madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Weekly Update: August 31–September 6, 2020

Posted on September 6, 2020September 13, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

With the second week of school now under my belt, I’ve started to get used the schedule. Of course, our school has the option of either hybrid (online and in-person) or 100% online, and everybody’s going to hybrid next week, so the schedule’s changing yet again…whee…

But this week has been alright. I have now inherited the role of the president of my school’s book club (!!!), so I’ve been trying to rope all of my bookish friends into joining now that all of the seniors have graduated. There’s a strange kind of power in moderating a google classroom…

My reading week hasn’t been *as* productive, but I went through my whole birthday book haul (I loved TRUEL1F3, but it just took me a while to read), and I loved them all! Expect lots of reviews soon 🙂 The same has been true of writing–I’ve been struggling with stretching out the plot a bit, but we’re nearly at 300 pages, so I suppose that’s a plus. I also went back to the library in-person for the first time, finished Devs [loud screaming], started Raised by Wolves, and later today, I’m going to the movies for the first time since February! (Safely, of course) I can’t wait to see Tenet!

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The Burning Kingdoms (The Smoke Thieves, #3)–Sally Green (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

A Song Below Water–Bethany C. Morrow (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: A Song Below Water: A Novel (9781250315328): Morrow, Bethany C.: Books

TRUEL1F3 (Lifelike, #3)–Jay Kristoff (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

TRUEL1F3 (Truelife) by Jay Kristoff: 9781524714000 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Four Dead Queens–Astrid Scholte

Amazon.com: Four Dead Queens (9780525513926): Scholte, Astrid: Books

The Black Kids–Christina Hammonds Reed

The Black Kids | Book by Christina Hammonds Reed | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

The Good Neighbors, vol. 1: Kin–Holly Black and Ted Naifeh

The Good Neighbors: Black, Holly, Naifeh, Ted: 9780439855655: Amazon.com: Books

Raybearer–Jordan Ifueko

Amazon.com: Raybearer (9781419739828): Ifueko, Jordan: Books

The Spaceship Next Door–Gene Doucette

Amazon.com: The Spaceship Next Door (9781328567468): Doucette, Gene: Books

The Infinite Noise–Lauren Shippen

Amazon.com: The Infinite Noise: A Bright Sessions Novel (The Bright Sessions Book 1) eBook: Shippen, Lauren: Kindle Store

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags, Books

Would You Rather? Book Tag

Posted on September 5, 2020September 5, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

As you might have noticed, I haven’t done Top 5 Saturday today. As of now, the creator hasn’t released the prompts for September, and I didn’t know how I felt about creating my own, so I decided to do a book tag today instead.

Anyway, I was tagged by One Book More (thank you!). I’m not sure who the creator of the tag is, so please let me know if you know. 🙂

RULES:

Thank the nominator.
Answer the questions given to you by the nominator.
Make your own questions.
Tag others to join in on the fun!

ONE BOOK MORE’S QUESTIONS:

Would you rather meet your favorite author or your favorite character?

Oooh…this is a tough one…

Either way, it’s almost guaranteed that I might get choked up and embarrass myself, but either would honestly be amazing for me.

2. Would you rather only read series or only read standalone?

Only series, absolutely. Unless they’re ridiculously long, I always like to see storytelling spanning over the course of several books, especially trilogies and duologies.

3. Would you rather read one book at a time or multiple books?

One book, without question! I used to be able to read several at a time when I was younger, but these days I find it hard to focus my attention on more than one book at a time. I’m also a very task-oriented person, so that’s likely part of it.

4. Would you rather only read physical books or only read ebooks?

Even though ebooks are convenient, I doubt there’s anything that can really beat the feel of a physical book in your hands. Plus, ebooks don’t have that amazing book smell. So physical books, absolutely.

