A Review of "Where the Dark Stands Still" and Other Cozy Fall Reads

Like trying to unlock the secrets of this place, I just feel like that works so well there are some unexpected side characters within this book too spirits that are a part of the house. The house itself is like magical and domestic and just really charming. There's lots of like everyday things these characters are doing like living cooking training working on magic reading trying to get to know each other but that is paired alongside like a pretty interesting mystery.

One of the mysteries is Liska's Magic why is it hard for her to like find and control um what's going on in this magical forest as it seemingly getting more dangerous as more and more creatures are sort of slipping through the wards. Also, the mystery of this Demon's past what's going on with that and just like the intriguing push and pull of these two characters getting to know each other beginning to trust each other and then possibly obviously as you would expect become drawn to one another.

I'm just so impressed with the pace the style the vibe the trope usage. This isn't necessarily like a brand new wow I've never read anything like this before but it's utilizing all of the things I love and I also feel like it's doing it well. It feels like how Ming Castle X magical forest it feels like any type of like I would love for this to be a television show I love it as a book I love it as a television show I'd love it as an anime like it just is like I eat it up every time and just the writing style the influences it works it works it's straightforward maybe but I'm loving it. It's charming me so much so I'm so pleased with this.

And that brings us to our cozy fall reads. One of my favorite books from the season was "Where the Dark Stands Still" by Laura Sebastian. This is a solid four-star read for me and I actually was really um surprised with the direction of the story how the whole thing wrapped up. I felt like it really stayed true to its folklore fairy tale esque style.

I found that I really enjoyed this book. The writing style was very engaging and loved the inspiration of this book. It just felt very true to what the author was trying to accomplish this R like a more detailed version of a fairy tale that would kind of like get passed on and on and on through the years. I also liked some of the gray morality elements of this book. I found that interesting.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this book. It was just such a fun vibe cozy but a little bit on edge sort of read and I just was so happy that this delivered as strongly as I wanted it to. Obviously, I also read Thorn Hedge by Tkin Fisher. This was so good. This short little book has no business being as good as it was. I was just so entertained by this.

I loved the infusion of Fay in this. I loved the storytelling element of this. I just love Tkin Fisher's ability to create ambiance and character work. It was so good literally 100 pages so good. And then I also read Of Course the Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. A very popular sort of contemporary fantasy thriller esque story had some strengths had some weaknesses.

Of all the books I read in this Vlog, I would say that "Where the Dark Stands Still" is my least favorite. It was okay like it wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I was hoping. Plot-wise, it was definitely engaging but I do feel like it sort of fell flat in some other elements of the writing. But I would also say like if you like books like this utilizing some of these tropes this is worth the pickup especially if you like fantasy Thriller esque stories.

I think it had some interesting concepts just not necessarily my favorite execution. You know right guys that's all for today's cozy reading Vlog featuring three VI and apheric books. Hope you guys enjoyed this video and I will see you soon with another one soon goodbye

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of another reading Vlog this reading Vlog is extra special because friends we're venturing into my fall TBR this is going to be a vlog full of viby lyrical enchanting stories three books that I'm just so excited to read and three books I've personally been saving for this time of year listen I get it it's hot outside for me it's hot outside for you guys probably but this is a channel that fully subscribes to fall delusion and you know what the fun part about being adult and no one being able to tell you what to do is that I've decided personally that I'm just going to pretend it's fall inside of my house meaning I have more time to Vibe with all of my favorite types of books and stories and pastimes so without further Ado let's chat through the three books I hope to read over the course of this video so I have three books that I'm hoping to read the first is the book of doors by Gareth Brown this is supposedly like a very fastpaced like darker contemporary fantasy story about a magical book and how it opens up doors to anywhere um sounds interesting and I'm hoping it's quite the page Turner I also want to read Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher this is a really short Nolla but I've heard such fantastic things about this and obviously tkin Fisher is just one of my favorite authors of all time this is kind of a re-imagining of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty but kind of told one in an unusual fashion just at least based on the synopsis but I think kind of like turns the whole fairy tale on its head um and I also think it has Fay so I just am so excited for this and then lastly I have where the dark stands still this is about a young woman who has magic but she wants to get rid of it so she goes into a magical forest she meets a demon they make a deal things get complicated I mean doesn't this all just sound like a fall cozy time so yes welcome to my Vlog it might be 101° outside but it is 55° and raining in my heart I'm even wearing my Halloween shirt but I'm so exced excited for this video I'm so excited for these books I'm hoping to get a lot of pages in so let's go ahead and get started I have not officially are fully decorated for fall quite yet but I have put up like a few touches here and there and one of those are some mugs but I have finished up work for the day so I am going to make myself a cup of non-caffeinated tea because I'm back on my non-caffeinated way of life I know I oscillate back and forth but I've been very good about no caffeine in the afternoon for the past 2 weeks so let's see mmlt and I have my pumpkin glass tea mug which I'm going to use I think I'm going to see if I can use a loose leaf steeper even though it's not really designed for it oh yeah that's going to totally work oh my gosh look at this I love it okay amazing one two caml tea cuz there's like literally obviously it makes sense cuz caml is a flower but you can like see see the flowers in it makes me feel like a witch Divine and I am going to add some honey to this once it Steeps for a little bit let's go do some reading hello it's dinner time Clay is prepping some shrimp we are making a cherry tomato pasta tonight which is so good and so fast and easy to make I've already made some zoodles to mix them with my angel hair pasta but now I'm just going to chop up the shallot some garlic and my tomatoes shrimp is cooking I already cooked my zoodles which I'll mix back in let's cut the tomatoes and good news I've already read 40 pages of my book this sauce takes 4 minutes to put together and it tastes so good and then you just throw all the other things in with your angel hair pasta clay and I watch some TV but I have since ventured into my uh gaming room slash guest room because I'm obsessed with this game called Beacon Pines it's like a spooky narrative game and the story is so engaging and basically based on