kingstoken

With everything going on I completely missed my first quarter wrap-up, so here are the first and second wrap-ups combined. Here is my book bingo card, I was hoping to be further along at this point, but with everything going on it just didn't happen. I'm currently reading a Star Trek tie-in novel, The Ice Trap, so that will probably find its way into the next quarter's wrap-up. Books I completed in the first and second quarter are:

Aurora by David Koepp - a thriller about most of planet losing electricity for a long period of time after a major sun flare. It was an interesting idea, and it was pretty good. My only complaint is that the author skips over what I thought would be the most interesting part, a group of neighbours coming together to survive during this time period. After a lot of build up and groundwork, he kind of does a time skip to where they are already a well functioning group, and I would have really liked to have seen the process.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - mixed feelings on this fantasy story, I liked the concept and the characters, but the story was very chaotic, there was almost too much going on, too many antagonists, and some stuff is left unexplained. It is the first in a series, but I'm not sure if I will pick up the second book or not.

The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid - M/M hockey romance, I did mostly like this one, but you really have to suspend some major disbelief in order to enjoy it. It takes place at and just after the funeral of one of the main character's beloved father, and as someone who has lost a parent I just don't believe for a minute that you would have the energy to give a shit whether your ex showed up at the funeral or not, but of course that wouldn't make for a very compelling story. Also, the one character has to forgive some really shitty past behaviour from their love interest, it makes sense in the story b/c he wasn't "out" and didn't acknowledge his feelings, but it may turn some people off.

Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist - old school fantasy, with all the classic elements, species, etc, although there is also a bit of a possibly sci-fi twist. I did like the two main POVs, Pug and Tomas, they're boys we're following from the time they are around 12 to 16, as their world is preparing for war. I will say, like a lot of classic fantasy written by men, there are a scant few women characters and they're not written all that well, although they aren't overly sexualized, so I guess that is a plus. This one is also the first in a series, but we'll see if I continue it or not.

Red Heir by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey - this one is a light, fun fantasy, Two red-headed young men are sharing a prison cell when a group of adventurers comes to rescue the lost heir that is supposed to have red hair, they don't know who is the right person so they take them both. The story is mostly the group getting out of scraps and the two red heads bickering, until oh no are those feelings! There were times where I wished that the characters would go a little bit deeper, and that we would get a better understanding of their backstories, but it just wasn't that type of book, it was just meant to be a light, easy read.

The Stolen Rubens - I listened to this one on the Classic Detective Stories Podcast, it was an alright mystery. The detective was referred to as the "human computer" and he was able to figure out how an art heist occurred. It was obviously very Holmes inspired, but the human computer lacked charm of Holmes.

Secrets in the Snow by J. Jefferson Farjeon - another one from the Classic Detective Stories Podcast, I liked this one. A young woman gets caught in a snowstorm. At first she comes off as a bit ditsy, but she is good at noticing things and how things are not quite right, which leads her to helping solve a mystery.

One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny - M/M Historical romance, I just finished this recently, it is very sweet. The two men are travelling together but they are hiding their true identities from each other. I wish they had reveled their identities sooner, because I felt like that was keeping them from deeply connecting on some levels, but I understand why it didn't happen because of plot reasons.

My fourth quarter was better than my third I think, although I did have to read some short books in order to complete my Book Bingo (which I did yeah!) Here are the books I finished:

The Wager by David Grann - a really interesting read about a shipwreck and mutiny, not always an easy read, but worth it if you are at all interested in the Age of Sail.

Mr Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd - this is a weird little book, the beginning seems like a traditional sort of mystery set-up, but the second half got really weird, almost like magical realism. I wasn't really for me.

Betrothed by Claire Cullen - this was I think the first ever professionally published omegaverse novel that I've read. It was alright, I enjoyed it for what it was. It is a bit of a fairy tale retelling, and I did like the idea of in their society the prefect relationship is a triad relationship. My one complaint was the omega was a little too damsel in distress for my liking, I just wanted the author to give the poor guy a win instead of just piling more stuff upon him.

Cemetery Boys by Adien Thomas - I enjoyed this. It was every YA, and there were times that I really wanted these teens to seek out help from an adult, but I got why they didn't. The world building was interesting, and based on a culture I know next nothing about. The romance was sweet, and I wasn't sure how it could have a happy ending, but it did, so that was a nice surprise.

