Spoil Me

Well, I would like all of you to yell at Ashlynn for commissioning a book that has made me cry during both episodes of coverage so far. I fully anticipate that this is going to be a trend with this book.
The second section introduces us to a new character called Syenite, who works at the Fulcrum and is forced to have sex with males there in order to breed more orogenes. The whole thing is really horrible, and you can feel her trying desperately to make the best of it even thoguh the whole situation is degrading and repulsive.
We get back with Essun (AKA "you") and she's camping alone when she is approached by a strange boy whom I believe to be the boy born out of the rock. I guess we shall see!
And omg. Damaya's section. Don't get me started, guys.
PLEASE READ THIS. https://amzn.to/2KcHroY

This book, y'all! I'm very thankful to Kyle Summers for commissioning The Grace Of Kings, https://amzn.to/2TpFYzK a book that takes me right back to my fantasy roots. I had thought I knew where things were heading, but these chapters proved me very very wrong.
First of all, the gods are apparently real and are talking with the Emperor about his deeds and his overall goals. I'm wondering what the afterlife is supposed to be like in this universe, because he doesn't seem particularly concerned when a few of the gods tell him he made bad choices, beyond a flash of disappointment that they don't approve. They tell him war is coming and that it will undo everything he tried to accomplish, and then we jump to a plot by his trusted Chamberlain. A lot of bloodshed and suicide follows, and in the end the youngest son sits the throne, a child being managed by a sociopathic manipulator. This is going well!
On the other side of things, there's a civil war erupting amongst the common people who had been conscripted to work on a huge pyramid for the late emperor. Two men who have nothing to lose plant a scroll in the belly of a giant fish they got at market, so that it seems like the gods prophesied that one of them is meant to be king. Fortunately for them, everyone here is really superstitious and it works out. For them, at least.
Thanks you all so much for listening, and I will see you all again soon with a new episode!

Thank you again to Patricia for commissioning The Dark Lord Of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones! These chapters are where we see what Derk's poor kids have to deal with while he's down for the count, and I'm going to warn you right now; I get a little preachy this episode.
Listen, I hardly feel like I'm out of line on this one; Diana Wynn Jones clearly has some things to say about the way the prison system works, and I feel like I'm just able to expand on that. There are a lot of layers to the way she writes things, and this situation with the soldiers who are really prisoners is no different.
When Derk wakes up, we find out that the dragon (who goes by Scales) was working on healing him from afar, because he felt so stupid and guilty for burning him up the way he did, which is a really cool thing that I didn't know dragons could do. Derk is a good leader, and knows how to give all of his kids jobs that play to their strengths and make them feel like they're useful and important.
I am really enjoying this book. You can pick up a copy here if you'd like to read along! https://amzn.to/2QT7KTA

Hello everyone, welcome back to Hexed, the third book in the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne! You can pick up the book here, if you're interested! https://amzn.to/2Q8oVDA
This episode is brought to you by Sue Hayes, and I want to thank her for commissioning more of this book because I have been really hard on Atticus and I want to see some redemption.
Usually 5 chapters makes for 50 pages almost exactly, but these chapters were longer so it's only 3 for this episode. Laksha is back, and in a body she really likes, so she decides that she's going to do what she can to keep it, and makes a deal that she will help Atticus with the Maenads in exchange for him getting the golden apples of Idunn. They only grow in Asgard, and Atticus things that this demand is way out of proportion, but he finally her bargains her down to just ONE apple instead of all of them, so i guess that's something?
The fight against the Maenads is a lot of fun to read, in no small part because I am currently watching Season 2 of True Blood, in which Maenads feature quite prominently. I like that I have this trend happening in my life right now.
Thank you again to Sue for the commission, and I hope you enjoy the show!

