Danielle Thamasa's Blog, page 6

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.

My Top Ten Posts (So Far)

Hey all, Sam here.

I started this blog back in January 2016, which means that this year is my 10th year of doing this, which feels incredibly wild to me. Without a doubt I can say that 2019 and 2020 were the best years of the blog, and the most prolific. I miss being able to have a post go live every day. But with so many life changes and the state of the world, right now all I can promise is random posts.

Although I’m hoping to have a few more posts go up soon enough. I have a lot of NetGalley reads I’ve finished in 2025 so far and I’d like to get the reviews finished.

In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to look back over ten years worth of posts and see which ones have attracted the most attention. So, I’m going to list off my Top Ten Posts in terms of view numbers. I will also include the links to the posts in case anyone would want to check them out.

Let’s get started.

10. Weekend Writer: Worldbuilding, or Chapter Six of Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer – 309 views – posted September 22, 2019

This was when I was doing chapter by chapter breakdowns for my Weekend Writer writing craft book deep dives. I’m actually glad to see a couple Weekend Writer posts on this list, because I am most proud of them. I spent a lot of time reading and rereading these books and their chapters to pull out the quotes and points that stood out to me. I actually probably should do another reread of Wonderbook because it has been a few years.

9. Tips and Tricks for Surviving a Readathon – 368 views – posted October 18, 2018

This is another post I enjoyed writing up. I have participated in a number of 24 hour Readathons, and I’m usually pretty productive during them, so it was nice to take some of the tricks I’ve picked up from experience and share them with others looking to maximize their reading challenge time.

8. Review: The Emerald Sea by Richelle Mead – 391 views – posted July 13, 2018

Obviously this is a book review post, and while it is for the third book in the trilogy, I should also state that these three books are written in a way where you can read them in any order. They take place over the same time period, but each follows a different FMC and her particular story, which weaves into the stories of the other two. I’ve missed reading Richelle Mead books; they took up a lot of my young adult/new adult years.

7. Manga Monday: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol 1 by Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, and Reiko Sakurada – 417 views – posted April 17, 2023

This review started me off on a 5 volume journey, and I’m sad that it was such a short series because I was enjoying it a lot. The art style is cute, and the story is a more cozy Isekai fantasy tale. So if you need a little cozy fantasy pick me up about a girl who gets a new life in another world and doesn’t necessarily want to be the savior and instead wants to have a book cafe, then this might be the read for you.

6. Tabletop Tuesday: The Griffin’s Saddlebag Book One and Book Two – 558 views – posted July 18, 2023

I’ve actually missed writing these Tabletop Tuesday posts. It’s nice to talk about board games, card games, dice games, TTRPGs, and all manner of tabletop accessories. This particular review was for a pair of books that are simply filled with magic items to add to your D&D game. It’s always fun to have cool magic items to give to players during their adventures.

5. Weekend Writer: Trying out The 5 Sentence Method by Rebecca Thorne – 562 views – posted March 15, 2024

This was a new style for my Weekend Writer series, where instead of chapter by chapter deep dives, I instead did one post that was a review of the book, and then another post that explored or tested the advice in the book. So for The 5 Sentence Method, I tried plotting my D&D romance novel using the same method author Rebecca Thorne uses, and honestly I was pretty impressed with this plotting style, as I am more of a pantser than a plotter.

4. Review: Story Thieves: The Stolen Chapters by James Riley – 602 views – posted March 21, 2019

I posted this the first year I decided to hold Middle Grade March and focus on books from the Middle Grade age range, because they are such fun books with a nice focus on friendship. This is the second book in a series where the characters can actually go into books. One character is a half-fictional looking for her father, and another just wants to visit his favorite story world. It was cute and fun and I had a good time reading the series.

3. Book Review: Lady of Darkness by Melissa K Roehrich – 821 views – posted April 7, 2024

Seeing this post being so popular reminds me that I need to finish reviewing the rest of the series, so I will try to do that soon enough. But I have loved reading this whole series. It is an adult fantasy series and has a bunch of trigger warnings, but it has been a long time since I’ve been so absorbed into a series.

