That’s such a good point about how Fourth Wing relies on the reader being familiar with fantasy tropes! I noticed a lot of plot gaps while reading but everything still made SOME sense because it was fairly predictable and followed tropes reliably. I was overall more entertained than annoyed by it but it was definitely a bit of a silly time.
I haven't read Fourth Wing myself, but after reading this as well as an interview with Yaros on Goodreads, I feel like she's a massive dilettante when it comes to fantasy. As far as I know she loves fantasy novels and grew up with them, but that doesn't make you a fantasy author per say.
Same!!! I compare it to a reality show, not so much depth but entertaining. I wish it was better? Yes. But I was not expecting excellence, just have some fun xd
Oh! And the graphic audio is amaaaaazing. Maybe without it for it would have been a 2.5 - 3-0 stars experience, but with the graphic audio? Easily a 3.5 even 4 stars. The cast is SO GOOD! The sound efects, Violet and Xaden voices... TAIRN's voice!! Game changing
the spear cuts through water is one of my favorite books ever, the uniqueness of the narrative structure is so mind blowing!! never read anything like it and i doubt i ever will again, such an underrated masterpiece imo and i can't wait to hear what you think after finishing it!
I just finished the Will of the Many today. It ended up being the first 5 star book of the year for me. It was absolutely amazing! Imo, it definitely deserves the incredibly high average rating it currently has on Goodreads. It‘s a new favorite of all time :)
I am so happy you're enjoying The Spear Cuts Through Water! Truly, it only gets better, and no spoilers but the way the narratives weave together... oh my god I'll be devastated if you don't like it. Need to reread immediately.
I picked up The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez and it quickly carved its way to my favorite book of the year so far. His writing pulled me in not just with its beauty and almost folk lore narration style (I felt like I’d been with these characters on a thousand year journey) but also its emotional depth. It never lost sight of its characters as the core of the story, which made for such an earnest and lovely sci fi read. I also read Silver Nitrate and really enjoyed the spooky vibes! The audiobook did a great job with character voice.
I read: - Fourth Wing (hated it) - The Story of A New Name (absolutely loved it) - Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay (absolutely loved it) -The Story of the Lost Child (absolutely loved it) - Jade Shards (amazing new Green Bone novella 🥲)
I honestly thought I’d hate fourth wing as soon as I read the first page, and as a fantasy reader it doesn’t quite hold up to fantasy I’ve read but… I could not put it down and I enjoyed it so much😂 I really don’t understand what happened but I guess I’m here for it. That being said, I 100% agree with all of your takes on the book lol
I would LOVE to see a video where you recommend your favorite recently finished series. You talk about so many delightful fantasy books, but I very rarely read active series.
Fifty years ago I joined the membership of a company called The Literary Guild. They featured a "book of the month" but also other selections. If you didn't return the card, they would send you the featured book. I read books all the time back then and continued to do so up until about 2004 when I started spending my time reading on the internet - but not books. Being so much older now, and troubled with failing eyesight, it's difficult to find a book with a plot that will surprise me. I'm not into romance novels. The murder mysteries have all been solved. The political novels are tame given what's going on in real life today. So I'm looking for something that will open my mind and my heart to something new. I only came here because I enjoy seeing others enjoy books.
I have IMMORTAL LONGINGS, but I haven’t read it yet! Maybe I’ll read it this month. Also very intrigued by A SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER. It sounds so unique! In July, I read: - THOSE WE DROWN by Amy Goldsmith (YA Horror) - REQUIRED READING FOR THE DISENFRANCHISED FRESHMAN by Kristen R. Lee (YA Contemporary) - BEAR WITH ME NOW by Katie Shepard (Adult Rom Com) - A friend’s unpublished manuscript for a beta read (YA Horror) - ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES by Charlotte McConaghy (Adult Contemporary/Literary Fiction) - GIVE ME A SIGN by Anna Sortino (YA Contemporary Romance) Also read one more, but didn’t finish it until August.
