Hello Fiction Dwellers!

Long time no see friends~ it’s been a while since I’ve updated y’all with my monthly wrap ups. The last time I posted this wrap up I was not in a good mental state and still adjusting to life here. I posted that wrap up 4 days after I just landed.

Now I am coming back to you more stable, happier, and stronger Lia. ALSO, married! That is the main reason why I was so caught up with life. My wedding was set on April 2nd 2022 so I started wedding planning nearing the end of February that continued on throughout March.

Here are a few pictures for y’all to see <3

Books

In my January wrap up I told myself I would be happy if I read one book but look at me I read five books in February and a whopping nine books in March. Truly, I outdid myself there.

I think the main reason why I read so many books within these two months is due to the library and the sweet sweet satisfaction of returning a book after your finish reading it and picking out a new book to read.

Also the event that I held for myself, mARCh Madness, really helped me to read more ARCs that I have on my NetGalley back log.

If you’re wondering how my library stack is doing, well there is about eight books left from the library that I need to read. Hopefully one of them or more will make it into my April wrap up.

🌟 My Favorite Reads from February and March 🌟

❁ The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : September 20th 2011

❁ Pachinko by Min Jin-Lee ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : February 17th 2017

Pachinko is a powerful and brilliant historical fiction following generations of a Korean family that lived up to its award winning status.

❁ The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : April 20th 2021

The Forest of Stolen Girls was an enjoyable read but sadly fell flat because of pacing.

❁ The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : October 13th 2020

❁ Know My Name by Chanel Miller ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : September 24th 2019

❁ Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : August 21st 2021

Redemptor is the conclusion to a duology that could’ve shone brighter yet still has that consistent warming glow.

❁ The Jade Setter of Janloon (The Green Bone Saga #0.5) by Fonda Lee ❁

Goodreads | Subterranean Press

Release Date : April 30th 2022

The Jade Setter of Janloon is the perfect introduction to The Green Bone Saga for new readers and the perfect bite sized flex of Fonda Lee’s masterful writing.

❁ The Dangers of Smoking in Bed : Stories by Mariana Enriquez ❁

Translated by Megan McDowell

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : November 2009

A collection of short stories that is haunting, disturbing, and mesmerizing that isn’t for me.

❁ Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : March 29th 2022

Wild and Wicked Things is an atmospheric witchy retelling of The Great Gatsby that failed to cast its spell on me.

❁ Em by Kim Thúy ❁

Translated by Sheila Fischman

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : September 28th 2021

❁ A Prayer for the Crown Shy (Monk & Robot #2) by Becky Chambers ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : July 12th 2022

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is the reflective and comforting sci-fi novella that will leave you feeling cozy and teary from all the warmth this book emanates.

❁ Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : April 27th 2021

An all-around epic fantasy debut; Kaikeyi has cemented Vaishnavi Patel as the freshest new voice, claiming a spot as the best debut in fantasy this year.

❁ Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : February 22nd 2022

Full Review to come!

❁ Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney ❁

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Release Date : July 11th 2017

Did Not Finish @ 15%

I can’t continue reading this book. It is just.. too unbearable and pretentious. I really don’t care how cool this Melissa woman is. I seriously don’t care about anyone in this book. I’m sorry. I’m still gonna read Normal People though. I hope that one is better than this book.

YouTube

The biggest thing that happened in February and March in matter of content is me finally starting a YouTube channel. As of now the An Ode to Fiction channel has about 100 subscribers that I’m very grateful for. I want to thank everyone that have subscribed and for friends that haven’t subscribed yet this is your reminder to do so! <3

Blogging

I’m quite impressed with myself even though in February blogging stopped abruptly I immediately picked myself back up in March by posting four reviews that you all can check out below by clicking the images.

Music

The first quarter of 2022 really outdid itself with a bunch of ear worms. A few songs that has been on repeat these past few months are INVU by Taeyeon, Light Switch by Charlie Puth, and RUN2U by STAYC. These three has been playing nonstop, I have to listen to them once a day minimum. I am also thrilled that Fujii Kaze finally releases his new full length album LOVE ALL SERVE ALL. Followed by keshi releasing GABRIEL in the same month. Music lately has been great and I’m so excited to listen to new songs.