Happy Illustration GIF by Aishwarya Sadasivan - Find & Share on GIPHY

5. Would you rather live in one of the factions from Divergent or one of the districts in the Hunger Games?

Um? I really didn’t get much into the Divergent mythos, but both of them sound like…not the best options? But I suppose one of the Hunger Games districts, I guess.

6. Would you rather have your favorite hero’s powers or your favorite villain’s powers?

Hmmm…it’s hard to pick a favorite hero/villain out of…well, every piece of media I’ve consumed, but I do think that teleportation would be a lot of fun, so I guess I’d go with the powers of my favorite hero.

Kodi Smit-Mcphee Angel GIF by X-Men Movies - Find & Share on GIPHY

7. Would you rather never read a new release or never be able to re-read a book?

I suppose it if was a new release, I’d just have to wait a year or two until it’s not considered “new” anymore, so I’d go with never reading new releases. Loopholes, loopholes!

8. Would you rather live in your favorite character’s world or have your favorite character live in your world?

Option two! Most of my favorite characters that come from situations that…[ahem] definitely suck, and even though this world still sucks, at least it doesn’t suck as much as say…being on the run from an intergalactic government or waking up from cryosleep after two centuries and realizing that everybody you previously knew is dead.

9. Would you rather have every story start with “once upon a time” or have every story end with “and they lived happily ever after?”

I feel like having the second option in series would get redundant very quickly, so I’d go with “once upon a time.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE HUTCHINGS! @HutchingsJulie – Jolene Haley

10. Would you rather never be able to buy a book again or never be able to borrow a book again?

YIKES, this one’s tricky…

I mean…even though borrowing them is free, it’s nice to have books to add to your shelf…so I guess I’ll go with never borrowing a book again…

MY QUESTIONS (for everybody I tag):

Would you rather change the cover of a book or change its synopsis?
Would you rather only read books by your favorite author, or be able to read books by any author, but only one per author?
Would you rather live in a sci-fi novel or a fantasy novel?
Would you rather have dragons in our world, or know of the existence of a Fae realm?
Would you rather be in a love triangle or be the Chosen One?
Would you rather have all book titles be three words, or only one word?
Would you rather have your favorite book be adapted into a film or adapted into a graphic novel?
Would you rather add a book to your favorite series, or subtract a book from it?
Would you rather lose a copy of a book altogether or have it ruined/stained in some way?
Would you rather change the plot or the characters of your favorite book?

I TAG:

Sean @ bookbloggingbooks
Bertie @ Luminosity Library
Shans_Shelves
Leigh Hecking
Brianna @ Brianna’s Books and Randomness
Beck @ SMELLFOY CAN READ?
Anyone else who wants to participate! Have fun! 🙂

Reading Read GIF by Alexandra Dvornikova - Find & Share on GIPHY

Today’s song:

That’s it for this book tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

ARC Reviews, Books

eARC Review: Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

Posted on September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Friday, bibliophiles!

Two eARC reviews? In one week? It’s more likely than you think.

Everything about this graphic novel makes me wish that I’d read it in October. Whether or not you’re familiar with Mary Shelley, Mary is a spooky delight from start to finish.

Enjoy this eARC review!

Amazon.com: Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great- Great-Granddaughter (9781644420294): Grant, Brea, Li, Yishan: Books

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaugthter–Brea Grant and Yishan Li

Family legacies are always a chore to live up to. Just ask Mary, a surly girl who comes from a long line of women writers–starting with the one and only Mary Shelley, the mother of science fiction and the author of Frankenstein. But Mary has no intention of becoming a writer, despite her mother’s persistence. But she soon discovers that there’s more than one career runs in the Shelley family; not only was Mary Shelley a masterful writer, she also had the ability to heal monsters.

For the rest of her family, it’s a curse. But for Mary, it might present some new opportunities.

