This month was all about high-stakes space adventures, clever humour, some espionage, and romance. In other words, delightful escapism!

1. Full Speed to a Crash Landing (Chaotic Orbits #1) by Beth Revis, 192p: Super fun sci-fi novella. Fast-paced with heist-like intrigue, and a bit of romance. Ava is such a strong and independent female character, I enjoyed her machinations.

2. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz, 342p: This book is extremely ambitious, with long time spans and touching a variety of topics: environmentalism, capitalism, terraforming, access to public services, personhood, gender and sexuality, identity, and corporate greed. It's super creative and has lots of sense of humour interspersed with serious issues. It's truly diverse with bots, animals and non-human species all living together in this terraformed planet (Sask-E). There are cyborg cows, moose, naked mole rats and sentient trains. I didn't like the execution too much; I couldn't connect to many of the characters. It felt like it could have been three books: there was a lot going on!

3. Defy or Defend (Delightfully Deadly #2) by Gail Carriger, 264p: A quick adventure with espionage: Dimity (spy code name Honey Bee) is assigned to fix the Nottingham vampire hive, which is descending into madness. Her bodyguard is Sir Crispin Bontwee, who always had a thing for her. It's full of Gail Carriger's classy humour involving tea, curtains, and extravagant redecoration of a crumbling vampire house.

4. How to Steal a Galaxy (Chaotic Orbits #2) by Beth Revis, 122p: I loved this continuation of “Full Speed to a Crash Landing”. Fast-paced space heist with Ada Lamarr doing her thing: misdirection and deception. She's great! All the action happens at this charity gala hosted by the Museum of Intergalactic History on Rigel-Earth. The auction items include Tutankhamun’s tomb chest, a brick from the Great Wall of China, and even the original Apollo 11 Mission Control red rotary telephone. There are twits, smart banter, and enemies-to-lovers tension. I immediately jumped to the next in the series.

5. Last Chance to Save the World (Chaotic Orbits #3) by Beth Revis, 176p: This one follows directly after the events of the second book, starting inside Ada's spaceship. She has Rian White with her, and we still don't know for sure what Ada is after or what she really wants to do. I love the mystery and the twist and turns in this series. It was great to know Ada's mother and her pigeons; she is a badass! It's hard to say more without spoilers, but I really liked Ada and Rian's dynamic and how she masterly deceives everybody (including Rian).

6. Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane #2) by Elizabeth Hoyt, 391p: I wanted to get back to this series because I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in the 1700s and the diverse characters. Lady Hero Batten, a dutiful daughter, is engaged with a dull man, the Marquis of Mandeville. On the ball when their engagement is announced, Lady Hero finds the Marquis' brother, Lord Griffin Remmington, in a very indiscrete situation involving a married lady. Hero helps both to escape being discovered by said married lady's husband. Griffin is a notorious rake, but he has a thing for Lady Hero, and so we have the reformed rake and enemies-to-lovers trope. Lady Hero is also helping to build the new orphanage for the St. Giles children, which connects to the previous book storyline. We continue to see a glimpse of the mysterious Ghost of St. Giles. I'm still intrigued by this mystery, and I will continue this series just to find out!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

1. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie, 432p: I didn't love the book, but it has a few interesting topics to dive into. The second-person narrative felt strange to me, but I can understand why it’s widely praised. For me, though, the story just felt kind of cold. I didn’t connect with the characters or cared much about what happened to them, probably because the story’s told from an ancient god’s perspective, so we’re just watching the characters instead of really getting into their heads. I didn’t like the ambiguity of the ending.

2. Borders of Infinity (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #5.3) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 305p: Super fun read, the book is a compilation of 3 novellas:  The Mountains of Mourning (1989), Labyrinth (1989) and The Borders of Infinity (1987). The stories are focused on Miles Vorkosigan in which he tells about his insane adventures in his first years working for the ImpSec (Imperial Security). In the first one he is sent to a remote location in Barrayar to solve a local dispute. In the second one he goes to an undercover mission to rescue an important researcher, and the last one he is undercover in a very remote and high security prison camp to rescue a military person and manages to find a way to escape in the most spectacular way. But what I most liked about these stories are the diverse characters: there is a hermaphrodite from Beta Colony and various genetically altered humans with different abilities who were “discarded” by society. I love how power dynamics are explored in these stories with Miles questioning everything.

