Danielle Thamasa's Blog, page 5

Getting Excited for the Books of June

Hey all, Sam here.

Gosh, this year is kind of flying by, which feels strange considering what a wild ride 2025 has been so far. But here we are, approaching a new month, and that means I’m looking ahead at a whole new slew of book releases. June is another pretty great month for releases, and I’ve been lucky that most of the books I’m anticipating are books that I’ve been approved for via NetGalley, which is great for someone who is trying to get more posts written and scheduled.

Much like with the books of May, it seems like most of my June books come out about the same time. In fact, 9 of the 13 books I’ve been approved for by NetGalley for June releases come out in the first half of the month (and yes, I’ve already finished some of them and have reviews coming). Hopefully I’ll be able to get some of the later releases read in the beginning of the month so I can keep up this momentum.

Let’s get into these fantastic book releases, starting with the ones I have on my NetGalley shelf.

Pearly Gates by Bonnie Solomon (I had this in my spreadsheet as June 1, but it apparently got moved up to May 19), Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove (June 3), The Chosen Queen by Sam Davey (June 3)

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim (June 3), Queen of Mercy by Natania Barron (June 3), A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J Penner (June 3)

The Lure of Their Graves by Laura R Samotin (June 3), Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race (June 10), Realm of Thieves by Karina Halle (June 10)

This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman (June 17), The Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton (June 17), House of Frost and Feathers by Lauren Wiesebron (June 17), The Last Vigilant by Mark A Latham (June 24)

There’s just a few more June releases that I’m really looking forward to, but I don’t know if I’ll fit them into my June reads, because a lot of that depends on if/when I can get them ordered, received, and then read. I have to be a lot more selective with my book purchasing currently, but I still want to support writers as much as I can with the little money I can swing for my book buying.

That Devil, Ambition by Linsey Miller (June 3), Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab (June 10), Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston (June 17), A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek (June 24)

One June release I know I’ll be getting to is the sixth novella in the Catastrophe Incoming series by Aimee Donnellan. It comes out June 21st and considering I flew through the first five novellas in just a few days back in April, I have no doubts that I’ll read this new installment very quickly as well.

All right, well that is all from me for today. What books are you looking forward to for the month of June? Let me know in the comments. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride

Hey all, Sam here.

Okay, I was doing good for about a week there with getting regular reviews up (especially since I have so many waiting for me to type up the review post), but then I ended up taking a break to recover from all the traveling I did for my vacation. I’m going to try and get another few reviews up this week, so we’ll see if I can keep up with this lofty yet achievable goal.

I actually wanted to have today’s post up last week, because I wanted it up more than a couple days before release day, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, today’s review comes out in just a couple more days, on May 27 (for the US), so you won’t have to wait long to get your own copy—mine was pre-ordered months ago.

All right, let’s dive on into the review already.

To become the first queen in centuries, a powerfully blessed blacksmith must use her wits and fire magic to overthrow the corrupt powers ruling her kingdom—while also fighting her growing desire for one of her dragon-riding adversaries—in the first book of a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance duology.

Once a territory built on matriarchal rule and values, Tìr Teine has since grown frail from a long line of fruitless kings. The most recent of which have ruled under the influence of the True Religion, an oppressive group who have steadily poisoned the region with their anti-magic teachings.

Born to rule and blessed by fire, Aemyra has begrudgingly lived in hiding rather than risk her life in court, waiting in anticipation for the current king’s death so she can bond to his dragon, claim her throne, and protect her people. But when the king dies and Aemyra is ready to take what is rightfully hers, her ambitious plan is foiled and she is thrust into a game of vicious politics and plots.

Her biggest adversary is Prince Fiorean, a dragon-rider and one of the most powerful fire wielders in the territory. Cold, arrogant, and blindly supportive of his corrupt family, he is everything Aemyra despises. But as chaos engulfs the court, they find themselves reluctantly entwined, forced to forge an uneasy alliance—one that quickly ignites into something more dangerous than either of them expected.

