A Very Specific Gifting Guide

This post is mostly for my family. I plan to update it as needed.

This gifting guide is very specific to me and my boyfriend and my roommate. I know I don’t interact with ya’ll as much as other family members, so I figured I’d write this up with all the gifting info you might want or need, should you be gifting us with stuff. The intent here is to be helpful. 😁

First: Hayley and Stephen honestly are uncomfortable with getting gifts from ya’ll. They will be happy to receive them, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. This is basically the answer I get every year when asked. Much shrugging.

Second: Hayley’s other stock answer to “what do you want for Christmas?” Is Barnes and Noble gift cards. She does not have a wishlist.

Third: Stephen’s Amazon list is curated by me and added to if I see something I know he’ll like or he mentions something to me. He doesn’t usually add to it himself.

Fourth: If you would like to shop somewhere other than Amazon, please do that. For books, I recommend Bookshop.org and Thriftbooks.com. Bookshop.org lets you support your local book store or just local book stores in general. Thriftbooks is generally cheaper than amazon, but their in-stock is a little dubious given they are basically a thriftstore.

Fifth: T-shirts! We love t-shirts, especially cute ones. TeeTurtle especially has some great ones. I wear an adult men’s XL or adult female 2X. Hayley wears an adult Medium. Stephen also wears XL.

Sixth: Stephen enjoys Star Wars merch. Specifically Mandalorian stuff lately, but also just general Star Wars stuff. He also likes the Abominable Snowman from the Rudolph special. He’s a car guy, so do with that what you will. He doesn’t do candy so much, but he likes Twix, Ferrero Rocher, and Reese’s Pieces.

Seventh: Hayley likes anime stuff, but you might wanna ask me about specifics… Studio Ghibli stuff is usually good. And Sailor Moon and Digimon. Also a fan of Fringe and Lost, which are TV shows (if you weren't aware). Her favorite candies are Snickers and Reese’s.

Eighth: I still like unicorns. No wings please. My Pokemon of choice is Piplup (blue penguin dude). Studio Ghibli stuff is also a win for me. I specifically enjoy Jiji the black cat.

Ninth: We all like dragons, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Agents of SHIELD, Loki, and Alton Brown.

Tenth: Our Christmas stuff is blue, purple, silver, and white.

Eleventh: If you choose to buy my Harry Potter related merch, I would appreciate if it weren’t official merch. Fan-made or second-hand is best. Slytherin colors, please. (That's the silver and green)

Twelfth: Favorite Colors. Me: Pink, Black, Blue, Red, Purple. Stephen: Burgundy. Hayley: Blue, Black.

Amazon Wish Lists

• Stephen's List
• My Most Wanted
• Doctor Who Stuff
• Unicorns
• Books
• Blu-Rays - Some of these are DVDs, but I would prefer Blu-Rays
  
• Kitchen Stuff
• Miscellaneous Stuff
  

Arrow's Flight by Mercedes Lackey

Arrow’s Flight is honestly the first true look we’ve gotten as to what Heralds get up to on a daily basis. The regular ones, anyway. That makes sense as it’s part of the first Heralds of Valdemar series and what I’ve been reading up til now (Chronologically) just wasn’t meant to be a primer or Heralds and what they do. Not that there isn’t plenty of that, but Arrow’s Flight really drives all that home and very well.

I love the Prologue. Glad it wasn’t a first intro to Valdemar, but it’s a pretty cool intro and recap rolled into one.

I said in my last review that Lord Orthallen was one of the conspirators… apparently I was wrong. The man is rather prominent, though. Aaand sowing seeds of doubt about Talia and her Empathy… even if he says he’s maintained he’s not the one sowing those seeds. I’m definitely with Talia is being extremely wary of him, as I have been since his first chronological appearance.

I did not remember the thing about the arrows. Still probably won’t remember it… It makes sense in the context of not all Heralds having Gifts and apparently not even able to talk to their Companions the way everyone up until Talia has been able to… at least that I’ve read. However, as we’re not drilled as much as the characters about it, it probably won’t stick in my brain at all.

A good chunk of this book has me screaming at the characters to fucking talk to each other. They keep wanting to and then not doing it, which is CLEARLY just making things worse. Ugh. That even Rolan won’t talk about it is so stupid. Like, I know he can’t speak directly to Talia, but Kris and Tantris can act as go-betweens for that. Just uuuugghhhh. Add to that the misunderstanding Talia and Kris end up having about their relationship… just much groaning and eye rolling on my part. I hate when people who should talk to each other just don’t for whatever reason.

