#bookseries — Public Fediverse posts

A sweeping saga of family, loyalty, and secrets that shape generations.

Set against the rich backdrop of 19th-century Ireland, The Fitzgeralds of Dublin series explores love, sacrifice, and the ties that bind.

📚️️️️️ Books 1–9 available in box sets
📖 Free with Kindle Unlimited

Discover the series - http://mybook.to/FitzgeraldsBoxSets

#Books #BooksByLornaPeel #Ireland #BookSeries #HistoricalFiction #FamilySaga #KindleUnlimited @bookstodon

🗺️ Welcome to The Valdai Romance Universe: A Guide to the Archive 🗺️

My alternative 19th-century bilingual world is vast, exploring intense psychological slow-burn dynamics across the asexual spectrum. To help new readers navigate, here are the three distinct layers of my literary work:

📖 1. The Main Canon
The core timeline. An ongoing multichapter emotional saga following the gravity-defying connection between an alien engineer Virgil Carter and a lonely Valdai herbalist Januar Walday.

⏳ 2. Standalone Stories (Canon Companions)
Canon historical layers and side-stories exploring the characters' lives across different eras. This includes deep dives into their youth and past memories, as well as standalone emotional snapshots set in the present and even the future of the main timeline.

🌌 3. Alternative Universes (AU / Spin-offs)
The timelines where the year 1838 remains the absolute, unchangeable anchor of fate. Virgil and Januar are destined to meet in 1838 no matter what, but the circumstances of their crossroads shift dramatically - from a desperate rescue at a lonely estate to a fateful encounter at an old tavern. Deep psychological snapshots exploring intense tactile hunger across the asexual spectrum.

🔗 All stories are original fiction and completely FREE to read. Choose your doorway into the universe via the link:
https://medium.com/@xenidavyd/the-complete-guide-to-the-valdai-romance-universe-timelines-standalones-and-alternative-2e82c45aa067
🖤 🩶 🤍 💜

#thevaldairomance #januarandvirgil #indiewriters #alternateuniverse #bookseries #queerfiction #AsexualRomance #Asexuality #homoromance #androromance #scifibooks #historicalfiction #slowburnromance #mlmbooks #bilingualbooks #acespectrum #acespectrumpride #bookaesthetic #19thcentury #russianqueerpride #russianqueer #russianenglish #lgbtqfiction #lgbtq

Bright Dead Things (Bitter Legacies 1) by Hailey Turner | Book Review

If the forest stares back at you, you’re already prey.

Bran Gallagher grew up with three rules passed down through his coven: beware forest paths that lead to dangerous mounds, always keep iron close, and never speak of magic.

Cillian Dunne grew up with his mother’s love, his father’s absence, and secret warnings to never trust a witch.

In Pelham’s forest, where bright lights haunt the trees and hunt the lost, there are traditions kept for survival and others out of habit, none of which should be broken.

Bran and Cillian unknowingly broke tradition and ruined each other in the aftermath of a kiss years ago. Reunited in the wake of a family tragedy, they cross paths with something old, something terrifying—something that wants them dead. When Bran’s younger sister is stolen away by a nightmare into the Otherworld, they can only follow and try to keep each other alive in a strange and haunting land.

Trapped in a dangerous Fae Court, Bran learns being a witch comes with a death sentence. To save him, Cillian must fight against those who seek power from a past he has no memory of, and the only person he can trust is the witch who broke his heart.

But it might be too late.

For the Fae have never been kind, and they have always hungered, and this time, what they hunger for is revenge.

How was it?

One of the weird things about me, is that when I pick up one of my trusted authors’ books, I sometimes don’t want to know anything about it before diving in. That’s been my approach with Hailey Turner after Soulbound. At most tell me there are witches, Fae, and a new fantasy world to explore, and I’m in.

Unfortunately, I accidentally read the blurb before starting Bright Dead Things. I say unfortunately because the blurb reveals an event that doesn’t happen immediately enough, and for the entire first quarter of the book, I found myself waiting for that moment instead of fully experiencing the story as it unfolded. It’s not the book’s fault, but it definitely changed my reading experience a little.

I still got pulled into the story. I sat down to read a few chapters and suddenly found myself around 20% into the book without really noticing, which is a good sign since I’m a slow reader.

The biggest strength of Bright Dead Things is its atmosphere. The forests is eerie, the Otherworld feels dangerous, and there’s this constant sense that something is lurking in the edges, just beyond sight. Turner is very good at worldbuilding and creating an atmosphere, here it’s a creeping feeling that something is wrong long before the characters fully realize it themselves.

This book is very fantasy forward, the romance between Bran and Cillian is almost an after thought, yes there’s some longing but it’s a genuine slow burn. I’m happy with that here because the story and world surrounding it is more interesting to me than a second-chance romance. The world, the mysteries, and the hints of larger dangers kept me engaged while the relationship developed at its own pace.

The one thing I wasn’t entirely sold on was the magic system. It feels a bit loose compared to fantasy worlds with clearly defined magical rules. The casting itself, mostly Bran’s and his witchmarks, often sounded complicated and time-consuming. I feel like Bran could get shot before witchmarking himself a shield, and maybe that’s the point he’s not supposed to duck and hide so he could raise a shield, lol.