3. The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius by Kendra Adachi, 246p: This book presents a guide to getting things done without falling into the trap of perfectionism or overwhelm. The author tries to bring a perspective more suitable to women and their struggles, since most productivity books were written by men so far. The book has a fun tone and encourages us to focus more on what matters. It's all great advice, but when she gets to the actionable steps it is basically GTD (Getting Things Done – by David Allen) with different names. So it wasn't all that revolutionary to me since I've using the GTD methodology for a while now. I was not a fan of the forced acronyms.

4. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, 8 hours, 30 minutes (audio): The story is whimsical and fun, I was hooked on the very first scene. I enjoyed spending time with Mona and her curious magical abilities with bread and biscuits. I listened to the audio book, and I really like the narrator’s voice and style.

5. Cetaganda (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #9) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 302p: Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan Vorpatril are sent to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission to attend the state funeral of the planet's empress. They are supposed to just show diplomatic respect and not cause any trouble, but we know in this series that trouble always finds Miles. The story is a mix of political intrigue, assassins, secret agents, attempted assassinations, and the rich world building of a society obsessed with genetic engineering. For Cetagandans, genetic improvement means social advancement and the whole power structure is built around it. Miles, with his visible physical disability, tries to prove himself even more amidst a society that believes all physical “defects” must be eradicated. It was a fascinating read and the good sense of humour with snarky remarks about ethics and justice continues in this series.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

1. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, 457p: I love Ali Hazelwood books, it's the only author I truly enjoy in contemporary romance. This one is about college athletes, a competitive diver (Scarlett Vandermeer) and an Olympic medal swimmer (Lukas Blomqvist). I loved the smart banter between them and how there was a lot of talk and support around mental health issues. Also, it starts with mostly a sexual relationship, and the romance builds after that.  It explores power exchange sexual dynamics, and I thought it was interesting to see the connection between the drive for these power dynamics and subjective experiences. I love how this author takes romance a step further with lots of emotional depth.

2. Once Upon a Winter's Eve (Spindle Cove #1.5) by Tessa Dare, 120p: This is a novella in the Spindle Cove series and I thought it was okay. It a second chance type romance between with an identity mystery that is quickly revealed (and obvious!) in the book. I didn't like that the male character (Christian) felt so entitled to her (Violet) and initially ignored her feelings.

3. The Vor Game (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #6) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 346p: Another one in the Vorkosigan series that is super fun to read. It's a mix of great fast paced writing, absurdly fun plots, and excellent character development. Miles Vorkosigan is such an awesome character, I read this book because of him. He just can't help getting into trouble, even though he tries to stay away from it sometimes. In this one Miles is sent to a cold remote military base where he acts as the weather man, but of course shenanigans happen that gets him back at the center of political/military intrigues and the mercenary fleet he once was part of.  It's great fun full of twists and turns.

4. What Fresh Hell is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You—a Guide by Heather Corinna, 332p: I enjoyed how the book maintained a light, humorous tone while still being honest and informative.  The chapters covering symptoms, issues, and expected changes were dense, requiring me to take breaks between reading sessions. It did feel a bit repetitive in the middle. But the author does an excellent job of explaining all the terms and concepts and being compassionate and thoughtful.  For anyone navigating perimenopause or menopause, the book can feel overwhelming at times. In summary, I loved the final message of the book which is to practice “extreme self-care”. All good advice in general: have a healthy diet, exercise, meditate, do yoga, journal, or engage in whatever makes you feel good. Simplify your life, reduce responsibilities, and communicate your experiences with those around you. It's not fun, but we will get to the other side. I felt seen and the book helped me let go of preconceptions about this phase of life.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

1. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett, 317p: The faerie lore in this book is interesting, it has a whimsical feel to it but with a more verbose prose. The beginning was interesting: a scholar, Emily Wilde, spends some time in this small wintery village doing research.  She is portrayed as an introvert neuro-divergent scientist, so I liked that part of her personality at the beginning. The winter ambience was nice, it felt atmospheric.  The narrative style starts interesting, with her journal entries. But I thought it lacked an individualized touch. At times it seems like she's writing an academic journal, but she also uses it to write about her day to day, and the language does not seem to be intimate enough for a personal journal. I found the pacing of the book very uneven, and nothing was happening to move the plot for a long time. None of the main characters were likeable to me. I really didn't care about them at all. But I cared about the magical dog, Shadow. 

