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		<title>Fairyloot Adult #50: June 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/17/fairyloot-adult-50-june-2026/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[The June Fairyloot Adult box was without a doubt one of the boxes I was looking forward to the most this year. Very early in the year, spoiler accounts started speculating about which book Fairyloot would choose for June, and those predictions were almost unanimous. It involved a new book by an immensely popular author, one whose series I had previously read that completely won me over. When Fairyloot finally announced the monthly theme, that speculation was effectively confirmed. From that moment on, I could only look forward to seeing what Fairyloot would make of this edition. The theme for June was Legends, with a book that would be perfect for lovers of medieval fantasy, arranged marriages, and mythological creatures. The theme card alone leaned entirely into that medieval atmosphere, and I immediately felt that this was going to be totally my thing. The book of the month was, of course, The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden, the author of the fantastic Winternight Trilogy. Anne of Brittany was a child when her land was invaded, her castle besieged, and her royal father driven to his death. Now Brittany is occupied by her enemies, her treasury empty, and only one thing is lacking to complete her realm’s subjugation: she is required, on pain of the sword, to marry the King of France. But Anne cannot. She has promised her dead father that Brittany would never be conquered. Defiantly, she betroths herself in secret to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts may spy on each other by magic, there is only one way to solemnize this illicit union. Under the guise of a hunting party, Anne takes her court deep into a deep forest, a strange place dogged with rumours of ancient enchantments; a place where diviners cannot see. She tells the French that she had gone there to hunt unicorns. It’s a ruse, a lie, a feint. But when, against all expectations, a unicorn does appear and a wounded stranger stumbles from the trees and falls at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment where a doomed sovereign might find the power to change the destiny of her nation &#8211; or be lost in the mist for ever. And yes&#8230; admit it, how amazing and original does this story sound? The synopsis alone makes me incredibly excited. I really can&#8217;t wait to start this book. For this edition, Fairyloot designed a completely new cover, with graphic design by @lydiablagden and illustrations by @jasonchuangart. And&#8230; wow. What a beautiful cover. The illustration, the colours, the composition, the font&#8230; to me, everything here is truly perfect. The cover feels rich, luxurious, and at the same time completely as if it comes from a medieval story. Honestly, I don&#8217;t think Fairyloot could have made this cover much better. As usual, on the back of the cover we find the standard cover in a modified colour variant. I am slightly less enthusiastic about this, though. The pink, in particular, feels like a bit of an odd choice to me. I think red, matching the roses on the Fairyloot cover, or even the blue of the flowers, would have worked much better. The green is also just a little too intensely saturated for my taste. But anyway, ultimately that doesn&#8217;t really matter much. I prefer the Fairyloot cover over the standard cover without any doubt, both in terms of illustration and overall appearance. The new version really wins for me by a wide margin. Oh, look! This is exactly what I mean when I say I want a book to look like it came straight from the Middle Ages. The hardcover was illustrated by @sheydgarden and I am completely in love with it. That unicorn looks deliberately a bit clumsy and somewhat disproportionate, exactly like you often see animals in medieval miniatures. That is precisely what makes it perfect to me. The colours, the ornate decorations, the font&#8230; it reminds me of old manuscripts, tapestries, and illuminated manuscripts. &#9829;&#9829;&#9829; For me, this is truly a perfect hardcover. The sprayed edges, also designed by @jasonchuangart, effortlessly continue that same style. The colours complement the cover beautifully and ensure that the entire book forms one coherent whole. The endpapers also remain true to that medieval feel. The character illustrations by @annalisejensen might look slightly less sleek and polished than what we are usually used to from Fairyloot, but that is precisely why they fit so incredibly well here. They truly feel as if they come from an old illustrated manuscript. Furthermore, the book also contains a bound author&#8217;s letter with a digital signature and bonus content. YES&#8230; Wow. For me, this is a perfect edition in terms of atmosphere and appearance. Every element of the design works together and exudes the same medieval atmosphere. This is without a doubt one of my favorite Fairyloot editions of recent years. There is actually only one small downside. Despite how phenomenal the design is, I do get the impression that the physical quality of this book is slightly less than what I am used to from Fairyloot. The dust jacket feels remarkably thin and light; I am almost afraid it will tear when I pick it up. The book block itself also feels a bit fragile in the hardcover. Additionally, I really miss headbands here. For such a luxurious edition, that feels a bit like a missed opportunity. This particular book, with its beautiful medieval appearance, would have benefited enormously from them. Fortunately, that does not detract from how incredibly beautiful this edition has turned out. If this story turns out to be as good as this version, then this could very well become, in every respect, one of my favorite books of the year. Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45515</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Halfway through reading year 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/15/halfway-through-reading-year-2026/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:05:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Read]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[Now that June is already behind us, we are officially halfway through 2026. So, it is time to revisit my reading goals and see how things stand. Pure on feeling, I feel like this hasn&#8217;t been such a great reading year yet. I have already given up on more books than ever before, doubted my reading choices more often, and regularly felt like I was struggling through books I didn&#8217;t actually feel like reading. At the same time, I know that feeling doesn&#8217;t always correspond with reality. That is why I thought it would be fun to take another look at the numbers. Maybe it turns out to be better than I think. I set myself five reading goals for 2026. Time for an interim evaluation! Note: The screenshots included are from my personal reading spreadsheet. While I read mostly in English, I use my native language for tracking and notes. Apologies if some parts aren&#8217;t readable to you! I think the important bits are explained in the text and the context goes a long way to understanding, but if anything’s unclear&#8230; Google is your friend. &#x1f609; or &#8211; of course &#8211; feel free to ask 😀 P.S. The language is Dutch! Reading Goal 1: Finish 100 books For years, I have set my annual reading goal at 100 books. Not because that is a magical or necessary number, but simply because it is a nice round number and has become a fun tradition. It remains a pleasant target, without me losing sleep if I ultimately don&#8217;t reach it. By the middle of the year, that ideally means finishing around fifty books. With 48 books I&#8217;ve finished, I&#8217;m just two books short. Close, but no cigar. Still, when I compare the figures to previous years, that&#8217;s actually not too bad. For several years now, I&#8217;ve been reading at a remarkably consistent speed. This year, too, I&#8217;m averaging eight books per month again. Moreover, it is striking that my average book was one page thicker than last year. So, reading one book less certainly doesn&#8217;t mean I&#8217;ve read less. Where 2026 does stand out for now is the number of DNFs. With 10 DNFs, I&#8217;m already at more than double the number I was halfway through last year. That might seem negative, but I actually view it very differently than I used to. I notice that I recognize much faster when a book simply isn&#8217;t working for me. In the past, I felt almost obligated to persevere because I had bought the book at some point, or because I was &#8220;so far along anyway,&#8221; or because it might get better. Today, I dare to admit much sooner that my reading time is too precious to drag myself through a book I don&#8217;t enjoy. That doesn&#8217;t mean, however, that I give up after just twenty pages. The 10 DNFs accounted for a total of another 1331 pages read. So, on average, I still read about 133 pages before deciding that a book isn&#8217;t going to change my mind anymore. Perhaps even more striking is that my average rating is actually higher than in previous years. The books I did finish received an average