Group Buddy Read (First in a Series) - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin - starting January 1, 2023

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

OK I started and what an opening line (view spoiler)[her mother shut her legs tight in order to keep her from being born lmao (hide spoiler)]

2% (still ch 1) the way that they're speaking about her right in front of her face. rude as hell

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 6 (17%) Asking him to (view spoiler)[present himself as younger for their sexual pleasure?! They are disgusting and I hope Yeine destroys them all!<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 9 (24%) The Walking, very interesting...

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 11 (31%) the ground does what now???

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 12 (36%) that is scary as hell (view spoiler)[having another soul in your body.
"if you were her, you would love me" oh that is so sad 😔 (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 13 that ritual (view spoiler)[of either defeating the man and being able to have some sense of control or submit to the man's whims. ugh
I'm glad she killed him and didn't end up pregnant by him (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

Ch 15 - An unused limb withers

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

Ok can we be done with the constant (view spoiler)[horny thoughts??? (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

Ch 19 That guy is disgusting

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 22 (74%) (view spoiler)[ we finally have some clarity about who killed her father. Damn<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 24 (view spoiler)[to have me is to die

yh...i don't need this chapter...<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 25 (85%) they ick me out!

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

ch 27 (91%) (view spoiler)[ so I did, and I died.

lol ok then (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

I finished and all I have to say is, yes I will be continuing, but no it did not get a better rating than The Fifth Season

[Ellie, Mod]

Ch4 - (view spoiler)[If the Enefadeh marked Yeine's forehead to interfere with the blood sigil does that mean she is not protected from them murdering her? Why wouldn't she tell Viraine? Maybe it could have been reversed. She has no reason to trust the Enefadeh and keep the forehead mark a secret. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Ch 8 - (view spoiler)["She lifted the frame to her face so that the blue eyes superimposed her own rather pretty gray ones. She blinked, lowered the frame—and suddenly her eyes were bright blue, surrounded by long, exotically thick black lashes. I stared, then saw that the eyes in the frame were now gray, staring blankly and fringed with the servant’s own very ordinary lashes. Then she put the frame back to her face, and her eyes were her own again."

This is super cool (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Dee Dee wrote: "ch 13 that ritual of either defeating the man and being able to have some sense of control or submit to the man's whims. ugh
I'm glad she killed him and didn't end up pregnant by him"

Ch 13 made me so uncomfortable (view spoiler)[Naha is gross. The ritual is gross. Scimina is gross. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Ch 14 (view spoiler)[I want to know what happened to Yeine when she speaks from the future and says things like "they've taken so much from me" "that's how I ended up here, dead" I know she plans to be a sacrifice but she clearly still has a consciousness (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Dee Dee wrote: "Ok can we be done with the constant [spoilers removed]"

Agreed!

[Ellie, Mod]

Dee Dee wrote: "ch 25 (85%) they ick me out!"
(view spoiler)[The kissing? With Sieh & Yeine? (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapters 27-29 (view spoiler)[I thought it was pretty obvious that Yeine was going to become the goddess but the way it happened was kinda lame I think. I think the ending played out in a way I couldn't take very seriously it almost read like a comedy where Yeine is dead and everyone else is fighting each other. The plot wrapped up really nice and I was glad that T'vril was going to be the next ruler it was also satisfying to see all the horrible people punished (Scimina and Itempas) (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Final thoughts: I was really intrigued by the world and mythology and I think the author kept good suspense. I also really liked the writing and I definitely want to read more from this author. Although I did have a couple things I didn't like:
(view spoiler)[- We meet Yeine at a weird time. When she comes to the palace we are told that she will have to compete with her cousins to the death for the throne. But like that's not even I side plot. There is no competition at all everyone assumes that Scimina is taking over. So instead we want to know about her mom but we don't know her mom, we never meet her so I did not really care about her mom. Also Yeine cares a lot for her people but like whenever we hear about them she tells us that she was ostracized and didn't fit in so I don't understand her devotion to them.
- Sex and incest is everywhere. I just don't understand why. I know that the author wanted to make a point about how the mortals are made in the god's image so that means that the gods are lustful too and gods don't care about the family thing cause they are above it all. But like Yeine goes from being terrified of Nahadoth, to super horny in like a sentence. Same with the lust for T'rvil. Also how is everyone in Sky not having deformed incest babies. I just think that there is more to love than sex but in this book its all sex. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

I saw that the next book follows (view spoiler)[Itempas while he's human which sounds interesting since we never got his POV (hide spoiler)]