Of Swords and Soulmates
Is this a kissing book? Of Swords and Soulmates features two couples (and sometimes more), with varying reading preferences and experiences, as they read, listen, and sometimes watch romantasy stories and discuss plot, fantasy elements, romance, spice, theories, and more. Join us for our non-expert opinions as we discuss, argue, rave, rant, and hopefully entertain. We may just help you find your next reading obsession or at least contribute to that TBR list!
Of Swords and Soulmates
"Radiance" - Romance in an Arranged Interspecies Marriage
Ready for a whirlwind of fantasy excitement and bookish delights? This episode promises to keep you on the edge of your seat as we unravel the mysteries and magic of Grace Draven's Radiance.
Join us as we dive into the latest buzz in the fantasy literary world in our extended news segment. We discuss a sneak peek at the stunning cover for Juliet Cross's Southern Charm series and the launch of ACoTaR-themed tights by Snag Tights Company. Universal Orlando is gearing up for an enchanting Wicked experience to celebrate the upcoming movie release, complete with immersive retail, food, and walkthroughs.
We are excited that Sebastian Nothwell's Oak King, Holly King is now available as an audiobook. We also discuss Jasmine Moss's Blood of Hercules, which promises a thrilling blend of dark humor and slow-burn romance, there's something for every fantasy lover. We also shine a spotlight on Abigail Owen's The Games Gods Play, a captivating Hades and Persephone retelling that's already making waves.
Our main feature is Draven's Radiance, where we'll explore its intricate world-building, epic romance, and the unique cultural exchanges that set it apart. Can romance bloom in an arranged marriage between two different species? We discuss how the slow burn romance between the main characters starts at repulsion and grows into a flirty romance that ends in passion. The main female character isn’t a helpless damsel, she turns out to have depths of determination and courage equal to her warrior spouse.
Ever struggled with managing an ever-growing To-Be-Read (TBR) pile? You're not alone. In our final segment, we tackle the excitement and stress of TBRs, offering insights into reading habits and book tracking. Whether you're a meticulous tracker or a carefree reader, we've got perspectives that will resonate with you. Don't miss this engaging and thought-provoking episode of "Of Swords and Soulmates"!
Links from the News Segment and Show:
- A Rebel Without Claws From Juliette Cross cover reveal - Official link
- Snag Tights company has officially licensed ACOTR tights now - Snag Tights Website
- Gregory Maguire’s Wicked Universal Orlando resort experience - Official Universal Announcement
- Bookish Box special signed luxe edition of Carissa Broadbent works - Instagram Announcement
- Quicksilver by Callie Hart available in a signed special edition - Waterstones Website
- Sarah A Parker, author of When the Moon Hatched, touring the US from Sep 28th through Oct 5th - Official Website
- Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell now available as an audiobook -Audible Link
- Romantasy Book Convention (Orlando 2024) - Website
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expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants. The hosts make no claim to be literary experts and their opinions are exactly that opinions. All creative works discussed or reviewed are the intellectual property of their creators. This podcast contains adult language and discusses adult themes and topics, including sex, violence, magic, adventure, banging and politics. This content is not appropriate for children and listener discretion is advised.
Mari:Hello and welcome to Of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we read, watch and discuss romanticist stories. I'm one of your hosts, mari, and with me I have Kelly.
Kelly:Hey everyone, it's Kelly. We also have Ashley.
Ashley:Hi guys it's Ashley, we also have Ashley. Hi guys, it's Ashley, we also have Jonathan.
Jonathan:What's good everybody. It's JP, so excited.
Mari:So much energy. Today we're going to be discussing Radiance by Grace Draven. But first some news. And at first I was like I don't know that I have a lot of news and then apparently I do have a lot of news. So the first I was like I don't know that I have a lot of news and then apparently I do have a lot of news. So the first thing was that Southern Charm book.
Mari:One got a book reveal, the sequel, the series sequel to the Stay a Spell series that Juliet Cross did Juliet, we love you. Yeah, it's like the kids from that. So it's the Southern Charm book. One got a cover reveal. The book is coming out in February 2025. The cover reveal looks interesting. It looks similar to the Stay of Spell, like it looks like it's of the same series. You know what I mean. It's cute. So I'm excited about that series. I think it's going to be fun. The other thing I had is I kept seeing Snag Tights Company and they sell like tights, pantyhose, that kind of thing. They have Akatar tights now they're dark, and then on the knees they've got the mountains with the little stars up top. It's like the mountains of Valaris tights, what?
Ashley:Yeah, Bro, these are sexy. I like tights. What yeah?
Jonathan:well, these are sexy.
Kelly:I like, I like a, I like, I like tights too I look at this and all I can hear is from space saying we put this, we put the picture's name on everything merchandising. That's where the real money is made Spaceballs, the flamethrower. I feel like we're going to have Akatar the tights. We already have Akatar the coffee tumbler that I've seen advertised.
Mari:Yes. The candles, the stickers, the bookmarks yeah, absolutely.
Jonathan:I mean, how do you translate it into tights? Do we have a picture?
Mari:Yeah, yeah, you can click on the link. It's good Snag tights. So snag tights is actually a pretty good company. I don't have these tights, but I have bought tights from them before they're. They're regular tights. They're not like anything different from any other tights you're going to buy anywhere else, inclusive. Yeah, most of the times you have like oh, they'll be bigger or smaller, but they don't take into account the length. So if you are heavy like me, you get these tights that are for someone who's very, very tall. But I am five foot three, so when I get like the big tights they're way too long on me. But snagit has like big tights and then they have big short tights kelly for women.
Jonathan:I'm just looking at these sizes. It's a slash b, followed by c, d, e, then short f, then f, then g. This is a piano. It's a piano of size charts that. It's a symphony. Are there even pockets? No pockets well, they're tight, no pockets no pockets they're, they're like pantyhose. They're not leggings.