of 3.5 stars, my highest average since 2020. Perhaps stopping sooner with books that don&#8217;t work is a good decision after all. Reading Goal 2a: Read 40% from my own shelves (purchased before 2026)Reading Goal 2b: Read 10 books purchased before 2021 This reading goal remains one of my most important. Not only do I want to avoid reading exclusively new purchases, but I also want to finally get around to the books that have sometimes been gathering dust for years. I also count DNFs towards this goal. After all, the ultimate goal is not necessarily to finish every book, but rather to finally discover whether those books still deserve a place on my TBR. By the middle of the year, I would have had to read about 23 books from my existing collection to reach that 40%. And that&#8230; is exactly where I landed. In total, I read or tried 23 books that I already owned before 2026. That brings me neatly to the predetermined (rounded) 40%. It is striking, however, that 8 of those 23 books ultimately became DNFs. In the past, I would probably have considered that a failure. Today, I see it differently. After all, this reading goal is not about every old book having to be great, but rather about finally discovering which books are still right for me and which are not. The second part of this reading goal is currently going a lot less smoothly. I also wanted to read at least ten books this year that I bought before 2021. So, by the middle of the year, that should be at five books. Currently, however, the count stands at only one book. So, for now, that is clearly my weakest part of this reading goal. Perhaps I overestimated myself a bit here. Or maybe I simply miscounted when I went through my bookshelves at the beginning of this year. That is also possible. The nice thing is that that one old book turned out to be an instant hit. So perhaps I can be a little less suspicious of those older purchases after all. One more small nuance: two of the books I read from my bookshelf were re-reads. I am deliberately not counting those towards this reading goal, because they were already &#8220;checked off&#8221; once before. Additionally, I read four books that I only bought in 2026, which naturally fall outside this goal as well. Reading Goal 3: Read (start) 12 books of more than 500 pages At the beginning of this year, I adjusted this reading goal slightly. Whereas last year I aimed for books of more than 600 pages, I lowered the limit to 500 pages. The reason for this was simple: many first installments in my unread series are just over 500 pages, whereas the really thick tomes are often sequels that I cannot read yet. So, halfway through the year, I wanted to start at least six books of more than 500 pages. That clearly turned out not to be a problem. I even started on 9 books of more than 500 pages. However, three of those eventually turned out to be DNFs. That is part of the experience too. It is also striking that three of the thick books I did finish were rereads. That actually demonstrates nicely how much less intimidating thick books are once I have already familiarized myself with the world. Reading Goal 4: Continue, complete, or drop at least 13 ongoing series This reading goal has been recurring for a few years now, because starting series is virtually inevitable in every genre these days, and it is important to keep track of what you want to continue reading and what you don&#8217;t. At the beginning of 2026, I still had 40 ongoing series. My intention was to manage this more consciously and to continue reading, finish, or consciously let go of at least thirteen of them. So, by the middle of the year, I had wanted to tick off about six to seven series. That hasn&#8217;t worked out so far. Currently, the count stands at 3 series. I fully caught up on one, finished one definitively, and ultimately decided that I no longer wanted to continue one series. Still, this reading goal feels less dramatic than the numbers suggest. I did, in fact, read in more ongoing series. However, this often involved rereading earlier installments so that I was refreshed to continue on with the sequels. As a result, I made no progress in terms of numbers, but it does feel like I am making strides. Additionally, my focus this year is mainly on subscription books, and it just so happens that these are often the first installments of new series. Reading Goal 5: Read (start) 30 subscription books (including DNFs) Of all my reading goals, this is probably the one I have been most consciously working on this year. I receive quite a few books every month via my various subscriptions and want to avoid them lying unread for years. That is why, by the middle of the year, I wanted to have read or tried at least fifteen subscription books. I have easily achieved that goal. Currently, the counter is already at 19 subscription books. That might also explain why I sometimes felt that my reading choices were driven more by my TBR than by my current reading desire. It is striking, however, that of my ten DNFs, no fewer than seven books came from a subscription. In the past, I would have found that regrettable. Today, I mainly see the advantage in it. I have consciously started keeping track of when a subscription releases a sequel to a series I haven&#8217;t read yet. As a result, I try to read the first volume before the release date of the sequel, so that I can make an informed decision about whether I really want to buy that sequel. Just because of that, I was able to save myself the purchase of four sequels this year that I otherwise would have bought purely out of FOMO. That perhaps feels like an even bigger victory than this reading goal itself. Summary: My Reading Goals for Mid-2026 So, after six months, the board look as such: Read 50 books – &#x274c; 48 books Read 40% from own bookshelf purchased before 2026 – &#x2705; 40% Read 5 books purchased before 2021 – &#x274c; 1 book Read (start) 6 books of more than 500 pages – &#x2705; 9 books Complete, cross off, or catch up on at least 7 started series – &#x274c; 3 series Read (start) 15 books from subscriptions – &#x2705; 19 books If I look purely at the checkmarks, I am standing nicely at three achieved and three unachieved intermediate goals. That is perfectly balanced. But actually, the numbers don&#8217;t tell the whole story. For me, the biggest change isn&#8217;t so much in how many books I read, but in the way I read. I dare to let go of a book sooner when it isn&#8217;t working, try to be more mindful of my gigantic TBR, and finally use my subscriptions for what they are intended for: to read books instead of just putting them nicely on the shelf. Of course, there are still clear areas for improvement. My oldest unread books and my ongoing series, in particular, deserve some extra attention in the coming months. But that is ultimately what reading goals are for: not to tick them off perfectly, but to steer myself back in the right direction every now and then. I am certainly curious to see what this balance will look like at the end of December. How is your reading year going so far? Are you on schedule, or have you already had to adjust a few reading plans along the way? Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45490</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Illumicrate #44: May 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/13/illumicrate-44-may-2026/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:05:29 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[You were still owed the May Illumicrate from me. This was another one of those boxes where I hadn&#8217;t really kept track of what was inside, making the unboxing a real surprise. The theme of the month was Fatal Fortunes, with the slogan: Fortune favours the brave and the bold, but some fortunes may be fatal for all those involved. Oh yes, a new book jacket! And one inspired by The Knight and the Moth, at that. The design by @marymetzgr really hits the nail on the head. Instantly recognizable to anyone who knows the book, beautifully illustrated, and simply a very nice cover to protect a hardcover. Very happy with it, Bartholomew! At first I thought this was a sketchbook or notebook, but it turned out to be a sticker album where you can store stickers and reuse them later. The cover is designed by @rosdottir and is inspired by Immortal Consequences, a book that, to be honest, doesn&#8217;t immediately ring a bell. I do think the illustration is very beautiful, though. The third item is a keychain with a beautiful pendant full of fine details, designed by @thebitterseason. Here, I actually recognized the source of inspiration, The Raven Scholar, immediately, even though I haven&#8217;t read the book yet. The last item is a set of stickers with truly stunning illustrations by @artbysarahmason. If I ever pick up my reading journal again, I can definitely see myself using these to brighten up a page. Moreover, the designs are inspired by this month&#8217;s book, so I might just save them specifically for when I read that book. The book of the month was Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter. A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and Quicksilver. You duel or you die. Astrid has always known she is destined to die. She is the last Nachstern witch and heir to the Queendom of