February 2024 TBR

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Wow, January is finally over! Does anyone else ever feel like it lasts 84 years? So I didn’t finish or get to all of the books I had set out to read last month, which is fine, but I decided I’m still going to make a TBR to at least talk about the books I’m interested in reading and hopefully will get to.

As February is also Black History Month, I also want to be intentional with my choices and read books by black authors. This choice isn’t going to start and stop in February, though, as I will continue to read books by black authors throughout the year and beyond. This will continue for other months in which heritages and identities are recognized, as I want to continue to diversify my reading and broaden my horizons.

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang – This book is one from my TBR last month and is the book I’m currently reading, so I want to finish it before moving on to another book. I’m only about 80 pages into it, but it’s an interesting read so far! I’m excited to see where it goes.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn – This was another book on my TBR last month, but as I didn’t get to it, I’m slotting it over into February. This book is an Arthurian retelling, which I’ve never read about before, and so I’m definitely intrigued to read about it and see how I like it.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – Now I’ve heard amazing things about Butler for a long time, but I’ve never picked up one of her books before. This one takes place in 2024, and it’s about climate change and the effects of how economic strife can be so harmful to everyone and everything around it.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jeminsin – This start to a fantasy trilogy has been on my shelf for years (well, the whole trilogy) and I haven’t started it, BUT I’m going to rectify that this year and actually do it! It’s a critically acclaimed and award winning book, so I’m a bit intimidated by that, however I hear fantastic things about it. Just reading the synopsis alone has me dying for more, so I can’t wait to get to this.

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed – I’m trying to bring in more contemporary reads into my life, as most of my focus is on fantasy, so I figured this would be a good one to add! It centers a young black girl in high school and protesting and riots after officers from the LAPD are acquitted after beating a black man half to death. It sounds very hard hitting, and very important, too.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan – I’ve seen this pop up around TikTok a lot lately, and after reading the synopsis (and wanting more contemporary in my reading), I think this would be a fun, dramatic, and spicy read. It’s like a second chance romance between a once husband and wife pair, so I’m definitely interested to see how it plays out.

Now, will I get to all of these books? I hope so honestly. Trying to get back into reading after the hard time I’ve had with it for years is already a challenge, and I’m further challenging myself by listing all of these books that I’m interested in as part of my TBR. I do hope to get to all of them, though, but if I don’t I’ll probably do the same thing as last time and push one or two I’m interested in into the next month.

What’re you reading currently or planning to read this month? Any recommendations you have that you think I might like to try out for myself? Let me know!

Vox Machina: Kith & Kin | Book Review

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Title: Vox Machina: Kith & Kin
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Publisher: Del Rey
Publish Date: November 30, 2021
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Explore the past of Critical Role’s daring half-elf twins, Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan, in this original prequel novel to their adventures with Vox Machina.
 
Vex and Vax have always been outsiders. A harsh childhood in the elite elven city of Syngorn quickly taught them not to rely on others. Now, freed from the expectations of their exacting father and the scornful eyes of Syngorn’s elves, the cunning hunter and the conning thief have made their own way in the world of Exandria. 
 
The twins have traveled far and experienced great hardship. But with the help of Vex’s quick wit and Vax’s quicker dagger, they’ve always kept ahead of trouble. Now, unknown perils await them in the bustling city of Westruun, where the twins become entangled in a web spun by the thieves’ guild known to many as the Clasp. Trapped by a hasty deal, Vex and Vax (along with Vex’s faithful bear companion, Trinket) set out into the wilds to fulfill their debt to the infamous crime syndicate. 
 
As the situation grows more complicated than they ever could have imagined, for the first time Vex and Vax find themselves on opposite sides of a conflict that threatens the home they have carried with each other for years.
 
Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp, Critical Role: Vox Machina—Kith & Kin follows a brand-new adventure that delves into the twins’ unexplored history, and returns to some of the iconic moments that forged Vox Machina’s most unbreakable bond.

Following another book from one of my favorite shows, Critical Role, we follow the twins from campaign one, Vex and Vax, on a journey before their time with Vox Machina. This story takes place over their lifetime, jumping from the present day to moments in the past where events would reflect each other in ways that made you understand why they were happening or give more insight into how things came to be the way they are.

As I stated in my The Nine Eyes of Lucien review, I love to read about character backstories, especially of ones that I care about. As of writing this review, I haven’t finished campaign one yet, but I know the twins and that they’re a chaotic duo who are thick as thieves and would do anything to protect the other. Which, we love to see such a strong family dynamic, but it’s also a dynamic that can and will be used against them time and time again throughout their lives.

