Happy Pub Day! I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of another month of great releases. Of course, November isn’t going out with a bang. Here’s the three books I’m excited are being published today. What else is publishing today that you’re excited about?
For a while, I’ve been considering reading more paranormal fantasy romance. It’s apparently a subgenre that I haven’t really explored very much of, but many of the books I’ve picked up in this genre are quite interesting. This one in particular sounds funny, but also endearing. I’m also assuming there’s a large romantic component as well, but we shall see. I’m excited to get into this one.
Gemma Smythe dedicated her life to the glory of battle. With her fellow War Monks, she worshipped the war gods, rained destruction on her enemies, and raised the dead when the fancy took her. Until her sister Keeley became the prophesied Blacksmith Queen, and Gemma broke faith with her order to journey to the Amichai Mountain and fight by Keeley’s side. The Amichai warriors are an unruly, never-to-be-tamed lot, especially their leader-in-waiting, Quinn. But when the War Monks declare support for Gemma’s ruthless younger sister Beatrix, the immaturity of her key ally is the least of Gemma’s problems. She has to get to the grand masters, dispel their grudge against her, and persuade them to fight for Keeley and justice. If her conviction can’t sway them, perhaps Quinn’s irritating, irreverent, clearly unhinged, ferocity will win the day . .
I recently signed up for a promotional book tour for this novel, but reading the synopsis has me really intrigued and I want to read this sooner than later. I love stories with difficult decisions especially if it’s filled with royal intrigue. OMG! Yes! Bring it all to me.
Her voice was her prison… Now it’s her weapon.
In a world where magic is sung, a powerful mage named Cadence has been forced to torture her country’s disgraced nobility at her ruthless queen’s bidding. But when she is reunited with her childhood friend, a noblewoman with ties to the underground rebellion, she must finally make a choice: Take a stand to free their country from oppression, or follow in the queen’s footsteps and become a monster herself.
I had this great opportunity to interview Zeyn Joukhadar a few years back when he published his first book, The House of Salt and Stars. I remember reading that book and really loving the storytelling. Now he’s returned with his next story and I think it’s going to be an excellent one. It sounds a bit different than his first book, but I think it’ll be filled with tons of great heart and another intriguing journey.
Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.
One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than sixty years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s–and his grandmother’s–in ways he never could have expected. Even more surprising, Laila Z’s story reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew. Realizing that he isn’t and has never been alone, he has the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare.
As unprecedented numbers of birds are mysteriously drawn to the New York City skies, Nadir enlists the help of his family and friends to unravel what happened to Laila Z and the rare bird his mother died trying to save. Following his mother’s ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family, and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along.
Featuring Zeyn Joukhadar’s signature “magical and heart-wrenching” (The Christian Science Monitor) storytelling, The Thirty Names of Night is a timely exploration of how we all search for and ultimately embrace who we are.
While we’re approaching one of the biggest holidays in the United States, reports of COVID are also on the rise. For most of us, that means we’re staying home, staying six feet apart, and celebrating a family holiday without the family. Perhaps this is a good thing since your family voted for the other guy or you don’t want to get into it with your uncle. But for others, that means losing good quality time with the people you love. It’s a tough time of year when the pandemic has made it difficult for us to get together. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t still meet virtually and watch a good movie or two.
Of course this time of year, I’m always hunting for a holiday movie or two. There’s a few new holiday movies coming out on the streaming services that I will definitely be getting into, but there are also the movies I watch that technically aren’t holiday movies, but always watch during this time of the year. As we approach our big holiday season and traveling to see family is becoming less and less of an option, I just want to spend my days keeping my hopes up and celebrating in the small ways that I can. It’s heartbreaking that I won’t get to see my family this year, but at least I can remember the good times by revisiting some of my favorite films to watch during the holiday season. Here’s what I’m watching for comfort this year:
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
I think this is every reader’s comfort movie. The scenes of them at the ball and having dinners surrounded by candles and chalices filled to the brim with dark red wine. Ah, this movie always brings a comfort. Based off the book written by Jane Austen, what I like about this particular adaptation is that it gets more into the emotions both Mr Darcy and Elizabeth felt for each other. Granted, the 8-part BBC version has those emotions as well, I feel like Mr Darcy in this film had a little bit more soul than Colin Firth’s very stern ‘I love you, most ardently.” It’s the hand flex scene that really sets this movie apart from the original.
Little Women (1995)
I’ve watched the Greta Gerwig version of the film and I thought it was great with some great summer vibes. But the 1995 version with the 90s mega stars including Christian Bale, Winona Ryder, and Susan Sarandon will always hold a sacred place in my heart. It’s not completely true to the novel (neither is 2005 Pride and Prejudice), it’s got the gist of it. But the homliness of family and spending time together during one of the biggest wars in American history, it sounds like something we’re all dealing with nowadays. I also love young Eric Stoltz as John Brook. I just have a mini crush on him is all.
A Little Princess
Something about the directorial style of Alfonso Cuaron and an old story about a young girl who moves from India to America (she’s white, but during the time period, India was occupied by the British) and at the same time losing her father to a massive war being fought in Europe. This is one of the movies and stories from my childhood that dared me to daydream even when everyone is watching. It’s the movie that made me think that there’s tiny bits of magic in the entire world and regardless of race, class, and gender, you can also be a princess in someone’s life. The girl literally lived in an attic space with no warmth or friends. Her reality was way worse than her dreams and yet she’s able to continue to dream despite it. It always made me hopeful especially during my more cynical years.