Behind enemy lines and slowly falling for her so-called adversary, Aemyra uncovers just how far the rot of corruption has spread, and what she may have to sacrifice to claim her throne.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

The number of books I’ve read this year that have had many moments that mirror real world events or feelings has been numerous, and yet they are more palatable in fiction. This is because in fiction we know that the protagonists, the “heroes”, the “good guys”, are going to find a way to fix things (or begin to fix things) and save the world.

What did we have in this book? Well corruption, religious conversion (which also deteriorates the magic because this is a fantasy realm), a weakening of women’s rights. Oh, and a good chunk of the magic/lore/naming of this world is based on or inspired by Irish and Scottish culture and language.

Honestly, I was swept away into this story pretty quickly, and had to make myself slow down just a smidge so I could savor it a little longer. But I admit that it was nice for me to have a book that I didn’t really want to put down (thanks work for making it to where I had no choice and had to put the book down–yes, that’s sarcasm, because I didn’t want to stop reading).

Were some of the reveals predictable? Kind of, but I always find that to be the case because I have been a fantasy reader for around 30 years now, which means I’ve seen a lot of these tropes and ideas play out in various combinations.

I loved Aemyra and her family, and Prince Fiorean was certainly interesting. For a little while he had me semi-fooled as I hoped for a better way forward with their forced alliance. The push-pull of the enemies-to-allies-to-?? relationship, as well as all the historical and magical revelations kept me fascinated and flying through the pages.

Also, I’m a sucker for court politics and political intrigue type stories, especially when balanced with a world filled with magic and magical creatures, and intriguing interpersonal relationships.

I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel, and I can’t wait to have the finished copy of this one on my shelves.

Well, that’s all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones

Hey all, Sam here.

Most of the time when I am approved for a book on NetGalley, it’s going to end up as a read I enjoy, and a majority of the time the rating is 3 stars or better. One could make the statement that my reviews aren’t as good or are biased because I rarely have negative reviews.

My typical response to that is I am nearing (insert age here, which at the moment is 37) and I have been a voracious reader for about 30 or so of those years. This means that I have had years to figure out what kinds of stories I like and so I request and read books that I already have a feeling I’m going to enjoy.

Thankfully a vast majority of the time I am correct with my book choices. But not all the time, and so sometimes I get to have these reviews that are granted a lower rating. So I guess we should just go ahead and dive right on into today’s book review.

I’ll be forced to take the crown, simply because of who my parents are. Never mind that my skin, my eyes, the way I move, everything will give me away for what I am.

Human.

In a world ruled by vampires.

As sole heir to the House of Raven, there is nothing Emelia can’t have. The only problem is, she doesn’t want it.

But when a new guard enters her closed-off existence, she sees a way out. As rebellion and dark forces swirl around her, Emelia has a choice to make – leave everyone she loves behind, or stay and accept her destiny…

My Thoughts

Rating: DNF @ 15%

I usually do not DNF a book. I usually can get myself through the story so I can give a fully formed and well rounded opinion on a book. But I simply could not force myself to care about this book, and it had reached the point where even thinking about opening this story again had me wanting to go doom scroll on my phone instead, and I really wanted to be reading.

I admit that I’m intrigued by a lot of books labeled as romantasy, and I’ve read a number of vampire stories (and for the most part enjoyed them). And The Last Raven piqued my interest enough that I was willing to check it out.

But Emelia acted more like a 12 or 13 year old than a nearly 18 year old, and in a book aimed towards YA, I expect a certain amount of “immaturity” from the characters. This story definitely had that feeling….but even more than that, the writing itself felt extremely immature.

Neither Emelia nor her bodyguard Kyle seemed like anything more than brats or jerks. Emelia whined a lot and Kyle (the new bodyguard who is described as hot but a jerk) was extremely aggravating. For being the princess of the House of Raven and expected to rule, Emelia was practically clueless about anything outside the castle walls.

She also made so many comments about how she wasn’t like the others around her because she was a human born to vampires, which made her a target and different.

