Paladin‘s Grace by T. Kingfisher was a lot of fun. Some suspense, some action, a pretty sweet slow burn romance. Would love to have a slower more detailed closure on one part of the story, and definitely looking forward to seeing how the other part develops in subsequent books. Older than average main characters with everything that comes with it was a nice touch.

Yin Yang Love Song by Lauren Kung Jessen. A dual POV romance with fake-dating trope. A solid first half, I was especially interested in the Traditional Chinese Medicine focus of it. The second half was stretched out and went too long and often in circles. The romance was sweet, but kind of bland. Overall I enjoyed it, would check out other works by the author.

The second and final book of The Crimson Moth duology. It went in silly circles for a while, but the magic war situation picked up around 60% mark. There was a lot of repetition across the board, at times I wondered about the plot because everyone seemed to lack common sense. But I finished it, and it was fine.

A dual POV dark-ish romantasy. Engaging and fast-paced, a pretty sweet romance. Mild spice. Interesting but shaky world building, somewhat uncertain magical system. Some resolutions didn‘t need to be spelled out, but oh well. Overall enjoyable let‘s see how the second book goes.

The Enemy‘s Daughter by Melissa Poett.
A quick and fun read, a YA fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde. Interesting world-building in an post-apocalyptic world that reverted to almost medieval set-up. The premise that ended up going further than expected, a pretty sweet romance, plenty of action. Some choices seemed almost a bit too convenient, including the way the magic was used, but overall I didn‘t mind that.

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This book has been on my TBR forever and the reading of it is overdue. A compassionate and professional look at all the ways trauma hurts us, and the various possibilities if addressing it. So many things make so much sense now. I had to speed-listen to the cure section because my book was due to be returned and I think I need to take more notes and process the info, so I will be rereading it slowly on paper.

Say You‘ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. I loved it, no notes. A well-researched, carefully put together book. It resonated with me because my life has elements of this book now. Life is such a mess sometimes. Mundane things we don‘t notice become precious beyond words.
It was more of an emotional read for me than I expected. Mild spice.

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. A sweet Regency romantasy. Started a little slow but then found its pace and turned out to be a quick and lovely read.

A cautious pick. Read it to see what the hype was about. Good world building and the magic system. I am not a fan of a violent romance, but I could appreciate some parts of it. But there‘s a lot of ick. My other issue with this book is it‘s too damn long. Some things became a filler, some things start to go in circles, and some things stretch out when they don‘t have to. Overall it kept me reading, and I‘m glad I‘ve given it a try. TWs are many.

Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu. A beautifully dark graphic novel based on Finnish folklore. A complicated mother-daughter relationship, curiosity and its consequences, an elaborate plan of primordial deities. Gorgeous and eerie art.

The Alchemy of Flowers by Laura Resau. A beautifully written magical realism tale of loss, healing, and a found family. A mystery worked into the narrative. It was a page turner and I really enjoyed it. I would love the resolution to have more background, I felt the wrap-up was a bit too quick. But otherwise it was a lovely read. Colorado author. TW: infertility and loss.

Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood. 🎧A neurotic witch with a heart of gold, a stray teenage witch, and a rustic warlock come together in a tale of a found family and finding one‘s true self. Just a bit too sweet for me, and definitely too long. Soft pick.

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. I was already aware of some bits of this story from other sources. But I had no idea of the extent of it. Overall it was an interesting but depressing read, a tale of the company and people whose actions and inactions affect our world with devastating consequences. There is not much hope for a brighter future, the damage already done is enormous, the precedent is set, and now we also have AI to deal with.

An epistolary novel, 🎧.
A story of a village in Kent in 1940, and its mostly female inhabitants finding strength in music and each other. Their joys, sorrows, schemes, and tribulations in the face of the war. It was heartwarming, at times heartbreaking, at times too sweet, at times over the top dramatic. I enjoyed it overall, though I felt it went on for a bit too long. Probably won‘t reread, but would watch a movie if there‘s ever one.

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig 🎧Fun premise, interesting magic system, good pace, a pretty sweet romance. I expected a more complex plot, but it worked. The gargoyle is my favorite. Curious how the second book will work out.

