The Procrastinators Book Club discussion
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Forest of Souls
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★Buddy/Group Read Retirement★
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Forest of Souls (January 2021) Buddy Read Discussion ~ Hafsah, Bopeep, Mina & Emily
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Are you ready for this book? :D I'm a bit -bit- afraid because it's somehow spider-related and I have a bit aprehension of them, but I hope there aren't a lot of them~
Mod
Oh, really? I didn't know that.
Well, it seems so as there is a spider on the cover and one on the spine of the book -that it always scares me lol
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Bopeep wrote: "Are you ready for this book? :D I'm a bit -bit- afraid because it's somehow spider-related and I have a bit aprehension of them, but I hope there aren't a lot of them~"
I can relate to that. If there are spiders I'm gonna skim those sections otherwise this might be horror for me 😅
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I don't like the fact that we don't have a map. Maps are a great way to show a kingdom and better explain land. Even thought I read the glossary I have no idea who can do what, and what means what so the fact that we have that but not the map annoys me a bit more. Hopefully I'll figure out what means what as I read.
I read yesterday's chapters for now.. I don't have much to say. I like that it's an army/assassins asian book, but other than that I don't care much for it.
I’ve read the chapters for yesterday and I’m getting the vibe that there’s gonna be a sapphic relationship or strong friendship aspect. I agree that I would have loved a map but at least there’s a glossary at the start of the book if you have a physical copy.
Sometimes the map is useful, but sometimes it's just a pretty picture of the world.The glossary gave me Avatar vibes and I can't be more hyped? I think this worldbuilding would be amazing ~ Though the author explains the glossary through the book so maybe that's a little unnecessary too...
But after I started reading, it's similar to Nevernight. So I can't be happier ewe I'm really curious.
Well I won't mind a lesbic couple at all! <3
I don't know what will happen but Ivm really enjoying it. It's so fast paced and action packed and I don't mind at all.
(Today I dreamt about the book lol · a lightwender that didn't know how to use her powers. Like Sricha.)
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I'm also having a hard time remembering the world building and even picturing the world without a map. And since the story is about this world divided (still major Avatar vibes) I would like a map so I could mentally picture it better. I like the glossary because past the intro stuff, I need help remembering what some terms are. The magic system I can get cause it's elemental and I agree with the Avatar vibes of this book @Bopeep.
@Mina do you want me to send you photos of the glossary to make it easier for you?
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Chapter 8 (view spoiler)I tried to search for a map online, but this book isn't as popular as others. I pictured it in my head, but I'm not sure if it's correct lol
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Woohoo, that means I'm not behind on reading 😂
I still haven't read today's chapters, I started chapter 6 but there were people talking loudly very close to me so I couldn't concentrate.
Bopeep wrote: "Chapter 8 [spoilers removed]I agree.... oh well who knows at this point.
I would really love a map right now since they're talking about all these politics and naming these places. I don't know why but in my head the geography of this world is a Venn diagram with 3 circles for the kingdoms and with Spinner's End at the centre.
YEP a Venn diagram is like what looks like for me.The book is not tagged LGBT, and there are two princes in the book. When Sricha met with Evewyn's prince I really thought there was something between them. But there are a lot of fanarts with the shadow blessed, so...We'll see.
When I think about the worldbuilding of these book I think of a lot of other worldbuildings mixed in one. Maybe it's just me, but the Dead Woods reminds me of Shadow and bone + We hunt the flame.
I agree with the potential romance with the shadowblessed cause of the trend of the underdog falls in love with the mysterious, sarcastic (sometimes ass) figure. Also I imagine Shadow and Bone with the Dead Woods. And now that you mention is it is similar to it with the whole light and dark characters.
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It does have the Grisha and We hunt the flame vibes with the expanding woods/no one can enter and not get lost and die. Did I read We hunt the flame with you @bopeep? 🤔 I know I buddy read it with someone but I can't remember with whom.
So, I looked up the art because I'm not that interested in the book to just not procrastinate reading it 😅 and I'm not liking the shadow one.. he looks like a corpse 😶
I finished today's chapters too, and my interest has risen just a little bit. Her power is interesting, so I'm intrigued to see what is behind all the souls in the woods and how she'll free them. Her friendship is nice, and her friend being her familiar is.. new.