Amelie
Paris has a very big soft spot in my heart. I love Paris so much that I’ve been twice! But this movie came out at a time when I was losing the battle with adulthood. I was gaining more responsibilities. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I feel like I’m still trying to figure that out, but when I saw young Amelie take on those responsibilities and even find magic in her little life (magic in the real world is very important to me, if you haven’t figured that out yet), I was transported to a place where I can be a responsible adult and go to the day job and work the 9-5, but also believe that I can make change in this world. The change may be small; it may benefit only one person, but the power of changing one person’s life for the better is far more mystical than changing the lives of thousands at once. It filled my little heart with joy and I continue to try and find little things I can do to make someone else happy.
You’ve Got Mail
Of course I’m going to add some Nora Ephron movies to this list! One of my all-time favorites (that actually has a holiday scene) is You’ve Got Mail. Give me any movie that has books as its main topic and you have me sold. You’ve Got Mail is a timeless one, though and so many of us love watching this movie not only because of its book references, but the people in it. You can’t help but love Kathleen Kelly and be on her side to save her little shop against the Big Bad Fox Books. You also love Joe Fox because despite being a billionaire, he’s kind of cool and relaxed. He’s still the modern-day Jeff Bezos, but I think real Jeff Bezos has a bottom line for a heart.
When Harry Met Sally
Oddly enough, I love watching When Harry Met Sally after the holidays and right before the new year. It’s because the last scene takes place on New Year’s Eve and quite possibly one of my all-time favorite declarations of love. I would have never believed Billy Crystal as a romantic lead, but it works in this film and he’s the kind of romantic lead you want. He’s a bit cynical, not very romantic, but the covnersations he and Meg Ryan’s character have throughout the movie really make him such an interesting character by the end. I even love Meg Ryan with her quirky eating style and constant need to have things done in a certain way. Let’s not even discuss the fake orgasm scene at the deli. lol.
What were some of the comforting movies that supported you through the holidays?
If you’re not sure what Dark Academia is, it’s basically an Internet trend. At the beginning of the pandemic and quarantine, some TikTok folks were creating new aesthetics with the items they have in their house. There’s many different aesthetics from cottagecore (people who were baking bread and doing handcrafts) to dark academia (academic types, but with a little bit of darkness). For me, I think I’m a mixture of both?
Ah, academia. The years I spent in school were definitely not the kinds I read in books. The ones I read in books are filled with intrigue and suspense. The moment you pick up a dark academia book, you can feel the tension between the pages. You know they’re fraught with bad decisions and college essays. The difference between a book about a kid in school and dark academia is that there’s always this paranormal element to turn the story on its head. It’s dark, it’s moody. It’s everything you were when you were a teenager.
I love imagining myself waiting outside the astronomy tower with my books and going over the sacred text book I nabbed from the library the other night. Or heading to class wearing my “Join the Demon’s Army Today!” pin on my jacket because I have convictions and things I care about and they also just happen to support the devil. Or riding my bike across campus at 5 in the morning because the midnight ritual went a little haywire and the corpse escaped so now I have an hour before my first class.
The only thing is, I don’t want to go to a dark academic school! LOL. While imagining being in a school like that is one thing, actually being in a school like that is another. Death around every corner. Failing GPAs. Hidden agendas among the faculty. I’m good. I’m happy with just reading about it.
And it’s a fun genre of books! I would say it’s more a sub-genre as the dark academia aesthetic is used in many different genres and in different ways. Some are schools for girls who never leave. Others are blue blooded legacy kids who also dabble in the dark arts. But they always leave a good impression in my eyes and I hope they do the same for you. Here’s a list of some dark academia books to get you started!
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years–summers included–completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future of sublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything or anyone they desire.
Among this year’s incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline–only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even the school’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine. For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had. But the House’s strange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the school–in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence–might be hiding a dangerous agenda within the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.
Combining the haunting sophistication and dusky, atmospheric style of Sarah Waters with the unsettling isolation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Catherine House is a devious, deliciously steamy, and suspenseful page-turner with shocking twists and sharp edges that is sure to leave readers breathless.
Our story begins in 1902, at the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it the Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, the Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever–but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.
Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer Merritt Emmons publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, oppo-site B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern her-oines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled–or perhaps just grimly exploited–and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.
A story within a story within a story and featuring black-and-white period-inspired illustrations, Plain Bad Heroines is a devilishly haunting, modern masterwork of metafiction that manages to combine the ghostly sensibility of Sarah Waters with the dark imagination of Marisha Pessl and the sharp humor and incisive social commentary of Curtis Sittenfeld into one laugh-out-loud funny, spellbinding, and wonderfully luxuriant read.
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world. At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does. But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either. Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.
With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a school bursting with magic like you’ve never seen before, and a heroine for the ages–a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.
Donna Tartt, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her most recent novel, The Goldfinch, established herself as a major talent with The Secret History, which has become a contemporary classic.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.
From the author of Burn Our Bodies Down, a feminist Lord of the Flies about three best friends living in quarantine at their island boarding school, and the lengths they go to uncover the truth of their confinement when one disappears. This fresh debut is a mind-bending novel unlike anything you’ve read before.
