May Reading Update
Jun. 3rd, 2023 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwalla Another productive month! I got through a lot of new reads and a lot of rereads. I'm back on my Lily Maybe bullshit as well. June is looking like it's going to be productive, too!
June Reading List:
Sanctuary with Kings by Kathryn Moon (Tempting Monsters, #3)
Very excited for the release of this reverse harem monsterfucking novel, a third in the trilogy. This one is going to have a protagonist who isn't already a sex worker, which I think will be interesting.
Ideally I'd like to get through two of my physical books and two books off my ridiculous ebook backlist. Not exactly sure what yet. I think A Restless Truth is a good option, since the final installment is out this fall; another good option is Ana Maria and the Fox, since I've been in the mood for romance lately. As for ebooks, I really need to make a dent in my unread YA, so I might suck it up and give one of them a try.
Currently Reading:
The Love That Dares: Letters of LGBTQ+ Love & Friendship Through History by Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey
Library book! Picked it up on a whim, enjoying it so far. I need to read more nonfiction.
SVSSS Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
I need to sit down and finish rereading this so I can work on my Sv fanfics.
The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
I caved and bought a copy--I don't think I'm getting through the library book I have in time. This will probably take a few months to finish.
Rereads:
The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 1-3 by Kazuki Irodori
5/5. Man, I really enjoy this series so much. I think it's fun and it's cute and the romance is compelling, and the focus on logistics and accounting is a fun twist on a fantasy world. It's not very original, but it's well-executed and enjoyable. After I finished the third volume I immediately wanted to reread.
Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise
3/5. I have a weird relationship with this book. It's one of the P&P variations that sticks in my mind, probably one of the ones I've reread the most...and yet I don't think I like it very much? It feels a little heavy-handed, to be honest. The premise is one that's been done often in this genre, but a skilled writer could execute it really well. Louise is not that writer. I think it sticks in my brain because the premise and tropes are ones I really like--I want to like it much more than I do!
Soul Eater by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #1)
5/5. Obsessed with this, have read it easily 10 times, the only audiobook I have ever finished. Naive innocent human x ancient murder monster is my crack. That shit is like catnip to me. You can tell this is Mayne's debut, because there are flaws--some awkward phrasing, some repetition--that are improved as you get further in the series. But even though I've read this entire series, this one is still my favorite. And I think Mayne does a great job of building up the romance and linking together the internal external conflicts so that the story feels satisfying.
Edin by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #2)
4/5. I reread this to see if I would like it more on reread, and I don't. Like it would be a 5/5 if I didn't think both Edin and Hunter were annoying, but they are, and if the actual plot was not so interesting I would probably have stopped here. But the world of Monstrous is so cool that I think it's worth reading the whole series. Anyways if you like horny monsters and assholes (figurative) you will be into this.
Wyn by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #3.5)
5/5. I love Wyn's POV. He's so awful in every way. Danny and Wyn are the characters' whose relationship gets the most attention in later books, and I love just hanging out with them and seeing their relationship evolve. It's fun to see how they've settled in together and I'm really glad Mayne retconned her previous stance and decided to make all her couples immortal. Also, on reread I totally caught a bunch of details that pay off in Lor, which is so cool.
New Reads:
The Faithless by C. L. Clark (Magic of the Lost, #2)
5/5. I was not expecting to enjoy this and in fact put it off for a long while because of that. But Clark delivers. Setting aside that I still hate Luca and do not want Torraine to be with her, I think the politics of this book are so interesting. The last 20% or so of the book is insanely compelling, like I read it in one sitting on the edge of my seat.
Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know by Qing Se Yu Yi
2/5. The premise is interesting, and the actual bones of the plot are good. But the style is very tedious--every time the story started expositioning about the level of cultivation anyone was at my eyes were glazing over. Some of that may just be things getting lost in translation, so I would definitely give it another shot if another translation was available. The romance is very weak. Overall a miss for me.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (as Frankenstein Weekly)
4/5. I don't think the style is for me, but it's a classic for a reason and I enjoyed it pretty well. I think weekly installments are a great way to read a book like this! Victor is soooo awful, I was not prepared for how much he sucks as a human.
