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Finding Family Through Heartfelt Sci-Fi: The Bones Beneath My Skin
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.26 out of 7,704 Ratings
- Age Category: Adult
- Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Series: None
Summary:
Nate Cartwright’s parents are dead. His dad went home one day and decided to shoot his wife and himself, leaving Nate and his brother behind. Huge bummer, honestly. Except, they only gave Nate the cabin they’d found him in with his boyfriend and his father’s truck. He hasn’t even seen them since that fateful day, everyone in his family turning against him for who he loved. To make it worse, he’s been fired from his job. So, why not move to the cabin for a fresh start? Seems like a grand idea until his finds a man and his 10 year old daughter squatting in his cabin, pointing a gun at his head. And it’s from meeting these two that Nate finally finds his purpose in this world. That he finally knows and understands that he matters.
Review:
This book is so wholesome and heartfelt and emotional. The writing is quirky and fun. I could see a lot of people not liking it. It doesn’t read linearly – Nate’s thought process jumps between memories to the present. I liked it. I felt like it added to the quick pacing of the book while also allowing a deeper look into who Nate is.
The Bones Beneath My Skin markets itself as thriller sci-fi, but the thrilling aspect isn’t what you’d immediately think going into it. I haven’t read anything else by TJ Klune, so I can’t compare this to his other writing. I have heard a lot of people talk about his other books as if they’re relatively cozy, heart warming, emotional, and almost always found family. That’s exactly what this book is. You have a character whose family hated him for being gay. You have another character who tragically lost his family (his wife and son) and was delivered to a replacement child as an experiment. Then you have a young character who has never known what it is like to be human and is, unfortunately, learning the hard way. But it doesn’t seem all that hard when she’s surrounded by the love and awe of the two men who would do absolutely anything for her. And all wraps up in this beautiful found family aspect that makes me itch to read more of Klune’s work when I need something that is so sweet it almost gives you a toothache.
We didn’t come to save you. Only you can do that. We came to be your friend. To make you understand that, in the end, you are never alone.
I could see a lot of people not enjoying the pacing of this book. I could see them saying that there isn’t much of a thrilling aspect until the end – because there isn’t. But I think when you know the book is more focused on this little family than it is what’s going on around them, that will help the pacing and the irritation with the lack of anything genuinely thrilling. Sure, there are moments when Nate has a gun pointed at him by the guy he eventually falls in love with. And he isn’t sure in the beginning if Alex stole Art or not and was, rightfully, very confused and very worried for her safety. Then you have people shooting at them, but they get out relatively fine. And the chunk between that and the cult is big enough to maybe get bored. The action is paused for Nate and Alex to get closer, then Nate and Art to get closer. You see the men fall in love and share their backstories. You see as the men learn more about Art and just enjoy being around her.
It would make sense for some people to find that irritating, slow, or too mushy for what they were wanting. For me, it endeared me more to the book. Because even though I hadn’t read any of Klune’s work before, I knew that the emphasis is almost always on love, friendship, and finding a family when it feels like you have none. It was beautiful. It was funny in some places. It was heartbreaking in others. And it made me feel like I needed to cry during the end and I had to choke back tears because I was at work and couldn’t be caught reading on the clock. Honestly, this book was just wholesome and beautiful. Does it feel like something to reread and annotate? No, I wouldn’t say that. But it did feel like something that I think a lot of people could read right now and be made to feel seen and heard.
I definitely recommend this book. If you’d like it, you can find it here: https://amzn.to/42DF8pi This is an affiliate link, but there’s no pushing it. I definitely recommend seeing if it’s the book for you first. If you want something fast paced, setting your heart on edge, and is actually thrilling, this might not be what you’re looking for. But if what I described above seems to be what you’re looking for, give it a go! If you have read it, I would love to know what you thought. Does it hold up to his other work? And what book of his would you recommend I read next?
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The Inklings Digest 15
Currently Reading:
I’m currently reading We Kept Her In The Cellar by W.R. Gorman, which is a horror retelling of Cinderella. I’m about 10% through, so not a whole lot. I’m also 25% through The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune, following two gay men and a quirky girls while they face the world’s potential ending, and I am 15% through Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang, a standalone fantasy novel that a ton of people adore.
Recent Reads:
This past week, I finished Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson. I have a review up here you can find right here: https://theinklingspodcast.blog/2025/01/30/exploring-adventure-and-romance-empire-of-shadows-review/ It was phenomenal and I’m starting the second book at some point this week or next week.
