The Inklings Digest 11

Currently Reading:

I’m currently reading an ARC I was lucky enough to receive titled Sweet Fury. I’m about 10% through and liking it so far. I’m definitely curious to see how it goes. I’m also starting Long Way to a Small Angry Planet today – I have the audiobook for it and will be listening to that while I clean house a bit. Really hoping it’s a good audiobook and not something I feel like I have to exclusively read with my own eyeballs, but we’ll see.

Recent Reads:

There are 9 books to catch you up on. I took another week’s break from the blog and just immersed myself in both school work and reading. Last time I checked in, I was reading Revenant X, which I absolutely loved. It’s just as fun and action packed as the first one, with zombies on an alien planet. Honestly, what more could I ask for? There were some things that really bugged me, like character deaths. I already dislike takeout deaths; I feel like they make the emotions we went through with that death feel cheaper. This series so far has had three of those. It’s really irritating, but I’m still loving the series so far. Admittedly, I am hoping it’s a trilogy and not any longer than that. I just don’t want the things that make this series great begin to feel like a gimmick.

I then went on to finish Ghostsmith, which was my audiobook. It was okay. I didn’t have a terrible time reading it, but I feel like I would have liked it more if I had read it closer to when I read the first one. I just don’t think I’m in the mood for YA fantasy right now, because that is also the feeling I had with Mirror of Beasts and The Dagger and the Flame. I kept trying to force myself into enjoying one of them, especially because I really liked Silver in The Bone. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about these three. The worlds weren’t what I was looking for, the characters were annoying, and I just wasn’t having a grand time.

I also finished my ARC of the last book in the Combat Codes trilogy, Blacklight Born. I fell in love with Combat Codes, but there were some issues I had with the writing. There were multiple times when something major would be irritating the characters, but that issue would be resolved behind closed doors. We were amped up for it, but never got to see the solution. I didn’t mind it too much because I loved the combat scenes; they’re some of the best I have ever seen. It seems like the further I went with the series, the more I just did not enjoy the writing more and more. This last book felt like a chore to get through. I think it’s because when I read the first, the combat scenes were like a treat that I didn’t receive often. By the third book, I was used to that treat, so the flaws felt like they showed more and more. There was also a death in here and I just did not feel the emotion for it that I was supposed to feel.

A Step Past Darkness was a really great read and kept me interested, but it did feel like it dragged a lot. There were moments when I was invested in what I was reading and then other moments when I was so easily distracted that I’d forget what I had just read and have to reread it. I finished this past week off with Do What Godmother Says and really enjoyed it. It’s a book that was in the October Twisted Retreat box and I have no read a single book that they’ve featured that I didn’t really like (I’ve read 4, but this is my second box I’ve received). The representation of Shanice’s anxiety how she describes it as a beast that lurks and waits for the right moment to pounce was phenomenal. Some of the twists were very obvious, but the almost gothic atmosphere made the reading experience so great. There’s generational trauma, white washing of black art, and so much more that was fascinating and interesting to read. A lot of this made up for the ‘overly’ obvious twists.

Week’s Plans:

I’m going to post my end of year TBR. This is just 16 books that I want to finish by the end of year, separated by 8 in November and 8 in December. I’ll very likely read more than that, as my average books per month is around 15-20. I don’t typically plan all of those books out though, so I’m sticking with the 16 I feel as if I need to get done. I’ll be posting around 4-5 posts this week, not counting this one. The first will be the end of year TBR, then I should have a few reviews coming as well.

As for what I’m planning on reading, I going to try and read 4 of my 8 this week because I have gotten a bit of a late start on it. I’m starting with Sweet Fury, which will have a review this week as well. I think I also plan on picking up Carl’s Doomsday Scenario and Saint’s Blood. I’m not sure yet, but we’ll see. Thank’s for tuning in, I’ll see ya later this week!