Did I Pass My Classes? The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2023 Wrap Up

Evening, fellow book lovers! Somehow April has come and gone and even now, we’re starting our second week of May (hello?)! As you know, I don’t participate in many readathons but The Magical Readathon is one that I happily and very excitedly participate in every year.

As always, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, our lovely host G @Book Roast created this Beginners Guide to the Magical Readathon, just in case you’re interested in starting your own journey to Orilium!

April marked the first semester back at school and now that the month is over, it’s time to take a look at how I did for ✨ The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2023! ✨ How well did the first semester of my second year at Orilium go? Read on to find out!

Check out how I did in my first year at Orilium in 2022!

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The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2023

Hello, it’s officially APRIL which means it’s time to get back to school for ✨ The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2023! ✨ If you have no idea what I’m talking about, our lovely host G @Book Roast created this Beginners Guide to the Magical Readathon, just in case you’re interested in starting your own journey to Orilium!

First of all, I wanted to check in and see how everyone doing—how are you all?! There’s a lot of wild energy going around in the world right now—I mean, that always seems to be the case but I feel like the wildness has been amped up lately—so I hope everyone’s doing okay and taking care of yourselves! 💜

Is anyone excited to return to class this year? I’m admittedly excited but also kinda nervous because I’ve not been doing an amazing job of reading lately and it’s taken more effort than expected to get back into reading more often; mostly because there’s just no time! 😂 Thankfully, I have a fairly light class load each spring.

Check out how I did in my first year at Orilium in 2022!

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Magical Readathon 2023 Challenge – Choose Your Own Adventure: Year in Aeldia

Hey, friends! Today I’m back with another reading challenge post and this time it’s for the Choose Your Own Adventure: Year in Aeldia Magical Readathon 2023 Challenge. I find it hard to keep up with all the different challenges so despite following and being subscribed to the Magical Readathon on Twitter and YouTube, I still somehow missed this announcement.

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12 Book Challenge – 2023

Hi there, friends! As the last post before the new year rolls around, I thought I’d share one of the challenges I’ll be participating in next year and that’s the ✨ 12 Book Challenge: 12 friends, 12 books, 12 months! ✨ I started seeing tons of bloggers participating this year but I was a little worried about putting myself out there and getting zero responses in return. When I saw this challenge making the rounds again this year, I thought, screw it—let’s just do it! So I did and (thankfully) people responded!

Below are the 12 books that I was recommended by 12 lovely friends over on book Twitter! I’d not heard of a few of these and a few were already on my TBR, but all of them sound interesting and I’m super excited to read them in 2023! These are listed in no particular order.

1

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Recommended by: Chris @ Biblio Nerd Reflections

📖 SYNOPSIS

Set in an alternative Edwardian England, this is a comedy of manners, manor houses, and hedge mazes: including a magic-infused murder mystery and a delightful queer romance.

For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton, who’d like to welcome magic into their lives. . .


Young baronet Robin Blyth thought he was taking up a minor governmental post. However, he’s actually been appointed parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. If it weren’t for this administrative error, he’d never have discovered the incredible magic underlying his world.

Cursed by mysterious attackers and plagued by visions, Robin becomes determined to drag answers from his missing predecessor – but he’ll need the help of Edwin Courcey, his hostile magical-society counterpart. Unwillingly thrown together, Robin and Edwin will discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles.

2

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

Recommended by: Louise @ Foxes Fairytales

📖 SYNOPSIS

“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love – as both will learn – is quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry. Foz Meadows’s A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you finish the last minute.

3

Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney

Recommended by: Mayri @ BookForager

📖 SYNOPSIS

Life gets complicated when Death gets involved.

To be born into a family of royal assassins pretty much guarantees that your life is going to be… rather unusual. Especially if, like Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones, you also have a vicious allergy to all forms of violence and bloodshed, and an uncanny affinity for bringing the dead back to life.

