Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros My rating: 4 of 5 stars I did not realize how badly I needed to return to Basgiath until thirteen different Threshing Days reminded me exactly why I love this world. Threshing Day revisits one of the most important moments in a rider’s life through multiple familiar perspectives, giving us the chance to experience the day cadets enter the Vale and either bond with a dragon or fail trying. Rather than centering one character, the novella moves among thirteen different cadets and dragon pairings, revealing pieces of the relationships, fears, motivations, loyalties, and grief that eventually shape the characters we know from the main series. I loved this. Some chapters are funny (Ridoc & Aotrom), some are heartbreaking (Sloane & Thoirt), and several quietly add new meaning to moments or relationships from Fourth Wing , Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm. Ridoc’s perspective was exactly as entertaining as I expected, while...
The Time of My Afterlife by Lucy Mitchell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Florence and Clark have been irritating each other since they were six, so when a freak accident leaves them stranded together in the afterlife, neither is thrilled with the arrangement. That premise had me intrigued from the start. I loved the idea of having the main characters wake up in the afterlife with the person they've disliked since childhood. They are then given a chance to return to their lives, but only if they can figure out what they are supposed to change. With very little guidance, they begin looking outward, helping friends, neighbors, and people carrying grief of their own while slowly realizing they may have misunderstood each other for years. I really enjoyed the mix of enemies-to-lovers, magical realism, and second-chance themes. Florence and Clark’s bickering gives the story plenty of humor. I especially loved watching their assumptions about each other gradua...