FINALLY! Thank you so much to Rosalie for commissioning the next book in the Young Wizards series, Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane! I have to confess I didn't expect that it would be so long before someone commissioned another book from this series, but I started to come to terms with the fact that maybe the other books weren't as good and nobody wanted to hear about them.
I AM VERY EXCITED TO BE WRONG.
This book starts off in a totally new setting, which I should have seen coming because of the cover, but guess what. I didn't. So our two heroes are down by the beach, they're talking to dolphins and whales, they're solving magical aquatic problems...this is all really new. I'm thrilled.
Thank you again to Rosalie, and you can find the book here! https://amzn.to/2QRZD9U

Yay! Coming at you with the second installment of The Novice, this time brought to you by Ashleigh, and this section is pretty tough in a lot of ways. It's never easy to read about bullying, and it's even more infuriating when the person orchestrating the bullying is being supported by the people with power...in this case, the teachers.
I said this in the last episode as well, but classism on this level is one of those things that I find really hard to understand. I mean, I know that we all have some classism in our brains, but getting to a point where you have this little empathy is just alien territory. I know it exists (good lord, does it EVER exist) but I feel so bad for Sonea.
Meanwhile, our buddy Dannyl is going to investigate Akkarin, and I'm not sure if there's anyone he can really trust over there or not. He's very amiable and has made some friends easily, but...we shall see!
Thanks so much for the commission, Ashleigh, and i will be seeing you all soon with a new episode!

Welcome back, Marshmallows! I'm here with another episode of Veronica Mars, and in this one we've got a young girl who has gone missing, apparently abducted by her father's rivals. OR WAS SHE.
Also, this episode we get the funeral for Logan's mom, and it's really weird because we don't really get insight into why he's acting the way that he is until the very end, when he finally tells Duncan the truth. I like the fact that Logan stands up to his father, though, and I am hoping to see a lot more of this shit in the future. Humiliating his dad in front of a bunch of photographers is pretty sweet, and effective.
I really have to agree with Logan, although I'm not sure who else really will believe him and who else will just feel sorry for him. Hopefully Veronica can turn something up.
Thanks so much for listening, and see you soon with a new episode!

Oh boy, it's time for the next installment of The Grace Of Kings, and I'm getting the sense that the scale of this story is going to be even more massive and epic than I at first thought. When the time jumps are more than five years, there's going to be a lot going on.
I'm still not entirely sure what the repercussions were to the attempted assassination of the emperor in the last section (beyond the fact that he became a bit more paranoid) and I'm curious to see if that plays a role in the main plot or if it was just meant to set the scene. Either way, effective.
There's a lot more setup here, but there's also a love story that's genuinely sweet to read, doesn't take forever to wrap up, and isn't actually the main plot. This all adds up to it being something that I really like.
I'm digging this book. Thanks so much to Kyle for commissioning this, and if you'd like to read along, you can find it here! https://amzn.to/2qSHjlF

Welcome back to the Wonderful World Of Wynne Jones! I'm here with another episode sponsored by Patricia, and I really want you to read along so do yourselves a favor and get the book for yourself here! https://amzn.to/2qTh7Yg
So in these chapters, Derk summons a demon. It goes much worse than I expected, because the demon's mere presence is like acid on the skins of all the people who come in contact with it, and it doesn't stick around to cause mayhem where we can see it. Oh no, it darts away in a shot of blue lightning and we have no idea what it's doing now. You know the old adage about how the only worse thing than finding a spider in your room is finding a spider and then losing it?
There's some other fun stuff here, too. Mainly I'm interested in gods in this universe and how they work, and it's pretty cool that Wynne Jones has put some thought into how that works. I'm a big fan of this temple and the priest that Derk visits, and I would very much like to go there.
Thank you again to Patricia for commissioning this! I'm loving it.

It's time for a brand new book, and I'm excited to be covering something else written by a black woman that was not only authored by a black woman, but was authored by someone who won the Hugo Award THREE FUCKING TIMES. Many thanks to Ashlynn for commissioning this, and I'm going to warn you that I cry in this episode so be ready.
Look, just do me a favor. Go on out and buy this book. https://amzn.to/2TnX3Kp If you have any friends of color in your life who like to read, do me a favor and buy this book for them, too.
Yeah, it's that good.