2. The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen, 354p: I was a bit disappointed with this book. It has been on my TBR for a long time, and I finally got a chance to read it. It starts really well, with a gripping opening scene where I saw a lot of potential. I mean, a beautiful princess who’s secretly a spy? I loved that premise. The world building is well done, and the Bridge Kingdom is fascinating. But I thought the interpersonal relationships and the whole forced marriage trope to be weak and not interesting at all. It also uses the lack of communication trope which annoyed me a bit. The plot became incredibly predictable after a while. 

3. Paladin's Strength (The Saint of Steel #2) by T. Kingfisher, 498p: This was a fun read! Lovely writing, great plot, gorgeous romance. The main characters are Istvhan, a Paladin (whose God died), and Clara, a nun, who cross paths and join forces to deal with some evil problems. They go on a long road trip together! I like that the romance is between two people in their 40's and they are both tall, big, and strong. The banter was delicious and funny. Seeing them complain together about their aches and pain was hilarious. The worldbuilding is excellent and makes me want to spend more time in it. It has dark tones, some terrible things happen and there is violence, but the characters are trying to make the world a better place and helping each other. A major plot point that starts in Book 1 is resolved in this book. I want to read the next one!

4. Priest (Priest #1) by Sierra Simone, 371p: This book is not for the faint of heart. It deals with a priest struggling with temptation and sin and the need to control his feelings. The POV is entirely by the male protagonist, Father Bell (no dual POV here, expect for a few confession passages in the female protagonist voice). The whole book could be very cringe, but somehow the author manages to make it beautiful and touching. It's sexual and emotional. It plays with the forbidden love trope with all the struggles these characters felt. The writing is beautiful.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

1. Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher, 398p: This was a great read for me! I loved how it played with Fantasy/Dungeon & Dragons elements. An order of Paladins struggles after their God (The Saint of Steel) dies mysteriously. Most of them go berserk and only a few three of them survived. The surviving paladins join the Temple of the White Rat, an order focused on public services such as law and medicine. They aim to stay useful while coping with the severe psychological impact of their god's death. Stephen is one of them, and he just wants to help people, while battling with his depression. One night he meets Grace, a woman fleeing from the acolytes of the Hanged Mother cult. She is an independent perfumer, who has learned to fend for herself. There are also mysterious murders going on, many severed heads, political intrigue and romance. And it's fun, I loved the sense of humour of this book. I want to read the second one to learn more about the severed heads mystery (and the other paladins!).

2. Barrayar (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #7) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 390p: Barrayar continues right after the events of “Shards of Honor”. Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan are now in their new political leadership roles in Barrayar. We spend most of the time inside Cordelia's head, and I loved it! She is trying to adapt to barrayaran cultural standard while trying to change a few things. We get a lot more worldbuilding that is expertly done as the story develops. There are excellent interactions between characters: they grow and evolve. There are heart-breaking moments, but also good action-packed scenes. It plays with this duality of technologies of birth and death. But there is so much more: motherhood, cultural differences, warfare, love, vengeance. It was so exciting to see Cordelia taking charge of things in the end and being just bad-ass (that's the scene where she “goes shopping” – if you know you know). It was an incredibly good read for me!

3. Never Have I Ever With a Duke (The Spitfire Society #1) by Darcy Burke, 270p: Cute romance, but I didn't find it engaging. I had issues with the writing style, something didn't click with me. I think the story was too predictable. The dog (Buscuit) was great, though!

