the_rags

23 || she/her || your local biologist || an omnivorous (but mostly sff) bookwyrm trying to get through her endless tbr || 🍂🦇☁️

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My Taste

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

Reading...

79%

the_rags made progress on...

They Bloom at Night

Trang Thanh Tran

79%

the_rags TBR'd a book

The Willows

Algernon Blackwood

Two friends are midway on a canoe trip down the Danube River. Throughout the story Blackwood personifies the surrounding environment—river, sun, wind—and imbues them with a powerful and ultimately threatening character. Most ominous are the masses of dense, desultory, menacing willows, which "moved of their own will as though alive, and they touched, by some incalculable method, my own keen sense of the horrible." "The Willows" is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known short stories. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. "The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

the_rags commented on the_rags's update

the_rags is interested in reading...

Hamlet & Juliet (The Star Crossed Duology Book 1)

Clare Edge

The haunted Juliet Capulet and the brooding Prince Hamlet cross plots and purposes in this gothic, Shakespeare-infused romantic fantasy. Since her death and unexplained resurrection, Juliet of House Capulet has been deemed the “Miracle of Verona.” A year after rising from her grave, her mother hopes to find her a suitable husband at the Midsummer Festival at Castle Elsinore. Juliet, however, has other plans—seek out a mystic who might rid her of the ghost of her infamous lover: Romeo Montague. Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet, plagued by glimpses of the ghost of his late father, seeks someone who might help him communicate with the dead king’s apparition. For he suspects a villain lurks among the royal family, responsible for his father’s death. When Juliet rescues a seemingly mad Lady Ophelia from drowning, she’s invited to dine with the royal family and comes face to face with the infuriatingly clever and distractingly handsome Prince Hamlet. Soon, the pair discover that each might hold the key to the other’s ghostly mystery. But as the two join forces, they unearth not only clues to the malevolent magic taking root across the Continent, but a growing attraction powerful enough to tear a hole between worlds. With the aid of King Lear’s brilliant daughter Cordelia, her quick-witted companions Cesario and Imogen, and the utterly unreliable and wholly vexing Bottom the Weaver, Hamlet and Juliet uncover a conspiracy that threatens the entire Globe.

the_rags commented on a post

the_rags

Summer Unofficial Readalong Pick - The Willows

the voting has closed and we have picked The Willows by Algernon Blackwood for our unofficial spring readalong! this is a bit of a different one from the previous picks, a classic horror first published in 1907, it's considered one of the original modern horrors, as well as an early example of cosmic (and botanical!) horror! this novella is also widely available for free online!

as always, our unofficial readalong will coincide with the official summer readalong, which will take place June 1st-August 31st! while you should direct most posts and activity to the book’s forum, you can always make a more general post about the novel, or botanical horror as a whole, in this Quest’s forum!

i will posts trigger warnings for the novel below, and while i have tried to be comprehensive, i may have missed some, so feel free to comment more under them in case there are some that you feel should also be noted, and/or do more research on your own to ensure you are as safe as possible while reading!

happy (and spooky) reading everyone!!

Post from the Botanical Horror forum

the_rags

Summer Unofficial Readalong Pick - The Willows

happy (and spooky) reading everyone!!

the_rags commented on the_rags's update

the_rags DNF'd a book

The Honey Witch

Sydney J. Shields

The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all. Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch. When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

the_rags is interested in reading...

Hamlet & Juliet (The Star Crossed Duology Book 1)

Clare Edge

the_rags made progress on...

Goddess of the River

Vaishnavi Patel

the_rags started reading...

Goddess of the River

Vaishnavi Patel

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi . A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind. Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war. As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.

the_rags commented on leylines's review of There Is No Antimemetics Division

leylines

May 20, 2026

4.5

Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.5Characters: 3.5Plot: 5.0

🏢

🕳️

❓

if you want to feel like your brain has been taken out of your skull, turned inside out, and then put back in the wrong way, this is the book for you.

the_rags commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

mimi_reads

Magical book wish

If you could wave a magical wand right now and get any unpublished book into your hands right this second what would it be? This could be a planned but as-of-yet unpublished book or one that you wish an author might write! This is obviously not intended to pressure any authors since it is a magical hypothetical.

