do you agree with any of these? have your own? let me know in the comments!
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So, technically it is Thursday, not Friday, but I can't stop thinking about writing this post so I might as well throw myself into it, and with the way everything at work has been these past few weeks there's the chance I'll walk through the door tomorrow and go straight to bed without posting haha. I love working for the NHS but oh man these are some tough times to do so. Anyway, on with the show! Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a lover of diverse fiction. The easiest way to get me interested in reading something, other than a pretty front cover and the word "dragons," is to tell me there's some LGBTQ+ rep going on within the pages. And, more recently, anyone who knows me well knows that I've become obsessed with book crates. And to my knowledge, no book crate exists that caters specifically to LGBTQ+ books.... until now! Rainbow Crate book box is a new book crate full of diversity! Its doors open to subscribers on April 1st 2020 and the first box launches in June! I love OwlCrate, I love Illumicrate, and I love FairyLoot. I especially love it when they feature LGBTQ+ books, but the idea of having a crate specifically designed to give us books and merch that focus on LGBTQ+ books and characters? It fills me with so much excitement I can't even put it into fully articulate it. Rainbow Crate is run by Danielle and Jamie, who you can get to know a little more by clicking on their names, and they've spent months learning how to run a book crate business. They will ship internationally, and they want to feature a bit of everything in their boxes. From Young Adult to New Adult to Adult with all kinds of genres mixed in, which I love. Variety is the spice of life, right? This box has the potential to be amazing. Look at how far these other book crates have come. Owlcrate recently celebrated it's 5th year anniversary box and they're doing fantastic. I want this book box to receive such a warm reception from new and old book crate subscribers alike. I want it to do so well that in 5 years time I look back on this post and grin, surrounded by my 60 Rainbow Crate boxes plus numerous special editions! I want to have enough boxes that I can make a mini house out of them, if I haven't saved enough money for a deposit on an actual brick house by then haha. But in order for that to happen, we need to support, encourage and, where we can, subscribe. I know not everyone will be able to do this as money can be an issue, especially at stressful times like this, but if you could share this crate with your friends who might be interested, or on social media, then it will snowball and snowball and the more followers they get the better, and the more chance we have of getting the opportunity to watch this blossom into something incredible. You can find links to their social media below, they're still in the process of getting things set up and I think the best place to keep caught up with them for now is Instagram or twitter. They're currently looking for reps (I... i'm not sure what the right term here is, but I auditioned? Applied?? Either way, wish me luck haha, in case you couldn't tell, I am INCREDIBLY invested in this whole thing) and for LGBTQ+ artists so check their Instagram out for more information about that. Thank you for reading, and thank you in advance if you're able to support this box. And especially thank you to the Rainbow Crate team. You're going to make a lot of people very happy, and I am definitely going to be one of them.
3/5I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher and author for this opportunity. This was a very well crafted story, and different to anything I've read before. The format is basically two people having a conversation, one of them is a cleric and the other an old woman, and the old woman, Rabbit, tells a story of an exiled empress who rises to power again. It's difficult for me to quite wrap my head around how I feel about this book. It's wonderfully diverse, with queer characters, including a non binary (they/them) protagonist called Chih, and the mythology of the world/political system seems very interesting, but nothing about the story grabbed me. It didn't make me FEEL anything. I was more drawn in by the story that Rabbit was telling than the present day story of Rabbit, Chih and Almost Brilliant, but even that felt a little boring at times. Considering how short the story is I think it did a good job of trying to pack in a lot of details about the world that these characters live in, but I just don't think this was for me. This isn't to say that it isn't worth the read though because the writing itself is very well done, the world is interesting, I think I just need a bit more action to keep me paying attention. March 2020 is my first Owlcrate month! The theme was Music of the Night and it was also their 5th year anniversary so it was an extra special box. I've always wanted to subscribe to Owlcrate but I live in England and the idea of the shipping charges plus the potential for import duty fees made me nervous. However, as an adult with a paying job now, I realised that I could make my own decisions on what to spend my money on, and so I decided to treat myself! Pei, from PeiReads, signed up too, which is what prompted me to think about it again. The crate arrived super quickly, and I was very surprised. I had been warned by the website that it could take two weeks or more to get to me, but from shipping it only took about a week or so. Within this months crate there was The Kingdom of Back, a signed special edition with sprayed edges and a letter from the author. Matching the theme, the book is about music, and specifically about Mozart's sister, who was also a child prodigy. I'm really looking forward to reading it! Along with the book we also have a lip scrub inspired by twilight, a Goblin candle that smells incredible, a Phantom of the Opera art print, a wooden quote plaque, some Harry Potter book plates, a beautiful book inspired pin, a cool little owl wireless speaker and owl socks. There was also a sneak peak for next months box, Full Moon Magic, which you can find more information out on their website. I'm so glad I signed up. There's something about knowing you're getting a crate of goodies, and I really liked not knowing for sure which book it was I would be getting. They give you hints just in case you already have the book or were going to buy it soon, but it's all a guessing game until it comes! If you fancy subscribing to Owlcrate you can use my link by clicking and then enter the code WELCOME10 at checkout for 10% off! Once again I'm a little late to TTT but as I didn't even manage to post anything for it last week I'm going to count this as a win! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and there are tonnes of great lists that have built up over on her website! For this week I'm going to do five books that have been on my TBR pile for at least a little while and that I want to get through and five books that are due to be published soon that I'm excited about! Leave a comment down below about what you're reading this spring! Books Due Out this SpringQueen of Coin and Whispers: Due April 23rd. When teenage queen Lia inherits her corrupt uncles bankrupt kingdom, she brings a new spymaster into the fold ... Xania, who takes the job to avenge her murdered father. This book is calling to my high fantasy loving heart! The Dark Tide: Due June 2nd. Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella's Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. It's due out in June which might technically be Summer?? I'm not sure I guess it depends on where you live haha but I'm including it anyway! Bonds of Brass: Due April 7th. A young pilot risks everything to save his best friend--the man he trusts most and might even love--only to learn that he's secretly the heir to a brutal galactic empire. This sounds like the most fantastic space fuelled adventure ever and I am 10000% here for it?? And the cover is gorgeous. What more can I say? The Extraordinaries: Due May 5th. Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. TJ Klune's YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves. I have an arc of this and I've also preordered the hardcover edition. I haven't had chance to start it yet but oh my god I can't wait. I love T.J. Klune! Date Me, Bryson Keller: Due May 19th. Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before. Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes. This sounds like a delightful rom-com type book that would be perfect to read, say, when the world has gone to hell and everyone is panic buying toilet. Just, you know, for example. Books I already OwnThe Lost Coast: The spellbinding tale of six queer witches forging their own paths, shrouded in the mist, magic, and secrets of the ancient California redwoods. I've wanted to read this FOR SO LONG and yet it has not yet been The Right TimeTM... I feel that TRT approaches soon, however, so fingers crossed I can get stuck into this one! I'm in a very witchy mood recently. Heart of Flames (The sequel to Crown of Feathers): The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I've been waiting for the second to come out! I'm including this one in this part of the list because it is technically out but my copy hasn't arrived yet. A Darker Shade of Magic: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. I've heard so much about this series, it's so weird that I haven't given it a go yet. On a recent splurge I bought the series as a collectors edition so the plan is to dive into the first one soon! I really hope I like them, otherwise I spent a lot of money for nothing hahaha. Wilder Girls: It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her. The front cover for this book is astoundingly pretty and I cannot wait. It's been sitting on my shelf singing at me any chance it gets, and while it may be a bit risky reading a quarantine book when the world is in a state of quarantine itself, I'll brave my way through it. Reverie: All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can’t remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it’s not just Kane who’s different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different. Talking of beautiful covers, this one takes the cake. It is so SHINY in my hands, I love it. I've had it for a good month or so now I think and it is TIME to TACKLE it. So what are you excited about? Or, what has been on your TBR pile for ages and deserves another glance? So far this year is hectic and stressful and scary and one of the best ways to escape is through a book and into another world, so if you ever feel overwhelmed, grab the nearest story. I hope you're all being safe and keeping healthy. And not hoarding toilet roll haha. Pei (PeiReads) tagged me in the International Women's Day 2020 tag by Dianthaa (Dianthaa Dabbles). Thank you to Pei for tagging me, and thank you to Dianthaa for creating the tag! I'm new to the book tag world and I don't know many people, but I'm tagging Sia (@raenboxgirl) and Kathy (@aildreda), if you want to do it and if you haven't already! Please feel free to use the comments to talk about other books by great women authors with awesome women characters!!! A Book with a (closer to ) Gender-Equal Society: The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us #1) by Emily Skrutskie "For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water." Although I could be wrong, it felt like things were more gender-equal in this book. I MEAN there's a pirate queen?! I don't remember any sexism at least. It's been a while since I read it but the book is fantastic, definitely recommend. A Book About Writing Your Own Story: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon "The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep." For me this is a fantastic book for this tag. It's so full of well written diverse female characters I could scream with happiness. And they're all trying to make their own story. You can see my review here. A Story with Women Working Together: The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed. "Three misfits come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and in the process trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school transforming the lives of everyone around them in this searing and timely story." This book