So. The end of June. It's been... quite a month in my reading life. I read 22 books, and remember none of them. I leaned heavily into my cravings for fantasy and non-contemporary books, but some realistic fiction was unavoidable (I can't stay away from a good romance for too long!). Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite reads of the month, and also my parts of my book hauls. Reviews will be linked!
Five Star Reads: The Bone Witch, The Heart Forger, and The Shadow Glass by Rin Chupeco. I love this trilogy, and it has pulled me out of many a reading slump. A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi. Roshani is such a lyrical storyteller, and I could gorge myself on her words all day long. Get ready for The Silvered Serpents, y'all, it's also incredible. We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fiedler. This is a contemporary/historical blend about a family's involvement in the circus, and I LOVED IT!! I had alllll the feels while I was reading, and the characters were so personable! A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy. An incredible high fantasy. Fast paced, exciting, exactly what I needed. I cannot wait for the sequel. (Penguin, if you're reading this, can I pleeease get a sneak peek???) King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. I put off reading this for the longest time, and that was the biggest mistake of my year. It's heartstopping. I love Nikolai and Zoya so much better now that they have their own series. Shielded by KayLynn Flanders. Another royal high fantasy, which I had so much fun creating content for! Comes out soon, so get those shopping carts ready! My Book Haul: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Skyward by Brandon Sanderson Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
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Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me this BLAD in exchange for my honest review! I also accessed a full version on Netgalley.
From the green light across the bay to the billboard with spectacled eyes, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 American masterpiece roars to life in Katharine Woodman-Maynard's exquisite graphic novel--among the first adaptations of the book in this genre. Painted in lush watercolors, the inventive interpretation emphasizes both the extravagance and mystery of the characters, as well as the fluidity of Nick Carraway's unreliable narration. Excerpts from the original text wend through the illustrations, and imagery and metaphors are taken to literal, and often whimsical, extremes, such as when a beautiful partygoer blooms into an orchid and Daisy Buchanan pushes Gatsby across the sky on a cloud. This faithful yet modern adaptation will appeal to fans with deep knowledge of the classic, while the graphic novel format makes it an ideal teaching tool to engage students. With its timeless critique of class, power, and obsession, The Great Gatsby Graphic Novel captures the energy of an era and the enduring resonance of one of the world's most beloved books. So, The Great Gatsby. An iconic 20th century American novel. I personally love it, I know others hate it, but such is the way of things with classics. Being that TGG is widely known amongst Americans, myself included, and often part of school curricula, I’m not reviewing characters, plot, or anything to do with the original novel. Instead, let’s talk adaptation! A graphic novel is an inherently different form of storytelling from a traditional novel. In this adaptation, that meant Woodman-Maynard made some choices about what to keep from the original text and what to translate, including slimming down the themes while working to keep that uneasy ethereal quality to the oeuvre. I think she was successful in this endeavor. The soft watercolor palette translates better on paper than online, so I encourage readers to preorder hard copies! I loved the airy quality to the work. Gatsby’s world is a semi-constructed fantasy, so elements like having text on walls and characters that at times appear not to occupy limiting forms, add a new dimension to the novel. One of my favorite parts is the color palette. Gorgeously saturated and calm due to use of watercolors as a primary medium, chapters are interspersed with monochromatic multi-page layouts as well as full-detail full-color panels. Woodman-Maynard made smart choices about using the simultaneous sumptuousness and translucence of watercolor to represent TGG’s opulent world. I think it’s a good idea to read The Great Gatsby as a novel, first, though. This is good supplemental material, but there’s so much nuance in Fitzgerald’s original that much had to be cut in order for the adaptation to not feel cumbersome. It’s wonderful from an artistic perspective, and obviously loyal to the plot and characters, but if you’re looking for the intricacy of language to convey theme… well, it’s a graphic novel. Look elsewhere. I would have loved to see more bulk, plot-wise. I think it would have been okay to extend the novel by 20-30 pages in order to capture more text and stay involved in the themes of the original. Overall, I give The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation 4/5 stars, and I would definitely add it to your TBRs! Out January 5, 2021—a great start to our new Roaring ‘20s! Popping in with an update on my NetGalley shelf and to give a short preview of what's to come in the future! For non-bloggers: NetGalley is a website where reviewers can request e-copies of books (known as eARCs or e-galleys) for the purpose of review before they are published.
