Aiswrya’s Comments (group member since Mar 30, 2020)

Aiswrya’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Day 3: Chapters 19-27

11. The fantasy genre is known for its world building. How do you feel about the world building in this book? How does it compare to other fantasy novels you’ve read?
I’m not a fan. These too much going on, it’s very chaotic.

12. In this section we meet Cade’s former teacher Hazidan. What do you think of her character? Did you ever have a favorite teacher and were they similar to Hazidan in any way?
No, definitely no teacher like Hazidan. Do they do that anymore, I wonder.

13. Chapter 25: Friends in Low Places had a pretty big reveal about the Celestials plans and how they’ve been herding Cade this whole time. How did you feel about this twist?
I think I expected this, since there were several hints thrown about how the good people weren’t behaving as they normally did.

14. At this point I think we have the whole team together: Is one of them your favorite?
Galass

Bonus for audiobook listeners: How are you liking the audiobook? Would you recommend it?
Yes! The narrator is fantastic.

Day 2 DQs
Ch 9 to 18

6.) Did Galass turning into a blood mage and Fidick being the cause of Lucian's death (I assume that's what the black cloud that left the tent did) surprise you? Or were you expecting their bit in the story to be over and just a footnote about Cade's character?
Yes, i was surprised to see these characters return. I had assumed that we won’t see them again, and honestly didn’t pay them much thought when they first made an appearance.

7.) We learn about more magic types and there's pretty much any type of magic you can dream up. What type of magic you like to have or what animal would you like an affinity with?
An elephant, because why not!

8.) Is anyone else's favorite character Mr. Bones? Just me? mkay.
lol he’s cute

9.) At this point I think it's clear Cade is a fallen Glorian of some sort, likely a Justicar. Do others agree with my guess here or do you have other thoughts?
I agree. But I’m also expecting a twist, because otherwise it’s too easy.

10.) Assuming my guess in Q9 is right, why do you think Cade got the heave ho from the Glorians?
Perhaps he was tempted by “human” experiences? Or he was sympathetic towards someone who broke a rule? It’s too early to tell.

DQs - Day 1: Chapters 1-8 (pages 1 -71)

1. The book has the MPG Dark Fantasy. Do you like this genre in general? If so, do you have any favourite authors or books?
Not really, I'm more of a sunshine and daisies kinda person.


Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he's wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn't protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic?

2. The book starts with the quote above. Is this your mental image of a wizard, too? Or something different? :)
I pictured an uber hot dude, oozing power from his pores lol


3. And the author lands us in the middle of a siege (ideal for the Book Games, right? ;) with 2 of the main characters Cade Ombra and Corrigan Blight. Cade is narrating what is happening and offering us his views on good and evil, the part they are playing and how they "win" this particular siege.
Do you think it's a strong start to the book? Has it got you intrigued?
Intrigued, yes. But it was a confusing start. I thought that there was too much happening too quickly, but the background in the following chapters helped.

4. As an extra incentive & entertainment, the Ascendant Lucien offers young girls and boys (sublimes) to the wanderists after the siege. We get introduced to Fiddick and Galass and learn that Cade decided to kill Lucien. We can actually start putting some pieces of Cade's character together. What do you think about him at this point?
I think he is torn between "fitting" in and following orders and just doing the right thing. I'm hoping the good side win though. I am a sucker for happy endings.

5. Some demonic highlights to this introductory part: Tenebris the demon, with whom Cade as an "infernalist" mage trades with to get his spells.
What were your impressions of Tenebris? How do you find the "religious/magical" system of the Infernals and the Celestines?
Tenebris came off as the typical book demon, with the "i'll help you if you give me something in return" vibe. Nothing shocking yet.
I typically steer clear of religious books, regardless of whether it is a real religion or a fictitious one. The religious aspects are starting to get stronger, and I'm hoping they don't become the primary focus of the story.

I’m starting with Nature of the Crime. The series has been very good so far, so I have high hopes for this book.

Hey team! Great to meet everyone :) I’m Aiswrya (aish-war-ya), live in Jersey City with my husband. Techie by the day, baker by the night, and a book worm through the day lol!

I read most genres, and love to mix it up. Mostly listen to audiobooks, mainly because I can’t bring myself to sit still long enough to read a book. Drives my husband nuts sometimes 😂

I don't want to jinx it, but I’ve been really lucky with my book choices lately. Most have been 4+ stars and I’m so stingy with those lol. Latest amazing read was Archangel's Lineage, which I thought was the best book in the series thus far. I’m currently reading In the Pines. So far so good, but this author has very good reviews. So I, excited to see how this turns out!

I’ve participated in numerous challenges across several groups on Goodreads. I love reading challenges! Just finished Uno, I’m also playing PTP on RRRC.

My shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I’ll update the spreadsheet in the morning

Niks, I’ve finished my book. Going to read the next book in the series!

Also, when you start reading for a task, mark the book column as in progress, so we don't repeat tasks!

So excited! I feel like we haven't done a reading challenge together since COVID!

Tracking:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

More Monsters: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Monsters Slain
1. Professor Moriarty - Sept 12, 2023
2. Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) - Dec 5, 2023
3. President Snow (The Hunger Games) - Dec 11, 23
4. Kamaitachi - Dec 17, 23
5. Ropen - Dec 19,23
6. Joffrey (Game of Thrones) - Dec 30,23
7.
8.
9.
10.