The Blood Orchid by Kylie Lee Baker was a great book and I did have a good time. It’s the sequel to The Scarlet Alchemist, but reads more like a continuation than a sequel. It was tough to follow up Empire of Shadows with this and I could definitely tell than I just was not having as great a time with this one. It was still good. It’s quick and fast paced, but can also feel a lot like you’re just following these characters as they stumble around, trying their best.
I finished the week with The Lesser Devil by Christopher Ruocchio. I really enjoyed this. It starts around what would be roughly halfway through Empire of Silence, but with Crispin and his younger sister. It’s awesome seeing Crispin and how he thinks about Hadrian so often, because a lot of the thoughts he has about his brother are the same (or similar) to the ones Hadrian has about him. It was short and to the point, but still engaging and fun.
This Week’s Plans
Y’all, I don’t know. I want to finish my current reads and I do plan to have about 3-4 posts this week. Other than that, we’re just hanging out and reading to avoid reality.
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Exploring Adventure and Romance: Empire of Shadows Review
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.24 Out of 3,164 Ratings
- Age Category: Adult
- Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- Series: Raiders of the Arcana, Book 1
Summary:
Did you like The Mummy as a kid? Did you love the romance between Rick O’Connell and Evelyn O’Connell? Has a piece of your soul been begging for something somewhat similar to that since you watched for the very first time? Look no further, Jacquelyn Benson is on the same page. Ellie Mallory believes wholeheartedly in women’s rights. Unfortunately, the men do not agree. She gets arrested during a protest and is fired from her job because of it. But here’s the thing. Ellie is a well-read woman with a passion for exploration and adventure. She finds a map to a mysterious ancient city and decides, you know what? These turds don’t deserve this. So she just kind of takes it. And sets off to discover it on her own. And sure, there’s a guy hunting her down because he was looking for the city, too, and is definitely willing to kill over it. But that’s where good old Adam Bates comes in. Adam’s an American who also loves adventure. And when an attractive young woman quite literally falls into his lap with her wrists bound, he can’t pass up the opportunity to help her escape the man hunting her down and help her find this city – and protect the ancient and powerful artifact that could shake the world from the raiders.
Review:
First thing’s first, I loved The Mummy when I was a kid. Rick O’Connell was my first crush and his wife was the second. Everyone in that movie is obnoxiously attractive. Adam within this book is described as a rogue who is constantly messy because he’s always exploring and has blonde hair and blue eyes. We’ll forgive that character flaw – he looks like Rick in my mind and I will not be changing it. The characters in this book gave me exactly what I was looking for. Adam and Ellie are the dynamic duo who are cute and funny and really like each other but can’t admit it until a while later. That scene of Adam seeing Ellie in her underclothes just floating on the water with her hair fanned out behind her is a scene I need to see painted immediately because, for whatever reason, I think it so beautiful. Ellie is stubborn. She doesn’t trust men because she’s so scared of a man taking credit for something she’s doing or has done that it prevents her from being able to see that Adam is not that kind of man. Yes, he does protect in her moments. He is chivalrous in cases and is certain that they have to get married after this adventure so that her reputation and her family’s reputation isn’t ruined. All of that can be annoying, but none of that suggests he’s the kind of person she should be worried about. Yet, she still rips the map they desperately need in half and refuses to show him the second half, resulting in them taking the long way around. They aren’t perfect, but they do fit perfectly together and I love it. I would like to see more character development as we go through the series, but I think they’re development is going to be meant to be more similar to the character development people in a sitcom go through or maybe even the development of Stoker and Veronica in the Veronica Speedwell Series. I don’t know how many books will be in the Raiders of the Arcana, but I think there’s going to be a few, so it would make sense (to me) for there to be a slow process to their development. Still, even in this book, Ellie went from starting this journey with the certainty that she should keep everything to herself, no man is to be trusted, and everything she finds is a discovery she can share with Europe to beginning to trust in her friends and comrades and understand the sanctity of keeping these treasures with or around the people it originally came from. Not everything discovered has to be in the British Museum.
The villains in this book can be a bit mustache twirly. But, they still have a reason for their villainy – to gain power for the people they’re working for. While I do hope that they develop a bit more as well in the second, I don’t think this is the type of book what wants in depth character explorations – and that’s okay. This book give exactly what it promises. It’s an adventure with romance added in that has similar vibes to The Mummy. And it does a damn good job. You’re not going to get an in depth exploration of why this person thinks this thing or why this other person behaves this way. You’ll get mentions of colonization, how archeological finds should stay with its people instead of being shipped off to a people who can never relate to it on that level. You’ll get a woman trying to do things a woman simply can’t do without damaging her reputation – such as going on an adventure with a man, because oh no, what if they had sex while she’s unmarried – but you’ll get it in ways filled with flirtation, humor, and genuine care from the heart. It’s not going to lecture on these issues, it’s going to acknowledge them with respect. I’m a big advocate for allowing books to be what they are seeking to be. And this is not seeking to be top of the notch literature (in my opinion).