I liked getting to see some actual Gift training. It’s all well and good to be told this stuff, but it’s another thing to be seeing it through the eyes of the characters. I feel like the last book was more of the former. I like that it turns out Talia wasn’t just automatically able to perfectly control her Gift. Makes her less of a Mary Sue character. I am not so fond of everyone and their mother being afraid of her because of the rumors about her Gift, but I suppose the adversity helped?

I did ultimately enjoy Arrow’s Flight. I feel like we got a better understanding of Valdemar as a realm, rather than just the stuff at the Capital. I also quite enjoyed getting more of Talia’s grown up character, as opposed to her unfinished version. Arrow’s Flight is solid and I’m looking forward to the next part of Talia’s story. 

Favorite Lines

"Oh, huzzah, I'm a marvel of coordination. I can kill anything on two legs. That's a terrific qualification for being Heir." - Elspeth

"In that case, I can assume it's safe to come to bed?"

     "I wouldn't murder you there, anyway," she replied with a hint of her old sense of humor. "It would get the blankets all sticky." - Kris and Talia

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Tempests and Slaughter is fairly chill, really. It’s a school book, in that Arram and his friends are going through their schooling and that’s pretty much it. There is a lot of stuff going on in the background as far as Carthaki political machinations, but those are really in the background. Arram doesn’t have much to do with them and so doesn’t pay a lot of attention to them.

So, for some reason, I always had it in my head that Carthak was a more China-style country. The opening of Tempest and Slaughter takes me right to Ancient Rome, which is interesting given Tortall is a Europeon-style Medieval society and has been that way for over 300 years at this point… well… excepting the southern deserts and the Bazhir culture, which are Muslim based. Maybe I’m mixing things up with something from Pierce’s Circle of Magic series-es. I have no idea, but it’s interesting. Pierce has always borrowed from other cultures than just European, and the world around Tortall is fairly Asian-based so I’m also not sure that’s not an assumption I just made about Carthak… eh. Guess we’ll find out.

The place descriptions around Carthak University are definitely Northern Africa. Like, Nile delta, almost. Especially with crocodiles and hippos being a concern.

Jumping from Song of the Lioness to this is like night and day as far as descriptions and characterization goes. Also internal dialogue is more prevalent. I know that’s all because time is a great teacher and all, but I still thought I’d mention it. It’s also loads better than the way Beka would describe things in her books.

Preet reminds me of Kel’s gryphon baby in Protector of the Small. Just the whole setup of a mortal teenager given a mythic pet to care for is really very similar. Gives Arram something more to do other than just attend classes.

Honestly, if you’re expecting a story with a conflict and a resolution, this is not it. Tempests and Slaughter really just focuses on some of the things Arram learns and notices and leave the rest up to the reader to either keep in the back of their head or discard. It’s not bad at all, it’s just… not driven by any sort of conflict. Even the conflicts in the book are resolved rather quickly. I’m honestly feeling a little drifty after reading this.

Favorite Lines

"Don't make me regret taking you on. If I get irritated, I might drown you a little bit." - Master Sebo

"Because you're a boy, and daft by nature," - Master Sebo

Reviews Batch 13

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Originally Posted to GoodReads: November 8, 2021

Just not that into it

Okay, first, I couldn’t really connect with any of the main characters, so that’s a big part of my problem. Second, there’s just so much crammed in here. It feels like the book was longer just because of how much happened that wasn’t even that integral to the plot. Third, the world building was alright, but again, there was just so much crammed in and then never actually explained. Fourth, the villains were crap. Kind of built up to be more than they were. And then they seem to be foiled in the end by… machine malfunctions. I’m confused as to what actually happened. Of course, jumping between points of view at that point really wasn’t helping either.

Really just not a fan of this. Wasn’t any one thing, just a whole lot that kind of petered out with more of a whimper than it probably meant to. 

Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic by British Library

Originally Posted to GoodReads: November 16, 2017

A fantastic and beautiful look at an exhibition most of us will tragically never get to see. The art, most of it my Jim Kay, is beautiful. I particularly loved looking at the old illuminated manuscript pages. The bits of unused writing from Rowling's drafts made me smile and gave me a nice reminder that even the best books start out needing some work.

Honestly, I probably won't reread this. Might look through from time to time just to look at the images. It's not really a book you read, if that makes sense.

Also, if, for some strange reason, you decide to pick up this book without reading the Harry Potter series first (what's wrong with you, go read them!), there are spoilers for the series.

