in this novella, rowan is visiting her aunt, winnie the hedge witch. rowan is hoping this is the opportunity she needs to get some 2024 reads: 238/250
in this novella, rowan is visiting her aunt, winnie the hedge witch. rowan is hoping this is the opportunity she needs to get some peace and quiet from her annoying sisters. however, when mysterious things start happening around town, rowan starts attempting to hone her hedge craft to get to the bottom of it.
i really loved rowan in threadneedle, so i was very excited to learn this novella was about her! there were quite a few moments i found myself relating to her. rowan’s character growth throughout this novella was wonderful. her journey of self-discovery was well-explored.
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 229/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in—and beyond—town. while these men are happy to look at her, none seem to want to marry her. this stresses out her father, who becomes desperate when the townspeople begin blaming their family for failed harvests, so he seeks out the oracle’s advice. the oracle, guided by the jealous aphrodite’s child eros, instructs psyche’s father to hand her over to a monstrous husband. instead of a monster, though, psyche is swept away to an idyllic palace, where her spouse, eros, visits her at night. psyche thinks it’s odd that her prophesied husband is neither man nor monster and that she’s not allowed to see her, but she soon falls in love with eros (who she calls pteron) and her life there. when she becomes filled with doubts, though, she breaks eros’s one rule by looking at her face, which brings about trouble in her home and on olympus…
as soon as i saw this, i knew it’d be at least 4-5 stars for me. i adore greek mythology retellings, and i haven’t seen many of eros and psyche. i was only vaguely familiar with the story of eros and psyche before reading this, but refreshing my memory with quick descriptions, this seems to have captured the essence of the story. i loved the decision to make this a sapphic love story. this representation is definitely lacking when it comes to greek mythology retellings. additionally, eros is nonbinary and i found her discussions of her gender interesting.
overall, this was a beautifully-written retelling, and i’d highly recommend it to greek mythology lovers. i can’t wait for whatever’s next from caro de robertis!...more
this memoir follows the author, amra sabic-el-rayess, in her teen years as she lives through the bosnian genocide. her city, bihać,2024 reads: 222/250
this memoir follows the author, amra sabic-el-rayess, in her teen years as she lives through the bosnian genocide. her city, bihać, used to be a peaceful place where serbs, croats, and muslims could coexist, but when serbian tanks start rolling in, this peace is disrupted. in the middle of this, a cat saves her family and becomes somewhat of a guardian spirit in their lives.
after finishing this book, i was shocked to see that not many people have pointed out amra’s way of “othering” religious muslims. i’d like to make it clear i’m not judging her for pointing out that there are differences. as she said, when communism took over bosnia, people lost religious practices. however, the way she made a point to use these differences seemingly as the reason why bosniaks should be spared from genocide rubbed me the wrong way. instead of simply explaining the difference between bosnian muslims and religious muslims, it seemed to me like she judged religious muslims and even said that the serbs attacked bosniaks because they thought they were “all one kind of backward muslims.”
i did appreciate getting to learn more about the bosnian genocide. i really didn’t know much about it before starting this. while this memoir was more about how the genocide personally affected the author and not a history lesson, i’m glad to have gained more insight into this piece of history....more
this novel-in-verse follows a vampire currently known as immy. immy has lived many lives and been in love many times, but nothing c2024 reads: 220/250
this novel-in-verse follows a vampire currently known as immy. immy has lived many lives and been in love many times, but nothing compares to what she feels for claudia.
i somehow didn’t realize the form of this book was poetry, not prose, when i borrowed it from libby. this was a very nice surprise, and i think the lyrical poetry matched the haunting love story at hand. i’d recommend this to anyone who likes vampires and poetry!...more
this book serves as a guide to being a thoughtful ally to disabled people. emily ladau draws from her own experience as someone wit2024 reads: 213/250
this book serves as a guide to being a thoughtful ally to disabled people. emily ladau draws from her own experience as someone with larsen syndrome and as a wheelchair user, and other disabled activists’ experiences. though it’s short, there’s a lot to learn from this book. i’d recommend this to anyone wanting more information on the history and current state of disability rights and on how to be a better ally to the disability community....more
akari is a high school junior who has devoted her life to her oshi, masaki ueno. when masaki is caught in a scandal, akari is sure 2024 reads: 212/250
akari is a high school junior who has devoted her life to her oshi, masaki ueno. when masaki is caught in a scandal, akari is sure the rumors are just that. as her personal life falls apart, akari becomes even more obsessed with her oshi.
