Book Reflections

New year, new format! And it's definitely not because I lost motivation to do individual reviews for every book toward the end of 2023... January Reads: Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed all three books, but I deducted a star from Drag Me Up because I really  wish the author would've included a content warning for kink. Apparently "romance" (even one labeled as erotic) is way to wide a spectrum of possibility for me. Beyond the way-more-graphic-than-I-enjoy sex scenes, the writing was compelling and I liked the retelling element (Hades and Persephone).  The Hate U Give and All My Rage are both such powerful books about the bigotry and other harsh realities can have on people and the ripple effect those things can cause. I highly recommend both books. Pending Reads: He Who Drowned The World by Shelley Parker-Chan The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi A Vicious Game by Melissa Blair If I ...

One of my reading goals for 2023 was to read more books from my TBR "pile" and I could've done more, but 11 out of 49 total books read is not terrible. It definitely feels like more than I've gotten through in previous years. Now on to 2024 and more reading funsies! 2023 TBR Reads A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown Added to TBR: April 2021 Removed from TBR: February 2023 Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender Added to TBR: February 2021 Removed from TBR: April 2023 Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire Added to TBR: January 2019 Removed from TBR: April 2023 In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire Added to TBR: January 2019 Removed from TBR: May 2023 Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Added to TBR: January 2019 Removed from TBR: May 2023 Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger Added to TBR: November 2021 Removed from TBR: July 2023 A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair Added to TBR: March 2023 Removed from TBR: August 2023 Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassand...

Content Tags: Murder, Mystery, LGBTQIA+ Description from  Storygraph : The global phenomenon returns with the third book in the One of Us Is Lying series, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen M. McManus. When someone from the Bayview Four’s past resurfaces, history begins to repeat itself—and the consequences are deadly. The third time’s a charm. It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home for the summer, and everyone is trying to move on. Only, this is Bayview, and life is never that simple. At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad joke: Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the Bayview Crew disappears, it’s clear this “game” is serious—and whoever’s in charge isn’t sharing the rules. Or maybe there aren’t any.   Bronwyn. Cooper. Addy. Nat...

Content Tags: YA, Natural Disaster Description from  Storygraph : Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout! As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm? No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything. From the bestselling, award-winning, all-star authors who brought us Blackout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes another novel of Black teen love, each relationship within as unique and sparkling as Southern snowflakes. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I absolutely loved  Blackout by this sam...

Content Tags: YA, Mystery, Comedy, Fatphobia, Prison Industrial Complex, Child Abuse Description from  Storygraph : This winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award features Stanley Yelnats, a kid who is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake: the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime, punishment, and redemption. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This book is one of the few book to movie adaptations that I feel does the book full justice and representation. I sa...

Content Tags: Arthurian, LGBTQIA+, Violence Description from  Storygraph : She left all she knew to find who she could be . . . She grows up in the wild wood, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake drift to her on the spring breeze, scented with promise. And when she hears a traveler speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she decides her future lies at his court. So, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and sets out on her bony gelding for Caer Leon. With her stolen hunting spear and mended armour, she is an unlikely hero, not a chosen one, but one who forges her own bright path. Aflame with determination, she begins a journey of magic and mystery, love, lust and fights to death. On her adventures, she will steal the hearts of beautiful women, fight warriors and sorcerers, and make a place to call home. The legendary author of Hild returns with an unforgettable hero and a queer Arthurian masterpiece for the modern...

Content Tags: LGBTQIA+, Abandonment,  Crime, Mental Health Description from  Storygraph : Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in her family’s closet tear them apart? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Re-reading the synopsis after having read the book, it feels a little misleading. Firstl...