Hey'a, everyone! So, I recognize that it's a touch early to do a seasonal reads post (winter doesn't officially begin for another week and a half), but I want to do Christmas stuff on the blogs next week if possible, so . . . here we are!

Winter 2021–22 Reads

1. Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams (December 7). This one just came out this past week, but it wasn't in my fall reads list, so I'm including it. From the sneak peaks Gillian's shared both publically and with her street team, this looks like it's going to be so good: magical horses, epic conflicts, tragic heroes, the works. Early reviews are also suggesting that it's light on romance, so — hallelujah.

2. Wrought of Serpent and Snow by E. J. Kitchens (December 9). Another book that just came out this week! I confess that I do not love the cover . . . but I did love Wrought of Silver and Ravens, the previous book in the series, which was one of my favorite of the Tattered Slippers releases, and I'm excited to see what happens next!

3. The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman (December 28). I confess that I'm not entirely caught up on the Invisible Library series — The Dark Archive slipped out without my noticing, and while I do have it out from the library, I haven't gotten around to reading it. But with the release of The Untold Story at the end of the month, I think The Dark Archive will have to move up the list. Both stories sound like they'll have a greater focus on Alberich and the fae, which is exciting. (We all know how much I love the Invisible Library fae, after all.)

4. Between Kings by W.R. Gingell (December 31). I am simultaneously SO HYPED and UTTERLY TERRIFIED for this. It's the end of the City Between series (though the author has promised spinoffs), and I'm so sad that I'll be saying goodbye to Pet, Tuata, JinYeong, Zero, North, Athelas, Morgana, and the rest. But also, the last book ended on such a cliffhanger, and I desperately need to know what's become of everyone. Out of everything on this list, this is definitely what I'm looking forward to the most!

5. A Conspiracy of Prophets by Suzannah Rowntree (January 6). So, yes. I had very mixed feelings about the first book in the series. But, I was told that I might like other books in the series better (especially since they focused on other protagonists), and I've loved Suzannah's other books, so I'm not taking this off my TBR list yet. And even if I'm not a fan of Lukas Bessarion, this installment sounds pretty epic.

And that about covers it! A little sparser than some of my seasonal release roundups, most of my favorite authors released something in summer or autumn, so this is a more quiet season. Still, what is there looks pretty good. What book releases are you excited for this winter? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Five Favorite Fae Tales

 Hello, everyone! It's no secret that I love a good fae/fair folk story, whether it takes the form of a fairy tale retold, an urban fantasy escapade (or mystery), or a classic fantasy adventure. There's just so much to enjoy, from the intrigues of the fae courts to the eccentricities and strong personalities of the fair folk themselves to the dynamics between fae and humans. And because I've been reading quite a few of these kind of stories lately, I thought that I'd take this week to spotlight some of my favorite novels featuring the fair folk. (Also, I haven't done a "favorite ____ books" post in a long time, and I figured it was as good a time as any to remedy that.)

Favorite Fae Tales

1. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson. Is it weird that my favorite fair folk story is one that, in many ways, deconstructs the fae and reveals the hollowness of their courts and revelry? Maybe, but this is a delicious story anyway (which I really should reread sometime soon). I love the author's take on the fae (wild and beautiful and powerful, but crippled in their inability to create) and the seasonal courts, and I love the characters, human and fae alike.
2. The City Between series by W.R. Gingell. I just shared all the reasons I love the City Between books a couple weeks ago, so I won't repeat myself too much . . . but this series is awesome, full of magnificently dangerous fae and other Behindkind. The interactions between the fae worlds of Behind and Between and the human world are one of the places where the series really shines, though.
3. The Dark King's Curse by Wyn Estelle Owens. Though the fae in this book are far less other than in some stories on this list, it's still an excellent take on the fair folk and the seasonal courts. More importantly, it includes Laisren, who's probably on my top ten list (if not my top five list) for all-time favorite fae characters!
4. The Masked City and The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman. I probably could've just included the whole Invisible Library series on this list, but I decided to limit myself to the two books that best showcase the fae of this series. The Invisible Library fae are creatures of chaos, driven by narrative; they shape themselves to an archetypal form and manipulate the world around them to suit the story they wish to tell. I would argue that they're one of the most dangerous versions of the fae on this list — true, Behindkind may be more deadly, but Invisible Library fae are harder to resist. That said, they're also one of the most fascinating fae types I've encountered . . .
5. Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I was going to narrow this one down to specific books as well (probably Starflower and Shadow Hand), but some of my favorite faerie-central scenes are in other books (notably Moonblood), so . . . yeah. While not always as fae/faerie-centric as some of the books on this list, Goldstone Wood (and, in particular, one faerie cat-bard) is the series that first raised my interest in fae and the fair folk. And I love the author's take on the Wood and the faerie demesnes, which are often as alive and as strong of characters as the faerie folk who dwell in them.

What are your favorite stories of fae and the fair folk? I'd love to get some new recommendations! Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

End-of-Year Book Freakout 2019!

Here we are again: the end of another year and another six months of books to recap (counting from the time of my mid-year book freakout)! I actually am freaking out a little in this post, 'cause I've read some amazing books in the last six months. But we'll get to that in a minute.