It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her. It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous.
They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything. But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them–until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.
His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
This is probably the most exciting publishing Tuesday of the year. So many great books have been published today and some by my favorite authors. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Let’s check out what’s being published:
I think Brandon Sanderson has sorta ruined fantasy novels for me, but in a good way. In the way that I’m always on the hunt for a book similar to this one. I find them more often than not, but The Stormlight Archive stands on its own and the fourth installment, The Rhythm of War, continues the story. I still have to read Oathbringer, but I’ll definitely be reading this one after.
The Stormlight Archive saga continues in Rhythm of War, the eagerly awaited sequel to Brandon Sanderson’s #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from an epic fantasy writer at the top of his game.
After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar’s crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.
Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin’s scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.
At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.
This book was packaged like the representative Romeo and Juliet. I love a good retelling especially if it’s Shakespeare and written with a new perspective and culture in mind. I have a copy of this book that I’ve been sitting on because my brain sucks, but I want to read it soon. It sounds so seductive and serious, but also will blow me away.
Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang–a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns–and grudges–aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
It’s the exciting conclusion of The Poppy Wars! This military fantasy series is incredible with a ton of inclusion of the Chinese military history. One of the most profound stories I’ve read to date with the idea that the main character is actually modeled off a young Mao. It’s truly an incredible story and the final book is out today.
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.
After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.
Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much–the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges–and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
First off, let me tell you how much I love and hate time travel books. I love them because the concept of time travel is always intriguing to me since I was a kid. But I hate them because they’re all usually paradoxes. I think I read somewhere that the concept in itself is a paradox and there is no elegant way of fully making a time travel story work in technical terms. Yet, I still read them and devour them like candy because time travel will always be one of those tropes that are super close to me.
If you could go back, who would you want to meet? In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee–the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold. Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?
I’m a huge fan of David Yoon and Nicola Yoon. I call them “mom and dad” of contemporary YA romances. Today, David Yoon’s second book is out and it’s already on my TBR for this month! I’m actually going to read this one next, so seeing it out in the world makes me extremely happy.
From the bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a contemporary YA rom-com where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love.
When Sunny Dae–self-proclaimed total nerd–meets Cirrus Soh, he can’t believe how cool and confident she is. So when Cirrus mistakes Sunny’s older brother Gray’s bedroom–with its electric guitars and rock posters–for Sunny’s own, he sort of, kind of, accidentally winds up telling her he’s the front man of a rock band.
Before he knows it, Sunny is knee-deep in the lie: He ropes his best friends into his scheme, begging them to form a fake band with him, and starts wearing Gray’s rock-and-roll castoffs. But no way can he trick this amazing girl into thinking he’s cool, right? Just when Sunny is about to come clean, Cirrus asks to see them play sometime. Gulp.
Now there’s only one thing to do: Fake it till you make it. Sunny goes all in on the lie, and pretty soon, the strangest things start happening. People are noticing him in the hallways, and he’s going to football games and parties for the first time. He’s feeling more confident in every aspect of his life, and especially with Cirrus, who’s started to become not just his dream girl but also the real deal. Sunny is falling in love. He’s having fun. He’s even becoming a rocker, for real. But it’s only a matter of time before Sunny’s house of cards starts tumbling down. As his lies begin to catch up with him, Sunny Dae is forced to wonder whether it was all worth it–and if it’s possible to ever truly change.
From New York Times bestselling author David Yoon comes an inventive new romantic comedy about identity, perception, and how hard it can feel sometimes to simply be yourself.
I’m a little surprised this series doesn’t get as much love as it deserves. It’s a Nigerian science fantasy about two young war sisters who’s country is in the middle of finding peace after this massive Civil War (inspired by the real Nigerian/Biafran War). One sister is captured by one side and the other starts a tirade of killings and drug addiction. It’s incredible and filled with tons of emotion and heart especially between the two sisters. Today, the sequel of the first book is out and I’m so ready to see the second half of this story come to life.
In the epic, action-packed sequel to the brilliant (Booklist, starred review) novel War Girls, the battles are over, but the fight for justice has just begun. It’s been five years since the Biafran War ended. Ify is now nineteen and living where she’s always dreamed–the Space Colonies. She is a respected, high-ranking medical officer and has dedicated her life to helping refugees like herself rebuild in the Colonies. Back in the still devastated Nigeria, Uzo, a young synth, is helping an aid worker, Xifeng, recover images and details of the war held in the technology of destroyed androids. Uzo, Xifeng, and the rest of their team are working to preserve memories of the many lives lost, despite the government’s best efforts to eradicate any signs that the war ever happened. Though they are working toward common goals of helping those who suffered, Ify and Uzo are worlds apart. But when a mysterious virus breaks out among the children in the Space Colonies, their paths collide. Ify makes it her mission to figure out what’s causing the deadly disease. And doing so means going back to the homeland she thought she’d left behind forever.
What are you excited is publishing today?
Descriptions of books were taken from Bookshop.org. All links are also affiliate links, so if you purchase something, you’ll also be helping me.
Happy middle of November! I can’t believe that we’re already in the middle of November, which means Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What are you doing this year?
