Posted in Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (3/1/21) – The Last Spell Breather

Happy Monday, happy March, and happy Women’s History Month, bibliophiles!

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.

I don’t usually talk about a whole lot of middle grade books on here, so I figured I’d give this one the spotlight this week. I’d completely forgotten that I’d put it on my TBR, but it sounds like so much fantasy fun!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (3/1/21) – THE LAST SPELL BREATHER by Julie Pike

The last spell breather by Pike, Julie (9780192771605) | BrownsBfS

Blurb from Goodreads:

A stunning fantasy debut, enter the unique world of the Spell Breathers. 
Spell Breathing does not come naturally to Rayne – she loathes the hours of practice, the stacks of scrolls, and the snapping mud devils that cover her mother’s precious spell book. 
But it is spell breathing that keeps her village safe from the dreaded monster curse that plagues their world. It is ancient powerful magic, but as Rayne learns to her horror . . . it is also fragile. 
In one clumsy move, the magic that keeps them safe is broken, her village is plunged into danger, and an incredible adventure begins . . .

So why do I want to read this?

dribbblepopular | Motion design animation, Animation, Fox illustration

First off, look at how pretty that cover is! The color scheme, the font, THE LITTLE FOX AND THE SPELLBOOK 🥺🥺🥺

The Last Spell Breather certainly has an eye-catching synopsis; right off the bat, we’ve got some magical elements thrown at us – mud devils? Monster curse? Ancient magic? Spell-breathing? From the looks of it, Julie Pike has created an immersive and original world in The Last Spell Breather, and I’m eager to see what lurks inside of it!

Plus, I haven’t read much middle grade lately, and I figured I should give it some love, because I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, the age of a book’s target audience has no effect on its intellectual depth, and Children’s/YA books should never be dismissed because they’re “for kids.” Somebody had to say it. Again.

Gabriel Sowrian's Comments | Candle gif, Candles, Autumn inspiration

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

February 2021 Wrap-Up 🧤

(the mittens emoji looks so dismal here…the apple version looks so much cuter…)

Hi again, bibliophiles!

Here’s another monthly wrap-up of an interesting reading month…

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

thor coffee gif - AllEars.Net
me drinking way too much hot chocolate over the long weekend

February was just…freezing here in Colorado. I suppose I should say “more freezing than usual” because it’s usually pretty chilly, but it rarely gets into the negatives in February, which it happened to do over the long President’s Day weekend. So, yes, lots of hot chocolate was consumed, a few episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender were watched (yes I finally started it), and many pairs of fuzzy socks were worn.

My workload’s been manageable and I’ve managed to keep my grades in a place where I like them, for the most part. I’ve been steadily working away at the outline for my sci-fi WIP, and I probably would have finished were it not for the writing contest that my mom found. So now I’m working away at my short story, and I’m so excited to be really writing again!

I haven’t listened to a whole lot of new stuff, but I’ve been dabbling a bit of instrumental scores, some new Danny Elfman, a bit of Spacemen 3, and of course more Julien Baker as of this Friday. I rewatched half of Fargo and I’m now caught up on WandaVision, and I can’t wait to see how the latter ends!

Also, I somehow managed to get a lot of new followers this month? I’m almost at 400 now, so thanks to all of you lovely people for sticking around 🥺

i *somehow* made this in under 10 minutes lol

READING AND BLOGGING:

I managed to read 22 books this February! That’s two more than January, and certainly a better batch too. (A lot less reads in the 2 star range and none in the 1 star range, I’m glad to say.) So here’s everything…

2 – 2.75 stars:

Amazon.com: The Kinder Poison eBook: Mae, Natalie: Kindle Store
The Kinder Poison

3 – 3.75 stars:

Hellboy: Odder Jobs by Christopher Golden
Hellboy: Odder Jobs

4 – 4.75 stars:

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin | Hachette Book Group
The City We Became

5 stars:

The Punch by Noah Hawley | Grand Central Publishing
The Punch

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Before the Fall – 5 stars

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

SOME POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

POSTS I ENJOYED FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE:

DID I ACTUALLY FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY FEBRUARY GOALS?

