talewielder

I just finished my 42nd book of 2026! 😱 I barely even turn on the tv anymore. Everything is filtered through the male gaze, and I just can't be bothered. I'm going to keep exploring the inner lives of women authors until I feel like I have rebalanced the scales and my soul. 🖤 #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to The Cruel Prince, ch. 9: I thought this was romantasy, but it's YA. I'm really enjoying it though. It started strong, so I'm going to keep going. The author is really skilled at employing classic fairytale tropes, and the fae are actually dangerous, for once. #BookSky

"It wasn't weird to see dad with an ax." 🤣 This book and I are on the same page. #CurrentlyListening to The Cruel Prince, prologue. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to The Cruel Prince, start of book. I love the way this book begins. The character narration sounds familiar in a good way, too. Can't wait to see where it goes!! #BookSky

Taking a break from my Onyx Storm graphic audio reread because my Cruel Prince hold came through on Libby. My #CurrentlyListening list is starting to look like a tbr. 😅 #BookSky

I was FINALLY able to borrow a book from Hoopla at midnight, after 9 days of my library's collective borrowing limit being reached. 🤦‍♀️ It ruins my library experience to have to compete with fellow readers like this. At least I get to dig in to my Onyx Storm reread with graphic audio today. #BookSky

Move over faerie wine!!! 🤣🤣🤣 #CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk, book 2, ch. 3. #BookSky

Only finished 8 chapters of Empire of Storms all day today, and I'm ready to abandon it again. Guess I'll start the sequel to Kiss of the Basilisk after all. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Empire of Storms, ch. 4: Why does the FMC always mention the breasts of the other female characters? I'm so sick of this series, even though it is objectively better now than the first few books. 😩 #BookSky

Still can't borrow anything from Hoopla, despite available credits, so I guess I'm diving back into Empire of Storms. I have to get Throne of Glass over with, so I can move on the Crescent City finally. 😩 #BookSky

In case anyone is wondering about the CWs I added to my review of Kiss of the Basilisk. 😅 These things are always more shocking when I have to choose them from a list after the fact. #BookSky

Kiss of the Basilisk needs a rebrand. People talk about it like it's all 🌽, but in reality the book it so long because it has all the 🌶️ and still has time for a full plot and a deep exploration of interpersonal, familial, and class dynamics. It's an allegory for dehumanizing the other. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk, fin: I could feel the author in the second half of this book. As the plot thickens, the characters were making choices that were so out of character that it took me out of the story some. Still looking forward to book 2 though. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk, ch. 28: Am I into monster smut now? 🤔 This book isn't as wild as I was expecting, though there is a ton of 🌶️. Somehow, the author makes all the crazy ish happening seem perfectly normal. It's basically exploring a cross-cultural relationship. #BookSky

"I'm swimming in stable boys." #CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk, ch. 18: This book is so long, but it's nice to settle into the relationship and social hierarchy navigation. Not thrilled about how the way the gay best friend is used though. He deserves better. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk, ch. 8: This book is spicy without being fully sexy. It is supposedly one of booktok's smuttiest, and yet I have too many questions about exactly whom is trapped in sexual slavery. The 🌶️ isn't even the point. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Kiss of the Basilisk. 😏 Chirp had it on a deal, and Hoopla isn't letting me borrow lately, so I'm diving in. Let's see what all the fuss is about. #BookSky

Another day, another unsuccessful attempt to borrow a book from hoopla. I hate this timeline. We don't need to gatekeep digital media like this. #BookSky

Imma need people to stop giving bad reviews to romance novels for being spicy, or because they think the FMC is annoying. Do you even hear yourselves? Your lack of introspection is ruining the ratings of these books and making it harder to find the good ones. kthxbye #BookSky

Having trouble deciding what to read next. 🤔 Should I finish up my Fourth Wing graphic audio reread, read Bedlam Academy book 3, or dive into From Blood & Ash, since Fall of Ruin and Wrath just blew me away? Probably Onyx Storm, so I can stop thinking about it for awhile... #BookSky

May the future of romantasy look like Fall of Ruin and Wrath. 👏

#CurrentlyListening to Fall of Ruin and Wrath, fin: This is the romantasy I have been begging for: hot AF 🥵 and still has a good fantasy plot. Unfortunately, the ending was so weak that it had no resolution at all. That being said, I cannot WAIT for the sequel to be published. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Fall of Ruin and Wrath, ch. 28: This MMC is 6 foot 8?! I don't think these authors know what that means in practice. 😂 The consent in this book is the morally grey character, and I like the uncomfortable exploration of it. #BookSky

