Three Things I’m Loving: Thanksgiving Edition

November 28, 2019 Comments : 3

This year, I find myself truly in the holiday spirit…and I don’t just mean that I’m hungry. And because it’s Thanksgiving, I’m serving up Three Things the proper way, with an extra helping.

I am thankful for my job that provides for all my needs and wants. I am grateful it has made me an even badder bitch than I ever thought possible and is lighting the way for the kind of human I want to be. Keep pushing me, I know there is more to be done.

I am thankful for my little apartment and the neighbors whose names I still don’t know, but nonetheless greet me with a warm smile no matter how crazy my hair looks very early in the morning or the fact my dog is likely pooping on the flowers. I am especially grateful for one neighbor who understands Friday afternoons are for dance parties and instead of hating me for terrible music, once knocked on the wall and asked me to turn it up so she could dance, too. Now, I just turn it up by default.

I am thankful for my family who are friends, and my friends who are family. Life simply wouldn’t be as joyous without you in it. I’m grateful for our laughs and our cries, our high fives and our hugs. Know that it is my sincerest pleasure to share gifs inappropriately early (or late), to mark emails as critically important if they include cute baby animals or good sales on that thing I know you’ve been wanting for yourself, to smile as I drop a surprise package off for no good reason other than I love you. If we’re apart this hallowed day of turkeys, I miss you.

Lastly, I’m thankful for books. It is, after all, the reason I’m here writing. I’m grateful that you filled my head with impractical dreams of worlds with dragons and happy endings despite all the odds. Thank you for letting me be alone while also making me feel not alone at times when I needed that. Thank you for this new path at an old dream where I get to read lots of brilliant things and write less brilliantly about them, even though it isn’t what wound up being what keeps the lights on. Thank you for being my go-to conversation starter: Hey, whatcha reading?

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving – and a great many things from today until the next to be grateful for.

XOXO

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

November 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
on November 5, 2019
Pages: 637
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
two-stars

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes the thrilling conclusion to the Printz Honor–winning series Arc of a Scythe.

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

DNF at 35%

Compared to the previous two installments, the pacing and plot of this book is seriously lacking. For a friggin finale, I need you to BRING IT. It’s too long and dare I say, boring. Instead of honoring and bringing the story’s foundation to a close, The Toll veered off course into a mundane allegory of the current political/religious state. If it had been halfway decent in its execution, I probably could have stuck with it. Alas, it was a total disappointment. *womp womp*

I truly don’t know how to address this next bit without stepping on a PC bomb, but I’m going to do it anyway because it wound up being a major sore spot for me throughout what I read of the book. There is a new kind of gender identity introduced, which I have (probably insensitively) dubbed Weathersexual. While I am absolutely, 100% all for more inclusivity in my books this fluidity based on whether there are clouds in the sky was so absurd that it seemed like a joke. The whole thing 1) came out of the blue (yes, I made a weather pun), 2) didn’t add anything to the narrative other than confusion as to who was being referenced, 3) the fact that it likely isn’t a joke somehow makes me feel more offended by its frivolity, and 4) seems purely to satisfy some imaginary checkbox of including a token “Other” group. Now, I will fully say, this series requires a lot of buying-in to the world, but not for a single second was I ever on-board with this weird turn of characterization.

XOXO

Short and Sweet: The Folk of the Air by Holly Black

November 25, 2019 Comments : 6

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Published by Little, Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on January 2, 2018
Pages: 384
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

*****

The Wicked King by Holly Black
on January 8, 2019
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-half-stars

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

*****

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
on November 19, 2019
Pages: 300
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.

*****

I improperly judged these books before reading them due to their YA designation (and my repeated struggles with anything YA as of late). I am prepared to eat crow. These are excellent fantasy books that happen to have a young batch of protagonists, who occasionally suffer bouts of hor-monstrous feelings.

While each book seems to have the same slow-paced start and are lacking significant character development, the plot and world building is awesome. The twists are oh so twisty and the ending of each book just made me crave the next all the more.

I’m semi-glad that I waited to read these until I could binge all three together, because the waiting between installments would have been sheer torture. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little bit that I missed out on this awesomeness over the past few years.