Arturea, cursed by a centuries-old covenant to duel the heir to the Kingdom of Vatra for the source of all magic: the Heart. And now Astrid’s time is up. She is heading into enemy territory to face Prince Zryan, the most powerful dragon rider in eons, with only her familiar, her potions, and her wits to aid her. She is going to die, and any chance her queendom has of curing the Blight that’s ravaging the lands and killing her people will die with her. Meanwhile, deep in dragon country, Skylar and her travelling troupe arrive in Vatra’s capital, ready to profit off the legions of spectators swarming to the city ahead of the duel. She despises the royals and all they stand for, especially as the King’s guard murdered her mother. But when her best friend disappears, suspected to have been taken in the conscription, her search takes her closer to the royals than she ever could have imagined. As the duel looms over the kingdom, Skylar and Astrid’s fates intertwine. They must battle a growing rebellion, their inner demons, and ultimately, those they love most, to determine if together they will save—or doom—their world. Although the book market seems to be flooded with dragon riders lately, I actually haven&#8217;t read that many myself. I&#8217;ve avoided Fourth Wing a bit, since the huge hype surrounding it had the opposite effect on me. But the combination of dragons and witches sounds very interesting here, so I&#8217;ve definitely become curious about this story. Ooh, wow&#8230; Illumicrate really went completely in their own direction here and I am a huge fan of the result! This beautiful illustration by @yasu.art.studio appeals to me much more than the standard cover. The transition between light and darkness is beautifully executed and all the elements feel like they are perfectly in place. Of course, the dragon immediately catches the eye, but for me, that flying panther completely steals the show. Truly a cover that keeps inviting you to look at it again. OOOOH&#8230; there&#8217;s that flying panther again! And he&#8217;s been joined by some other cool, beautiful beasties. Here too, the illustration plays with the contrast between light and dark once again. In that sense, the design by @mad_brake ties in nicely with the cover, even though the colours are much more subdued. And the sprayed edges are absolutely top-tier too. It&#8217;s a little bit of a shame that the illustration doesn&#8217;t extend all the way across the top and bottom of the book block, but the front alone makes a huge impression. The colours match the cover perfectly, and the illustration by @isvoc is full of depth. I almost feel like I can touch those dragon scales. On the endpapers, we get two extensive illustrations by @palinlineart. The colours truly pop off the pages. The second illustration, in particular, screams &#8220;romantasy&#8221; very loudly and, to be honest, strongly reminds me of the atmosphere of Sarah J. Maas, so this could turn out to be a very fun book. Furthermore, the book contains bonus content and a bound author&#8217;s letter with a digital signature. Yes, I actually thought this was quite a strong Illumicrate box. Perhaps not the most memorable in terms of items, although they are all beautifully executed, but the book jacket and that book alone make the entire box worthwhile for me. The illustrators have really done a fantastic job here, and the complete edition feels very well thought out and cohesive. My next Illumicrate unboxing will be the July one. I actually skipped the June box after I learned which book would be inside. The story sounds quite nice in itself, but not like something I necessarily wanted a special edition of in my collection. So, it was finally time to use one of my skips. Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45471</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Read in June 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/12/read-in-june-2026/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:05:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book-reviews]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[June turned into a month of rereading, devouring audiobooks, and the quick gratification of short stories and novellas. In the end, I finished 9 books in June, totaling 3200 pages. This brings the average June book to 356 pages per book. Additionally, there was also 1 DNF. I put that book aside after 90 pages (28%). Fortunately, that was the extent of it, meaning the rest of the month was mainly characterized by books where I did make it all the way to the end. And this is reflected in the ratings as well. Although the star ratings once again covered the entire middle range, higher scores predominated. The majority of the books I finished received four or even five stars, bringing the average book for June to a nice 4.0 stars. In terms of target audience, June was simple: all the books I picked up this month were intended for an adult audience. In terms of reading format, the focus was mainly on audiobooks. I read 6 audiobooks, 3 e-books, and only 1 book from my own bookshelf. So, that last one can certainly go up a bit again in the coming months. In terms of genres, I switched between 4 different genres: horror (1), romance (1), fantasy (3), and mystery (5). Moreover, just like in previous months, I read (or listened to) everything in English. Below you will find the list of the books I read in June, along with my star rating. Click on the link to jump to the blurb and my review! As always: be mindful that both the blurb and the review may contain spoilers, especially when it concerns sequels in a series. Sometimes I hide spoilers behind a fold-out element or blacked-out text. Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1) &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Soto, Julie &#8211; Second Act Romance &#9733;&#9733; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland #2) &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Marble Hall Murders (Susan Ryeland #3) &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; The Word is Muder (Hawthorne &#038; Horowitz #1) &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Wang, M.L. &#8211; Blood over Bright Haven &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; The Sentence is Death (Hawthorne &#038; Horowitz #2) &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Novik, Naomi &#8211; The Summer War &#127911; &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Hill, Joe &#8211; The Pram &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Harrow, Alix E. &#8211; The Everlasting (DNF) &#127911; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1) &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Genre: Mystery (reread) When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway&#8217;s latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She&#8217;s worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It&#8217;s just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway&#8230; But Conway&#8217;s latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder. Revisiting Magpie Murders only confirmed what I already suspected: this remains one of my favourite modern mystery novels. Even though I still remembered the major twist from my first read, it didn&#8217;t diminish my enjoyment for a second. Anthony Horowitz&#8217;s brilliant book-within-a-book structure remains every bit as clever as I remembered. A loving tribute to the classic whodunnit, in which the reader is constantly invited to join the investigation. There honestly isn&#8217;t much more I can add beyond what I wrote after my first read. This reread simply reaffirmed that this is an exceptionally constructed mystery and a thoroughly deserved five-star favourite. Soto, Julie &#8211; Second Act Romance &#9733;&#9733; Genre: Romance (short story) Two musical theater costars, separated by fate, reunite for a showmance to remember in a sizzling and banter-filled short story about second chances by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Soto. When food poisoning takes out the lead in their Valentine’s Day production of Oklahoma!, TV sensation Colby J. Turner swoops in to save the show. But for leading lady Bex Hardgrave, this last-minute casting is more drama than she bargained for. Eight years ago, their onstage chemistry sparked real-life fireworks—until a misunderstanding brought down the curtain on their budding romance. Now they’re sharing the spotlight again, and their old connection is threatening to steal the show. As showtime approaches, Bex and Colby will have to decide if their second-chance romance deserves its own standing ovation. Julie Soto’s Second Act Romance is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances, stories for star-crossed lovers and hopeless romantics. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s do it again. I picked up Second Act Romance on a bit of a whim. I was in the mood for something short and romantic, and since I&#8217;d heard good things about Julie Soto&#8217;s writing, it seemed like a nice way to get a first impression of her work. I&#8217;m not entirely convinced a short story like this is the best introduction, though. Much of it revolves around the musical Oklahoma!, and as someone who isn&#8217;t familiar with it, I couldn&#8217;t help feeling that I was missing part of the appeal. Still, it was a pleasant, quick read, and I did enjoy Julie Soto&#8217;s writing style. So I guess it was successful in that this little taste test made me indeed curious to pick up one of her full-length novels. &#127911; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland #2) &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Genre: Mystery (reread) Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller by Anthony Horowitz. The follow-up to Magpie Murders. Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her longterm boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she&#8217;s always wanted &#8211; but is it? She&#8217;s exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she&#8217;s beginning to miss her old life in London. And then a couple &#8211; the Trehearnes &#8211; come to stay, and the story they tell about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married, is such a strange and mysterious one that Susan finds herself increasingly fascinated by it. And when the Trehearnes tell her that their daughter is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to London and find out what really happened &#8230; Rereading Moonflower Murders also confirmed my original rating. Much like its predecessor, the book-within-a-book structure works wonderfully. Once again it had me eagerly piecing together clues alongside Susan Ryeland. While I still think Magpie Murders remains the stronger of the two, this sequel is another wonderfully constructed mystery packed with clever misdirection and affectionate nods to classic detective fiction. My only real criticism remains the same as it was back in 2021, which is that certain sections felt a little overlong. Now that I know this will ultimately only be a trilogy, it also made this reread feel a little bittersweet, but it was the perfect way to prepare for finally reading the concluding instalment. &#127911; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; Marble Hall Murders (Susan Ryeland #3) &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Genre: Mystery Susan Ryeland has had enough of murder. She’s edited two novels about the famous detective, Atticus Pünd, and both times she’s come close to being killed. Now she’s back in England, and she’s been persuaded to work on a third. The new ‘continuation’ novel is by Eliot Crace, grandson of Miriam Crace, who was the biggest-selling children’s author in the world until her death exactly twenty years ago. Eliot believes Miriam was deliberately poisoned. And when he tells Susan he has hidden the identity of Miriam’s killer inside his book, Susan knows she’s in trouble once again. As Susan works on Pünd’s Last Case, a story set in an exotic villa in the South of France, she uncovers more and more parallels between the past and the present, the fictional and the real world—until suddenly she finds she has become a target herself. It seems someone in Eliot’s family doesn’t want the book to be written. And they will do anything to prevent it. Marble Hall Murders proved to be a very satisfying conclusion to Susan Ryeland&#8217;s adventures, even if I also understand why Anthony Horowitz decided to end the series here. The familiar book-within-a-book structure remains just as impressive as ever, and I continue to admire the sheer commitment required to craft not one but multiple fully realised mysteries within the same novel. This time, the story weaves together three interconnected mysteries with remarkable skill, while Susan herself remains as sharp, observant, and wonderfully spiky as ever. That said, her involvement in the investigation did feel somewhat more contrived than in the previous books. Thankfully, Horowitz&#8217;s excellent writing is more than strong enough to carry the premise. I also really appreciated Susan&#8217;s more personal storyline about rebuilding her life in her fifties after leaving Crete, which gives the novel much of its emotional heart and makes it feel like a genuine farewell to the character. The book is perhaps a touch longer than necessary, but it&#8217;s still another cleverly layered mystery filled with affectionate reflections on detective fiction, making for a fitting and thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to a wonderful series. &#127911; Horowitz, Anthony &#8211; The Word is Muder (Hawthorne &#038; Horowitz #1) &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Genre: Mystery (reread) SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER OWN MURDER? One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper – the wealthy mother of a famous actor &#8211; enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service. Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home. Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who’s as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz. Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own. A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best. After finishing Anthony Horowitz&#8217;s Susan Ryeland trilogy, I found myself craving more of his particular brand of cosy mystery, so rereading The Word Is Murder felt like the obvious next step. This series takes a different approach, with Horowitz writing himself into the story as an unwilling Watson to the brilliantly abrasive detective Daniel Hawthorne. The result is a clever blend of fact and fiction that constantly tempted me to wonder which details were real and which had been invented for the novel. While the murder mystery itself remains an engaging, classically constructed whodunnit with plenty of twists and red herrings, I found myself paying particular attention to Hawthorne himself during this reread. His mysterious past and enigmatic personality become just as compelling as the murder investigations in this series, and the chemistry between him and Horowitz is what truly makes this series shine. Witty, clever, and packed with affectionate nods to classic detective fiction, this was every bit as entertaining the second time around. Wang, M.L. &#8211; Blood over Bright Haven &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Genre: Fantasy Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling. An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more...]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45453</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>College-style jacket</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/04/college-style-jacket/</link>
					<comments>https://charami.com/2026/07/04/college-style-jacket/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 08:05:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Made]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cardigan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knitting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sweater]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://charami.com/?p=45414</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[When I started this cardigan in early February, I honestly thought it would be a relatively quick project. A classic style, not too complicated, and above all, very nice to look at. It wasn&#8217;t until four months later that it was finally completely finished. It wasn&#8217;t a gigantic project in terms of knitting, but it was one that occasionally disappeared back into the forgotten drawer. I first saw the pattern in the Dutch translation of the book Learn to Knit, Love to Knit by Anna Wilkinson. That retro look appealed to me immediately. The contrasting colours, the ribbed edges, and especially that typical American varsity look&#8230; I had to cast that on someday! That &#8220;someday&#8221; turned out to be February. Quite soon, I noticed that the pattern was causing me more headaches than expected. The book is a Dutch translation of an English pattern, and I still don&#8217;t know whether my frustrations were caused by the original pattern or the translation. I regularly ran into instructions where I simply didn&#8217;t understand exactly what was meant. As a result, I had to undo sections, start over, and reread instructions endlessly. And yes, at times there was no other option but to improvise. Sometimes because I thought I finally understood what the intention was, sometimes because I simply didn&#8217;t want to put any more energy into it and my own solution seemed more logical. Fortunately, there were also things that made me want to keep knitting. I am a real fan of the twist stitch used in the red sections. It is quite easy to knit, and the end result is a subtle faux cable that gives the entire piece more structure and depth. I was also very curious to see how the diagonal line on the front panels would be made. For this, I had to refresh my colour-changing technique. A bit of trial and error, admittedly, but such a cool result! I made a few small adjustments while making it. For instance, I omitted the breast pocket from the original pattern. Personally, I think the cardigan looks just a little nicer without a pocket. I also hesitated for a moment about inserting a zipper instead of the ten buttons from the pattern. In the end, I stuck with the original version. I found exactly the right colour buttons, and looking back, I am very happy with that choice. They fit the retro