Dance 10, vol 3 by Satou Inoue - These idiots are back again, at least in this volume they were finally starting to admit to themselves that they may actually be feeling attraction to a person of the same gender, and the story progressed somewhat.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K LeQuinn - this story is kind of famous in sci-fi circles, and I thought it was a interesting thought experiment, but the story itself was pretty short and didn't really have much meat to it.

The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes by Georges Simenon - this is a very different Christmas story, it's basically about this woman seeing a young woman heading down the same route she took as a youth (ie being used by men and prostitution) and decides to prevent it, even if the girl probably won't thank her for it. It is very of the time it was written (1950s), but I still enjoyed it.

Christmas Re-union by Andrew Caldecott - an another Christmas mystery, this was alright, but left open ended, even leaving the option of a ghost having done it.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie - an okay mystery, the big problem with this one was there were a lot of secondary characters and most of them were not developed enough. The few central characters were done well, but the rest were forgettable, to the point that after the second murder when they were interviewing all the suspects again I was like "who are these people again?" which is not something you want in a mystery. Also, the detective had a thing for two different women in the story, and I was like "what is the point of this?"

The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert - Grumpy man needs help decorating for the holidays from his sunshine Christmas loving neighbour. It was sweet and fluffy, and just what I needed for a pick me up before Christmas.

Still making progress on my book bingo card, but I'm not as far along as I would like. Overall, I didn't read as much I was expecting to the past three months. I had a couple of DNFs in a row that I struggled with and I think threw me into a bit of a reading slump. During my last reading wrap-up I mentioned I was reading Red, White and Royal Blue and it wasn't working for me, I really wanted to like this because it is so popular, but it just didn't work for me and I DNFed it. Maybe I'll give the movie a try some time instead. Then I read the It Girl by Ruth Ware, I got about half way through and gave up. For thriller it was so boring, I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing was happening! Like I know you need some build up, but come on! Anyways, here are the books I actually finished:

Lore Olympus: Vol 2 by Rachel Smythe - I found this one a disappointment after liking the first volume, and I don't think I will be continuing the series, because it has a trope I really hate in fiction, when the one person knows they're in love with someone, but they start a relationship with someone else instead, its just ugh.

Doctor Who: Missy #1 and #2 by Jody Houser - I enjoyed these two Missy comics, where she pretends to be the Doctor and goes back in time to rescue her former self from prison. There are only two more in the series, so I have to get around to reading them soon.

Doctor Who: The Missy Chronicles by various authors - this was a short story collection about Missy and I really enjoyed it. Some of the stories were better than others. My two favourites were: one which is told through emails and messages between Nardole and the Doctor, it was very funny; the other was Missy being rejected from their Men's private club because they are now a woman, so she slowing seeks revenge by killing them all, one shouldn't love reading about all her murders, but I did. Also there was a story where Missy unknowingly meets Thirteen! Its only for a moment, and it does turn out to be important to the conclusion of the story, but I really wish it had lasted longer.

Dance 10 Vol 1 and 2 by Satou Inoue - this series is strangely compelling to me, but also so frustrating to me, like these two ball dancing idiots are french kissing and grinding their crotches together, but they're still both like "this can't mean anything, because I'm not gay", like my dude you had your tongue down the other guy's throat. Plus, they both get angry if anyone even intimates that they might be gay, and when they want to insult each other they will say that the other one is "acting like a woman" which I don't like. However, all the frustrations aside, I still want to know if they'll ever get their shit together enough to win the big dance competition and fall in love.

And that's it. I'm currently in the middle of the reading the non-fiction book The Wager. It's interesting, but not a light, easy read, so I'm reading it in small chunks. Also, if you ever thought you wanted to live during the Age of Sail, you did not! The section about a scurvy epidemic on the ship was enough to turn my stomach.

