Noisy Deadlines

ReadingList

Every year I look back at my reading list and think about my reader goals.

The first thing I do is set up my Reading Challenge on The Storygraph:

📚 Reading Challenge 2025: Read 58 books & 21,000 pages.

I then look at my TBR (to-read pile) and note the series and books that caught my attention and that I would still like to read. That doesn’t mean I will follow this whole list; it works as a brainstorming of titles I am still interested in reading. If I ever get to a place where I can’t decide what to read next, I will look at this list to get some ideas.

Series I want to continue reading:

  1. The Stormlight Archives (Brandon Sanderson) (Books #2 to #4)

  2. The Dresden Files (Jim Butcher) (Books #12 to #17)

  3. Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold) (Books #2 to #17)

  4. Old Man's War (John Scalzi) (Books #4 to #6)

  5. Wayfarers (Becky Chambers) (Books #3 and #4)

  6. The Expanse by James S.A. Corey (Books #6 to #9)

Books planned for my local Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club:

  1. January: Shards of Honor/Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

  2. February: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

  3. March: Exordia by Seth Dickinson

  4. April: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

  5. May: The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

  6. June: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

  7. July: Drunk On All your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

  8. August: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

  9. September: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford

  10. October: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

  11. November: Neuromancer by William Gibson

  12. December: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Some other books on my TBR I want to read (in no particular order):

Fiction:

  1. Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1) by Lisa Kleypas

  2. Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher

  3. Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross

  4. The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

  5. Gobbelino London & a Scourge of Pleasantries (Gobbelino London, PI #1) by Kim M. Watt

  6. The Rakess (Society of Sirens #1) by Scarlett Peckham

  7. The Perils of Pleasure (Pennyroyal Green #1) by Julie Anne Long

  8. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Mackenzies & McBrides #1) by Jennifer Ashley

  9. Ne'er Duke Well (Belvoir's Library #1) by Alexandra Vasti

  10. The Duke Who Knew Too Much (Heart of Enquiry #1) by Grace Callaway

  11. The Earl I Ruined (The Secrets of Charlotte Street #2) by Scarlett Peckham

  12. Baking Bad (Beaufort Scales Mystery #1) by Kim M. Watt

  13. The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle #0.5) by Patrick Rothfuss

  14. The Heiress Hunt (The Fifth Avenue Rebels #1) by Joanna Shupe

  15. Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane #2) by Elizabeth Hoyt

  16. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

  17. Derring-Do for Beginners (The Red Company #1) by Victoria Goddard

  18. Hild (Light of the World #1) by Nicola Griffith

  19. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

  20. His Secret Illuminations (The Warrior's Guild #1) by Scarlett Gale

  21. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

  22. Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #1) by Nisha J. Tuli

  23. The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia #1) by Carissa Broadbent

  24. A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons #1) by Milla Vane

  25. The Thursday Murder Club (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery #1) by Richard Osman

  26. Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

  27. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

  28. The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

  29. The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral #1) by C.L. Wilson

  30. Starter Villain by John Scalzi

  31. Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

  32. A Deadly Education (The Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik

  33. Divinity 36 (Tinkered Starsong #1) by Gail Carriger

  34. One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1) by Rachel Gillig

  35. Farthing (Small Change #1) by Jo Walton

  36. Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore

  37. Fire Logic (Elemental Logic #1) by Laurie J. Marks

  38. The Cold Between (Central Corps #1) by Elizabeth Bonesteel

  39. Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) by Penny Reid

  40. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

Non-Fiction:

  1. Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben R. Rich

  2. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

  3. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter

  4. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

  5. Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell

  6. What Fresh Hell Is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I love using The Storygraph to track my reading! I find it easy to log how much I’ve read every day and get awesome graphs and stats about my reading life each month. And at the end of the year, we get a cool yearly wrap-up.

Here is my 2024 Wrap-up Summary:

Note: I think there is a bit of a glitch with The Storygraph summary above showing 1.57 hours of audiobooks (I didn’t listen to any audiobooks)

I read 84% fiction versus 16% non-fiction books.

