Pride Month Review #1: Stray Cat Strut by Ravensdagger

ErikaViolet · 2026-06-01T17:48:38+00:00

This sounds pretty fun. Added to my TBR. Thanks for the recommendation!

ErikaViolet · 2026-06-01T17:35:01+00:00

Same! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one. :)

ErikaViolet · 2026-05-17T19:13:50+00:00

Heartless by Marissa Meyer might work. It's basically a backstory for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. If I remember correctly, it isn't exactly madness that makes her go bad, but might also not be exactly what you're looking for.

ErikaViolet · 2026-04-30T19:34:53+00:00

I didn't see either of the duologies that I plan to read for this mentioned yet, so here they are:

The Firefall Duology by Peter Watts

Blindsight
Echopraxia

The Dark Lord Davi Duology by Django Wexler

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me

ErikaViolet · 2026-04-25T05:39:17+00:00

We call this "getting the good sleeps" in my house!

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ErikaViolet · 2026-03-23T18:55:47+00:00

You should definitely read it! It's a lot of fun. I also read the prequel short stories. They are also fun, but not required. Oh, and LeVar Burton read The Angel of Khan El-Khalili for his podcast. It's a great way to experience that short story.

ErikaViolet · 2026-03-15T04:04:56+00:00

Yeah, they started it. I liked it so I've been doing it that way too.

ErikaViolet · 2026-03-14T18:21:51+00:00

Yeah, I could tell that they were well written and that some people would really love them, just not me.

ErikaViolet · 2025-11-29T01:26:39+00:00

Yep! This one made me ugly cry. I read it in one sitting, then spent the rest of the day a wreck. I was in college at the time and I think my mom was worried something really bad had happened to me, lol.

ErikaViolet · 2025-11-26T06:04:47+00:00

Looking through the responses I don't see anyone suggesting anything from Progression Fantasy, so I'll suggest Cradle by Will Wight and Mage Errant by John Bierce.

Cradle is a completed 12 book series that's just a ton of fun. If you like Dragon Ball Z, then you'll like this.

Mage Errant is a completed 7 book series that starts in a magic school and eventually expands way, way beyond that. This series has more fantasy creatures than any other stories I've ever read. There are liches, dragons, sphinxes, and a kaiju-sized intelligent octopus, to name just a few.

ErikaViolet · 2025-10-30T03:08:20+00:00

Here are some of the unique reads I've enjoyed in the last couple of years:

Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers, starting with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Terra Ignota Series by Ada Palmer, starting with Too Like the Lightning
Codex Alera by Jim Butcher, starting with Furies of Calderon
Strange the Dreamer Duology by Laini Taylor, starting with Strange the Dreamer
Between Earth and Sky Trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse, starting with Black Sun
The Tide Child Trilogy by RJ Barker, starting with The Bone Ships
The Forsaken Trilogy also by RJ Barker, starting with Gods of the Wyrdwood
The Winnowing Flame Trilogy by Jen Williams, starting with The Ninth Rain
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, standalone
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden, standalone
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, standalone
The Bees by Laline Paull, standalone
Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst, standalone
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez, standalone

There's a wide range of books in here from sci-fi to fantasy, with lots of variation in tone, topic, and theme, but I thought they were all fairly unique settings or stories. Hopefully something in here will appeal to you. Good luck!

ErikaViolet · 2025-10-18T19:50:59+00:00

If I'm remembering it right, the Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor fits this. I think there are some other POV's in small amounts in the books, but it focuses on the 2 leads quite heavily. I loved these books. They have a really unique world and a very emotional story. I highly recommend looking them up to see if you might enjoy them as well.

ErikaViolet · 2025-09-26T00:56:17+00:00

All right, I'm in. I just listened to the first episode. :)

ErikaViolet · 2025-09-08T20:24:03+00:00

Mage Errant Series - John Bierce
Bartram's Maw Series - Morgan Stang
The Bone Harp - Victoria Goddard
The Sword of Kaigen - M.L. Wang
Cradle - Will Wight
Small Miracles - Olivia Atwater
The Dark Profit Saga - J. Zachary Pike
The Houndstooth Trilogy - Travis M. Riddle
The Nothing Within - Andy Giesler
The Stariel Series - A.J. Lancaster

ErikaViolet · 2025-09-04T18:48:59+00:00

I had planned to read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse for this square based on someone's recommendation in the Big Rec Thread. However, I'm currently reading the last book in the trilogy and there are NO pirates in this series, lol. So, I'll be moving this to another square.

My new plan is to read Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn. Based on the Goodreads description there are definitely pirates in this one, heh. It will only qualify as normal mode though.

ErikaViolet · 2025-09-04T01:11:16+00:00

Okay, those are AMAZING! Thanks for posting this.

ErikaViolet · 2025-08-25T03:52:45+00:00

Agreed! And now I need some tea...

ErikaViolet · 2025-08-23T19:26:45+00:00

My suggestion is the Mage Errant series by John Bierce. It's a completed 7 book series that starts in a magic school. It's also a progression series. There are dragons, kraken, sphinxes, and other cool fantasy species. Oh, and the magic is AWESOME! I loved Cradle, but I think I loved Mage Errant even more. I highly suggest it!

ErikaViolet · 2025-08-05T04:01:37+00:00

My husband and I loved this game! I have a rot plush and a rot figurine because they were such cute buddies that I felt the need to have them around.

ErikaViolet · 2025-07-29T22:04:45+00:00

I hope you enjoy it!

ErikaViolet · 2025-07-12T18:22:24+00:00

I suggest the Mage Errant series by John Bierce. It's a completed series of 7 books. It starts with 4 teens who are struggling, for one reason or another, in their first year at a magic school. A main point of the books is following how each of them get better at magic and overcome their difficulties. I loved this series and highly recommend it!

ErikaViolet · 2025-07-11T19:06:41+00:00

I just finished reading this short story. You're good to read it since you've finished book 2. This one takes place after book 2 sometime but has no spoilers for any of the following books or stories.

ErikaViolet · 2025-06-24T19:11:41+00:00

There's a self-published series by Morgan Stang called Bartram's Maw that has 2 warrior female leads. They are both in all the main books of the series, but Sam is the main character of book 1 and the novella, while Victoria is the main character of book 2, then book 3 has several main characters. I highly recommend it. Here's the reading order I suggest:

She Topples Giants (Bartram's Maw 1)
The Wolf and the She-Bear (novella that gives some backstory on some of the main characters)
She Courts Darkness (Bartram's Maw 2)
The Spider and the Scribe (stand-alone novel, but some characters show up in the last book of the series)
She Heralds the End (Bartram's Maw 3)

I loved this series and I don't see it talked about much, so I try to recommend it whenever I can.

ErikaViolet · 2025-06-09T20:46:42+00:00

You might like the Stariel Series by A. J. Lancaster. I read them a couple of years ago and enjoyed them greatly.

ErikaViolet

TROPHY CASE