It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? January 4, 2021

Good Morning!

It’s the start of another week. It’s Monday! What are you Reading is hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

I took off last week and I read a lot less than I thought I would. This only looks like a lot because there are 4 comics in the mix. As a whole I plan on reading a lot less this year due to wanting to pick up some of the big books on my shelves. I will talk more about that when I do a goals post later this month.

Recent Books

Dragon Whisperer #1 by Alex Deluca | Dragon Whisperer | Comic, Fantasy, Steampunk | Add to Goodreads

In a world of clockwork and steam, cursed airship captain, Alexander Faulk, endures his centuries-long quest for an end to his torment: a Dragon! His ceaseless pursuit bears scarce reward, that is until Faulk discovers the bridge between the world of man, and the world of monsters. Her name is Rosalinda Eberhardt, and she is the Dragon Whisperer.

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Dragon Whisperer #2 by Alex Deluca | Dragon Whisperer | Comic, Fantasy, Steampunk | Add to Goodreads

After a daring escape from immortal Captain Faulk’s nemesis – the vile Captain Raven – air galleon, The Gray Wyrm, Dragon Whisperer, Rosalinda, and her new friend, Prince Kip, reach the foreboding sky island Capricia, the home of Obsidian the Dragon! While Faulk and crew prepare for the ultimate confrontation with the beast, mischievous Prince Kip sneaks off, alone, to see the dragon for himself!.

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Monstress: Talk-Stories #1 by Marjorie M. Liu | (Monstress (Issues)) | Comic, Fantasy, Steampunk | Add to Goodreads

Bridging the gap between the fifth and sixth arc (which resumes in January 2021), MONSTRESS returns with TALK-STORIES, a two-part limited series that invites you to eat dumplings beside the fire and listen as Kippa recounts a defining moment from her childhood.

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The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson | (Rithmatist #1) | Young Adult, Fantasy | Add to Goodreads

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the wild chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the wild chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery, one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense—the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

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Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird | (Sherlock Holmes Adventures #1) | Historical, Mystery, Sherlockian | Add to Goodreads

London. A snowy December, 1888. Sherlock Holmes, 34, is languishing and back on cocaine after a disastrous Ripper investigation. Watson can neither comfort nor rouse his friend – until a strangely encoded letter arrives from Paris.

Mlle La Victoire, a beautiful French cabaret star writes that her illegitimate son by an English lord has disappeared, and she has been attacked in the streets of Montmartre.

Racing to Paris with Watson at his side, Holmes discovers the missing child is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. The most valuable statue since the Winged Victory has been violently stolen in Marseilles, and several children from a silk mill in Lancashire have been found murdered. The clues in all three cases point to a single, untouchable man.

Will Holmes recover in time to find the missing boy and stop a rising tide of murders? To do so he must stay one step ahead of a dangerous French rival and the threatening interference of his own brother, Mycroft.

This latest adventure, in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sends the iconic duo from London to Paris and the icy wilds of Lancashire in a case which tests Watson’s friendship and the fragility and gifts of Sherlock Holmes’ own artistic nature to the limits.

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The Lady Jewel Diviner by Rosalie Oaks | (Lady Diviner #1) | Historical Fantasy | Add to Goodreads

Diamonds, Death, and Devonshire tea…

Miss Elinor Avely’s proper upbringing cannot prepare her for the tiny, spinster vampire who crashes into her sitting room and demands to be fed with a sheep.

Elinor already has enough troubles without having to catch ruminants. First, her secret gift for divining jewels has landed her in scandal, exiling her from London society. Second, a nobleman of dubious repute wants her to find a cache of smuggled jewels, hidden somewhere along the Devon coastline. Last – and worst – she is invited to cream tea at the local manor. And while the autocratic and magnificent Earl of Beresford might be there (and perhaps the jewels themselves too), Beresford is the last person Elinor wants to meet over cream tea.

When a dead body is discovered along the cliffs, of course, such delicate considerations become secondary. Fortunately, Elinor now has a small vampiric chaperone – even if said spinster has a habit of appearing stark naked – and together they are ready to risk the hard questions.

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Monstress: Talk-Stories #2 by Marjorie M. Liu | (Monstress (Issues)) | Comic, Fantasy, Steampunk | Add to Goodreads

Once again bridging the gap between the fifth and sixth arc (which resumes January 2021), Part Two of MONSTRESS: TALK-STORIES follows Maika as she opens up to Kippa and recounts an important day from her childhood in Thyria.

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Currently Reading

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner | Historical Fantasy | Add to Goodreads

Hard-drinking petty thief Dellaria Wells is down on her luck in the city of Leiscourt—again. Then she sees a want ad for a female bodyguard, and she fast-talks her way into the high-paying job. Along with a team of other women, she’s meant to protect a rich young lady from mysterious assassins.

At first Delly thinks the danger is exaggerated, but a series of attacks shows there’s much to fear. Then she begins to fall for Winn, one of the other bodyguards, and the women team up against a mysterious, magical foe who seems to have allies everywhere.

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Ripper by Stefan Petrucha | Young Adult, Historical, Mystery | Add to Goodreads

Panic grips the city!

There is a killer loose in New York City, and Carver Young is the only one who sees the startling connection between the recent string of murders and the most famous serial killer in history: Jack the Ripper. Time is winding down until the killer claims another victim, but Carver soon sees that, to The Ripper, this is all a game that he may be destined to lose.

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What are you hoping to read this week? Let’s chat in the comments below!