Woo-hoo! Today was a productive day in every sense. Not only was I able to write 2k words for my entry but also read quite a bit; I caught with 5 entries. Honestly, that's not a big deal for many people, but hey, I'm a slow reader. I take my time and spam a lot. Quite a lot. Anyway, let's get into the books.

The first thing I read was Pretty Dead Things by Nicoismysenpai. Okay, Alex is the coolest person ever and one of the best people I've met on this platform. And oh boy, he's a great writer. Heard of The Soulmate Paradox? Wattys 2021 shortlister? That's right folks, he's the same. This year he is writing a horror novella for ONC and it's so darn good. The descriptions gave me legit chills and the characters are so well done. I can yap more but honestly it will get spoilery...so read this book now!

Next up is Celestial Mechanics by alpaljames. Such a sweetheart who writes wonderful characters and scenes that will make you sob. She's writing a dystopian mystery novella which is bleak, gritty and dark. Oh, and it's also sapphic. I literally cried reading the prologue and the first chapter hit all the feels. It's one of the most well-written entries I've ever read.

Nightwalker by blackrxse05 was next on my agenda. So far, the story is progressing smoothly. The prose is clean and easy to follow. The characters are hugely humorous. The stakes are high and the second chapter is on a huge cliffhanger! I am not sure I'd sleep well tonight because of this. I NEED to know what happens next.

Damnatio Memoriae is a masterpiece. I mean Katie or empiresofwater is a published author. What did I even expect? She shouldn't be writing for us for free like this. The first chapter is fairly short but packs a punch. It was beautiful. Like reading a mythical retelling or listening to a bard's song. People who love historical fiction should 100% check out her entry.

And lastly, I read Ruin and Reign by Shreya_VA She is a person very close to my heart and I consider her to be my elder sister. She is prolific and a published poet (does support her works. They are all available on Amazon!) She is writing an epic love story involving a forgotten goddess, Cupid and a nefarious demon. The prose is amazing, poetic even (no pun intended). I am already invested in the characters and whatever twists are coming their way. What a way to return after a long hiatus!

That's it for today, folks. I'll be back tomorrow with more reading updates.

~•~