I’m already thinking about ours and planning a super low key Thanksgiving with me and my husband. Instead of the traditional meal, I was thinking of making some of our comforting favorites. Anyway, I’m getting off topic.
This month is shaping up to be a “ignore all the books you need to read and read whatever you want” kind of month. I’ve read four books, put down one book, and in the middle of two books. My reading life feels really uneven lately, which isn’t the greatest feeling in the world. But at the same time, I feel like the first half of the month was also just me sitting and refreshing the election polls in the US to see the results of the presidential election. So while I want to read more, I was doing a lot more viewing on my phone. I hate weeks like that, but I’m hoping it turns around in the second half of the month.
Let’s get into the books I’ve read so far:
What I’ve Read
So far, all romances or women’s fiction. I thought that November would be a little bit better in terms of my mental health, but with the elections and the number of cases of COVID going up, I’m just a stressed out mess. I knew I wanted to read something, so I picked a few light reads to listen to while I worked on my knitting projects.
I was pleasantly surprised with this one especially since this book came out during the summer and I was expecting it to be much more light-hearteded and “fun.” And in many ways, it was but in other ways, it was the story about two young people who both went through some emotional turmoil and needed guidance and a boost from each other to grow beyond what has happened in their lives. I also really liked the conversation between genre fiction and literary fiction. It’s an interesting topic because one is always considered low brow while the other is considered high brow. In my opinion, what you read is what you read. You can put whatever intellectual label you want on it, but a good or bad book can’t hide behind a label.
I was a fan of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, so I picked up Roselle Lim’s second book. Overall, it was a fun and quirky story that will make you so hungry. I really liked this one for its depictions of Paris, the food, and also the magic. It’s usually books like this that fill me with a little warmth and tell me that everything’s going to be okay. I think it’s because I always imagine a world with a lot of magic in it (if you’re willing to see it). Reading a story that feels real in so many ways, but with that little hint of magic reaffirms my love of romance in the world and I most definitely needed a little reassurance in the past few weeks.
For some reason, I went into this one thinking it would be an enemies-to-lovers romance. I think it’s because it has two strangers coming to live in an apartment together. I thought it would be a little of the “odd couple” trope where one is a neat person and the other is a messy person. Turns out, I was wrong on all accounts. The story is quite interesting being a story about two people living in the same apartment, sleeping in the same bed, and never setting eyes on each other. With opposing schedules, it works out for them and the little post-it notes they shared with each other was way too cute.
I received a copy of this one for promotion later this month, but I couldn’t help sit down and read it. It took me twenty minutes to get through this one. There aren’t many dialogue bubbles or a lot of dialogue in general, but what Alice Oseman is able to convey without words is what makes this graphic novel really good. The faces on the characters and the juxtaposition in the situations they are in bring so much life to the story without having to spell it out to the audience. Also, the feelings are SO REAL. Charlie and Nick’s journey through their friendship and then the possibility of it being more really made you root for them. What they felt fit exactly in with how I felt when I had a crush or liked someone. It was so authentic that it will whisper at your heartstrings. I will probably read the second volume before the end of the month!
Currently Reading
Of course, there were books that I assigned myself to read this month and I’m so glad that I only put three books on my TBR. They were The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanrhose, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.
I’m in the middle of The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. So far, it is soooo good. Honestly, I’m putting Evan Winter on the level of Brandon Sanderson. I’m not comparing the two because both their stories are completely different with different characters and situations, but Evan Winter is one of those prolific fantasy authors that really digs into the world building and delivers a hero’s story of revenge and military might. It’s for sure a military fantasy, but it also has that cast of characters that you can’t help but to have a favorite. The main character, Tau, isn’t some Mary Sue and works doubly hard to beat out people who are
I’m not usually the type of person who reads multiple books at once, but since I took a break from Rage of Dragons to allow my mind to settle down, I wanted to read something in between. So I picked up The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren. So far, it isn’t my favorite Christina Lauren, but that’s okay. It’s light-hearted and fun to read, so I don’t mind a bit that it’s not the best. I’ll probably finish this one sooner than later so I can make room for my current read.
If you’re a huge fan of reading like I am, then you want to spend as much time as you can possibly muster into reading your book. You carry it with you everywhere you go. You open your e-reader app on your phone whenever you’re forced to wait anywhere. You might even create a space for yourself without any distractions for optimal reading.
So how do you make the time to read? Well, let’s first talk about how much time do you have?
I currently spend about 3-4 hours a day reading. It works out for me because reading is what I do and share here on the Internet. Despite not really having a full time job, I still manage to fill my day with content to create, messages to follow up on, and then take care of things around the house. But it gives me a good chunk of my day set for a project or two and that’s where the reading time comes in.
I know not everyone gets 3-4 hours a day. I know some folks only have 30 minutes a day to read, but what if I told you that 30 minutes is enough? Check out this YouTube video about time and reading:
There’s a lot to take away from this video, but the biggest takeaway is that if you allot yourself 30 minutes a day to read (and that could be a meal, that could be an audiobook on the drive home from work), then you can read way more books than you imagined. When you do the math, you’re able to read much more with just 30 minutes a day. I feel like I’m selling you on an ab routine, but like any skill in this life it requires practice. Once you’ve built a habit of reading daily for 30 minutes, then you’ll find that reading everyday is manageable and your reading life will thank you.