A few quick stats before we get started: I have read a total of 130 books and 38,656 pages this year, plus a little bit because I have a few reading days left in the year. (For those of you concerned: I'm finishing out the year with assorted rereads, namely the Six of Crows duology and the Illuminae Files and maybe the Reckoners trilogy, so there's no risk of my discovering something amazing and then regretting the fact that I couldn't include it in this post.) That's significantly up from last year's count, which was 107 books and 33,968 pages. My average rating, on the other hand, is down from last year, only 3.7 versus 4.1. Apparently, I read better books last year. Oh well. About 31 of this year's books were in this half of the year, which is only about a third of what I read in the first six months — though that does make sense, since the second half of the year contains two low-reading months (July and November) and fall semester kind of killed me.

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2018:

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

I read this book shortly after Christmas break started, and I haven't entirely stopped screaming about it since. Not internally, at least. It's like someone crossed The Invisible Library with Howl's Moving Castle and then added a dash of the Abhorsen Chronicles to round it all out. It's amazing. It's got a stubborn, fierce, indomitable apprentice librarian and a dashing, disreputable, snarky sorcerer and magical books and equally magical libraries and high stakes and action and romance and just so much awesomeness. I'm probably going to end up rereading it sometime early next year; it's just that amazing. If you haven't read it yet, go grab it now.

A few runners-up, though none of them come anywhere near the amazingness that is Sorcery of Thorns:

Death Be Not Proud by Suzannah Rowntree

It's a non-magical murder mystery retelling of Snow White set in Jazz Age New Zealand. And Suzannah has managed to figure out Megan Whalen Turner's method of keeping secrets from you even when you're really close in character's heads, and she does it to excellent effect here.

What If? by Randall Munroe

This is nonfiction, but it's really fun nonfiction! Basically, the author/artist of xkcd answers all kinds of weird science-ish questions in serious (though snarky) ways. There's a lot of explosions and things lighting on fire. It's awesome.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2019:
I honestly didn't read a lot of sequels to things this half of 2019. On the upside, that means it's not as hard to choose a book in this category.

Prince of Stars, Son of Fate by H.L. Burke

I quite enjoyed both books in this duology, but I may have liked this one a little more. It's hard to say. I like the relationships and the world, and Arynne and Kay are both pretty great characters. 

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to:

 

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman

I honestly didn't realize this was out until a week or two after its release, which is tragic because I'm intensely excited for more Invisible Library. It's got Irene and Kai and a heist and Fae/dragon partnerships; what more could I want?

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Lower on the priority list, but I do want to read this sooner rather than later. Though maybe later would be better, given what some reviewers have said about the ending cliffhanger . . .  

4. Most anticipated release for next year: 
Oddly enough, this was my most anticipated read for this year too:

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Come on. I want more Eugenides. If this gets put off another year, I'll . . . well, I probably will end up being too distracted by other books to notice, but eventually, I'll realize it and be sad. Y'know how it is.

Also releasing next year: Stormlight Archive #4 by Brandon Sanderson! It has a release date! And a tentative title! (Rhythms of War, if you hadn't heard.) Though not a cover. But it's coming out November 17 of next year, and I can't WAIT. The only reason it's not my top most anticipated read is that technically I've been waiting for Return of the Thief longer. 

5. Biggest disappointment:

Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Skate and Sword by Henry Lien

Ugh. I hoped that this would be a fun contemporary-fantasy with an Asian setting, and it was all of that . . . except for the fun bit. I actually ended up DNFing it because I disliked the main character so much. Life is too short for arrogant annoyances like this one.

6. Biggest surprise:

 Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

So, I finally decided to get with the times and read the rest of the Grishaverse books (the ones that aren't Six of Crows, mostly so I could read King of Scars) . . . but Shadow and Bone did not thrill me, so I was honestly expecting a succession of meh books until I got to my Crows reread. But then Siege and Storm ended up being really good? And, yeah, it was mostly because of one character, but it still counts.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

Haven't really got one, but I did finally read a full-length novel by C.M. Banschbach (Oath of the Outcast, if anyone is wondering), and it was pretty good, so . . . does that count?

 

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Ok, so if we're being 100% honest, I am crushing a little bit on Nikolai from the Grishaverse books. Not, like, hardcore, but . . . y'know. If he were real and asked me out, I would seriously consider saying yes. (The answer would probably depend on where he was in his character arc, to be completely honest.)

 

Also, ships. Glorious ships. I don't have a ton of new ones, but I have one that I'm really enthusiastic about, and that is —

• Elisabeth and Nathaniel (Sorcery of Thorns). They remind me of Sophie and Howl in all the best possible ways, and they compliment and play off each other really well, and they have each others' backs and protect each other and . . . oh, stars. I love them, ok? I love them so much.
• Kay and Arynne (Ice and Fate duology). I normally get really annoyed by the whole forbidden love/betrothed to one person but fell in love with someone else drama, but it works really well with these two. They've got a good dynamic overall.
• Alina and Mal (Shadow and Bone trilogy). Ok, I have gotten the impression that this ship was not a favorite with a lot of readers, but I liked it. Yes, Alina and Mal had some communication issues, but no more than any other standard YA couple. And I really wanted the childhood best friend to win for once in the romance.

9. Newest favorite character(s):
I feel like I'm probably going to repeat myself a bunch here, but let's go anyway, 'cause I want to yell about Sorcery of Thorns more.