Awkward Uh Oh GIF by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Find & Share on  GIPHY

Let’s see…

  • Read more books by Black authors for Black History Month, and make a post about it: did that! I made an effort to read a lot of books from #OwnVoices Black authors, and I found so many great reads and new-to-me authors that I want to continue reading from. Of course, it’s crucial to read books from marginalized voices 24/7/365, but I figured that it was especially important for Black History Month.
  • Listen to & review Little Oblivions (Julien Baker) when it comes out: uh…
Well Yes, But Actually No | Know Your Meme

Listen to it? I’ve done that a lot. Reviewed it? Well, it came out two days ago, so…maybe next week. We’ll see.

  • Read at least 20 books: did that! 22 books in February 🙂
  • Finish my initial outline for my sci-fi WIP: nope. I might’ve been able to pull it off, but like I said, short story.

GOALS FOR MARCH:

We Got This GIFs | Tenor
  • Finish my short story for the writing contest (since the deadline is early April…)!
  • ACTUALLY review Little Oblivions
  • Read at least 20 books
  • Review all of the eARCs sitting on my Kindle

So that’s it for February, I guess. Here’s to a March that was…[ahem] less eventful than last March. You know what I mean.

Since I’ve already posted today, check out this week’s weekly update for today’s song.

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: February 22-28, 2021

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

The last week of February’s been a decent one, I’d say. The rest of my library haul was mostly 3-star reads, but there was still some good stuff in there. I had a lot more time to blog this week, and I had a lot of fun writing reviews and doing tags 🙂

Writing-wise, I finished up the outline for my short story, and I just started writing it last night! I’m at almost 800 words, and man, does it feel good to be actually writing again. Outline’s necessary and all, but nothing beats the real thing, does it?

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing a bit, messing around on Minecraft, watching more WandaVision (AAAAAH), starting to rewatch season 3 of Fargo, and obsessively listening to Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions since Friday morning. (I thought it came out sooner, and I usually like to sit with an album about a week before I review it, so expect…*something* next week…)

She's like a rainbow shared by ℋℰℒℰ𝒩❀ on We Heart It

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Mooncakes – Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: Mooncakes (9781549303043): Walker, Suzanne, Xu, Wendy: Books

Felix Ever After – Kacen Callender (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: Felix Ever After (9780062820259): Callender, Kacen: Books

Abandon – Blake Crouch (for book club) (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: Abandon (9781503946194): Crouch, Blake: Books

Hellboy: Odd Jobs – Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Hellboy: Odd Jobs: Christopher Golden: 9781569714409: Amazon.com: Books

A Dark and Starless Forest – Sarah Hollowell (eARC) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)

A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Hellboy: Odder Jobs – Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola et. al.

Hellboy: Odder Jobs by Christopher Golden

Sisters of the Wolf – Patricia Miller-Schroeder (eARC)

Amazon.com: Sisters of the Wolf (9781459747524): Miller-Schroeder, Patricia:  Books

Hellboy: Oddest Jobs – Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola et. al.

Hellboy: Oddest Jobs - Kindle edition by Mignola, Mike, Various,  Christopher Golden. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. – Colleen Nelson (eARC)

Amazon.com: The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. eBook: Nelson, Colleen:  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!

Posted in ARC Reviews, Books

eARC Review: A Dark and Starless Forest

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles! I can’t believe it’s almost March…

Last week, I got approved for not one, but three eARCs (!!!) which are all loaded up on my Kindle at present. I recently got around to reading the first of the three, and I’m SO EXCITED to see it go out into the world! A Dark and Starless Forest is just the kind of diverse dark fantasy that we all need.

Enjoy this eARC review!

A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

A Dark and Starless Forest – Sarah Hollowell

Derry is one of eight magical lost children living in the woods. Though they are not related by blood, they all possess different types of magic, and they all live under the roof of their caretaker, Frank, who helps them hone their Alchemist abilities. But when Jane, the oldest of the siblings, goes missing in the dark woods beyond their home, Derry is determined that she’s still alive. As she tries to get to the bottom of Jane’s disappearance, she and her siblings confront dark secrets about their upbringing, and that their caretaker may not be the kindly man he makes himself out to be.

