Hello, everyone! Much as I hate to admit it, fall is rapidly approaching . . . but at least that means we have a new season of reads to spotlight! Some of you may be saying "Isn't it a week early for this list, Sarah?" — and you are correct, but next week is the Silmaril Awards ceremonies, and the week after is the Lost Kerchiefs release celebration, so we're doing our Fall Reads round up now. As is mostly usual, I'll post the full list here, but if you just want my top five, you can hop over to Light and Shadows for that. So, without further ado, let's find out what this season has in store for us!

Before we get into that, though, a couple quick reminders! First, ARCs are available for Illusion's Reign and the other Lost Kerchiefs stories! So, if you're interested in getting your hands on any of those early in exchange for a review, make sure you sign up ASAP. The blog/social tour form should be available soon as well, so keep an eye out for that. Second, today is the final day to vote in the Silmaril Awards! Go cast your vote for who you think is the most epic hero and heroine, most silver tongue, most nefarious villain, and so on — awards ceremonies begin on Monday!

Fall 2024 Reads

1. Her Fake Superhero Boyfriend by H.L. Burke (September 9). This is another superhero rom-com from H.L. Burke, this time featuring a variation on one of my favorite romance tropes (which goes by many names, but I usually describe as "the rogue and the princess"). I've read this one already, and I absolutely loved it — it was fun to see KC again and get to know him better after having met him in Wishing on a Supervillain, and Mira was such a sweet and fun heroine. Definitely would recommend this one, especially if you enjoyed Wishing!

2. The Handmaid's Blood by Kendra E. Ardnek (September 23). The highlight of the fall reads list is usually the Arista Challenge release group, and this year is no different! We start off the Lost Kerchiefs with a short story retelling from Kendra, focusing on the princess's handmaiden who takes her place. This is another of Kendra's hero/villain swap retellings, and I look forward to seeing how that twist plays out here.

3. Wind Charmer by Meredith Leigh Burton (September 24). Our second Lost Kerchiefs story! This one looks like it'll be the closest to the original Goose Girl fairy tale out of all the retellings, though Meredith has, of course, put her own unique spin on the tale, including interpreting the princess as being on the autism spectrum. I'm definitely curious to see how this version of the story will turn out.

4. Friend and Faux by Erudessa Gentian (September 25). This is a contemporary AnimeLit retelling of the Goose Girl — AnimeLit meaning that it borrows tropes and themes often found in anime and manga, similar to Japanese light novels. I'm not super familiar with the genre, but I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how Erudessa has used it to reimagine this fairy tale!

5.  Arabella's Song by Meagan Myhren-Bennett (September 26). This retelling blends The Goose Girl with the Pied Piper, which is not a combination I ever would've expected. Honestly, this might be the Lost Kerchief (other than my own) that I'm most looking forward to, simply because I really want to know how Meagan is going to blend those two stories! It also sounds like she's making more use of Falada than most Goose Girl retellings do, though, which should also be cool.

6. Illusion's Reign by Sarah Pennington (September 27). It's my book! I have been hard at work putting the final polishes on Illusion's Reign over the last couple weeks, and I am so excited to share Onora's story with y'all. I am also excited to be done with proofreading (bane of my existence), but that's neither here nor there. I love Onora, and I can't wait for y'all to meet her . . . and her cat. I do quite love her cat. Y'all will find out why when the book comes out. If you haven't already, make sure you preorder the ebook before release! The price will go up by a dollar or so once the book actually comes out.

7. Collusion by H.S.J. Williams (September 27). Behold! A book that is not a Goose Girl retelling! I realized when making this list that Collusion and Illusion's Reign are release-day twinsies, and I genuinely could not be more delighted. I loved Moonscript when it came out several years ago, and I've been eagerly anticipating the sequel ever since. I admit that there is a fair chance this book will wreck me — Hannah is very good at writing angst — but I also have no doubt that it will come out to light and beauty and hope in the end.

8. Goose Princess by Tricia Mingerink (September 30). Back to the Lost Kerchiefs! Speaking of long-awaited sequels, Goose Princess is the final Beyond the Tales book from Tricia Mingerink. It's another blended fairy tale, combining The Goose Girl and The Wild Swans, which I've thought for a long while would be a natural fit together. And, of course, series fans will be happy that Alex just might get his happily-ever-after.

9. Curse of Silence by Erin Halbmaier (October 1). Our final Lost Kerchiefs story is a mystery retelling of The Goose Girl, which should be a lot of fun! Plus, we have a childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, and that's always a delight.

10. Splintered Life by W.R. Gingell (October). While the exact launch date for the second Shattered Worlds Kickstarter hasn't been announced yet (at least not that I can find), we know it's coming in October, and we do have a prelaunch page. In any case, I am very much looking forward to more of Viv and Luca! I read Splintered Mind, the first book in the series, earlier this month, and I loved it, though the vibe is a little different from the City Between and Worlds Behind series. I will definitely be backing this as soon as it comes available!