different decisions you make in the game you encounter different parts of the story and you can go backward make different choices it's just so much fun and cute and wholesome and I'm just all I have to do is press space bar and yet I'm progressing it's like so great I'm kind of in my narrative game era right now I love a management style game but Valentine nervously wiped his brow I I've been really enjoying narrative games so I'm going to play this for a little while and then I'll go read hello everyone I am in bed and I'm about to do some more reading I opted to start with as I think I mentioned the book of doors by Gareth Brown I was just really enticed by this synopsis and I kind of feel like it's going to have a thriller mystery component about it um and I like the idea of like like a magical book and our main character who sort of suddenly came into possession of this magical book and now is being pursued by people who also want this magical book so far I've read 40 pages I don't have like enough to do like a fullon reading update yet but I will do one in the morning but I I think so far it's like I'm entertained but time will tell if this story will stand apart cuz it it feels like something I've read before in like different shades or different stories which is fine cuz it's using like Concepts and tropes that you know many people have written on but like will it feel distinct by the end like will it Shine beyond the others or like stand apart we shall see but I'm going to get some reading in now cuz I haven't read I haven't read much only like 40 pages so good night cheers good morning friends I am just sitting here I'm about to sit down and actually do a bit more reading and then I owe y'all a reading update I'm looking forward to settling down to read but if you live in America you would know big new cycle recently um but today especially because the ticket is finally confirmed with that in mind I do want to leave down below a link to check your own voter registration status if you live in America because obviously we do have a big election coming up but as a reminder It's always important to vote all of the time especially in local elections but in terms of voter registration it's really important to register if you haven't if you've moved if your address has changed just in general to get a sense of these specific voter laws where you live because every state is different and there's also been a massive influx in anti- uh voter legislation making some places even more difficult to vote like where I live in Texas so it's always better to get organized check your registration and register if you haven't as early as possible and then you're registered and you're ready to go not just for this election but for other elections too which is super important so I'm going to have a link down to vote.org down below really voting particular is my favorite because the lines tend to be a lot less but again if you haven't registered I'm going to leave that link down below so be sure to check that out but I'm going to get back to drinking my coffee and reading my book hi hi let's do a reading update of the book of doors I've read about 120 pages of this book so far and I'm liking it I wouldn't say I'm in the love category quite yet but I am intrigued and interested in what's going on and I'm finding the book to be rather quick to read which is nice but what is this book about what is it about contemporary romance story we're introduced to her main character Cassie and at the beginning of this book her life is basically turned upside down she lives a normal life she works at a bookstore she lives in New York City and then one day one of her favorite customers actually passes away in her store leaving her this very strange and mysterious book called The Book of doors lo and behold it's a magical book because it turns any door into any door anywhere kind of like teleportation Vibes this though puts Cassie on the radar of some very dangerous people cuz other magical books in this world exist from like the Book of Shadows to the book of luck and there are people who collect these books to try to get and accumulate as much power as possible some of them are just trying to survive and they have a couple of books to sort of um prevent themselves from being detected but they're basically like all around the world constantly hunting sniffing out these books people who are rich and Powerful or want money it's a complicated and dangerous scenario and Cassie finds herself now at the heart of this situation because the book of doors was thought to maybe not even be real but here she is lighting up the radar for all of these book Hunters who want this book this also puts her in the path of this Scottish guy named Drummond Fox and he himself has three books and they begin to like gallivant together to like try to survive the story has Vibes I will say The Vibes could be stronger but there are Vibes there there I feel like the setting and the concept of these magical books and how we're sort of moving through the world in this strange fashion has definitely caught my attention this book also isn't a singular point of view I thought we'd really only be consuming the story from Cassie's point of view but we do have perspectives from Drummond as well as like other people around the world who have books or are or are connected to wanting books or like to this world which I actually like I feel like that was a strong choice to give us more context and more information information about like this weird book Society situation I almost wish it was like a little bit weirder the writing style is nice and it's pulled me in and it does have this sort of strange Ambiance to it but I almost wish it could be like a little bit more like given style of the book I think I mentioned last night that I've definitely read other books sort of like this like not exactly but would belong the same category um and it's actually like one of my favorite like weird mashup combination of things so I'm hoping this has like a little more oomph to it by the end but so far I am liking it and I think as long as a story is like keeping me on the edge of my seat and interesting I think it will be a strong score in the end characterization so far I think is probably the weakest part but I also feel like these are the types of books that sort of keep their characters at a distance for the sake of Vibes and story which is fine as long as the vibe and story deliver strongly in the end you know so so far so so good um but I still have like a lot of this book left to read which I'm going to do today I really want to get through it cuz I want to read Thorn hedge too and then obviously read my other book on my TBR Vibes only in this Vlog So Good Start could be a stronger start but there's still much left to discover you know fall candle Ambiance yeah cup of tea and a pumpkin mug I mean I'm a stereotype of myself you know so I'm going to go read more the book of doors with some of my Earl Gray lightly caffeinated beverage I've been so good I'm so proud of myself like a whole new woman still drinking a lot of caffeine but less but follow me into the front room and we shall read together Millie is also ready to Vibe but I'm going to sit here with the book of doors hello hello hello I have read a good amount maybe 60% of this book I'm on page 200 of like 370 so we're a little past halfway and it reads quickly the plot on this book I would say is definitely picking up steam and it's definitely caught my attention given that this is such a plot forward book with a high level of intensity I'll be as big as possible so I don't want to talk too much um I will say I think the characterization continues to be probably the weakest point of this book in terms of caring about the characters especially some of the main characters we sort of have consistently