Having decided a couple of years ago that mid-February is the best time to read Jacqueline Carey’s epic fantasy about the many forms of love, this February we’re finally reading Kushiel’s Avatar. We’ll be tackling this chonky trilogy-closer across 6 weeks starting February 12th – if you’d like to join us, you’re very welcome!
romance
It’s the final week of the SciFiMonth read-along of Everina Maxwell’s space opera Winter’s Orbit – all the reveals, all the peril, and I think we might need some more cinnamon on that roll and a cuppa to go with it please. Spoilers inevitable.
Welcome back to the SciFiMonth read-along of Everina Maxwell’s space opera Winter’s Orbit. Last week it became clear that our cinnamon roll newlyweds were surrounded by deadly secrets but make a pretty good team when they work together. But will they be permitted to stay together? Let’s talk chapters sixteen through twenty-two!
Welcome back to the SciFiMonth read-along of Everina Maxwell’s space opera Winter’s Orbit. Last week we met our heroes and attended a wedding; this week, we’re diving into palace intrigue and imperial politics. Let’s talk chapters seven through fifteen!
Welcome to the SciFiMonth read-along! This year, we’re buddy reading Everina Maxwell’s debut space opera Winter’s Orbit. Everyone is free to read at their own pace, with set chapters to discuss each week so we can compare notes without spoiling each other. This week, my SciFiMonth co-pilot Lisa of Dear Geek Place has set the questions as we look at the first six chapters…
Humanity spread out to the stars, abandoning our dying home world in waves. But Earth endured. Now it attracts scholars of ancient history and dilettantes seeking the violent delights only found on toxic backwaters. But the pit fights of the House hold danger for everyone in and out of the ring….
Branwen’s dreams of granting Iveriu safety, Eseult happiness and Tristan her heart are in tatters. She is determined to right her mistakes – but with the local priests and the new King’s Champion watching her every move, the slightest mis-step could end in disaster…
As part of the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards panel, I get to choose which categories I’ll read at each stage. This year, I put my hand up for Series and Novellas; I’m now halfway through the series so before I dive back into novellas I want to round up my thoughts on the first instalments of two of our Series nominees.
Time for the final showdown: reunited at last, Phèdre and Joscelin and their unlikely allies must find a way to warn Ysandre, avenge Asherat and thwart Melisande’s deep-laid plans for a coup in Terre d’Ange.
Beset by political and literal storms, Phèdre and her Illyrian captors find themselves barred safe haven and cast ashore on an ancient island of mysteries. Phèdre needs help at any price, but can she persuade the Kritians – or the Illyrians – that the reward of Ysandre’s friendship is worth the risk of Serenissiman enmity?
Phèdre’s mission hangs by a thread. With certain knowledge of treachery, Phèdre is desperate to get a warning to her Queen before Ysandre falls victim to the same trap that has closed around Phèdre herself. But where Phèdre is too desirable to kill, Ysandre will be assassinated without hesitation…
As Phèdre and the boys settle into La Serenissima, it becomes clear that our anguisette’s familiarity with d’Angeline politics may not have fully prepared her for the sharks of the Caerdicci city state, where family members line up to stab one another in the back. But is Melisande Shahrizai to be found within these murky waters?
Phèdre is back, and the d’Angeline court can’t get enough of her. But the most satisfying patrons in the City of Elua can’t heal the bruises left by Joscelin’s cold shoulder or help her sleep at night. As the pieces start to fall into place, it becomes clear to her that she won’t find her answers in Terre d’Ange – but what will be cost of persuading Joscelin to accompany her to La Serenissima?
Picking up where Kushiel’s Dart left off, we rejoin Phèdre nó Delaunay at Montrève, breaking the news to her household that she will be returning to the service of Naamah. Cue romantic anguish from a certain former Cassiline and a shudder of delight from the Court. Without Delaunay to guide her, Phèdre must set her own course – without tipping her hand – if she is to find Melisande Shahrizai…
Thanh is the Empress’s youngest daughter: the expendable one sent to powerful Ephteria as a ‘guest’; the forgotten foreigner they left to burn when their palace caught fire. But Thanh survived to go home, although she has found less herself welcome than she could wish. Now, the arrival of Ephterian envoys is her chance to prove her worth to the Empire… or see her home burn to the ground.
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