#guild codex: demonized
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Guild Codex: Demonized
4/5 stars
Hello to this series that has consumed my life the past couple of days. What is wild is that I almost did not read this series. I saw in the reviews that the demon was in a contract with the heroine in exchange for cookies, and I was like, that sounds overly comedic and I personally dislike it when comedy dominates fiction, so no.
But after reading the first two books in the Red Winter trilogy by the same author, I decided to give this one a try.
LUCKILY IT WASN’T ANYTHING LIKE THAT (the cookies were something the demon had no choice but to accept because they were both desperate for a contract at the time) AND THIS SERIES HAS ETCHED ITS PLACE AMONG MY FAVOURITE BOOKS.
I just binged this entire series (all four books) from Sunday to Thursday, wtf. I started the first book on Sunday and finished it on Monday (I think??), then tried to take a break but ended up bingeing anyway. The first book was pretty much near perfection; there was almost nothing I could critique about it. Every scene with Zylas (ZYLAS!!!) hit the spot and while I feared their exchanges would become repetitive, each scene was chef’s kiss and had a purpose that led to a greater picture. The other three books weren’t as perfect, especially the last one, but they still had me in an iron-grip and had me zooming through all of them.
The last time I was this engrossed in a series, it was with Cruel Prince. I think it was my obsession with Zylas that really sucked me in. I haven’t loved a male lead like that in a while. At some point, I thought he even rivalled Cardan (now, maybe not? I don’t know). He was rude, cruel, even kind of sociopathic in the first book, which made sense because he was a demon. I was so worried he’d soften up right away and just end up behaving like a normal person (which so many books make the mistake of. Being arrogant but tortured does not make a male lead a demon, just a stereotypical hero, thank you very much) but he was always so unpredictable. I loved how he touched Robin’s hand - then grabbed her into the summoning circle and asked how her blood tasted. It was totally out of nowhere in an otherwise soft moment that had lulled me into a false sense of security.
I also loved that he wasn't considered strong for a demon, and had to use his cunning to fight a lot of times. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° My heart almost broke, though, when Robin forced him to fight the demon from the First House and nearly got him killed. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh. I don't know why, but I found that plot point soooo good.
Also, in the second book, him harassing Socks (the cat) was EVERYTHING:
I also really liked Robin - she wasn’t the badass, snarky heroine that I’ve read in so many fantasy books. She was timid, and combat-wise really useless. She had to struggle to make herself useful during battle, and was more book smart than street smart. AND I LOVED IT. It was such a refreshing change from what I was used to, and what I’d been looking for. I’d even asked Reddit for recommendations… I wonder why they didn’t recommend this to me? Or maybe they did, and I forgot.
But I digress.
I think Annette Marie is really talented, and while the language is very straightforward and not very pretty or flowery or anything like that, the story is extremely well-written. My eyes started glazing over when the action got too intense, though, and I ended up skimming the fight scenes. I’ve never really cared about action in fiction, if I’m being honest. I always skim that, including in thrillers.
The last thing I’d like to add is that after Robin and Zylas consummated their relationship in the last book, their tension kind of ebbed for me, and I wasn’t as invested in them anymore. I’m not sure why - was I so invested in their slow burn that I didn’t care afterwards? I also think the sex scene was meh, and could have been done with better foreplay and all that shit to make it more intense, because it felt - no pun intended - kind of anticlimactic. If the romance is slow-burn, so should the. Fucking. Sex!!!!!
(Also I would have liked Zylas to be more... in pursuit, lmao, but that's neither here nor there.)
Overall, it was so FANTASTIC, and I just loved, loved, loved their little makeshift family with Amalia (GO AMALIA!!! Loved how Robin and her formed a friendship that lasted all the books) and Socks. I was terrified of finishing the series too fast because I’d have a massive book hangover, so… yikes. Thankfully, I think I’m okay, because the last book wasn’t hitting as hard.
I hope I'm okay...
Also, some of my favourite quotes:
❤️❤️ (Can I also say I'm obsessed with his tail? FIRST CARDAN, NOW ZYLAS. WHY DO I KEEP FALLING FOR MEN WITH TAILS?)