The third kingdom is Nuvala, land of the shadow blessed (it seems tehy aren't shamans, or at least not trated as them).@mina Yeah, probably! Actually, I've buddy read both We hunt the flame and Shadow and Bone haha
I was stalking Lori M. Lee's instagram and she has posted a lot of beautiful fanart~ This one is stunning😍 https://www.instagram.com/p/B6V3lcnAvOv
I didn't finish today's chapters, but I want to know more about that forest and the souls. Saengo is a cinnamon roll <3 I like her, BUT I want to know how she feels now that she's a familiar. Can she do the same as a human or she will lack "something"? Hmm...
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I didn't BR Shadow and Bone, I read that when I started using GR more actively, and before I was comfortable talking/BRing with people.
Oh, yes, it's pretty. I liked the one with all of them
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJY7XE0Ae_Q/
and this one in the middle, of Sirscha and Saengo
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJWXX24gEgH/
The forest reminds me of one other book, but gosh I can't remember what book it was.. maybe it was Uprooted by Naomi Novik 🤔 I'm not fully sure, but I think that it's that book, and it too had a thing with a crazy forest 😅
OK, I was wrong Nuvala is the shaman kingdom and Kazahyn is the shadow blessed kingdom.I LOVE that fanart with Saengo and Srircha (I won't write her name correctly ever, it seems)
BTW, why all the bad things happens to poor Saengo? I wish she will have a nice part at the end of the book haha
@Bopeep I saw that fan art and my immediate thought was sun summoner. I really hope that Sirscha gets to dress like that at one point cause she looks so beautiful. I really want a happy ending for Saengo cause she does not deserve what she got/getting.I LOVE fan arts. They're just so beautiful.
Lori posted this one on her twitter as the one of the cover considerations and it's stunning. I kinda wish this was the cover
https://mobile.twitter.com/LoriMLee/s...
Also I was looking around and people said on Twitter that there's no romance in this book.
I'm up to Chapter 21 and the story is fast-paced. But my main issue is the lack of a map since there's so much talk on the geography of the world that it would real nice to have some sort of visual representation.Chapter 19-20 (view spoiler)
I hate that I'm really comparing this to Shadow and Bone because it is an Asian fantasy but the similarities just stand out so strongly (e.g. school-setting (ish), the Dark Woods, the different tiered magic system, the light powers of the protagonist). And it also doesn't feel very influenced by Asian culture other than the people and some of the clothing and architecture. I wouldn't mind all the similarities if there was more distinguishing world-building being done. At least I like the side characters which is a plus.
Mod
I definitely hated the no map thing because for the whole half of the book the plot kept passing me by because I was too busy trying to make a mental map of where a character was from and on top of that my brain kept going "skshdddjfhjfjf" for all the words in the glossary and even right now I don't know what some of those terms are so I just went with it 😂
(view spoiler)
Is the Shadow and bone trilogy worth a read??? I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't picked up a single book :/
@Hafsah I've only read the first one of the trilogy, and I think the worldbuilding in Shadow & Bone is less complicated (here we have wyverns, the different magics and races, the hierarchy...) and it has a map.I've read chapter 18 and I have a LOT of theories in my mind. (view spoiler)
I did a map of what I think it could be this world (though I think it isn't an island). I don't know if this would be helpful to any of you, but at least my girlfriend would like it when she reads the book :D
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@Bopeep you are an absolute legend for this map and I’ve just realised that I’ve had the wrong orientation from the start 🙃. This just shows that I need a map otherwise I’m practically screwed. I think I’m settling for a 3.5 stars rating, simply cause I was expecting more from the story. And the whole spiders thing wasn’t even scary and was over in like 5 pages or so. I’ll read the sequel but I hope that Sirscha will grow an extra brain cell so that she doesn’t make catastrophic mistakes.
@Hafsah I personally like this a bit more than Shadow and Bone and they have similar atmosphere/setting. This one also didn’t have any characters that I hate unlike Shadow and Bone which is past it’s prime and you’re better off reading something else. You’re not missing out on much.
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So I have a question about familiars. It's said that if someone loses their familiar they lose their magic too, but also it was mentioned that they can get a new familiar so... I understand that Seango is her bff and obviously she doesn't want to lose her because of that but the way it was said at the end of one of the chapters makes it sound that if Seango dies Sirscha's magic goes bye-bye. What is true?
