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Dark Shelf of Wonders

Books, Music, and Games That Revel in the Fantastical

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The Desert Island Book Tag Is Perfect For Wyrd & Wonder!

The Desert Island Book Tag Is Perfect For Wyrd & Wonder!

Posted by By Veronica May 15, 2025
Hey bookworm friends! I found a perfect tag for the theme of this year's Wyrd & Wonder: The Desert Island Book Tag 🏝️! I found this tag on The Corner…
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Wyrd & Wonder: Exciting Fantasy Releases On The Horizon

Wyrd & Wonder: Exciting Fantasy Releases On The Horizon

Posted by By Veronica May 14, 2025
Hey bookworm friends! For my first Wyrd & Wonder post this May, I want to keep my eyes on the horizon, where various anticipated releases might eventually appear! So get…
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dark.shelf.of.wonders

🖤Fantasy is my go-to genre
-Doing my best to read diversely🌻
🗡️Swordheart by T. Kingfisher🖤 Swordheart 🗡️Swordheart by T. Kingfisher🖤 Swordheart is laugh-out loud funny and as sweet as a forehead kiss. Unfortunately for Halla, she’s come into an unexpected and considerable inheritance. And now she’s stuck between distant relations trying to get their grubby hands on her money. Fortunately, she also inherited Sarkis, an immortal swordsman trapped within an enchanted sword. Sarkis is bound to protect his wielder from any danger, convenient yet annoying. I’ve really enjoyed the few T. Kingfisher books I’ve read, so when I saw Swordheart was being republished, I jumped on the ARC! And I’m so glad that I did because I had such a blast reading it and it’s currently ranking second in my mental Kingfisher list. Just under, Nettle & Bone, that’s quite a compliment! The ridiculous banter, and sunshine/grumpy chemistry made the reading experience so pleasurable for me. If my genuine cackles and foot-kicking giggles are any indication, it’s probably the funniest book I’ve read in a while. I especially enjoyed the scenes which attempted to scientifically explore the limitations of a human body being stuck inside a scabbard for centuries! While it fits snugly into the ‘cozy’ space, there’s also enough adventure and tension (both romantic and plot-wise) to keep me engaged and rooting for the characters all the way through. The romance felt refreshingly unrushed and earned.That being said I have one small issue with Sarkis’ characterisation. I understand that he’s from an era long gone and, as a result, he has outdated notions. Nevertheless, his constant obsession with what Halla was wearing or not wearing was annoying. It gets challenged within the story, but it still dampened my ability to fall head over heels with the romance so it’s worth noting. Overall, I loved it & recommend it to anyone who likes cozy fantasy romance. Thanks to #Netgalley & Bramble for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
I love the Wyrd & Wonder blogging event because it I love the Wyrd & Wonder blogging event because it celebrates the fantastic! This year's Wyrd & Wonder is all about the deep blue seas! 🌊⚓ I'll try to participate as much as I'm able and I decided I'm not going to care about doing the prompts on the correct days—that's too much pressure. The prompt I'm focusing on today is Cover Art: The Sea, The Sea. Pretty self-explanatory, I'll share book covers that have the ocean on them in some way. I dove deep into my TBR to find these pearls for you 🦪! The books: 🐋The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh 🧜🏽‍♀️Our Bloody Pearl by D. N. Bryn 🔱Secret of the Broken King by Eliza Raine 🐙To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo ☠️On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen 🏝️The Fourth Island by Sarah Tolmie 💧All The Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay 🧊The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate, Translated by David Bowles 🪸The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones ❓Have you read any of these and are there any I should prioritize or remove from my TBR? #wyrdandwonder25 #BookCovers Wyrd & Wonder graphic by Yuri Arcurs Photography.
Cello's Gate by @mauriceafrich 🖤 This indie ge Cello's Gate by @mauriceafrich 🖤 This indie gem is the first book I finished in April and I had an absolute blast reading it! Captain Grey Shimada and his crew have developed a reputation for doing the impossible. They’ve never met a lock they can’t pick, a safe they can’t break, or a hidden treasure they can’t find. Until now. Dalia, the immortal daughter of the infamous ArchGovernor, has approached them with an incredible offer. All they have to do is find and steal the Stones of Indigo—seven fabled rocks invested with godlike power. If they succeed, the payout will allow them to retire in luxury. There’s only one issue: the stones are a myth, every pirate knows they’re just a bedtime story. Dalia insists they’re real but Grey never trusts immortals and it’s clear Dalia is hiding something. Can Grey’s crew figure out what that is before the increasingly dangerous treasure hunt claims their lives? At over 500 pages, I enjoyed every second of this sky-pirate adventure! It certainly helps that I really love Firefly and can clearly see the inspiration, especially in Mal…I mean Grey 😉. Smuggler captain with a heart of gold who is protective of his crew and knows when to quip? Check! Readers who love heists or trials will eat up Cello’s Gate! The action scenes felt cinematic and the tension the author created was so palpable that I was invested the whole time. The sheer amount of terrifying obstacles the team encounters was enough to keep my eyes on the page. But by the time their lives are in danger it's too late for my poor heart; I had already fallen in love with them all! 😭😱. It thumped through so many hand-wringing moments and I even felt emotion welling up due to the high stakes. I love the fact that the gorgeous Felix Ortiz cover matches with the colours of this picture I took on vacation. Which is also fitting because it's 100% the type of book I love to read on vacation: compulsively readable! I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to dive into a new sci-fantasy adventure with a crew you'll want to be frens with...or is that just me? 😉
