[ramblingsofareader]

If you are looking for well thought out, well written reviews for books then you are in the wrong place. If you are looking for incoherant ramblings and thoughts about books then you are in the right place. Also there will potentially be spoilers. Welcome!💖

20, she/her

[ramblingsofareader]

Within These Wicked Walls

~ Lauren Blackwood

📖 25 of 2023

Rating: 3.5/5

Thoughts:

I typically don't read spooky books or anything like that but this was really enjoyable!

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book, the haunted house was very fun and I wished we got to spend more time experiencing it.

I like Andi as a character, I like the way she views the world and interacts with it. The banter with her and Magnus was fun as well. I do think the romance was a bit insta love and I wished we got to spend longer in the setting and getting to explore their relationship.

I loved the complex relationship between Jember and Andi and I love how that was explored and handled.

I really enjoyed Saba as a character but I think the romance (or past romance) between her and Jember was a bit thrown in there and I didn't really care about it because I didn't have enough time to care about it.

Overall it was a fun, spooky book to read in October.

[ramblingsofareader]

Daughter of the Siren Queen

~ Tricia Levenseller

📖 24 of 2023

Rating: 3.5/5

Thoughts:

I liked this book more then I did Daughter of the Pirate King. It was a fun and quick read.

I don't have too much to say about it. I think the characters got more depth and I was more invested in what was happening. I liked the cast of characters we got aboard Alosa's ship. I think they definitely made the book more enjoyable. I enjoyed all the action. I think everything with Alosa's mum was a little rushed and I do wish we had got a little bit more of Alosa with the sirens. The romance between Alosa and Riden was alright. It was a fun pirate book which is all I wanted it to be.

Sorinda as a character does really intrigue me so I am looking forward to reading Vengeance of the Pirate Queen. I only have one Tricia Levenseller book that I haven't read (The Shadows Between Us) which I plan to get to sometime this Autumn. I do think you can definitely see Tricia Levenseller's growth as an author, which does make me excited for Vengeance of the Pirate Queen as I think her writing and her characters have come a long way since Daughter of the Pirate King. So it'll be interesting to see her writing back in this world and also I'm always up for more pirate books.

[ramblingsofareader]

The Last Wish

~ Andrzej Sapkowski

📖 23 of 2023

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. I do believe it is my first time reading a collection of short stories that follow the same character.

I've seen like the first 6 episodes of the tv show back when it the first season released, never finished it. But it piqued my interest in the books and as season 4 released recently (ish) I just had the urge to read the books.

I really like that the longer stories were broken up with a shorter story and the shorter stories followed a storyline. Each of the stories were interesting and I enjoyed them all.

I thought the world-building was really rich. Lovely descriptions and well written action sequences. I look forward to expanding on it in the coming books.

I like the characterization of Geralt and how even with short snapshots you still learn a lot about him and his character. He has a lot of depth to him and his own honor and morality that was really interesting to read.

I think Edge of the World might be my favourite out of this collection. I enjoyed the setting the most and getting to see Dandelion and Geralt's dynamic was really fun.

Since finishing this book, I have already bought The Sword of Destiny which I'm hoping to read before the year ends. Ideally I'd like to have finished Blood of Elves by the end of the year but we shall see. Overall I enjoyed this book and this world and look forward to continuing with it.

[lyra-brie]

What right did Wendell have to be this cute in this scene. This is unfair.

She just barely kisses him and his smile- ugh. And then he immediately jumps into making sure she knows she can take her time, that she doesn't have to answer now. Like he's literally been pining for the whole book, he's wanted this probably since they met, and she's being an adorably indecisive idiot and he's just. So patient and adorable. I love him sm.

[toadtaro]

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

[crochetandcrying]

Things i'd like to see happen with Wendell Bambleby and Emily Wilde:

(warning, some spoilers ahead)

Emily gets slapped by someone she's accidentally on purpose antagonised. Bambleby finds out and "just wants to talk to whoever did this". We all know the all-powerful fae king does not just want to talk.

Wendell trying to tactfully negotiate the endless stream of women who come and see him upon his return. Emily watches from her office across the hall.

Emily gets a magical flashback to Wendell's time as a spoilt prince in his land being waited on hand and foot. It may or may not change how she sees him.

Emily going out for supper with a very handsome man who is very interested in her work. Absolutely not her, just her papers. Wendell gets jealous and gets drunk. he's very sappy when she comes back.

Emily views Bambleby through a hagstone to see him as the fae see him. He has an iridescent crown of light and he is even prettier than she ever thought he could be.

Emily and Wendell go out on a picnic. Just a nice, wholesome picnic with good food.

