So I survived December’s insane workload and January’s relentless efforts to trap me in depression mode. February is here, I am reading ALL THE THINGS, and cold weather or no cold weather, things are looking up. Now let’s look back a little bit, shall we?
What Have I Done?
Let’s take a look, first of all, at the books I read over the last month!
- Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab – 5/5
- Ashwin (Gideon’s Riders #1) by Kit Rocha – 5/5
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – 5/5
- When A Scot Ties The Knot/Do You Want To Start A Scandal/A Week To Be Wicked by Tessa Dare – 4/5 to all
- The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
I’ve been reading a lot of Kit Rocha novels over the last few months. I got hooked on the Beyond series (adult romance with queer/BDSM content and a pretty cool post-apocalypse setting), and Gideon’s Riders promises to be every bit as addictive, if Ashwin was any indication!
Speaking of being hooked on romance – Tessa Dare’s books are firmly entrenched in period/hetero territory, but I am not letting that stop me (100% joking, I love this stuff too!). Every story is somehow light, sweet and funny by turns, even when it’s being satisfyingly angsty. This is my non-SFF comfort zone, and I might as well just admit I’ve moved in and started decorating the place.
BUT. I most certainly have not abandoned my beloved fantasy. If January had a theme other than Happily Ever After, it was probably Not Happily At All Actually, How Dare You. Flying that particular flag, and landing a solid one-two punch on all my feelings at once, were Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (you can read my reviews/breakdowns of that book at the link, and lord help me when I get around to Book 2 this month), and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
I am such a latecomer to this particular dark, bloody fantasy series – but it was a perfect choice for a month like January. Winter is all about that sort of thing for me in terms of my reading choices, and The Cruel Prince was a wonderful discovery that I’m only sorry I didn’t get to sooner. This would have gotten a full 5 stars from me were it not for a (relatively minor) nitpick – this is a Young Adult book, and I feel like the MC’s voice didn’t quite fit with story she was telling; a narrator who was a bit older and wiser might have served it better. But I’m still fascinated enough to continue reading, and the plot twist served up by the author genuinely caught me out, which always earns a good book extra points with me.
What Am I Doing?
So that’s it for what I’ve read, but the ongoing reading (and other activities) deserves a mention here too! I’m currently reading – and absolutely loving – Alexandra Christo’s To Kill A Kingdom. It’s a very clever, very fascinating and also very murder-filled retelling of The Little Mermaid, and the author’s reworking of this old fairytale doesn’t stop at the story itself. She’s crafted an entire world with its own myths and intrigues beyond that “love” story, and I’m eating up every bit of it so far.
Beyond the bookshelves, I have some awesome and exciting geeky news – I am preparing to take part in my first full fledged D&D campaign with some awesome nerdy best friends! Dungeons & Dragons has become my weekend online stream-watching jam thanks to Critical Role, and I am super excited to be taking off on my own adventure with some wonderful people. I’m definitely going to be sharing some highlights with you guys once our game gets up and running later this month, so stay tuned for that if D&D is your kind of thing.
What Am I Going To Do?
So back in December, fellow blogger Jorie and I announced that we would be reading/hosting Twitter chats for A Closed and Common Orbit, the second book in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. Unfortunately due to some health issues, scheduling conflicts and my own aforementioned struggles throughout January, that read-along never got off the ground as we’d planned. But we ARE planning to try again, so if you’d still like to read the book and chat with us about it, keep an eye on our Twitter feeds (or #CommonOrbitRAL) for updates on that.
In other news regarding my plans for the weeks/months ahead, I’m turning my nerdy energies toward the second run of Wyrd and Wonder in May, and beyond that, to attending Worldcon in Dublin this summer! This year I get to go to a con with some of my best friends, and I could not be more excited. If you’re also planning to go, let me know and perhaps I might see you there!
Handy Links To Various Things
O’Kane For Life – Kit Rocha’s Market Square
Dublin 2019: Official Worldcon Site
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