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midwesternbookrecs

Fantasy, sci-fi, and romance reader wanting to connect with others through books!

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Corvid Arcana giveaway

Blood of the Gods (The Divine Archive #1)

Blood of the Gods (The Divine Archive #1)

Wren L. Rivers

Falling. Frigid steel. Sharp, acidic pain. A mounting desperation to escape, even if it means diving into the ocean’s unforgiving depths. This is all Stranger can remember. When the crew of the Vengeance rescues them from certain death at the hands of Midir’s endless ocean, the gruff and obstinate Captain Jonah Morgan is quick to interrogate. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why was somebody drawing their blood? But Stranger has no answers—not even a name to call their own. The only information they can offer is a description of the man who had tortured them. Slowly, they realize their missing memories play not only a pivotal role in their own personal identity, but also in the grander entanglement of mortality and the divine. The God King Einari’s cataclysmic Great Flood had ravaged Midir one thousand years ago—an act of divine rage that had drowned continents and killed billions. But even now, the prospect of human extinction looms beneath the endless waves. Somewhere, locked away in Stranger’s missing memories, is the key to human salvation.

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Knopf Doubleday giveaway

Shady Hollow

Shady Hollow

Juneau Black

The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony--until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case. Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy. Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case.

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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    midwesternbookrecs
    Aug 30, 2026
    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    4.5
    Enjoyment: 4.5Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.5Plot: 4.5
    🚢
    🏴‍☠️
    🐍

    I cannot WAIT for the sequel of this book because I think where this book fell short (which wasn't much) was due to how much world building and set up it is accomplishing for the rest of the series. I am obsessed with Amina and her voice throughout the story. The found family of side characters were perfect, and I can not wait for more Raksh vs. Amina verbal sparring. I do think this book has a really slow start - Chakroborty takes time letting you get to know all her characters before really diving into the magic and plot of it all. But the magic and history is rich and complex and a beautiful backdrop to a cast of grounded characters. I didn't mind the slower pace at first, but that would really be my only complaint about this book. I loved the Daevebad trilogy, so I'm not really surprised I fell in love with this book as well.

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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    Thoughts from 64% (page 300)

    truly, not for one moment have i known what is going to happen next in this book and i am eating it up. also, the banter? 10/10

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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    Speculation, Realization (?) at 61%
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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
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    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    Shannon Chakraborty

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    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    Shannon Chakraborty

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    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    Shannon Chakraborty

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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    Thoughts from 26% (page 124)
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  • midwesternbookrecs commented on madyct's review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

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  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
    madyct
    Aug 24, 2026
    The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
    🌃
    🗼
    🌳

    This book is pure poetry - heartache, soul break, laughter, confusion, and existential crisis, all rolled into one.

    I found myself a drift in a sea of dream-like cause and effect, contemplating the meaning behind literally everything I have ever been and done.

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    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

    Shannon Chakraborty

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  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
    Thoughts from 2%

    Already there's some amazing quotes. I have a feeling I'm going to love this.

    that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.

    Women are the forgotten spouses and unnamed daughters. Wet nurses and handmaidens; thieves and harlots. Witches. A titillating anecdote to tell your friends back home or a warning.

    women's stories are expected to dissolve into a fog of domesticity... if they're told at all.

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