RULES
1.) Each monster has a set of required tasks that must be completed in order to vanquish the monster.

2.) Books can be used to complete more than one task, but only for the same monster. If you can find a single book that meets all five tasks, congratulations, you defeated the monster with just one book! Expect other teams to notice this and copy your choice ;)

3.) Teams/individuals can have up to 5 monsters to vanquish at any time.

4.) Monsters are assigned at random and may be repeated by the same team/individual.

5.) We like players to be creative, that's what makes this fun. However, please do not hurt yourself over thinking the tasks. If there still is some indecision, post in the Q&A thread or just find a different book.

6.) Once you vanquish a monster and get a replacement it should be considered locked and you cannot swap out books.

Day 3 Questions
Chapters 17 - 23

9. I found the meeting with the Queen very interesting.
She accepts easily Mona's claim that someone is plotting against her but seems weak in dealing with it initially but moves on to purposeful resolve.
What do you think to how she is dealing with the situation? AND how she Describes the characters of Inquisitor Oberon does this match the ideas you had about him?
Okay first of all, what sort of ruler says people don’t let her go out of the castle so she’s unaware of what’s happening in her own kingdom? Like really? And honestly, oberons personality from the earlier chapter doesn’t hold up to her opinion of him. He was so meek earlier.

10. Mona says "when you are different, even a little different, even in a way people can't see, it's nice to know that people in power won't judge you for it" What do you think of this quote and its potential effect on the young readers this book is aimed at?
I think it’s important for children to understand that it’s okay to be different, even if people of power judge you for it. Today’s political climate really doesn’t let any leader in the world support any segment of the population unconditionally. We need to find that for ourselves.

11. Hmm Magic passing through twinned bowls of water (also twinned) Do you think Mona will take any of these ideas on in her Magic?
I hope she does. I’m kinda getting tired of bread being told to remain soft 😅

12. Another Quote "The book felt different, kind, like a cup of tea on a warm day" - Do you have a book which feels like this to you?
Yeah, two in particular. When I need some sunshine and daisies, I read The Lightning-Struck Heart. When I want to feel romance and love, Kiss of Snow

So late to the party!
DQs Day 2 Chapter 9 through 16

4.) What did you think about the attack of the Spring Green Man? Surprised he came back or were you expecting it to happen at some point? Any thoughts about 'the list' and 'Oberon was supposed to take care of you'?
I was definitely expecting him to make an appearance. The scene gave me very joker like vibes haha. Not surprised at all by Oberon’s involvement! He was a creep

5.) The getaway from the constables on bread slices! Was that fun or what? How strong of a baking wizard do you think Mona actually is? Side note: I loved that that gingerbread man was making faces at the constables.
This scene was hilarious! Given how the dough exploded when she tried to make a bird out of it, I assume she’s almost at her highest point with the floating bread getaway.

6.) What do you think of her gingerbread man? The faces, not letting her cheat at solitaire, but also chucking a dough person out the window for knocking over the card house. I wish he had a name. Would you want a . . .pet, familiar (?) gingerbread man?
Hmmmm, I might end up eating him 😅

7.) What do you think of Spindle? Why do you think he's helping Mona?
I think he has nowhere else to go. And has sort of replaced his sister with Mona.

8.) The end of this section has a lot of changes to society rules are requirements. What do you think Oberon's end game is? Any thoughts on why the Duchess is allowing it to happen
We’re definitely missing the bigger plot here. Why eliminate magickers, if the duchess’ right hand man is the strongest wizard out there?

Shoot I’m so behind! Still in chapter 14 😅

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Bah. Oh all right then. Twist my arm.
I guess I can use an audible credit
;)

Can do DQs for the first or last day as it will make it easier with having the audio"

K, how's the audio book? I feel like this book would be great in audio.

Day 1 DQs - Chapters 1 through 8

1. I absolutely adore Mona. I'm really enjoying the writing style too. It's very conversational and humorous. What do you think about Mona and the story so far? Anything that stands out to you?
2. Who's your favorite magical person/creature so far? I'm imagining Bob to be this ball of squishy goo that I kinda want to touch! And I really want to see more of Lord Ethan (was that his name? I can't remember.)
3. Now, the murder and Oberon's handling of it was (1) biased (2) so illogical. I'm so glad the Duchess had a brain on her. What did you think of those scenes?

PS - all this talk about baked goods is making me crave some cake, pastry, sugar, I'll take anything!

Thank you!

I'm in for DQs. Sounds like an adorable read! Prefer Day 1, if possible? I'm so slow at reading these days, and any other day will probably make me super nervous.

Good job everyone! You were an awesome team :) see you around!

Completion - Exercise Wheezily
Classified
12/15
228 pages
E - Ella Frank (A)
S - Solo (c)
H - Hughes (c)
C - Title

The Cipher
12/18
332 pages
C - Title
I - Isabella (a)
W - Wade (c)
C - Conner (c)
E - Nine Esperanza

Nope, please leave your books. The planning sheet isn’t anything official. So really don’t trouble yourselves. Same thing with the wheel shelf. All good.

Great job everyone! I’m reading an I too (really hoping I’ll finish it in time). And finished an E earlier this week.