I didn’t like the narrator for this audiobook, but Suzanne Collins’ writing pulled me through. This book is a worthy addition to the Hunger Games series and does a great job showing how Coriolanus Snow ends up the way he does in later books. It also provides plenty of food for thought. I did think the main “villain” was a bit of a cardboard cutout and there were several times I wanted to yell at the characters for being dumb. All the same, Collins’ writing is strong enough I enjoyed the ride anyway. If you’re a fan of the Hunger Games, do read this book.
This was the first book I read this month for the Orilium Magical Readathon! I read it for the Alchemy class prompt which was “has a circle on the cover”.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, please check out this video by Orilium creator BookRoast:
It’s almost April and that means it’s almost time for the Orilium Magical Readathon’s Spring Equinox! I’m so excited! I’m going to try to read a book for each prompt, plus the guild book club selection and any side quests (looks like this equinox it’ll involve the Lore professor 👀).
My April TBR for the Spring Equinox 2024 prompts
I’ve also ensured I either own these books or can get them from the library.
Each guild is a book club this time around and the House of the Arcane will be reading Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. If I need to, I can also use Godkiller for a couple of the prompts, but I’m hoping not to DNF any books. 🤞🏻
Will you be doing the Orilium Magical Readathon with me next month? If so, what are you most excited about?
Better late than never! Here’s what I read in February with a brief review for each.
Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re looking for an epic fantasy saga that’s not set in a Eurocentric setting, look no further than the Daevabad trilogy. Kingdom of Copper is the second book in this trilogy and is well narrated by Soneela Nankani.
Tendu: Dancing in the Castle by Ailish Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A light and fun romance set in the ballet world with touches of magic. Do check trigger warnings as it turns into a thriller at the end. Despite the book having trouble sticking to one genre, I enjoyed it.
Cabriole: Dancing in the City by Ailish Sinclair
⭐️⭐️
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the sequel. It was filled with too much unnecessary drama for me.
The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second book in the Amelia Peabody series is a fun reimagining of The Hound of the Baskervilles in an Egyptian archaeological setting.
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommended to me by a friend, this book taught me some useful negotiating tactics I’ve used to good effect in real life. I also enjoyed Chris Voss’ stories from his time as an FBI negotiator.
The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of my least favorite Amelia Peabody books because it takes place in England instead of in Egypt. It also features some thoroughly disagreeable children.
Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the ‘80s Hard Rock Explosion by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock
✨⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
My first 5 star read for February! A must-read for any fan of ‘80s hard rock, this book is entirely constructed of interviews from the people who were there at the time. You’ll get delicious backstage gossip and come away with great respect for the sheer grit and hard work these musicians put in.
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mark Pendergrast really did the work to research this book, even going to Columbia and picking coffee beans himself. A fascinating and eye opening look at a commodity many can’t do without.
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity by Michele Norris
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fascinating and eye-opening. A very thought-provoking read about Americans’ thoughts on race, based on six word sentences submitted to the author as part of The Race Card Project. A surprisingly rich conversation arises from just six words, though I did find it overly repetitive at times. If I had submitted six words, they would have been, “Celtic pride is not necessarily racist.”
Lion in the Valley and The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two more installments in the Amelia Peabody series.
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The narrator, Michael Kramer, took some getting used to and is a little on the dry and monotonous side. Otherwise I enjoyed this mashup of a classic heist and thief saves the world story with a few twists. I read this book for the February Year in Aeldia 2024 prompt and plan to continue the series next month. I’m in a great buddy read chat for this series and feel like I’ve found friends there. That motivates me to keep going.
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck
⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s a romance with magic in and sometimes the plot was moved forward by means of the idiot ball. But I did like it enough I got the sequel on sale and intend to listen to it. Make of that what you will.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✨⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
My second five star read of February! This book features a Murder on the Orient Express-style murder mystery, magic, snark with heart, and gay romance. I am so glad I got a physical copy instead of waiting to find out if there will be an audiobook (which I still devoutly hope will happen with a decent narrator). In this case you can judge a book by its gorgeous cover. I absolutely loved it!
That wraps up my reading for February 2024! Comment below if you’ve read or plan to read any of these books and your thoughts. Hope to see you back here for the next blog post!
I enjoyed this sequel and plan to continue the series, but I gave it 3 stars for 3 reasons:
The plot dragged in places
The main relationship was less spicy
I started wondering what the bad guys were doing for the 1,000 years they weren’t around and the more I thought about it the more cardboard the villains seemed.
