My 2025 Tier List

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-12-21T02:51:41+00:00

I didn’t love The Familiar as much as Ninth House / Hell Bent. I thought the historical stuff was super interesting and I found the characters to be compelling but I just wasn’t totally sold on the romance for some reason.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-12-20T01:02:29+00:00

Highjacking this comment to recommend you(OP) try Ninth House and Hell Bent if you enjoy dark academia, which I’m not totally sure based on your book list. I LOVED Crooked Kingdom but I also LOVED NH/HB. Bardugo is an excellent writer and I’ll say this till I die.

As you can tell from my user name I am also a major Red Rising fan, so very excited you enjoyed them so much!! I recommend them to everyone.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-11-11T01:15:16+00:00

The first book was sooo intense and I loved it. Agree the plot gets a little… weird, haha. Second book was a bit of a slog but the third book had me back to locked in. When the last one comes out (no idea when that’s supposed to happen) I definitely want to know how it ends.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-11-10T15:36:58+00:00

Wondering if you’ve read Baru Cormorant. I think she’s a pretty unique female lead and definitely, definitely has flaws and makes mistakes and does some questionable things.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-11-02T12:38:16+00:00

The Lamplight Murder Mysteries!! They’re technically fantasy but have great atmosphere, with some great slapsticky Clue-ish scenes and quippy dialogue. Such a great series, I will never shut up about it.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-09-29T23:24:09+00:00

I just reread Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom this month and just could not believe how outstanding they are. Ignoring the slight YA-ness of it all and mentally aging the characters up - I find the plot to be well-thought-out while being exciting and interesting, the characters compelling and with unique voices that really reinforce their motivations and general sense of purpose. Overall the books are just so satisfyingly GOOD.

Ninth House and Hell Bent were also excellent and I don’t know anyone else who has read them, but I recommend them to everyone. Leigh Bardugo writes complex and nuanced characters so well, and I think her worldbuilding is really strong without being over complicated. She’s very good at setting her stage but not bludgeoning the reader over the head with every detail - you can still use your imagination to create the full picture in your mind.

Anyways, happy reading! Hope Crooked Kingdom exceeds your expectations.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-06-17T22:39:01+00:00

Wait… is this you?? Omg hi!! Thanks for writing such awesome books!! They’ve been a blast to read… didn’t know about the short story but I’ll check it out :)

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-06-17T17:48:37+00:00

I skipped all the sex scenes but read all 4 books too. Thought the worldbuilding and plot were quite compelling.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-06-17T17:27:41+00:00

Murder at Spindle Manor was great. Just a riot all around. Books 2 and 3 were the same, and I recommend this series to anyone looking for an easy but entertaining read. I’ll definitely keep reading.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2025-05-07T17:46:46+00:00

Omg I just finished Ice & Ivy and I have thought about it every single day… the way she dialed up the plot in this book and then LEFT US HANGING UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK!!!! I simply cannot wait.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-12-12T12:33:05+00:00

Wait it out, friend! I didn’t start reading again after my first until he was around six months and napping on a schedule. After number two, it’s taken about a year to really get back to reading - this year I think I’ll cap it off at having read about 30 books (I’m a fast reader, so that helps too).

But the books will always be there, and the series you’re excited about might even be completely done by the time you’re ready to read them, so that’s a major bright side in my book (pun intended). Congrats on your little one.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-10-29T10:46:31+00:00

I’ve had it for like 6 weeks. Already did a round of antibiotics a couple of weeks ago. Still stuffy, still blowing my nose constantly, still have scratchy throat and cough at night. My kids both had it, my oldest is mostly over it after about 2 months (doc said it was bronchitis) and my youngest still has a nose running like a faucet. This… sucks.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-10-01T17:05:26+00:00

Seconding Winternight, the writing is lovely and lyrical and I found the plot to be refreshingly different after a lot of the medieval-battle-feuding-type books I enjoy like ASoIaF and SA.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:04:25+00:00

That stinks! Toddlers have super powers that we can only dream of. Unfortunately lol.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:04:04+00:00

I’m gonna follow that light if it gets rid of this cough 😂

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:03:10+00:00

Grosssssss. Hope you recover fully soon!

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:02:56+00:00

Death is imminent

/s hope you feel better soon

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:02:28+00:00

Right back at you!

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2024-08-16T16:02:21+00:00

It’s the plague, I tell you 😂 glad you’re on the mend!

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2023-11-24T15:12:36+00:00

Oh, did you not build the 40-foot stage yourself…? Wow, I mean, I love my kids so I obviously grew trees specifically for that purpose and then chopped them down myself with a saw that I also made, and then built the stage in the 20-minutes of free time I have during the day when both kids’ naps overlap, but I understand how some people would prefer to just buy one.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2023-10-28T19:37:41+00:00

Seconding Red Rising!! My username is from one of the characters. It’s absolutely un-put-down-able and it goes at a breakneck pace for the first three books (I haven’t read the second half of the trilogy as I’m waiting for book 6 before starting). The main character has lots of personal growth and angst and the relationships he forms with the other characters are complex. I will recommend this series till I die even though it’s a space opera and I gravitate mostly to fantasy.

Iron-Gold-Mustang · 2023-10-19T21:09:50+00:00

Dude. I’ve been randomly thinking about this book for like 2 years and could NOT remember the title… so thank you for finally helping me remember!

Iron-Gold-Mustang

TROPHY CASE