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endversewinchester · 3 days

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hi!

do you by chance have Legends POV chapter? i haven’t been able to find it anywhere:(

Yep!

Im only allowed 10 pictures per post so I’m gonna reblog this post with the last two pages

I also have the Fairyloot bonus content for OUABH and the B&N OUABH exclusive posted

Spoilers for the entire Caraval series

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endversewinchester · 4 days

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you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

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endversewinchester · 4 days

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Let's do chapters 6-7

I didn't have time to do this last night immediately after reading, so I'll do it based on my markings. For chapter 6 we meet Genya and she walks Alina through getting ready to meet the royals (love her).

Already Alina is enjoying the benefits of the little palace and being a grisha, which she mentions the regular soldies don't have. Here though she didn't come across as salty, just enjoying herself.

Alina then mentions she's never seen a grisha wearing a white Kefta. It makes sense, as Genya's powers are very unique.

I will have to cringe very heavily at the darkling sending her in to make Alina look good to impress the king, but that's part of a much more complicated discussion.

Genya then shares beauty isn't a big deal among the grisha. It is interesting (and sad) to think that they are all playing dress up just for the royals. In that sense, the Darkling's behavior is less bothersome to me. He is just acclimatizing Alina to their reality, bad as it is.

And finaly we have a very interesting exchange when Genya brings Alina a simple outfit rather than something more fitting with royalty and the rest of the Grisha. When I was watching the show I wondered how likely it was that there were tensions between the king and Sasha before everything went down, and it seems I was right.

Genya then drops the bombshell that Alina has to walk the line so the Darkling isn't accused of treason and harboring her, which is wow. The king allows grisha to serve him as their army and grants them some level of security and luxury, but even he doesn't trust them.

She also asks Alina not to tell anyone she used her powers, as she's not allowed to do so on other grisha. It seems life at the Little Palace isn't as great as Alina thinks it is.

And then after every grisha ever fights over who gets to walk Alina to the king, the darkling shows up and overrules them all (which was like super hot or whatever).

For chapter 7 we discuss the servitude I referenced earlier, which is amazing. The Darkling tells Alina he gifted Genya to the queen, and when she's rightfully horrified he reveals (bitterly) that "we all serve someone." I've had theories since the show aired that he too was abused by the royals, so this line is very meaningful to me.

Then we get a little glimpse at his darkness.

“| hope you don’t expect fairness from me, Alina. It isn’t one of my specialties.

True, if we consider he just told Alina he gifted a person to someone else as a gift. But also true in building up for the reveal down the line.

They get to the palace and Alina questions capitalism how the rich get to live amazing lives while the rest of them struggle. It is a very good tie with the russian references this book has.

And then we have one of my favorite scenes of the show, which I think is really well adapted here. Kudos to the entire netflix cast and crew.

After that, we go meet the queen, and she is a witch very much what you'd expect from a privilleged royal woman. When Alina tells her she's an orphan she almost melts in excitement. To her, it's just a fun, moving story. To Alina, it is her life.

We get out of that, and again do we touch on the topic of servitude. As I already noticed on the other chapter, they are all playing the game in order to survive, but none of them actually like the royals.

Genya laughed, and the Darkling’s lips quirked in what was nearly a smile.

“Welcome to court,” he said.

“I’m not sure | like it.”

“No one does,” he admitted. “But we all make a good show of it.”

To finish this, we have Alina giving Genya a heart attack by refusing to wear the darkling's colors, and then refusing to play by the social rules of The Little Palace. As a darklina, I think that is exactly what draws Sasha to her. The fact she is willing to stand up to him when no one else is brave enough to.

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 5 days

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Amirah, Darrick and Patch because I am in love with my little werewolf OC crew.

No, Darrick isn’t hot. Get out of here with that.

And of course wolfstar.

#my fic #circus au #wolfstar #technically Remus doesn’t wear a flower crown #and technically he should have a scruff rn #but we are ignoring that

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endversewinchester · 5 days

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Hiii! Can you talk more about your thought process behind your OCs last chapter in "a little bit of magic"? I am writing a fic of my own and I'm having a bit of trouble with that

Hi!! Oh my goodness, thank you so much for loving my story enough to ask me this. I’ll release art from these OCs soon as I can figure out the name of the app people use (that isn’t AI generated god no) to customize characters like that.