The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 3 by Kazuki Irodori
5/5. I was screaming into a pillow during this installment. Nothing is funnier than Kondou accurately clocking Aresh's feelings and then doing *checks notes* literally nothing about them. No, wait, he did explain that for professional reasons he would be participating more when they were having sex? I love a stupid misunderstanding. Give me more.
A Collection of Monstrous Short Stories by Lily Mayne (Monstrous series)
5/5. I bought this despite only being interested in 50% of the content, max, but it was still worth it. Personally I think the new Orlith stuff and the novella make it a worthwhile purchase alone, but if you didn't read the extras previously on Mayne's website, or you read them and want them, it's definitely worth picking this up. Personally the extra Danny/Wyn content + the Moth content + the new stuff made it an instant 5 stars for me. Where is the Orlith book. Where is the Orlith's brother book. I need them.
Snowbound by Joana Starnes
3/5. Was surprised to rate this so low, since I've enjoyed Starnes's previous work a lot. Her writing is solid, but this is so bloodless. There's no conflict between Darcy and Elizabeth, and there's not a strong external force for them to overcome, so it all feels kind of pointless.
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
5/5. A gut punch of a book. This dystopian take on the US prison system and its failures is incredible. Viscerally horrifying, unexpectedly emotional, I can't recommend it enough.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
5/5. Kuang just does not miss. Crawl inside the brain of white racism in this absurd novel about the publishing industry, cultural appropriation, and social media mobs. The first person POV is deeply compelling. This is a book I would never have picked up if Kuang wasn't the author, and I was not disappointed.
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 6 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5/5. This volume contains the most fucked up content in the whole of TGCF. It's one part Mt. Tonglu shenanigans, one part Xie Lian tragic backstory. I love it and would rate it second only to the He Xuan arc in Arc 3. Arc 4 of TGCF is arguably the thesis on which the whole novel is built. A lot of questions that you likely have about Xie Lian. Hua Cheng, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing get answered in this novel, in a very satisfying way.
June Reading List:
Sanctuary with Kings by Kathryn Moon (Tempting Monsters, #3)
Very excited for the release of this reverse harem monsterfucking novel, a third in the trilogy. This one is going to have a protagonist who isn't already a sex worker, which I think will be interesting.
Ideally I'd like to get through two of my physical books and two books off my ridiculous ebook backlist. Not exactly sure what yet. I think A Restless Truth is a good option, since the final installment is out this fall; another good option is Ana Maria and the Fox, since I've been in the mood for romance lately. As for ebooks, I really need to make a dent in my unread YA, so I might suck it up and give one of them a try.
Currently Reading:
The Love That Dares: Letters of LGBTQ+ Love & Friendship Through History by Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey
Library book! Picked it up on a whim, enjoying it so far. I need to read more nonfiction.
SVSSS Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
I need to sit down and finish rereading this so I can work on my Sv fanfics.
The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
I caved and bought a copy--I don't think I'm getting through the library book I have in time. This will probably take a few months to finish.
Rereads:
The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 1-3 by Kazuki Irodori
5/5. Man, I really enjoy this series so much. I think it's fun and it's cute and the romance is compelling, and the focus on logistics and accounting is a fun twist on a fantasy world. It's not very original, but it's well-executed and enjoyable. After I finished the third volume I immediately wanted to reread.
Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise
3/5. I have a weird relationship with this book. It's one of the P&P variations that sticks in my mind, probably one of the ones I've reread the most...and yet I don't think I like it very much? It feels a little heavy-handed, to be honest. The premise is one that's been done often in this genre, but a skilled writer could execute it really well. Louise is not that writer. I think it sticks in my brain because the premise and tropes are ones I really like--I want to like it much more than I do!