through the plot with that in mind though I feel like because the plot has sort of gone up a few levels in terms of its intensity and how things are moving and also the stakes of things this book is much darker and much more violent than I was anticipating so you're not quite sure like what's going to happen because there are truly Stakes um it's made it a a quicker read I have some guesses in terms of where this book is going but I also feel like there's so many threads happening in this book like even if I guess some I surely will not guess all cuz I've already been surprised a few times in a good way so I feel like this book is growing on me it's still I wouldn't say with all of his components like my favorite book I've read but am I entertained it's just a dark kind of fantasy Thriller situation that I was hoping yes so we'll see if it continues to be good we'll see if it sticks The Landing but I'm now going to get changed in pajamas and start dinner so let's cut to that for dinner hold on let me put my apron on we're making tacos I've been marinating chicken thighs which I'm going to make clay Grill cuz it's too hot for me to go outside um and then it's going to be good so for now though oh oh something just fell in the fridge what at that oh take some of this out so I've been marinating chicken and like a chalula honey kind of marinade situation I am going to put some sweet potatoes in the oven which chili powder any canay we have our grilled chicken I made some black beans onions guac toppings I also roasted some sweet potatoes this tortilla needs flipped and it's time to enjoy I played so much of vegan Pines tonight I think I've almost beaten it I love that game so much but I'm now in bed and we're going to read more of the book of doors we're going to see how far we get my hope is to be able to finish this book this tomorrow morning which I think it'd be possible but I got to get I got to get focused I just um got to part two I want to say part three look at me go hello it's me I I finished the book of doors and honestly I think I stand by my sentiments of this book that it was good not great just okay I think there is some strengths in this I think there was some weaknesses in it I will say the plot definitely interested me enough or I was like hm what's going to happen what's going to happen and I kept flipping the pages I appreciated the sort of circular windy nature that the author took the plot in I found it engaging and while I saw some things coming it was still kind of shocking enough in some places where I was like oh where it definitely kept me by surprise so for that this book was entertaining this sort of dangerous Society surrounding these magical books and all of the different people who want them for different reasons and all the different powers that these books can provide learning about how the books can work learning about how the books can work in conjunction with each other and learning about all the different players within this field was inherently interesting where I do feel like this book was a bit weaker in was the characterization which I've already mentioned and kind of the emotional impact I feel like it was trying to have just didn't really land for me because I never felt super connected to the characters I was interested in what was going to happen to them but I didn't have this huge emotional reaction to various friendships or family connections and like stuff like that kind of going alongside of this there's a lot of different players within this book but there is sort of one Central esque villain I guess you could say and I feel like like the villain similarly was supposed to be this like really scary individual and while they definitely did some Terrible Things um and they were on paper really scary they almost felt like a caricature of like the scariest person you could possibly think of in a way and so while I agreed that they were doing disturbing things I just didn't really feel the intensity I feel like that character was supposed to provide within this book you know like they felt just a little flimsy um as like the scary character you know all in all I did like this book it was viby I would still say this is like a good read to pick up for The Fall season particularly if you like books within this genre I do feel like there are stronger books who do something similar to this it wasn't bad it was entertaining I read it quickly I am excited to move on to the next book in my Vlog which is Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher I love tkin Fisher and this little book sounds so weird it's a Sleeping Beauty retelling but we follow Ouran character toling whose job is to basically keep people from entering this Tower where this sleeping Maiden sleeps and I think it's going to have kind of like a fay element to it I already know it's going to be weird and twisty and emotional and like tkin Fisher always packs so much and not a lot of space her characters are also so endearing and I feel like you grow to love them so quickly so while this book is shorter than maybe I would want because I just want endless amounts of pages from tkid Fisher I just have high hopes that it's going to be like a perfect little book that I'm going to enjoy so much so I'm actually going to sit down right now and read like 40 pages or so it's only like 120 pages so it really won't take me too long at all so on to book numero do let's read going steal until this blanket don't tell her she's sleeping in the other room I need to make lunch but this is so good so far I'm loving it I broke the rules the rules being caffeine I got a latte which you know feels like less caffeine than a normal cup of black coffee in the middle of the day but good news is Thorn hedge H this book is amazing this book is everything I could have wanted in more I don't know why it's the wrong perspective to have had but I went in with maybe like lower expectations because I was like this book is so short I know I love TI Fisher's writing but like it's so short what could possibly be accomplished well friends a Charming delightful dark mesmerizing story is what could be accomplished we follow toling who is this sort of like Fay human girl who in a lot of ways is bearing the brunt of her own curse though the curse her curse isn't what is centered in the fairy tale instead it's the sleeping beautiful Maiden in the tower and she has sort of spent many years of her life protecting this Tower and keeping people out because the the maiden is actually a monster and a knight comes in one day and they get to know each other he's kind he's friendly and totally begins to share her life about this curse this sort of situation and te Kingfisher just does it again her ability to create believable emotional connection between characters so quickly is like a talent I can't even begin to understand the weirdness of the Fay are perfectly captured in this it has that fairy tale quality that sort of strange um Fay element where it's not necessarily about good or evil it's more about just the nature of things and how sometimes things just are it's whimsical and weird and like the story influence is there but this is like a holy new thing and it just works so well it's like literally 100 it's 107 pages and I was delighted the whole way through I already finished this I sat down and like basically oneshotted this book it was so good it was like charming and I loved the message but I loved the edge the story had honestly 10 out of 10 and it also delivered the Vibes that I was sort of wanting for this Vlog I liked the book of doors I didn't love it but I loved this and this was Vibes for sure this book was so worth the read so worth the read I just love teen Fisher the energy going in the right direction and from here I'm actually going to start where the dark stands still which I'm also hoping is full of vibe but this does have a magical forest and a main character who makes a deal with a demon so I feel like I mean that just seems like set up for Success I'm so flushed probably because I'm wearing a sweater in the summer in Texas I do not know why I have a blanket on me I am wearing shorts uh and I just have a tank top underneath and I've been taking this on and off all day but that's kind of part of fall delusion I trick Myself by wearing summer clothes in like one full item and see how far I can go the answer is I'm hot anyway I'm going to read spoiler alert I changed because I was so hot of what I was wearing and I just couldn't do it the fall delusion was not strong enough but now I'm going to put together dinner which which is honestly just a repeat of last night but faster because a lot of the work is already done quad taco shell my sweet potatoes are done heating up my chicken from yesterday this should be delicious no hi friends I'm in bed and I'm about to start reading after dinner clay and I actually ended up meeting up with a friend and got some ice cream and just enjoyed a summer night it's not very humid so while it was hot it felt less hot than it has been if you know what I mean um um but where the dark stands still I did read 40 pages or so this afternoon I'm going to sit down and read more I am really really liking what I've read so far like obviously I've barely scratched the surface for the story but sometimes you just get a sense right from the beginning about Vibes writing style clocked in immediately huge fan um setting huge fan uh tropes that are being used huge fan so I'm just hoping this is going to continue to be so good but there's only one way to find out I'm going to read but I love nature demon boy I love this crumbling manner that our main character finds herself in I love this Legacy of magic I love the folklore inspiration like so far everyone so good you know good morning everyone uh let's get coffee so as of last night I read to page 108 of this book I am really enjoying the write of this I would almost describe this of like how Moving Castle but they're in a magical forest Vibes there's a um obviously her main character has made this deal with the demon to try to get rid of her magic she's now living in this manner with him because the deal is that she has to work for him for a year so she's just kind of like this it reminds me of Sophie like she's trying to bring this Manor back to life and the manor is like alive so it has its own personality there's lots of Secrets and obviously including the demon is actually a pretty nice guy I love the magic and the writing style and the setting it's just really Charming so far I like the mystery so I'm going to read more of this this morning but like so far so good um coffee time though Cheers Cheers Cheers my brain's not working so fast cuz I I haven't had the coffee yet as I'm sure you can tell hi friends I wanted to pop in with a reading update of my third book of this Vlog which of course is where the dark stands still I am making excellent progress with this book and this was definitely one of the books I was most excited to read this fall and I'm happy to say it's delivering in terms of a ya fantasy story this is what I want um it's you know not the most complicated thing in the world I can see where the tropes and maybe the story is going but at the same time I don't care because I'm truly entertained it's super cute it's like pulled me in I love the pacing of the story like it feels so familiar it's also been a very visual experience I really like the writing style I like the influences of this book and I'm having such a good time again this is a story that follows our main character Lisa and this is a book that's inspired by folkore and Lisa has magic um but she's been raised her whole life to believe that like magic is evil she lives in a small village it's very religious magic is associated with corruption and power you should not use it but Lisa also has very strong Magic magic that she struggles to control and we have knowledge that something happened in her past that's made her fearful of her magic and just despise it to the point that she will do anything to get rid of it which is where we find her at the beginning of this book running through this dangerous magical forest and making it deal with her other main character who is a demon um and the deal is basically she now has to live in this magical manner with him um and help him and then he'll like Grant her wish he obviously has his own motives as to why he would want her to stay at this house um and obviously over the course of this time one thing I really like about this book is this sort of year-long contract which means that the pacing of the story doesn't feel too rushed because these characters are like living alongside each other for like a decent amount of time for them to really get to know one another so it's not like within a few days they're already are curious or liking each other more and more it takes months for them to feel comfortable around one another to like want to get to know one another to like try to unlock the secrets of this place and I just feel like that works so well there are some unexpected Side characters within this book too spirits that are a part of the house the house itself setting of the house is like magical and domestic and just really Charming there's lots of like everyday things these characters are doing like living cooking training working on Magic reading trying to get to know each other but that is paired alongside like a pretty interesting mystery um one of the Mysteries is liska's Magic why is it hard for her to like find and control um what's going on in this magical forest as it seemingly getting more dangerous as more and more creatures are sort of slipping through the wards also the mystery of this Demon's past what's going on with that and just like the Intriguing push and pull of these two characters getting to know each other beginning to trust each other and then possibly obviously as you would expect become drawn to one another I'm just so impressed with the pace the style the vibe the Trope usage this isn't necessarily like a brand new wow I've never read anything like this before but it's utilizing all of the things I love and I also feel like it's doing it well it feels like how Ming Castle X magical forest it feels like any type of like I would love for this to be a television show I love it as a book i' love it as a television show I'd love it as an anime like it just is like I eat it up every time and just the writing style the influences it works it works it's straightforward maybe but I'm loving it it's Charming me so much so I'm so pleased with this and this is definitely I mean I still have about half of this book left so I'll keep you posted but this is viby and feels like o good atmosphere good stuff good stuff is happening here so good news there I'm watching Big Brother someone tell me if the season's worth it or not I'm on episode 2 and I'm I'm putting away my laundry like a responsible adult hi everyone and welcome to the end of the Vlog the next day I'm happy to report I have finished all three of the books I was wanting to read on my TBR and I definitely feel like all three of these books definitely kickstarted my feeling for fall reads I'm going to start with where the dark stands still because I do want to wrap up my final thoughts and feelings of this book I really enjoyed this I would say this is like a solid fourstar read for me and I actually was really um surprised with the direction of the story how the whole thing wrapped up I felt like it really stayed true to its folklore fairy tale esque style I I felt like it was emotional and intense and I liked the pacing of everything the writing style was very engaging loved the inspiration of this book and I just feel like all in all it just felt very true to what the author was trying to accomplish this R like a more detailed version of a fairy tale that would kind of like get passed on and on and on and on through the years and I just really liked that I loved the character personalities their Dynamics their humor their care um I liked some of the gray morality elements of this book I found that interesting I just really enjoyed this and it was just like such a fun viy cozy but a little bit on edge sort of read and I just was so happy that this delivered as strongly as I wanted it to like super entertained with that obviously I also read Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher this was so good this short little book has no business being as good as it was I was just so entertained by this loved this clever reimagining of a super well-known fairy tale Sleeping Beauty no less I loved the infusion of Fay in this I loved the storytelling element of this I just Lov tein Fisher's ability to create Ambiance and character work it was so good literally 100 pages so good and then I also read of course the book of doors by Gareth Brown a very popular sort of contemporary fantasy thriller esque story had some strengths had some weaknesses of all of the books I read in this Vlog I would say this is my least favorite it was okay like it wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I was hoping plot-wise it was definitely engaging but I do feel like it sort of fell flat in some other elements of the writing but I would also say like if you like books like this utilizing some of these tropes this is worth the pickup especially if you like like fantasy Thriller esque stories um I think it had some interesting Concepts just not necessarily my favorite execution you know right guys that is my cozy reading Vlog featuring three VI and at spheric books hope you guys enjoyed this video and I will see you soon with another one soon goodbyehi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of another reading Vlog this reading Vlog is extra special because friends we're venturing into my fall TBR this is going to be a vlog full of viby lyrical enchanting stories three books that I'm just so excited to read and three books I've personally been saving for this time of year listen I get it it's hot outside for me it's hot outside for you guys probably but this is a channel that fully subscribes to fall delusion and you know what the fun part about being adult and no one being able to tell you what to do is that I've decided personally that I'm just going to pretend it's fall inside of my house meaning I have more time to Vibe with all of my favorite types of books and stories and pastimes so without further Ado let's chat through the three books I hope to read over the course of this video so I have three books that I'm hoping to read the first is the book of doors by Gareth Brown this is supposedly like a very fastpaced like darker contemporary fantasy story about a magical book and how it opens up doors to anywhere um sounds interesting and I'm hoping it's quite the page Turner I also want to read Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher this is a really short Nolla but I've heard such fantastic things about this and obviously tkin Fisher is just one of my favorite authors of all time this is kind of a re-imagining of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty but kind of told one in an unusual fashion just at least based on the synopsis but I think kind of like turns the whole fairy tale on its head um and I also think it has Fay so I just am so excited for this and then lastly I have where the dark stands still this is about a young woman who has magic but she wants to get rid of it so she goes into a magical forest she meets a demon they make a deal things get complicated I mean doesn't this all just sound like a fall cozy time so yes welcome to my Vlog it might be 101° outside but it is 55° and raining in my heart I'm even wearing my Halloween shirt but I'm so exced excited for this video I'm so excited for these books I'm hoping to get a lot of pages in so let's go ahead and get started I have not officially are fully decorated for fall quite yet but I have put up like a few touches here and there and one of those are some mugs but I have finished up work for the day so I am going to make myself a cup of non-caffeinated tea because I'm back on my non-caffeinated way of life I know I oscillate back and forth but I've been very good about no caffeine in the afternoon for the past 2 weeks so let's see mmlt and I have my pumpkin glass tea mug which I'm going to use I think I'm going to see if I can use a loose leaf steeper even though it's not really designed for it oh yeah that's going to totally work oh my gosh look at this I love it okay amazing one two caml tea cuz there's like literally obviously it makes sense cuz caml is a flower but you can like see see the flowers in it makes me feel like a witch Divine and I am going to add some honey to this once it Steeps for a little bit let's go do some reading hello it's dinner time Clay is prepping some shrimp we are making a cherry tomato pasta tonight which is so good and so fast and easy to make I've already made some zoodles to mix them with my angel hair pasta but now I'm just going to chop up the shallot some garlic and my tomatoes shrimp is cooking I already cooked my zoodles which I'll mix back in let's cut the tomatoes and good news I've already read 40 pages of my book this sauce takes 4 minutes to put together and it tastes so good and then you just throw all the other things in with your angel hair pasta clay and I watch some TV but I have since ventured into my uh gaming room slash guest room because I'm obsessed with this game called Beacon Pines it's like a spooky narrative game and the story is so engaging and basically based on different decisions you make in the game you encounter different parts of the story and you can go backward make different choices it's just so much fun and cute and wholesome and I'm just all I have to do is press space bar and yet I'm progressing it's like so great I'm kind of in my narrative game era right now I love a management style game but Valentine nervously wiped his brow I I've been really enjoying narrative games so I'm going to play this for a little while and then I'll go read hello everyone I am in bed and I'm about to do some more reading I opted to start with as I think I mentioned the book of doors by Gareth Brown I was just really enticed by this synopsis and I kind of feel like it's going to have a thriller mystery component about it um and I like the idea of like like a magical book and our main character who sort of suddenly came into possession of this magical book and now is being pursued by people who also want this magical book so far I've read 40 pages I don't have like enough to do like a fullon reading update yet but I will do one in the morning but I I think so far it's like I'm entertained but time will tell if this story will stand apart cuz it it feels like something I've read before in like different shades or different stories which is fine cuz it's using like Concepts and tropes that you know many people have written on but like will it feel distinct by the end like will it Shine beyond the others or like stand apart we shall see but I'm going to get some reading in now cuz I haven't read I haven't read much only like 40 pages so good night cheers good morning friends I am just sitting here I'm about to sit down and actually do a bit more reading and then I owe y'all a reading update I'm looking forward to settling down to read but if you live in America you would know big new cycle recently um but today especially because the ticket is finally confirmed with that in mind I do want to leave down below