this book was painful to read. i’m not saying this is a flaw of the book, but actually the opposite. rin usami did a little too good of a job portraying the obsessive fans that can be found on many corners of the internet. i liked the social commentary in this book. i hope to read more from rin usami in the future!...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 243/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
this is the conclusion to the ending fire trilogy.
as a vigilante known as the truthsayer raises an army against the wardens, sylah and hassa search for anoor…who’s currently being praised as the child of fire.
i still can’t believe this trilogy is over! i’ve been lucky enough to have received each book early, so i’ve been following this series since before book one came out. needless to say, i had high hopes for this book. i’m so glad that this exceeded my expectations! i really enjoyed how each character’s arc played out. the plot was also very interesting, and the author used the 500+ pages well.
i highly recommend this to anyone who’s enjoyed the previous books in this series, and i’m looking forward to more from saara el-arifi....more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 189/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
back home in mississippi, cal was the poor, queer kid whose family was hated. when he wins a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in new england, he takes it as an opportunity to reinvent himself. but he soon finds out that his classmates at essex aren’t much better. they all come from money, and they mock his cheap clothes and southern twang. cal’s at his breaking point when he gets invited to rush a secret society. he’s desperate to find a place in this school, so he takes on the challenge, which leads him to dangerous places.
what originally drew me to this book was the comparison to the honeys and the secret history, two books i loved. i also loved the sound of a dark academia book with a secret society. i think this aspect was really unique; i haven’t read about many secret societies like this one...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 180/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
sixteen years ago, six girls in the town of sorrow were born on the same day. they grew up as a close-knit friend group, but their group is now fractured. on their sixteenth birthday, one of them goes missing. when she reappears three days later, there’s something wrong with her. the girls get back together to figure out what’s going on before they’re all taken.
this was a pretty unique horror book! i loved the small southern town drama and the weird happenings in said small southern town. isabeau was an interesting character and i loved how her relationship with reuel was explored. when the six split up, isabeau and reuel remained friends, but that doesn’t mean everything is perfect between them.
i really enjoyed this and i’d recommend to anyone wanting a YA horror read!...more
garlic loves her safe life on witch agnes’s farm. the last thing she wants to do is confront the vampire who just moved into a near2024 reads: 168/250
garlic loves her safe life on witch agnes’s farm. the last thing she wants to do is confront the vampire who just moved into a nearby castle, but when her village votes her to do just that, she decides to be brave.
i requested this from libby when i heard about this because it sounded so cute. a tiny, anthropomorphized vegetable with anxiety confronting a scary vampire? sign me up! luckily, this book did not disappoint in the slightest. i loved garlic’s character growth and the art style, and i can’t wait to read book two!...more
before peter pan and wendy, there was a boy named james who was desperate to return t2024 reads: 165/250
this is the ninth book in the villains series.
before peter pan and wendy, there was a boy named james who was desperate to return to neverland. he learns to be a pirate on blackbeard’s ship, leading to captaining his own ship he wants to use to return to neverland.
just like the other books in this series, this was a quick, but fun, read. i really liked the role fate played in this book, even though it was cruel to our protagonist. we also got some more explanation as to how all the stories are linked together, which was pretty interesting. i’m excited to read the next book!...more
nayra mansour is under constant pressure from her family and is undergoing bullying at school. as she considers transferring school2024 reads: 159/250
nayra mansour is under constant pressure from her family and is undergoing bullying at school. as she considers transferring schools, a djinn named marjan appears. nayra has always wanted to meet a djinn, but marjan’s past might just catch up to them both.