Mari:No, they're not leggings, they're like tight.
Jonathan:They're different. I didn't realize there's a difference between Like pantyhose.
Ashley:There's, like you know, like the knee-high stockings that we shoved the ice in for your last bicycle race.
Jonathan:Yeah, same concept $20. There's a significant cost difference. I'll stick to that. Well, yeah, these are prettier Okay.
Ashley:Welcome to the patriarchy, where everyone has to pay to look decent and you're lucky if you figure out your size.
Mari:Yeah, because as confused as you are by this sizing, Jonathan, you go to another tight company or pantyhose company and it's completely different, it's entirely different, yep.
Jonathan:There's no standardization, huh.
Ashley:Nope, have you looked at the size, guys? Mari Curvilicious. I love it, prominent bum and or tum. There's also athletic, small or flat bum and or tum.
Mari:Yeah, I love their sizing, I love their advertising. They include people of all sizes. They include people.
Ashley:I was going to say you know, it's made by a woman.
Mari:Right, they include people of all abilities Like they'll have people using chairs or using walking assistance devices or whatever. Like they do. They include everybody in their advertisement. So I knew about the company. But then I saw, like wait, acotar tights, mmm, I think they're cute. I may end up getting them, we'll see. They are quite adorable. Yeah, oh, the other thing I saw is that because you guys know that Wicked the movie is coming out in November the trailer and stuff is starting to come out.
Mari:So Universal in Orlando is doing a wicked experience. So basically in the Orlando park, where what used to be the Hello Kitty store is going to be a wicked experience. So it's like retail food and a walkthrough experience. It sounds almost like a tribute store which, if you guys, I know all of us have gone. But for listeners, if you haven't gone to universal, they do like tribute stores for different holidays, like christmas one, halloween, mardi gras and and also to celebrate, like their older movies like et or ghostbusters or whatever. So it's like a store that's all themed out. So they're going to have a store that's going to be themed out to Wicked. It opens in late October they didn't have an exact date but it's going to have Shiz University merchandise, which is the university that they go to in the story. It's going to have stuff designed by Mina Lima. It's going to have Legos, wicked, legos lounge fly bags and then prop replicas from the Noble Collection which does like the really good movie, accurate, really pretty props.
Mari:Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked, which is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, and it's also been a musical, like the book was first and then the musical which Kelly and I've seen a few times, which is very good if you ever get the chance to see it. So I'm excited about the movie. Have you guys seen the musical or read the book or anything?
Ashley:I remember reading the book some years ago and really struggling to get through it. I would have been pretty young, though, like early 20s, and it was not my favorite book, but I've heard phenomenal things about the actual production.
Jonathan:I've avoided everything that has to do with the Wizard of Oz successfully. The Wizard of Oz is like that's my podium of fears, Really.
Ashley:I did not know that, me either. 15 years together, I did not know that the Wizard of Oz was a fear of his yeah, huge yeah, ever since I was a kid. Is it the monkeys?
Jonathan:It's just as scary when you're a child and you look at that film. It's a scary-ass movie. Have you ever Like Gremlins? I dare you to put it on for Savannah.
Ashley:Savannah's odd. She would not like it.
Jonathan:Yeah.
Kelly:Terrifying movie for children because it's well known that the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West you know she hated how children feared her after that portrayal, so it was. It was definitely terrifying for children at the time and for years afterwards.
Mari:Well, I was going to say maybe we could read Wicked sometime for the podcast, but I will not put you through that, so we don't have to do that.
Jonathan:I think I've seen who's the one with the Spider-Man villain guy in it. Isn't there a newer one where they give the backstory of how she was scorned?
Ashley:Sir, you've got to give me more. You've one where they give the backstory of how she was scorned.
Jonathan:You gotta give me more. Is it prequel that does?
Ashley:not narrow it down.
Jonathan:It played a villain in Spider-Man. Maybe I got nothing.
Ashley:Which Spider-Man.
Jonathan:Spider-Man number one With.
Kelly:Tobey Maguire.
Ashley:Yeah, are you talking about the original Green Goblin?
Kelly:There was a Wizard of oz movie that had the guy who played the son of the green goblin in the original spider-man oh I validated.
Ashley:Thank you still have no idea what either of you are talking about so it was a.
Kelly:It was a movie called oz the great and powerful I do remember that it wasn't very good it had. James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Wise.
Mari:Yeah, it wasn't great.
Kelly:The big problem with Wicked the book versus Wicked the musical and now the movie is the stories are different. If you read the book it's not going to be the same story. It's not like a very 100% faithful adaptation. They made some significant changes from the book into the musical. Yeah, they did.
Mari:Yeah, to me the book is a little bit more of a story of like a coming of age and a little bit of a love story. The musical was a coming of age and a found family like friendship type story. So I'm interested to see which way they're going to go with the movie, probably more like the musical, because I think that's mainly what they're basing it on. Yeah, okay, so the next thing I had was that the Bookish Box Company is going to be doing a special edition of some of Cursa Broadbent's works. So they're going to be releasing a signed set of Ashes and the Star-Cursed King and the Songbird and the Heart of Stone.
Mari:So those are Crowns of Niaxia books, so books set in that Six Scorched Roses series that we read. It's in that world. So there's no details yet. I don't know when these are going to be released, but they're going to be signed books by her, so I would expect that these would probably go fast. Yeah, so, but Bookish Box does some really pretty books normally, so they're probably going to be really pretty. I'm going to need a part-time job.
Mari:This is, this is my job, to afford my books. Right, speaking of Callie Hart, who wrote Quicksilver, which I know you've read. Ash, right, you wrote you read Quicksilver, which I know you've read. Ash, right, you wrote you read Quicksilver. I'm, like, still part of the way through it. I put a pause on it to try and finish Crescent City, but there currently is a signed special edition hardcover version of this book available at like the regular price on Waterstones.
