Solid middle installment to the trilogy. I liked the first book more but this gave me the same vibes I get from The Empire Strikes Back and that's my favorite Star War lol.

In the beginning the world building kind of is a slow burn to understanding but I quickly became invested in the characters. I also did this in audio and the narrator was really good.

This series could easily have gone down the road into a gimmicky mess but there is a lot of depth to the characters that make you stick around for more despite the absolutely over the top world. We see more of the toll that the constant fight for survival is taking on Carl and his fellow crawlers. There's not a big cliffhanger on this one but it's still going to be hard to wait for the next installment.

This serious continues to be very comforting in a time of real world dumpster fires. Carl and Donut are on the sixth floor and we start to see the true emotional toll that fighting for survival is taking. I like that this could have been a cheesy video game book but instead goes for real character growth and emotional stakes.

This was another solid installment to the series. I think in this one we see more of just how hard it is to stick to your values in the fight against oppression. Carl and Donut are still fighting for their lives against absolutely insane challenges. I will say in this one the epilogue was interesting because it was not in Carl and Donut's perspective but rather dealt with things happening outside the dungeon. It led to an interesting cliffhanger.

I'm finding this strangely comforting in the dumpster fire of today's socio-political climate. Carl is fighting the system by staying true to his values and building community which is inspiring. Things are absolutely over the top and kind of gory but I'm having a good time seeing Carl, Donut and their team try to figure out how to survive the weird things that are thrown at them.

For a novella I feel like this really packs a punch. You just have to be able to get past the absolute brutal nature of the poaching scenes in the beginning. I found this a little confusing in the beginning due to not knowing exactly what time certain POVs were from. Definitely an interesting concept.

While this wasn't as good as the first book it still has the core things I loved about the first in it. I get the hype and why this is kind of an addictive series. And I still love the principal theme of sticking to your core values even when the world is a dumpster fire.

I've never read litRPG before so I wasn't sure what I was going to find in this but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging I found this. Carl and Donut were great leads to follow and I liked that Carl continued to follow his values despite the outrageous circumstances he found himself in.

We‘re in the middle of another heatwave but the dog wants yard time so I grabbed my book, found the shade, and drank some tea. At least there was a nice breeze.
#DogsOfLitsy

I can't believe it's almost time for another #BookSpin draw! New to the list this month is the tagged and Severance. I still have a hefty backlog of this years picks to read but I've kind of been in a little reading slump this month. Hopefully the new draw will bring me reading inspiration and take me out of this slump!

I'll be the first to admit historical fiction is not really my thing. I did appreciate the story but it never really fully engaged me. I also found it hard to believe that identical twins would have such vastly different capabilities which took me out of the story. I'm sure people that love historical fiction would have a good time with this it's most likely a case of me not the book.

At times this was absolutely rage inducing but I still loved it overall. This is a story about collective trauma, coercive forgetting, and ultimately collective healing. Alex's story is tough and rage inducing but also one of hope and acceptance.

HAPPY #BOOKSPIN DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!
I‘m excited by the draw but also my worst fear came true as both picks this month are the chonkiest on the list! It was the number one downside to organizing my list in order of page count lol. This month my bookspin is the tagged and my double is The Dragonbone Chair.

I use the #BookSpin list for titles from a long-term, ten-year plan challenge I'm doing. This month I had to kind of re-strategize the list because I'm running out of physical books to use and am having to switch to more digital titles. New to the list this month are three titles: the tagged, The Promise of Blood, and You Sexy Thing. I'm also still working on my backlog of this year's previous draws.

I did not expect to love this as much as I did. There's just something so special about watching found families form.

This is the second half of a duology and takes up right where the first book left off. It does not stand alone well. Some readers may feel that this ends in a cliffhanger if they focus on the political intrigue Prince Gevulin is involved in but this is for the most part Elen's story and her journey has a satisfying conclusion to her arc.

I was feeling sorry for myself because I‘m home sick but then I got notice I was approved for the tagged on NetGalley. Now I‘m trying a little outdoor therapy while I get started.

I had a lot of fun reading this. Perfect popcorn/summer read sci fi. I think the reason I love this sort of thing is that you don't have to read too closely to enjoy yourself and you feel like you've accomplished something when it's over.

I had a really good time with this romance in a fantasy world that has themes about second chances and loving your whole self not just the parts you think you should. The world and side characters added color to the narrative and I feel like Violet and Nathaniel together strengthen each other which is what I want most in a romance novel.

I had a really good time reading this. The Raven narration felt a little odd when it came in but overall I kind of enjoyed it after a while. I enjoyed the world building and magic system. My only complaint is that the main character read a little younger than in her 30s to me.

I really enjoyed this. The world was interesting to me because even though there is a sort of caste system it was also inclusive. I also like that the author is very thoughtful when it comes to issues of consent. This is the first half of a duology and while there is definitely set up for more to come the characters seem in a good place to pause without making the reader furious at an extreme cliffhanger.

