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merkii

415 points

0% overlap
Level 3
My Taste
Long Live Evil
The No-Girlfriend Rule
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (The Tithenai Chronicles, #1)
Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways, #1)
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
Reading...
Death's Daughter
10%
Servant of Earth
28%
Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
68%
The Thursday Murder Club
15%
The Glittering Edge
1%
The Swan's Daughter
4%
To Cage a Wild Bird
24%
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica, #1)
11%
Recipe for Persuasion (The Rajes, #2)
10%
Sorrow and Bliss
13%
  • I Could Give You the Moon
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    Jul 15, 2026
    I Could Give You the MoonAnn Liang
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 4.0
    🌙
    🔥
    🥊

    it is a universally acknowledged fact that my favorite FMC archetype is a Ice Queen Bitch with a Heart of Gold (TM). chanel is giving that in spades. ares gets to stay mostly because chanel likes him, tbh.

    anyway the plot is very contrived and goofy. this is fully saved purely by the power of the characters and their chemistry. again mostly chanel. because she's perfect. ares is fine too. he wants sooo bad to have her walk him like a dog and i love that for both of them.

    0
  • Verity Guild
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    Jul 15, 2026
    Verity GuildMai Corland
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 3.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.5
    🏛️
    ⚔️
    🦅

    cons: -- world building is messy af. it's mostly roman inspired except when it's not. (they have "tailored suits"??? people, including women, wear pants??? turtlenecks exist???????) there's a chess like game called "bock" but then tor refers to chess. so like. do both exist? did editing just miss this? meanwhile we've got names like "suh" and "monroe" and "foreau" and "vestal" because attempting linguistic consistency is for losers ig.

    -- kera often has to hold the idiot ball for the plot to work. thank god for her plot armor or she would've died at least three times.

    -- i can tell julian is The Bad Guy (TM) and i lowkey hate it. he's a great sidekick who's crucial to humanizing tor, especially in the first half of the book when tor's being a single-minded ass, and he should get to stay that way. telegraphing he's the bad guy robs the inevitable betrayal of its gut punch factor + flattens his character into something much less interesting.

    -- at least once i had a "really? right in front of my salad???" @ the romantic progression.

    pros: -- literally devoured this in a single evening because it was sooooo fun.

    -- i have a weakness for Literal Chosen Ones (TM) with Religious Significance (TM) who are Trying Their Best (TM) and kera is very much that. i also have a weakness for Morally Complicated Sad Boys (TM) with Strict but Incomprehensible Honor Codes (TM) and tor is very much that. so basically they were made for me, your honor.

    -- this was compared to knives out but i think a better comparison is glass onion. which is cool because i loved glass onion more than knives out.

    -- the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers pipeline actually made sense. tor has a good reason to specifically resent kera. kera doesn't hate tor but is reasonably wary of him given the animosity radiating off him. i get why it's hard for them to trust each other AND i get why they'd be drawn to each other despite that.

    -- tor likes to pull kera's hair. no further questions, your honor.

    -- i support women's rights and women's wrongs.

    -- idk if corland will commit to it, but it's fascinating to read a romantasy that actually tangles with a political set up other than a monarchy. specifically an oligarchy republic that only recently transitioned from a tyrannical absolute monarchy. it's giving "this is bad, but the previous version was worse." god i hope corland doesn't make kera claim the throne in B2. please please please.

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  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    Jun 17, 2026
    Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJ.K. Rowling
    4.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    🪄
    🐍

    harry potter still has a hold on my nostalgia. that said, fuck terfs and don't give rowling more money to pour into her transphobic causes. pirating and second-hand stores exist for a reason.

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  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    Jun 17, 2026
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceJ.K. Rowling
    4.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    🪄
    💍
    💀

    harry potter still has a hold on my nostalgia. that said, fuck terfs and don't give rowling more money to pour into her transphobic causes. pirating and second-hand stores exist for a reason.

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  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    Jun 17, 2026
    Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixJ.K. Rowling
    4.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    🪄
    🔮
    💀

    harry potter still has a hold on my nostalgia. that said, fuck terfs and don't give rowling more money to pour into her transphobic causes. pirating and second-hand stores exist for a reason.

    0
  • avatar

    merkii TBR'd a book

    15w

    Deathbringer (Deathbringer, #1)

    Deathbringer (Deathbringer, #1)

    Sonia Tagliareni

    For fans of Naomi Novik and Kerri Maniscalco, a dark academia romantasy steeped in necromancy, forbidden love, and a twisty murder mystery set within the perilous halls of a magical institute, as a death mage who hates her magic and a poison mage who hates her are forced to work together to stop a killer before one of them is next.Born with the ability to speak with the dead, Viola hates her magic. It killed her sister, Olivia, and if she doesn’t learn why, it will kill her too. Her only hope lies within the perilous walls of Gorhail Institute of Magic, where Olivia spent her final days. There, Viola clashes with Sylas, a poison mage whose magic stems from three magical snakes. Immortal, tormented, and reckless, Sylas is tethered to a life he never asked for and haunted by guilt for his father’s death. His hatred for death mages runs deep, and he’s determined to keep Viola at a distance. But when an attack forces him to heal her, their fates become intertwined by a magical bond that threatens to upend his loyalties—and his common sense. As more students start turning up dead, Viola and Sylas are drawn into an uneasy alliance that pulls them deeper into Gorhail’s treacherous passageways, where secrets fester beneath the stone and the dead do not rest. And as enemy lines begin to blur and their undeniable attraction grows, Viola and Sylas uncover a chilling someone is hunting mages for their magical relics, and if they can’t uncover the killer in time, Viola will be next.