first, i absolutely adored this art style!! and the color scheme was mainly pink and purple, which i loved.
the story was also really interesting. as i mentioned, nayra unfortunately faces a lot of islamophobia at school. her parents don’t understand why she’d want to transfer because of this, since her older siblings went to the same school and did well. she’s friends with the only other muslim girl at school, but it’s still hard. marjan, the djinn, becomes her new friend, but also biggest secret. i really liked the moments we were taken into marjan’s world.
i recommend this to anybody who enjoys YA graphic novels....more
this discusses the author’s journey with a late autism diagnosis and his thoughts on how autism affects daily life. what originally2024 reads: 157/250
this discusses the author’s journey with a late autism diagnosis and his thoughts on how autism affects daily life. what originally drew me to this book was seeing that the author is a christian and discusses his beliefs and how they relate to autism. i did end up appreciating this aspect and i wish there had been even more on this. i’d recommend to anyone wanting to gain a perspective on daily life, relationships, and faith from an autistic person....more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 245/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
gisela is a water nymph who has been cursed to haunt the river running through the town in which she drowned. she wants nothing more than to return to her normal life…which she finds out may be possible with one kiss from a mortal. getting this kiss may be harder than she thought, since everyone sees her as a monster, including kazik, the spirit-hunter she’s recruited to help her. but when kazik falls for the same person gisela has her sights set on, things get a little messy.
i’ve read and loved one other book by alicia jasinska, so i was expecting to at least really enjoy this one, too. this was a lot different, but i still really loved it! the slavic folklore aspect immediately drew me in. this is something that really interests me, but i haven’t found many books that incorporate this element. i loved how many different beings (biesy, rusałki, etc.) were discussed.
in addition to the slavic folklore, i also loved the characters themselves. each one was so complex, even aleksey, who wasn’t as prominent of a character as gisela and kazik (though still important). i loved seeing their character growth and how their relationship developed.
overall, this was a fantastic book, and i highly recommend it to readers who enjoy ya fantasy....more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 142/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
this novel follows our beloved storm as a teenager, when she was ororo and lived in egypt. she does her best to blend in, both to help with her thievery and prevent people from gawking at her blue eyes and white hair. but when the powers she never learned how to use start getting out of control, and a man known as the shadow king wants to use them for evil, she’s forced to flee egypt and find her own way.
i was SUPER EXCITED when this book was first announced, because not only is storm one of my favorite x-men, but tiffany d. jackson is one of my favorite authors! i’ll admit, i’m not super far into my comic-reading journey, so all i know about storm comes from the cartoons and the movies. however, while i can’t answer to comic book accuracy, i feel like tiffany d. jackson did her story justice. ororo had a tough upbringing, but i loved seeing her grow throughout this origin story.
i highly recommend this to fellow x-men fans!...more
compared to the rest of their eighth-grade class, val and lanie are outsiders. this must be what makes them such great friends. 3.5
2024 reads: 138/250
compared to the rest of their eighth-grade class, val and lanie are outsiders. this must be what makes them such great friends. a school project rocks the boat, though, when a long-forgotten ghost starts terrorizing the town.
i mostly enjoyed the book. the art was lovely, the plot was interesting, and i found myself relating to val, who’s autistic. however, it rubbed me the wrong way that the bully/villain was a disabled girl who used to be bullied herself. this trope is annoying at best, harmful to real-life communities at worst. this did resolve in the end, though, which i was grateful for....more
in this novella, we follow elisabeth, nathaniel, and silas as they figure out how to unravel the magical trap keeping them from lea2024 reads: 131/250
in this novella, we follow elisabeth, nathaniel, and silas as they figure out how to unravel the magical trap keeping them from leaving thorn manor for the midwinter ball.
i’m so glad i jumped on the sorcery of thorns train late so that i could read this almost immediately after! i really liked seeing all these characters again. (especially silas, my fav<3) the plot was also interesting and fast-paced, which i loved. sad to see these characters go, but i’m very happy we got this novella!!...more
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