• Elisabeth (Sorcery of Thorns). Elisabeth is magnificent. She's blunt and straightforward and 100% ready to fight whatever the heck she has to in order to save the world, and she's also quite brilliant about figuring out the best way to go about things . . . but she's also very human? Basically, I would like to be her, please and thank you very much.
• Also, Nathaniel (Sorcery of Thorns). Nathaniel may be my new favorite magic disaster boi.  He's sassy and brilliant and pretends he doesn't care but clearly does. And he reminds me of Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. Obviously, I love him immensely. And he manages to have angst without being annoyingly angsty, which is nice.
• While we're on the topic, Silas (Sorcery of Thorns, where else?) is pretty great as well. He's . . . complicated? But he reminds me of a cross between Calcifer, Mogget, and Alfred Pennyworth, he's a magnificent balance of "actually super dangerous and probably a bit evil if not kept under tight control" and "secretly intensely noble," which is great. 
• We also have to mention Sturmhound (Shadow and Bone trilogy). I love this man. He's snarky and clever and cocky in a fun way, and he has a knack for brilliant, dramatic, perfectly-timed entrances, and he's astonishingly practical and straightforward. But he's also noble and brave and reasonably sacrificial and just generally excellent. Also, did I mention he's the captain of multiple (flying!) privateer ships? Basically, he's a stellar example of one of my favorite archetypes, and I love him.
• Moving on to some books that I haven't yelled about yet: Hesina (Descendent of the Crane) is a lovely protagonist, even if her POV sometimes feels a little detached. She's a princess trying to uncover the truth of her father's death and trying to do what's best for her people . . . and she struggles so much, but she's trying so hard, and I just appreciate her, ok?

10. A book that made you cry:

 Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Hello, yes, we were just talking about this! This book is very good if you like political fantasy-mystery, which I do. And it's got a lot of interesting family dynamics and motivations, which I appreciate. And it's just generally excellent until you get to the end, in which the author basically shatters your expectations and breaks your (and Hesina's) heart . . . at which point it's still good, but it hurts. 

11. A book that made you happy:

 

The Game by Diana Wynne Jones

This is a clever, short novella that's really hard to talk about without spoilers, but it's delightful and has an excellent twist on some mythological stuff. Also, more family stuff. It's lovely.

12. Favorite reread this half of the year

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Did I just read this for the first time in January? Yes. Did that stop me from rereading it over Thanksgiving break? No. Do I have regrets? Only the fact that I stayed up too late basically every night of break because I was reading it, but otherwise, no. Captain Grimm and Gwendolyn and the Spire are worth it.

I may also have reread Spindle and Masque, despite the fact that I just read them for the first time last February . . . they're good books, ok? And they're excellent de-stressors, which is what I needed, and Howl was back in Virginia, and I'm saving The Beast of Talesend for when I catch up on all the Afterverse books at once.

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:

Probably my post on what happens when an AI tries to do my job. But I also had a lot of fun with my posts about books I'd give to the Mechanical Heart characters, AUs I wish were real, and magic powers I want for mundane reasons.

14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

My parents got me this for Christmas, and I'm quite excited to read it. The cover is more gorgeous in person, but it has this nice texture and debossing and it's just really well done. And given that it's Andrew Peterson, I'm pretty sure the content will be just as beautiful as the outside.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?
As per the usual, I'm taking a moment to mention the books that I wanted to read this year but which got pushed aside by other books:

• Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean. This is the second year that this book has been on this list. I actually won an ARC of this from Emma over at Awkwordly Emma, which makes me feel even worse. The main reason for the holdup is the Blood in the Snow sequel — any time I'm starting to write or really involved in writing something in a more specific subgenre, I get caught in this weird tension between "I want to read other books in this subgenre so I can see how those authors did things" and "I don't want to read any other books in this subgenre because I'm worried I'll pull too much from those books," and the latter almost always wins.
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigit Kemmerer. This one moved up several spots on my TBR list because of the cover — I absolutely love it and I used it a lot in one of my graphic design projects this past semester. Unfortunately, that same project didn't leave me any time to actually read the book.
• The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen. Again with the problem of reading the subgenre I'm writing. This one probably would've been better, since it's based in Mongolia instead of China, Korea, or Japan, but . . . yeah.
• The Faraway Castle books by J.M. Stengl. I actually own the first four of these now — I heard that book 4 is a King Thrushbeard retelling, and that pushed them up the priority list a bit. Not enough for me to actually have set aside time to read them, though.

What were your favorite 2019 reads? Any favorite rereads? Or major disappointments? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)   

Hey'a, everyone! I return at last from my (unplanned, finals-inspired) hiatus to bring you — what else? — a list of recent and upcoming book releases to brighten the dreary winter days. Except, I guess, it's not particularly dreary right now, seeing as Christmas is almost here (!!!), but come January, we'll all need a magnificent distraction. And books are both magnificent and distracting (and very bad for impulse control, as you know if you saw my library stacks on FB or IG), so yeah. There's a reason my reading goes waaaaaaay up in the first few months of the year no matter how busy I am.

(Also, I'm cheating a little in this post because I really don't know of a ton of books releasing in my usual time slot for these posts, which would be December through February, plus there's a book that released mid-November that I need to scream about, so for purposes of this post, "Winter" includes mid-November through early March.)

Winter 2019-2020 Reads

1. The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman (November 12)!!! AKA the reason I'm expanding this list in both directions; I am SO PUMPED for this book! I mean, I'm always pumped for new Invisible Library books, and this one is, like, full-on heist, and it's got more of dragons and Fae having to work together (which, BTW, is my new jam as of The Mortal Word), and more eccentric, super-powerful, leaning-into-story-tropes-with-everything-that's-in-them Fae (also my jam, as of the very first book in the series), and did I mention HEISTINESS? This book is at the top of my Christmas wishlist, not gonna lie, and the only thing that might keep me from reading it the same day I get it is the aforementioned library stacks.
   