I really wanted to be able to read more of this book, and I really had hoped that it would be something I would like at least a little bit, but that first 15%, I really felt like I was pulling teeth to even get that far into the story. I didn’t care about Emelia, her family, her land, her people, her bodyguard, her insta-love setup…..none of it was even remotely holding my interest.

So, there you have it. I do occasionally have books that I read and don’t like all that much, or that I try and fail to complete. It’s rather rare, but it happens.

However, I will absolutely say that while this book wasn’t for me, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be a hit for you. If the premise sounds interesting, hey, go check it out. Hopefully you enjoy it in a way I did not. If so then that is fantastic. This book just obviously wasn’t a good fit for me, and that’s okay.

All right, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: The Last Session Graphic Novel by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws, and Micah Myers

Hey all, Sam here.

You know, I haven’t done a Tabletop Tuesday post in a little while, and I might try to start getting back to that with a couple tabletop posts a month because David and I have two rather solid D&D groups going right now and I’d love to talk about that more, but until then, I have something that is sort of tabletop related…. a graphic novel review that’s about a TTRPG group as they near the end of their campaign. I’ve been meaning to get this posted for a little while now, and just didn’t sit down to actually write out the review until now.

I’ll be completely honest and say that I also have a few book reviews that involve characters playing TTRPGs as well, so I might do a book review/Tabletop Tuesday mashup for a few posts. It could be fun.

All right…let’s just go ahead and jump into today’s review.

ROLL FOR INITIATIVE Jay, Lana, Drew, Walter, and Shen began playing Dice & Deathtraps in high school. Now dealing with college and all the twists and turns of their lives, their weekly game has been a wonderful constant. But, as college graduation looms and it feels like their lives are all moving down very different paths, Lana’s thrilled to finally finally complete the party’s unfinished original campaign. But when Jay’s partner Cassandra joins the game, Lana refuses to let her inexperience ruin the best part of her week! But in the end, that may be Lana and the party’s undoing… Writer Jasmine Walls ( Edmonia Lewis) and artist DOZERDRAWS (Lumberjanes) weave a heartfelt story of friends learning to cope with all the changes that come from growing up. Collects issues #1- 5.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Gosh, this was so relatable in a number of ways, mostly in the group starting to sort of drift apart because of life. But I respect that at least everyone wanted to get together and finish the campaign. Not getting closure on the characters and the adventure really sucks (and I definitely know from a number of past experiences).

This group had a lot of unresolved issues, in game and out, and they bled from one to another (yet another relatable aspect, unfortunately), and it was a bit annoying that some of the group wanted to limit and railroad the new player because they didn’t like how she was changing the group dynamic, but it was a dynamic that needed to change and grow a bit, and that’s okay.

New players can be such fun to add to the game because they can throw out some of the best and most wild ideas. Sometimes once you learn the rules and such, you build your characters with an eye towards conforming to the rules. Maybe I’ll do a post talking about some of the epic moments from the new players in both of our campaigns, because there have been some wonderful and hilarious moments.

All Cassandra wanted to do was be part of the group, but since the group had known each other much longer, some of them were very set in their ways when it came to their positions in the group dynamic. It caused friction that was clearly grating on many of them, but instead of trying to address the issue, they dug in their heels and stubbornly pushed on to try and reach the end of the campaign.

This graphic novel combines all 5 issues of the story, so you’ll get to see all the ups and downs of the journey, because it does reach a breaking point that will either get the party to the end of the campaign or will break the gaming group up for good. I’m not going to spoil any of that adventure for you.

The art felt a little simple compared to some graphic novels I’ve read, but that doesn’t at all mean that it’s bad. It wasn’t weighed down by complex intricate backgrounds and detailing, so you could focus more on the characters and the story. Oh, and the whole cast is delightfully diverse, which is also fantastic. We get to know bits and pieces about everyone’s lives, in game and out, but since this isn’t a text based full length novel, it’s not like we get everything fleshed out in grand detail, but it is enough to connect with each character and each player.

