Reading Update
Be forewarned, there are spoilers ahead! Here are the books I recently finished, the books I'm currently reading, and some of the upcoming books waiting on my TBR shelf right now. I hope they inspire you to always be reading and maybe offer up some ideas for what to read next.
Recently I Finished reading the following books:
A Fire in the Flesh (Flesh and Fire 3) — I know reading this book before The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4) and A Soul from Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash 5) goes against the recommended reading order, but I realized I cared more about the Blood and Ash books not spoiling the Flesh and Fire books for me than I cared about the Flesh and Fire books spoiling the Blood and Ash books. So I went ahead and read away and so far I don't regret it. This book was gripping from start to finish like every book in the Flesh and Fire series for me so far. I think the pacing is quicker, which unfolds the complex world building to me as the reader quicker, which makes it all make easier, faster sense too. Because Blood and Ash's pacing is so much slower, its harder to keep the world building nuggets we get front of mind as new things unfold.
Empire of Storms (TOG 5) by Sarah J. Maas — This series is proving hard for me to get through. It took me a long time to finally finish book 5. My reasons for not enjoying the series feel rather petty, but sometimes that's just how it goes as a reader. I feel like I need to listen to a podcast breakdown of the plot to grasp what I've even read in the past 5 books. Listening to the book might also be greatly affecting my experience with these books, I'm not sure. It just feels tired and ridiculous to me how many names the main character has, like I'm not even sure what to call her because she has so many names, and then at the end of this book she sacrifices herself and they keep repeating this line "nameless is my price" which sounds like a cool sentence but what does it mean?? It's supposed to be meaningful because ANOTHER title she has among her growing list of names is "nameless" which I just find woefully ironic, I just can't. 🤦She's literally the most opposite of being "nameless" she could be, the only reason she has this title is because it's being so strongly asserted in this book's final moments that the title "nameless" applies to her, not because it in any way feels true. I find this to be my biggest gripe with Maas books in general though. Nothing feels really organically wrought via a naturally flowing plot, but rather randomly strongly asserted according to the author's whimsy in that moment of writing.
Right now I have the following titles on my Currently Reading list:
The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout — I'm having a hard time getting through this book for some reason. I just feel like the plot is being dragged out a bit more than it needs to be. The last 2ish books could have honestly been 1 single book. I'm also missing the Flesh and Fire books which I could not put down and seem to be winning for my affections right now. I still love Poppy and Casteel too, but I'm getting a little impatient for the plot to move along.
Weyward by Emilia Hart — I also just started this book and am really liking it. It's kind of 3 stories in one which is really interesting and really keeps your interest as we jump between timelines.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski — I just started this book and it is so spooky! It's a really great fall read if you're looking for something just a little eerie, a bit spooky, mildly unsettling. It's also a very interesting, new kind of read with footnotes that go on for a few pages and other interesting formatting choices to rifle through. It feels a bit like an adult eye-spy book and I'm loving every minute of it so far. It's also featured some of the most creative sentences I've had the pleasure of reading.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand Out From The Crowd by Allan Dib — Marketing books always have a certain "salesy" writing style that I always find a bit funny. This book is no exception, but a lot of it has been very helpful. It's inspired me to write up a 1-page overarching marketing plan at work and more heavily consider the why/purpose behind each effort. It's really easy to think of marketing ideas to "get the word out about us" and "spread brand awareness" but thinking deeper about gathering specific customer leads from your efforts can be harder. I've also been inspired by his chapter on "niching" to target your community of fans directly rather than trying to contact the world. As a prospective author I really like this form of marketing that focuses on reaching your actual community of fans rather than trying to force-feed your content down everyone's throat. I have a bit of a theory that this helps you garner less haters too, since only the people who are naturally interested in your books will pick them up, rather than everyone trying to stay up to date on what's popular feeling forced to read things they otherwise wouldn't.
These titles are up next on my To Be Read (TBR) list:
The following list are all work-related reads that I'm listening to on Audible and taking notes about how to implement what I learn into my day job as a marketing copywriter and my life as a writer.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
How to Say It: Words That Make a Difference by Allison Friederichs Atkison, The Great Courses
Wordcraft: The Complete Guide to Clear, Powerful Writing by Jack Hart
How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish
and the rest are the books on my funner TBR shelf:
Tower of Dawn (TOG 6) by Sarah J. Maas
Forged by Malice (Beasts of the Briar 3) by Elizabeth Helen
Book 8.5: Calm (Maylak & Kashrem) by Ruby Dixon
Writing Update
This week I'm working on chapters 11 to 15 of book 2 in the Dragon Witch series. I have a schedule outlined where if I write 2 chapters a week, then I should be done writing book 2 by December. But I've already fallen a bit behind as I've needed time to brainstorm through some plot things. I feel like half of writing is brainstorming through roadblocks where you can't quite see the road ahead.
Estimated Publish Date: November 2025
Stay up to date on my writing endeavors and the upcoming Dragon Witch Trilogy by following ByKimber on social media.
I love your writing style and personality I can read through the page! Also funny review of Maas lol 😆