 So, it's time to get magical! It is the start of my vlog for The Magic Corridathon. Are we all excited? Yes we are. So, The Magic Corridathon is back if you don't know, but I'm sure you do. G has put it back, revamped, new look, new us, new year, and I'm so excited. It's this amazing, thought out, complex world. If you haven't read about it, I'll leave all the links in the description for kind of the lore behind it all. Go read like all the booklets and stuff. We all the character and world lore. It's so interesting. And I'm really looking forward to taking part in the readathon. So, I believe this round is kind of like a mini start round. It's called The Novice Path. And how it's gonna work is there's seven prompts that you can pick from, but you only need to read two to pass this round. So, I'm gonna read two of the main seven prompts. And then there is also character creation. So, we have until April next year to do this. But we have a character, especially like in the future editions of the readathon. And we have to build that character's background. So, I have until then to do it, but I wanna read one book because there's three sections. There's character backgrounds, like kind of where they're from, province and heritage. So, I am going to do one of them. The prompts I have chosen to get into the Aurelian Academy. So, this first book, I was gonna read for Obsidian Falls, which is read a thriller or mystery book because on the front it says mystery, magic, murder, right? But like no one, this hasn't come out yet, but no one who's reading this is referring to it as a mystery book. It's fantasy historical. And then I feel like it's mystery, but like, is it? Wishful thinking. You're a dreamer. You dream a lot in your sleep. No, not really. Yes, you do. This is a marvelous light by Freya Mask. This is set in Edwardian England back in the day, but it's fantastical because there's this secret governmental bureau for magicians, essentially. And our protagonist has accidentally been appointed like head of this bureau. He's supposed to know about magic if you get put into that, you know, that position, but somehow he's ended up there with no knowledge of what magic is. And it's up to kind of his correspondent, Edwin, who's very like cold and distant to help him figure it out. I think there's like a mystery in it. The unlikely pair will stumble upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of the magical world and a secret some have already died to keep. How exciting. So I don't know if this is a mystery. I feel like it is a mystery, but I think to be safe, I'm going to categorize it as Ash Tauntree, a book that keeps tempting you or top of your TBR. So this is like the number one book that I wanted to read at the moment. So that's what we're gonna categorize it as. A lot of my favorite books are that combination of fantasy, historical mystery. If I write a book, that's what it's gonna be. So yeah, I'm hoping for great things from this. And then secondly, one of the prompts is Ruin of the Sky, read a book featuring ghosts slash haunted house or other supernatural elements. And I have the perfect book for it, which is The Spirit Engineer by AJ West. These are both arcs, by the way, that have been said to me. This comes out in December. And I think this comes out on, it's either the seventh or the ninth of October. I get my like sevens and nines or sixes and nines mixed up. I've spoken about this like a hundred times. It's set in 1914, when the kind of spiritual movement is starting to grow. We have this unreliable narrator in this scientist who doesn't believe in that. And then he starts to super excited for this. This has been one of my most anticipated reads. Spooky, oaky, kooky, and creepy. I'm hoping I'm gonna love both of these. And then we'll decide what the last book is once we've read them. They're quite chunky. Well, especially, especially this one, it's quite large. I'm gonna go start this and read this one first. And I will check in with you when I'm a bit of the way through. One week later. Okay, so, hey, long time no see. Thank God you're here. Where have you been, bitch? Where have you bloody been? Well, for you, it's been two seconds. For me, it's been a week. It's been a week. It's been a fucking week, okay. I read a marvelous light for a week and I read 120 pages in it. And I've decided to DNF, to DNF, to DNF. Oh no, this has now gone downhill. And I don't understand or why. Okay, so basically, this book. I think I told you a bit about what it's about. We have got this secret magical bureau. We have got a guy who has been signed up to lead it. Who had no idea that magic existed. And he is cursed and his counterpart is trying to help him figure it all out and it's gonna be a romance between them essentially. I should love this. It is a fantasy historical mystery. My favorite cross-section of genres to ever exist. And I just couldn't read it. I just genuinely, I would read a page and realize I haven't read any of that page. Like I just didn't read it. My eyes just moved. I did not read it. And I couldn't envisage stuff. I couldn't read for longer than like three pages. I just could not get into it. And I don't really know why because I don't think it's a bad book, right? I don't think it's a bad book. But something about the writing and me just did not