The Inklings Digest 12

Currently Reading:

I have starting read the Starlight Heir, which is coming out January 7th. I don’t have many thoughts on this just yet because I’m only two chapters in. I will say that the writing feels closer to YA, but also seems like it’s going to be really fun. I’m also reading Voyage of the Damned and am doing a Read with Me here I potentially attempt to solve the case as I read along.

Recent Reads:

I finished Carl’s Doomsday Scenario and had so much fun with it. I am in love with the audiobooks of this series and plan to catch up potentially by the end of December. Carl and Donut have my entire heart and I love them dearly. I also read Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff. This is their debut and it was pretty good. The writing can feel pretentious and the ending had about one too many villain monologues, but it has a ton of potential and I felt very similarly about If We Were Villains when I read that. Neither are my favorite, but I see a large audience for it and a ton of growth and potential for Sash.

Unfortunately, this was followed by Book People by Jackie Ashenden. I didn’t like or buy the chemistry. Everyone felt surface level. There’s a ‘grand reveal’ that I feel everyone will see even at the beginning of the book and there’s an attempt to cover it by the character saying, “I probably should’ve guessed it, but I didn’t.” Still, that could’ve been fine if the emotional parts hit me the way they were meant to, but they just didn’t.

I then read No Safe Haven, the follow up to No Heart For a Thief by Jame Lloyd Dulin. I really enjoyed No Heart for a Thief. This sequel picks up fairly quickly from where the first left off, but I don’t think I was in the mood for it this go around. The characters are in a different place, yet it still felt like more of the same for me. I was also reading Echo of Things to Come by James Islington, the follow up to The Shadow of What was Lost. I really enjoy this trilogy, even if it leaves me confused. I don’t mind putting faith in authors that they are intentionally confusing me and will make up for it later, but hate it when the result isn’t up to par. I don’t like being confused just for the sake of it, basically, so hopefully the last book will live up to what I hope for. This book was definitely better than the last and I enjoyed the characters more. I will note, though, that it reminds me a lot of Wheel of Time – especially with the same narrator for each audiobook. Still a different story, but I think you can definitely see what the inspiration was.

I ended the week with Hell Bent, the third book in the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz. This is dad fiction at its peak for me. I love a nice action packed book full of spies and love and loss. Evan is dealing with a lot in this one, with the death of a loved one, a young girl being thrust into his life (now he has to figure out how to talk to teen girls without accidentally insulting them), and his interest in downstairs neighbor, Mia, being put to the test even further. This series kind of reminds me of the show Burn Notice – not plot wise, just purely vibes wise. And I love it.

Week’s Plans:

I am off work from Wednesday to Sunday, so I plan on doing the reading reading. I do have about 3 or 4 Thanksgiving dinners to go to, but there’s still plenty of time in my days to read as much as I can. I have no idea what I’m planning to read just yet, other than finishing my current reads and picking whatever I’m feeling from the list of books I’d like to have done by the end of the year. I’d love to know everyone else’s thanksgiving plans and what you’re reading!