Anyway, first you need to figure out what is the purpose of that character. Amirah and Darrick in this story for me were about showing how different people are affected differently by the environment they are raised in. I then had to figure out how that trauma would shape their personalities, and build them from that.

Patch was meant to be a mirror to Remus. A younger version of him that he thinks he can save, and give a better ending to. So he is very much kid!Remus but raised in a werewolf pack where you need to be in constant vigilance 24/7.

So basically, anon:

1. Purpose

2. How that purpose shapes those characters.

3. How the OCs tie in to the main story and your main characters.

4. Layers - this is only important if you plan for your OC to stick around, or if you want the readers to connect to them. Remember the layers can’t be conflicting with the other three topics but rather build onto them.

#my fic #circus AU

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endversewinchester · 5 days

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Isn't House problematic??

i live in one so i hope not

#this is so funny #because it is the tv show I grew up in

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endversewinchester · 6 days

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Alright, chapter 5! (This is being such a fun read).

The darkling and his crew are taking Alina by horse to Os Alta. Pause to fangirl he only got her a separate horse on day two.

Here is where it gets fun to me: he’s trying to make friends with her. Knowing the plot, it is very ambiguous whether he is being genuine or not, and I love Leigh for letting us decide.

I would argue it is a bit of both. Oh I know current teens love to paint this as black and white and cement the idea that he is fully rotten, but that’s not what the story is telling me. He did not risk sending his men into the forest for more food. He sat with them and ate with them, the tiny bit of chicken that was his share. It is core to the darkling that he wanted to protect Grisha, and clearly this still matters to him.

And then he lies to Alina about his age, and who he is, but I don’t think he was lying about regretting the fold. We also learn his body parts would be extremely valuable to all grisha, but that he doesn’t fear that happening. I believe him. At least, his adult self on this.

We are then introduced to the notion that the grisha seek him out because life for them is terrible. Experiments. Slavery. Burning alive. It adds to what I said last chapter about how they seem to appreciate the life he gives them, despite being afraid of him.

I think his curiously about what the regular humans think of him is genuine. I don’t know that he cares about their opinions, but I do think he wanted to know. It’s followed by Alina realizing the army has a bias against him and the grisha in general, which is great.

Then we follow with motivation. He tells us the world is changing. Technology is replacing the value grisha would have, which imo is a very valid concern. Ravkans seem to tolerate them only because they can’t replace them. If that changes, it would remove the protection he built.

They finish by talking about the cut, and Alina examining her biases (yes, she would prefer it if it was a sword. Even though the end result is the same.) which I think genuinely upsets him. Not in a sadness way, more like an anger way imo. Grisha prejudice is one of his triggers.

And then we get to Os Alta and see how the social classes are divided, even in the “best” city of the country. Ditto for the palace area, with the grisha living in a separate building behind the first. So even here they aren’t fully respected.

Then we get some flirting and Alina really loves the little palace architecture.

And then a servant tells Alina to lock her door, which is unsettling for far more than just the threat of murder (which would be really low here anyway).

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 6 days

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I don’t do this ever but I’m doing it for darklina 😭

For chapter four I’d like to highlight how safe the grisha feel under the darkling’s command, not necessarily when he is around, but in general. They like the approval. Like winning amplifiers (Ivan) and they are very fond of their Kefta (the healer that gave hers to Alina against her will). It’s like being a part of the army gave them a purpose and validation they wouldn’t otherwise have.

I also liked Alina’s convo with Fedyor on how he didn’t become a healer because his talent is for war instead. He plays it off as being a soldier, protecting people under that cause but it doesn’t seem like he actually believes those words.

And then yes, darklina. The darkling is a bit darker, more commanding than he is in the show, but not by far. Ben read the books and he discussed things over with Leigh, and it shows.

We don’t get his POV here of course, but I can see how he is amused by the fact Alina doesn’t fear him. She questions his orders, she grabbed his arm to force him to give her attention, and she even mocked him now, saying he makes mistakes. It’s all new to him and he’s definitely drawn to it. To the point where he tries to take her anxiety away after seeing that man’s brutal death. I like it, I really do.