4. The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #2) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 372p: This book starts with young Miles Vorkosigan doing 17-year-old shenanigans in space. It's super fun, fast paced with the most absurd heist escapades. I couldn't help but love Mile's “in control” attitude but also internally panicking about the situations he put himself into.  The story includes a lot of military strategy, which is never boring due to its absurdity.  Miles is an engaging character—confident, super smart, and likely has ADHD (super active). We also see him struggling with his decisions and feeling uncertain, making him relatable despite his crazy choices.   He's lucky and always wants to help people, so it's hard not to like him.  Miles has a physical disability and knows his limitations (most of the time), but he never feels like less of a person because of it. Overall, he's a very confident and funny guy. It was a fun read. I want to continue with the series.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Every year I look back at my reading list and think about my reader goals.

The first thing I do is set up my Reading Challenge on The Storygraph:

📚 Reading Challenge 2025: Read 58 books & 21,000 pages.

I then look at my TBR (to-read pile) and note the series and books that caught my attention and that I would still like to read. That doesn’t mean I will follow this whole list; it works as a brainstorming of titles I am still interested in reading. If I ever get to a place where I can’t decide what to read next, I will look at this list to get some ideas.

Series I want to continue reading:

1. The Stormlight Archives (Brandon Sanderson) (Books #2 to #4)

2. The Dresden Files (Jim Butcher) (Books #12 to #17)

3. Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold) (Books #2 to #17)

4. Old Man's War (John Scalzi) (Books #4 to #6)

5. Wayfarers (Becky Chambers) (Books #3 and #4)

6. The Expanse by James S.A. Corey (Books #6 to #9)

Books planned for my local Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club:

1. January: Shards of Honor/Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

2. February: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

3. March: Exordia by Seth Dickinson

4. April: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

5. May: The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

6. June: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

7. July: Drunk On All your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

8. August: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

9. September: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford

10. October: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

11. November: Neuromancer by William Gibson

12. December: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Some other books on my TBR I want to read (in no particular order):

Fiction:

1. Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1) by Lisa Kleypas

2. Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher

3. Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross

4. The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

5. Gobbelino London & a Scourge of Pleasantries (Gobbelino London, PI #1) by Kim M. Watt

6. The Rakess (Society of Sirens #1) by Scarlett Peckham

7. The Perils of Pleasure (Pennyroyal Green #1) by Julie Anne Long

8. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Mackenzies & McBrides #1) by Jennifer Ashley

9. Ne'er Duke Well (Belvoir's Library #1) by Alexandra Vasti

10. The Duke Who Knew Too Much (Heart of Enquiry #1) by Grace Callaway

11. The Earl I Ruined (The Secrets of Charlotte Street #2) by Scarlett Peckham

12. Baking Bad (Beaufort Scales Mystery #1) by Kim M. Watt

13. The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle #0.5) by Patrick Rothfuss

14. The Heiress Hunt (The Fifth Avenue Rebels #1) by Joanna Shupe

15. Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane #2) by Elizabeth Hoyt

16. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

17. Derring-Do for Beginners (The Red Company #1) by Victoria Goddard

18. Hild (Light of the World #1) by Nicola Griffith

19. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

20. His Secret Illuminations (The Warrior's Guild #1) by Scarlett Gale

21. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

22. Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #1) by Nisha J. Tuli

23. The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia #1) by Carissa Broadbent

24. A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons #1) by Milla Vane

25. The Thursday Murder Club (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery #1) by Richard Osman

26. Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

27. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

28. The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

29. The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral #1) by C.L. Wilson

30. Starter Villain by John Scalzi

31. Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

32. A Deadly Education (The Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik

33. Divinity 36 (Tinkered Starsong #1) by Gail Carriger

34. One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1) by Rachel Gillig

35. Farthing (Small Change #1) by Jo Walton

36. Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore

37. Fire Logic (Elemental Logic #1) by Laurie J. Marks

38. The Cold Between (Central Corps #1) by Elizabeth Bonesteel

39. Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) by Penny Reid

40. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

Non-Fiction:

1. Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben R. Rich

2. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

3. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter

4. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

5. Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell

6. What Fresh Hell Is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I love using The Storygraph to track my reading! I find it easy to log how much I’ve read every day and get awesome graphs and stats about my reading life each month. And at the end of the year, we get a cool yearly wrap-up.

