finding the pacing to be a bit clunky… im almost a quarter of the way in and still dont feel a connection w either mc…

Oo the Easter eggs in this one from Priory are already so good and make the characters already feel familiar. Shannon's prose is still top notch as well, excited to get a look into these characters since it's only 2 years before Priory of the Orange Tree took place.

Not Dinniman taking shots at Twilight 😂😂 then how we love an adolescent main character as a society hahaha

📚 August Wrap-up 📚 Can't believe it's September, summer is almost over and I ended it with some incredible reads. Started the month with The Strength of the Few by James Islington and what a sequel, this book has it all, Islington is the master of the plot and I'm pumped we finally get to see the magic system shine. Full review coming soon, exclusive early look at that review next month for those who are signed up for the bromantasy newsletter! Another super notable read this month was Mercy: Tears of the Fallen by Chance Dillon! This Grimdark debut was an awesome time, Chance doesn't hold your hand, throws you in the deep end, and trusts the reader to trust him as he unfolds this new dark world in spectacular fashion. Don't sleep on Mercy or Chance because I have a feeling he's in the Grimdark scene for the long haul. Read some other great indies like Umbra (Amber Toro) #scimantasy and An Inkling of Flame (Z.B. Steele) a perfect Grimdark novella, Empire of the Damned (Jay Kristoff), and Demon in White (Christopher Ruocchio) which is hands down the best paced book I have ever read. Don't sleep on The Sun Eater series if you've been waiting to start.

Hi, lovely Pageboud community! ✨ I was chatting with a friend (who’s not on Pageboud…) about how amazing this community is, and she brought up something that got me thinking. She wondered if people here congratulate others on leveling up or earning badges just to score points for themselves, rather than from a genuine place. Honestly, I was a bit taken aback because I truly believe in the kindness and good intentions that make this community so special. I’d love to hear from you all. What inspires you to drop a comment on someone’s new badge or level-up post? Is it the joy of celebrating someone’s hard work? A way to connect and spread positivity? Or maybe it’s just fun to cheer each other on? No wrong answers here... just curious to hear your thoughts and keep the good vibes flowing in this wonderful space! 🫶🏻 Edit to add: that I started by congratulating people whose nickname I immediately recognised, but now I congratulate anyone I come across because I see it as a reflection of their involvement in the community. I'm genuinely supportive of that person's journey. 🤗

The Fall Readalong has officially started! A few reminders: - If you've already finished a readalong book, you can earn the badge by commenting or posting in the forum - Keep posts authentic! Please do not post "Just posting for my badge", or "This was good" (ie a post that is a review). Not sure what to post? Comment instead :) This season, a few of the Top Contributors are hosting unofficial readalongs in their Quests. These are meant to help build community in the Quest, and encourage everyone to work towards the next badge level together! You will not get a special badge for participating in these, and the convo should still happen in the book's forum, not the quest forum. Here's a list of Quests hosting a readalong; might be a good time to join one of these Quests if something catches your eye ;) - Sapphic Vampires Quest: Carmilla - Monster Romance Quest: The Orc Prince - Games and Trials Quest: Phantasma - LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi & Fantasy Quest: A Treachery of Swans - Fantasy and Sci-Fi with a Side of Romance: Raven Scholar - Cozy Fantasy: The Spellshop (already included in the PB-wide Fall Readalong!) As for product updates, we've made some quality of life improvements since our last check-in (example: search taking you to Books instead of Users when you press enter) but our largest improvement has been in site performance. Response times were getting pretty crazy with all the new traffic, and we're now consistently at low response times :) We also started beta testing the app! Still working through bugs so it's perfect for launch, but progress is well under way. We're hoping for a September launch but ofc will depend on how beta testing goes this month. Lastly, we've been seeing such amazing convos in the book forums and the Pagebound Club. It's amazing to have a community this thoughtful, nuanced, and respectful. You all make Pagebound such an incredible community, so thank you! Happy Reading, Jennifer & Lucy 💜💙

📚 August Wrap-up 📚 Can't believe it's September, summer is almost over and I ended it with some incredible reads. Started the month with The Strength of the Few by James Islington and what a sequel, this book has it all, Islington is the master of the plot and I'm pumped we finally get to see the magic system shine. Full review coming soon, exclusive early look at that review next month for those who are signed up for the bromantasy newsletter! Another super notable read this month was Mercy: Tears of the Fallen by Chance Dillon! This Grimdark debut was an awesome time, Chance doesn't hold your hand, throws you in the deep end, and trusts the reader to trust him as he unfolds this new dark world in spectacular fashion. Don't sleep on Mercy or Chance because I have a feeling he's in the Grimdark scene for the long haul. Read some other great indies like Umbra (Amber Toro) #scimantasy and An Inkling of Flame (Z.B. Steele) a perfect Grimdark novella, Empire of the Damned (Jay Kristoff), and Demon in White (Christopher Ruocchio) which is hands down the best paced book I have ever read. Don't sleep on The Sun Eater series if you've been waiting to start.

Chapter 56 This character is both skilled at social dynamics of court and naive as hell about random ass things. It flips back and forth. Please will something happen in the next few chapters? Will he get to slap the shit out of this Chantry guy?! I beg… I’ve done nothing but complain about this book from the start but for some reason I bought the second book, why am I like this?

What are you planning to tackle in September? I've always read the first and second novels in the Beartown and The Bloodsworn Sage back to back, and now I've returned for their finales which I'll be finishing back to back in September. Two series which I've LOVED so far, so I'm both sad and excited to round them out! Some new releases I want to get to are Hemlock & Silver, What Stalks the Deep (T Kingfisher is auto-buy for me) and also The Library of Hellebore (Cassandra Khaw is amazing at grotesque writing). Lastly, I had paused The Blade Itself a few months ago as while I was liking it, I was not really vibing at the time. Well, the time has come for me to get back to it! (Fantasy rejoices) Anything else I read will be a mood read!

Apollonius might be my favorite person in this book 🤣