Kindle Deals | 2/8

Hey everyone! I figured it had been a while since I had shared some kindle deals and found a few great ones! As always keep in mind that these prices may change or be different where you are so always double check before buying.

Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao ($1.99)Chloe Wang is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend, because the truth is, she hasn’t met him yet either. She hired him from Rent for Your ’Rents, a company specializing in providing fake boyfriends trained to impress even the most traditional Asian parents.

Drew Chan’s passion is art, but after his parents cut him off for dropping out of college to pursue his dreams, he became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to keep a roof over his head. Luckily, learning protocols like “Type C parents prefer quiet, kind, zero-PDA gestures” comes naturally to him.

When Chloe rents Drew, the mission is simple: convince her parents fake Drew is worthy of their approval so they’ll stop pressuring her to accept a proposal from Hongbo, the wealthiest (and slimiest) young bachelor in their tight-knit Asian American community.

But when Chloe starts to fall for the real Drew—who, unlike his fake persona, is definitely not ’rent-worthy—her carefully curated life begins to unravel. Can she figure out what she wants before she loses everything?

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed ($1.99)Los Angeles, 1992

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.

Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.

As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.

With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta ($0.99)Danny didn’t know what she was looking for when she and her mother spread out a map of the United States and Danny put her finger down on Tempest, California. What she finds are the Grays: a group of friends who throw around terms like queer and witch like they’re ordinary and everyday, though they feel like an earthquake to Danny. But Danny didn’t just find the Grays. They cast a spell that calls her halfway across the country, because she has something they need: she can bring back Imogen, the most powerful of the Grays, missing since the summer night she wandered into the woods alone. But before Danny can find Imogen, she finds a dead boy with a redwood branch through his heart. Something is very wrong amid the trees and fog of the Lost Coast, and whatever it is, it can kill. Lush, eerie, and imaginative, Amy Rose Capetta’s tale overflows with the perils and power of discovery — and what it means to find your home, yourself, and your way forward.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron ($2.99)Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough.

But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll have to buy it—by trading away years of her own life.

Arrah’s borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal, and on its heels, a rising tide of darkness that threatens to consume her and all those she loves. She must race to unravel a twisted and deadly scheme… before the fight costs more than she can afford.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria | Review

An Ember in the Ashes meets Mask of Shadows in Emily Victoria’s #ownvoices debut YA fantasy, This Golden Flame, in which asexual Karis, a servant to the mysterious Scriptorium, accidentally awakens long-dormant automaton Alix, initiating an epic adventure full of magic, rebellion, and finding where you truly belong.

Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.

In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible – she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father – their nation’s greatest traitor – once tried to destroy the automatons.

Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.

BUY LINKS | Bookshop.org | Powell’s | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Amazon | Chapters | Kobo

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I was not expecting this book to suck me in from the beginning, but it did. The beginning definitely gives a good introduction to Karis and her motivations and it hits the ground running so to speak. I did enjoy the setting and aspects of Ancient Greek that were woven into the world/story. The duel perspectives of Karis and Alix were well played off of each other and it was nice to have a perspective that wasn’t just another human character. I loved the inclusion and diversity of the characters and their orientations without it being a huge thing. Those are my favorite types of inclusive stories, when it’s just normalized within the world. There were definitely aspects where the story could have gone a little farther, but overall I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Even minor characters were given fleshed out identities that were wonderful to read and breathed life to them even as the main characters worked through their adventure. I could see this having a sequel or companion, but I think it’s meant to be a standalone – still, the potential is there.

Emily Victoria lives on the Canadian prairies with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, works at her public library, and has just finished her Masters of Library and Information Studies.

SOCIAL LINKS |
Author website: https://www.avictoriantale.com/

Twitter: @avictoriantale

Instagram: @avictoriantale

Happy reading!

Review | The Manticore’s Vow by Cassandra Rose Clarke

A vain assassin takes an assignment with dire consequences. An aristocratic lady fleeing her past is besieged by pirates. And a manticore princess sets out on a life-changing adventure.

The Manticore’s Vow collects three stories set in the world of Magic of Blood and Sea, all exploring the origins of some of its most memorable characters: Naji, the scarred assassin, Marjani, the pirate queen, and Ongraygeeomryn, the man-eating manticore. Explore a world of dangerous magic and thrilling adventures with this trio of gorgeous, swashbuckling tales.​

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book is a collection of three short stories in Cassandra Rose Clarke’s Magic of Blood and Sea universe. I really enjoyed Clarke’s writing style and the way she’s given voices and personalities to these characters. My favorite of the collection was definitely The Automaton’s Treasure as it really felt like you got to know Marjani without really getting the full story of her past. I feel like this is a great taste of the world and if you’ve read the novels, then it would expand upon it. All three stories were enjoyable and entertaining, so it was a solid read.

Thanks so much to Interstellar Flight Press for sending me a copy of this book!

Happy reading!