This was a fun ending to the Ruinous Love Trilogy. I wasn't expecting it to be as long as it was narratively but it was still good. Although I could have done without the call back to how the author ruined ice cream in the epilogue lol

I missed #BookSpin Day yesterday because of work and other things but I'm super excited about the draw this month. BookSpin is the tagged and the Double is Nightwatch. Thankfully the draw was on the upper range because all my chonky boi books are towards the low teens/twenty.

I loved the magic system in this and the fact that it's a magic school tale told from an instructor's perspective not a chosen one student.

I can't believe we're almost to the July #BookSpin draw! New to the list this month are the tagged and The Dragonbone Chair. I have to keep my fingers crossed that the draws are closer to the single digit end of the list because the way mine's set up the chonky bois are towards the bottom.

Kendzior always writes beautiful prose that has a hint of melancholy for the future we no longer have. I loved this because it is a love letter to America and like she says, you love the good parts and tell the truth about the bad that way your love is honest.

Cute sapphic romance. I liked both of the main characters and found the introvert of the pair most relatable. Fun premise with good emotional growth on both sides of the pairing.

Super fun and great conclusion to the overarching narrative arc. Absolutely love Ada the chaos goblin and would love to see more of her adventures.

I almost liked this one better than the first because now we know how much of a chaos goblin Ada is we can just see how she does what she does best without all the setup. You almost have to feel bad for how unprepared Rian is for Ada's schemes.

As much as I enjoyed this novella and want to read more about the world and the characters I feel like the size was just right. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out it's a trilogy so I do get to read more without being weighed down by a filler arc.

Started the tagged on my break. It‘s so tiny for a hardcover. I normally get my books from work but we don‘t have this one. Past me put it on hold at my local but I have no recollection of doing so. I had to look up the book when the hold notice came in. I can definitely see why I did though.

Low pick because while this was fun and feel good it did have some flaws. Most notably, slightly inappropriate relationship with minors. The characters have the best of intentions but definitely boundary issues.

Rolo and I are enjoying the tagged before summer temps make it impossible to enjoy the outside. Kendzior is an amazing writer and it feels right to read this in the outdoors.

Welp I accidentally read the whole thing in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I liked that they communicated with each other for the most part and they built each other up. Win and Bo definitely became better people because they met each other.

Starting the tagged today while Rolo works out his post vet check up aggression.

I normally hate to double post but I also finished this in audio today. I enjoyed the characters but I don't know if it was the fact that it was supposed to be a character driven novel and just didn't have the oomph to really make up for the lack of plot action or what but was a little disappointing. The characters do grow and learn from each other but it felt a little too long and drawn out for any meaningful relationships to form.

I absolutely loved this! Even having lived through the proliferation of reality tv there was so much to learn even about shows I actively watch(ed). This mainly focuses on American tv so it would be interesting if someone wrote about international reality tv history.

This was fun. I've meant to read all the Newbery winners in order but I did this one out of order because I'm chasing those seasonal goodreads achieves. I was curious how the characters and situations would come together with all their quirks. If I had to choose favorites I would go with Turtle and Chris but it's very hard to choose because they all have their own charms.

I liked this one better than the first! Diana and Jeremy were so stubborn that it was interesting to see them fall for each other. I like that it wasn't just a miscommunication that kept them apart but the fact that they had certain perceptions of self that made it hard to connect.

I can't believe it's time for the June #BookSpin lists! I've been doing much better this year about keeping up with the selections and have read at least one of the draws for each month so far. The bad news is the books adding to the list are getting chonkier. New to the list this month are the tagged and Pushing Ice.

This was a fun and quick read typical of the genre. I liked seeing how they would prank each other within the strictures of society. Even though most of the characters behaved childishly it was good escapism. Although this is definitely a case of blown out of proportion miscommunication.

I‘ve finally emerged from a weeklong hyperfixation binge of books I don‘t keep track of and can now enjoy reading in the yard with Rolo again. Shoutout to the Libby app for saving me the expense of buying the books I binged.

It‘s almost Big Brother US season so I thought it would be fitting to start the tagged while Rolo and I get some vitamin D
#DogsOfLitsy

I enjoyed this because there's a lot to unpack about identity and truth of self. I will say though it's built on a similar framework as The First 15 Lives of Harry August so I wouldn't read them back to back.

This was a good book but I think it was just too literary for my tastes. I thought the Miri chapters wandered into the weeds a bit too much and the Leah chapters didn't quite cover enough of the story to make up for that.

This was a contemporary retelling of Persuasion but I didn't know that going in. I think in many ways it keeps the charm of the original with subtle changes to make it more modern. I liked learning more about Pakistani American culture and was really rooting for Asma and Farooq.

This is the follow up to Mickey7 and I kind of liked this one better. The emphasis is less on how Mickey is an expendable and more on his diplomatic efforts with the Creepers. We get to see more of the planet and the other life on it.

Popcorn sci-fi that only lightly touches on cloning and personhood.

I really enjoyed this and I'm sad the next installment isn't out yet. Very girl goes to magic school with dragons but done in an interesting way. Excellent take on fighting colonialism.