Annie > Recent Status Updates

I’m taking my time with this one, not reading more than a short story and an essay per day.

This sex scene came so out of nowhere and is so ill-timed that if it isn’t revealed to be a ruse by a disguised bad guy, I will treat it as actively harmful to the book’s story and cohesion.

So far, this is fun. The main character is the “super powerful but doesn’t want to use it” kind, there’s a sort of love triangle that is kept secondary to the actual plot, and the author is not afraid to kill off characters.

This book doesn’t have the highest average rating though, so I’m wondering if the second half is going to deliver.

One of the reasons why I usually avoid romantasy is that it’s way too often about a weak/ordinary/out of her element girl and a superb tenebrous powerful guy. The reason I’m reading this one is that the girl IS the supernatural being in the couple, not the guy. (Unless a new love interest is introduced later, which would be a bit late this far in I think.)

I really wanted to like Shae, because I always want to love sole female characters in a sea of men, but she’s been a prideful idiot for most of the book so far and I’m starting to be done with her.

WHY in the world is the journal entry for 27 February 1961 in Appendix 10 while Appendix 11 contains entries from 1957 to 1960??? I should not have to take manual notes just to be able to read this book chronologically. I have serious beef with this editor.

I’m liking this, although the plot feels a bit predictable so far. There are only so many ways one can write organized crime stories.

I will one day finish this book out of pure stubbornness, but it will take a while because I absolutely despise every character.

I need to have a word with the editor about those appendices, they're driving me crazy.

I was going to read the entire thing today but I’m getting sleepy. Not much left though.

T. Kingfisher is just really good at what she’s does. I’m devouring this book. It’s simple in the best possible way.

This is my second T. Kingfisher book, and I don’t know if this is an encompassing characteristic of her work or if I’ve just been lucky with these two, but her male protagonists are so polite. It’s such a breath of fresh air.

What I genuinely don’t understand about how this book was edited is the appendices. They’re just regular journal entries that the editor decided to cut from the main text and insert back at the end. I should not have to jump from page 235 to page 552 for no discernible reason.

This cannot possibly have a happy ending, and I think I’d be disappointed if it did.

I tried, I really tried, but apart from the setting there’s nothing to like about this book.

Liking this so far, but I’m waiting for the central plot to arrive.

I thought the final chapters would just be a sort of epilogue, but no, there are still things happening!

Suddenly worried this might not have a happy ending.

How many different times can two people kiss before they finally admit they’re a couple? Because so far it’s like seven.

“I came to see my psychiatrist.”

I stand corrected.

There’s actually a really interesting issue of mental health and trauma brought to light in this book, but because it’s Chinese I’m genuinely afraid the solution will be love and not extensive therapy.

How can two characters be so honest and yet so bad at communicating omg

Communicating about boundaries! Yay!

It only took like 800 pages to get there.