Here's what I read in July Crazy is my superpower by a.j mendez Brooks memoir The bone shard war Blood trail by c.j box Blood sugar by sacha Rothchild End of watch by Stephen king A day of fallen night by samantha shannon After the funeral by Agatha Christie Damsel by Evelyn skye Good girl complex by elle Kennedy Bad girl reputation by elle Kennedy The lost metal by Brandon Sanderson Misrule by heather Walter A light in the flame by Jennifer l armentrout The daughters of izdihar Chaos and flame Blush by helen hardt
I just finished Immortal Longings last night. I liked it and gave it 4 stars. It was my first Chloe Gong. When I went to Goodreads I was surprised at how many 1 star ratings there were. Essentially people complained about how many descriptions there were. But since I mainly read epic fantasy, none of that bothered me. I thought it was a interesting, fast-paced read. I love an urban fantasy so I enjoyed the setting.
I agree! It's def super interesting, I feel like it finally gave me the info I've wanted from her other books BUT i can see how if that didn't bother you in the past this might not be a good fit
I finished Kingdom of Ash very early July so it put me in a “mourning period” instead of a reading slump lol. August should be a good one though! Slowly getting back in the reading mood
I'm curious if the Chloe Gong actually felt like an adult fantasy or if it fell into that classic trap of ya author writing adult where they make it darker and grimmer but still wind up feeling a little tropey in YA way
I felt the same way about Frugal Wizard which is unfortunate. I loved how he rated everything and how playful the writing was, but not the characters, nor plot :/ Hopefully we have better luck with Yumi.
I read: - Hounded (one of the worst books I've ever read - 0.5 stars) - Point Pleasant (3 stars) - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (3 stars) - Any Man (5 stars) - The Sea of Monsters (I am rereading this series as an adult - it still holds up! 5 stars) - A Comb of Wishes (4 stars) - Yellowface (4 stars) - To be Taught, if Fortunate (4 stars) - The Prince (pretty good) - 101 Greatest American Poems collection (pretty good)
Immortal love the cover OMG so gorgeous love the characters and very well written and I enjoyed it 📚🩵🩵📚💛💛🌞🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🩵🩵🌞💛📙💛🌞📚🩵🌞🌞🌞📖📖💛📙📙🌞🩵🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️🩵📚🌞🌞🌞📖📖🌞💛📙📙📙💛🌞📚🩵🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🩵📚📚🌞💛💛💛📖📖💛📙📙📙📙💛🌞🩵🩵
Fourth wing one of my favorites the cover is beautiful and amazing inspiring and the love the Pliot xoxo 😘 📙📚🩵📙🏝️💛🏝️📚📚📚📚📙🏝️💛💛📙📚🩵🩵📙🏝️💛📖📖💛🩵🩵💛📚📙💛💛🌞🌞📖🌞📙📙📚📙💛💛🩵🩵🩵💛📙📚📙🏝️🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞📖📚📚📚
I read the Fellowship of the ring by Tolkien and loved it❤❤❤ I hope I will find time to read the other two books. And there are so many Poirot books waiting for me..😢 But this month my reading goals are: The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
In july I: - Finished Age of Myth and began Age of Swords (4 stars) - Listened to audiobooks of all 3 Electra McDonnell books by Ashley Weaver (cute WWII-era mystery series with a fun little slow-burn romance building) (3-4 stars) - Read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (5 stars) - Listened to Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson (3 stars) - Read The Art of Healing (nonfiction) by Bernie Siegel (4 stars) - Read Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (3 stars - I expected so much more after loving Anything Is Possible) - Listened to Stanley Tucci's memoir Taste: My Life Through Food (3-4 stars) - Listened to The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (also 3-4 stars - definitely a nice story but it seemed a little young for me - I think it's YA) - I've barely started reading War and Peace - not sure how jazzed I am to keep going with this... - I started Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I'm liking it so far - I started reading The Language of Miracles (nonfiction) by Amelia Kinkade - I finally started reading the Stormlight Archive series - rapidly sucked in, and way more motivated to read thousands of pages of this than Tolstoy at the moment
While Tolstoy is very different author than Sanderson I was actually surprised how readable he is… although I read Anna Karenina, not W&P…. ended up being I think third favorite novel of all time! Stormlight is a dynamite too, I was having so much fun reading the series, enjoy!
@@Morfeusm I can believe that. When I read The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (who I associate w/ Tolstoy - not sure how similar they actually are) I enjoyed that a lot. I think I read Anna Karenina too, but both of those were decades ago so I don't remember much. Now I'm old and I get tired more easily! 😂
I love love your recommendations, but like why do you talk like that? 😆 It's this kind of tonal rhyming scheme, where your tone goes up at the last word every other 2 - 3 sentences you speak. It's so... somewhat off-putting? anyway love your recs, maybe work on the tonal changes.