Spectacular Time-Lapse GIFs of Flowers Blooming

TW/CW: Death/disappearance of loved ones (siblings), fantasy violence, body horror, frightening situations

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

I was intrigued by the premise of this one, but wow, I didn’t expect to be blown away as much as I was! A Dark and Starless Forest was such a rich and dark fantasy, and a page-turner in every sense of the word.

First off, I was so glad to see all of the representation in A Dark and Starless Forest! Derry, our protagonist, is plus-sized, and among her siblings, there’s several Black and Latinx characters, a nonbinary (they/them pronouns) character, a trans girl, and several Deaf characters; and beyond that, it’s implied that most of them (if not all of them) are queer, and two of them were confirmed to be on the asexual spectrum. It was such a joy to see such a diverse and unique cast of characters as the stars of the show in this novel, and I’m sure that I’ll be recommending this one to lots of people!

What also stood out to me was the unique relationship shared by all of the siblings. Most of them aren’t related by blood (save for two sets of twins), but they’re such a tight-knit community, in tune with each other’s comings and goings no matter what. Each of the characters had such distinct personalities, and there was clearly so much care put into each and every one of them. They were all so caring towards each other, and they stuck together until the end.

Beyond the characters, I loved the dark fantasy aspect of A Dark and Starless Forest! It’s more of an urban fantasy (real-world, but with fantasy aspects woven in), but there’s no shortage of gripping suspense and creepy plot twists. Without spoiling anything, there was definitely a sensibility about it that reminded me of some of the darker X-Men storylines, and I loved seeing how the story unravelled. (I guess the X-Men parallels go beyond that – the relationship that the siblings have is certainly akin to the denizens of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Mutant and proud.) Hollowell hits a perfect balance between showing the tender side of the siblings’ magic and showing the darker, more body-horror side to it.

At its heart, A Dark and Starless Forest is a story of sibling-hood, a story of resistance and uncovering hidden truths, and a story of sticking together against all odds. It’s a beautiful found-family story, and even though the ending was more bittersweet, it made me feel so warm inside at some points.

All in all, a dark but tender story of family and magic that’s sure to enchant so many readers. 4.25 stars!

yay allison! | Tumblr
* and one nonbinary sibling

Expected release date: September 14, 2021

A Dark and Starless Forest is Sarah Hollowell’s debut novel, but her work has also been included in The (Other) F-Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce anthology.

Today’s song:

OKAY LITTLE OBLIVIONS IS SO GOOD AND I PROMISE I’LL REVIEW IT SOON

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

Posted in Book Tags

The Umbrella Academy Book Tag

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

I figured that I haven’t done many book tags this month, and I’ve been in the mood to do one lately. This one’s been sitting in my sticky note for a bit and I figured it would be a lot of fun since I love the Umbrella Academy graphic novels & the Netflix show!

I found this tag over at Elli @ Ace Reader, and the tag was originally created by  It’s My Birth Write.

Let’s begin, shall we?

the umbrella academy | Tumblr | Umbrella, Under my umbrella, Academy

☂️THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY BOOK TAG☂️

HELLO: Name the best first book in a series

Amazon.com: Honor Among Thieves (Honors, 1) (9780062570994): Caine, Rachel,  Aguirre, Ann: Books

I mean, it’s impossible to choose just *one* best start to a series, but for the sake of not putting down Aurora Rising or Heart of Iron again, I’ll put Honor Among Thieves, because this was a SUPER strong start to the Honors trilogy!

THE HARGREEVES CHILDREN: Name a big book family. (Dysfunctional is optional)

Shared by SexyTrash04. Find images and videos about gif, scene and series  on We Heart It - the app to get lost in w… | Umbrella, Under my umbrella,  Future boyfriend
Amazon.com: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's  Peculiar Children) (9781594746031): Riggs, Ransom: Books

I suppose the cast of characters from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children aren’t family by blood, but they’re as close to a family as one can possibly get. And dysfunctional? Absolutely.

THE WORLD ENDS IN EIGHT DAYS: If you only had 8 days left, which book would you choose to be your last read?