Chapter 22 Oh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she isn't the type of ...whatever she is but the bad kind, however I am and it's the first time I was surprised by the book.
Chapter 25 Since she's gonna keep her secret of NOT being a soulguide I guess we know what book 2 will be about.. not that I'll read it but okay.
Well what a surprise that she screwed things more by killing Spider dude (I can not remember his name even though I just finished the book and saw his name).
If nothing else I had good buddies to read this with.
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You're welcome! I wanted to do it as. Hafsah said the map is important at the ending of the book ^^About the familiars I think when one dies, the magic of that person disappears... Until they find another familiar.
Bopeep wrote: "You're welcome! I wanted to do it as. Hafsah said the map is important at the ending of the book ^^About the familiars I think when one dies, the magic of that person disappears... Until they fin..."
That’s how I understand familiars, they are channels for the shaman to use there magic and without them they can’t use magic. Which also reminds me that I wished we got to see more magic in this book. And that it was longer for more development instead of all the convenient things happening
Ok, I think you all finished the book and I want to say something that O_O I probably finish it today or tomorrow.When Sirscha discovers she can catch the souls of the LIVING it seems that the dead wood isn't dead but ALIVE/ZOMBIE WOOD.
And I think it's creepier just for that. Though maybe we knew that before, the moment I realized it it was... surprising.
Oh, and how I liked that she killed Jonyah <3
My theory right now (after reading chapter 22) is that Ronin created the wood himself, and the souls of the forest keep the trees alive.
Also, I think he has the Soulless trapped inside the courtyards or something like that.
Mod
Yes, to the Jonyah killing. I was impressed with the descriptive part of her killing him. Because in other books they make it so fast and here it could be felt.
I could have thought that Saengo was going to die, but some days ago I've seen the cover of the next book. But it was sad anyway!As I read in Emily's review, I'm too so sad that this hasn't that Asian vibes nor in the worldbuilding nor in the writing. I wasn't expecting it because the synopsis didn't say anything.
Did you realize that we didn't meet the Queen? That we don't know anything about her apart that she's
I suspected soemthing about the Soulless when Sirscha got the garden on fire and fleed. I mean, you have to wait to see the bodies BURN, or you won't be a nice villain. Oh, yeah, I think of her as a villain after killing the Spider King without thinking the consequences before. I'm glad she wasn't the Shadow because her information-gathering skills aren't as good.
It seems like I'm criticizing a lot, but it got me hooked and I'll give it 4 stars. Will I read the second part? I don't know, but I want to meet the Soulless, and the reunion with Kendara, and how Sirscha f*cks up the politics of the world :D I think as her as kind of asexual; in any way she seems interested in anyone romantically.
Hahaha I love the comparison to Azula. And even though the synopsis didn’t explicitly say that it was an Asian fantasy the cover definitely gave me those Asian vibes and that was about it. And yeah Sirscha is a dumbass in those last 2 chapters. Like she already thought based on the colour of his skin that it wasn’t a body in decay and my first instinct was that he was alive(ish). Cause even a preserved body should exhibit some rot in my opinion.
I honestly wish that she doesn’t further endanger Saengo’s life with her impulsively, earth-shattering decisions. I’m slightly interested in the sequel cause I want more magic and hopefully we’ll get that.
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I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't meet her face to face because she's apparently this evil ruler that wants her dead.. for some reason.
I don't know if I should feel bad that I didn't figure out what's in that garden or not. Now that I read the book it's obvious, but at the time I was just meh, don't care and I just pushed through it.
@Bopeep You are maybe criticizing a lot but your rating is the highest 😂
@Mina I agree that I probably should've suspected that the Soulless was in the garden.I'm honestly hoping for a war to spice things up.
After writing my review, it's definitely a 3 stars read because it was alright in the long run. What I've learned from this is that even if the author is Asian, I'm not gonna expect an Asian fantasy.
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Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:
Week of 01/09
January 09: Chapters 1-5
Week of 01/010
January 10: Chapters 6-10
January 11: Chapters 11-15
January 12: Chapters 16-20
January 13: Chapters 21-26
PARTICIPANTS
~ Hafsah
~ Bopeep
~ Mina
~ Emily