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!

Reading Goals for 2024

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*peeks in, the door creaking on its hinges as dust settles from the ceiling* Hello?

Well, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve blogged lol How have the last few years been treating you?

It’s been a rough few years for me, as it has for many others, but I hope that with the new year there is renewed hope in the future and that you will be able to find your way to where you want to be in your life.

But today, for the first time in… almost three years, I wanted to talk about some reading goals that I have for this year. I was debating on whether or not I wanted to do TikTok or this, and I decided to blog about it first because writing is much easier for me than speaking is when it comes to new experiences and whatnot. Like… talking to a camera just sounds daunting, but I’ll find a way to do it (maybe).

I’ve barely read in the last seven or so years, and I’ve been very slowly getting back into reading at the end of 2023, and I want to at least try to keep up that momentum if I possibly can. So here are my current reading goals for 2024:

Read 25 Books

Every year I set my Goodreads goal to 25 books. It seems like it’s doable, and though I haven’t read that many books in many years, I’m going to try my best to hit that goal this year. I’ve been using the app, Bookly, for a few weeks now (though I didn’t read the week of the holidays), and it’s been helping me read an hour a day at the minimum and keeping track of what I read. Highly recommend an app like this to help you form a habit if you’re struggling to read every day like I am!

Read Books I Already Own

This might seem obvious, but I’m affected easily by the excitement people show for newer releases, and so I have many books on my shelf – even from years ago – that I haven’t read that have just been sitting there and staring at me, waiting for me to give them the time of day. I’ll be doing another unhaul soon (I donate the books to a local library), so that’ll make space for more books I inevitably end up getting, so…

Basically, I want to read at least 2 books I actually own off of my shelves per month. This is extremely doable, and it’ll slowly cut down the amount of unread vs read books on my shelves. This doesn’t include my ebooks, which I need to go through and see what I actually want to keep, anyway.

Get More Books from the Library First

This coincides with my previous goal because I want to curate a collection that I personally want, a physical collection of books I’d either reread or just want to have on my shelves. Right now there’s many books I haven’t read that I’m still interested in reading that I own, however, over time my tastes change, space available changes, and I need to be realistic with myself about books that I want to keep. So, using the Libby app, I’m going to place holds on books that I’m interested in reading and then decide if I want to physically add them to my collection.

Read At Least One Diverse Book Per Month

I really liked what Sera of serareadthat on TikTok said about diverse books, in that it’s about reading books from authors who don’t look like you or are from a different culture/ethnicity/background that you, and so I want to read at least one book from a BIPOC author per month. I want to read stories from other cultures, with their own fantastical and mundane settings set in places I only wish I could see.

Read At Least One Book Outside of My Normal Genre Bimonthly

I, like many people, love to read fantasy. I love reading about rich and diverse worlds, magic and monsters, but I also know that there’s other genres outside of that that I should explore. For instance, this month (January 2024) I’ll be reading Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price along with a group of people on Fable called History Sickos hosted by Michael Kist. This is both a nonfiction and history novel, which are two genres of book I never really gravitate toward.

I might do this monthly, however I’ll keep my goal to bimonthly so that I can give myself time to warm up to the idea of it lol And this isn’t just limited to nonfiction, but also things like horror, thrillers, mystery, personal growth, middle grade, etc.

Read At Least One Indie Author Bimonthly

Again, I’m keeping this bimonthly only because of my goal to read more of my already owned books, however it’s always important to support indie authors when you can. And from what I’ve seen around TikTok, there’s a lot of great bangers out there that I’d be interested in reading, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for indie books every other month.

Reread or Finish Rereading Books or Series

So there are still plenty of books that I own that I haven’t finished yet or finished off the series for, so that’s also going to be a priority for me this year. Will I have to reread a lot of books to get to that point? Yes, 100%, but that’s just how it is! I’m okay with it, though, because many of these books are ones I enjoyed in the past, so I hope to continue to enjoy them now.

Those are all of my reading goals for 2024! They’re broad and simple, but that’s what I need right now to get back into reading. So tell me, what are some of your goals for 2024? I’d love to hear about it!

I also don’t know how often I’ll be blogging again. Getting back into the swing of things full force is a bit daunting, but I hope that by easing back into it that I’ll be able to enjoy my time and rediscover my love for reading again.

Happy New Year everyone, and happy reading!

The House in the Cerulean Sea | Book Review

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Title: The House in the Cerulean Sea
Author: TJ Klune
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: March 17, 2020
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT+, Fiction
Pages: 394
Format: Paperback

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

The best way I can describe this book is a warm hug when you least expected it but definitely needed it. This book was incredibly charming and whimsical down to the final word.

First off, the writing was very whimsical, as well as witty. There were many moments where I laughed out loud because of something a character said or did, as well as moments I cried because of how incredibly heart-warming the moment was. It was a roller coaster to be able to read something that could pack so much emotion into one story.

The characters were all so incredibly charming! Well, the main cast, anyway, comprising of the six kids, Linus, Arthur, and several others along the way. I have never felt so connected to characters and their stories before, but I felt my heart strings being pulled as I read this novel. You’ll find yourself head over heels in love with the kids – I seriously wanted to just protect them all and give them all the parental love ever. The adults in the story, too, were in situations often that could be reminiscent of the real world (as this story had real world aspects), and it was a joy to read about Linus’ growing attachment to the family and how he really discovered himself among them.

The romance in the book was subtle, interwoven expertly throughout the pages. There were definitely moments where you knew that something was brewing between the two, but then something would happen to cause them to have to break away. It was so very adorable and wholesome. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Let’s talk about the children because I really feel like they were the stars of the show. The kids were each very unique – not just in powers and what they were, but also their personalities. I found myself wanting to know more about them, to see how they progress into the future and what happens later on, but I guess that’s the beauty of this story is how contained it is. TJ Klune wrote the children in a way that leaves you wanting to care for them, of wanting to befriend them and spend time with them.

It definitely focused more heavily on one of the children, but the others were still woven very nicely into the story throughout and at different times were they allowed to shine. I do wish that more could have been delved into, but at the same time that wasn’t the true purpose of the story, plus sometimes it’s good to not know every detail and come up with a solution yourself.

I think the subtle magical and fantasy aspects were well done. There are orphanages who take care of magical youth, and this house by the sea happens to be one of them. The magic that the kids possess are very different, and sometimes surprising.

The story sets out to promise hope, love, familial connection, and finding your true strengths and place in the world. I think it accomplished each of those things and I highly recommend you check out this book if you just need a break from all of the hard things in the world.

Rating: 5 out of 5.