The biggest component to this is you must make time to read. Similarly to working out three times a week or spending an hour on the phone with your mom every Sunday, you build a habit to reading every single day. Pretty soon, you’ll see that you want to read more and dedicate even more time to reading. Like any habit, you must build it. It won’t come to you easily, but if you can spend three hours on Tiktok everyday and somehow still do your job and spend time with your family, then you can also read a book for thirty minutes.
The other major component is finding the right books for you. We are inundated with so many books all the time. Not only do you see recommendations at bookstores or with your close friends, but now with social media there’s an overabundance of recommendations. New books are published every week and thousands upon thousands of books are published every year. So how do you choose the right book for you?
That requires you looking at yourself and figuring out the genres you like to read. Do you want to gather more knowledge? Perhaps nonfiction is right for you. Do you like a little more escape and read something light and easy? Then maybe a romance novel is for you. The advantage of having a thousand books being published yearly is that there are thousands of choices. You don’t need to rely on the New York Times Bestseller list (although that gives you a good idea of what to read next or put books on your radar) because the choices are endless. Amish chaste romances? Got ’em. Thrillers featuring a female character that somehow is also an amateur detective? Done and done. Fantasy novel based off the retellings of some obscure folklore from Eastern Europe? You know it exists. The biography of that one dude who won that one battle during The Revolutionary War? Yeah, it’s there. Figure out what works for you and read those books.
Here are some other tips and tricks that I also use whenever it comes to a reading session. Of course I don’t enter a reading session without the proper tools and perhaps these tools will also help you when it finally comes down to reading.
Set a reading time
Figure out how much time you can dedicate to reading and then make the habit of reading everyday. For me, I set my time for the hours between 2PM and 6PM. Depending on my day, it might be more or less, but those are my undisturbed reading hours. I don’t look at my phone. I sit up in a distraction-free space. My husband even knows to respect those times because that’s when I’ll be the most focused.
The first part of creating a healthy habit is to actively do it. Actively set up the time. Actively focus on the book. Habits take a while to develop (from my experience, it’s about a month), so keep reading and keep setting up a time and eventually you’ll see yourself just sitting down and picking up the book without having to actively make the time for it.
Make it an event
You’re about to sit down and read, so you might as well make the most of the moment. Make yourself a cup of tea. Set up some cookies. Get into your pajamas and pull up that comforter you love to wrap yourself in. Light some candles. Throw up an ASMR room on your iPad or put on a calming playlist. Creating space for yourself to read and get lost in a story is important especially if you have many distractions around you. It’s also a form of self care. Giving yourself the time to read and making it an event with your favorite treats, drinks, and whatever else you want is similar to that of taking a long and luxurious bath. You’re treating yourself to a lovely session, so might as well reap all the benefits.
Worry less about how much you’re reading and more on what you’re reading
The major piece that always makes me read less is trying to figure out how much to read. If I assign myself 200 pages in a day (which I don’t. Yikes), then I might feel beholden to that. It might jack up my stress and anxiety and then I’ll feel failure at the end of the reading session because I didn’t reach my goal. Don’t worry about when the story will end (unless the book is boring, then end the story right now), but allow yourself to be immersed in it. The story will eventually end as all stories do, so just enjoy the journey. You’ll eventually get to the destination.
Stop when you feel like it
While you may assign yourself only 30 minutes a day to read, you’re also not held to that. Like assigning yourself pages to read, assigning yourself time could be just as stressful. Allow yourself to take breaks. Give yourself the space to not read if your mental health isn’t optimal. Reading is meant to be enjoyed and while we’re here trying to develop the habit of reading daily, stopping after 10 minutes isn’t going to be the end. The only time you should worry is if the book will keep your attention. If you’re not into the book, then dump it. There are far too many books to choose from in this world for you to read a story that you’re not enjoying. Enjoy your reading.
Use a focus app like Forest to keep off your phone
If social media and your phone pose as your biggest distraction from reading, I highly recommend a tool like Forest. This app basically forces you to not look at your phone. You set your time to focus, grow “trees” on the app while you’re away from your phone, and if you ever check your phone or close the app, you lose the trees you’ve grown. It also comes with a myriad of different trees to pick from, settings for music, and you can even compete with friends on how much you can stay off your phone.
I use this app daily because I constantly check social media. It’s a habit of the job! So, putting the focus app on makes sure that I don’t pick up my phone unnecessarily. And I do take breaks. Once I’ve reached the time I’ve set, I take a little 15-minute break to see what’s happening on the Internet.
And if you can’t manage that or if your mental health has been crap because the pandemic, the election, the end of the world and 2020, then audiobooks might be for you. Having the mental power to read a book might just be out of your reach at this point and that’s totally okay. The unpredictable future of our lives really takes it out of all of us and it’s double if we’re struggling with work or finding a job. Audiobooks is like having someone read the book to you. You still retain the story and still get deeply into it, but you don’t have to use the additional mental power to read and comprehend at the same time.
But most importantly, enjoy it. Reading is for you and our worlds always make a way to collide with each other and the restraints we put on ourselves with other components of our life can make reading even more difficult. Enjoy reading because it’s really a gift that keeps on giving.
