The Girl in the Tower

One day. One day I'll stop trying to read books during finals week. That wasn't this week and it certainly won't be next round. Because why not be self-destructive? It's, and I can't stress this enough, fiiiiiiine.

Today, after long 10-20 page intervals, I finished The Girl in the Tower. After Vasya has to leave her home or be put to death, she decides to be a traveler. She realizes it's harder than it seems and Morozko helps her out a bit. Masquerading as a boy for convenience, she tracks a band of bandits and saves some girls. This gains her the favor of the king but causes her siblings to have to lie on her behalf. Then the rest of the chaos ensues.

I'd like to start off by saying that I really need either Morozko to become mortal or for Vasya to become immortal so they can be together. They'd be so good together. I realize this is a feminist series about a girl finding her own way in a time when girls aren't supposed to have any way, but I still want them to have some sort of relationship. I'd prefer romantic, but I guess I'd be okay with a bromance. I do like how this fairy tale breaks away from the normal fairy tale and makes Vasya the hero of her own story. She figures out how to save everyone. She's the one who found the bandits. An overall, good story. If I had read it all in one go, I'd have liked it better, but I couldn't. Stress makes me not be able to focus. Then I had this coffee incident. . . but that's not what we're talking about.

Actually, I don't have much to talk about, because it literally took me like, two weeks to read this book. Am I ashamed? Yes. I'm ashamed of me. But there's nothing I could have done. I had papers to write, exams to study for, and all that jazz. If you want some insight on the book maybe. . . go read it.

Ship: Vasya and Morozko

8/10
~Book Panda

The Bear and the Nightingale

Hi gamers,

How's your day been? Mine has been a waste. I meant to start/finish a paper before the next week deadline, so I wasn't stressed. You know what I did instead? Finished a book I should've finished Friday and this book I'm gonna talk about right now.

I just finished The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, the first in the Winternight Trilogy. It's a rendition of Russian folklore, though I couldn't tell you the entirety of the folklore. Basically, the book takes place in a fantastical medieval Russia, out in the low key country/forest. Vasilisa's mother dies giving birth to her. Eventually, her father gets remarried and the stepmother is, as per usual, a monster. She's made it impossible to follow their old ways, with major consequences following. Then she tries to send Vasilisa away, who's the only one keeping their lands functional. With little house spirits and mysterious demons, this should not have taken me five days to read, but alas.

So, I've been waiting for the final book in this series to come out for a while. Since it had been a while, I forgot what it was about. Then I read the blurb, and I was furious. I could've used this book for my whole paper. But it's fine. I'm not bitter or anything. Plus, it's a good book. I've developed a love for fairy tales and this is like something I want to write. A whole fairy tale, but in novel form. I think a bit of what took me so long was because I was used to reading like, 10-page fairy tales with wide margins and this is a whole 300-page book. Also, the fact that I was angry that if I read faster earlier in the year, I could have used this for my paper. But all is well.

Vasilisa is a queen. She was born in the wrong time period and could be the wildest girl she wanted it she was created in the 21st century. Unfortunately, she wasn't, and that's part of the purpose of the story. I like how she always stays true to herself. She trusts herself more than those around her and she doesn't succumb to the will of the patriarchy. I also appreciate her brother, Alyosha? I don't really understand the Russian naming system. There's like five different names people are called and I'm not sure why. Like, Vasilisa is called Vasya most of the time. But why? I guess I should go look up Russian stuff. Anyway, Alyosha is a cool dude. I also liked Sasha, but he was kind of pretentious for no reason. I like how he went off to be a monk, but he's very bad at it.

Konstantin was a wild creature. Like, part of me liked him but the other part wanted him to just chill. Stay in church and paint your pictures. Also, he was very God-fearing, which is whatever, but he painted idols and the people worshipped him. So doesn't that make him an idolatrous? I know I don't read my Bible like I should, but that's what it looked like. Morozko is interesting. I know she's not to trust him, because he's chaotic neutral Jack Frost, but I do. Her dad, patriarchal. The oldest brother, patriarchal. Anna. Needs to go to an asylum. Why couldn't her dad just put her in the convent? All my problems would be solved. I kind of understand her, but also, go away.

All right, I have a group project to go to, but I enjoyed this a lot. Hopefully, for the next book, I won't be stressing so I can in-depth analyze it. Bye.

Ship: I don't have one. . .
Snake: Anna
Gemini: Konstantin
Like: Alyosha, Morozko, the little house spirits, Solovey

8/10
~Book Panda

Alex, Approximately

Hi,

Welcome to we're not drowning yet, even though we should be, because we're an English major. Or maybe I just don't care. That wouldn't be good, because I have two years and four more rounds of exams to go. I feel all good though, because I bought my work people donut holes, and I bought this girl coffee, and I figured out how to talk to this other girl. So everything is maybe working? Who knows.

I finished Alex, Approximately today, by Jenn Bennett. It's this cute story about this girl named Bailey, who's a film buff. She made this online friend, Alex, and they bonded over the movies they like. Then she moves to the same town as this guy, to live with her dad, but doesn't tell him about it, even though he's been bothering her about coming to this movie festival with him. So, her dad sets her up with a summer job and she meets this other boy, Porter, who's a bit of a dick, but sweet. So she's juggling these two guys and summer romance things happen.

You may be confused, as this isn't a fantasy book, unless you consider romance books fantasy. I read this book for a few reasons. One, my sister read it. Two, I thought it looked interesting. Three, I needed a lighthearted, easy read after finishing the monstrosity of emotions and events that was The Dark Artifices. If I read another heavy book like that after those, I would burn out and not finish it. This way, I had a little break, and it was a good one.

It was sweet and fun and both weren't as perfect as the other perceived. I thought it was wild how she didn't know he got bit by a shark though. . . Also. I'd have liked it if in the summary of the book it didn't tell me who Alex was. That isn't found out until the end. It would have been more fun if I thought the people she thought were Alex along with her. Instead, I just watched her fumble around like a silly girl when her mans was there. The dynamic between Porter and Bailey, which is what we really care about, was a ten for ten. I also like how we learned to grow and stuff. Ugh. It's just really cute. I enjoyed everything about it. Go read it while you're on the beach or where ever. This is definitely a beach book. Though, I wouldn't know what's a beach book or not, because we don't go to the beach. Whatever, bye. I have other books to read.

Ship: Bailey and Porter

8/10
~Book Panda

Queen of Air and Darkness

Hey,

It's me, harboring conflicted feelings and listening to Cryaotic play Pokémon Platinum on a randomizer at https://www.twitch.tv/cryaotic. He's a gem. You should check him out.

Anyway, what we care about. I finished Queen of Air and Darkness, the final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy. There's. . . so much happening in this book. Basically, the first 200 pages are the Blackthorns grieving over the unnecessary death. Then, Emma and Julian have to go get the Black Volume out of Faerie because their government is corrupted as heck. They have to try and stop loving each other, but that's not new. Also, the Blackthorns have to go hide in their house. And, of course, they have to try and save everyone before they spontaneously combust, because the government is incompetent and prejudice.

I have so many feelings. I did only cry because I was happy and then sad about people's feelings. I'll kind of just go through some things. I did not enjoy soulless Julian. Normally, soulless people are hot, like soulless Stiles from Teen Wolf and soulless Sam from Supernatural, but I hated Julian. I wanted to just throat chop him. My threesome ship did some things, so that was definitely good. I love Ty more than anything, you know this, but I was a little annoyed at him in this one. I was rooting for Kit and he was one of the reasons I cried. He just. . . and he didn't. . . but he. . . huh. I hate that this book is so long and there's so much spoil material. This book is literally 893 pages. That's 2-3 books. Cassandra. No one told you to snap. OH!

