Tag: carry on

Posted in Book Tags

Winter is Coming Book Tag ❄️

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

Sorry for the unexplained absence, by the way. Finals just kinda crept up on me there, and I was in a reading slump for quite a while, so I’m not sure if I would’ve had much to post in the first place. But I’m done now! I’m out! FINISHED MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE!!

Anyways, I’ve been meaning to do this tag for a while, but I wanted to wait until it was actually winter to do it, so here I am, about a year later. (Oops…) I was tagged by Ritz @ Living, Loving and Reading, and the tag was originally created by Katherine Barka on YouTube.

Let’s begin, shall we?

☃️WINTER IS COMING BOOK TAG☃️

SNOWFLAKE: something beautiful and always different. Choose a book that stands out and that is different from all the other books you’ve read.

The Reckless Kind was an unexpected 5-star read for me; The inclusion of so much queer rep AND disability rep in a historical fiction novel set in a time period/place that I haven’t read much about made for a truly unique read. Highly recommended!

SNOWMAN: it is always fun to make one with your family. Choose a book a whole family could read.

Part of why I’m putting this on here is to draw attention to these gorgeous new editions coming out next September, but now that I’m looking back at The Search for WondLa (my favorite series back in late elementary/middle school), it’s one of those special kid’s books that you can appreciate just as much as an adult.

CHRISTMAS: Choose a book full of happiness that made you warm inside after reading it.

I need to stop putting Heartstopper for every book tag with a “warm/fuzzy/cozy/etc.” prompt, but it…always fits?? It’s just so full of love and joy and all things warm and fuzzy…🥹

SANTA CLAUS: He brings wonderful presents. Choose a book you’d like to get for Christmas.

I put Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe on my Christmas list this year, so…😳

SNOWBALLING: It can be painful to be hit by a snowball. Choose a book that hurt, that made you feel some strong emotion, like sadness, or anger.

She Gets the Girl just made me angry for most of the time reading it—I hated Alex, and the romance had zero chemistry. Not worth it at all.

SLEDDING: We all loved it when we were younger. Choose a book you loved when you were a child.

I could’ve put WondLa on here too, but a prompt like this calls for Warriors! I was OBSESSED with these books for years, and I have so many good memories of working my way through the series and picking up the paperbacks from my local bookstore as I made my way through the seemingly endless books. There’s a good…40 of them that I still have in boxes under my bed.

FROSTBITE: Choose a book you were really disappointed in.

I wanted to give The All-Consuming World a chance despite the low ratings, but I could barely get through the muck of painful writing…

REINDEER: Something dear to us. Choose a book of great sentimental value to you.

I had to restrain myself from putting Aurora Rising for this prompt, I know you’re all tired of me and my Aurora Cycle soapbox, so…even though the rest of the series started going downhill after this one, I have incredibly fond memories of reading Carry On for the first time. Gotta love Rainbow Rowell.

I TAG:

Today’s song:

how about some childhood nostalgia for this saturday morning

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

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Posted in Book Tags

5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 Book Tag

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

I’m having a nice, relaxing weekend at home (seeing the new Black Panther tonight too!!), so I figured I’d do another tag! I found this one over at Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog, and I haven’t been able to find the original creator, so if you know who it is, please let me know so I can credit them.

Let’s begin, shall we?

🔢 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 BOOK TAG 🔢

5 BOOKS YOU LOVE

If I had to narrow down my favorites to *just* 5, I’d have to pick Frankenstein, Aurora Rising, Heart of Iron, Madman Yearbook ’95, and On a Sunbeam. Maybe. I think. The first three are fairly certain, but it gets hazy from there, but I still love every single one of these books with all my heart.

4 AUTOBUY AUTHORS

At this point, all of these authors—Amie Kaufman, Becky Chambers, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and Rainbow Rowell—are ones that I immediately preorder from (or at least put on hold at the library) if they’re coming out with anything new. (anybody else excited for Isles of the Gods???)

3 FAVORITE GENRES

Anyone who’s followed this blog for a while knows that I’m a complete sci-fi fan to the bone. Absolute favorite genre!! After that, I’d say fantasy and magical realism; fantasy was my favorite genre before I got really into sci-fi, but I still love it. I’ve gotten into magical realism more recently, but I’ve read some incredibly memorable books in the genre.

2 PLACES YOU READ

During the day, I tend to read on the couch, and at night, I love to read while cozy in bed.

1 BOOK YOU PROMISE TO READ SOON

I’ve been meaning to read Vicious for a while after loving the Shades of Magic trilogy, and I just downloaded it on my Kindle, so I’ll be reading this as soon as I can!

