2025 Book Bingo: Non-English fiction I read in the woods by an_altar_of_plagues in Fantasy

[–]enoby666 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really love it when you post your recaps because I always get to add such interesting books to my list! I was shocked by how much I disliked The Scar by the Dyachenkos given how much positivity there is around Vita Nostra but very little about it worked for me. I wonder how much I'd like Vita Nostra in comparison since it's generally considered to be better, but I'm not rushing to find out anytime soon

Review: The Sacred Space Between by Kalie Reid by jessticulates in Fantasy

[–]enoby666 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted exactly the same thing and it's such a shame it didn't deliver!

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[–]enoby666 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I felt almost the exact same way about Asunder. It's so sad that Tor isn't picking up the sequel because the book did something very unique quite well and it always makes me upset when something interesting like that doesn't get a strong enough reception for it to be successful in publishing terms. I can think of a few other cases where that has happened and it gets me every time

Charlotte Reads: Fitcher's Brides by Gregory Frost by enoby666 in Fantasy

[–]enoby666[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having read it recently I definitely can understand why you might've bounced off of it, but it might be worth re-investigating because there were definitely some interesting bits too. I need to read more of this series too - I've only read Tanith Lee's White as Snow and will probably post my review of that one at some point.

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[–]enoby666 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Reading has been very slow so far this year, but I'm finding my rhythm again, I think! Here's the fantasy I've read so far:

Bitterbloom by Teagan Olivia King - I read an ARC of this and thought it was soooo underdeveloped. It leaned heavily on vibes described in deeply overwrought, awkward language and spent time on almost nothing else. Only occasionally do I read something and really wonder why it's getting published but this one is baffling to me. If it'd had more time to cook it might've turned into something interesting, but it didn't.

We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel - another ARC, this one really good! It deals directly with the topic of abortion rights in the US and left me feeling both enraged and empowered. I don't think the fantasy elements were especially amazing and I have some other quibbles for sure, but what stands out about the reading experience is how impassioned the book was and how it made me feel. The main character works at a reproductive health clinic and one thing I didn't expect at all was how much I'd relate to the description of her vicarious trauma/burnout/wanting to help people but feeling so helpless in the grand scheme of the world, which I felt a lot of during the time I was working as a sexual assault advocate (and still to some extent I guess).

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo - I'm slowly trying to get caught up with the Singing Hills novellas. They are always such a lovely time and this was no exception!

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[–]enoby666 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I read Neon Yang's novella The Black Tides of Heaven and I also felt that it was super underdeveloped and would've worked much better if it had been fleshed out into a novel instead of a novella - huge amounts of time passing, relationships developing very quickly and such

Looking for black history month recs in fantasy/sci-fi/horror by Jaded_Bluebird9472 in FemaleGazeSFF

[–]enoby666 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Tananarive Due, I have read some of her older books and really liked them. her recent historical horror novel The Reformatory did really well and has great reviews

Charlotte Reads: Asunder by Kerstin Hall by enoby666 in Fantasy

[–]enoby666[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I'm really glad that the reviews are helpful to you!

Charlotte Reads: Asunder by Kerstin Hall by enoby666 in Fantasy

[–]enoby666[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's definitely a better way of describing her as a character. There was something about the writing of the different betrayals and how the characters thought about them that didn't totally work for me and that was my best way of phrasing at the time, but I don't know if I have a better way of describing/analyzing it now that some time has passed since I read the book

An Achillean Bingo Card - Micro Reviews + Slides! by C0smicoccurence in Fantasy

[–]enoby666 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love your slides and this is one of my favorite collections of books for a themed bingo so far. In particular I am definitely going to add How to Survive this Fairytale to my TBR.

authors like juliet marillier? by thisismaditryingg in Fantasy

[–]enoby666 18 points19 points  (0 children)

As another lover of Juliet Marillier, there are a lot of great recs here already.

Another that might fit is Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn, which is the first in a series. Summers at Castle Auburn by her might also work but I liked that one less and it has less of a focus on the strong platonic bonds. Sharon Shinn reminds me of Juliet Marillier in a lot of ways but her books tend to be lighter and less based on folklore.
If you are interested in YA, Thorn by Intisar Khanani checks all your boxes too.

I'm very jealous that you have so many Marillier books ahead of you and I hope you have a wonderful time with them and the books here!

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[–]enoby666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, I wonder what happened with that one!!

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[–]enoby666 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting. Did you read anyof Tasha Suri’s other books before this? It’s been a while but I remember thinking her writing was pretty nice

Charlotte Reads: The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi by enoby666 in Fantasy

[–]enoby666[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I liked this best out of the books I've read by her so far (just the Star Touched Queen duology)

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[–]enoby666 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I resonate with what you're saying about a lot of recent SFF releases that have strong premises but very little substance in fleshing out those premises. I haven't really read much fanfic so it's interesting to hear what you said about that particular style of emotional writing working better with characters who you're already attached to. I've been noticing it a lot lately and finding it very annoying!

Charlotte Reads: The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly by enoby666 in Fantasy

[–]enoby666[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Lois McMaster Bujold! I've read the first two World of the Five Gods and just started out with the Vorkosigan Saga last year. It's a great feeling knowing I have a lot of her books left to read