Recent Reads and the State of My Massive 2023 Book Reading Goal

Recent Reads

As of today, when I write this, I recently finished The Lost Slipper: Cosette’s Story by Michelle Israel Harper, an author I met at Realm Makers 2023. This lengthy novella is a retelling of not one, but two fairy tales, “Cinderella” and “Diamonds and Toads.” If you haven’t read the original tales, you can enjoy the story of The Lost Slipper, especially as the main character goes through a heartrending adventure to discover what she really needs to survive the curse on her kingdom. This book is a novella within a larger group of novels, of which I hadn’t read, but I found I could follow the characters and events with ease. I really liked it and recommend it to anyone who likes fractured fairy tale retellings.

In addition to this book, I also read Bard Tidings on my trip to and from Realm Makers, planning to get the author, Paul Regier, to sign it while there, but somehow I managed to miss him. Maybe next year? When I first read the back of the book blurb about Bard Tidings, I was intrigued especially by this line: “Their adventures throw them in league with fearsome lycans, stabby assassins, and a cursed warrior. With their help they must survive a pursuing dragon, slay a sorcerer, defeat an army, and of course, compose the perfect song along the way.”

Don’t ask me why, but the words “stabby assassins” had me laughing out loud and so I took a chance on this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like bardic tales, adventure, and fun, you will like this book.

I recommend looking up both of these authors, especially if you like fantasy reads with light Christian themes.

Added to my TBR Pile

I also added a number of reads to my TBR pile, including a short story anthology I started yesterday. What Darkness Fears is an anthology of uplifting dark fantasy and poetry. Didn’t know dark fantasy can be uplifting? Well, you might want to check this one out and discover more. 🙂 One of the things I love about anthologies is that I often find new favorite authors in them, and so I followed several authors from this anthology on Instagram yesterday, looking forward to reading more of their work in the future.

The Realm Makers’ books I added to my “already-owned and at-home” TBR pile are: Water Princess Fire Prince by Kendra E Ardnek, Share & Shield by Laura Vanarendonk Baugh, An Ordinary Knight by H.L. Burke, The Near Distant, an anthology, Ember Hawk by Jamie Foley, the first book in an award-winning series, A Queen is Knighted by R.J. Setser, Renegade Skyfarer by R.J. Metcalf, Animal Kingdom, an anthology of flash fiction by Havok Publishing, and Winter Spell by Ben Wolf, Andrew Winch, and Adam Weisenburger.

Whew. I would have bought more books, if I could have. For now, I have the beginnings of many series…

Buying Books While Driving Across the Country

Separate from Realm Makers, I wandered into a used bookstore on our road trip, and purchased Masques by Patricia Briggs, a secular, shapeshifting fantasy novel that I’m not sure how I missed when it came out in the 90s. I’ll definitely be searching out the rest of the series. It was a lot of fun to read.

Maybe the reason my husband thinks it would be better to fly to Realm Makers next year is so that I can’t pick up so many books…

Updates on my Massive 2023 Reading Goal

I have been reading, but I haven’t been posting about it for a long, long while.

37-90 will be listed simply because I fell behind.