11. Wyldling Armor by A. R. Grimes (October 8). Ok, full disclosure, I have not read the first two books in this series . . . but it's a portal fantasy series, and I've been meaning to get back to reading more of those, so it's on my TBR. The concept sounds really cool, and I think the series might touch on some of the themes I really like to see in portal fantasy, so it should be worth a look, at least.

12. The Death of Clara Willenheim by Charlotte Lesemann (October 29). This is not precisely fantasy (though there is apparently a ghost in it) and is therefore not my usual fair . . . but I have been enjoying Gothic stories more of late, and I'm always down for a good mystery. The blurb is definitely enough to make me curious as well — we have an imprisoned heroine, secret passages, and more.

13. One Must Die by multiple authors (October 31). Another mystery story! This one looks and sounds delightfully steampunky as well — it's been a while since I found a good steampunk story. Some early reviewers are comparing it to Clue, and the book has an interesting conceit wherein each of the involved authors wrote a version of the story from a different character's point of view. That sounds like it was probably hard to coordinate and edit . . . but if it was well-done, it could be super cool! I'll be keeping an eye on this one for sure.

14. Valley of Dragons by Christina Baehr (November 15). We wrap up the season with the final Secrets of Ormdale novel! I cannot believe that this series is already ending, but I also cannot wait for the ending. The hints and snippets Christina has shared on her socials are simply tantalizing, and after the last couple books, I desperately need a good happy ending for our heroine (and hero). I have no doubt that Christina will deliver just that.

What book releases are you excited for this fall? Am I missing any? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hey'a, friends! As you may have seen, this year, Jenelle Leanne Schmidt brought back February is Fantasy Month, a month-long celebration of all things fantasy! This includes daily posts over on her site, a blog post linkup, giveaways, and an Instagram challenge. And because I love both fantasy and prompts that help me figure out what to post about, I'm borrowing today's Instagram topic, fantasy subgenres, for today's post. Now, I've met very few fantasy subgenres I don't enjoy . . . but I definitely like some more than others, so today, I'm sharing my top five favorites (roughly in order), along with some recommendations in each of those subgenres. 

As a note, I am not including fairy tale retellings as a subgenre because any fairy tale retelling is necessarily also at least one other subgenre. Not that some of these other subgenres don't overlap, but they don't have to overlap, you know? With that out of the way, let's get on with the list.