 

An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

Originally Posted to GoodReads: November 27, 2017

Really awesome. Loved all the interconnectedness of everything. Loved the multiple narrators. Loved the fleshing out of the different cultures, as well as could be done in a first book. Loved the representation of non-heteronormativity.

My only real critique would be that the publishers needed to pay attention to where gaps in the text should be. There were several spots where I was confused due to a lack of spacing between paragraphs during a perspective jump.

Song of the Lioness Series Overview

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

Contains spoilers for: Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant, possibly other Tortall books previous and later in the chronology

Boy, does Song of the Lioness not want to stick around in my brain. I mentioned in my Lioness Rampant review that I had read that book at least three times and I am basically rediscovering it each time. I find that's largely true of the rest of the series as well. It's not that I didn't really enjoy the series or that is a bad series. I'm really not sure what it is. Maybe the Alanna in my brain is just as restless as the one in the books and she just drags her story out with her when she leaves my head. We may never know.

I did have Alanna in my head, as well as Kel from Protector of the Small, when I was reading the Beka Cooper series. Apparently in the years between Beka and Alanna, female knights just fell so completely out of fashion that they weren't even though of as a thing anymore. I guess this is a little justified given Beka encounters that religious sect of "The Gentle Mother" that I hated. Guess their doctrine spread and we just didn't get anymore female knights after that. That Alanna didn't even think she could try for her shield as herself rather than "Alan" says so much... though it is definitely unclear as to whether or not girls trying for their shields was outlawed or just... ya know, died out eventually due to societal pressure. I'm pretty sure it was just societal pressure because Kel encounters some of the same issues but no one, in the government at least, tries to stop her from earning her shield.

A lot of things about Alanna's world are very male-centric, even outside of Tortall. Thayet couldn't inherit her father's kingdom because she was a girl. Kara and Kourrem were outcast because of their magic before Alanna came along - this may have just been Akhnan ibn Nazzir being the backward jerk that he was, but... the other shamans appear to be male so... not real sure on that one. It's not super clear what's done with girls with The Gift in Bazhir culture. Apparently women can inherit land in Tortall, but not necessarily the titles that come along with it, unless you're Alanna apparently. I get that all of this has to do with both our own history and the landscape Tamora Pierce was writing in, it's just a little interesting to look at. Or at least take note of, I guess. I kind of feel like this is an instance of trying to make this world seem pretty similar to our own instead of going "Oh hey, let's just make gender equality a thing in these societies because we can." Many shrugs.

I've kind of been mentioning and also skirting around Pierce's writing style in these books. I was so annoyed with Beka's blow-by-blow of her journeys that Song of the Lioness was a breath of fresh air but also kind of odd, to me. Pierce does a lot of telling and not showing, but also doesn't describe things in a lot of detail. A lot of Song of the Lioness does rely on the reader to imagine the settings and clothing and all that. Great swathes of time are just skipped over here, where they later won't be in other books. The characterization is also pretty sparse. We get a character description and then some instances of dialogue and actions from characters, but not enough that I'd be able to tell you "Oh, so-and-so definitely wouldn't do that" at any given moment because it's just not real clear. This does make sense as it's Pierce's first novel series and was originally a single novel before she chopped it up... a thing I did not know until reading the 2014 afterwords included in my copies. It's definitely not a bad thing as Pierce's writing is engaging in other ways, but it was definitely something I noticed. Might be part of why I have such a hard time keeping Song of the Lioness in my head.

I honestly feel like Alanna herself is pretty steady as a character throughout the series. She does grow up, but the changes are more subtle than in-your-face. Jonathan is actually the one who has the most in-your-face growth and that's mostly because he was an ass in The Woman Who Rides Like a Man... but I ranted a bit about that in that review so I won't do it here. Alanna is very goal-driven, but blossoms into a whole person when she's allowed to just wallow in parts of herself she'd neglected through her quest of her shield.

Although Alanna was written in the 1970s, I feel like she's a pretty modern character. Like modern to now, even if she did and does have to deal with that medieval male-centric nonsense. Alanna herself feels very modern. She doesn't take crap from people and has the freedom to do as she likes. I know part of that is that she's a knight and a noble on top of that, but... yeah. She just doesn't feel stuck in the societal expectations of what a woman of that relative time period "should" be.