ODERINT DUM METUANT; — —everything's left in the ashes;
Looks from Books: Fashion Inspired by Frankenstein - College Fashion

Frankenstein, for two reasons: it’s probably my favorite book, and just so I can have the possible luck of being resurrected. Pragmatism, folks, pragmatism.

SPACEBOY: Name a character who plays the leader, but may not be cut out for it.

Astronaut Spaceman GIF - Astronaut Spaceman TomHopper - Discover & Share  GIFs
Amazon.com: Abandon (9781503946194): Crouch, Blake: Books

BAJSDHFSJDHFSJDHF THIS PROMPT WAS WAY HARDER THAN I’D LIKE TO ADMIT

I just finished this one a few hours ago, and Abigail from Abandon just…wasn’t the best leader. I mean, most of the characters were [coughs] a wee bit interchangeable, but did you really think that going to a supposedly haunted mining town in the middle of nowhere was a good idea?

THROWING KNIVES: What literary weapon would you like in your arsenal?

HONEY ; Mulitfandom Gif Series - Diego Hargreeves ; The Umbrella Academy -  Wattpad

MAN WHY ARE THESE PROMPTS SO H A R D

okay no I’m super stumped for this one, might just have to skip…shame on me

I HEARD A RUMOR: Name a book that has a misleading plot line.

Ellen Page Aidan Gallagher GIF by The Umbrella Academy - Find & Share on  GIPHY
Amazon.com: Night Owls and Summer Skies (9781989365250): Sullivan, Rebecca:  Books

I guess the case with Night Owls and Summer Skies was more of a misleading synopsis, but I was lead to believe that it would be a sort of coming-of-age story about overcoming anxieties and first love. Instead, the anxiety part was barely touched on, and it was honestly just a toxic dumpster fire. Would not recommend.

KLAUS: Name a book that involves the dead/ghosts/etc.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY GIFS — 🎂
Amazon.com: Cemetery Boys eBook: Thomas, Aiden: Kindle Store

Cemetery Boys has plenty of ghosts and supernatural shenanigans!

THE BOY: Recommend a book that plays with time (whether it be dual timelines, time travel, etc.)

The Umbrella Academy 1×07 ~ The Day That Was on We Heart It
Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson

Um? I guess? Goddess in the Machine sort of deals with time travel…I mean, not really, but Andra wakes up from cryosleep after 1,000 years, so…

VANYA: Name a character who has buried potential.

bargalaxies:“ we hope that you choke,that you choke.“the umbrella academy[1.07]  the day that was” ” | Academy, Umbrella, Movies showing

Zila from Aurora Rising definitely fits in here; a bit of her potential was shown in Aurora Burning, but I

can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve, because she absolutely has smarts and prowess to spare.

LUTHER & ALLISON: Name a questionable book couple, and why you do or don’t like them.

Umbrella Academy Netflix GIF - UmbrellaAcademy Netflix AllisonHargreeves -  Discover & Share GIFs
Amazon.com: Spinning Silver: A Novel eBook: Novik, Naomi: Kindle Store

It’s been a bit since I’ve read Spinning Silver, but the relationship between Miryem and Mirnatius raised SO many red flags for me – toxic, abusive, manipulative, and…wasn’t there a significant age gap between them?

HAZEL & CHA-CHA: Pick a deadly book duo.

left-handed capricorn — [muffled screaming]
Amazon.com: How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse: Book One of the Thorne  Chronicles eBook: Eason, K.: Kindle Store

This was another hard one, but Thorsdottir and Zhang from How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

GOODBYE: What’s the best finale?

The Umbrella Academy Gifs [Discontinued] - Gif 24: Vanya - Wattpad
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising was the best installment of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, hands down.

I TAG:

Just A Small Girl In A Big World.

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (2/23/21) – Game Changer

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

Those of you who’ve followed this blog for a long time know how big of a fan of Neal Shusterman I am; I fell in love with the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, then discovered Everlost, Dry and Challenger Deep. So when I found out that he was coming out with a new book, of course I had to preorder it! I got around to reading it last week, and while the masterful writing and world-building is still present, Game Changer was a lower point in Shusterman’s body of work for me. (Still entertaining, though.)