I loved the exploration. The artifacts and ancient city were so interesting to learn about and you can tell Jacquelyn knows what she’s talking about when it comes to archeology – at least to me, who doesn’t know a thing about it. The Mayan people have always been interesting to me, as well as the way they seemed to be so ahead of their time. I don’t read books about things like this often, but I adore them whenever I do. It’s fun. It’s exciting. Seeing Adam and Ellie grow closer while they’re trying not to fall over waterfalls or get shot or get eaten by giant bats is cute. I loved every single second.
If you’ve read this book or the next one, I would love to know your input on it. Do you think it compares to The Mummy? Did you get what you wanted from the book? Do love Adam and Ellie as much as I do? I had such a great time and cannot wait to get to the second in the series. Unfortunately, only 2 books are out currently, so I’ll have to wait on a third, whenever it gets released, if it does. I don’t actually know how many books are supposed to be in the series. I do know that this book fed something to me that I didn’t even know I was missing.
If you were interested in reading this book, you can find it at https://amzn.to/3EsK1r2 – I would love to know what you think! If you’ve already read the first one and would like to move on to the Tomb of the Sun King, you can that here:https://amzn.to/3PVyao7
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Empowerment and Trauma in Horror: A Review of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.18 out of 7,071 Ratings
- Genre: Horror
- Age Category: Adult
- Series: None
Summary:
Young girls getting pregnant is often viewed as the worst thing a girl could do. It reminds people that girls are people, too. Of course the boys who got them pregnant don’t suffer the consequences – it’s all the girls’ faults. They’re too loose. Too fast. Too grown for how young they are. It’s all their fault. So, they’re shipped off to St. Augustine, Florida, in a house specifically for unwed mothers – the worst thing a girl could ever be. We follow Fern as she gets to this house and meets other girls such as Rose, Zinnia, and Holly. Throughout the story, Fern and the other girls become desperate to gain any kind of power they can over their situations and their own bodies. And the to power may just be witchcraft – but power comes with a price.
Review:
I was nervous reading about girls seeking bodily autonomy when it’s written by a man, but Grady did a great job. His writing feels genuine and empathetic and comes across as angry about the situation as a lot of women are. This story feels heavy and made my chest feel tight at times. But, that’s a part of the story. These young girls, who’ve gotten pregnant and are suffering the consequences for no other reason than being an unwed mother and the fathers aren’t suffering any of the consequences, have their bodily autonomy stripped away from them. They aren’t even able to keep their babies. They have the illusion of the adoption process being their choice, but the people in authority quickly use any and every excuse to prevent them from keeping their babies. They’re treated as if they’re dirty criminals instead of young girls who made a mistake. Throughout the story, Hendrix focuses on the rage, trauma, injustice, and hopelessness of each character’s situation wonderfully. There are girls who willingly slept with their boyfriends, who had the promise of marriage, and girls who are too young and had no will power in it. You see as these girls band together to try and protect one another as best they can.
Honestly, you can see a lot of the themes of this story in our history books and in our present day time. Women still suffer the consequences to unwanted or unplanned pregnancies as if it doesn’t take two people to create a baby. You watch as these young girls are forced to make choices they’re too young to make alone. Yet, that’s exactly what they are – alone. There’s a labor scene in this book that felt visceral and I, quite honestly, forgot for a second that a privileged white man wrote that scene.
There isn’t enough witchcraft in this book for it to be in the title, but the story isn’t about witchcraft anyway. The real horror isn’t in the body horror the girls do to themselves or others, it’s about what these girls are forced to go through because of their choices – due to lack of education – all on their own. The body horror they inflict on themselves is nothing compared to the body horror they experience from birthing their children. They’re told over and over again that it’s painless and they’ll be perfectly fine and able to move on immediately after as if it never happened. But of course they can’t do that. Childbirth isn’t pristine and easy; it’s complicated and messy, and painful. Fern’s experience with childbirth is traumatic and she endures it just like everything else – alone. Holly’s childbirth experience is arguably more gruesome – but she has women around her, helping her through it. It’s interesting to see the difference between the two and how each experience impacted each girl.