44% of my reading was Romance this year. That's a shift that started happening a couple of years ago and I started exploring different authors and branching out from genre fiction romance getting more into historical romance in 2024.

I focused mostly on lighter reads; I couldn’t stand anything too dark. And I decided not to finish 12 of the books I picked up this year (because they were either too dark, graphically violent, or too slow paced).

The months I read the most were August and September, which coincided with my staycation days this year:

⭐My favorite 5 star reads in 2024:

  • The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross
  • A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers
  • The Bride (Lairds' FiancĂ©es #1) by Julie Garwood
  • The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls #1) by Joanna Shupe
  • The Spymaster's Lady (Spymasters #1) by Joanna Bourne

Similar to 2023, romance novels dominated my favourites this year.

My favorite sci-fi was “A Closed and Common Orbit” by Becky Chambers and my favorite fantasy was “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson.

Other Book Posts to Read:

Some other book posts of people writing about their year in books:

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson, 1124p: This book starts a little slow with lots of world building being the first book of a series. Kaladin and Shallan are my favorite characters, their story builds and builds, and I really connected with them. The chapters with Adolin's point of view were my least favorites overall, but his arc ends up being interesting in the end. All the character building is excellent, and it was satisfying to see how some character’s arc merged along the story. Now I know exactly what “Sanderlanche” is, and I enjoyed it! I'm excited to continue the series.

  2. Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 253p: I liked it. This was the second time reading this book because I want to get into this series. It is a rich universe with politics, history and conflict. The main character, Cordelia Naismith, is the captain of a survey ship from the peaceful Beta Colony. And there is Lord Aral Vorkosigan who is the leader of a secret military mission from the planet Barrayar. It starts with an attack to Cordelia's base camp that leads here into the hands of Vorkosigan, as a prisoner. There is a subtle tension between the two characters as they must team together to stay alive. The plot brings discussions about honor, xenophobia, war crimes and cultural differences. There is moderate action, lots of politics and some romance. I will read “Barrayar” next.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I was surprised to see that I finished less books this month than my average. But at the same time, I’ve been reading “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson, which is like 3-books-in-one length wise, so that explains some of it. I’ve also been spending some time with Dungeons and Dragons lore and articles online. Anyway, it was an interesting month and the last book, “Children of Memory” blew my mind!

  1. Five Minds by Guy Morpuss, 316p: It's a bizarre and surreal concept: five minds sharing one body. Because of Earth's overpopulation, everybody at 17 years old have to choose between 5 options: play hard and die at 42, work all your life and drop down dead at some point, have your mind transported to an android body and die at 80, or become part of a commune, 5 minds sharing one body, each mind being awake for 4 hours a day. I don't think we get a good explanation of how the world got to that point with these options being applied to everybody. In order to gain more years to live, the characters go to a Death Park, where they can play virtual reality games with other participants. So, the premise is intriguing, and there is a murder mystery that happens inside the Death Park. I thought the plot was interesting up until 40% of the book, but I missed more depth to the characters. The resolution of the murder mystery was underwhelming. The author is very obvious pointing us to a suspect along the way, while leaving the real killer somewhat hidden. We don't really get any clues of the killer's character and intentions while the plot develops, so it was a weak final plot twist. I didn't like the ending as well.

  2. Again the Magic (Wallflowers #0.5) by Lisa Kleypas, 416p: A forbidden love and second chance romance with class differences struggles. Lady Aline Marsden and John McKenna, an orphan stableboy, grew up together. They eventually fall in love and start a secret and forbidden relationship. When they are discovered, McKenna is forced to leave forever. But he comes back twelve years later, as a powerful businessman who wants revenge. This book was very emotional and angsty to me. There is a lot of anger and frustration in the face of situations the characters can’t change. I loved the motherly housekeeper character, who cared about them equally, it was very sweet. There is also Aline's secret: the result of a fire accident and she needs to get over some shame and low self-esteem. It's beautifully written, both characters have suffered and carry this sadness inside of them, but they find joy together in the end. And as a bonus, there is secondary romance revolving around Lady Olivia Marsden, Aline’s younger sister, and Gideon Shaw, McKenna’s American business partner.

