Welsh Fairies by Mhara Starling

I really enjoyed learning more about Welsh fairies and their stories. I read this basically on the heels of finishing Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series, which meant that Gwyn ap Nudd and Arawn were rather fresh in my mind. Reading bits of their actual mythology was honestly really satisfying... as was actually learning how to say their names correctly. I think I referred to the Glossary more than I ever have before, just to solidify the Welsh pronunciations in my head.

Welsh Fairies is definitely a jumping-off-point book. There are some stories included in the text, but this is mostly a discussion of those stories rather than a compendium of them. It's really well written and engaging all the way through.

Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey

This marks the beginning my first full reread of the Pern series. This time, I'm reading in the chronological order recommended by the Pern Fandom Wiki. So far, this reread has been interesting. I think I was more fully invested this time, than my last time reading. Sallah, Sean, and Sorka, being the main touchstones. Sean and Sorka, in my honest opinion, just fell into that category of "you know we're going to grow up together and end up married just because" thing... which is fine. I didn't really need this to be a sweeping romance.

Dragonsdawn did exactly what it needed to do, in terms of telling the story of how Pern was first settled. It didn't feel like a check-list, either, which tends to happen with some prequels. Having read it, and a good chunk of the Pern series before, I really feel like this did a good job. Dragonsdawn is also told in such a way that is can definitely serve as the first book of the series proper, as well. There are definitely bits that are kind of Easter Eggs for those reading the series in publication order (or however you're reading it where this isn't the first book), but it's not overburdened by them.

I found the Avril Bitra storyline rather "meh." Her plan just seemed really silly to me. Doable, apparently, according to the story, but very silly. Add Nabol, a name that tends to produce antagonistic characters in the Pern series, and I was just checked out of the whole thing. Greedy humans will greedy human their way to death and that's fine. Honestly, it's interesting that the names Bitra and Nabol long outlasted their namesakes, especially as Bitra, at least, didn't have any descendants.

I found myself incredibly enraged at Ted Tubberman as he stubbornly lobbied for calling for help. He reminded me a lot of certain Right Wing people who just refuse to listen to reason... or even the majority. I vaguely remember some mention of felines being hunted on the Southern Continent later in the series, but I don't know that I was interested enough to really care about where they came from. Good to know, I guess.

I love the dragons. I had honestly been expecting Sean and Sorka to Impress first, so it was surprising when they didn't. I really enjoyed the Dragonriders figuring out how the Dragons worked, mostly on their own. That part of the book kind of flew by in a 1980's-style montage, even if it was satisfying. The ending, despite knowing full well the Dragons would be fully functional, made me cry.

So yeah, Dragonsdawn is a very good prequel and a very good beginning. I've been looking forward to this reread and continue to do so.

Theory by Sienna Tristen

I am honestly at a loss as to how to review this. Normally, there’s something for me to talk about — and I probably could, if I were discussing The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming, Book One: Theory with someone else — but as I’m doing a review, that is daunting. Theory is very good, first and foremost. It’s philosophical and a way I’m certain I haven’t really encountered up to this point in my life of reading. I also felt very seen at some points. Ronoah reminds me of myself.

Reilin/Özrek gives me Doctor (from Doctor Who) vibes. He’s definitely not human. Turns out, also isn’t shalledra and probably not a god. Just god-like, at times. He’s… hard to describe, really. But really gave me Doctor vibes.

I also quite enjoyed the world-building. Both the wider stuff and the smaller things. The discussions of how different races and sections of humanity worked were fun. The tales interspersed throughout were an interesting addition and not something I’ve seen utilized the way they were here.

But yeah, not really sure what else to say. I highly recommend giving Theory a read.

Favorite Lines

“Truth is picky about her friends,” the man continued, with a smile like he and Truth had discussed this over tea a couple years back. “She does not yield herself so easily. Can’t have everyone knowing how the whole of everything works, can you, that’s asking for trouble and it takes away the fun besides—so she sets up stumbling blocks, dresses up decoys, fashions false dichotomies galore, and even then, does she wait patient at the end of her obstacle course?” He swept the air clean with a dismissive flick of the hand. “Of course not. If you want to truly know anything, you are obliged to run the gauntlet and you must be prepared to come out the other end only to discover that Truth is not sitting pretty at the finish line as you presumed, she’s up and moved again, and there’s a whole new cast of challenges lined up as punishment for your slowness or perhaps, if you’re unlucky, for your cleverness, your overconfidence.” - Reilin/Özrek

“It is the unexpected things that impact us the most.” - Reilin/Özrek

"Change is reciprocal. Change is symbiotic. And change is work." - Reilin/Özrek

"Know this: the most interesting people are interested people. The ones who sink their teeth into everything. The ones who ask what no one else is mad enough to ask. The ones who know you need to drown in something before you can understand it." - Reilin/Özrek

"We are all bigger than ourselves. We all contain multitudes." - Reilin/Özrek

 

“When two great shards of the planet scrape up against each other in a collision so forceful it squeezes the molten blood out of the earth, it behooves one to take notice.” - Reilin/Özrek

 

"It’s a delightful paradox, that the more stable a kingdom is forced to be, the more likely it is to fall apart—if you’re aiming for longevity, you need to give the thing a little space to breathe." - Reilin/Özrek

In Other News

The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming, Book One: Theory marks my 110th book this year, meaning I have smashed my reading goal for this year again. My new goal is 116, which is how many books I read last year. Here's hoping I get my GoodReads confetti for it next time.

Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Poison Tree. I read it once before but have zero memory of doing so. I mean, I remembered some after I started reading, but otherwise... much meh. I think it's the amount of characters all set up enough to be interesting, but none really given time to really develop that's my issue.

The pace is quite quick and the story ultimately enjoyable. It also fleshes out some of the issues at play at SingleEarth, especially when they don't dig into the past of their employees as well as they should.

I really, really would have liked a more insular story around Sarik, since that's essentially where the main conflict ends up. But again, she's fleshed out enough to be interesting, but not enough for me to really connect with her on the level I think would have made her shine.

All Just Glass by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes - Reread

This is a short, mostly spoiler-free reread review. You can, and honestly probably should, read my last reread review of All Just Glass as it will inform on this one. You can find that HERE.

This time around, I really don't feel as annoyed at the sudden influx of characters. There are still a lot of them in play at any one moment, but it doesn't feel as overwhelming. I also feel like I paid more attention this time, despite reading it in about 24 hrs. Dominique's past was a bit more fleshed out than I thought originally, but it's still only completely revealed in the Epilogue, so it does feel somewhat tacked on.

I liked the whole bit where Nikolas took Sarah hunting for the first time. It was really well done and well explained. Other than this, I feel like Sarah's part of the story took more of a backseat to her "siblings," which I think annoyed me on the last reads. After all, Shattered Mirror was so focused on Sarah. It felt like All Just Glass should have, as well, but I see how that would have not worked as well.

I actually like Zachary a bit more, this time. His motivations make more sense to me, though they really do hammer home how much therapy these Hunters need. Zachary's story was another big nail in the coffin of the "Vida Perfection" thing all the Vidas cling to and ultimately don't hold to.

Favorite Lines

"And you've never said anything in a moment of anger that you couldn't follow through with?" - Kristopher Ravena

"The one thing I know for certain is that after you are gone, you lost any power to decide what other people do. Will they kill for you? Will they die for you? Will they fight to avenge you? That is never your choice." - Nikolas Ravena

Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

The first thing I wrote in my notes regarding Shattered Mirror was "My Twilight before Twilight." Completing my reread, I can't really say I'm wrong. The story beats are similar: girl meets vampire, they fall for each other, it's essentially doomed... but really, the similarities end there. Sarah and Christopher are both more fleshed out than Bella and Edward and the world around them is more complicated. I will also point out that Shattered Mirror was published 4 years before Twilight.

Sarah is a vampire hunter and a witch on top of that. Her family is dysfunctional as a family... Dominique is downright abusive in her quest to turn her daughters into perfect vampire hunting machines... though this is never actually "shown" "on screen." Just the story of what happened after Sarah found her father's body proves that. Sarah herself discovers that the world isn't as black and white as she thought it was.

I would explain more about Christopher's "fleshing out" but most of that would be a big spoiler, so, really best avoided in this review. He does spend most of the book leaving cringy poems for Sarah in her locker, though.

I honestly feel like Shattered Mirror moves a little too quickly. There isn't really any room to breathe. Sarah isn't really given time to sit with her changing feelings toward vampires... or at least toward Nissa and Christopher. Most of the relevant plot-info is info-dumped by the main vampires toward the end. Otherwise, it's just Sarah trying to navigate high school while not becoming too close (and failing) to Nissa and Christopher.

I think I appreciated the melodrama a lot more when I was a teenager. At my current 35-years, it's an engaging enough story with some rather terrifying implications hiding behind that YA label. 

Other Random Notes

• I was amused by the Volvo mention almost right after I noted the Twilight thing.
• I find it interesting that Sarah asserts she's know Nikolas on sight and yet runs into his twin and has nary a twinge... telling me there was a rewrite somewhere or Sarah was straight-up lying to herself.
• Another set of Southern Vampires. I highly recommend Princess Weekes' video on Confederate Vampires for understanding why I feel it needed to be noted.

Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

I am fairly certain Midnight Predator was the first of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' books I ever read. If not, it's definitely the one that pulled me hook, line, and sinker into Atwater-Rhodes' Nyeusigrube universe. However, rereading it now... all the cringe.

So first, the slavery aspect. I know for a fact that I originally read this as more BDSM-coded than not. I think it is BDSM-coded, but it is definitely more than that. Make no mistake, humans are being bought and sold by vampires in this world. I'm not sure if, timeline-wise, it's gone back to a chattel-style thing, but Jaguar confirms it used to be that way. And the BDSM-coding? It's definitely a twisted version of what BDSM actually is. I think the last time I read a character using BDSM to twist his victims like Jaguar admits to doing in the past (and Jeshikah straight-up threatens to do to Turquoise), the character was a villain. That Jaguar ends up being something of a love-interest... cringe. Definite cringe.

I'm pretty sure Midnight Predator was where I fell in love with the idea of vampire hunters with organizations behind them. This doesn't exactly glamorize the idea, but it definitely planted it in my teenage head.

Turquoise definitely isn't the best representation of healthy coping. It makes sense, in this world, that the trauma she endured and escaped from would result in her chosen profession. But man, girl needs some therapy. She's not the deepest of main characters, either. Went from apparently perfect, upper-middle-class? life to slave to vampire hunter... but she has yet to have any motivations other than that. Even by the end.

So, yeah... Midnight Predator... so far in my Nyeusigrube reread, the cringey-est reread. 

Favorite Line

"A feeding vampire is as natural and simple as a wolf or lion. It's only when the human mind is in control that any creature has the desire to give pain." - Jaguar