Ashley:Freaking Waterstones.
Mari:Yeah. So when I say regular price, it's 20 pounds, which is the regular price for a hardcover, but then it's 13 pounds for shipping to the US.
Ashley:Goodness, yeah, that's rough. Don't quote me because I didn't write it down. However, I did hear I thought I read recently that Kelly Hart was picked up by traditional publishing. Read recently that Callie Hart was picked up by like traditional publishing, which is great for her, Super excited. However, the fallout from that is that book two is now not releasing for another year.
Mari:Allegedly that's what I heard.
Ashley:Yes, I agree. Yeah, so very sad for us. Yay, callie Hart, right, happy for you. But, dang girl, 12 months, 12 months is rough, rough. I don't know the exact story, I don't know if she was just indie publishing or self-publishing, but it it is a very popular social media book right now. Like it blew, like again like fourth wing, almost, it was wildfire. It was all across my for you pages and it I I got conned. I read the book I. It was a little slow for me at first and maybe that's why you took a break. Um, but it, it I was sold. At the end I was sold.
Mari:So I mean I like it. Yeah, if I wasn't trying to finish Crescent city, I'm sure I would have finished Quicksilver by now. I had this weird idea that I was going to finish Crescent city on like the trip to Vegas or something, or the trip back or the plane. I did nothing. I made zero progress on anything.
Ashley:It did not happen. No, and she's a thick book. The Callie Harbrook is a thick book too, I think. Several nights I was up at an unforgiving hour trying to cram it all in. So I feel like.
Mari:Yeah, so far I'm liking it. I know that I was reading something I think it was on reddit where people were trying to guess what the romanacy book, goodreads books were going to be with the 2024. Romancy books were going to be and quicksilver was a name that was thrown around a lot like quicksilver when the moon hatched the new crowns of niaxia book and probably crescent city.
Ashley:I also heard, too, that she was instrumental in designing the cover of quicksilver oh, that's well.
Mari:That's what you get when you do in indie.
Mari:You get, you get to have when you do your own stuff yeah, yeah, no, because, like I was for the book that we're reading today, for radiance, I was trying to find out who did the cover, you know, and I couldn't find it. But I did find a statement from the cover. You know and I couldn't find it, but I did find a statement from the author, from Grace Draven, basically saying that you know when, when you're, when you're work with a publisher, with a traditional publisher, you don't get any say in anything about the cover. She's like I'll have a discussion with you on any of my indie books that I published, because I picked the covers for those, but the rest I had no input on. Yeah, which is kind of a version of things I've heard from reading a lot of different authors. I think the traditional publishing model authors don't tend to have a lot of input, unless maybe, if they're really big names, like, I'm sure you know, rebecca Yarrow probably has some say on her covers.
Ashley:Sure no. That makes sense when you say it out loud. I think the majority of them don't.
Mari:Speaking of when the Moon Hatched, sarah A Parker, who wrote when the Moon Hatched, is doing a US signing tour because she lives in New Zealand. But she's going to be touring the US from Saturday, september 28th through October 5th. I know that the weekend that we are going to be at the Fabled Fantasy Romanacy event that October, whatever it is, third, fourth weekend she's going to be in Decatur, georgia, but the weekend before that she's going to be in Florida. So I know I'm going to be at that book signing that she's doing in Bradenton, florida. There's a few others, but if you're interested, go to her website and check out if any of them are closer to you or close to you.
Mari:I don't try to remember my memory I don't think any are West Coast. I think they're all East Coast, but I think it goes up to like New York. So she has a few, but it's just. I believe it's all East Coast. Good for her making the rounds. I know that's a good one. I don't know if we'll ever read it for this because it is so long, but that's a good story. I would definitely recommend that series to anyone who's interested in it. All right, so the last thing I had for news was Sebastian Knopfel, which we interviewed on here before he wrote O King, holly King is now available as an audio book, so you can get it from Audible or wherever you get your your audio books. That book is now available as an audiobook. The narrator is gary furlong.
Ashley:Um, I have not listened to it yet, but I know it's available and shout out to sebastian for like letting us know that it was available. He certainly did not have to follow up with us. It has been, mom I know. So like thanks so much that it was on jonathan's like to you know tbr. For that he was really like sad not to listen to it in traditional audiobook version because he, you know, I think he did like a script to listen kind of thing and that was rough and and he got through it. So I know he's super stoked to to hear this one because we love Sebastian.
Mari:Yeah, I'm curious to see how the audiobook's going to sound, so I'm sure I'll play it while I do stuff put up Halloween decorations or something. I think it'll be fun. Yeah, all right. Does anybody else have any other new stuff they want to bring up?
Jonathan:There's a TikToker by the name of Jasmine Moss. Okay, she wrote Blood of Hercules. She has picked up a three-book preempt by Harper Voyager and set to publish in the UK and North America in November.
Mari:So Blood of Hercules.
Jonathan:Yeah, it's a really interesting backstory to me because it's this twist. I guess the catchphrase here is we're putting the her in Hercules. It's this Greek gods-inspired novel that follows Alexis Hurt. She attends this war academy and then tries to graduate while the heirs to the underworld haunt her steps and her thoughts. So it's supposed to have this like dark humor, uh, this romanticity, slow burn to it, and I'm interested. I I do enjoy those uh like greek god stories.
Ashley:So having this twist, um, this is a good bit, sir. I'm very proud of you right now thank you, I appreciate that, uh.
Jonathan:So yeah, I'm looking, I'm looking forward to that. It's a, it's a three book preempt, so I'm hoping that it's uh, it becomes a series so it looks like book one of two, so two are currently available.
Ashley:Forgive me, I'm googling as I look at this.
Mari:So it's also kindle unlimited guys nice, if I'm remembering right, I believe, and it may be available elsewhere, but I believe I saw that on the Waterstones website a signed version of that book is available right now too. They're very pretty covers. They are pretty and it's an interesting concept. It's a female Hercules. That's kind of a cool-.
