Amanda > Recent Status Updates

Wow, the Apple series did such a good job with the show that there's not much new or different yet. Makes reading it feel weirdly repetitive. I'd probably do better to read the books that the series hasn't gotten to yet.

Not feeling this one as much as its predecessor. There a few major plot points that have yet to unfold, though, so I still have hope.

This is a frustrating read thus far. It's annoying and poor communication causing 89% of the interpersonal problems among the cast of characters. Some miscommunication is fine, but this is excessive. It's disappointingly lazy writing.

You know what I particularly enjoy about the Crowns of Nyaxia series? What absolute bastards the gods are.

I'm over two-thirds in, and still hard deliberating: To dnf or not to dnf. That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous plotlines, or to take arms against a sea of bad books and by opposing dnf them.

When they meet, dude casually shoves her off a building, and she gets realllly hurt. He doesn't even feel bad. He just tells her to suck it up. And now he's going to be her teacher?? And eventually we're going to like him?? Oh boy.

Every time I think Val can't get any worse, she proves me wrong. She's a terrible sister, and I kind of hate her.

Oh my god with the history lessons. I'm getting so annoyed with their intrusion into the narrative, but maybe it's a good sign that I'm so absorbed in the main storyline that I can't even with the world-building?

The main dude is suuuuuch a dick.

Ack! I was listening to this on Spotify and ran out of audiobook listening hours for the month. Now I've got to wait a million years for the hours to renew, and, dammit, I was at an exciting fight-to-the-death scene.

OK. If I end up liking this series enough to read its subsequent installments, I'm going to need to read the digital or physical book itself because these fake accents are KILLING me. I keep repeating the words after her that sound the most ridiculous, so obviously it's distracting me. Too bad I bought it on sale, and Audible is a dick and won't allow the return of books on sale.

I just don't understand why you'd hire two American narrators to read a book where everyone is apparently British. It's a fantasy series where there's no US or UK, so it would've been easy to just...not do bad fake accents for the entire book. To quote the Drag Race queen, Tatianna, "Choices."

OK, I gotta say it. What the hell kind of a name is Murgha for a protagonist? I looked up the name to see if there might be an interesting meaning behind it, but it turns out that murgha is a word for a Hindi/Urdu form of corporal punishment/torture that literally means "chicken". Somehow this knowledge makes the heroine being named Murgha both better and worse.

Ugh, why is Zarrah always doing the stupidest, most harebrained things?

This doesn't feel like a YA book, which I'm glad of. The main characters are straight-up vicious to each other. Our heroine is morally a very dark gray so far.

Sigh, it's not spooky anymore. It must've just been that one scene with our heroine creeping around in the crumbling Sicilian catacombs with some malevolent, murderous thing lurking in the dark.

Wow, this is actually kind of spooky. I got creeped out while listening to it at night. That hasn't happened in forever. I literally read The Shining for a second time because I legit feel like it's a cozy winter read. So, well played, Maniscalco. Well played.

Ugh, the MMC recently made a weird and inexplicable decision, and it is now coming to light that it was pivotal and solely for the plot. I'm disappointed at the laziness because, overall, I've been really enjoying the series.

Wait. Is this a mafia book, not a dark academia fantasy? Shit.

I thought the male narrator was doing a French or Belgian accent, and now I am literally laughing out loud because I just realized it is actually the worst fake Scottish accent. And dude is going to use it for the remaining 96% of the book. Maybe I'll play chicken with myself to see how long I can hold off dnf'ing on the justifiable grounds of Insufferable Fake Accents.

The thing that keeps confusing me is that this is based off ancient Rome. The only indications of that so far are: an emperor, slavery, and one mention of our heroine wearing sandals. Maybe it's more loosely inspired?

Girl, I do not trust this Orin dude. Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.

I made the mistake of being on the library waitlist for months, only to realize I needed to refresh my memory of the first book! I ended up quick buying the audiobook version of The Jasad Heir, which adds variety since I read the paperback the first time around. Now I'm listening at an extra clipped speed so that I can finish both it and The Jasad Crown before the due date!

I am a-struggling with this one. It's a bit boring, and the main character (much like Scarlett, the Caraval character she's clearly based on) is an annoying goody-goody. Also, the "twist" has been painfully apparent from nearly the beginning, so I'll be surprised if there IS a surprise. It's hard to DNF it because I bought the audiobook...on sale, but still.

I just started reading Caraval, and I'm now realizing that Phantasma is just a goth Caraval.

So far, so meh.

I cannot express how disappointing this book is. I love Holly Black, but this is a trainwreck. The conflicts are so manufactured to serve the plot that it's exasperating and stupid. I can't imagine this book redeeming itself, but I'll finish it anyway just to see.

I am so disappointed at what a slog this book has been for me. (Honestly, The Stolen Heir wasn't much better.) After reading and becoming obsessed with The Cruel Prince/Folk of the Air trilogy, I'd desperately hoped this duology would at least be in the same league, but alas.

Strongly considering DNF'ing. It's gotten so repetitive.

The lead characters are like linoleum.