That’s such a good point about how Fourth Wing relies on the reader being familiar with fantasy tropes! I noticed a lot of plot gaps while reading but everything still made SOME sense because it was fairly predictable and followed tropes reliably. I was overall more entertained than annoyed by it but it was definitely a bit of a silly time.
I haven't read Fourth Wing myself, but after reading this as well as an interview with Yaros on Goodreads, I feel like she's a massive dilettante when it comes to fantasy. As far as I know she loves fantasy novels and grew up with them, but that doesn't make you a fantasy author per say.
Same!!! I compare it to a reality show, not so much depth but entertaining. I wish it was better? Yes. But I was not expecting excellence, just have some fun xd
Oh! And the graphic audio is amaaaaazing. Maybe without it for it would have been a 2.5 - 3-0 stars experience, but with the graphic audio? Easily a 3.5 even 4 stars. The cast is SO GOOD! The sound efects, Violet and Xaden voices... TAIRN's voice!! Game changing
she really went from The Will of The Many to Fourth Wing lmao what a journey!
I am so happy that you are loving The Spear Cuts Through Water! It’s one of my favorite books of all time: it’s truly, literally breathtaking.
the spear cuts through water is one of my favorite books ever, the uniqueness of the narrative structure is so mind blowing!! never read anything like it and i doubt i ever will again, such an underrated masterpiece imo and i can't wait to hear what you think after finishing it!
I just finished the Will of the Many today. It ended up being the first 5 star book of the year for me. It was absolutely amazing! Imo, it definitely deserves the incredibly high average rating it currently has on Goodreads. It‘s a new favorite of all time :)
I am so happy you're enjoying The Spear Cuts Through Water! Truly, it only gets better, and no spoilers but the way the narratives weave together... oh my god I'll be devastated if you don't like it. Need to reread immediately.
I picked up The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez and it quickly carved its way to my favorite book of the year so far. His writing pulled me in not just with its beauty and almost folk lore narration style (I felt like I’d been with these characters on a thousand year journey) but also its emotional depth. It never lost sight of its characters as the core of the story, which made for such an earnest and lovely sci fi read. I also read Silver Nitrate and really enjoyed the spooky vibes! The audiobook did a great job with character voice.
I read:
- Fourth Wing (hated it)
- The Story of A New Name (absolutely loved it)
- Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay (absolutely loved it)
-The Story of the Lost Child (absolutely loved it)
- Jade Shards (amazing new Green Bone novella 🥲)
Now that I'm wrapping up grad school I'm excited to have the brain capacity for fantasy again. Love your reviews and synoses.
I honestly thought I’d hate fourth wing as soon as I read the first page, and as a fantasy reader it doesn’t quite hold up to fantasy I’ve read but… I could not put it down and I enjoyed it so much😂 I really don’t understand what happened but I guess I’m here for it. That being said, I 100% agree with all of your takes on the book lol
I loved Fourth Wing but do agree with her takes!
SAME 😅
I would LOVE to see a video where you recommend your favorite recently finished series. You talk about so many delightful fantasy books, but I very rarely read active series.
Fifty years ago I joined the membership of a company called The Literary Guild. They featured a "book of the month" but also other selections. If you didn't return the card, they would send you the featured book. I read books all the time back then and continued to do so up until about 2004 when I started spending my time reading on the internet - but not books. Being so much older now, and troubled with failing eyesight, it's difficult to find a book with a plot that will surprise me. I'm not into romance novels. The murder mysteries have all been solved. The political novels are tame given what's going on in real life today. So I'm looking for something that will open my mind and my heart to something new. I only came here because I enjoy seeing others enjoy books.
I have IMMORTAL LONGINGS, but I haven’t read it yet! Maybe I’ll read it this month. Also very intrigued by A SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER. It sounds so unique!
In July, I read:
- THOSE WE DROWN by Amy Goldsmith (YA Horror)
- REQUIRED READING FOR THE DISENFRANCHISED FRESHMAN by Kristen R. Lee (YA Contemporary)
- BEAR WITH ME NOW by Katie Shepard (Adult Rom Com)
- A friend’s unpublished manuscript for a beta read (YA Horror)
- ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES by Charlotte McConaghy (Adult Contemporary/Literary Fiction)
- GIVE ME A SIGN by Anna Sortino (YA Contemporary Romance)
Also read one more, but didn’t finish it until August.