gel. I was just not interested. I was really bored. It's everything I should want. And the writing wasn't bad. I wasn't reading it going, oh, this writing is bad. Like the writing was good. But something about me, my brain and it weren't jelly. He loves, he's experienced for me to go through my mind. It was interesting. The magic system was interesting. The magic system was all to do with like cradling. So like if you ever play cat's cradle with string, it's basically moving your hands like that and creating light with your hands like that. So it was really interesting and different people have different levels of magic. I loved that element of it. I just could not fucking read it. So I'm DNFing it and I've spent a week reading it. So that's really not great. Little bit ashamed. But what we're gonna do is we're just gonna DNF it. I basically, I could have DNF this so long ago. I decided on Saturday to DNF it. And then I spent two more days trying to read a bit more and trying not to DNF it. Cause I hate DNFing, I hate it. Especially when it's a book I was sent by the publisher. That's like, I've never done it before. I feel ashamed. I feel embarrassed. I feel like I've betrayed someone. We've just got trying to get about it and DNF it. So what that means is I have not fulfilled that prompt for the magical readathon. Since I've already spent so long on this video, I'm going to just read The Spirit Engineer, which I'm reading next, cause we won't DNF this. I'm gonna read this and one other book for another prompt. We'll decide that after we read this, we'll see what I'm in the mood for. And then when it comes to the personality making up prompts for the magical readathon, I haven't till April to do them. I'll probably just fulfill them the ones I want with the other books I read anyway. So when I start the next magical readathon in April, I'll let you know like what character traits I've got and what books I read for them. And we're gonna hope it, we have much better luck. Listen, we're gonna love it. We're gonna love it. I'm saying it now, cause I'm not having a repeat. I'm not having it, not having it. This camera isn't very stable. I'm literally about to go sleep. Not sure I'm awake enough to be filming this, but here we are. Definitely the right decision to DNF. Definitely the right decision. Me trying to mask the pain that DNFing causes me. Already about a hundred pages into The Spirit Engineer. Actually no, I'm at 80 pages, but I want to go sleep so. I'm really enjoying this. This is really good so far. Basically we're following this guy. What's a guy? What's his name? William? Yes, William who is this professor, scientist dude. And he lives with his family. He has three young children and his wife. And it's set kind of in 1914 in Belfast. He's a very interesting character cause he's not very likeable. He's not a very likeable character. He's kind of mean to his son. He's very much like a man's man in that kind of era. I don't really like him as a person, but he's a very interesting character and his outlook on everything. And we're starting to get some hints of the supernatural. There's been like some scary moments where statues have like come to life and stuff. And we're not sure is it this guy's imagination or is there actually something supernatural? I think we're just about to get into this whole spiritualism movement. I think his wife has definitely been intertwined in kind of the spiritual and believing in ghosts and trying to contact ghosts. And she's been hiding it from him. And I think we're about to find that out. But I'm really enjoying it. I'm loving the historical setting. For me, William is the most interesting part of this. Like I said, he's a very interesting, different kind of character. And I'm so excited for it to get even more spooky. I feel like we are on the verge of the spooky stuff kind of overflowing and it becoming really spooky. That's what I'm hoping. I'm really excited for where it's gonna go. And there's a lot of questions I already have around his wife's brother and the new housemate that they have. I think there's a lot of interesting things and seeds being laid. So yeah, I'm gonna go get in bed and then go to sleep. And then I'll check in with you tomorrow and hopefully I'll have read a bit more. Here, listen, I'm not gonna lie. I don't even wanna be here talking to you because I just wanna go and finish this book. So I am about 190 pages into it now. I haven't got much left. I'm really enjoying it. Oh my God, Jesus Christ. Check out the label. They're blessed mess. Hahaha. It's so spooky atmospheric. I love the spookiness paired with this kind of gothic historical literature. I really like spooky historical because I feel like it just adds an extra element. I'm really enjoying the main character still, the storyline. The one thing I would say is that I wish the stuff that we're talking about now had happened a bit earlier. But we're kind of finally getting really into the nitty-gritty of the spiritual is this happening or is this not happening kind of question. And I just wish it that I'd started like 40 pages earlier. I feel like it's a bit too close to the end which this really feels like we're in the main story now to me. And also the other one thing I would say is that the main character is a very self-obsessed man. Right? And I