(2022) It's a historical fantasy set in the ninth century, following the travels of an Icelander across Europe, looking for horses to bring back to Iceland to make his fortune. The author is a medievalist, and brings her knowledge of the time and its literary forms to the story. I am not a medievalist, but do know she delivered a mesmerizing story that feels authentic about ambition, social change, and (of course) horses.
pick3.8/5 ?
"So long as we continue to put mortal me on thrones and hail them as gods, sacrifice our lives to their legacies, history will repeat itself."
A departure from my usual reads, but I enjoyed it. While some parts felt a bit clichéd, the overarching message about men, power, and legacy was poignant and well delivered. Overall, an enjoyable read.
2024 was kind of an odd reading year for me in terms of headspace for large portions of the reading year. And while I‘m hoping to feel more connected and present in my reading in 2025, I still read some absolutely fabulous titles. Did any of these make your top reads of 2024 and what were your favorites?
More thoughts: https://youtu.be/fCvaUqADor0
pickInspired by the history of 15th century West Africa and the myth of Persephone, this well-plotted and rivetingly-told historical fiction is for fans of women‘s rights—but more importantly women‘s wrongs, troubled mother-daughter relationships, court intrigue, and underdogs who bite back. I do wish we‘d gotten more of Òdòdó‘s backstory so her character development was deeper and richer.
pickA fun read, for the most part, but I do have a few issues. I liked both Inez & Whit but would have appreciated more character development. This was described as The Mummy meets Death On The Nile & I'm so glad I didn't see that until after as it would have been disappointing on both counts. My brain wanted to compare it to the Amelia Peabody series but luckily I was able to keep pushing that thought away as it would have fallen short there too. ⬇️
#12Booksof2024 August
I read or heard an interview with Arden somewhere that this book came about when she started thinking about how this time period changed so many of our perceptions of the world and she decided to write about how it might have changed our perception of the devil. I deal with WWII a lot for work and the idea of this - the devil finding a new calling in WWI France - really spoke to me.
I finished 8 books in December. My two favorites were The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door and an ARC of Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales. Both books with faeries!🧚♂️
pick#MountARC #NetGalley #ARC
Emily and Wendell embark on their journey into Wendell's realm. Having previously defeated his step-mother, taking the throne should be a formality, yet it is not so easy. A dark curse is threatening the kingdom and Emily soon realises they are living in a "fairy tale" whose many versions don't seem to have a happy ending. Emily is determined to use all her scholarly powers to find ⬇️
pickA low Pick. It's enjoyable and can be read without knowing the first book in the series. But for me it was lacking on atmosphere and chemistry between the characters. Even though they were written quite well, I never felt close enough to really care about them or their case.
(And yes, I need to finish my reviews before 2025!)
pickSometimes I have to work myself up to epic stories about of ancient kingdoms - all the characters and their parts. I‘m so glad I prioritized this because I was all in from beginning to end. It was the perfect cast of characters to tell this story, and I was never completely convinced which way Xishi‘s heart would land. The ending was so good.
