Alex > Recent Status Updates

While I did recently get the next Swordheart book, I found this today at the library and there's nothing like a deadline to get me to do something, so here we are. Still kinda sad that the gay one in this series is by far the shortest, but we persist. Hoping that margerites connection with grace from book 1 is indicative of more interactions between the paladins partners

There is nothing bad about this book. In fact, I quite enjoyed what I've read. But at this point I put it down so long ago that I feel like picking it up again is going to require a full reread of the first chunk
Oh well, I'll come back to it another day

The further this series goes on, the less I understand and the less I care. The shit that is happening both on world and off make me feel like I've never actually understood anything political ever, but it's just So Fun. Carl and donut and all the gang are once again a Delight and the shit that they are pulling on the wider universe??? If I were a syndicate politician, I'd be terrified

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OUGHHHHH KATIA AGAIN. KATIA GOT OUT. KATIA IS PREGNANT. IM GONNA MISS HER SO MUCH
Also that whole scene with huanxin jinx??? Bad Ass. I'm so glad mordecai got to have some revenge for his brother's death. This book was just chock full of revenge. And the crawlers all writing in the book of voodoo???? All writing things to Carl and donut???? Making me cry

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Oh shit Zerzura!!!! I forgot about that spell!!!!! I was so worried about how they were gonna get the NPCs out

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'This is not normal,' a distant part of me thought. 'This is not how people react to almost getting incinerated by a nuke'
No it's absolutely not normal Carl. However, you've spent the last two months fighting for your life in a televised death game and are also no longer normal. That's kinda to be expected

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Second
Elle: it's not the first time I've woken up stinking like a strangers wang, believe me
Imani: Elle!
Elle: don't pretend you don't know what went down on canasta night
I love Elle. So much. I need more of this 90yo woman turned element fairy. She is so deeply badass in the Best way
Also, still kinda wild just how many badass women are main characters in a litrpg series written by a man. Impressive

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First
HOLY SHIT THAT WAR CRIME SPELL. IM SO PROUD OF DONUT, MY BABY. ALSO. GROSS
Still love just how devoted Carl is to donut. They both love each other so damn much. I am So Scared as to what's gonna happen with donut as Nekhebits champion. Also she apparently been conspiring with Katia? About something? It's gotta be something to get both them off the floor alive but idk what

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Oh my god Carl loves donut So Much. Id been missing their interactions this book, what with them having to be separate for war planning but oughhh. He literally Dropped Everything to run to save her. I cannot deal
Also the goddamn shift between Carl's desperate sprint to donut before Lucia kills her and the description of Harpocrates???? Insane
Lastly, what the fuck does that mean Lucia????? What????

OUGHHHHHH KATIAAAAAAAAAA

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Oh holy shit. HOLY SHIT. AGATHA???? AGATHA IS LEADING THE FUCKING WAR MAGES????? AND THEY GOT IT SO THAT SOLDIERS OF ARMYS WITH FALLEN WARLORDS IMMEDIATELY DIE??????? AND NOW THE ONLY PERSON GHAT CAN WIN IS ONE??????? I AM. SO. SCARED RIGHT NOW
Also poor Li Jun. And uhh, what the hells going on with the changelings and death? Is that what that thing is? Literal death????

The sense of incoming doom is building here. Carl is worried and I am So Worried because he's worried and there's Still Three Hundred Pages Left

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OUGHHHH THAT HUGGGGG. MILK AND CARL MEETING AND UNITING AND CARL FINALLY BEING ABLE TO CRY. CARL LYING TO DONUT ABOUT THEIR MISSION GOING WELL AND EASY WHEN HE B L E W. H I M S E L F. U P. BECAUSE HE DIDNT WANT HER TO WORRY
Anybody who says that these books don't have depth or they're just funny and fucked up and popcorn books is either an idiot or lying to you

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Sidenote, is Rectrix, the skyfowl sponsor of the god Theia that works for the pacifist network and hates the crawl possibly a relative of Remex? As in Remex the great, the skyfowl that went nuts as an NPC on the 3rd floor and during his crawl kept transporting his entire team floor to floor until they were slaughtered in the faction wars? Is that who this is?