a link to check your own voter registration status if you live in America because obviously we do have a big election coming up but as a reminder It's always important to vote all of the time especially in local elections but in terms of voter registration it's really important to register if you haven't if you've moved if your address has changed just in general to get a sense of these specific voter laws where you live because every state is different and there's also been a massive influx in anti- uh voter legislation making some places even more difficult to vote like where I live in Texas so it's always better to get organized check your registration and register if you haven't as early as possible and then you're registered and you're ready to go not just for this election but for other elections too which is super important so I'm going to have a link down to vote.org down below really voting particular is my favorite because the lines tend to be a lot less but again if you haven't registered I'm going to leave that link down below so be sure to check that out but I'm going to get back to drinking my coffee and reading my book hi hi let's do a reading update of the book of doors I've read about 120 pages of this book so far and I'm liking it I wouldn't say I'm in the love category quite yet but I am intrigued and interested in what's going on and I'm finding the book to be rather quick to read which is nice but what is this book about what is it about contemporary romance story we're introduced to her main character Cassie and at the beginning of this book her life is basically turned upside down she lives a normal life she works at a bookstore she lives in New York City and then one day one of her favorite customers actually passes away in her store leaving her this very strange and mysterious book called The Book of doors lo and behold it's a magical book because it turns any door into any door anywhere kind of like teleportation Vibes this though puts Cassie on the radar of some very dangerous people cuz other magical books in this world exist from like the Book of Shadows to the book of luck and there are people who collect these books to try to get and accumulate as much power as possible some of them are just trying to survive and they have a couple of books to sort of um prevent themselves from being detected but they're basically like all around the world constantly hunting sniffing out these books people who are rich and Powerful or want money it's a complicated and dangerous scenario and Cassie finds herself now at the heart of this situation because the book of doors was thought to maybe not even be real but here she is lighting up the radar for all of these book Hunters who want this book this also puts her in the path of this Scottish guy named Drummond Fox and he himself has three books and they begin to like gallivant together to like try to survive the story has Vibes I will say The Vibes could be stronger but there are Vibes there there I feel like the setting and the concept of these magical books and how we're sort of moving through the world in this strange fashion has definitely caught my attention this book also isn't a singular point of view I thought we'd really only be consuming the story from Cassie's point of view but we do have perspectives from Drummond as well as like other people around the world who have books or are or are connected to wanting books or like to this world which I actually like I feel like that was a strong choice to give us more context and more information information about like this weird book Society situation I almost wish it was like a little bit weirder the writing style is nice and it's pulled me in and it does have this sort of strange Ambiance to it but I almost wish it could be like a little bit more like given style of the book I think I mentioned last night that I've definitely read other books sort of like this like not exactly but would belong the same category um and it's actually like one of my favorite like weird mashup combination of things so I'm hoping this has like a little more oomph to it by the end but so far I am liking it and I think as long as a story is like keeping me on the edge of my seat and interesting I think it will be a strong score in the end characterization so far I think is probably the weakest part but I also feel like these are the types of books that sort of keep their characters at a distance for the sake of Vibes and story which is fine as long as the vibe and story deliver strongly in the end you know so so far so so good um but I still have like a lot of this book left to read which I'm going to do today I really want to get through it cuz I want to read Thorn hedge too and then obviously read my other book on my TBR Vibes only in this Vlog So Good Start could be a stronger start but there's still much left to discover you know fall candle Ambiance yeah cup of tea and a pumpkin mug I mean I'm a stereotype of myself you know so I'm going to go read more the book of doors with some of my Earl Gray lightly caffeinated beverage I've been so good I'm so proud of myself like a whole new woman still drinking a lot of caffeine but less but follow me into the front room and we shall read together Millie is also ready to Vibe but I'm going to sit here with the book of doors hello hello hello I have read a good amount maybe 60% of this book I'm on page 200 of like 370 so we're a little past halfway and it reads quickly the plot on this book I would say is definitely picking up steam and it's definitely caught my attention given that this is such a plot forward book with a high level of intensity I'll be as big as possible so I don't want to talk too much um I will say I think the characterization continues to be probably the weakest point of this book in terms of caring about the characters especially some of the main characters we sort of have consistently through the plot with that in mind though I feel like because the plot has sort of gone up a few levels in terms of its intensity and how things are moving and also the stakes of things this book is much darker and much more violent than I was anticipating so you're not quite sure like what's going to happen because there are truly Stakes um it's made it a a quicker read I have some guesses in terms of where this book is going but I also feel like there's so many threads happening in this book like even if I guess some I surely will not guess all cuz I've already been surprised a few times in a good way so I feel like this book is growing on me it's still I wouldn't say with all of his components like my favorite book I've read but am I entertained it's just a dark kind of fantasy Thriller situation that I was hoping yes so we'll see if it continues to be good we'll see if it sticks The Landing but I'm now going to get changed in pajamas and start dinner so let's cut to that for dinner hold on let me put my apron on we're making tacos I've been marinating chicken thighs which I'm going to make clay Grill cuz it's too hot for me to go outside um and then it's going to be good so for now though oh oh something just fell in the fridge what at that oh take some of this out so I've been marinating chicken and like a chalula honey kind of marinade situation I am going to put some sweet potatoes in the oven which chili powder any canay we have our grilled chicken I made some black beans onions guac toppings I also roasted some sweet potatoes this tortilla needs flipped and it's time to enjoy I played so much of vegan Pines tonight I think I've almost beaten it I love that game so much but I'm now in bed and we're going to read more of the book of doors we're going to see how far we get my hope is to be able to finish this book this tomorrow morning which I think it'd be possible but I got to get I got to get focused I just um got to