May 2021 Wrap-Up || A Bunch of Books & a Dash of Romance

May was quite a busy month for me, but I was also able to read quite a few books from a bunch of different genres. While I didn’t post last month, I did read a lot. The trade-off was worth it, because I was able to read many books I’ve been wanting to read for ages like I’ll Be The One and Blood Promise (which was truly a wild ride from start to finish)!

• Eat the Mouth That Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza  ★★★★☆ || Really weird. I loved it.
• I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee ★★★☆☆ || Loved the message and tone of the book, but the writing style was not my favorite. Too simplistic/unrealistic of a book for me, but that’s just me. I’m not the target audience here!
• Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories and Songs by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson  ★★★★☆ || I don’t think I was able to digest it completely, but will revisit it in the future.
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid  ★★☆☆☆ || Yikes. Review here.
• Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed ★★★★☆ || This was so cute and made my little heart glow.

• Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo  ★★★★☆ || I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I finished.
• Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4) ★★1/2☆☆ || What even was this book…
• The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal  ★★★☆☆
• Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century edited by Alice Wong 
• More to the Story by Hena Khan  ★★★★☆ || So heartwarming, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it.
• Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) ★★★☆☆ Reread

I had so much fun reading historical romances this month despite the rollercoaster of ratings. I’m slowly working my way though the Bridgertons series…it’s wild and weird and not at all my favorite historical romance series, but I can’t stop. This genre of books are basically the literary form of novellas (as in soap operas) with all the tropes and wild drama and I live for them.

• Scandal in Spring (Wallflowers, #4) by Lisa Kleypas  ★★★★★ || I don’t know why, but I loved this book.
• Cold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels, #1) by Lisa Kleypas ★★☆☆☆ || The heroine of the story was not it for me.
• The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons, #2)  ★★★★☆ || My favorite Bridgerton book so far despite how annoying Anthony was.
• An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons #3) ★★★☆☆ || Kinda cute but kinda boring.

I discovered two artists new to me this month that I am just a little obsessed with. Måneskin and Olivia Rodrigo’s albums have been on repeat since May. Can’t. Stop. Listening.

I’m basically in love with every member of Måneskin, but I also want to be them all/own their entire wardrobes. I mean…look at them. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Some songs from Olivia Rodrigo’s album, Sour, also reminded me so much of pop punk from my middle school days. Specifically “good 4 you”. Major “Misery Business” vibes!

Hope you are having a good start to June. I personally can’t wait for summer to be over even though it hasn’t even officially started. I impatiently await the fall…where are you pumpkins and weather below 100 degrees fahrenheit?! Nevada weather is killin’ me!!

April 2021 Wrap-Up

 

April was a bit of an odd month, it feels to me like it almost didn’t happen and I just skipped from March to May. Nothing much happened at all, which is actually a bit of a comforting notion. I had some time to breathe, which considering what May has already thrown me in its first week, was what my brain needed.

This month, I focused quite a bit on reading a diverse selection of books. More LGBTQ+ authors, more Indigenous authors, and more Latinx/Chicanx authors. I read some really fun books and some that didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but they were mostly all books that have been on my TBR for ages.

• Paradise, Nevada by Dario Diofebi ★★☆☆☆ || Goodreads review here.
• The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton ★★★★1/2 || Review here.
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas || I don’t know what to say about this…it was boring, it was predictable, but I kind of enjoyed it? But I also hated reading it. I don’t know.
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas  ★★★★☆ || Review here.
• The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite  ★★★★☆ || Loved the vibes, a solid historical romance.

• The Removed by Brandon Hobson ★★★★☆ || Review here.
• The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ★★☆☆☆ || Not my cup of tea, there wasn’t much world-building, the love interest was so not it, and the story seemed to me like a watered down Count of Monte Cristo…I was just not in the mood.
• Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley ★★★★1/2 || Wow. Amazing. I was speechless after I read it and still am. The only big flaw was the skewed power dynamics in the romance of the story, which I couldn’t get past. Hence the 1/2 star.
• Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo ★★☆☆☆ || No comment. I DNF’d the final book in the series after reading this.
• Eat the Mouth That Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza ★★★★☆ || Super weird, super dark short stories. Just my kind of thing!

