1. Soft on Soft, Hamra and the Jungle of Memories, and The Gospel of Wellness

2. Thai iced tea

3. Might be going to the pumpkin patch with some friends this coming week 🎃

#WeekendReads

#WeekendReading @Andrew65

Can't believe it took me so long to finally read this gorgeous mythology-inspired Sylvia Moreno-Garcia fantasy novel. A young woman in 1920s Mexico working as a servant for her wealthy grandfather opens a box of bones that turn out to belong to a Mayan god. Now, she must help him reclaim his throne in the underworld, Xibalba, or die. So beautifully written and full of fascinating characters and worldbuilding.

I am so unbelievably excited about this news!

https://www.tor.com/2022/09/22/xiran-jay-zhao-iron-widow-movie/

"Selena didn't believe in love at first sight."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I've got some adorable ghostly middle grade book recs over on Book Riot today that are perfect for fall reading whatever your age!

https://bookriot.com/author/rachelsbrittain/

In this incredibly unique fairy tale reimagining, an aging Rosa has teamed up with a renowned archer after running from her complicated past. But as they set out to confront an enemy close to Hou Yi, Rosa finally begins to open up about the events that brought her here. I loved how this story slowly showed its teeth and it's fairy tale connections. A really great and quick read.

I got my bivalent Covid booster this afternoon and treated myself to this cute little Frankenstein's monster Funko and some Brookside chocolate as a reward 😂 He looks so good with this cover, though. I'm kind of obsessed.

An entitled rich boy gets sent to stay with his grandparents in small town New York after a PR disaster threatens his parents reputation, but as he slowly opens up to the grad student living with his grandparents and rediscovery the joy he once found in the holidays and doing good for others he realizes just how unfulfilled a life he was living. Loved the GAD rep and the m/m romance with a bi love interest. Plus the grandparents! So sweet!

Was trying to hold out on starting this one until I finish my current audiobook, but it's a serious historical fiction book and I am just not up for that with my migraine today. Cheesy Christmas romance it is.

A group of teen witches try to end a centuries old curse on their town with the help of a new girl at their school, but they're meddling with dark and ancient magic that could either save them or destroy them. I enjoyed this just fine, but I think it got lost in all the POV characters and the stakes didn't feel as heightened as they should've. Loved seeing literal Black girl magic though and will be interested to see if this becomes a series.

Backyard reading on a lazy Saturday.

Maybe my new favorite SMG novel (or at least tied with Mexican Gothic). In this reimagining of The Island of Dr. Moreau a girl lives in the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula in the 1800s alongside her scientist father and his human-animal hybrid experiments. But the unexpected arrival of his patron's' son changes everything forever.

Got the pre-flight essentials 🍟📚

Important and heart-wrenching, this middle grade novel tells the story of the last slave ship bringing kidnapped people from Africa to the United Stated, the Clotild. The narratives skips around to tell the stories of the enslaved people as well as the men who chose to traffic them up through the Civil War and the founding of a community known as African Town.

The newly single and only gay member of an up-and-coming Canadian boy band struggled to be true to himself as the label tries to dictate what his identity should look like in order to be consumable. Add to that an ex who posts their sexts online and a burgeoning new relationship with a guy from their opening act and you've got a fully fledged drama-fuelled YA novel. So different from Khorram's debut, Darius the Great is Not Okay, but also good.

Gonna try to catch up on a few late August reviews!

This ghostly middle grade novel about a girl who can see ghosts combines a spooky (if very obvious) mystery with a tale of old and newfound friendship. Fun for a bit of atmospheric fall reading, but it didn't blow me away.

Neema Avashia paints a vivid portrait of her upbringing as part of a Gujarati Indian family living in West Virginia, from the neighbors who became her family to her struggles with gender identity as a young queer girl in a Hindu family and Christian community. Incredibly insightful and engaging. Definitely one to read for memoir fans.

August Wrap-Up

Books: 13
Pages: 4,202
#AugustARC: 9
Longest Husband Material (432)
Shortest: 8 Billion Genies
Female / Enby authors: 10
BIPOC authors: 3
Favorites: Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow and Legends and Lattes

All the arcs I finished for #AugustARC. 9 of the 13 books I read this month were arcs. I'd hoped to get through more than that but not bad for a slow reading month @Clwojick

This was such a cute DnD inspired cozy fantasy novel! It was just what I needed right now. Former orc adventurer Viv decided she's ready for a change and sets out to open a coffee shop, even though no one knows what the heck that it. It's full of lovely characters who become Viv's found family as well as a touch of aapphic romance. Just a wonderfully cozy fantasy read.

Bizarre and entertaining horror set on location at a remote island during the filming of a dating reality show. I just wish we'd gotten more of the "meat" of the novel that really gets started only toward the very end. That was when I got into it, but it was over so quickly I was left wanting more. And I want more Patricia! Not nearly enough Patricia or about the group of queer woman protecting her.

I loved this follow up to A Marvellous Light even if it did take me longer to get into. Maud Blythe searches for the second piece of the Contract on a White Star Line ship after the woman guarding it is murdered. Along with a scandalous heiress, Lord Hawthorn, and a thief, she'll have to find the item without attracting the attention of murderous magicians. I think the next book might follow Hawthorn & Ross which would be a real treat.

#AugustARC

New library book! I couldn't find this one anywhere so I requested the title be added to my library's catalog and was pleasantly suprised go get my hold notice yesterday.

