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Sounds like a book I should look into, thank you!

I felt the exact same way about this book! It got me! I got an arc and I am planning on getting myself a physical copy because I want to do a deep dive into this world and the magic system which was so well thought out. I really enjoyed your spoiler part. Great video!

20:00 ive only read one book by stephen graham jones and it was the audiobook for The Babysitter Lives. The ending was definitely emotionally raw.... uhh and disappointingly sad lol. The characters are gay and i was like "ok fine youre gonna ruin these gay girls' lives??? Ok but youre dummmb for it" the rest of the book before the end actually rocked pretty hard though.

Having just finished the second book some of the stuff you said that didn't make sense come about in this book, still, a lot of time of book feels like the book series is spinning it's wheels until the end of the book and set up the third book.

I tried to like this book too and was also bored by it. I think a) the characters are one-dimensional and b) they’re handcuffed in a way that prevents anything interesting from happening. I read a book several years back with a similar premise but wildly different execution called A Sudden Appearance of Hope. I had some issues with it but I was riveted the whole time and I still love the character (Hope). She’s feisty. I had read the ebook version and when I found it in hardcover at a library bookshop a couple of years ago partially so that I could reread it but also because I liked it enough to want it in my home.

I loved the Memory of Empire! Unfortunately, I just can't get into the Locked Tomb series you compared it to. I started and stopped Gideon at least 4 times already😢 The series i would also compare it to, is Ancillary Justice, and Ninefox Gambit. Both have strong themes of empire and mind-tech. I still got to get to the T. Kingfisher one. And the only other on your list that I might try is the Priory of the Orange Tree, I already DNFed the poppy war and the wayward children series. Hope your experience with them is better. The Unresolved textual tension team did a video on the poppy war, which is worth a watch.

Really nice vlog

These all sound so good. Looking forward to your reviews!

I really appreciate your perspective on this book. I technically rated it a 5 star when I read it, but now honestly could not have told you much about the plot 😅. I think I really did just like the writing style and related to certain things that maybe make more sense now that I've learned some things about my brain lol. I do absolutely agree that it's more of a romance structure than a fantasy and I would be really surprised if any of the people rating it super high don't also like to read romance!

Oh I really need to check out The Unbroken. It sounds so good.

Much appreciated.

I also got more into horror this year :) and completely agree - this year the fantasy and sci-fi goodreads choice awards list is quite weak. Of the books you mentioned i only read the T. Kingfisher one, and like you said, I liked it okay and will continue with the series. For the Goodreads horror list, or really most "best of horror" lists, they dont really work for me. For other lit. genres, I'm generally quite open to reading different subgenres and all kinds of stories. But horror is very specific for me - im not interested in a lot of it, and i just dont wanna engage with other parts of it. I think horror is very personal - your enjoyment of it will depend largely on your own fears, curiosities and "triggers". Some that did work for me were The Sluts by Dennis Cooper (body horror, mental illness, prostitution), The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Gothic, supernatural), works by Ryu Murakami and Shirley Jackson, Perfume by Patrick Suskind (buildungroman of a killer) My horror reading list for 2025 will be Dark Matter by Michelle Paver (the Arctic!), Zone One by Colson Whitehead (zombies!), Cipher by Kathe Coja (supernatural, experimental), Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (haunted Ikea?), Monk by Matthew Lewis (18th century lustful gothic horror which caused a scandal when it came out), Night Film by Marisha Pessl (haunted movie mystery?) and however many more I manage to get to. This will be my first time reading all these authors, so fingers crossed. It feels weird getting into a new genre, where you dont already have a vetted list of authors whose new publications/backlist titles you can look forward to. I hope any other Goodreads horror book you try, work for you! :)

Im mostly excited for the Emily Tesh book, really hoping it hits the mark. Ive been kinda uninterested in a lot of new releases, but one on my radar is the next Cemeteries of Amalo book. Ive wanted to learn more about Malinali for a long while now, but the string of mediocre feminist retellings has me worried.