When a strange, pale boy shows up on her doorstep asking for aid, Mary must put her abilities to the test. With the help of Rhonda, her best friend (and proud witch), Shirley, a ghost trapped inside a stuffed bunny, and Polly, a disgruntled harpy, Mary must master her newfound ability–and pass all her classes, while she’s at it.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Ingram/Six Foot Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ever since reading Frankenstein freshman year, Mary Shelley has been something of a personal hero for me. So when I saw this graphic novel pop up on Edelweiss, I knew I had to at least take a chance on it. I was afraid that they might deal with the concept sloppily, but to my delight, Mary pulled out all the stops to make a darkly funny and spooky graphic novel!

Let’s start off with the art: SO CUTE! I loved Li’s art style, and it translated well to all of the people and the various strange creatures that we encounter throughout the story. I had no idea that she had previously worked on B.P.R.D., which got me so excited, not gonna lie. The muted color scheme also meshed flawlessly with the general atmosphere with the story.

I can’t stress enough how perfect it is that Mary will be released in October. It’s the perfect Halloween graphic novel, filled with all sorts of spooky goings-on–and more than a little goth. It simultaneously manages to be a lighthearted, fun story and a poignant tale of living up to family legacies, handling both with aplomb. The cast of characters was absolutely delightful; Mary was the perfect, angsty goth without being overly whiny, and I loved Rhonda, Shirley, Adam, and the rest of the gang. I especially loved Polly. Her lines always made me snicker.

All in all, Mary was a joy to read, with a lovable cast of characters and a poignant story–perfect for SPOOKY TIME! 4 stars!

Expected release date: October 6, 2020

Today’s song:

That’s it for this eARC review! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

ARC Reviews, Books

eARC Review: Jelly

Posted on September 2, 2020September 2, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has been treating you well.

This eARC was one of several that I received about a week and a half ago, and it’s definitely a unique one. A bizarre and inventive twist on both your traditional survival story and post-apocalyptic dystopia.

Enjoy this eARC review!

Jelly–Clare Rees

Martha is stranded. Stranded, that is, on the back of an enormous jellyfish. She and several other people have been, in fact, for such a long time that the concept of time has all but escaped them. And despite many attempts to escape, they may be permanently stuck.

But land is in sight, and with it may come new opportunities. Will Martha and the others be able to get to dry land–and survive the trip?

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and ABRAMS/Amulet Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

At the present moment, Jelly has quite a low Goodreads rating–about 3.31. Though I thought it was decent, I really don’t think it deserves a rating like that. Even though the execution was largely flawed, this was a novel with such an inventive premise.

First off, LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS THE HARDCOVER EDITION IS. It’s the edition that came on my eARC as well, and it’s just…so beautiful. I love all the vibrant colors!

Before I get to the positives, however, let’s start off with my major problem with this novel–the characters. There’s a wide cast of characters stranded on the gigantic jellyfish, and while Rees does a good job of keeping track of all of them, most of them were either caricatures, or not memorable at all. We got a few characters that boasted one (1) personality trait each (ex. James was obnoxious and immature, Kate was sensitive, Lana was snarky, Dr. Jones attempts to turn everything into a learning opportunity, etc.), but the rest had nothing that distinguished them from the others. Jelly is told from the POV of Martha, but by the end of the novel, we know next to nothing about her. So that aspect took away from my enjoyment of some of the novel. And beyond that, the humor of the comic relief characters fell flat more than not.

However, other than that criticism, this was a fascinating novel! I was instantly hooked by the premise of a survival story set almost entirely on the back of a giant jellyfish. Jellyfish are such fascinating creatures, and Rees deftly weaves bits of their biology into the story without info-dumping anything.

We later learn that the reason why it’s even possible for jellyfish to grow to such a size is due to them evolving to climate change; there’s even some other marine animals that have done the same–some species of crabs (now dubbed “kriks”) have crawled out of the sea, grown huge, and terrorized the human race, which is hinted to being part of the reason why humanity is nearly extinct in Jelly. There’s some interesting worldbuilding going on here, and it’s definitely the kind of cautionary tale we need about climate change and the rising oceans. (Stop climate change or the crabs will exact their revenge on us, kids!)