I TAG:

Today’s song:

big thank you to my mom for introducing me to lush on the car ride home yesterday

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

Posted in Book Tags

The Cat Markings Book Tag 🐈‍⬛

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

I was tagged a while ago to do this by Riddhi @ Whispering Stories, and since I love cats, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! The tag was originally created by Laura @ The Corner of Laura.

Rules

  • Link back to the original creator (The Corner of Laura) and link back to this page(otherwise, the original creator won’t get a notification).
  • Thank whoever tagged you and link back to their post
  • You may use the graphics and don’t forget to credit the original creator
  • Tag 5 or more other people.

Let’s begin, shall we?

🐈‍⬛THE CAT MARKINGS BOOK TAG🐈

BLACK CATS: Black rescue cats take 13% more time to re-home than cats of other colors. Pick a book that doesn’t get the love it deserves.

While there were certainly some flaws with Love in the Time of Global Warming, I still think it’s a very unique and underrated book.

WHITE CATS: A study showed that 20% of purebred white cats are deaf. Pick a book with great disability rep.

I will never stop singing the praises of Sick Kids in Love—great romance, and even better disability rep!

GINGER CATS: 80% of ginger cats are male. Name your favorite male character.

It’s hard to pick just one character from the entirety of literature, but I love Kal and Finian from Aurora Rising, Baz from Carry On, and Jax from Heart of Iron.

TORTOISESHELL CATS: Nearly all tortoiseshell cats are female. Name your favorite female character.

Again, impossible to pick just one, but I love Auri from Aurora Rising, Zara and Beatriz from Honor Among Thieves, Catherine from The Smoke Thieves, and Ellie from The Sound of Stars.

CALICO CATS: Calico cats are considered lucky in many cultures. Name a character that you wish was your best friend.

I’d love to be friends with most anyone from the main cast of The Smoke Thieves except for Ambrose.

TABBY CATS: Tabby cats are considered to be the most extroverted and social cats. Name a character who’s the life of the party.

Rooney from Loveless is definitely a major extrovert and partygoer!

A CLOWDER OF CATS: The collective nouns for cats include a clowder, a glaring, a cluster, and a litter. Name your favorite fictional squad.

I’d be sorely remiss if I didn’t put Aurora Rising‘s Squad 312 for this prompt!

I TAG:

Today’s song:

saw these guys open for Spoon on Tuesday night, and they were pretty great!

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 (4/19/22) – Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3)

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

Carry On has been a favorite book of mine for years. Ever since book 3 came out back in July, I’ve been trying to find it in the bookstore and buy it. I went to Barnes & Noble recently and finally got my hands on it (the exclusive edition!! with the beautiful endpapers!! 😭), and although it wasn’t as strong as book 1 was, Rainbow Rowell’s endearing writing and characters continue to please.

Now, TREAD LIGHTLY! This review may contain spoilers for the first two books, Carry On and Wayward Son. If you haven’t read either and intend on doing so, read at your own risk!

Enjoy this week’s review!

Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3) – Rainbow Rowell

After their trip to America, Simon, Baz, and Penny are called back to Watford. A new threat has arisen that threatens to upend the World of Mages, and despite his hesitance to be magickal, Simon is once again pulled into the fray. All the while, Simon still has personal questions left unanswered—if he leaves the World of Mages, what will happen to his relationship with Baz?

Simon’s friends are no better off; Penny has smuggled Shephard into England, and now must grapple with a demonic curse to save his life, and Baz’s family has drawn him back into the vampiric fray. Was America the last time that they were together, or will they remain the tight-knit group that they once were?

TW/CW: blood, animal death, cults/emotional manipulation, surgery, sexual content

I’m now reminded of why I had a crush on Baz when I was 14—how can you resist a sexy vampire who plays Kishi Bashi on his violin and sings Beatles songs to his two-year-old brother to help him go to sleep? Specifically THE WHITE ALBUM Beatles songs?? I’m getting all sappy at the thought of him singing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”… 😭

I’ve been a fan of Rainbow Rowell for years, and Carry On is easily my favorite of her books. Wayward Son was fun, but it felt sloppy, and I hoped Any Way the Wind Blows would pick up the mess it made. However, this book had the weakest plot of the three; that being said, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it—it’s Rainbow Rowell, so no matter the plot, it’s guaranteed that I’ll still adore the writing and characters.