My local bookstore moved into a new location that's closer and more convenient to me, which is always a good thing! Plus it's within walking distance of the modern art museum and several great restaurants. What more could a girl ask for? (Bookstore is Two Friends Books in Bentonville, AR.)

I loved this sequel to Boyfriend Material and am so excited we're getting even more books including PARENT MARERIAL! After going to a series of friends weddings, Luc and Oliver decide to get married themselves. But the stress of wedding planning might just ruin their happy day. Some good tension without being over the top dramatic, though considering Luc is always dramatic... still a little dramatic 😅

My third #AugustARC so far this month.

Hoping for some better reading this week after being in a bit of a slump the last couple weeks.

A girl inherits a Malaysian ghost from her grandmother, but his antics and bullying of others begin to cause tension, especially when Saraya makes a friend of her own for the first time and Pink gets jealous. This was a really excellent ghost story that was just the right amount of dark while also being very much about friendship and family. And I loved that the ghost was one of the main POV characters.

1. Husband Material and A Restless Truth

2. Persuasion

3. Going on a road trip to Ikea and The Container Store with some friends!

#WeekendReads

This was just the sort of adorable & uplifting middle grade novel to help with my reading slump. When a new Hauntery location opens down the street from the Ivan, 400 years of family-run haunted hotel service are jeopardized. And Willow isn't about to let that happen. A new ghost friend with aspirations of playing the scary role she's always wanted might be just the thing to put them back on top. Adorable and a tad spooky, just the way I like it.

"The ghost would've been a head taller than the girl--if the ghost had a head at all."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Book Outlet haul

Anyone else have to get physical copies of books sometimes when they're just that good? These two were like that for me.

I would die for Supergirl and for this comic. Wow. Though Ruthye's narration could be a bit flowery and verbose at times, this was a truly exemplary take on Supergirl. It's a journey through the galaxy as Supergirl and Ruthye attempt to track down a murderer, facing horror after horror along the way. Supergirl has a fowl mouth and a sense of humor and I loved it. All the stars.

This cute f/f romance follows two Jewish women working in the film industry. B-list scream queen Lilah wants to move on from creature features while this is special effects makeup artist Noa's chance to break into the industry. Now they just have to decide whether their burgeoning feelings are worth risking their roles on set. Some of the conflict felt overwrought, but still a fun read. And I really loved the Hollywood backdrop.

#AugustARC

This steamy Christmas romance was a delight to read. A porn star and a former boy band singer cast in a Christmas movie for a Hallmark-like channel attempt to maintain a squeaky clean image even as things heat up behind the scenes. I loved how casually queer this book was, with two bi leads and numerous LGBTQ side characters.

My first #AugustARC @Clwojick

In this historical ghost story, a fourteen-year-old girl who died in the fifteenth-century is enamored by a new woman who arrives at the hilltop monastery she's been haunting since her death. This woman, the author George Sand, wears trousers like a man and shocks the conservative inhabitants of Mallorca. I really enjoyed this story and how the story of Blanca's life and death in the 1400s is interwoven with the arrival of George 400 years later.

When the lead actress on a new K Drama is asked to fake date her onscreen love interest to boost the show's views, she assumes pretending to live him will be the biggest challenge of her acting career. But when her former friend / rival is cast as an opposing love interest on the show, she finds herself falling for real--and if anyone finds out it could end her career just as it's taking off. A fun YA contemporary / romance.

July wrap-up! A pretty good month for reading.

Books: 22
Pages: 5,252
Longest: Reprieve (406)
Shortest: All-New Wolvering (34)
BIPOC authors: 12
Female & Enby authors: 18
LGBTQ books: 9
Favorite(s): Life Ceremony and Delilah Green Doesn't Care

I love the idea of trying to make a dent in my extensive ARC backlog this August! #AugustARC @Clwojick

1. A Restless Truth and The Plotters

2. Yes, the last book I finished--Life Ceremony-- was actually green

3. Delilah Green Doesn't Care, Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail, and Life Ceremony

#WeekendReads

I loved this collection from the author of Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings. It's just as wonderfully strange and full of unique characters to fall in love with. Definitely some cannibalism too, so do with that what you will 😅 Some standout stories included the title story, A Standout Matetial, Two's Family, The Time of the Large Star, and Hatchling.

My kind of Saturday 😍

This book explored some interesting ideas around language and speculative / dystopia (like the disappearance of Japan, a key aspect) which I expected to enjoy. And I did to some extent, but a lot of the story seemed to go in circles. What really killed it for me, though, is that a character was repeatedly misgendered. A couple of racial slurs were also thrown around. Overall unfortunate for a book I was excited to read.

I really wanted to love this one. I think part of the problem is I saw it labeled as horror and saw it was trying to be horrifying and yet didn't find it to be so. It was wonderfully strange which I enjoyed. And the dual timelone and split POV definitely kept my attention as I tried to piece together what was happening. I guess I just wish a little more *had* happened. Solid 3 stars, between a pick and a so-so.

Two of my current reads are wonderfully complimentary colors

Baby toes + book

A sequel that fully lived up to the first book in the series. This book follows Astrid Parker, the overachiever perfectionist stepsister to Delilah Green who we met in book one. I loved the sort-of enemies to lovers story, the reality tv storyline, Astrid's later in life discovery of her sexuality when she falling for Jordan, the carpenter for the restoration Astrid is designing. So excited for the next book about Iris!

1. Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail, Life Ceremony, and Scattered All Over thr Earth

2. Delilah Green Doesn't Care

3. Usually just whatever sounds good unless I need to read something specific for work

#WeekendReads

"Astrid Parker looked perfect."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl