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sailorsoftgirl

ellie (she/they) • lvl 35 • local library gremlin • aspiring archivist • fantasy and southern gothic horror enthusiast, but willing to try anything at least once

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Lord of the Rings & Tolkien's Legendarium
Level 8
My Taste
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)
Evocation (The Summoner’s Circle, #1)
The City in Glass
I Was a Teenage Slasher
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
Reading...
Other BirdsWords of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me (Dark Lord Davi, #2)Thirteen Storeys

sailorsoftgirl wants to read...

1h
Much Too Vulgar

Much Too Vulgar

Viggy Parr Hampton

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sailorsoftgirl wrote a review...

11h
  • Persephone (Into Shadow, #2)
    sailorsoftgirl
    Oct 26, 2025
    1.5
    Enjoyment: 0.5Quality: 2.0Characters: 1.0Plot: 1.5

    My least favorite installment in the collection thus far. This one seemed to lack the necessary character and plot development for me to care about or understand what was going on. Also don’t know if it’s just this story or if it’s representative of all of his, but I don’t think Lev Grossman‘s writing style is for me.

    I know it’s possible to tell a good story over a short set of pages, but for me, this was not it.

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  • sailorsoftgirl commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    19h
  • What's your aesthetic? Does it match what you read

    I'm curious — considering a lot of us readers are collectors, have lots of cozy hobbies, and take care of curating a space that feels like our own — what's your aesthetic?

    I'm a pink and glitter lover, which means my kindle and Kobo are decorated with pink, and I like pink and glittery things in my cozy gaming and reading space. I think mine matches my fave genres, which is romance.

    I'm curious how everyone else is curating or decorating their shelves/reading space/ hobby space.

    And does it match what you read?

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  • sailorsoftgirl finished reading and wrote a review...

    19h
  • Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
    sailorsoftgirl
    Oct 25, 2025
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 3.5Characters: Plot:
    👸
    🌹
    🐒

    Personally, I think this entry in the Royal Diaries series holds up fairly well. It relies largely on factual accounts of Elizabeth's early life and the goings on in the Court of Henry VIII. Within that, Kathryn Lasky chose to focus on Elizabeth's relationships with her siblings, Robin Dudley, Kat Ashley, Catherine Parr, and most importantly, her father. Elizabeth comes across as a child who is confident in her intelligence and abilities and is aware of the instability of her position within the royal family. At her core, she is still just a child who wishes to have fun with her friends and greatly desires the love of her father.

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  • sailorsoftgirl made progress on...

    22h
    Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544

    Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544

    Kathryn Lasky

    100%
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  • Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
    Thoughts from 41% (page 102)

    Kill Bill sirens moment when Elizabeth mentions joining the musicians for "Pastime with Good Company." I swear, every high school choir kid has at least one madrigal that will haunt them for the rest of their life.

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  • sailorsoftgirl commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    1d
  • should mangas count towards reading goals?

    technically speaking, i’ve only read 36 actual books and the rest are just manga volumes, does that count?

    in my head, mangas aren’t technically books. i mean they are art, that’s not where im getting at, it’s just not the same type of art as actual novels. the same way you see movies and tv shows separate from broadways and novels. they’re all arts, just different forms.

    so does that make adding mangas in my reading goal as cheating? i did it so i can track what’s the last volume i read and where i need to pick it back up from. but i gotta admit, it does make me feel accomplished that i read 100+ books even though they’re just manga volumes. i can get through 3-4 volumes in a day easily, on top of my regular reading.

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  • sailorsoftgirl made progress on...

    1d
    Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544

    Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544

    Kathryn Lasky

    12%
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  • Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
    Thoughts from 10% (page 25)

    So far the book does a decent job of incorporating historical accounts from Elizabeth's life, such as the time her mother pleaded with Henry for mercy with a young Elizabeth in her arms. We also get some interesting foreshadowing regarding her relationship with Robert Dudley and the time she was sick with smallpox. Also the diary entries certainly try to address Elizabeth's relationship with Catherine Parr and how much she looked up to her stepmother.

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  • Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
    Thoughts from 2% (page 4)

    Decided to reread this series (in publication order) since I've not read them since I was literally a child. I'm interested to see how they hold up and how anachronistic they may or may not be.

    I've already discovered I have way more context for this one than I did in the past as it starts during the period in which Henry VIII is married to Catherine Parr and Elizabeth returns to Court. I don't exactly remember (it's been at least 20 years...), but I don't think my Anglophilia moment had taken hold quite yet when I read this the first time, so I think I was largely unaware of the Tudors beyond knowing Henry had six wives and Elizabeth was his daughter.

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  • sailorsoftgirl wrote a review...

    1d
  • Season of Fear
    sailorsoftgirl
    Oct 24, 2025
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
    🙏
    🌲
    🔮

    As something I just randomly picked up, I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. Ilse’s story is beautifully told and does a great job of exploring themes of womanhood, trauma, and identity. All of the characters felt like real, complex people and all of the main cast, along with a fair few secondary characters, received a decent bit of development. Definitely one of my top books for the year.

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  • sailorsoftgirl finished a book

    1d
    Season of Fear

    Season of Fear

    Emily Cooper

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    sailorsoftgirl commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    2d
  • FriYAY!!!

    Thank god its friday!!! I finally get to read!!!! What are you guys reading this weekend? Do you have any other plans? I'm gonna finish my current read and might start 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' + im gonna watch some F1🚗

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  • sailorsoftgirl commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    2d
  • Surprise Bed Rest

    Apparently, I sprained my rib cartilage last night so now I’m on bed rest for the weekend guess I’ll get a lot of reading done at least. Any recs for a nice distracting read?

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