Thank you to the publishers for an early copy of this book in exchange for review
Review below
I really enjoyed this one very much!!! A very cute coming of age story mixed in with some hard topics such as coming out to parents who are religious. F/F romance
This was a great read about Brie a theatre loving, soap star watching 13 year old girl who goes to a catholic school and is hiding that she is a lesbian… until she starts falling for the Always top of the class Girl called Kennedy, they start to bond and become closer and closer but one thing is stopping them from being their true selves and that is Brie’s parents and family who are very religious and are set in their ways. We see what unfolds as the book continues on.
One other part I loved if the book was the supportiveness of two of Brie’s teachers at school and also her best friend who always comforted her and made sure she was the best person she can be
Really enjoyed this one and I read this book In two sitting in one morning it was so easy to fly through and recommend very much.
Thank you to Netgalley/publishers for a early copy
Once upon an Eid synopsis
Once Upon an Eid is a collection of short stories that showcases the most brilliant Muslim voices writing today, all about the most joyful holiday of the year: Eid!
Eid: The short, single-syllable word conjures up a variety of feelings and memories for Muslims. Maybe it’s waking up to the sound of frying samosas or the comfort of bean pie, maybe it’s the pleasure of putting on a new outfit for Eid prayers, or maybe it’s the gift-giving and holiday parties to come that day. Whatever it may be, for those who cherish this day of celebration, the emotional responses may be summed up in another short and sweet word: joy. The anthology will also include a poem, graphic-novel chapter, and spot illustrations.
The full list of Once Upon an Eid contributors include: G. Willow Wilson (Alif the Unseen, Ms. Marvel), Hena Khan (Amina’s Voice, Under My Hijab), N. H. Senzai (Shooting Kabul, Escape from Aleppo), Hanna Alkaf (The Weight of Our Sky), Rukhsana Khan (Big Red Lollipop), Randa Abdel-Fattah (Does My Head Look Big in This?), Ashley Franklin (Not Quite Snow White), Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (Mommy’s Khimar), Candice Montgomery (Home and Away, By Any Means Necessary), Huda Al-Marashi (First Comes Marriage), Ayesha Mattu, Asmaa Hussein, and Sara Alfageeh.
My review below
This was such a beautiful collection of short stories entering around Ramadan and eid mubarak. very diverse full of very different meanings/ experiences of Eid/Ramadan written by all the others and really enjoyed that all the characters were all so unique in all their own ways and I didnt fell that there were one of the same in other characters.
some books were very happy and cheerful and some very sad but with hope swell which I loved the variations very much. learning more about the culture was so interesting and all the dishes that get made throughout this anthology sounded so amazing and I needed to eat them right away.
Even though im not the target audience for this book, it was just so amazing and if your muslim or not I very recommend you to read this book and to get a insight into the culture and you definitely learn quite a lot.
Thank you to the publisher and edelweiss for the eArc in exchange for review.
Synopsis below
From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.
My review below
5/5 stars
before I get into the review thank you so much to the publishers for approving me of this eARC.
The trigger warning for this book are outing, transphobia, homophobia
WOW…This book was so powerful and so poignant and everyone and also to people who feel like they don’t belong. wether that’s coming to terms with your own sexuality and/or becoming the person you were truly meant to be in this world need to read this book. as as its released.
this book is definitely a new favourite of mine, and I loved The character of Felix very much. Reading about a trans male/ Demi boy plus being black and queer it was just so emotional, and it really brings to light even more so in this day and age plus with Felix in this book how Felix gets treated differently to a white queer boy . seeing Felix navigate everyday life just thinking he didn’t belong was such so heart wrenching to see and I just wanted to give Felix a hug and tell him he is Lovable and he belongs anywhere he wants to be.
Such a beautiful story that tackles so many issues throughout the novel, Which Kacen always does well in all their books.
just having a Demi boy main character represented i loved learning more about and this cover with the top surgery scars is so beautiful to see being represented.
Thank you to Little brown publishing for this Ebook copy of this book in exchange for review
Synopsis
Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy and A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.
Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch-plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader.
And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester-an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer’s motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don’t stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.