This is from the book

THIS BOOK COMES WITH SOME ART! AND IT'S GORGEOUS. She SNAPPED snapped. Anyway. I'm glad Dru has more presence. I still love Ty, but I had to love Kit more. Because he had my feelings. Aline was kind of annoying. Hm. Giants are cool ;) Kieran's character arc is so good. Like, I hated him in the first book, and now I really like him. I also like how so many of The Mortal Instruments squad showed up. I love all of them with my heart and feelings.

Umm. I can't think of anything else without spoiling the whole book. It's so long. Go read it. If they don't have it in Portugal or wherever I'll write the country an angry letter on your behalf. I don't know Portuguese, but I'm sure they can feel the sentiment. Now I gotta decompress with a romance novel. Spoiler, we know who Alex is. See you later. Hopefully in a reasonable time. Finals are coming up and I have like three papers.

Livvy comforting Julian
By qissus

Ship: Emma and Julien, Kit and Ty, Cristina and Mark and Kieran, Alex and Magnus, Clary and Jace, Diana and Gwyn
Snake: Cohort, racists

10/10
Series: 10/10
~Book Panda

Lord of Shadows

Hello,

It's me. I was unable to sob, because my roommate, who I grow to despise with each passing day, showed up exactly as it happened. So I'll be crying myself to sleep instead. I did help cook today, which was fun. Love cooking with other black people, and I love watching all the other white people being confused about seasoning and stuff. Also. My roommate just got in the bed, got under the covers, and turned on her little iPad, instead of turning out the lights. I haven't gotten up since she came back. But. It's. FIne.

I finished Lord of Shadows today, with only two tears. Anyway, Emma has realized how perilous it is for Julian and her to love each other, literally, so she has devised a plan to get him to stop loving her. Through his brother. Then there's news of one of the Blackthorn friends getting executed in Faerie lands, so they all go off to rescue him. This starts a quest for The Black Book, a forbidden necromancy ridden book. Oh wait, there are also unexplained sea demons along the West coast? That's before the fae boy. The demons bring about a group of bigots, so that's always fun for them. Umm, yeah. I've had a lot of sugar tonight, and none of it is helping me in the brain department.

Normally, when I know things in books, it takes me a while to read them, because of nerves and everything. I couldn't do that with this one. Why? Because it's so good. Like, sooooo good. Ms. Clare has no right to this type of power. And yet, here she is. Anyway, Julian and Emma are still so good. Julian is the most heartless and heartwarming bitch, and I love him. Emma is fierce. We adore.  We finally get Kit! I adore him too. He's like Jace, but smol and good and less self-destructive. Also comes from a less loving home, and he kind of feels like Emma, like they don't really need her, but you know who needs him? Ty. You know who I love more than I love myself? Ty. Tiberius Nero Blackthorn deserves every single good thing in the Shadowhunter world. Everything. But Kit, he's so bi/pan and it's so good. He's so cute. I also have this headcanon that Julian is bisexual, but that's neither here nor there. Kit just needs somewhere to belong and a nice BOY. Maybe one with, black hair and gray eyes. Maybe one that deserves the world. And he can give him the world. TY. He's the sweetest boy and I love him so much. Ugh. I wish he was real so I can befriend him. I want to hear about his animal facts, dammit. There are not enough words to describe how much I adore Ty. Not enough. Also, I have a new thing. So, I'm not normally a polyamorous shipper. But. Cristina and Mark and Kieran? You can't have one without the other, and you can't cut one out without the other two being like, they deserve nice things. Sooooo. Cassie? There's like, 900 pages for triple relationship.

Julian and his baby baby
By taratjah

Okay. Here's what needs to happen in Queen of Air and Darkness, or I'm going to be upset. No more main deaths. Magnus. All the Blackthorns need to be okay. Ty needs to be okay. Then he needs to love Kit. And Kit needs to love Ty. And they need to kiss. If they become parabatai, I will literally fight the first person I see. Emma and Julian need to fix their curse so I can breathe again. Dru needs to find a friend, and not freaking Jaime, who's like 18, 19, 20. No. Baby, you're 13. Find a 13-year-old friend. Tavvy's kind of psychic. I want them to discover this. Clary needs to not die. If she dies Jace will be distraught, which means I will be distraught. I won't recover. I mean, I will, but he won't. I'll carry more easily accessible sadness around in my heart for all my days. It won't be okay. Zara and her father need to be beheaded pronto. I have other things, but I wanna watch this Spanish girl draw and play my Pokémon dress-up game. Bye, queens and kings. I'll see you when I see you.

Ship: Ty and Kit, Emma and Julian, Cristina and Mark and Kieran (my first poly ship?!?!), Diana and Gwyn
My Heart: Ty
Snakes: Zara, Manuel, Dearborns in general
No Longer Snakes: Diana, Mark,
I like: Gwyn

10/10
~Book Panda

Lady Midnight

Hi lovelies,

Happy Easter, to those who celebrate. To those who don't, happy 420. And to those who don't care about either of those, whassup? I'm writing this, both impatiently and to delay the inevitable.

Today I finished Lady Midnight, Cassandra Clare's first book in the Dark Artifices trilogy. Taking place in 2012 in at the Los Angeles, we have Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn, parabatai. Ever since the Dark Wars, Emma has sought revenge over the deaths of her parents. The Clave told her Sebastian killed them, but she knows otherwise. Julian has been taking care of his four younger siblings since he was twelve when his father and both of his older, half-fae siblings were sent away. He's harboring secrets upon secrets, and that's no good. Enter Mark Blackthorn, one of said castaway half-fae siblings. The fae, pariahed after the war with the Cold Peace, are asking for the Blackthorn's help in solving a string of murders in Los Angeles in exchange for their brother, who had been taken by the Wild Hunt. And so Mark becomes another secret along with everything else.

Whew. So, this book? So good. Much like literally everything Cassandra writes. Like, how do you get that much talent in your body? Anyway, I reread this book, but it was basically new. Emma? Great. We stan a sarcastic queen. Julian? I love him. Not many people can do what he does and my heart breaks for him, but I also want to love him forever.

I—you know what? I'm just gonna detail my thoughts on all characters in the hopes that it'll stop me from spoiling.

Mark is kind of a dick. I know he's been through a lot and he has to adjust, but even when he's adjusted, he's a dick. Wants all the rewards without working for it. Like, leave. But not literally. Diana is also a piece of work. I kind of know why, I don't remember everything, but she expects things she doesn't give and I don't vibe with that. They all might as well be without an adult. Cristina is kind of like a study abroad student. Her presence is so comforting. Tavvy is the baby. Sometimes he's older than seven, in his words, but that's okay. Even queens must have flaws. Dru is quirky and great. Livvy. *sigh* She's so sweet, I'm so upset. That's all. I adore Ty with all my heart. He's such a good boy and if anyone hurts him I'm calling the police. I'll also probably cry.

Emma and Julian
by cameocamille

In the vaguest terms possible, to avoid spoilers and frustrate you so you go read it if you haven't, here's what I want/need to happen. I need Ty to flourish, follow his dreams, and fall in love, in no particular order. I need curses to be cured. Period. I need Julian to be okay and happy because he deserves it. I also want someone not to die. I will be devastated. And then I'll start crying all over again because he'll be devastated and it will all be a hot mess.

I think that's all I have to say at the moment. Also, sorry it's been so long. I kind of stalled reading this first one, because I knew I was eventually going to be sad. Also, I finished writing that horrible thing I was writing for Dion. Yay for that. Anyways, I'll read the next 700-page book as soon as possible. Bye, love you.

