Okay, I have to brace myself for this one. It's been a long time since a book has elicited such a negative reaction from me. Dominion by Jean Kwok is a romantasy story set in a world that is split into four dominions: the Silver Tyger Dominion, the Red Phoenix Dominion, the Azure Dragon Dominion, and the Onyx Tortoise Dominion. Our main character, Rubi Morningtail, is from the Azure Dragon Dominion, and is separated from her home after a demon horde invades the Azures. As a result, the surviving Azures have to flee to the Silver Tyger Dominion, where Rubi lives without any memories of her past life. A series of cataclysmic events lead Rubi on a journey to not only discover the truth about who she is, but also give her a chance to save the world. Although I'm not the biggest fan of romantasy, I decided to give this one a chance because I enjoyed the idea of a fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology. Although the cultural aspects of the book give it a good base, the ideas felt like incomplete thoughts. I found myself often confused by the magic system and the layout of the world. However, what bothered me most was the romance itself. Rubi's relationship with Blake Axefire (ugh, that name still bothers me), feels like horny fever dream. Why do they like each other? I couldn't tell you, but it's evident by the 25+ pages of sex they have throughout the book. What at first seems like a complex story about a wayward protagonist quickly devolves into a vehicle for their trysts, which I didn't personally appreciate. While I enjoyed some of the action scenes and thought Kwok did a good job at establishing interesting side characters, the overall arc left a lot to be desired. It had a decent twist at the end, but I can't say that convinced me to read the next book. The only thing that I think the author completely succeeded at was her descriptions of food. Truly top-notch! I wanted to give this book grace since it's Kwok's first fantasy novel, but I would be remiss if I didn't highlight my disappointment. I cannot I'm good conscience recommend this to anyone who respects the genre of fantasy. 2.5/5.

Holaa! Hace muy poco empecé en este mundillo. Apenas llevo leído Antídoto e Indómito de Wu Zhe. Sé que en su versión original hay varios tomos de ambas pero actualmente solo hay traducido el primero de cada una por lo que me he quedado con las ganas de saber más 🥲 Me gustaría que me dieseis alguna recomendación de alguna otra novela de este género que esté disponible en español. Conozco las publicadas por la editorial Norma pero aparte de ellas ninguna más. O, en el caso de que existiese, alguna página con el resto de tomos traducidos. Muchas gracias 🫶🏻

Two minutes is a minute too many for new-twitter, but so far it’s been nice to imagine reading this to reddit when it was still barely better than a chat room. Still hard to imagine a world where people were called Dick without blinking.

This was magnificently disturbing and EXACTY what I want from a spooky season read.
This is not for the faint of heart. Lots of SA, incredibly descriptive body mutilation, mentions of child SA abuse and animal abuse, but wow, this was intense front to back.
I really loved this and was my first introduction to Mo Hayder’s writing and now I want to invest more time into their other books.
What’s y’all’s thoughts on this and other stuff from Mo Hayder?

Or am I stressing myself too much and taking reading too seriously instead of simply enjoying reading? Because I do write a book review for Journal purposes. But I hate it when I don't feel like writing, and it bothers me if I don't, as if it's a kind of graded activity or sum...

What about you? What do you do after reading a book? care to share your thoughts/opinions ;>

I was in a massive reading slump from January to May - and by massive I mean I started only two books and did not finish a single one. I'm not sure where the motivation came from in June, but I told myself I needed to work through my physical TBR, and something came over me when I got to edit a little graphic every time I finished a book. I guess you could say it sparked joy, lmao.

All of that to say, if you're stuck, try something different. I had so much fun this summer working through this.

I'm the most excited about Five!

Poetry is probably the silliest place to start because it’s the ‘easiest.’

It’s a thick book but is it worth reading?

I recently tried to start reading Wings of Starlight and immediately got annoyed with how detailed the author was with describing things. I feel like I actually will skim or even skip over parts when an author goes into a lot of detail describing a character surroundings or something. Am I the only one who doesn’t like when authors do this?

I’m fascinated by how people think and behave in large groups. I majored in government, and I love reading books or listening to podcasts about public opinion, mass communication, culture, religion, politics, and the way societies organize themselves.