   
   
2. Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen (December 3). I don't usually read historical romance (I gave up on it once the Melanie Dickerson novels started getting overly fluffy and I was just like "Nope. Cannot deal. Goodbye,"), but this sounds like it has potential. I mean, an Austen-loving heroine is great, and a dash of murder mystery? That's even better.
   
   
   
3. Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez (January 7). Historical fantasy, yes please! It's set in Bolivia, which is . . . not a country I know a lot about? Other than the fact that it's in South America? But it sounds delicious and twisty and full of political intrigue, which I love. And the magical powers of the main character, at least, are craft-based, and I do not get enough of those, so sign me up!
   
   
   
4. Storm from the East by Joanna Hathaway (February 11). This is technically a sequel to a book I just found out about a couple months ago and want to read . . . though the sequel honestly sounds better than the first book in the series? Help? But, yeah. It's a fantasy world with it sounds like WWII-era tech (storms yes please; I love modern fantasy worlds, at least when they're done right), and while I'm kinda meh on "person sent to spy on/assassinate this person falls in love with their target," mostly because I've read it so many times, I am much less non-meh on any book that deals with the aftermath of that trope.
   
   
   
5. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu (March 3). First off, let's take a moment to appreciate that absolutely gorgeous cover. Ok, now let's appreciate the equally-gorgeous promise of what's going to be inside that cover. A) It's a historical fantasy, and we know how I feel about those. B) It's about Mozart and his sister, which sounds fascinating. C) Music magic? Maybe please?

What releases are you looking forward to this winter? Also, what books are topping your Christmas list this year? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2019!

THE TIME HAS COME. The year is half gone, and that means it's time for my biannual book freakout! In which I actually don't freak out that much, but I DO review the reads of the last six months, yell about my favorites, and save myself a bunch of effort in December.

A few stats before we get started: I've read 99 books so far this year . . . which is only slightly less than the number I read all of last year. What the actual pumpernickel. How did I do this? (I know the answer, actually: I decided to get back in the habit of reading a chapter or two or ten before bed, plus I reread the Oz books and the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books. That adds up fast.) That comes out to roughly 40K pages, for those who are curious, so I've done the equivalent of reading Oathbringer 32 times, Illuminae 67 times, or Howl's Moving Castle 121 times. As you can guess, that means I have a lot of material to choose from here.

Mid-Year Book Freakout

1. Best book you've read so far in 2019:

As per the usual, this one's a tie between two AMAZING books:

Masque by W.R. Gingell

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

So, on one hand, we've got a fantasy murder mystery crossed with a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales (Beauty and the Beast), featuring a heroine who I fell in friend-love with approximately five seconds into the book and a thoroughly shippable main couple. And on the other hand, we've got a steampunk adventure involving pirates and intrigue and adventure and terrifying creatures and a noblewoman-diplomat with no sense of tact and all the other things that I can't help but love. You see why I can't pick?  

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2019:

It's a three-way tie this time, 'cause I'm terrible at decisions. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME CHOOSE.

Honor: A Quest In by Kendra E. Ardnek

Staff & Crown by W.R. Gingell

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

Honor is the best yet of the released Bookania Quests (note that I said "released"; Hair is even better); it's got the after-ever-after angle that I can't get enough of these days. Staff & Crown is the third in the Two Monarchies series and my second-favorite after Masque. (Notably, both of these books involve Isabelle as a major character.) And, of course, I can't fail to mention my beloved Invisible Library books, especially since The Mortal Word is another proper murder mystery that involved all my favorite characters in one place HALLELUJAH.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson!

I really should've read this by now, but my library is slow at getting it. I am muchly displeased. I thought about buying the OwlCrate box that was supposed to have this book in it, but I decided to save my money and get just the book later. But I'm super excited; Rogerson's An Enchantment of Ravens was one of my most-yelled-about books last year and I can't wait to see what this one has in store!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

The Golden Braids Arista Challenge Release!

This is possibly cheating because, A) it's actually five releases, and, B) one of those releases is my book. But I am immensely excited about it, moreso than I am for any other book that I'm seeing on my Want-to-Read list on Goodreads, so we're going for it. As a reminder: signups for the blog tour are still going. Your support would be much appreciated.

All that said, if I have to pick a single release that I'm not directly involved with . . .

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

I mean, Sanderson has to make this list somehow. It's practically tradition. And I am looking forward to reading this, even if Skyward isn't my favorite of his books. If his past performance is any indication, Starsight will be even better than the first book . . . and I'm holding out hope that it'll be another nomance novel with primary focus on friendships and comraderie, but I'm also preparing to be disappointed on that front.

Speaking of disappointments . . .

5. Biggest disappointment:

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

This book. This storming book. It could have been amazing. It had so much potential — dystopian fantasy, Navajo mythology, a monster-hunting protagonist. And then it squandered all that possibility by persistently muddling around in darkness and distrust and treachery and blood. At times, it went full-on horror story (enough so that I wish I could blank the book from my memory altogether, other than the fact that I shouldn't read it). Yeah. Don't try this one.

Oh, and speaking of wasted potential . . .