part two I want to say part three look at me go hello it's me I I finished the book of doors and honestly I think I stand by my sentiments of this book that it was good not great just okay I think there is some strengths in this I think there was some weaknesses in it I will say the plot definitely interested me enough or I was like hm what's going to happen what's going to happen and I kept flipping the pages I appreciated the sort of circular windy nature that the author took the plot in I found it engaging and while I saw some things coming it was still kind of shocking enough in some places where I was like oh where it definitely kept me by surprise so for that this book was entertaining this sort of dangerous Society surrounding these magical books and all of the different people who want them for different reasons and all the different powers that these books can provide learning about how the books can work learning about how the books can work in conjunction with each other and learning about all the different players within this field was inherently interesting where I do feel like this book was a bit weaker in was the characterization which I've already mentioned and kind of the emotional impact I feel like it was trying to have just didn't really land for me because I never felt super connected to the characters I was interested in what was going to happen to them but I didn't have this huge emotional reaction to various friendships or family connections and like stuff like that kind of going alongside of this there's a lot of different players within this book but there is sort of one Central esque villain I guess you could say and I feel like like the villain similarly was supposed to be this like really scary individual and while they definitely did some Terrible Things um and they were on paper really scary they almost felt like a caricature of like the scariest person you could possibly think of in a way and so while I agreed that they were doing disturbing things I just didn't really feel the intensity I feel like that character was supposed to provide within this book you know like they felt just a little flimsy um as like the scary character you know all in all I did like this book it was viby I would still say this is like a good read to pick up for The Fall season particularly if you like books within this genre I do feel like there are stronger books who do something similar to this it wasn't bad it was entertaining I read it quickly I am excited to move on to the next book in my Vlog which is Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher I love tkin Fisher and this little book sounds so weird it's a Sleeping Beauty retelling but we follow Ouran character toling whose job is to basically keep people from entering this Tower where this sleeping Maiden sleeps and I think it's going to have kind of like a fay element to it I already know it's going to be weird and twisty and emotional and like tkin Fisher always packs so much and not a lot of space her characters are also so endearing and I feel like you grow to love them so quickly so while this book is shorter than maybe I would want because I just want endless amounts of pages from tkid Fisher I just have high hopes that it's going to be like a perfect little book that I'm going to enjoy so much so I'm actually going to sit down right now and read like 40 pages or so it's only like 120 pages so it really won't take me too long at all so on to book numero do let's read going steal until this blanket don't tell her she's sleeping in the other room I need to make lunch but this is so good so far I'm loving it I broke the rules the rules being caffeine I got a latte which you know feels like less caffeine than a normal cup of black coffee in the middle of the day but good news is Thorn hedge H this book is amazing this book is everything I could have wanted in more I don't know why it's the wrong perspective to have had but I went in with maybe like lower expectations because I was like this book is so short I know I love TI Fisher's writing but like it's so short what could possibly be accomplished well friends a Charming delightful dark mesmerizing story is what could be accomplished we follow toling who is this sort of like Fay human girl who in a lot of ways is bearing the brunt of her own curse though the curse her curse isn't what is centered in the fairy tale instead it's the sleeping beautiful Maiden in the tower and she has sort of spent many years of her life protecting this Tower and keeping people out because the the maiden is actually a monster and a knight comes in one day and they get to know each other he's kind he's friendly and totally begins to share her life about this curse this sort of situation and te Kingfisher just does it again her ability to create believable emotional connection between characters so quickly is like a talent I can't even begin to understand the weirdness of the Fay are perfectly captured in this it has that fairy tale quality that sort of strange um Fay element where it's not necessarily about good or evil it's more about just the nature of things and how sometimes things just are it's whimsical and weird and like the story influence is there but this is like a holy new thing and it just works so well it's like literally 100 it's 107 pages and I was delighted the whole way through I already finished this I sat down and like basically oneshotted this book it was so good it was like charming and I loved the message but I loved the edge the story had honestly 10 out of 10 and it also delivered the Vibes that I was sort of wanting for this Vlog I liked the book of doors I didn't love it but I loved this and this was Vibes for sure this book was so worth the read so worth the read I just love teen Fisher the energy going in the right direction and from here I'm actually going to start where the dark stands still which I'm also hoping is full of vibe but this does have a magical forest and a main character who makes a deal with a demon so I feel like I mean that just seems like set up for Success I'm so flushed probably because I'm wearing a sweater in the summer in Texas I do not know why I have a blanket on me I am wearing shorts uh and I just have a tank top underneath and I've been taking this on and off all day but that's kind of part of fall delusion I trick Myself by wearing summer clothes in like one full item and see how far I can go the answer is I'm hot anyway I'm going to read spoiler alert I changed because I was so hot of what I was wearing and I just couldn't do it the fall delusion was not strong enough but now I'm going to put together dinner which which is honestly just a repeat of last night but faster because a lot of the work is already done quad taco shell my sweet potatoes are done heating up my chicken from yesterday this should be delicious no hi friends I'm in bed and I'm about to start reading after dinner clay and I actually ended up meeting up with a friend and got some ice cream and just enjoyed a summer night it's not very humid so while it was hot it felt less hot than it has been if you know what I mean um um but where the dark stands still I did read 40 pages or so this afternoon I'm going to sit down and read more I am really really liking what I've read so far like obviously I've barely scratched the surface for the story but sometimes you just get a sense right from the beginning about Vibes writing style clocked in immediately huge fan um setting huge fan uh tropes that are being used huge fan so I'm just hoping this is going to continue to be so good but there's only one way to find out I'm going to read but I love nature demon boy I love this crumbling manner that our main character finds herself in I love this Legacy of magic I love the folklore inspiration like so far everyone so good you know good morning everyone uh