OMG I agree so hard. I read this for the time travel aspect and tell me why not one page was dedicated to the past lives of any of the expats besides gore. not only that but the only payoff of the repetitive gore chapters was that he thought main girl looked like the Inuit girl he met after murdering her husband.. the plot literally made no sense whatsoever to me. once the brigadier became a character worth knowing about I had already forgotten he existed. I don't understand why the future ministry with access to time travel and in a world of dramatic climate breakdown - decided to send ppl back into the time door to save some randos? Is that even what they were doing because it was unclear. I think we were supposed to compare Gore and main girl because they were both acting as "cogs in a machine" of the aims of the government that may have been nefarious but chalked it up to just following orders. However they both continue to serve and rise in the ministry so are we to take away that thats ok? I really tried and couldnt think of any lesson to be drawn from this story AT ALL. sorry for writing you a letter, no one else I know has read this so I'm so glad youtube recd me this video. Ive been judging books by their covers recently and read this, Hum, and Piglet and hated all of them despite the buzz. keep making videos!!1 also chicken bag 😕

My last 100 pages of the first book. So I only watched 6 mins of the video. Now I'm back to finish it 😅

So many great recommendations.

I just picked up Fury Of The Gods. Now I'll start reading the Saga.

I’ve read j&t, ASID, and this (in order) and i liked each book less then the previous one because I started to realize that Ava Reid is only interested in writing one kind of female protagonist (young, white, pretty, smart, abused) with one love interest (young, white, handsome, skinny, understands what the protagonist has been through and hates the men who hurt her, helps her cope with her trauma by having sex with her that she enjoys) and all of the other men are horrible and the other women aren’t really characters. I liked j&t the most partly because I read it first and also because it does have a more nuanced portrayal of abuse and how other women can participate in that abuse. I think that reason why LM is the one of her books that’s getting the most hate is because people already know and love LM and the changes to her that Reid makes literally only makes sense if you understand how Reid likes to write “feminist novels” and it shows how limited Reid’s view of feminism is.

Don’t Let The Forest in has such a stunning cover. I’m starting the book tonight 😁

I agree with you that this shouldn’t be classified as a Dark Academia. I’m honestly glad I didn’t realize it was labeled that because I would have skipped it, and that would be a major tragedy since it turned into my (currently) favorite book of the year.

Your review makes this book something I'd like to read. I like reimagining historical figures in story. (I haven't read the Abe Lincoln as a vampire one, but I love the idea. And I haven't read Forest Gump, though I vaguely remember the film. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've read any Alternate History books 😅 (Then why do I want to read this one?)) Two things that may bother me is the forced humor and the genre/point-of-the-story confusion, but those might not bother me so much after all (YMMV, as they say). From what you describe, I'd give the book a potential 6/10.

Fun format! The response to Harrow was as expected 😆. I do feel like I need to actually get around to Memory Called Empire sometime soon after you described it, too!

The Robin Hobb brain rot is real

Every Ava Reid book ive read so far has the same 3 flat characters (extremely beautiful/ sexually traumatised woman, some guy and a mustache twirling misogynistic villain). The prose is pretty sometimes but not nearly enough the cover how lazy alot of it feels. World building is a couple of lines of things that quite definitely should affect the plot but mysteriously never come up again. The retelling/reimagining aspects consist of keeping a name or two but nothing else. A.S.I.D was so oddly bad, like an AI hand type of bad. *editing to recommend Sarah Perrys Melmoth and Laird Hunts In The House In The Dark Of The Woods for anyone looking for gothic/atmospheric writing and complex female characters.

I need to start with, that I don't mind when something is redone for younger audiences. I think that Lion King as Hamlet for kids is a brilliant move. All Shakespeare did was re imagine older stories or history. But. I think this one... misses the point of Lady Macbeth. It's like having a story about Hamlet, but he's very confident and is also in a story that's unrelated to anything to do with his family, you know, anybody but Hamlet. Lady Macbeth is a retelling of Bluebeard imho, and I have some idea why is it called Lady Macbeth, but her literary character is all about guilt. She's the one who says "Out damned spot'', change that and it isn't her. I think there's a lot you can do with her character, but I don't think it's YA friendly. It really seems to me like it's two different pitches cobbled together. It is like it's a Bluebeard, mostly, with a coat of Macbeth, because market research shows that that's a more valuable IP. And I don't really care to be offended, because if the author has nothing to say about Lady Macbeth, that's ok, it's not everyone's cup of tea. But I think it's a bit tragic, bacause it's objectively a cool title, it's perfect for a fantasy, yet so recognisable, but somebody who has something to actually say about the subject isn't going to be given a chance, probably because an extended story about a kinda Cercei Lanistereque character isn't going to draw in people who expect a happy ending.

