Sigh. When did trilogies stop being three books long?
I just finished reading “Oathbound” by Tracy Deonn and I had really hoped to see the story concluded, but alas I didn’t.
I didn’t care for the change in narration style of this book. There’s plenty of good moments, but plenty of tropes and cliches again as well. It all started feeling a bit hollow and confusing, like a plot forced to thicken.
4/10, I really wish I wouldn’t have to wait for another one.
I just turned the final page of “Bloodmarked” by Tracy Deonn. This one surprised me! After a somewhat slow start that reminded me of the curse of second books in a series, it managed to grip me tightly and carry me through its plot quickly.
There are some weaknesses, first and foremost that it seems full of tropes, bordering on cliché, but I found it to stand on its own legs more so than the first novel.
7/10, unpredictable in a good way.
Just finished reading “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn.
In a way, it reminded me a lot of Cassandra Clare’s “The Mortal Instruments”, but rougher and less polished. A bit amateurish in parts, even. Maybe that’s just me outgrowing this kind of YA writing, though.
However, I felt intrigued by the greater plot, the pace was good and some of the characters endearing. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
6/10, reminds me of books from my adolescence.
Just finished reading “The Sovereign” by C. L. Clark and maybe it’s the weird state of mind I find myself in right now, but this final book in the series felt so empty.
The characters were all over the place and I found their decisions so flitting and pointless. It feels like the whole drama of the book could’ve been avoided if they hadn’t acted so childishly.
3/10, there were few redeeming moments, but there were some at least.
Just finished the first book of 2026, “The Faithless” by C. L. Clark. It felt a bit slower than the first instalment and personally, I’m not the biggest fan of political intrigue plots.
I found it all a bit too predictable—but we’re introduced to new factions and perspectives. That was quite enjoyable, I like it when the world opens up a bit and the magic is (waaaay too slowly) expanded upon.
Curious to see where the next book heads.
6/10, solid second book.
I got gifted “It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be” by Paul Arden and just finished reading through it.
I don’t think it expresses anything terribly new, but it was pretty to look at and sometimes stating what should be obvious can feel validating. I like this idea to first do what the client wants and then do what you want when it comes to creative work. Too often we try doing both at once because of time constraints, real life, etc.
5/10
I just finished reading “The Unbroken” by C. L. Clark and I must admit that it took me a while to warm up to the book. Especially during the first part, I felt like the language was clumsy and the premise stilted. But as I kept reading, the plot and the characters drew me in.
What initially felt like quite a superficial world slowly revealed more layers and the plot took directions I didn’t expect. I’m curious to see where this story goes.
7/10, worth delving into.
Just finished reading “Garen First Shield” by Anthony Reynolds. I enjoyed the last League of Legends novel I read, but this one felt amateurish.
The writing came across overly simple and unpolished to me, the characters failed to engage me, and the plot was nothing to write home about. I didn’t even feel like the world building was particularly elaborate, which I found to be a shame.
2/10, only read for completeness sake.
I just finished reading “SEO for Authors” by the one and only @vdvestelle.
I found it to be a pleasantly easy to read introduction to the intricacies of SEO. It got straight to the point without much fluff, and cleared up some terminology for me despite me working as a web developer for a long time.
If you’re a non-technical person wanting to dip your toes into the world of SEO, especially if you’re an author, this one may be a great starting point for you.
And that’s a wrap on “Nona the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir. I feel like this book was still impressive from a literary perspective, but also that the characters were less engaging. I just couldn’t connect to it as with the last two. Maybe I grew a bit bored by a similar narrative structure as the last book being used again.
Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to the final (?) installment of the series, whenever that may release.
6/10, enjoyable, but no longer unique.
Amadeus Maximilian