The tiniest bit obsessed

I'm Lis. I have absolutely no consistency 99% of the time, so this is just a jumble of whatever I feel like or enjoy. I tried the active tumblr thing a while back and while I love browsing, keeping the blog up-to-date is so hard. So even if the blog seems dead, I do interact!

[shadowycorner]

I'm finally on summer break (grad programs are not for the weak) and am catching up on shows and books. I read Archangel's Eternity and I am sobbing on how I got what I've always wanted from a fantasy series.

The Guild Hunter series is a super enjoyable series, 18 books long. Ofc some books are stronger than others but it did the one thing that no author ever does. Like we all know the typical-catatrosphe, world-ending-disaster, ends-with-a-full-blowout-war plot. That's nice, it's good, it works, it's a classic. BUT HOW MANY SERIES TELL US WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT??

If our main characters are immortal, thousand-year old beings, then why does the story always end in the typical 1-2 year time span that the main plot covers. Because WE KNOW, this all had to have repercussions!!! HOW DOES THIS HISTORY MAKING DISASTER IMPACT THE LIVES OF THESE ANCIENT BEINGS IN THE EONS TO COME??

Like, you can say oh the story's over, this is just for the money, but ... a good author gets her bag AND keeps the story moving. Because we are here for the CHARACTERS and THEIR LIVES. Because the author did her job damn well and now WE CARE. I want the WAR and the RECOVERY. I want the story of one year after the war, 10 year, 100 years, and now a 1000 years after.

So yeah, the last book was essentially a 400 epilogue. And I loved it. I see a few side books in the future but this isn't a Trinity scenario. I feel satisfied and fulfilled as a long time reader.

Also I can't help but feel how some series would have benefited from a guildhunteresque plot structure *cough* ACOTAR *cough*

[housedemarr]

I am dying about TKWNKM I truly feel Ilona Andrews as an author (duo) have found their final evolution of sorts and like as a reader it feels really fulfilling to actually be able to track their history and how they managed to get here. I wonder how this ranks for you as a fellow longtime IA reader?

I don't think this is their final evolution, I know they have a scifi opera in them (and a even bigger epic fantasy).

it's really emotional that we are reading a completely new universe from them, I remember reading the first snippet of this book and feeling lost, but years later, today, I'm sitting here with the full book in my hands and I'm still lost, but this time because I need book 2 in my hands.

I cannot rank the book right now, I know it's not topping IC, that motherfucker Hugh has me on a chockhold, but I may have to put it over HL, I don't want that hahaha, I feel like I'm betraying my family.

you know, they wrote This Kingdom (and others) instead of Hugh2, because they didn't want to write a dark book in pandemic time, and after finishing This Kingdom...

are they going to kill us with Hugh2? what the hell, how darker is that book going to be????

[shadowycorner]

A sci-fi opera or another epic fantasy would be mindblowing. But I can't even dream of that with all of these ongoing series!

I also remember when the first snippets dropped on the blog. And Same, I had no idea what was going and couldn't truly get into it. I mean, I was excited, but in a general I know this book will be good, but I don't really know what it's about way.

Personally, I think for me, if the second book comes out and it's just as good, it's gonna go in 2nd right under KD. Although tbf, a lot of it has to do with writing quality. I think IA's weaknesses as writers have been seriously polished and it lets me connect even more with the world. However, if we ever get Arabella one day, I don't who I'll become. I understand why, but, damn, I need more of that Russian storyline.

Hugh 2!!!! The only reason I've been able to survive so long is because we know he gets his HEA in Kentucky. My theory is that all of the dark is connected to Elara's mysterious past, but exactly!! How much more dark can that get???