- 20 July 2023
#booklr#bookworm#guild codex: demonized#Annette Marie#reading#currently reading#book blog#bookish#fantasy books
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I hate Instagram
#facebook too apparently#the internet sucks#remember the days when if you wanted to look up fanart you just had to go to a website and search the bowser?#and that was all it took?#those were the good old days#now it feels like you have to give everything personal about you away to get into ANYTHING anymore#especially Instagram#it doesn't matter if you just want to simply browse and nothing else!!!! no no no no no no!#now EVERYTHING requires an account or personal info and its BULLSHIT#i hate technology right now#sorry i just beeded to vent#might belete later#Instagram#fanart#inuyasha#fruits basket#kamisama kiss#red winter trilogy#guild codex#guild codex: demonized#annette marie#what's worse is that even when i got an Instagram account is suspended just 2 days later and said i needed to give my phone number#like WHAT?????#its bs
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I have no idea about making comics but I loved this scene from the book sm I had to draw it.
Fanart of a scene from Book 3 of the series the guild codex: demonized!
-> More The Guild Codex Fanart
#the guild codex#the guild codex: demonized#taming demons for beginners#hunting fiends for the ill-equipped#robin#zylas
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Spoilers for Demonized 4
Zylas: They're all crazy, Socks. Cults, demon mages. Let's go set fire to something.
#The Guild Codex#The Guild Codex: Demonized#Zylas#Zylas et Vh'alyir#Incorrect Quotes#Source: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
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Your body could build my grave, with leather and lace. You take all my breath away, with that face. Cause she's drop dead gorgeous, I think she knows it. I think she knows it... But if she ever left, I would just drop dead.
I animated Ashoakmaple's art of Tori and Ezra from Annette Marie's The Guild Codex! Song: Drop Dead Gorgeous by Voilà, perfectly recommended by this podcast!
#The guild codex#the guild codex: spellbound#annette marie#ashoakmaple#urban fantasy#urban fantasy romance#voila#drop dead gorgeous#not my art! but my animation!#animation#webtoon#i loved this book series so much#the crow and hammer#tori dawson#ezra rowe#demon mage#aeromage#web comic#this web series is amazing. The art is so well done!#fanart
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If you love:
monster of the week
found families
boys being dumbass lovable boys
the main character actually being relatable and not secretly superhuman stomping her way into the world of magic cause she's just that stubborn and broke
healthy relationships
books that feel like a really good fanfic, not from tropes, but cause the author doesn't think they're better or smarter than you
that sweet, sweet canadian content
I am BEGGING you to read The Guild Codex books.
#my library has them all on libby with no wait list!!!!#its so very vancouver#i love a girl talking about her toque#please please im obsessed with her just hitting massively powerful magical being with an umbrella#girl just steals magical objects and forces people to include her AS SHE SHOULD#the guild codex#the guild codex: spellbound#the guild codex: demonized#the guild codex: unveiled#the guild codex: warped#annette marie#aaron sinclair#tori dawson#ezra rowe#zak andrii#kai yamada#pwease pwease wead this im begginggg
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Im so close to finishing crochet zylas and I am so excited!! Just need to make his tail and the armor pieces pretty much!!
With a screenshot from the guild codex WEBTOON for reference!
#crochet#amigurumi#the guild codex: demonized#annette marie#the guild codex#i cannot wait to finish this doll! then hopefully I can start on robin too#still slow going bc carpal tunnel but little by little!
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Chocolate and confusion
He stood at the counter, staring down at the box of chocolates, the fluorescent lights casting harsh shadows over his face. After a long moment, he lifted a hand and touched the edge of the box.His tail slashed sideways—and he shoved the chocolates off the counter. They crashed to the floor, the small delicacies scattering over the linoleum.
I would love to read this scene from Zylas' POV!!
And this scene too!!
Zylas was scrutinizing me, his eyebrows low over critical red eyes.“Um.” I blinked. “Zylas?”He turned to the demon mage. “Nailēranis et nā. Eshaillā kir?” “Probably.” Jaw tightening, Zylas returned his stare to me, his expression intent as though he were rearranging his understanding of my incomprehensible human brain.
Was he comprehending why Robin is in danger of the other mages and what it meant when they said "you have the look"? Or was he wondering about her panicked reaction to his strength when he chose to "make her squirm"?
#zylas#robin and zylas#the guild codex#annette marie#zylas et vh'alyir#the guild codex: demonized#guild codex#Robin page
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Other demons: I have the height advantage.
Zylas, already launched forward: Your kneecaps don't.
#the guild codex#the guild codex: demonized#Zylas et Vh'alyir#presumably the only reason Zylas' particular lineage has gone on this long
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New Stories!