is fantastic. Honestly it's one of the most beautiful books I've ever read and it's all about girls working together. You can read my review of it here. A Book with a Twist on a Traditional Gender Role: In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan "The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids." The twist on the traditional gender roles in this book comes from the fact that for elves the women are the warriors and the traditional "male" stereotypes, and the men take on the feminine roll. A Woman in a Man’s World: Princess of Dorsa (The Chronicles of Dorsa #1) by Eliza Andrews "Princess Natasia is the eldest child of the Emperor Andreth, ruler of the Four Realms. If she were a boy, she’d be the unquestioned heir to the throne. But as a girl, her main duty in life is to marry someone her father can shape into his successor. Everything changes when an unknown would-be assassin nearly takes Tasia’s life.... Unsure of whom he can trust, the Emperor realizes that his daughter might be his best option for an heir." As you've probably gathered, I chose this book because Natasia is thrust into the position of becoming her father's heir, a role traditionally taken by a man, and so must navigate a political and military world full of men. A Book with a Positive Romantic Relationship: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall "A desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial daughter find a connection on the high seas in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic." This story definitely features a positive romantic relationship. You can read my review of it here. It's such a good pirate book with a mermaidy twist. A Book Featuring a Women’s Issue: Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire #1) by Natasha Ngan. "Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire." I wasn't 100% sure what "Women's Issue," referred to exactly, so I assumed it was an issue that women faced, the biggest of which is sexism. Girls of Paper and Fire deals heavily with sexism, as well as with women who face violence and rape. It's a tough book to read at times, but very well written. 4/5I was provided with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity. The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea is a fantastic, lyrical book full of pirates and escape from danger. It's also packed full of love, both romantic and familial. I am always here for a good mermaid book, and the mythology of mermaids and their connection to the sea was absolutely beautifully written in this one. Flora and her brother Alfie are young pirates on the Dove, a ship captained by a tyrannical, mermaid-blood drinking man who, along with his crew, pretend their ship is a passenger ship, and plan to sell everyone on board to slavery. Lady Evelyn has just been promised in marriage and is therefore leaving her home and travelling by ship to her new spouse. When Flora and Evelyn meet, Flora is Florian, as she is only safe on the pirate ship as a he, (there's no official wording that I remember, but as far as I can tell Florian is non-binary and mostly used she/her). and with some resistance on Florian's part, the two strike up a friendship. The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea is a tale told in several parts, from several POVs. We have Florian and Evelyn themselves, and then Rake, the captains first mate, and even the sea herself, mother to the mermaids. As always, I do prefer books written from one POV rather than multiple, but I must admit it works very well in this story. I especially liked seeing the parts written from the eyes of the sea. It was a unique way to read. The relationship between Florian and Evelyn is a huge part of this book, and in fact sets in motion their need for escape in the first place, and it is written so well, and so sweetly. From Evelyn teaching Florian how to read to Florian abandoning all she'd ever known to make sure that Evelyn was safe. All the characters in this book are intriguing and unique but these two by far were my favourites. I thought the ending, though slightly bitter sweet in some respects, was done perfectly. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who loves pirates, mermaids, or adventures at sea. I would have liked to see a little more of the sailing the open waters aspect that I enjoy about pirate books, but it didn't make a huge impact to not have much of that in this one, as the story was more about Florian and Evelyn finding freedom and happiness together rather than Evelyn learning how to steer a boat. I also would have liked to see more of Alfie, but the majority of the book wasn't spent in his presence so I guess that's understandable. The magic system, along side the mythology was also very well put together. The world building in general was done well, everything felt connected and polished and I enjoyed my visit into it. IF the author should ever decide to take another dip into this world... well I definitely wouldn't say no! This week Fangirl Friday is inspired by my most recent adventure into social media! I already had an instagram account but I didn't really use it for all that much other than pretty pictures of the sunset but now I am the proud owner of a bookstagram account. I was inspired to make one when my friend Pei, from PeiReads started her own (you should check it out, it's very aesthetically pleasing, it's under the same name as her blog). I'm currently off work because I had dental surgery yesterday and I'm in chill out mode. This involves feeling sorry for myself, feeling VERY hungry because my mouth hurts enough without trying to eat, watching a lot of netflix and spending too much money on books online. It also involves a lot of browsing social media. Instagram is home to some of the most amazing photos on the internet, and this is true for bookstagram also. Some people have been posting book photos for almost 10 years, from what I've seen. I can only hope that I grow to be as good at it as them! Some notable bookstagrams include: everyone I follow actually, they're all gems and you should go check them all out, but these are a just few of my favourites; worldchild, tata.lifepages, discoveredreads, literaryxqueen and yaallegiance.