Ashley:A cool spin.
Mari:Yeah, let me add one more, another bit, another bit. While we're talking, like Greek retellings, abigail Owen, who we've read her book before, she just released a book called the Games God's Play.
Ashley:I bought it. Have you read it yet? I bought it. No, I haven't, but I didn't even read the summary. I didn't have to, mari, it was so pretty I pre-ordered it Is that it, that's it.
Mari:I'm thinking about doing that, I'm thinking about getting it, while the really pretty one is available.
Ashley:I don't know where it is, I'll send you a picture. But as soon as I saw the cover, I said it's for me, she's talking to me, I said, and I bought it I pre-ordered it.
Mari:I was sad it was delayed by like a week. Thank you, amazon. Is that the one with the with the edge painting?
Ashley:yes, yeah, the teal blue one. I think it's a hades and persephone retelling I believe at least I know it's hades.
Mari:Yeah, so I assume that the the female main character is persephone or persephone type character. But yeah, it's definitely hades in it.
Ashley:It's definitely a book trophy because it's done really pretty.
Mari:Yeah, that one's. I was on the list. I think I'll be reading that one soon. It's interesting. Like I feel like Greek retellings have kind of come back as a phase, but I don't know what they have. I think they've just kind of always been around and I just haven't been as aware of them.
Ashley:You know what a news thread we?
Mari:had today, you guys, so much, so much. I know, I know All right, are we done with news, anything else?
Jonathan:I'm good to go.
Mari:So we are going to be reading Radiant. We did read. We're going to be talking about Radiance by Grace Draven. This will be the last podcast that goes out before we attend the Fabled Fantasy Romanacy BookCon event in Orlando, and Grace Draven will be an author there. This book was published January 11th of 2015, so it's not a new one. It's been around for a minute. Let me read the synopsis and then we can get into a little bit. Let me read the synopsis and then we can get into a little bit.
Mari:The Prince of no Value, brishan Kashkem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the non-essential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gwar and the Kai kingdom of Bast Haradis requires that he marry a Gwari woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined. The noblewoman of no importance Itiko, niece of the Gwari king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in her strategic marriage, resigned to her fate. She is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn't just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human, bound to her new husband, itako, will leave behind all that she's known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light. Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart. What do we think? Who wants to go first? I don't mind going first. Yeah, I'll go first.
Mari:This was a reread for me. I read it earlier this year. It had been on my TBR since, like last year, I first heard about this book on a YouTuber I follow that I've mentioned before, a Frolic Through Fiction. She talked about this book and a few others I'm sure I followed also talked about it, but that's, I think, the first place that I remember hearing it. So it's a reread for me. I enjoy it because I feel like it's a true kind of a true enemies to lovers kind of, in that there is no instant love, there is no love at first sight, there is no anything. There's like active disgust and then they've got to build on everything from there. I like this storyline a lot. I would say on the reread I'm going to give it the same thing I read it the first time, which was four stars. There are things that I thought were incomplete about this. I think would have made it a better story, but I really liked the way the relationship was made. Yeah, that's where I'm going to leave it at for now.
Ashley:So I'll go second because I want to touch on some of your points. I struggled to read this book only because I think this was such a busy timeframe for us. Like you know, individually we all had things going on the last couple of weeks, but I actually really liked this book. I thought it was an easy read. It wasn't too heavy. There didn't need to be a ton of world building but it, you know, enough existed that I got the picture.
Ashley:I knew nothing about this book going in and I didn't get enemies to lovers, I got friends to lovers and that process, that growth, was just so sweet to me and I genuinely can't remember the last time there was a friends to lovers. That wasn't a contemporary romance read for me and it was so sweet how they were just blatantly honest with each other from the beginning. It led to this friendship that was based on honesty, which grew into a relationship, you know, faceted by love, and I liked this a lot. This was a three and a half for me only because I didn't have that like. I wasn't staying up until 4am reading it, but I liked it a lot and I would like to continue.
Ashley:I think the only down for me was where it ended. I thought they could have given a little bit more to maybe wrap things up or explain something else before they wrapped up the way they did. It was just. It left me a little bit disappointed at the end, but it was a clean ending and so for that I'm grateful. I really liked this book. This was a solid read for me. Boys, guys, guys.
Jonathan:IDNF. I tried desperately hard to get into this book and I just couldn't.
Ashley:How deep did you get?
Jonathan:I probably got a good 40, 50% into the book.
Ashley:Oh, so what was the last thing you remember?
Jonathan:The last thing I remember. Well, I can't.
Ashley:Okay, no spoilers. We're not at that part yet, yeah.
Jonathan:Okay, I'll mute myself and I'll go look at what percentage I got through.
Ashley:Well, you got to give a rating.
Kelly:A rating? I don't know. Do you give a rating if you DNF? Yeah, I would say, if you DNF, you don't give a rating.
Jonathan:Yeah, it's fine, I'm still going to give a rating.
Mari:I mean, if you want to, but I.
Jonathan:It wasn't a good book for me. I'm still going to rate it.
Ashley:Okay, what's your rating?
Jonathan:I'm going to give it three stars.
Ashley:That's halfway through I feel like those are pity stars.
Jonathan:They are. I know we're sorry, Grace. Every book is not made for everyone.
Ashley:This is true, I mean. That's a fair statement.
Kelly:What do you think, kelly? I ended up giving this book three stars. I enjoyed some of the world building, having the two different races and I agree with Ashley, this definitely felt more like a friends to lover, because they had bonding over the fact that they were both sort of the outcast royalty of their respective families, so they had a lot to bond over. They had a lot of trauma bonding right from the get. Go over that. So that was definitely made it feel more like friends to end or friends to lovers than anything else. When did this book get published? 2015?
