Discussions – wings and fables

10 of the Longest Books I’ve Read

May 16, 2026May 15, 2026by wren @ wingsandfablesLeave a Comment

I am someone who tends to avoid long novels. Without a lot of hype or assurance from other readers that a lengthy book is worth my time, I often find it hard to make the investment. And there have been several times where I’ve picked up a lengthier novel and have contemplated how many other shorter books I could be reading when I feel like the pacing is off or the book is dull. I’ve gotten a lot better at DNFing books that I’m not vibing with, but here are 10 of the longest books that I have finished in my reading career.

1. Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon

Page Count: 1,070 pages

I’ve read the first four books in the Outlander series, with this installment being the longest. I own the mass market paperbacks, which automatically amplifies the page count, but this is still a lengthy book no matter the format.

Rating: 4 stars

2. House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Page Count: 853 pages

I LOVED the first book in this series, House of Earth and Blood. I loved the worldbuilding. I loved the characters. I loved the plot. And then the series took a sharp nosedive for me in book two and continued to disappoint until its ending. This installment had a bit of redemption to it with its introduction of new characters (if you know you know), but overall I felt like this 853 page book was not worth the time.

Rating: 3 stars

3. Court (Crave #4) by Tracy Wolff

Page Count: 704 pages

I binge-read this series in 2023 from the first book all the way to the fifth book. And then I never read the final installment. To be honest, the fifth book was set in a pretty strange world that just wasn’t my taste at all. After I saw how disappointed other readers were with the sixth book, I never ended up reaching for the final one. Maybe I’ll come back to it someday, but my personal favorites of the series are Crush and Covet.

Rating: 3.5 stars

4. Alchemised by Senlinyu

Page Count: 1,030 pages

This book is broken up into 3 parts, which helps to pace the novel, but at no point did I feel like I was ready for this book to end. Those one thousand pages flew for me!

Rating: 5 stars

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: The “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Trope

June 11, 2021June 10, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables3 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Dani and is “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Trope.

How do you feel about the “I’m Not Like Other Girls” trope in general?

I had to think about this for longer than I anticipated but overall I don’t mind the “I’m Not Like Other Girls” trope as long as the attitude and portrayal of it is done in a certain way. By that I mean that I dislike when the character it’s being applied to has a haughty attitude or thinks they’re above other girls, but if it’s portrayed moreso that they didn’t ask for it and don’t have a negative attitude towards other women, I don’t mind it. The best example I can think of for this is that I despised Alessandra from The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. Her attitude is so poor and she even had that Other-Women-Just-Don’t-Like-Me mentality which generally equals to you’re rude or mean to them but somehow don’t realize that or don’t have a problem with it. She genuinely believes she is so far above other people in the book that she’s shocked when she actually makes connections with two of the other women who are vying for the king’s affections. I have a full review of the book here if you want to know more of my thoughts on it but, spoiler alert, I gave it a single star. One of the best examples I can think of that is on the opposite side of the trope is Alina from the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Alina never has a poor attitude or thinks she’s above other people even though she’s born with a one-of-a-kind ability that can truly change the world. She’s uncomfortable with the attention and wishes for things to go back to normal before her ability was discovered. Overall, I don’t mind the trope if the character is on the humbler side. Attitude is everything for me.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Lying About Reading Books

June 4, 2021May 30, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables11 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly and is Why Do People Lie About Reading Books?

Some people will say they have read books when they really haven’t; why do you think that is?

To be honest, I think it’s more likely for people to lie about not reading a book than to lie about reading one. By this I mean that I think some readers feel the need to hide what they read such as darker genres or “problematic” authors. The book community is a great place most of the time but many won’t hesitate to shun readers who like to read authors or genres they think are problematic or choose not to personally support, a consequence of “cancel culture.” Regardless, I think that those who do lie about reading a book that they actually haven’t is probably born out of insecurity. They want to fit in, they want to appear well-read or intelligent, they want to join a new fandom but haven’t caught up to stan level yet. Maybe they’re someone who has seen the film and therefore think that compares to reading the book so they say they have. Maybe they’re afraid of cancel culture coming for them so they say they’ve read something just to avoid conflict. I’ve definitely seen some NetGalley reviews that sound as if the person didn’t even read the book which I think can be chalked up to people wanting to either maintain their ratio on the site or want to maintain their auto-approval status with a publisher. I think there could be many reasons for someone to lie about reading a book.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: What Makes a Good Sequel

May 28, 2021May 24, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by M.T. Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left and is What Makes a Good Sequel.

