Books. Cats. Nonsense.
I was so excited to hear that Empress of All Seasons was being published in the UK -- an all-girl contest to win the hand of the emperor’s son set in a Japanese-inspired world? Sign me up. I tumbled into the story right away and really enjoyed it -- it features strong feminist themes, trope inversion, and some incredibly badass women.
I absolutely love those rare books that combine science fiction and fantasy elements. Naturally I was naturally thrilled when I heard about Mirage, a Moroccan-inspired YA book that does just that. If you’re looking for a gorgeous tale with lush worldbuilding, I couldn’t recommend Mirage more highly.
Hi. This is a bit late. October was an absolutely crazy month, then NaNoWriMo took over my life in November. During these two months, I took a little bit of a step back from reading, blogging, videoing, Instagramming, everything. On the bright side, I did rediscover my burning love of Star Trek and started actually watching TV. Oh, and I actually wrote something for the first time in my life. Who would have thought?
Brandon Sanderson is an author I trust completely. I will buy every single one of his books because I know I will like them. When I heard that he was writing his very first science fiction novel, I was so incredibly excited. My expectations for this novel were sky high (heh) and I have to say that Spensa and the gang absolutely smashed those expectations.
Sadie is a book that is getting a whole lot of buzz right now. A dark contemporary YA novel centered around a sister going after her sister’s suspected killer and the true crime podcast inspired by Sadie and Mattie, this book is the perfect 2018 novel. I absolutely love true crime podcasts and was really interested to see how this would translate into a printed format. I heard about the incredible audiobook after I purchased the hardcover edition. While I liked Sadie a lot, I feel like the audiobook is going to give the reader a different, and perhaps better, experience.
Horror is a genre that I just don't read very often. I never know where to start, what books I'll like, and what wont scare me half to death. Sawkill Girls caught my eye way back at YALC in July because of its fantastic cover and intriguing premise. Billed as a YA horror novel filled with girl power, I was immediately interested but didn’t really know what to expect. Having finished the book, this is really one that you should try for yourself -- I can see so many readers having dramatically different opinions on it. I’m not sure how helpful my review will be for others -- it’s one of those books that will appeal to one’s personal tastes so strongly.
I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have gotten my hands on an early copy of Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix! I read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns earlier this year and absolutely adored it. Xifeng is easily one of my favourite fantasy villains because of her callousness, her calculated choices, and her cutthroat attitude. She rises to the throne and becomes Empress of Feng Lu at the end of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, but what happens next? Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix takes place 15 years later just before Jade, the daughter of the former Empress Lihua and sole heir to the throne, comes of age.
