tinkaton | 106 ☆ nov - dec 2025 reading

New Year's resolution to update DW more: already failing!
New Year's resolution to start titling my posts: already achieved, A+

The final roundup for last year's reading! November and December book reviews. Lots of graphic novels and a highly anticipated sequel in this one. I don't know if I'm going to bother with a book 'year in review' or just do a general review meme, or maybe neither if I keep slacking off lol.

FICTION

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

A Regency romance about two lady novelists whose rivalry finds them doing normal Regency novelist things, like accusing the other of ripping off her plots and getting trapped in possibly haunted derelict manors together. This is the third in a series but reads perfectly fine as a standalone. (I did not read the previous books.)

Given the book's blurb, I thought there would be more time spent in the spooky manor, but there's a lot more going on other than that. The rivals-to-lovers aspect is light on the rivals side of things also, so don't go in expecting much of that. It's more of an I've-been-pining-for-you-since-my-youth sort of romance. Still, the premise is what hooked me initially so it did its job getting me in the door, and the book was an enjoyable read, with Vasti's writing making it easy to fly through the chapters. There's a few twists and turns and sad backstories and possibly a ghost, and also a dog if that appeals.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

An Asian-inspired fantasy novella about a masked dragon slayer sent to a neighboring country to track down a dragon that may or may not be hiding there.

I enjoyed this, though I think it suffers a little from being a novella. I liked the worldbuilding with the guildknights and the empire vs Quanbao and the dragons, and I liked Yeva's character. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to delve into any of the themes (Yeva being biracial, her disability, the theme of masks or what constitutes home, for example). I would've liked to spend more time with Yeva and Sookhee's relationship too. But I still enjoyed what we got and would definitely recommend the book to anyone looking for a quick fantasy read.

The Strength of the Few by James Islington (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

The highly anticipated sequel to The Will of the Many!

Maybe I'm in the minority here but books should not be 700 pages long!! Especially books in a series! A good deal of this could've been cut down imo, it drags in sections and definitely suffers from middle book syndrome in that a lot of this is just trying to ferry the characters along to the end. When things finally get rolling though, boy do they ever get rolling!! Like in the first book, there's some wild twists and surprises (and of course a cliffhanger ending) that remind you why you're reading this book in the first place. I was legit shocked at a few points.

While I enjoyed this one, I don't feel it was as strong as book one. The academy setting and mystery of the labyrinth and Vis navigating new relationships were the highlights of the first book to me. All of that is gone in book two, and when it does try to replicate some of those things it doesn't have the same charm (James Islington you will never get me to care about anybody in Luceum). Res is clearly where all the interesting stuff is happening; Obiteum had a clear goal/endpoint and some interesting worldbuilding, but Luceum felt pointless and the book doesn't even justify any of it by the end so I guess we'll just have to wait for the next book to see why anything happening there matters??

Overall though I still think this is a really interesting series and I'm excited to see where the story is headed. The overarching plot remains engaging, I still think Vis is a good protagonist, and enough new information was dropped on us that I'm annoyed we're going to have to wait like two years to get answers to it lmao.

Anyway here's how Vis/Indol can still happen--

GRAPHIC NOVELS

The Glass Scientists: Volume One by S.H. Cotugno (★★★★★) [goodreads]

This YA graphic novel set in a Victorian era London populated by people like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and other mad scientists was a lot of fun. Determined to reform the image of mad scientists in the eyes of the public, Jekyll founds the Society for Arcane Sciences, but angry mobs, a flamethrower-wielding Dr. Moreau, the reappearance of the previously presumed dead Dr. Frankenstein, and his own alter ego Hyde all coalesce to cause well-laid plans to begin to fall apart...

I love a gaslamp fantasy and I enjoyed this a lot. The art is great, there's equal parts drama and humor, and Jekyll and Hyde's antagonistic relationship is fun. There's a lot of side characters in the arcane society but you don't really need to keep track of most of them. The first volume ends on a cliffhanger so I'm definitely glad I had book 2 in hand already.

The Glass Scientists: Volume Two by S.H. Cotugno (★★★★★) [goodreads]

I enjoyed volume one so much I sat and read volume two all in one go lmao. Just as delightful as the first and even queerer. Jekyll and Hyde are such fun characters, love a man who internalized homophobia's himself so hard he concocts a dangerous potion to get rid of all his perceived short-comings and instead creates a little man who acts like the world's most annoying bisexual millennial high schooler. Chuunibyou Mr. Hyde. Oh I also liked the bonus content at the end of both volumes, with the extra stories and character discussions.

I made my coworker in the Teen department at my library get the final volume so I could read it ASAP but we're so backed up from the major shipping delays the last couple months it's not even in processing yet-- WAIT I JUST CHECKED THE CATALOG IT MADE IT IN. Hold placed!!!

Lore Olympus: Volume Nine by Rachel Smythe (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

The plot's hopping all over the place in this one but I remain intrigued. Glad to see the Kronos plotline isn't just done with. I also enjoyed getting to see a little more of the other characters besides Persephone/Hades.

Minthe becoming a teacher and doing #feminism now is so funny, I love her. Also Ares my poor little meow meow. 😔 Persephone's sexy dandelion look has been her best so far this entire series.

Muted: Volume One by Miranda Mundt (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

A young witch whose mother and sister were killed in a mysterious fire 13 years ago fails the family's traditional demon-summoning ritual, instead showing an aptitude for plant magic not inherent to her family and setting off events that will help her discover the truth about her magic and her family's deaths.

This felt like your pretty standard fare for a witchy webcomic. The art's decent and the plot could potentially build into something more interesting now that things have been set up in volume one, but at the moment nothing's really jumped out at me yet. Except for the cute demon plant lady popping up at the last second lmao. I suppose beggars can't be choosers about gay poly stuff so I may give the next volume a try once my library gets a copy.

Muted: Volume Two by Miranda Mundt (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

Right after reading the first volume I saw my library actually did have volume 2 lmao so here we are. Same assessment as the first, nothing too exciting but the plot seems to be picking up and some truths (?) are beginning to be revealed. Plant demon Dendro is cute; I loved all her silly faces.

The Deep Dark by Lee Knox Ostertag (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

3.5 rounded up perhaps? A YA graphic novel about a girl living in a small desert town with a secret: there's a monster in her basement she has to feed her own blood every night. Things get complicated when an old friend returns to town and these secrets get dragged into the light of day...

This is a hefty-sized tome, but the art is large and spread out over the pages, so it's a quick read. I like Ostertag's style, and the use of color for the flashbacks and black and white for the present day adds to the atmosphere and the stress Mags is under. The story is a bit basic but I think it's a good fit for the intended audience and I enjoyed the relationship between Mags and her childhood bestie Nessa.

Hollow: The Woman in White by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, Berenice Nelle (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

Yet another supernatural legend of Sleepy Hollow has come to life and is kidnapping people, and it's up to the gang from book 1 to solve the mystery in this YA graphic novel.

I didn't like this quite as much as the first book, the plot was nothing memorable. When they weren't going ghost hunting, the kids were dealing with interpersonal troubles with dating and friendships and learning how to communicate, so the messaging there was pretty on the nose. I did laugh at the one girl summoning the Headless Horseman to talk about her relationship woes though lol.

Sparks Volume Two: Royalty by REVEL GUTS (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

While I really enjoyed the first book, this one felt less cohesive and didn't have much in the way of plot. There's more new characters and a new setting introduced and while I very much like Pallas lol I would've also liked something more to happen. Still curious to see what happens next though.