Have you read these? And if you did, my most important question is, where you as creeped out by Cardan’s tail during *certain* scenes?

XOXO

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

November 19, 2019 Comments : 5

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
Published by St. Martin's Press on November 19, 2019
Pages: 352
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

"Radical, extraordinary, and profoundly human." - Taylor Jenkins Reid

1. Daniel Mayrock loves his wife Jill…more than anything. 2. Dan quit his job and opened a bookshop.3. Jill is ready to have a baby. 4. Dan is scared; the bookshop isn’t doing well. Financial crisis is imminent. 5. Dan hasn’t told Jill about their financial trouble. He’s ashamed. 6. Then Jill gets pregnant.

This heartfelt story is about the lengths one man will go to and the risks he will take to save his family. But Dan doesn’t just want to save his failing bookstore and his family’s finances—he wants to become someone.

1. Dan wants to do something special. 2. He’s a man who is tired of feeling ordinary. 3. He’s sick of feeling like a failure. 4. Of living in the shadow of his wife’s deceased first husband.

Dan is also an obsessive list maker, and his story unfolds entirely in his lists, which are brimming with Dan’s hilarious sense of humor, unique world-view, and deeply personal thoughts. When read in full, his lists paint a picture of a man struggling to be a man, a man who has reached a point where he’s willing to anything for the love (and soon-to-be new love) of his life.

Reasons I love this book

I just do, and I think other people will, too.
It reminds me of two of my most favorite books: High Fidelity & The Lover’s Dictionary.
It is utterly unexpected, authentic, fresh, funny, and deep.

Reasons this book is like High Fidelity

The lists
The very wry humor
Struggling small business owner (borderline anti-) hero
I inexplicably knew I was going to love it from the first page

Reasons this book is like The Lover’s Dictionary

The unusual, diary-esque formatting
Truth bombs abound
The sad, but still somehow hopeful, tone
I inexplicably knew I was going to love it from the first page

Reasons I’m a bad ~~little~~ reviewer

Outstanding review books: 40 (shit)
Overdue AND outstanding review books: 31 (double shit)
Cookies stress-eaten trying to figure a way out of this mess: 3, peanut butter

Additional thoughts on reviews

If more books were formatted as lists, I might actually finish them by the deadline and write more listy reviews.

That’s a lie because I’m a garbage person.

Yes, I realize all of these sections are different formatting. Welcome to how I felt having OCD and reading 352 pages of lists that do not have precisely the same formatting. (Cue evil laughter…and also eye twitch)

Reasons you should read this book

I guarantee, you haven’t read anything quite like it.
It will surprise you and make you feel things.
Because I said so?

XOXO

Anticipated Releases: November & December

November 1, 2019 Comments : 3

Since December is a slow month for releases…what’s up with that Santa?!…it’s joining the absolute party that is November today.

November 5

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

November 12

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher
OtherLife by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller

November 19

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

November 26

The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzi Lee
The Rise of the Magicks by Nora Roberts
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

December 3

Blizted by Alexa Martin

XOXO

Anticipated Releases: October

October 1, 2019 Comments : 3

A while back, I fell off the Waiting on/Can’t Wait Wednesday wagon, but that surely doesn’t mean there aren’t books for which I’m anxiously and excitedly tracking release dates. I’m trying out a new feature of the handful (or oodles) of new titles I’m stoked about. This is by no means meant to be an extensive release calendar, and even with today’s post you’ll probably notice so very hypey and hot upcoming releases are missing. #sorrynotsorry

And without ado…

October 8

Seven Letters by J.P. Monninger
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Illustrated Edition) by J.K. Rowling
Faker by Sarah Smith

October 22

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

For my inaugural post, gotta say I was hoping to be excited about a lot more things, but my wallet is relieved.

XOXO

Ten for the 2010s

September 27, 2019 Comments : 2

Well, well, well, I find myself without a reading challenge, and that could just not stand! As you may have guessed, I’m a big sentimental goober. With this decade nearing a close, I had a little light bulb moment. What about one final challenge for the year to read those books from 2010 onward that I missed out on over the years. Before 2020 comes a-barreling, these are the ten books I most want to squeeze in.

2010
The Passage by Justin Cronin

2011
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

2012
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

2013
Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

2014
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

2015
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

2016
Shrill by Lindy West

2017
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

2018
The Overstory by Richard Powers

2019
How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper

Want to play along? Let me know what your picks would be in the comments 🙂

XOXO

N.E.W.T.’s Magical Readathon: Wrap-Up

September 22, 2019 Comments : 2

Helloo. No, I haven’t been trapped in a well for the last three months. I was getting some much-needed mental space from all things social media and technology in my free time. Being a grown up is exhausting stuff sometimes.

I’m happy to report I read a TON of books since my last post, but in true “me form”, it was like 50-50 for my current reading challenge. I regret nothing.

So, how’d I do on the Magical Readathon? I got in A in all my NEWTs, except Herbology. Somewhere Pomona is cursing me (for a multitude of reasons surely). And, I got an E in Potions. **flashes back to crying after a Chem final** This is shocking.

The Best

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Worst

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Raised in Captivity by Chuck Klosterman
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

The Stuff I’m Bummed I Didn’t Read (Yet)

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

XOXO

N.E.W.T.’s Magical Readathon

July 9, 2019 Comments : 6

I feel like I could write almost exactly the same thing as I did when I posted about O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon a few months ago. Slump, check. TBR backlog, oh you betcha. The last reading challenge really helped, so I’m opting in again.

If you’re interested in the specifics, be sure to check out the Book Roast intro video or you can skip straight to the prompts. There is still that awesome Career Guide Gi put together that might help guide your selections if you want to play along. I’m changing up some of the rules to be semi kind to myself:

I’m starting early, aka NOW, because I’m excited to get going.
I’m making the challenge longer, because I’m a realist about the sheer volume of books I’m capable of reading in one month while still working and sleeping regularly. A’s for July, E’s for August, O’s for September, or really however long it takes.
Once an A level book for a particular class is completed, the E level becomes fair game to read, and so on.

And now to the important part, the picks!

A Levels

Ancient Runes – Recommendation – The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
Arithmancy – Ends on Even Page – Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Astronomy – Moon Cover/Title – Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
Care of Magical Creatures – Title starts with “A” – An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Charms – Pretty Cover – The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Defense Against the Dark Arts – Black under Jacket Cover – The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Divination – White Cover – Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave
Herbology – Audiobook – Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
History of Magic – Fantasy – The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Muggle Studies – Photo Element on Cover – On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
Potions – Bestie’s Fave – Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Transfiguration – LGBT – The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

E Levels

Ancient Runes – Written in Past Tense – Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Arithmancy – Standalone – The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
Astronomy – Night Title/Series Name – Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet
Care of Magical Creatures – Less than 300 Pages – Radiance by Grace Draven
Charms – Graphic Novel – Watchmen by Alan Moore
Defense Against the Dark Arts – Anything You Remember from TBR – The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
Divination – Short Story/Collection – Raised in Captivity by Chuck Klosterman
Herbology – 350-390 Pages – My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle
History of Magic – Includes a Map – Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Muggle Studies – Set in the Real World – Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot
Potions – House Colors (#hufflepuffpride) – The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack
Transfiguration – Not the First in Series – Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

O Levels

Ancient Runes – TBR Backlog – Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Arithmancy – Longer than 350 Pages – Soulless by Gail Carriger
Astronomy – Science Fiction – After Life by Marcus Sakey
Care of Magical Creatures – Bird on the Cover – Year One by Nora Roberts
Charms – Paperback – The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Defense Against the Dark Arts – English Author/Setting – The Magus by John Fowles
Divination – Last Book You Bought – Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Herbology – Flower on the Cover – Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
History of Magic – Re-read – Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Muggle Studies – POC Author – Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Potions – Starts with Prologue – The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Transfiguration – 500+ Pages – Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

XOXO

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

June 26, 2019 Comments : 3

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
on July 9, 2019
Pages: 352
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.) 2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee). 3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

What are you waiting on?

XOXO