the_rags
23 || she/her || your local biologist || an omnivorous (but mostly sff) bookwyrm trying to get through her endless tbr
26920 points
the_rags commented on The_BookishBug's update
the_rags commented on leitmotif's update
the_rags is interested in reading...
The Hands of the Emperor (Lays of the Hearth-Fire, #1)
Victoria Goddard
0the_rags commented on the_rags's update
the_rags commented on a List
fantasy with regency-era vibes
whether it's straight-up Jane Austen retellings, set in an alternative regency-era England, or a whole new world that has those prim and proper vibes, these books all introduce magic, spells, and perhaps even a bit of whimsy into the familiar regency setting (may also contain Victorian or Gregorian-era like fantasy novels, since they can have a lot of overlap in vibes!)
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Post from the The Blueprint forum
the_rags is interested in reading...
The Book of Blood and Roses
Annie Summerlee
0the_rags commented on the_rags's update
the_rags commented on a post
Hello everyone! I'm changing around the formatting of the quest forum and separating out a recommendations thread from the welcome post just to make it a bit easier for me to keep track of recommendations! Feel free to drop any recommendations for novels you think could belong in the Quest as a comment below!
In addendum, in an effort to keep the Quest "fresher", additions will be mostly focused on newer releases, as in mostly novels that have only just come out in 2025-2026 and beyond. I may add some older novels if I come across them and determine they belong in the Quest enough to be added, but these will be few and far between.
If anyone is ever curious, I have a shelf to keep track of all the novels I'm currently considering to add to the quest labeled as Potential Adds to BH, which is public for anyone to look at! I will say as a disclaimer that novels on there are not guaranteed to be added, they’re just ones that are on my radar! I’m not going to explain all of my rationale for adding or not adding a novel, but I do want to be clear that I do my best to research before adding anything, and that may mean reading through recommendations I want to have a better understanding of (aka it may be awhile before a recommendation makes its way onto the Quest, if it does at all).
Thanks, and happy questing! 🍄🌹
4Post from the Botanical Horror forum
Hello everyone! I'm changing around the formatting of the quest forum and separating out a recommendations thread from the welcome post just to make it a bit easier for me to keep track of recommendations! Feel free to drop any recommendations for novels you think could belong in the Quest as a comment below!
In addendum, in an effort to keep the Quest "fresher", additions will be mostly focused on newer releases, as in mostly novels that have only just come out in 2025-2026 and beyond. I may add some older novels if I come across them and determine they belong in the Quest enough to be added, but these will be few and far between.
If anyone is ever curious, I have a shelf to keep track of all the novels I'm currently considering to add to the quest labeled as Potential Adds to BH, which is public for anyone to look at! I will say as a disclaimer that novels on there are not guaranteed to be added, they’re just ones that are on my radar! I’m not going to explain all of my rationale for adding or not adding a novel, but I do want to be clear that I do my best to research before adding anything, and that may mean reading through recommendations I want to have a better understanding of (aka it may be awhile before a recommendation makes its way onto the Quest, if it does at all).
Thanks, and happy questing! 🍄🌹
4the_rags commented on the_rags's update
the_rags entered a giveaway...
the_rags commented on TiniestBeetle's review of The Works of Vermin
Excuse me while I process my emotions over how this book is everything I've been searching for. I started listening to the audiobook on a whim too, I'm stunned that I've found a new favourite. A beautiful fever dream, a mess of horrors and adoration and rebellion and art. And don't get me started in how perfect the narrator is (Max Meyers). Need more of whatever this is.
21the_rags commented on a post
”Tarot cards for divination were likely a European invention with some Mamluk influences, not a practice of the pharaohs. But here she was in an Englishman’s suit.”
this is a little line but i want to touch on it because it’s a phenomenon across societies that i find so interesting—how cultures borrow and develop different practices which then get furthered borrow and adapted to other cultures. i think the city of Cairo itself in this novel is a perfect example of this concept, with the more ancient Egyptian religion/mythology blending with the modern Cairene culture. the city as a setting is so alive and i think it’s because Clark is meshing so many different cultures together and giving each their own space while also creating a cohesive city!
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