Kelly:Yeah, so it felt very much like it was influenced by, like, avatar or something. The way things were described, the way that people were described being kind of cat-like, which is how I thought that the avatar blue people was. They kind of were a little bit cat-like. So I just wonder, if it was, you know, influenced by avatar, this book would have come out like what, five years after avatar. So maybe, I guess not entirely out of the, not entirely out of the possibility, yeah, but I also agree with actually, the ending was very short, like it. Yes, seemed like it just like wrapped up. Really, yeah, it was like blah, blah, blah. And here we are.
Mari:This is the end I agree the pacing and some of the plot stuff is why I didn't give it five. Yeah, same reasons. So all right, anything else before we go into actual spoiler part where we can talk more details? All right, kelly.
Kelly:All right, dear listener, from this point forward we will be discussing spoilers. So if you have not read the book or you don't want the spoilers, then feel free to come back to this episode at a later date or skip to the end. But if you don't mind the spoilers, then continue on.
Mari:All right. Yeah, I've actually read the sequel as well and in my brain I conflated the two as to where the story ends, but both books, in my opinion, have the same problem with pacing and where the plot happens. I think she's really good at writing the relationship between them and the buildup and the interpersonal stuff and how they come together, but I think some of the world stuff around it is just like um fast forward, pause and then just ends, kind of thing. So yeah, I think it's probably some of the same thing you guys were saying I feel like it would make a like a semi-decent tv series possibly there were commercial.
Ashley:There were commercials yeah between some of these chapters, I felt like.
Kelly:Yeah, I agree with you. Actually, it definitely felt like the plot moved in bursts rather than a smooth, tenuous movement of the plot.
Ashley:And I don't mean it in a bad way. I wasn't unhappy with the book. We've read far more challenging books.
Ashley:I feel like I was a big fan you know of. I didn't mind the pacing, I didn't mind the language. I think when I was talking with Jonathan about it, some of the language stuff was maybe not a hurdle but like maybe a thumbs down for him. I think he's starting to notice that he likes more modern tones and language. So this one was a little bit more old-timey-ish, a little bit more formal, but I liked the banter. I thought the banter and the friendship was probably the best part for me.
Mari:I agree I think we've talked about this before where some authors like either describes themselves as a pantser or as a plotter. You know, the plotters like they plan out the whole world and the whole plot before they get going, and then the pantsers are the ones who are like just kind of make it up as they go along. And she describes herself as a pantser and I think some of that probably comes into play with the flow of the plot, where it does kind of like jump around a little bit. Yeah, so as far as like the fantasy, I guess I I think I started before, so I'll start with, like, my rating on fantasy. I gave it a three for fantasy just because of that, like I felt like some things of the world were well developed and some things were just kind of like hand wavy and I wanted to know more. I wanted to know a bit more of why things were just kind of like hand wavy and I wanted to know more.
Ashley:I wanted to know a little bit more of why things were the way they were. So it was a three for me. Yeah, that's a solid response. I would probably also say a three. I thought there were some interesting things before.
Ashley:Kelly mentioned Avatar. I didn't make that connection, but I thought it was interesting. And I think the title of the book mentions wraith, right, and I don't. I don't think we actually ever read that anywhere else in the book. So I thought, you know, when we're talking about the, not a different, I guess, I I guess a different species, right, if they're not fully human in the way that go is. And I just said that name wrong, I know I did.
Ashley:But I thought it was just interesting how they were just, you know, duty bound to bridge the gap and how they just mutually decided very early, you know, to friends and to open up with each other. And that meant him talking about his past and their magic and their traditions. And she was so willing, right, we're not even talking about like a damsel in distress situation here. She wasn't grossed out, you know, she was committed and there were new aspects, right. So, like, could you imagine marrying someone that doesn't have pupils? That's wild to me. That's a soul to keep, you know me, freaking orbs of light instead of eyeballs. What, what do you got? You're staring at me over there.
Jonathan:Yeah, because to me it's like marrying your dinner Dinner. In the past they used to eat them.
Ashley:Yeah, oh, you're talking about from his perspective. Well, I mean he doesn't remember that past.
Jonathan:I'm not marrying a cheesesteak anytime soon. No, you're talking about from his perspective. Well, I mean, he doesn't remember that past. I'm not marrying a cheesesteak anytime soon.
Ashley:No, but he attributes her to a horse and I thought that was hilarious.
Mari:Yeah, but how many vampire love stories are there? Twilight, dracula, all of them, right, all of them yeah. Yeah.
Ashley:So this was a whole new perspective, and so I thought the wraith slash vampire vibes were super interesting, I thought their history right was super interesting and and I think that's probably what kept me going, so yeah, I would.
Jonathan:I would agree on a three jonathan I like the world building we're at right the fantasy fantasy, yeah yeah, I like, I like the, I like the fantasy, I like I that that.
Jonathan:That gave me good vibes, right. So if it it's just the tone that it was written and it was just it felt, it's it just it felt a little too cold, serious, yeah. But like the idea that you have two kingdoms that are like you have the two spares, essentially right, yeah, the, the and and they're, they're kind of being brought together as a as this handshake between these two entities and the kingdom that she's marrying into is strong and feels dominant. I mean, he was attacked. They were attacked right Initially and they fended it off. And that's where I kind of dig the cat people vibe when they were like hey, absorb my memories, were like hey, absorb my memories.
Jonathan:And then I also like the idea that there was almost this like this drugged sensation where you don't just you don't just take these memories in, like absorbing them you're experiencing them yourself, yeah exactly he was calling out for his mother and you know, and gave his true thoughts and true feelings towards what's her name ildiko, yeah, illy and, and illy and brie't know what I'm calling them for a while. But like they were where, they were like hey, he looked at her and he was like yeah, you're ugly, you know, kind of thing. And from the perspective of the person who had fallen right and but she knew enough to know that hey, okay, that's not him. I need to be with him and support him in this space, you know, and they're they're.
