Daughters of Doubt and Eyerolling

Month: January 2023

Don’t annoy the Frost Fae

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett, published 10 January 2023.

It’s the autumn of 1919 and professor Emily Wilde of Cambridge has travelled to the far north to research faeries. She’s a curmudgeon and manages to aggravate the locals within days of her arrival. Not ideal, since she’s the definition of the well-off city girl not used to fending on her own. Pride and pure stubbornness outweigh comfort; she’d rather freeze than ask someone to show her how to chop firewood. Still, she makes a friend among the local smaller fae. Then her colleague and rival, the handsome Wendell Bambleby, arrives and pushes his way into her research. The both of them soon discover dark fae magic afoot and have to help the villagers rescue fair maidens and exchange a possible changeling. The research mission then turns into rescue missions; especially after Emily gets it into her head to help a trapped local high fae.

The novel reminded me of Brennan’s The Memoirs of Lady Trent series and Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series. Strong female academic at the helm of the story. Some kind of romantic entanglement with the male sidekick. Getting into scrapes and out of them with wits and female guile.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

4/5 Harpy Eagles

Wizards, Witches, Warlocks

How can January be nearly over already? Well, looking at how many books and short stories I’ve read in that time I can actually believe we’re closer to February than the ‘old year’. Time flies when you’re having fun!

As was expected I fell into the Dresden Files continuum and have managed to make my way through the first ten novels and most of the accompanying short stories. Do I have to say more? Despite being a bit old-fashioned in his regards towards women, I quite like Harry Dresden, resident wizard of Chicago. The merry band of secondary characters makes each story even more interesting, since you won’t know from the start of the book which character(s) might accompany him in his quest this time. Together they battle vampires, werewolves, evil wizards, demons, some of the fae and what else the magical world throws their way.

Apart from Harry Dresden’s exploits, I have read Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. The first novel in an urban fantasy series about witches and warlocks in the British Isles. First published 31 May 2022.

Four childhood best friends have drifted apart since they grew up together on Spice Girls, 90s horror films and music. Now they have to work together to prevent the prophesied rise of an evil force which is going to destroy all witch kind.

The most outstanding feature about this novel is that it is a work of its time. It talks about tradition vs progress, transgender and POC witches, and the strife for power no matter the consequences. But this outstanding feature also makes the plot very predictable. It was clear to me, from the start, who the baddie was. Then I kept wondering whether the book would use the motive of self-fulfilling prophecy to its advantage. Alas that might be part of the sequel(s).

If I had to sum this up in one sentence: Derry Girls meets Charmed and The Craft in a 2022 British remake version.

I initially gave this book 5/5 Harpy Eagles, right after finishing the cinematic last chapters. I’ll down-grade to 3/5 Harpy Eagles for the predictability, but will still be looking forward to the sequel.

New Year, Old TBR

Let me start off by saying this: I’m really glad 2022 is done. Sure, great things happened, but most of all it felt really draining. One thing that didn’t change is the fact that there are books to keep the mood up.

2022 was the first year I didn’t set a specific book count reading goal, and it was really liberating. Did I still check out the total amount of books read again and again? Sure. But I didn’t feel pressured to finish each book just so it can count towards the yearly goal. I know it’s stupid to feel pressured in this way, but my inner overachiever works that way. So, 2023 does not get a reading goal either.

To look back on last year’s books, here are some categories:

  • Best surprise: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, I’ll probably gush about it for another year
  • Late to the party: the first Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The year of Sanderson started yesterday, so it was about damn time to tackle some of his books on my TBR
  • Best audio: The Kaiju Preservetion Society by John Scalzi,you can’t go wrong with an audiobook read by Wil Wheaton
  • All the feels: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
  • The mountains are out to kill you: The Beckoning Silence by Joe Simpson
  • WTF, IS THIS A JOKE: Blind / Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Maybe it was due to the German translation, but this one disappointed me so much that I’m still angry

As for 2023, I only planned buddyreads so far. TheLadyDuckOfDoom mentioned some of them here. The whole Sceptre triad will also read the Year of Sanderson books, and we have our eyes on The Witch King by Martha Wells.

Now I’m off checking reading challenge prompts I’ll never fulfill, because it doesn’t hurt to dream.

Looking back and looking forward

I’m sure everyone will agree 2022 was not the best of years. Post covid, at least that is what politicians tell us, a war going on, an energy and cost of living crisis, are only the global things tearing at our psyche.

Personal life dragged me through a lot of shit, too. Lost jobs and lost friendships are the top of the iceberg, and it took a lot out of me to fight my way out of everything above. So, thank the universe we have books! Books understand us, books love us, we wouldn’t be anything without books. (Anyone wants to start a cult with me? Pray to the dark goddess of books?)

This year, I read less than the previous, but still managed to surpass my reading goal. I also managed to put away books I did not like. This is new for me, I could not do that before, and I think it’s a very good change.

There were also a couple of fantastic books I read this year:

  • Murderbot, as always is on top of the list, can’t go wrong with Murderbot
  • Legends & Lattes is the coziest best thing that happened to me this year ever
  • Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald was an exiting new epic fantasy I picked up and really liked
  • Locklands finished Robert Jackson Bennet’s The Founder’s trilogy

There are a couple of books I somehow managed to NOT read this year, despite desperately wanting to. They’ll be on top of my TBR for 2023:

  • Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is waiting to be read, maybe as a Buddyread with the Marquess Magpie
  • Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky only just arrived
  • The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin, follow-up to The City We Became. Might be buddyread material for me and the Marquess
  • The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean as recommended by TheRightHonorableHarpyEagle

As if the TBR is not already in a constant shape of bookish explosion, there are a couple of new releases I’m looking forward to next year:

  • Godkiller by Hannah Kaner: The synopsis sounds really interesting, looking forward to reading this one!
  • A Curse of Krakens by Kevin Hearne: I love this author, and I can’t wait for the next book in the The Seven Kennings Series
  • The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon. AIs gone mad and mechas? Sign me up.
  • Defiant by Brandon Sanderson: I think its the last in the Skyward series, and it’s coming up in march.
  • Emperor of Ruin by Django Wexler: Finale in the Burningblade & Silvereye Trilogy, which has serious Star Wars vibes!

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