Forrest’s Comments (group member since Dec 19, 2024)

Forrest’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Jan:
The Wager by David Grann
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow

Feb:
Empire of Pain by Robert Radden Keefe
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
King Sorrow by Joe Hill
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Pre-Orders:
Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence
We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett

I want to finish one series a month--many I have already read book 1!--and then, where possible, read one standalone in the final week of the month. I added an extra book for the months with 5 weeks, where I have vacations planned, and if I own the Audiobook. Revisiting the list now, there are some months that I will be changing out series, but having some structure is good for me.

January

The Farseer Trilogy:
Assassin’s Apprentice (Paperback)
Royal Assassin (Paperback)
Assassin’s Quest (Paperback)

Weeks 4 and 5:
A Game of Thrones (Audiobook)
Daughter of the Forest (Hardcover)

PTO:
By Blood, By Salt (Audiobook + Kindle)
Kings of the Wyld (Kindle)


February

Hierarchy:
The Will of the Many (Hardcover)
Strength of A Few (Audiobook)

The Broken Earth:
The Obelisk Gate (Audiobook + Paperback)
The Stone Sky (Paperback)

March

Mistborn:
The Final Empire (Audiobook + Paperback)
The Well of Ascension (Paperback)
The Hero of Ages (Paperback)

Weeks 4 and 5:
This is How You Lose the Time War (Paperback)
Flowers for Algernon (Paperback)

April

The Dandelion Dynasty:
The Wall of Storms (Audiobook + Kindle)
The Veiled Throne (Kindle)
Speaking Bones

Week 4:
Blood Over Brighthaven (Hardcover)

May

The First Law Trilogy
Before They Are Hanged (Paperback)
The Last Argument of Kings (Paperback)

Weeks 3, 4, and 5:
The Daughters’ War (Audiobook)
The Blacktongue Thief (Audiobook + Kindle)
Circe (Audiobook)

June

The Green Bone Saga
Jade City (Kindle)
Jade War
Jade Legacy

Week 4:
Discovery, JAJ Minton (Audiobook + Kindle)

July

Middle Earth:
The Fellowship of the Ring (Paperback)
The Two Towers (Paperback)
The Return of the King (Paperback)

Weeks 4 and 5:
The Lions of Al-Rasssan (Audiobook + Kindle)
A Song for Arbonne (Audiobook + Kindle)


August

Liveship Traders:
Ship of Magic (Paperback)
The Mad Ship (Paperback)
Ship of Destiny (Paperback)

Weeks 4 and 5:
A Trade of Blood (New release!)
Grave Empire (Kindle)

September

The Age of Madness:
A Little Hatred (Paperback)
The Trouble with Peace (Paperback)
The Wisdom of Crowds (Paperback)

All Souls:
Shadow of Night
The Book of Life

October

Empire of the Vampire:
Empire of the Vampire (Kindle)
Empire of the Damned
Empire of the Dawn

Terry Pratchett
Wyrd Sisters
Guards! Guards! (Kindle)
Equal Rites (Kindle)

November

Kingkiller Chronicle
The Name of the Wind (Audiobook + Kindle)
The Wise Man’s Fear

Weeks 3 and 4
Homegoing (Audiobook)
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Audiobook + Kindle)
The Reformatory (Audiobook)

I eventually finished an Arthurian romance this month: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow.

I felt, in the first 100 pages, a lot of concern that this book was overhyped: too many convenient caricatures in the "now", written with alternating second person without unique voices, a vague fantasy time-loop, and a lovestory where I questioned the chemistry.

After the first 100 pages, though, the author gave us some great reveals and lyricism. I'm glad I read it, though I wanted so much more from it and wished the author had another 200 pages to develop the character work and world-building.

I'll review my annotations, meet up with the friends next week who are finishing it now, and see if I still feel it's a solid 8/10.

When I created my reading plan for 2026, I set a goal to finish one series and one standalone book each month. The idea was to finish around 52 books this year.

As you can see, like any good resolution, I won't finish a single standalone or finish one series just yet!