Let me get my major complaint out of the way first—the plot. As much as I love Carry On, I stand by the argument that it should’ve been a standalone from the start. Wayward Son, even though I enjoyed it, was still unnecessary at worst, and it feels like Any Way the Wind Blows exists almost solely to tie up all the loose ends from the former. The concept of the whole Chosen One cult with Smith was an interesting premise, but it wasn’t nearly enough to carry over 600 pages. There are several plots going on in the book, but all of them felt like sideplots; maybe it’s the fact that all of the POV characters were separated to some degree, but all of them—even the main plot—came off like borderline afterthoughts.

As weak as the plot was, though, I will always love Rainbow Rowell’s writing! She has such a way with words that not many other authors have; every emotion feels genuine, her worlds are fleshed out, and her prose never fails to be endearing and poignant. It wasn’t enough to completely stitch up the plot problem, but I always enjoy reading her books.

Going off of that, part of what makes her writing so special is her characters. I already adored all of the gang™️ from this series, and they were just as delightful as they were in the previous books. Simon, Baz, and Penny are all so dear to me (Baz most of all), and everything that I loved about them from the previous books shone through just as much in Any Way the Wind Blows. These books have always explored how complicated relationships can be through the eyes of Simon and Baz, but I loved how Rowell didn’t hesitate to explore some of the messier sides of love; their relationship is far from perfect, but through it all, it felt messy in a refreshingly genuine way. The conflict felt realistic and wasn’t neatly wrapped in a bow, but through it all, Simon and Baz came through it. As abrupt as the ending was, I’m glad that their relationship got mended in the end. Gotta love my Snowbaz 🥹

All in all, the weakest addition to the Simon Snow trilogy, but still a sweet ending for the characters I love. 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4!

Any Way the Wind Blows is the third and final book in the Simon Snow trilogy, preceded by Carry On (book 1) and Wayward Son (book 2). Rainbow Rowell is also the author of Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, Pumpkinheads, and several other books for young adults and teens. She also wrote the 2017 run on Marvel’s Runaways.

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 Book Tags

Squad 312 Book Tag 💫

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Friday, bibliophiles! I’m glad to be out of school for Thanksgiving break…I need some time off.

This book tag has been sitting in my blog sticky note for a while, but I figured it would be the right occasion to do it since I’ve just finished Aurora’s End (🥲). The tag was originally created by Jemma @ Starry Eyed Reader, and I found the tag on her blog as well. The Aurora Cycle is my favorite series, so I just had to do this tag!

Let’s begin, shall we?

27424908._SX540_
all character art in this tag is from @kiranight_art

💫SQUAD 312 BOOK TAG💫

TYLER JONES—THE ALPHA: Your favorite main character

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

I’m trying to stray away from using any of the Aurora Cycle books for these prompts, which makes this question…[ahem] difficult…

But for this one, I chose Ellie Baker from The Sound of Stars—she’s rebellious and relatable, and she runs a secret library! Great taste in music, too.

SCARLETT JONES—THE FACE: Which character could talk themselves out of anything?

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
Jesper Jesperfahey GIF - Jesper Jesperfahey Shadowandbone - Discover & Share GIFs

Jesper from Six of Crows would be able to fast-talk himself out of anything and everything. Would the other Crows approve? Probably not, but that’s not what matters here, right?

ZILA MADRAN—THE BRAIN: A super smart character who would probably kill you

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
Amazon.com: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea: 9781536204315: Tokuda-Hall, Maggie: Books

Genevieve from The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is certainly a very deadly and cunning character—I’m interested to see what the sequel holds for her!

FINIAN DE KARRAN DE SEEL—THE GEARHEAD: Your favorite piece of fictional technology

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
Amazon.com: The Soul Keepers (The Soul Keepers, 1): 9781250309136: Taylor, Devon: Books

Does a ship count as a piece of technology? This was a hard one, but the Harbinger—a giant ship that ferries the souls of the dead—from The Soul Keepers is a really cool concept for me. It’s most of the reason that I picked up the book in the first place.

KAL GILWRAETH—THE TANK: A book that made you angry

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel (The Carls): Green, Hank: 9781524743444: Amazon.com: Books

(my boy Kal deserves a better prompt than this…😔👊)

I DNF’d An Absolutely Remarkable Thing at around the 30% mark; I was already debating whether or not to put it down, but the bisexual rep was HORRIBLY offensive for me, so I jumped ship. Would NOT recommend.