Here's what I read in July
Crazy is my superpower by a.j mendez Brooks memoir
The bone shard war
Blood trail by c.j box
Blood sugar by sacha Rothchild
End of watch by Stephen king
A day of fallen night by samantha shannon
After the funeral by Agatha Christie
Damsel by Evelyn skye
Good girl complex by elle Kennedy
Bad girl reputation by elle Kennedy
The lost metal by Brandon Sanderson
Misrule by heather Walter
A light in the flame by Jennifer l armentrout
The daughters of izdihar
Chaos and flame
Blush by helen hardt
Damn girl, I’m impressed! So many pages lol
This month, my fave read was Masters of Death by Olivie Blake (my library had it early 🥰). It was so good omg.
So I need Silver Nitrate like yesterday, it sounds fantastic 👌🏻
In July I read (I'm a much slower reader):
-Bitterthorn
-Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
-The Salt Grows Heavy
-Fourth Wing
🙂
I just finished Immortal Longings last night. I liked it and gave it 4 stars. It was my first Chloe Gong. When I went to Goodreads I was surprised at how many 1 star ratings there were. Essentially people complained about how many descriptions there were. But since I mainly read epic fantasy, none of that bothered me. I thought it was a interesting, fast-paced read. I love an urban fantasy so I enjoyed the setting.
I agree! It's def super interesting, I feel like it finally gave me the info I've wanted from her other books BUT i can see how if that didn't bother you in the past this might not be a good fit
"The will of the many" is truly a masterpiece. Cannot wait for the sequel!
Hearing you not love Sanderson... I'm gobsmacked.
SO EXCITED!!🏝️🩵🩵💛💛🏝️🩵🩵💛🌞💛🏝️🩵🩵💛💛🌞🌞🏝️🩵🏝️🌞💛🏝️🩵🩵💛💛💛🏝️🩵🏝️🏝️💛💛💛🏝️🩵🩵🩵🩵💛🌞📖📚📙📙📙📖📖📖📚📙📙📙📚📚📖📖📙📙📚📖📖📚📚📙📚📖
I finished Kingdom of Ash very early July so it put me in a “mourning period” instead of a reading slump lol. August should be a good one though! Slowly getting back in the reading mood
❤️📚❤️. I hope you plan on reading Nolyn in The Rise and Fall series now. 😊
After hearing you talk about "The Will of the Many" I am so happy mine will arrive tomorrow :D
So proud of you Regan you read wonderful books in July xoxo 😘 🏝️🏝️💛🩵💛💛📚📙🌞🏝️💛🩵🩵🏝️🏝️💛🩵🩵📚📚📙📙📙📙📖📖📖🏝️💛🩵🩵🩵💛🏝️🏝️🩵🩵🩵💛🩵🩵🩵🩵💛💛📚📚📙📙📙🌞📖📖📖💛🩵🩵🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🛳️
I've just recently read Wolfsong by TJ Klune?? Have you read it or heard anything about it? I haven't heard it mentioned by many.
Silver Nitrate sounds great!
I'm curious if the Chloe Gong actually felt like an adult fantasy or if it fell into that classic trap of ya author writing adult where they make it darker and grimmer but still wind up feeling a little tropey in YA way
I had been vaguely interested in The Will of the Many, but i wasn't sure if i wanted to read it. After what you said, i want to read it this second
I felt the same way about Frugal Wizard which is unfortunate. I loved how he rated everything and how playful the writing was, but not the characters, nor plot :/ Hopefully we have better luck with Yumi.
Yumi was soooooo good! If you liked Tress I think it’s actually better!
Love your videos but there are just SO MANY ads… like 8-10 ads for a 25 min video seems excessive.
Yes, I too am sick of all the google ads crammed into short videos, not just on this channel, either.
I read:
- Hounded (one of the worst books I've ever read - 0.5 stars)
- Point Pleasant (3 stars)
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (3 stars)
- Any Man (5 stars)
- The Sea of Monsters (I am rereading this series as an adult - it still holds up! 5 stars)
- A Comb of Wishes (4 stars)
- Yellowface (4 stars)
- To be Taught, if Fortunate (4 stars)
- The Prince (pretty good)
- 101 Greatest American Poems collection (pretty good)
I felt very similar to you about "Fourth Wing".
