05 Feb 2023 | Sunday Synopsis

Hey friends. It’s been a couple weeks since I did a little update, and it feels like a lot has happened in that time.

Since I last checked in two weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. We spent it having a pretty big snow storm that took out our power for the majority of the day. I also did my first escape room with a bunch of friends. I always loved playing escape themed puzzle games back when they were more popular online, and it was fun to do one in real life. Luckily there was no real danger involved, and we managed to escape with some time to spare.

This week, it has been unbelievably cold. We managed to hit -40° and I’m definitely ready for spring now. I know we’ve still got plenty of snow and cold nights ahead of us though. At least it’s nice weather to settle down in front of the fire with a book.

I’ve decided to slightly change my posting schedule. After posting 5+ times a week for a while, some things have lost a bit of their appeal to me. Starting this week, I’m planning to only post three days a week. Of course, this may change again as I see how well this works for me, and I may add in some extra posts here and there, but for now, my schedule will be as follows:

Sundays will be be these weekly Synopsis posts, sharing any updates I have, mini reviews for any books I finished, and links to any posts or videos from the previous week

Tuesdays will be book reviews for anything I read and had enough thoughts about that I felt they deserved a dedicated review

Thursdays will be any bookish topic that’s on my mind, including monthly TBRs, seasonal book lists, current trends, tags that piqued my interest, and upcoming releases I’m excited about

Last Week I Finished Reading

Grey Sister
Book of the Ancestor, book 2
by Mark Lawrence

Nona Grey continues her training at the Convent of Sweet Mercy and prepares to decide which path she will take. However, the Inquisition and other consequences of her past get in the way.

Split between Nona and Abbess Glass, this installment builds on the events from the first book with plenty of enemies and even more danger.

Holy Sister
Book of the Ancestor, book 3
by Mark Lawrence

Dual timelines show what happened immediately following the ending of the previous book, as well as what is going on in present day three years later.

We finally see which path Nona chooses to follow after completing her training, plus the scene that has been forshadowed since the series began. I wish some of the things that happened off page in this book we actually got to see and not just hear about. After following along with Nona so closely in the beginning, it felt a bit like taking a step back. That being said, I loved this series as a whole. There is plenty of action, wonderful characters, and longstanding plot points coming together for the conclusion of this series.

Before Your Memory Fades
Before the Coffee Gets Cold, book 3
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The third book continues on with the cafe staff serving coffee to four customers who wish to travel in time. In a similar setup as the previous two books, we see four new situations of people wishing to see someone one more time, carrying on with the discussions of grief and closure and why someone may choose to do this knowing they cannot change anything. I really like this series, and the fourth book is set to come out later this year.

Currently Reading

Wild Massive
by Scotto Moore

Carissa is forced to leave the safety of her elevator home when a shapeshifter lands on top of it.

This book comes out this week. There is a lot of information being delivered early on in this one. I’m not entirely sure where I stand on it yet because I don’t feel like I have a firm grasp on the world and the roles of all the major players within it yet. The story is certainly both wild and massive.

A Storm of Swords
A Song of Ice and Fire, book 3
by George R.R. Martin

Continuing on with this series, I’m excited to see what happens in this world next. My least favorite character from the previous book isn’t a POV character in this one, so that’s exciting for me. I haven’t gotten to the new POV character yet though, so hopefully I’m into it when I get there. A lot of the characters at this point aren’t entirely sure what’s going on with everyone else because they’re all in different places, so that’s interesting to see what they assume is going on elsewhere and their reactions when they learn what they’ve missed.