February Is Fantasy Month:
Favorite Fantasy Subgenres

1. Fantasy mystery. That this makes the top of the list shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Before I discovered fantasy, I devoured mystery books like they were going out of style. It took me a surprisingly long time to discover that the two can be combined — but once I did, I was delighted. The only thing better than a good whodunnit is a good whodunnit in which the culprit might be a dragon and the detective a wizard. Or, you know, vise versa. I am 100% on board with dragon detectives, and if anyone knows of a good such book (other than A Tale of Two Castles), please tell me so I can read it.
   If you want to read this, try . . . The Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell was the first fantasy-mystery I encountered, and it has both some very well-crafted mysteries and a really fun dynamic between the two main characters, Michael (a would-be knight errant with a sense of honor to match) and Fisk (a former thief and con artist with a better heart than he lets on). It's more low fantasy, but if you want something more magical, try The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman, which includes dragons, fae, alternate dimensions, and librarian-spies. And, of course, I have to mention my all-time favorite fantasy mystery, Masque by W.R. Gingell, which turns Beauty and the Beast into a murder mystery.
2. Epic fantasy. While I read less of this than I used to, I still love it. Epic fantasy (especially quest-based epic fantasy) is where I learned to love the genre, and it contains many of the stories that make my heart sing. The greatest heroes and the darkest villains are often found here, and so is some of the most magnificent worldbuilding in all fantasy.
   If you want to read this, try . . . The obvious recommendations here are Tolkien and Sanderson, and I love both of them — The Lord of the Rings was one of the subgenre originators, and The Stormlight Archive is one of the most epic of epic fantasies I've ever read. But Tolkien and Sanderson are also both long and well-known, and so I also want to include a couple more obscure recommendations. Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams is a beautiful, thrilling tale of adventure, salvation, friendship, and the battle between light and darkness, with notes of both The Lord of the Rings and The Tales of Goldstone Wood. And speaking of Goldstone Wood, I love the whole series, but Golden Daughter is both the most epic and one of my favorites in that series.
3. Heist fantasy. Much like fantasy mystery, heist fantasy takes an already awesome genre (who doesn't love a really clever, exciting heist/con story?) and makes it better via the addition of magic, magical beings, and fantastical locations. If you've ever watched Leverage and thought "you know what this needs? a dragon. or a vampire," then you and I are on the same page. On one hand, imagine the schemes a crew can pull when their team could include wizards, fae, or even dragons! On the other hand, imagine the schemes they'll have to come up with when their mark can read minds or famously has (or is) a dragon guarding his treasure! (Oh, wait, that's just The Hobbit. Though that one worked out more due to luck than any clever scheming on Bilbo and the dwarves' part . . .) While I haven't read a ton in this genre, I've enjoyed 95% of what I have read, so it definitely makes the favorites list.
   If you want to read this, try . . . So, I can't get you Leverage with a dragon, but I can get you Leverage with a vampire (or, well, ex-vampire) in the form of Miss Dark's Apparitions by Suzannah Rowntree. I absolutely love this crew of inventors, schemers, and con artists, both for their adventures and for the interactions and dynamics between them. (Obviously, if you want something a little more epic, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows are both also excellent. But y'all probably know about those already.)
4. Portal fantasy. Portal fantasy seems to be out of style at the moment — or, at least, I don't see very much of it — which is tragic, as it's so fun. It has all the benefits of epic fantasy, but with the additional plus that you're experiencing everything alongside someone who's as new to it as you are. And, of course, there's all kinds of interesting things you can do with the tension of feeling caught between two worlds, with adapting to back home after your adventure, and so forth.
   If you want to read this, try . . . Probably my favorite portal fantasy (outside of Narnia) is the Legends of Karac Tor by D. Barkley Briggs, a Christian series that blends elements of Norse, Celtic, Welsh, Arthurian, and Native American mythology in its worldbuilding — plus, it has fantastic characters, lots of family dynamics, and a fantastic storytelling voice. Brandon Mull's Beyonders is another excellent trilogy that plays with some tropes and includes some very unique worldbuilding elements. Also, while it's not exactly portal fantasy (more time travel), Kari Maaren's Weave a Circle Round has a lot in common with the subgenre, lots of references to literature and legends, and absolutely no romance.
5. Urban, Historical & Gothic fantasy. I'm combining these three for two reasons. Urban and historical fantasy fit together because I love them both for the same reasons: I enjoy seeing the way authors weave together magic and magical beings with reality, coming up with wondrous secrets behind even the most mundane matters. As for the Gothic fantasy, most of this subgenre is also historical fantasy. Plus, many of my favorite historical fantasies are also Gothic — it's that extra edge of darkness, creepiness, and mystery that makes everything more exciting and provides opportunities for light and redemption to show up even better. That said, these elements do have to be used in moderation, which is where a lot of urban fantasy especially goes wrong.
   If you want to read this, try . . . For urban fantasy, you know I have to recommend W.R. Gingell's City Between. (No surprises there; I yell about it every few months, it seems.) For historical fantasy, try . . . well, literally anything by Suzannah Rowntree, but also Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, a multi-faceted Rumplestiltskin retelling set in Russia. And if you're after some Gothic fantasy, you can go cozy with The Secrets of Ormdale series by Christina Baehr, or you can aim dark and romantic with Black and Deep Desires by Claire Trella Hill.

What are your favorite fantasy subgenres, and what books in those subgenres do you especially recommend? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 Hey'a, all! We're well into spring now, and I think that makes it a good time to finish up my series of seasonal reads! As a reminder, this started some years ago with my Summer Anytime Reads. In the last year, I followed it up with Autumnal Anytime Reads and Winter Anytime Reads. And now I've got a list of spring reads for you! As usual, there's a variety of qualifying elements; some of these take place in spring, others have themes that I think reflect the season well. All of them, as usual, come with some related reads for if you've already read my primary suggestion.

Spring Anytime Reads

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I almost didn't include this because it's so obvious, but at the same time — it's the classic Easter fantasy read, and the return of spring after an unending winter is one of the main plot points. You kind of have to include it.
   If you liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, try: The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald (for more classic children's fantasy and the man who inspired Lewis) or The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson (for beautiful, decidedly Christian fantasy).
   
   
   
2. Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams. This is another winter-into-spring book, for sure. It's a story of rebirth, of return, of renewed life; what could be more spring-like? And the vibe of the story runs the gamut from the aching cold of early spring when you wonder if winter will ever let go to the joyful release of the first warm days to the misery of a sudden return of winter cold and darkness when you thought you were free at last.
   If you liked Moonscript, try: The Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (for more stories of renewal that heavily influenced Moonscript) or Orphan's Song by Gillian Bronte Adams (because Birdie and Tellie are astonishingly similar).
   
   
   
3. Spindle by W.R. Gingell. How long's it been since I raved about a W.R. Gingell book? Too long, that's how long. Spindle probably actually takes place in summer, but it feels like a very May-ish book. It's full of new beginnings and new growth and sunshine, and I love it so much.
   If you liked TBA, try: Spindle's End by Robin McKinley (for another highly magical Sleeping Beauty story) or Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (for stubborn, unexpectedly magical female leads, oddly charming wizards, and general vibes).
   
