#the enchanted

[thepersonalwords]

And for the next long years of my life, I tried to remember only the reading, not the terrible things that happened to me as I came and went up and down the stairs. The library became my sanctuary. I loved the ways the precious stories took shape but always had room to be read again. I became fascinated with how writers did that. How did they make a story feel so complete and yet to open-ended? It was like painting a picture that changed each time you looked at it.

Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

[pikminenjoyer]

Battle royale is so bonkers in a good way

what should I read afterwards?

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Jingo - Terry Pratchett (Discworld City Watch #4)

The Enchanted - Rene Denfeld

Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 - Cho Nam-joo

If I Had Your Face - Frances Cha

Spin - Robert Charles Wilson

Voting ended onJul 30, 2024

[mleighsquickspot]

The Enchanted

Follow me down beneath my upper dwelling. Here is not where I do my work. Down these stairs, through the hallways that twist and turn. Every few feet is lined by torch light, prying eyes are not permitted here. Down more stairs you have come into my lair.

Walls and ceilings lined with materials hues with emerald blue. Along the back side of the furthest wall is where my powers lie. Each page an incantation, every word a spell in itself. Turn the page and each time one can grow more and more powerful.

Not quite complete, this is why I need you. You must collect for me the things I need. Wood from the finest trees will be needed to make strong shelves. Leaf from the sugar cane is needed for writing words so fine and mystical. Each book will house it's own soul and from each soul that is contained more of the universes secrets will I obtain.

Go forth on my behalf. You must collect the leather from the finest calf. Let not their cries sway your heart from what must be done, for the end result is all you should keep your focus on. Bring me the pieces and together like a puzzle a full picture will begin to emerge. If you want great power first you must put in the work.

Soon the room fully A glow as the spells fall upon items needed in battle and beyond. You will be able to face you foes and return triumphant, no need for special necklaces or magic wands. All you will need will be in any word that you choose. The power granted from the books in this very special secret room...

image - 1,671 Candle Sparks Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos f

Let me know what you think and pass the thought along my Lovelies 💜.

[francestroublr]

The Enchanted

J.C BRENNAN As a fan of fairytales, I was excited to pick up J.C Brennan’s The Enchanted, which tells the story of Rebecca Gentry who, not only discovers her late Grandmother’s bedtime stories are real, but also that she is of royal ancestry and comes from a long line of witches.  At first, I found the book difficult to read as some of the descriptions, particularly regarding the grandmother,…

View On WordPress

[fromthelibrary]

They can keep men in here, under lock and key, deep in the dungeon until the final moments of their lives, so that men like York and me will never taste the rain. But they cannot keep us from passing our condensation on to the sky. They cannot keep us from raining down in China.

Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

It’s been two weeks since I read this book and I still don’t quite know how to feel about it. It was surreal and sad and horrifying - even more so once I learned about the author’s advocacy and investigative work in this field - but so beautifully written. I read the whole book in a single sitting. If it’s one that you’ve got on your TBR pile, please be aware that it contains descriptions of, and allusions to violence, sexual assault, mental illness, and child abuse. Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the book, this is not a light read.

[nondualreality]

Inside, the lies you tell become the person you become. On the outside, sun and reality shrink people back to their actual size. In here, people grow into their shadows.

Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

[coeur-d-artichaut]

25 days of booklr

How am I already 5 days late ! I won’t really catch up because that would be too long a post, but here is...

day 5. my favourite standalone

First of all, I read very few standalones this year, so really it wasn’t hard to decide!

Synopsis: 

The enchanted place is an ancient stone prison, viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot. Though bars confine him every minute of every day, he marries magical visions of golden horses running beneath the prison, heat flowing like molten metal from their backs, with the devastating violence of prison life.

Two outsiders venture here: a fallen priest, and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners' pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal, innocence and guilt, honour and corruption-ultimately revealing shocking secrets of her own.

My thoughts: 

It was such a well-written, poignant and original novel. I will say there’s a couple of trigger warnings such as rape, and others I can’t remember right now, so be warned before picking it up. That being said, this book was just a weirdly perfect blend or humans at their worst and at their best. The best thing about this book is definitely the writting. Rene Denfeld has a way with words and it is just so atmospheric and I enjoyed her use of magical realism.