At what age would you make The Drop? Danika and Bryce chose 27 which is of course that mystical death age for some musicians.
What age would you make the drop? Cast your vote and let us know why that age in the comments!
This week, we're bringing back an old podcast, but a great one for readers who are new to the Maasverse: A Court of Swish & Flick. Check them out & dive deep!
Come vote and share your thoughts on shifts! Who would you love to see shift in ToG and to what animal? We've got some fantastic ones in Lunathion (merpeople, Ariande, Aidas) but who else would you love to see shift?
Come vote and share your thoughts on shifts! Who would you love to see shift in ToG and to what animal? Surely, there's more than just our wonderful hawk, wolves and whatever Lysandra and Dorian imagine!
There are those who can shift and those we wish could.
Who do you wish could shift into a beastly *ahem* animal form? Vote and then in the comments, tell us what this form would be!
Is there a way to turn off the suggested subs? I’m seeing a huge increase on the main feed, where I’m seeing more suggested subs than feed from the subs I’m in.
EDIT: Apologies on the wrong initial there. It's C.M. Nascosta.
I chose this book after seeing it mentioned in a sub and thought the title was pretty outlandish, but otherwise went into with no knowledge, beyond the title, of what to expect.
It turned out to be the first cozy fantasy romance I've read and it was pleasing. There are two narrators: Moriah, a 34-year old divorcee who lives in an alternate (or near future) Earth, in a neighborhood of, primarily, magical creatures. Her greatest desire has been to have a child but her biology was not compatible with her lizard person husband. A friend, a sylvan who is wed to a bat person, tells her about the Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic, a fertility clinic that matches women with wolves whose anatomy is perfect for breeding. Enter the second narrator, Lowell, a 32-year old transient werewolf who is back in his hometown after the world is really from a virus that only impacts humans. He decides to volunteer as a donor and meets Moriah. At their initial meet-up, they immediately click and decide to audition sex before the breeding appointment to make sure they're compatible.
Both Moriah and Lowell have anxieties; she has a need to be a caretaker and he is an oversized baby who needs to be cared for. It's often Lowell, however, caring for Moriah. They're both funny and easygoing. Every time tension is introduced between them, they quickly resolve through conversation and compassion.
A very adult book about two accomplished people who have found their way to each other.
On the negative: the opening chapter went on for way too long, but we did get to see the dynamics between Lowell and his five brothers, which developed through the book.
{Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic by C.M. Nascosta}
*I listened via audiobook, so may have missed some things.
I'm reading Janny Wurtz's Curse of the Mistwraith (1994) which has a prince who is skilled in music (the lute) and sorcery. He is raised by his high mage grandfather who warns him against accepting the position of heir to the throne, but the prince decides that he has a responsibility to the people, to bring peace to the territory and end the feuding between their rival nation. The high mage says:
>My boy, that is a worthy ambition. But you must not be hasty. Your talents are music and sorcery. Consider these, for you have great potential. A king has not time for such arts. As a man who holds judgment over others, his life belongs wholly to his subjects.
The prince decides to forgo his talents and lead his people: "How can I stay? How can I remain at Rauven studying music and books when my father's people, and mine, must send husbands and sons to kill for bare sustenance? How dare I ignore such need? I might bring Karthan hope of lasting peace."
Five years later, he's reflecting on his decision, realizing that he made an error. In his need for his father's acceptance, he chose his father (the throne) instead of his grandfather (his talents) and now he's paying the price. At his coronation, the high mage issues his final warning:
>
My grandson, you chose responsibility above your inner talents. That is a difficult turning. Win or lose, you give yourself in service to others. Although men might be inspired by a bard or enchanter, they cannot be led by one. The master's mysteries you have learned at Rauven must never be used for political expedience, however pressing the temptation. You must guide your kingdom to the same harmonic balance you once would have striven to find in those gifts you now renounce. The ballad you write, the craft you cast, must henceforth be sought in the land and the hearts of Karthan. Ath bless your efforts.
Reading this has me thinking about Tamlin and how he could have used such a mentor, such kinship. Although he was left without a choice once his brothers and father were slain, he was still an artist and still harnessed enormous powers. He continued to work towards peace, to use his powers for good, to be in harmonic balance with the land and the crown. However, with no guidance, he hadn't learned how to turn his facility for music into a facility for elegant discourse. He saw himself as warrior and artist first and foremost, neither of which requires a silver tongue. And because Tamlin lived under his father's rule and his father's house, he never had the distance required to become his own person.
This, for me, is where the immortality comes to matter in the books. With time, with support, Tamlin would develop into the ruler Prythian needs: a warrior, artist, leader who leads with compassion, with a goal towards peace between the territories, including the Mortal Lands, equity and joy. (We see this beginning of a move towards equity with the wraith who can not pay the Tithe. He gives her ample time, relaxing the stringent punishment that he inherited from his father.)
