I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember—truly. I don’t have a single memory of my life before books. They’ve always been there, woven into every season of my childhood and every version of who I’ve become. Continue reading
We arrived in Taipei just an hour before lunchtime, so we decided to dedicate the rest of the day to roaming around Ximending. We visited Don Don Donki, Jinart, Pop Mart, and other stores. We also had dinner at one of the local noodle and dumpling places called Xiao Xiao Hong Dumplings & Soup Dumplings (小小虹水餃小湯包). 🥟
Last week, I launched this feature so I can yap about all things RoTE. I’m already into the second book of the Farseer Trilogy, so I figured I’d make a recap for the first book too. This week, I’m sharing my first entry to make up for Assassin’s Apprentice. It’s been a couple of months since I read Assassin’s Apprentice, and while I don’t remember every single detail of every chapter, I remember how it made me feel—and I think that’s enough to keep going.
What stuck with me the most:
No detailed recap here—just a memory log. But it’s wild how even vague memories of Hobb’s writing still hit hard. I remember the atmosphere more than anything: lonely, harsh, but weirdly cozy? Like I was living in the halls of Buckkeep with Fitz, just trying to keep my head down and not die.
I was worried I wouldn’t be able to pick things up again, but Royal Assassin kind of welcomed me back like I never left. The tone, the pain, the quiet magic—it’s all still there. And I’m already emotionally invested. Again.
So I’ve finally done it. I’ve started my journey into The Realm of the Elderlings—Robin Hobb’s epic fantasy universe that everyone seems to either lovingly weep over or warn you about with a knowing nod and a tissue.
Technically, I’m already well into the journey. I read Assassin’s Apprentice back in November, and now I’m currently in Book 2 (Royal Assassin)—not yet halfway through, but already incredibly invested. Even though I didn’t start documenting from page one, the story’s been living rent-free in my head, so I figured: it’s not too late to start tracking it all.
Hence, this little blog series.
I’m calling the overall series the RoTE Chronicler’s Log, but it’ll be divided into different “series files” within The Realm of the Elderlings sequence. It’s going to be a mix of:
I wanted a place to record my reading journey through this massive series—not just to remember what happened, but to capture how I felt while it was happening. The Realm of the Elderlings is the kind of story that asks you to live with it, sit with it, ache with it… and I want to have something to look back on after the long emotional road.
Whether you’re a fellow Hobb reader, curious about the series, or just here for the screaming—welcome. Entries or logs can be accessed via Menu Bar > Books > RoTE Chronicler’s Log here on the blog, and I’ll be cross-posting over on my bookstagram and Facebook page as well.
Let the deep dives (and inevitable heartbreak) begin.
Wow, this is easily a 5-star read for me and is now probably my most favorite Junji Ito by far! Fragments of Horror consists 10 short stories with different themes.
This isn’t my first Junji Ito so you can say that I’m somewhat used to his out-of-this-world ideas when it comes to his works, but I still get that “what the fu–” reactions everytime I come across something so bizzare like that of Tomio: Red Turtleneck and Blackbird–my favorites–in this collection. It was freaking insane and creepy that I love it; it kind of reminds me of love potion horror stories. Continue reading
This book caught my attention the very first time I learned about it—one of the reasons is that my lolo is from Isabela which makes him Ilocano and Lam-ang is based on the Ilocano epic Biag ni Lam-ang.
Also, I feel like this is the perfect book to kickstart my reading year because I love fantasy and mythology and I’ve been meaning to get back into this genre after hyperfixating on thriller and horror in the past two years! And, not only that, but I also adore the “Chosen One” trope in fantasy, so you can definitely say that this book ticked off all of the things I am looking for in a fantasy book. Continue reading
This had been sitting on my TBR since 2022-ish and I finally decided to read it for Winterween 2025! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Winterween, it’s a readathon hosted by Gabbyreads on Youtube, so feel free to check her out for more details because another readathon similar to this will happen in the summertime as well!
Anyway, I’ve read another book from this author a couple of years back called Mukbang Princess and actually really liked it. It was a short but immensely weird book but the ending was so unexpected that I had to rate it 4 stars. So I’m really looking forward to read more of this author’s works.
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Today I’m sharing some of my most anticipated releases in 2025!
I know there are lot more to come by the middle of the year, but as of the moment, here are the books that I am most excited about. I’m not that big of a new releases reader because I really love reading backlist books of authors, but I do read a couple of new releases throughout the year. So without further ado, here are my most anticipated books this year: Continue reading
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆—𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚.”
My first book of 2025 is this short but whimsical fantasy novel that will definitely pull at your heartstrings and awaken the girl inside you. I love how empowering this book is! Also, I just can’t get over that stunning cover that I might grab a physical copy too! Continue reading
Lenn of Spades ♠ 