All in all, while Jelly lacked authentic characters/character development, it partially made up for it with a fresh and original concept. 3 stars!

Mila kunis that 70s show GIF on GIFER - by Medal

Expected release date: May 18, 2021

Today’s song:

That’s it for this eARC review! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Review Tuesday, Books

Book Review Tuesday (9/1/20)–On a Sunbeam

Posted on September 1, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles! I can’t believe it’s already September! All the better, the sooner we get 2020 over with, the better…

But to take your mind off of everything, here’s a review of my most recent 5-star read! I had piled most of Tillie Walden’s graphic novels on my TBR a year or two ago, but after a family friend mentioned Are You Listening?, I looked for everything on my library. On a Sunbeam was available, and I jumped at the chance to check it out. Though I had high expectations, I didn’t expect for it to be such an emotional and atmospheric graphic novel.

Enjoy this week’s review!

Amazon.com: On a Sunbeam (9781250178138): Walden, Tillie: Books

On a Sunbeam–Tillie Walden

My library copy ft. Abe Sapien and a crystal, because I NEEDED to make all that lovely teal pop

Mia has her reasons for joining the crew of the Sunbeam. It’s an easy job–hopping through the galaxy and restoring structures of all kinds to their original glory. But Mia isn’t here for the money–not completely, anyway.

Her main objective? Find Grace, her long-lost love who she was separated from five years ago. When a job lands Mia and the rest of the crew on Grace’s secretive homeworld, she jumps at the chance to reunite with her girlfriend. But will the rest of the crew be willing to go to such lengths?

Tillie Walden on | Aesthetic art, Art drawings, Cool art — Art by Tillie Walden

On a Sunbeam is the comic equivalent of a Radiohead song; hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric, with a story that will never truly leave your mind. It is “Motion Picture Soundtrack,” it is “Sail to the Moon,” it is “Videotape,” and it is very nearly everything I could ever want in a graphic novel.

I’m not normally a fan of more simplistic art styles like Walden’s, but she makes it work in all the best ways. The character’s facial features are simple, but are able to show such a wide range of expression. There’s so much detail and care put into the backgrounds and settings, with carefully picked color schemes that make for an immersive, lived-in sci-fi world. I kid you not, both the desktop wallpaper of my laptop and the home screen of my phone are both panels from On a Sunbeam now. That’s how much I loved it.

The design of the vast reaches of Walden’s universe is beautifully atmospheric, a sci-fi with a fantastical twist. Each planet that the crew visits is so unique, and I ADORE the design of all of the ships–all inspired by fish! What’s not to love?

On a Sunbeam is a Beautiful Love Story in Space | A Place to Hang Your Cape — WHERE. CAN. I. BUY. ONE.

Beyond the beautiful artwork, On a Sunbeam boasts a tender romance that spans across the stars. It alternates between the past and present fluidly without any confusion, and through both, you come to love the whole cast of characters. And speaking of that cast–there is diversity aplenty here! In the group of main characters, there is not one but two multiracial wlw relationships (including Mia and Grace). Most of the Sunbeam crew is POC (Black, Latinx, etc.), and there’s also a nonbinary character who plays a crucial role. There’s also several background wlw relationships and…not a single man in sight? I simultaneously love that but also recognize that it raises a few questions. Walden makes her cast effortlessly diverse, making On a Sunbeam a tale for the ages.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…FOUND FAMILY VIBES! The chemistry between Mia and the rest of the crew is impeccable, and I can’t help but adore every single character we come across. Grace was wonderful as well. They were all so distinct, and I managed to love every single one of them.

All in all, On a Sunbeam is a graphic novel that hits all the right spots, whether it be in the worldbuilding, the art, or the characters. Seriously, if you haven’t already read it, you are missing out. 5 stars!

