Aspiring actor August Greene just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York. There’s only one problem: His conservative parents won’t accept that he’s transgender. And to stay with his aunt in the city, August must promise them he won’t transition. August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends. But who is August when the lights go down? And where will he turn when the roles start hitting a little too close to home?
Thank you to Harper 360 for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Harper 360 has a knack of managing to blow me away with stories when I really didn’t expect it. I’ve had this on my tbr for a while, and I wanted to pick up an audiobook last week. I noticed this one was available on Scribd (as many Harper books are which I love!), so I decided to pick it up and I really enjoyed it.
This book follows August, a trans boy who has run away from his unaccepting parents to live with his aunt in New York City and attend the School of Performing Arts. I loved August as a character and even though he wasn’t always 100 percent genuine or likeable, I did completely understand where he was coming from with a lot of his actions.
The main part of this book that I really loved was that it just hooked me. I really wanted to know what was happening and I became so hooked in August’s life. I kept thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading it, and I just love when that happens with books. There are so many aspects of this story that were difficult to read but so important to read about.
My only complaint is the plot felt a little off at times, and I don’t know if it quite balanced throughout the story. There was so much of this book that talked about the importance of trans characters having happy stories, so to see that not reflected in this story was an odd kind of irony and made me really sad.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable to read and I’ll definitely be picking up Stay Gold by the same author at some point!
Sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls. Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant. But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants. Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood…
Thank you so much to Titan for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As I’m sure many of you know, Addie Larue is my favourite book ever and I was so excited and honoured to receive a proof copy of this book! I was a little hesitant going into this one as the next book after Addie Larue, but I’ve read a few Schwab books since and I’ve definitely enjoyed them all for different reasons.
Schwab does an incredible job of writing such different plots but including the same feel and atmosphere in the writing itself. I can always feel when I’m reading a Schwab book, if that makes sense. Gallant is a YA story following Olivia, an orphan who only has a journal left of her mother. She then receives a letter from her uncle, inviting her to his estate, Gallant. When she arrives, she finds her uncle has died and the house is occupied by her cousin and the servants of the house. She remains at the estate, but is warned not cross the wall on the outskirts of the estate.
This book is kind of a mystery, kind of a horror, kind of a paranormal. It is a beautiful mixture of genres and I loved the atmosphere. It creeped me out in ways that I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I was reading it, and I definitely had chills. It also reads kind of like a fairytale, and was reminiscent of The Secret Garden with darker undertones.
This book was very character driven and has a slow plot, but I still found it very quick and easy to read. It’s full of illustrations and extracts from Olivia’s mother’s journal, which I loved and were so beautifully complimentary to the story.
I really loved this book and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read it, and my only complaint is I wanted more. This book just didn’t feel long enough to me in places, and I wanted more detail, more emotional connection to the characters and more of the book overall. Although I don’t think anything will beat Addie Larue, or will be difficult to beat, I did still really enjoy this one.
Fifty-one years, nine months and four days have passed since Fermina Daza rebuffed hopeless romanticFlorentino Ariza’s impassioned advances and married Dr Juvenal Urbino instead. During that half-century, Flornetino has fallen into the arms of many delighted women, but has loved none but Fermina. Having sworn his eternal love to her, he lives for the day when he can court her again. When Fermina’s husband is killed trying to retrieve his pet parrot from a mango tree, Florentino seizes his chance to declare his enduring love. But can young love find new life in the twilight of their lives?
Okay. This one is going to be a difficult review to write. But this book has sat with me for a few days now, so I’m going to try and finally write it. Let me start by saying my boyfriend Mark bought me this book, and when talking to him about why he bought me this book, he told me even though he wouldn’t say he ‘enjoyed’ it or even ‘liked’ it, this book has stayed with him for a very long time.
And that is probably the easiest way to describe this book – in a lot of ways, it is difficult to enjoy. But it will stay with you for a long time. And it will make you think about love, and passion, and sex, and life, and age, and death. It will force you to sit with and face all of these aspects of life.
Tell him yes. Even if you are dying of fear, even if you are sorry later,
One of the things I absolutely adored about this book is you can pretty much open it on any page and it will read beautifully. Here’s a page of quotes if you want to have a read through and see how truly gorgeous the writing is. The writing honestly held this book up for me, and even though it took me a long time to read (in comparison to how much I normally read), it didn’t feel slow in any way. In fact, when I was reading this book, I felt so enveloped and involved in the story. It felt visceral. I was right there.
But the reason why this book is getting 3 stars rather than 4 or 5 is because there is a few problems I had with it. For a start, this book begins focusing on Florentino and Fermina when they first meet. I believe Fermina is 14 in this (or at least, she is still in high school), and Florentino is 3 years older, which would make him 17. I found this creepy, and it only got worse throughout the book. There was one sentence later on in the story that I really didn’t appreciate – I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was but it followed along the lines of ‘when a woman tells yes once [to sex], she only needs persuading to do it again’. There are so many issues surrounding consent here that I don’t think I need to discuss here.