Not that the Tortall universe should be taken as historical record of anything given that it is fantasy and does not take place in our world, but Tortall did ruin my perception of how the Knight system actually worked. I was forever ruined by Tortall's system for training Knights. It definitely did not work like that in real life, but it's a semi-neat fantasy system. Reminds me of boarding schools... which I also have very little actual experience with. Actual knights were granted knighthoods basically as a reward for service and were considered lower nobility. So, like, Jon would not have been a knight because he was the prince. Actual formal training like we see in Tortall wasn't exactly a thing, and, of course, there wasn't a magical Ordeal that made sure you could handle becoming a knight. The Wikipedia article is fascinating and goes into much more depth than I'm even going to try for here.

I really do enjoy Song of the Lioness while I'm reading it, even if I can't really remember a lot of details after the fact. The first two books are fairly quick in their progression, getting Alanna from Page to Knight. The second two are a bit more fleshed out, actually taking some time to explore Alanna's life in a slightly more day-to-day fashion without actually ending up doing exactly that. Song of the Lioness is definitely a much better introduction to Tortall than the Beka Cooper series, in my opinion. I did originally enter Tortall through Alanna and Tortall remains one of my favorite fantasy lands to visit.

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

A Semi-Spoilery Reread Review

So, I have read Lioness Rampant three times at this point. I will tell you that I did not remember what the hell happened through 90% of the book at any given moment between the last time I read it and the present. I feel like that's probably because there was actually a lot that happened. Lioness Rampant is a "quest book" -- as Pierce puts it in the 2014 afterword -- but the quest isn't the main focus of the end, which is arguably more jam packed than the rest of the book. I barely remembered what happened during that last 90% as well. There's just so much and it honestly made me tear up this time around.

So, the things I remembered are technically spoilers, so... you've been warned. I promise not to spoil the end, though.

Thayet and Buri eventually ending up in Tortall. I have read and remember more of Protector of the Small and so had it hammered into my brain that Thayet eventually becomes queen and Buri sticks around. I remembered Thayet was a warlord's daughter, but not much beyond that. I did not remember how they ended up in Tortall, like, at all. I think I vaguely remembered Alanna introducing Thayet to Jonathan... I mean, her court entrance was amazeballs in my mind. Big Beauty and the Beast style staircase and the dress was super vivid in my brain. How could I forget that?

I knew Alanna got the Dominion Jewel, but the method by which she got it totally left my brain and still wants to. I think the concept of more eldritch being tied to certain places is a cool concept, though not one I think is explored again... I swear I read Immortals at some stage but I literally remember nothing except Daine so I cannot say for sure. I assume that's where the eldritch beings might come into play... but yeah. Alanna fights a big ol' ape in the cold. Cool. *shrug* moving on.

I did not remember Liam at all. He exists aaaaand then poof, gone from my brain. I guess that's kind of amusing for the Shang Dragon being as they're supposed to be the best of the best and I just plum forget him every time. Liam kind of struck me as Scottish or whatever the Tortallan-y version of that is. I really don't have much to say about him.

The ending part of the book is just so much court stuff piled in on top of itself. So much to remember and keep straight for as long as it's happening, I guess. I was really touched on Alanna's behalf when people were welcoming her home and accepting her as The Lioness. Made me tear up. I guess I was more attached to these guys than I thought.

I did remember the whole scene where Jon gives George his pardon and makes him a Baron. That scene lives rent free in my head for some reason. I did forget that it was a bit later than all the other stuff, like Alanna becoming Champion and whatnot. Thought those scenes were one... I was wrong. Go figure.

Alanna shows in Lioness Rampant that she really has grown from even the end of The Woman Who Rides Like a Man. Her growth isn't exactly super obvious, but sneaks up on you. It's definitely a factor in how she eventually deals with the resurrected Roger. Actually uses her head instead of just rushing in all reckless and whatnot. Not that she was super prone to that in the beginning, but... I dunno. It felt significant.

The last thing I remembered was the whole thing around Roger. I won't talk about it here, but his machinations were definitely something to remember. I didn't quite get the setting in my head right or all the details, but it was largely correct and present in my head as I was reading. Every time Alanna awoke from one of her vision-dreams, I was like, "nope, girl, that wasn't just a dream."

So yeah, I liked Lioness Rampant. It's very likely a good portion of it is going to slip my mind again until my next reread, but I feel like that's okay. Rediscovering Alanna's story is part of what makes my disparate rereads fun.

Favorite Line

"Fairy stories are important," Jendrai told Alanna. "Legends teach us and guide scholars in searching out the truth of history." - Nahom Jendrai

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man is largely a book of Alanna finding herself outside of the concerns of earning her shield. She becomes comfortable with her magic, is adopted to a loving family and people, and ultimately learns to fully be herself. It might not be as detailed as I would like, but it’s a mostly fun tale.