Hey all! I know I haven't posted or updated anything in forever here, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have been writing and posting.
On AO3. ^^;
The formatting issue between Google, Tumblr and AO3 used to be so annoying that what I would do was write on Tumblr, copy/paste on Google, edit the parts that needed fixing, then copy/paste again on AO3, so I got into the habit of just cutting Tumblr out of the equation.
Then Tumblr got an update that allowed the copy of formatting from the clipboard to its text editor, but I ended up just not posting the new things I was writing on AO3. I have several stories there that have never been put here on Tumblr.
So, I figured I should at least link them. :3
My account there: SirenNightshade
The Guild Codex:
Protecting Humans for the Irritated (A retelling of the entire book series from Zylas's perspective. Eventual naughty stuff.)
Breaking Rules for Professionals (A continuation of the series. Robin and Zylas's problems are far from over. Now they gotta figure out how to keep him hidden for life instead of just for the few months they'd expected their adventure to last. Naughty stuff sprinkled here and there ;) .)
Fanart (Fanart for the series in general, plus some of my specific fics.)
Minis (Mini scenes for the above fics.)
When The Night Comes:
Taming the Wilds (A chronicling of my secondary Hunter, Tara, as she progresses through the story and romances August, her non-binary boss. Eventual explicit sex.)
Perfect Balance (A chronicling of Selina, my main Hunter, going through the story and romancing her two beaus, Ezra and Finn. Told more through the mens' perspectives than hers. Eventual explicit sex, but raunchier cause TWO MENS 8U.)
Polarity (Tara and her partner August talk about August being non-binary. She's very curious. Oneshot.)
Originals:
Monstertober 2022 (unfinished) (Small, original oneshots that, in retrospect, I'm pretty sure I did start posting here... huh.)
Lewd Dungeon Crawling (A half-elf, Adonna, decides to leave her starter-area questing zone of a village to become a true adventurer. Turns out, true adventuring includes a lot of sex with monsters. Naughty story, much monsterfucking.)
Breeders of the Nephelym:
Nephelym Breeder Alex (Alex is a human. The world is filled with furries. She fucks them a lot. VERY naughty and explicit story.)
I hope everyone enjoys these! Note: if you don't know what something is, you can message/ask me about it or google the thing directly. I'll explain, but remember...I tend to ramble. XD;
-Nightshade
#siren nightshade#update#archive of our own#ao3#outgoing links#sfw#the guild codex: demonized#when the night comes#originals#breeders of the nephelym
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“Do you like them?” I asked anxiously.
He selected a red velvet cookie. Ate it. Said nothing.
“You were so quick to tell me my blood tasted gross, but you can’t come up with a single observation about my baking?”
Smirking, he ate a fourth cookie without comment.
“You’re infuriating.”
His tail swished. He sampled the final cookie option, then licked a smear of sticky caramel off his finger. Grumbling under my breath, I turned to the sink heaped with dirty dishes.
“In my world,” he said unexpectedly, “there is a type of … tree.”
I faced him again, my brow furrowed in puzzlement.
“On the tree, it grows small …” He cupped his hands as though holding something. “… small fruits. The outside is poisonous, deadly, but inside is juicy and sweet. We fight over these trees. I have killed to take the fruit when it is ripe.”
He picked up another s’more cookie. “These are better.”
Taming demons for beginners
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Robin: I just need to hear those three little words
Zylas: I love you
Robin: Try again
Zylas, grumbling: I will behave
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If Red Winter gives off Inuyasha and Kamisama Kiss vibes, than the Guild Codex gives off Fairy Tail vibes.
I've only read Demonized btw
#inuyasha#kamisama kiss#red winter trilogy#the red winter trilogy#the guild codex: demonized#the guild codex#guild codex#guild codex: demonized#fairy tail#annette marie
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Some the guild codex: demonized incorrect quotes!! Had lots of fun with these :)
Taken from @tp-guild-codex-junk (first, second and third) and from @the-guild-codex-and-other-things (fourth)
-> More The Guild Codex Fanart
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The Guild Codex: Demonized - Annette Marie
Meet Robin Page: outcast sorceress, mythic history buff, unapologetic bookworm, and the last person you'd expect to command the rarest demon in the long history of summoning. Though she holds his leash, this demon can't be controlled . . . but can he be tamed?
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