That's right, Quicksilver is my sorbet. 😂

#CurrentlyListening to Fall of Ruin and Wrath, ch. 18: The seduction in this book is so good. The author uses tropes really well, and adds to them. It's hot, but there's a slowly unfolding plot. 🤗 #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Fall of Ruin and Wrath, ch. 8: This is, hands down, the best magic system ever created for a spicy faerie tale. ☺️ No notes. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Fall of Ruin and Wrath, ch. 3: Slow start, too many made up words, but the narrator is good, and reviews says it is very 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ I am sat. #BookSky

Does anyone else just laugh uncomfortably while adding the CWs to their book reviews? This was for my most recent read, which I would consider a pretty mild book in terms of content, in comparison to the other books I read. 😅 #BookSky

Things I learned reading a mafia romance: 1. I need a mating bond not to roll my eyes at possessiveness. 2. I still don't care about the mafia. 3. Fantasizing about wealth and luxury is passé 3. These authors are not writing from experience. 😂 #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to His Tesoro, end of book: I'm going to have to read this whole series, I guess. The plot in the second half is preposterous, but I like the writing, and I was entertained. The other books in the series follow other characters, so it should be a good time. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to His Tesoro, ch. 48: Finally got to the 🌶️ and it's...not great, and there is a surprise D/s element that gives me the ick, but there is some really nuanced storytelling going on here with the MCs insecurities and them trying to adjust to an arranged marriage. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to His Tesoro, ch. 30: This book has the best use of dual pov I have ever read. Not crazy about the sex trafficking plotline in a romance novel (unless people are getting rotted), but I am enjoying it overall. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to His Tesoro, ch. 6: Diving into a mafia romance because it was a bonus read on hoopla. I don't hate it? The narrators are awesome, and the fmc uses a wheelchair. Even though I'm not too interested in this genre, I am intrigued. 🤔 #BookSky

Well, I spent the entire month avoiding reading Throne of Glass with a bunch of rereads and a couple of disappointing detours into new genres. Overall, not a bad month. I'm actually really looking forward to book 3 in the Bedlam Academy series next month. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to The 100, ch. 20: Add this to the list of adaptations that are better than the book. This book is excrutiatingly slow and isn't bringing the drama that the show does. I may continue the series at some point just to see if it picks up speed later, but not yet. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Dirty Little Secret, end of book: I took a detour into romance, and this book is so bad. There is less 🌶️ than Quicksilver, but there is no plot, and the MMC leaves the FMC feeling worse every time. I'm disgusted by it all. Back to fairies and effing the patriarchy. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to The 100, ch. 5: There are way too many names, and they aren't all the same as the tv show. I can't keep track. There are already some plot points that were removed from the show, so that is exciting, but I think I need to speed up the audiobook. It's slow. #BookSky

It's that time of the month when I have to rely on the grace of Libby having something available worth reading, and that has led me to start The 100 audiobook!! I'm actually excited. I loved the show. Best CW bait and switch of all time. #CurrentlyListening #BookSky

If you need me, I'll be with the dragons. #CurrentlyListening to Fourth Wing graphic audio. #BookSky

Another day, another desire to drop wyvern carcasses on strategic outposts. #CurrentlyListening to Iron Flame graphic audio. #BookSky #FourthWing

Finally sitting down to watch The Witcher S4. Turns out, IDGAF that they changed the actor. The retcon is a little silly, but I hated the books, and the show is much better either way. Also, bonus points for a realistic spider melee. 😂 #CurrentlyWatching

That feeling when you decide to listen to the Fourth Wing graphic audio a second time before your hoopla loan expires. (Yes, I'm avoiding TOG again.) #CurrentlyListening #BookSky

Quick shoutout to Rowan Whitethorn before I start the next #TOG book. A hawk shifter who controls the wind is the best combination of fae powers I've ever heard. I bet his bird has a lot of fun. 👏 #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Queen of Shadows, end of book 4: Well, that was interesting. Finally. The climax of this book was actually okay. Maybe this is where SJM found her groove as a writer? The denouement was dragged out, but I I'm looking forward to the next book, which is a shock. #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Queen of Shadows, ch. 59: This is the least sexy edging I've ever seen. It's giving whatever the opposite of forced proximity is. It's giving siblings. I already have the ick thinking about them getting together, and I like them both. 😩 #BookSky

#CurrentlyListening to Queen of Shadows, ch. 58: I am so bored. I have been bored for four books. I like the characters, but they have very little to do and almost no character or relationship development, and I'm so mad about it that I keep reading bcs something interesting has to happen. #BookSky

Dragging myself back into the last half of Queen of Shadows. I have been working through this book for almost a month already, when my average finished time is 3 days. At this point, I'm only in it to see what Rowan does with his slick new haircut. 😏 #CurrentlyListening #BookSky

FYI veteran romance readers need more information about "the cottage" before we know which one you're talking about. 🤭 I can think of 5 off the top of my head, just from my fav reads. Welcome to cottagecore, HR fans. #BookSky