After a few months of crawling through the Stormlight Archive, I breezed through four books over fall break, read two 150,000+ word Legend of Zelda fanfics, and finished an ARC. I have a lot of books to review, so I thought I would do them altogether as one post and with shorter thoughts. Luckily for me, most of those books were really really good.

I’ve been attributing my recent reading productivity to a new strategy I’ve been trying to set the tone of my thought patterns for the day. Maybe I’ll write a full article on it and everything I’ve noticed later, but I thought I’d mention it here. I’ve been doing something called a “brain stack” (not my invention but I forgot the name of the creator who coined it). I don’t get to it every morning, but I try to make the first thing I do every day a one-page journaling brain dump, followed by my daily Bible reading and prayer journaling, then I write down three things I’m grateful for, and finally I plan out my day and tasks. The brain dump especially has been returning my thoughts to their normal creative patterns from my pre-social media era. I feel like getting Instagram a few years ago made me dumber and took up a lot of my reading and writing time, and kind of removed my desire to write in general. Starting the day with deep thought and physically writing everything out has helped me to get those creative brain patterns flowing (it also helped that I signed out of my personal Instagram account on my phone and haven’t been scrolling at all). I’ve been reading during all the times I had been scrolling, and I find myself with the desire to write about all kinds of things (right now, it’s my own Legend of Zelda fanfiction – shush don’t tell anyone I’m a nerd).

The consequence of more reading is more reviews to write, but the same amount of time in the day to write them. So, without further ado, a Book Review Blast!

Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4)

I wasn’t going to review the Stormlight books individually, but I’ve heard people say that this book was the worst one in the series and I wanted to talk about it. I disagree with that sentiment. Rhythm of War was definitely different from the rest of the series, but I personally don’t think it was a bad thing. It might be a bad thing for his audience, but I enjoyed the break in macro-level fight fight fight scenes and the focus on new things the characters had to learn. Kaladin, Navani, and Shallan were the character arcs that most excited me in this book. At first, Kaladin’s arc annoyed me. He’s been depressed for so long and has overcome his feelings so much that I always think he’s done. He never is. However, the truth that he learned in this book was much different from the truths he’d learned previously and I do think he really needed to grasp it. As for Navani, she is one of my new favorite characters. She finally got the spotlight she deserved here and achieved so much. I don’t want to say much about Shallan but I’m kind of tired of the stuff she’s going through too and I just want her to resolve it… Anyways, I loved the lower-scale focus of this book (it mostly takes place in Urithiru rather than on the front lines of major battles). Obviously every Brando Sando book is a cut above the rest, so even his “worst book” is better than everything else. The Sanderlanche here was a little less intense than other books, but like I said before – it was different, but not bad.

Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis addresses the root of Christian belief, “mere” Christianity, in this excellent collection of radio talks from the 1940s. He explains the morality-based argument for God’s existence, outlines the basis for believing in the particular Christian God, presents the tenets of Christian morality, and finally gives a theological summary of some of the biggest ideas. As a Christian myself, reading Mere Christianity reminded me of why I do what I do and why it’s important to understand myself in relation to God, but non-Christians would also get a lot of value out of this book if only to understand our beliefs better. Some themes that stuck out to me:

• God doesn’t want to fix one or two of our sin issues – He wants to change all of us from the inside out.
• The fall happened because we have free will – people often say that if God is so good, how could there be evil in the world? Lewis very clearly answers this question. “A world of automata… would not be worth creating.”
• Our actions are not merely about the outcome, but about how they change us from the inside. Each choice we make changes “the part of you that chooses.”
• Christianity is not about being perfect and never doing anything wrong, but picking yourself up every time and repenting before God.
• Salvation is not based on how “good” someone seems. We can’t judge people for how saved they seem when we do not know their heart as God does. For example, someone who struggles with selfishness might have been worse if they had not been saved, while someone who seems very selfless is far from God.

From the beautiful truths Lewis describes to the obvious love he has for language even while sticking to plain English, the book was an enjoyable experience start to end.