Here is my 2024 Wrap-up Summary:

Note: I think there is a bit of a glitch with The Storygraph summary above showing 1.57 hours of audiobooks (I didn’t listen to any audiobooks)

I read 84% fiction versus 16% non-fiction books.

44% of my reading was Romance this year. That's a shift that started happening a couple of years ago and I started exploring different authors and branching out from genre fiction romance getting more into historical romance in 2024.

I focused mostly on lighter reads; I couldn’t stand anything too dark. And I decided not to finish 12 of the books I picked up this year (because they were either too dark, graphically violent, or too slow paced).

The months I read the most were August and September, which coincided with my staycation days this year:

⭐My favorite 5 star reads in 2024:

• The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
• Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross
• A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers
• The Bride (Lairds' Fiancées #1) by Julie Garwood
• The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls #1) by Joanna Shupe
• The Spymaster's Lady (Spymasters #1) by Joanna Bourne

Similar to 2023, romance novels dominated my favourites this year.

My favorite sci-fi was “A Closed and Common Orbit” by Becky Chambers and my favorite fantasy was “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson.

Other Book Posts to Read:

Some other book posts of people writing about their year in books:

• End of the Year Book Tag 2024 | alligators and aneurysms!
• Books of 2024 – Lazy Bear
• Axxuy's blog – My Year of Reading 2024
• My Books of 2024 | The Ancient Gaming Noob
• Retrospective, reading – annie's blog

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

1. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson, 1124p: This book starts a little slow with lots of world building being the first book of a series. Kaladin and Shallan are my favorite characters, their story builds and builds, and I really connected with them. The chapters with Adolin's point of view were my least favorites overall, but his arc ends up being interesting in the end. All the character building is excellent, and it was satisfying to see how some character’s arc merged along the story. Now I know exactly what “Sanderlanche” is, and I enjoyed it! I'm excited to continue the series.

2. Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 253p: I liked it. This was the second time reading this book because I want to get into this series. It is a rich universe with politics, history and conflict. The main character, Cordelia Naismith, is the captain of a survey ship from the peaceful Beta Colony. And there is Lord Aral Vorkosigan who is the leader of a secret military mission from the planet Barrayar. It starts with an attack to Cordelia's base camp that leads here into the hands of Vorkosigan, as a prisoner. There is a subtle tension between the two characters as they must team together to stay alive. The plot brings discussions about honor, xenophobia, war crimes and cultural differences. There is moderate action, lots of politics and some romance. I will read “Barrayar” next.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I was surprised to see that I finished less books this month than my average. But at the same time, I’ve been reading “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson, which is like 3-books-in-one length wise, so that explains some of it. I’ve also been spending some time with Dungeons and Dragons lore and articles online. Anyway, it was an interesting month and the last book, “Children of Memory” blew my mind!

1. Five Minds by Guy Morpuss, 316p: It's a bizarre and surreal concept: five minds sharing one body. Because of Earth's overpopulation, everybody at 17 years old have to choose between 5 options: play hard and die at 42, work all your life and drop down dead at some point, have your mind transported to an android body and die at 80, or become part of a commune, 5 minds sharing one body, each mind being awake for 4 hours a day. I don't think we get a good explanation of how the world got to that point with these options being applied to everybody. In order to gain more years to live, the characters go to a Death Park, where they can play virtual reality games with other participants. So, the premise is intriguing, and there is a murder mystery that happens inside the Death Park. I thought the plot was interesting up until 40% of the book, but I missed more depth to the characters. The resolution of the murder mystery was underwhelming. The author is very obvious pointing us to a suspect along the way, while leaving the real killer somewhat hidden. We don't really get any clues of the killer's character and intentions while the plot develops, so it was a weak final plot twist. I didn't like the ending as well.