CAT BRANNOCK—THE ACE: A fictional crush you’re still not over

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell — Prologue Bookshop | Columbus, Ohio - Books, Games, Gifts, & More

I don’t get book crushes all that often, and my main ones happen to be in Aurora Rising (Kal and Auri are both SO CUTE, I CAN’T HELP IT…now that’s some bi panic for ya), but I’ve always thought Baz Pitch from Carry On looked cute on the cover art.

AURORA JIE-LIN O’MALLEY—THE GIRL OUT OF TIME: If you had to pick just one book or series to read for the rest of your life what would it be? 

Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720995: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books
Amazon.com: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle): 9781524720964: Kaufman, Amie, Kristoff, Jay: Books

Okay, I’m breaking my self-imposed “I’m not using the book that inspired this tag as answers for this tag” rule, because the Aurora Cycle is the only series that fits this bill. I always come back to the books; in the past two years, they’ve become so uniquely dear to my heart, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them in it.

I TAG:

The Aurora Cycle Dream Cast | The Awkward Book Blogger

Today’s song:

it’s been too long since I’ve listened to this song…so sweet

That’s it for this book tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves! And of course, Squad 312 forever.

Posted in Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Saturday (10/31/20)–Vampire Books 🧛🏼‍♀️

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Halloween, bibliophiles! 🎃 Since 2020 derailed my original halloween plans (I was going to be Rogue from X-Men, but I’ll probably save that for next year), I just slapped on some dark eyeshadow and drew bats on my face with eyeliner, because why not. We’re carving pumpkins later (I’m gonna try and do the Fargo logo, I’m probably gonna screw it up but it’ll still be fun), and we’re watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice later!

The new Cats trailer looks great until you pan up from the bodies - Album on Imgur
Watch me dump all the What We Do in the Shadows gifs in this post…also, sidenote, this cat is my profile picture on my school Google account 🤣

It’s 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 vampire books, just in time for Halloween! I haven’t read much vampire literature (and let it be known that I will never touch anything related to Twilight with a ten foot stake pole), but I have some on my TBR, so except for one book, this is all from my TBR.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER: 

10/3/20—Intimidating Books

10/10/10—Feminist Themes

10/17/20—Animal on the Cover

10/24/20—Wishlist

10/31/20—Vampires 

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?

Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

Amazon.com: Carry On (Simon Snow Series, 1) (9781250135025): Rowell, Rainbow: Books

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZ

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite, edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker

Amazon.com: Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite (9781250230010): Cordova, Zoraida, Parker, Natalie C.: Books

This one’s a collection of short stories! I’ve read novels by a few of these authors, but I’m especially excited for what Heidi Heilig has to over. I have this one on hold at the library, and it looks like it’ll be coming soon!

The Fell of Dark, Caleb Roehrig

Amazon.com: The Fell of Dark (9781250155849): Roehrig, Caleb: Books

Besides how amazing this cover is, I am ALL HERE for an LGBTQ+ vampire story!

Empire of the Vampire, Jay Kristoff

Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1) by Jay Kristoff
Cover not final

I probably won’t end up reading this one for a while (doesn’t come out until next year), but hey, it’s Jay Kristoff. It’s automatically on my TBR.

Dracula, Bram Stoker

Dracula by Bram Stoker | Horror book covers, Dracula book, Book cover illustration

And of course I had to put the OG vampire book on here! I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while.

I TAG ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE!

mine: what we do in the shadows | Tumblr

Today’s song (Halloween edition):

That’s it for this Halloween edition of Top 5 Saturday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and have a spooky Halloween!

Posted in Books, Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Saturday (8/1/20)–Enemies to Lovers 💘

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles, and happy August! [happy Leo noises]

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 enemies-to-lovers romance, otherwise known as my FAVORITE romantic trope…

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 (8/1/20)–ENEMIES TO LOVERS

Carry On (Simon Snow, #1), Rainbow Rowell

Amazon.com: Carry On (Simon Snow Series (1)) (9781250135025 ...

THIS….now THIS is the PINNACLE of enemies-to-lovers…

Crier’s War, Nina Varela

Amazon.com: Crier's War (9780062823946): Varela, Nina: Books

I can’t wait for book 2 to come out! Only about a month…

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1), Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Amazon.com: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files) (9780553499117): Amie ...

Does this count? It’s…lovers to enemies to lovers? I would think it would count…¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Serpent & Dove, Shelby Mahurin

Amazon.com: Serpent & Dove (9780062878021): Mahurin, Shelby: Books

I LOVE Lou and Reid’s relationship, and I’m excited to see what awaits them in book 2!

