still want to continue that despite everything, even though it’s been hard. Because even though I haven’t been reading as much, and consequentially not been blogging as much, I do still enjoy it. I know I haven’t posted like at all for the past two weeks, but I have no current plans to put blogging on a hiatus or something. I’m hoping that things will pick up around the start of 2026 – I don’t think that this current year is salvageable at this point. So, fresh start next year.

This year has been rough for me, and thus The Blog That Nobody Knows as well, unfortunately. 2025 has just not been my year and all the worst ways. Maybe I’ll get into it in my New Year’s post, but I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it right now. But yeah, I don’t care what anyone says about 2020 – 2025 is actually absolutely the worst year ever.

And even though this year has been horrible, I can’t help but do my usual. Here’s to another year of books and book reviews! Hopefully the next one is much better than this one! 🍻🥂

As always, thank you again so much for reading, and I hope you all have an absolutely perfect day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

It’s barely Tuesday anymore, but Happy Tuesday anyway! Two weeks in a row!

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get started! In no particular order, here comes my list!

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston: One of my favorite books ever. A fantastic fall read – it had all the right vibes. It was one of the best things I read in 2020.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: Another one of my favorite books ever. I was so jittery with excitement when I was reading it. I actually read this one in the late fall as well, as well as 2020.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: One of my newer favorite books – I read this last year in 2024. I loved the experience of reading it for the first time – the unique way it was written, the unreliable narrator, the clues for what’s actually going on laid out for the reader. It’s wonderful.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: I’m always singing the praises of Chaos Walking – I just love this trilogy. I first read this series way back in 2010.
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima: I adore the Seven Realms Series, and I haven’t been shy about it. Honestly, I wish I could experience this series again for the first time, it was so good. One of the highlights of 2015 for me.
This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee: An awesome Frankenstein retelling. Another book I read in 2015.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: I’m just about positive that I read this in 2009. A great read.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: One of my favorite books ever, and one of my oldest ones at that. I read this in 2010. Such a classic.
The Other by Thomas Tryon: Another one of my oldest favorite novels. It’s pretty obscure nowadays, but no less great. I read it back in 2009.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: A classic that I was looking forward to reading for a long while by the time I actually read it. This was back in 2009, around Christmas. I used to love watching different adaptations of this book, and honestly I still like them, though I haven’t seen one in years.

What are your favorite books? Which books do you wish you could read for the first time?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Love Freebie

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 Love Freebie. So for this one I’ve decided to do the ten most recent books I’ve loved (so given four stars or higher) that have romance in them.

On with the post!

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Red x Blue)
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (Lan Wangji x Wei Wuxian)
The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno (Henry Jekyll x Robert Lanyon)
The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor (Dorian x Brody)
The Dragonwatch series by Brandon Mull (Kendra Sorenson x Bracken)
The Magisterium by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare (Callum x Tamara)
Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens (Ellery x Knox)
So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens (Arek x Matt)
The Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett (Emily Wilde x Wendell Brambleby)
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton (Adam x Vic)

What are your favorite new books that feature romance in them? How good is the romance? Is it one of the highlights of the book or is it one of the weaker aspects?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! Here’s another Top Ten Tuesday.

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 New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2024. I don’t think I have to elaborate further on the topic – I think it’s pretty self explanatory.

Anyway, on with the post! Here are the authors new to me from last year, in order of reading from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2024!

Kerri Maniacalco via Kingdom of the Wicked
Laura R. Samotin via The Sins on Their Bones
Becky Chambers via the Monk & Robot series of novellas
Meg Shaffer via The Lost Story
Susanna Clarke via Piranesi
Ann Leckie via Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction
June CL Tan via Darker by Four
Cecy Robson via Bloodguard
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu via Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Dao Zu Shi)
Jennifer D. Lyle via Snow Drowned

What authors were new to you last year? What did you think of their books? Are you planning on reading other novels by them in the future?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella | Book Review

I am not the girl he met at the ball.

Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella

LENGTH: 320 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Page Street YA

RELEASE DATE: 14 January 2025

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Ell has spent years slaving away for her cruel stepfamily. So when Prince Bayard—who seems to have difficulty recognizing faces—shows up at her door with a glass slipper, Ell allows him to believe she danced with him at the ball. There’s just one problem: Ell didn’t attend the ball and she’s never met the prince before in her life. But if it’s a choice between moving to the royal palace or staying home, Ell is willing to say anything to escape.

However, Ell finds that being royalty comes with its own problems. Bayard’s sister, the princess, has gone missing. The king is preparing for war against the fae. And Maxim, Bayard’s treacherous (and handsome) best friend, appears to know Ell is lying.

If Ell wants to keep this life she’s stolen, she’s going to have to roll up her sleeves and rescue herself.

My Review

I’ve never had a moment that sweet. Not even in my wildest dreams.

Liar’s Kingdom was one of my anticipated reads in the first half of 2025. Not only was it a fantasy novel, which I love, but it was also a fairytale retelling. And if you’ve read some of my other book reviews, you know how I feel about those. (As in, I can’t resist reading them if they intrigue me, lol.)

Though I enjoyed several aspects of the novel, it’s not my favorite Cinderella retelling. That honor still goes to The Lunar Chronicles. Liar’s Kingdom was definitely a very interesting take on the fairytale though, and I really liked the angle the book was going for.

Trude shrugs, a shy smile warming her face again. But she does not meet my eye as she answers: “I think anywhere, no matter how lovely, would begin to feel like a cage if you could never leave it.”

Ell was our protagonist. I really liked her throughout the first half of the novel, but aspects of her character started to irritate me the further I got. I did like how emotionally strong she was, however.

Bayard was the kind and handsome prince. He was probably my favorite character in the novel. I just loved how sweet and generally optimistic he was, and him being face-blind, and it being incredibly relevant to the novel, was very interesting.

Maxim was the a-hole edgelord type character, who the MC is inexplicably drawn to, that also secretly has a heart of gold. He kind of annoyed me from the get-go, honestly. Like, the second the description said he wore all black all the time, I was already Done with him. Not the character’s fault, I’m just starting to get tired of his archetype.

Trude was a sweet supporting character, and Ell’s first ever friend. I really liked her. We don’t get enough just nice and wholesome friend characters like this. I do wish she had a few more layers, though. She was a little bland.

But from now on, I intend to be honest. And I can honestly say that with my court of rodents and rogues and social climbers, I expect to live very much happily ever after.

I also enjoyed what the story did with Ell’s “evil stepsisters”, Amalia and Frieda. They had pretty good character arcs, and I loved them being dynamic characters capable of change as opposed to static bullies.

The plot of Liar’s Kingdom was a really cool take on the classic Cinderella story, and it’s by posing a pretty simple question: What if Cinderella wasn’t the girl from the ball but fit the slipper? What the author tried to do here was really interesting, even if I didn’t enjoy everything about the execution.

I didn’t really like the romance here either. I don’t consider it to really be a love triangle, because it was obvious who Ell was going to end up with, as well as who everyone was actually into. But occasionally it felt like it to me.

I can’t help it; I laugh in his face. “Please don’t tell me you intend to be petty and jealous.”

Maxim raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m never petty.”

“Oh, no?”

I think that the world building was okay, but I wish there was a more fleshed out magic system. Like, fairies seem to be almost all powerful in terms of what their magic is able to accomplish and only really have one weakness. Granted it’s highly specific, but still. I hated that the fairy realm was called Fairyland. I just, I hated it. It’s the worst name.

As a whole, I think that Liar’s Kingdom was pretty good. I think that those who enjoy fantasy YA will like it, and especially people who like fairytale retellings. It was also well written, for the most part.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

MY LINKS:

Goodreads

Instagram

End of the Year Book Tag 2024

Hello all and Happy New Year’s Eve!! 🍾🎉 Since it’s the last day of the year, I thought I’d do the End of the Year Book Tag. ‘Cause it sounded interesting and fun and perfect for today, and Leslie @ Books Are the New Black tagged everybody, sooo… yeah.

The End of the Year Book Tag was created by Ariel Bissett over at YouTube. There are six questions, and the tag focuses on reflecting on the past year’s reading, as well as looking forward to future reading. I’m ludicrously late to this (I only found out about it late last night, lol), but it’s still 2024 right?

Anyway, here it is!

📖 Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? 📖

I don’t really have hope for finishing this at this point in time, but I’m still only about 25% of the way through I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle. Oh well, haha.

🎇 Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year? 🎇

No, not really. I’ve never given any thought to autumnal types of reads, though I do definitely read seasonally sometimes. (And at this point it’s a little too late to try to look into something. I only have a few free hours today, as well.)

🕛 Is there a new release you’re still waiting for? 🕛

Since it’s the last day of the year, everything has already been released. But The Losting Fountain by Lora Senf came out literally today, and I haven’t even gotten close to reading it, so I’m counting it.

📚 What are three books you want(ed) to read by the end of the year? 📚

Two things I really wanted to read before 2024 ended were the Winterspell novella, Summerfall, and short story, Homecoming. (I actually ended up reading and finishing these last night and this morning.)

And as for the last book, well… Since one of these was a short story, I’ll say another two books I was interested in reading and finishing before this year ended: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle.

💖 Is there a book you think that could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year? 💖

Nah, at this point I’m almost positive that’s not gonna happen. ‘Cause it’s December 31st, lol.

🗒️ Have you already started making reading plans for 2025? 🗒️

Yeah, a little bit. I got several books for Christmas, so I’d like to start reading them soon. Also, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Last Tales is coming out in January 2025 and I’m really looking forward to that, so I’ll definitely read when it comes out.

As always, thanks to everybody so much for reading, and I hope that you have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday: 12/20

Week three babyyyy! (It’s a turkey! 🦃✨) Happy Friday all!

Anyway, 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’s the first line:

The warning came in the form of a great wind, sudden and cold, sweeping out of the western mountains on a perfectly bland and cloudless summer day.

Any ideas on the book? If you don’t, here’s another hint or two for ya…

Still don’t know it? Here’s a few photos of some lovely books, while you consider…

Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle!!

(Didja guess it?)

I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

LENGTH: 278 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Sword & Saga Press

RELEASE DATE: 14 May 2024

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Unicorn comes a new novel with equal amounts of power and whimsy in which a loveable cast of characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more must come together to take their fates into their own hands.

Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad’s job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a princess valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind…

What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday: 12/13

It’s Friday the 13th! So late in the year too – I can’t remember the last time it was in December!

Also, second week in a row with this one!

Anyway, 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:

Here are the first lines:

Many moons ago in a principality far, far away, a hirsute lady slept in a tower that was covered in thorns. In general, such an occurrence would not be considered worthy of note, for people slept in towers all the time regardless of their current level of hair growth.

Know it? If not, here’s a couple more hints…

Still no idea what book it is? Here’s some awesome pictures of books to stare at while you think on it a little more…

Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne!!

(Didja guess it?)

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne

SERIES: The Tales of Pell #1

LENGTH: 384 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Del Rey

RELEASE DATE: 17 July 2018

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In an irreverent series in the tradition of Monty Python, the bestselling authors of the Iron Druid Chronicles and Star Wars: Phasma reinvent fantasy, fairy tales, and floridly written feast scenes.

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a hero, the Chosen One, was born… and so begins every fairy tale ever told.

This is not that fairy tale.

There is a Chosen One, but he is unlike any One who has ever been Chosened.

And there is a faraway kingdom, but you have never been to a magical world quite like the land of Pell.

There, a plucky farm boy will find more than he’s bargained for on his quest to awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. First there’s the Dark Lord, who wishes for the boy’s untimely death . . . and also very fine cheese. Then there’s a bard without a song in her heart but with a very adorable and fuzzy tail, an assassin who fears not the night but is terrified of chickens, and a mighty fighter more frightened of her sword than of her chain-mail bikini. This journey will lead to sinister umlauts, a trash-talking goat, the Dread Necromancer Steve, and a strange and wondrous journey to the most peculiar “happily ever after” that ever once-upon-a-timed.

What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar