Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

Great update, so organised! XD

I love the 'yes plz' for Vicious! 😅

Siobhan wrote: "Great update, so organised! XD
Something has to be, because my reading style definitely isn't. XD

I have been wanting to read Vicious fro a long time, and the Buddy Read can be used to maximize satisfaction. Discussions AND points!

//cracks knuckles
I shall now commence with the very first (and possibly last) of the Culling of the Sunday. //ominous drums

In this event I shall list down all of the books that I am reading or planning to read in a desperate attempt to shove the ones I don't really want off the currently-reading boat so that it can stop sinking.

AND SO~

1. Kushiel's Justice: Re-read
2. Kushiel's Mercy. Re-Read
3. Royal Flush: I am not sure why I continue with these books. I want to roll my eyes at the elitism and yet I KEEP READING. (I know why. It's for Darcy.)
4. Wealth of Nations 1-3: On Assignment. I am not sure if I should be skipping through the introduction to social morals foreword. I should maybe find another version...
5. A Second Chance: Re-read. //awaits the death of (view spoiler)[Leon Farrell 1.0 (hide spoiler)] with far more glee than is strictly necessary.
6. Twilight: Re-read. IT HAS BEEN SO LONG THOUGH.
7. The Viscount Who Loved Me: Re-read.
8. 12 Kings in Sharakhai: I'm a few chapters in and so far it's been pretty meh. Will continue for a while to see if it picks up.
9. Vicious: One chapter in~
10. Altered Carbon: Have not started yet.
11. Evil is a Matter of Perspective: Unstarted.
12. The Tombs of Atuan: Unstarted.
13. Oathbringer: Unstarted
14. Grunt. One chapter in and THIS IS FUN. yes moar plz.
15. Winter: Unstarted. Still in Fairest.
16. Fairest: About a third of the way through.
17. The Alloy of Law: Re-read.
18. The Merry Spinster: Three stories in. This book is weird as hell and I don't think I like all stories as much as I liked the first little mermaid one.
19. The Law of Moses: One chapter in.
20. Dark Ascension: A third in. Going slow because I love the worldbuilding and this is the last book. I'm sad.
21. The Last Witch: Unstarted.
22. Children of Blood and Bone: Unstarted.
23. The Last Namsara: Unstarted.
24. Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Unstarted.
25. Catch-22: Two pages in?
26. Song of the Beast: Halfway done. I like this story, although I liked the first few chapters best. Now that's a good character introduction.
27. Succubus Dreams: One third of the way in. I'm gonna keep going.
28. Mirror Dance: Re-read.
29. Rise of Empire: A few chapters in. I think both Arista and her brother make TERRIBLE monarchs and I wish we could just get back to the Thrace/Modina plotline already.
30. The Blue Sword: I'm at the abduction and for some reason I lost interest at that point. Continue.
31. Bitter Seeds: I'm not getting the buddy bonus for this one but I still want to start it. :(
32. Bookburners Season I Volume 2: Sameish as 31.

The Arista thing improves...for a while...Alric is only ever in that one scene...i just finished the book....now I will post heaps of spoilers for Siobhan....

*mainly for Siobhan since she is still reading this....laura finished, I think...

I'm both amazed and scared by your list.

Virginie wrote: "I'm both amazed and scared by your list."

Oh Sha is deffo human. She just wants to read ALL the things...
😄

SECOND EDIT....And Virginie....she calls this "Culling"...oh Sha....😂😂😂

Eeeeeh, that's the culled list?!?

The only scarier Currently-reading shelf I have seen so far is Elinor's. She's got more than 50 books on it ^_^

Immediately goes to chk Elinor's shelf....

EDIT: which elinor??

This one: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

Yeah...I already went into your "friends" and found only one Elinor....yeah...what did we expect?
The woman who reads 300 books in a year 🙀🙀🙀

Hehe. I think she's logging on GR her mangas (just like I do).

@Sha: Will you edit your list as you go through it? :)

Nah, this is the pre culling list. :D Zaara's right; I'm forever seized by a desire to read all the things. And then I have to abandon things partway through because I've bitten off too many books.

Yes the list will be updated once I form opinions on the unstarted books.

I also log the Manga here... But it has been a while since I read Manga. Otoh I also log in a lot of comics which are even smaller. //Old time Disney is fun.

Zaara wrote: "The Arista thing improves...for a while...Alric is only ever in that one scene...i just finished the book....now I will post heaps of spoilers for Siobhan...."

I am not sure what to feel about Ririya. I like some scenes but others make me go all twitchy eyebrows...

If I may suggest,,,make a post. I've noticed what happens with you and me is when we really get into a book the more we interact on it. Altho' I'm pathetic at posting on re-reads. So conversely, we can cunningly trick our brain that we like a book IF we post about it.
Like Maaalice. All I was doing with that vook was writing recaps instead of actually saying something abt it.
Oh and I agree with you. Arista sure is patchy on the likeability front. Sometimes.... and then sometimes...

EDIT: i notice you cunningly culled.....uhhh...nothing??? How about dumping all the unstarted-s?

Thought I will continue here instead of hijacking the Catch 22 thread.
When did you start both Heller and Anthony Bridgerton? And Vicious too??
😂😂😂
You know you are not far behind Elinor with her 50 open books? How do you track it all?? I read more than three books and find this means that basically the rest go automatically on hold.

EDIT: Drop anything but not North and South ok? Please. Really want you for that one.

The dreaded Sunday culling. I'm still not sure if this is sustainable~

So conversely, we can cunningly trick our brain that we like a book IF we post about it.
Interesting theory. But alas, I was definitely complaining all throughout malice and I hated it just as much at the end. I do think I should comment more on books, but I'm very swamped. Buried. Suffocated.

//TOO MANY BOOKS

but it's really hard for me to do the sensible thing and drop any of them. :/ I should really drop the re-reads but then I feel like I want to read Alloy of Law/Mirror Dance/Insert Book Here again and I drift back to it.

Of course you are away for a few hours and we have all been bleating for you ALL THE LIVELONG DAY!
Log on soooooooooon, Preciouusssssssss....

Wait what where

How are you doing with your scary culling? ;)

I culled a LOT. :D I'm left with Oathbringer, Kushiel's Justice, Kushiel's Mercy, Winter, Tombs of Atuan, Alloy of Law, A Second Chance, Vicious, Catch 22, Succubus Dreams, Rise of Empire, Bookburners & SOng of the Beast for Buddy Reads... Plus a few non BR books.

Sha wrote: "I culled a LOT. :D I'm left with Oathbringer, Kushiel's Justice, Kushiel's Mercy, Winter, Tombs of Atuan, Alloy of Law, A Second Chance, Vicious, Catch 22, Succubus Dreams, Rise of Empire, Bookburn..."

This is a VAST IMPROVEMENT.

Wow, that's amazing!

EDIT: Just checked, and you're at 17 books on your Currently-reading shelf. That's almost half the books you had before!
Well done, you! :D

:D
of course, now I have July buddy reads to factor into the list. I haven't been able to read much in the last week or so...

Hi luv I started the Loretta Chase

...thought I'll stop by and say hi....

“In Dain’s case, the book could be judged accurately by the cover, for he was dark and hard inside as well. His was a Dartmoor soul, where the wind blew fierce and the rain beat down upon grim, grey rocks, and where the pretty green patches of ground turned out to be mires that could suck down an ox.”

I don't feel it yet with this book, Sha but I'm starting to see why so many ppl do...
Don't you just 😋 this place when you start yet another well-loved B&tB retelling and jezzt...have ALL the hopes...bcuz I'm really wanting this lives up to the hype bcuz it took me ages to plow thru Rose at Midnight + I wanted to drown Hisslai...uhh Ghislaine in brine, jalapenos and treacle. Her sudden changes of mood and heart were that damned psycho...

Oh and 😂😂😂 at Sebastian Leslie Guy de Ath Ballister (wait there's more) Marquess of Dain...Earl of Blackmoor...Viscount Launcells...Baron Ballister and Launcells...and to think we had it in at poor Simom Fitzranulf.

Sorry (if I should be) that I couldn't wait...I was never very sure you even wanted to re-read 😝 the damn thing + I'm totally and firmly siscouraging your cullinggoodly and well-meaning attempts...before you added your July reads, that is...

laaaaate

heh. i was always more into dain and his son than the romance tbh, its a fun book though.

as for re-reading it, idk, i do seem to have too many books on my to do list and i also have a ton of romances ive never read so...

Ha...and how you teach me patience. For a moment I was all who is Dain? But I know this would happem so...I kept the log...

(view spoiler)[
It was old-style...extremely angsty and very confrontational + also tempestuous and full of phrases like cocksure clodpole...thought of you the whole time Iwas reading this, which is why this...roughly modified the notes I kept pre-typed.

He WAS depraved but the Lucifer allusions were piled on too damn thick...*yerk* and tiresome.

She just shot him??? And now she suing him...I hardly know how to feel about...it has my stomach in a tumult...I couldn't see my way to a happy ending at that point. Was this the one you were thinking of when you posted abt historical romance and breach of promise cases, Sha?

The only things I liked were the scene when he went to the trollops to forget her and she dramatically burst in and they were....uhhh trolloping....
Hilarious!
I'm like you, don't like babies thrown in just as plot fluffers but in this case, it went well, it actually had a point being there + how we are with orphan tropes.

Sooooo this book left the B&tB craving unsated....and I made the mistake of going on Booktube to look for PNR recos and this Nalini Singh pops up everywhere apparently she is the one of the Grand Poobah of paranormal. So I picked up something called Lord of the Abyss which has the cheesiest bright purple cover ever but is supposed to be a semi-standalone B&tB retelling.
It is so frikkin YOWZA...dude is bloodcursed with some living black armour + amnesia and the dudette is of course bloodblessed and will...ahem...strip him of it...
But *sniggers* HERE BE THE TWIST...she is the daughter of his wuuuuuuurst foe...so WILL Dude find it in him to forgive all for the sake of true love?
😝 AND 💋💋💋
But it has a Winky + some mutant-like side chars. Is Nalini Singh typical??? Cuz I thought she was the Gruyere of the PNR canon but I feel like I'm drowning in the creepy orange fake cheese that you squeeze out of a tube. It is soooooo.....that I wanna keep going just to see if it can make me keel over and die.
Is Nalini Singh typical? Or did I just unerringly zoom in with my horrible taste and pick the worst NS ever? Bcuz I did that with CoHo and then never went back to "New Adult". (hide spoiler)]

Was this the one you were thinking of when you posted abt historical romance and breach of promise cases, Sha?
Probably not, since I can't remember anything about the romance. But I also don't remember what exactly I said in this comment.

I've never read Nalini Singh, sadly. I keep meaning to get to her books but I alwaysd put them off because of the covers. And I KNOW romance novel summaries are the bullshittiest bullshit but even with that knowledge, her book summaries never really interested me.

Youtube....i trusted yooooootube...b&tb retellings, I thought....fairly commonly liked....
+ PNR i thought....there'll be tons of recos....
Karishma and I are teetering on the brink of another HistRom BR with Perfect rake...thougnt I will give you a heads up since you are currently lookimg at this thread....😂😂😂

Where the hell are you, woman, and why aren't you reading A Perfect Rake?
We were all totally absolutely wrong abt it Sha. There is no angst abt it whatsoever (so far, except for the opening chapter) and on the contrary it is filled with hoots, capers, and the most delicious kissing and the hawtest amd flirtiest and best with the comebacks rakish rake of a hero...in my recent reading history. Also Kari is a great reading partner and I am actually reading this book slowly on purpose to savour it....
Did I mention the smooching?

EDIT I have a new disease. I can't read historical romance without you, Sha. I need a cure, Doctooooor....
Awoooooooooo!

(view spoiler)[
(hide spoiler)]

ZARAAAAA! //GLOMPS

Life conked me over the head with a blackjack and dragged me away as I whimpered. :D I should be backish by the end of the month. If I'm lucky.

There IS angst, but there's enough funny stuff that it doesn't feel like angst. You'll see. //mysterious smiing

Thanks. I don't mind angst unless it like ravening angst and even that I didnt mind in Withering heights.
I thought you N Hailee dropped out bcuz YOU didnt like it so I was coming ehre to convince you...yeah, I dunno how I didnt get that you already read the book.
I am a perpetual *facepalm* case, sha.

No worries~ I certainly can't remember who's read what do I don't expect anyone else to do it. :D

All ok, sweetheart?

EDIT I went and checked you profile...you were last online three hours ago...so yeah...cut down my stupid comment...
Spoke to Lala yest so she's fine too...

??

Headlines....weren't there really bad flash floods...never mind...like I said I am the perpetual *facepalm* case...practically the Village Idiot whom "everyone is very, very kind" to. I should have checked your porfile before postimg then I wouldnsaet worried. Jezzt...Sha...forget it....

there were, but i don't love in kerala right now I'm about 2.6k kilometers away. :)

But there are floods, and I was very worried about my family, but they are all fine ebcause they were in the safer areas. the state is still... badly off though.

//hugs
thank you.

I didn't know you were from India too.

Glad to hear you and your family are okay!

How're the exams going? Nearly thru I hope. We are all holding on the Courtney Milan till you can come read with us.
Meanwhile I read two other Historical Romances this month...the Duke and I and Colin's book from Bridgertons. My heart was in neither of them. I wasn't kidding when I said I just can't enjoy these books as much without you.
Come back soon!
It just ISN'T the same without you signing up for every BR under the sun and then desperately trying to cull the list.
*very gentle KICK*
(view spoiler)[

#cuddles (hide spoiler)]

HI ZAARA. //glomps

Sorry, I'm stuffed till December. (IT IS HORRIBLE. TERRIBLE. ABYSMAL.) So I'm just chucking all Buddy Reads to the wind (culling is so much easier when you don't have to pick and choose) and just reading randomly till all of this is over. :3 I occasionally stalk the Feel Good Books thread (because that's usually books I can read easily) but I already have a backlog and didn't want to read Bridgerton #4 again.

Anyway that's been my zombiedom these past few weeks. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?

Sha wrote: "HI ZAARA. //glomps
Sorry, I'm stuffed till December. (IT IS HORRIBLE. TERRIBLE. ABYSMAL.)"

I'm good luv.
My little couz opted for the fate worse than death sometime in the middle of next year but we are gonna have a huge (and I do mean heee-yuuuge) engagement party during the holidays/New Year...cuz everyone will be together for the hols anyway + the point with having family on four of the five major continents is that

So yeah I'm jezzt bracing myself to be swathed in/consulted on lace and poufy flowers and drowned in hearts and roses and cake and other arcane artefacts of this mass culture-induced delusion...oh wtf...I'm happy for the kid, truly I am.
I've heard many good things about her guy and will get to meet the BatCrazies Happy Couple together sooooooooooon.
It's just...my Oonagh mentality always teeters crazily abaft my negative social skills and inbuilt panic during such scenarios.
Haha, @Margret will TOTALLY understand this feeling...😊

Uuuurgh till December?
That's you AND Kari gone till Xmas.
Here is some random pretty seasonal stuff.

(view spoiler)[




Do you like snuggly cushions?



With cake...



Or perhaps an entire couch...
(hide spoiler)]

oh god a wedding, that also sounds horrible. I FEEL YOU.

I mean, I have no objection to people you know, in THEORY. But SO MANY of them at the same place in the same time talking about the same things.... and you can't even escape because the metaphorical door are barred shut...

Cough. Anyway.

I decided to go spreadsheet my books because I got used to doing it for the Team Reading Competition. I'm still trying to tweak the columns to something that will let me express maximum feelings with minimal effort. I would welcome suggestions~

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

*Hermione face* shouldn't you be studying?
Yeaaa bleaaaarrrgh 😒😣 I know...I'm a totally evil buzzkill. Buuuuuuut if you are still in the mood to shamelessly procrastinate...I shall aid and abet your nocturnal activities!

Here are...
(view spoiler)[




...some happysocks for you to wear while you organise your bookshelves.
You can share them with Dobby!
😂 because I just finished the fourth Potter book and there were several scenes about Dobby's obsession with colourful socks and (of course) now I have been to Virginie's tracker and have not yet worn out my urge to post sock pics.
IMPORTANT RULE: You must never wear two the same...gotta mix them up, ok?
(hide spoiler)]
What are you studying for? Is it a grad/postgrad dissertation/doctoral thesis? Or are you still in school? What's your major, if you don't mind my asking?
Damn...I feel like I'm responding to week old messages all over the place.
Sorry Sha.

Yikes.
Week is much better than literal months.
I'm doing Law as a Postgrad. Sortof. Indian educational system so it's a bit twitchy.
:D I already mix up my socks.

Hey Sha darling, hope all is well with you. Just letting you know that your sparkling conversation is missed. Well, just as well on my part, since my reading has slumped and I've been behind on BRs for the past month. But! Just wanted to say that I hope we can do another together again soon. :)

Hi Mel! :D

I've mostly been avoiding buddy reads because my mood reading has somehow become WORSE and I keep dnfing things for no logical reason. So you know- I've mostly just been stalking random threads and trying to beat the review challenge.

I do miss the buddy reads but the mood reading issue really has me by my throat. //wistful sigh

Any easy books you've planned to read? :D