I have noticed that Pierce doesn’t really describe settings or clothing very much at this point in her writing. I guess that makes errors in borrowing cultures a little easier to hide or just, not make. Dunno. Strikes me as a little odd this time around. It’s especially thrown into sharp relief as I begin another reread of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Pierce simply does not set scenes with as much skill as Rowling. We get more feelings from Alanna, but even those are relatively scarce. It’s not bad, exactly, just not as immersive as I remember it being when I first read The Woman Who Rides Like a Man. Many shrugs.

I do enjoy the magic system. We knew a little about it before, but since Alanna is teaching now, we get to learn more about it. I like that there’s a general knowledge base magic users need to know, but also that they have specialties that are more innate and unique.

So, this whole thing with Jonathan wanting Alanna to marry him. I don’t remember how I felt the first time, but I think I want to punch him this time. He’s so sure she’ll eventually give in, he’s smiling, probably more smugly that we’re told, about her “Let me think about it” answer. I very much think Alanna saw right through to Jonathan’s actual reasons for wanting to marry her at this stage. But he’s a dude and she’s said she loves him to obviously means she’ll marry him. Barf. No. Not how that works, my dude. You can love someone, sleep with someone, and not want to marry them. I am glad Jonathan’s a bit self-aware about his behavior outside of this moment, but it’s definitely not enough. Pierce talks about it more in the 2014 afterward, apparently Jonathan got so used to court ladies he assumed Alanna would be like them, forgetting she isn’t. Still not great on his part.

So, it’s interesting that each of the cities doesn’t have their own Rogue at this point in time. In Beka Cooper’s day, I doubt George would have set foot in Port Caynn for fear the Port Caynn Rogue would have his head. Just fun to see how times have changed… or canon. As so often happens with prequels written after the fact.

The break from Alanna’s story to George’s was honestly a shock, this time around. I did not remember it at all, though I vaguely remember who Claw actually is… or was. Again, not a bad turn of events, as I believe this break was important to the overall story, like, will be more important in Lioness Rampant. George forming an alliance with Sir Myles is definitely important down the line.

Anyway, I blew through The Woman Who Rides Like a Man in a day, more or less. I am enjoying Song of the Lioness thus far, though it is definitely different this time around. I think maybe when I was younger, I was more likely to fill in details with my imagination than I am today. The world just doesn’t seem as vivid now. Still a good read, just not as immersive as it used to be.

Just A Little Update

I know I said the last time I mentioned my GoodReads reading goal that I was going to start upping the goal by 5 books at a time, given the time of year and change in my schedule. However, given the speed at which I'm blowing through The Song of the Lioness, I went ahead and put the goal back to where it would have been would I have added 10. I know this probably has little interest to anyone but me... but yeah. Figured I'd be honest about my "Goal Smashing" tally.

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

A Spoiler Free Reread Review

I wrote my notes for In the Hand of the Goddess as more inserts for my review, so that’s pretty much what you’ll get here. In the Hand of the Goddess was pretty good and a fairly quick read. It does largely feel like filler, to be completely honest, but it’s good filler.

“Fencing” is not actual fencing. It’s just a sword battle. Actual fencing uses foils and not just whatever the fuck swords. Fencing is closer to that scene in The Princess Bride between Westley and Inigo, not whatever this swordplay is between Alanna and Dain.

Here we get absolute confirmation that Duke Roger of Conte is a bad guy. I’m just gonna roll my eyes and sigh heavily because “DUH.” His conversation with Alanna during the Drell Valley thing wasn’t really that unsettling, though I have a feeling it was supposed to be.

So, the whole thing in the Drell Valley had zero sense of urgency. The one battle was quickly over with and that’s really where the bulk of the urgency was. Everything else was just… bleh. Nothing. I didn’t even feel any sense of dread while Alanna was kidnapped and not even vaguely tortured.

I remember feeling like Delia of Eldorne was very much Vanessa from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, when I read this last. Vanessa being Ursla’s human form. I don’t know exactly where that thought came from, but she’s definitely a pretty lure for Jonathan so… yeah. She’s also a mere blip in Alanna’s story, all things considered.

I don’t know if the speed at which I’m blowing through these books is affecting my immersion, but I really suspect it might be. I remember when I first read these, this book actually felt like it was taking up the time it takes up on Alanna’s timeline. It also felt a lot more atmospheric than it does now. Part of that might be the speed I’m reading and part might be that I’m just not as into this style of Young Adult book as I used to be. Who knows.