And though it has taken me far too long to review this graphic novel, it didn’t really take all that long to read. It is one that I have added to my collection, because I love to have stories about other TTRPG groups and the adventures they take together, in and out of game. I can definitely see myself re-reading this one whenever I need a little dose of tabletop action.

I know these characters have the potential for more adventures together at the table, but I’m not holding my breath for more. Despite the cover of this saying Volume 1, I think it is the complete collection. The Last Session was released back in 2022 and there’s been no evidence of more issues coming to create a second volume. The story wraps up well enough, and we can always daydream about imagined futures for the members of this friend group.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and I’m glad I read it.

Well, that’s all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

Hey all, Sam here.

I think it’s time to start playing catch-up on all these reads I haven’t reviewed yet this year (or the past couple years, honestly). I definitely do not promise that I’ll catch up on my review backlog quickly (I’m up to 43 books completed so far this year), but I am going to be trying to get a couple reviews up each week (hopefully).

So I might as well start with my first completed read for 2025.

Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she’d been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn’t her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake–and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyrreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyrreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

First read of 2025 and it was a pretty quick read, finished in the first two hours of the new year. I love this series, and actually need to go back and just reread all of them because there are so many characters and worlds and connections between everything now, and I want to see what I notice now that I didn’t realize the first time around. The only real thing I’ll say about this one is that I’m actually sad it was only 160 pages long; I would have liked a little more time with Nadya and her found family.

That is what I wrote as my Goodreads review on January 1st, and that still stands as pretty accurate. I do really need to go back and do a re-read of this whole series because this is the 10th novella, but then there’s also a few short stories as well. What I have absolutely loved about them all is all the little details that connect them together, even if they take place at different times and we aren’t necessarily getting everything told to us in a linear fashion.

Also, this series has been fantastically diverse in so many ways. There has been so much representation of mental health, physical differences, various belief systems, different romantic and sexual preferences, and it all feels so earnest and honest and grounded. I have been a massive fan of Seanan McGuire for years (although I keep not picking up the October Daye or Incryptid series, despite owning many of them).

Oooh….I also once again am reminded that I do not have all the books in this series reviewed. Hmm…that might be another reason for a re-read. I’ll link every one I have reviewed here for you:

#1 – Every Heart a Doorway #2 – Down Among the Sticks and Bones #3 – Beneath the Sugar Sky #4 – In an Absent Dream #5 – Come Tumbling Down #6 – Across the Green Grass Fields #7 – Where the Drowned Girls Go #8 – Lost in the Moment and Found #9 – Mislaid in Parts Half-Known #10 – Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear #11 – Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (expected Jan 2026)

Okay, wow this review has not really dived into any specifics about this particular installment in the series. Sorry, I am massively out of practice with writing these. I did like learning about the watery world of Belyrreka. Each of these worlds in these stories has been unique and fleshed out enough to seem like some place the characters have lived in and explored and loved.

This is definitely a portal fantasy series to check out if you haven’t yet already.

Okay, that’s all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

April Wrap-Up

Hey all, Sam here.

Another month has ended, which means it is time for me to talk about how my April went. I did do a decent amount of TV/movie watching, as per usual, but I’m not tracking my watches like I used to. I can say that David and I did a re-watch of all of “The Hunger Games” movies, we watched “Sakamoto Days” and everything released so far for “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes”, and have almost finished another “Wheel of Time” Season 3 re-watch.

What this reoccurring blog post really covers is looking at the same areas I cover in my yearly goals post, which means I talk about reading, writing, blogging, and trips/conventions. As per usual, the reading section is the biggest one. I really need to work on bolstering the writing and blogging sections.

All right. We might as well get started now.

Reading

I managed to read 10 books in the month of April, but I will also be transparent and say that 6 of those were novellas, so they read rather quickly. Still, I’m not going to be upset with what I managed to accomplish. I am sad that I didn’t get more of my Indie April reads in, but I’m going to keep trying to work my way through both trad pubbed books as well as indie pubbed ones.

Anyway, let’s quickly run through everything I read last month.

Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch — 5 stars

The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez — 2.5 stars

The Chase Begins by Aimee Donnellan — 4 stars

The Collection Awakens by Aimee Donnellan — 4 stars

The Survivor Stands by Aimee Donnellan — 4 stars

You’ve Got Chain Mail by Sam Parks — 3 stars

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson — 5 stars

The Labyrinth Beckons by Aimee Donnellan — 4.5 stars

The Spirit Torments by Aimee Donnellan — 4.5 stars

Unrelenting Winds by Melissa K Roehrich — 5 stars

So there we have it. All the books I read in the month of April, and I will be working on getting more of my 2025 reads reviewed and posted on the blog now. Hopefully I can keep making progress with both reading and blogging.

Writing

I’ve done a couple thousand words worth of writing, but it just continually feels like a struggle…and not because I don’t want to write or I’m not motivated by the characters and their stories. I’m just constantly fighting the concerns and mental strain of everything going on in the US right now, and the fear that there won’t even be a place for my stories if/when I do finish them.

I know that I should be writing for myself first, and I love my WIPs, but it’s so hard for me to stay motivated on something that may never see the light of day. I love storytelling because we get to share that love of stories with others when they read what we write.

I just need to figure out how to keep myself writing

Blogging

Before this year began, my plan was to blog at least twice a week, with the hopes that I would get back into the swing of it and end up blogging even more than that. But I have not held myself to my plans or goals, so I have been lucky to get just a couple blog posts written each month.

Much like with March, in April I managed four posts: my March Wrap-Up, What Books Am I Looking Forward to in April?, May Books I’m Looking Forward To, and NetGalley Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S Dawson.

There are so very many books I have read that I still need to review (over 30 in 2025 so far), so I am very much hoping to spend some time getting those ready. If there’s more posts up in May then it’s because I actually made myself sit down and take time to work on this blog more.

Trips/Conventions

Well, we got our tax return back, and that enabled us to get our Gen Con tickets and to book our hotel for August, so we have the essentials purchased for our biggest trip of the year. And we’re getting ready for a trip back to Ohio to hang out with my mom in the middle of May, and that should be fun. But other than that, we don’t really have anything to report when it comes to trips and conventions.

All right, well that is all from me for today. How was your April? Let me know in the comments. Thank you so much for stopping by and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S Dawson

Hey all, Sam here.

In a very weird timely coincidence, today I am posting the review for this book…and tonight my friends and I are going to be sitting around the gaming table taking on Strahd. Wish us luck. Hopefully the dice are on our side for the next couple of sessions (because we already think this fight will end up taking two sessions. Strahd has been a delightfully terrifying opponent the past 30+ sessions).

I’m also very much looking forward to having the finished editions of this story in my hands (because yes, as soon as I heard about this book, I went and pre-ordered the hardcover and the audiobook). That being said, I should mention that this book is out very soon, with a release date of May 13th.

I requested this book because I’ve been enjoying the recent D&D tie-in novels, and because one of my current campaigns I’m playing in is Curse of Strahd. Plus, I’ve read a few books by author Delilah S Dawson before, so I figured this would be a great read. All that being said, my rating and review on this was not influenced by getting an early digital copy. I would still be reading and reviewing this book even if I hadn’t been approved on NetGalley. Still, I am grateful for Del Ray/Random House Worlds and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

Let’s get into the review.

A party of adventurers must brave the horrors of Ravenloft in this official Dungeons & Dragons novel!

Five strangers armed with steel and magic awaken in a mist-shrouded land, with no memory of how they Rotrog, a prideful orcish wizard; Chivarion, a sardonic drow barbarian; Alishai, an embittered tiefling paladin; Kah, a skittish kenku cleric; and Fielle, a sunny human artificer.

After they barely survive a nightmarish welcome to the realm of Barovia, a carriage arrives bearing an

Fairest Friends,

I pray you accept my humble Hospitality and dine with me tonight at Castle Ravenloft. It is rare we receive Visitors, and I do so Endeavor to Make your Acquaintance. The Carriage shall bear you to the Castle safely, and I await your Arrival with Pleasure.