The will of the many added to the infinity list of books on my radar 😅❤
Immortal love the cover OMG so gorgeous love the characters and very well written and I enjoyed it 📚🩵🩵📚💛💛🌞🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🩵🩵🌞💛📙💛🌞📚🩵🌞🌞🌞📖📖💛📙📙🌞🩵🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️🩵📚🌞🌞🌞📖📖🌞💛📙📙📙💛🌞📚🩵🩵🩵🏝️🏝️🩵📚📚🌞💛💛💛📖📖💛📙📙📙📙💛🌞🩵🩵
I’m so willing to read The will of the many, sound SO good !!
Fourth wing one of my favorites the cover is beautiful and amazing inspiring and the love the Pliot xoxo 😘 📙📚🩵📙🏝️💛🏝️📚📚📚📚📙🏝️💛💛📙📚🩵🩵📙🏝️💛📖📖💛🩵🩵💛📚📙💛💛🌞🌞📖🌞📙📙📚📙💛💛🩵🩵🩵💛📙📚📙🏝️🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞📖📚📚📚
As someone who wants nothing to do with Romantasy... Would I potentially like Immortal Longings? Everything you said sounded interesting.
It’s not romantasy! More like fantasy with like 1 steamy scene!
@@PeruseProject thanks for the reply.... That makes it sound like something I might like.
I read the Fellowship of the ring by Tolkien and loved it❤❤❤ I hope I will find time to read the other two books.
And there are so many Poirot books waiting for me..😢
But this month my reading goals are:
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
In july I:
- Finished Age of Myth and began Age of Swords (4 stars)
- Listened to audiobooks of all 3 Electra McDonnell books by Ashley Weaver (cute WWII-era mystery series with a fun little slow-burn romance building) (3-4 stars)
- Read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (5 stars)
- Listened to Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson (3 stars)
- Read The Art of Healing (nonfiction) by Bernie Siegel (4 stars)
- Read Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (3 stars - I expected so much more after loving Anything Is Possible)
- Listened to Stanley Tucci's memoir Taste: My Life Through Food (3-4 stars)
- Listened to The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (also 3-4 stars - definitely a nice story but it seemed a little young for me - I think it's YA)
- I've barely started reading War and Peace - not sure how jazzed I am to keep going with this...
- I started Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I'm liking it so far
- I started reading The Language of Miracles (nonfiction) by Amelia Kinkade
- I finally started reading the Stormlight Archive series - rapidly sucked in, and way more motivated to read thousands of pages of this than Tolstoy at the moment
While Tolstoy is very different author than Sanderson I was actually surprised how readable he is… although I read Anna Karenina, not W&P…. ended up being I think third favorite novel of all time! Stormlight is a dynamite too, I was having so much fun reading the series, enjoy!
@@Morfeusm I can believe that. When I read The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (who I associate w/ Tolstoy - not sure how similar they actually are) I enjoyed that a lot. I think I read Anna Karenina too, but both of those were decades ago so I don't remember much. Now I'm old and I get tired more easily! 😂
I NEED TO READ ROBIN HOBB! is dragon keeper a god one to start with?
The will the many of my favorite books I read and love the characters and story xoxo 😘 💛🏝️🩵🏝️📙📙📙🌞🩵🏝️💛💛🏝️📙📙🌞📙📙📚📚📚📚💛🏝️🩵🩵🏝️💛🩵🩵📙🌞🌞📙📙🌞🩵🏝️💛💛🏝️🩵📙📙📙📙📙📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
I was going to read fourth wing but now I am so scared haha
Are there any books you would recommend for someone who is looking into fantasy books for the first time? Any go to reads?
Where do you get the pretty editions of Brandon Sanderson books. I really want the illustrated edition and don't know where to get it lol
she backed the Kickstarter for the secret project books.
I have an e-arc of immortal longings 👀
Immortal Longings sounds so much like Hunger Games…
I love love your recommendations, but like why do you talk like that? 😆 It's this kind of tonal rhyming scheme, where your tone goes up at the last word every other 2 - 3 sentences you speak. It's so... somewhat off-putting? anyway love your recs, maybe work on the tonal changes.
⭐⭐.75
The will of the many⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fourth wing⭐.75
Age of empyre⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Immortal longings⭐⭐⭐.75
Theft of swords⭐⭐⭐.75
Silver nitrate⭐⭐⭐⭐.25