   
   
4. An Echo of the Fae by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt. This story does take place specifically in spring (though with quite a bit of influence from Summer and Winter — yes, those are capitalized for a reason, and you can probably guess what the reason is from the title). But it's also a very green and springy story, and if you, unlike me, don't suffer from seasonal allergies, it would be a very good book to enjoy on a day out in nature (or at least outside).
   If you liked An Echo of the Fae, try: Fairest Son by H.S.J. Williams (for fae fairy tales) or The Princess and the Invisible Apple Tree by Meredith Burton (for sweet family-focused fairy tales).
   
   
   
5. The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber. Thanks to my sister for this suggestion, which I absolutely wouldn't have thought of on my own. (It's been way too long since I read this book.) One could make an argument for The Thirteen Clocks as either a winter or spring book — most of the book is very wintery-feeling, but the storyline and ideas are spring-like in the same way as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe is. So, I'm categorizing it as an early March sort of book.
   If you liked The Thirteen Clocks, try: You tell me. Of this story, I would say, as one character puts it, "I don't know what it is, but it's the only one there ever was."

What are your favorite springtime reads? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

It's the 2020 MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT!

THE TIME HAS COME! A bit later than usual, yes, but it's HERE: my annual MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT! In which I don't actually freak out but do get really excited over the best (and worst) books I've read in the first half of the year.

As per the usual, we'll start out with some statistics. I've read 59 books and 19,709 pages so far this year, which is a bit over half of what I'd read this time last year. You would think I would've read more this year, since I was home for several months longer than usual, but nope. Oh well. I'm still ahead of schedule on my overall reading goal of 99 books in the year.

What about my other reading goals? Well, towards my goal of twelve non-speculative-fiction books this year, I have read either eight or ten such books, depending on whether or not you count a few things that I read primarily for class and/or skimmed rather than reading properly. As for my twelve books written before I was born, I am currently at ten such books, thanks to my decision to reread Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes (which was an excellent decision, I'd like to add). So, on the whole, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2020!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2020:

Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams

I wrote a full post with my thoughts on this book a my other blog a while back, but to sum up: I love the characters, I love the focus on friendship and family relationships, and I love the overall vibe of the book. As I've said before, it's like someone took The Silmarillion, Goldstone Wood, and Orphan's Song and blended it all into one beautiful book.

Also, two runners-up:

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

This is a beautiful book about creation and community and faith, and ohhhhhhh, it's so good. It's poetic without being pretentious and deep without being discomforting. If you're a person who creates, you ought to read this book as soon as humanely possible. Trust me.

An Echo of the Fae by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

I also reviewed Echo one at Light and Shadows, so go check that out for my full thoughts. But this is another very family-oriented book that's full of fae and beauty and fairy tale vibes. Also, it has selkies. How could anyone not love it?

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2020:

Not strictly a sequel, but the closest I can come . . .

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

Basically, I love sarcastic-yet-oddly-excited science and I cannot lie. Randall Munroe's books are the perfect blend of sarcastic cynicism and eagerness to share cool knowledge, and it's just so much fun!

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

There are SO MANY of these, mostly due to the fact that I haven't been able to get my usual book hauls from the library even though I've been home, plus I didn't get all the books in over Christmas break or spring break that I wanted to. But the main one is probably:

Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross

I don't even have a good excuse; I own the book! But I got in the middle of my Great Redwall Reread, and life has been very full of good books to read, so yeah. It's still there, waiting for me.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

We've got a tie between two books that I've been looking forward to for nearly two years in one case and a solid three or four in the other:

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

It's Stormlight #4!!!! Need I say more? I am SO looking forward to returning to Roshar and spending several excellent days (maybe a solid excellent week) lost in this sure-to-be-a brick of a book.

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

EUGENIDES. I am concerned by one particular bit in the blurb ("death of the king?" Gen, nooooo!), but at the same time, I am sure that Eugenides will be in top scheming form (just as his author will be in top storytelling form), and I CANNOT WAIT. Hopefully it doesn't get pushed back again.

And then a runner-up that's actually multiple books, but is also mostly just one book:

The Tattered Slippers Group Release!

Featuring, as y'all know by now, my next book, The Midnight Show! But also featuring Russian vibes, Greek-esque secrets, Celtic fae, and more. There's so much variety in this collection, and I am HERE FOR IT! (Also: sign up for the blog tour! Or ARCs! It will be much fun!)

5. Biggest disappointment:

Libraries being closed and preventing me from reading new releases, haha. But in terms of books I actually read, I'd have to say . . .

Masters and Beginners by Daley Downing

This is a book that I really wanted to love, and that I'd heard a lot of good things about, but the execution (and the focus) just wasn't what I hoped it would be. It had a lot of elements that I did enjoy, but they were outweighed by my frustrations with the writing style, my inability to keep track of the massive cast of characters, and my issues with the visual aspects of the book.