To make matters worse, family debt looms – a debt that will have to be paid sooner rather than later if Lanie and her sister are to retain ownership of the ancestral seat, Stones Manor. Lanie finds herself courted and threatened by powerful parties who would love to use her worryingly intimate relationship with the goddess of death for their own nefarious ends. But the goddess has other plans…

4

Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

Recommended by: Nicole @ Thoughts Stained with Ink

📖 SYNOPSIS

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

5

Bright Side by Kim Holden

Recommended by: Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse

📖 SYNOPSIS

Secrets.
Everyone has one.
Some are bigger than others.
And when secrets are revealed,
Some will heal you…
And some will end you.

Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks.

They both feel it.
But they each have a reason to fight it.
They each have a secret.

And when secrets are revealed,
Some will heal you…
And some will end you.

6

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Recommended by: Julie @ One Book More

📖 SYNOPSIS

A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.

Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.

When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.

With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.

Includes The Bone Knife, a bonus short story set in the world of Thorn.

7

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Recommended by: Shazzie @ Reader at Work

📖 SYNOPSIS

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love, in this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

8

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Recommended by: Leslie @ Books Are the New Black

📖 SYNOPSIS

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

9

Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater

Recommended by: Timy @ Queen’s Book Asylum

📖 SYNOPSIS

A little bit of sin is good for the soul.

Gadriel, the fallen angel of petty temptations, has a bit of a gambling debt. Fortunately, her angelic bookie is happy to let her pay off her debts by doing what she does best: All Gadriel has to do is tempt miserably sinless mortal Holly Harker to do a few nice things for herself.

What should be a cakewalk of a job soon runs into several roadblocks, however, as Miss Harker politely refuses every attempt at temptation from Gadriel the woman, Gadriel the man, and Gadriel the adorable fluffy kitten. When even chocolate fails to move Gadriel’s target, the ex-guardian angel begins to suspect she’s been conned. But Gadriel still remembers her previous job… and where petty temptations fail, small miracles might yet prevail.

Olivia Atwater explores love, grief, and the very last bit of chocolate in this sweet modern fantasy, full of wit and heart. Pick up Small Miracles, and enjoy a heavenly faerie tale from the author of Half a Soul.

10

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Recommended by: Jess @ Jessticulates

📖 SYNOPSIS

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend… and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

11

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Recommended by: Queenie @ The Erudite Labyrinth

📖 SYNOPSIS

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

12

Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend

Recommended by: Kaya @ A Fictional Bookworm

📖 SYNOPSIS

Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to master the mysterious Wretched Arts, and control the power that threatens to consume her.

But a strange and frightening illness has taken hold of Nevermoor, turning infected Wunimals into mindless, vicious Unnimals on the hunt. As victims of the Hollowpox multiply, panic spreads. And with the city she loves in a state of fear, Morrigan quickly realizes it’s up to her to find a cure for the Hollowpox, even if it will put her – and everyone in Nevermoor – in more danger than she ever imagined.

So these are the 12 books I’ll be reading for this challenge and I’m looking forward to it. Have you read any of these books? Are you also doing the 12 Book Challenge and are you looking forward to the books you’ve been recommended?

Did I Pass My Classes? The Magical Readathon: Orilium Autumn Equinox 2022 Wrap-Up!

Hello, friends! It’s time to wrap up my first year at Orilium and I gotta tell you, I’m shook that I was able to end my semester on a high note because I was for sure certain I’d failed. Thankfully, failure was not the case and not only did I manage to complete my classes, but I was also able to complete more quests. Again, no one is more surprised than I am that this happened but I guess life do be like that? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Check out my Spring Equinox Wrap-Up!

✨ Massive shout-out to G @ Book Roast who did an incredible job preparing everything for us. I’m still in awe of all the effort that she’s put into this and I can’t wait to return next year! ✨

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The Magical Readathon: Orilium Autumn Equinox 2022

Um, hi? How quickly is time flying this year, friends? Because August is here which means it’s time to return to magic school for ✨ The Magical Readathon: Orilium Autumn Equinox 2022! ✨ If you’re confused and don’t know what I’m on about, that’s cool. You can check out this video by our super lovely host and creator of this wonderful magical readathon, G @ Book Roast.

