skylarkblue1

Hi I'm Sky! I'm a queer disabled British (Welsh) reviewer who loves fantasy, horror, mystery and more! I mostly only post reviews & updates on here

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skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door

H.G. Parry

From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, a mythic, magical tale full of secret scholarship, faerie curses, and the deadliest spells of all—the ones that friends cast on each other. All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it. Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed. But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country's magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed. Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.

Post from the The Last Soldier of Nava forum

10h

skylarkblue1

Thoughts from 19%

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skylarkblue1 wrote a review...

10h

skylarkblue1

Aug 14, 2026

To Our Untamed Core

5.0

Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 4.5Plot: 5.0

🇲🇽

🪓

🏳️‍⚧️

Thank you to Sonido and Harper Collins for a free ARC! All opinions are my own.

Representations: https://trello.com/c/pOIW0Wsu

 No matter what gets taken from us. no matter how much of our past or how many of our people get killed, we persist. We will always persist.

Characters were all so strong. There is pretty constant PoVs swapping between quite a few people, but it never felt terribly confusing, even on chapters with no names on them. They all had a distinct style in the way each character thought and even nameless chapters had more than enough in the first couple sentences to work out exactly whose PoV it was. The main cast was excellent, with a proper love triangle as well (with all 3 sides 😉). Temo was such a strong MC with loads of flaws but also such a strength about him. Flanked by Socoyote and Ollie the trio really grew into a really good cast with solid arcs, each of them bounced off of each other great. The side characters then also really shined, even the ones we barely get to see somehow. I also just want to pick them all up and give them a hug - except the king and queen and all the assholes >.>

I'm absolutely obsessed with the world building and history of it all. The religious indoctrination and fascism, the rebels and it all comes together so well to make such an alive feeling world. There is a fair amount of telling about stuff in the world, but a lot can be gotten from Temo's internal thoughts. I think there's only one bunch of questions left and every single one is around Ollie. His story is detailed a fair amount, but there's still quite a lot of questions I have about most of him 🤔

It is pretty similar to hunger games specifically but even though I kept thinking about that I never wanted to stop reading this and go read hunger games instead. This has much more world building and a lot more going on in the world instead of the "mostly just America" of the hunger games (I say this as someone who absolutely loves hunger games, especially its political side). If you enjoy hunger games (the books) though I'd say almost certainly you'll also love this book. Writing style certainly still reads YA like HG - the characters are teens, but it doesn't read like an adult writing kids. I would certainly say it's not for younger YA though, it's more brutal and graphic than the original HG trilogy at least by quite a lot.

skylarkblue1 made progress on...

20h

The Last Soldier of Nava

Yejin Suh

18%

skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

All the Scattered Stars

Via Luino

The glitter of Venice's lights hides a dark truth: when the floodwaters rise, no one is safe. Koru knows better than to trust anyone but her own. Hidden deep in the winding twists of Venice's narrow alleys, Koru and her found family must disguise themselves to survive. They are Rhunlokni, an ethnic minority gifted with the ability to channel the power of the Earth, their Goddess. They have long been vilified and prosecuted for their strange abilities—and Koru's gift is the strongest of her generation. So when the police arrive in St. Mark's Square to arrest Koru for a crime she didn't commit, she does the only thing she can—she runs. Though Koru manages to escape the police, a larger threat is drawing near. Koru must figure out what the Goddess is trying to tell her, protect those she loves, and uncover the truth of her past before it's too late—because Venice is sinking. Tonight.

skylarkblue1 commented on a post

karigan

Edited

NEW: Make your book suggestions here!

Hello everyone!

I am making a new suggestion post because the original is a bit buried and I want to ensure it's easy to find the criteria for what does and does not qualify.

If you have a suggestion for books to add to this quest, please comment them here. Make sure to double check that it has not already been requested on this post. If your suggestion is already here, please upvote the existing comment as I will use the upvotes to gauge interest!

What qualifies a book for this quest? The books in this quest are structured around a game or trial rather than just including games/trials somewhere in the book. The entire narrative is about preparing for the games, the games themselves, and the aftermath of the games.

Examples of books that would not fit despite including a game/trial plot point:

The Will of the Many by James Islington
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The Poppy War by R F Kuang

While the games/trials in these books are important to the story, the books are not about the games/trials.

10/28/25 note: I am currently focusing on adding diverse voices, especially BIPOC authors, to balance the quest a bit more.

12/15/25 note: All suggestions from the old post and one-off posts have been added as individual comments here. If yours was missed please create a separate comment on this post.