6. Biggest surprise:

Hmm . . . This one is hard this year. In general, I liked new-to-me books either as much as I expected to or less; there were no books that I was like "Wow, I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would!" I was surprised by how much more I liked some of the Redwall books when I reread them, so I guess I'll say that.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

I . . . don't actually have one so far this year. All the books I've loved have been by known authors; all the books by new-to-me authors have been somewhere in the area of "Ok, but not my favorite thing ever." So . . . yeah. That's unfortunate.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Coren and Zizain from Moonscript for life, y'all. They're so cute together. Also, Rhen and Harper from A Curse So Dark and Lonely. Not a perfect couple, but still a good one. (Yeah, that's all I've got.)

9. Newest favorite character:

Basically the entire cast of Moonscript? Is that an acceptable answer? But in particular, Errance (Actual Disaster, slightly burnt cinnamon roll, tries so hard before realizing that trying so hard is 90% of his problem, angst but for a good reason), Coren (smuggler with a heart of gold, a fox's wit, and plenty of flair), and Tellie (mum-friend, wants adventure but also wants people to behave sensibly and not go doing stupid things).

Also, shoutout to Grey from A Curse So Dark and Lonely. He's loyal and stubborn and determined and just generally an excellent character. I actually like him and Harper and Rhen all, but Grey is my favorite.

10. A book that made you cry AND 11. A book that made you happy:

I'm combining these because the same two books apply to both, pretty much:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness & North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Ok, I don't specifically remember crying, but if anything I've read this year would've made me cry (in a good way), it would've been North!, and I know that both of these books made me very, very happy. So, yeah. I love these books, and their new editions are SO pretty.

12. Favorite reread this year:

The Great Redwall Reread!

This year, as y'all have seen, I've reread the entirety of Brian Jacques's Redwall series in chronological order. It's been really fun to revisit this old favorite and see how different aspects of the series hold up after so much time away. I'm happy to say that most of the series held up very well indeed.

13. Favorite post you've done so far this year:

I feel like I missed a lot of weeks posting this year, but I do have some posts that I really enjoyed writing and think turned out very well:

• The Actually Terrible AIs You Didn't Know You Needed (in which 7 A.M. me apparently had good ideas and I got to come up with ridiculous AIs).
• If Baili Met Breen (And Related Potentialities) (in which I got to theorize about how the casts of Blood in the Snow and Mechanical Heart would get along).
• Beauty and the Bard: Tiria's Story and Ardent's Story (in which I wrote a meet-cute for two of my D&D NPCs).

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year:

I have bought many beautiful books this year, surprisingly! But right now, I would like us all to take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous Abhorsen set that I found last week at McKay's.

I am super proud of it and also very happy to have a set of the core trilogy that isn't large, unwieldy, and slightly falling apart.

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Too many books. Basically, if I featured it in one of the last four seasonal releases posts and I wasn't part of the blog tour, I still need to read it. Thanks, COVID-19. (On the upside: the libraries are opening up now! So I can fix this soon! Though I may try to clear my owned-but-unread backlog a little more first.)

All right! There we have it: a summary of my last six and a half months of reading! How has your reading been this year? Best books? Biggest surprise? Biggest disappointments? Any new favorite characters? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Forging the Fellowship Tag!

Hey'a, everyone! So, it has, in fact, been actual ages since I did a tag. I think. Let me check.

Ok, so apparently "actual ages" means "slightly less than six months." Or, if you include my other blog, right around two months. In all fairness, though, one of those months was March, which we all know was secretly a full year stuffed inside a month-sized suitcase. Anyway. Jem Jones tagged me in the Forging the Fellowship blog tag (created by Julia at Lit Aflame), in which you forge your own Fellowship out of book characters. Sounds fun, yeah? I think so, and thus I'm doing it now before I forget about it.

On a side note — over at Light and Shadows, I'm joining the blog tour for H.S.J. Williams's Moonscript, which just released yesterday. I'm sharing my full thoughts in this week's Friday 5s post, but the long story short is that it's an excellent book and you all should go buy it. Also, check back here on Wednesday for another post about the book. We'll see what it's going to be; I haven't decided yet. Anyway. ON WITH THE TAG!

1. [The Ring Bearer]: If you could choose, which of the four races would you be: Elf, Dwarf, Human, or Hobbit?
Ok, first of all, who the pumpernickel made me the Ring Bearer? I am a terrible choice for this for so many reasons. (Not least of which: I'd probably lose the thing. And then someone would be like "Sarah, where's the One Ring?" And I'd be like "Well, I had it when I was trying to find that one notebook . . . um . . . maybe it's in the box with the other notebooks? Or the other box with the notebooks? Or my desk drawer? Or buried in the piles of stuff on my desk? I don't know."

Anyway. If you asked me this five years ago, I would've said elf without hesitation. And it's still a strong consideration. But, let's be real, I'm much more hobbit-like. 

2. [Gandalf the Grey]: A wise/powerful elder/mentor character:
Fun fact: apparently I have somehow never written a "favorite mentors" list, at least not that I can find. I'm not sure how that happened in a full six years of weekly list posts, but yeah. So this question just got that much harder.