A room full of academics awkwardly witnessing Emily and Wendell having a spat. I wouldn't be suprised if objects are thrown.

Emily gets jealous of one of Bambleby's many admirers. But not wanting to admit it because she's too academic and has "logic'd" her way around it. This ends in tears, naturally.

Emily and Wendell cuddle in front of a fire and it's all nice and cosy.

Emily has a girlboss moment and saves Wendell- preferably like that scene from Ever After where she can take whatever she can carry and she chooses her prince.

[ramblingsofareader]

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster)

~ Marie Cardno

📖 22 of 2023

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts:

This was such a fun and quick read which was exactly what I needed!

I think I've been stuck in a bit of a reading slump and so reading something that took me no time at all I'm hoping will have helped.

I really love the characters of Sian and Trillin. I love how in such a short amount of time I was routing for them and I wanted them to work. I also like how we had both of their perspectives throughout the story.

I think it's quite impressive how the author manage to weave together this intriging story that I cared about in such a short amount of pages. Also I feel like it was a good length for the story it was. It didn't need to be any longer or shorter. It gave me everything I needed and didn't leave me feeling like I was missing loads.

All in all, this was such a fun time! I really recommend if you need something quick, queer, lighthearted and fun.

[ramblingsofareader]

Wild Embers

~ Nikita Gill

📖 21 of 2023

Thoughts:

I find it too difficult to rate poetry books so that is why there is no rating on this one.

This was a reread of this book as I really wanted to annotate it which I did. I love Nikita Gill's poetry. I think it is truly wonderful. This was the first of her poetry I'd ever read and I fell in love with it. So it was a joy to go back, reread and annotate it.

[ramblingsofareader]

All Out: The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages

(edited by Saundra Mitchell)

📖 20 of 2023

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts:

This was a fun collection of short stories to read during pride month. I also have the other two books in this collection that I'd like to get to at somepoint. My favourite stories in this collection were:

Roja

Burnt Umber

Molly's Lips

The Coven

Walking After Midnight

The Witches

The Inferno & The Butterfly

These were the stories that really stood out to me and that I enjoyed the most. But overall I think the whole collection is really good.

[ramblingsofareader]

Flowerheart

~ Catherine Bakewell

📖 19 of 2023

Rating: 3.5/5

Thoughts:

This book is very whimsical and fun. It's magical and I loved all the mention of flowers and their meanings.

The plot isn't really complicated, there is little to no world building. I think it definitely reads on the slightly younger side of YA.

I did like how Clara's magic spoke to her. I thought that was interesting. I do wish we got more of an understanding on how magic works. It was like, as readers, we were just supposed to know.

I loved Papa. I thought he was a nice, fun character and his faith in Clara was heartwarming.

The romance was alright. I don't particularly have any strong feelings on the two of them together. I do love childhood friends to lovers but I think it would've been better if it was a drawn out a little bit.

I think that might be the case for the whole book to be honest. Everything happen quite quickly, that it felt sort of unbelievable. So I do wish, whether through time skips or a few more pages, that it had taken longer. Maybe seeing more snippets of her training with Xaivier, having them spend more time together would've been better.

All that said it was a light, easy read. That was magical and bright. I had a good time reading it.

[x-lulu]

lu’s reading list in 2021 - daughter of the pirate king and siren queen by tricia levenseller ↳ I sleep soundly. listening to her music. the sea watches over me. she protects her own

[ramblingsofareader]

Daughter of the Pirate King

~ Tricia Levenseller

📖 18 of 2023

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts:

I will be honest, I don't fully understand the hype of this book.

There is basically no world building. I didn't connect to the characters. The romance wasn't interesting to me.

I think maybe I went into this was too high expectations after reading and loving Tricia Levensellers other books and also this being the book of hers people talk about most. So I think it just maybe didn't live up to the expectations I put on it. Especially the characters. I usually love the way Tricia Levenseller writes characters and I connect to them really easily but that just wasn't happening in this.

I do think Alosa's siren powers (I don't know quite what to call them) are interesting and I'm hoping in the next book we get to see more of that.

It was alright, I'm glad I read it as I'm hoping to make my way through all of Tricia Levensellers books. But I definitely don't think it's her best.

[lexxwithbooks]

📖: 𝑻𝒐 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 🧜🏼‍♀️⚔️

✍🏽: 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨

[witching-by-the-willow]

Having someone with the same reading taste as you is honestly one of the best things that can happen to a human.

[positivewitch]

To Kill a Kingdom

Any human who takes a siren's heart will be immune to the power of their song.

Only Elian didn't need to take my heart;

I gave it to him.

[positivewitch]

And the ocean, calling out to us both. A song of freedom and longing