2. Again the Magic (Wallflowers #0.5) by Lisa Kleypas, 416p: A forbidden love and second chance romance with class differences struggles. Lady Aline Marsden and John McKenna, an orphan stableboy, grew up together. They eventually fall in love and start a secret and forbidden relationship. When they are discovered, McKenna is forced to leave forever. But he comes back twelve years later, as a powerful businessman who wants revenge. This book was very emotional and angsty to me. There is a lot of anger and frustration in the face of situations the characters can’t change. I loved the motherly housekeeper character, who cared about them equally, it was very sweet. There is also Aline's secret: the result of a fire accident and she needs to get over some shame and low self-esteem. It's beautifully written, both characters have suffered and carry this sadness inside of them, but they find joy together in the end. And as a bonus, there is secondary romance revolving around Lady Olivia Marsden, Aline’s younger sister, and Gideon Shaw, McKenna’s American business partner.

3. Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 576p: This book starts like the previous ones: a ship travelling the universe investigating what became of planets that were meant to be terraformed and settled by humans. At the start of the book, the focus is more on the failing human colony at Imir, describing their day-to-day struggles through the lens of a little girl, Liff, who was born in that colony. But we also jump to another planet, Rourke, where another group of human colonizers are trying to settle in and where we see the origins of uplifted intelligent corvids. The exploration ship is composed of characters of the previous books: the AI Kern, Portia, Paul, Fabian and the newcomer Miranda (from Nod). It’s hard to talk more about this book without spoilers, but the whole point of the story is discussing the question: “What is sentience?”. And it is a delicious discussion when we get to Part 12. I was a bit disappointed with the big reveal at around 80% but then it pays off beautifully in the last chapters. This is why I read sci-fi: to experience these mind-bending thoughts one in a while. Also, the corvids Gethli and Gothli are awesome, I want to be friends with them! This is my favorite of this series.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I finished a bunch of romance books this month! All of them by authors I’ve never read before, so it was an exploration month. I finished it off with some light productivity read.

1. The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne, 368p: It's hard to talk about this book without spoilers. It involves orphans, friendship, life hardships, trauma and love. It starts with a story of a girl and a boy building up a deep connection. Then we meet Farah, a widow who works for Scotland Yard (the only woman in the office) and Dorian, a powerful criminal who is never caught but has a good heart. There is a lot going on in this book, and I really enjoyed it! It's mysterious and emotional. Sometimes dark but sweet. The characters are strong and survived lots of challenges. Dorian is a traumatized adult, and we see him struggle with his traumas. The romance is slow burn, and I was totally invested in it. Both main characters have secrets, and it's all revealed in the most interesting way. I want to read more into this series.

2. A Thief in the Nude (Rushmore Brothers #1) by Olivia Waite, 126p: This was a short read with an interesting premise. Miss Hecuba Jones is trying to recover lost paintings (painted by her mother) by breaking into an earl's house. In the midst of her burglary, she meets John Rushmore (the earl's brother) who is a disillusioned artist (painter). Of course, they start an affair with conditions related to said lost paintings, and nudes. Mysteries are uncovered. I learned that Hecuba blue is a colour, and there are lovely dialogues about art and painting in this book.

3. Shadowbound (Dark Arts #1) by Bec McMaster, 427p: This book reminded of the Dresden Files but with more romance (and steam) and a female protagonist. It definitely scratched my itch for a sorcerer themed book for Halloween. Ianthe and Rathbourne are both powerful magic users, they've met in the past and they have secrets and hidden lives. In the best enemies-to-lovers trope, they must unite to fight against the demons and uncontrollable power threatening to destroy London. It's a good series starter and I was intrigued to see what happens in the next books.

4. How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green #6) by Julie Anne Long, 384p: Such beautiful writing and fun banter. Phoebe is a teacher, and she has a peculiar cat. She is a very independent woman with the dream to leave England and go to Africa on a mission. The Marquess Dryden is the most popular guy in the ton, dark and charming, and he sets fashion and trends. He's all the talk on the tabloids. I loved that the writing jumps between the two points of view seamlessly. There is a whole chapter building up to describe a single kiss that is so lovely! There are class differences conflicts and a slow burn romance. 

5. Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal, 295p: This was an enjoyable read. It presents a more positive and healthy approach to productivity which I appreciated. Some scientific research results are presented in a light way, not going too deep, but delivering the concepts behind the strategies suggested by the author. I liked his ideas on how to add more fun elements to our work and mundane activities.

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Post 54/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.