What book are you looking forward to reading the most next month? Let me know!

 

The Top 3 Most Impactful Nonfiction Books I’ve Read So Far

This week, I was thinking about books that have a substantial impact on me. Quite a few of these books have been nonfiction works or memoirs that hold a special place on my brain and continue to echo their impact in my life and way of thinking. They are mostly all also very US-centric, so I’m looking forward to reading more nonfiction works in the future that feature authors and issues of other countries and cultures. For now though, here are some of the nonfiction works that have truly stuck with me since I first read them.

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer

“This book is meant to tell the story of Indian lives, and Indian histories, in such a way as to render those histories and those lives as something much more, much greater and grander, than a catalog of pain.” 

I read this book a couple years ago and truly have not been the same since. This non-fiction work by Ojibwe author David Treuer tells the history of Native American life from the Wounded Knee massacre to present, with personal anecdotes interspersed throughout. This is a great place to start if you a curious about learning of the effect of colonialism on indigenous people in the US and forming a framework of knowledge about this topic. I truly think this is a must-read for people living in the United States.

I think about the things that I learned from this book so often as I live my life on land that was plundered from indigenous tribes. It’s quite a hefty book, but one that I am so glad that I read and that I plan on revisiting in the future.

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

“When I talk about owning eloquent rage as your superpower, it comes with the clear caveat that not everyone is worth your time or your rage.”

This is a book I have been wanting to reread for quite some time. It taught me so much the first time I read it several years ago and has continued to influence my thought processes on many issues. Brittney Cooper is a phenomenal writer and discusses feminism, respectability politics, systemic oppression, and more in a way that is understandable and intersectional. To say that I was angry reading her essays and experiences is a bit of an understatement. Just looking at the quotes from this collection on Goodreads is jogging my memory on how hard-hitting her writing is. Moving this one farther up on my TBR asap!

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebbeca Traister

“In the United States, we have never been taught how noncompliant, insistent, furious women have shaped our history and our present, our activism and our art. We should be.”

Continuing on the topic of “women’s anger”, I first read Good and Mad around the same time I read Eloquent Rage. Traister discusses the the power the collective anger of women has had on politics and society throughout history and the attempts to stifle this anger to prevent change. She also doesn’t shy away from discussing when women’s anger impacted others in a less than positive way. Also, another win for intersectionality! It annoys me so much when non-fiction books ignore non-white issues and figures, but Good and Mad does not do this at all. Reading this book made me feel powerful and angry and I will be revisiting the audiobook of it sometime soon.

Are there any nonfiction works that have remained in your mind since you first read them? Anything that has had a lasting impact on you? Let me know in the comments so I can add some more books to my TBR!

Recent Reads: Books I’ve Loved

Thankfully, last month’s slump has abated and left me excited to read books I’ve had on my radar for a while. Many of the books have been a success so far, which I’m quite pleased about! Plus, if you’ve been wanting to read a book with a pretty good twist, these all had twists that I was not expecting (maybe that’s also just me being oblivious sometimes, though).

Reviews are spoiler-free!

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev  by Dawnie Walton  | ★★★★1/2

This was such a compelling historical fiction novel with rich characters and writing that transports you to a time and place that seems completely authentic. Written in the style of a biography of the fictional afropunk duo, Opal and Nev, the book completely made me believe that these people truly existed. Several times, I nearly reached for my phone to look up what Opal’s stage outfits looked like or to find one of the band’s songs to listen to. I love that level of realism.

This novel is very much centered on the racism that the characters experience, both in the 70s and in the present, and truly shows how little has changed in 50 years. It’s frustrating and angering, but so worth the read. The twist at the end was phenomenal as well, especially considering how true to life it was. I’m still thinking about it a week later. I would recommend Opal & Nev to readers who enjoy books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Check out an OwnVoices review here.