I'm a little late with the update, but I have a summer cold, so I didn't have the energy to post earlier. I am still chugging away at my book bingo, which you can see my card here. I'm currently reading Red, White & Royal Blue, I'm about 150 pages in and I'm really struggling with it, I'm not sure why, like usually I love me a good M/M romance, but this one just isn't doing it for me for some reason, maybe because at this point it doesn't feel like they are falling in love, it feels like tension then some banter then sex, which normally I would like, but I don't here for some reason and I can't quite put my finger on why. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try and push through or just DNF it. Anyways, here are the books I did finish:

Haikyū!! Vol 4-5 by Haruichi Furudate - lots more volleyball action, I'm continuing to enjoy this series, although I'm not sure when I will get to rest of them, because my library seemed to have the early issues only.

Something Human by A.J. Demas - a lovely M/M love story set in fantasy world that I think is somewhat inspired by the Romans in Brittan. Basically, it is two soldiers on opposite sides and find each other after a battle and then nurse each other back to health, then have to go back to their own sides. I will say I was really wondering at times how they could possibly end up together, but i was glad it worked out in the end.

You May Now Kill The Bride by Kate Weston - not a bad murder mystery, but I will say all of the characters kind of suck, as in they're awful people, but not in an interesting way. As the story went on I just couldn't understand why they were all still friends with each other, although over the course of the story you do come to understand why they are all so co-dependent on each other.

Slippery Creatures by K.J.Charles - this was my first K.J. Charles, who I know is a well loved author. I really enjoyed it, there was an interesting mystery and intrigue, and good tension between the male leads, my only complaint is there wasn't a lot of actual romance. It is a first in a series, but I'm not if I'm going to continue or not.

The Ruin of A Rake by Cate Sebastian - Okay, I didn't really like either one of two leads at first, they are both bastards in their ways, but Courtney grew on me really quickly, but it took me a lot longer to warm to Julian. I'm glad I stuck with it, because I did like the ending , although one of these two idiots takes way too long to realize that maybe he is in love, like almost the entire book too long. That being said I liked it enough that I decided to give another book by the author a try.

The Lawrence Brown Affair by Cat Sebastian - this book actually comes before Ruin of a Rake, but I read them out of order, so it was kind of funny to see the two love interests from the next book make cameo appearances in this one, and they hate each other here. That being said, I like this one immensely more than Ruin, it was a softer, sweeter romance. They are developing deep feelings for each other fairly quickly, and it is more about internal struggles and outside forces keeping them apart. I was glad Lawrence figured out pretty early that shady stuff was afoot, so there was no great feelings of betrayal later on.

Strange Planet by Nathan W Pyle - cute collection of cartoons featuring aliens, best enjoyed in small doses.

The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz - this was supposed to be a thriller/mystery. It takes place during Covid lock-down, so that was the first time I had read a story in that setting. It had some potential, but unfortunately how the story wrapped up was not satisfying at all.

I am making pretty good progress on my book bingo, you can see my card here. I read eight books this quarter, plus I had one DNF, it was pulling me into a reading slump so I was like "nope! we're moving on!".

Doctor Who: Shining Darkness by Mark Michalowski - I picked this one up solely based on the fact it was staring my favourite Doctor and companion duo. It was a fun, every episode like. My favourite part was they meet these aliens who collect religions and discard them once they get bored of them, and Donna has pretend to be a Goddess, and she calls herself the "Ginger Goddess". Although, most of the story has to do with robots and whether they should be treated like sentient beings or not. My only complaint about the story is that the Doctor and Donna spend most of the book apart, and what I love about them is their banter when they're together.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones - This was a middle grade novel, and it doesn't have a whole lot of plot to it, it is mostly just vibes, it is very cozy. I think those people who are always talking about cozy fantasy nowadays might like it. It is mostly about this boy who after his grandmother dies goes and lives with this bachelor, and he slowly discovers the magical area and creatures around him. It felt somewhat fairy-tale
like, but in a homey English countryside kind of way.

Doctor Who: Death's Deal by Darren Jones - this was the audio drama that I listened to, although it was more like an audiobook I would say because there were only two performers. It is primarily narrated by Catherine Tate, and she does a good job, but it was a little funny to hear her try and do Ten's voice, like she gets the vibe right, but she can't quite pull off David Tenet's voice. The story itself was okay, the Doctor and Donna get stranded on this deadly planet with others, it was a bit gory in spots, because people are getting killed, but overall I enjoyed it.