That said, I'm going with a bit of an unconventional choice: a character who's actually primarily known as a protagonist, but who grows into a mentor to other characters after a while. Who is this? Sapphira Adi from Bryan Davis's Oracles of Fire and Children of the Bard series, specifically from just before the CotB era, when she's had quite a bit of leadership experience on top of her several thousand years of life experience. While not my favorite mentor or my favorite character in general, Sapphira Adi, as an Oracle of Fire, does have the wisdom to lead a group, the spiritual discipline and power to deal with all the nastiness and terrifying enemies associated with the One Ring quest, and the patience to handle everyone else being overdramatic and ridiculous.

3. [Aragorn]: A character with good survival skills:
This one's an easy choice! We're calling in Errance from Moonscript! As a half-Celestial, half-earth elf, he's very at home in the wilderness, and as the story proves, he's a very capable defender of both himself and others. Granted, the fact that he'd have minions of Darkness after him particularly might make the quest a little difficult . . . but, let's be real, we're going to have enemies aplenty anyway. What's a few more?

4. [Boromir]: A character who makes mistakes, but has a good heart: 
It's more like "one fairly major mistake" than mistakes plural (and therefore a bit of a stretch, but I want him on the team), but we're picking Artham Wingfeather of The Wingfeather Saga for this category. Specifically, Book 3 (or late Book 2) Artham. Or possibly post-series Artham. Anyway. Artham is probably my favorite character from the Wingfeather Saga, and yes, he did have a pretty major moment of weakness, but, y'know? That doesn't change the fact that he's loyal and courageous and loving when it matters most.

5. [Gimli]: A stubborn character:
Stars, who wouldn't fit this category? I'm pretty sure that if there's one defining trait all my favorite characters share, it's that they're all pretty stubborn. (Keep in mind that determined and stubborn are synonyms, yeah?) So, who will it be? After much thought, I'm going with Robin from the Bookania Quests. She's definitely very stubborn, but in a reasonably levelheaded way. (Or, at the very least, she's not angsty. She's very straightforward, honestly.) She's capable, she's clever, she's a masterful swordswoman, and she lets exactly nothing stop her from accomplishing her goals.

6. [Legolas]: A character who is talented: 
Ok, is there actually any question here? If I'm assembling my own quest team, it absolutely has to include Bard Eanrin of the Tales of Goldstone Wood. Eanrin is a cat-faerie of many talents, including, but not limited to, singing, poetry, creating distractions, being a cat, annoying the forces of evil (and sometimes also the forces of good, but y'know), and denying his feelings/lying to himself for years on end. As a bonus, this means we have two of my favorite fictional poets (Artham and Eanrin) in the same party, which I think sounds great.

7. [Peregrin Took]: A character who at first seems useless, but ends up surprising you:
So, I had a pretty major debate for this spot: Steris from the second era of Mistborn? Or Matrim Cauthon from the Wheel of Time series? Both of them fit very well. I mean, "initially seems useless but surprises you in the end" sums up Steris's arc very well, and it's part of the reason why I love her so much. As a bonus, all the things that make you underestimate her are the things that prove essential in the end. (Plus, if she joins the party, then Waximillian Ladrian has to come along and I get a bonus gunslinger/Misting.)

And then Mat plays a very Pippin-ish role at the start of his series — the prankster, the one who touches things he's not supposed to, so forth — but even by Book 5 (which is the last one I've read; I need to get back to the series; don't judge me), he's coming to his own as astonishingly resourceful, skilled, and intelligent — all backed up by some serious luck.

In the end, though, I would probably pick Mat for one simple reason: he's familiar with the type of world we're dealing with. Steris (and Wax) are from a world that's a bit more Old West/Victorian-esque. Mat, on the other hand, is from a medieval-esque world that's much closer to Middle Earth in terms of cultures and technology and all that. So, he'll be able to adapt much more easily to this new location. (On a side note, we're getting Mat of anytime after about the halfway point of Book 3, but ideally Book 5.)

8. [Meriadoc Brandybuck]: A character who is small/not very strong, but has great courage:
Let's go back to an old friend and get Kale Allerion from the DragonKeeper Chronicles on this quest. Granted, by the end of the series, Kale is quite capable as a wizard, dragon keeper, and warrior, but we're calling specifically on Book 3 Kale, who's competent but still has a fair bit of learning to do. As a bonus, Kale brings with her a watch of clever, colorful minor dragons, all of whom also fit this category. Huzzah!

9. [Samwise Gamgee]: A character who is extremely loyal and doesn’t give up:
Adolin. Adolin. Storming Adolin Kholin. Absolutely, no question. He has many, many excellent qualities (he was second choice for a talented character, after Eanrin), but one of his best qualities is his loyalty — to his family, to his friends, to his duty. He makes a habit of standing by people in desperate situations. Of never giving up. And if you know him and you don't agree, I'm sorry, have we read the same book? When his father is going mad, when the world is being turned upside down (and then upside down again, and again, and again), when his friends are falling apart — he's there. Even when he's hurting as deeply as anyone else, he's standing up and keeping everyone else going and looking for hope. And so who else could I pick for this spot?