After completing The Novice Path in 2021, Orilium classes officially began in the Spring Equinox. Though I wasn’t 100% confident I’d pass my classes because I’m truly the Procrastination Queen™️, in the end, I managed to read all I needed to pass and I even managed to sneak in a few bonus points for completed quests. 🎉 So, I’m actually looking forward to returning for the Autumn semester even though I know it’s gonna be a bit more challenging in comparison.

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Did I Pass My Classes? The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022 Wrap Up!

Hello, friends! I hope you’re all doing okay as we move into May. Last month, I participated in The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022 and today I’d like to share my wrap up of the books I read for the readathon. Did I pass my classes? Did I manage to complete any additional quests to help my guild gain points? Read on to find out!

My The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022 Introduction Post

Again, I’d like to give a shout out to the creator of this amazing readathon: G @ Book Roast who did an incredible job preparing everything for us. I’m still in awe of all the effort that she’s put into this and I find it very inspiring!

CHARACTER BACKGROUND

  • Name: Meeska Sholara
  • Guild: House of the Arcane
  • Calling: Illusionist Rogue
  • Background: Urban
  • Province: Kerador
  • Heritage: Earthling (Fire)
  • Conduit: Staff
  • Legacy: Pocket Dimension

Orilium Spring Equinox Class Prompts

Luckily for me, as an Illusionist Rogue, I only had to attend three classes: Shapeshifting, Art of Illusion, and Psionics & Divination. This means that I only had to read three books and although it was a close call because I kept putting off my reads until the very end of the month (meep, truly accurate to how I was as a student IRL!), I managed to successfully pass the term! WOO!!! 🥳 I also managed to complete a few quests from the noticeboard. On that note, here’s what I read for the readathon:

SHAPESHIFTING: CREATURE WITH CLAWS ON THE COVER

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Genre
: Adult SFF
Rating: ★★★★½

I’d heard so much about this one and I was scared that it’d go over my head but it didn’t and I totally get the hype. This had me captivated from the very beginning. Vo’s writing was lyrical and flowed off the page. The setting was also magical and the story was fantastic!


ART OF ILLUSION: BOOK WITH A TROPE YOU LIKE

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆

This had the rivals to lovers trope and I really enjoyed it. The first-love romance was sweet and I ended up really liking Bel and Teo and rooting for their romance! I buddy read this with Leslie & Julie and we also had great discussions about what we loved and disliked. It was an empowering story!


PSIONICS & DIVINATION: BOOK SET IN THE FUTURE

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Genre: Adult SFF
Rating: ★★★½

This was my first book by de Bodard and I’m afraid this book was a little too smart for me? 😂 I liked the Sherlockian inspired characters and mystery but the world-building was disorienting and I didn’t fully connect with the characters. I enjoyed the writing though!

additional quests:

I managed to complete more quests than I thought I would! These were all unlimited quests as the time difference meant that I always missed out on the limited quests when they were posted but that’s okay. Each quest was worth 10 guild reputation points so I was rewarded 60 points total!

Letter D in the title

New-to-me author

Steal a book from someone else’s TBR

5-star prediction

Borrowed from the library

Book with multiple POVs

From Initiate to Assistant

I started the Spring Equinox as an Initiate and by the end, I earned 50pts for successfully passing the term and another 60pts for each quest that I completed. With 110 guild reputation points tucked away, I’ve managed to move up on the guild tier to become an Assistant, which means my character’s face is recognisable within the guild. Exciting times! 😃


That it’s from me, folks! Did you join The Magical Readathon too? How were your spring classes and did you pass them all? Did you manage to do any additional quests? I don’t know about you but I can’t wait for next term! 😍

The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022

It’s finally April which means that classes are now officially in session! What exactly am I on about? The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022, of course! Still confused? Check out this video below. The Magical Readathon is hosted by G @ Book Roast who has done an exceptional job preparing all the materials for us—it’s honestly stunning and sets the fantastical vibes of this readathon up so well! If you’re looking for a fun, unique and immersive readathon to join, you don’t need to look any further. This is it! 😍

