fruitcakes

The Nature of a Pirate

The Nature of a Pirate - A.M. Dellamonica CLY <3<br/>
anyhoodles, i'm both sad and happy this is apparently the end of the trilogy-- love a good planned story arc, this is a super satisfying place to leave sophie et all, but damn, i'd love to see more of their future. DO sophie and garland ever tie the knot?? more cly! more beatrice!

also i've VERY FREQUENTLY wanted to set two characters down and make them talk about their feelings, this was the first time i've seen it implemented in a book :D

The Nature of a Pirate

The Nature of a Pirate - A.M. Dellamonica CLY <3<br/>
anyhoodles, i'm both sad and happy this is apparently the end of the trilogy-- love a good planned story arc, this is a super satisfying place to leave sophie et all, but damn, i'd love to see more of their future. DO sophie and garland ever tie the knot?? more cly! more beatrice!

also i've VERY FREQUENTLY wanted to set two characters down and make them talk about their feelings, this was the first time i've seen it implemented in a book :D

The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose

The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose - Jeffe Kennedy The last time I read a book that managed to make me care about a spoiled brat growing up, it was a March Upcountry so this was a surprise how much I liked this book.

The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose

The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose - Jeffe Kennedy The last time I read a book that managed to make me care about a spoiled brat growing up, it was a March Upcountry so this was a surprise how much I liked this book.

Stormbringer: Book 2 of the Wyrd

Stormbringer: Book 2 of the Wyrd - Alis Franklin Liked this a lot, but there were some weird snags.

First, that opening. It reads like a "last time on As The Wyrd Turns" kinda thing, but it doesn't feel like it lines up with the ending of Liesmith? Also, I feel like there were some things glossed over in that timeskip-- Sigmund is moving in with Lain? After two months? Nothing more about what his Dad thinks about Lain, who he recently hit upside the horns with a pan? Nothing more about Sigmund and his Dad's little family drama re: Sigmund's mum? You could totally sell me on that, but I didn't get any explanation.

Anyway, and then we get into the main plot, which I thought was quite solid. Really enjoyed Lain's "in a hard spot, pursue all possible options because something's going to pan out eventually" approach. Felt very real and very /OH LAIN/. The twist from the last book got some good play, with some nice identity crisis stuff for Lain, while Sigmund's settling into sharing some brain space with Sigyn quite well.

I liked the main plot but there was a bunch of stuff that I either wanted more about or I wanted to play into the plot more. For example, I spend most of the book convinced Prudr (I am not trying those characters rn) and Valdis were going to end up together? Em's whole social justice-y background was alluded to in the first book, but I felt like her approach to the dead's protest rally was still a little out of left field. I got very excited about the gender fluidity/identity stuff, but would have liked to see more.

I did love all the stuff with Hel and the dishonoured dead tho. Would read Wayne and Em's adventures in friendship with Hel so fast.

Also, Sigmund banging Lain for the first time when Lain's in his fluffy dinosaur bird form was great. You know that kid romanced Garrus every time.

Liesmith: Book 1 of The Wyrd

Liesmith: Book 1 of The Wyrd - Alis Franklin I liked this, a lot.

The author mentioned that this isn't a romance, it's sci-fi horror, and I don't know that I agree with that totally (the romance is kinda pivitol to the plot) it's not the kind of romance where the HEA fixes everything.

I think I mentioned on twitter that this reminds me of what I wanted out of Eight Days of Luke fanfiction, but with non-white & queer people and set in Australia, with some added techy horror. Basically, I love some good "how the gods adapted and changed to the modern world" stories. I liked the emphasis on The Narrative, and how humans are the ones who can change that narrative. I liked the characters-- Sigmund and his friends felt like friends, who like each other for reasons and have some foibles that they sigh over in each other. I liked Lain, and the attraction between him and Sigmund felt very real beyond the "you're the kinda reincarnation of my dead wife" bit.

I did feel like the romance parts of the book and the horror parts of the book were a little seperated, rather than entirely emulsified. I could have used a little more character build out of Wayne and Em-- they felt like very full characters that the author loves and has built out a lot in their head, but I didn't feel like we got a ton of that build out in this book. There's more of it in the next book, but it does end up feeling a bit out of left field because of the lack in this book.

I loved the way that Sigyn got her story built out. The final twist was both deeply satisfying and kinda "eh???", in an odd way. Satisfying in the way that it developed Sigyn's narrative, "eh???" in how it affects Lain's characterization. Unreliable narrator yay, but I needed a little more ground to plant myself on.

These tech nerds felt very much like my tech nerds. Overall the tech nerd felt very organic and not Pasted On Yay.

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent - Galen Beckett very interesting take on a Gothic novel with magic in.

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent - Galen Beckett very interesting take on a Gothic novel with magic in.

To Catch an Heiress

To Catch an Heiress - Julia Quinn somehow manages to be deeply boring.

To Catch an Heiress

To Catch an Heiress - Julia Quinn somehow manages to be deeply boring.

Armor of Light

Armor of Light - Melissa Scott, Lisa A. Barnett somewhat slow to start but hugely enjoyable by the end. loved the historical world building.

Armor of Light

Armor of Light - Melissa Scott, Lisa A. Barnett somewhat slow to start but hugely enjoyable by the end. loved the historical world building.

Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing

Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing - Melissa Mohr Very enjoyable pop science book with a lot of research and history. Occasionally the anecdotes were very meandering-- some of the Biblical history stuff in the Holy section got a bit long. (Interesting to me, but I kept going, okay, where are you going with this)

Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing

Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing - Melissa Mohr Very enjoyable pop science book with a lot of research and history. Occasionally the anecdotes were very meandering-- some of the Biblical history stuff in the Holy section got a bit long. (Interesting to me, but I kept going, okay, where are you going with this)

How To Tame Your Duke

How To Tame Your Duke - Juliana  Gray Cute premise, got some quality pining, loved the heroine's interactions with the son. However, the heroine's characterization seemed-- indistinct. I didn't get a great feeling for her, despite it being from her POV. Also, the latter third of the book was all overblown misunderstandings. Overall, cute.

How To Tame Your Duke

How To Tame Your Duke - Juliana  Gray Cute premise, got some quality pining, loved the heroine's interactions with the son. However, the heroine's characterization seemed-- indistinct. I didn't get a great feeling for her, despite it being from her POV. Also, the latter third of the book was all overblown misunderstandings. Overall, cute.

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