Ship: Emma and Julian
Love: Ty, Julian, Tavvy
Snek: *spoiler*, Robert, Mark, Diana

10/10
~Book Panda

Once a King

Hey it's me,

So stressed I'm calm because I keep procrastinating the 3.5 papers I have to finish this weekend. The half is not something I HAVE to do but is also something I have to do. Dion wants it, I gotta get it to her. But it's so bad that I don't really want to look at it ever again. But I must. *sigh*

Once a King is about this summit of competitions thing the land has to bring together all the leaders of all the different lands. Aodren, the king, is trying to figure out what's happening in his kingdom while trying to leverage his way to winning the summit to bring Malam together. Lirra is trying to figure out what her father is up to by finishing this job to the best of her abilities. Aodren is trying to welcome Channelers back into Malamian society, but there's this thing that's hindering the process. He asks Lirra for help and she's hesitant, but she's also nosy, so she helps.

Do you understand how many times I almost stopped reading this book? At least three. That's three too many. First of all, Erin had to audacity to try and kill of Leif, the best character in all of these books. I literally almost put this book in my bag to go back to the library and started reading about villains and whatnot. For the people, I looked to see if he lived, and he did. So I finished. Then, though this book was supposed to happen in the time span of about two weeks it was going so slow. I didn't care what was happening, I didn't care who was selling bad oil. I was sure it was her dad but didn't really care. Then there's the fact that Erin blatantly lied. I'm not gay, I'm ace but like, het-ace, which is kind of disappointing. But still. If you're going to tell the people there will be LGBTQ themes in the future and then there aren't, I feel offended, I'm sure they feel offended. There are just bad feelings all around. No one likes that.

Between all of that, I was just kind of fed up with this book. If I hadn't finished this book last night, I'm not sure if I would have. I had a villain anthology and The Dark Artifices in my shelf. Those are much more interesting. I have nothing else to say about this book. It didn't hit.

Ship: no
Like: no

4/10
Series: 5.7/10
~Book Panda

Ever the Brave

Hello,

It's me, I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet. To go over this book I finished. You liked that transition? I know it sucked. I'm sooooorry.

I finished Ever the Brave, the end of Britta and Cohen's story but not the end of the series. Actually, I'm kind of confused about that, but it's fine. In this book, Britta literally just wants to live by herself in her father's cottage. Unfortunately, the king has other ideas. Britta saved King Aodren from the mysterious Spiriter's influence and is now intent on making her a noblewoman. He also has an unwanted crush. Cohen is out here just being a pain. I forget what he does at the beginning of the book, only that it's annoying. There are also people out there who want to influence Britta to the dark side. Can she resist the temptation? Will she get the quiet forest life she craves? (Spoiler alert: the answer to that last question is no.)


I have to say, I'm a little peeved. In the evidence to the right, Erin CLEARLY says there's a character set up to be some sort of gay. And so, I read this book. Searching, searching. Where's the gay? Where are they? I was so sure it was Leif, because he was blushy around the king, but then he hooks up with Gillian at the end. Aodren likes Britta and shows no bisexual tendencies. Everyone else is tragically straight. So I'm still left unfulfilled. Where. Is. The. Gay? They don't exist. It could possibly be Lirra, but she was too busy being rude and grating on my nerves to show any gayness. Also, she was checking Cohen out in the first one. Not that she could not be bisexual too, but she doesn't show a liking for girls. I've been jebaited and I don't appreciate it. Also, a bunch of annoying female characters were added to this book that I also don't appreciate. Maybe I wasn't reading as I should have, but I thought Gillian from the end was the matronly healer woman. Then it turns out she's a maid? And an annoying tit of a woman. She's the human equivalent of a little yappy dog. She never shuts up or stops nagging. And apparently, Britta's okay with that? Like, Britta's personality does not fit her, and no matter how long they've been living together, I can't see her adjusting to her at all. But Erin makes her. Then there's Lirra, who's just ornery and rubs me the wrong way and ugh. I don't like her at all. Like, go home.

Plots kind of wild. It pales in comparison to the character issues I have, so I guess it's fine. All those other English elements that my professor feels he has to teach me about because I don't remember them from third grade are a thing. I don't are about them though.

If you couldn't tell, characters mean a lot to me. They play a big part in whether or not I like the book. I don't really like the new characters in this book. They annoy me to no end. Can't say I vibe with them. I'll still read the last one though. Gotta do it for the fans.

Ship: :/
Snakes: Jamis, Phelia, Lirra, half of Malam tbh
Babe: Finn (needs protection), Leif

6/10
~Book Panda

Ever the Hunted

Hey Tim,

It's Dew. What's up with you man? Haven't seen you in ages. Hope you're doing well. Call me back so I know you're not dead. Ha. That's a reference to a video game. I don't know what video game, only that they played it on Late Night With Cry and Russ on Twitch. A lovely group of gentlemen, if I do say so myself. Also, I have a paper to write, but I have no clue what it's about so. . . books.

I finished Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill this morning. It's about a girl named Britta Flannery searching for justice for her father. Circumstances of her birth have made her an outcast to society and the only people she cared about left. Cohen, her friend and father's apprentice, broke her heart when he left after promising to come back. He never did. Her father was murdered two months ago. A brush with the law gives her the chance to find the killer, except the killer is Cohen. Oh, what will happen next?

I liked this book. Britta is both dry and awkward and just wants stability and to be loved. It's a little too real. Of course, I had a few issues. Cohen for example. His whole character irked me. With his track record, you'd think he'd listen to someone? Especially when that someone is clearly better than you. But you don't, because you're dumb. And then he's just. . . ugh. I have so many feelings, but I started reading the next book before I started writing this and I'm listening to Gladys Knight slay my whole life and so I can't focus. I do think it's rude that Erin would give my girl Britta someone and then snatch them away. That's rude and ungrateful. Also, someone on Goodreads asked if there were any LGBTQ characters and/or themes in this book and Erin said a character was set up to be so. So. I was trying to identify the gay the whole time. My guess is that it's either the king or Leif. Oh! I kind of wanted Leif and Britta to be together. I thought it would be good. He's kind of complicit, but I think he's cute. Or maybe Jacinda? She could be gay. Hm. I have things to think about. Now nostalgia is about to take me away, so let me sign off.

I liked this book. Captain Omar is going to be the death of me, but alas, it must be so. If you like magic, woods living, and whodunit's go read this book. Kay bye. I can't live, can't breathe without air.

Ship: Britta and Leif tbh

Snake: Tomas, Omar

Cool: Enat, Jacinda

7/10

~Book Panda

Freedom's Slave

Hey what's up you guys?

Yes. So, I finished the book yesterday, but I was very tired, so ya girl just went to bed. In other news, I finished the awful piece of writing I was doing for the magazine I'm working on. It's a fairy tale and it didn't work out how I thought it would. But it's fiiiiiine. Dion's gonna be like, OMG it's so good. And I'm going to be like, thanks, but like the kid who got an avocado for Christmas did. But it's fine.

Freedom's Slave is the final book in the trilogy. So, Nalia and Zarani are helping a whole entire army get through the Eye, a dead space that connects the human world and Arjinna. No one has passed through this way since a long distant ancestor or Nalia's. This one is like, the war is coming to a head. Raif has to try and lead the tavrai while his world is falling apart. There's a resistance of Ifrits that are also working to usurp Calar, and then there's Nalia who's just traipsing around the Eye because the gods are both rude and ungrateful.

