The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio

Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

After reading Dracula, I wanted to read a more modern depiction of vampires. The story felt a bit (maybe a lot) like the Witcher, but this didn't turn me off of it. I'm happy to read more just to see where the story goes. Honestly, I listened to this one as an audiobook, and it was just a fun idle listen for me.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this series, and tried it despite knowing that urban fantasy wouldn't really be my genre. I was pleasantly surprised when there was a point about halfway through that I truly didn't want to put the book down.

It was interesting to see this early take on vampires. I don't think that Dracula was a scary villain, and none of the characters (beside Mina, of course) were interesting at all.

Really great book. Cool magic system and the ending was unsuprising yet heartbreaking.

These books just made me happy. I loved the world and the magic. I think the romance was just the right amount of spice for me; just enough that I can feel the tension and emotion, but not so much that I feel like I'm intruding (weird way to phrase it, I know). I think the duology felt much like a fairy tale where everything works out just right and fits into place. Maybe not super realistic, but that's not the point, I think.

I really wanted to like this. I watched the show before reading, and wanted to see how mind-bending it really was. Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of the characters were just a means to drive the plot instead of actual people. If the characters and dialog were more interesting, I could see myself jumping to read the next book, but I don't think the sci-fi elements are enough to keep me reading.

Great read. I'll probably wait a bit to read the next book as this world is so real in a way that makes it hard to stay for too long.