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"We hadn't used the chain skill because, well, I'd decided to blow myself up instead."
Yeah, Carl. Yeah you did. Was it really even a decision tho? Because that was a pretty quick one if so. Goddamn was that fight with Vinata cool. The unexpected fucking immortality???? And Carl decides to take advantage of it in the most painful way possible??? Badass. He'd really do anything for his girls

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"All that mattered was in about three or four minutes vinata and her guards were going to transfer to this specific temple and Katia, pony, samatha, and myself were going to break into club vanquisher, break into the temple of Khepri, and kill every motherfucker in the room"
YEAH FUCK THEM UP CARL. IM SO EXCITED AND ALSO TERRIFIED
Sidenote, I absolutely adore prepotente. What a spoiled little brother

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Oh holy shit, the AI is growler goddamn Gary. It's gone absolutely bonkers and Nobody can control it anymore and they're all Terrified. Incredible
Also loved how proud Carl was of Rosetta killing rust. Carl really just out here loving (platonically) the hell out of a bunch of women that could kill him. We love that for him. Carl bodies every so called 'romance protag' out there in pure decency

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Oh my god, Milk is still in the Fucking Dungeon. Milk is still in the dungeon and Nobody Knows. God I hope she watched Any of the recap, has seen that there's other former crawlers fighting in the faction wars
Also, Carl's hunting empress Dnadia. This isn't going to end well
For her

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Hey, uhhh, what does that mean??? What does discontinue containment mean?????? Does the AI now have influence over Every Human left on the surface? Can Every Human now function like crawlers?? CAN THE AI MAKE MONSTERS ON THE SURFACE OF THE WORLD???? THE IMPLICATIONS MAN, IM GONNA LOSE IT
also, that whole situation with Katia and Carl and Shi Maria? Deeply confusing while also being heartbreaking

"'I wish my mom was here,' he whispered."
Ok Louis, just stomp right on my goddamn heart, Jesus Christ

The buildup of this feels like its taking a bit longer than other books. Just the getting settled in the new floor and getting everything planned out, but it makes sense. There's So Much to plan that it can't be just done in 50 pages. Also really loving the interjected vignettes of past crawlers. And Rend. I fuckin love Rend

I can put this off no longer

A fun time with some relatively low stakes while still accomplishing having some real emotional beats. Like I said, the concept of having your cat meet you in the afterlife got me, that and the whole situation with Sharkie and Lily's life reveal. There were some moments that made me think that the characters had swallowed the dsm5 but overall easy to read with fun characters and a cool setting

Very cute. Very much a middle grade book but it had a nice message of 'choosing your life for yourself' and that people aren't black and white, which is great for tweens to be reading. I liked that Sally had so much agency and that Jack was essentially there as support for her. I enjoyed the friendship between Sally and Abigail. Overall fun and cute

Ok, I was wrong. I am getting...a little bored with all the lack of conflict happening, but that could possibly be at least in part due to the romance taking more of a center stage recently. There's some threads being placed for Larger Scale conflict to come tho, so I continue on

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There's been a bit of the "swallowed the dsm5" type speak scattered around, esp in regards to Lily and bels burgeoning relationship, but it made it so that particular carrot didn't dangle for too long, so I'll take it

This feels like fanfiction in the best way possible. Slow and meandering, with a focus on characters and their relationships to each other without being solely focused on the romance. It should be boring with how little has happened plot wise but I'm having fun

Looks like this is going to be a fun time. I won't deny, the concept of going to heaven and having your cat be there, did get me choked up

I, once again, very much had fun with this, but as I said the whole way through, it was just too damn short. I wanted more time to get to know Galen and Piper and to enjoy their dynamic together. The bits and pieces I got were great, Galens confident swagger and violent streak with Pipers nervous coldness and caring was very good. But it just wasn't enough. That and I wasn't a huge fan of the B plot. Loved the ending

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Consequences of your goddamn actions, Galen. You don't get to be pissed at the guy you dumped because he's pissed at you for dumping him. C'mon man, don't kiss him again. Mixed goddamn signals there