think he's a very interesting character. I'm really enjoying reading from his perspective. But it's from his perspective, right? It's like I did this, I did that. And he's so self-obsessed, right? So he's only really ever thinking about himself and his standing in society and yada yada. And so I feel like a lot of the other characters on real because he's never focused on them. He doesn't give a shit. So like his wife, for example, he puts her through so much shit. I'd be running for the fucking hills. I mean, I know she couldn't, but like my guy, what are you doing? Yeah, he's terrible, your honor. He's really terrible. I only ever see her as his wife, right? I never know as much about her as I would like to. And maybe that's because I'm used to reading like idealized, like feminist historical fiction where a woman's role is perhaps exaggerated and like women given more freedom than they actually would have had. That's the kind of historical fiction I think I tend to lean towards. And that is not the case in this. I think it's perhaps more realistic, but at the same time, I'm like, I want more from my gal, you know? But on the whole, I'm really enjoying it. They're my only two minor complaints and they're very minor. I'm really loving the spookiness of it, the ghostiness of it. I think it's building intention really, really well. And I really don't know where it's gonna go because I feel like we've kind of hit a ceiling almost intention and I'm like, where are we gonna go from here? So I just finished this. And first thing we just say, the last third of it is definitely my favorite part. Like it got so good because we really got into the spookiness, this, you know, the ghostiness and this character, this main character, unravelling. The ending wasn't expecting that. The ending I did not see coming. I think you are reading from this self-obsessed character. And so you are self-obsessed with him and you kind of struggle to see outside of his like blinkers that he's got on. And so the ending, I was like, holy shit, look at what? I loved the historical setting of this. I thought it's written like in a very historical language. And so that really takes you back. And oh my God, one of my favorite things happened. We know I'm obsessed with when true history characters, like famous historical characters appear in historical fiction. I love it. Like when you're bringing in classic famous figures, like real life famous figures. Oh my God, I love that. I just like if you're doing historical fiction, just do it, just have a little fun. Like, oh my God, I love when that happens. We add a little bit of spice. And after reading this actually, I've gone and looked it up. And so much of this is real, like so much of this is really what happened and the author's interpretation of these real people. Like the main character William Crawford, he exists. The medium who he's kind of studying existed. Their whole thing kind of played out. Don't go look it up until you read the book because you know, what actually happens happens on the book somewhat. But I love that. I love then going away and reading like the research and stuff that must have been done for this book. And I find it so interesting how the author has like fictionalized this real historical event essentially. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. I'm going to give it four stars. I thought it was a great book. It comes out October 7th. So if you're interested in it, go pre-order it. Go get it. It comes out in perfect time for spooky season. And yeah, again, thank you for the publisher for sending me this copy. Not a marvelous light haunting me in the background. And I have decided for the last book in this vlog I'm going to do the prompt tower of rumination, read a five star prediction. And I'm going to read a book that I'm just really in the mood for and excited for and is definitely a five star prediction. And that's Across the Greengrass Fields by Sean McGuire. This is the, oh my God, sick in the way with children's series, maybe. Yes, it's the sick. This is like, obviously you've probably heard me speak about it a lot, this portal fantasy where these kids go into these perfect rods for them. It's very short. So I feel like that's what I knew at the moment, especially as I'm about after this to read Jade City, which is quite long. This is one of the first standalone books in the series. So like a lot of the other series kind of follow on from each other in certain ways. But this I have heard is very much like a standalone. You could start with this book if you wanted. So yeah, I'm going to read this. I know we're following a girl who lives in this world with centaurs and stuff, but this series is clever, fantastical, magical, witty. It's just amazing. So I'm really excited to spend my weekend or today reading this. Okay, so I'm just about to go to the gym. Hence my appearance and I just woke up, but I'm halfway through across the green grass fields and I'm loving it. Of course I am. There was never any other possibility. It could be a 4.5 or a five right now. Basically we're following Reagan who has just found out something about herself that she didn't know beforehand. Her parents have told her. I don't know if it's seen as a spoiler or not. So I'm not going to say it, but other reviews may have said it. I didn't