CW: Racism, racial slurs, racial beating causing death, drug use, addiction, sexual harassment (mentioned).

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas | ★★★★☆

I finally got around to reading Cemetery Boys and I am so glad that I did. I listened to the audiobook, which I think added to my enjoyment of the book a lot. I loved the world that Aiden Thomas created more than anything. His melding of the spirituality and traditions of cultures who celebrate Día De Los Muertos with his own fantastical story was so beautiful. Yadriel’s struggle to gain his Latinx family’s affirmation of his gender is at the center of the book, and I truly appreciated seeing him come into his own. Those things, executed so beautifully, clouded my judgement of the rest of the book to be honest. The romance was a bit insta-lovey (I still loved it), the pacing was a little off, but I can’t stop my heart-eyes for this book and it’s characters. I also didn’t see the twist coming. I’m super excited to see what else Aiden Thomas has in store!

CW: Misgendering, allusions to deadnaming, depictions of gender dysphoria, exploration of parental death, non-violent references to blood magic, some descriptions of self-harm (for ritualistic purposes)

CWs from this OwnVoices review by Adri.

The Removed by Brandon Hobson | ★★★★☆

I don’t really know where to start with this book. The writing style was fascinating and so steeped in intricate Cherokee tradition and history, I couldn’t put it down. The Removed confused, enthralled, and surprised me. Focusing on a Cherokee family dealing with the grief of losing their son and brother at the hands of a police officer, we witness their grief and loneliness from their various perspectives chapter to chapter.

The symbolism and imagery of the many perspectives had me flipping back to previous chapters to recall the patterns that were appearing in nature and their lives. There were definitely connections and aspects that I did not understand completely, especially considering that I am not an OwnVoices reader, but by the end of the novel I was able to understand more of characters’ motivations with some revelations, which put it all into perspective. I would recommend reading this book without expectation and some historical knowledge ( read about the Removal Act and Trail of Tears here ). The examination of trauma, grief, and the effect of colonialism on an entire people was so profound and worth a read.

Check out reviews by Indigenous reviewers here and here (not OwnVoices reviews).

CW: Drug and alcohol use, addiction, racism, assault, police shooting resulting in death, gun violence, graphic depiction of colonization (Trail of Tears, removal), allusions to suicide.

Have you heard of any of these books, do any of them sound like your cup of tea? Thanks for reading, hope you are having a lovely April!

March 2021 Wrap-Up

Hello again! So here I am, a month after my previous wrap-up… The slump that I talked about last post continued to exist in March and resulted in only three books read. That’s the least amount of books I have read in a month in two years! I think that my brain just needed a break.

It’s been a whole year since the start of the pandemic and I am extremely lucky to be finally getting my first vaccine today. I’m grateful that there is some kind of end in sight. I spent this month talking to new people in my city on Bumble BFF (a rendition of Bumble that’s just for making friends…I am desperate for friends), cleaned up my Animal Crossing island a bit, and spent lots of time with family and virtual time with friends. The book and accidental blog hiatus therefore, didn’t end up being a total bust. Anyways, let’s jump into quick reviews of the books that I did get to in March.

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare | ★★★★☆

I reread Chain of Iron in preparation for the release of its sequel (which I put aside temporarily due to previously mentioned reading slump) and ended up liking it a little less than I previously did. It was still fun and quintessentially Cassandra Clare angsty, but I couldn’t rate it the five stars I gave it last year considering how repetitive she is with her characters. Don’t get me wrong, I want everything she writes, but she needs to shake it up a little.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz | ★★1/2☆☆

My cousin and I have our own little book club and this was last month’s book. We both listened to it on audio and we both didn’t really like it. There were a lot of things that missed the mark here for me. I think someone who has not read many immigrant stories might like this more, but as someone who has read and heard quite a few, it was pretty basic. Things that could have been examined and discussed more just were not and left me wanting more. *Cough* The fact that she is FIFTEEN and going through all of these horrible things and is basically being preyed upon by two grown men!