Gaming

Developed by Aggro Crab

Steam | Nintendo Switch

My husband is an avid gamer, during the time that I’ve been living together with him we have played a lot of games. One of the games that stuck out to me amongst a plethora he suggested Going Under by Aggro Crab. It is a game that is available on Steam and I think is available on Switch too. The premise of this game is pretty simple, Jackie is a newly hired intern for Fizzle that is tasked to exterminate the monsters of failed start ups. The way to kill these monsters is to use whatever it is available in the dungeon i.e chairs, laptops, keyboards, flaming swords, etc. You name it, you can use it to kill! The aesthetics of this game is kinda like corporate infographic with funny and cute characters, also just entertaining game play. The dialogue between the characters is hilarious, it is a display of amazing writing that I just can’t get enough of. I’m not a big gamer and yes, I do ask my husband to fight the bosses because my way of gaming is just smash everything in sight while he is more experienced and strategic. What makes playing this game more fun is my husband doing the Swomp and Fern voice. They are the characters that have some of the best dialogue in both of our opinions.

The music for this game is just immaculate. Each dungeon has their own unique sound that latches on to you for days. When I conquered the first dungeon, Joblin, in one *very* lucky run where I got the legendary items at all three floors, the boss soundtrack got me really hooked. I kept humming that tune whenever I did chores, etc. I think anyone can play this game, no matter if you’re a gamer or not. This game is so fun! I highly recommend for you to buy it on Steam or Switch which ever you prefer. I’m kinda sad that Aggro Crab isn’t going to update this game anymore because the sales didn’t do so well. SO PLEASE BUY IT AND PLAY. It would help Aggro Crab so much and it would mean updates!! MORE DUNGEONSS AND AESTHETICS!! AND MUSIC!!!

Bookish Content Creator Shout Out!

After a two month hiatus I am reviving my bookish content creator shoutout! I am slowly blog hopping around and all these posts I feature are some done by my friends from the blogging community that caught my eye throughout the month of February and March. Visit their blog and socials, make sure to follow them like and share <3

☾ Jayati from It’s Just A Coffee Addicted Bibliophile recommended 5 Asian Adult Fantasies to Color your TBR. Jayati delivers a list of her top 5 asian adult fantasy books that everyone should add to their TBR and honestly looking at the list I agree. Add them to your TBR besties! I’ve read all the books on her list and I think all of them are 4-5 star read for me.

☾ Maddie from Inking & Thinking listed some New Releases by Mulism Authors that you need to add to you TBR pile. Maddie’s 2021 wrap up flowed nicely, I really like the graphics she did for each rating and then the anticipated releases also included some pretty good looking sequels and new standalones. Definitely check out her blog!

☾ Rania rebranded her blog with a new name Moonlit Notes and posted a discussion talking about desi representation in media. Kids! Ready to be educated about desi rep in media? Well, Rania gotchu covered and guess what she coming into the blogging scene with a new name. Might say it is Lit 🔥🔥🔥 But seriously, the post is very informative and Rania did a great job at writing it. Click click friends~

☾ Kate from Your Tita Kate recommended a list of sequels that skirted away from the second book syndrome. Don’t you just hate it when sequels didn’t live up to its predecessor? Well, I do. Tita Kate listed some of the best sequels from middle grade to YA to adult. She got it covered. Of course when I saw Jade War I have to hard agree because that sequel smashed Jade City into pieces.

☾ Kashvi from Misty Realms posted her interview with 2022 debut author Judy I. Lin author NYT Bestselling book : A Magic Steeped in Poison. Congratulations on the new layout bestie Kashvi! She posted her interview with Judy I. Lin author of the #1 NYT Bestselling book A Magic Steeped in Poison. In this interview Judy answers questions about the series, favorite quotes from the book, recommendations for wuxia/xianxia watchers, and many more.

☾ Amanda from Bookish Brews educates us about space opera and recommends some amazing space opera books. I haven’t read enough space opera and I wanted to read more of it. Reading Amanda’s post has expanded my views on this sci-fi genre and adds more books to my gigantic TBR. If you’re still iffy about it Amanda also listed a few short stories for you to check out.

☾ Sumedha from The Wordy Habitat recently recommended 30 Best Romance Novels for Adults. Whenever I’m in a slump I always look for a romance book that is can lift me up and never fail to entertain me. I will definitely go back to Sumedha’s post when I’m in the mood for a bit of romance. Maybe I can find something spicy 👀

April ?

Hmm.. for April I have a few books that I want to read and review. I don’t want to push myself or pressure my brain to read a lot. I just want to read what I want. Here are a few books that I plan to read.

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Thank you for reading!

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