This was a good book, but I have a lot of beef with Heather. Starting with Kesmir and Tazlim. Why did she feel the need to create the whole lovely ship, a beautiful ship, made me fall in love with them, and then smash it against a cliff face? Like, what the hell, Heather. And what game is she playing with Raif, the loml? Like, why did she feel the need to almost kill Nalia like seven times so he can break more and more? That's cruel. And. . . I had another grievance. . . OH! Shirin? No. She was literally there just to be a pain in the ass. Raif was never yours, he was never going to be with you, it was never meant to be. Let it go, sis. And she had this

Shirin with Yurik or whatever

wonderful heterochromia-ed male that just wanted to love her forever and she was like, you know, I kind of feel things for him, but I'm going to suppress that. Then with Raif she was like, please destroy my entire self-esteem, thanks. Like, sis. No. ALSO. Why did she get a happy ship when she tried to kill him, but KES AND TAZ DIDN'T?? What world do you live in? God. Get with the program. And the whole "slave to the land" crap? Do not vibe. I understand what you were trying to do, with the whole servant leader thing, but no. Nobody should be a slave to anyone or anything. I call bs.

This is all I can remember from my rant last night. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk,

Ship: Kesmir and Tazlim, Nalia and Raif, Zanari and Phara

Snake: Shirin, Calar, jinn gods

Like: Aisha, Yurik, Touman

8/10
Series: 8/10
~Book Panda

Blood Passage

Hello,

I finished a book in a reasonable time for the first time since January. How are you? I four books on hold at the library and I can't get them until tomorrow, because my anxiety won't let me get on a bus today. Plus I have a meeting. And I have to write three papers. Yay! To the book.

I finished Blood Passage, the second book in the Dark Caravan Cycle series, this morning. In this book, Nalia is physically free but she's still wish-bound to pos Malek to take him to Solomon's ring or whatever. This is a big problem, because we hate Malek and because she made an oath with Raif, the love of both of our lives, to also take him to the ring. This must go on while the Ifrit are still after Nalia, who poses a threat to the empress because she's alive. Unfortunately, we have to read in Malek's point of view as well as everyone else. His past catches up with him and now he feels things. No one feels bad for him except Nalia, and she has no control over that.

This book, once again, slapped. Slapped is a good thing, for my non-American reader(s). Nalia is a victim of life and no one can tell me any different. I just want her to have good things, and by good things, I mean Raif. I wanted her to tell him about his friend as soon as possible so they could get back together as soon as possible. Completely forgot about that one thing, the spoiler thing. That messed me up. Malek was being annoying the whole time and I wanted him to leave. He has no positive traits, not one. I think it's so crazy that he thinks that someone who he unapologetically enslaved and tortured would love him. Like, hello? What world do you live in? Raif can have the moon and the stars. I love him. He does no wrong, none at all. Well, like one wrong, but he got over that relatively quickly so it's fine. Zanari is cool, but she's pretty stubborn. I kind of wanted to shake her a little bit, she also eventually got over that. She also got a present, so that's good.

So I just finished eating lunch, and I guess eating has left me unable to make "intelligent" thoughts and statements. Just know, the book is good. Go read it. Also, unrelated, but it's supposed to be spring, and yet it's a high of 48 degrees Fareheneheit today? Like, who did this and who's going to fix it? Sorry, weather talk is boring. I have a headache. Bye.

Ship: Nalia and Raif, Phara and Zanari
Snake: Malek

8/10
~Book Panda

Exquisite Captive

Hi,

It's me, finally recovered after two days. That last post? It was a mess. This? This will be great. Tea will be spilled, then cleaned up because I'm at my house. We can't have my parents yelling at me, can we? And now, here's the tea. I reread a book I read in the 10th grade.

It's called Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios and it's about genies, or jinn as they are called in this book. Nalia is the royalty in the jinn world but on Earth, she's a victim of the Dark Caravan. She's been a slave to one of the most powerful men in the world, Malek. She's hidden her caste for this long, but the leader of the revolutionary over in Arjinna seeks her out, asking for her help. Then Malek, the dirty pig, is treating her as something more than a slave. Lot's of issues, but Nalia will do whatever she can to get back to her brother, even sell out the entire jinn race.

So. I have feelings. First of all, I don't understand why this book only has 3.8 stars out of five on Goodreads? Like, it's so good? I didn't read the reviews, because I try not to do that, but I'm truly confused. The dynamic between Nalia and Malek? I hate it. It's the worst thing, but it's understandable. It's clear that Nalia is a victim of Stockholm syndrome and an abusive relationship. She just wants love, leave her alone. Raif? The love of my life. He is a babe, and I love him. I normally have an issue about people falling in love too fast [insert rant about that free Kindle book I read Friday here], but they aren't people. They're jinn. And they're clearly soulmates. They can fall in love however fast they want to. Malek can eat rocks, as can Haran. Haran is an insane jinni that road the team too much bus, but it's fine. Everything's fine.

I liked that enough time passed that it was almost like reading an entirely new book, I'd call this a successful reread, and I encourage you to go to your nearest American bookstore and see if you can find it. I like it a lot. Unfortunately, I won't have Blood Passage until tomorrow evening, because I only brought Exquisite Captive home with me. AND THEN I won't be able to read it until Monday, because I have homework to do tomorrow night, because my professors are rude and ungrateful. But it's FINE. I LOVE  school. College is great.

Ship: Nalia and Raif
Snake: Malek, Haran, Jordif
S'friend: Zarani, Leilan

8/10
~Book Panda

Rook

me rn

Hi, it's me,

Exhausted. Instead of having a BREAK for my spring break, I went to D.C. and Columbus, OH to advocate for a university I don't like. But. I finished a book somehow in all the zero free time I had. So, let's get started.

I finished Rook today, by Sharon Cameron. It's basically about a girl, Sophia, who moonlights as a character she created called the Red Rook and saves people from being wrongfully imprisoned and executed. As a normal girl of the Commonwealth, she is engaged to this pompous idiot. Of course, in this dystopian western Europe, no one is as they seem. Wow. I explained something correctly.

Anyway, this book starts in a very confusing way, especially when that person is an introvert in an airport and trying to drown at the voices and presence of the people around her. But, it's pretty good. Sophia kind of sways from strong to not a little erratically, but that also may be because I was out of it most of the time I was reading this book. I never liked Spear. He was always too much and I wanted him out of here. Dad Bellamy needs to get his crap together. Maman Hassard can also leave the area. René is a babe, and no one can tell me any different. Anyone who can be pompous and basically a pirate is my favorite. Though, he's not really a pirate. . . you know what? It's fine. Everything's fine. This book is very interesting. You should go read it and find all the interest. Bye, I need to stare at a wall for three hours and blast Kehlani and Ariana and Waves by Normani on repeat for a good thirty minutes.

Ship: Sophia and René, Jennifer and Tom
Snake: LeBlanc, people who also change later

7/10
~Book Porter

All the Wandering Light

Hi, it's me,

I gotta travel tomorrow and I still need to do things like shave my legs and do a whole assignment, so. I have to make this quick.

This book was all right. Lusha being a bit of a main in this book was a minus for me. I hate her. She has no redeeming qualities. I feel like I was supposed to feel bad because all these people depend on her and stuff, but I don't. I just feel animosity towards her at all times. There has not been one second where I felt one drop of pity or sympathy towards her. She deserves Elin, who's also a dick. They deserve each other. I still ship Tem and Kamzin more than River and Kamzin, but whatever. I'm okay with this ship, despite it never really being a thing. All they did was kiss a few times.

Overall, I wasn't really impressed with this series. It was all right. It wouldn't make me jump to read this author's other books, but I think it was also her debut. People on Goodreads gave it a 4.1 out of 5 stars, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm just a single person with a silly opinion. Go read it, if you wanna. Or don't. I don't control you.

Okay, I gotta go shave my legs now. Bye!

5.5/10
Series: 6/10
~Book Panda

Even the Darkest Stars

Hello mountaineer explorers,

It's me, back with fresh content and positive feelings for once. Who would have thought that would happen, huh? Wanting to wake up in the morning. Wow. It's crazy out here. I made pizza rolls and they froze too well, so now they're all soft and floppy post microwave, which is upsetting. Anyway. Books happened.

The book that happened today was Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett. It's about a girl named Kamzin, second daughter of the village Elder, who just wants to be an explorer. Not just any explorer though, a royal explorer who maps the lands for the emperor. Because of her aspiration, she is pretty ticked when she finds out her older sister, who harbors no climbing instincts, is chosen to join the emperor's most favored explorer in climbing an unclimbable mountain. She ends up joining him, River Shara, anyway but climbing a mountain isn't all fun and games. She has to make it up mountain alive with the added push to beat/protect her sister drives Kamzin to be a bit reckless while completing her task.

This book was interesting. Mountain climbing is not anything that interests me at all, but I've read a book with a bit of mountain climbing, like, six times, so I thought it'd be okay. It wasn't. If this book was told about traversing through the forest, it wouldn't have made a difference to me. Mountains don't hit for me. I think that's why it took a bit for me. Also, my ship was practically shut down before it ever started. We find out that it tried, but it didn't hit for her and it made me sad. That was the only good ship. Kamzin has this thing for River, which is basically like catching feels for your boss and I don't vibe with that.

Also. Tell me why the best characters were a half-feral fox and a fire demon. We weren't supposed to associate with the fire demon, but alas, she does. Because she's a silly girl and her family sucks. But like, seriously? Props for the fire demon. Even though he's going to end up screwing us over, I like him. You know who sucks beyond measure? Lusha, the sister. She can eat rocks. I don't like when people are so sure of their superiority and just look down on everyone, and that's the embodiment of what she is. I hate that. I also don't like that Kamzin's whole two person family look down on her and make her feel dumb. That's literally the only reason why she did what she did, because she was trying to prove that she was somebody. Ugh.

Well, I gotta go. This book was kind of meh, just because more things didn't work for me than did work for me. It wasn't bad though. Go read it if you enjoy magical mountain climbing with dragons.

Ship: Kamzin and Tem, that is all

7/10
~Book Panda

Always Red

Wow! Look who's back?

It me. You know, reading goes much quicker when I'm not stressed out of my mind and have time for extracurriculars. Crazy how that works, huh?

Always Red is the sequel to Caleb and Veronica's love story. After ending things with some dumb communication issues, Veronica is trying to win Caleb back. And then there are all of these things trying to pull them apart, but love prevails.

All right. This book? This was a whole mess. Like, I liked it, I think, but there were so many times where I was like. Bruh. For reals? Like, there's like five chapters in a row that take place in a single night and they go from making out to making these grand speeches to each other, and I'm like, [peep Rihanna] regular people don't talk this way. Especially not college students. And there were so many random speeches like this. And then Veronica suddenly turned into a water fountain? So. Much. CRYING. For no reason! And all this possessive stuff? Do not vibe. No vibes. You know the love story I really want? What the h*ck happened between Cameron and Kara? Why is he so tortured for no reason? Why the hell do I know more about freaking Justin than Cameron? I care about Cameron the most and he's rarely in either book. And how is Beatrice-Rose such snake, and no one knew except for the love of my life, Cameron? What reality am I in? Then there's this line, "Every time you break me apart, you put me back together. And I always come out better than before" which also confuses me. This was the only, if not the second chance he had for "ruining" him so I have no clue what he's talking about. They've been together for a whole three months. How much ruining can happen in three months? I feel like not that much. Then, this book turned into a bit of a smut-fest, and I didn't need that while sitting in my Geology class and lab.

This book is just unnecessarily extra in all the wrong ways. This book was very much not as good as the first. It's an easy read, and I could get through it. I think it was just dramatic enough while interesting for me to get it. It's not horrible, and you kind of need it to see if the ship sails, but it's sooooo much. Idk, dude. I feel like I need Colleen Hoover to destroy me so I can have hope in the romances again. Gotta remember this was a Wattpad story. Anyway, see you in 2-6 days.

Ship: Cameron and Kara, Veronica and Caleb(?)
Snake: Justin, Beatrice-Rose, all dads
Like: Damon, Cameron

6/10
Series: 6.5/10
~Book Panda

Chasing Red

Hi it's me,

Being incompetent and silly. So. You may be wondering,  "Dude, where's the second book? What The Dark Days whatever? What is red?" To that, I have a tiny, crappy story. I was trying to read that second book, I don't even remember what it's called, and it took me like 3 days to read 100 pages. Lady Margeret was testing my nerves and those Elizabethan or Victorian or whatever sensibilities were also testing me. Then I had this flashback of my finishing the book years ago and thinking I didn't really need nor want to read the last book. I then tried to make it through another hundred pages, but alas, I wasn't having it. And so I switched, to something sensible in a stressful time. Romance. Not only romance, but romance recommended to me by my sister, the love of my life. A birthday present, if you will.

Chasing Red was originally a Wattpad story by Isabelle Ronin. She then got it printed and made it into two books, the first of which being Chasing Red. Simply put, this book is about a manwhore who finally sobers up, sexually, because he's enraptured with this girl he saw at a club. That's it. That's the story. The two main characters are Caleb and Veronica, who Caleb almost exclusively calls Red. Veronica is very wary of everyone, having been burned often in the past by those close to her. Caleb is a rich boy with little to no cares in the world. Basically, he gives her a place to stay and so it's the roommates to lovers thing.

Was this a fantastic, Beautiful Disaster level book? No. But I liked it. I had a few problems with Caleb early on because he was unnecessarily pushy in my eyes. She'd be like, nah I'm good. And he'd be like, you're doing it. I didn't like that. And then she'd be like we aren't dating, and he'd be like actually we are. Because we kissed. And I was like ????? [insert Tolo noise here]. Eventually, he grew on me, for better or for worse. Veronica I liked. She had like, lowkey anxiety, but a little anxiety never hurt anyone. Except for those people fifty years ago they put in facilities. But, she's cool. She's independent and wants to do stuff on her own. She doesn't want stupid rich boys to try and pay for her stuff. She just isn't going to eat, thanks. There were some chapters from the perspectives of two snakes, and I could have done without them. I mean, did I need to know about them? I guess. Did I need to know just how snake-like they were? Yes. But do I like them? One hundred percent no. They can both go fall off the edge of the earth.

Hmm. I have nothing else really. Also, I have to go to work, so I gotta go. This book wasn't perfect, and I can tell it was on Wattpad or something before, but it's good. Okay, gotta go, byeee.

Ship: Veronica and Caleb
Love: Kara, Beth
Confused: Cameron
Snake: Justin, Beatrice-Rose

7/10
~Book Panda

The Dark Days Club

Hey. It's been a while.

I tried to read another book that was really boring. Like, I didn't even want to make a review for it. I also started a job, and I have a lot of stuff due all at the same time. College is so much work. But, here are some good points:

• thank you, next freaking slaps
• While We Wait, by Kehlani also slaps

That's all. And I finished a book.

That book is, if you couldn't read the title, The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (she also wrote the Eon series if her name sounds familiar). This book is about a Lady named Helen who never behaved as normal English ladies should behave. Then, a maid of her family's goes missing and she falls down a supernatural hole. This hole includes the love of my life, but cousin(?), Lord Carlston, superhuman strength, and demon-like possessions. It's a hard hole to navigate in 19th century England, but Helen's got this.

So. Stuff happened in this book. I read this book three years ago, and I remembered almost none of it. It was great. Anyway, I like Helen. She's sharp and sassy. I lowkey wanted her to do the thing at the end though, just to see how changed she'd be. As usual, with my rereads, I couldn't not like Carlston. He's a bit rough around the edges, but I adored him. I still do. Her brother, Andrew, can go home and her uncle can bite rocks. I despise that man with a passion. Ugh. I have so many issues with the past, so reading period pieces is sometimes a struggle for me, but once you throw in magic or fantasy or supernatural stuff and I'm in.

I have other feelings about this book, but I have a lot of things to do, so I gotta go. I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me. Go listen to Kehlani's album. It's really good. I love it so much.

Ship: Helen and William (Carlston), Darby and Quinn
Snake: Uncle Penworth, Andrew (lowkey), Benchley
Sweet: Millicent, Pug, Darby

7/10
~Book Panda

And I Darken—DNF

Hi gamers,

Here's the deal. I've tried to read this book three times. Three. Every time something came up, or my attention wasn't held. At first, I thought it was because of extenuating circumstances, but this is the third time. You know what that means? This ain't happening. This sucks because the covers are dope, and I was ready to get into the nitty-gritty of toxic relationships, but alas, it's not meant to be. Leave a note in the comments and tell me what I'm missing. Just kidding, I'd never make you do that. A lot of people liked this book, and the writing is good, so you should go read it. I just don't really vibe with history writing that doesn't have anything else to distract me from history, like romance or mysteries or magic. Have a lovely day. I'd give you some fanart that I had no context for, but apparently, people don't stan it? Rude.

Kingdom of Ash

Hello,

I'm back. Who wants to analyze why it took me less time to read the thousand-page book than the other regular paged books? No one? Me neither.

So, I finished Kingdom of Ash, the 984-page conclusion to the Throne of Glass series a few hours ago. This book is a whirlwind. With there being a thousand pages, a lot happens. Essentially, Aelin is trying to survive being shrouded in iron and tortured, Rowan and squad are trying to find her, Dorian and Manon are searching for the lost Crochan witches and the third Wyrdkey, Aedion and Lysandra are off to war, with Lysandra masquerading as Aelin, and Chaol and the other people are trying to get to the war front. It's a lot. If you want a fancy summary, go get it.

By: Simsamy

I don't even know what to tell you, tbh. I feel like I'll say too much and then it'll be hella spoiler-y. Best book in the series? Probs. I can tell you this, though. Half my ships fell apart. Then one ship got back together that had no
business being back together at all. And the other ship, I lowkey wish one had died so the dumb petty one could go to their grave knowing that their last words to them were complete lies and yet they said them anyway and be filled with regret forever because they know they thought that they were telling the truth. Honestly. And people died, which makes me very upset. But it's war, so I should have expected it. I didn't though.

I really don't feel qualified to tell you anything else, because I suck and I don't want to ruin the last book for you if you haven't read it. This is, of course, assuming you read, and you're going to read the book, and you actually exist and I'm not just ranting out into the endless void that is the internet. Here's some fanart instead. See you next book.

Gavriel
By: Morgana0anagrom

Ship: Aelin and Rowan, Manon and Dorian, Yrene and Chaol, Nesryn and Sartaq, Elide and Lorcan, Lysandra and Aedion (grudgingly)

10/10
Series: 9.2
~Book Panda

Squad: This is on the inside cover of the book

Empire of Storms

Hello, it is I, sadness,

Welcome. It's been days. Don't remember how many as I couldn't be bothered to check. Anyhow, how has your day or night or week or whatever? I'm a bit down because my Miami dad is leaving for Auburn and this book wreaked me, though not as hard as it did previously, AND they canceled the Australia study-abroad trip so I am no longer going to the Aussie land. I was really excited for that trip and I don't even really want to go anywhere else now. Australia was it. Then I was going to move there in like three years, find a bushman husband, and live my life with three dogs and a dingo, batting away everything that can kill me. But it's fine. I guess I can go next year.

Today I finished—and did not break down because of—Empire of Storms. It was a whirlwind. Basically, all the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Aelin is mad scheming, but no one knows it. Rowan is worrying about what he has to offer Aelin, when she doesn't want anything but him. Dorian is ruling a castle then trying to learn how to control his magic. Manon is wrestling with following the heart she didn't know she had vs. following orders. Elide is just trying to find Aelin. Aedion is being a grade A dick. And then things feel like they're starting to come together. And then.

Dorian
By:  Morgana0anagrom

I'll try to stay towards the front half of the book, in order to refrain from major major spoilers. Aelin is my queen. She does no wrong. She reminds me a lot of my dad, Marvel franchise Tony Stark. Everyone thinks they're arrogant and selfish and show-offy when in reality, everything they do is for the people they care about and they worry all the time so they hide it behind arrogance or sarcasm or whatever. They're sweethearts and I love them. Leave them alone. Rowan, always a love. I didn't realize that they didn't know until like the end end, and that makes me livid. Dorian. . . I love him. He's one of my favorites and I couldn't tell you why. He's a sweetheart too and he's gone through so much and he shouldn't have but he's doing the best he can, being a secret smart person. I love him. I also love Manon. She really out here, trying to be heartless, and everyone but her knows she isn't. But that's okay. Because next book, I'm almost certain we're going to get some feelings. Hopefully, they'll be the love type feelings, but any feelings would do. Elide, a sweet, wicked Elide. How great are you? The greatest. How's some tiny girl going

Manon and Abraxos
By: SNCINDER

to tame a whole male finally carved from centuries of rage in like three weeks? Only with greatness, that's how. And Lorcan? I think he can be sweet. He'll be sweet as heck in the next one. On my momma. I feel like I'm missing people? Well Aedion and Lysandra were there, but we only really saw Lys when she was being bae and transforming into animals. She's the best best friend though. Any time I saw Aedion, he was being a dick, so he's kind of on my poo list at the moment.

Rereading so far, I do wish there were more gay ships. I understand she started this series a while ago and maybe it was too hard to work that in, but I'd like at least one gay ship. That's not too much to ask at all.

Here's what I need to happen in the final book, because that's the only one I haven't read yet. This will be a true reading experience, though I forgot almost everything that's happened so far in these books. Anyway, here's what I need: no major character deaths, no animal deaths, all the sexy time, all the lovey time, my ships to sail (I'm desperately bailing water out of like four ships right now), Maeve being chopped into teeny tiny pieces, Erawan being chopped into equally tiny pieces, no one dying accept maybe a horse, Nesryn to be the queen of my life, Chaol to hurt himself aagain (lol, not really, but it'd be kind of funny), and for everyone to live. That's about it. The end is nigh, bruh.

Ship: Aelin and Rowan, Lysandra and Aedion, Manon and Dorian, Elide and Lorcan
Burn: Maeve, Erawan, Cairn, Darrow, probably someone else I'm forgetting

9.5/10
~Book Panda

Tower of Dawn

Hey it's me,

I'm back. Now you may be wondering, did you fall off the wagon AGAIN, fam? No, no I did not. What had happened was, I was about to read Empire of Storms last weekend, but I started school this week. And I was thinking about how this book ended and how last time I was legit sobbing for a good thirty minutes to an hour. I thought to myself, self, so I really want to start my week sobbing? The answer was an emphatic no. So I said, you know what? I'm going to read Tower of Dawn, the companion book that happens during the same timeline of Empire of Storms, the one you said you'd never reread. Let's read that. And so I did.

Tower of Dawn follows Chaol's adventures in fixing his legs. When Aelin and Dorian were busy being great, destroying the glass castle and the king, Chaol got a spine injury from the king. Dorian, being the best best friend, sent Chaol to Antica, to the god-city, so he could get his legs fixed by the world-renowned healers of the Torre. He brings Nesryn, who is good and sweet and deserves every good thing in this world. She's the newly appointed Captain of the Guard and Chaol's former/current lover in the night. She deserves much better, but I digress. She and Chaol are also on a quest to try and rally support from the Great Khagan, the emperor of the southern continent. And there's also Yrene, the healer tasked with healing Chaol. She doesn't want to, which is quite understandable. He's a dick.

Why did I not want to read this book again? Because I despise Chaol. He's self-righteous and a dick and just horrible overall. He says that no one hates him more than him, but I disagree. The fact that as soon as you find out that the woman you claim to love has magic you hate her pisses me off. THEN. He finds out his best friend, someone he refers to as brother, has magic, and you ignore him. You don't talk to him about it even though he's clearly struggling and even act like you're afraid of him? That pisses me off even more. And he doesn't choose a side until he's forced to. Then grudgingly goes to the other side and claims it's for this entirely new side that you created. There's a word for him, but I can't think of it. Either way, he's kind of the worst. And Yrene is almost as bad. She's blaming this one guy for all her troubles. He comes from a country you hate, all right. And he served a king you hate, okay. But HE'S THE SAME DAMN AGE AS YOU. Chaol did not take his tired 12-year-old self to Fenhallow, drag your mother out to a bonfire and throw her inside it. He was dealing with his dick of a father. And honestly, he was only Captain of the Guard in title. The king never told him anything. None of his real plans, none of his real moves. His only crime is ignorance and passivity.

Nesryn
By:  Morgana0anagrom

Nesryn is lovely. She deserves all the happy, all the freedom, everything. I'm glad for her choice and her man and everything. It took her a little while to choose her bird, but whatever. She moved at her
own time. Love her. No faults.

All right. I have to go watch Shane Dawson's conspiracy video now. Thanks for reading, have a nice day. I'll see you next time with tears and sadness and rage.

Ship: Nesryn and Sartaq

8/10
~Book Panda

Queen of Shadows

Hello revolutionaries,

How goes it? I'm going to school on Sunday and I'm very sad. But it's fine. Because I no longer have to Spanish. And I no longer have to journalize. And I'll be getting free food, courtesy of my new managing editor who has over $2,000 in declining balance. And I have so many books to read. So yay.

I finished Queen of Shadows today, and whew. So many developments, so much happening. Calaena has fully embraced being Aelin. She's back in Rifthold to destroy the king's reign once and for all. But first, she has to go after Arobyn, the King of Assassins, and retrieve what's rightfully hers. Unfortunately, she has to leave Rowan, the love of my life in Wendlyn. Chaol, is an even worse dick, is working with the rebels, being all self-righteous and horrible as usual. Dorian, my sweet prince, has been collared so a Valg prince can invade his body. And Chaol, being a self-righteous bastard, won't free him. Aedion, our temperamental brother and bestie, is being sentenced to death. But we all know Aelin isn't going to tolerate that mess. Oh, and Manon. Manon is Wingleader, but is going through moral issues, which she doesn't know how to handle because of the whole, "witches are unfeeling" bull that's engraved in them. But it's fine. Everything turns out fine. Eventually.

So, this story is so good, So good. Aelin has started her secret scheming. Sharing is for suckers, and she ain't no sucker. The people around her are like, but why? But she's doing what she needs to do in order to keep them safe. Let her live. And we meet others, like Elide, another lost child of Terrassen. She's spunky, we stan. And Lyssandra, who is great, even though the first we heard of her was Aelin saying she would kill her if she ever saw her again. But that's fine. It's all fine.

Me knowing what I know, makes me laugh at the Rowan and Aelin. They really out here, pretending they don't feel anything deep for each other. It's cute that they're trying so hard. Chaol can suck an egg and die for all I care. Trash human being. Unfortunately, I think I need to reread Tower of Dawn as well. Before my heart is obliterated in Kingdom of Ash. There are going to be so many feelings. In this book, the feelings are good. Full of hope and warmth and stuff. Weird good feelings. Anyway, book stuff. So good. I'll be honest, I don't know how to talk about this book without spoiling

By: Charlie Bowater

the entire thing. And I don't care much about spoilers anymore, but I can't just spoil the whole entire book. That's rude and ungrateful. Go read it. Feel the feelings.

Ship: Aelin and Rowan

9.5/10
~Book Panda

Heir of Fire

Hey y'all,

It's me. Back from it all. Finishing them books. Living. Getting a bit sad, but it's fine. Everything's fine. Gotta go write like 3,500 words later. But it's fine.

I finished Heir of Fire today and I was so sad.  In this one, our queen, Calaena, is in Wendlyn on a mission from the king. Is she doing this mission? No. She goes to the land of the demi-Fae in order to gain answers to the mystery of the Wyrdkeys and the Wyrdgates. Chaol is out in Ardalan being a whole entire snake, selling information he has no right to, dissing his supposed best friend, all the snake moves. It's sort of okay, because we finally meet Aedion, Calaena/Aelin's cousin. Wait. Did I say that Calaena was the lost heir? She's the queen of Terrassen. Anyway, Aedion. I love him. We meet him and we also meet Manon, the Ironteeth Blackbeak witch clan heir. She's horrible but lovely. The Ironteeth witches are gathering in the Ferian Gap, training to be the King's new aerial fleet. Manon is also out here trying to, you know, survive the clans of bloodthirsty witches that were bred to be nothing but hateful. It's a whirlwind of adventures.

Calaena, my poor dear, is super depressed. And it doesn't help that Rowan, the love of my life, is being an ass. She thinks she's less than dirt, and he's enforcing her incorrect mindset. Unlike the other books, I couldn't fully hate Rowan, because I love him so much. He's wonderful and I love him. But in this book, he's the worst. We don't stan. I also don't like that Calaena is clearly depressed, but no one does anything to help her. Well, I guess kitchen squad tries, but she's unreceptive. Also Rowan's fault, I believe. Rowan is also kind of broken though. Putting two broken people together isn't really a good idea. It doesn't work out the well most of the time.

Chaol. You indecisive dick. No one likes a snake, Chaol, and that's what you are. You can't play all sides. And you can't pick what sides of people you want to like. It's both rude and ungrateful. While he's out here not knowing what he wants, Dorian is suffering. He doesn't know what to do about his growing magic, and instead of helping his brother out, he's like, "lolz, don't wanna know." What kind of brotherhood/best friendship is that? A bad one. Aedion though. Aedion is a lot like Calaena. He did what he had to to survive, and then did what he could to help his people later. But he still feels like crap because of Aelin. She's the same. I love how they're basically twins, even though they're cousins.

Manon. She's a crazy chick. I mean, I love her but she's bloodthirsty and a witch. I like how, when we're introduced to her, she's portrayed as this bad girl, who looks like she can kill you, can actually kill you. What is mercy? she asks. What is kindness? Then she immediately turns around and talks to her pet wyvern, and feels empathy for others. It's so cute.

By: Evilienne

Awesome. A real review. Everything was perfect, as per usual. On Sarah's end, not mine. I'm horrible.
And I'm only going to have time to write about 500-1000 words, but it's okay. Here's some hot fire art. Have a nice day.