SJM's rulers are all DIY and Prythian suffers because of it.
Hello!
I'm finally ready to invest in 2 paid library cards for audiobooks, but before I dive in, I'd love to know the best libraries for audiobooks for fantasy series and self-published/independent books that you've found?
I'll be using the Reciprocard hub to get the cards, so I'm already familiar with that site.
HOT.
Occasionally, I just hear a deep, rumbling voice, a small growl: "Put that finger down, witch" and I'm undone. That golden furred, horned beast. Sigh
is Nelly, in my head, from Little House on the Prairie.
Here’s hoping the physical copy is better than the audio, which I dnf’d.
Image 1 blonde girl with Shirley Temples curls and raised chin
Image 2: same girl with mouth agog and a second child with pigtails
We have no information on a CC4, but we can wander. And wonder 😉
(No flair fit this post sorry)
Books from one of the many LFLs in town. Looking forward to learning more about these authors and these series. One of the Feist books in final in a series so I’ll have plenty of time to make my way there.
Edit: added the image in comments. Books: Raymond E. Feist’s Rise of a Merchant Prince and A Darkness at Sethanon and Stephen R. Lawrence’s The Iron Lance.
Hello! I’m looking for books about girls who are feisty, adventurous, independent, leaders in a fantasy setting, preferably a series.
She loves lore and danger, quick thinking, savvy characters with lots of moxie (she has moxie she likes to say!). Would like to avoid tales of girls who need to be saved/rescued by boys, as she’s read a good deal of that trope already.
She loves Erec Rex, Wings of Desire, the Paul Beatty Serafina books + his Sophia Doe book, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, City of Ember series and lots of graphic novels. She didn’t love Echo, although she does like historical fiction.
It would be ideal if the characters are older than 10 (maybe middle school age).
Hello! I'm looking for some well-written, engaging Tamlin fan fiction that does not lean, in any way, into the "not intelligent beast" mode that readers seem to think of Tamlin as in fan fictions (even the ones that are pro-Tamlin that I've seen, lean into that not-quite-smart just a dopey-sweet-beast stereotype of "the Beast").
Also, prefer ones that don't have him as an apologist for his outbursts.
Thanks for any recs. & spice is always nice. MM is also fine. Poly any way is also fine.
I’ve not seen many reviews of this book here, so I hope it’s okay to review although it has been reviewed a year or so ago.
This book was marvelous. A philosophical pondering of what it means to live in a civilized society as a socially acceptable person and what it means to be an outcast and what civilized persons determine who is outcast.
The main character, Shesheshen, is a monstrous creature who lives outside of a town where she ventures, on occasion , to feast on the townspeople and other animals. She’s isolated and alone and lonely until she meets a surprisingly kind human outcast, Homily, whose family are the town monster hunters.
Shesheshen quickly falls for this human’s kindness, thus for the human. In their extraordinary drive to protect one another, they come to see the beauty of being a monster and an outcast.
I listened on audiobook (Carmen Rose, swoon) and have already placed a loan at the library so I can put my eyes on the words. Shesheshen’s observations are quirky and smart and funny. The prose is simply delicious. Some potential predictable moments, but with characters named Homily, Epigram, Catharsis and Ode, there’s something very tongue in cheek about the plot.
{Someone you can build a nest in}
This week we're giving a shout-out to LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City! They've got enough curiosity and spark to launch intriguing and saucy discussions. Give them a try!
Hello. I’m nearing the end of The Last Kingdom (Book) & really loving the set-up, the descriptions (Uhtred is blond!), the wit, the way Uhtred is loyal to nothing but Bebbanburg. The tv series doesn’t hold a candle.
My question: one of the issues I have with the tv series is the formulaic New Dane Clan Leader Rival v Uhtred/Alfred. It’s redundant and doesn’t allow room for growth. Alfred, for that reason, is the standout, for my viewing.
Do the books also have this formula or does it continue to go in a different direction, as it does with Book 1?
That’s basically it hahaha
But seriously, people are out here saying that the ToG series, which is YA, is porn. Folks who have only read the blurb, or worse, heard someone say something about some moment and decided the book, which they haven’t read, is porn. Or, one chapter in, can’t read it anymore because the writing is not good but then the comments are “and it’s porn” and the one chapter reader heartily agrees. Or they’ve read her romantasy series which has open door sex scenes so they apply that formula to her YA series, which they haven’t read.
Why are folks like this?
I totally get being a trend coattailer, a greedy one who wants to join the discussion, so you read a hyped up book and, surprise! you hate it! Fine.
But calling a YA series that you haven’t read porn? Come on now.
I was so convinced that Graham was Hook and completely forgot about James being a twin. It was just so deliciously messy when I watched it (oh my gosh nearly) 2 decades ago.
& how Emma just saunters in claiming her status as mom is hilarious. I so missed this series.