Why did I pick this book?

1. T. Kingfisher - I picked this book up because I enjoyed reading A Wizard's Defensive Guide to Baking and Kingfisher's whimsical writing style. Hence, I looked for books where the protagonists are adults. The most commonly recommended books are Swordheart and The Paladin's Grace. Both are on my to-read list.

2. Halla's Conflict - A 36 year-old widow who has to fend off her inheritance from her husband's relatives. The threat captured my interest and made me root for the character even before reading the book.

3. Cursed Immortal - I cannot help but be curious on immortals trapped into objects, Sarkis was not an exception. There's always a question of how did they end up there? Do they get out of that curse? What does he do to get out of that sword?

4. Romance - This was the cherry on top that I looked foward to.

Why did I DNF this book?

I reflected on what did not work for me on this book. I initially thought the glacial pacing threw me off. However, when I looked back at other cozy fantasy books that I finished, most of them were slow-paced and remained enjoyable to the end. It could not have been the writing style because I like Kingfisher's writing style. And so, I pinned it to these two points:

1. Sarkis thinks of Halla a lot. Sometimes, he complains too much about Halla's mindless chatter. It is understandable but it was overdone. Other times, he's lusting over her curvy body. I can't imagine this turning into a love story.

2. Halla prattled too much even at most inconvenient times. Her endless internal monologues and dialogues reminded me of Mona from A Wizard's Defensive Guide to Baking by the same author and she is fourteen. The further I read, the more annoyed I get at this character.

I really wanted to like this book. By the end of chapter 2, I was delightfully surprised and thought this would be a fantasy romantic comedy. However, as chapters went by, the attempts at comedy in topics such as forced marriage, suicide, drugging, rape did not work me. But in the end, the final straw were the main characters and I DNF @ 18%.

I was browsing for book blogs and I found this challenge. Thanks to Jana, who's hosting Top Ten Tuesdays at The Artsy Reader Girl. 

1. Read books without feeling like it's a chore

I have been on a reading slump since the pandemic restrictions loosened up. I am hoping to read at least two books per month. However, I know stressing myself out would just deter me from reading.

2. Read more books written by women from various ethnicity.

If you ask me who my favorite authors are, all three of them are old white men. Oh, the clutches of patriarchy! I have to expand my reading backlog criteria because it is not going to diversify itself.

3. Read more books with women as main characters

I’m the type to dissociate myself from the books I read because I read to escape. Most of the books I’ve read have had men as lead characters. This is harder than it sounds—old habits die hard. I’ve been in a BL rabbit hole since 2019.

4. Chill with the Catholic Guilt. LOL.

As a mood reader, I always feel like I don’t read fast enough whenever I see book content creators on social media who have already read more books than I could possibly finish in a lifetime. As of today, I have only completed 69 books. While I know guilting myself over such trivial matters is self-inflicted, that awareness alone isn’t always enough to ease my guilt. I have to remind myself that reading is a hobby, not a competition..

5. Declutter my Kindle

A few years ago, I experienced FOMO when people were downloading free books from Amazon. I did the same without even reading the first page to see if I liked them. Now, I have to declutter.

6. Review books objectively

In recent years, my book ratings have been based on various elements of the books I’ve read. However, my older Goodreads reviews focused more on how the books made me feel. Since my goal is to fully capture my reading experience, I’ve decided to change my approach. I restructured my reviews to align with the way I rate the manhuas / manhwas I’ve read. See my book rating system.

7. Utilize the local library

Borrowing physical books and e-books from the library has become easier, thanks to our local library app, which can be synced with Libby. Since I’ve contributed to it through my tax money and paid ten or twelve dollars for a lifetime membership, I might as well make the most of it. I can’t remember the exact amount—it was a long time ago, haha!

As I welcome 2025, I made a decision to start with a fresh book blog and a mindful backlog of books to read. Since the pandemic restrictions loosened, I have been in a reading slump. My energy was redirected to other fictional mediums, such as manhwas, donghuas, and anime, which I enjoyed immensely. I even had a field day creating dashboards to track what I was reading. However, I miss being thoroughly immersed in a world, an experience I only get whenever I read books. Looking back at my previous book reviews, I realized I needed a better way to organize my reviews. Hence, this blog. 

Cheers to a fresh start!