look perfectly. It had actually been quite a while since I last knitted a pattern that required a full sew. I usually opt for seamless patterns. The assembly itself actually went quite well, although I initially thought the seams turned out a bit thick. Perhaps there is a better technique for that that I am unaware of? But those overly thick seams were mainly remedied during washing and blocking. And while doing so, I tried something new. I used steam blocking for the first time. This involves holding the steam from an iron over the knitting without actually touching it. I actually hadn&#8217;t expected that to make such a big difference. After a regular wash, the cardigan already felt softer, but the steam made it even more supple. The seams also looked much nicer, giving the whole garment an immediate, much more professional appearance. I will definitely use that technique again in the future. Cheers, Charlotte The Details Pattern: College-Style Cardigan with Patch Pocket from Learn to knit, love to knit – Anna Wilkinson Knitted size: 36 Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK in Claret (±420 m) and Parchment (±635 m) Needles: 3 mm Gauge: 24 stitches × 33 rows = 10 cm]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45414</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Fairyloot Adult #50: May 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/07/02/fairyloot-adult-50-may-2026/</link>
					<comments>https://charami.com/2026/07/02/fairyloot-adult-50-may-2026/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 06:05:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book-haul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bookbox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unboxing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://charami.com/?p=45381</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I completely missed the announcement of the May theme for Fairyloot Adult. Probably because I skipped the April box and time seems to fly twice as fast then? Before I even realized it, I received the order confirmation in my inbox. Oops, lol. I actually don&#8217;t really know what I would have done if I had seen the announcement, because this theme could really go in any direction for my taste. The theme for May was Venomous Academia. As the name suggests, the book falls within the Dark Academia subgenre, supplemented with elements such as found family and necromancy. All things that appeal to me. Nevertheless, Dark Academia remains a genre with which I have a somewhat mixed relationship. In theory, I love the atmosphere and aesthetics, but in practice, such books regularly disappoint me. They sometimes rely a little too heavily on the atmosphere and just a little too little on a story that truly manages to draw me in. Still, looking back, I am absolutely not angry with myself for not skipping this box. The book of the month was Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni. For fans of Naomi Novik and Kerri Maniscalco, a dark academia romantasy steeped in necromancy, forbidden love, and a twisty murder mystery set within the perilous halls of a magical institute, as a death mage who hates her magic and a poison mage who hates her are forced to work together to stop a killer before one of them is next. Born with the ability to speak with the dead, Viola hates her magic. It killed her sister, Olivia, and if she doesn’t learn why, it will kill her too. Her only hope lies within the perilous walls of Gorhail Institute of Magic, where Olivia spent her final days. There, Viola clashes with Sylas, a poison mage whose magic stems from three magical snakes. Immortal, tormented, and reckless, Sylas is tethered to a life he never asked for and haunted by guilt for his father’s death. His hatred for death mages runs deep, and he’s determined to keep Viola at a distance. But when an attack forces him to heal her, their fates become intertwined by a magical bond that threatens to upend his loyalties—and his common sense. As more students start turning up dead, Viola and Sylas are drawn into an uneasy alliance that pulls them deeper into Gorhail’s treacherous passageways, where secrets fester beneath the stone and the dead do not rest. And as enemy lines begin to blur and their undeniable attraction grows, Viola and Sylas uncover a chilling someone is hunting mages for their magical relics, and if they can’t uncover the killer in time, Viola will be next. Okay&#8230; this actually sounds really fun. When I saw the label Romantasy pop up again, I pulled a face for a moment, but the murder mystery aspect immediately managed to win my attention back. An intricate murder mystery, combined with an academic setting and necromancy, actually sounds like a story that could completely captivate me. Whether it will actually be a hit remains to be seen, of course, but my curiosity has certainly been piqued. For the cover, Fairyloot once again did their own thing entirely with an exclusive design by @alexanderkopainski. The complete design is reminiscent of a luxurious black leather book. The leather texture itself has a completely matte finish, while the other black areas have a glossy finish. The red accents combine glossy paper with red foil, giving the cover a great deal of depth. It is without a doubt a very beautiful cover. However, I feel that it might look a little too much like quite a few other fantasy covers. There isn&#8217;t immediately anything that really stands out and grabs my attention. Strangely enough, the standard cover succeeds in that just a little better for me, even though it actually uses several well-known fantasy elements as well. But anyway, this Fairyloot version remains absolutely beautiful. As has become customary, the back once again features a variant of the standard cover. This time, the red and black colours were swapped. Unfortunately, this doesn&#8217;t quite come across well in my photos. In reality, the red leans much more towards a deep burgundy, which I personally find much more beautiful than the brighter red in my pictures. Ooh, I really love this style of hardcover. It looks as if the illustration was painted directly onto the book by hand. The beautiful drawing by @lindseycarrillustrates clearly draws inspiration from the standard cover, but at the same time feels completely unique. Very nicely executed and truly beautifully illustrated. Wow&#8230; the sprayed edges are impressive too. These were also designed by @alexanderkopainski and feature an incredible amount of fine detail. Aha&#8230; there&#8217;s the romantasy of it all, haha. The endpapers were illustrated by @dariabobrova.art. I do get the slight feeling that Fairyloot hadn&#8217;t quite used up their silver foil budget yet, which is why they added some extra stars and circles here. To me, that foil feels a bit too random than in some previous editions. Apart from that, I think the illustrations are very well done. I love getting character illustrations, and this drawing style really suits me. Furthermore, the book contains a bonus chapter and the by-now traditional bound letter from the author with a digital signature. All things considered, this is once again a very successful Fairyloot edition. Everything fits together nicely, and you can tell that a lot of attention has been paid to a coherent overall design. I have actually become quite curious about the content as well. I really hope for a real winner and that it delivers what it promises in the blurb. For now, it certainly looks promising! Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45381</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>The Broken Binding SF&#038;F Sub #5: May 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/06/29/the-broken-binding-sff-sub-5-may-2026/</link>
					<comments>https://charami.com/2026/06/29/the-broken-binding-sff-sub-5-may-2026/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:05:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book-haul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bookbox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TBBsub]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unboxing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://charami.com/?p=45351</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In my previous unboxing of The Broken Binding SF&#038;F Subscription, I already mentioned that the subscription was converted from a bimonthly to a monthly subscription after barely six months. This meant that immediately after the April book, a new delivery was already on the doorstep in May. The theme for May was Ghostly Memories and promised a standalone historical fantasy for lovers of strong female characters, ancient myths, and ghost stories. Quite a strong combination of keywords! The book behind this theme was The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean. From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong that meshes ancient myths and local legends into a haunting story of ghosts, grief, and women who will not forgive. When Mercy Chan washes up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only refuge she finds is the infamous, ghost-infested slum of Kowloon Walled City. Since then, she has rebuilt her life, working for the local triad as a ghost talker and dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt the district. The filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon have become her home. But the past Mercy can’t remember isn&#8217;t done with her. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. It claims to know Mercy—and secrets from her past that are best left forgotten. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making. Through spoiler accounts, I had already discovered in advance that this would be the book of May. I&#8217;ve previously read The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. My expectations for that one were incredibly high, but ultimately, it was mainly the disappointment that lingered after I finished the book. Still, I find one book far too few to write an author off, especially when it concerns a debut. Moreover, the premise of her latest book sounds incredibly strong again, so I was completely open to adding this edition of The Broken Binding to my bookshelf. For this edition, a completely new cover was designed by @diamonster09. To be honest, that illustration took a moment to sink in. It is so different from the standard cover, and there is so much going on at once. It is truly one of those images where you discover something new every time you look at it. Still, I am not entirely in love with it as a cover. Don&#8217;t get me wrong: it is a beautiful illustration and technically incredibly well made, but it doesn&#8217;t immediately invite me to pick up the book. Perhaps that will change completely once I have read the story and can actually place all the elements in the drawing. On the back of the cover, we get a variation on the standard cover, adapted to the colour palette of this edition. I actually quite like that bright pink was chosen. On the one hand, it ties in nicely with the illustration by @diamonster09, while at the same time it is a colour you wouldn&#8217;t immediately expect. The hardcover itself features a beautiful grey-blue linen finish with gold foil illustrations by @claymorecovers. In my photos, the blue appears much brighter and more saturated than it is in reality. In real life, the colour leans more towards a soft grey-blue tint, which actually matches the street on the cover illustration perfectly. Moreover, it forms a very beautiful combination with the gold foil. The illustrations feel simultaneously elegant, slightly oriental, and yet also a bit menacing. And naturally, the kittens deserve an honorable mention as well. The sprayed edges were also designed by @claymorecovers, and this is where you can really see how beautifully everything is coordinated. The illustration seems to flow almost seamlessly from the cover, making the entire design form one beautiful whole. Ooh&#8230; brr&#8230; those endpapers. These illustrations make it immediately clear that this story will contain quite a few horror elements. They are gruesome, unsettling, and at the same time incredibly fascinating to look at. They were created by @charisloke. What I find particularly amazing about this is how the illustrations contain various hidden faces. Additionally, the illustrator explained that both images are mirror images of each other and, depending on how you place them on top of one another, together create a loop or even an infinity symbol. It sounds like an incredible amount of details from the story have been incorporated into it, without giving away any obvious spoilers. That alone makes me incredibly curious to discover exactly how much meaning is hidden within. Furthermore, this edition naturally once again features matching headbands and tailbands, a ribbon bookmark, and a signature of the author. Once again, The Broken Binding delivers an edition of exceptionally high quality, something that by now is actually no longer a surprise. I do have the feeling, however, that this edition will only truly come into its own after I have read the book. Almost all of the illustrations seem to contain hidden references and symbolism that will likely only reveal their secrets in retrospect. And&#8230; that only makes me more curious to pick up this book. Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45351</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Page &#038; Wick #10: January 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/06/27/page-wick-10-january-2026/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2026 06:05:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book-haul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bookbox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[page-&-wick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unboxing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://charami.com/?p=45287</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It seems like Page &#038; Wick has been having quite a lot of bad luck lately. I had skipped the September and November boxes, but I had no more skips left for the January one. Normally, I should have received a reset for the new year, but that wasn&#8217;t the case on their website at the time, and I didn&#8217;t really feel like chasing after it, lol. So yes, January wasn&#8217;t skipped, although I am increasingly having doubts about whether the Page &#038; Wick subscription is actually right for me. Their choices are more often than not romantasy, and I have absolutely nothing against that genre, but they aren&#8217;t stories I specifically look out for or would want an expensive special edition of. Unless, of course, you come up with authors like Sarah J. Maas, lol. Anyway, back to why Page &#038; Wick has been having so much bad luck. This is an unboxing of their January book. In the worst-case scenario, I would have expected it in early February. In the end, the book wasn&#8217;t delivered until mid-May. The shipping partner Page &#038; Wick worked with turned out not to be doing their job particularly well. Books were shipped poorly packaged, resulting in damage; unremovable stickers were stuck on books; packages ended up at the wrong addresses, and so on. Page &#038; Wick therefore decided to temporarily suspend all shipments until they had found a new shipping partner and everything was back in order. I find it genuinely admirable that they chose to halt shipping completely to prevent their customers from becoming the victims. Unfortunately, this is not the first problem they have had to resolve. I&#8217;ve already received several books from them with printing errors, production problems, or other mistakes. And yes, naturally, this plays a role in my consideration of whether I want to keep this subscription. But anyway, back to this unboxing. The theme for January was Once Upon a Winters Curse, which naturally immediately brings to mind a winter fairy tale. As expected, this book would once again be a romantasy, full of shadow magic, a cursed kingdom, and the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. In themselves, all elements that I quite enjoy in stories. This book was A Curse of Shadows and Ice by Catharina Maura. From USA Today Bestselling Author Catharina Maura comes a Beauty and the Beast retelling featuring a cursed emperor, a princess who possesses forbidden magic, and a marriage that could save them all. Princess Arabella of Althea is left no choice when Felix Osiris, the Shadow Emperor, threatens to overthrow her country unless she agrees to marry him. When she learns his empire is cursed and she’s destined to set them free, they come to an agreement: help him minimize the curse’s effect on his people, and he’ll let her go. As Felix teaches Arabella how to control her forbidden and volatile magic, her feelings for him turn from hatred to passion… and she realizes that she must break the curse, or she’ll lose him forever. I had never heard of this author or this book, but as soon as I read that it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, my enthusiasm immediately shot up quite a bit, lol. In itself, the synopsis indeed sounds like something that would fit nicely within such a retelling. Perhaps not particularly original or surprising, but that association alone automatically makes me more interested. To be honest, I didn&#8217;t find the standard cover particularly inspired, so I&#8217;m glad Page &#038; Wick turned it into something completely different. The illustration by @kasia.jasmina really feels like something out of a fairytale book. I find the duality between the light side on the left and the dark side on the right particularly original. The drawing is packed with details, and I am a fan of the drawing style. I also think the way the illustrations on both the front and back are framed with silver foil is very successful. It reinforces that fairytale book feeling even more. This cover is undoubtedly a huge step forward compared to the standard cover. At the same time, strangely enough, it isn&#8217;t a cover that really grabs my attention. I suspect I might just walk past it in a bookstore. Don&#8217;t get me wrong: I think it&#8217;s beautiful. But it doesn&#8217;t immediately draw my eye. I can&#8217;t quite explain why. The hardcover itself, on the other hand, fully exudes that wintry atmosphere. The background consists of shades of blue, purple, black, and white, with text and snowflakes in silver foil. Given that we received a Page &#038; Wick book with