I hope this blog post helped! Here’s some other blog posts I’ve written about the subject:
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on the Effortless Cardigan from Lionbrand. Since this was my very first cardigan, I wanted to try something easy, but not too easy. I wanted the challenge of making a piece of clothing from a ball of yarn and this one definitely challenged me in healthy ways to overcome my own fears of knitting.
This is a top down cardigan where you work from the top of your work all the way to the bottom. In the end, the cardigan looks like one giant knitted piece. Even the sleeves look seamless! I think the only issue I had was the underarm. I’ve never used my stitch holders, so having to put all the stitches that would later become my sleeves on a separate piece of plastic and then continue on with the sweater felt weird. It felt even weirder going back and actually knitting those sleeves later.
But the top down cardigan is so quick and easy. I’m working on another cardigan now that’s made in pieces and while it’s easier and everything is flat and you don’t have to worry about stretching out parts of the work to accommodate your needles, it’s going to be a lot more work later when I have to sew all the pieces together and weave in those ends (aka the bane of every knitter’s existence).
Can I also mention that when I blocked this work I felt like I had no clue what I was doing? I’ve never blocked anything before mostly because I was making scarves lol. But this work, I blocked and many articles and blog posts really don’t go into detail on how to block or what to look out for or tips and tricks. In fact, most of the articles all say the basic thing; handwash the garment with lukewarm water in a bucket. Squeeze out all the water. Then put it on the blocking materials and pin it down. Maybe that part will get easier the more I do it.
I did learn a few things in the process of making this sweater. First off, that I can make both sleeves at one time! I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos on knitting and they’ve been helpful in finding new tricks that I didn’t know before. There are so many techniques from all over the world and they are all legit.
I’m so happy with the results though. It’s got its little snares here and there, but it looks so cute and oversized. It’s most definitely warm because it’s 100% acrylic, which also means it’ll be easy to clean. I blocked this piece too, so I’ll probably continue to handwash it and block.
Books I Listened to While Knitting
Of course, there are the books that fueled my knitting life. Seriously, reading and knitting has become my favorite hobbies. I get to listen to a great story and create a piece of clothing I can actually wear afterwards. This particular one was special to me because it’s the first cardigan I’ve ever made, so I’m glad to have read some great books while putting it all together.
Lobizona by Romina Garber
This was an absolute stunner and I’m actually surprised it didn’t get more love on Goodreads! It starts off as this story about a young girl and her mother who are running from her father and move to America in order to outrun him. In many ways, she’s “illegal” as an undocumented person living in the United States, but when you get deeper in the story is when the truths start to come out. I will say that Manu felt a bit like a Mary Sue, but truthfully I chocked that up to her instincts. But the story moved with tons of action and lots of emotion. It was definitely fun getting to know Manu and the world she comes from and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Skyhunter by Marie Lu
I’ve been a huge fan of Marie Lu’s work, so it made me so excited to read Skyhunter, her latest series. This is an epic dystopian futuristic story about a young woman who recently lost her partner and assigned a new one; a skyhunter. The skyhunter himself reminded me a lot of Wolverine with his mechanical wings and ability to destroy anything that comes in its path. But I love that Mara has the tenacity and drive to face her odds and still win out. She’s a strong soldier and most definitely outrank the other officers she works with, but when she finally pairs with the skyhunter and they’re working together, that’s when the questions start getting asked and the answers start revealing themselves. So well done!
It’s finally starting to cool down in Southern California which makes me want to reach for something fun and light-hearted to read while I’m bundled up in blankets and a pumpkin spiced rooibos tea. It’s also great because today’s another publishing day and the choices this week are phenomenal. I can’t wait to check these out in our local bookstore soon.
Do you remember the days when the NYT Bestseller List was an abundance of Jonathans? I feel like I never look at those lists anymore and Jonathan Lethem is a name I haven’t heard from in a long time. Remember when he wrote Motherless Brooklyn and everyone called him a celebrity? Jury’s out on that one.
But when an author with a pretty familiar name comes out with a Science Fiction or Fantasy novel (in any iteration of the genre), then I’m intrigued. Do you have the chops to stand up against the big leagues of the genre? Or are you trying to insert yourself to a place where many folks have failed to deliver? It might be easier for Jonathan Lethem especially since his books tend to bend the genres, but we shall see.
The Arrest isn’t post-apocalypse. It isn’t a dystopia. It isn’t a utopia. It’s just what happens when much of what we take for granted—cars, guns, computers, and airplanes, for starters—quits working. . . .
Before the Arrest, Sandy Duplessis had a reasonably good life as a screenwriter in L.A. An old college friend and writing partner, the charismatic and malicious Peter Todbaum, had become one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. That didn’t hurt.
Now, post-Arrest, nothing is what it was. Sandy, who calls himself Journeyman, has landed in rural Maine. There he assists the butcher and delivers the food grown by his sister, Maddy, at her organic farm. But then Todbaum shows up in an extraordinary vehicle: a retrofitted tunnel-digger powered by a nuclear reactor. Todbaum has spent the Arrest smashing his way across a fragmented and phantasmagorical United States, trailing enmities all the way. Plopping back into the siblings’ life with his usual odious panache, his motives are entirely unclear. Can it be that Todbaum wants to produce one more extravaganza? Whatever he’s up to, it may fall to Journeyman to stop him.