Soul Eater by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #1)
5/5. Obsessed with this, have read it easily 10 times, the only audiobook I have ever finished. Naive innocent human x ancient murder monster is my crack. That shit is like catnip to me. You can tell this is Mayne's debut, because there are flaws--some awkward phrasing, some repetition--that are improved as you get further in the series. But even though I've read this entire series, this one is still my favorite. And I think Mayne does a great job of building up the romance and linking together the internal external conflicts so that the story feels satisfying.
Edin by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #2)
4/5. I reread this to see if I would like it more on reread, and I don't. Like it would be a 5/5 if I didn't think both Edin and Hunter were annoying, but they are, and if the actual plot was not so interesting I would probably have stopped here. But the world of Monstrous is so cool that I think it's worth reading the whole series. Anyways if you like horny monsters and assholes (figurative) you will be into this.
Wyn by Lily Mayne (Monstrous, #3.5)
5/5. I love Wyn's POV. He's so awful in every way. Danny and Wyn are the characters' whose relationship gets the most attention in later books, and I love just hanging out with them and seeing their relationship evolve. It's fun to see how they've settled in together and I'm really glad Mayne retconned her previous stance and decided to make all her couples immortal. Also, on reread I totally caught a bunch of details that pay off in Lor, which is so cool.
New Reads:
The Faithless by C. L. Clark (Magic of the Lost, #2)
5/5. I was not expecting to enjoy this and in fact put it off for a long while because of that. But Clark delivers. Setting aside that I still hate Luca and do not want Torraine to be with her, I think the politics of this book are so interesting. The last 20% or so of the book is insanely compelling, like I read it in one sitting on the edge of my seat.
Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know by Qing Se Yu Yi
2/5. The premise is interesting, and the actual bones of the plot are good. But the style is very tedious--every time the story started expositioning about the level of cultivation anyone was at my eyes were glazing over. Some of that may just be things getting lost in translation, so I would definitely give it another shot if another translation was available. The romance is very weak. Overall a miss for me.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (as Frankenstein Weekly)
4/5. I don't think the style is for me, but it's a classic for a reason and I enjoyed it pretty well. I think weekly installments are a great way to read a book like this! Victor is soooo awful, I was not prepared for how much he sucks as a human.
The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Vol. 3 by Kazuki Irodori
5/5. I was screaming into a pillow during this installment. Nothing is funnier than Kondou accurately clocking Aresh's feelings and then doing *checks notes* literally nothing about them. No, wait, he did explain that for professional reasons he would be participating more when they were having sex? I love a stupid misunderstanding. Give me more.
A Collection of Monstrous Short Stories by Lily Mayne (Monstrous series)
5/5. I bought this despite only being interested in 50% of the content, max, but it was still worth it. Personally I think the new Orlith stuff and the novella make it a worthwhile purchase alone, but if you didn't read the extras previously on Mayne's website, or you read them and want them, it's definitely worth picking this up. Personally the extra Danny/Wyn content + the Moth content + the new stuff made it an instant 5 stars for me. Where is the Orlith book. Where is the Orlith's brother book. I need them.
Snowbound by Joana Starnes
3/5. Was surprised to rate this so low, since I've enjoyed Starnes's previous work a lot. Her writing is solid, but this is so bloodless. There's no conflict between Darcy and Elizabeth, and there's not a strong external force for them to overcome, so it all feels kind of pointless.
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
5/5. A gut punch of a book. This dystopian take on the US prison system and its failures is incredible. Viscerally horrifying, unexpectedly emotional, I can't recommend it enough.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
5/5. Kuang just does not miss. Crawl inside the brain of white racism in this absurd novel about the publishing industry, cultural appropriation, and social media mobs. The first person POV is deeply compelling. This is a book I would never have picked up if Kuang wasn't the author, and I was not disappointed.
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 6 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5/5. This volume contains the most fucked up content in the whole of TGCF. It's one part Mt. Tonglu shenanigans, one part Xie Lian tragic backstory. I love it and would rate it second only to the He Xuan arc in Arc 3. Arc 4 of TGCF is arguably the thesis on which the whole novel is built. A lot of questions that you likely have about Xie Lian. Hua Cheng, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing get answered in this novel, in a very satisfying way.