The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1), Laurie Forest

Amazon.com: The Black Witch: An Epic Fantasy Novel (The Black ...

Elloren and Yvan’s romance felt forced at first, but the pairing’s started to grow on me. I’m currently reading The Shadow Wand, so things have most definitely gotten interesting…

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!

Posted in Books

Pride Month Book Recommendations, Week 2: Fantasy

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles! 🏳️‍🌈

Continuing with my Pride recommendations, I’ve decided to devote this week to fantasy novels featuring LGBTQ+ characters and themes. In times like these (and all the time), it’s incredibly important to support LGBTQ+ authors and inform yourself about the community, and literature is a vital vessel for learning about such topics, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction.

So let’s begin, shall we?

PRIDE MONTH RECS, WEEK 2: FANTASY

  1. Reign of the Fallen duology, Sarah Glenn Marsh

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION: Bisexual protagonist, lesbian love interest wlw relationship, several gay side characters

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not only is Reign of the Fallen a fascinating and action-packed fantasy novel, it boasts one of the most accurate (personally) depictions of bisexuality in YA literature. Odessa will always have a special place in my heart.

2. Simon Snow series, Rainbow Rowell

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION: Both protagonists are gay, mlm relationship

MY RATING:

Based off of a Harry Potter-like fan fiction written in Fangirl, the Simon Snow series is if you took Harry Potter and made Drarry canon. Even though book 2 was a little disappointing, Simon and Baz are always wonderful.

3. The Brilliant Death, Amy Rose Capetta

Amazon.com: The Brilliant Death (9780451478443): Capetta, Amy Rose ...

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION: Both the protagonist and the love interest are genderfluid, queer relationship

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this a little over a year ago, and there’s no doubt that Amy Rose Capetta is a veritable champion in the world of LGBTQ+ YA literature. The sequel to this one (and the conclusion to the duology), The Storm of Life, just came out this January, and I’m so excited to read it!

4. Girls of Paper and Fire, Natasha Ngan

Amazon.com: Girls of Paper and Fire (9780316561365): Ngan, Natasha ...

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION: wlw relationship

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Although I found book 2 to be quite disappointing, this is an immensely powerful novel, not only discussing LGBTQ+ themes, but it mainly tackles the trauma of sexual assault. Gotta love Lei and Wren. 💗

5. Mask of Shadows, Linsey Miller

Mask of Shadows (Mask of Shadows Series #1) by Linsey Miller ...

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION: Protagonist is genderfluid

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[smacks self in forehead] I still can’t BELIEVE that I haven’t gotten around to reading Ruin of Stars (book 2), because this novel was SUCH FUN TO READ! And though I can’t speak to how good/bad the genderfluid representation is (as I’m a cisgender person), Sal’s depiction seemed both accurate and well-written.

Tell me what you think! Did you like these novels? Do you have any LGBTQ+ fantasy novels that you loved? Tell me in the comments!

Infinite Loop Rainbow GIF by CmdrKitten - Find & Share on GIPHY

As always, a great resource for finding LGBTQ+ novels is here at Queer Books for Teens, so check out their website for more great recommendations!

Today’s song:

Soccer Mommy–night swimming (demo)

Another song from her Soccer Mommy & Friends singles, this one is just as dreamlike as the original song! 🙂

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

Posted in Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Saturday (5/30/20)–Books from a Male POV 🚹

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

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 books written from a male POV.

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 (This one!)
  • Tag 5 people

Let’s begin, shall we?

The Catcher in the Rye–J.D. Salinger

Amazon.com: The Catcher in the Rye (9787543321724): J.D. Salinger ...

I immediately thought of this novel when I first saw this week’s prompt. I need to go back and read this one…

A Gentleman in Moscow–Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel: Towles, Amor: 9780670026197 ...

I finished this one up a few days ago–very distinct and unique writing!

Carry On–Rainbow Rowell

Amazon.com: Carry On (Simon Snow Series (1)) (9781250135025 ...

The POVs of both Simon and Baz (especially Baz) are an absolute delight to read.

Running With Lions, Julian Winters

Amazon.com: Running with Lions (9781945053627): Winters, Julian: Books

I didn’t particularly care for this one (2.5 stars for me), but I like the style of the cover art.

Nyxia–Scott Reintgen

Amazon.com: Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad) (9780399556791): Reintgen ...

Even though I own it, I don’t remember all that much about this novel, but I do remember liking it. Maybe I should go ahead and read the other books in the series.

I TAG ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE!