Haikyū!! Vol 1-3 by Haruichi Furudate - I read the first three volumes of Haikyu!! I surprisingly really enjoyed these. I don't know if it is because I liked playing volleyball when I was young, but these were a fun read. The characters are sometimes a little too over-dramatic and silly, but they felt very much like young teenagers to me, which is not something that always happens when reading books targeted towards teens.

His Sacred Incantations by Scarlett Gale - this is the sequel to His Secret Illuminations which I had really, really liked. Unfortunately, the sequel is just not as good. It was still nice to spend time with these characters again, and they introduced some great new characters, plus they fight an undead necromancer, but it still felt like something was missing. Another reviewer on goodreads said it lacked tension, which I agree with. Also, there were like three marathon sex scenes, that were really over the top, and after awhile I just found myself skimming over them.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling - this kind of felt like the prefect bathroom book to me, I don't mean it in a bad way, just that the essays were short and split into smaller chunks, so prefect for reading when you have a short amount of time. I took this to a few doctor's appointments and it was great to read in the waiting room. It was funny, but of course some essays were better than others. I think her best essays were at the beginning of the book, during the second half I think you could sense that she was running out of material to writer about.

**Just a note** Big Finish has some of their older Doctor Who audio dramas on spotify for free! It is mostly classic who, but they do have a couple with the newer Doctors, someone over on tumblr has collected all the info in one post if your interested. I listened to two others in the "Destiny of the Doctor" series, the ones featuring Nine and Eleven. They were both good, but I liked the one featuring Nine the best. The Narrator does a great job with Nine's voice, he sounds a lot like them. However, their voice for Jack Harkness was not great, they could not pull off the American accent well.

I'm making good progress on my Book Bingo card, I only need to read five more books before the end of the year and that's quite doable. I read seven books this quarter, which seems to be about my average.

The Highlander's Tactical Marriage by Jenni Fletcher - I remember liking this one when I read it back in July, but I had kind of forgotten about it and had to go back and check Goodreads. The set-up of this novel is that the hero is put in an arranged marriage with a woman that once scorned him, so he could have been a real ass, but I appreciated that he wasn't. He was somewhat cool and distant with the heroine in the beginning, but he soon realized that there was more to his bride than he thought.

A Contest of Principles by Greg Cox - I joked on my Trek Discord that I think this is the second or third Trek novel I've read where McCoy is kidnapped by aliens for his medical knowledge, not that I am complaining, I eat that trope up. I really liked this one, the Triad get split up and are on different planets dealing with related crisises, and each storyline had its own unique characters. Spock makes friends with this fuzzy pet like alien. My only compliant is that the triad spend the majority of the novel separated and by the end I just wanted them back together again.

The Prefect Stranger by Megan Miranda - this is a supposed to be a mystery/thriller, and it was alright, not hugely thrilling, there was a big lull in the middle of it. The one point the narrative hammers home early on is that the two women were not lovers, but I kind of wish they had been. I think it would have added another more interesting layer to the story. Also, the main character does some really stupid stuff, like sleeping with the main detective that is investigating her friend's disappearance, like why?

Saving Her Mysterious Soldier by Bronwyn Scott - this story started off well, a solider has amnesia and his nurse brings him to her family's home to recover. But, then the characters start making some stupid decisions like starting a sexual relationship before he was fully recovered. Like they only had to wait two weeks before a report came probably revealing his identity, but no they couldn't wait, ugh! Anyways, I like Bronwyn Scott, she is a good writer, but this wasn't her best one.

Planet of Judgement by Joe Halderman - this was an alright Trek novel, the first half was better than the second. The first half had a planet that actually had some scary, life threatening creatures, and it felt very much like the stranded crew could have been prey. The second half wasn't as good. At one point these aliens make the crew relive some of their worst memories, which is fine, good concept, but then the author decides to have Spock rehash the events of Amok Time step by step, and that seemed a really strange decision, because wouldn't most Trek fans be intimately familiar with that episode? I wish the author had spent more time crafting McCoy's memories, because those were new and had more potential to be interesting.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - M/M fantasy romance. I liked the characters in this one, but I think the author bit off way more than they could crew. If the author had kept it small and focused on palace intrigue like it was in the beginning I think it could have really worked, but the second half tries to go expansive, but the author hadn't really spent enough time developing the minor characters, villains and world-building for me to really care all that much. I stuck with it becasue I really did like the main couple and their two friends, but this story just felt like it needed to be a little more developed.

Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe - this was fun. Not really what you expect from a modern Greek myth retelling, it was very tropey, and the Gods were all so trashy and catty, and sometimes outright mean, but that does kind of fit the Greek Gods. I never read the WebToon so this was all new to me. it has my interest piqued, so I will definitely be checking out the other volumes.

I'm still making good progress on my Book Bingo card. It felt like I read a lot less than the first quarter, but in reality I only read one book less, I finished six books in the second quarter:

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi - this reads like an action movie, I could easily see it being made into a big budget film. It's a fun read with a bit of science thrown in to explain how a world of Kaijus could actually exist. The only drawback of it is that a lot of the characters and their relationships lacked depth, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing if you want a light read.

Void's Enigmatic Mansion, Volume 1 HeeEun Kim and JiEun Ha - this manga was supposed to be horror, but instead it came across as really sad to me, a bunch of people living in a mansion that grants their wishes in twisted ways, but most of them were just lonely and sad. I won't be continuing with the series.

The Retreat by Sherri Smith - this was an okay mystery, but it had pacing problems, with a big lull in the middle, It also had a quite a few red herrings and plot points that turned out not to matter. Overall it was alright, but felt like it needed to be trimmed down and tightened up.

The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye - The first half of this book was really good, with a slow build and just the hints of creepy stuff going on, very atmospheric . However the second half was disappointing, and it had one of those open endings which doesn't really explain anything, and it is so frustrating. One character in this book really started to drive me crazy by the end, in the beginning he was likable, but by the end he was useless! Like hey buddy, your pregnant girlfriend is possibly having issues, do you think you could do more to help her? Maybe take her into the nearest town to see some doctors? No, you're just going to sit there and do nothing but paint? Great. I wanted to slap him by the end. Like I know the whole point is that they are being manipulated, but at some point he should have showed some initiative, even if it is to make the wrong decision, but he does nothing! (Sorry for the rant)

Crisis on Centaurus by Brad Ferguson - this was a well done Trek novel. I'd say the first half was better than the second. The first half has a lot of high stakes, there is a terrorist attack on a planet that destroys an entire city, the same planet where McCoy's daughter is living on while going to nursing school. Plus, the Enterprise is in terrible condition, but they are the only ones that can help. The second half was a little more flat, but you do get to see Uhura be acting Captain of the Enterprise, and there is a couple small, but nice moments with Spock concerning McCoy, although overall Kirk is the main focus. One funny thing is, because this was written pre-TNG, some stuff feels a little out of place in the world of Trek, like at one point American Express is mentioned, and I was oh please god no, we don't need predatory credit cards in the future!

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland - okay I'm going to say if you like loyalty kink at all, you may like this story. It is fantasy romance between a Prince and his bodyguard/knight essentially. I will say the beginning was a little rough, the author just throws you into this world and it takes bit to get used to, plus the bodyguard is not all that likable in the beginning, he is very judgmental, but he does get better over the course of the novel, and their relationship is a bit of a slow build. Also, this has a trope that I usually hate, where one half of the pairing has a lover at the beginning, but somehow this author made it work, mostly because their relationship was already coming to an end and there was also still a lot of respect and friendship between the two, plus the lover is very funny throughout. Anyways, I read a few goodreads reviews and a lot of people where like I gave up 50 pages in, so I can understand why, but I really liked it by the end, it had lots of tropey goodness.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù - My first ever danmei! This is another author that just throws you into the world and there is a lot of people. places and things to try and absorb and it is a bit overwhelming. Plus, I don't know if it is just the translation or not, but it took me awhile to get used to the writing style. There was a also a lot more horror elements than I was expecting, evil spirits, zombies, body parts, etc. I enjoyed the characters, Wei Wuxian is a chaotic character to follow. I will say now that I have read the first book I completely see why Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are shipped, Wei Wuxian is the sunshine chaos butterfly and Lan Wangji is stoic and reserved, a classic shippy dynamic. Once I got into the story I found myself enjoying it, and I think I will most definitely pick up the second one at some point.