Finished:

Assassin's Apprentice - Paperback
The Daughters' War - Audiobook
A Game of Thrones - Paperback + Audiobook

Currently reading:

Royal Assassin - Paperback
The Obelisk Gate - Paperback
A Clash of Kings - Audiobook

Starting Next:

Daughter of the Forest - Hardcover
By Blood, by Salt - Kindle + Audiobook

I have By Blood, by Salt coming up as a debut novel from J.L. Odom!

I've seen this first book pop up in YouTube videos a few times, with really great praise, but I didn't realize it was part of a series: the second book has a 4.5 rating on Goodreads, too--A Haunt for Jackals.

Thanks for the challenge!

I actually just finished this! I think you’ll enjoy it, Shel!

I’m circling back to finish The Raven Scholar from a few months ago, and then I’ll start this one by the end of the week!

This week I'll finish: Between Two Fires

Then read a book with my family: The Woman With the Cure

Pre-order for Nov 11 release: Brigands & Breadknives

Another pre-order for Nov 11 release: The Strength of the Few

And then for Native American Heritage Month: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

A bad habit of mine is that when I love a book, I end up reading it more slowly.

I read this for the first time in March of this year when I impulsively bought the 20th Anniversary hardcover.

I'm tempted to get this on both Kindle and Audible to enjoy their Whispersync for Voice for a fully immersive experience!

There is a TV adaptation (2015 mini series) on Amazon Prime Video, which I also enjoyed.

Week 1: The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy

This is a buddy read with three friends--the ones I read Broken Country with last month. This is a new book, and the premise seems a good start for kicking off October.

Week 2: Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

This one had so much praise last year; comparable to The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughters' War. I'm looking forward to this Black Death road trip through Hell. lol

Week 3: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

"This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice."

My gut feeling is that this is my favorite read for October!

Week 4 and Week 5:

This will depend on mood and time constraints. These are books I own and will likely pull from:

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
Equal Rites
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
Dracula
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Welcome to Lovecraft
Weaveworld
The Reformatory

In September, I picked up two more unplanned reads:

1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Mom and her husband came to visit this month, and we ended up in a British Isles shop for tea and snacks. I picked up 'The Thursday Murder Club' randomly (instead of a Game of Thrones cookbook), and I see that a few of you picked this one up this month, as it is very popular. Good choice, I really enjoyed this book, and I plan to continue the series. The movie is also on Netflix—of course, the book was better! I plan to re-watch the movie to give it another chance.

2. Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Spooky season material--one of the earliest vampire stories! I really enjoyed this writing, and even re-read a few chapters just to get more time with this book. It is quite short at 75 (or so) pages. Passing the book along to a co-worker who loves Anne Rice.

Science Fiction: The Shadow of the Torturer

It is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession - showing mercy toward his victim - and follows his subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus.

Fantasy: The Bear and the Nightingale

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

Looking forward to starting this!

Week 1: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

I'm a little over 200 pages in, and I am really enjoying it. There is enough humor in it that the grimdark elements aren't oppressive... for now.

Week 2: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

This is a buddy read with 2 family members. Glad to find a book all 3 of us are interested in trying.

Week 3: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

I am really looking forward to this! It sounds like a 5-star read, so I'm glad to see all the praise it is getting.

Week 4: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

This is my Q3 challenge!

I actually started The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie last night. I'll be working through this in September as part of a Buddy Read... I started by reading the intro and the first three chapters, and then listened to the same sections on audiobook. I'm going to stick to reading this one on the Kindle so I can keep notes for discussion.

Interestingly, I did find a source that stated multiple readers didn't think The Blade Itself was grimdark. So, I went on to read several other blogs trying to define grimdark and separate it from dark fantasy. I also saw a blog from Mark Lawrence where voters scored books on a grimdark spectrum: 0-5.

https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

I am finishing up Legendborn by Tracy Deonn as my last book of the month... I'm going to gift this book to a coworker whose last day is approaching. The author's excerpt at the end of the book is truly excellent.

I'm looking forward to the The Raven Scholar next!

These are so good. lol

I didn't find anything interesting that matched this challenge... So, I went to my TBR list and used "forest" instead. Here is the list of options:

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin

Of these, my top choice is Daughter of the Forest. That has been on my radar the most lately.