Written with unrepentant joy and shot through with just the right amount of contemporary dread, The Arrest is speculative fiction at its absolute finest.
I picked this one up a few weeks ago, but it sounds so good and sweet. It’s the perfect foil for the bigger and chonky fantasy books that are coming out lately. It sounds like such a cute little story with the personality traits of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, but set in modern times with a F/F relationship. It sounds exactly like Bridget Jones especially since that story doesn’t drop too much Pride and Prejudice into it. I’m thinking this is similar to that. I might read this closer to the holidays especially since it takes place during that time period.
After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.
Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.
When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.
But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?
I’m actually promoting this one on my Instagram page today, so that’s kind of exciting. This series sounds so good especially since they’re retellings of Arthurian stories. I love King Arthur and his stories, but they are definitely a little old school. I’m so happy to hear that someone’s taking the initiative to recreate these stories through Guinevere’s lens. I now have both the books from this trilogy, so I should finally get to reading it. I’ve been wanting to read Kiersten White, too, so this will get two things done at once.
EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.
Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.
When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?
Happy Monday! Last week, I decided to take some time off to recharge. I was trying to decide if I should post something about it, but I decided to just go ahead and take the time off. Let me tell you, it was time so well spent.
I feel like I’ve been taking more mental breaks lately, but I’m not surprised. This year and the pandemic has drained so many of us with all the restrictions, the weary future, and made me rethink a lot of what I do here. So taking some time to decompress, center myself, and refocus has been immensely helpful. Something about being present in the moment and enjoying everything that’s happening around you rather than being cooped up in your phone really breaks you away from stress especially doomscrolling.
But you’re probably curious as to what I did while I was away. I will say, I didn’t just sit in front of my TV all day (even though that was a large component of my time off). I kept busy and I wanted to share a little bit of what I saw with you.
Finished the pieces of the cardigan I’ve been knitting. It’s almost done! I just need to block the pieces and then sew them together. I hope that the sweater turns out cozy because the yarn wasn’t that fun to work with. Also, I messed up and restarted often with this piece, so I’m excited for this labor of love to be done with.
Read a bunch of romance/women’s fiction novels. Well, this year has put me back on romance and womens fiction novels. It’s funny because I can see myself at the same time last year talking about how I won’t be reading these books anymore. And here we are, one week into November and I’m three books in.
Specifically, I read Beach Readby Emily Henry, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim, and The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. I think my favorite was The Flatshare because that’s just an experience I’ve never had before (sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a stranger that you share opposite schedules with so you never see each other and leave cute post-it notes all over the place with your conversation). I was expecting it to be an enemies-to-lovers with some more passive aggressive notes sent to each other, but this book really surprised me and filled me with joy.
The other books I read were exceptional as well. I felt Vanessa Yu was an embodiment of me and Beach Read had some interesting conversations about books and their genres. All three were quite entertaining and kept me happy while I was away.
Worked on my Animal Crossing island. This one is silly, but I was watching a documentary on a gardener who owns one of the most beautiful gardens in the entire world. It has inspirations from all over the place and grand French landscapes that reminded me of my time in Versailles. I wanted to recreate that landscaping a little with my Animal Crossing island (since where will I find the money and land to actually create a lush garden?). The results look good, but I’m still working to improve it and finally get my five-star rating.
Took a walk on the beach. Bucky and I were chatting about how we don’t spend enough time outside. We haven’t gone on many hikes and we haven’t gone to the beach at all since the pandemic broke out. So we made a date to meet at 4pm and head out to the beach for a little 1:1 time with the sunset.
I absolutely loved this time especially since we went to the dog beach. Watching little friends running around and having a great time while the sun nestled behind the horizon is levels of comfort that I wish I could have everyday. The sun’s rays are also exceptional at this time of year as the weather finally cools down.
Started doodling in my journal. This was sort of a leap, but I started to doodle in my journal. It came about because I wanted to buy one of those little printers for your phone. I thought to myself “well, I could always try and draw it” and now my journal has silly little doodles of food I’ve eaten and moments I want to remember. Of course, the photo of the thing looks better than my drawing, but my journal is for myself so I can do whatever I want.
Bought a book. I’ve been trying really hard with only buying books that I’ve read, but a book I’ve had my eye on for a while went on sale and so I picked it up. It’s Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zao. I heard a lot of things about this book (both the good and the controversial), but I can’t resist a dark fantasy novel and this sounds really intriguing with some good representation.
Caught up on my Korean Dramas. I’ve been obsessed with Tale of the Nine-Tailed, which is a fantasy drama about the nine-tailed fox. It features some of my favorite Korean drama actors and has some excellent fantasy and romance elements to it. I feel like the show did a good job of mixing Korean folklore within the K-drama outline. The show is also only 11 episodes long and at this point I’m just waiting for that final episode to premiere. If only American TV could be as good as this show.
Organized and purged my massive TBR. I’ll write about this one later since it’s a pretty big project and I have a lot of takeaways, but I went through my entire existing TBR and removed a lot of books from it. The whole idea of this purge is to focus my physical books to the ones I will most definitely read. I want my collection of books to match what I’ve actually read and having over 200 books that I haven’t read The rest will be donated or given to friends and I’ll borrow those books from the library. I have a feeling I’ll eventually re-purchase books in the future, but only if I loved it so much that I need to have it in my collection.
