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Reading Wrap-Up | March 2024

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart Brewed in Magic by Jenna Wolfhart Persuasion by Jane Austen

[mini reviews/ratings below the cut]

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft ⭐Rating: 5/5

Starting March off strong, I adored this book. A Fragile Enchantment was my favorite read of February, so I wanted to give Allison Saft's other books a try. So glad I did. Everything from the premise to Margaret and Wes to their slow-burn romance to the climax of the hunt, I loved it all.

Listen, you present me with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic where the lady is scary and prickly with mommy issues, and the guy is a screw up who hides his pain and feelings of inadequacy behind walls of humor and charm, and you give me their slow burn romance where they slowly learn to trust each other and realize they DO deserve love and happiness even when it feels like everyone is against them... and you best watch your fingers because I'm going to bite and chew and devour it.

I'm also quickly realizing that Saft's prose just gets me. It's beautiful. I eat it up. I want more.

There are some weird things about the worldbuilding, though it wasn't a huge deal for me. Just a few moments were I had to pause and think about what time period we're supposed to be in. It's urban fantasy that surrounds alchemy, and some of that went over my head... I just filled in the blanks with my knowledge from Fullmetal Alchemist, not gonna lie. It wasn't enough of a bother to make me want to rate this any lower, though.

Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart ⭐Rating: 2/5

I've been on a cozy romantasy kick, so when I came across this series I was like "Oh yeah, this sounds exactly what I want."

This book follows Daella, a half-orc prisoner to a cruel ice king, and her quest to earn her freedom only to be caught in a major storm. She washes up on this island where Rivelin, a elven blacksmith, finds her. It's supposed to be grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers dynamic but.... ehhhhhh....

This book was a little disappointing. I enjoyed it and what it tries to do, but it had issues. The writing was super repetitive, and there's a lot of telling rather than showing. The amount of times the book just tells you that Rivelin is grumpy is too much, it even gets to the point where Daella just keeps saying that he's a grumpy blacksmith like... I don't need to be told that over and over again, you can just show me he's grumpy.

It also got so frustrating how easily they'd turn on each other and think the worst of the other, but then be quick to forgive. The romance just wasn't it for me.

The actual plot of the midsummer games was interesting, though... I just wish I liked Daella and Rivelin more.

Brewed in Magic by Jenna Wolfhart ⭐Rating: 3.5/5

After being disappointed by the first book, I had lower expectations for the second book... but this was way better.

First of all, the improvement in writing meant less repetitive telling rather than showing, though there were still moments where I was like, "god I feel like I've already read this exact sentence."

What made the biggest difference was Lilia and Ragnar as main characters and their romance. It was a little rushed but the rivals to lovers element felt better to read than the previous book's enemies to lovers. They're rival traveling brewers working the same festival, there's a mystery behind stolen barrels of ale, and they gotta work together to solve the mystery while someone attempts to sabotage the festival.

Something about these books that I need to remember is that they're low stakes... as in things get wrapped up and work out easily, and as long as I remember that's the books goal, I enjoy it way more. If I went into this looking for deep, nuanced fantasy, I would've hated the ending.

They're fun, though. Easy read, fun spicy romance. I'd read another book in this series.

Persuasion by Jane Austen ⭐Rating: 5/5

I didn't read as many books this month because I spent most of it rereading my favorite Jane Austen book. I've read this before, but I wanted to reread it for a fanfic I'm working on, plus I wanted to annotate my copy. So I spent the reading time taking it slow, taking notes, highlighting, etc.

I adore Persuasion so damn much, like I love all of the Austen novels I've read but Persuasion just gut punches me. I'm a lover of second-chance romance, of exes who go through some shit before ending up together again, and just uuugghhhhh Anne and Captain Wentworth, I can't.

Not much else to say except I'm glad I took my time while rereading. One of my favorite novels.

#cj reads stuff #reading wrap up #reading wrap up march 2024 #admittedly this month was a bit of a slump for me. i picked up a couple books and then put them back down like not as in dnf #but as in i'm just not feeling it or not ready to read it yet #plus all my reading time went into persuasion soooo yeah... hopefully april will be less slumpy

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cj-writes-stuff · 2 months

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Reading Wrap Up | February 2024

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

This month managed to have my best read of the year so far, and the worst.

[mini reviews/ratings below the cut]

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova ⭐Rating: 2.75/5

Even though I didn't love A Dance with the Fae Prince [it was my most disappointing read of January], I thought I'd give this one a chance. I enjoyed Kova's prose and the first ten chapters or so were great before it nose-dived. I'm happy to say that while this one wasn't exactly great either, it's better than Fae Prince.

The best part for me was the world-building, but I enjoyed Luella as a protagonist more than Katria. Eldas wasn't as much of a man baby as Davien, which is a plus... but he's still not my favorite type of male love interest. Though with books like this, I know what I'm settled in for, so every time Eldas and Luella had one of their "You will respect me!" "You're not worthy of respect!" fights, I just sat there shaking my head like, "ah, the girlies are fighting again..."