My current feedback ratio is 90%, and I'm trying to keep it there! Sometimes I get request-happy and then am surprised when I'm approved for bunches of them, which lowers my ratio, but I've been more cautious recently. As of right now, the books on my shelf are:
As a slight side note, this is the 300th post on this blog! I can't believe it's been so long, but I wouldn't rather be doing anything else. Come celebrate with me over on my Instagram page (links: --->) We all love a good trope sometimes, so here are five of my absolute favorites! Fantasy, especially, is rife with them, since many works are derivative and repetition is inevitable. Some that I’ve included are themes, but some of theme are scene types that I enjoy reading.
1. ENEMIES TO LOVERS This is my favorite trope in fantasy novels, but also in contemporary. From Tweet Cute to Wicked Saints & Ruthless Gods, I love them all. The character building! The tension! I will seriously read ANY book if it has this trope in it (provided it’s well-explored, that is.) 2. Fantasy character removing a ridiculous number of weapons from their person. I just think this is hilarious. 3. Competitions! Whenever a character has to go through a set of trials, it’s always interesting to see what tests the author chooses to fit the world they’ve built. 4. R O Y A L T Y (especially the “secret princess” trope) This plot twist is always a fun one, but I like reading about royals regardless of whether or not they were secret heirs or life-long aristocrats. 5. The group of friends full of archetypes When every character has a specific skill set and place in the group (think The Gilded Wolves or Six of Crows)… that’s good stuff. Hi y'all! This week I have one thing instead of the usual two--the Romance Slam Jam Conference! I'm moderating three panels, so if you're at all interested head over to their site and register! Just to let you know, there is a cost for attending, but in return you'll gain access to panels, workshops, pitch sessions, etc. Participants include Entangled Publishing, Harlequin Books, HarperCollins, St. Martin's Press, and more! My panels are on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and they are:
How to Build a Reader Community with YouTuber Alexandra Mathew and Entangled Teen TikTok manager Madison Pelletier. Contemporary World Building: It's Not Just a Setting with author Roselle Lim (whose blog tour I'm on in late July, so look out for that!) Market Write Now: Build Your Brand--Sell Some Books! with Karol Jarvis, Graphic Designer, Jessica Turner, Marketing Director/Associate Publisher, and Liz Pelletier, Publisher at Entangled Publishing. Find out more info at http://rsjconvention.com/, and I'll be back next week with updates on how everything went!
Hi friends! I have something reeeeallly exciting for you today! I'm thrilled to help reveal to Intisar Khanani's next novel, The Theft of Sunlight! This is the first book in a companion duology to Thorn, which came out March 24, 2020. The Theft of Sunlight will release March 23, 2021 from HarperTeen. I'm also pleased to share a short excerpt with you, but if you want to meet Rae before Theft comes out, check out the short story included in copies of Thorn. In case you don't already have the novel, you can purchase a copy here!
Keep scrolling..... A little more.... Just a biiiiiit longer.... Here we go!!! (This incredible cover is designed by Jenny Zemanek)
The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani
I did not choose this fate. But I will not walk away if I can make a difference. Children have been disappearing from Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her best friend’s sister disappears, Rae knows she can’t stay silent any longer. She finds the chance to make a difference in an invitation to the palace. But Rae struggles to fit in with the lords and ladies of the court. Instead, she finds unexpected help in a rough-around-the-edges thief named Bren who always seems to have her best interests at heart. Soon even Bren can’t help her, and Rae must risk her life and well-being to face an evil that lurks in the shadows of the darkest hearts.
Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.
Intisar used to write grants and develop projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. She is the author of The Sunbolt Chronicles and Thorn. Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter A Short Excerpt
“If he could tell us anything helpful, surely we would have heard by now,” I tell Ani, not wanting to give her false hope.