30% in, and dropping it. MMC is making me angry, and I don‘t care enough about the story to see if he grows up.

Divine Might by Natalie Haynes 🎧 read by the author.
Enjoyed this book tremendously, a deep look into Greek goddesses that walked the world so long ago, yet sometimes I wonder if they‘re still here. Who they were in myth, literature, pop culture. I only wish my audio book projected pictures of all the artwork. 😅

Mary Poppins by P.L.Travis was read for an art challenge. It‘s my first time reading it in English, and it was indeed a different book from the one I grew up with. Much more nonsensical and also somehow, more down to earth. I was surprised at the amount of gaslighting happening along with the magic. I guess I‘ve forgotten a lot of what was going on. Overall this book was more charming than not.

My favorite book moments are when I grab a random book (in this case an audiobook because I didn‘t want to clean my house in silence) and it turns out to not only be a very pleasant read, but also sparks new or dormant interests in me. Gingko Season by Naomi Xu Elegant is such book. 🎧 A slice of life, full of various tidbits that make up a personality of the main character/narrator, a love letter to Philadelphia which I want to visit now.

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman 🎧 a very nice magical realism novel, it flowed nicely and had an intriguing premise. It felt slightly flat in the middle but then made me tear up in the end. Now I am on the market for some dark fairy tales .
Trigger warning:

A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross 🎧 the final book of July, wrapping up the Cadence duology. It was nice. It felt less dynamic than the first book and it took me a while to get through it. But the story wrapped up well. Romance was fleshed out more, there was some pretty tame mature content, the magical system held up overall. I enjoyed this duology.

The Way of Nagomi by Ken Mogi. 🎧
This book is a bit different from the most reads on Japan and what makes the Japanese way of living special. It rather steps deeper into the underlying philosophy. It was very interesting and I learned a lot.

Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar. Second chance romance. It started pretty strongly with some interesting plot, excellent chemistry and plenty of tension. The second half felt more crumpled with things going in circles. I got tired and wanted for it to finish, but it felt the author kept adding more and more details that were already stated. I was entertained overall, but probably won‘t reread. Soft pick.

One of my May books is finally done. 🎧 read by Jefferson White. Haymitch and his backstory were even more tragic than was alluded in the original trilogy. Reading a book that doesn‘t have a lot of hope in it, but lots and lots of pain is hard, so it took me a while to get through it. A pretty gorey book. More connections to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I am looking forward to the movie.

🎧 Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz. This book gives a timeline of how social media was changing in the past two decades. Human connection, greed, grift, opportunities, hateful things, doors that open and close, inequality. Heavy focus on the money made from it.

Continuing education, reading about the icon of #kidlitillustration. Took me a long time because I was taking so many notes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins 🎧
I am usually not particularly fond of villain origin stories. But I enjoyed this book. It raised questions of choices, and of being too much inside own‘s head. The descent from sincerity into selfishness felt a little too steep to me. Music is a central theme in this book. This book gave a lot of context to what happened in the original trilogy and made sense of certain obsessions.

Soft pick. The second romance by Megan Clawson was a bit underwhelming. I didn‘t like the main characters at first and it was a bit slow. But then it picked up and there was character growth even if a bit choppy. I enjoyed the second half of the book a bit more.

Reread, on audio. Always a treat, but especially this year, as I listened to it walking around Italy, even if I didn‘t make it to Portofino, and the castle that inspired the book, there was still wisteria and sunshine.

This was such a cute and fun read. Sweet little “will they won‘t they”. (Also a proof that a romance book can work without spice in it) Sure there were snags, but I‘ve read way worse. Most importantly I learned SO MUCH from this book. I had no idea people lived within the walls of the Tower of London, all the fun facts, a glimpse to the inner workings of it all, absolutely fascinating.

The premise seemed interesting, and the book definitely wasn‘t. There was not enough difference in characters‘ voices, their personalities kept shifting, they behaved like middle schoolers, and wrote like middle schoolers. Lots of telling, not nearly enough showing of anything. Unconvincing romance. Cringey sex scenes. I felt the author was writing what she thinks a romance reader would like, so the story is all over the place. Mature content.

