#guild codex: spellbound

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The Guild Codex Comic Collection by Annette Marie & Ashley Zanardi - blurrypetals review

originally posted nov. 3, 2024 - ★★★★☆

I finally decided it was time for me to return to the Guild Codex series after 4 years away from it, and I figured there would be no better quick recap than this!

I think the art is pretty good. Although it is a bit stiff in some areas, I really think Zanardi captured my mental images of each character perfectly, even if her renderings weren't always so natural looking.

It was a little funny how it was just a bunch of 1- or 2-page comics, would have liked some that were a bit longer than that, but that doesn't bring the collection down that much. I'll definitely be checking out Zanardi's Webtoon series after this, see if her renderings have gotten a little more fluid.

That being said, this was a great time and definitely reminded me very well what I read of the series 4 years ago to set me up for success in finishing the final Spellbound book and finally moving on to Warped and Unveiled. I can't wait!

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Lost Talismans and a Tequila by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 30, 2020 - ★★★★★

And just like that I am all caught up on all of the Guild Codex books! I will admit, I had hoped the final two books would be out by the time I got here, but I got pretty close to it. I think this one was a little better than Druid Vices but it still dragged a little bit. However, it was refreshing to have a little bit of Ezra's POV scattered in there, and it really helped the pacing of this book. I also like that it could have easily spoiled what he was up to during Hunting Fiends but didn't. I'm very interested to see how everything shakes out!

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Druid Vices and a Vodka by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 28, 2020 - ★★★★★

Well, this was definitely my least favorite of the series so far. Honestly, the best parts were the ones that intersected with Hunting Fiends because Robin and Zylas were present. I think this suffered because it split up the gang in the first half of the book with Tori and Kai going on the rescue mission, and Zak's betrayal was way too predictable, unfortunately. That all said, the good stuff is still very good and I'm very excited to see what happens next.

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The Alchemist and an Amaretto by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 23, 2020 - ★★★★★

I am not kidding when I say that this is my favorite in the series so far! It really ramped up what makes this series so special: it has excellent characters and it is brilliant at building stories that are self-contained while also building upon the overarching story in a satisfying manner. It's a really fantastic series and I'm enjoying myself immensely, so much that I already started Slaying Monsters!

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Demon Magic and a Martini by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 17, 2020 - ★★★★★

And just as last book was my least favorite book in the series so far, this book turned out to be my favorite of the bunch so far! I think something really clicked into place as far as characters' identities went, and Annette finally got really, truly comfortable writing the characters. I believe that's one advantage to these big long series, where the authors get the space to really become comfortable with each of their characters in a way a smaller story wouldn't have had the space for. I'm really excited to see what happens next here, especially with Ezra, and I'm just as excited to begin Demonized next!

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Two Witches and a Whiskey by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 16, 2020 - ★★★★★

This was probably my least favorite in the series so far, but it definitely had some fun moments still. I think Zack is a really fun character, so it was really cool to get to see him more. I'm sure we'll have more time to spend with him later, but I write this review after I've also already finished Demon Magic and I sort of missed him there. Even though it wasn't my favorite of the series so far, it still had a lot of great charm to it and I enjoyed it immensely!

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Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 9, 2020 - ★★★★★

What a fun follow-up! It's sort of impossible for me to avoid comparing this to the Steel and Stone books, which is Annette Marie's only other series longer than three books, so it's difficult to not compare this second book to the second book in that series, which was, in short, a bit of a drag. It also took our main character, Piper, away from the characters and environment we had come to know in the first book, which is a parallel that is impossible to avoid drawing when comparing these two books, as the same sort of thing happens to Tori as it does to Piper. However, rather than feeling like a bit of a drag like Bind the Soul did, this felt like a breath of fresh air into the series when it hadn't even gotten to a point where a breath of fresh air felt necessary at all, and that is something I have always really liked about Annette Marie's writing: every book is set at a blistering pace, and the stories only ever benefit from it. I'm really excited to see where the series goes from here so it's time for a Whiskey!

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Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie - blurrypetals review

originally posted sep. 3, 2020 - ★★★★★

I held off reading this as long as I possibly could. I try to save Annette Marie's books for when I feel myself going into a reading slump, but I was also trying very hard to wait until Annette was finished writing both Spellbound and Demonized before I began so I wouldn't have to wait for any one book, but then she announced Warped and figured fuck it, it's time. And, surprise surprise, I loved it! I think this was an extremely strong, fun start. Annette Marie is the captain of fun, which is why I always save her stuff for reading slumps. It's also getting late in the year and I have 10 credits left on my Audible account. I really enjoyed all of our characters here. Tori was an absolute delight, and it was wonderful to see Annette really nail her spitfire attitude. I also really liked all three of our mages, though I'm partial to Ezra, I think, at least at this point. I liked Aaron a lot, but I did think it would have been fun if (view spoiler) but he was a good character all the same. The only one I don't have a fully formed opinion on yet is Kai, but I look forward to learning more about him and everyone else. This was an incredibly strong and wonderful start and I'm excited to see what's next! Onward to Dark Arts and a Daiquiri!