There is a later aspect of this book that plays along the same lines and is again, incredibly problematic, and I think if you’ve read this book you’ll know exactly which part I mean. I think the problem I had here is you are probably not meant to like Florentino. Which is fine, but I will admit I really struggle when the main character of a book is not easy to like. I can usually put this aside if there is another character to root for, but I just didn’t feel like we saw enough of other characters for me to do that.
because whatever you do, you will be sorry all the rest of your life if you say no.
As you can probably tell, I had a lot of mixed feelings about this one. I loved it and I also loathed it. But there is one thing I can say for sure – it made me think, and it will stay with me for a very long time.
Torn from the world of ‘Vicious’, where death is not the end, only the beginning of extraordinary powers… Three new “EO”s must grapple with their new abilities… and with those who would hunt them down! Featuring unseen character design galleries from Andrea Olimpieri and story commentary from V.E. Schwab!
Although this book is 1.5 in the Villains series (setting it between Vicious and Vengeful), this book can be read before, during or after the series. My boyfriend Mark read this without having read any other books in the series and actually really enjoyed it, but it will give you minor spoilers for the other two books.
I read this book a couple of days after finishing the two main novels in this series, and in a way I think this was a bit of a mistake. Still being super connected to the original story did leave me feeling disconnected and disappointed with this story. The story of Extraordinary not only shows Victor and Eli, but also introduces 3 new characters. I have no problems with this at all, but I do have a problem with how much these three new characters (Charlotte, Felix and Marshall) reflect Victor, Mitch and Sydney from the main series. I just couldn’t separate their characters in my head and couldn’t help but feel disappointed I wasn’t reading about them.
I do wish I’d waited a little to read this, as I definitely feel like I’d have a different experience if I didn’t have the emotional connection to the found family character group in the original story. But I’d definitely like to re-read this in the future as I did really like this story as a standalone and it feels like a great balance of a new story that still reflects the original.
Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Great partnerships, now soured on the vine. But Marcella Riggins needs no one. Flush from her brush with death, she’s finally gained the control she’s always sought—and will use her new-found power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She’ll do whatever it takes, collecting her own sidekicks, and leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, against each other. With Marcella’s rise, new enmities create opportunity–and the stage of Merit City will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.
I was so hesitant to go into this one after the first book in the series ended up being my first 5 star read of 2022. But even though I didn’t quite end up rating this one 5 stars, it was pretty darn close. I loved the first book so much and this one is no different. The audiobook was, again, brilliant. The short chapters kept me hooked and the addition of a new character in Marcella kept the story interesting and fresh. I love the way Schwab manages to hook me with a new story – whether that is within a book I’m already reading or the start of a new one – with just a few lines.
This book picks up soon after the first book ends, and I like how it feels like both a new plot line and so familiar because of the first book. I also love the relationships between the three main characters – Victor, Sydney and Mitch. Mitch warmed my heart so much in this book and is such a soft character, and I loved the found family aspect that shone throughout.
Maybe we are broken. But we put ourselves back together. We survived. That’s what makes us so powerful.
I continued to love our main characters and the morally grey aspect of Victor and Eli, which I feel works when balanced out with the love I had for Sydney and Mitch. I felt so worried in this book about what would happen to the side characters rather than the two main ones.
The reason this book didn’t quite reach 5 stars for me is because the ending felt a little rushed. I also felt like we were set up to feel so much for these characters and I actually wanted a few more tense moments with them. The ending left me wanting more and wanting something just slightly different to what we received – but I do understand Schwab wants to leave the story open for future projects.
And as for family—well, blood is always family, but family doesn’t always have to be blood.
Although I had a few nit-picks with this one, the concerns I had were so minimal and I still absolutely adored this series. It’s such a creative one that I know I’ll be recommending to everybody!
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!
Hi all! This week has been a very exciting one in the fantasy world, and I’m sure most of you know why. I received two different copies of a very exciting release this week! I also received a proof copy of something I’m super excited for.
Sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls. Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant. But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants. Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood…
I honestly couldn’t believe it when I opened a parcel the other day and found a proof of Gallant inside. It’s my most anticipated release of the year and I started reading it straight away!
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
It’s time to talk about my first 5 star read of 2022, and it’s no surprise that it’s a V.E. Schwab book! I’ve been slowly making my way through buddy reading some more of her books with Alex, and I’m so glad we finally picked up Vicious. Schwab has this incredible skill of writing completely unique stories with a writing style that feels equally different in each book/series and familiar. I love diving into new books by her and picking up a new story knowing I never know what to expect.
This story is different from anything by Schwab I’ve read before, and I really loved the premise. This one is a gritty story following two college roommates who become extra-ordinaries, and ten years later are trying to track each other down as enemies. The chapters switch between many different time periods, from present day to 10 years before and pretty much anywhere in between, and I was so surprised at how easy it was to follow – it really requires some skill to write like that.
Plenty of humans were monstrous,
Schwab writes amazing morally grey characters and I loved reading about them in this book. Although I can never decide whether I want to root for the characters, there are definitely a couple of characters in this series who I liked, and I want to get behind as I go into Vengeful.