Jonathan:I did enjoy also their brutal honesty, but I also I didn't view it as brutal honesty. I think sometimes, sometimes, when people are brutally honest, it's just an excuse, a scapegoat to be to hurt someone. Pick up on that. I think they were just like we don't know sarcasm, but it almost sarcastic at the same time like yeah, and it definitely like converted into that they.
Ashley:They joke about it later on. Yeah, it's like their pet names later on, right yeah?
Jonathan:yeah, so I I definitely did enjoy that, that world building element. It felt like I was right in that mix. I'm going to give that a four in my non-votable vote.
Kelly:Kelly, I think the world building was decent. I gave it a three. I just felt like the world was heavily influenced, maybe by Avatar, but I also think that the way they portrayed his race was very similar to classic mythology about fantasy elves oh, we're a dying race, our power and our days are numbered, but we still fight to hold on to our influence and power that kind of thing. That's like the stereotypical fantasy elf trope and I think that was definitely used on that race to a pretty significant degree.
Mari:Anything else about fantasy before we move on to romance, romance. For me that was like the view the high point of this book was the romance. So for me, romance, I gave it a five. I thought the romance was well written. I thought it was the romance part of it was well paced. I thought how they were honest with each other and, you know, became kind of like allies you know we're on the same side and then friends, and then it developed from there. I thought the, the pet names they had for each other. I thought it was just a very, very well-written, well-constructed relationship. So to me it was the romance and this was the five.
Ashley:Yeah, I have to say it's a solid, a solid four, and I don't even know what would make it better, I just think it. It hasn't grown enough Right. So I'm sure book two would very likely hit that five point for me, unless something goes dramatically sideways Again. The friendship to lovers genre is not something that I've dived too much into, and so it was very refreshing. The honesty was refreshing. The banter was refreshing was refreshing. The banter was refreshing when he, when she asked that really deep question like how did you become, how did you evolve into this decent creature, right, and not not the product of the personality of your parents, and he barely hesitated to jump up. And not even he could have just told the story about his sister, right, he didn't. He showed her, and when he busted out that light of that three-year-old dead baby sister, I teared up. Yeah, I, being an older sister myself, I teared up. So, yeah, the romance was very much the high point of this book and will be a very strong reason if I get to book two Because of our schedules, but I enjoyed the romance in this so much, it was just so refreshing.
Ashley:It wasn't forced, you know. We didn't even get into some steamy stuff until like 55% in. So I thought it was very well paced. I thought it was very well explained, very well detailed. I was not unhappy. I have no notes for it. It was a four for me.
Jonathan:I didn't make it to romance, you didn't make it to romance. I'm not going to rank it. I will say this, though I got good vibes out of it. Good vibes when she met his parents and kind of clapped back a little bit.
Ashley:She did.
Jonathan:And he was pretty supportive of whatever was happening there. I feel like maybe that was lending itself toward foundational elements of it.
Kelly:Kelly, I did enjoy the romance. I thought it was one of the better romances we've read, just because it definitely they had such a strong connection and the way they worked together it was more of a partnership and that kind of thing rather than just blazing lust to start with. So I've always enjoyed more of the relationships that start as friends or start, as you know, equals, and I did like the way they sort of were flirting with each other throughout the book once they got more comfortable with each other. That was nice to see that kind of romantic flirtation going on. Overall, I think it was yeah, it was a four on the romance, definitely the strongest point of the book.
Mari:Okay. So moving on to Spice, there wasn't a lot of Spice because it was a bit of a slow build, but I think that when the spice happened, I thought it was very good quality spice, like I think it flowed well, it didn't feel intrusive, like I think it worked with the story, that it was well done. For me, the spice was a four. You know, I think that they went about it with their eyes wide open. They it took them a while to get there and then once they got there, they were all about it and they were able to find that comfort in each other as things got really, you know, difficult in their lives and in the plot. So I thought it kind of highlighted the whole them coming to like trust and depend on each other. So to me it was a four for spice.
Ashley:I really enjoyed again how there was at least zero physical attraction to begin with, right, and you're talking basically about two different species. You're not talking about different ethnicities or religions or races, even like. You're talking about things that are not supposed to procreate together. Basically, yeah, and so I thought it was so well developed, that spice right, because looks are not everything and there is something to be said about a friendship blossoming into a really a romantic relationship where your perception then changes of the other person and that person becomes the most beautiful thing. Right, it is about personality, it is about strength, it is about character, and those things far surpass, surpass looks, and in this I think it aided in the looks department.
Ashley:Yes, this creature is a thousand percent different than what I am and what I grew up with. They are the most precious and beautiful thing to me. The spice explanation part was lacking a little bit, I think, but I thought it was very politely described and told their passion for each other. You saw that build up, it was obvious and I just thought it was very nicely done. So I think it was a three and a half for me.
Jonathan:Was there a bangening?
Mari:There was, you just didn't get to it. I think the bangening happened at like 70% to the book.
Jonathan:Deep in there yeah like, did they get? Did they, did she get a good, did she get good powers out of it? What happened?
Ashley:no, I don't. It wasn't really a banging like it was. There was, it was it a banging, there was a banging there was lots of banging, but I don't know that special powers so there was an abundance of of banging like like when you hit like 65 percent it hit 65 percent that's when the sheets like once they started, they kept going, of course, yeah yeah, they were like newlyweds.
Jonathan:Yes, interesting or like first dating. You gotta know what you like. You know what I mean. Yeah, all right, I was just.
Ashley:I was just, it was really interesting too how he was so cautious of like his teeth and claws still took. Yeah, she still took the efforts to kiss him in the way that humans do, so that it was enjoyable for both. I thought that was really really nicely done.