Orson Krennic Star Wars GIF - OrsonKrennic StarWars ItsBeautiful - Discover & Share GIFs

On a Sunbeam is a standalone, but Tillie Walden has several other graphic novels out, including Are You Listening?, I Love This Part, The End of Summer, A City Inside, and her graphic memoir, Spinning.

Today’s song:

Also, because this was in a meme that brought immeasureable joy to this grim year…

That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Books, Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (8/31/20)–Sea Sirens

Posted on August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! I can’t believe that it’s almost September…

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.

This one is a more recent addition to my TBR that I’d forgotten about (I added it in early February), and it sounds like an incredible middle grade graphic novel! And I’m always eager for a good mermaid story, and I think this one might just deliver…

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (8/31/20)–SEA SIRENS by Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee

Sea Sirens (A Trot & Cap'n Bill Adventure): Chu, Amy, Lee, Janet K.: 9780451480170: Amazon.com: Books

Blurb from Goodreads:

Dive into this middle-grade graphic novel about a Vietnamese American surfer girl and her talking cat who plunge into a fantasy world of oceanic marvels . . . and mayhem!

Trot, a Vietnamese American surfer girl, and Cap’n Bill, her cranky one-eyed cat, catch too big a wave and wipe out, sucked down into a magical underwater kingdom where an ancient deep-sea battle rages. The beautiful Sea Siren mermaids are under attack from the Serpent King and his slithery minions–and Trot and her feline become dangerously entangled in this war of tails and fins.

This graphic novel was inspired by The Sea Fairies, L. Frank Baum’s “underwater Wizard of Oz.” It weaves Vietnamese mythology, fantastical ocean creatures, and a deep-sea setting.

So why do I want to read this?

Sea Sirens by Amy Chu — Art by Janet K. Lee

Sea Sirens looks like it has all the elements for a graphic novel I’d love! It’s #OwnVoices, it’s set in an underwater realm…and how could I ever say no to a talking cat sidekick? The literary world needs more talking cats.

I’m not familiar with The Sea Fairies (though The Wizard of Oz was read to my class in elementary school), but it sounds like a fascinating retelling of it. I love the incorporation of Vietnamese mythology as well. The art style looks lovely too!

This one’s available at my library, so I might have to check it out soon…

Surfing GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Today’s song:

Inexplicably stuck in my head this morning…

That’s it for this week’s Goodreads Monday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: August 24-30, 2020

Posted on August 30, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

All things considered, the first week back to online school wasn’t too bad. Not much homework, but lots of google meets. At least classes end at noon everyday…

I ended up posting a lot more than I anticipated this week, and I’ve had a nice and productive week as far as blogging and reading my eARCs goes. (Expect my reviews of Jelly and Mary next week!) I finished off my library haul, and I loved the last two, and I enjoyed all of my eARCs. And I’m certain that I’ll have another great reading week next week; I got a gift card to my favorite bookstore on my birthday, and I got to spend it on three of my most anticipated releases of the year! (See “Currently Reading/To Read Next Week” below for said reads.)

Other than that, I got some new art supplies, ate lots of good food, watched Prometheus (ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL! Michael Fassbender can do no wrong…), and did a lot of drawing and writing. I’ve fallen a bit behind on the latter, but now, I’m nearing 300 pages, and I have a better sense of where it’s going, so that’s a plus.

Prometheus - David in the Orrery on Make a GIF

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

An Unkindness of Ghosts–Rivers Solomon (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: An Unkindness of Ghosts (9781617755880): Solomon, Rivers: Books

Magnificent Ms. Marvel, vol. 2: Stormranger–Saladin Ahmed and Minkyu Jung (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Amazon.com: Ms. Marvel by Saladin Ahmed Vol. 2: Stormranger (Magnificent Ms. Marvel (2019-)) eBook: Ahmed, Saladin, Vazquez, joey, Petrovich, Eduard, Vazquez, Joey, Jung, Minkyu, Ahmed, Saladin: Kindle Store