  3. Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 576p: This book starts like the previous ones: a ship travelling the universe investigating what became of planets that were meant to be terraformed and settled by humans. At the start of the book, the focus is more on the failing human colony at Imir, describing their day-to-day struggles through the lens of a little girl, Liff, who was born in that colony. But we also jump to another planet, Rourke, where another group of human colonizers are trying to settle in and where we see the origins of uplifted intelligent corvids. The exploration ship is composed of characters of the previous books: the AI Kern, Portia, Paul, Fabian and the newcomer Miranda (from Nod). It’s hard to talk more about this book without spoilers, but the whole point of the story is discussing the question: “What is sentience?”. And it is a delicious discussion when we get to Part 12. I was a bit disappointed with the big reveal at around 80% but then it pays off beautifully in the last chapters. This is why I read sci-fi: to experience these mind-bending thoughts one in a while. Also, the corvids Gethli and Gothli are awesome, I want to be friends with them! This is my favorite of this series.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I finished a bunch of romance books this month! All of them by authors I’ve never read before, so it was an exploration month. I finished it off with some light productivity read.

  1. The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne, 368p: It's hard to talk about this book without spoilers. It involves orphans, friendship, life hardships, trauma and love. It starts with a story of a girl and a boy building up a deep connection. Then we meet Farah, a widow who works for Scotland Yard (the only woman in the office) and Dorian, a powerful criminal who is never caught but has a good heart. There is a lot going on in this book, and I really enjoyed it! It's mysterious and emotional. Sometimes dark but sweet. The characters are strong and survived lots of challenges. Dorian is a traumatized adult, and we see him struggle with his traumas. The romance is slow burn, and I was totally invested in it. Both main characters have secrets, and it's all revealed in the most interesting way. I want to read more into this series.

  2. A Thief in the Nude (Rushmore Brothers #1) by Olivia Waite, 126p: This was a short read with an interesting premise. Miss Hecuba Jones is trying to recover lost paintings (painted by her mother) by breaking into an earl's house. In the midst of her burglary, she meets John Rushmore (the earl's brother) who is a disillusioned artist (painter). Of course, they start an affair with conditions related to said lost paintings, and nudes. Mysteries are uncovered. I learned that Hecuba blue is a colour, and there are lovely dialogues about art and painting in this book.

  3. Shadowbound (Dark Arts #1) by Bec McMaster, 427p: This book reminded of the Dresden Files but with more romance (and steam) and a female protagonist. It definitely scratched my itch for a sorcerer themed book for Halloween. Ianthe and Rathbourne are both powerful magic users, they've met in the past and they have secrets and hidden lives. In the best enemies-to-lovers trope, they must unite to fight against the demons and uncontrollable power threatening to destroy London. It's a good series starter and I was intrigued to see what happens in the next books.

  4. How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green #6) by Julie Anne Long, 384p: Such beautiful writing and fun banter. Phoebe is a teacher, and she has a peculiar cat. She is a very independent woman with the dream to leave England and go to Africa on a mission. The Marquess Dryden is the most popular guy in the ton, dark and charming, and he sets fashion and trends. He's all the talk on the tabloids. I loved that the writing jumps between the two points of view seamlessly. There is a whole chapter building up to describe a single kiss that is so lovely! There are class differences conflicts and a slow burn romance. 

  5. Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal, 295p: This was an enjoyable read. It presents a more positive and healthy approach to productivity which I appreciated. Some scientific research results are presented in a light way, not going too deep, but delivering the concepts behind the strategies suggested by the author. I liked his ideas on how to add more fun elements to our work and mundane activities.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. Bride by Ali Hazelwood, 399p: I'm a fan of Ali Hazelwood and this is her first paranormal romance book. It starts with an arranged marriage between an alpha werewolf (Lowe) and an exiled vampire (Misery). The “mate” trope was a bit confusing, it didn't make too much sense to me. It is fast paced, there is some politics (vampires x werewolves x humans) and the mystery of the missing friend. It's a well done slow burn romance, but thinking about the physical logistics of werewolf and vampire anatomy love making got me a bit out of the story. I guess I'm not into the whole biting and drinking blood theme of paranormals anymore.