Your host,
Strahd von Zarovich

With no alternative, and determined to find their way home, the strangers accept the summons and travel to the forbidding manor of the mysterious count. But all is not well at Castle Ravenloft. To survive the twisted enigmas of Strahd and his haunted home, the adventurers must confront the dark secrets in their own hearts and find a way to shift from strangers to comrades—before the mists of Barovia claim them forever.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

The only reason this book took me a few days to read was because I got busy at work, and because I wanted to try and savor it. But honestly, if I hadn’t had my workweek in the way, I definitely would have just sat and read this whole thing in one sitting.

Delilah S Dawson perfectly captured the eerie haunting horror that is Barovia. I sank into the atmospheric descriptions so quickly. It was captivating, and I loved every moment of the time spent in the Domains of Dread. This would absolutely be a perfect Spooky Season read (and honestly I’ll probably re-read it for Spooky Season, because the vibes are immaculate).

The characters were an interesting mix, and I enjoyed them all in different ways, although there were some who I liked more than others. I’m a corvid obsessed girlie, so I definitely felt a kinship with Kah the Kenku. I loved Fielle’s sunny disposition, although I definitely worried about how she’d fare in a place like Barovia. Chivarion (and Murder) and Alishai were both serious, strong, fierce characters and definitely very focused on getting out of their predicament, even if that meant using brute force to do so. The one who aggravated me the most was Rotrog, but I completely understood his desire for information and knowledge, and being fully focused on that.

Each of the characters had a lot going on that was slowly revealed as the story progressed, and we learned more about what had been happening to them in the moments/hours/days leading up to being drawn into the mists and landing in Barovia. They all had secrets. None of them knew each other before waking up in Barovia, and it was the journey that sort of forced them to team up and band together to try and get out together.

I’m sure as soon as my partner reads this book (he’ll probably listen to the audio), he’ll have all sorts of ideas for where our Curse of Strahd campaign will go next…because our party has not spent much time inside Castle Ravenloft…whereas most of this book was centered there. It was fascinating to watch each member of this group interact with Strahd and to see how he pulled at the strings attached to them all. It was a masterclass in amping up the eerie nature of not just the domain of Barovia, but also those who inhabit it.

I devoured this book, and while the story wraps up well-enough, I can’t help but feel like there is definitely an option for more to come. Considering the ending, I am REALLY hoping that we’ll get more with these adventurers, because wow, I want to know more about them and how the time in Barovia has affected them.

I’m reading the sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks book soon, and that gives me hope for the possibility of more Barovia tales as well (or at least more with this circumstances-forged party). Please, Delilah S Dawson. Please, Del Ray/Random House Worlds. Please Wizards of the Coast. I definitely feel like Heir of Strahd deserves a sequel.

All right, that is all from me for today. Once again, Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd will be out May 13th, so go pick up your own copy wherever books are sold. Thank you so much for stopping by, I need to go and make sure my dice are ready to face Strahd tonight, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

May Books I’m Looking Forward To

Hey all, Sam here.

I am absolutely terrible at TBRs…at least the past handful of years. I used to be really good at sticking to them and reading a lot of books each month. It led to me reading a couple hundred books each year. This was back in 2019 and 2020, but then I reached the point of burnout, probably partly due to the pandemic. And since then I have been struggling to read as much as well as to blog as much.

I’d like to read more, and get back into blogging. I do miss talking about books with more people.

Anyway, let’s look at some of the May books I’m looking forward to, starting with those I’ve been approved for via NetGalley:

The Vengeance by Emma Newman (May 6), A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall (May 6), Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S Dawson (May 13), A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride (May 27)

I’ve already read Heir of Strahd and will have the review up very soon, and I’m definitely planning on reading A Fate Forged in Fire pretty soon, so hopefully I’ll be able to have a review for it up before release day as well.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler (May 27), Divine Blessings by K.R. Thompson (May 27), The Violet Raven by E.E. Star (May 27), The Oracle of Dusk by Elyse Thomson (May 28)

There’s a lot of books coming at the end of the month, but I do have a vacation in the middle of the month, so I might be able to get a little extra reading done. That would be nice. While I am ahead on my reading goal, I’m not as far ahead as I normally expect of myself at this point in the year.