a typo on the cover in the past, I reread this text several times to check if everything was correct this time, lol. I don&#8217;t see any mistakes, so phew! Otherwise, I think the hardcover is fine. Nothing really mind-blowing, but certainly nice enough. That same feeling of &#8220;not wow, but nice enough&#8221; actually continues with the sprayed edges. At the top and bottom, we get only a solid colour, while the front is adorned with an illustration of snowflakes and roses. I find it a bit strange that those roses suddenly take such a prominent role here. Until now, that motif hasn&#8217;t really been pushed to the forefront anywhere. Yes, there are roses on the cover illustration, but they don&#8217;t seem more important there than all the other elements. As a result, the choice of roses on the sprayed edges feels a bit unexpected. But anyway, the colour palette fits nicely within the overall design. With Page &#038; Wick, we usually get the same illustration on both endpapers, and this illustration by @drawing.llamas really radiates Beauty and the Beast. The appearance of the female character and her dress, in particular, immediately bring Belle to mind. In itself, I can absolutely see that this is a beautiful illustration and that the artist has a lot of talent. Yet, I wasn&#8217;t really impressed by it. The quality of the endpapers seemed substandard. The drawing looked blurry, as if a small image had been blown up much too large. At first, I thought this might be a deliberate artistic choice to give the scene a somewhat dreamy feel? Until a few days later, I received an email from Page &#038; Wick with, yes, yet another apology. Oh my goodness. By now, it feels like they&#8217;ve had to send out an apology email for almost every book I&#8217;ve received from them. This is what they wrote: Due to a production error, an incorrect file was used for the endpapers. While the difference is subtle, we want to ensure the beautiful artwork is shared exactly as it was originally intended. To do this, we will be sending a high-quality art print to all affected customers. This will be dispatched to you separately once ready, and no action is needed on your part. So yes, the blurry appearance was clearly not a deliberate choice at all. And of course, it is kind of them to want to send an extra art print, but honestly, I don&#8217;t really need that. I would have preferred a partial refund. I increasingly get the feeling that there are serious problems with communication and quality control at Page &#038; Wick. How is it possible that this keeps happening? It doesn&#8217;t exactly make me enthusiastic about the company, and it also gives me little confidence to keep my subscription. I can certainly sympathize with a small business, but after being active for three years, you can hardly call them a new firm anymore. At some point, you really expect that the biggest stumbling blocks are behind them by now and that certain mistakes won&#8217;t keep recurring. To be honest, it is starting to get a bit embarrassing. So yes, my first Page &#038; Wick box after two skips hasn&#8217;t really convinced me that I want to keep this subscription. Their ideas are often good and the concepts are usually interesting. But for me, it lacks that real wow factor too often. And the fact that errors almost consistently pop up in their editions certainly doesn&#8217;t help either, especially for a subscription with a rather hefty price tag. My patience for giving them extra leeway has pretty much run out by now. This subscription offers three skips on six books per year. I have already skipped the books from March, May, and July because not a single book appealed to me enough to want an expensive special edition of it. According to my account, I currently have one skip left, whereas I thought they were all used up. So for now, I&#8217;m letting the subscription run for a bit longer to see what my upcoming choices will be. But I suspect that as soon as I can no longer skip and the book choices don&#8217;t convince me, I will probably cross this subscription off my list. Moreover, last week Page &#038; Wick announced that they are launching a new quarterly subscription based on Epic Fantasy starting in October. And barely a few days later, an announcement for a waiting list for a new bimonthly Spicy Romance subscription followed. They clearly feel ready to expand. However, my experience with them has not yet convinced me of their maturity and consistency that warrants and inspires confidence for such an expansion. Although the words &#8220;Epic Fantasy&#8221; make my ears perk up, I will pass on that subscription with a clear conscience. My opinion might change someday, but for now, they first need to prove to me that they have their current production process fully under control. Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45287</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Illumicrate #43: April 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/06/24/illumicrate-43-april-2026-2/</link>
					<comments>https://charami.com/2026/06/24/illumicrate-43-april-2026-2/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[The teaser video that Illumicrate posted on Instagram for the April theme actually caught my attention immediately. It started with a stately building, followed by a rather eclectic collection of images: old-fashioned keys, a marble statue in a pond full of lilies, an English cottage-style house among the plants, a tiger, a forest, fairy lights, a detail from a carpet, glowing mushrooms… It gave me vibes of Downton Abbey and a dark fairy tale at the same time. Moreover, the trailer was accompanied by a whole series of keywords, from which I mainly remembered &#8220;everything I believed was a lie&#8221; and &#8220;mysterious faerie&#8220;. Anyway, all this to say that I was very curious about this box. The theme for the April Illumicrate was ultimately Faerie Bargains, accompanied by a very sweet, Downton Abbey-style illustration, which somewhat confirmed my suspicion based on the teaser. The further description, in which the book was promoted for fans of forest fairies, folklore, and magical mansions, also completely caught my attention. The first item in this box is immediately perfectly suited to this theme: a mug with illustrations by @rosiethorns88, inspired by Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Just like the book jar in the previous box, I simply can&#8217;t get enough of these mugs, even though my kitchen cabinets are already overflowing. @rosiethorns88 always creates beautiful artwork, and the illustration on this mug is once again stunning and incredibly detailed. Moreover, it fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the books it is based on. The next item is a single oven mitt featuring illustrations by @_smurfee, inspired by The Courting of Bristol Keats, a source of inspiration that certainly fits this theme, but which I personally have less fond memories of. Anyway, ultimately, the source of inspiration for this item isn&#8217;t really all that important. I don&#8217;t think the design is the most beautiful thing out there, but the item is something practical that I can actually use. So I don&#8217;t really care that much that I don&#8217;t like the design as much, lol. Ooh, the third item is another cool one! A set to make a cross-stitch bookmark from a magical fairy bookshelf. Coincidentally, I was recently talking to someone who was heavily promoting the relaxing effect of cross-stitch, and I even mentioned that I wanted to try it myself. Cross-stitch seems a lot less intimidating to me than some of the embroidery kits we received in book boxes before. Moreover, both the end result and the design by @escheeseman are perfectly fitting for book lovers and for the theme of this box. Indeed, this was a box with four items instead of three! The final item is a set of postage stamp washi tapes designed by @forensicsandflowers, inspired by three different books: Lore of the Wilds, These Hollow Vows, and The Rose Bargain. I am always happy with washi tape, so for me, this is a successful item. The postage stamp shape also makes it just a little more original than a standard roll of tape. The book of the month for the theme Faerie Bargains was Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan. Faeries disappeared over one hundred years ago, as suddenly as slipping through a doorway. It was only the very foolish, or the very determined, who held out hope for their return&#8230; In the wake of World War I, the world is a decidedly unmagical place. Mouse Dunne once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Somme, her cousin Bertie’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother Roger came home with devastating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams. Then Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her Thistlemarsh Hall, a crumbling manor in the English countryside, once blessed by the Faerie King himself. But there is a catch: if Mouse does not rehabilitate the house in one month&#8217;s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother. It looks impossible, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie – especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant – but she is out of options. There are wild