Snake: Mother Blackbeak or whatever, Iskra
Heart: Aedion, Rowan

9.5/10
~Book Panda

Crown of Midnight

Hey Champions,

How's it hanging? I missed my self imposed deadline for the parts of the book I'm writing. But it's fine. I extended my deadline to next week. I'm a bit hopeless, but it's fine. Because I finished the book. We really out here, being somewhat great.

Today I finished Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. This one is about Calaena is doing her duties as King's Champion, or so everyone believes. Queen really isn't trying to kill people anymore, at least not at the King's commands. So she's "doing her job" and trying to just ride out her sentence. But then she's tasked with finding the evil again, and best friend Nehemia wants her to take a stand against the tyranny, and her male friends think she's truly a monster, actually enjoying killing people. It's really stressful, but she knows something is going on and she, subsequently, has to figure out what it is.

Wow. How is she so good? Like, Calaena didn't have to go so hard for us, but she did. She did that for us, as did Sarah. Once again, Sarah made me ship something I knew was going to end. Made me care about people I knew weren't going to make it. I did mix up plot points, as I do, but it didn't ruin my experience. Calaena still does no wrong. She could kill Dorian on accident and I'd be like, it's fine, love. You're doing great. Even though Chaol was clearly the new and intended love interest, I still like Dorian better. Probably, again, because I'm in present timeline, but it's fine. Everything about this book is perfection, though it made me self-conscious about my own writing, but I'll keep writing. I'm okay.

By: silviarte

I really don't know what to say. This book is so good, I'm listening to Demi blow, and I'm having a good day. I hope you also have a good day. I'm about to eat some Chick-Fil-A, read the next one, then get working on my deadline. Later, dude.

Ship:??????
Snake: Roland, Archer, King what's-his-face

9/10
~Book Panda

Throne of Glass

Hello Assassins,

It's me, back in a reasonable amount of time with a decent book review. It's been a hot second, but I've found something called consistency. Just kidding, I just love this book. What is this book? Just Throne of Glass by the queen of my life, Sarah J. Maas. I reviewed the ACoTaR trilogy a year and a half ago, back when I warned about spoilers. There's none of that now. Anyway.

Throne of Glass is a riveting story about a bunch of assassins, thieves, mercenaries, and dishonored soldiers competing to become the King or Ardalan's Champion. Calaena, Ardalan's Assassin, is fighting for freedom. She was sent to Endovier, a work camp for her crimes, but if she wins, she'll be free from everything for four years. She has to defeat the other twenty-three Champions, keep her true identity hidden, and battle a darker evil lurking in the castle. Luckily, we meet friends.

So. Calaena? Best character, hands down. She's my favorite. She's sassy but vulnerable. She recognizes her own weakness, but won't let anyone else see it. She reads and loves clothing and music and kills people. Even then, she only kills the people she chooses to, which is why she has a bit of a problem becoming the King's thug. But still, freedom. She's so good, even though she's supposed to be bad. Also, knowing what I know, there are so many little nods at it. Like, when I read the thing, I was soooo shook. But, I was also, like, 12 or 13.

Having been seven years since I read this book, I forgot a lot of the little details, like freaking Dorian falling in love with her? Did not expect nor care for that. Mostly, because, even though I love them in the present timeline, Sarah made me hate them in less than five chapters of this book. I was like, spit on their shoes, girl, when Dorian and Chaol were being grade A dickwads. I always thought it was just Chaol, but no. Dorian wanted a piece of her too. It was wild. I didn't support it, because I have future knowledge.

Ugh. These books are so good. And I don't even know what to talk about because I just want to read the next one. Also, can't do my ship stuff, because even though the book ships them, and I loved them previously, I don't ship anyone present right now.  There's art to make up for it. Anyway, I have books to read and unsolved murders to solve. See ya, love.

By: Viktor Fetsch

Snake: Duke Perrington, King what's-his-face, Kaltain, Cain

9/10
~Book Panda

Crystal Blade

Hello friend,

From the time passage, I'm sure you know what happened. I tried to read a book, and that book wasn't read. It took me a while to realize why I wouldn't read that book. To put it simply, she keeps being manipulated by people who are known manipulators and is then surprised that she is being manipulated. I can't deal with stupidity. I already know that Valko is going to be set free because of her and then he's going to do something awful. Then she's going to be all upset, like, I should have known. Yes. You should have. And then she's going to be like, I don't understand why they won't let me help. Well, it's because you're incompetent, but okay. Also, I was right about her being more than an Auraseer. We stan my abilities. One more thing, before I leave. Anton is weirdly affectionate now. In the last book, he was like, I can't give you what you want, even though I love you. And then he was all distant but trying. Three weeks later and that's dead and gone? Can't believe it.

I'm so behind on my reading schedule, but I think I'm going to reread the Throne of Glass series instead. I'm going back to school in a few weeks and I don't want to lug them back to school again. There's seven, they are beautiful, and I also don't feel like crying in public spaces again. So. I'll do throne of glass, catch up on the books that have come out since November, then get to my regularly scheduled program. Idk why I'm telling you this. You don't know my schedule. It just helps to write it down, I guess. Whatever. Have a nice day. See you when I see you.

Burning Glass

Happy New Year and Happy Holidays,

It's been a while. How've you been? For some reason, I thought I was going to be able to finish this book in a decent amount of time while I was reacclimating with my family, the loves of my life. Didn't happen. But I'm back at the top of the year. I got Sims 4 for Christmas, and let me tell you. I've already become a homewrecker solely because I wanted a gay best friend. Everything's fine though. They were each other's beards. Anyway, books.

I finished Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie today. It's about this girl, Sonya, who is an anomaly Auraseer, which is basically an empath on steroids. She's only been in Auraseer school for less than a year and the other chicks don't like her because she can't really do the Auraseer things. Then she ends up being the Royal Auraseer by tragedy and has to navigate the crowds of royals, the prince and the emperor. Eventually, she has to choose who gets her loyalty, who gets betrayed, and which emotions are truly hers. It's a whirlwind of adventures. I think that's everything. It's been a while since I've started this book.

Let's talk ships. At the beginning of this book, I despised Anton, the prince. Like, really hated him. He was rude and ungrateful and not understand him. I wanted him to leave, and I wanted to love the emperor. Then Valko, said emperor, was a creep. He made my stomach feel slimy and I was very uncomfortable. And then she would get caught up in his emotions and I hated it because he's the worst. He's an overgrown child someone gave power to. Then I realized Anton had Trump walls up, and I warmed up to him again. Then we find out some stuff about Anton, and I was hesitant to ship him with Sonya. If magic is so prevalent in this world that there are people who see into the future, then how can I ship something that will inevitably fall apart and not come to fruition. But Kathryn really wanted me to ship it, so here I am, wary but hopeful.

Sonya is a horrible Auraseer. I believe that is because she is not a real Auraseer, but something else. But as an Auraseer, horrible. She doesn't realize when her emotions are no longer her own when it's clear as day to me. It's worrying. Also, I think her origin story is hella shady. She has parents she has no memory of, a brother she has no memory of, and everything she knows about her past was told to her by others. Even how her powers originated was told to her. Shady. This leads me to believe that this is completely false and that she isn't a real Auraseer. All in all, despite how long this book took me to finish, I really enjoyed it. Don't know why it's called Burning Glass, that's a mystery to me, but I'm excited to read the next ones. I'm also ready to set my reading goal low in order to accomplish it. I'm going to Australia over the summer, so I don't trust myself. But also, probs gonna read over 100 books again. I read 138 this year, because I'm just that bitch. Anyway, later dude. Hope your 2019 is wonderful and blessed.

Ship: Pia and Yuri, Anton and Sonya
Ick: Valko

8/10
~Book Panda