Recent Updates and Currently Reading | July 13

Hi, friends! I've been a way for a while. Mostly I was focusing on my career. I finally left my job of 16 years, and I'm in a much better place now! I've also been allowing myself to fall deeply in love with reading again. I can't wait to do some catching up and share my thoughts.

For now... here are some of my favorite 5⭐ books that I've read while I've been away:

Murder Road by Simone St. James

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Read Last Week

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager ⭐⭐⭐💫★ - This was mostly a great time. I'm going to try to start reviewing again so I can post some full thoughts.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center [dnf] - Oh, no. This was my first Katherine Center and it was not for me. I'm bummed.

Currently Reading

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - I'm trying to fill in the holes in my cosmere reading before the end of the year so I can read the fifth Stormlight Archive book with the rest of the Brando Sando reading world. Enjoying it so far!

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein - I found an amazing bookstore while I was out of town last week that was filled with works in translation. I was excited to find this, and I've already started it.

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Much love to you guys. I hope you are reading something special and have an amazing week.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | February 11

Hello, friends. I'm finally crawling back out of the deep pit of Dungeons & Dragons. I haven't done much reading over the past couple of weeks because I've been consuming so much D&D content. We are still playing and having a great time. I'm finally starting to feel like I have a handle on the rules and being a DM. It's freeing up the small amount of free space that I have in my mind to read again!

My kids were on winter break from school this past week. My husband and I took a few days off from work which was nice. We took a road trip and had some good food and did some shopping. It was fun.

It's super bowl Sunday. Will you be watching? We were planning to put the game on in the background for commercials and the half time show so I may get a lot of reading done tonight.

Posted over the last two weeks

New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

On My Wishlist | Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

On My Wishlist | In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

Finished Reading

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐💫★ - Book #9 of the Wayward Children series. I'll hopefully have some thoughts posted this week.

The Eleventh Metal by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐★★ - I'm hoping to be a Cosmere completionist by the end of the year. I don't get particularly excited about the shorts and novellas, but I'm trying to read them all.

Currently Reading

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson - I have a weird relationship with this book. This is my fourth time trying to read Elantris. It has been a struggle connecting with this one until now. I have my theories as to why, but I'm finally connecting to and loving Elantris.

Added to the TBR

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - I have such a fun friend group and we are about to do a buddy read of A Court of Thorns and Roses. I can't wait to finally be in the know about ACOTAR and have a great time with friends.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

On My Wishlist | In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes is a Booker Prize nominee that is being released in the US later this month.

An astonishing novel about a young microbiologist investigating an unfathomable deep vent in the ocean floor, leading her on a journey that will encompass the full trajectory of the cosmos and the passage of a single human life.

Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, travelling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of the earth's first life forms – what she instead finds calls into question everything we know about our own beginnings. Her discovery leads Leigh to the Mojave desert and an ambitious new space agency.

Drawn deeper into the agency's work, she learns that the Atlantic trench is only one of several related phenomena from across the world, each piece linking up to suggest a pattern beyond human understanding. Leigh knows that to continue working with the agency will mean leaving behind her declining mother and her younger sister, and faces an impossible choice: to remain with her family, or to embark on a journey across the breadth of the cosmos.

Exploring the natural world with the wonder and reverence we usually reserve for the stars, In Ascension is a compassionate, deeply inquisitive epic that reaches outward to confront the greatest questions of existence, looks inward to illuminate the smallest details of the human heart, and shows how – no matter how far away we might be and how much we have lost hope – we will always attempt to return to the people and places we call home.

In Ascension had me at "deep vent in the ocean floor". I'm here for a science fiction novel that made the long list for the Booker Prize especially if it deals with the ocean. I've seen comparisons to Jeff VandeerMeer which I find very exciting.

Are you interested in reading In Ascension?

On My Wishlist | Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

Island Witch is an adult horror novel by Amanda Jayatissa.

Inspired by Sri Lankan folklore, award-winning author Amanda Jayatissa turns her feverish, Gothic-tinged talents to late 19th century Sri Lanka where the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone—or something —is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic No one can find out what happened .

Lush, otherworldly, and recalling horror classics like Carrie and The Exorcist, Island Witch is a deliciously creepy and darkly feminist tale about the horrors of moral panic, the violent space between girlhood and adulthood, and what happens when female rage is finally unleashed.

Island Witch is being compared to Carrie and The Exorcist. It sounds like a scary novel of female rage that I'm here for.

Is Island Witch on your radar?

New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023. Several of these were favorites!