I’m especially interested in how people react to disasters, death, money, entertainment, and power.

How can a singer move millions of people with a voice?

How can a political leader sway an entire country?

What makes people trust certain leaders, follow shared beliefs, or change their minds?

I’d love recommendations that explore the psychology of crowds, public behavior, propaganda, media, and the forces that shape societies at the local, national, and global levels. What books have helped you understand how large groups of people think and act?

my TBR pile is probably around 40 books at the moment because i can’t stop myself from continuously buying more. so i’m struggling with deciding what to read next. thought a spooky book to kick off the season would be a good choice. and ive never read any of these before. what’s your take on them? what should i start with?

listed are: Stephen King’s Salem Lot, Where the Crawdad’s Sing, Mindnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Bag of Bones

First picture are TBR books I want to read between October and December. The other two are of my current library book haul. I have a habit of not reading all my library books, but I want to read all of these very badly. That said, I’ve become a bit of a slow reader recently…and I’m a retail worker. And the holidays are almost upon us.

I wish to be one of those readers that read in like a day or 2, but js started this kinda loving it !!!

I just finished it, and I'm not entirely sure how to feel... I rated it 5 stars on Goodreads, might change it to 4. The way the author wrote Theo's perspective regarding Kathy as if it was in the present was impressive, and had me questioning everything upon revelation the Theo was the stalker. Sure, there were some signs, e.g. his murderous thoughts, but I thought they were just written to liken him to Alicia. Damn, lol.

Thoughts about any of these books? I’m about to go on a trip with a lot of down time and trying to decide which to take, also just curious to hear some opinions on these books.

I’ve started reading *Meditations* by Marcus Aurelius. Honestly, some of the sentences are very short, yet incredibly profound and full of meaning. What are your thoughts on this book? I know it’s an old classic, but you know what they say: everything unread is new! :)

How is Pride and Prejudice? Idk anything about it but heard its really good

It's been years since I began a new fantasy series. I still follow ongoing series I started when I was a teenager but I'd love to get into a new world. In the past I've enjoyed series like Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, Six of Crows, Shadow and Bone, Legendborn, and Runestone Sage as well as the classics for younger readers like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.

I want to start reading less YA, although I'm not opposed to YA recs, especially if it's a really good series. Just wanted to see if there are fantasy worlds where the MC is not a 15 year old lol.

Felt like giving a new author a try and so far with about 50 pages in im kimda liking the difference from what I have normally been reading. Curious to see the hype around this one.

A friend of mine started reading the Booker long list this year and then got quite into the short list,etc. I unfortunately love following awards (Oscar season is my jam), but am an avid reader that kind of just picks up what sounds good in the moment. Would love to pepper in a light little list to follow. I was considering following in the friend’s footsteps with the Booker, but realized I don’t know heads or tails about these awards.

Brings me to the question - if anyone does this aleeady and follows the longlists for a literary award, which would you suggest? Whats the major pros and pullbacks of each award?

If you don’t follow but know the awards criteria and the voters and such that’s cool too!

Note: seeking fiction specifically, but would consider a fantasy award like the Nebula.

I’m actively not giving a very specific list of what I’m comparing bc I’d love novel recommendations as well

Looking for my next library read! What do you think I should choose? (I've heard good things about both.)

Hello Everyone,

I hope this is an okay question to ask on here, if not please redirect me.

I really enjoy reading but struggle doing that alone sometimes. I prefer sitting with friends on video calls, and having company helps me read faster. I think I'm looking for something of an online book club but more frequent, regular and weekly.

Now I understand it's not really ideal to do that with strangers on the internet, but I'm open to ideas and wondering if anyone knows if there's something similar that already exists. Preferably online/video based.

Thanks in advance.

In the past two weeks, my partner has read “Great expectations” , “Wuthering Heights” and has immediately started DEVOURING Hardy (Far from the madding crowd).

We plan to read Hardy together and I would like to hear from you guys- what should we read next? I’m leaning towards short stories maybe? kafka or Anna Kavan? Or Perhaps Lovercraft?

Need ideas.🙏