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I never imagined that monsters, superpowers, and time travel could be so boring. It didn't help that the main character seemed to go out of his way to make himself unlikeable, or that all the other characters were equally grumpy and miserable and messy. Add on top of it that it has the same aggressively bleak and "realistic" feel as some of the books that turned me off realistic fiction when I was younger, and this is just a solid nope.  

6. Biggest surprise:

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

I picked this one up more or less on a whim and went in with low expectations, having read a lot of meh/unimpressed reviews . . . but it was actually surprisingly good? It's basically the fantasy equivalent of the road-trip-to-deal-with-your-problems that the contemporary genre loves so much, and it was rather slow-paced and meandering as a result . . . but it was also thoughtful and even philosophical at times and very much character-driven and generally a nice change of pace. It did talk about some rather heavy topics at times, and I'd rate it at the older end of YA (or possibly even NA?) as a result, but still, I enjoyed it.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

W.R. Gingell! I found out about her through Deborah O'Carroll, tried Masque in hopes that it would cure my Invisible Library book-hangover, and fell in love almost immediately. Her Two Monarchies books are my favorite; I devoured them all within a week or so of reading the first ones. They're magical and wonderful and almost Diana Wynne Jones-ish in style. But I also really enjoy her City Between urban fantasies, which have a healthy dose of humor and mysteriousness and are generally fun.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Tragically, the book-verse still insists on pairing off every interesting male character, and I try not to make a habit of entertaining crushes on people who are already taken (whether they're fictional or real — doing it with former means I have practice in avoiding drama with the latter). So, no character crushes.

New favorite ships on the other hand . . . those I've got. A few I especially like:

•  Isabelle and Pecus from Masque. (A delightful detecting duo; they're both clever and strong-willed and loyal, but they work really well together, when they're not working around each other.) 
• Luck and Poly from Spindle. (The most Howl and Sophie-ish couple I've ever read, other than the original. Need I say more?)
• Robin and Eric from Honor: A Quest In. (Technically already a favorite couple of mine, but they just keep getting better.)

And there's one other couple that could make the list, but they're spoilery. Suffice it to say that they show up in the last two books (chronologically speaking) of the Abhorsen Chronicles and that I did not see the ship coming.

9. Newest favorite character:

Have I raved enough about Isabelle from Masque yet? She's smart and stubborn and sneaky; she has a head for intrigue and mysteries and making people do and think as she wants; she loves food and friends and fashion; and she's just so fun to read about. Plus, when I first met her, she's twenty-eight and happily single and probably would've stayed that way for the whole book if Lord Pecus wasn't such a good match for her. Basically, she's fabulous and I would be quite happy to be her, honestly.


A few other favorites who I absolutely love:

• Melchior from the Two Monarchies series. (He's dashing and clever and dramatic and was temporarily a cat; what more could you want?)
• Captain Grimm from The Aeronaut's Windlass.  (A noble rogue of an airship captain whose tactical ability is only outweighed by his loyalty to his crew and his courage in the face of danger. He's arguably the best part of the book.)
• Gwendolyn Lancaster, also from The Aeronaut's Windlass. (Again: smart, stubborn, clever, but with emphasis on the stubbornness. She and Isabelle would probably get along, though Gwen isn't half as subtle as Isabelle can be.)
• Athelas from the City Between books. (How could you not love a tea-loving, scheming fae who knows far more than he lets on and is, in general, a reasonably sensible person?)
• Sabriel from the Abhorsen Chronicles. (She's smart and practical and generally a protagonist who I appreciate very much. She may not know what she's doing, but she'll get stuff done all the same.)
• Mogget, also from the Abhorsen Chronicles. (He's a cat who's really more than a cat. What more could you want?)
  

10. A book that made you cry:

Um. I don't know. I guess I'll say the Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor. It didn't make me cry, per se, but it did have some parts that made me sad and others that made me very angry, so it counts. Right?

11. A book that made you happy:

Paws, Claws, and Magical Tales anthology

I should probably stop yelling about the Two Monarchies books for a bit, so I'm going to spotlight this one instead. I mean, it's a whole anthology about magical cats and cats in magical situations; that's pretty guaranteed to make anyone happy. There's one story, "Whisker Width" (H.L. Burke), that I especially like and wouldn't mind ending up in the middle of.

(Also, Spindle, Masque, and Staff & Crown, but I said I'd stop yelling about Two Monarchies books.)

12. Favorite reread this year:

(This is replacing "favorite book-to-movie adaptation you've seen this year" because I never have a good answer for the original question.)

Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

I don't think this surprises anyone, but I am so glad I decided to reread these books. I'd forgotten how awesome they are and also how much I love Leo. Leo is great. So's Frank. Anyway. And they really do go in the category of books-that-are-better-the-second-time-round, mostly because you semi-remember what's coming and you can say "Oh, I see what you did there" and also "Ok, it's fine; you know they survive." So that helps too.

Also worth mentioning: my reread of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. These were some of my favorite books when I was younger, and it's interesting to reread them now — they're way more bizarre than I remembered. Still good books, though.  

13. Favorite post you've done so far this year:

My post on The Only Blind Dates I'll Ever Go On, in which I sing the praises of my college's Blind Date With a Book event! Runner-up: my post a few weeks ago on whether steampunk is sci-fi or fantasy. Both were fun to write, though for very different reasons, and let me yell about something that excites me.

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year:

I haven't bought many physical books this year, but I did find The Aeronaut's Windlass at my local used bookstore recently. So that's pretty fabulous. I'm going with that one. (Also, I got Firefly!!!)