Favorite Lines

"Myles let the kitten watch from the start, saying cats had the right to learn history as well as anyone." - Narrator

"Just because he behaved badly is no excuse for me to behave badly." - Alanna Trebond

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey

A Spoiler Free Reread Review

Arrows of the Queen is truly where you want to start a Valdemar journey. I know this time I'm reading through chronologically and everything about Heralds is technically explained in other books to other characters, but I feel like Talia gets the best introduction and us along with her. The only issue I really have is that Rolan and Talia cannot speak mind-to-mind like all of the other Herald/Companion duos we've encountered thus far in said chronological reading of the Heralds of Valdemar series. It's not a serious issue, just an interesting one. Talia not only gets lecturing on what it means to be a Herald, but also how the Gifts work and even a peek into how special the Monarch's Own Herald is... as Talia is the Queen's Own.

Rolan being unable to mind-speak Talia really bothered me during the first portion of the book as he's taking Talia to Haven. Everyone she meets is like "there are rules" and "you'll just get confused if we tell you what's going on" which is confusing to Talia and to a reader who's not familiar with Valdemar and how things work. Most other Heralds would have their Companions mind-speaking them and explaining what's going on but not so with Talia so the poor girl's just confused af. Like, at least have it in "the rules" that someone can tell the clearly very confused and worried Herald-to-be that they've been Chosen and that someone will explain what that actually means once they reach the Collegium. Seriously.

I believe I have ultimately figured out why Lord Orthallen was ringing bells in my head during Take a Thief. I'm not sure whether I'm remembering correctly or not, but I believe he's one of the unnamed conspirators. Definitely not 100% sure, but about 90% sure.

It was nice seeing Skif again. I like his relationship with Talia and who he's growing into. I am definitely happy his rough speech is gone now, cuz boy was that hard to read. He's much more settled now, even if he is still a bit of a scamp. It's nice.

I really enjoyed Talia's relationship with Elspeth. I loved that Talia wasn't taking any of Elspeth's crap from day one. So good. The turnaround in Elspeth's behavior was fun to see. I don't remember a whole lot from the rest of the Valdemar series so I'm looking forward to watching her grow up.

Talia herself is an interesting character. She is at once very reserved but also willing to lend an ear to whoever needs her. I very much felt for her during the bullying bit of the plot. Poor thing had her formative experience with adults who wouldn't listen to her and so doesn't trust anyone else and it's so true to life it's heartbreaking. I am very glad she grows beyond that and gets the help and support she really needed.

Ah yes, and I must mention the use of the Valdemar Heartsone room... or whatever it's called. Created by Vanyel and then forgotten about for a while until it was discovered by Mags, who had zero idea what it was or that it was actual magic. Selenay drags Talia, Dirk, Kyril, and Kris down there and they use it to boost the Heralds' powers... so I guess someone figured out what was up with the magic room at some point between Mags and Talia. Just mentioning it because it's been a point of high salt from me in the past.

Arrows of the Queen is definitely the best of the introductory books so far in my chronological read. We get character and world building is such a way that doesn't feel forced. It's also nice to have a main character who doesn't have some sort of weird accent that the reader has to stumble through reading. But yeah, pretty solid beginning to one of the main trilogies in the Valdemar series. 

In Other News

My Valdemar reread is going on a tiny bit of a hiatus... probably. I'm about to have my second vacation of the year, which means I won't be reading on my phone so much... which is where I read the Valdemar series. We have definitely reached the point of my read-through where I am rereading these, but I honestly don't remember much so... I look forward to rediscovering things.

Slay by Laurell K. Hamilton

A Spoiler Free Review

I am overall much happier with Slay than I was with Smoulder. I feel like stuff actually happened and was resolved in a satisfying manner that didn't leave me wishing for a second half of the book. I am kind of over the massive amount of characters we have to keep track of at any given moment... I really just can't keep focused on more than whoever's "on stage" and even then it's like "Wait, who's that again?" or just rolling with it. The same goes for the bad guys. At this point, I think I'm having a hard time feeling any kind of actual threat from them. Deimos was scary to Anita, but not really to me. I didn't really feel any of the threat with Anita because, well, it's 30 books in and it's just not feasible for her to really lose or be permanently separated from her loved ones. I definitely felt the threat from her Grandmother at the end... but I won't say anything more than that about that because spoilers so... yeah.