How would this group do on an actual quest? It's hard to say, and a lot of it depends on how broody Errance decides to be and how well Artham and Eanrin get along. I feel like those three would take up most of the attention while the rest of us quietly got stuff done. (That is, until we got attacked, at which point everyone is very helpful except me and half the group ends up showing off because, quite frankly, when you have a terrifyingly competent elf prince, a Throne Warden, the best swordswoman in the world, and an extremly skilled Shardbearer and duelist in the group, they're probably eventually going to get to the point of trying to show each other up. And then you have Sapphira Adi and Kale throwing around fire and wizardry, respectively, and Mat being like "Light burn these people, so extra" while being intensely extra himself. And I'm just like ". . . Imma hide and not die now, ok, thanks. Lemme know when it's safe to come out.")
 

And now we come to the part of the show where I tag people. Um. We're going to tag Deborah O'Carroll (when she comes back from hiatus) and beyond that, if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged. I can't keep track of who's actually still blogging and who's on hiatus and who still does tags and who doesn't. So. Yeah.

If you decide to do this tag, you need to:

• Include the tag banner in your post
• Link back to the creator of the tag ( LITAFLAME.BLOG )
• Thank and link back to the person who tagged you
• Forge your Fellowship out of BOOK CHARACTERS by answering the given questions!
• Tag three bloggers to pass the ring to. 

And here's a clean copy of the questions:
1. [The Ring Bearer]: If you could choose, which of the four races would you be: Elf, Dwarf, Human, or Hobbit?
2. [Gandalf the Grey]: A wise/powerful elder/mentor character:
3. [Aragorn]: A character with good survival skills:
4. [Boromir]: A character who makes mistakes, but has a good heart:
5. [Gimli]: A stubborn character:
6. [Legolas]: A character who is talented:
7. [Peregrin Took]: A character who at first seems useless, but ends up surprising you:
8. [Meriadoc Brandybuck]: A character who is small/not very strong, but has great courage:
9. [Samwise Gamgee]: A character who is extremely loyal and doesn’t give up:

Even if you don't feel like doing the tag, what do you think of my choices? And who do you think you'd pick? Please tell me in comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

Hello, everyone! It is officially spring; the flowers are blooming outside my window, and yesterday it actually felt kinda sorta warm! So that's a bit of hope for y'all in this crazy, stressful period of life. And I've got several more bits of hope as well in the form of new books releasing this season. Some of the ones I'm most excited about already released, but that's fine; I'll talk about them anyway. Let's get started!

Spring 2020 Reads!

1. Havenfall by Sara Holland (March 3). We all know how much I love portal fantasies. We all also know how much I love fantasy murder mysteries. So if you put those together in a fabulous inn-between-the-worlds, well, it sounds like just my cup of tea! I'm super hopeful that I'll get to pick up Havenfall soon in some form (though I have heard it has some LGBT stuff in it . . . so we'll see how much of that there is).

2. Rerelease: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (March 10). Aka what I was supposed to post about last Friday but didn't because I was too busy packing, doing job interviews, and trying to figure out my life (and doing homework in between). But, yes, the first two Wingfeather Saga books rereleased with gorgeous new cover art and illustrations, and I highly recommend picking them up. If you've read them before, you'll be delighted to reexperience the beauty of these stories — and if you haven't read them, well, you're in for a treat!

3. The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson (April 7). I loved the Fire and Thorns trilogy back when I first read it (all the way back in 2014, what the pumpernickel); it was one of my first tastes of fantasy that stepped outside the traditional medieval European setting and one of the books that led to my falling in love with fantasy court intrigue. The Empire of Dreams sounds like a very different story — which is good, but I'm excited to return to the same setting and some of the same characters. (Also, I've been told that there's no? romantic? plotline? in this book? Which I am far too excited for, I'm sorry.)

4. Let the Ghosts Speak by Bryan Davis (April 15). Bryan Davis has a habit of publishing books and then doing next to no marketing for those books, so I'm glad I'm catching this one before it comes out. I'm really not sure what to think about this novel; it's kind of a historical murder mystery, but with bonus ghosts? What even. (Also, Bryan Davis apparently really appreciates Joan of Arc, because this is the second time she's popped up as a character in one of his books.) I get to find out soon, though, since I managed to score an ARC. (Whoo!)

5. The Silence of Bones by June Hur (April 21). Ok, this is not my usual genre; it's a historical mystery set in 1800s Korea and sounds like it could end up being a bit dark. But, y'know, I did say I wanted to step outside the speculative fiction genre more. And we've already established that I love a good mystery. So, I'm excited to give this one a try.

6. Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams (May 7). This is almost certainly the book on this list that I've been waiting for the longest! I've been anticipating the release of Moonscript for, I don't know, seven or eight years? It was back when Anne Elisabeth Stengl was doing her mentoring-young-authors thing (and still writing Goldstone Wood; I think it might have been before Starflower came out, in fact) and Hannah was one of the mentees. I got a glimpse of it through Stengl's blog and have been following (and befriending) Hannah ever since. And now, at last, the hope becomes reality and Moonscript can be on my shelves. (Plus, I scored an ARC of this one too, so huzzah! No, I haven't read it yet; I've been distracted by the Wingfeather Saga. But soon!)

7. By the Book by Amanda Sellet (May 12). We finish off with another not-my-usual-genre title. By the Book is contemporary — YA contemporary romance at that. But it's also about a classics-loving girl who's creating a romance survival guide based on literary romances, so . . . that's kind of hard to resist. Here's hoping that it turns out more like Pride and Prejudice than Emma.

And there's my list! Which of these are you most excited for? Are there any spring releases that I missed that I should be psyched about? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah P

Summer 2018 Reads

Hey'a, everyone! This post is going up a bit later than it normally would, due to the Song of Leira and Lightporter blog tours. But that's ok, since those served the same purpose this post would've: to let you know about all the awesome books I'm excited for in this season of reading!

Summer 2018 Reads!

1. Song of Leira by Gillian Bronte Adams (June 5). I've already talked about this one, obviously, and I've also already read it . . . but I'm still super excited that it's out! It's definitely the high point of the trilogy, and I'm impressed by Gillian's ability to convey powerful themes without being preachy. If you haven't read it yet, go do so.

2. Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf (June 5). Maybe a little darker than I normally read, but it sounds like it could be fun. We all know how it's going to end (you'd think that people would stop sending female assassins after handsome, single male princes; they always end up falling in love instead) but finding out how it ends up there will hopefully be enjoyable.

3. The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen (June 5). Mongolian historical fantasy— yes, please! And I think it might be a retelling of a myth as well, but I'm not 100% certain. I need to brush up on my Asian mythology. Either way, it sounds magnificent.

4. A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews (June 7). I don't usually read contemporary, but I'll make an exception for this book! It's by Cait Grace of Paper Fury, and she's awesome, so I expect A Thousand Perfect Notes will be as well. Unfortunately, it sounds like it's only releasing in the UK and Australia, but I still intend to get my hands on it somehow.

5. Lightporter by C.B. Cook (June 16). Again, I've already talked about this one a fair bit, so I don't have a lot more to say. Basically, there's more Blaze and Anvil (my faves!), Albany has grown up a little (yay!), and the plot's exciting and fun. Out of everything on this list, I think this is the most summer-y, so that's another reason to read it sooner rather than later.

6. The Janus Elixir by Kyle Robert Shultz (July 1). Assuming you read my Mid-Year Book Freakout, you know how much I love the Beaumont and Beasley books. The Janus Elixir, unfortunately, doesn't sound like it'll involve Nick, Cordelia, and Crispin much . . . but I'm not complaining, because Malcolm Blackfire is storming awesome. Also, Kyle currently has this free for newsletter subscribers, so go sign up for that. His newsletters are funny and infrequent, so you're not going to be instantly spammed.

7. Fawkes by Nadine Brandes (July 10). This one sounds like so much fun! It's historical fantasy about the son of Guy Fawkes (aka the guy who tried to blow up Parliament and got a holiday named after him for it), and I imagine it'll be delightfully exciting. Also, just saying, the cover is pretty awesome.

8. Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson (July 24). This is either going to succeed spectactularly or fail miserably. No in-between. I hope that it will be the former, because it has the potential to be a hilarious adventure in the same vein as Discworld and the Hero's Guide series . . . as long as it doesn't make the fatal mistake of only making fun of fantasy instead of celebrating the good in it as well.

9. Fairest Son by H.S.J. Williams (August ??). I've been following Hannah for ages and waiting for her to be ready to publish something. Fairest Son isn't what I was waiting for exactly (that would be Moonscript), but I am definitely not going to complain about a gender-swapped Snow White retelling, especially not one involving a fae Snow White. (My life has been growing steadily more and more full of fae-related books— and, more to the point, good fae-related books— and I love it SO MUCH.)

10. These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch (August 7). This is either going to be piratey, political, mysterious magnificence or it's going to make me sad about the fact that the author wasted such an excellent premise on a subpar book. Either way, it should be interesting.

11. Worth of a King by Kendra E. Ardnek (August 27). I alpha-read Worth and ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! I love it almost as much as I love Lady Dragon, Tela Du. It's got pre-scale Amberite (they're adorable) and lots of Laura (one of my favorite of Kendra's characters) and Deladia (which joins Amberite and Reutra as one of my top three favorite ships in Kendra's books) and dragons and secret plots and counterplots and assassins and just a lot of awesome. Y'all should go preorder it, if you like ebooks, or else keep an eye on the Amazon page if you're more of a paper-and-ink person.

What books are you excited for this summer? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)