Enjoy this week’s review!

Game Changer by Neal Shusterman
this cover: “MR. STARK I DON’T FEEL SO GOOD”

Game Changer – Neal Shusterman

My copy ft. a cool filter and my new Nightcrawler Pop! figure, because why not

Ashley – Ash for short – lives and breathes football, scoring for his high school’s team. But an unexpected injury on the field leads to consequences that he never could have dreamed of: the hit sent him into another dimension. Each time he collides with another player, he’s launched into different dimensions, each one stranger than the last. His only clues to this bizarre occurrence are the Edwards, a group of multi-dimensional trickster entities who multiply every time he hops through dimensions. Will he be able to return home – and take the knowledge he gleaned from the other dimensions with him?

starfallingstims | Tv static, Overlays transparent, Aesthetic gif

TW/CW: descriptions of injury, racism, homophobia, hate crimes, sexism, abuse, attempted murder, substance abuse

Neal Shusterman is clearly a master storyteller (one of the greatest in YA today, I might go so far as to say). And I’m so glad that he tried to make Game Changer as a response to all of the hatred and prejudice that’s going on in the world today, to make something that inspires people to make change in their communities. But while there’s clearly good intentions behind this book, Game Changer definitely missed the mark in several respects. At its heart, it was still a decent sci-fi story, though.

Let’s start with the good stuff. Shusterman’s prose continues to be incredible, chock-full of clever metaphors and authentic descriptions. There were passages that made me laugh out loud and passages that sent a chill down my spine in equal parts, making for a well-written story. And the worldbuilding was similarly stellar! The inter-dimensional mythology that Shusterman created in Game Changer was fascinating and so well-thought-out. I loved the concept of the Edwards as well – they added an element of simultaneous comic relief and suspense, and they were such an original addition to the novel.

The plot was also very fast-paced and suspenseful, and I loved seeing all of the inter-dimensional elements build up along with the mystery and Ash’s struggle to get back home. So at its heart, Game Changer was a great sci-fi story. Thing is, everything started to get…not-so-good the further into the dimensions we hopped.

The main problem presents itself in three of the dimensions that Ash encountered; In one, segregation is still legal, he’s gay in another (he’s straight in his “normal” dimension), and in one of the final dimensions, he’s a girl in an abusive relationship. Now, the message Shusterman was trying to get across with these dimensions was certainly well-intentioned, and I thought it was a great one, the fact that you can’t solve everything that’s wrong with the world, but you should still make an effort to learn/change things. But seeing as Ash is a [Bo Burnham voice] straight white male, the message didn’t come across in the best way.

My main problem was with the dimension in which Ash is gay; the narrative mainly focuses on him coming out and the reception following it. I saw a quick video on this the other day and reading Game Changer made me think of it; in a lot of straight-made LGBTQ+ media, the narrative is highly centered around the coming-out experience. And while that’s certainly an important aspect of queerness for a lot of people, it doesn’t encompass the entirety of the queer experience. This part in Game Changer largely fell into the same trap, and even beyond that, it felt rather contrived. So that whole section of the story didn’t quite sit right with me.

And then there’s the deal where Ash enters a dimension where not only is he a woman, but he’s also in an extremely abusive relationship with one of his teammates. Again, as with the dimension where Ash is gay, Shusterman definitely employed some sensitivity readers and tried to tackle a very important issue, but still missed the mark. It’s nice that Shusterman’s trying to raise awareness for these kinds of issues, but…again, straight white male character experiencing it, male author writing it, so it didn’t translate super well. It felt a bit like Quentin Tarantino trying to have a message about motherhood in Kill Bill vol. 2 (and missing the mark by miles), but not quite as drastic. Again, did not sit right with me as a woman, but…at least he tried? I dunno…

I Just Dont Know How I Feel GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

All in all, a book that was well-written and well-intentioned, but missed the mark in trying to depict issues of racism, homophobia, sexism and abuse. 3.5 stars.