✨My Top 5 Reads of the First Quarter✨ I felt ✨My Top 5 Reads of the First Quarter✨ I felt the need to round up my favourite books out of the 24 I read in Q1. Clockwork Prince was a re-read but I adored revisiting this world! Both Penric and the Bandit, and A Sinister Revenge are continuations to series I already love so very easy choices. I was pleasantly surprised by the way Upon A Starlit Tide swept me entirely off my feet 💕. Lastly, I never expected this little wordless graphic novel to make it to my top books but I still think about The Arrival and how charming and powerful it is! I can only hope the next three months will drop equally delightful gems in my lap 🖤 ❓What are some of your top reads so far this year? Any books you want to shout on the rooftops about ?
🌟Partner Picks Top 5🌟 I saw @alexlcriddle p 🌟Partner Picks Top 5🌟 I saw @alexlcriddle post her version of #partnerpickstop5 challenge and I thought it looked way too fun to pass up! When I asked my husband to pick what he thinks are my top 5 books, he took it very seriously and put his thinking face on! Then he asked me if he was allowed to look around the apartment for inspiration and I said yes. Why not! 😜 And I was pleasantly surprised by his answers given that most of these books are not even currently on my shelves! 😂 •Lord of the Rings (he said the whole series but if he *had* to pick, Fellowship) •Mistborn (again, the whole series) •Circe (I was astonished he even remembered I read this, I feel seen) •The Name of the Wind (he called me a 'Rothfuss defender' and I've been having an existential crisis ever since 🫠) •City of Bones (For some reason here, he specified it was the first book🤷🏽‍♀️) And I'm incredibly pleased with these answers because they accurately reflect my reading tastes at various points of my life. If I had to make this list myself—don't ask me to for I simply shan't—there's a high chance I'd name every one of these 🙌🏽🙌🏽 We haven't been best friends for 11 years for nothin'! If you want to do this challenge, consider yourself tagged and I'd love to see what books you get as your top 5 🖤! ❔Do we have any favs in common?
CLOSED. Hi friends! As the situation in G-z@ bec CLOSED. Hi friends! As the situation in G-z@ becomes even more unbearable, the donation campaign for Sondos and her family needs more love & attention! While we're forever thankful to the people who have donated—we're at $605 raised—it has not been easy. With that in mind, I'm going to be hosting a Giveaway! Read below for details. Giveaway open Now until Saturday April 12 (2025), end of day. The winner will receive any book from their Amazon Wishlist worth up to $25 dollars. Open Internationally. If you win you'll have to be comfortable giving me your address and your wishlist. How to Enter: 1. Donate to the campaign (minimum $5 but as much as you can give), link in my bio. & Send me a screenshot to gain one entry into the giveaway. 2. Share to your stories & tag me to win a bonus entry. 3. I'll randomly draw and announce the winner on April 13th! Disclosures: -Not affiliated with IG or any Meta companies. -I know using the 'zon is less than ideal, but since the purpose of this giveaway is to gain more attention for this campaign, it's the best way I could find to keep it open to a larger audience. Thank you and good luck! 🍉✌🏽
☕Coffee and Currently Reading📚 Thanks to the ☕Coffee and Currently Reading📚 Thanks to the lovely @susyscozyworld for tagging me! Alas, I'm not a coffee person, I don't love the taste (gasp, I'm a terrible Colombian 😱🤣). I did enjoy a pomegranate green tea this morning which was super tasty 🖤 I'm just getting over a cold so I made a nest on my couch with all the things I need to keep me company. My crochet project, a good book, and most important of all my Cheeto snuggles. 📚CR: Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, my buddy read with @jonesandthebooks and @buchstabenhorde continues! I'm having a wonderful time chatting with these two and as usual I'm the one lagging behind 😝 Thanks, friends ♥️! ❓Please tell me what you're currently reading! Or, even better introduce me to any reading buddies (tell all of your pets that I love them)! Tagging a few people, but no pressure 😘
Upon A Starlit Tide is equal parts fairy-tale and Upon A Starlit Tide is equal parts fairy-tale and historical fantasy, and all palpable Atmosphere. Set in Saint-Malo, Brittany, in 1758, we are thrust into a world separated into wealthy ship-owners and high society versus smuggles and pirates. The French and English are at war, and the local fae are leaving Brittany, taking their magic with them and leaving the area vulnerable. Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of the wealthiest ship-owners feels stifled by Saint-Malo’s walls and dreams of adventure on the open ocean. The only bright spot in her days is her best friend Simon, an English smuggler who secretly teaches her how to sail. But one morning, her decision to save a drowning man changes everything. I adored everything about this book from the characters, to the pacing, to the plot. One of the elements that impressed me the most was the way fae creatures and folklore were seamlessly embedded into every aspect of life in this world. Despite being common knowledge to the locals that Saint-Malo’s strength comes from the fair folk, seeing them and interacting with them is still rare enough that it holds a sense of mystique. Another aspect of this book that I particularly enjoyed is the mix of fairy-tale inspirations and the unique ways they manifested in the story. Various tropes or story hooks from both Cinderella and The Little Mermaid were recognizable but molded believably into this world. This book absolutely excels at playing in the sweet spot between familiar and strange! This book will easily find devoted readers in fans of Katherine Arden’s The Winternight Trilogy. Both are deeply atmospheric historical fantasies inspired by fairy tales and folklore. They both also contend with the consequences of the same specific tipping point in time. That of organized religion and modernization pushing away pagan ways of life, much to the detriment of the common folk. The reading experience was an absolute joy and it convinced me Kell Woods is an author to watch! Thanks to @netgalley & @torbooks for the ARC, all opinions are mine.
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