4/1/26 note: I will be reviewing options between now and June to add a few more to this quest!

7/3/26 note: 6 new books have been added to the quest! I will be looking to add more books towards the end of the year (October-December). This post is getting quite long so I may make a new one with all the existing suggestions but for now, keep adding new suggestions to this post :)

skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

Sanctuary

Andi C. Buchanan

Morgan’s home is a sanctuary for ghosts. The once-grand, now dilapidated old house they live in has become a refuge for their found family. From Morgan’s partner Araminta, an artist with excellent dress sense, to Theo, a ten-year-old with an excess of energy, to quiet telekinesthetic pensioner Denny, all of them consider this haunted house their home. In a world that wasn’t built for their queer, neurodivergent selves, they’ve made it into a place they belong. Together they welcome not just the ghosts of the house’s former inhabitants, but any who need somewhere to belong. Both the living and the dead can find themselves in need of a sanctuary. When a collection of ghosts trapped in old bottles are delivered to their door, something from the past is unleashed. A man who once collected ghosts – a man who should have died centuries before —suddenly has the house under his control. Morgan must trust their own abilities, and their hard—won sense of self, to save their home, their family, and the woman they love.

skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

The Last Sun

K.D. Edwards

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

Thoughts Be Bloody

Auden Patrick

A struggling student, a resident golden boy, and the curse that will bring them this queer, trans retelling is Hamlet as you’ve never read it before Exploring classism, identity, and the true meaning of revolution, this dark academia novel is perfect for fans of R. F. Kuang’s Babel and S. T. Gibson’s An Education in Malice The summer before his sophomore year, Horatio Bithersea walks into the university library to find Carson Hamlett, resident golden boy and master magician, cradling his father’s dead body. Life at Elsinore, one of the most prestigious universities in the secretive magical world, simply goes on when the professor’s death is ruled an accident—despite the mysterious circumstances and the bloody scene. A year later, Horatio is keeping his head down, attempting to graduate without his out-of-control magic harming his classmates. That changes when the ghost of Hamlett’s father appears and places a curse on Horatio and avenge his death by destroying Elsinore and its heart, lest the ghost robs them of their minds, memories, and their very souls.Elsinore has given Horatio everything—knowledge of his magical ability, an escape from his abusive family, and freedom to pursue his life as a transgender man—and now he’s to be its doom. As the two uncover more of Elsinore’s secrets Horatio finds himself becoming more and more ensnared in Hamlett’s dark but charismatic web. The question is not if Horatio will manage to destroy Elsinore. The question is if Hamlett will destroy him first.

skylarkblue1 commented on a post

saliha

Thoughts from 37%

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skylarkblue1 is interested in reading...

Victory City

Salman Rushdie

Hidden in a clay pot. Sealed with wax. Buried at the heart of a ruined palace amidst the ashes of one of India's greatest, nearly forgotten empires. A story waits to be told. In the fourteenth century of the Common Era, in the South of what we now call India, nine-year-old Pampa Kampana, orphaned by war, starts hearing the voice of a goddess. Inspired, and imbued with powerful magic, she vows to ensure that no more women suffer her beloved mother's unconscionable fate. Aided by miracles and a gift for prophecy, she creates a mighty city; her whispered words galvanize its people to grow and change. Her poetry maps the rise and fall of its empire. And the prophetess herself--beloved, feared, timeless--watches as the world changes across the centuries and her body, frozen in the beauty of youth for decades upon decades, fades along with her city's glory. Half a millennium later, her writing is discovered, deep in the ancient earth. The thirteenth novel from the incomparable Salman Rushdie, Victory City is an epic tale with a message for us all: our power is fleeting, but our stories last forever.

skylarkblue1 made progress on...

The Last Soldier of Nava

Yejin Suh

16%

skylarkblue1 made progress on...

The Last Soldier of Nava

Yejin Suh

15%

skylarkblue1 TBR'd a book

Clown in a Cornfield

Adam Cesare

Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning. Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can. Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

Post from the The Last Soldier of Nava forum

skylarkblue1

Thoughts from 10%

Not sure on this so far, I love the setup but I'm just hungry for some world building as there's been like... none so far 😭

skylarkblue1 made progress on...

The Last Soldier of Nava

Yejin Suh

10%

skylarkblue1 started reading...

