#the god of endings
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Winter is for dying, descending, hiding, forgetting. […] We welcome, for a time, destruction, chaos, death [...] We do not fight it. We submit to it, for it is what the season demands.
Jacqueline Holland, from 'The God of Endings'
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2023 Reading Wrap Up: Favorites from the First Half
Not to sound like a broken record, but I can't believe we're already halfway through the year! (and even further, given how late I'm posting this lol). I've read an ungodly amount of books already, and while I try my best to shout out my favorites as I go or in my monthly wrap-ups, I don't always succeed. So Here I Am, to do a little more shouting about the 10 most memorable books or series I've read so far in 2023!
The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Sword Stone Table ed by Jenn Northington & Swapna Krishna
Sea Hearts (The Brides of Rollrock Island) by Margo Lanagan
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland
Will Darling/Lilywhite Boys by K.J. Charles
Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L Sayers
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
More discussion below the cut!
The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland had me entirely engrossed. It's slow and moving and dark, with it's own take on vampirism, with any number of the associated content warnings. All the content warnings actually (but harm to animals, harm to children, and domestic abuse are some of the big ones. Does the Nazi murder make up for it?). Best described as The Historian meets everything I wanted from The Invisible Life of Addie Larue but didn't get.
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez I have, in fact, already yelled about a bit. It was so good! Think A:TLA meets The Raven Tower and The Hundred Thousand Kindgoms, and queer! The thing that really blew my mind was the second-person narration, which is always a swing, and I think this nailed it! I loved how it worked with the story and frame narrative, and let me tell you, on audiobook parts of the story felt positively haunted. I won't say it's the perfect novel (I'm a little eh about the last third), but that in no way dampens my enthusiasm. cw for ritual cannibalism.
Sword Stone Table ed by Jenn Northington & Swapna Krishna is an anthology of Arthurian re-imaginings with about a 1-in-3 success rate (for me anyways. is that good for an anthology?) that snuck onto this list purely on the strength of Mayday by Maria Dahvana Headley. I just yelled about my love for unusual narrative structures, so when I tell you that this is a retelling of the Arthurian family drama set in late 19th century America, told only through found objects, newspaper clippings, and manuscript exerpts? I had *such* a great time trying to puzzle things out with my half-remembered memories of the lore (heavily corrupted by the show Merlin, lol). Additional shout-out to Spear by Nicola Griffith, which didn't make it into the collection due to length but was also amazing!
Sea Hearts (aka The Brides of Rollrock Island) by Margo Lanagan was an absolute surprise, for several reasons. For one, I own both a physical and digital copy under different titles and didn't realize it until I was cleaning up my goodreads account! And second, the Brides cover is an absolute travesty and is entirely the wrong vibe - this may be YA (technically?) but it doesn't read like it! Sea Hearts is the story of a small island community with a history of summoning wives from the sea, a tradition only whispered about until an outcast young woman revives the practices to sow discord and revenge among the community members we follow. Incredibly moving and sorrowful, this is for fans of literary, historical, and speculative fiction.
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland. This graphic novel is about a city hit by an unknown disaster that has killed or mutated everything and everyone who wasn't able to evacuate in time. Our main character sneaks back in to take pictures to support herself and her little sister, and while I have some reservations about the larger plot, the art of the Zone is GORGEOUS. Sketchy, eerie, hauntingly beautiful, I loved it, enough that I have no regrets. I could see this making a great comic series or animated show instead.
Major, heartfelt shout-out to K.J. Charles, who absolutely saved my sanity for a few months there. My brain was in a weird spot for a few months and I burned through a good chunk of her backlist, so it's absolutely necessary to name drop a few of my favorites. The Will Darling series, a 1920's spy adventure/gay romance, did not immediately win me over, but exposure makes the heart grow fonder? I don't think they say that, actually, but I love a competent dumbass, and when I finally picked up on the crossover with Charles' England duo, I absolutely cackled. I can't wait to reread these! Any Old Diamonds of the Lilywhite Boys series did catch me immediately, even if I managed to read it out of order with one of it's prequel series. Jewel thieves, a heist, revenge, family drama, what's not to love? I loved every single book and novella in this series.
Lord Peter Wimsey (series) by Dorothy L Sayers. This has been a work in progress since 2022 and has consistently made my favorites lists, but truly, she saved the best for last! Murder Must Advertise was stellar, but everyone who said the Harriet Vane novels were the best is absolutely correct. I don't know why I love them, other than that they're wonderfully complex mysteries, but I do. I definitely need to find another long mystery series for my mental health or else I'm going to start these from the beginning again (I still need to read the short stories after all).
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. I'll be honest, I didn't write a review for this at the time, and my memory for non-fiction is terrible. But I loved this book, I love John Green, and this was fantastic on audio. Thank you John for putting hope and goodness and beauty into the world.
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff was a beautiful little book for the book lover. It's a collection of letters between the American author and a used-book seller (and family and associates) in London in the 50s and 60s. Its funny, it's friendly, it's lovely, but there's also an underlying tension that builds throughout from the repeated invitations to the author to come visit, and the book copy saying that THEY NEVER MEET. It about killed me, and did make me cry. For further reading you can also check out the author's related memoirs, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and Q's Legacy.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Frankly, I'm impressed by my nonfiction choices so far this year. This one is what it says and it HURT. SO. MUCH. I am absolutely a generalist and it's made life frustrating, so reading this was both extremely comforting but also enraging, because society doesn't need another reason to suck. Alas.