I hope you had a wonderful week and weekend. Can’t wait to see what this week has in store!
It might be a week late, but I’m finally done writing about the books I read in October. While my brain is still a little mushy from the events happening in the United States, I was able to accomplish many of the goals I set up for myself. I read my fantasy books. I doubled up on fantasy and spooky reads. I also read some amazing Latinx authors to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month.
The books I read were all inspiring, hidden surprises, and some great reads. While not every book I read was a winner, there were definitely a few that I wanted to share.
I picked Would Like to Meet just because I needed some lighter books as we approach the end of the month. Would Like to Meet was just perfect for it. It’s about a young woman who wants to prove herself as the next best rom-com screenwriter. She just has a big ass obstacle: her boss doesn’t take her seriously and he wants her to work with one of the best screenwriters. And we’re talking Hollywood level big time screenwriter who’s a little too arrogant for his own good.
This one was definitely surprising and in a very good way. I loved how this story moved and made you root for one of two very eligible dudes. It’s not a romance by definition, but if you’re looking for something a little bit relaxed, this might be for you.
I am always blown away by the worlds Marie Lu writes. Skyhunter is no exception as we journey to what feels like a dystopian world. It was definitely action packed with so much intrigue that I need to read the next one just to find out what happens next. I’m such a sucker for a military fantasy and this one is definitely on this list.
The best part of this book has to be the world building. There’s references to a world before, which makes me think this is Earth but after some cataclysmic catastrophe that wiped us out to the point of extinction. But that’s just my prediction. With the Skyhunter weapons and humans being turned into something evil, it will definitely keep you busy and make you think about what will happen next.
This was THE spooky book of October and it was a perfect blend of fantasy, horror, and real world issues. I loved that Yadriel is a young trans man who wants to prove himself a brujo despite not having the kind of traditional ceremony the rest of his family received on their 15th birthday. Of course things go wrong on his way especially when the ghost of a newly dead person starts to follow him around. There were some light-hearted moments and it also had its darker components. I also love the deeper conversation about gender especially in a culture that’s got some hard and fast rules on what men and women should be doing.
But absolutely heart-filled and the scary bits weren’t too scary. It will definitely put a smile on your face, but also creep you out a little.
This one was an absolutely sleeper. I’m so glad I read it, but I wish more people would. It’s the story about a young girl who is running from her father and moves to the United States to do just that. However, her family is being chased by ICE and being an undocumented immigrant is only the tip of the iceberg especially when Manu finds out the truth about why her family came to America and what her family is hiding from her. Similarly to Cemetery Boys, there was this conversation about how gender is deeply ingrained in the culture and traditions of this world.
It was such an exploration into YA fantasy and if you’re still getting your feet wet in the genre, this is a perfect one to start you off with especially since there’s that subtle connection to reality. I will say, I wasn’t a fan of Manu’s “Mary Sue”-style tendencies, but that’s just me.
With every book I read from Brandon Sanderson, I feel like my love for the Cosmere grows. This is no exception especially when the focus on this book was one of my favorite characters from The Way of Kings, Shallan. I love Shallan and I love that we got a taste of the world she came from and what her role is in the middle of all of this.
Of course the book also dives into more about the stormlight and how it works. I feel a lot more lore and intrigue will follow suit in the next book. Even though the book was over 1000 pages long, I still would reread this book in a heartbeat.
This was my first book from Agatha Christie, but it’s not my first Agatha Christie story. I knew that there would be some opulent story about rich folks who find themselves in the middle of a murder. What I absolutely loved is how scandalous the entire thing turned out especially at the end. HOLY COW!
I wouldn’t say this is the book for hardcore sleuths. It’s super quick and has a cozy feeling to it instead of the suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat vibe from most modern thrillers. It really caught my attention and I found myself trying to figure out the killer right alongside Poirot. If I had a moustache, I would’ve twirled it.
I had high hopes for this one especially when the cover had a bunch of cats on it and the main character is a captain traveling across space to save her sister. Sadly, the story was a little too surface-level. I didn’t need the book to be hard science fiction or be super technical, but I did want more about Eva and her crew. Also, the plot itself felt a little scattered as it started with one thing, pivots a few times where you’re confused by the main plot again and then resolves itself to create another plopt. I don’t konw, but that scattered feeling was defintie
I was so exited for Alyssa Cole’s first thriller book and she brought a level of fear that’s a little too close to reality. Learning about the horrors of this little neighborhood in Brooklyn while also trying to save the neighborhood was such a refreshing take on the psychological thriller. I was definitely creeped out especially when the body count started to go up. I think the only issue I had with this book is that it moved pretty slowly at first and then wrapped the entire thing in the last 50 pages. While I’m totally a fan of a slow burn, I’m not a fan of all the time spent writing the story with little hinting at the bigger creep factor trickling in and then stuck with everything happening all at once that the very end.
This one is only on the honorable mentions list because I already read it before! This was a reread for our book club and it was just as enjoyable the second time as the first. Although, I will say I listened to the audiobook version of this one and I had to admit, I was a little disappointed. The narrator seemed to be much older than I imagined Kell to be, so every time Kell spoke, it seemed gruffer, older, and rougher. It’s very weird especially when you have a specific view of Kell from your first read.
Simone and Her Books 