  2. Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood (Monstress #07-12) by Marjorie Liu, 152p: Yes, it's full of gorgeous artwork and I love the ambience. But I guess I was not in the mood for a dark complicated story. The worldbuilding is intricate and it's so, so sad! I finished it and had lots of questions. But because of the dark themes I won't continue the series. At least not right now.

  3. The Bride (Lairds' FiancĂ©es #1) by Julie Garwood, 388p: This book is so plot-rich! There's always something going on, the heroine is so pro-active, and strong and kind. It's set in 1,100’s Scotland Highland times with an arranged marriage between an Englishwoman (Jamie) and a Highlands Laird (Alec Kincaid). Because this book was published in 1989 set in a medieval setting, there might be some issues with consent, but I think the author did her best to make it less problematic. Another interesting fact is that this romance has humour and funny situations, something that was not common in romance novels back in the 80's (there's a foreword by the author talking about it). It’s the type of writing I enjoy, where we can be inside the characters heads a lot. I enjoyed how quickly the author changed characters viewpoints within the same chapter, so we get glimpses of different characters within the action/dialogue. I thought it was pretty well done. I loved the grumpy hero with a kind heart. I loved the bold heroine standing up against ridiculous status quo (and said grumpy hero stubbornness). Lots of funny banter and there's is even a murder mystery in it. Overall, a non-stop read, super rich and interesting.

  4. The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister #1) by Courtney Milan, 316p: This one is set in England around 1863, when industrialization is becoming a thing and there are discussions regarding workers’ rights, workplace hygiene conditions and strikes. There is blackmail, scandal, sedition handbills and references to chess strategy. The female character (Minnie) has a secret she doesn't want anybody to uncover. She's clever and quiet. The Duke of Clermont (Robert) wants to make the world a better place. This a very slow burn romance and I thought there was too much politics going on that threw me out of the story. I kinda liked the side characters more, the scene in the train where Sebastian & Violet chaperonne Robert with Minnie was great. I think I would enjoy more the next books in the series with the other brothers.

  5. Team: Getting Things Done with Others by Edward Lamont, David Allen, 288p: This book brings great insights into how to use the Getting Things Done (GTD) framework within a team's setting. It's full of practical tips and real-world examples. It's amazing to know that all the original GTD concepts can be easily applied to teams. I've been using the GTD methodology for years and this book opened my eyes on how to use it with other people. The sections about communication and delegation skills were super helpful to me, and I could start applying them in my work right away. It has a nice refresher on the methodology at the end as well.

  6. The Duke I Tempted (The Secrets of Charlotte Street #1) by Scarlett Peckham, 318p: I liked the independent protagonist, Poppy, who is a successful botanist trying to get her own business going in the limited women's rights world in 1753. There is a lot of angst and communication misunderstandings between Poppy and Archer. I enjoyed the acknowledgement of the power imbalance between them, and how they both tried to close that gap with a marriage contract full of unusual clauses for the time period.  I was a bit scared at the mention of BDSM elements (which is not really my cup of tea) but it is well done and very light. So, it's definitely a slow burn romance, Archer has a dark secret and Poppy is an intelligent woman claiming her space. The writing was lovely!

  7. Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 592p: Like the previous book in the series, this one is packed with fascinating ideas.  The theme/premise remains the same: a terraforming operation in distant planets.  However, this time there are two planets involved. One hosts some alien life, while the other will be home to uplifted octopuses instead of spiders.  The story unfolds through two alternating timelines—past and present—that eventually converge in the last third of the book.  I found the pacing a bit problematic, and the back-and-forth between timelines was sometimes frustrating because they were so far apart.  A significant focus is placed on the communication challenges with the octopuses. There isn’t much dialogue, but there’s a lot of explanation and exposition of concepts and ideas. This made it hard for me to connect with the characters, as the book felt too heavy on info dumping. Despite this, the ideas presented are still very cool!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

This month I was surprised I read this much! Some books I devoured in a couple of days. I wasn’t too much in the mood for non-fiction, I just wanted some escapism. I finished 2 series: “Uptown Girls” and “Scott Pilgrim” and started two more that I want to continue reading. Great month!