Go Kevin Smith GIF by Paramount Network - Find & Share on GIPHY

Today’s song:

One of the few exceptions to the “don’t cover The Beatles” rule.

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

Posted in Book Tags, Books

The Totally Should’ve Book Tag

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

book tags header.jpg

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

I found this tag over at Bookidote, and the tag was originally created by Emmmabooks. I was browsing tags to give a go, and decided that this one looked liked a lot of fun! Let’s begin, shall we?

1. Totally should’ve gotten a sequel

Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury

Man, I’m still so sad that Last of Her Name  was a standalone…though the ending was certainly satisfying and was wrapped up very nicely, the worldbuilding had SO much potential, and I would’ve loved to delve into it again.

2. Totally should’ve had a spin off series

Amazon.com: A Conspiracy of Stars (Whitecoat's Daughter ...

Man, this was a surprisingly hard question…

I mean, technically, the series isn’t *quite* finished, but I’d totally be on board for some more bizarre, alien adventures in the world of A Conspiracy of Stars. 

3. An author who totally should write more books

Amazon.com: Like a Love Story (9780062839367): Nazemian, Abdi: Books

Abdi Nazemian, without question. I mean, it’s only been a year(ish) since Like a Love Story hit the shelves, but I need some more of that wonderfully human writing, STAT.

 

4. A character who totally should’ve ended up with someone else

Amazon.com: Shatter Me (8601300047799): Mafi, Tahereh: Books

I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: JULIETTE 👏 SHOULD 👏 NOT 👏 HAVE 👏 ENDED 👏 UP 👏 WITH 👏 WARNER 👏

It’s not like Adam was a much better choice, but Warner was such a manipulative, domineering creep, and I’m still so baffled at the fact that people…like him? And like him and Juliette together? Ew. Just no.

5. Totally should’ve ended differently

Amazon.com: I Hope You Get This Message eBook: Rishi, Farah Naz ...

I just finished up I Hope You Get This Message last night, and I must say, for a novel with such a lofty premise, the ending felt so haphazard and last minute. There was so much potential for the ending, something emotional, something human, something like that scene in Rogue One where Jyn and Cassian share a final hug before Scarif exploded…something like THAT, I don’t know. It just felt so blown-off and left to the last minute.

6. Totally should’ve had a movie franchise

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

The decision to put Stranger in a Strange Land here is mostly because of the knowledge that they almost made it into a movie in the early 70’s, and DAVID BOWIE was going to be cast as Valentine Michael Smith. ZIGGY ERA BOWIE.

But even beyond that, this novel has the potential to be a revived, cinematic masterpiece, something as tender and thought-provoking as the novel itself.

7. Totally should’ve had a TV show

Amazon.com: The Scorpion Rules (Prisoners of Peace) (9781481442725 ...

The slow-burn, dystopian format of The Scorpion Rules would be perfect for a TV series, from the unique and diverse cast of characters to the action and buildup.

8. Totally should’ve had only one point of view

Half Bad: Sally Green: 8601300121086: Amazon.com: Books

For Half Bad, the problem wasn’t so much POV, but it switched between Nathan’s normal perspective and random tidbits of 2nd person. Brave of Green to try 2nd person for her debut novel, but I’m sad to say that it didn’t quite work out.

9. Totally should have a cover change

Prince of Shadows: A Novel of Romeo and Juliet: Caine, Rachel ...

Prince of Shadows was decent enough, but the cover gave off some uncomfortably bodice-ripper energy…I was kind of embarrassed to carry it around while I was reading it 🤣

10. Totally should’ve kept the original covers

Skyward (Skyward, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Though this wasn’t the edition I checked out at the library, I like this cover of Skyward a lot better. I’m a sucker for Charlie Bowater’s book covers, but this seemed to fit the feel of the novel a little more, and the almost monochromatic color scheme is incredibly pleasing to me, personally. Granted, I didn’t like Skyward all that much (2 stars for me), but these covers are still wonderful.

 

11. Totally should’ve stopped at book one

Amazon.com: Carry On (Simon Snow Series) (9781250135025): Rowell ...

As much as I love Carry On, Rainbow Rowell, and the eternally charming Simon and Baz, I think their story could have stopped here. After Wayward Son‘s cop-out of a cliffhanger, it just seems that the series is being uneccessarily perpetuated beyond its limits. Don’t get me wrong–Carry On is one of my favorite books, but I’d liked for it to have stayed a standalone.

 

If you want to see today’s song, click here, since I’ve already posted once today. 🙂

 

I tag anyone who wants to participate! 

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

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