#cami reads #shadow and bone #darklina

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endversewinchester · 7 days

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Chapters 3-4

Well there goes Alina revealing her powers and the Darkling. I think the show did a pretty good job with that adaptation. Sure, Mal isn’t in the tent with her, but we get a bigger reaction from him in the show than here, so I’d say that’s a win.

My darklina self is dying. I don’t mark books ever but I am marking this one up. Still, I want to talk about touch.

Three times in this chapter we have physical contact between a “human” character and a grisha, and all three times it is seen very negatively.

• 1st when Alina touches a (human) soldier and he freaks out.

• 2nd when the grisha that is leading her to the darkling touches a (human) general and he freaks out.

• 3rd when Alina touches the Darkling carelessly and everyone freaks out.

Can you imagine living in a world so racist that you can’t even touch people different than you without it being a scandal? Again, Leigh is very subtly but very strongly too, showing us how things work in that universe.

It also caught my attention that Alina thinks the grisha are full of themselves. She’s not necessarily wrong, but considering she experienced only the other side, with people being super racist towards the grisha for no reason at all, it’s interesting she came to that conclusion. I guess she has some biases of her own to work through.

Anyway, more on that later ~

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 8 days

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Chapter 1

The orphanage to army pipeline is very realistic. That said, Mal concerns me.

He hates grisha, except if they’re pretty women?

Also, he hates his past and how he grew up enough to tell Alina to keep it a secret. And he thanks her for that by… abandoning her for his new army friends? None of that is good to me. He is giving straight white man in all the bad ways.

And we have more open prejudice. There’s grisha at the camp and this one girl finds it reasonable to go “they’re not human. None of them are.” And that this Darkling is as bad as the one that created the fold.

Guys. She doesn’t know the plot. This is plain old racism and Leigh once again showing us how villains are born.

Honorable mention to the dude who wants to die crushed by the Darkling’s horses. That was a mood 😂.

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 8 days

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That was a very solid prologue and it puts into perspective something that should be obvious but isn’t necessarily so.

Orphans, people who lose everything in war wouldn’t want to be separated from what little comfort they found. In this case, Mal and Alina have each other.

We can also see there’s already prejudice towards the grisha. It’s clear calling them witches is something Ana Kuya encourages (or at least doesn’t correct them on). The exchange she has with one of the examiners is also interesting. She refers to them as “the first army” (which is to say the darkling’s army) and the woman corrects her to “the King’s army”.

They don’t belong. Even as they fight to protect the country. Even as the woman was being very patient and kind towards all involved. Already Leigh is giving us a tiny lesson on how villains are born, and I am here for it.

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 8 days

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If Jacks loves Eva as an immortal then Legend loved Tella and that will be my flex for the day thank you.

#tella dragna #legend #jacks #evangeline fox #Caraval #OUABH

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endversewinchester · 8 days

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Alright so let’s start. (Considering marking this book, which is something I never do but it will help keep my thoughts in order. We’ll see.)

#cami reads #shadow and bone

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endversewinchester · 9 days

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Final thoughts!

I was worried when I started reading this one because everyone and their mother say it is a bad book, and the ending was bad, and so on. I don’t really agree?

I’m not fond of memory loss plots. I’m just not. So if there’s anything I would have done differently, it would be to shorten that part. The whole Apollo and Eva thing was stretched on for too long at times. Personally, I would have had her remember halfway through the book and then have Aurora betray her and tell Apollo. The rest of the story would build from there.

That said, I appreciated the story she was trying to tell. Jacks struggling with his feelings, aurora being his crazy (ex) friend, the plot with the tree… I liked it all. I just read 79 pages straight because I couldn’t put it down for the final part of the adventure, which is great.

And yes, I liked the ending. I’m not sure why people hate it??? I personally liked it.

I do have a couple more questions:

- How does one become a Fate?

- What is the deal with the Apple?

- Why is LaLa avoiding Dane, and what is her deal with Caos?

Overall Stephanie Garber’s Caraval!verse is a pleasure to read and I’m looking forward to “Spectacular” in November.

Final ratings:

Caraval: 4

OUABH: 3,8

Legendary: 5

Ballad of Never After: 4,5

Finale: 4,5