Book Reflections

April Reads: With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rust In The Root by Justina Ireland ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It really felt  like I had read more than 3 books in April. Though, I have made some progress on He Who Drowned The World  which is pretty long, so maybe that contributed to the feeling. The books this month were all great at least! I had some minor gripes or things I would've changed in With The Fire On High and Beating Heart Baby  which is why those are less than 5 stars.  And Rust In The Root was a re-read that was even more excellent the second time through. That's definitely a book that I will go back to multiple times and it will always be such a great mix of fantastical elements with historical aspects that need more attention placed on them. So powerful. Pending Reads: He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi* At the End of Everyt...

March Reads: Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Vicious Game by Melissa Blair ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fools in Love by multiple authors* ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It was a slow going reading month for me, March. Finished ear-reading Obsidio on the drives to rock climbing early on and got very wrapped up in finishing the latest installment in The Halfling Saga (A Vicious Game) that it distracted me from finishing the two book club reads this month. Barely finished Fools in Love on time and was a bit late at finishing With The Fire On High (see below).  The Halfling Saga is one with quite a few trigger warnings, but it is excellent so far. All of the subjects are handled with great care and intention. There have been a few plot twists already in the series that I was definitely not  expecting and this book was no different. I cannot wait for the next book to be released (and it hasn't even been announced yet!) Fools in Love was a bit hit or miss with some of the short stories. There were a few that I ...

February Reads: Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman ⭐⭐⭐⭐ If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon* ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I ear-read Illuminae and Gemina while doing yardwork this month. I deducted a star from both of those because of some fatphobia and other problematic comments. But the production of this series audiobooks is phenomenal! Sunny G's was not deducted a star for the same reason. There were some things that could've been a bit stronger in that one, so it got knocked a star. The Bennet Women I was really looking forward to because it's a spin on Pride and Prejudice. There were some really excellent aspects to the story and overall I really dug it. It followed the P&P blueprint well enough to get the connection without being so exact that it wasn't a truly creative deviation. If I Was Your Girl was a re-read ...

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...