#book log#2023#wrap up 2023#bec posts#the god of endings#Jaqueline holland#the spear cuts through water#simon jimenez#sword stone table#sea hearts#the brides of rollrock island#margo lanagan#Spill Zone#will darling#kj charles#scott westerfeld#lilywhite boys#lord peter wimsey#dorothy l sayers#the anthropocene reviewed#john green#84 charing cross road#helene hanff#david epstein#books#booklr
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Title: The God of Endings | Author: Jacqueline Holland | Publisher: Flatiron Books (2023)
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“This world, my love, I give it to you. All of it. You’re welcome, and I’m sorry.”
Jacqueline Holland, “The God of Endings”
#HELLO ???#beautiful words#jacqueline holland#the god of endings#books#books & libraries#reading#bookblr#quotes#dark academia#dark academia quotes#wailing and gnashing of teeth
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The god of endings does not come when he’s expected; he prefers to take by surprise. (…) Midsentence, midembrace, at the height of your hopes: that, you see, is when the god of endings likes to do it.
Jacqueline Holland, The God of Endings
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I got a bunch of books yesterday! It'll take a while to get to and through all of them because I've got a busy schedule, but I'm excited. Especially For S.(I'll RB with what the inside looks like)
I also got a second copy of Starless Sea so I can tab my favorite sections for him to read and send it to him
And also a field of birds in my area
I'll get through all of these and share my thoughts eventually. Maybe liveblog, I dunno
I... Don't know where I intend on putthing these, considering my bookshelf is stuffed full. I'll hafta double layer or something
#timblr#robin chitter#aristotle and dante discover the universe#scythe book#The seven and a half deaths of evelyn hardcastle#S. book#The God of Endings#Sorry for all book tags#They will be relevant eventually
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It is impossible to know with precision or certainty what is in your head and what is outside of it when you are speaking of Gods. The supernatural cannot be known as other things are. It does not behave consistently like molecules or light which can be measured and studied, but creatively and unpredictively as a person behaves. By its consistent behavior, we can come to many conclusions about light but about people, our conclusions are always at least partially wrong, and more often, very wrong.
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
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How curious is it that in nature, the most vibrant colors are those that preceded death.
The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland
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Both eager and reluctant soldiers alike follow orders.
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
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I am fond of those memories [...] but they are tied to other, darker memories, and the mind, that imbecilic machine of associations, moves irresistibly from one to another [...]
Jacqueline Holland, from 'The God of Endings'
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April 2023 Wrap Up
[loved liked okay no thanks dnf book club*]
The Girl in the Tower | Gaudy Night | 84 Charing Cross Road | The God of Endings | Dead Collections | Legends & Lattes | Death Comes to Pemberly | The Bear and the Nightingale | The Nine Tailors | A House with Good Bones | The Spear Cuts Through Water | Delilah Green Doesn't Care | In Deeper Waters | Refusing Compulsory Sexuality | The Deep (Katsu)
#bec posts#2023#book log#wrap up 2023#gaudy night#winternight trilogy#the spear cuts through water#84 charing cross road#the god of endings
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instagram
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The God Of Endings Brings New Bite To Vampire Fiction
New book review! TLDR: A dark historical fiction/vampire novel sure to leave an impression.
I abide by a 100 page rule. If I’m not enjoying a book by page 100, I drop it. Very few books have ever surprised me past that point, and I have other things to read. People to see. Things to do. Life’s too short for books you aren’t even enjoying anyway.
I broke the rule with The God Of Endings, and I am so glad I did.
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland at first glance, is much like many…
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Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!!
This book is a deep and dark look into an eternal life unwanted and perhaps misused at times. This is akin to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in the sense that it's a slow-moving story but constantly hard-hitting.
Anna is only a child when her father passes away and she is "rescued " by her sort of grandfather. Her grandfather gifts her with eternal life as a vampire, but for Anna,this gift is a curse.
The story goes between the present and the past. Reading about Anna's past over a hundred years ago and who she is now, in a different time and place, was really thought-provoking. The mistakes made and then to see how those things stayed with her until the dramatic end. (By the way, I loved the ending)
Highly recommend this!
Out March 7, 2023!
#book#bookish#books#bookworm#book review#currently reading#read#bookblogger#fantasy#reading#Jacqueline Holland#best book ive read all year#amazing storytelling#The God of Endings#netgalley#netgalley review#arc review
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Must be a Sugondese joke.
#dungeon meshi#chilchuck tims#laios touden#senshi#Looks like I won't be able to post this on dungeon meshi thursday so instead I will have a fun past/future conversation#This is wednesday me who has not seen the episode yet but I have such a strong feeling that it is going to be extremely special.#*This* fight is what the first arc has been building up to and it has *so* many incredible moments.#We're going to see the chilchuck knife throw! The leg sacrifice! The bones!#Watch them ramp up the quality this episode and go wild with the frantic action of 'oh god our plan is going to shit'.#Hello. Me of the future who just watched the episode.#I knew it was going to be good but that...that blew my mind completely. My high expectations were beyond met. My god.#I'm just speechless at how well they handled everything. The leg. The tension. That ENDING.#If you have not already: PLEASE watch Dungeon Meshi.
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Hello I am here to tell you that if you liked The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (and if you haven't read it, I implore you to do so), you'll probably also like The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland. I just finished it — and it was so much more mesmerizing and haunting than I thought it would be.
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