  1. The Spymaster's Lady (Spymasters #1) by Joanna Bourne, 384p: When I first read this book 9 years ago, I gave it a 3 stars rating. I heard about it again in 2024 and I decided to re-read it because it sounded really good, but I didn't remember much about it. And I enjoyed it way more this second time! It's a historical romance espionage set during the Napoleonic Wars between France and England in the 1700's. The main character, Annique Villiers, is a bad-ass French spy; she has seen Napoleon’s plans to invade England and spies from all over are after her to get that information. She meets British spies, and the characters travel from France to England. The book is full of delightful plot twists with the enemies-to-lovers trope, I can't mention too much about the story because of spoilers. It was cool to notice how the author used slightly different writing styles for each character depending on the language they were speaking and their native languages. The book is written in English, but the characters speak English of varying dialects and accents, and also, they use French words here and there. It's super interesting! The prose is beautiful, the plot twists were well done, the heroine is clever. I'm curious to read the other books of this series.

  2. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood, 379p: Rue and Eli are layered and complex characters. I love how Ali Hazelwood can get into deep emotions with her writing. The business/biotech engineering background was interesting with plot twists.  It has the enemies-with-benefits to lovers trope done in a way that I enjoyed. There are professional high stakes, and the main characters have personal issues that are believable. I liked the touch of hockey player + figure ice skating couple. This is a bit different from her previous books, the relationship is grittier and more complex, and I loved it for it!

  3. The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S.A. Chakraborty, 569p: Interesting folklore inspiration from Islamic mythology, djinns and magic in Egypt. There was lots of djinn politics, and I got lost between all the different djinn factions/groups. I didn't click with the characters, and I thought it hard to know who was who and what were their relationships to each other. Another point that bothered me was the romance. Why would a 1,500-year-old Djinn fall in love with Nahri? The romance was very unbelievable and not well developed. Nahri starts as strong independent female character and then becomes the passive lady-in-distress halfway through the story. The world building is great though, and it might be a good fit for people who aren't much into character development but enjoy lush word building.

  4. The Devil of Downtown (Uptown Girls #3) by Joanna Shupe, 346p: This series is something unique because it takes place in New York City during the Gilded Age (a change from the English Victorian romances out there). And I love it for it! This last third book follows the youngest daughter, Justine. She is so sweet and strong at the same time. Justine is a do-gooder with no regard for what others thinks of her. I was afraid the male protagonist was going to be one of those alpha-male-violent mafia dudes, but not really. The hero, Jack Mulligan, is a criminal kingpin, but he is a good criminal. He has profound respect for women and becomes more of a do-gooder and helps his community. There was good chemistry between the characters, and I loved how Justine was helping women abandoned by their husbands and fighting to end cruel child labour laws. Great series!

  5. Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt, 401p: Set in the 1730's I loved the “noir” feel of this one. There is a murder mystery that moves the plotline and also some mysterious characters that kept me guessing until the very end. It's a bleak reality. Temperance, the main character, is a widow and runs a home for orphans with her brother and they really need more financial support. The hero, Lord Caire (Lazarus Huntington), is grumpy and emotionally repressed with issues. He offers to help her find a new patron for the home if she accompanies him round St. Giles (a type of slum?) and helps him to uncover who killed his mistress, Marie. Despite the characters being deeply religious/conservative for my taste (lots of guilt and repentance feelings going on) I liked the story. It is a beautifully done slow burn romance. It has a type of gloominess that I enjoyed. I'm curious to read more in this series.