My #weekendreads
1. Anna Karenina (reread)
2. Mort by Terry Pratchett (reread)
3. The Enchated April (reread on audio)
4. Not In My Book by Kait Holt

My quest towards a meaningful change continues. This book had some shaky examples and some of author‘s ideas might seem a bit extreme, but the overall idea is pretty attractive to me right now. Making space in my home and in my head becomes more and more of a priority. The book ties well with The Art of Frugal Hedonism which I‘ve read a while back. Perhaps I can find that balance and freedom I crave

Orbital by Samantha Harvey follows six astronauts inside the space station as they go around the Earth in the span of 24 hours. This book doesn‘t really have a plot, nor action, just life. And love, so much love for our planet, and for people. It felt like I was reading poetry and my heart felt a little bit more at peace after.

Kokoro by Beth Kempton. I expected something lighter and more self-help-y and fun-fact-y. In reality it was a very personal journey through a midlife malaise and profound grief. It came to me just when I needed it, however different my challenges are. I have a lot of things to ponder, as I navigate my current crossroads. This book helps.

The second book of Strange the Dreamer duology. I enjoyed it very much. More background on the magical system. Dynamic resolutions. There were more snags and some questions went unanswered, and I can‘t believe I‘m saying this but the romance felt a bit much and I thought it was getting in the way of plot. BUT I still loved it and would love to see more from thjs world. I will definitely read Laini Taylor‘s other works.

Recommended by my daughter. A fun spin on a familiar tale, with a dash of romance we all wished was in the movie. The only hiccup was that the story tended to go in circles, some repetition in conversations too. Otherwise I enjoyed it. 1/2 read on paper, 1/2 audio 🎧

Finally got to Strange the Dreamer, and it was an excellent read. Well-developed characters, delightfully constructed romance, vividly imagined world. On to the second book!

January is such a struggle. Hence this comfort reread

Finished reading this one on Christmas morning. A bit of a mixed bag, but I enjoyed most of the stories. My absolute favorites are: Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan, Krampuslauf by Holly Black, and The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

Finally finished Murtagh a year after I bought it. Enjoyed it! I‘m glad I reread the entire Inheritance saga beforehand, even if it wasn‘t strictly necessary. New adventures, new dynamic plot. Sort of a redemption arc for Murtagh and Thorn, plenty of background info. A set up for, hopefully, more books about this duo.

Powerful, raw, terrifying, beautiful. So many parallels with Educated, so many things I now realize slip through in conversations and little casual things. Terrifying how many people would be totally ok with this becoming a reality for our daughters.
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Discworld marathon continues! 2/41, The Light Fantastic. Reread almost 10 years since the first read. Enjoyed it tremendously. Just so much fun to watch the book universe form. Though it‘s still not quite as polished as later works, it was great fun.

I‘ve loved this book when I was a kid. And bought it in English a while ago, but reread it for the first time only now. And it was amazing. Very vivid depiction of the Canadian wilderness (I even looked up the places), gripping adventure, gorgeous romance. The dog‘s POV was masterfully woven into the narrative. I am immensely thankful for that ray of literary light in a truly horrible week that just passed.

Book 50 of 2024! 🌟 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame in beautiful Folio edition. strangely enough it was my first read of this charming story and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Reread as a part of my Discworld marathon (1 down, 40 to go!). Turns out my first read of this novel was 10 years ago, how symbolic! I enjoyed this reread tremendously. Yes, this book is indeed very chaotic, I forgot how wild a ride it is, but oh, so much fun!

Dual POV Romantasy set in 16th century Germany. Sadly, mostly a disappointment. Not a total loss due to some action in the middle but overall not for me. Mild spice. There's a second book which I won't be reading either.

I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories. The prose is lovely, Gina Chung is a master storyteller for sure. I don‘t normally like reading short stories, but in this case I found myself engrossed in each - be it a slice of life, or a magical tale. Would definitely read more by this author.

A quick and super fun read about an apocalyptic event and people being people in it. Scathing social commentary. As the situation was getting more and more absurd, I couldn‘t help thinking “yep, that‘s EXACTLY how it would go down”. Reflection on personal choices. Solid book, and I would watch a movie if there is ever one.
Oh, and for those of you who do an alphabet challenge, here is that coveted title with letter Z!