Mari:It was very polite like very demure, very demure. I will say to me this is a I would label this as a monster romance, and that is something you see often in monster romance, where you have like a human character with a non-human character and then you have ways to make kisses work.
Ashley:Commodation.
Mari:Yeah, despite fangs or whatever other things that the monster character may have, that may not work with kissing. You have different ways of doing kissing. Yeah, I thought this was well done in that, kelly.
Kelly:I think that the spice was a three and that's kind of felt like it was the kind of average. You know. Better than average, slightly better than average. Yeah, I mean I agree with Ashley, you know, better than average, slightly better than average. Yeah, I mean I agree with ashley the whole part of them being careful and then once they finally got going, they were like newlyweds. That was definitely a little bit different than what we've normally seen in the books we've read.
Mari:Overall, it was good it was a good journey. It was a good journey from like, like we've said, from active disgust of each other to, you know, know, a full-on relationship.
Kelly:Right, I mean, that's the whole thing about romance. You know, when you love someone, you definitely see them as being, you know, more attractive than someone else may see them.
Mari:What do we think about the cover? I guess I've been going first so I'll keep going first. I like the cover. I think it's this I don't know if it's a trend or a thing that I see often in monster romances where you have very traditional harlequin-type poses on the front but instead of it being a Fabio and model kind of character, you have a grotesque and model kind of character. You have, you know, a grotesque or monster kind of character. So, yeah, it's a very like you could see a Fabio pose happening with that cover. So to me it's that kind of a pose. It would have gotten my attention. So I gave it a four.
Ashley:I agree, I think I was less focused on the posing as much as I was focused on, like, how distinctly different they were and I think I went back and referenced it a couple of times in their descriptions of each other. It's easy to picture a human. I think it's more challenging to picture a quote unquote monster, right. And so you want to go back and and, like man, I wish they would have shown his teeth. I want to see what. What were we accommodating? But that aside, you know I was definitely. It's almost like a gargoyle vibe even yes from the cover.
Ashley:I like the cover a lot. I don't I don't know if it would have stopped me and made me buy it, but I definitely appreciated it as a reader who did read the book. It was a four for me. I really I like the, but I definitely appreciated it as a reader who did read the book. It was a four for me. I really I liked the cover a lot. I thought it was very like, specific to the story. Right, we're not just looking at random clip art covers, you know, mashed together to try to make sense like some of the others. We see it was, it was relevant, it was, you know, it was them very specifically. So I think it's a four.
Jonathan:I thought the cover was basic, basic. I didn't get monster vibes from it, I got like gray skin vibes, like a gargoyle, yeah. But also like I was, as a child, watching the gargoyle cartoons Me too, sir I was like those are pretty rad things. I was like I probably would not have purchased this particular book based solely on the cover.
Kelly:Kelly sometimes seen on some covers, just the two of them on the cover. Yeah, it definitely felt like a Fabio cover and I guess that kind of just turned me off some because you don't even get like a really good look at his face, right, his eyes are covered. Right.
Mari:All right. So do we think it's a kissing book? I think so. I think so because I think that if they hadn't built their alliance into a friendship and into a romance, I don't think they would have lasted. I think it would have fallen apart either when the mom tried to kill her.
Ashley:Or the initial raid Just as they're leaving the wedding. Yeah, the initial raid. He just immediately fell into that protector. It wasn't even duty, it was solely because it was her.
Mari:Yeah, yeah. Or like when she had to go and rescue him, like there's so many points where I think it could have easily fallen apart if they didn't have that strong bond between them. So I'm going to say yes.
Ashley:I agree. It's a yes, mr DNF.
Jonathan:I'm not, I don't know, I can't.
Ashley:No opinion.
Jonathan:There's no possible way for me to drop this through the calculator in order to come up with the determination, so I'll abstain here.
Kelly:Yeah, did you trademark Cocculator yet, jonathan, because you probably want to trademark that so you can prevent anyone else from using that name.
Mari:Yeah, I think you do.
Jonathan:It's a programming code.
Mari:Romantic Cocculator.
Kelly:We should just make a separate webpage page on our website where we have the calculator and people can just drop in.
Ashley:Yeah, what if the people want to rate their own things using the calculator?
Jonathan:Yeah, I'm trying to like shake out more questions for it. What questions am I missing in the overall algorithm for the calculation? Missing in the overall algorithm for the calculation? So it needs growth.
Kelly:So if you're out there listening and you want to add questions to the calculation or to the algorithm, so in the end I said I agree with you at Romanesie for sure, because, as you've already pointed out, if they hadn't developed the friendship and the romance, then it would have all fallen apart. He wouldn't have been so inclined to defend her at all costs, the mom would have killed her, etc.
Mari:Yeah, I agree. Anything else you want to say?
Ashley:about the book. I'm curious to see where it leads to, right, because this seemed very surface level drama.
Ashley:If that makes sense, like, like for sure like we're looking at the wrong villain, almost kind of thing. Um, the epilogue was was a little interesting. I'm curious to see where book two leads. I do have a theory. I mentioned this earlier and I'm wondering. I don't do this, I don't like to wonder, I just like to enjoy. However, I wondered if the supposed loss of magic, the generations, like literally from you know one generation to the next, is because of almost like interbreeding, right? So is it because the Kai are only mating with Kai, and I wonder if a human procreation is necessary to increase the magic. It seems interesting to me that it's so well-established that kids won't be a product of a Kai and human marriage or a Kai and human mating, and I wonder if it's bullshit, like straight up bullshit oh 100, 100 I'm fully expecting a baby, a little, a little pretty mixed baby race chi and human, and I think that thing's going to be powerful and magical as fuck.
Kelly:That's my theory one of the interesting things about this book is how you can correlate the disgust the different groups of people had, like how the humans had for the Kai and vice versa, and the marriage between the two and how they all seem to talk about it like how terrible it was going to be could substitute african-american for kai and it would be the exact same disgust, etc. When you look back into, like you know, the 1920s to the 19th yeah, a commentary on like interracial marriage right.