I'd like Naomi Novik to write an epic fantasy similar to Spinning Silver but loosely based on soviet Russia and centring feminist actors. (if I had a creative writing bone in my body that's the book I would write)

the_rags commented on the_rags's update

the_rags DNF'd a book

The Honey Witch

Sydney J. Shields

the_rags DNF'd a book

The Honey Witch

Sydney J. Shields

the_rags commented on karigan's update

karigan earned a badge

Level 16

47000 points

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the_rags commented on the_rags's update

the_rags made progress on...

They Bloom at Night

Trang Thanh Tran

72%

the_rags made progress on...

They Bloom at Night

Trang Thanh Tran

72%

the_rags is interested in reading...

Because I Killed Him (The Nine Gentlemen, #1)

Edith Birde

The wrong ally is deadlier than an enemy. In the Civilized World, everyone is rich, yet money doesn’t buy safety. It only buys a gold coffin. The real currency is having the right allies. Low-citizens survive by joining high-citizens’ exclusive inner circles, trading loyalty for protection from laws that govern speech, dress, and posture—and punish mistakes with public beheading. Low-citizen Loredana Waldsten already knows the cost of breaking the rules. Once a rising fencing prodigy, she lost the right to carry weapons after killing a high-citizen in a brutal locker-room attack. The courts erased his death to preserve his family’s honor. Now she’s unarmed, legally defenseless, and enrolled at the elite Grandmaster University, where champagne spills into the gutters and reputations are built on death duels. When Loredana’s father, a low-citizen politician, publicly challenges the high-citizens, she becomes a target. Some classmates demand her execution. Others hunt her for sport. And by law, she’s forbidden to fight back. Her only chance of survival lies with Edmund Prew, a charming yet ruthless high-citizen student she’s been warned against. Edmund's family has been locked in a bitter feud with Loredana’s for years, and he wants nothing to do with her until a lost bet forces him to protect her within his inner circle. What begins as a scandalous, strategic alliance turns perilous as they fall for each other. Because the man Loredana killed wasn’t just a high-citizen. He was Edmund’s cousin. Loving Edmund means living a lie. Telling the truth means certain death.

the_rags commented on bbyoozi's update

bbyoozi made progress on...

Waking the Dead and Other Stories

Yvette Tan

75%

the_rags commented on a post

the_rags

Voting for the Summer Unofficial Readalong!

Hello Questers! I hope all of you have been having so many lovely botanical adventures this spring! It once again is time to vote for our next unofficial readalong, and I'm so excited to see what gets picked!

As always, this will coincide with the official Summer Readalong (June 1st-August 31st), and while you won't get a badge (unless you're close to the next level of BH badge), you'll hopefully find some other botanical-horror lovers in the forums!

The three novels I've selected to vote on this round are:

Sorrowland by Rivers Soloman Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

I've put each book as a comment below this post with their blurb. Vote for your favorite(s), please don't downvote any of the comments so we can have the most accurate counts, and I'll close voting in a week from today (5/13/26) at 10PM EST on 5/20/26!

the_rags is interested in reading...

The Hidden Magic of Ordinary Things

Olivia McCullough

Meira has given everything to protect her village—her magic, her strength, her future. But it’s still not enough. Since the founding of Glenmere, Meira’s family has maintained the magical wards that keep the valley safe. The work was never meant to be done alone—each pair of wardcrafters was bonded by both love and magic, their power intertwined. But after losing her parents, the responsibility became hers alone. Now her magic is wearing thin. Her body is breaking down. And the charm shop she built from nothing—the one piece of her life that’s truly hers—is slipping through her fingers. When she collapses at her best friend’s wedding, the village council finally find a magical partner to share the burden, or step aside. Panicked, Meira claims she's already being courted—by Calder, the forest fae who appeared the same week everything fell apart and who's been quietly holding her life together ever since. Calder doesn't hesitate—just steps forward and agrees, like protecting her is the most natural thing in the world. And Meira, who’s been holding herself together for far too long, feels the first thread start to pull loose. Because Calder can’t lie. And Meira doesn’t know if she’s falling into a trap, a partnership… or something far more dangerous to her heart. The Hidden Magic of Ordinary Things is full of small town fantasy charm, ancient magic, slow-burn tension, and steamy scenes that will make you believe in the power of both truth and lies.

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