The Last Soldier of Nava

Yejin Suh

In this Korean mythology inspired sapphic fantasy, a young woman with shadow magic is awakened after a thousand years to heal her nation and her own troubled memory, even as she falls for the sister of a saint she killed in her past life. According to legend, the Soldier drowned entire kingdoms in darkness. Yet, the Soldier was only a girl, robbed of her will and raised as a weapon for her power-hungry father. When she awakens years later, freedom takes the form of a hidden life and a new name: Shadow. As war brews and magical dead zones devour the natural world, Shadow is captured and pulled back into court life by her immortal father’s new prodigy, Scarlet, a diabolical woman obsessed with her sister’s murder. A murder Shadow herself committed in a past life. Shadow’s control over darkness holds the key to restoring the balance of their world, but a serpentine court hides greed, corruption, and her father’s new plot to resurrect his fading magic. If she’s to survive and save her nation, Shadow will have to hide her past and rely on the woman who captured her—even as they unwind the legends that brought them together and face their growing attraction.

skylarkblue1 finished a book

To Our Untamed Core

Sonido Reyes

The Hunger Games meets The Sunbearer Trials in bestselling and award-winning author Sonora Reyes’s YA dystopia about a boy who survives by hiding his truth until his boyfriend is sentenced to El Torneo — a brutal, fight-to-the-death game — where he must risk everything to save him. Centuries after the conquistadors claimed the Afueras for their own, Temo spends his life obeying the Holy Order’s decree, undergoing their sacraments to tame his supposedly violent nature. The only rule he hiding that he’s trans. If that fact is discovered, Temo will face El Torneo, a brutal, fight-to-the-death game pitting the untamed against one another. No Afuereño who enters El Torneo ever escapes with their life. But when Temo’s boyfriend is unexpectedly arrested and thrown into the deadly tournament, he’ll do anything to rescue Ollin from his gruesome fate, even if it means entering El Torneo himself. Only there's far more to this tournament than meets the eye—survival is just the beginning. When the cost of saving the one he loves the most might be higher than he ever imagined, is Temo willing to pay it?

skylarkblue1 commented on a post from the Founder Announcements forum

jenniferPagebound

New App Version, Dark Mode & more (8/07/2026)

The next major app release (1.2.0) is now available on iOS and Android - this one comes with a ton of updates, so make sure your apps are updated to see the latest! Web users, the majority of these updates are already on web (with a few exceptions, addressed below):

Midnight Theme (aka dark mode): very excited to share our version of dark mode! You can choose your theme in Account & Settings -> Preferences. The Midnight theme incorporates accessibility principals (high contrast, sparse use of bright color, no pure blacks/pure whites) while maintaining Pagebound's unique visual identity. We know this is highly anticipated on web as well - we're working on it! Midnight will be available on web hopefully this fall, latest this winter.

Notifications Upgrade: Notifications are split into categories so you can reference what is most important to you. You can also sort/filter your notifications, and mark them read/unread one by one by clicking the blue dot (if the dot is gray, click it to mark the notification as unread).

Browse your library when adding books: When adding a book to a list, your plan, or a shelf, you now have the option to search from "All Books" or "My Books". Tapping "My Books" lets you browse your own library, and filter by status/shelf. This is helpful if you want to browse your tbr while adding books to your plan, for example.

Library Improvements: You can now search, sort, and filter your library with additional sort/filter options (such as average rating and owned/not owned) and view your library books in list view or book cover grid view

Improved Book Status Modal: The book status modal (ie the popup where you change a book's status and add to shelves) got a major quality of life update: you can edit read dates, format, and page length in the modal when a book is in "reading" or when you move a book to "finished", you can create a new shelf in the modal, and you can search your shelves

New Preferences & Account Management options: A new feed preference was added (toggle on/off seeing posts from people you follow when the book is not in your library) as well as library management tools (library export & mass editing/deleting library options)

Discover Quests & Discover Lists upgrade: Discover Quests got new categories and will show new quests in each category on every site/app visit. The Quest card and List card shown on discover got upgrades to show more relevant info & make them more browsable

Additional tiny upgrades: Pull down to refresh your profile, browsing past plans shows in descending month order, plan performance enhancements so loading and editing is snappier, UI cleanup, and various bug fixes.

Community Updates We announced the Fall Readalong book picks last week - if you missed the announcement, head to the Seasonal Readalong page to see the picks! The Fall Readalong starts September 1st.

We also have partnered with Simon Maverick to bring a Dark Romance limited time quest - we've gotten so many requests for a Dark Romance quest, so we're very excited to have this out!

This was a long one, thank you if you made it this far 🙏 Happy reading! Jennifer + Lucy

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skylarkblue1 made progress on...

To Our Untamed Core

Sonido Reyes

64%

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