Good luck with Memory of Empire! I loved it, but it has a specific vibe to it - if you like Ann Leckie, you'll probably like Arkady Martine too. I have always wanted to try Dragonflight, but I'm nervous, because I've heard the romantic interest r**es the main character during their first encounter (or at, least, that the consent is basically non-existent)

I loved MDDT. I liked Mexican Gothic too but i found this one more interesting. But I totally understand when there are elements in a book that stop you from being able to enjoy it. 🕸

girlboss feminism does not belong in 11th century scotland

There is a one star review on Goodreads that suggests some alternatives to this version of Lady Macbeth. I think the title is Queen Hereafter. I read that review to see if I would like it or not. And that reviewer had several issues with the way that feminism is portrayed, the way the Scots are portrayed, and other reasonable things. It’s good to know that the issues that made me avoid it are issues other people saw.

Oh my god thanks for taking one for the team 😭

That book was so bad that my rating was "If you have nothing nice to say its better to be quiet. So that's what I'll be"

Thank you! I'm listening to this while driving, I'm a truck driver and after act 1 I was sure I missed some stuff and this helped me put stuff together thank you.

I think Fitz’s mom desperately wanted him but her father ripped him away from her because she was young and she got pregnant by a noble…at least that’s what I recall.

I thought it kinda sucked how Sarah Carter got thrown under the bus. Like, Abitha did barely anything to try to save her. I'm not sure if she could have, but it's like, if you're gonna die anyway because everyone is so convinced you're a witch, why not try to convince the one person who was nice to you that she shouldn't be getting tortured to try to save you? Idk 😂 I loved your video!

I am 3/4 of the way through the book and didn't think I could finish. Thanks for going through this so I dont feel as bad for not finishing it.

I am halfway through Organ Meats and my head is spinning! 😅 Thank you for this!

Hope you have a great reading summer. Best wishes.

Great book review, bye, for now, Alex 🙃

So glad I stumbled across your channel. I just put this book on my already too long tbr pile yesterday and honestly, anything that gets a book off (reading too many bad reviews, etc) is a blessing. Love the idea of "I read it so you don't have to" -- Thanks! I won't! Pretty sure I'd have given it a 3 ⭐myself for all the reasons you said. Happy to help you grow your channel too - I'm subscribed now! good luck ☺

LOVE Her Body and Other Parties but gosh yeah it is WEIRD haha. Your dog is so cute 😍

Thank you i was so lost and the book didnt get any batter

I finished this book today and was so bored. I skimmed the ending. It had such a good setup. The first 100 pages or so were enticing. It really dropped off after that and never recovered.

I have no input on the posed prompts, but it sounds like we've had some similar reading trends lately! I did pretty much the exact same thing with the Green Bone Saga series -- I got a couple chapters into Jade War last November then put it down, but just picked it back up this month and am having an easier time with it! This is making me want to hop back into my Realm of the Elderling read next, though. I finished the Live Ship Traders trilogy (Kyle is still one of my least favorite book characters ever) early last year and just haven't started Tawny Man, but the itch is there haha. If you're not completely opposed to paying a little for the audiobooks, Chirp often has Robin Hobb books in their sales for $3-$5! I have also been waiting and waiting for Kushiel's Avatar to finally come available at my library, so I guess we'll just see if I get to finish that series before starting Tawny Man!

Wow you are not bothered, you are frustrated! Great discussion actually. Subbed.

New to book tube and finding my way around. Just looked up what an ARC is, ha ha. Best wishes with your reading choices and to your channel.

thank you for so much explaining the ending, i was so done with this book lol

I’m glad to know that I wasn’t the only one who was bored with this book! I read till the start of them going on a journey. I then DNFed it. Everyone else loves it! But I don’t! Thank you for making this video! It’s good to know someone out there can agree with me! 😅

Also just glanced at your other videos because I noticed the book tube newbie tag. Best of luck with your channel and I'll be watching the rest of your content after this because we have similar reading tastes. I noticed you also didn't like Godkiller. 🙌

I listened to the audiobook until 49% and I just couldn't read Slewfoot any longer. It started putting me in a reading slump. Thanks for summarizing and including spoilers and allowing me to move on with other books.😂