  6. Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (Scott Pilgrim #6) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 234p: It was a fun ride! I liked the “living in your head” metaphor and how everyone got closure from their past traumas and fears. The final boss fight scene was cool. It's filled with cute art and funny dialogues. I loved the happy-ending and the “Maybe we just need to hold on” message.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I was all about fiction this month! I explored a gorgeous graphic novel, read a book with not enough octopuses, and continued reading a bunch of series.

  1. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, 420p: It’s full of thoughtful and conceptual ideas exploring our unknowability towards others but with octopuses. I liked the fictional book quotes at the beginning of each chapter, leaving me with some ideas about the nature of consciousness, intelligence and being human. I wish the first contact situation were more deeply explored, meaning, I wanted more octopuses! 🐙 The characters and the plot didn’t work too well for me. Sometimes it felt the dialogues were out of place with the characters doing an academic exposition on a subject to each other. The ending seemed too easy given all the complexities of the matter presented since the beginning of the story.

  2. A Lady by Midnight (Spindle Cove #3) by Tessa Dare, 384p: I liked the grumpy/sunshine trope in this one. Corporal Thorne is broken and sad, but he has a soft heart. Katie grew up an orphan and she is a talented music teacher and strong willed. There is an adorable puppy, hilarious incidents (like the one with the melon) and an emotional slow burn romance. There is family drama with things being unburied from the past, a ball and even a duel! I had lots of fun reading this one.

  3. When a Scot Ties the Knot (Castles Ever After #3) by Tessa Dare, 376p: I loved the set up, and the introduction with Maddie's letters was really well done! It's funny and it's sweet. Maddie was super interesting:  she worked as an illustrator of insects and there were some funny bits involving lobsters. The male protagonist is a grumpy Scottish dude, but then we learn he has a soft heart. I loved how supportive of each other they were, even though the whole premise of the story starts with the blackmail trope and fake marriage. It was just excellent.

  4. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening (Monstress #01-06) by Marjorie Liu, 208p: This is a graphic novel series that was recommended to me. Such a gorgeous artwork, it's beautiful! The tone was darker than I expected, there is lots of gore that I wasn't prepared for. I loved the cats with their wisdom, they are my favorite characters. It was very engaging from the beginning, and I am curious to dive more into this world.

  5. Turn Coat (The Dresden Files #11) by Jim Butcher, 576p: I loved the mysterious “whodunit” plot. There are some high stakes here, super powerful magical entities, great battle scenes and a clever plan to expose the murderer. I thought this one had excellent pacing, well balanced with action scenes and dialogue. Full of cool plot twists (well it starts with a huge plot twist: who'd think Morgan would go to Harry for help?). We can see Harry growing inside the White Council. We get to know the wizards HQ in Edinburg and it was nice to see Harry challenging the Senior Council. It cleverly brings previous plotlines together. One of my favorites of the series now.

  6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe (Scott Pilgrim #5) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 184p: In this one we get to see the twins Kyle and Ken Katayanagi. There was less stuff happening in this one. It was fun to see Scott and Ramona living together and then having disagreements. It sets up the stage for the next ex-boyfriend: Gideon. Again, just unpretentious fun!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls #1) by Joanna Shupe, 400p: I liked this historical late 19th century romance set in New York. The characters were great: a lawyer with a wealthy client base and an heiress ahead of her time who wants to change the status quo and help people. There is also a side plot police procedural and trial. And feminist women gambling and playing pool. It was the first book I read from this author. I couldn't put it down, and now I want to continue this series.

  2. Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa Dare, 384p: I devoured this book in 2 days. I love that the premise is unrealistic: a duke and a tavern waitress. And that's what makes this story work for me. It has a kind of fairy-tale-happily-ever-after vibe, but both characters know how impossible their relationship is, and they struggle together through it. The heroine, Pauline is smart, independent, and funny. The hero, Griffin, is an adorable rake with secrets. I love that a library and books are involved. Their banter was hilarious, and I thought the pacing of the book was excellent.

