You know when you pick up a book based off one recommendation and it’s *chef’s kiss*? This was Incendiary. Someone sent me Incendiary as part of a trade, a crisp new hardback that had just been released. Normally, when this happens, the book stays on my shelf for a few months until I remember ‘oh yeah, I have that!’. But this one I knew had to be different, and I…
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Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
Hot Dog Girl was not a book I’d ever heard of until Scribd. But I really like finding books that way. While I know books, authors and franchises need publicity to survive, I love coming across new or old but much loved stories that have seemed to pass the radar. I’d see Hot Dog Girl be mentioned once by a friend in a tweet, but that was it. But then…
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Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Why did this book take me so long to read? Furyborn was a quick grab at Sourcebooks Fire’s table at YALC last year. I already owned a proof I received during a trade, but that cover was calling my name. There’s nothing like a strong fantasy cover to draw you in. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s how a lot of my…
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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
How do you follow a masterpiece like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? Of course, after reading one of my most favourite books of 2019, I needed my hands on Daisy Jones & The Six. A big thank you to Hutchinson and Penguin Random House for sending me a proof to review! Told in the form of an interview transcript, Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of the…
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Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Before I started reading Truly Devious, I asked Twitter for a specific kind of book. While books about private/boarding schools may seem plentiful to some, the one that I’m looking for has some type of essence to it. I think The Secret History captured it the most, even though I didn’t love the story with my whole heart. If We Were Villains was almost there, although I remember being a…
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The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Who doesn’t love an anti-heroine? You know I do. I’ve written posts about why and how much I love them. From female villains to female protagonists who are straight up morally ambiguous, I love a female character who is kinda mean (or really mean), is a little selfish (or a lot selfish) and who is a little bloodthirsty (oh hell, she’s really bloodthirsty). It took me a little while to return…
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Girls Of Paper & Fire By Natasha Ngan
I don’t think I would have read Girls of Paper & Fire if I knew what it was about. But, if you know anything about my reading habits, I love not knowing about a book before I read it. Sometimes, I even go as far as not even looking up the plot. I had the opportunity to get a proof copy of this novel back in July at YALC. I…
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Jack of Hearts (& Other Parts) by Lev A.C. Rosen
Jack of Hearts (& Other Parts) is not what I expected. High school dramas are exactly what they say on the tin. They’re high school dramas. They’re fluffy, cute, hilarious with a lot of serious elements that may or may not have a moral of the story. It’s fine if they don’t. I’m not always looking for a story to teach me a lesson. Sometimes it’s nice when they do,…
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The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli
You cannot cage a queen. That isn’t an actual line in The Caged Queen, I just made it up. But I feel like it sums up this part of The Last Namsara saga. The Caged Queen felt very much like a middle book. It jumped straight in to the action from the previous book without too much exposition. However, this time, we received an insight into the life of Roa,…
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Running With Lions by Julian Winters
This book was such a relief from some of the contemporaries I’ve been reading recently. Chock-full of representation from ethnicity and religion to of course, sexuality, Running With Lions is that warm summer sports romance that I wanted from The Foxhole Court. I love gritty contemporaries with anti-hero protagonists and morally-ambiguous characters. But sometimes you just want an unproblematic cutesy story about friendship, love, and sports and that’s what you…