Marissa > Recent Status Updates

I respect the buildup. Not many authors can pull off nearly 200 pages of it -- I'm attempting that and probably won't. But Ms. Collins has our attention in a chokehold by proxy. I trust her.

If we want community, we have to look for it, starting with showing up for others. Kimmerer's body of work is always a refreshing antidote to a me-centric modern day culture that ignores our interconnectedness, consumes and destroys. I have a feeling much of this will be relevant to my work in public services and reframe my perspective when I'm exhausted.

I heavily dislike these covers, the ones on Libby are superior 😂 but this is my cup of tea so far? Dragon shifter reluctantly holds hostage feisty heroine, smuttiness and hijinks ensue.

Imagine almost done with the series and just now learning unverified(?) internet rumors SJM is zionist. I'm online but not so online as to know every author's personal views, and frankly have no opinion on her as a person. Got these from the library. Library work is baked into my feeling that judging people based on what they read without knowing their reasoning is a weird and power trippy thing to do, anyway

The "secret librarian-only designation for 'mostly bullshit'" should become industry standard

"You're going to have to trust people if you want us to build a life here" - ouch my feelings! Called out by a houseplant

Paraphrasing "she wondered what it was like if her plant weren't in the room with them"; girl me too why is your plant there 😂

The chaotic worldbuilding of this series is such a specific taste. Like I can't rec this to just anyone unless I was being insane. It's like giving sour candy to a baby. Full cast audio came through. My narrative weakness is a couple who can't keep their hands off each other and don't have to constantly deal with conflict to be together. I get that on an inherent level

I think I'm hard to please with the romantasy genre... supernatural pairings are usually my jam, and I was following until the peanut butter incident, then it fell flat for me. I didn't like Lowe a lot? 🫣 Some sexy smut and some oddly unsexy/gave me the ick lines (not even talking about the ending either)

I meant to get to this one for awhile and embarrassingly it's the first novel I've managed to finish since I've been at work on revisions, but pages of dry internal monologue are not especially compelling. Watched the film first and liked it more, same as the main series. Collins can write a strong screenplay and I think that makes the difference. I still look forward to the other prequel.

Me reading book 1: coming out of my slump and I've been doing just fine
Book 2: now I'm back in the slump, oh no I'm back in the slump

I like this ok so far? Definitely not as hooked as the first book in the series. But they're chonky...so there's a lot of story left.

I get bored at all the parts with Tharion and want to skip them 😂

Man, I really wanted to like this based on the premise, but it's another DNF for me. The juvenile, modern dialogue just completely takes me out of the story. And I can't wrap my head around a military strategy that involves unnecessarily killing off a large portion of its unit on a parapet or obstacle course. That's not good training...

So I think this plot suffers from overuse of peril. The main character (and everyone around her) coming near death every single chapter is intended to produce suspense. Instead it has the opposite effect. When the stakes are always dire, conflict loses its power. There's a lack of balance.

Hmm, I haven't hit the steam yet, but she's 20 and the target audience reads as such. One amongst the growing trend of Booktok romantasies that should probably be recut and shelved as YA

I realized what I initially didn't like about the author's prose. It relies so much on repetition, at least in the opening chapters. Many, many mentions of cooked cream, a "brutish age," and this guy's worm-like mouth. Just a weird opening. Now suddenly both prose and narrative are flowing quite well. Guess I needed to stick with it?

First, the cover, yes. But the prose is...obscure? In a way that feels more clumsy than deliberate. A puzzling choice for juvenile fic. I think I just want to talk to someone about this book and why it is the way it is.

DNF. I may be 50% done but I think I am all the way done with this one. It's not even the novice mistakes she makes as a backpacker, although losing one's shoes is baffling -- there's just something navel-gazey and remorseless about it that turns me off.

Ms. Strayed, Leave No Trace is not a suggestion

I admit I checked this out since my girl Artemis is on the cover. The archetypes are unnecessarily gendered imo. Skimmable stuff.

I regret not having picked this up when a bookstore friend strongly recommended it to me. They knew my weakness for messy, emotionally resonant characters. Seeing shades of Sanderson, Rothfuss, and Dickens.

It's a queer paranormal Sherlock AU so I'm enjoying it? Too close to the source material for the fullest enjoyment. But the audio narrator is a hoot.

"One wolf remains at the Old Square" you bet it does

THE VACUUM. BRYCE

There is so much headhopping and yet, I am simply deriving too much joy to care.

Open with a whole wolfpack getting slaughtered and an ensuing plot to bring their killer to justice, throw in some Howl's Moving Castle energy, slow burn sexiness, disturbingly well rounded characters, and moon lore (the goddess Luna? Hello it's my girl?) This is candy for me. This is the escapism I need right now. What the fuck, I'm pissed.

For an adult crossover, I notice the YA roots. The dialogue is vaguely teenish (males/females/alphaholes? No) and everyone is described as not only conventionally attractive, but devastatingly so (which, okay, this girl's favorite show is Sense8, so that criticism shouldn't hold water).

But this book is CHONKY and when I tell you I'm flying through it. A chonky SFF hasn't held my attention down like this in years.

Listen I'm halfway through this beast of a book and just, balls. I've gone and done what I thought was untenable. I do not just like a SJM book. I'm hooked. WHAT IS THIS. I don't know but I'm like...fucking mad that I like this so much.

I was harsh on ACOTAR because I perk up when I hear BATB retelling, and the story and editing made me want to chuck it across the room. But I'm a convert now.

https://twitter.com/msbyfield/status/...

Received as a freebie. Solid basic little grimoire for Earth witches. Really pretty minimalist illustrations.