Series Review | Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Hey everyone! If you read my post in January about the series I wanted to complete in 2021 one of them was the Locke and Key graphic novel series. I had already listened to the fully casted audiobook version a couple years ago, but I wanted to read the source material.

Overall I did enjoy the graphic novel series, and having the images added to the story I already knew was really nice. Some of the things described in the audiobook weren’t really easy to envision, so graphic novel was definitely the way to go in some ways. While I didn’t always love the art style, it didn’t detract from the story. There were definitely some things I had forgotten about.

I also recommend picking up Heaven and Earth (which is noted as book 7, but contains a few short comic stories and background information on the places that provided a lot of inspiration for the location. Seeing pictures of the town in Massachusetts that a lot of the locations were modeled after was great insight, as were the short stories featuring different generations of the Locke family.

I do recommend reading the series in its original form, but I also recommend the audiobook. It is fully casted and plays out like a movie, which makes it really enjoyable to listen to.

I’m glad I was able to complete the entire series and hope that this is a sign of finishing the other series that I set a goal for. Fingers crossed!

Happy reading!

Review | Wait for Night by Stephen Graham Jones

Wait for Night by Stephen Graham Jones is horror story about a day laborer hired to help clean up a flooded creek outside of Boulder, Colorado, who comes across what could be a very valuable find.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This one definitely took a turn I didn’t expect. I can’t say much about the story itself since I don’t want to spoil anything but I love the abrupt twist that Stephen Graham Jones wove into this one. He’s definitely an auto buy author for me and his short stories are just as enjoyable as some of his novels. This one sucked me in fast and the writing flowed so well that it was over far too quickly. It definitely satisfied my need for a quick, creepy story.

Happy reading!

Can’t Wait Wednesday | 2/3

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings based on the meme Waiting on Wednesday by Breaking the Spine. In this weekly post people share a book that they’re excited about being released.

I was really excited about this one when I first heard about it and am eager to get to it. It comes out April 6th from Delacorte Press – be sure to check it out!

As sweet as a macaron from Laduree, with writing as crisp as a freshly baked baguette, this romantic novel set in Paris about an American ballerina and a charming French boy is parfait for fans of American Royals and Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Sixteen-year-old Mia, an American girl at an elite summer ballet program, has six weeks to achieve her dreams: to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than ballet—especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide—and the pair discover the city has a few mysteries up its sleeve.

In the vein of romances like Love and Gelato, this is the perfect summer adventure for anyone looking to get swept away in the City of Love. 

Happy reading!

Review | Girl Logic by Iliza Shlesinger

From breakout stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger comes a subversively funny collection of essays and observations on the secret genius of irrational behavior.

Have you ever been pissed because you’re not pretty enough, and then gotten even more pissed that someone didn’t find you as pretty as you think you are? Have you ever obsessed over the size of your thighs while eating dessert, all the while saying you’ll work out extra tomorrow? Or spent endless hours wondering why you have to bear the brunt of other people’s insecurities? I mean, after all, I’m pretty great. Why cope with insecurities I don’t already have?

That last one’s just me? All right, then.

But if the rest sounds familiar, you are experiencing Girl Logic: a characteristically female way of thinking that appears contradictory and circuitous but is actually a complicated and highly evolved way of looking at the world. You end up considering every repercussion of every choice (about dating, career, clothes, lunch) before making a move toward what you really want. And why do we attempt these mental hurdles? Well, that’s what this book is all about.

The fact is, whether you’re obsessing over his last text or the most important meeting of your career, your Girl Logic serves a purpose: It helps push you, question what you want, and clarify what will make you a happier, better person. Girl Logic can be every confident woman’s secret weapon, and this book shows you how to wield it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Since I really enjoy Iliza Shlesinger’s comedy I was eager to pick this up as soon as I knew about it. If you do not enjoy her comedy style or jokes, then you will likely not enjoy this book. It’s like an extended comedy show with anecdotes and stories to illustrate her points. I do recommend picking up the audiobook for this one since Iliza narrates it herself and this makes it even more like one of her shows. I did enjoy the background she gave through her childhood and up and could definitely relate with what she said about how your 20s definitely differ from your 30s.

If you enjoy Shlesinger’s comedy style, then you will likely enjoy this book, but if you don’t like it then you may not enjoy this book. It is infused with her specific style, especially in the audiobook.

Happy reading!

Book Haul | January 2021

Hey everyone! That’s right, book hauls are back now too – at least for the foreseeable future. I won’t lie, going book shopping or ordering a couple books have been boosts to my mental health when I’ve needed it, so this month’s haul is pretty large.

In January I acquired 16 books – four came from book of the month (my pick, two add ons and my freebie from the finalists for being a BFF) a couple came from Amazon and then the rest were split between my local indie bookstore and Barnes and Noble.

I don’t know whether February will be better or worse, but I’m not going to beat up on myself if it’s worse. This is one of the few things boosting my mental health, so if it helps I’m not going to tell myself not to do it. Plus, I read way more books than I acquired – which I consider a win.

For those wondering where Calypso is in all this…she was supervising of course!

Happy reading!