Now, okay, that’s just the NetGalley eARCs I have and always hope to read…although I am very behind on my NetGalley reads and really should put a pause on requesting things for awhile. I very much tend to be a mood reader so it can be difficult to plan out my monthly reads, but I do know that I want to continue reading more diverse reads as well as more indie authors.

You’ll see in my April Wrap-Up that I went on a binge-read of an author’s novella series, so in May I’m hoping to check out the first book in a novel series they’ve also released. And then I’ll probably try and read more of the options I posted about in my Indie April to-reads. Hopefully I’ll have a nice May Wrap-Up to talk about next month.

All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by. Are there any books you’re looking forward to in May? Let me know in the comments! I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

What Books Am I Looking Forward to in April?

Hey all, Sam here.

I have not been great at sticking to a TBR lately. My reading time and my reading mood have been difficult to schedule and predict the past…oh, six months or so. And yet, part of me keeps trying to plan out what I want to read in any given month or season.

So what’s on my Hopeful April TBR?

Well, I guess I should start by looking at what April releases I’ve been approved for on NetGalley.

Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen (April 1), A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (April 1), Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner (April 1), Don’t Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo (April 8)

Tonight, I Bleed by Katharine J Adams (April 8), The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson (April 8), The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide (April 15), The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (April 15)

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah (April 15), A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J Penner (April 15), Saint Death’s Herald by C.S.E. Cooney (April 22), Advocate by Daniel M Ford (April 22)

And as if that wasn’t enough, obviously there’s other books I’m hoping to read as well, because April is also Indie April and I’d like to read some of my indie author books, most of which are hanging out on my Kindle currently, and there are so very many of them, and this is where my being a mood reader isn’t really helping me. Because there are so many, I don’t know which ones I want to pick up and read right now.

There’s A LOT here, and this isn’t even all of them. Obviously, even just counting my NetGalley reads, I’m at my average for monthly reads, but I don’t know what I’m going to want to actually read, so I’m giving myself plenty of options.

1st Image: When Life Gives You Legends by Luna Ryder, The Death Bringer by A.M. Eno, A Fellowship of Games & Fables by J. Penner, Shot in the Dark by Mary Dublin and Anne Kendsley, The Call of Chaos by C.M. Aragon, Spellbound Scones by Fleur Devillainy, Shadow Dance by C.K. Andersson, You’ve Got Chain Mail by Sam Parks, Legend of the Quill by Astra Crompton, The Strange Hour by R.G. Wesley, Tarnished by Erica Rose Eberhart, A Crimson Covenant by Aimee Donnellan

2nd Image: The Chronicles of Eynhallow by Mike Rogers and Jonathan Roe, Vanished by Nicole McKeon, Talismans, Teacups, and Trysts by K. Sterling, Phantom & Rook by Aglina Isaacs, The Bartender Between Worlds by Herman Steurnagel, Love Letters & Thirst Tonics by Hailey Blackwood, Unrelenting Winds by Melissa K Roehrich, Cinnamon Rolls & Villainy by Chante A Campbell, Cursed Cocktails by S.L. Rowland, Daindreth’s Assassin by Elizabeth Wheatley, The Fey Hotel by Vermillion H Baine, Between Wrath & Mercy by Jess Wisecup

So, yeah, I have a whole bunch of options when it comes to books to read. I like keeping my options open. I’ve been hoarding books for years, buying up as many as possible when I have a little extra cash for the inevitable time when I end up not really having a lot of extra money…and with the way prices are going up on practically everything, that day may be coming sooner than I’d like.

But I’m still going to keep buying as many books as I can while I still can. It just means my ever-growing TBR just gets even bigger. I’ll keep reading as many books as I can and talking about them to anyone who will listen.

All right, well I think that is all from me for today. Are there any books you’re hoping to read in April? Let me know down in the comments. Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

March Wrap-Up

Hey all, Sam here.

