I made art! I have to excitedly announce it every time because it happens so rarely anymore. Last year I drew Rudolph the reindeer centaur, so this year I drew Cupid. He has albinism, which is why his hair, brows, lashes, skin, fur, hooves, and antlers are all light. I couldn’t find a definitive answer on whether albino reindeer have lighter antlers though. I might still work on it some more, but here you go anyway.

I also digitized and fixed up a little flower brought to life that I sketched on a whim earlier this year. I sort of love him!

I did a playthrough of Shadows Over Loathing, which came out recently, by the same people who made West of Loathing, which is one of my all-time favorite games. I’ve noticed that sorta sequel games don’t tend to hit quite as hard for me, especially when I have SO MUCH love for the original, the gameplay and jokes and whole experience isn’t the shiny, new thing it was the first time. But this was still fun! And this one had a bit more of a story element.

I didn’t do anything to celebrate Christmas, but someone online sent me a gift card, which was really nice, so thank you again if you’re seeing this! I bought a couple ebooks that were on my wishlist and some that weren’t but that I recently stumbled upon.

Anyway, I guess I should say Happy New Year? It means nothing to me, to be honest. Same shit, different year. But there’s always more books to look forward to at least! And speaking of books…

Blog/Bookish Updates:

I will once again be joining the Discussion Challenge, hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight! I’ll be going for “Creative Conversationalist” because I’m going to try and do at least one discussion post each month.

Books I Received for Review:

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice by Bey Deckard, from the author. A Little Lie by Max Turner, also from the author.

Books I Finished:

Did my usual thing of reading lots of Christmas books in December. It’s pretty much the one bit of Christmas spirit I have anymore. Also all of these books are gay (except the Nazri Noor ones because they haven’t had any romance so far, though I think they actually are gay too).

If you’re considering buying one of the books below from Amazon, I’d really appreciate if you’d use my affiliate link!

Shadow Magic // Dark Harvest // Grave Intentions by Nazri Noor – I didn’t find the first book very memorable, but it was enjoyable enough to continue, and the more books I read in the series, the more I’m getting into it.

The Snake Who Loved A Sparrow by Nna Natsuo – A really cute fantasy romance graphic novel with kinda animal people / kinda shifters.

Claimed By the Orc Prince // Blood of the Orc Prince // Ascension of the Orc King by Lionel Hart – These weren’t the deepest books since they were really short, but they were cute and enjoyable.

Kissed By the Krampus by L Eveland – I had some believability issues, and it wasn’t super Christmassy, but there was a sweet romance and some urban fantasy kinda action.

How the Bigfoot Won Christmas by Catherine Lievens – I didn’t love the one character’s pushiness, but it was overall a cute Christmassy romance, with a bigfoot shifter!

How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy by AJ Sherwood – This was pretty short but silly and fun, and I plan to continue the rest of the series.

✨ Merry & Sprite // Bone to Be Wilde by Dani Lakely – These were adorable! I loved these characters and their cute romance and the touch of magic in the stories.

Gingerbread Spiced Daddy by Leona Windwalker – These characters acted in ways no one would act, and then they were having sex and deciding to be together forever. At least it was short.

Wishing for Coal // Christmas in July by Emma Jaye – Enjoyed both of these, though the romance in the second didn’t work quite as well for me. But sort of unpredictable, less formulaic, still sweet romances.

Christmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs – A nice basically contemporary romance with just a touch of paranormal.

Merry Elf-ing Christmas by Beth Bolden – Pushed my believability and I didn’t get much from the characters, but it was an alright Christmas read.

Santa’s Secret by K.C. Wells – A sweet Santa romance, and I liked that it covered the MC’s whole life but was about him finding his happy ending in his 50s.

A Kiss for Santa by Mia Monroe – I posted a review on Goodreads. Really bad case of instalove, but also a bunch of other issues.

&Vixen by Emmaline Strange – A cute romance short story about a reindeer shifter.

Saving Darknight by Lou Sylvre – I didn’t feel the romance, but this was a unique sorta high fantasy story with dragons and magic.

On A Midnight Clear by Lily Morton – A sweet romance with sweet characters about a statue come to life.

Wonderland: Life After the Zombie Apocalypse by J. Scott Coatsworth – This was a sweet post apoc Christmas romance that I really enjoyed.

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping by Sara Dobie Bauer – This sorta romance sorta darker story was unique and took some surprising turns.

A Very Genre Christmas by Kim Fielding – This was a cute story in 1954 Portland about a P.I. and a Christmas elf.

The Legend of Gentleman John by TJ Nichols – This was a short about a trans bushranger in historical Australia and his fae lover. It was a cool idea, and I enjoyed it.

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice by Bey Deckard – This had some darker elements but was ultimately a sweet romance and story about healing.

Dragon Fated by JB McDonald – A great ending in a duology with some angst but also love, and great characters, and a bad-tempered but lovable dragon.

In Case You Missed It:

Here are the highlights!

Books:
– I reviewed Merry & Sprite by Dani Lakely, an adorable m/m romance with a touch of magic.
– I reviewed Dali by E.M. Hamill, first in a really cool sci-fi series about a nonbinary MC.
– I shared my favorite covers from books I read in 2022.
– I shared my favorite characters from books I read in 2022.
– I shared my favorite books and series of 2022.

Games:
– I reviewed A Ghost Story? which was a creative and emotional visual novel.
– I shared my favorite games that I played in 2022.