Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

5⭐️ 2🌶 I finished The Mist Thief by LJ Andrews which is book three of the Ever Seas series.  It was amazing.  I think I liked this one the best out of the three.  It was intense, intriguing and had a few plot twists I didn't see coming.  I really enjoyed the banter between Skadi and Jonas.  I loved the bond that formed between Kase and Skadi.  It was really fun to see Skadi explore her affinity and be accepted by everyone at the Black Palace and thusly become more comfortable with herself.  This book could technically be read as a standalone.  It would help to know at least the events from The Ever King and Ever Queen, but there is enough explanation that its not absolutely necessary.  The epilog in this book ends on a cliffhanger which sets up the next book.  I knew everyone was highly anticipating The Stolen Crown, now I know why. Up next; I received an ARC for Daughter of the Pines by Maria A. Eden.  I'll be starting...

5 ⭐️ 2🌶 I finished The Ever Queen by LJ Andrews last night.  It was very good and I enjoyed it a lot.  The first half of the book had pacing similar to Reign of Stars and Fire, with Erik and Livia separated and the POV switching back and forth between them.  I loved the interactions between Valen and Erik and the relationships that formed between the earth fae royals and the sea fae.  Overall it was a great read and I can forsee this duology becoming a comfort read that I'll probably revisit every couple of years.  I'm really looking forward to reading The Mist Thief next.  Jonas is a great character, the elven story line was intriguing and I love me a good marriage of convenience trope.  Happy reading. -Q

  5★ 2🌶     I finished my re-read of The Ever King by LJ Andrews last night.  It was just what I needed to cure the book hangover still left from Until I Die.  I loved this book when I read it two years ago and first discovered LJ Andrews and her incredible world of Viking fairy tale retellings.  I picked up on a few details I had missed or forgotten.  It was a great refresh so I can go on to read The Ever Queen and the Mist Thief which hadn't been published yet when I read The Ever King the first time.  The Ever King is separate but interconnected to the Broken Kingdoms series.  The FMC Livia is the daughter of Valen and Elise who are the couple the first three books follow in the Broken Kingdoms.  The events in The Ever Seas occur about 20 years after the first book in the Broken Kingdoms.  There are enough little re-capping moments that you wouldn't need to read TBK first.  I didn't (initially) but it does help to know the ...

    I did a tiny bit of crafting on the 31st.  I needed to finish the handmade for the Hot Beverages swap and get it in the mail.  All I needed to do was embroider on the roses to the mug rug and I had put if off for a month.  The embroidery was actually pretty simple and straight forward.  Here's how it turned out. Pattern: Beverage of Choice      My knitting really tapered off at the end of the year when the reading bug hit me head on.  That's okay, I'm really enjoying reading again.  I hope I can keep it up so there probably won't be a lot of crafting posts this year.  I did make a 2025 wrap up video of all my projects I'll see if I can get it to embed correctly in the blog.  I can never seem to get it to work correctly. That's it for me, short and sweet.  Hope everyone had a good New Year.  Happy crafting. -Q

       I read four books total in December.  I have two that I'm currently reading that carry over to January.  I enjoyed Scythe & Sparrow and Shot in the Dark, but reading in December sort of dragged for me with the exception of Until I Die.  I've waxed poetic on Until I Die and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.  It gave me a book hangover which is probably why the rest of December felt like a slog.       Once I finish Stutter, which is starting to slog majorly, I plan to read the Ever Seas Trilogy.  I got myself the hardcover copies for Christmas.  I generally prefer paperback, but the books were just traditionally (re)published so the hardcovers were quite a bit more reasonable than the paperbacks.          I just signed up for the January Book of the Month.  I got a promotional offer which made the book $5.  I just have to buy one month at full price which is $17.99 fo...

     I'm going to do a big year end post with all the summaries from the reading apps I use.  But first I want to do a best and worst by month.  So here goes.   September: Best:                                                                                            The Viridian Priestess.  This is the book that got me reading again two years ago.  It was a re-read once I found out there was a sequel and a third was coming out.  It was a 5 star read both times and a series that lives in my head rent free.    Worst:   Where the Tide Meets the Sand.  It's not a bad book by any means.  It just wasn't for me.  The more I thought about the story later the more it bothered me.  Thi...