Not all immigrant stories are the same, but this had to be one of the most surface-level ones that I have read so far. If I don’t think about it too much, it was an alright book, but I feel like it could have been so much better. (This review was kind of mean I’m so sorry. Also check out the content warnings, but here are a few: rape, domestic violence, alcoholism.)

Fantastic Tales by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti | ★★★★☆

I randomly picked this one up because the blurb intrigued me. Translated Italian gothic short stories from the 1800s? Sign me up! I really enjoyed a few of these stories, it served me just what I wanted at the time. It was also interesting reading about the author and reasons why he may not be as well known in literature, as well as the translation work that he did which sometimes meandered into straight up plagiarism. A surprising read that made me thing about life and death quite a bit…I am glad I picked it up.

Here is my April monthly spread. I’m really feeling the possibility of Spring this year and I’ve been very into the idea of Cottagecore things – hence this random collection of things. Currently longing for a long dress and a flower field to roam.

I am going back to my mood reading basics and picking books from my shelf that I want to read when I want to read them. This month though, I will definitely be finishing these three books.

Islands of Decolonial Love is my and my cousin’s family book club pick for April and one that has been on my TBR since I saw Thunderbird Woman Reads, one of my favorite booktubers, talking about it. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and so far I’m really enjoying it. I highly recommend it for readers who like Taylor Jenkins Reid! I am also continuing my read-through of the Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers series with Scandal in Spring. I’ve been reading each book during the season that they are titled and this is finally my last installment. It’s been almost a year since my entrance into the wonderful world of historical romance with the first book in the series and oh what a time it’s been!

It feels good to be back here writing, I am going to try to get back to weekly posting this month! *Fingers crossed* Thanks for coming back to read my blog after this month of unannounced hiatus. Follow me on Instagram to keep in touch. I don’t use it much, but I’m hoping to work on it more this month. Cheers to a wonderful April!

February Wrap-Up || In a Bit of a Slump

So, I have finally sat down to finish up my February wrap-up! These past couple weeks I have not been able to concentrate on much of anything related to books. (Shoutout to audiobooks for being the main reason I’ve read anything!) The dreaded slump has indeed induced itself upon my brain. I’m really trying to get over it and focus, but with March marking an entire year of this worldwide pandemic, I’m not really counting on it anytime soon. I’m trying to give myself a bit of a break. We’ll see how that works out! For now, here are the books I read last month plus some other little tidbits.

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore: This is not a book for everyone considering how truly bizarre it is. I randomly picked up this short sci-fi novella from the library stacks and devoured it in one night. Subversive and weird and completely amazing! It reminded of the obsession and fanaticism that can come with loving music and the wild, sometimes even violet passion of crowds at concerts I’ve been to. It made me miss live music in a really weird way.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers: I. Love. This. Book. Check out my full review here.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (Legendborn #1): I buddy-read this book with Liza at The Inharmonious Heroine and I’m super glad we chose this book. The depth of this story, the commentary on class and race woven into the systems of magic…mindblowing to be honest. My one main gripe was the romance, but please ignore me and read this book because it is truly amazing.

Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0) : I don’t want to spoil anything about this, but it was very refreshing and I enjoyed reading a book from the perspective of Starr’s dad.

Familiar Things by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell: Another random pickup from the library that turned out to pleasantly surprise me. This short book follows a young boy and his mom as they adjust to moving and working at Flower Island, Seoul’s vast landfill. I was enthralled reading this story and may or may not have shed some tears for these characters. A truly thought-provoking read.

Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth (Never Too Late #1): A light, fluffy read that may or may not have been enhanced by me casting Keanu Reeves as the love interest in my mind. I mean look at that cover! It is so him.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: I have never actually read fanfiction, but this book made me want to. I enjoyed it, even if I couldn’t exactly buy that anyone other than another celebrity would be totally cool as a cucumber dating an actor on the hottest show on television. The thing I most enjoyed about this romance was the deeper discussion of parental relationships and accepting oneself when maybe a parent doesn’t.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado: Hmmmm this was a tough one for me to rate because while I really enjoyed it at the start, I felt like several aspects of the story could have been developed more. I also didn’t know this was a romance-heavy book, so that’s my fault.

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins (Old West #2): (3.5) I liked this, just not as much as the first in the series. I’m excited to see how I feel about the next book, though!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: I read this for the show, but it seemed pretty basic to me and I was bored… I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series or just watch the show on it’s own for the SoC crew.

No Ratings

The Magical Language of Others by E. J. Koh and Floating in a Most Peculiar Way by Louis Chude-Sokei: I didn’t rate these books as they are both memoirs. They were quite impactful though, with some tough subjects so beautifully written. I would really recommend listening to short memoir audiobooks, they are a great way to quickly learn about different cultures and people outside of your own experiences.

Here’s my journal spread for the month of March! My investment in a mini ruler has really upped my calendar game! I’m trying to put to use all of my stickers and stationary. Everything pictured is from Daiso, Kinokuniya Books, and Violette Stickers. I will never not be grateful to have so many stationary options easily available where I’m from.

Yes, I finally jumped onto the Julie and the Phantoms train and I am nothing short of obsessed. Where’s the merch? Where’s the Julie and the Phantoms glitter t-shirts and canvas pencil cases?! I want Camp Rock level merchandise to satiate my need to endlessly represent my love of this show and all of its characters. Just kidding…kind of. But really, when will this show be renewed?! When?!?!?

I am late to the Downton Abbey train as well, but oh how I’m glad that I can just watch every season one after the other. I used to think this was just another English period piece, but I have come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a glutton for any and all period pieces. I don’t know what I’ll do once I’ve finished it, it’s just so so good! Perhaps just find another period drama to become obsessed with.

Right now I am desperately trying to read more than one chapter of Chain of Iron a day, which is annoying considering how much I have anticipated it’s release. Hopefully this slump leaves me soon. Sitting down and actually writing this post is seeming to help restart my brain a little! What book are you currently reading? Do you have any other period drama suggestions for when I finish Downton Abbey? How are you doing in general? Let me know, I’d love to hear!

 

 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert || ARC Review

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 9th, 2021

Add to your shelf on Goodreads

In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.

E-ARC provided by the publisher.

Talia Hibbert’s The Brown Sisters Series was my introduction to romance last year, or at least the introduction that made me excited to actually read more romances from different genres that I would enjoy. Her books are cute, fun, and never fail to make me laugh out loud. The final book in the series, Act Your Age, Eve Brown is probably my favorite of all three. If you read and enjoyed the previous two books, then this is a must-read.

As many other reviewers have said, this book is nothing short of delightful. There really isn’t a better word for the reading experience of Eve Brown. I loved Eve and Jacob, both as independent characters and as a couple. Their seemingly opposite personalities make reading about their interactions so enjoyable. Jacob is grumpy and very particular about how he runs his bed and breakfast, while Eve can best be described as whirlwind of a human trying her best. Their banter had me smiling throughout the story and those steamy scenes…yeah they were quite steamy.

Talia Hibbert is amazing at writing characters and relationships with emotional depth. There is always something outside of the relationship that the main characters are working through and that they come to solutions to with the support of their love interest, and not because of their love interest. I am always immensely impressed with how she wraps up her stories and the development of her characters, which is definitely also the case with Eve and Jacob.

Although I can’t speak on this book’s representation, I will say that it was very interesting to read from the perspective of characters exploring how they function in the world and whose talents are strengthened by their backgrounds. Jacob’s diagnosed autism and Eve’s discovering of her autism were well written in my opinion as someone who has not dealt with either of those things.

