Celeste, Author at A Literary Escape

Which Fantasy Character Would You Swap Lives With?

Published on May 12, 2022June 11, 2022 by CelesteLeave a comment

IMAGE CREDITS: tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com. The gorgeous tree wolf is not royalty-free, but is licensed for use to promote Wyrd and Wonder online. You are welcome to use the banner on your Wyrd and Wonder posts, but please make no changes (except to resize if needed) and always credit the artist!

If you’re not sure what Wyrd and Wonder is, check out my introduction post for more information. Imyril, one of the hosts, also has a post with all of the prompts.

Today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt is “step into another’s shoes.” That is, if you could swap lives with a fantasy character, who would you want to be and why?

So, who which fantasy character would I want to swap lives with? This is actually more difficult than I thought it would be. When I think about the hardships my favorite characters went through I wonder if I would want to experience that if I swapped lives with them. I think of those reels that pop up now and again about what we’d actually do if we found ourselves stuck in a forest, starving, thrashing through brambles. Most of us would probably be a sight more ridiculous than the main character(s)! Then again, why so serious? This is Wyrd and Wonder, a fun celebration of fantasy! Lighten up!

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Book Review: These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

Published on May 10, 2022May 1, 2024 by Celeste9 Comments

Today’s review is about THESE HOLLOW VOWS by Lexi Ryan. It’s the first installment in the These Hollow Vows duology. In this book the reader follows Brie, who loathes the fae. Stuck in debt to her employer, Brie’s sister is sold to the king of the Unseelie Court. To get her back Brie poses as a potential bride to the Seelie Prince. Along the way she begins to fall for both the Seelie and Unseelie princes.

Author: Lexi Ryan
Series: These Hollow Vows, #1
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publish Date: July 20, 2021
Print Length: 448

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of These Hollow Vows on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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Book Haul: April 2022

Published on May 8, 2022June 12, 2022 by Celeste1 Comment

This is probably the last book haul I’ll do until the next library sale in the fall. As I mentioned in my March book haul, these take forever to format, therefore I’m not a fan of dedicating time to these. BUT here I am again because my library had another spring sale, this time for the adult age category.

I found a decent amount of books. They had a large selection of sci-fi and fantasy. However, a lot of it was older mass market paperback-sized books that I didn’t know anything about; and these sales are busy, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of time researching them. All this to say that I didn’t buy a lot of SFF because most of it was unknown to me. Instead I ended up with a good mix this time of SFF, fiction, and nonfiction. Of course there were definitely other books that piqued my interest, but I opted to go the library route in the future for those; I only have so much space!

I linked to Bookshop.org when possible, but know these aren’t affiliate links.

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Mythothon Round 6 Wrap-Up

Published on May 7, 2022June 12, 2022 by CelesteLeave a comment

Last month I participated in my second readathon, the sixth round of Mythothon. I thought after enjoying the Trope-ical Readathon in March I’d try a second round. If you missed my Mythothon announcement post, you can see what books I chose for my line up here.

April ended up being a slightly slower reading month for me than March. I completed three of the five books on my Mythothon TBR, not including the Team book by Agatha Christie. Two of these three books I read were ARCs from NetGalley. I’ve been trying really hard the first half of this year to try and get through most, preferably all, of my ARCs.

The three books I completed are:

THESE HOLLOW VOWS by Lexi Ryan (part of my #BeatTheBacklog list)
KAIKEYI by Vaishnavi Patel (review)
TELL ME AND ENDING by Jo Harkin

I wish I’d been able to read more, but I’m happy I have the time to read at all. And now, if you haven’t noticed yet on my blog, it’s the month of Wyrd and Wonder. This event is a celebration of all things fantasy-related in any media format. There’s no deadline to sign up, so if you’re interested, learn more.

Wyrd and Wonder: Celebrating Mythic Books

Published on May 6, 2022June 11, 2022 by Celeste4 Comments

If you’re not sure what Wyrd and Wonder is, check out my introduction post for more information. Imyril, one of the hosts, also has a post with all of the prompts.

Today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt is “mythic.” The idea is to celebrate a subgenre whether it’s a retelling or a secondary world that has that mythic feel. When it comes to fantasy subgenres I think retellings make up the bulk of the subgenre categories I’ve read recently. I’m not saying I’m the most well read in this area, or the most up-to-date. Regardless, here are some books that reimagine myths or have a mythic feel or elements within the story.

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