The writing in this is immaculate, and I absolutely loved the audiobook too. The narrator did an incredible job of reading this and fit the book so well. I couldn’t stop listening to this book and I found myself becoming so involved in the story easily.
and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.
I firmly believe this is the superhero book that everyone needs. The short chapters make it addictive, with a fast paced plot and easy-to-read writing. I know I’ll be recommending it to everybody!
Witty, intelligent Elizabeth Bennet has no desire for a marriage of convenience. And when she meets the handsome, wealthy Mr Darcy, her opinion of him is quickly set: he is aloof, selfish and proud – the last man in the world she would ever marry. Until their paths cross again, and again, and the pair begin to realise that first impressions can be flawed… But as Elizabeth and Darcy become entangled in a dance through the strict hierarchies of society, will there be space for true love to bloom?
After having read A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood and Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen last year, I knew this one would be one I wanted to pick up. I then realised just before the book was released that this one is actually published by Barrington Stoke, a dyslexia friendly publisher. I’ve read a few books published by them, and after reading this one with Alex, we found out there’s also retellings of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights that we’d love to pick up in the future.
Rather than this book being inspired by Pride & Prejudice, it’s actually a direct retelling of the story using the same characters, plot and basis for the writing. It’s a simplified version of the story which takes the bare bones but keeps the feeling, plot and even some of the main quotes from the original book, which I loved.
Laura Wood did an incredible job of taking this story and making a much shorter, more accessible version that still gave me the atmosphere and feeling that the original book did. If I ever wanted to have a taste of the original book without watching an adaptation, I’d definitely pick this one up happily!
Hi all! It’s a little late but it’s finally time for my January wrap-up. I read 10 books in January, which is a really good amount but not as much as I have been reading, so hopefully it picks up in February! I am proud that I picked up some chunky books and have already finished an entire series, however. If you’d like to see this post as a video, I’ll link it down below from my BookTube channel!
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . . The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
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. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars–at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name. In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter. Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.
This is no ordinary apocalypse… Hannah Ashton wakes up to silence. The entire city around her is empty, except for one other person: Leo Sterling. Leo might be hottest boy ever (and not just because he’s the only one left), but he’s also too charming, too selfish, and too devastating for his own good, let alone Hannah’s. Stuck with only each other, they explore a world with no parents, no friends, and no school and realize that they can be themselves instead of playing the parts everyone expects of them. Hannah doesn’t have to be just an overachieving, music-box-perfect ballerina, and Leo can be more than a slacker, 80s-glam-metal-obsessed guitarist. Leo is a burst of honesty and fun that draws Hannah out, and Hannah’s got Leo thinking about someone other than himself for the first time. Together, they search for answers amid crushing isolation, but while their empty world may appear harmless . . . it’s not. Because nothing is quite as it seems, and if Hannah and Leo don’t figure out what’s going on, they might just be torn apart forever.
Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren’t necessarily the ones you can see.
To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight. The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.
Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. Achilles, “best of all the Greeks,” is everything Patroclus is not—strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess—and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative connection gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper—despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals. Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.
A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies. Then he wakes, naked and bruised andthirsty, but alive. How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place? As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?
★★★★ 4 out of 5 stars
I had some high ratings this month but sadly nothing quite hit 5 stars for me! I would say my favourite of the month is torn between Rebecca and Messy Roots, as both were really good – along with A Conjuring of Light!
How many books did you read in January? Which was your favourite?
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!
Hi all! I went on a day trip to London this week with my lovely friend Alex and we visited a few bookshops. I ended up buying most of my books in Forbidden Planet, where we found loads of American editions of books that we’ve never seen in the UK before!
Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy—the best magic school in the realm—even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she’s never met. Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir. Lir is trapped on land and can’t remember where he came from. Even so, he’s everything Sophie isn’t—beloved by Sophie’s family and skilled at magic. With his help, Sophie might just ace her entrance exams, but that means standing in the way of Lir’s attempts to regain his memories. Sophie knows what she’s doing is wrong, but without Lir’s help, can she prove herself?
The first shop we visited was Gay’s the Word, which is an LGBTQ+ bookshop which I’ve visited before and love. Alex has never visited, so it was lovely to take her there for a visit. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Tidesong by Wendy Xu, who is the author of one of my favourite books of 2021, Mooncakes. I can’t wait to read this one!
Immigrant. Socialite. Magician. Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.
Later in the day, we visited Forbidden Planet and I picked up a few books, including The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. This one is a queer, Asian retelling of The Great Gatsby, which I read last year and I’m so intrigued by a retelling like this one!
When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang—Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki—visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers—and ultimately harmless. But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads. Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.
My only real impulse buy of a book I haven’t heard of before was this one, which is a short book with a stunning cover! It also sounds so intense and interesting.
Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope. North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.
Neither Alex or I have ever seen a physical copy of this book available for sale in the UK, and we found 2 copies in Forbidden Planet, which we couldn’t resist nabbing for a future buddy read hopefully! We’ve just got to find the second book now!
The Books are Everywhere 