Wow, well we are already finished with another month, which is always an interesting experience. This year continues to somehow both drag so slowly while also speeding past. Like, how are we already in the fourth month of the year? But also, how has it ONLY been three full months so far?

Anyway, I don’t want to waste a lot of time here with my intro, but I will say that David and I did spend about a week playing Split Fiction after work and on our days off, and oh my goodness, that was such a fun game. We’ll try to have a review up sometime soon, but I wanted to mention it here because I don’t exactly have a watching or gaming section in these wrap-ups. I used to do a “What I’m Watching” segment when I did weekly wrap-ups, but it was a bit tedious tracking all my reading and watching and playing and doing, so I scaled back quite a bit.

Speaking of watches, we just finished season 2 of “Solo Leveling” last night — we binge-watched both seasons in like four days — and holy smokes, they best be giving us a season 3 and a season 4, because that will probably be what we need to complete the story in show form.

Okay, enough, let’s get into the rest of the monthly wrap-up.

Reading

All right, well March was a pretty darn good reading month. I completed 12 books, which is awesome, but don’t ask me to pick favorites because I read too many highly anticipated books.

The Witch and His Crow by Ben Alderson — 4.5 stars

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis — 3.5 stars

Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold by Rebecca Coffindaffer, Sam Maggs, Rory Power, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Aabria Iyengar, Jess Barber, Martin Cahill, Kendra Wells, Nibedita Sen, and Izzy Wasserstein — 5 stars

Animorphs #6: The Capture by K.A. Applegate and Chrise Grine — 5 stars

The Winter Goddess by Megan Barnard — 4 stars

Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S Dawson — 5 stars

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall — 4.5 stars

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins — 5 stars

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn — 5 stars

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson — 4 stars

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene — 4 stars

Di-Curious by Erin Branch — 4.5 stars

I will work on getting reviews up for as many of these books as I can manage, because I also have my January and February reads to review as well. If I can stay focused then I’ll just be able to schedule out a few weeks worth of content, which would be really cool.

Writing

I spent at least 50 hours in the month of March daydreaming and mentally plotting my writing projects, which included some writing, and some jotting down thoughts and ideas. And I know that daydreaming or jotting down little notes on note cards or in notebooks isn’t really writing, but it’s at least getting me focused on thinking creatively pretty much every day, which is better than nothing.

My hope is to spend a bit more time in April actually putting the words on the page. I am working on a novel and a novella, and I honestly think I can get the rough draft of the novella finished this month. I think I only need another 10-15k to finish it, which seems very doable for a month of writing sessions.

Blogging

I actually managed to do a little more blogging in March than in previous months. I think I had….four (?)… posts. Yes, there were four posts in March……which isn’t quite the two posts a month I dreamed of when I set my goals for the year, but it’s at least progress.

Considering I only had two posts in January and two posts in February, March was an improvement, so that’s something.

Let’s see…I posted my February Wrap-Up, and an ARC review for The Witch and His Crow by Ben Alderson, then there was a Cover Reveal for Dear Reader by Viktoria Capek, and finally a trip down memory lane by going over my Ten Most Viewed Posts So Far.

I have a bunch of book reviews drafted and plan to take some time and finish writing them, so hopefully there will be even more blog posts coming for the month of April.

Trips/Conventions

We only have one month to go until our trip back to Ohio to visit my mom for a few days, and we’ve been figuring out when a lot of the restaurants and such open (we’re going to stay along Lake Erie and there are a number of seasonal businesses there) and thankfully most of the places we were hoping to visit will be open. It should be a fun trip.

We’re also getting ready for Gen Con in August. We’ve put in our vacation requests at work and are busy researching hotel options so we can get that booked sooner rather than later.

Other than that we haven’t really done much when it comes to trips, but since we’re finally starting to reach spring weather we should be able to start planning little day trips or overnight trips to see some more sights.

All right, well that is it from me for today. I hope you had a productive month of March. Let me know some of the cool stuff you did last month because I’d love to hear about it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.