December 20, 2019

In March of 2019 I attended my first convention in Japan, and it was a whopper: Anime Japan in Tokyo! It was my hastily decided resolution for 2019 to do some ambitious cosplay because I felt like there was something special about Japan — cosplayers are pretty hardcore here, and I wanted to challenge myself to cosplay with what I…

Read More » December 14, 2019

Welcome back to your favorite recap! How did this week fare for you? I don’t know about you, but I get exceptionally lazy this time of year, and it worsens as I get older. So, I had a small victory: I finally put up my Christmas tree. Christmas is a whole different thing in Japan, and while it’s starting to…

Read More » December 6, 2019

Wow, we’ve already made it through the first week of December! How’s your month coming along? To a good start, I hope! Right now, I’m trying to muster the energy to put up my Christmas tree. Traditionally it’s up on December 1st and down by January 2nd…but every day I look at my pretty ornaments and just sigh. Why clean…

Read More » December 3, 2019

Magic Triumphs (2018) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #10 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 439 Publisher: Ace Books Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. This is my first time reading this title. The Premise: Kate has…

Read More » November 9, 2019

Hello, friends! Happy to see you again, and much thanks to Shara for covering for me while I was out and about chasing down the myths of Japan! I headed off to Shimane Prefecture to visit the stomping grounds of the kami: Susanoo, the trickster god of storms and sea; Amaterasu, one of Shinto’s most important kami and the renowned…

Read More » November 5, 2019

Iron and Magic (2018) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Iron Covenant #1 (Kate Daniels #9.5) Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 406 (Kindle) Publisher: NYLA Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. This is my first time reading this title.…

Read More » October 18, 2019

Magic Binds (2016) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #9 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 342 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Magic Binds in 2017 and reviewed it at my own blog.…

Read More » September 27, 2019

Kushiel’s Avatar (2003) Written by: Jacqueline Carey Genre: Fantasy Pages: 750 (Paperback) Series: Phèdre’s Trilogy Book #3 Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates Why I Chose It: I decided that it was my destiny to read the entire nine book Kushiel’s Legacy series after I found eight of the books dirt cheap at a library book sale. I even made it my…

Read More » September 20, 2019

Magic Shifts (2015) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #8 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 375 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Magic Shifts in 2016 and reviewed it at my own blog.…

Read More » August 16, 2019

Magic Breaks (2012) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #7 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 381 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Magic Breaks in 2015 and reviewed it at my own blog. The…

Read More »