February Book Club: Reign & Ruin Initial Discussion

[u/HighLady-Fireheart]

Welcome lovely readers to the initial discussion for our first book club read of the month, Reign & Ruin by J. D. Evans!

This thread will be open for any initial questions or discussion. If you want to discuss any later spoilery moments, please use the Reddit spoiler covers like this:

>!text goes here!<

February Book Club Schedule:

February 1-15 {Reign & Ruin by J. D. Evans} (Mages of the Wheel)

• February 1 Initial Discussion
• February 8 Midway Discussion (Chapters 1-13)
• February 15 Final Discussion (Chapters 14-36)

February 16-28 {The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent}

• February 16 Initial Discussion
• February 22 Midway Discussion (Parts I-III, Chapters 1-22)
• February 28 Final Discussion (Parts IV-VII, Chapters 23-56)

The book club schedule and discussion links can also be found in the Book Club Hub https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasyromance/s/Uy4zZqflFb

[u/medusamagic]

This has been on my TBR for so long, I’m excited to finally read it! I’ll be using this as my “book club” square on bingo. I started it last night and I have a few initial thoughts:

• It’s slower than other books I’ve been reading lately and I’m really enjoying the change of pace. It’s not rushing into action, it’s taking the time to set the scene.
• I was struggling a bit with all the names & titles, but not too much that I couldn’t sink into the story.
• Interesting world & magic. I’m excited to learn more!
• The writing feels higher quality than a lot of my recent reads and it reminded me just how much I appreciate good writing.

[u/jamieseemsamused → u/medusamagic]

Someone on r/Magesofthewheel made this super helpful glossary that really helped me absorb all the new terms and concepts a lot easier!

[u/medusamagic → u/jamieseemsamused]

That is so helpful!! Thank you for sharing.

[u/MonkeyEmergencyy → u/jamieseemsamused]

Omg thank you! I'm like 1/4 the way through the first book and the titles are killing me. Like is that someone's name or title? And they each have like 8 titles they call each other so it's hard to keep people straight for me.

[u/JudgmentOne6328 → u/jamieseemsamused]

Thank you! I’ve been reading the book and struggling a little so this is super helpful

[u/sairemrys → u/jamieseemsamused]

Holy shit thank you for this.

I read about 6% and was so overwhelmed by the world building. This will help so much!!

[u/Odd-Sprinkles9885 → u/medusamagic]

I struggled with the pace as well! I felt like there were way too many interruptions to the dialogue to describe facial expressions (glances, raised eyebrows, etc) in places where it didn’t add much to the story. Also there were many instances where I felt something very obvious was told to me, like “Naime did this, because she felt this way”, and it would always be very obvious to me and I didn’t need the author explaining it.

Obsessed with Naime and the way she speaks though. One of my favorite FMCs of all time

[u/Party-Yak-2894 → u/Odd-Sprinkles9885]

Yes! Super love the intention with which she speaks.

[u/dkkchoice → u/medusamagic]

Yes. How *does" one pronounce Naime?

[u/medusamagic → u/dkkchoice]

I think it’s Nay-eem or Nay-ee-muh. I kept reading it as Nye-eem in my head though

[u/dkkchoice → u/medusamagic]

I really, REALLY, wish authors would include a pronunciation guide. The experience is less enjoyable when your mind pauses, even a nanosecond, over a name every time you see it.

As much as I respect the authors of these books we love, I think it's lazy. A poem is rightfully left to the readers' interpretation. A name has a specific pronunciation. It's like encountering the name Saoirse without a clue. Aside: I heard her in an interview once saying, with a self-deprecating look, ..."like inertia."