MagPiper

I'm Mags 📚🌈 lit agency intern drowning in manuscripts😭

2815 points

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My Taste

These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1)

MagPiper wrote a review...

DNF

MagPiper

Jan 20, 2026

DNF

1.0

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

I was really intrigued by the description for this and had high hopes for the "Faustian bargian" and "cat-and-mouse" game I expected. Unfortunately, 30% into this, I mostly found myself growing tired of repetitive prose and unconvincing sexual tension (if it could be called that; at least, that's what I think it was meant to be) between two characters who had neither struck a bargain yet nor had any chemistry with each other. Ultimately this was a disappointment and I ended up DNFing.

MagPiper DNF'd a book

As Many Souls as Stars

Natasha Siegel

For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women—a witch and an immortal demon—who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes. 1592. Cybil Harding is a First Daughter. Cursed to bring disaster to those around her, she is trapped in a house with a mother paralyzed by grief and a father willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of magic. Miriam Richter is a creature of shadow. Forged by the dark arts many years ago, she is doomed to exist for eternity and destined to be alone—killing mortals and consuming their souls for sustenance. Everything changes when she meets Cybil, whose soul shines with a light so bright, she must claim it for herself. She offers a bargain: she will grant Cybil reincarnation in exchange for her soul. Thus begins a dance across centuries as Miriam seeks Cybil in every lifetime to claim her prize. Cybil isn’t inclined to play by the rules, but when it becomes clear that Miriam holds the key to breaking her family curse, Cybil finds that—for the first time in her many lives—she might have the upper hand. As they circle each other, drawn together inescapably as light and dark, the bond forged between them grows stronger. In their battle for dominance, only one of them can win—but perhaps they can’t survive without each other. Natasha Siegel has written an unexpected love story that feels both epic and deeply personal. Ambitious, gothic, and magical, As Many Souls as Stars is about the lengths we go to protect ourselves, our legacy, and those we love.

MagPiper earned a badge

LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Platinum: Finished 20 Main Quest books.

Post from the As Many Souls as Stars forum

MagPiper

Thoughts from 27%

There’s a very strong chance I’m gonna DNF if I have to read the words “perchance” or “mayhap” one more time …

Post from the As Many Souls as Stars forum

MagPiper

Thoughts from 21%

spoilers

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MagPiper made progress on...

As Many Souls as Stars

Natasha Siegel

21%

MagPiper commented on a post

thissillygirlthought

Favourite pick!

I can’t believe I didn’t find this quest sooner! I’ve got a fair few on my TBR already but I’m just wondering what is everyone’s favourite picks?

Mainly to help me actually decide what order I’m going to go in :3

MagPiper commented on a post

raindrop

Edited

rec: always human

i literally will never stop talking about always human, and really wanted to recommend it for this quest if you are taking any recs! the art, the MUSIC, the characters, the love, the diversity, the creative worldbuilding...im forever indebted to the story. on another note, if anyone has any recs from the existing amazing books on this quest id love any that remind you of always human's vibes :)

link

MagPiper commented on a post

i_cant_decide

rec: The Memory Librarian

Are sci-fi short story collections considered for this quest? If so, I’d recommend The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe. I read it years ago, and it still lives rent free in my mind.

There are multiple collaborators on the book. Each story was so interesting, well-written, and mind boggling. I loved it.

MagPiper commented on a post

lrshvts

Rec: left hand of darkness?

Idk if it counts, and I'm not finished but..?

MagPiper commented on a post

viciousbrokkoli

Recs: A Marvellous Light and Sorcery and Small Magics

Both very cute gay romantasy.

MagPiper commented on a post

ReadPanda

Rec: Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Gay space opera ❤️

Also maybe Ocean's Echo by the same author, another gay space opera but I've not read it yet!

MagPiper finished a book

Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, 1)

Olivia Waite

A Memory Called Empire meets Miss Marple in this cozy, spaceborne mystery, helmed by a no-nonsense formidable auntie of a detective. Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger. Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot. Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes… Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, Murder by Memory is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the series’ next installment.

MagPiper made progress on...

Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, 1)

Olivia Waite

100%

MagPiper started reading...

As Many Souls as Stars

Natasha Siegel

MagPiper commented on a post

dragontales

First quest!

Excited to start this quest! Which one is everyone’s first recommendation to start?

MagPiper commented on a post

neuro_bunny336

Request book be added:

The bones beneath my skin by TJ Klune

MagPiper commented on a post

byumblebee

what is your most surprising book?

so far i’ve already read 3 books before i started this quest and i can’t wait to read them all, for those who read a lot of this quest which book surprised you?

(also i am shocked legends and latte isn’t on this quest!)

MagPiper commented on a post

rainbowbrarian

Edited

A couple suggestions

I would love to suggest a couple of titles for inclusion:

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao Binti by Nnedi Okorafor and Babel by RF Kuang (Edit - thanks for the correction, my apologies, Babel is not a queer story)

MagPiper commented on a post

dragontales

First quest!

Excited to start this quest! Which one is everyone’s first recommendation to start?

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