What I read in February 2025

  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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Post 74/100 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.