and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past&#8230; or lose everything. Wow, the blurb for this book sounds like nothing I have ever read before. It combines a whole range of surprising elements and, moreover, sounds much darker and more mysterious than what the standard cover and the illustration for this theme would suggest. I am really curious! When I saw the original cover for this book, I immediately thought it would be a very sweet and cozy story. The cheerful spring colours, the happy flowers, the cute little mouse, and the bumblebee all exude something safe, inviting, and cozy. Even despite the snake at the bottom. However, this Illumicrate cover embraces a much more threatening, ominous atmosphere. So, I was initially a bit confused when I took the book out of the packaging. But now that I have read the blurb carefully, this detailed illustration by @niallcgrant actually seems to fit much better with what the story appears to be based on the blurb. I still find the original cover beautiful, but also somewhat generic. This Illumicrate version, on the other hand, has truly won me over. Oh, but wow. Again, something completely different than I had expected! The hardcover features an illustration that runs across both sides and the spine of the book, created by @harkalelinai, and wow, hats off. The style is reminiscent of a medieval tapestry or an old depiction of a hunting party. It has a very Wild Hunt feel to it. The tone remains mysterious, dark, and menacing, only increasing my curiosity about the story. The illustration on the book block, also by @harkalelinai, fully carries that ominous atmosphere forward. This even looks almost spookily creepy. And above all, very beautiful. The endpapers were illustrated by @olyfrogg, who employs a very different style from the other illustrators of this edition, yet one that feels complementary. The illustrations have something of an old-fashioned fairy tale feel and once again reinforce that sense of folklore and mystery. Moreover, the depicted scenes only further increase my curiosity about the story. Furthermore, the book comes with bonus content and a bound author&#8217;s letter with a digital signature. Yes, yet another magnificent box from Illumicrate. Very happy with the items, but the book in particular steals the show, as it really should. I am extremely curious about this story now that I have seen this edition. I thought the standard edition was nice, but it didn&#8217;t really intrigue me. This dark, ominous version, on the other hand, constantly makes me wonder exactly what is going on in this story. It also makes me wonder which of the two styles will ultimately come closest to the content of the book: the cheerful colours and cute figures of the standard cover, or the dark, menacing atmosphere of this Illumicrate edition. I really hope Illumicrate hits the mark, because these illustrations invite me much more to actually pick up the book. And anyway, a book that visually truly manages to capture the soul of its story always makes a special edition just that little bit more special to me. So, I am extremely curious! Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">45252</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>The Broken Binding SF&#038;F Sub #4: April 2026</title>
		<link>https://charami.com/2026/06/22/the-broken-binding-sff-sub-4-april-2026-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:05:26 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[Although The Broken Binding&#8217;s SF&#038;F subscription started in November as a bimonthly subscription, it was converted to a monthly subscription in April. That means the previously expected six books per year have now doubled to twelve. Although I keep saying that I need to be a bit more selective about the books I buy through my book subscriptions, you absolutely won&#8217;t hear me complaining about this development, lol. The theme for April was Ruthless Kindness, and the accompanying book was actually quite easy to predict. After all, the illustration on the theme card referenced the book&#8217;s cover very clearly. Furthermore, The Broken Binding mentioned that this would be a book for fans of gothic and academic settings, mythological threats, and ancient prophecies. And yes, with that, I knew immediately which book it was going to be and that my interest was most certainly piqued. The book hidden behind those intriguing keywords is the first part in a new series by a very well-known author, namely Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence. The survivor of a brutal academy must exhume her own past in the first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of the Library Trilogy and the Broken Empire series. Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters. The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge. The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws. Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep. That was a mistake. Although Mark Lawrence is certainly not an unknown name to me and I have several of his series on my TBR, I have actually never read a book by him. However, this blurb sounds incredibly interesting once again, so perhaps this will finally be my introduction to this author. For the cover, @christophercantart created a completely new illustration, and I&#8217;m going to be honest: at first, I wasn&#8217;t quite sure what to think of it. I actually consider the standard cover an absolute gem. Although this new illustration uses many of the same elements, the atmosphere feels completely different due to the use of colour and the overall composition. This cover leans much more heavily towards the book&#8217;s title, with the abundance of crows. The whole thing truly has the appearance of a painting, and technically speaking, it is absolutely beautifully executed. Yet, there is something inside me that isn&#8217;t entirely convinced. And I can&#8217;t really even explain why. Because when I look at the details, I find them amazing. The building in the background radiates something almost divine with its golden sheen. At the same time, there is an enormous sense of threat hanging over the entire illustration. Not only because of the three armed women in the foreground and the mountain of corpses at their feet, but also because of the mysterious crowd gathering behind them. So yes&#8230; somewhat mixed feelings. I absolutely admire the illustration, but it grabs me less than the standard cover. I think this is the first time that The Broken Binding has also incorporated the original cover into their edition. On the back cover, we find a modified version of the illustration by @tomrobertsillustration. I am really happy that that original illustration is also represented in this edition, because that cover was one of the major draws of this book for me. Although I fully understand the choice of an orange colour palette within the design of this edition, I still hold a slight preference for the original colours of this illustration. The hardcover itself is finished in a warm orange colour with black foil. The illustration by @claymorecovers aligns perfectly with the theme of the three Furies and feels both elegant and menacing at the same time. Very coolly done. The contrast between the orange linen and the black foil also works particularly well here. Ooh, wow. This looks absolutely brutal and traumatic. @jeleynai created two fantastic illustrations. And by fantastic, I obviously mean &#8220;incredibly well made,&#8221; because these scenes can hardly be called beautiful. They are brutal, violent, and quite confronting. I also find it very fitting that monochrome illustrations were chosen. As a result, they feel even grimmer than if they had been done entirely in colour. Really well done. These illustrations may have sparked my curiosity about the story even more than the blurb itself. I think the sprayed edges are absolutely amazing. The illustration was created by @jeffbrown_graphics and fits in surprisingly well with the rest of the edition, even though a different artist was involved once again. That remains one of the strongest points of The Broken Binding: using different illustrators without the whole thing feeling fragmented. Furthermore, the book comes with matching headbands and tailbands and a bookmark ribbon. And as if that weren&#8217;t enough, this edition is also hand-signed by Mark Lawrence. Although I remain conflicted about my opinion regarding the new cover, I still consider it a beautiful edition. On the one hand, I find the illustration impressive, full of details, and technically executed with incredible strength. On the other hand, for me, it simply catches the eye just a little less than the standard cover. But as a whole, this edition works incredibly well. The hardcover, the endpapers, the sprayed edges, and all the small details combine to form a particularly beautiful and luxurious package. And perhaps even more importantly: the book itself intrigues me greatly. The illustrations on the endpapers, in particular, have strongly piqued my curiosity. So yes, once again an edition I am very happy with, and a book that will hopefully finally be my first introduction to Mark Lawrence. Cheers, Charlotte]]></description>
		
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