let's get coffee so as of last night I read to page 108 of this book I am really enjoying the write of this I would almost describe this of like how Moving Castle but they're in a magical forest Vibes there's a um obviously her main character has made this deal with the demon to try to get rid of her magic she's now living in this manner with him because the deal is that she has to work for him for a year so she's just kind of like this it reminds me of Sophie like she's trying to bring this Manor back to life and the manor is like alive so it has its own personality there's lots of Secrets and obviously including the demon is actually a pretty nice guy I love the magic and the writing style and the setting it's just really Charming so far I like the mystery so I'm going to read more of this this morning but like so far so good um coffee time though Cheers Cheers Cheers my brain's not working so fast cuz I I haven't had the coffee yet as I'm sure you can tell hi friends I wanted to pop in with a reading update of my third book of this Vlog which of course is where the dark stands still I am making excellent progress with this book and this was definitely one of the books I was most excited to read this fall and I'm happy to say it's delivering in terms of a ya fantasy story this is what I want um it's you know not the most complicated thing in the world I can see where the tropes and maybe the story is going but at the same time I don't care because I'm truly entertained it's super cute it's like pulled me in I love the pacing of the story like it feels so familiar it's also been a very visual experience I really like the writing style I like the influences of this book and I'm having such a good time again this is a story that follows our main character Lisa and this is a book that's inspired by folkore and Lisa has magic um but she's been raised her whole life to believe that like magic is evil she lives in a small village it's very religious magic is associated with corruption and power you should not use it but Lisa also has very strong Magic magic that she struggles to control and we have knowledge that something happened in her past that's made her fearful of her magic and just despise it to the point that she will do anything to get rid of it which is where we find her at the beginning of this book running through this dangerous magical forest and making it deal with her other main character who is a demon um and the deal is basically she now has to live in this magical manner with him um and help him and then he'll like Grant her wish he obviously has his own motives as to why he would want her to stay at this house um and obviously over the course of this time one thing I really like about this book is this sort of year-long contract which means that the pacing of the story doesn't feel too rushed because these characters are like living alongside each other for like a decent amount of time for them to really get to know one another so it's not like within a few days they're already are curious or liking each other more and more it takes months for them to feel comfortable around one another to like want to get to know one another to like try to unlock the secrets of this place and I just feel like that works so well there are some unexpected Side characters within this book too spirits that are a part of the house the house itself setting of the house is like magical and domestic and just really Charming there's lots of like everyday things these characters are doing like living cooking training working on Magic reading trying to get to know each other but that is paired alongside like a pretty interesting mystery um one of the Mysteries is liska's Magic why is it hard for her to like find and control um what's going on in this magical forest as it seemingly getting more dangerous as more and more creatures are sort of slipping through the wards also the mystery of this Demon's past what's going on with that and just like the Intriguing push and pull of these two characters getting to know each other beginning to trust each other and then possibly obviously as you would expect become drawn to one another I'm just so impressed with the pace the style the vibe the Trope usage this isn't necessarily like a brand new wow I've never read anything like this before but it's utilizing all of the things I love and I also feel like it's doing it well it feels like how Ming Castle X magical forest it feels like any type of like I would love for this to be a television show I love it as a book i' love it as a television show I'd love it as an anime like it just is like I eat it up every time and just the writing style the influences it works it works it's straightforward maybe but I'm loving it it's Charming me so much so I'm so pleased with this and this is definitely I mean I still have about half of this book left so I'll keep you posted but this is viby and feels like o good atmosphere good stuff good stuff is happening here so good news there I'm watching Big Brother someone tell me if the season's worth it or not I'm on episode 2 and I'm I'm putting away my laundry like a responsible adult hi everyone and welcome to the end of the Vlog the next day I'm happy to report I have finished all three of the books I was wanting to read on my TBR and I definitely feel like all three of these books definitely kickstarted my feeling for fall reads I'm going to start with where the dark stands still because I do want to wrap up my final thoughts and feelings of this book I really enjoyed this I would say this is like a solid fourstar read for me and I actually was really um surprised with the direction of the story how the whole thing wrapped up I felt like it really stayed true to its folklore fairy tale esque style I I felt like it was emotional and intense and I liked the pacing of everything the writing style was very engaging loved the inspiration of this book and I just feel like all in all it just felt very true to what the author was trying to accomplish this R like a more detailed version of a fairy tale that would kind of like get passed on and on and on and on through the years and I just really liked that I loved the character personalities their Dynamics their humor their care um I liked some of the gray morality elements of this book I found that interesting I just really enjoyed this and it was just like such a fun viy cozy but a little bit on edge sort of read and I just was so happy that this delivered as strongly as I wanted it to like super entertained with that obviously I also read Thorn hedge by tkin Fisher this was so good this short little book has no business being as good as it was I was just so entertained by this loved this clever reimagining of a super well-known fairy tale Sleeping Beauty no less I loved the infusion of Fay in this I loved the storytelling element of this I just Lov tein Fisher's ability to create Ambiance and character work it was so good literally 100 pages so good and then I also read of course the book of doors by Gareth Brown a very popular sort of contemporary fantasy thriller esque story had some strengths had some weaknesses of all of the books I read in this Vlog I would say this is my least favorite it was okay like it wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I was hoping plot-wise it was definitely engaging but I do feel like it sort of fell flat in some other elements of the writing but I would also say like if you like books like this utilizing some of these tropes this is worth the pickup especially if you like like fantasy Thriller esque stories um I think it had some interesting Concepts just not necessarily my favorite execution you know right guys that is my cozy reading Vlog featuring three VI and at spheric books hope you guys enjoyed this video and I will see you soon with another one soon goodbye\n"