It's been a fun reading year and it's time for our Reading Wrapped for 2024. Yep we take you through our year of reading month by month for Carlie and category by category for Maj. The books we loved, didn't so much, the authors we were introduced to and the series that stole our hearts.

There'll be books you have read that you can re-live with us and some that you will add to your TBR for sure.

We've loved our reading adventures this year and our podcast chats even more. Thanks for being with us this year!

Carlie & Maj

xoxox

BOOKCLUB

⁠Join us in the bookclub in January

https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next. ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠ from⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

Happy Holidays!

It's our 2nd annual gift guide for those who love books and those who love people who love books! Say that three times fast. We have you covered for every budget, the minimalist, the maximalist, the practical and the luxurious. Take notes or pass on to your friends, lover, not so secret Santa or that family member who has no clue who you are or what you love.

As always we encourage our listeners to buy as much as possible from small and local business, from artisans with heart and creators who put so much energy into their products.

In this episode we shout out a few of the artists and biz owners we have purchased from this year;

SaltiReads - merch, stickers, books

Caffeine & Curses - merch, notebooks, mugs

BabyMac - teatowel display hangers

Etsy - a buffet or artisans and creatives.

What we are reading right now.

Carlie - “One Dark Window” Rachel Gilleg

Majella - “A Fate Inked in Blood” Daniella Jensen

BOOKCLUB

⁠Join us in the bookclub in June for our read of "A Court of Thorns & Roses" by Sarah J Maas⁠

⁠https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637⁠

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next.⁠ ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠⁠ from⁠⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

SPOILER ALERT *This episode speaks to some of the themes and premise's of the book but does not divulge plot or character arcs or share specific moments.

Carlie recently read 'Phantasma' by Kaylie Smith and it made her ponder about how important reading is for mental wellbeing, how powerful it is to feel represented in our books and the way reading can bring together communities.

This episode speaks to the mental health benefits of reading and how authors can share and understand their own mental health challenges through their stories. 'Phantasma' draws attention to the impact OCD, anxiety and depression has on an individual and tenderly and respectfully shares how one could navigate this.

As always we would love to hear your thoughts and learn which books you have read that represent you well or helped you feel less alone?

Carlie & Majella

BOOKCLUB

Our bookclub is reading 'When The Moon Hatched' by Sarah A Parker in November  and you can JOIN US HERE

⁠https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637⁠

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next.⁠ ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠⁠ from⁠⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

**Spoiler Alert ** Please dont listen to this episode unless you have read this book, its full of spoilers.

In this episode, Carlie and Majella dive deep into the much-hyped book 'Quicksilver' by Callie Hart.

They discuss their emotional responses to the book, the quality of writing, and the immersive world-building that made them feel as if they were part of the story. The conversation also touches on their reading experiences, the distractions they faced, and the connections they formed with the characters.

They reflect on the hype surrounding the book from BookTok and how it lived up to their expectations, as well as their rankings of book boyfriends.

Our bookclub is reading When The Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker in November and you can JOIN US HERE

https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637

What we are reading right now.

Carlie - “Phantasma” Kaylie Smith

Majella - “When the Moon Hatched” Sarah Parker

BOOKCLUB

⁠Join us in the bookclub in June for our read of "A Court of Thorns & Roses" by Sarah J Maas⁠

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next. ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:
Intro and Outro music by⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠ from⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

In this episode we riff on our TBR lists and the books we would both like to read up to the end of the year. You might like to add some of them to your list or join us in our bookclub on Fable to read alongside us for the next few months.

Our TBR's are constantly changing so take it all with a grain of salt with us :)

We kinda can't believe that we have been creating this podcast and growing our community for almost a year. It has been such a ride and we have read some incredible books this year so let's keep that run going friends.

BOOKCLUB

⁠Join us in the bookclub in November and read along with us.

https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637

What we are reading right now.

Carlie & Majella - “Phantasma” Kaylie Smith

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next. ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠ from⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

Spoiler Alert**** This episode is full of spoilers for Blood & Steel.

In this episode we dive deep into Book 1 of the Legends of Thezmarr series 'Blood & Steel' and share how much we feel like this series should be more widely read and loved.

Blood and Steel has everything you want in a Romantacy series without feeling forced, trite or repetitive. The characters are more mature and developed than most series and we just fell in love with Thea and Wilder from the first pages. We loved the parallels with modern day struggles for women and how we can shake up systems that exclude us.

