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S. is Currently Reading

S. is currently reading

The Bright Sword

by Lev Grossman (Goodreads Author)

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(page 108 of 688)
"Reading the large print edition of this for work and it is incredibly fun so far, just a hundred or so pages into the story! I am loving the incorporation of Latin and Gaelic." — Aug 01, 2025 07:14AM

Aug 01, 2025 07:03AM

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Half Sick of Shadows

by Laura Sebastian (Goodreads Author)

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S. said: " DNF circa page 280.

I can't, in good faith, recommend this book to anyone I know that loves Arthuriana, and I similarly can't do the same for anyone I know that might be interested in Arthuriana but doesn't quite know where to start reading about kni DNF circa page 280.

I can't, in good faith, recommend this book to anyone I know that loves Arthuriana, and I similarly can't do the same for anyone I know that might be interested in Arthuriana but doesn't quite know where to start reading about knights and fey magic.

The basic outline of this book intrigued me, and I enjoyed the first third of the story...I wanted to know more about Elaine, and honestly, I find it a really interesting plot point that her mother gives her special 'medicine' to dampen her visions...while never really quite having mastered her own. That is TASTY lore! It offers so much possibility about how Elaine might see herself and others, and how she might move through the world knowing she has this fantastic (and frightening) power, yet no clue how to wield it--how might she learn, along the way to Camelot and Arthur's eventual downfall, to master her own powers and her own sanity?

But then... there's the rest of the book, and the rest of the primarily one dimensional characters. Admittedly, I didn't realize this book was ever meant to be a 'feminist' take on Elaine, and am not sure if that's simply a phrase that other reviewers are throwing around for the heck of it, or if the book itself was marketed in that way. Regardless, it should be common sense that a modern retelling of X fable or Y myth does not necessarily become 'feminist' in nature because the protagonist is cisgender female. Nor does a story become 'feminist' when it throws its male characters under the bus in a hamfisted effort to make its ~women characters Strong and Brave.

I usually enjoy takes on Lancelot where he's a bit of a oaf, or at least recognizably arrogant in his own manner, but this Lancelot lacks any charm or heart, particularly where his and Elaine's romance is concerned. Simply: they snark at each other like sixteen year olds, but Look How In Love They Are, Anyway, even if Elaine just can't commit because of the prophecies! Arthur is similarly a paper bag of a character, flimsy and simply there as window dressing.

And Gwen.... I was enjoying the author's take on her -so- much up until SURPRISE (I will spoil this for everyone's benefit, tbh), she's a WEREWOLF! For no reason, I guess, other than a ~female character from Arthuriana 'times' can't be strong unless she becomes a literal monster. (But she only kills bad people when in wolf form, teehee.) I guess complaining multiple times about corsets wasn't enough to show how ~different she is compared to other women... Anyway.

I would've liked for there to have been more depth as to *why* the main five folks (heh) were on Avalon to begin with, other than a simple handwaved reason of To Become Heroes. I found the fey interesting regardless, and the bits of magic here and there through the story--in as far as I read, at least. Once I reached the werewolf reveal, not even my suspension of disbelief could last much longer. That, on top of the ultra contemporary dialogue and childish interactions between the characters, was enough for me to move on to reading other books. ...more "

progress:

(page 263 of 448)
"Modern historical / fantasy authors really need to cut back on the cOrSeTs aRe tHe wOrSt eVer shtick because man, it is tiresome and poorly researched." — Jul 21, 2025 09:53AM

Jul 22, 2025 03:43PM · see review

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Sun of Blood and Ruin (Sun of Blood and Ruin, #1)

by Mariely Lares (Goodreads Author)

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Jul 04, 2025 04:45PM

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S.’s Notes & Highlights

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

14 highlights

There’s something eel-like about Señor Urami. All he can do is look at the owner of the tannery in silence, because essentially it’s the same speech every time. He thinks that Señor Urami needs to reaffirm reality through words, as though ...more

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Autobiography of Red

by Anne Carson

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The House of Whispers

by Laura Purcell

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S.’s Quotes

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

tags: attributed-no-source, books, simile, soul

135887 likes

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
― Mae West

tags: humor, life

119430 likes

“Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Critic As Artist: With Some Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing and Discussing Everything

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