I don’t think it necessarily does a great job at fully fleshing out each character or being a character driven story. You do get to see how different girls are impacted by these situations, but it doesn’t seek to fully explore them. This book seems more interested in what it’s trying to say rather than the people it’s exploring. It worked for me, but I could see some not really enjoying that aspect.
This book is a reminder that girls have always been oppressed and yet they have still always been powerful. This book shows what it looks and feels like to be ignored and dismissed. It’s gory and gruesome. It’s not super spooky supernatural wise, but definitely spooky in the real-life horror aspect. And I loved almost every single minute of it. I can see a lot of people not enjoying this book – particularly people who dislike stories about pregnancy or are currently pregnant. But, as a teen mom myself, this book made me feel seen during that point of my life. If you’ve read it, I would like to know what you thought about the book.
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The Inklings Digest 14
Currently Reading:
I am currently 12% into Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson. This is often compared to The Mummy, which I adored when I was younger. I’m enjoying it so far, but did have to restart when I was about 5% through because I was reading while a lot of talking was happening around me and I had no clue what had happened. I think I’ll also be starting Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang today.
Recent Reads:
I have read a lot since I last wrote a digest. I recently just finished The Blood Orchid which is the sequel to The Scarlet Alchemist. I really enjoyed it, but I think my excitement for the sequel had left a while before picking this one up. I also read Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy. Rest Stop is absolutely wild and I loved it. It’s gory and makes you cringe. I don’t even like Novella’s all that much, but I feel like this was the perfect length. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was fantastic. Hendrix’s last book wasn’t my favorite, but he more than made up for it with this one. I love when men are just able to get it, ya know? And this book definitely feels like Grady Hendrix gets it. This about young girls who are pregnant and the whole world has turned its back on them due to their pregnancy. And they want to take a little power back.
I also read Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio and Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry. Each of those has a full review here and each of them were damn near close to five stars. I’ve also gotten to try a few new authors this year so far and I don’t think there’s many that have disappointed me. For She is Wrath, The Forest Grimm, and Water Moon were all 2 stars. I didn’t hate them, but they did not give me what I was hoping for in the slightest. The Lark and The Wren was 2.5 stars. I dont think it was a bad book in the slightest. I actually loved Lackey’s writing, but the story didn’t feel compelling to me. I found that I could easily put it down and just not think about it again.
Week’s Plans
I don’t think I have too many plans this week. I’d like to have a review for Rest Stop and Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. I also want to have a discussed on bookish subscription boxes – why I have the ones I have and why I canceled the ones I’ve recently canceled. There are a few other reviews I’d like to get to this week, but they might be early next week. I’ve been playing with more creative titles and really enjoy that for the posts, I’m going to be continuing on with that. I’d like to finish Empire of Shadows and Blood Over Bright Haven this week. I do also have library loans out for The Lesser Devil and We Kept Her In The Cellar, just in case I finish those two early.
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When The Prey Becomes the Predator: The Perfect Victim by David Sodergren
Information:
- Goodreads: 3.96 out of 594 Ratings
- Age Range: Adult
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Series: None
Summary:
Katy Ketcher has been dubbed the ‘perfect’ victim. She’s young, which means she’s easily manageable. Her dad, the second biggest producer in Hollywood, is filthy rich, meaning he will pay whatever the kidnappers’ little hears desire in order to get his precious girl back. She even walks home from school all on her lonesome. Easy to catch. Easy to keep. Easy peasy payday. That’s exactly what Bax, Corvo, Emma, and Varg all think. And that’s exactly what they do. But there’s a few things wrong: first, they did not expect to have to snatch her best friend, Jill. They did not expect Varg’s pedophilic and murderous tendencies to make their goal nearly impossible. And they did not expect Katy to be an unhinged girl dead-set on revenge. What do you do when the girl who was supposed to be easy money cares more about killing you than she does about being saved?
As per usual, look into the trigger warnings, such as talk of rape of a minor (I swear, he gets what’s coming for that one), murder, gore, body horror
Review
This book is so good. It’s short and sweet; I don’t typically like shorter stories. But this format tends to work for me for survival horror. You’re immediately thrown into the action, with Bax, Corvo, and Emma taking Jill and Katy. You don’t get time to breathe. It’s just go, go, go in the best way. The book is full on plot driven, as I don’t personally think there’s enough time or space for it to be mostly character driven. Luckily, the plot is so great and fun and interesting that it keeps the reader invested all the way through and prose only adds to this. Sodergren does not have beautiful writing. His writing doesn’t slow down. It’s as quick and ready to sprint as the plot is.