I did think Deimos had an interesting power set. That he could essentially throw an entire city into chaos by feeding the fears of hate groups and everyone, apparently, was neat. Ultimately disastrous, but you kind of know that if you know people so... yeah. Fear makes us do some fucked up shit, that's for sure. For example... human history. But that's a rant for another time. Also Deimos' dragon form was interesting. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely clocked that we'd be getting a dragon as soon as crime scene photos started appearing "on stage." Like, yep, only thing that could have bitten a dude in half in one bite and left reptilian footprints was gonna be a dragon. Well... maybe a dinosaur, but my brain dismissed that one pretty quickly... though I guess Deimos could have been a dinosaur instead of a dragon but... nah. Earliest vampire at this point was Mommy Dearest and she was a sabre toothed cat so... yeah. No more dinos at that point in time.

I don't really have much feeling toward Anita's family. They're definitely the epitome of "we're not close at all except for perfunctory things like weddings, but we still think we have some say in your life because we're your family." Or at least, Fredrick and Grandma Blake are. Judith and Andria are clearly more supportive and accepting. Josh is just kind of there in the background, not being "on stage" this time except for a few moments. Fredrick really pissed me off. I sincerely hate his insistence that Anita conform to his ideas about respecting your parents because they're your parents and treating his adult child like she's not an adult in the same breath. Just no. My grandfather tried to pull that crap on me once and I literally screamed in his face and walked away. Probably not the best way to handle it, but it's funny in hindsight. Grandma Blake... really should have just been kept away, like Anita wanted. Anita was definitely the bigger person by not calling off the entire thing immediately when Grandma Blake appeared.

I feel like the entire thing with the Wicked Truth at the hospital really slowed down the pacing. I mean, I guess it was a nice break from the action-action-action happening, but I dunno. It did serve to show how weird it was for Anita to be without the metaphysical stuff for once in a very long time. Definitely wouldn't want that to be the norm. Also that part of the book kind of drove home how really weird and awkward it is to have security also be either lovers or former lovers. Like, I don't know why I didn't really think about it until now, but yeah... awkward stuff with Echo.

So yeah, I was much happier with Slay and it was definitely a lot of fun. Happy 30th birthday to the Anita Blake series. Only 5 years younger than me.

Favorite Lines

"     Judith said, 'Language.'

     I stared at her as I said, 'Motherfucking son of a bitch, what's wrong with my language, Judith?'" - Judith and Anita Blake

"The only difference from the Church's perspective was that vampires were dead, so they couldn't repent, but the bloodiest serial killer could still be saved if they were truly repentant. I'd met serial killers both undead and alive, and they weren't savable. What they had done to their victims put them outside of God's Grace or the salvation of Jesus Christ." - Anita Blake

"It's just rude to leave bodily fluids in public." - Anita Blake

"Part of true love is telling each other the truth even when we don't want to hear it and reminding us again when we forget what we've already told each other." - Anita Blake

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

A Spoiler Free Reread Review

So, Alanna: The First Adventure is actually quite a quick novel. It’s really easy to read and breezes through three years worth of Page training. Like, really breezes through it. I noticed there was rarely time to actually sit with any of Alanna’s issues, aside from the notable exception of the Ralon thing.

Speaking of, this whole “we don’t report our bullies” thing is some bullshit… carries on into the next generation, too. So dumb. I know this well because, I was honestly far more invested in Protector of the Small than I ever was in Song of the Lioness. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I guess I just didn’t find it as satisfying. That’s actually exemplified in Alanna. Aside from Alanna herself, there’s not really much to get invested in, I don’t think.

The random swapping of POVs gives me a bit of whiplash. The entire lack of detail here versus the Beka Cooper books also is giving me a bit of whiplash, though it is very welcome. I do not need super detailed accounts of Alanna’s day to day. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have enjoyed more detail… Alanna’s story thus far is just not memorable. Like, I literally did not remember anything from it aside from Jon, Gary, and George being Alanna’s friends. I’d still be a little hard pressed to come up with even an outline of what happened despite having just finished the book.

Roger of Conte suffers from a bad case of “obviously the bad guy.” He’s not even super subtle about it himself, Alanna’s feelings about him notwithstanding. “I am not often kind, Alan.” Really, dude? I also very much agree with Alanna’s assessment of his motives at the end. I don’t remember any details at all about Roger from my past reads, but he definitely has “super obvious bad guy” vibes, even without Alanna’s feelings about him.

