Currently Reading: 19 - 24 November 2023

Currently Reading

- The Christmas Orphan's Club by Becca Freeman (22%)

- IT by Stephen King (26%)

- Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren (13%)

- The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (05%)

- The Will of the Many by James Islington (38%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

80/72

(111%)

* * *

I haven't made any progress over the last week. I've been horribly distracted by my writing. I did get a few new pages through on The Christmas Orphan's Club, but that's been about it. I've also removed Malleus Maleficarum for the time being. It's not that I don't want to read it, it's just that book is probably a "dedicate the whole month to just that" kind of thing. I don't have the necessary mental focus for it. 

My writing has been moving along swiftly. In the fanfiction, "Among the Living" [A Stranger Things Fanfiction], I'm already up to 13,532 words. That's impressive considering I'm only tracking the actual words written in the draft and not my notes and outline and shit. (I was going to refrain from cursing, when I remembered I'm an adult and not monetized so I can say what I want with no repurcussions.) 

The original works are kind of stagnate again. I'm looking at the ones that I have "active" and am deciding which one I want to work my way through. There's Project Book, which is the furthest along as far as word-count goes at 17,077 words...just barely beating out Project Living (13,532). But as far aso technically originals goes...Project Dragon/Star is the longest at 44,328 (again, not including outlines and notes). So much needs to be done with that one to bring it up to speed. I'm tempted to see if I can't at least finish the thing and get it over with so it's no longer hovering above my head. We will see. 

Nothing else really happened? I have been just working on those things. I'll see you all with an update next weekend~

Review: Witches of the Old Kingdom (Davies Witches #1) by Ash Oldfield

I have received this book from the author in return for an honest review. Thank you, Mr. Oldfield. I can only hope I do your book justice. 

* * *

Once upon a time the almighty Dhia walked the realm of Earth, setting themselves up as gods over the humble mortals. Centuries have passed since their banishment and the Dhia have fallen out of human memory. The only connection between the Otherworld and Earth that remains is the crossing to Annwn, where the souls of the dead go to rest.

Odd, then, that Arawn, King of Annwn and High Lord of the Dead, has a mortal wife and stepson. The Dhia have turned a blind eye to this oddity for now, but Motoki is nearing the age of adulthood and his very presence in Annwn is dangerous. It would be wise for the Dhia to remember that High Lord Arawn is not to be underestimated when it comes to protecting his own.

Across the narrow divide on Earth the spirits of the dead are growing restless. Spirit Seeker, Louisa, is growing concerned, but none of the witches in her life seem to be too bothered by it. Louisa's suspicions turn into alarm when she runs into a young man from another world who needs her help to return to the Otherworld. But nothing is as it seems and hidden family secrets could, at best, get them killed and, at worst, could spark a war.

Witches of the Dead Kingdom is the first book of an exciting new Contemporary Adult Fantasy series by Australian author Ash Oldfield that blends Welsh mythology with modern day magic.

* * *

I did like that we started out immediately with Gwydion stuck in a pickle. Of his own doing. He knew full well what he was doing when he went into the woods. I adored the novel. The story itself was amazing. I loved every minute of it. We start with Gwydion fab Don, whom we know is a powerful sorcerer of some sort, trapped in some sort of chains made of water or something. 

After that, we are sent to Annwn. Here we are introduced to another character who will play an intriguing role in the story. A human who is stuck in Annwn because his mother was pregnant with him when she died. It was an interesting take on a portal fantasy.

He grows up there, not really ever leaving the family estate until he does by accident when someone on the mortal side opens a portal in their sleep. We then follow him as he learns the ways of the human world he would have come from and how to get back home again. 

There were some parts I did not understand the inclusion of, such as grandma and the leader of another part of the Otherworld. As far as I could tell, aside from throwing a few of the characters into unrelated chaos, they served no other purpose. You could have replaced grandma with anything and Erin still probably would have just left. She didn't seem like the kind of person you could tie down for any amount of money. 

I am curious to see where the flirtation between Louisa and Gil is going. That was just strange to have been included. I'm looking forward to the second book there to see if it is continued or left behind. In that same light, I kind of also now want to know why Gwydion was trapped in the first place and what he plans to do now that he's free. Is he going to try to take over Annwn or something? Is he going to seek revenge? The world may never know. 