4.25/5This is such a sweet, light book, while at the same time it deals with grief and illness (someone in Ollie's family, not Ollie himself). Reminiscent of Grease, Ollie and Will have a summer romance that is lovely and intense, and when it's over Will drops off the map. Fate intervenes however, and after summer is finished they end up at the same school together when Ollie's family move to be closer to his Aunt, who is very sick. While Will does indeed frustrate Ollie at first, he meets a handful of other people he becomes close with. Juliette, Lara and Niamh are a trio of friends who end up adopting Ollie into their fold (some less willingly than others) and Ollie soon finds his feet at his new school. One of my favourite parts of this book is the relationships between Ollie and the girls, and the girls themselves. Juliette wants a career in music, Niamh wants to be a plus size model and Lara, though she starts off cold and abrasive, turns out to be someone Ollie has the most in common with, in many ways. The journey across the pages of them meshing of a group was so well done. At times the girls didn't get on, but overwhelmingly it was an example of positive female friendship, of girls who are there for each other, and who are there for Ollie, now that he's their friend too. There's one scene involving a dagger (you'll know it when you read it, it's not an actual dagger) that made me cry like a baby at how far Lara and Ollie had come. (Some spoilers in this next two paragraphs)The Afraid-to-come-out story was handled well too, in my opinion. Will is scared of his friend's reactions, and of his family's reactions, because he's "supposed" to be the typical guy jock, but as his feelings for Ollie grow, so does his bravery. The fact that at the end of it he comes out on his terms, and not because Ollie is pressuring him, was such a relief, as I hate the trope of "well if you loved me you'd be out." Ollie himself had a great character arc where he went from being annoyed at every move that Will made that Ollie interpreted as Will showing he didn't care, to realising that in many ways Will was trying to meet him halfway and Ollie himself hadn't been doing that. Overall, this is such a lovely book to read. It's lighthearted in some aspects and heavier in others (be warned, it does deal with the idea and reality of death and I did sit there reading with tears streaming down my face several times over the course of reading), but overwhelmingly it's about life, and living it to the fullest and being there for the people you love. "When someone you love needs you, you step up." is the motto of this book, as well as a direct quote, and I think the world would be a better place if we all acted on that.
5/5I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so thank you for that! This is one of the ARCs I've been most excited to receive. There aren’t many books that have delighted me like this before. Like, there have been books I’ve loved, books I’ve cherished, but books I’ve been honest to god, full on delighted by? In such a pure way that they make me want to hug the book close to my chest and roll around the floor in glee? It’s rare, friends. And to top it all off, would you take a look at that front cover? It’s colourful, intriguing... do I doubt the physics of such a house? Sure! Do I want to live in it anyway? You betcha! T.J. Klune is one of the best, most surprising writers I’ve had the pleasure to be wowed by. The sheer scope of topics he covers and excels at is genuinely astounding. I love a lot of his other novels, and so before I started this one I kind of expected to enjoy it but holy moly I think I ascended to a new level of being while I read this. The premise is this; Linus is basically a case worker who is in charge of visiting different orphanages which are home to a range of magical youths. He is very good at his job and so Extremely Upper Management give him the task of examining a very special orphanage... one that houses the anti christ! Dun dun DUN! What's a poor sweet case worker to do. The characters, each and every one of them, are memorable and unique, especially the children. I don’t want to go into too much detail here, I never really do when it comes to books like this, because I genuinely feel like experiencing the introductions to the characters and world page by page is the best way to devour books that are particularly character driven. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is good and enjoyable, not full of action or adrenaline but important and moving. But the characters in this book are so fantastically rendered! Talking of plot though; this book might be character driven but I loved the world building that was sprinkled throughout. I do kind of wish we got to see more of the world, since the book takes place on only two locations really, because a lot of what is hinted at is really, really intriguing. Really though that’s just an excuse to write a sequel and take everyone on a road trip amiright? ... oh my god. Please write a sequel and take everyone on a roadtrip. Please?? And! I haven’t even talked about the main relationship! It’s m/m and quite possibly the first m/m fantasy type book that i’ve read where the characters aren’t swimming with muscles, which makes a really nice change in all honesty. It's such a soft, sweet slow burn romance that more than anything, just made me smile. Please read this book. It’s so beautiful. I’ve ordered myself a hard back edition so that I can, as previously mentioned, hug it and roll around on the floor. It has more of an impact than just hugging my phone screen with the kindle app open haha. |
Reviewer26. Capricorn. INFP. Hufflepuff. Archives
October 2020
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