Kelly:So it's very yeah and it's. And then going, going and looking at it like that, it does give you a different perspective of the book because you know you may think, oh, humans would never really be like that to a different race, but we've done it to ourselves it just felt so unnaturally taboo.
Ashley:I'm curious to see the next step in that relationship and, like the surprise unfold right. I'm like oh my God, we were told this wasn't going to happen and it's because someone was stifling the magic. So for all you know, husband, a bangening is coming. You don't know.
Mari:I think um, it's also a commentary on women not being able to choose, like historically arranged marriages where women were just commodities, were just things.
Ashley:Well, she says as much, right, like that was her only worth yeah.
Mari:Like that. She may have married someone who everyone thought was a monster, but like he really wasn't. Like there's a part I highlighted. This is Itako's viewpoint. She had proclaimed his appearance ghastly and his honesty handsome. Itako still stood by both opinions. She could have done infinitely worse. More than a few Gari women had the misfortune to marry human men with handsome faces and ghastly souls.
Ashley:No one wants a ghastly soul?
Mari:No, not at all. All right, rapid fire, rapid fire. So in lieu of rapid fire, like instead of having a movie or whatever, I came across this image, and I don't know who originally did the picture. It was posted on Instagram by librariansco and it's just this pile of books and it says it literally stresses me out how many good books are out there that I still haven't read. So my question to you guys is how do you feel about a ginormous TBR? Does it stress you out? Are you excited? Is it a challenge?
Ashley:What do you think? I would say that arguably, for as much as I've read throughout my whole life, I have not been fantastic at tracking it. I will honestly just buy a book. I will buy a book and it will sit on my shelf and there is no plan to read it, and I don't know how many times this has occurred. So reading this quote stresses me out, because I know I haven't been tracking in a way that a lot of readers do. And I've done it. I've bought the sticky notes, I've bought the reading journals, I've joined Goodreads. I have another app whose name I'm forgetting in the moment and I'm just not being very good about it. So I think my ignorance is bliss and it would very much stress me out if I tracked it in the way that even you, mari, do, because I think you do a really good job of tracking things. So my counter answer is that ignorance is bliss. Guys, don't track your stuff. Read it when you want to Buy the books.
Jonathan:YOLO. I would say make your TBRs as long as you want them to be, endless, infinite. Nothing wrong with having too much to do.
Ashley:I feel like the answer for him is that it does not stress him out how many good books are out there Sounds like it excites you.
Jonathan:I don't know if it excites me, but you say it excites you, my plate's always full with different crafts that I need to find time to squeeze in, like the dishes Ooh, maybe.
Mari:Kelly, what do you think?
Kelly:A want-to-read list is not stressful, unless you make it stressful. You know, if you're putting expectations that you're going to finish your entire TBR, then what's the point of it? The whole point is finding the books that you want to read and looking at that list when you need an idea for the next book you want to buy or read. So if it stresses you out because oh, I need to read this book and you add it to your TBR, then you'll either read it or you won't. I don't get stressed out about my want to read.
Mari:For me. I get excited about the TBR, so I'm not great Like I'm pretty good at tracking what I have read on apps like Goodreads and I like Fables is the other one I like Fables and Goodreads. I'm good at tracking what I have read because I think it's interesting to see certain trends. Like I just finished rereading Howl's Moving Castle for the third time and I've read it almost around my birthday every year for the past three years and I hadn't realized that it wasn't like I made a concerted effort. Like this is what I'm going to read on my birthday, but you know, tracking it. I'm like, oh, I always read it in September. So things like that I think are interesting.
Mari:But for the actual TBR, I'm not great at tracking my TBR on the apps. I have a embarrassing list of notes on my notes app that just scrolls, scrolls forever, scrolls for days of things. I'm like, oh, that looks interesting, I'll add that to my ongoing TBR and then I'll pull like books from the TBR and then I'll make a separate monthly TBR like, oh, this sounds like a September read, I want to read this in September or whatever. But overall I don't think I feel stressed out by it. I feel excited by it. I feel excited by the idea that, like there are books that I've read in the past few years that have been amazing stories, amazing worlds, and there's more out there like that that I don't know about yet, you know that are already written that I don't know about, let alone the ones that haven't been written yet it makes me feel excited to be able to have access to those.
Ashley:I think it would stress out my bank account If, like the TBR, had dollars.
Mari:Kindle Unlimited is the best.
Ashley:Kindle Unlimited is the best.
Mari:If there was a book category on my bank account, it would be scary. I don't want to know that part. Yes, Ignorance is bliss. I don't want to keep it in the fun spending.
Ashley:Wells Fargo, please don't do it.
Mari:Don't do it.
Ashley:I don't want to know.
Mari:Don't hurt us like that, don't do it All right. Anything else anybody wants to say before we wrap it up?
Kelly:Don't forget, we'll be at the Romanacy Book Con. Yes, because I believe this is the last episode before the con actually takes place. It is so we'll be there, oh yeah.
Mari:Come and say hi, we'll find you. Thanks for listening to Of Swords and Soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check the show notes, rate and review, and subscribe to us on your podcast app of choice. It helps others to find us. Follow us on instagram, at of swords and soulmates, or join us on facebook, our facebook page at of swords and soulmates, or check out our website of swords and soulmatescom, and now we're also available on youtube and tiktok same username. If you'd like to offer a suggestion for a future rapid fire question, reach out to us. Give us your opinion If you agree with us, if you disagree, et cetera, please do so. If you'd like to read along with us as we prep for a new episode, follow us on Goodreads or Instagram or any of these other methods that I've said, at of swords and soulmates. We hope you'll join us in two weeks for our next episode, when we finally read review ACOTAR A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. Yay, bye, bye.
Ashley:Bye you.