I also read this book to fulfill the January prompt for the Magical Readathon: Orilium A Year in Aeldia Reading Challenge 2024. January presented two choices and my character, Vaughn, chose to rely on his wits to get out of a dungeon, which meant reading an audiobook. Who is Vaughn and why was he in a dungeon? Read on to find out!
Vaughn is an electricity elemental known as a Lightning. Physically he is based on Ken Hidaka from the anime Weiß Kreuz. He uses a pair of goggles with magical liquid crystal display lenses and has a gauntlet that turns into any tool he needs and allows him to channel magic. An apprentice Craftsmage, his original goal in attending Orilium University was to make the first magical database, but his extracurricular experiences may be leading him down another path. Vaughn has already obtained keys to the secret alchemy lab and the secret library, and his new goal is to obtain all the keys to the entire university. He’s started carrying a set of magical lock picks at all times. So when his friend Tori wanted to do some urban spelunking to explore the university’s underground, he was all in! They were arrested for trespassing, but Vaughn wasn’t fazed. He just whipped the lock picks out of his shoe and went to work.
Thanks to the Orilium Discord, today I learned about Lianne of LiteraryDiversions’ Bookish Bingo Board from Hell 2024. I decided to make my own bingo board from Hell, so now I have a ninth goal for 2024: to get blackout! Here’s my board, which you are free to use:
Honeycomb’s Bookish Bingo Board from Hell 2024
And here are the rules I’ll be playing by:
1. A book only counts for the top left square if I already owned it or it was purchased with my monthly Audible credit, a gift credit, or a reward credit earned by completing a bingo.
2. BIPOC or LGBTQ+ (the left-hand square in the second row) means either the author or characters are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+.
3. For each bingo and for blackout I will earn a bundle of Audible credits that do not count towards my total money spent on books this year. Books bought with these credits will count as books I already owned.
Join in the fun! Watch Lianne’s video. You’ll find a Google Drive link in the description with all the information and materials you need to participate!
LiteraryDiversions’ Bookish Bingo from Hell 2024 YouTube video
I’ll be tracking my progress towards this goal on StoryGraph.
2. Complete Year in Aeldia 2024
The Year in Aeldia 2023 challenge map
In 2023, G of Book Roast made a year-long choose your own adventure style reading quest for Magical Readathon: Orilium participants called A Year in Aeldia. It was easy to complete as you chose only one prompt per month. It was good fun and helped fill the void between readathons. If G makes one for 2024, I will complete it.
3. Read all the prompts for both Orilium semesters
The Orilium Craftsmage badge. I am currently a Craftsmage apprentice.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, G of Book Roast has created the Magical Readathon: Orilium. In this readathon you pretend to study at a magical university named Orilium. This will be my third year participating and I’m looking forward to it! I will aim to complete the prompts required for my calling, Craftsmage, during the readathon months, but will also complete the rest of the prompts, no matter how long it takes.
4. Read Les Miserables in one year
Cover of the Penguin Classics audiobook edition of Les Miserables
I joined a group from the Orilium Discord whose goal is to read the entire, unabridged Les Miserables in 2024. I’m looking forward to this challenge and am already enjoying discussions with the group. I have chosen the Penguin Classics edition translated by Christine Donougher, performed by an ensemble cast including Adeel Akhtar, Adrian Scarborough, Natalie Simpson, Emma Fielding, and John Owen-Jones. I chose this edition because it is noted for the excellence of Donougher’s translation and reviews indicate the narration is faithful to the text and includes footnotes. The audiobook is also divided into chapters which will make it easy for me to read one chapter a day.
5. Do more buddy reads
I recently did my first buddy read outside of a book club. I quite enjoyed it and made a new friend! (Hi, Justé!) I think it’ll be good for my mental health to participate in more buddy reads and meet more bookworms this way. I’ve already signed up to buddy read the Daevabad trilogy and the Throne of Glass series in the new year!
6. Revive my blog and review what I read
And I’m making a good faith start on this goal now by overhauling the blog URL and design and writing this post!
7. Spend less on books
I want to read more of the books I already own and try to get as many other titles as I can through the library or BARD. (BARD is a service provided by the National Library Service. It provides free access to audiobooks to blind and disabled patrons.)
8. Have fun!
The most important goal on this list! If I am not having fun, I will change or even abandon these goals. The goal is not to stress myself out but to add more enjoyment to my life.
What are your reading goals for 2024? Share them in the comments!
Honeycomb's Hive 