 

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (10⭐ out of 5)

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Chlorine by Jade Song (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

 

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon (⭐⭐⭐★★)

At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche (⭐⭐★★★)

Below by Laurel Hightower (⭐⭐⭐⭐★)

 

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (⭐⭐⭐★★)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (⭐⭐⭐⭐★)

Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney (⭐⭐⭐⭐★)

 

Camp Damascus is a horror novel by Chuck Tingle ( ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

The September House by Carissa Orlando (⭐⭐⭐★★)

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 28

Hello, friends! I missed posting an update last weekend because I got thoroughly sucked into the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Do you play? I'm not even sure how it happened, but my husband and three kids were suddenly wanting to play D&D with me, and none of us had ever played before. Before they could change their minds, I rushed out and bought a starter set. Even with the bare bones rules and small adventure, it was 80 pages of rules and story to learn! While this is certainly smaller than the three 300 page books you normally have to read to learn D&D (what!), it was a lot.

This was my Dungeon Master setup by Sunday morning:

I still have no idea what I'm doing, but we had a lot of fun and plan to play regularly.

All of this to say I didn't read anything at all this week that wasn't D&D related!

Posted over the last two weeks

Reviews:

I wound up dnf'ing The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 200 pages in, but maybe I'll come back to it some day. I did post some thoughts on The Priority of the Orange Tree.

Top Ten Tuesdays:

Bookish Goals for 2024

Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

• 

On My Wishlist:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

Currently Reading

  

I'm planning to focus on finishing Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire this week and then we'll see where my mood takes me!

I hope you all have an excellent week!

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

On My Wishlist | What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

What Feasts at Night is the sequel to T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead.

The follow-up to T. Kingfisher’s bestselling gothic novella, What Moves the Dead .

Retired soldier, Alex Easton, returns in a horrifying new adventure.

After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams.

I loved What Moves the Dead so much and always enjoy books by T. Kingfisher. I'm looking forward to reading What Feasts at Night.

Have you read What Moves the Dead? Will you be reading What Feasts at Night?

Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To. Oh no - I'm going to feel so called out today! Hopefully I can get to all of these this year.

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

 

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

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson

DNF Review | The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a fantasy novel 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.

I only read 200 pages so these are mainly just notes for myself.

I don't think Samantha Shannon's writing is a good fit for me. I can usually switch over to an audiobook, but things are mentioned several times before we are told what they are or why things are the way they are. I think this will work for some people, but I had a constant feeling of not knowing what was going on and it was even worse on audio.

There are cool elements (like dragons) and I like the characters, but I started plotting out ways to motivate myself to finish. I would love to make it to the other side of this and know why people love it, but I'm not sure how kind it is to force another 600+ pages when my TBR is towering.

I'm sad because the cover for the prequel is beautiful, too...

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

On My Wishlist | The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup is the first in the new series by Robert Jackson Bennett.

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

Early reviews of The Tainted Cup have been amazing. I keep meaning to read Robert Jackson Bennett but never get around to it. Maybe this series would be the perfect place to start.

Have you read Robert Jackson Bennett before? Will you be reading The Tainted Cup?

Expected publication February 6, 2024

Bookish Goals for 2024

I love the start of a new reading year. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Bookish Goals for 2024. Below are my hopes and goals for 2024.

Goodreads Challenge

This is going to be the same goal I've had since the beginning of time - 50 books. Some years I read closer to 100, some years I read closer to 50. I think roughly a book a week is a massive amount for an average adult.

Nonfiction

Last year the only nonfiction books I read were picked by my book club. I need to take my brain back.

TBR Jar

I have made a TBR jar every year for as long as I can remember. I'd love to read a lot more from my jar this year. I currently have 136 books in the jar. I have no intentions of reading them all, but I want it to be my go to for picking books this year.

Kid Lit

I didn't read much middle grade or young adult last year and I'm hoping to do much better in that area this year. I know I'm missing out on some amazing stories.

Reviews

I have fallen completely out of the habit of writing reviews. I miss it, and I'm struggling hard. This may make my reading feel like a job for a while, but I want to stop and write a review of everything I read as soon as I'm done reading it. Wish me luck.

Library

I use my library a lot for digital copies of books I own. I like being able to go back and forth between print and audio. I'd love to use my library more for new to me authors or genres and then only buy the physical book if I loved it. This is a struggle because I prefer to focus on books I own, but I'm working on it.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 14

Hello, friends. I'm still in the middle of a ton of books which is fine. So far this year I'm on top of my reviews which is wonderful.

This week was birthday week for my oldest. We get a long weekend this weekend, and we have a winter storm coming. Some area schools are already delaying/closing in preparation. Our average snow fall here is zero. It's not even supposed to snow - just freezing rain - but I'm hoping for a snow day or two.

Posted Last Week

I posted two reviews. Is this a new me? I hope so!

Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Quarter of 2024

On My Wishlist | The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Finished Reading

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon ⭐⭐⭐★★ - This series is a good escape (Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon).

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The best written worst book I've ever read. Highly recommended. (Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due)

Currently Reading

My TBR jar has a lot of faith in me and gave me both Children of Ruin and The Priory of the Orange Tree for this month. Both are tomes in their genres.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire was released this past week. I'm slowly making my way through it. These books are so short in length, and I'm enjoying everything about it so far.

Added to the TBR

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire is the 9th book in the Wayward Children series. I love this series and all of their heartbreak.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.