Michigan vs. the Boys–Carrie S. Allen (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Fire With Fire–Destiny Soria (eARC) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Jelly–Clare Rees (eARC) (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter–Brea Grant and Yishan Li (eARC) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

The Burning Kingdoms (The Smoke Thieves, #3)–Sally Green

The Burning Kingdoms by Sally Green: 9780425290279 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

A Song Below Water–Bethany C. Morrow

TRUEL1F3 (Lifelike, #3)–Jay Kristoff

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Books, Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Saturday (8/29/20)–Detective Books 🕵️‍♀️

Posted on August 29, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

Before I begin, I was saddened to hear the news that Chadwick Boseman had passed away. He was an inspiration to so many, and leaves behind such a beautiful legacy. Thank you for everything, sir. You will be missed. 💔

Time for another Top 5 Saturday! This was originally started by Devouring Books, and it sounded like such a fun post to take part in. Today’s topic is detective books. I don’t read much mystery, but I’ve read a lot of solid middle grade and YA detective books that would be perfect for today!

UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST:

8/1/20—Enemies to Lovers

8/8/20—Underrated Books/Hidden Gems

8/15/20—Recommended Reads

8/22/20—YA Books

8/29/20—Detective Books

Rules!

Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
Tag the original post
Tag 5 people

Let’s begin, shall we?

TOP 5 SATURDAY (8/29/20)–DETECTIVE BOOKS

The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes, #1), Nancy Springer

The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes Series #1) by Nancy Springer, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

How could I not include this series? This one’s very dear to me; my mom read the first book to me as a bedtime story, and I finished the rest on my own. Definitely a literary role model for me. Who else is so excited for the Netflix adaptation? (Or, “in which Millie Bobby Brown brings my childhood to life”)

Scarlett Undercover, Jennifer Lantham

Amazon.com: Scarlett Undercover (9780316283946): Latham, Jennifer: Books

I don’t remember as much about this one, but 2018 Madeline rated it four stars, so that definitely counts for something…

A Study in Charlotte, Brittany Cavallaro

Charlotte Holmes 01 A Study in Charlotte - Linden Tree Books, Los Altos, CA

Two Sherlock Holmes retellings? In one post? It’s more likely than you think.

I didn’t like this one as much as everybody else seemed to, but it was definitely a lot of fun.

The Wizard of Dark Street, Shawn Thomas Odyssey

The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Again, I have very little memory of this one (I had to trawl through my mystery shelf on Goodreads to get everything for this prompt), but past me gave it three stars, so…

The Case of the Missing Moonstone, Jordan Stratford

The Case of the Missing Moonstone (The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 1) (The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency Series) - Kindle edition by Stratford, Jordan, Murphy, Kelly. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Maybe I should give this one a re-read, now that I can appreciate Mary Shelley far more…

I TAG ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE!

Benedict Cumberbatch The Game Is On GIF by Sherlock - Find & Share on GIPHY

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week’s Top 5 Saturday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

ARC Reviews, Books

eARC Review: Fire With Fire

Posted on August 28, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Friday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you all well.

I received several eARCs from Edelweiss last week, and now that I’m finished with my library haul, I’ve steadily been working my way through them. (Expect a few reviews in the future!) This was the first of the three that I read, and though it certainly wasn’t a perfect book, it was a lot of fun–and there’s great representation, too!

Enjoy this eARC review!

Fire With Fire–Destiny Soria

Dani and Eden are your typical sisters. Sometimes they’re close, sometimes they fight, but they can always count on each other to keep each other’s secrets.

Secrets like the family job: dragon slaying.

Dani, recently graduated from high school, looks to begin her training in dragon slaying, already displaying prodigal talents. But when she discovers a dragon in the woods, she realizes that the beliefs that she and her family have held for generations may be turned on their heads. Nox–and the rest of the dragon species–is in danger, and his bond with Dani may be the saving grace of his kind.