In this book, though, we switch between alternating points of view, following either Vex’ahlia through her actions and thoughts, or from Vax’ildan’s thoughts and actions, and I think that it was a delicate balance of the two that was woven well into the story. Though, I also feel like we definitely saw more of Vex’s point of view than that of her brother, but in ways it made sense, especially for the scenes that were playing out before us.

The parts of the book that takes place in the present follows them over just a short series of a couple of weeks, where Vex finds herself in trouble and being targeted by someone who was paid by a noble to have her caught and brought to him, but Vax is never far behind his sister and ends up apprehending the person following her – which causes him to be caught himself and get himself into a situation that he doesn’t have much choice of getting out of if it means protecting his sister.

The parts that take part in the past flow over a time period of about five or six years, following the twins from the time they were about ten years old until they were sixteen and showed the cruelness that can come from growing up unwanted by a singular parent – and their entire community around them – while also showing the softer moments of learning about the self and discovering that there’s more to the world that what’s been shown to them so far.

I found the pacing of the book to be stunted in ways. I found myself not completely drawn into the story, but I chock that up to not being as attached to these characters as I am The Mighty Nein characters. However, there were moments where the plot was fast paced and full of action, bringing you into the moments and wanting to see how it played out, and moments that were slower and calmer that allowed you to be able to soak in the moment in question.

Vex is a strong willed woman who is always seeking approval from those around her, and always has her walls up as a result because there is more than one occasion where she was put down by those she tried to make proud. I liked that we got to see her in the early stages of becoming a ranger (D&D class) and how she learned how to track, hide objects, and befriend Trinket – her bear companion.

Vax is an impulsive man who acts on a whim and tries to blend in with the shadows, always going against the grain of what’s expected of him. He’s cunning and smart, though he puts himself down in ways that compare him to his sister, whom he holds in such high regard.

The contrast between the two is apparent in the campaign setting as well as the book, and I highly appreciate that. They bounce off one another effortlessly, and they have a bond that almost transcends time itself. It’s one of my favorite parts of the book, even when the story itself wasn’t engaging me as much as I had wanted it to. There were moments I was full in on, and others I found myself pushing through to get to the next chapter.

Overall, though, I did enjoy the book, though less that I was imagining. I recommend this book if you’re a fan of Vox Machina or Critical Role, and I also recommend it to those who don’t know what the show is about but are looking for an adventure with siblings and high stakes involved.

★★★.5☆☆ (3.5 stars)

Critical Role: The Might Nein – The Nine Eyes of Lucien | Book Review

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Title: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein – The Nine Eyes of Lucien
Author: Madeleine Roux
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Publish Date: November 1, 2022
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover

Delve into the mind of Critical Role’s most charming villain in this original novel that chronicles Lucien’s early life and his fateful meeting with the Mighty Nein.

Lucien has always been able to spin a bad situation to his advantage. From his childhood on the dangerous streets of Shadycreek Run to his years living off the grid and learning blood magic from the Claret Orders, the charismatic blood hunter will find a way to get the upper hand.

When Lucien is on a job in the frozen wastelands of Eiselcross with his fellow mercenaries, a rough-and-tumble crew called the Tombtakers, fate leads him to a mysterious journal in the ruins of an ancient city. The book speaks of the Somnovem, nine beings who can grant Lucien power beyond imagining—if he is able to find them and free them from captivity.

Intrigued by this opportunity, Lucien pores over the journal—but the more he reads, the stranger things become. The nine whisper to him in dreams and waking visions. Time slips away, along with Lucien’s grasp on reality. And tattoos of red eyes begin appearing on his skin. . . .

With the ability to reshape the world within his grasp, Lucien ignores all warning signs. He has always bent fortune to his will, and nothing—not even death—will stop him now.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux, Critical Role: The Mighty Nein—The Nine Eyes of Lucien explores the meteoric rise and fall of one of Critical Role’s most notorious and tragic figures.

I love Critical Role and the fun Dungeons & Dragons campaigns that they’ve run so far – and are still running – but my favorite campaign thus far has been campaign two about The Mighty Nein. In this novel in particular we follow Lucien, an eccentric tiefling man before the time he joined the group, from when he was a child into his early twenties. During this time we see the rough living he had growing up in Shadycreek Run, stealing to make a pretty penny, and the friend he had that stuck by him all the time, Cree.

I love being able to read about the backstories of characters, especially ones that I myself had grown attached to, so to be able to read about the varies trials and tribulations that Lucien underwent in his time before joining the Mighty Nein was exciting to me as it added an extra layer of depth to an already very mysterious character. In the campaign you learn that he had died previously and doesn’t remember his life before he died, so to actually be able to get a glimpse as to what that was? Yes, please and thank you.