What do you like to see in sequels?

A good amount of character development is always at the forefront for me. We got to meet the characters in the first book, I want to see them grow and become something more in the second book. I also like to see some actual plot for the second book and its own resolution or development. I want it to have a story arc of its own and not just be a part of the bigger picture of the series.

Are there any sequels you liked more than the first book?

Definitely! I have several sequels that I loved more than the first one. A few of them are:

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass series)
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses series)
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls series)
The Wicked King by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air trilogy)
The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi (Shipbreaker trilogy)
The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance series)

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Creating Bookish Content

May 21, 2021May 22, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables18 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Rukky and is How Do You Create Bookish Content.

What’s your posting process?

My posting process is pretty simple. I utilize the draft and scheduling system of WordPress extensively, partly because I have a pretty bad memory sometimes and partly because I’m a Virgo moon and Thrive on Organization haha. I always title each draft so I know what it’s intended for and add my personal header for whichever type of post it is (review, book list, bookish talk, etc.) and add in my usual formatting if it applies such as the way I add a quote to the beginning of every review. I often will write notes to myself in the draft as well as a way to get my thoughts down. If it’s part of one of the weekly memes I participate in, I like to copy + paste the prompts for each week into the draft so I’m able to start working on them immediately when I have time. Nearly every post you see that appears on this blog was written weeks ago and then scheduled for the day that you see it, including my book reviews. For instance, I’m writing this post in the evening of April 24th when it doesn’t release until May 21st. This is also why I’m sometimes slower to respond to comments or appear active when I’m actually not. I get on WordPress a couple of times a week, depending on my schedule and mental health status, so some days I’m extremely active in liking and commenting on others’ posts and sometimes I’m a ghost for a few days at a time. And by “mental health status” I mean that I have a mood disorder which affects me certain parts of the month worse than others so I actively cater when I write my posts and reviews to my “good time” because I’m extremely unproductive during my low days and want to still be able to put out consistent content despite my health.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Books Based on Games/Shows/Movies/Comics

May 14, 2021May 22, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Dani and is Books Based on Games/Movies/Shows/Comics.

“The book is better” is a common outcry amongst book worms, because the book came first…but what about when it didn’t? How do you feel about book adaptations of movies? Books based on video game worlds? Books that tell alternate stories from television worlds? Or even books featuring your favorite superheroes? Do you have any favorites in these genres? Is the book still better?

I had to really think about this week’s topic and consider if I’ve ever actually read a book based off of something else already created in the media. I have read a few and all of them are books based off of movies. In my limited experience so far, I’ve found that these books often follow very closely to their original basis compared to their counterparts. We’re all very familiar with movies and television shows taking creative liberties for various reasons whether it be to make them more appealing to the general population, to make them more relevant to the gen pop, or to make them more “interesting” and more marketable, but it’s rare that we ever see a movie/television show that actually follows closely to its book basis. But when it’s a book based off of a movie, it’s nearly identical to its source material which is interesting.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading YA/Middle Grade as an Adult

May 7, 2021May 25, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Sam @ River Moose Books and is What Makes You Continue Picking Up YA/Middle Grade? Or Why Don’t You?

As adults some of us leave YA/Middle Grade behind and some of us continue to revel in it…but what separates us as readers? If you still pick up YA/Middle Grade, what draws you to them instead of Adult Fiction?

I am in the camp of someone in their 20s who still reads both young adult and middle grade. I think I still prefer to read them for multiple reasons. Although I read far more young adult than middle grade, I still find myself picking up middle grade from time to time. They’re often series that I loved as a child and want to go back to read more installments that have since been published or just to reread my favorites. I’m always amazed at how much development middle grade has, especially since they tend to be shorter books. I also don’t think books have an age limit. As long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters!

Firstly, I think I’m drawn to young adult because I relate to the characters more. Although I’m old enough to live on my own, I’ve chosen to remain with my parents and sibling for the time being so I can’t relate to some of the struggles that adult fiction portrays such as dealing with relationship issues with a spouse, taking care of a family or raising a child, running a household, and so on. When I do read adult fiction, I tend to avoid contemporary novels because of the aforementioned themes and prefer to read historical fiction, fantasy, or cozy mysteries.

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