A top read series for us here at Faeted HQ.

Takeaways

Character dynamics greatly influence the story's progression.

Friendship and family themes are central to character development.

Creative processes can be chaotic and require focus.

'Blood and Steel' offers a unique take on fantasy tropes.

Character development is essential for engaging storytelling.

Prophecies add depth and intrigue to the narrative.

World-building should balance detail with pacing.

Reader expectations vary widely, impacting their experience.

BOOKCLUB

⁠Join us in the bookclub in October for our read of "A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah J Maas⁠

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next. ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠ from⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠: Winning Elevation

In this episode Carlie and Majella discuss the Legends of Thezmarr series by talented Aussie author Helen Scheuerer.

We talk about the relatable and fierce main character, Thea Zoltaire, and the well-developed romance between Thea and the warrior Warsword Wilder Hawthorne who went to the top of our book husbands list.

This series had a strong female empowerment theme throughout and a balanced plot that combines action, romance, and magic. We adored the found family aspect and the well-rounded side characters as well as the tropes we all cheer for liked forced proximity and one-bed although these did not feel forced or overly predictable.

Overall, we highly recommend the series and hope more people discover and enjoy it.

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK REC LIST

Music Credit:

Music by Hot_Dope from Pixabay: Winning Elevation

In this solo episode, Majella reviews author Nikki St. Crowe.

Nikki's books can be divisive due to their darker and more explicit content. Majella enjoys the escapism and easy readability of the books, but acknowledges that they may not be for everyone. She highlights the strong and bratty female main characters and the broody and possessive male love interests.While the books may not be the most sophisticated or well-written, they are enjoyable and provide a form of escapism.

If you have read any of Nikki' books we would love to hear what you thought no matter where you fall on the review spectrum.

JOIN OUR BOOKCLUB ON FABLE

This month we are continuing our read of the ACOTAR series and are on A Court of Wings & Ruin if you would like to join us.

fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637?club_type=free

Thanks for listening,

Maj & Carlie

Spoiler Alert ** This is the second part of our deep dive review and is FULL OF SPOILERS.

We continue our looong review of ACOTAR cause we can't shut up about it. We also read this in our bookclub on Fable in June and frothed alongside all of our Faeted Friends. We are having so much fun revisiting the series that got us back into reading for enjoyment.

ACOTAR is a solid first book in the series, filled with intrigue, intense trials, and complex relationships. Feyre's journey as a mortal in a world of powerful fae is captivating, and the book explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the fragility of life. The character of Rhysand adds depth and mystery, while Tamlin's actions leave readers questioning his true intentions. The book ends with a thrilling climax and sets the stage for further exploration in the series.

Chapters

00:00 Parallel to 'Beauty and the Beast'

05:43 Exploring Dark and Light

06:42 The Intense Trials and Feyre's Resilience

10:23 The Complexity of Rhysand's Character

15:25 Feyre's Mortality and Perspective on Life

23:18 The Passionate Fandom Surrounding the Series

SPOILER ALERT *Spoilers galore in this review episode.

In this episode, we review the book 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' by Sarah J. Maas.

The main characters, the plot, and the world-building in this book are exceptional and that it is why it is so beloved and read by millions. This book has themes of love, loyalty, and sacrifice somewhat similar to Beauty and The Beast with dark and light elements in a magical fantasy world. We will always have a special place for this book as it got us both back into reading fiction.

Sound Bites

00:00 Emotional Depth and Attachment to Characters

16:26 Chapter 2: Complex Relationships

17:41 Chapter 3: Love and Sacrifice

24:34 Chapter 4: Trials and Challenges

29:18 Chapter 5: Parallel to 'Beauty and the Beast'

BOOKCLUB

Our bookclub is reading A Court of Mist & Fury by S.J Mass in July  and you can JOIN US HERE

https://fable.co/club/faeted-the-book-club-with-carlie-298611075637

What we are reading right now.

Carlie - “Blood and Steel” Helen Scheuerer

Majella - “Blood & Steel” Helen Scheuerer

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOK RECOMMENDATION LIST

Never wonder what to read next. ⁠Get your 5 Levels of Romantasy book list from us. ⁠These are the stories that have captured our adventure and romance loving hearts over the years.

Music Credit:

Intro and Outro music by⁠ ⁠Hot_Dope⁠⁠ from⁠ ⁠Pixabay⁠⁠: Winning Elevation