Welcome to Litsy!

Did May feel extra-long to anyone else?

Idle Grounds was my favorite! Sneaky & feverish.

Nettle & Bone is a *magical* listen.

I Hope This Finds You Well was a delightful change of pace.

Unraveling, though a reread, was spun as well as I remembered. Fascinating & timely, in a world that desperately needs more climate justice.

Marmalade is great in small spoonfuls. Dip in & out.

My heart is still recovering from Juno Loves Legs. It‘s visceral.

An island theme park, similar to West World or Jurassic Park but for Dungeons and Dragons and Fantasy lovers, has been hijacked by the creators and a force field is keeping the corporate owner out.

Addy is hired, along with a few mercenaries, to sneak in and get the shield removed.

The writing isn‘t great and it‘s a little predictable, but I still loved it for its many fandom references- unicorns, sphynx, dragons, LOTR and more!

Marra, who is not-quite-a-nun & barely a princess, learns that her eldest sister was killed by her husband, the prince. Her middle sister is now married to the same man, crowned king; she stays pregnant to keep him from beating her — or at least hold him back a bit. Marra vows to save her sister, loosening the political noose around her neck, by killing the monster. She assembles a band of not-so-merry, magical misfits to aid her in her quest.👇🏻

The author traveled to every country in the world & this memoir is about creating your own quest & completing it. While I think he comes from a place of privilege to be able to encourage people to drop everything and follow their dreams, some of his tips were helpful. I love tangible goals, like visit all 50 states & read all Shakespeare‘s plays.

“The more prepared you are, more spontaneous you can be.”

“A measurable goal is a good companion.”

I absolutely am in love with Splashmaster, I know.. I know, he's the villain for this one but he's also so freaking adorbs but then again there's also the Nightmare Knight, who got me intrigued due to his one action so I came away liking the villains in this book a lot more than any of the other characters. Didn't like the new character but we'll see ..

Personally I want to see more of the Nightmare Knight 😂

Was able to stop in Wilmington (southern Vermont) yesterday to get a stamp on my Vermont Independent Bookstore Passport. What a sweet little town with a fabulous bookstore! Excited about these books. Miller, a Vermont author, wrote the tagged book which was sooo good and I encourage folks to check it out. Can‘t wait to check his newest one out. Hmmmm…can‘t remember how to tag. #TheMemoirsofStockholmSven

I absolutely enjoyed this!
I'm so much older than the inspired ages for this but it was a fun read especially as this book veers away from the usual hero arc and makes light of other fantasy tropes in a way that lets a younger sister take the lead and be a hero as her older brother just wants to go to magic school.
And with that cliffhanger, I need to know what happens to our brother and sister team now!

#Read2025

Finished yesterday for #Roll100 (#90 Any Backlist) & as a prompt for my #OUABC 2025 40 Book Challenge (Any Hugo Award Winner). I loved this one! T. Kingfisher writes fun characters & found family with a sly dark humor. All the characters in Marta‘s ragtag group were endearing & I enjoyed this fantasy paranormal fairytale. Looking forward to working my way through the rest of the author‘s backlist. Pretty sure it will be a 2025 fave.🖤

#ChatterDay vibe is mellow. Having a bit of an asthma/allergy flare up which is messing with my eyes. I did make a stop at the monthly makers market by my house & got some cards, postcard & such.

Now at the coffeeshop with a piece of coffee cake & my usual dirty chai. Starting this book for March as it fills a reading challenge prompt & is my #Roll100 March #90 “Any Backlist” prompt. Still need to run a few errands then home to rest my eyes.👀

THIS one I liked more. The banter between Little Sh*t Asteroth and Always Fighting Calladia was tasty. Maybe I'm just a sucker for...well, this wasn't exactly enemies to lovers, but it was close! As close as you can probably get in contemporary fiction. The ending was...interesting, but I can appreciate that these books, while romances, try to tackle Big Issues(TM) as well as personal ones.

4 stars | #romance #paranormal #witch