Lucien is a fairly clever young man who knows how to flaunt himself in a way that could favor him, but there are always consequences to actions that could lead to a lot of trouble. I found that he wasn’t quite as eccentric as the version of him we meet in the campaign (Mollymauk), but that this was a much sharper, cunning version that strove to get what he wanted no matter the cost.

And it would cost him dearly.

Throughout the story we follow Lucien on his journey to helping an important member of the Cerberus Assembly, a university of mages of varying power, influence, and capabilities, along with Cree and a number of people he otherwise wouldn’t have ever teamed up to go on this journey to the frozen wastes of the north and find an ancient fallen technologically advanced city – Aeor.

I found the pacing to be fast, but not so fast that you miss out on important aspects of his life – even the parts in his earlier childhood into his teenage years. Even though they weren’t the focus, there was enough there to make you understand Lucien and to see his motivations just for surviving in the world. It kept me engaged and wanting to know what happened next, and boy was I in for a treat.

If you happened to follow campaign two of the show, then you know a lot of what happens already in this book, but the way leading up to it was vaguely mentioned in the show itself, so seeing it fleshed out on paper made it that much more interesting and devastating when reflecting back to the show itself. I found myself on more than one occasion wanting Lucien to succeed, yes, but as things progressed to slow down and think for himself for a minute. To really think about what it was he was reading and seeing and how it could affect him later on.

Though, that leads to a major catalyst in the Mighty Nein’s campaign, and it’s quite juicy.

I find that this book is definitely written for the fans of the show, and that if you followed The Mighty Nein then you’d definitely want to pick this book up just to get a further glimpse into the character we thought we knew. However, I think that anyone can still pick up the book and enjoy it, though you may not get the full nuance of the story without further knowledge of the campaign, which seems a shame, to be honest.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged throughout, wanting to see how everything would actually play out. To learn about Lucien’s harrowing past with his family was tragic (as many backstories are of characters in the D&D world), and to learn and see how aspects of his life that were important to him left him or changed him in ways that would be irreversible was tangible and consuming.

Definitely read this book if you enjoy CR, or if you’d like to dip your toes into a fantasy adventure set in a D&D world.

★★★★☆

Legends & Lattes | Book Review

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Title: Legends & Lattes
Series: Legends & Lattes #1
Author: Travis Baldree
Publisher: Tor
Publish Date: June 7, 2022
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT+
Pages: 296
Format: Paperback

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes.

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

This cozy fantasy book was just that: cozy. It had an atmosphere weaved into the pages that allowed you to sit back with your own cup or coffee or tea or favorite beverage and just enjoy the story of this mercenary-gone-barista. I found myself laughing out loud a few times, captivated by the ups and downs of the hope that the coffee shop brought to this town, and wishing for Viv to succeed.

The characters were the heart of this story, driving it in a direction that makes you want to root for Viv, Trandri, Cal, and Thimble. Viv is our main protagonist, a retired mercenary for hire who, on her last battle with her team, found a stone in a creature that was said to bring great fortune to those who would have it. And so, with the stone in hand, she sets off to a place where no one has ever heard of coffee and begins her work setting up a place to call her own and share the delightfulness of the beverage with. Along the way, she makes friends and hires people that she believes in her gut to be the best fit for the job that they’re assigned to do.

I found Viv to be quite likable because as a half-orc she’s already looked at as “other” by many people, and there are many stereotypes around half-orcs, but she shows that those stereotypes aren’t the only things that make up who she is, and that after a lifetime of battle and surviving lived, she was ready to settle down and just share something that she found to be dazzling in its own right. Viv is the kind of character you want to succeed, and that you want the best for. She was kind and funny, but stern and knew how to negotiate.

Tandri is another person we see often throughout the book as she is hired by Viv to help serve customers and manage the store. She’s a succubus, and that alone comes with its own slew of stereotypes, who does her best to fit in and make herself as calm and collected as possible. Though, when she tastes things that are to her delight, everyone nearby can feel those effects and are charmed by her. I found Tandri to be a good balance to Viv, someone who was creative in her own right and who seemed to understand business in ways that Viv didn’t think of.

Cal and Thimble were two side characters that made their appearance quite frequently along the way, Cal more so in the beginning and Thimble more so in the second half, where they were personally scouted by Viv and Tandri to help make this coffee shop dream a reality. They are extremely different (not only in race, since one is – I believe – a gnome of sorts, while the other is a mouse person) in personalities: Cal is gruff around the edges, but he’s very handy as a carpenter and he gives recommendations and praise in short bursts and gestures rather than being vocal about it. Thimble is a baker who is extremely soft spoken but he has a passion for what he does and is honestly just extremely cute.