Not Quite GIFs | Tenor

Game Changer is a standalone, but Neal Shusterman is also the author of the Arc of a Scythe trilogy (Scythe, Thunderhead & The Toll), Challenger Deep, the Skinjacker trilogy (Everlost, Everwild & Everfound), and many other novels and series. He also coauthored the standalone Dry with his son, Jarrod Shusterman.

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (2/22/21) – Sorrowland

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

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.

Here’s my final Goodreads Monday pick for Black History Month here in the U.S., as February is coming to a close. (Still can’t believe it’s almost March). At this point, I’ll read anything that Rivers Solomon writes, so this was a novel that I immediately added to my TBR when I found out about it!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (2/22/21) – SORROWLAND by Rivers Solomon

Amazon.com: Sorrowland: A Novel (9780374266776): Solomon, Rivers: Books

Blurb from Goodreads:

Vern – seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised – flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world.

But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future – outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.

Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland is a genre-bending work of Gothic fiction. Here, monsters aren’t just individuals, but entire nations. It is a searing, seminal book that marks the arrival of a bold, unignorable voice in American fiction.

So why do I want to read this?

Gardens of the night GIFs - Get the best gif on GIFER

First off, THAT COVER! I just love the color scheme, the plants, the typeface…🥺

I started getting into Solomon’s novels last year. The Deep and An Unkindness of Ghosts were masterpieces, so of course I’m jumping at the chance to read something else that they’ve written! Their prose is consistently powerful, unique and gripping, and it’s clear that they’re a master storyteller.

The synopsis describes this one as gothic fiction, and I think Solomon’s writing style would translate perfectly into that kind of story! I’m always up for paranormal tales of the woods and strange monsters, and the fact that we’ll soon see Solomon’s take on it is so exciting for me!

Sorrowland is expected to come out this May, so I’ll see you all then…

Flower Opening GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: February 15-21, 2021

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well, and for everyone in the Texas area, stay safe out there. Lots of love. 💗

Reading-wise, I’d say it’s been a bit of a hit-or-miss week. A lot of what I read fell in the 3-star range, but I did find another 5-star read! I still have some of my library haul from this week left to read, as well as some Hellboy books my dad lent to me (thank you!) and 3 eARCs I got approved for. So expect a lot of reviews in the next few weeks!

Writing-wise, I’m nearly done with my sci-fi outline, but I switched gears later in the week because my mom found this writing contest that I’m interested in. I’m now shifting over to outlining/writing a short story, and I’m really excited to get into it!

Other than that, I just drew a bit, rewatched more Fargo, got caught up on WandaVision (OH MY GOD THAT LAST EPISODE), volunteered at the library, and drank a whole lot of hot chocolate.

Also, I thought that the new Julien Baker album came out today, but no, not until the 26th…[cries]

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The City We Became (Great Cities, #1) – N.K. Jemisin (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Image result for the city we became cover

The Kinder Poison – Natalie Mae (⭐️⭐️.5)

Image result for the kinder poison cover

Game Changer – Neal Shusterman (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Image result for game changer neal shusterman

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Image result for the song of achilles cover

The Punch – Noah Hawley (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Image result for the punch noah hawley cover

Happily Ever Afters – Elise Bryant (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Image result for happily ever afters by elise bryant

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Mooncakes – Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Image result for mooncakes suzanne walker

Abandon – Blake Crouch (for book club)

Image result for abandon blake crouch

Felix Ever After – Kacen Callender

Image result for felix ever after

Hellboy: Odd Jobs – Christopher Golden et. al.

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A Dark and Starless Forest – Sarah Hollowell (eARC)

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Today’s song:

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

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (2/16/21) – A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

And now, onto another book that I bought with my Christmas gift card and loved!

I’ll admit to being a bit jaded with most YA fantasy novels at present (even though I still read them in droves), but the cover and the mythology of this novel convinced me to buy myself a copy, and I’m so glad I did! A novel that simultaneously felt nostalgic and something wholly new and original.

Enjoy this week’s review!

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A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, #1)–Roseanne A. Brown

My copy ft. a cool filter and one of my bookshelves

In the wealthy city of Ziran, it is a time for celebration, many days of carnivals and competition at the Solstasia Festival. This year, however, the lives of two very different teens with cross in ways that could change their world forever.