2. Tabletop Tuesday: Date Night Dungeons – Wight Wedding by Urban Realms – 1030 views – posted February 7, 2023

Honestly I’m happily surprised that this post has gotten so much attention. My husband and I have loved playing games together, and we’ve had a very nice time with these Date Night Dungeons (although we wish they would come out more frequently instead of being a few years between releases). This is a TTRPG adventure meant for two people, and it can be as romantic or as platonic as the two of you wish it to be. I definitely enjoy this as a romantic weekend activity if you’re a fan of gaming together.

1. Book Unhaul Challenge – 1898 views – posted on May 15, 2018

Finally we have a post that is inspired by some book tag videos I saw on BookTube, and I did the same thing but in blog post form. It was a way for me to weed out my bookshelves to make space for more books. I’m actually shocked that a blog post about a book unhaul has received the most views.

Well, there it is…my Top Ten Posts based on views. That was a nice little trip down memory lane, but I do believe that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll hopefully be back soon with more geeky content.

Cover Reveal: Dear Reader: An Immersive Literary Journey Through Taylor Swift’s Lyrics with Guided Journal Prompts and Swiftie Easter Eggs by Viktoria Capek

Hey all, Sam here.

I already shared this over on my Instagram and Threads, but I’m also going to post it here because I can add even more information in a blog post than I can do with a social post where I want it to cross-post. Today I have the pleasure of participating in a cover reveal for Watkins Publishing for this really cool Taylor Swift literary journal, which is just a really cool concept.

I have been listening to Taylor Swift pretty much since the beginning (although the first of her CDs that I owned was Fearless). While currently Folkore (and Evermore) are my favorites—because those albums were on repeat for MONTHS during the pandemic—I have enjoyed all the different eras of this musical journey.

So, I’m not going to waste any more time on the intro….here’s the cover:

Dive into the literary world of Taylor Swift like never before. Between the pages of this interactive journal you will meet iconic characters of classic literature, soak up the magic of folklore and fairytales, delve into the imagery of tortured poets, and so much more.
Welcome to Taylor’s cosy library and lose yourself in the pages of ancient and modern literary classics. Organized into ten themes, Dear Reader explores the influence of Wuthering Heights running through songs like Enchanted and ivy, or the inspiration of The Picture of Dorian Gray in mirrorball and Anti-Hero. The perfect gift for book lovers and proud Swifties, Dear Reader will teach you to read between the lyrics and draw parallels between classic works of literature and Taylor’s discography. Features include:
● SWIFT PREP – quick questions to focus your mind on the chapter’s literary themes – from Romanticism to the Gothic.
● SWIFTSNOTES – riveting rundowns of classic books, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to The Great Gatsby.
● LYRICATURE – side-by-side comparisons of key ideas in both Taylor’s songs and popular works of
literature.
● MUSIC VIDEO MUSE – deep dives into Taylor’s music videos and their storytelling, from Love Story to Bejewelled.
● TAYLOR TALKBACK – journalling prompts to further dig into the easter eggs you have uncovered. A source of endless inspiration, Dear Reader unites the worlds of storytelling and songwriting like never before, in a journal to treasure and return to time and again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dear Reader is based on Viktoria Capek’s viral, sold-out, course which started as a proposed idea in a small bookshop in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then grew into a community of people from across the US and beyond! Communications and Development Manager at non-profit The Venture Center, Viktoria’s day job focuses on
economic and entrepreneurial growth with an emphasis on inclusivity for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. She has over 215k followers on TikTok, where she speaks about her experiences as a public-facing queer woman in the South. She holds a master’s degree in Arts Journalism from the University of Southern California and has received a National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award. Viktoria has also managed media for the Athena Film Festival in New York City, a women’s leadership-centric event and founded “Hairpins,” a bi-monthly event for queer women in Arkansas.

This book will be out on September 9, 2025, and honestly I’m looking forward to it. As a holder of a BA in English Literature and a Master’s of Library and Information Science, as well as a bit of a Swiftie, this book seems to merge a couple of my interests into one.

I’m sure I’ll have more about this book in a few more months, but that’s all from me for right now. Thank you so much for stopping by today. Feel free to let me know your favorite Taylor Swift album in the comments, because that would be fun to chat about. And I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

ARC Review: The Witch and His Crow by Ben Alderson

Hey all, Sam here.