37. Enhanced by Candace Kade – Excellent YA Dystopian Scifi! 5/5
38. Aimless Love by Billy Collins – Poetry. 5/5
39. Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lysa Terkheurst – a Biblical look at love-based boundaries and tough relationships, keeping some and letting some go. 5/5
40. Good Boundaries and Goodbyes Bible Study Workbook. 5/5.
41. Wedding Toasts 101 (from the library) – Nonfiction. 3/5.
42. And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou – Poetry. 5/5.
43. The Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella – Excellent YA Science Fantasy. 5/5.
44. The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas – A chilling thriller written by author from India. 5/5.
45. The Diseased Ones by Danielle Harrington – Excellent YA Dystopian. 5/5.
46. The Unseen Ones by Danielle Harrington – Excellent YA Dystopian. 5/5.
47. A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen – Excellent Dark Fantasy by one of my favorite authors! 5/5.
48. Dear McKinnon by Danielle Keil – Sweet Contemporary YA Romance. 4/5.
49. Dear Kerri by Danielle Keil – Sweet Contemporary YA Romance. 3/5.
50. REREAD (Listening to Audiobook) of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.
51. Coyle and Fang: Curse of Shadows by Robert Adauto III, Winner of the 2022 Realm Makers Awards. Excellent Steampunk! 5/5. Mild Christian themes within a hard-hitting book.
52. Reaching for More: Book 10 of the Bloo Moose Romance series by Jemi Fraser, one of my favorite contemporary, secular romance authors. CONTENT WARNING: There is heat in this series, but I love Jemi as an author, so… 5/5 for the excellent characterization and community building.
53. Obsidian by Sarah J. Daley – Secular, hard-hitting fantasy. A bit gritty, but well-written. 4/5.
54. Pure Ones by Danielle Harrington – Solid, YA Dystopian. Looking forward to book 4. 4/5.
55. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton, a memoir about being Draco Malfoy and more. 5/5.
56. All Through the Night by Tara Johnson – a Christian historical romance that’s gorgeously written. 5/5.
57. Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams, winner of one of the Realm Maker’s Awards – Excellent YA fantasy! 5/5. Christian themes.
58. Dragon Fairest by Amberlyn Holland. YA Fantasy. 3/5.
59. A secular romance novel I am not reviewing here.
60. Another secular romance novel I am not reviwing here.
61. A third secular romance novel I am not reviewing here.
62. Wishtress by Nadine Brandes. Excellent YA Fantasy with Christian themes. 5/5.
63. In Darkness: The Shark by L. Diane Wolfe. A paranormal, shapeshifter romance with mild Christian themes. 5/5.
64. The Bridesmaid by Anne Trowbridge, a Kindle Vella novel that’s completed. Contemporary, clean, travel romance. 5/5.
65. Calculated by Nova McBee – an Excellent YA Thriller with mild Christian themes. 5/5. Go read this before the movie comes out. 🙂
66. The Legend of Tawhiri by J.E. Purazzi – an Excellent Fantasy. 5/5.
67. REREAD via audiobook: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 5/5.
68. The Power of Affirmations for Writing Success by Traci Hohostein, a Kindle Vella completed novella. Nonfiction. 4/5.
69. A secular romance I will not review here.
70. Simulated by Nova McBee – an Excellent YA thriller with mild Christian themes. 5/5.
71. You’re Going to Make it, a Devotional by Lysa Terkheurst. 5/5.
72. The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carrigner. Nonfiction. 4/5, although I took copious notes.
73. Lo & Behold by Wendy Mass, a MG graphic novel. Excellent. 5/5.
74. Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover. Hard-hitting read for someone who has homeschooled. 5/5.
75. Assassin School 1 & 2 by Julie C. Gilbert, on Kindle Vella. 4/5.
76. The Eternity Gate: The Threshold Duology #1 by Katherine Briggs, an Excellent YA Fantasy that I read as an ARC. I plan to buy the book in hardback when it is out. 5/5.
77. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Literary, secular Fantasy. Haunting and poignant. Worthwhile reading. 5/5.
78. Built of Second Chances by Jemi Fraser. Heated, small town romance. Content Warning, but if you can flip past the heat, the storytelling is good.
79. Castle of Dusk and Shadows by Rachel L. Schade. A unique blend of Pride and Prejudice with dangerous fae. YA Fantasy, Sweet Romance. 5/5.
80. Activated by Nova McBee. Solid YA Thriller. 4/5.
81. Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis. Nonfiction. 4/5.
82. 40 Days Through the Bible: A Devotional Study. 3/5.
83. Stalks of Gold by Celeste Baxendell. YA Fairy Tale Retelling. 4/5.
84. REREAD via Audio: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. 5/5.
85. Reread via Audio: Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. 5/5.
86. Bard Tidings by Paul Regnier. A wonder-filled, page-turner fantasy with some humor. 5/5.
87. The Lost Slipper by Michelle Israel Harper – a retelling of “Cinderella” and “Diamonds and Toads” that was a fun, sweet read. 5/5.
88. Masques by Patricia Briggs. A 1990s shapeshifter fantasy I found in a used store – fun to read and a page-turner. 5/5.
89. (not in order of reading due to KV and Goodreads issues) The Honeymoon by Anne Trowbridge, a Kindle Vella read. 4/5.
90. The Distance Between Us by Anne Trowbridge, a KV read. 3.5/5.

I read/consume/enjoy books nearly all the time, so I’ll be back. I don’t think I included all of my rereads here…