  3. Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness (Scott Pilgrim #3) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 192p: We hear some backstory about Envy Adams, the pop star. And we learn about vegan superpowers! I learned about Honest Ed's store in Toronto (which I had to research) and it was this iconic wholesale dollar store before those became popular. Hilarious fight scene inside Honest Ed's. I thought the pacing of this was one was not the best, but still super fun and cute.

  4. Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Scott Pilgrim #4) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 195p: This one was so nice because we see Scott and Ramona's relationship grow and mature a little bit. We (I mean, Scott) finally find out Ramona's age. Scott gets a job. The band start recording an album. More evil exes show up. Still cute and fun.

  5. The Prince of Broadway (Uptown Girls #2) by Joanna Shupe, 384p: A very rebellious female main character who wants to open a casino for ladies? Yes, I liked this rebellious idea in early 19th America. It is a beautifully written romance, I enjoyed Clay's (the male character) blunt sincerity and Florence's strong will and that she was not interested in marriage or children. She was focused on learning how to manage a casino and be successful. For a moment I thought there would not be a happy ending, but all ends well. I want to read the next one in the series.

  6. System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells, 256p: This one was very action packed, and I had some trouble understanding the timeline in the beginning. It starts right into an action scene, and it keeps going with more action that I thought was confusing. It gets better and more interesting halfway through. I love the Murderbot character and that's what kept me going. It's my least favorite of the series, though.

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Post 18/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

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Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers, 365p: I love Becky Chamber's writing style. And this one is a delightful read following the coming of age of two characters from the first book. One is a former sentient ship AI that was transferred to a synthetic humanoid body to move around and explore the world. The other is about a little girl that was born to work in a factory, barely escaping it and being taken care of by an AI. It's so beautifully written! It's focused on character development and the world building just flows with it. It touches on identity, friendship, diversity of gender and sexuality, exploitation, and oppression.  But it's all done through the lens of intimate, emotionally charged characters perspectives. Very well crafted!

  2. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim #1) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 168p: After I saw the first season of the 2023 Netflix animation “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” I wanted to get into the original black and white material. And it's so fun! There is a direct reference to Amazon.ca, which is hilarious. Also, I loved the tea scene. Great sense of humour, with Canadian references and funny dialogues. Will continue reading.

  3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Scott Pilgrim #2) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, 200p: Sweet and funny. I love the dialogues and the fight scene at the Toronto Reference Library was awesome! I like that there are so some many references to Canadian life, like celebrating the “first t-shirt day” after winter and walking around Toronto seeing a “Second Cup” cafĂ© and Casa Loma in the background. I already got volumes 3 and 4 from the library to continue reading.

  4. A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys, 336p: This is not really my flavour of sci-fi, but it gets points for its unique perspective.  It's a first contact story where the conflicts are not carried in a violent, physical way. For a first alien contact situation, things go pretty smoothly. There is a lot going on here: efforts to reverse climate change, representations of different identities, gender spectrum and sexuality, diverse families, exploitative corporations, Watershed Networks, ecology, Jewish culture, parenting. There is a LOT of talking:  most of the conflicts are resolved with dialogues. The story is told from the main character's point of view, and she doesn't hide her flaws and insecurities: we get to feel them all! I thought the future imagined was too close to our time (50 years ahead) for humanity to have changed that much. Interesting read, but it was not so easy to get to the end. This was a Book Club read for me and it certainly raised intriguing discussions.

  5. Exadelic by Jon Evans, 448p: This is a very weird book. It's a mash-up of Ready Player One, with Matrix, Outlander and Assassin's Creed. Seriously there's so much going on here! Dark magic, AI's, time travel, obscure pseudoscience, cults, witches, sex rituals, post-apocalypse worlds (just to name a few). There are a lot of technical programming terms and references which I didn't get most of the time. What kept me reading was wanting to know where the story would end up and yeah, it's bonkers. The short chapters and mini cliff-hangers me helped me stick with it, but it was a wild ride. I wanted to see what the point of the story was, and I don't think I got it at the end.

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Post 10/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

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Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.