know it going into the book. It's like a very kind of, she's only like 10. So it's something that she of course has a lot of questions about and is thinking about and is trying to like mull over. And then something happens, she's very upset and she ends up finding this door to this world which is all like centaurs and unicorns because she loves horses. That's always been like her passion is horses. Now she's in a world full of them. But so sorry to be, yeah, seriously, but this is the dream. And I think we've kind of just ended the like getting to know the world, getting to know the new characters section and it's about to change and kind of like pop off. I just love Sean McGuire's writing. Like that is the best thing about these books for me, how gorgeously Britain they are. They've got this, oh, this is like my favorite thing in books, when books have this kind of like a luth narrator who is kind of like sarcastic a little bit. I don't know if sarcastic is the right word, but there's this storytellingness to this series, you know? And I love that aspect of it. I also think these books have so many important lessons for us in like all of the series there's so much you can learn from them. It's just so clever and so good. Like, oh, if I could be this clever Sean McGuire, like I would just feel like I'm the best forever. So yeah, I'm going to go to the gym, but then I'm going to come back and finish this. And I'm really intrigued to see where it's going to go because I don't really know what route we're going to go down now. Okay, so I finished it and I'm giving it five stars. I love this. I love this edition in the series, but I've got to be honest, I've got to recognize my own biases. I think I'm at the point now with this series. I'm just going to give every book five stars. I got to this point with the strange case of the Alchemist daughter series. I was never going to give the sequels to this, anything less than five stars. Like objectively, no, they were five stars, but like I was never going to give them anything else. I've got to that point with this series where, you know, I love the world, the vibes, the atmosphere, the characters so much. You won't see me giving this less than five stars. I'm sorry, you won't see it. I really loved the look at kindness in this book, at self-acceptance, at friendship. There was just so much that was lovely about this book. I found the world very interesting with, it's, if you don't know, in Shawna McGuire's Wayward Children series, the worlds are sometimes more like nonsense or logic. I think that's what they're called. And this is definitely more a logical world where there's rules and hierarchies and this political system. And I found that very interesting. I loved the world. Listen, I was never a horsey gal. You know, like horse girls? You know what I mean? Like girls who are super into horses. That was never me. I never showed any interest in horses. But I really loved this more kind of natural world. I really loved the found family in this book. It's one of my favorite found families I've ever read. Pretty legendary if you ask me. I love it. I was looking at some of the reviews and this isn't the most popular book. Like a lot of people don't love this one as much, but I really did. I thought it was so heartwarming and lovely. Just so lovely. Sean McGuire does so well, fitting years into a book. Like we span like six years in this book. Or more technically, but mainly within six years. And it doesn't feel rushed. Like how do you do that? How do you fit that amount of time into 170 pages and it not feel rushed? The first couple of books in this series, I think I gave four stars, but that's because I listened to them on audiobook. And I think I found I prefer to read physically this series. I mean, the audiobooks are still great. They're all free on the script. So like that is something you could do if you wanted. But I have found that I just prefer reading them physically. So that's what I'm gonna continue doing. This series just feels so special. So unique to anything else that is out there at the moment. And I just loved it. I just absolutely loved it. I loved Reagan. If you have never started this series, I actually think this would be a great entry point or maybe you've read only the first one or something like that, you could read this. You don't have to read any of the other books in the series to read this. So I would really recommend it. And yeah, so I hope you enjoyed this vlog for the magical readathon. We did have a DNF. We're just sad because I never DNF. Then we had a four star and then we had a five star. So pretty successful other than the DNF. We're just trees to ignore it. I don't know if I'm ever gonna pick it up. I think it is a hard DNF, not a soft DNF. No, I'm DNFing it for now. I'm gonna pick it back up again later. I think it's like a forever DNF. So I'm sad about that, but it was, I did read it for a week and I only read 100 pages. If you've gotten to the end of this video, leave a wizard or magician emoji. I'll put a picture, I hope you have one in here. Leave that down below if you've gotten to the end of this video. Thank you so much for watching. I appreciate your love and support so, so much. And yeah, I hope you have a rest a great day and I love you and I'll see you very soon in another video. Okay.