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Lots. And I have no idea which ones I'll actually read because lately I've had a policy of "read what you feel like reading" instead of "must read all the newest releases." (The exception, of course, is when I have a book that I agreed to review.) But a few that are on my list include:

• Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean. (Asian fantasy that comes recommended by C.G. Drews; it sounds super cool and I meant to read it last summer but didn't have time.)
• The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen. (More Asian fantasy, this one based on the Mongols. Like Empress, I meant to read it last summer and then didn't.)
• All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. (I don't read much dystopian anymore, but this sounds cool, so I'm making an exception.)
• Hertz to Be a Hero by Bryan Davis. (I keep forgetting this book exists, but I really enjoyed the first one in this series, so, yeah. I need to read it.)

Whew. That was a lot of books. How's your reading going so far this year? Any books you really loved (or were really disappointed in)? Please tell me in teh comments!

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Fantasy or Sci-Fi? What is Steampunk REALLY?

Hey'a, everyone! So, first of all: in case you haven't seen already, signups are open for both the Golden Braids blog tour and ARC copies of the Golden Braids books, including Mechanical Heart. If you want to help promote any of these books, please do sign up! We've got plenty of spots still open!

One unexpected question I've had to deal with in the process of publishing Mechanical Heart is what exactly steampunk is. I don't just mean in the sense of "what are the characteristics of the genre?" (though I have gotten that question a few more times than I expected). The question I'm referring to is whether steampunk is considered fantasy or science fiction. Opinions vary depending on who you ask, so I thought I'd weigh in with my view on the subject. Essentially, I'm going to evaluate five common elements or tropes of the genre, decide if they fall more in line with sci-fi or fantasy, and decide based on that. So, let's go!

 Fantasy or Sci-Fi? What is Steampunk REALLY?

1. Element: A Victorian or Victorian-esque Setting. The core of steampunk is that it's a sort of alternate version of the Victorian Era (that is, the years from 1837 to 1901). This alternate may be set on Earth and simply have different technology and different history, like we find in The Invisible Library. It might also be set in a different world that simply shares much of the culture, social issues, social classes, and general aesthetics of the Victorian Era, as is the case in The Aeronaut's Windlass. This alternate usually reflects either England or America during those years, though it doesn't have to — you could very well have steampunk in China, India, or anywhere else.
   Verdict: Inconclusive. If you stay on Earth, both sci-fi and fantasy have alternate history subgenres (of which steampunk could be a further subgenre). If you go to another world, that would seem to indicate fantasy . . . but you could make the argument that these other worlds are simply other planets or dimensions, which would be characteristic of sci-fi. 
2. Element: Focus on Improbable Science, Technology, and Gadgets. Steampunk may resemble the Victorian Era in many ways, but its technology is usually advanced in ways that the real Victorians only dreamed about. The degree depends on the story, but you shouldn't be surprised to find anything from a horseless carriage to airships to whole floating cities in a steampunk novel. And, of course, a lot of steampunk involves gadgets that would make James Bond jealous. Sometimes the science behind this tech is a major focus of the story; sometimes it's not — but the tech itself is almost always significant.
   Verdict: Sci-fi. The focus on technology is one of the main elements that I would say separates steampunk from gaslamp fantasy — a similar genre that's solidly in the fantasy side of the family due to its focus on magic over technology. (H.L. Burke's Spellsmith & Carver is a good example of this genre; though steampunk-esque tech is present and even plays a fairly significant role in the second book, the story is really interested in the magic of the world.) And I'd almost say that steampunk's love of tech is enough to put it solidly in sci-fi, except for one caveat . . .
3. Element: Alternative Power Sources. And I don't mean solar powered! Traditionally, the technology of steampunk is powered by steam, as the name suggests, along with a fair bit of clockwork. But, here's the thing: many steampunk authors are not particularly mechanically minded, and they like their technology in their stories to run a little smaller than steam power requires. So, they invent other types of power. Often, this alternate source is aether or another fictional element or compound. But sometimes, it's just straight-up magic used in a very scientific way.
   Verdict: Mostly sci-fi. Look, the steam power falls under the purview of sci-fi. Even aether and such can qualify as sci-fi; even if it's improbable that we wouldn't have discovered such an element or compound by now if it existed. But one cannot ignore the number of times that magic pops up in sci-fi books — and the fact that it's treated scientifically doesn't change the fact that fantasy is a solidly fantasy element.
4. Element: Scientists and Statesmen (Character Types). Just like any other genre, steampunk has its common character types. Obviously, you'll find a fair number of scientists and inventors — someone has to make all those gadgets we were just talking about. You have politicians, nobles, and other high-society folk, along with the requisite spies and assassins they employ against one another. And you've got street scoundrels, thieves, and occasional airship pirates to round things out and keep everything interesting (as if the assassins don't do that well enough on their own). Obviously, not every character in a steampunk novel will fit one of these types — but most do.
   Verdict: Inconclusive overall, though with slight sci-fi leanings. Many of these character types are common in both fantasy and sci-fi: you're as likely to find a spy, assassin, or thief in fantasy as you are in sci-fi these days, and nobles and high-society folk are more common in fantasy than they are in most science fiction (though there are some differences between fantasy nobles and steampunk nobles). Scientists and inventors, of course, are more sci-fi — in fantasy, the learned people tend to be more focused on history and literature. And airship pirates have cousins in both fantasy and sci-fi, but the sci-fi side of the family is definitely bigger.
5. Element: Localized Plots. As a general, steampunk plots aren't interested in world-domination plots or attempts to destroy the universe. There are exceptions, of course — The Invisible Library, for instance — but in general, steampunk stories focus on one person, one family, one city, or one country at most.
   Verdict: Inconclusive. Granted, fantasy is best known for epic, world-spanning quests — but there's a whole subgenre, low fantasy, that has localized plots as a major characteristic. And, really, many of the most famous sci-fi stories deal with plots as large and epic as you'd find in any fantasy novel. So, once again, steampunk resembles both of its possible parent genres.

