Amanda Smith > Recent Status Updates

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Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 95% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(SPOILER) And that betrayal! ♥️🗡️
2 hours, 26 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 94% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(2/2) And THEN (super SPOILERS) Teo outright refuses to do the sacrifice. Also well justified, as at this point we know Teo will go against the status quo to do what he thinks is right. Well written!
2 hours, 48 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 94% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(1/2) Lots of good twists! (SPOILERS) Xio isn't in last place, it's Auristela (the love interest's twin sister). Teo wins first place, making him the Sunbearer, which isn't a surprise, as the justification for it is well built. But Auristela being the sacrifice? That means that Teo is going to kill the person who means the most to Aurelio. This could completely destroy their fledgling romance.
2 hours, 48 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 80% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(2/2) One of the adults, hell, one of the other teens, should recognize the sabotage, and it drives me nuts that all the characters except the main character are too stupid to notice. I get making the protagonist the main problem solver, but this is TOO OBVIOUS.
8 hours, 21 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 80% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(1/2) Teo is the one who notices something is wrong with the contestants? It's pretty fucking obvious—I'm confused why none of the adults have noticed. Then when he raises the alarm, one of the adults throws an obviously contrived temper tantrum to distract everyone. 🤦 This is so unrealistic.
8 hours, 22 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 75% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
There's some sort of mind corruption happening to the contestants.
10 hours, 34 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 73% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
I really should finish this book before it's due back at the library.
12 hours, 33 min ago Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is starting Project Hail Mary
I really should finish my current books but I'm too psyched for the Project Hail Mary movie.
Feb 16, 2026 09:36AM Add a comment
Project Hail Mary

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 59% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
[SPOILER] Xio just lost the third trial. Oh boy, I hope this isn't going to become an allegory for trans kids dying. 😬
Feb 13, 2026 09:30AM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 53% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
I thought it was a little odd that there are two transmasc characters in this book, both on the same side/team and stuck in the same situation, but I get it now: this is an opportunity for Aiden Thomas to explore how trans people seek each other out for support and understanding.
Feb 13, 2026 08:50AM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 42% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
I'm glad I'm listening to the audiobook. My Spanish is weak, and this way I know how the words are actually pronounced. If I was reading the book, I would probably think of incorrect pronunciations, especially for the names.
Feb 12, 2026 01:02PM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 28% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
competing against professionals heroes who have been training for this type of physical competition at a special academy just for this their whole lives, and one of these kids WILL be killed and sacrificed at the end. I am outraged at their parents. (2/2)
Feb 12, 2026 09:18AM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 28% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
This book is seriously pissing me off - in a good way. The parents of the Jade kids gave their kids NO TRAINING, even though there was a chance they could end up in these trials. Sure, Jades haven't been chosen for the trials in decades, but there was STILL a possibility. Now you've got what are basically two basically two normal teenagers with NO training, not even basic physical conditioning, (1/2)
Feb 12, 2026 09:18AM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 27% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
I would be shocked if the twins DON'T bicker constantly in private. I get the feeling the love interest is holding back A LOT for the sake of being professional. Either that, or he's a complete pushover for his sister.
Feb 12, 2026 08:55AM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 22% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
The love interest is painfully autistic-coded. This wouldn't be a bad thing except the author is leaning into misunderstandings as conflict between the protagonist and love interest. It feels lazy and superficial. There's plenty of conflict already, as someone is going to end up dead at the end of this book! Skip the fake stakes and focus on the real stakes.
Feb 11, 2026 05:59PM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 18% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
(Continued) Which SUCKS because he just got (what's it called, the goblet that chooses Harry Potter for the games at Hogwarts?) goblet-ed into the Hunger Games. The weakest person in the Sunbearer Trials gets sacrificed to Sol, and our protagonist has a high likelihood of being the last runner up.
Feb 11, 2026 05:15PM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 18% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
This fantasy world is a weird combination of superheroes, gods, and academia. The main characters are Meso-American gods and demigods that functionally act as superheroes. There's an academia element, where the young gods and demigods go to school to train, but our protagonist missed that because he was never powerful enough to get into the god academia, and went to public school. (Continued)
Feb 11, 2026 05:15PM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 7% done with The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
Wing fic isn't my thing, but I really liked Cemetery Boys, and this is the next book from Aiden Thomas that was available at the library. I enjoy YA and fantasy with lots of world building, and so far this book is satisfying both those appetites. ACOTAR wasn't my cup of tea, but it reawakened that fantasy appetite that I haven't sated in recent years.
Feb 11, 2026 02:46PM Add a comment
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 60% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
My library loan expired. I'll have to wait 18 weeks before I can finish this stupid book, because it's THAT popular. 🙄
Feb 07, 2026 07:44PM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 57% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
So why do I continue to read? I am a invested. I want to know what happens. I know there will be a HEA, but at the same fucking time Sarah Maas's willingness to break the rules of romance, and throw Tamlin in the trash, means she might be willing to deliver interesting deviations from the normal romance structure. And the world building is interesting, and the friendships are interesting. Better than the romance.
Feb 07, 2026 11:35AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 57% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
Something else I realized that irritated me: a character's goodness depends entirely on whether they will be an ally or a romantic interest. Tamlin, our original love interest, who Sarah Maas wrote an entire romance book for? Well he's good while he's the love interest, but as soon as the author moves to someone more interesting he suddenly develops bad traits. Eres, one of Lucian's brothers? He was good all along!
Feb 07, 2026 11:21AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 36% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
Ugh, enough of this male/female nonsense. If the fae don't want to call themselves man or woman, because that's what the humans use, then they can call themselves fae.

"The most beautiful female he'd ever seen." 🙄 No, this is stupid.

Just say, "The most beautiful fae he'd ever seen."
Feb 05, 2026 08:57AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 35% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
I enjoy the world building in these books, and the political intrigue, and the Psyche-esque trials Freyre had to go through to be with Tamlin in the first book (though that turned out to be pointless...) and I even enjoyed the later romance with Rhysand, who is charming and interesting. But these books don't fulfill me the way a really good fantasy series with great world building and ideas does.
Feb 05, 2026 08:27AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 35% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
I'm not against soulmate romances, or 'true mates', but it does irritate me when a romance starts out that way. "You're my mate, I should be with you!" Blah, that's a shitty way to start a romance.
Feb 05, 2026 08:23AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 10% done with Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Yuck, what is up with the bland piano and keyboard tracks on this audiobook?
Feb 04, 2026 08:44AM Add a comment
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is 7% done with A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
Yikes, it's hard to like Freyre when she's backstabbing Lucian. Honestly, I'm still kind of unhappy with how she's treating Tamlin, despite the Tamlin-is-bad-now elements introduced last book. IDK, this is starting to wear on me. Tempted to DNF, the only thing holding me back is how long I had to wait for this book at the library.
Feb 02, 2026 09:43AM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith is starting A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
Alright, let's see if everyone can get a happily ever after. I could really use a HEA right now.
Jan 26, 2026 12:28PM Add a comment
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

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