I’m pretty sure I’ve only revisited Alanna once since my first reading. Having her entire four years or whatever as a Page all compressed into one book is interesting. Seems as thought the time just flew by, which is probably part of the realism, really. If you’re so consumed with work or schooling or whatever, the time just flies by. I honestly don’t know if it really works in the book’s favor, though. Like I’ve said, I literally remembered nothing about Alanna so… yeah. It was a fun, breezy read that didn’t leave anything stuck in my brain for later.

An After-Thought

In the 2014 Afterword, Tamora Pierce notes that she originally wrote Alanna's story as an adult novel. I think that is probably why Alanna is the way it is. The teenage years of a protagonist's life wouldn't really be that interesting to an adult audience and so aren't super fleshed out.

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

I honestly found Mastiff to be both better and worse than the previous Beka Cooper books. Beka’s more grown up now, but since we missed those years of growing, she’s also more distant, I felt. There’s also a bit of semi-interesting world-building around mages here… honestly, I was more interested in what Farmer was doing half the time than what Beka was up to. But since we’re following Beka and not Farmer, my curiosity was not sated.

So, I know we’re supposed to feel something for Beka in the beginning of this book. However, with a two year time jump and her stoicism about losing her betrothed, who we as readers know nothing about, I’m just not feeling anything about him or them as a couple. I have no idea who Holburn is and I honestly don’t care about him in the slightest. Probably for the best, as Beka’s actual feelings about him were close to the same. I do appreciate that we didn’t actually get a lot of detail about their relationship through this, as Beka wouldn’t need to write about it to remind herself. But yeah… I feel like the whole thing with Holburn was unnecessary, really.

There’s just so. Much. Detail. Too much, honestly, at times. Other times, seems like too little. Those times are rare, but… yeah. Mastiff just feels tedious for a good portion of it. It’s understandable, given the circumstances of the book, really, but it’s still not great. I really didn’t need to know how many times Achoo stopped to sniff at spots along their route.

I would like to body slam whoever came up with that nonsense “Gentle Mother Goddess” crap off a cliff. Please and thank you. I hate it with every fiber of my being. Anything that attempts to keep people in narrowly defined boxes is shit on a stick.

All of that said, the ending of Mastiff did make me cry a bit. Not rolling tears, but tears nonetheless. It’s probably all that togetherness and triumph and recognition that did it. I won’t spoil it, exactly, but yes, Beka does triumph in the end. That was nice. Really should have just ended there, in my opinion. The epilogue I guess was necessary for the framing narrative of the whole Beka Cooper series, but… yeah. I wasn’t really a fan of it.

Much hand-waving at this point. Mastiff felt better than either Terrier or Bloodhound, but that’s not saying a lot. I’m already super ready to jump into Song of the Lioness, so I’ll bid Beka Cooper adieu and be on my way.

Favorite Lines

"That time together was still worth some grief," Rosto said. "And the guilt is still heavy, even if your love has turned to hate or dislike."

"There, you see? A cat understands how to be pleasant in the morning. He doesn't talk." - Farmer Cape

In Other News

Third time I've smashed my reading goals. Might get easier for the rest of the year as I'm increasing the goals by 5 each time.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

A Very Spoiler Free Review

I thought War of the Oaks was a very cool take on modern Faerie. I was honestly expecting Eddie to get dragged into Faerie at the beginning, but I’m glad she didn’t. I thought the phouka was going to end up going all Edward Cullen on Eddi, which he kind of did, but also didn’t. That is not to say the phouka and Edward have anything in common (they don’t), just the protective aspect over their humans is similar. Other than that, I honestly hadn’t remembered why I wanted to read War of the Oaks and I didn’t read the blurb or summary before reading, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. War of the Oaks is quite good and the story is neat. It’s very different from anything I’ve read recently. I enjoyed it a lot, even if I have little to say about it, really.

In Other News

In the last month I have finished two OviPets projects! I posted about one of them over on Threads, but I have been remiss in posting about them here... Oops.

The first is Etemon. One of the simplest projects I've ever done, Etemon has just two mutations and took me 4 months to complete.

The second project is my Rainbow Unicorn Charity project. Just about every year, OviPets does a set or two of mutations whose proceeds go to charity. The proceeds went to Sunshine Animal Sanctuary Malta. The Rainbow Unicorns have three Charity mutations out of seven mutations total. They took me a year and 2 months to complete.

November is going to be another slow month for posts. I have one batch post this month and the rest will come as I finish reading/whenever I feel like reviewing something. Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween. ^_^