The plot follows Viv as she makes her dreams a reality, hoping that the stone she got from the belly of a beast is actually true to the legends that proclaim it as such. There are many times where she gets frustrated or worried that the shop won’t do as well as she hoped, but even as things begin to grow in abundance, everything must come down. I thought that the events leading up to the fall were so cozy and warm, that it almost felt like you could forget that there could be potential consequences for everything going along so well. There was an undercurrent of worry, however, from early on, but even that worry turned out to be not as worrisome as what actually occurred. I’ll leave that up to you to read about, however.

Also, yes, there is a romance but it’s extremely subtle in the best ways possible, and the moments that you do see are ones that you can easily find yourself giggling to or wanting more of.

There were a couple of points in the book where I felt like the plot was either too loose, or that a few moments fell flat, or that things felt too convenient. However, those moments were few and far in between and didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, this book was extremely enjoyable and one that was hard to put down. I believe I finished it in one sitting, and I just felt all sorts of warm and fuzzy by the end of it. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a short fantasy read as a palette cleanser for a lot of the beefier, heavier subject fantasy books that are out there. I also recommend it if you’re just looking for something cozy as this was my first cozy fantasy and I would definitely love to read more in these kinds of settings!

★★★★☆

January 2024 TBR

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Hello hello! I don’t usually do TBRs anymore because I’m very much a mood reader, however there are some books this month that I’d really like to get to, so this is going to be my loose TBR for the month.

Critical Role’s Vox Machina: Kith & Kin by Marieke Nijkamp – This was actually a roll over book from December. I had started it mid month and skipped reading for a week or so before I picked it back up again and finished on the 2nd, but I figured I’d include it here anyway. This book follows the twins, Vex and Vax, from the D&D hit show, Critical Role, during a time of their lives before the events of Vox Machina took place.

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon – The second book in the Ice Planet Barbarians series, I discovered that I can read these books pretty quickly, and they provide fun entertainment and spice (and even some plot!), so this would be a quick and easy read for me for the month. (As of writing this post, I already finished it!)

The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M.L. Wang – This is a standalone fantasy novel that I have heard nothing but good things about. A story about family, love, war, relationships, the complexities of being a human and the grief, joy, sorrow, and happiness that comes with it. It also includes elemental magic, which I am definitely here for.

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price – Now, I have this on my list because I wanted to join the History Sickos book club to at least give the history genre a chance, however it’s so far out of my comfort zone, and I only have a limited time with my library hold on it that I don’t know that I’ll actually get to the book at all. So this one is a tentative selection on my TBR, even though it fits one of my goals for the year to read a genre I don’t normally read bimonthly…

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid – I once again heard many good things about this book and so I wanted to give it a try myself. As two rivals are at odds about an author in which has passed and his works and estate yet to be settled, it twines them into a fate that they don’t expect.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn – I’ve also heard good things about this book and so, once again, I’m giving it a go! It’s got magic, it’s got demons, it’s got secrets that are trying to be uncovered, and it sounds like a good time.

Freebies

These books are going to be “freebies,” or books that I might like reading as a palette cleanser or as something I know I can read quickly for the entertainment, the feels, the spice, or whatever it is I’m looking for!

Barbarian Lover by Ruby Dixon – Like the previous two installments, I know I can finish these books in a day if I really go ham with it. They’re fast paced and entertaining, and so I think this will just be fun to read sooner rather than later. Plus I’m very interested in reading about this pairing in particular.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – I read Legends & Lattes last month (review to come!) and really enjoyed it. Even though this book is a prequel and follows a younger Viv, I’m very interested to see her adventures when she was a bit younger before deciding to retire and open a coffee shop! Plus, my wife read this book and rated it EEEE/10 (very good lol).

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (omnibus vol 1-3) – As a One Piece fan (we’re on episode 551), I would like to also read the manga to be able to compare what I’ve seen in the anime vs what’s written in the manga itself. I know it’s not a one-to-one, but I really love this show, and it holds a very special place in my heart, so I think this could be a fun one to get to if I feel up for it!

I feel like that may be all of the time I have for books in January. I don’t want to push myself too hard into getting back into reading, so I figure that some decently chunky books that sound intriguing to me will be a good start! And where I’m already ahead of my 25 books for the year goal? I think this will definitely be manageable.

What’re you reading currently or planning to read this month? Any recommendations you have that you think I might like to try out for myself? Let me know!