With razor-sharp prose and achingly real characters, E. Latimer crafts a sweeping, mesmerizing story of dark magic and brutal mythology set against a backdrop of contemporary Ireland that’s impossible to put down.
Review below
AMAZING wow this was so gooooood one of the best witch books if not the best witchy book I have read!!!
This was amazing and included so many representations included from OCD to F/F romance and lgbt plus diversity in colours and race!! This book I though I would enjoy but not love it as much as I did… i couldn’t stop reading as soon as I started it was go go go with some atmospheric and eerie writing and setting 🙂 it had so many different POVS and they were all so good and loved all the stories intertwining together.
Will definitely recommend this book to everyone!!!
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?”
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King’s friendship with Sandy is reignited, he’s forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother’s death.
Review
4.5/5 stars
TW – child abuse and talks of physical abuse and racism
another middle grade that was just so beautifully written and just ripped your heart out but in the end it picked up the pieces and put it back together again. this novel is about trying to live to fullest and coping with grief in the best possible way and trying to move forward even when it feels impossible to do and also about finding the strength and courage to figuring out yourself and only being able to do that by believing in yourself and having the support system to make you feel comfortable to do/be who you want to be.
the poetic and beautiful writing throughout by Kacen Callender was just stunning and as this is my first book by this author I’m really excited to dive into Kacen’s other novels including his upcoming release Felix, ever after!!!
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All’s fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
Review
first of all would like to thank the publisher for sending me a E-Arc of this book and for letting me be apart of the blog tour of this wonderful romance novel.
Tweet cute was just the cutest story ever and has all the elements in a romance novel that all/most people would love to read about and it will definitely make you go heart eyes over the two main characters we follow in this book.
Tweet cute follows pepper and Jack who online are currently in a twitter war against each other for their families big restaurent chains who are rivals, but under all this all is not as it seems as the two main characters who go to the same school have no idea that they are the ones that they are having this online and viral against each other. under the surface though we see pepper and jack also are speaking on an app created by jack called weasel which lets you talk anonymously to someone who is in their school for a certain time. so as the story unfolds we see all the trials and tribulations with what happens between the both of them and also the viral sensations of both their families Restaurants.
if your looking for a Romance novel and are looking for a story that will keep you hooked and leaving you wanting more and more from these characters and all their cuteness then you need to pick this book up ASAP!!! just be warned though while your reading this book get ready to imagine and read about all these amazing sounding recipes that Pepper talks about in this book.
recommend this book to everyone and very excited for more to come from Emma Lord and to see what more novels she hopefully has up her sleeve.
if this book interests you it will be available in stores on the 21st of January 2020
Even though we still have a little bit left of 2019 to go 2020 is definitely creeping up fast so for these next two months its definitely now the time of year to get in your last minute reading sessions in wether that is finishing up your current series’s, or even getting through all of your favourite authors books, or even if u set yourself a reading challenge at the start of the year and you have just a few books left to go before its complete and before its a whole new year. Im so excited for the releases of next year already and here is a bunch of them below that you will hopefully add to your TBR if you haven’t already!!!
Lucky caller by Emma Mills
Goodreads synopsis When Nina decides to take a radio broadcasting class her senior year, she expects it to be a walk in the park. Instead, it’s a complete disaster.
The members of Nina’s haphazardly formed radio team have approximately nothing in common. And to maximize the awkwardness her group includes Jamie, a childhood friend she’d hoped to basically avoid for the rest of her life.
The show is a mess, internet rumors threaten to bring the wrath of two fandoms down on their heads, and to top it all off Nina’s family is on the brink of some major upheaval.
Everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control―but maybe control is overrated?
Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Goodreads synopsis
Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.
Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.
With McLemore’s signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Redpairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.
Scavenge the stars by Tara Sim
Goodreads synopsis
When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…
Packed with high-stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is the first novel in an epic YA fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
Goodreads Synopsis
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
Infinity son by Adam Silvera
Goodreads synopsis
Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.
Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.
Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.
Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.
Three things I know are true by Betty Culley
Goodreads synopsis
The reminder is always there—a dent on the right side of Jonah’s forehead. The spot you’d press when you felt a headache coming on. The bullet tore away bone, the way dynamite blasts rock—leaving a soft crater.
Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun. Now Jonah needs round-the-clock care just to stay alive, and Liv seems to be the only person who can see that her brother is still there inside his broken body.
With Liv’s mom suing Clay’s family, there are divisions in the community that Liv knows she’s not supposed to cross. But Clay is her friend, too, and she refuses to turn away from him—just like she refuses to give up on Jonah.
Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani
Goodreads synopsis
Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.
But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.
Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.
With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.
Not so pure and simple by Lamar Giles
Goodreads synopsis
Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.
His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.
With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once get the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?
Every other weekend by Abigail Johnson
Goodreads synopsis
Adam Moynihan’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.
Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for.
Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed.
Run, Hide, Fight back by April Henry
Goodreads synopsis
Six teens must band together to survive after a shooting breaks out.
When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she’s hiding a big secret—and she’s not the only one. The group has only three choices—run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences.
You Too ? edited by Janet Gurtler
Goodreads synopsis
A timely and heartfelt collection of essays inspired by the #MeToo movement, edited by acclaimed young adult and middle-grade author Janet Gurtler. Featuring Beth Revis, Mackenzi Lee, Ellen Hopkins, Saundra Mitchell, Jennifer Brown, Cheryl Rainfield and many more.
When #MeToo went viral, Janet Gurtler was among the millions of people who began to reflect on her past experiences. Things she had reluctantly accepted—male classmates groping her at recess, harassment at work—came back to her in startling clarity. She needed teens to know what she had not: that no young person should be subject to sexual assault, or made to feel unsafe, less than or degraded.
You Too? was born out of that need. By turns thoughtful and explosive, these personal stories encompass a wide range of experiences and will resonate with every reader who has wondered, “Why is this happening to me?” or secretly felt that their own mistreatment or abuse is somehow their fault—it’s not. Candid and empowering, You Too? is written for teens, but also an essential resource for the adults in their lives—an urgent, compassionate call to listen and create change.
Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown
Goodreads Synopsis
A powerful memoir for fans of Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson and American Street by Ibi Zoboi.
Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor. Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.
Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism—all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age.
First read of the month and even though it’s had its mixed reviews and I was a little apprehensive going Into this I thoroughly enjoyed this new Christina Lauren book. I went down the audiobook route and the narrator was really good and flew through it real fast.
I didn’t really know much about this one before going into it but I did know about a encounter that happens twice throughout the main characters life, but other than that nothing else. So when I was listening to this book and it was about an actress and the behind the scenes look at the life on set of a movie it really suprised me and really enjoyed it.
Yes throughout this book there were moments I was like mmm and didn’t know wether I quite like that part overall a very good read, for me definitely not one of my favs but it definitely hasn’t been the baddest. The unhoneymooners is still my favourite to date. Another part of this story is a feel that maybe the ending could of Been rushed as it seemed like it went from one thing straight the next thing in a matter of a moment or two.
But as with any Christina Lauren novel I get so excited to read any book by them and when a new book is announced it is just wonderful haha and now I’m very excited for the newest book to be released.
Full review to come but really loved this book so much and definitely one of my fav ya fantasy books of the year for surrreee the characters are amazing and all the witchiness is amazing and this book definitely felt really original and fresh and I loved it, always like a book that surprises and feels really new and what I’ve never read about before. So excited for the sequel and need it nowwwww haha
It took me a while to finish as have been really busy recently and haven’t been able to read but so happy I’ve finally finished this book, so perfect for Halloween season too
Was so surprised about this read as the first book I wasn’t really a fan and didn’t really connect to the story but this sequel was so gooood, I enjoy this book and found it 10x better than the first book. I felt like the story was so much more improved and felt like such a solid storyline and was more engaged with the characters and especially near the end felt quite emotional with one of the main characters in the books.
Such a great read and very excited about the next adventure these characters embark on and which city or country they visit. One thing that is a bonus is you do learn about a lot of different aspects of history too which is a really cool touch that is added in to the books too.
Overall a amazing surprise of a book and such a quick and easy book to fly through and perfect for so many ages 🙌🏻🙌🏻.
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