[shadowycorner]

Out of all the isekai tropes Ilona Andrews could have included, I am beyond thrilled they included the age old classic .... The Duke of the North

[eeshlyye]

i love Maggie. heroine of all time. instacart driver who gets transported into her favorite fantasy novel and goes, i’m gonna save all of you. appreciates toilet paper. loves pastries. refuses to kiss her favorite character bc she knows too much about him and doesn’t want to take advantage. so fucking smart. doesn’t let anybody run roughshod over her. bludgeons bad guys’ (PLURAL) heads in. doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice herself for what she believes in. still takes a second to notice the hotness of dudes while in an unbelievably traumatic amount of stress. so compassionate. always tries to do the right thing. will yell at the scariest motherfucker in the entire world for messing up her plans. just cares so much. i love her i love her i love her

[persephinae]

[housedemarr]

Characters Art for This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

art by Helena Elias and Luisa Preissler

[shadowycorner]

Just finished TKWNKM and I have soooo many thoughts.

First of which is, goddammit the cliffhanger!!!!

[shadowycorner]

I have read Ilona Andrews' books for almost twelve years now .... and I mean this in the absolute best way possible ... but This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the book I have always wanted from them.

Someone give Tor and the new editor a gold medal.

[shadowycorner]

I'm finally reading Maggie and I know only one spoilerish thing. Only about the general role of a character.

Having said this ... Damnnnnn!!!!

Spoilers Below

I know there isn't a solid solid love interest yet, but from what I've seen Everard seems to be the front runner. And why do I know this??? Because I looked it up to see if Reynald was the love interest!

Like the tension is there!!! I cannot be blind!!! (Only on Chapter 12 btw)

So is Everard really Reynald in disguise? How? Why? Am I crazy??? Am I wrong??? Oh my goddd I am livinggggg

I'm not gonna spoil this for myself because if I'm right ... man, that's gonna be so juicy. And if I'm wrong, then Everard better be something special to outman this man. And I have faith in Ilona Andrews.

[shadowycorner]

I knew it! I fucking knew it!

I ship it so hard.

[shadowycorner]

I'm finally reading Maggie and I know only one spoilerish thing. Only about the general role of a character.

Having said this ... Damnnnnn!!!!

Spoilers Below

I know there isn't a solid solid love interest yet, but from what I've seen Everard seems to be the front runner. And why do I know this??? Because I looked it up to see if Reynald was the love interest!

Like the tension is there!!! I cannot be blind!!! (Only on Chapter 12 btw)

So is Everard really Reynald in disguise? How? Why? Am I crazy??? Am I wrong??? Oh my goddd I am livinggggg

I'm not gonna spoil this for myself because if I'm right ... man, that's gonna be so juicy. And if I'm wrong, then Everard better be something special to outman this man. And I have faith in Ilona Andrews.

[nope4ever]

You know, hiring Zhang Linghe for a textual feral role and then domesticating the character completely before that diva of a man can truly sink his teeth into his dramatic thespian penchant is like putting a working breed dog with separation anxiety alone in a tiny apartment.

They almost HAD to sideline his character bc after that level of character assassination you can still feel Zhang Linghe just off screen, pacing the floor, chewing the walls and HOWLING TO BE LET OUT.

LET HIM FREEE

[shadowycorner]

Me today after deciding to catch up on the last 5 episodes of Pursuit of Jade:

Me now after making peace with everything and realizing the only thing I really want anymore is beautiful visuals:

[shadowycorner]

I really like how they're playing Jin Yuanbao's crush on Changyu. He KNOWS it's never gonna happen and that her heart is with her husband. It isn't even worth speaking about. However, he isn't letting that get in the way of their bond/friendship (so far). What a man Jin Yuanbao.

(It was also really funny how he got a little huffy about Li a few episodes ago)

I do think the topic of feelings is going to pop up at some point, because it was made sooo obvious today. Just another way this drama is making complex and multi faceted characters even more complex.

[numerodix]

[numerodix]

[shadowycorner]

Fan Changyu's loose hair/ponytail thing while she's hauling those rocks .... it's stressing me out soooooo much

Like can you manage it getting stuck under one of those boulders?? The bald spot!!!!

[gizkasparadise]

I'm so in love with the directing of pursuit of jade: the way the slaughter of the town was framed like a walk through the neighborhood/you were forced to revisit all the places the narrative was before in happier or more lower-stakes times: the pawn shop where she sold her hairpin, the shadow puppets changning used to go see, the restaurant, the yamen, the noodle stand.

😭🤌