Tag: Namina Forna

The Dark Side of Fantasy

Published on by Celeste2 Comments

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!

Wyrd and Wonder is a celebration of all things fantasy. The format of figurative consumption doesn’t matter. You can read, watch, game, puzzle, etc. anything fantasy! To learn more visit my introduction post, which includes links to the hosts and more information about this month-long appreciation of the fantasy genre.

Today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt is “dark:”

Time to celebrate a subgenre – choose your path wisely, whether you love grimdark, dark fantasy, or horror.

When I stop to think about the type of fantasy I read, it comes down to either fantasy with romance or dark fantasy. Usually there’s some of both subgenres in a fantasy book that I pick up.

What is dark fantasy? Fantasy Book Fanatic describes this subgenre as “typified by a deliberately ominous tone, reinforcing what is commonly perceived as a “gloomy” atmosphere. Standard features of fantasy are deliberately intertwined with a sense of terror and dread to create this sinister subcategory of fantasy.” FBF lists characteristics often found in dark fantasy books, which can include a deliberately ominous tone; the possibility that evil can win; themes of good vs. evil; a lack of heroes; elements of horror; and a gloomy atmosphere.

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Monthly Book Blog Wrap-Up: April 2022

Published on by Celeste3 Comments

It’s time for another monthly book blog wrap-up featuring the month of April. I felt busier than I actually was (?), mainly because the past couple of days I’ve been hard at work putting together posts for Wyrd and Wonder. Which has nothing to do with April, but so it goes! I surprised myself in April by posting for five days straight the week of April 4. That’s hardly the norm for me, so don’t get used to it. But keep reading to see what you might have missed this past month.

Book Reviews

I posted four book reviews in April. From earliest to latest, here are my recent book reviews.

Book Memes and Other Posts

I posted the following book memes:

I also participated in the Support Book Bloggers Challenge by writing about three (free!) things you can do to help book bloggers.

Statistics

A few more lovely people followed my blog to bring my total to 65 of my 2022 goal of 100. Thank you to my new blog followers for helping me make my way to that goal!

In April my blog saw more unique visitors than the previous month. I don’t know how or why I’m seeing this upward trend, but I’m super happy and thankful to see it! Please keep visiting!

In April my top five posts were:

#BeatTheBacklog

Lisa at Owl Be Sat Reading started the hashtag #BeatTheBacklog to rally those who want to make a dent in their TBR list. Two of the books I read in April fall under #BeatTheBacklog: THESE HOLLOW VOWS by Lexi Ryan and TELL ME AN ENDING by Jo Harkin.

Other Bookish Progress

I posted a massive book haul rounding up my purchases in March. It took forever to format, so please do click and admire all things bookish in that post.

I posted my Trope-Ical Readathon March 2022 Wrap-Up detailing the books I finished for that readathon

And I also joined Mythothon Round 6, where I posted by reads for Team Isis. I still need to do a wrap-up post for this…somewhere in between all of the Wyrd and Wonder posts.

Book Review: The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Published on by Celeste3 Comments

Today’s review is about THE GILDED ONES by Namina Forna. It’s the first book in the Deathless trilogy. Deka nears the age of her village’s blood ceremony, which will determine whether she can remain or be forced out. When her blood runs gold instead of red, she decides to leave and fight for the emperor. But once she does she begins to wonder about the truth of the stories told to her people.

Author: Namina Forna
Series: Deathless #1
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: February 9, 2021
Print Length: 432

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Gilded Ones 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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WWW Wednesday: March 16, 2022

Published on by CelesteLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. I’m about 75 pages in and intrigued, but also turned off by the cult-ish community the main character grew up in. Maybe I didn’t read the synopsis carefully enough, but I wasn’t expecting such religious intensity. This was a hot book last year, though, so I’m looking forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype.




Recently Finished: A couple days ago I finished The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton. Yesterday was its publish date and I recently participated in a blog blitz for it. It’s a historical fiction fantasy romance set in 19th century England. I absolutely loved it. It was witty, charming, spunky. It’s not something I would normally gravitate to, but I’m glad I took a chance. Now I want to read the first book in the series (but it reads as a standalone).



Reading Next: Next I’m going to read The Dragon Ring by Fil Reid. It was given to me for free as part of an upcoming blog tour that starts later this month. This is the first physical copy I’ve received from a publicist, so that in itself is special to me. Stay tuned for my review at the end of March! I need to swap this in for the Blast from the Past Tropeical Readathon General Challenge.




WWW Wednesday: March 9, 2022

Published on by CelesteLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton. It’s technically an ARC from NetGalley. I’m only about 15% in, but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s witty and well-written. It’s sort of haughty in a period English sort of way, but the story doesn’t take itself too seriously. I have no idea what to expect out of this story, but I’m excited for the ride.




Recently Finished: Late last week I finally finished The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney. I’m not quite sure how to describe it. It’s sort of like a psychological thriller, but less thriller and more manipulation? It’s not a genre I usually read, but I decided to incorporate it into my Tropeical Readathon list. I started it several months ago, but got caught up with other goals. Long story short, I’m glad I finished it. Now I just need to write my review and post it on NetGalley.




Reading Next: I meant to start The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna next, but decided I didn’t want to travel with a thick hardback copy. So I’ll star this next after I get home from vacation.