So, where does steampunk fit? In some ways, it's best to take it on a case-by-case basis. Check what powers the world's technology, see what character types the story focuses on, and go from there. But if I had to characterize the genre as a whole, I'd put it under the crossover genre of science fantasy: a little too tech-focused to be straight-up fantasy; a little too fantastical to be hard-core sci-fi. And, y'know, that's not a bad thing. In many ways, science fantasy is the best of both worlds, a place where heroes carry both swords and cell phones and where magic and science exist side-by-side and even in cooperation with each other. It's a place where realism and wonder come together and make something beautiful.

That's my view, anyway. What about you? What do you think steampunk is? Please tell me in the comments! And don't forget to sign up for the blog tour!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

March 2018 Doings!

Well, what do you know? March's Doings! post is up right on time, despite the fact that this has been another pretty busy month! The fact that I'm currently on break for Easter probably helps; I actually wrote this post in one sitting instead of writing bits and pieces here and there over the course of multiple days. Anyway. What have I been up to that's kept me so busy? Let's find out!

Writing!

• As a recap, my goal for the month was fifteen minutes of writing-related work per day, six days a week, or two chapters of Fight Song and a plan for April completed. I didn't quite get the first goal, mostly because class assignments kept trying to murder me (though there were also a few days in there when I got caught up in something else— like writing blog posts or playing board games or reading books— and failed to write as a result). 
• However, I still managed to edit not two but four chapters (well, more like three and a bit; I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of a chapter when the month started). I think that aiming for fifteen minutes a day instead of thirty was a good choice for the same reason that the 100-4-100 challenge was effective while it lasted— except, for me, fifteen minutes works even better than a hundred words. It's a small enough goal that I can squeeze it between other things, but once I'm working, I often keep going. But I don't have to keep going if I don't want to. It's nice.
• Besides working on Fight Song, I did a bit more worldbuilding on my multiverse (well, more like I recorded worldbuilding I'd already done in my head, but y'know) and tried again to work on my short story for the Indie e-Con contest. Said short story isn't working very well and it frustrates me. Oh well.
• As for plans for April . . . well, I know I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo, and I probably know which project I'm working on. And it's a rewriting/editing project, so I don't really need more than that, right? (I definitely need more than that. Hopefully, by tomorrow morning I'll have more. But we'll talk about that later.)

Reading!

• So, I felt like I read a lot this month, but apparently, I only managed four books? One of those was The Three Musketeers, though, which is both a classic and fairly long, so that's probably part of it.
• Part of why I feel like I had such a good reading month, though, is probably that I really enjoyed most of the books I read. Admittedly, Ink, Iron, and Glass wasn't quite as amazing as I hoped it would be (I had issues with the worldbuilding, and the author fell into cliches occasionally), but I still really enjoyed it. And The City Beyond the Glass was a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling that I really enjoyed, even if it can't beat Entwined (which I'm not likely to shut up about any more than I am about Anne Elisabeth Stengl or Brandon Sanderson or dragons). As for The Three Musketeers, it had excellent writing, an exciting plot, and a fairy modern feel, but suffered from a cast primarily composed of complete jerks. (There are, I believe, exactly three exceptions, maybe four. No more.)
• And then there's THE LOST PLOT! Also known as the latest Invisible Library novel! Also known as the book that made me realize I desperately need more fantasy set in 1920s America. (Anyone have any recommendations? Maybe?) Obviously, it was awesome— it's an Invisible Library novel; there's no way it couldn't be awesome. It involved the dragons more, which I liked (even if that meant fewer Fae), and all the twistyness and mystery of the other books. Not 100% certain how I feel about the ending— some elements I really liked; some made me sad; and some I'm trying to withhold judgment on so I can see how they work out in other books. Also, Irene is awesome and I would rather like to be her in many respects. Just sayin'.

Watching!

• I finished the Key of the Starry Heavens arc over break, as I hoped, and I'm slightly torn about it. On one hand, it was extremely frustrating and some of the plot twists didn't quite make sense, and . . . yeah. It was frustrating. On the other hand, it had a fabulous emotional payoff in a couple places. For example, when characters finally realized "Wait, we have the same goals, let's actually cooperate to achieve them!" And also one fight in which one of the heroes, instead of beating up the villain he was fighting, is like "No, let's save her by showing her that what she's doing isn't worth the damage she's inflicting on herself." (The fact that the character in question is kind of one of the more annoying villains in the show made his decision even more impressive, in my opinion.) Yeah. Those were good bits. I don't know that they made up for the overall aggravation the arc caused me, but still.
• Now the roommate and I are about halfway through Grand Magic Games arc and I'm really enjoying it. It's relatively low stakes compared to a lot of the other arcs (at least so far; I have a feeling that the stakes are going to rise significantly pretty soon), with more focus on character relationships and development— and, of course, plenty of opportunities to showcase different characters' awesome powers and their strengths both magical and personality-based. There are a lot of "YES THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU" moments and a lot of "Oh storms that was crazy AWESOME" moments and yeah. I can understand why the roommate loves this arc so much.
• Also: at some point, I apparently became emotionally attached to Laxus and I don't know when or how and it's mildly frustrating because I spent so much time yelling at him for being a dragon-kissed jerk. His character has developed pretty nicely, though. And his big moment in the Grand Magic Games arc? Awesome.

