Skip to main content

Featured

Chosen. Again. by J. Emery

She saved the kingdom once. She didn't expect there to be a repeat performance. At sixteen, Ari fell into a portal and found herself in Callaria, a magical alternate world in need of a hero. So she did the coming-of-age quest. She saved the kingdom and kissed the farmboy turned King. And when she was done... she went home. She never forgot about her time in Callaria. It never forgot her either, and now thirteen years later, she's back. Drafted into the role of Champion once more, Ari discovers that magic doesn't mean freedom from consequences. Her actions a decade ago caused ripples that didn't go away when she did. The gawky apprentice wizard she once called a friend is now a cynical Royal Wizard with a penchant for floor length velvet robes and dangerous secrets. Her magic sword is giving her the silent treatment. The evil ruler she thought she defeated is living in the dungeon, making cryptic predictions that sound a little too much like fact. The farmboy turned King...

Clear Your Shit: The Journey Begins (Shortest Book)

Okay so I've barely begun this quest thing (thanks, wizard) and I get ransacked on my first night. Luckily my Magical Belt Pouch of Hiding Books for Later That I'll Definitely Get To Sometime had a copy of Strawberry Milkshake by Cate Wurtz in it. I sat down on a rock (definitely not named Carl) to read it and was very impressed and shaken by its portrayal of gaslighting and distorted reality. I was about to stand up when I realized that my Magical Belt Pouch had two more books in it, one of which I'd been "getting to later" for about eight months, and another which I keep reading one story at a time when I ought to be able to just breeze through it. I sighed and picked up No Man of Woman Born by Ana Mardoll, feeling guilty that it's taking me so long to read this really cool book of awesome stories where prophecies are fulfilled through subverting gender-related expectations. Wondering how I took so long, I finished the last three stories, stretched my back after sitting, then paused as I felt two more volumes tucked into the back of my belt. Slightly puzzled, I discovered I was practically sitting on my copies of Strangers in Court by Seanan McGuire and The Awakened Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin, both of which are novellas providing one more story in a longer series (October Daye and The Inheritance Trilogy, respectively). 

After reading all four books (why, who knows, I just couldn't leave until I read them all) I started walking into town. I'm still walking, so it might be a while before I know what happens next. I just know I'll probably need supplies since when I was ransacked I lost the little I was carrying (other than the books).

Go here to read the whole story.

Comments

Popular Posts