There’s a slow build, with clues and unsettling details scattered throughout the first half, before everything starts accelerating. The first quarter of the novel is largely spent setting up the events described in the blurb, which is why I’m annoyed I read it! It’s really around the halfway point that the pace picks up significantly, bringing more action, revelations, and a clearer picture of the larger threat lurking behind everything.

I enjoy that gradual crescendo because I’ve come to trust Turner, I know she’s building toward something worthwhile. But I worry about how a brand-new reader would feel about it. If you’re unfamiliar with her talent, the slower first half might require a bit more patience, but if you(re familiar, enjoy the ride.

I am invested in seeing where this series goes next, despite not being quite as attached to Bran and Cillian as I usually am after the first book of a Hailey Turner series. I like them. They’re good characters, I care about what happens to them. I’d be annoyed if they get hurt or killed but it wouldn’t ruined my day at this point. I haven’t formed a deeper emotional attachment yet.

However, the mysteries introduced here, the larger mythology taking shape, and the unanswered questions left hanging have me eager to return to this world.

Overall, Bright Dead Things is a strong opening to a new fantasy series. It’s atmospheric, creepy, full of intriguing folklore, and steadily builds toward something much bigger. If you’re willing to embrace a slower start and enjoy stories where the mysteries unfold piece by piece, there’s a lot here to enjoy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a highly beloved and talked-about science fiction novel. Now, personally, I am not much of a science fiction gal, so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to think. I ended up really enjoying the book (science and math stuff aside) and found the world and the characters to have really shone through, making it such an enjoyable read.

Main Characters:

Ryland Grace: Such an unexpectedly great main character. He’s smart (obviously), but not in an intimidating way. He questions things, messes up, figures it out, and brings a lot of personality to what could’ve been a super technical story. He made this book so much more approachable and, honestly, really fun to follow.

Rocky: I won’t say too much because it’s better to experience it, but one of the best parts of the book. The dynamic here is something I did not expect, and it adds so much heart, humour, and depth to the story.

Eva Stratt: The scientist who creates the mission that Grace goes on often butts heads with Grace on their ideas, but in a respectful, professional way.

My Review

As mentioned, I went into Project Hail Mary not really knowing what I was getting into or if I would like it. I did not expect to love this as much as I did. Sci-fi isn’t usually my go-to, and anything involving heavy math, science, or engineering? Also not my thing. So I went into this a little hesitant, but this book makes it so accessible. I didn’t really understand those aspects of the book, but I also didn’t feel like I needed to to really grasp what was going on in the story. You can feel the characters’ emotions, and that often showed me more than the science and math did. I rated Project Hail Mary a 9/10 rating, and would totally recommend it to people like me who don’t usually check out science fiction, or aren’t usually drawn to those types of stories.

In Project Hail Mary, we follow Ryland Grace when he wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he realizes he’s on a mission to save Earth from a catastrophic threat that could wipe out all life. As he pieces together what’s happening, the story jumps between past and present, showing how the mission came to be, and how Grace ended up being humanity’s last hope. Along the way, unexpected connections form, and the scope of the mission becomes even bigger than initially imagined. We, the readers, are spun a gorgeous world in space through the eyes of someone who never expected to be up there.

So yes, due to the plot of the book and Grace’s role in it, the book includes a lot of science, math and engineering. Yes, there’s complex problem-solving. But I never felt like I needed to fully understand every detail to stay engaged. The way it’s written keeps things clear enough that you can follow along without getting lost, which made a huge difference for me and how I was pulled into the book. What really pulled me in was how the story unfolded. The connections that are made throughout, especially the ones you don’t see coming, are so well done. It takes things in directions I never would’ve expected, and it just works.

And Grace as a character? Loved him. He carries the story in such a natural way, and you actually enjoy being in his head as everything unravels. He makes the high-stakes, end-of-the-world mission feel personal and grounded.

I will say, it’s a little unsettling how some of the issues in this book don’t feel that far off from real life. Like, it’s sci-fi, but also, not entirely? That added an extra layer of tension for me.

The space aspect was also just really cool. It’s such an out-of-reach concept for most of us, and I loved getting to fully dive into that world and go along for the ride. It felt immersive without being overwhelming.

And the ending? So good. It wrapped things up in a way that felt satisfying and meaningful, which isn’t always easy with a story this big.

I’m also really curious to see how the movie adaptation turns out, whether it sticks close to the book or switches things up a bit.

Overall, this completely surprised me in the best way. Super engaging, surprisingly emotional, and just a really fun (and slightly terrifying) ride through space.

I hope you enjoyed this review! Thank you for checking it out! Feel free to subscribe to the page to be one of the first to know when I release a new review!

One final "out of context quote" before release day TOMORROW!

🥰

#Books #FantasySeries #OutOfContextQuote #Quotes #FantasyBooks #Fantasy #Romantasy #BookSeries #Finale #ComingSoon #ComingTomorrow #Reading

For all of those who are interested, I’ve just made the title of The Way of the Wielder, book four public! 🥳

Check out my latest blog post, where I reveal what it is, as well as go into a bit of backstory about how I decided on yet another alliterative title.

https://sarahjhoodlet.com/blog/title-reveal-and-what's-to-come/

#WritingCommunity #Writer #SelfPublishing #FantasyBooks #Fantasy #FantasySeries #BookSeries #TitleReveal #Blog