Welcome to Litsy!

This book was a slow start. I believe the need to have a strong foundation led to the book being slow in the beginning. This West African inspired fantasy series allows for strong character building, world development, and even tone story pace.
This book did not go where I thought it would. There are brief breaks in the story that confused me, but as I continued those random story breaks make sense. I say 8/10 and full recommend.
#orisha #woc

This book was crazy. I will say the unnamed Orisha - that story got me in a choke hold. I will be adding the next book in the series, because I need to know what will happen next. I hope they make a paper back of book 2, this hard back was heavy. Lol Now the foundation has been laid in book one, we can get to all the crazy in book 2

#booktok #woc #poc #orisha #africanfantasy #loyalty #slowburn #blackhistorymonth #blackgirlmagic

This book is not for the faint of heart! I was clutching my invisible pearls in some moments. I will say be prepared for crazy family dynamics, war, and heartbreak.
Demon King (googled fan art)
#booktok #woc #poc #orisha #africanfantasy #loyalty #slowburn #blackhistorymonth #blackgirlmagic

This book was a slow start. To build a strong foundation led to being slow in the beginning(my theory since there are 3 books so far).This West African inspired fantasy series allows for strong character building, world development, and even tone story pace. Main character Arrah (googled fan art) above.

#booktok #woc #poc #orisha #africanfantasy #loyalty #slowburn #blackhistorymonth #blackgirlmagic

I rolled a 19. Kingdom of Souls it is. I love the cover art. This book has been on my nightstand and I keep getting other books to read. This is 400+ pages. Nice for winter time. Let see where this adventure leads. The gingerbread coffee is pretty good with a little sugar and French vanilla creamer 🥰 #bipoc #bipocfemalelead #bipocfantasy #fantasy #femalelead #worldbuilding

Very very excited for this one!! Heard a lot of good things so I can‘t wait to dive in!! Thanks #thebookdrop for another great pick!! 🥰🥰

This book is WILD. The best part is the setting — it feels half-inspired by West African folklore, half by ancient Egypt. The characters were great — Arrah was a flawed, fierce protagonist. The plot is absolutely brutal, in the best way possible — every chapter has you holding your breath. The romance wasn‘t really my cup of tea though, & the pacing was slower than I expected. A dark intricate fantasy perfect for N.K. Jemisin fans. ★★★★☆.

#currentlyreading | Say no to a twisty badass witchdoctor fantasy? Couldn‘t be me! 😍

Loved the book a lot! Very well written with great character development and lots of dramatic twists. I really liked how the story built on Arrahs friendships with the various characters, and I appreciated the side storyline of romance between Essnai & Kira. I highly suggest this book for those who want to get into fantasy fiction.

I needed a fantasy this weekend and this delivered. The stakes felt high throughout, but halfway through Barron put the foot on the gas and did not let up. I loved this.

Kingdom of Souls is a dark YA debut set in a vibrant West African-inspired fantasy world, with a heroine who must find her purpose and stand up for her beliefs, a love interest I can get behind, and an unthinkable enemy. I don‘t love YA narratives (Arrah is very teenage; I‘m not) but I can appreciate a good one when I read it. I‘m surprised I haven‘t seen more chatter about this one - it‘s a cut above the rest.

I‘m a day late to the #WyrdAndWonder challenge but here we go: my May TBR!

I‘ve re-started Kingdom of Souls & I‘ll be picking up The Goblin Emperor in parallel for @deargeekplace read along starting this week! Then it‘s Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri, The Dragon‘s Legacy by Deborah A Wolf, Dragonspell by Katharine Kerr & Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And if I have time, The Stone Book Quartet & The Monster Baru Cormorant

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Overall this is a pick. Epic, brutal, dark, tragic. So many horrible things keep happening to the protagonist (hence this quote). My quibbles- there were some rough spots in the pacing, and the flavor of the romance felt very teen-drama whereas the rest of the story was much more mature. But an excellent addition to YA fantasy. For older teens.

This April, for the 3rd year in a row, our school will be hosting a YA book festival. Over 20 authors, a full day of panels, book signings, all the things. I try to read 1 book from each of the authors (I‘m not always successful) & the tagged book is up first. Just learned that Michael B. Jordan will be producing the movie adaptation of the book which is definitely cool.

Festival is April 18th for anyone in Chicago.

More details soon.

I finally gave in and decided to read Kingdommof Souls. No idea what took me so long. My full review is up on my blog.

https://readingstewardess.wordpress.com/2020/02/12/kingdom-of-souls-book-review/

Just starting this one tonight and I both really like it while being unsure of it. Really fantastic world, but the rest feels a bit scattered. I‘ve got a long way to go so I imagine my opinion will change. #amreading

Rena Barron‘s debut YA fantasy (the first in a trilogy) makes excellent use of its West African inspiration to build a vivid world populated by tricksy gods that‘s a must for anyone bored with generic European worlds. However, the plot is messy with key events happening off page, a central character who is hamstrung for much of the book and predictable twists and pacing is not helped by too big of a cast such that I‘m not sure I‘d continue.

There were parts of this book that I loved. The first 1/3 or so was especially good but then there was just a lot of time where my interest waned and I felt myself rather bored. It would pick up a gain for a bit and then go stagnate again. The pacing is just so inconsistent. I liked most of the characters and events and conflicts but the pacing is just such a struggle.

I got back from the bookstore after picking up Supernova and The Toll only to find the publisher sent me an ARC of The Toll 😭😭😭 I've never happy cried like that lol

Picking up Kingdom of Souls after sadly DNFing Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon

Hot damn, this book. All the hype is deserved, and now it's obvious why Michael B Jordan has already picked this one up for an adaptation. Incredible worldbuklding, complex characters, a fascinating storyline. Gave me major Children of Blood and Bone and Daughter of Smoke and Bone vibes. Only complaint is that it was so jam packed it felt like it might've been the plot of two books more so than one. But overall? Amazing.

New books into the library also mean I have a busy weekend of reading ahead of me. Yay! I‘m starting with these four, a mix of YA and MG, books. This is going to be a good weekend!

Heard this will be adapted and produced by Michael B. Jordan so I'm adding it on my TBR pile
#bookstoscreen 📚🎬
pic from @EpicReads

Great night with the author with her debut book

Spent the evening in round-table discussions and signing with Rena Barron, Sara Raasch, Shelby Mahurin, and Kendare Blake discussing their new books. Great night.

Was hoping to finish this and the audiobook I‘m reading before the end of August, but I‘m not sure that‘s gonna happen!! My reading buddy isn‘t helping any 😹 #catsoflitsy

It seem publishers are really into black covers this season. I love how this one fells.

September 2 , 2019

#CoverLove
#YAedition

I got this #ARC at #Yalc2019.
I found it wrong to compare this story to Wonder Woman or Black Panther. The plot has nothing similar to these movies. Unfortunately, I found the world building too heavy and too complex for me to take. The story was really dark and few times I was also thinking if this is right to propose this book for young adults...
2/5 stars

#ireadya #yaaddict #yafantasy

Trying to read outside of my apartment more again ☕️

Book mail is the best mail!! I am beyond excited for this one. Plus, that cover 😍😍😍😍

This cover looks a bit like Kendra Blake covers, but it‘s different enough to get my attention.

September 10

#CoverLove #YAedition