Meanwhile, Eden is determined to get her sister back on the side of the Sorcerers and their dragon-slayer allies, and she’ll do anything to track Dani down…

Hiccup and Astrid on Stormfly flying through the Hidden Dragon World | How to train your dragon, How train your dragon, How to train your

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and HMH Books for Young Readers for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fire With Fire was certainly a solid fantasy! Though there were several elements that left a little to be desired, this one boasts great representation, realistic characters, and a variety of complex character arcs!

Let’s start off with the representation, because frankly, IT GOT ME SO EXCITED. Dani is mixed-race (half white, half Latinx) and bisexual; having a protagonist like her, blazing trails and allying with dragons, just filled me with immeasurable joy. So a heartfelt thank you to Soria for that! 💗

Going off of that, Soria’s cast of characters was one of my favorite aspects of Fire With Fire. Dani was such a strong, independent protagonist, and I loved all the banter between her and Nox. There’s a wide cast of side characters, and though a good portion of the dialogue felt stilted at times, they all have great chemistry. Eden was the perfect character that you love to hate, and her negative character arc was a bright spot in the novel for me. Personally, I would’ve liked to see her go *completely* to the dark side, but it’s nice that she and Dani had a happy ending and mended their broken relationship.

The worldbuilding department could have used a bit of polishing up, however. There’s some established enmity/history between the sorcerers, dragon slayers, and the dragons themselves, but I feel like there wasn’t enough information to make it feel immersive. It was a good start, but there were places where it could have been fleshed out. But I loved the design of the dragons! All of the lore behind them was fascinating, and they certainly had a creative role in the story. Gotta love Nox.

Like the worldbuilding, the romantic subplot definitely felt rushed. Her and Kieran’s relationship also needed some fleshing out…or some rehashing all together, personally. Mostly due to the fact that Kieran’s…well, he’s a 200 year old sorcerer who still looks 20 (because magic), and Dani’s barely out of high school. So that’s definitely…questionable. Kind of uncomfy. Not ideal.

It was a little bit tricky to keep track of the POV breaks between Eden and Dani (they sometimes occurred in the middle of the chapter), but for all I know, it might change when the finalized novel is released. The plot–particularly the roles of Calla and the other sorcerers–was very predictable, but it was a fun, magical thrill ride all the way through. And with the open way in which it ended, it could be a standalone or the start to a series. I’m suspecting the former, but I wouldn’t say no to more of Dani and Nox kicking butt and setting things on fire.

All in all, a fantasy that was lacking in authentic dialogue and worldbuilding, but (mostly) made up for it with action, characters, and representation. 3.5 stars!

The Colbert Report' Best of 2014 Articles

Expected release date: June 8, 2021

Today’s song:

I can’t listen to the chorus without immediately wanting to dance, or at least nod my head…

That’s it for this eARC review! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags, Books

The Rainbow Book Tag 🌈

Posted on August 27, 2020August 27, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles! Whew, I’m so glad that the school week is nearly over, even though it’s the first week…

It’s been low-key, for the most part, at least. I haven’t gotten dumped with review like I did on Monday for Spanish, and it’s mostly been google meets, so that’s been nice and quiet.

I found this tag over at Bookforager, and the tag was originally created by Le Book Chronicles. Here’s the objective: go through the books on your shelf (or your TBR), and pick out your favorite (if possible) book of each color of the rainbow! My bookshelf is already arranged in rainbow order (is that cheating?), so this should be fun!

RULES:

Must be the dominant color of the COVER, not the spine!
If you do not own a book of a certain color, just choose one that has the color on it somewhere
It has to be a book you own and/or has to be the exact edition you read (e.g. there are two different overs for Me Before You, you would choose the one you read)
TAG some people to do it! Whether they be Bloggers, Bookstagrammers or BookTubers

Let’s begin, shall we?

RED