Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Title: Legendborn Author: Tracy Deonn Publication Date: September 15th, 2020 Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley Age Range & Genre: YA, fantasy, contemporary, retelling, LGBTQ+ Content warnings: death, racism, manipulation, memory erasure, violence, anxiety attacks Synopsis: After her [...]
★★★★★ While this post may not contain spoilers for The Ikessar Falcon, there may be some for The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. Title: The Ikessar Falcon Author: K.S. Villoso Publication Date: September 24, 2020 Publisher: Orbit Books Genre: Fantasy Age Range: Adult The story so far:The Bitch Queen returns in The Ikessar Falcon, the action-packed sequel [...]
Special thank you to Shealea and Caffeine Book Tours for organizing this blog tour and providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All quotes are from an advance copy and are subject to change in final publication. While this review is spoiler-free for Iron Heart, it may contain spoilers for Crier's [...]
First off, I just want to thank everyone who nominated and voted for Love Yo Shelf in the best new blog category for Marie and May's Book Blogger Awards!! Orianna and I are completely and absolutely overwhelmed by the love and support we've gotten since starting our baby blog in October, and we've loved having [...]
Hello again!! We're just really on a roll here, aren't we? I'm really pleased not only because I've gotten this month's spreads done early again, but because September's inspiration is one of my favorite books of the year. In honor of the Bitch Queen herself, as well as the release of The Ikessar Falcon this [...]
★★★★★ Title: We Are Not Free Author: Traci Chee Publication Date: September 1, 2020 Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Genre: Historical Fiction Age Range: YA/NA Content warnings: some war and death, incarceration and violence Synopsis: From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of [...]
Special thank you to Kate @ Your Tita Kate and the publisher for organizing this blog tour and providing me a physical ARC of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All quotes are from an advance copy and are subject to change in final publication. ★★★★★ Title: The Bone Shard Daughter [...]
Alright, bear with me folks, because I dove deep into critical race theory during my undergrad and I have a Lot to say. I'm sure that almost 100% of the time, white bloggers look to support books by marginalized authors with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, due to the undeniable, incontestable truth that they are [...]
Thank you to Swoon Reads for sending me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Synopsis: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of [...]
★★★★★ Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Title: Against the Loveless World Author: Susan Abulhawa Publication Date: August 25, 2020 Publisher: Atria Books Genre: Historical Fiction Age Range: NA - Adult Content Warning: sexual violence and rape, war/violence, miscarriage/abortion, death Synopsis: As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary [...]
★★★★ Thank you to Kristina for sending me an ARC via twitter! All opinions expressed are my own. Title: Now That I've Found You Author: Kristina Forest Publication Date: August 25, 2020 Publisher: Roaring Brook Press Genre: Contemporary Age Range: YA Synopsis: Following in the footsteps of her überfamous grandma, eighteen-year-old Evie Jones is poised [...]
Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. ★★★ Title: Where Dreams Descend Author: Janella Angeles Publication Date: August 25th, 2020 Publisher: Wednesday Books Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Content warnings: emotional abuse, manipulation Synopsis: In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off [...]
Special thank you to Shealea and Caffeine Book Tours for organizing this blog tour and providing me an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed are my own. ★★★★ Title: Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop Author: Roselle Lim Publication Date: August 4th, 2020 Publisher: Berkley Genre: Romance, contemporary Age Range: Adult Content warnings: Near death [...]
If I'm being completely honest, this post was drafted partly out of spite, but these are also books that I have a great amount of love for or am looking forward to read due to recommendations from trusted friends. I want to elaborate on my experience as a huge fantasy reader from 2010-2014 in a [...]
Special thank you to Shealea and Caffeine Book Tours for organizing this blog tour and providing me an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed are my own. While this review is spoiler-free for Unravel the Dusk, it will contain spoilers for Spin the Dawn. ★★★★★ Title: Unravel the Dusk Author: Elizabeth Lim Publication Date: July [...]
This power might be all the protection I have. A Song Below Water, Bethany C. Morrow ★★★★★ Title: A Song Below Water Author: Bethany C. Morrow Publishing Date: June 2, 2020 Publisher: Tor Teen Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Content Warning: brief mention of self-harm Synopsis: Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced [...]
Anyone who tried to take this city from her would soon discover that the Kestrel's daughter had talons of her own. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, Roseanne A. Brown Title: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Author: Roseanne A. Brown Publication Date: June 2nd, 2020 Publisher: Balzer + Bray Genre: Fantasy, romance Age Range: YA [...]
It feels good to be back to blogging! It's been really hard to blog lately because of all the chaos with online classes and my laptop in the shop, but I'm (hopefully) back and better than ever! April's bullet journal theme was inspired by Jade City by Fonda Lee, and I took inspiration a little [...]
★★★★★ Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Title: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Author: Maggie Tokuda-Hall Publication Date: May 5th, 2020 Publisher: Candlewick Press Genre: Fantasy, LGBT+ Age Range: YA Trigger warnings: death, torture, substance abuse, mentioned sexual assault Synopsis: Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora [...]
Do y'all ever scroll through NetGalley and go oh, this looks interesting! So does this! Wow, I can't wait to read this! and all of a sudden, you've requested 2837 ARCs? Sure, the odds of getting approved for even 50% of them are slim at best but hoo boy, when you DO get approved, it's [...]
Well. The past two months were...a lot, to say the least. I don't know about y'all, but March is feeling about 3 years long, and it's not even over yet. That being said, my themes for February and March were for some of my favorite 2019 reads, and my bujo is joined by my trusty [...]
It truly is the month of madness. With all of this going on, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that my bullet journal inspiration for this month was the one and only The Poppy War. If you haven't read The Poppy War, or either of our "favorite reads" posts, let this be your [...]
So a bit of a disclaimer: this was my first ever author interview, and I was extremely nervous about it. There's an episode of Friends when Rachel is trying to hire an assistant for the first time and asks the first person she interviews how she did as the interviewer, and uh well, that was [...]
★★★★★ Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Title: When We Were Magic Author: Sarah Gailey Publication Date: March 3, 2020 Publisher: Simon and Schuster Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Age Range: YA Synopsis: Keeping your magic a secret is hard. Being in love with your best friend [...]
In honor of the release of To All the Boys I've Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You on Netflix, and the triumphant debut of Jordan Fisher as the one and only John Ambrose McLaren, I wanted to make a list of some of books with my favorite romances, as well as some faves that [...]
★★★ Title: Foul is Fair Author: Hannah Capin Publication Date: February 18, 2020 Publisher: Wednesday Books Genre: Teen Suspense Age Range: Upper YA Trigger Warnings: sexual abuse, violence (drugging and rape), self-harm, Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Synopsis: Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, [...]
One of the last books I read in 2019 was Descendant of the Crane, and I absolutely loved it, and couldn't wait to use it as inspiration for the first of my 2020 spreads. I think with all of the plot twists in DOTC (and 2019), I really wanted to bring that into the new [...]
★★★★★ Title: How to Build a Heart Author: Maria Padian Publication Date: January 28, 2020 Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Genre: Contemporary Age Range: YA Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Synopsis: All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. [...]
What is the Pondathon? The Pondathon is a co-operative and story-driven readathon hosted and run by CW from The Quiet Pond. The aim of the Pondathon is to read books and collect points to protect the friends over at The Quiet Pond from the encroaching malevolent forces that threaten our friends in the forest. Have fun participating [...]
★★★★ Special thank you to HarperCollins and Kate (Your Tita Kate) for organizing this blog tour and providing me an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed are my own. Title: Spellhacker Author: M.K. England Publication Date: January 21st, 2020 Publisher: HarperCollins Teen Genre: Fantasy, LGBT Age Range: YA Trigger warnings: Anxiety, chronic illness, panic attacks, [...]
What is the Pondathon? The Pondathon is a co-operative and story-driven readathon hosted and run by CW from The Quiet Pond. The aim of the Pondathon is to read books and collect points to protect the friends over at The Quiet Pond from the encroaching malevolent forces that threaten our friends in the forest. Have [...]
★★★ Title: Given Author: Nandi Taylor Publication Date: January 21, 2020 Publisher: Wattpad Books Genre: Fantasy, YA Romance Age Range: YA Thank you to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Yenni has never been this far from home. With only her wits, her strength, and her sacred runelore, [...]
★★★★★ Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Title: Don't Read the Comments Author: Eric Smith Publication Date: January 28th, 2020 Publisher: Inkyard Press Genre: Contemporary Age Range: YA Synopsis: Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest [...]
★★★★★ Title: Scavenge the Stars Author: Tara Sim Publication Date: January 7, 2020 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Age Range: YA First things first, Tara Sim is such a badass in all the best ways. Lauren and I were lucky enough to attend her author's event while she was in Seattle, and it was such an awe-inspiring experience. [...]
A book with a huge heartbeat and so much love infused in every page.Alice Pung Title: The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling Author: Wai Chim Publication Date: August 5th, 2019 (AU) & November 10th, 2020 (USA) Publisher: Allen & Unwin Genre: Contemporary, romance, mental health Age Range: YA Synopsis: Anna Chiu has her hands [...]
Banner by the amazing CW! Around August of 2019, I found out that the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge (YARC) existed (hosted by the phenomenal CW, Shealea, Lily, and Vicky) and I was so excited I cried. I felt like it was a little late for me to join and I didn't have an [...]
When I entered middle school at the ripe ol' age of 11, we were given planners to keep track of our assignments and upcoming due dates. For most of middle school and high school, I told myself that I didn't actually need to use a planner - I could keep track of everything mentally. Oh, [...]
Happy New Year!! There are so many books debuting in 2020 that I'm STOKED for, so it's a good thing I have #StartOnYourShelfAthon to prevent me from neglecting books I already own any longer. That being said, there are books I preordered already and ARCs I need to read that I'll be adding to this [...]
When I was younger, I used to go through my dad's dozen or so crates of old papers where he kept photographs, baseball cards, and old paintings/drawings that he and my grandpa did. I'm not quite as skilled with pencils or charcoal as they are, but I like to think my painting is alright! That [...]
In a single sentence, 2019 was the year I learned that I have no limits. I realize how cliche that sounds, but after a lot of reflection and starting this blog with my mate, there are so many things I've learned about myself and what I might wanna do with my life, and I figured, [...]
2019 was a whirlwind - I got accepted into departmental honors, started my first job working in a law office, became an AUNT, and started this baby book blog with my other half. There was a balance of great, good, and not so good things that happened in the past year, but one of the [...]
★★★★★ Title: Tweet Cute Author: Emma Lord Publication Date: January 21st, 2020 Publisher: Wednesday Books Genre: Contemporary, romance Age Range: YA Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Synopsis: Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their [...]
My last finals have been submitted and I'm ready to help Castor collect stars! My plan is to alternate between genres as I tackle the books I own to avoid a reading slump, and I'm doing some buddy reads along the way to keep me motivated! Here is my TBR list for December: Title: Serpent [...]
★★★ Title: Eubeltic Descent Author: Nadine C. Keels Publication Date: August 23, 2018 Publisher: CreateSpace Genre: Historical Fantasy Age Range: YA Thank you to Nadine for requesting this review and sending us the epub. All opinions expressed are my own. Your soul will remember. Abigaia Grena wasn't born mute, but in a world of people [...]
★★★★ Title: The Never Tilting World Author: Rin Chupeco Publication Date: October 15th, 2019 Publisher: Harper Teen Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ Age Range: YA A demoness is what men call a goddess they cannot control. Excuse me while I yodel about this book for ten million years. Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But [...]
Water, Earth, Fire, Air...long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. About 21 or so years passed, and Orianna and Lauren are here to fill in [...]
★★★★★ Title: Love From A to Z Author: S.K. Ali Publication Date: April 30th, 2019 Publisher: Salaam Reads Genre: Romance, contemporary Age Range: YA Maybe that’s what living is—recognizing the marvels and oddities around you. If I had to pick my favorite YA contemporary of all time, it just might be Love from A to [...]
★★★★ Title: A River of Royal Blood Author: Amanda Joy Publication Date: October 29th, 2019 Publisher: Putnam Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Queens ruled in Myre and killed for the right to do so. A River of Royal Blood follows Princess Eva as she grapples with the magick of blood and marrow that runs through [...]
It's been a while since I've liked any of my bullet journal spreads (or done enough of them to actually post), so I was extremely pleased with myself when I not only made spreads for the whole month, but I made them early. It helps that this month was inspired by one of Love Yo [...]
★★★★ Title: One Year of Ugly Author: Caroline Mackenzie Publication Date: May 14, 2020 Publisher: The Borough Press Genre: Contemporary Age Range: NA Synopsis: After fleeing crumbling, volatile Venezuela, Yola Palacio wants nothing more than to settle into a peaceful new life in Trinidad with her family. And who cares if they’re there illegally—aren’t most [...]
★★★★ Title: The Sigil Authors: Shakeil Kanish & Larissa Mandeville Publication Date: January 27, 2020 Genre: Fantasy, LGBT Age Range: YA Love Yo Shelf received and epub of The Sigil from Shakeil in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Synopsis: After losing the person most important to him, Lake Smithson [...]