Life!

• The month started with spring break, which was an odd mix of STRESS and chill. It started with a three-day power outage at my house (thankfully, we have wonderful friends who let us stay over so we could have things like heat and running water), followed by my getting my wisdom teeth out— which, I'd like to note, went about three million times better than anyone implied it would. I'm pretty sure that some of the people I talked to were like "Oh, yeah, I basically couldn't move or think or do anything for three or four days afterward," and even the people who didn't have horror stories implied that I'd be down for the count for a day at least due to either loopiness or trying to sleep off the loopy. But, as things worked out, I was mildly nonfunctional after the surgery for, oh I don't know, maybe a couple hours? And that wasn't even caused by loopiness; I was just hungry and grumpy and in pain so I didn't want to do anything except sit in my chair and read webcomics. But, y'know, that evening I finished drafting the paper I'd started before the procedure that morning, and the next day I was back to doing homework and editing and reading as normal. The only real issue was that I got frustrated pretty quickly by how little I could eat without pain, but otherwise, I was able to spend most of break chilling, writing, reading good books (and webcomics), and doing some homework.
• Then I got back to college and everything was crazy again because I had projects for two different classes that I hadn't been able to work on over break (or, not much, anyway) because they required resources I didn't have at home and yeah. I don't think that's slowed down at all this month— at least not until this weekend, as I'm currently on Easter break and took yesterday for some well-earned rest. I made a really cool infographic about self-publishing, though! And a storyboard about self-publishing (which is where the picture up there is from)! And I wrote a paper about my MBTI type and how it affects the way I work!
• Also, caramel M'n'Ms are very yummy. Just throwing that out there, if anyone was curious.
• I also celebrated Pi Day, of course . . . even though my college dining hall totally failed to help me. You'd think that in a school where engineering is one of the biggest majors on campus, people would make a bigger deal out of Pi Day and that a dining hall as big on holiday specials and bonus bites and responding to student needs and desires would bring in pie to celebrate . . . but nope! Not a pie in sight! I had to go on a special quest to the convenience store to get myself a mini apple pie so I could observe the holiday. (I almost bought myself a full-size chocolate turtle pie, but I wasn't sure who else would want to eat it with me, plus I didn't want to spend that much money.)
• I'm still looking for summer internships, and I've applied to several, but no luck so far. I did get a phone interview for one position, but the organization wanted someone with more social media and marketing experience— and, honestly, I don't blame them. I mean, yes, I'm a quick learner, and I know how to reapply knowledge I already have to new situations, but I understand why they'd be wary of bringing on someone who won't know what she's doing until she actually does it. I haven't heard back yet from any of the other positions I applied for, so right now I kind of just have to wait and see what happens.

April Doings!

• Of course I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo— I may be in college, taking design and writing classes in which almost every project is highly time-consuming, but there's no way I'd miss my favorite month of mild insanity! Originally I was going to aim for a time-based goal of 15 hours of writing or editing, but apparently, you can't have a goal of fewer than 30 hours, so that's out. Instead, I'm aiming for 10K words, since that was pretty manageable last April. (Plus, I haven't had a word-based goal all year, so I might as well change it up a bit, right?)
• What am I working on, you ask? Well, assuming everything goes to plan, I'll be revisiting my epic fairy tale retelling series— y'know, the one with that one book that I spent two years working on. However, I'm not writing a new book; instead, I'm rewriting Danger in the Tower, which I'm tentatively renaming Dust of Silver. Dust of Silver is a retelling of Rapunzel mixed with the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and I'm writing it for Kendra E. Ardnek's Arista Challenge. Or, more accurately, I'm using the Arista Challenge as motivation to start something I've been meaning to do for a couple years now. Because I discovered so much about the world of these books while I was working on Monster in the Castle and my multiverse worldbuilding thing, I really need to rewrite both Dust of Silver and Monster in the Castle (which will be renamed once I get to it) before I can continue with my other ideas for the series. (I have a genderswapped Cinderella retelling that I'm so excited to write, which I think might be the next book, and I have ideas for another plotline later in the series but I don't know what fairy tale I can connect it to yet.) So, yeah. Ten thousand words won't get me super far, but it'll be a start.
• Besides Camp NaNoWriMo, well, most of my time will be taken up by school-as-usual. I have three more Illustrator projects to get through, an online help documentation thing to write and design, a group project for Design Thinking, another paper, and a few things for editing. That plus classes will probably keep me pretty busy.
• Oh, and as if I didn't have enough to do, a group of people in my major are going on a trip to North Carolina in late April! We're going to visit Samaritan's Purse and see how professional writers function in a nonprofit of that type, and then we'll spend the rest of the weekend enjoying the local area. Since I did work to help pay for the trip last semester, I'm definitely going . . . but I am a little upset that it interferes with all the end-of-year stuff for Honors. Grr . . .
• And hopefully, I can squeeze in some reading and watching-of-Fairy Tail too somehow. We'll see what happens. One thing's for sure: April definitely won't be boring!

How was your month? What plans do you have for April? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)