“I can’t give up,” Ani says desperately. “I can’t.” If only there were some lead, some small clue to grasp at, but we’ve turned up nothing: no one remembers anything unusual, every stranger has been accounted for, every wagon searched. There is not a track out of place, nothing. “Baba is riding east with two other men, following the road to Lirelei,” she says. “Everyone’s heard that . . . that the children might be sent on from the eastern ports.” “It’s good that he’s going,” I say. It’s only scraps of rumor and fireside theories that suggest the snatched end up as slaves in other lands. Who sends them, how they are to be discovered—no one knows. But it’s worth the journey if Seri can be found. Ani turns to me, her face tight with fury. “Children disappear every day. Have you thought about that? Perhaps only every few years for us, but in the cities? Across the whole of this kingdom? It must be a few every day. How can it go on? How is it that no one manages to stop it?” I shake my head. It had been easy enough, these past years, to pretend the snatchers were not so constant or near a threat— because they rarely strike here, in so small a town as this. But now little Seri is gone, with her laughing eyes and impish sense of humor. Niya asked if the Circle of Mages really has tried to track the snatched, and I wonder if they have. If they care, or the royal court cares, or if anyone at all knows how the snatchers are able to hide every last trace of our children. Ani takes a deep breath. “What use are the taxes we pay? What use is our king and all his soldiers, if they can’t stop our brothers and sisters from being stolen on the streets?” “Not much,” I admit. It might be treason to say so, but there is no one to hear us on this empty road. I run my hands over my head, tug at my braids, hating this helplessness. “What can we do, though?” “I don’t know,” Ani says, and for the first time since she came to our cart asking after Seri, she begins to cry. I fold her into my arms, holding her tight as she sobs into my shoulder, and promise myself I’ll keep trying. And I won’t give up either. --The Theft of Sunlight, Intisar Khanani
And now, a giveaway that Intisar is running! She is offering $25 of books from The Book Depository (open to folks anywhere The Book Depository ships, winner chooses the books). The giveaway is set up via Rafflecopter.
As a person with a public platform, I’ve been thinking over the past couple of weeks on the best way to share my spotlight and use my privilege to educate others. Therefore, I’m sharing this post today in the hopes that my white and non-Black POC readers will pick up books by Black authors all year round, not just when it’s trending. Open yourself to experiences and worldviews different from your own, even if it seems uncomfortable to do so. There are so many resources out there to help you cope with your part in the systematic oppression that devalues Black lives every day, and many more to teach you how to rise up against it. Today, I want to suggest reading not only non-fiction and memoirs, but also fiction and SFF as both can be powerful tools of storytelling. To that end, this list is comprised of works from both YA and Adult authors of the past and present. Caveat: I’m only one person, and this list is curated! Read beyond it—there are so many more amazing works by Black authors out there.
Thank you to Park Row Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Family. Faith. Secrets. Everything in this world comes full circle. When Ruby King’s mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago’s South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it means she’ll be living alone with her violent father. The only person who understands the gravity of her situation is Ruby’s best friend, Layla. Their closeness is tested when Layla’s father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what are his true motives? And what is the price for turning a blind eye? In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla comes to discover the murky loyalties and dark secrets tying their families together for three generations. A crucial pilgrimage through the racially divided landscape of Chicago, Saving Ruby King traces the way trauma is passed down through generations and the ways in which communities can come together to create sanctuary. Saving Ruby King is an emotional and revelatory story of race, family secrets, faith and redemption. This is an unforgettable debut novel from an exciting new voice in fiction and a powerful testament that history doesn’t determine the present, and that the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future. First review of an adult book! I’m so excited to expand the content of this blog and move into some new spaces. Saving Ruby King is a timely novel about family, friendship, and the ties that bind a community. Told in multiple perspectives, this emotional story is sure to affect many readers. The characters all have a a history with one another, and their intricate relationships pop off the page. Layla and Ruby’s friendship especially stood out to me as a favorite. They both process Ruby’s abuse by her father in different ways, which ends up affecting their relationship and changes the course of the book. I appreciated Layla’s loyalty, and how she