Small Favors

My reread of Small Favors proved to be just as deliciously haunting as the first. Erin A. Craig is one of my favorite authors, and this book was the one that originally hooked me to her work. This book has a lot of the same vibes as the movie The Village. It’s full of suspense, small town mystery, and natural horror.

The story follows Ellerie Downing, a girl on the brink of adulthood, as she navigates life with her family in the isolated town of Amity Falls. When small tragedies strike the town and strangers visit, tension builds. Something is very wrong in their neck of the woods. The mysterious happenings grow into terrible misfortunes, and Ellerie is forced to care for her younger siblings and support them through the hardest winter the town has ever faced. There are strange creatures about… will they make it to spring?

The spooky twists and turns are just as satisfying the second time around, and I love Ellerie even more as a character. Apparently the book is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, which is fun but I had no idea. Craig is amazing at building complete, fantastical worlds that feel so real and host gorgeous, lush stories. I really felt like I was at the center of the turmoil in this town and couldn’t reach the end fast enough – which is great because it is very fast paced. Maybe it only feels that way because I’ve been reading too much Brandon Sanderson, but Small Favors was a nice break from that world with just as much payoff. I would comp it to House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland for the nature atmosphere and body horror, and Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall for the “small town with secrets” trope.

Japanese Gothic

In the year 2026, Lee Turner killed his roommate. He fled to live with his father in Japan and wait out the wrath of the law. In the year 1877, Sen, her family, and her samurai father wait for the government to destroy their family and eliminate the samurai once and for all. In a secluded house surrounded by ferns, the two find their timelines connected. In a spooky twist of Japanese folklore and the gothic tradition, Sen and Lee must navigate truth, trauma, and the bloody results of both their stories.

Japanese Gothic was a super scary, frustratingly and satisfyingly confusing, and quite gory horror novel. Literarily and plot-wise, it was a solid book, but I’m going to have to give it three stars. I was extremely confused throughout the entire book and even after the ending. I had to go back and read parts to figure out what was going on. For some people, this is exciting and gets you thinking. For me, it just frustrated me. Maybe that says something about my critical thinking skills, but I digress. I also struggled with all of the blood and gore. There’s a lot of death, remembering death in detail , contemplating death, etc. And all of these deaths are very graphic. If you struggle with blood and violence, I would stay away from this one. I was also confused what the theme was supposed to be. That partially comes from my confusion with the book, but mostly I don’t think the characters learned much or grew from the situation? Sen definitely had a good character arc, but Lee kind of just broke through a mental block and had a realization, but he didn’t change. I just wasn’t sure what I as the reader was supposed to take away from the book, but I would love to learn! If you have a better idea, let me know 😉

The Lost and The Forgotten

Sir Deslin is a Knight of the All Seer, a member of the order of Knights that protects the Western Kingdoms and guards with honor. He is famous across the lands for his skill in combat and almost otherworldly strength. When he is sent on a contract to bring in the mysterious White Knight, he finally faces an enemy that challenges him… but something is wrong. This enemy makes him feels more himself, more whole, than ever before, and he starts to feel uneasy about the motivations of his leaders. Who is this Knight, and a better question: who is Deslin?

Briel is a Siendah, a powerful being with Mastery over ice and snow. For eight years, she’s been hiding in the human world from the dangerous forces pursuing her. So far, she’s avoiding trouble. Until trouble arrives at her door in the form of the dangerous Sir Deslin, who has no idea of his true destiny. Together, they must embark on a journey of to discover themselves, find redemption, and learn to trust one another.

The Lost and The Forgotten was a Narnia-like exploration of what it means to suddenly realize where your true identity lies, and that the world you once called home is not where you belong. The story is filled with biblical truth and references to the redemption and wholeness only found in the Lord. I particularly loved the redemption arc of one of the side characters, Malki, who represents the journey of someone who thought they were too far gone for God’s salvation only to find that He chases down every one of His missing sheep.

The romance was very sweet, and I loved the built-in tension of the characters not fully understanding if their feelings are real or a byproduct of being around another of their species for the first time. The romance starts out quick but makes sense with the plot.

