Leek > Recent Status Updates

I knew we were gonna have wielder problems eventually. Malva is desperate but that’s gonna be her downfall. Zale being there completely fucks up their plan regardless of whether or not they and Halla are able to escape it. Sarkis is the one in real danger. For some reason I’m really uncomfortable with this forceful wielder stuff. Such loss in autonomy is terrifying.

Things are heating up in the house of justices. I really like Zale, they’re cool as hell. I no longer have any suspicion of them. Bartholomew though remains to be seen.. I don’t trust him fr. We’re not super close to the end, but I’m having a hard time predicting what our climax and/or Malva’s big countermove will be here.

Ayo.

Yo this sword’s a freak. The book is keeping it surprisingly tame though, glossing over that little jerk off moment he had. Bartholomew is a rat, he’s gonna sell us out I just know he is (probably gonna tell the magistrates that Halla plans to help her nieces).

I’m locked in. I’m glad there’s not instant attraction going on. The only thing I’m waiting on is if there’s some kind of catch to this guy’s curse, or if our main goal is going to be freeing him from it somehow. I wonder why he ended up with it in the first place. So far our only real overarching problem is being wanted for the guardsman’s murder, so I hope we get another problem soon.

I’m so happy that all the servants have come up with some sort of solution. Even if Lady Culver suffers somewhat for it, a win is a win. We can’t make everyone happy.

Yikes that was a very swift and impersonal proposal. And Effie said yes without a second thought?! WITH Lord Blackthorn right next to her mind you. So what’s her plan? Just live with those rose around her neck? Benedict doesn’t even know anything about her. All they’ve done together is talk about what *he* is interested in. This match is ass (I know it’s intentionally ass but still).

Loving it so far. Benedict is honestly kind of nothing burger in comparison to Jubilee it’s insane. Even the tulip dude Effie was dancing with is more interesting than Benedict at this point, but I digress. Lowkey smiled when Lady Culver started baying like a donkey thanks to Blackthorn. Public humiliation as a punishment for private cruelty is always a wonder.

Juniper Jubilee is an insane name I love it. Ugh I already love everything about this. I’m glad they met so early on and wow am I loving Effie’s decision making. She knows she’s gonna cry so she tells someone to fill in for her while she goes out to do it alone. She is tempted by Blackthorn’s offer and yet takes a breath and decides that it’s best not to take it. She’s just a very reasonable lady.

Literally just finished Half a Soul. It was really good and this is the book that I originally wanted to read anyway (on account of a Reddit comment saying that the male lead was very eccentric). Come to find out he’s Lord Blackthorn?! I’m hyped. So hyped I made a Hoopla account just so I wouldn’t have to wait weeks to make a hold on Libby. I’m locked in.

YOO? MISS JENNINGS AND ALBERT I WAS NOT EXPECTING.

Ooo not sure how to feel about the solution to our faerie problem. On one hand I was always hoping that Dora would remain “halved” and come to terms with it rather than “fix” it, but on the other hand I’m a little disappointed at Theodora’s decision. It felt like it should’ve been more emotionally impactful, but because we didn’t get to see any of what she went through it kind of fell flat for me.

Weirdly enough I hope we’re not in Faerie for the bulk of the rest of the story. I’m surprised to get a confession scene so early, not mad tho. The chaotic, nonsensical fairy rep is very good so far with Lord Hollowvale. His motivation being that he wanted an English daughter??? Love it. Also the tie-in between him and the sleeping plague that I somehow didn’t see coming. I might damn near finish this tonight.

This book is actually insanely good. The depth that’s just been given to Vanessa, Lady Carroway, and Miss Jennings in a matter of chapters is just amazing. And the commentary of humanity and justice coming from both Elias and Dora is so genuine that it’s actually pulling at my heartstrings. This book is making its way toward five stars right now.

Why am I hooked rn. I thought Elias would be annoyingly rude but for some reason I actually don’t mind his personality at all? And the fact that his and Dora’s relationship is in no way romantic yet is everything, they’re just united in a common goal and the tiniest seedling of growing fondness, it’s honestly so peak so far. Still worried about the possibility of a love triangle though, won’t lie.

I’m on board. Love Dora and Vanessa’s relationship and I really hope there’s no love triangle shenanigans that tear them apart. Also loving the background mix of magic and regency era so far, it feels very natural and I’m so ready to learn more about the world and its whole system. Elias and Albert are cool so far, looking forward to seeing how Dora and Elias fall for each other.

Oh Matthew :(

Laurence is actually horrible. Poor James Ritter indeed. “Piranesi” was definitely a scholar in his old life. He’s piecing all of this together like it’s nobody’s business.

Ts is crazy. Okay, so a backrooms situation with memory loss/madness magic sprinkled in. Safe to assume Ketterley is consistently traveling between the normal world and the House. The climax of this story will be violent I’m sure. Which one of these names belong to “Piranesi”? Both Laurence and Ketterley are pieces of shit, great. I hope our mc has a happy ending whether it’s inside or outside of the House.

Genuinely what is going on. The Other is hiding way too much. Are the multivitamins actually memory loss pills or something? Did Laurence write to the Other? Or is the Other Laurence writing to another Paranesi so to speak? Is this a backrooms or parallel universe type situation? So many questions, so intrigued, and I’m hopping right back into part 3.

Oh the albatross is literal. I wonder how the Other reacted to them being here, because he should’ve met with Piranesi by now right? Also the conversation was interesting. The Other is interesting. And scary. Unclear how much more he knows in comparison to Piranesi, or if he’s just as lost as he is.

Was first attracted by the cover and title, minimalistic yet very whimsical and weirdly foreboding. Complete word vomit I just made there but it’s true. For the first few pages I was thrown off by the writing because I wasn’t expecting heavy descriptions from a journal-esque perspective. But curiosity has quickly overpowered any initial distaste I had for the writing style. I’m so in for the mystery.

Chapter 4 was very spiritual and contemplative. Dex gradually comes to terms with how similar humans and robots really are in consciousness and humanity. For some reason I was really locked in during Moss Cap’s explanation of refurbishing parts/robot lineage. I really liked that bit.

So we meet the robot. I expected them to be a more wise character to contrast Dex, but they’re actually just contrasting Dex in the opposite direction. Typical excited, curious, and generally culturally clueless robot behavior.

With my last update I’m a little upset that there was a timeskip. I’m happy that Dex has settled on their path now and seem to know exactly what they’re doing.

Wanted to see if I could finish a short audiobook. Pretty whimsical setting and premise so far. Dex’s first time doing tea service was painfully, awkwardly relatable. So is their stubbornness to power through on their own in spite of the people and resources available to them. Also pleasantly surprised to have who I think is my first mc that uses they/them pronouns.

I won’t lie that the premise made me snort and I thought it was the kind of thing I’d never be able to get into, but I’m actually more invested than I thought I’d be so far.

Save a horse…

Henry, I overestimated you. Also appreciate that the smut parts are kept pretty vague and fade to black-esque. Just a pretty fun, feel-good book, and I hope they stick the landing (lowkey worried about how they’re planning to do this..).