The characters are all horrible people. Bax is an egotistical wannabe in a constant power struggle with everyone else in the group except Corvo. He started off not wanting anyone to die or get hurt, yet consciously hired someone who he knew was a pedophilic asshole and had a thing for torture. Not really a great guy to have in your team when your whole plan revolves around this girl making it back to her dad in one piece. Emma knows Bax wants to sleep with her and uses that to her advantage. She, too, has a thing for killing people and doesn’t really care about Katy in the slightest. Varg is disgusting. Corvo is a giant and also an idiot. He’s the sweeter of the bunch, without really wanting the girls to get hurt. But he also isn’t really gonna stand up for them. Jill and Katy are the stereotypical rich 16 year olds. Commenting on one another’s bodies (long neck and fat ass) instead of focusing solely on surviving. But, this just add to how fun the book is. Sodergren’s way of writing men makes seeing them be slaughtered feel so rewarding. I swear, I have not read a single man this guy wrote be an actual good guy. Sodergren gets it. But that doesn’t mean the girls are great either. They’re rude. They’re annoying. They are often very angry before the killing even starts. And yet, you root for them the entire time.
The way Katy becomes more fixated on revenge than on her own rescue and safety is so interesting and fun to watch. She slowly begins to simply not give a shit. Yeah, she does want to make it out alive. But that’s an added bonus of her plan of killing every single one of the people who took her and hurt her. Starting with Varg. And his death scene was one of my favorites. Though, I can’t gloss over the scene where one of the men’s literal balls falls out. The gore is great. The book kept me invested all the way through. It was interesting, it was intense, and it was fun. In such a strange way, I find a lot of Sodergen’s books weirdly nostalgic. They remind of me the horror/slashers of the early 2000’s that I watched as a kid (we don’t have to question why I was watching them so young, leave me alone). I’ve loved and enjoyed every single one.
Have you read David Sodergren yet? If horror is your thing, I think he’s definitely worth giving a shot and I’d love to know what you think as you go!
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The Inklings Digest
Currently Reading:
I’m currently reading One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry. This is a short thriller about a 988 suicide hotline operator who gets a call from a young girl in distress. She begins to learn that the young girl had been assaulted by boys at a party and becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened as a way of trying to help the girl. But, as the details line up, she begins to suspect and fear that maybe her son has something to do with it. I’m about 80% into it and really enjoying it. I’ll finish it within the next hour or so. I’m also currently reading Saint’s Blood by Sebastien De Castell. This is the third book in the Greatcoats series and I’m really enjoying this whole series.
Recent Reads:
Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers was fun, wholesome, and interesting. I’m really excited to read more from this author. I love explorations of space and this just hit a cozy spot I didn’t realize I was looking for. Voyage of the Damned by Frances White was not as fun. It didn’t feel like this book knew what it was hoping to be. It was lighthearted but also deep. The magic wasn’t really interesting and the murder mystery didn’t keep my attention well. There was also a ‘reveal’ that I just hated. It was irritating and I don’t feel like there was much lead-up to it.
I also read To Hell With Hallmark by Brad Ricks. This is a collection of short horror stories that were pretty interesting. Some were fun, some were cheesy. For anyone who either loves Hallmark movies or absolutely hates Hallmark movies, this is great if you’re looking for horror during Christmas season. I’m not the biggest fan of short stories and still enjoyed it, but I did feel like the ending was really silly. Moving onto a very different book, I read The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai and it was so sweet and wholesome it make my tummy hurt. It was precious. And this really kickstarted a love for translated healing fiction.
I did move on to Out of The Dark by Gregg Hurwitz after that. This is the fourth book in the Orphan X series and I adore it. It is peak Dad fiction for me and it’s so fun and so interesting. He’s going after the freaking president in this book. Phenomenal, fun, strangely heartwarming. I kept that fast paced action up by going into the Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman. This is the third book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and it is fun, precious, and quick. I love every minute of it. This series and these audiobooks have my whole heart. They are just so much fun. And because they’re so fun and I love them so much, I went right into the fourth book, The Gate of the Feral Gods. Spectacular.
Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage was cute and fun. I have thing for single parent tropes and seeing them fall in love with someone who treats their kids right. It’s even better that Gus doesn’t hate his child’s mother. They are friends and co-parent well and I don’t feel like you get to see that often. I went on to Draggon Your Bones, the ending of the coming of age duology by Tatianna Obey. Fantastic, loved every minute. There were a few times that it felt repetitive or too long, but I quickly got over that and cried a little by the end of it. I went on to Every House is Haunted, another short story collection. It’s okay. I got this form my Twisted Retreat box, who I have about a 87% success rate with. This, unfortunately, was part of the 13% unsuccessful rate. I just don’t really get into short stories. There were some I liked, but not enough to justify a positive regard. Luckily, this was part of a box that had two books. Hopefully the other will be great.
The Light of all that Falls was okay. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t provide for lead up I was hoping for and I just didn’t care about any of the characters. Before the Coffee Gets Cold made me cry and I will indeed be continuing it. Strangely, I moved onto to a horror after that one. I guess it was too wholesome, heartwarming, and sweet for me. I read The Perfect Victim by David Sodergren. All of his books are fun and interesting. This reminded me a little of home alone, but if it was horror with terrible people and more gore. Highly recommend. So fast paced. So fun. Brutal deaths. 10/10.
Week’s Plans:
I’ll be doing the reading reading for the next few weeks. I feel in a huge mood for intense horror/thriller or fantasy, so I’m going to continue to ride with that wave. Other than that, a review for The Perfect Victim is coming within the next few days. I expect at least one more discussion post and one more review after that.
Thanks for tuning in, I’d love to know what you thought about any of these. I’ll chat with ya soon!
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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!
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The End of Year TBR
We all have a never ending TBR that we’re desperately striving towards finishing but never will. While it does hurt my heart to realize there are some books out there that I could very well love, yet will never get the chance to read before I’m rotting in the ground, I can always do my best. Not only do I have a never ending TBR, I also have quite a few series I’m in the middle of and some ARC’s coming in January that I would like to get a jump on. My end of year TBR consists of series I’d like to make progress in, series I’d like to finish, and ARC’s I want to go ahead and get done.
Series to Make Progress In:
This list is pretty simple. I would like to make progress in Dungeon Crawler Carl. I read the first book a few months ago and fell in love, then promptly never picked another up. I’d like to fix that. There appears to be 7 that have been published and I would like to finish all 7. I’ll be making these audiobooks a priority for the next two months so that I can do that. If you don’t know, this series is about Carl and his cat, Princess Donut. The world has suddenly ended and he finds himself in a video-game style fight to the death with multiple levels, ways of leveling up, an AI who likes his feet, and an entire alien race(s) watching his progress. It’s so much fun and I love it with my whole heart. The audiobooks are the way to go.
Next, I would like to make progress within the Orphan X series. This is your usual dad-fiction. Evan was a child assassin known as Orphan X, housed by the Orphan Program. We follow him as he does some small jobs and is hunted down by other Orphans still working for the very government that created the program – a program he thought was no longer in effect. Love it, super fun. There are 9 books that have been published, with the 10th expected sometime in 2025. I want to at least get up to book 5, meaning I only have to read 3 more.
Series to Finish:
I would like to finish the Licanius Trilogy. I read book one a few months ago (maybe 6 months ago?) and, as per usual, never picked up the following book. I only have two more and I feel like I could easily read one this month and finish it next month. This is time-travel fantasy and I really did enjoy the first book.
I’d also like to finish the greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell. I have fallen in love with the man’s writing this year, which is honestly the worst thing that could happen to my reading because I stop reading the series I adore. I can’t explain it, don’t ask me too many questions. These are thick, yes, but they are also really quick reads. I started Saint’s Blood this week, so I’ll only have one more to read to complete the series.
Lastly, I would like to finish two duologues. I would like to read Draggon Your Bones, a coming of age fantasy that I adored the first book of. Then I would like to read No Safe Haven. I really enjoyed No Heart for a Thief and want to know how the story ends.
ARC’s
I have no idea what a good amount of these are about because I’ve forgotten them after requesting them on Netgalley. Just know I did think they sounded interesting at one point.
First is Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff. This is a thriller coming out January 7th and started it Sunday night. Also coming out January 7th are two fantasies called Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee and the Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard.
I have two ARCs that are coming out January 14th. A fantasy called Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao and a thriller called Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin.
To finish it off, I have two ARCs that are coming out January 28th. A romance called Book People by Jackie Ashenden and a horror called At The Bottom Of The Garden by Camilla Bruce.
That’s my end of year TBR. Fingers crossed I actually read them; I am notorious for making a TBR that I then do not read. Let me know what you’re reading for the rest of the year and let me know if you’ve read any of the books mentioned above! I would love know your input.
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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!