I rated this one three out of five stars for having a strong theme and an imaginative, creative fantasy world, but my main issue with it was that it could have used a lot more editing. I read this book as an ARC, so some of those mistakes might change, but it could definitely use another passthrough to at least catch spelling and punctuation typos. As an editor-in-training, I approach a lot of the books I read with a more critical eye than the average reader, but a lot of the mistakes here felt blatant and disruptive to the reading experience. With some proofreading and maybe a bit of developmental editing to fix some pacing issues, this could be a wonderful book!

If you enjoy fast paced fantasies with elemental magic, Christian themes, and found family, you will love The Lost and the Forgotten. Be sure to follow the author on Instagram for more information, and be on the lookout for the trilogy she hopes to write set in this same world! I definitely will 😉

Release Date: January 21, 2027

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free eARC. This voluntary review is my unbiased opinion.

Displaced/How To Build a Bridge in Eight Thousand Easy Steps

Listen, I know this was a fanfic. But I get to count it toward my reading because it was the length of a large fantasy novel and written with more style and correctness. And I want to review it/rant about how much I love the idea of fanfiction.

I was never a fanfiction reader when I was young. I just didn’t really have access to it and I had plenty of “real” books to read. But after getting into playing Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom recently and finding myself super invested in the lore, I needed more. I needed more of Link and Zelda, in particular. I needed more of Link and Zelda: together in love romantically. Fanfiction is the best place to find that.

In my journey to find a good Zelink fanfiction, I’ve read a couple insanely good works of literature. The writing style rivals that of published books I’ve read. They can be about as long as a whole trilogy of novels. The character development, creativity, and alignment to the world and the existing characters impress me every time. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve stumbled upon a lot of terrible fics that I read a few paragraphs of and then close the tab, but I’ve found about three that I still think about. I will be chasing the high of those discoveries forever.

This fic, Displaced, and it’s sequel, are one of those three. It’s exactly what I wanted – an exploration of what must have happened after BOTW and how Zelda/Link/everyone else would have navigated it. It is lovely, cozy, sweet, and realistic. It has real conflict, real stakes, and a well-organized plot. It did have a lot of spice once you got further in (unfortunately I find that most Zelink fics do) but I found it easy to skip. I’m not sure my main audience is into Legend of Zelda or fanfiction, but I just wanted to come on here and mention it.

I just think fanfiction as a concept is so wonderful. I don’t think we should necessarily be publishing it – it’s based in the world of someone else’s IP, after all, even if you change the names around – but I do think it’s a valuable way to get into writing. I will admit that I myself am writing a Legend of Zelda fanfiction. Not one that will ever see the light of day, no, this one is just for me. It’s so much easier to think about getting back into writing fantasy after being away so long if I can use someone else’s world and characters instead of starting the daunting task of building my own. It’s good practice. It’s also good community. I want to read more about these characters that I love, this world that I love, and the lore behind the Triforce and the cycle of Demise. To find that someone else has written exactly that brings me so much joy.

In a way, it was disappointing to me to find that this fic had less typos and mistakes in it than some actual books I’ve read recently. There’s so much talent there, and to think that the person who wrote this fanfic might never consider it more than just a hobby! Yet something I read recently in Substack notes made me rethink this. I don’t remember the creator, but they mentioned how their cousin or brother or something is really good at storytelling, so she suggested they write a book and get published. Later, he told her he had come up with an elaborate homebrew Dungeons and Dragons campaign for him and his friends to play together.

The creator realized that our brains are too quick to jump to “how can this talent be used to make money?” or “how can this talent be shared with the world?” In truth, one of the greatest ways to use a talent is to serve your neighbors. It is not a “waste” if a great writer spends their days telling their children bedtime stories, nor is it a “waste” if a great writer uses their amazing skills to craft the fanfiction that even one person out there is desperately searching for.

Outro

In conclusion, this week of productive reading has made me feel very accomplished and excited to share these books with everyone I talk to. I hope this format wasn’t too frustrating and I didn’t ramble on too much…