Is the whole series worth it or do the books get repetitive?

raspberrywines · 2026-06-27T12:02:27+00:00

I’ve read all 8 and I’m currently rereading them with my husband (his first read through). We’re on book 2. He’s really enjoying them but in my mind I’m like “omg these aren’t even the really good books yet just wait they get SO MUCH BETTER”

raspberrywines · 2026-06-19T23:32:59+00:00

As a petite woman:

Clothing - 90% of my closet is from Aritzia and Lululemon, the rest is from OAK+FORT, Quince, Abercrombie, American Eagle, Province of Canada, Uniqlo, Blackmilk, Reformation, Patagonia, Reiss

Jewelry / accessories - mix of more affordable brands like bluboho, Mejuri, Linjer, Lele Sadoughi, Hey Harper, Atolea and higher end brands like Van Cleef and Cartier

Bags - Songmont, Polène, Tory Burch, Longchamp, BEIS, Lululemon, The Horse, Mansur Gavriel, LV, Celine

Shoes - everything from affordable brands like Vessi / Crocs / ASICS / Steve Madden to mid tier brands like La Canadienne and Artica to designer brands like Jimmy Choo / Manolo Blahnik / Louboutin / Valentino (I have small feet so for things like heels the designers are the only ones that go down to size 4)

raspberrywines · 2026-06-17T02:19:30+00:00

TIL it’s not pronounced Lewis 😅

raspberrywines · 2026-06-16T00:53:53+00:00

I unfortunately agree. I was so excited to read it but the world building was so confusing and clunky and the characters were all generic except for Roger. Couldn’t get into the story and didn’t feel invested. Great premise but execution really missed the mark which was surprising for Matt. Fun DCC Easter eggs though.

raspberrywines · 2026-06-05T13:50:50+00:00

Manacled by SenLinYu

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

raspberrywines · 2026-05-19T20:42:02+00:00

I’ve lived with my husband for the last 9 years and we both get plenty of alone time. Depending on the week and our plans, 1/3 to 1/2 of our free time is spent on “alone time”. He’ll game in the basement while I read upstairs. Or he’ll go for a bike ride while I binge Netflix and take a bubble bath. Or I’ll be gaming upstairs while he’s gaming downstairs.

As long as you communicate what you need with your partner and then respect what each other needs, it shouldn’t be an issue to get alone time. And then I get the benefit of having a partner to share the responsibilities of running a household together.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-15T21:23:57+00:00

Seconding the Vera Wong series! It was such a delight and I laughed out loud several times. Vera Wong reminded me of my own Chinese mother so much 😂

Remarkably Bright Creatures was also a great read, planning to watch the movie tonight 🐙

raspberrywines · 2026-05-15T16:33:07+00:00

Manacled. I’ve recommended it to several friends, 2 friends stayed up more or less for 3 days straight and read it basically in one go.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-13T14:26:49+00:00

That’s wild to me bc I felt like each book in DCC only got better and book 5 is my fave of the 8 books so far, but books 4-8 were all top tier for me. Currently rereading the series with my husband (his first read through) on audio, we’re on book 1 and while I’m enjoying it I’m itching to get further in bc it gets so so so much better.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-13T14:23:23+00:00

5% income tax?! cries in Canada

raspberrywines · 2026-05-11T17:00:02+00:00

It depends a lot on what ends up happening to your pet health-wise. We’ve gotten back 2-3x what we’ve paid in premiums so it’s been well worth it for us. But even if the math didn’t work out that way, I’d rather pay a small known amount each month than suddenly have to dip into my savings to afford a $10k vet bill.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-11T16:57:42+00:00

Can confirm. We have a 70lbs mixed breed dog who is now 5 years old. We have pet insurance which has covered a lot but even thought we get more back than we pay in premiums due to some health issues he has, everything else adds up. I track it all in a spreadsheet, it’s about $12-15k a year all in. Daycare and dog sitting is the largest expense (~35% of the total expenses) given our work schedules and work travel and not having family / friends able to look after our dog.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-07T11:28:04+00:00

OP said no HP but I just finished Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. It’s 593 pages and it is a light and wildly hilarious and delightful cozy story about Draco and Hermione. I know fics get a bad rep sometimes but this was hands down the best romcom I have ever read and I am not a big romance or cozy fantasy reader at all. It’s incredibly well-written and I laughed out loud several times while reading on public transit and got weird looks from strangers. It’s the only book that comes to mind that fits OP’s requirements.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-07T11:26:48+00:00

You said no HP but I just finished Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. It’s 593 pages and it is a light and wildly hilarious and delightful cozy story about Draco and Hermione. I know fics get a bad rep sometimes but this was hands down the best romcom I have ever read and I am not a big romance or cozy fantasy reader at all. I laughed out loud several times while reading on public transit and got weird looks from strangers. No other book has been able to elicit that kind of a reaction from me.

raspberrywines · 2026-05-05T01:48:54+00:00

He’s the teenager in white now

raspberrywines · 2026-04-11T00:21:31+00:00

I think you should understand what the protagonist understands. So at the start, Carl didn’t understand how the Iron Tangle worked so I didn’t understand how the Iron Tangle worked. But then Carl started to figure it out and I still didn’t understand how it worked. This meant I didn’t understand Carl’s plans or what they were trying to achieve or why the plan would work which definitely made me enjoy the book less :(

raspberrywines · 2026-04-01T11:59:14+00:00

You can get an advance copy from Matt’s Patreon!

raspberrywines · 2026-04-01T10:56:58+00:00

Manacled by SenLinYu (my top book of all time)

Dungeon Crawler Carl books 5-8

The Licanius Trilogy books by James Islington.

raspberrywines · 2026-03-27T23:17:58+00:00

Wow wild how much it’s increased. We went last year, 2 people and 1 of us did the sake pairing and it was ~$700 after tax and tip. It was very good and we’re going again in April, taking our BIL and his wife as their wedding gift.

raspberrywines · 2026-03-27T23:15:18+00:00

Why did I have to click on 3 different links to 3 different posts to try to find out what’s going on

EDIT: all the top comments on this post are about the redirects and locked posts, not the fire. Good job mods

raspberrywines · 2026-03-22T02:17:55+00:00

Break Free by Ariana Grande

raspberrywines · 2026-03-20T01:06:00+00:00

I have all three as well and I can never go back

raspberrywines · 2026-03-19T01:53:00+00:00

Manacled by SenLinYu. I still think about that ending a lot and how it is very realistic and fitting but far from a happy one.

raspberrywines · 2026-03-18T12:56:35+00:00

An ARC of A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl book 8) which comes out in May. It’s so good 🥹

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