I did rather enjoy how protective the King was of the child that didn't belong to him in any way. How Arawn would make sure Motoki was safe no matter what, even though he had no kind of bond or tie to him other than he had married Motoki's mother. That was nice to see. 

Overall I gave this book a 4/5. It was really interesting, but lacked something to give it that final star. Maybe if we had gotten a little more on the relationship between the cousins or a better explanation of Louisa's powers (or lack of) then I would have been more inclined. 

* * *

This title is available through Amazon and other retailers.

Currently Reading: 12 - 18 November 2023

Currently Reading

- Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger (10%)

- The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (05%)

- What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez (01%)

- IT by Stephen King (23%)

- Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren (13%)

- The Will of the Many by James Islington (38%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

80/72

(111%)

* * *

I haven't made much real progress in my reading since last week. I've been busy with work. I get home, veg out, then go to bed. It's been hard adjusting. The most I read all week was the hour or so on my way in to work. And that was 60-something pages....hopefully I can pick up more as we go. 

NaNoWriMo is going well. I've heard a few really unsavory things about the website, so I don't actually use it any more. I don't know if anything I've heard is true, but it doesn't actually hurt to use another website. One that I prefer a lot more than theirs anyway. I didn't like how just cluttered their site is now. Badges to earn that make it feel more like a task and less like something I want to do. I would just not update for days at a time because I hated the pressure. I use myWriteClub now. It's super simple. Just your project, and the word count. You can put as many projects as you'd like and you can comment on others' work. And that's all. There is no pressure to write so many words per day or update your work every day. I much prefer it. I'm glad it's returned. 

I've got four projects going there all due at different times of year. I am hoping that maybe I can get things done better. I also love that you don't get locked into time frames. I can change an existing project if I want and not have to upload a new file if I want to just change a due date or word count. 

Um. Hmm...yeah that's about it? I guess. I don't know. There was nothing else really going on. I'll see you all next Saturday~

Currently Reading: 05 - 11 November 2023

Currently Reading

- Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger (10%)

- The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (05%)

- What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez (01%)

- IT by Stephen King (06%)

- The Will of the Many by James Islington (38%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

80/72

(111%)

* * *

So far so good. I've managed to read 2 books in 3 days. I think that's a pretty good deal as far as reading goes, don't you? I am still going to keep the track record of giving books until the 15% marker, maybe up to 20% to decide if I want to continue them or not. 

Writing is going well as well...sort of? I'm just shy of the actual goal for the day today (5 November), but I think I'll be able to catch up fairly quickly. I'm aiming for ~2,000 words per day. I missed yesterday so today I kind of want to get to 4,000 if I can. 

I'm doing none of the things. It all went off the rails. I've removed one book from my currently reading because I just wasn't into it. Then I added another 1,000+ page tome because apparently I want to torture myself? I don't know. Instead of The House in the Cerulean Sea (which I think the problem may have just been the format), I'm working on IT by Stephen King. It's only got 1,153 pages. I got this. 

Uh, well, that's all. I am off to read the many overlarge books I've purchased!

November 2023 To Be Read

I've started this back up again and I plan to [try to] keep it that way!! Let's goooooo!!

Print

1. Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger - I am determined to read this. I want to finish it and get it done. I have been interested in reading it for years, bought a copy, lost my copy, and then bought a replacement. I will finish this book!!

2. The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - I started this book, knowing full well I probably won't finish it before the end of the year unless I dedicated all of my time to it. It stands at 1,443 pages long. Yet the premise is interesting and I am finding myself reading it quite quickly. Another political fantasy book, we follow the lives of the ruling class and their intricate almost dances of power. It is pretty good so far. 

3. The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox - I just grabbed something at random to fill out the last section on the print list. It's relatively small and looks like it will be a quick contemporary read. I have no idea what it's about and that is okay. 

Digital

4. The Witches of the Dead Kingdom by Ash Oldfield - Got this one as an eARC from the author in return for a review. The book is available for purchase on 24 November 2023. I will hopefully read it and get my review up quickly. I am looking forward to it. It sounded really good. 

5. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - (before anyone whines, I'm borrowing the ebook from my library....) I have had this one on my list of books to read for quite some time. I found a copy available through CloudLibrary on my phone/tablet and figured I'd give it a go. It's fairly interesting so far and I'm looking forward to see if it's worth all the hype it once got. 

Audio

6. The Will of the Many by James Islington - I started this book in October, made it 33% of the way through, and am just carrying it over to November. It's a 28-hour audiobook, 14 at 2x speed. I'm enjoying it so far. It's inspired by the Roman Empire, and I like the way the power structure is going. I am totally hooked by the various subplots happening and who is spying on who and why and who possibly killed who and what affect will that have on other people...it's well done. 

Bonus

7. Flight of Icarus by Caitlin Schneiderhan - Came in after I made up the TBR, and if I can get to it now, I would absolutely love to. I have been counting down the days until it arrived. One of the two pre-orders that were due in November (the other is Iron Flame). I am so excited for Eddie's story. Long live the FREAK!!

8. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez - My Book of the Month selection for November. I want to definitely start putting these in the main Print TBR section in 2024, but for now we will assign it to Bonus reads. This book is set in the 1800s and follows a Bolivian-Argentinian woman as she goes looking for her lost archeologist parents in Egypt. That's what I know. It looks good and is giving strong Mummy vibes. I can't wait!!!

October 2023 Book Haul

I am doing much better at keeping the number of books read to the number of books purchased down. In October I've acquired 2 books through various means. (I've picked up samples of others)

1. Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - I rather enjoyed her previous work, The Once and Future Witches, and thought this one would be equally enjoyable. This book takes place in Starling House and follows Opal as she tries to find a way to make life better for herself and her brother Jasper. 

2. Stealing by Margaret Verble - It is about a young Cherokee girl who is basically abducted from her people and forced to attend a Christian boarding school. It is very poignant with today's atmosphere and I am looking forward to reading it. 

3. The Bone Curse by Carrie Rubin - The third book in this series was available for free via Kindle Unlimited, but since it seems like one of those kinds of series where you have to start at the beginning or you won't understand what's going on, I decided to spend the $2.99 for the ebook. I'm looking forward to it. 

4. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - I have been seeing this everywhere and the only copies on the bookish site I use are like $150? They are ridiculously expensive. When this popped up on BookBub for $2.99, I absolutely couldn't pass it up. I have no idea what it's about, and I kind of want to keep it that way. 

5. Witches of the Dead Kingdom by Ash Oldfield - I was sitting in the break room at work when I got a ping for an email. 'Click here to download your ARC!' from Bookfunnel (I have received books from them before, so I was not concerned), and I have no recollection of asking for it. It looks really good and I'm looking forward to reading it and figuring out what is happening. Something to do with Welsh/Arthurian folklore is all I got. 

6. Sword of the Dead by Morgan Rice - I somehow managed to miss that this was a Persephone retelling. I saw the title and the briefest piece of the synopsis and I had to have it. I have no idea what it's about, and I'm looking forward to reading it. 

Currently Reading: 29 October to 04 November 2023

Currently Reading

- Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger (10%)

- The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (05%)

- Witches of the Dead Kingdom by Ash Oldfield (51%)

- The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (02%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal:

80/72

(111%)

* * *

I gave up on The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. It wasn't holding my attention and I'm not going to leave books sit indefinitely on my reading list partially finished if I can avoid it. I have decided to be okay with DNFs!! The whole premise of the story was the discovery of some old papers in a house that was being renovated. I went in thinking it was going to be something brilliant. It was just the housekeeping ledger of a Rabbi from the 1700s. It only held value to a museum and after about 10%, I just lost interest completely. I DNF'd at 14%, just shy of my goal. Starting in November, I'm giving myself 15% of a book, which I will calculate out depending on the edition, to decide yay or nay to a book. I would go like 50 or 100 pages, which could be unfair depending on the book, like 50 pages of Witches of the Dead Kingdom is nearly 20% of the book, while 50 pages of The Inheritance Trilogy is only like 3.5%. Kind of unfair, don't you think? In one the action will have started, in the other we've barely met the characters. 

Nothing else particularly exciting has happened. I started NaNoWriMo and am at 15% of the way done? Something like that. I don't know. I'm off to go write for the rest of the weekend!!!