constantly tried to connect and do right by her friend. As a reader coming from YA books, where ride-or-die friendship is common, it’s nice to see a relationship grow as the characters transition from childhood friends to adults with a more nuanced understanding of the world. Ruby and Layla's shared backgrounds and love for each other came across clearly in this novel. Second of all, this novel is partly autobiographical as West grew up on the South Side of Chicago. I loved how she brought the neighborhood and church community to life, and made readers feel like they were an extension of that family. Chapters from neighborhood POVs and that of the church building itself (which has been home to several generations in this story) further enhance this feeling. However, the book also deals with serious topics such as physical and emotional abuse, generational trauma, and death in a raw yet personable way. West’s nimble handling of this gave each character depth and importance, creating well-rounded characters who don’t fall into tropes or one-dimensionality. Humanizing characters who perpetuate harm, such as Ruby’s father, is difficult but added layers to the story. Overall, I give Saving Ruby King 4/5 stars, and recommend it to everyone seeking a thought-provoking, warm, but deep story about the ties that bind. Hi y'all! So sorry for missing last week's Tuesday's Two--I promise I'll be more regular about this in the future! Two things I'm excited about this week:
1. It's publication day for Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West! To quote my Instagram post, "y’all should pick it up ASAP! What a moving, emotional, empathetic novel with so much heart." Thank you to Park Row Books for my copy. I'm hoping to get my review up on Wednesday or Thursday. 2. Tomorrow I'm attending not one, but TWO virtual author events! First is a little "QuaranTea" with Adib Khorram, where a few lucky bloggers such as myself get to hang out and chat--hopefully we'll get to talk about the masterpiece that is Darius the Great is Not Okay. The second event is the first Wind Down with Wednesday, an afternoon coloring event featuring Emma Lord and Emily A. Duncan. Both are Wednesday Books authors, and their challenge tomorrow will be drawing various book covers! What's happening with your week? Hi all! Today is my post on The Glamourist's blog tour, organized by the FFBC! View the tour schedule here, and be sure to check out my bookstagram for an amazing exclusive giveaway. The Book and its AuthorA spellbinding novel of bloodlines, self-discovery, and redemption by the author of the Washington Post bestseller The Vine Witch. Abandoned as a child in turn-of-the-century Paris, Yvette Lenoir has longed to uncover the secrets of her magical heritage and tap her suppressed powers. But what brave and resourceful Yvette has done to survive the streets has made her a fugitive. With a price on her head, she clings to a memento from her past—what she believes to be a grimoire inherited from the mother she never knew. To unlock the secrets of her past, Yvette trusts in one woman to help solve the arcane riddles among its charmed pages. Elena Boureanu is the vine witch of Château Renard, noted for its renowned wines. Even as she struggles with her own bloodline—and its poisonous threat to her future—Elena can’t ignore a friend on the run. Joined by a cunning thief, the proprietor of an enchanted-curio shop, and a bewitching black cat, Elena and Yvette are determined to decode Yvette’s mysterious keepsake. But what restless magic will be unleashed? And what are Yvette and Elena willing to risk to become the witches they were destined to be? Luanne G. Smith is the author of THE VINE WITCH, a fantasy novel about witches, wine, and revenge set in early 20th century France, and the forthcoming second book in the series, THE GLAMOURIST. She’s lucky enough to live in Colorado at the base of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, where she enjoys reading, gardening, hiking, a glass of wine at the end of the day, and finding the magic in everyday life. ReviewWhat a fun read! I read The Vine Witch a loooong time ago, so my memory is a bit blurry, but The Glamourist is a standalone sequel—new readers will easily adapt to Smith’s writing style and the magical version of Paris presented in the novel. The story picks up with Yvette and Elena learning about Yvette's magic and determining to stick together even when situations could call for betrayals all around.
I enjoyed the fast pace of the story and constant action. This is technically an adult fantasy, but has YA crossover appeal, so I think readers everywhere will appreciate that as well. The character building is there as well, though. I didn’t find myself attached to Elena or Yvette until around 50% through, but eventually I was well invested in their adventures. My favorite part of the story was the magic. As you all know, I’m a sucker for a witch book, and this did not disappoint. Both complicated rituals and simpler spells are in play as the witches (mostly Elena) tried to unravel the various mysteries in the novel. Overall, I give The Glamourist 4/5 stars for an intriguing premise and fun cast of characters. |
The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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