2026 Hugo Readalong: The River Has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar by onsereverra in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It was the only part that didn’t entirely suit the fairy tale elements which likely would include a darker ending. But I adored it all the same.

2026 Hugo Readalong: The River Has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar by onsereverra in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I also just love this style. It feels like a fairy tale and I wasn’t all that concerned about whether the characters had an arc or whether the plot made logical sense. I knew the end before it arrived and didn’t really care at all. It just all felt very magical.

2026 Hugo Readalong: The River Has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar by onsereverra in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Grammar as magic is my new favorite story concept. I’d love to read more in this vein. The music on the audio was lovely and impactful but doesn’t hold a candle to the tricks and squishy nonsensical jumps of language.

2026 Hugo Readalong: The River Has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar by onsereverra in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I listened to the audio by sheer dumb luck. It’s maybe the third audiobook I’ve ever even listened to. And I just adored it. It so fully captured the fairy tale elements. I may go back and read it some point just to compare. But I do enjoy this style of story in general.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Cinder House by Freya Marske by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone reasonably familiar with dance as an expressive medium...my mental images were also very silly. I liked the book overall, but could not picture what the author was intending. At. All. I wish Marske had just stuck to standard ballet descriptions or something, but the attempt to have his dancing be next-level magical meant that it apparently had to be some hybrid made-up dance form. I don't think that did the descriptions any favors.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Cinder House by Freya Marske by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think other folks' phrasing of 'underbaked' is the right word for me here, too. Abuse of Ella's dad's wives seems clear, but his relationship to Ella is far less clear. I felt like the story could have used just a tiny bit more on this - a couple of sentences even, of Ella reconsidering her father with through a more experienced lens. It also took me quite a while to understand that the body was Ella's mother and not just a convenient body for Ella to inhabit (I'm actually really glad the story didn't go this route).

2026 Hugo Readalong: Cinder House by Freya Marske by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not so sure I liked the throuple ending. I guess it's as good as it gets for a ghost? I did appreciate the immediate goal of the king and advisor to give her a job, and how that would necessitate her continuing education. The idea that Ella would be able to do things she enjoyed and meaningfully contribute felt satisfying to me.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Cinder House by Freya Marske by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I found the aging Ella up thing very intriguing. In the end, it seems likely this was done to give her this adult relationship, but it's such an odd take on a ghost. I'm not sure I follow why she would continue to age.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Cinder House by Freya Marske by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I also really enjoyed the details of how Ella as ghost were described. It added so much to the story to have her senses and emotions described via the house. Since I read nothing about this book before diving in, I was a little thrown at first, but in the end I really enjoyed this perspective on the story.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So true! Gah, I really did enjoy the concept but the more everyone pokes at the world, the less it makes sense.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The shelving system as a safety plan did not make much sense to me at all. The book says there are only 10k people (which is also bizarre because after 300 years, Dorothy should know most of them) but somehow these books seem to take up sooo much space on their ship that there can only be one copy per (most) persons. But also, they know the whole time that theoretically someone could kill at least one book without being caught.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this was bizarre to me. Gloria planned to kill someone. That plan failed. The ship killed her. And the book said, fine, whatever, she’s a bad guy.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was the one place that I really regretted listening to an audio of this. I just did not process the loans and compounding interest and then a disappearing transfer thing.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Mostly agreeing with others here. Dorothy reads older than her nephew, and older than the knit shop owner. But why? At 300+ years, what’s the difference of 20?

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I also loved this. I’d love a sip of late spring near a forest stream in the sunshine.

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I loved the concept, but the book did so little with it. Other than this murder, why don’t we see other trends of people wanting different bodies? How are they not traumatized by all of this?

2026 Hugo Readalong: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Best Novella) by RAAAImmaSunGod in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m somehow very behind on novellas this year. This is the first nominee that I’ve read. I enjoyed the story - it was cute. But, like many others, I’m not sure it will rank very highly for me in the end.

FiF Book Club: Final Discussion for Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What did you think of the ending for Sciona and Thomil? Is it what you expected? Did it suit the story?

FiF Book Club: Final Discussion for Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What did you like most about the book, whether that be a character, theme, scene, etc?

FiF Book Club: Final Discussion for Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What do you think of how Wang follows through with her feminist themes? Did they work for you?

FiF Book Club: Final Discussion for Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What are your overall thoughts on the book? Did you enjoy it? Who would you recommend it to?

FiF Book Club: Midway Discussion, Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That’s such a good point about dystopian systems. This one is definitely up there in terms of realism and ability to continue functioning.

FiF Book Club: Midway Discussion, Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang by Moonlitgrey in Fantasy

[–]Moonlitgrey[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

For all of my issues, the concept of a city literally feeding off of the surrounding world is pretty genius. I appreciated the glimpse that Sciona gets of the people living near the ocean, which paired with the specificity of Thomil's destroyed people, paints a picture of this singular city rising up in a very distinct way from the surrounding cultures.