Because yeah, it's another enemies-to-lovers twisted in with the Hades and Persephone/beauty and the beast tales. I'm going to continue the series just to see if they better, though I'm quickly noticing a pattern with these books; girl is forced to go with man because he needs something from her, she's defiant and puts her foot down, he's flabbergasted about this, they fight but it's sexy, they fall in love, but then she needs to leave but just kidding she's not going to leave, man learns to not be a man baby, and they live happily ever after.

We'll see if this trend continues on A Duel with a Vampire, though I have a sneaky feeling it will.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft ⭐ Rating: 5/5

I absolutely adored this book. I picked this one up on a whim because the cover was pretty and, even though I haven't had much luck with books in the YA category, the story sounded good; magical regency romance with a seamstress who weaves magic into her clothing, an unwanted arranged marriage, annoyances-to-friends-to-forbidden lovers with characters that are actually well-developed and have a lot of chemistry together... I'm here for it. It was also a pleasant surprise to find a romance with a bi4bi couple, as well as a wlw side couple I rooted for the entire time.

I adored Niamh and honestly felt her struggles with the chronic pain that accompanied her magic, her motivations for accepting a job in a place that openly sneers at her. There's a lot of political unrest and discussions of labor laws and rights with her caught up in the middle of it while working.

The prose is lovely; it's paced a little slower to make room for character moments which is something I prefer. The side characters were great, the twists were well-executed, and the romance didn't feel YA, it felt like something in-between YA and Adult? Is that what we call New Adult? I dunno, it's wonderful though.

I have very few complaints about this book; the ending was a little rushed and wrapped up a little too neatly. However, in this case, I can overlook that based on how much I enjoyed it. I loved this book so much that I can't wait to reread it, and I already bought two more books by Allison Saft.

The best book I've read this year.

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska ⭐ Rating: DNF

I've done it: I've found my first DNF of the year, and it's even worse because I read this right after I read A Fragile Enchantment. I don't even know if I can describe how much I hate this book.

I wanted a complex wlw novel with interesting magic and a slow burn romance... and I don't even know what the hell this book is but it sure wasn't magical. The prose is just.... okay, so you know books like Something Wicked This Way Comes? Or even The Night Circus? Both books I hated and DNF'd in the past because the writing style was just a bunch of flowery words slammed together in a way where my eyes just glazed over and I'd be like "....am I stupid? Why isn't any of this registering?? I read an entire page and it was meaningless???"

That's this book. Not only are there a bunch of plot holes with the most lackluster, unlikable characters I've read about this year, but the writing itself was trying so hard to be purple and poetic and I wasn't here for it. I like purple prose in novels. I like poetry and poetic writing... but this was like a pretentious college student trying to write an essay on a topic they don't know much about so they stuff it with fluffy words and hope it it strikes a chord with the professor... well, Professor CJ gives it a failed grade.

I was miserable the entire time and made it about halfway through before I told myself it wasn't worth it. It's disappointing, too, because the idea behind the novel could've been good: every year, the queen has to sacrifice a boy to the tide but this year, a girl takes the place of the boy she loves, but then the girl and queen slowly fall in love while waiting for the night of the sacrifice. That could've been cool and tragically doomed! But it wasn't!

This book was thrown into my donate box- maybe someone else will have better luck.

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming ⭐ Rating: 2/5

After the bullshit that was The Dark Tide, I just needed something fun to get that bitter taste out of my mouth. I read the first book in the Mead Mishaps last month and enjoyed it... and don't let the 2/5 fool you, I did enjoy this book. It was exactly what I needed to forget The Dark Tide. But, it's not a book I can take super seriously. It was mostly smut with a lot of trigger warnings... except on the trigger warning page, it failed to warn me about the tenacles and I haven't forgiven the book for that! I'm just reading along, minding my own business, and Brie and Felix are in a "they have to fuck otherwise Felix will have a heart attack and die" situation and I'm like, "alright, sure, I've read that fanfic before, let's see where this goes.................................oh no."

At the very least, I learned what I'm not into, so... thanks for that.

Anyway, it's insta-love due to the love potion, which I hate insta-love, always. Not that I didn't like Brie and Felix together, they did grow on me as a couple, but having read both books I can say I prefer Cinnamon and Fallon's dynamic more.

It gave me more appreciation for the first book, which I also gave a 2/5, but I'd bump that rating up to a 2.75/5. I think the first book was better than this one due to having more plot and a slower build up to the romance. Not that this book didn't have a plot, but it felt more like a side thing to make room for the sex.

I'm excited about the third book since it follows Cinnamon's sister that disappeared years prior. I'm crossing my fingers for more plot and less insta-love.

Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price ⭐Rating: 4/5

Listen, I'm a big Jane Austen nerd. I haven't read a lot of classics outside of assigned books in school, but I read Jane Austen for fun. One of my favorite types of books are Jane Austen retellings. I've read quite a few, some great and some terrible; I dunno why there are so many vampire Pride and Prejudice stories but most of the ones I've picked up were bad... also, we need more books based on Persuasion, my favorite.

This series by Tirzah Price takes Austen's stories and adds a murder mystery twist and I love it. I read Pride and Premeditation last year, loved it, and I finally picked up the second book in the series. This is a twist on Sense and Sensibility where we ask the question, "Hey, what if Mr. Dashwood was murdered? What if Elinor and Marianne tried to solve their father's murder?" and I'm here for it.

I think the mystery itself was well executed. I was able to figure out one of the culprits, and was torn on who their accomplice was, but ultimately I got it before the big reveal. I feel like it's only predictable if you're familiar with Sense and Sensibility, but even so, I had fun following along with the Dashwood sisters as they put the pieces together.

The romance added a bit of much needed sweetness. After all, this story deals with a mourning family who get screwed over by Mr. Dashwood's son and asshole wife- which by the way, Fanny in this book? Great portrayal. I want nothing more than to throw her in the ocean, she's the worst and lives up to her name.

There were a few things that annoyed me, particularly about Marianne and Willoughby. Which I get the point of how it's written, but there were a few moments where I was like "C'mon, Marianne, you're smarter than that..." There's also one moment dealing with Elinor that I was incredibly annoyed with, but all that wasn't enough to hurt the reading experience.

I'm eager to pick up Manslaughter Park next; I've already ordered it, it's on its way.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron ⭐Rating: 1.5/5

I'm so devastated about this one. I'm still thinking about it days later. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book when I found it; a sapphic dystopian fairytale where the story of Cinderella is basically these people's bible? Where young girls are forced to attend a ball so that the men can have their pick of wives and the girls have zero say in the matter? And anyone who steps out of line is executed or "forfeit" due to the cruelty of the king? A discussion of misogyny, homophobia, and domestic abuse? A black, lesbian protagonist who fights tooth and nail to take down the system?

Sounds like a wonderful read! And it was! ...for about the first 10 or so chapters!

Again, I'm gutted that I didn't like this. The set up was great! The ideas were interesting! The casual misogyny and mentions of abuse were hard to read about! The idea that the ball is sold to these girls as something magical, that they get to dress up like princesses and live their own Cinderella story... only to arrive at the palace and see the reality that it's no fairytale was compelling and tragic!

But it goes down hill fast when Sophia flees the ball.

Sophia as the protagonist was the best part of this book... until she got hit with the insta-love brick after meeting Constance. Which was extra frustrating since before then it sets up that she and her best friend, Erin, were supposedly in love and Sophia wanted them to run away together. Erin, however, wants to stay in line and do as she's told, and I hate the way it was portrayed because it felt very much like "Erin didn't want to fight for Sophia and was rightfully punished for it."

I'm sure that's not what Bayron was going for, but that's what it feels like when Sophia practically forgets about Erin right after meeting Constance. Erin ends up married to a man who regularly beats her, she's understandably pissed that Sophia ran away from the ball, but the story treats it like it's Erin's fault she's in her situation.

You know how in stories where there's a love triangle and the author clearly wants the main character to end up with this person, so they make the other person in the triangle a prick so you don't feel bad that they weren't chosen? That's what this felt like, except I DO feel bad for Erin?? Like I'm sorry, you want me to feel relieved that Sophia got "closure" with Erin and chose to be with Constance over her?? You want me to side with Sophia after Erin yells at her after giving me descriptions of bruises on Erin's neck and face?

Sorry, but the way Erin's character was handled and treated in this book gave me the ick.

On top of that, the men in this book were all cartoonishly evil and gross, except for the one gay friend Sophia had who tried to help her. Oh, and two of the fathers shown in this book were good people. I know, Men Bad. A lot of men are gross in real life. I'm not annoyed that is didn't shy away from how gross they were or all these sensitive and uncomfortable topics, I'm annoyed that it was so obnoxiously hammered in that by the time I reached the halfway point, I became numb to it? If that makes sense? There's one point where it shows a man trying to buy a girl from the prisons and I was like, "Oh no..... anyway-" because I was that desensitized to it, and that makes me feel icky.

But the king? Oh my god. That incel had no other character outside of being a bitter, butthurt incel. Terribly written villain.

The "fairy godmother" was an interesting character but not enough to save this...

But what about the romance between Sophia and Constance? Was that good, at least? No. No, it wasn't. Insta-love, like I said. Constance was fine as a character, but the romance was just not it.

The ending, too.... ugh.

This book wasn't it for me. I'm still upset about it.

#cj reads stuff #reading wrap up #reading wrap up february 2024 #what a messy reading month sksksks best and worst reads of the year so far #fingers crossed for march to be better

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