🎅 Second Sundays - December 2023 🎄

Happy Second Sunday and Welcome to this Special Solstice Season Edition!

Below you will find the usual book reviews, tbr wish list, and monthly book haul - but as it is the end of the year, you will also find my first-ever reading wrap-up in which I have ranked all of the books I read in 2023 by level of enjoyment and tell you my top 5 best books - all in my highly subjective opinion of course. 🤗

This is a beast of a blog, so pace yourself, enjoy, and I'll see you again in 2024! 🥳

🎄 NOVEMBER READS & REVIEWS! 🎄

The conclusion of The Shepherd King Duology was everything I needed it to be. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig had all the gothic, dark fairytale moods of the first book while adding some new points of view and character arcs. Without getting into spoilers, the reveal of the Nightmare's magic blew my mind and gave me the same giddiness and feels that I experienced when the Ents marched on Orthanc. (If you know, you know!) My favorite moments continued to be the poetic language, the magic system, and the chapters from the point of view of the main character Elspeth and her Nightmare.

What I love most about this book is that it does not shy away from what needed to be done. It would have been so easy for the author to rush through the ending and hand over some critical plot moments to the main characters, but instead, she takes her time to thoroughly embrace all the complexity and savagery and gives every character a satisfying ending that may not necessarily have been the "popular" way to go. The Nightmare continued to be my favorite character, and the conclusion of his and Elspeth's story definitely pulled on all the feels. In a nutshell - the ending is worth it, and these books will be living rent-free in my mind for a long time.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett was just what I needed to start off my cozy fantasy season. The writing style and pacing reminded me a lot of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (which you should absolutely go read as well!) in that it's told in a memoir sort of style with a day-in-the-life approach and small stakes. There's less action than Natural History but it served the story and was by no means a down point.

The book follows Emily Wilde, a 19th-century woman trying to make a name for herself in the field of dryadology, or the study of faeries, known as the Folk. She makes her way to a remote village in the far north to study the elusive Hidden Ones, and we meet a broad cast of characters necessary for every cozy fantasy. The book is mostly scientific study and exploring with some mystery and the smallest hint of romantic tension in the form of Emily's academic rival. Emily and the faeries are by far the highlight of the story, especially a small one she names Poe. If you're looking for a light read with a fresh (i.e. less romance), more studious view of faeries (complete with footnotes!), this book is for you, and there's a sequel coming next year that I'll definitely be picking up.

🎅📚 NOVEMBER BOOK HAUL! 📚🎅

Another healthy stack this month consisting of mostly signed and special editions! From left to right, top to bottom:

• Signed Edition of Lightbringer by Pierce Brown

• First Edition of Iron Flame (i.e. black sprayed edges!) by Rebecca Yarros

• Holiday Edition of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

• Signed Edition of Eragon by Christopher Paolini

• Signed Edition of Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

• The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini

• The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss

• The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

• Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire

• Revised and Expanded Edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

• Letters from Father Christmas written by J.R.R. Tolkien

• Illustrated Edition of Eragon by Christopher Paolini

📚 DECEMBER TBR WISHLIST 📚

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree is my next cozy fantasy read and the prequel to Legends & Lattes. I've been looking forward to reading this one all year, and it will probably be immediately followed up by a reread of the first book.

Based on my current reading pace, I'm guessing this/these will be the last book(s) I get to before the new year. Alas, the big behemoths are getting pushed back yet again. 🤷‍♀️ I'll get to them eventually! 😅

👀 MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF 2024 SO FAR 👀

• Nothing Special Volume 1 graphic novel by Katie Cook - March 5th (I started reading this on Webtoons several years ago and adore the series. I supported the Kickstarter for this so that I can also get some fun book swag!)

• The Sunlit Man (Secret Project 4) by Brandon Sanderson - March 5th (The fourth Secret Project got pushed back for some reason, but it's ok. The year of Sanderson continues in 2024!)

• I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle - May 14th (I mean, it's Peter S. Beagle. Need I say more?)

• Knights of Woeful Truth (?) Stormlight Archive book 5 (no official cover art yet) by Brandon Sanderson - cir. December 7th-ish (I plan to read even more Sanderson next year, particularly the Stormlight Archive series, and I'm so excited!)

🎁 END OF YEAR WRAP-UP! 🎁

This is my first time doing a tier list for the books I've read. All my favorite book people on the socials do it and it seemed like fun so I thought I'd give it a try! It was a lot harder to rank these than I expected, and a lot of them are tied in their spots for my level of enjoyment. I don't know if that's cheating, but hey, it's my tier list, so no rules right? Speaking of no rules, I also threw in Bookshops & Bonedust for where I think it will be based on how much I loved Legends & Lattes.

So provided I finish both of those books before the end of the month, here's how I ranked the 31 books I read this year!

😍🙌 NEW FAVORITE (instant rereads/annual reads and authors I will probably auto-buy anything they write)

• The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry (I already auto-bought her other 3 books!)

• Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (I am now officially a Sanderson fan!)

• Spear by Nicola Griffith (if she writes more retellings I'm all over them!)

• Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Marhrer (I devoured this and can't wait for the sequels!)

• A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers (I really hope she writes more Monk & Robot books, but if she doesn't that's ok. These are forever instant favorites!)

• One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (see my review above. Enough said.)

• Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (again, see above)

🥰 LOVED IT (books I loved and if they're part of a series I definitely plan to continue)

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

• Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

• The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (a reread)

🤗 LIKED IT (books I enjoyed but didn't leave a huge impression and I may or may not continue the series)

• She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (will read and already bought the sequel)

• This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

• Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

• Be Sure by Seanan McGuire (a collection of the first three Wayward Children novellas - I enjoyed the first one and do plan to continue the series)

• Murder Your Employer Volume 1 by Rupert Holmes (not sure yet if I'll read future books)

• The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

• Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig (I always enjoy me some Asian historical fiction)

• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (I was in a weird reading mood during this one so I definitely need to reread this to decide whether or not to keep going with the Wheel of Time series)

• The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson (my least favorite of the Secret Projects but still good)

• Shark by Paul de Gelder

🤷‍♀️ MEH (didn't like it but didn't hate it and probably won't be living in the permanent library)

• Jaws by Peter Benchley (the movie was better. yes I said it.)

😶 DNF - DID NOT FINISH (Not my cup of tea. I either straight up hated it or just could not get through it for one reason or another)

• Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid (the concept was so promising but the execution was not at all what I expected and not my cup of tea)

🎆 TOP 5-ish BOOKS OF 2023! 🎆

#1: The Magician's Daughter and Tress of the Emerald Sea

#2: The Shepherd King Duology (One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns)

#3: Assistant to the Villain

#4: Monk and Robot Duology (A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy)

#5: Elantris

(After making the tier list I decided to bump Elantris up above Spear because it was the first Sanderson book I've ever read and it made me an instant fan of his. Since I haven't actually read Bookshops & Bonedust yet it also didn't seem fair to include it in the top five. Yet. 😉)