I’m wishing a very happy release month to today’s review, which was released March 4th. So a few months back I participated in a cover reveal for The Witch and His Crow and I was really looking forward to reading it…and then I went into reading slumps and got distracted by other books and working on my own books…..and so I almost forgot about this book until literally the first day of the month.

This led to me dropping the ARC I was reading (sorry Swordheart by T. Kingfisher) and opening up this one so I could get it read and reviewed in time for release day, which is today. And honestly, I’m really pleased with my decision to switch ARC reads last minute (and not because I wasn’t enjoying my then-current read, because I have loved every T. Kingfisher book I’ve picked up).

Oh, I guess this is where I should say that I did receive a digital ARC from the author because of participating in the cover reveal. This did not effect my rating or review in any way…and by the time this post goes live, I’ll own the finished edition anyway, because I was intrigued by the book’s pitch even before I saw the cover, so I would have been adding this to my collection whether or not I got to read it early.

Anyway, let’s go ahead and jump on into the review…

‘Rule them. Win. Become Grand High.’

My name is Hector Briar, and I live for revenge. It’s been eighteen years since Witch Hunters murdered my parents, and still the night haunts me. A part of me died that night, when six-year-old me was forced to listen to their brutal murder. Since then, I’ve gone from prey to predator. I spend my nights stalking Oxford’s streets for those who’d see me slaughtered for being what I am. A witch. And more than that, the son of the last Grand High.

I’ve spent the last years hidden in the shadows, not only from Witch Hunters but also my own kind. But one fateful night lands me directly in the hands of the people I’ve been evading my entire life-the Coven. Whereas the Witch Hunters want to destroy me, the Coven want me for a darker fate. For my blood. It’s the key to starting the Witch Trials – a contest to find the next Grand High, a contest where witches battle to the death, or madness.

Thrown into the middle of the very contest my mother died trying to prevent, I must make allies with my enemies if I wish to survive the first night. Not so bad when my ally so happens to be an attractive blue-eyed, 6ft-something, tattooed from neck to navel, bloodthirsty rival-Arwyn Morgan.

But I soon discover that not is all as it seems. There are dark forces lingering in the shadows and the truth is a hard pill to swallow. The Witch Hunters seek a Champion of their own. Enemies and allies lose all meaning when a wolf invades the flock.

Surviving the Witch Trials quickly becomes the least of my worries when ancient forces reveal their true natures. Something dark stirs within me, waiting for its inevitable freedom. I’m the key to keeping it locked away, or freeing it.

The Witch and his Crow is the first book in a MM paranormal romance new series of heart-pounding romance, witchcraft, and bloodthirsty enemies, perfect for fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night and Her Soul to Take

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

I’ll admit it: the one other Ben Alderson book I read didn’t grip me the way this one did. I enjoyed the story (I believe I gave it 3 stars), but the characters didn’t really catch my attention and the story felt a bit too predictable and similar to other stories with a similar plot. The writing also felt a little immature (not the characters, let me make that clear. It was one of Alderson’s earlier books and as such the writing wasn’t as rich and developed, and that’s fine).

But this book. Whoa, this book sucked me in very quickly and I was rapidly turning the pages (because yes, I’ll say turning the pages even though I was merely tapping the screen because it was a digital copy). Was some of the plot still a bit predictable? Well, a bit…but I’ve definitely come to expect that considering how many books I read in an average year. When you typically read somewhere between 150-250 books each year, it can get a lot easier to see the twists and reveals coming. It doesn’t make the book bad, at all.

Hector was an interesting character, and it was fun to watch him reluctantly make allies who became friends. And watching the intrigue play out, watching them try to figure out who this Witch Hunter’s Champion was (because I called it in the early chapters, despite the attempts by Alderson to hint at other possibilities) was fun.

I understand the pitch of this being gay “Charmed” meets “The Hunger Games.” With the magic and the Witch Trial challenges, it’s an accurate description. I liked seeing how the story wove together. I do kind of wish that there had been more detail with the magic, but a lot of it was less spellcraft and potions and casting spells, and more each witch is connected to a natural element and has some ability connected to that: things like telekinesis, pyromancy, agility, etc.

All in all, I read this book in like two sittings, and I will definitely be getting a finished physical copy for my shelves….as well as awaiting announcements about more installments in the series. It was a fun read, and makes me curious about checking out even more of Alderson’s books.

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