Last year, I participated in The Novice Path which helped me kickstart the journey to Orilium which was followed up by a mini-readathon last week to “gear up” for classes starting from 01-30 April. Before diving into my classes, prompts and possibility pile, here’s a little character background:

Character BACKGROUND:

  • Name: Meeska
  • Guild: House of the Arcane
  • Calling: Illusionist Rogue
  • Background: Urban
  • Province: Kerador
  • Heritage: Earthling (Fire)

Orilium Spring Equinox Class Prompts+Possibility Pile

It was a little tough to choose a calling because there are so many fantastic options but with a little bit of help, I settled on Illusionist Rogue. I mean, how cool does this sound?

“Illusionist rogues are a mystery in many ways, but one thing about them is certain: reality bends to their will.”

The Orilium Academy “Callings” Guide

To fulfil my calling I luckily only need to take three classes this Spring Equinox: Shapeshifting, Art of Illusion, and Psionics & Divination. There are little extras that we can choose to do, allowing us to earn points for our guild and guild tier ranking, but those extras will be announced via Twitter and Discord and will be more like “limited time/first come first serve” offers.

I’m terrible with TBRs but I’ll be buddy reading one book so that prompt is set but for the other two, I’m not quite sure what I’ll end up reading so I thought I’d share a list of possibilities. Who knows, if you need recommendations, some of these might work for you as well!

*covers linked to Goodreads*

SHAPESHIFTING: CREATURE WITH CLAWS ON THE COVER

I struggled the most with this prompt as it turns out I don’t have many books that have creatures with claws on the cover? 😂 I’m technically buddy reading The Dream Thieves with Leslie this month but any of these options could work too. If you have other suggestions, let me know!


ART OF ILLUSION: BOOK WITH A TROPE YOU LIKE

This is by far the easiest cos I love so many tropes. I’ll be buddy reading My Mechanical Romance with Leslie & Julie, which is the rivals to lovers trope. The others listed here have fake dating, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers/hate to love and found family!


PSIONICS & DIVINATION: BOOK SET IN THE FUTURE

I couldn’t come up with many books on my TBR for this and I’m kinda playing it loose with some of these “future” picks but I’m liking this list! 😂 I’m always open to more suggestions though if anyone has any!


Are you joining the Magical Readathon as well? What’s your calling? Anyone else pursuing the Illusionist Rogue calling or part of House Arcane? If anyone has recommendations, needs recommendations or wants to buddy read anything, let me know! I’d be more than happy to do one 😃

Pondathan Update ft. A Blossoming Garden & Gen’s Side Quest

Hello, friends! Today I’m excited to share a short update on my Pondathon reading progress, Pompom’s updated character card and most importantly… Pompom’s blossoming garden! 😍

Want to know more about the Pondathon? Check out my announcement post!

For the first round of the Pondathon, I managed to complete all the objectives for Xiaolong’s Side Quest, including the bonus and secret achievement. This means that Pompom gets their first badge for their character card plus some exciting decorations for the garden. Yay! 😃

I’ve also started to fill up the garden. I surprisingly only got two flowers last month but I got a lot of planter boxes and garden beds, so at least I’ll be ready to add flowers to my garden as the year progresses 😄 I’m pretty happy with how it’s looking and y’know, I think Pompom is too!


Now that it’s February, there’s an exciting new side quest to tackle: Planting Saplings with Gen! The quest expires on 19 February 2022, 8:00PM NZT. [?]

Click on the banner for more information about Gen’s side quest!

The objective of the quest is to read a book by a Black author for Black History Month. If you read at least three books by Black authors, you’ll receive the Sleepy Sapling badge. You complete the Secret Achievement if you read a book by a Black author with one of the following themes: friendship, family, community, nature.

As I’m not one for fixed TBRs, here’s a big possibility pile from my existing shelves that I’m hoping to finally tackle this year:

Are you reading for the Pondathon? Did you complete Xialong’s side quest and will you help Gen with his side quest? If you are, what books are you planning to read for it?