Malik came to Ziran to escape, but at a price; as an entrance fee, an evil spirit captured his sister, and the only way that he can get her back is to kill Karina, the crown princess of Ziran.

Karina yearns for a life outside the palace, but after her mother, the Queen, is assassinated, she begins dabbling in dark magic to bring her back. Her magic, too, has a price–it requires a king’s beating heart, and the only way she can get that is to sneak her way into the Solstasia competition–where Malik has entered in order to get closer to her.

Their destiny is to kill each other–but their feelings for each other cannot be ignored, and they may have to twist fate itself to find their way out of this conundrum.

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TW/CW (from Roseanne A. Brown, at the front of the book): self harm (magic ritual), violence, abuse (emotional and physical), anxiety/panic attacks, loss of loved ones, animal death

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve read a fantasy that I’ve loved as much as I did this one! A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is truly a treasure.

What stood out most for me was the writing style. There’s something about Brown’s writing that’s evocative of so many things that bring joy to me; there’s an almost Marvel sensibility about it, maybe a little bit of Disney (normally, I’m not the biggest fan of Disney, but this made it work)…it’s hard to quite put my finger on it, but the style was delightfully cinematic, calling to mind a classic, feel-good adventure movie. This would translate to well to the big screen, I’d love to see a movie adaptation of this one…

The characters were wonderful as well! Karina was such a lovable protagonist, and I adored her free spirit and determination. (Plus, the image of her standing on top of a table and aggressively serenading an entire restaurant…immaculate) Malik was the perfect character to balance her out, more of a calming and grounded presence. Both of their traumas felt very authentic, and it’s always good to see male protagonists that not only have mental illnesses (Malik seems to have some form of anxiety), but are openly sensitive and express their feelings. Together, they created such a captivating, enemies-to-lovers romance! Yeah, yeah, I know the whole “they’re both trying to kill each other, BUT HEY, THEY’RE MADLY IN LOVE NOW” trope has been done before, but Karina and Malik are both such well-written characters that I can make an exception. What can I say, I’m a total sucker for enemies to lovers.

And the worldbuilding! Brown’s world was so lived-in and full of resonant magic. My favorite aspect was the mythology surrounding all of the different deities and spirits, and I had such a fun time discovering the world piece by piece as the plot progressed. Like I said, I haven’t read a fantasy novel that’s filled me with *this much joy* in quite a while. GAH!

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I think I used this gif when I did a Goodreads Monday on this one…I’m coming full circle

All in all, an adventurous and well-written fantasy that filled me to the brim with joy. Maybe I’m not so jaded with YA fantasy after all. 4 stars!

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A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is the first novel in Roseanne A. Brown’s A Song of Wraiths and Ruin duology, followed by A Psalm of Storms and Silence, which is scheduled to be released on August 31, 2021. Wraiths is Brown’s debut novel.

Today’s song:

rewatching of Season 2 is well underway…the strings at the end of this give me Sparklehorse vibes and I love it

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

Posted in Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (2/15/21) – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! Wow, can’t believe we’re halfway through February already…

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.

Continuing with novels by Black authors for Goodreads Monday this February, here’s one that’s been sitting on my TBR for *way* too long. I’m always up for novels with different formats, and this one, paired with a distinct-sounding writing style, sounds like such a good book!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (2/15/21) – DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE by Maika & Maritza Moulite

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Blurb from Goodreads:

When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…

You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?

Actually, a lot.

Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.

All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.

You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

So why do I want to read this?

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There aren’t enough books in the world that are bold enough to be told in an almost exclusively epistolary way; it’s hard, absolutely, but the payoff, if done well, is something that’s truly unique. (See: The Illuminae Files). Dear Haiti, Love Alaine seems to consist of articles, diary entries, emails, and letters, so I’m excited to see how that format weaves into the story! Judging from the description, it looks like a perfect fit.

Also judging from the description, the writing sounds wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, and I’m looking forward to some laughs and misadventures! Alaine sounds like a reasonably flawed protagonist, but just the kind of heroine you’d want to root for. Plus, THAT COVER…THE RED…

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Today’s song:

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