Welcome to Litsy!

Some strawberry lemonade while I finished my latest read, Heartseer: The Tale of Anise Star 🍓🍋🥤 It was amazing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
Read my review here: https://newkidonthebookreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/16/review-heartseer-the-tal...
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#middlegrade #bookreview #magic #quest

I enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call by the same author and I am looking forward to reading the tagged. It‘s giving me The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell vibes. Also, it is beautiful outside! 💚

The MC (a princess who is almost but not quite a nun) sets out to save her sister from the prince she is married to. An interesting cast of characters including a dog made of bones and wire, and a demon chicken. A cosy story filled with magic.

And yes the MC is naive and hard to believe she is 30… but I enjoyed it anyway 🤣

Lunch after walking around the farmers‘ market this morning. Enjoying being in the air conditioning!

The Girl and the Galdurian (Lightfall 1), by Tim Probert (2020)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Premise: An anxious girl teams up with an adventurous stranger to search for her missing wizard grandfather.

Review: This is an adorable graphic novel featuring charming characters and stunning illustrations. I have some quibbles about the plotting, mostly how book one ended without any resolution and I‘m still not sure what the stakes are. Cont.

I felt that this volume was had a slower pace, and I mean SLOW, that I couldn't really get into this one as much as the last two volumes until I saw the Nightmare Knight towards the end.

I like the brief moment between him and Princess Parfait. I felt like they have a funny relationship and I'm hoping for more an unexpected friendship.

#popsugarreadingchallenge

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.”