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    avatar

    merkii TBR'd a book

    15w

    Blood Bound (Cursed Covenant, #1)

    Blood Bound (Cursed Covenant, #1)

    Ellis Hunter

    A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and Quicksilver. You duel or you die. Astrid has always known she is destined to die. She is the last Nachstern witch and heir to the Queendom of Arturea, cursed by a centuries-old covenant to duel the heir to the Kingdom of Vatra for the source of all magic: the Heart. And now Astrid’s time is up. She is heading into enemy territory to face Prince Zryan, the most powerful dragon rider in eons, with only her familiar, her potions, and her wits to aid her. She is going to die, and any chance her queendom has of curing the Blight that’s ravaging the lands and killing her people will die with her. Meanwhile, deep in dragon country, Skylar and her travelling troupe arrive in Vatra’s capital, ready to profit off the legions of spectators swarming to the city ahead of the duel. She despises the royals and all they stand for, especially as the King’s guard murdered her mother. But when her best friend disappears, suspected to have been taken in the conscription, her search takes her closer to the royals than she ever could have imagined. As the duel looms over the kingdom, Skylar and Astrid’s fates intertwine. They must battle a growing rebellion, their inner demons, and ultimately, those they love most, to determine if together they will save—or doom—their world.

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  • A Song of Legends Lost
    avatar
    merkii reviewed...
    May 18, 2026
    A Song of Legends LostM.H. Ayinde
    DNF
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    ⚰️
    🫣

    dnf @ 18%

    listen i tried. i utterly adore the concept of this book. the magic is fascinating, the characters are intriguing, the stakes are high.

    but in practice, ayinde would let you spend 5-10 pages with a character, then jump to a totally different character not even vaguely tangential to the previous plot or character, and again, ad nauseam. it made the reading experience disorienting at best and frustrating at worst.

    i think??? this was meant to keep tension high and the plot moving. imho this particular book would've been better served with longer, slower paced, more deeply written chapters to let us strongly anchor into the story.

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  • avatar

    merkii TBR'd a book

    16w

    Weavingshaw

    Weavingshaw

    Heba Al-Wasity

    In this debut gothic fantasy, the first book of an enthralling fantasy romance trilogy, a young woman who can see the dead strikes a deal with a magnetic and dangerous purveyor of dark secrets to save her brother’s life. Three years ago, Leena Al-Sayer awoke with a terrible power. She can see the dead. Since then, she has hidden herself from the world, knowing that if she ever reveals her curse she will be locked away in an asylum. When her beloved brother, Rami, falls fatally ill, Leena is faced with a terrible Let him die or buy the expensive medicine that will save his life by bartering the only valuable thing she has—her secret. The Saint of Silence, a ruthless merchant who trades in confessions and is shrouded in unearthly rumors of cruelty and power, accepts her bargain, for a deadly price. Leena must find the ghost of Percival Avon, the last lord of Weavingshaw—or lose her freedom to the Saint forever. As Leena’s search takes her and the Saint to Weavingshaw, she finds the estate and the surrounding moors to be living things—hungry for blood and sacrifice. Fighting against Weavingshaw’s might, Leena must also fight her growing pull toward the enigmatic Saint himself, whose connection to Percival Avon remains a mystery. As the house begins to entomb them, time is running out on their desperate hunt for answers. For Leena has come to see that here in Weavingshaw, the dead are not hushed—and some secrets are better left buried with them.

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    avatar

    merkii TBR'd a book

    16w

    Deathly Fates

    Deathly Fates

    Tesia Tsai

    "Rich and wholeheartedly poignant. Deathly Fates sings with profound spirit, exploring the consequences of war and the scars cut by nobility during trying times. An entrancing world that will certainly linger." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights A sweeping debut inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, Deathly Fates is perfect for fans of Descendant of the Crane, The Bone Shard Daughter, and A Magic Steeped in Poison. As a corpse-driving priestess, a holy servant paid to guide the deceased home, Kang Siying has never feared death. But when her beloved father collapses due to his declining health, Siying realizes that even she is not free from the cruel grasp of mortality. Desperate to provide her father with the medical aid he needs, Siying accepts a dangerous job that promises a generous commission, and travels to a hostile state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince. But the moment Siying places her reanimation talisman on the dead prince's head, rather than make the corpse obedient to Siying's commands, the talisman brings the prince back to life. Worse, he won't stay alive for long―not unless he absorbs enough qi, or life force, to keep his soul anchored to his body. In return for a reward worth twice her original commission, Siying agrees to aid the frustratingly handsome prince in finding and purifying evil spirits for their qi. But as they journey across the countryside, encountering vengeful ghosts and enemy spies alike, they gradually uncover dark secrets about the prince's death―secrets that could endanger both Siying's father and their entire kingdom.

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