I especially liked seeing Eve come into her own and become more comfortable navigating the world independently. I could definitely relate to the struggle of not feeling “adult enough” despite your age and I very much enjoyed seeing that struggle depicted in a romance. And Jacob is everything I could want in a romantic hero, with difficulties of his own that he works through. Ultimately, they both work on their relationship (even if that third act romance novel misunderstanding is present and is a little annoying) and arrive at a sweet, satisfying conclusion.

Some out of context things to expect from Act Your Age, Eve Brown

• Lots of music.
• Cozy, English countryside B&B vibes.
• Cute cameos of characters from past books.
• 100% amazing slogan t-shirts via Eve.
• Ducks.

Final Thoughts

I have found bits of myself in every one of the Brown Sisters. I’m sad that the series will be coming to an end with this book, but I’m excited for whatever Talia Hibbert has cooking for us next! Also, please check out OwnVoices reviews to get a different perspective on this book! I will leave off with one tip for you if you are anxiously waiting for Act Your Age, Eve Brown to release on March 9th! Take a listen to Corinne Bailey Rae’s debut album. It has been one of my favorites since I was a kid and I feel like it’s a great soundtrack to the story. “Breathless” has a little role in the book and it was so, so perfect for the scene it pops up in. Where are our Brown Sisters movies at already?!

My Favorite Romance Movies

Ok, so I’m a little late here with this, but I only just realized that it’s Valentine’s Day and that I want to talk about some of my favorite romantic media before the day is over.

Romance movies are a balm for my soul. Even though if some of the things that happen in them would irk me in real life in my own life, they just work in movies and have me swooning. Anytime I want to feel something or need a little comfort, they are there waiting for me. There are SO MANY movies that do this, but here are just a few that always make me feel a little better when I need a pick-me-up. (I also realized that I don’t have any favorite LGBTQ+ romances and that needs to change…that’s my new mission.)

Waiting to Exhale (1995)

If you haven’t watched this movie yet, you need to as soon as possible. It’s iconic, beautiful, amazing, flawless, and brings me some warmth and comfort when I most need it. I can’t even string together a proper sentence to describe how much I love this movie. It is also a book, which I have waiting on my shelf.

Trailer here.

The Wedding Date (2005)

This is most definitely my most rewatched rom-com. It is everything to me. If you’ve never watched it before, here is my quick pitch: a male escort is hired as a wedding date for the first time by a woman whose fiancé has recently broken off an engagement. The English countryside, the Michael Bublé sprinkled throughout…this film is a VIBE. *Sigh* I’m forever dreaming about Dermot Mulroney.

Trailer here.

Bend it Like Beckham (2002)

This is a classic! I don’t even know where to start with this movie, so I won’t. It’s the OG kickass girl power movie with a sprinkle of romance and it never gets old.

Trailer here.

What are your favorite rom-coms and romance films? Let me know in the comments, I’m forever looking for new ones. Happy Valentine’s Day (or Belated Valentine’s Day)! ♡♡♡

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers || ARC Review

E-ARC provided by the publisher.

One month of 2021 down and I already have a book that will definitely be making it to my favorites of the year. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers is everything that I needed and wanted. It healed me in so many ways with it’s ethereal, romantic writing and rich, complex characters. The story follows Grace Porter, who has just completed her PhD in astronomy and is grappling with life after graduation, a complicated relationship with her parents, and a drunken night that resulted in her marriage to a mysterious woman.

“What happened in Vegas is tucked away in her suitcase. It is under her shirt in the shape of a key. It is hidden in her hair with the last little bits of dried petals. It hides in the gold ring wrapped around her fingers like a brand.”

I really do not want to give much away with this book since I went into it only knowing basic details and I suggest other readers do the same. I will suggest adjusting your expectations if you are going into the book expecting a romance. Honey Girl has pretty much been marketed and categorized as romance, but it is so much more than that (which is not to knock romance at all by the way). This is much more of a contemporary coming-of-age novel about love, friendship, and family. We don’t really get into the romance of the story until a quarter of the way into the book, but it is completely worth the wait.

“All four of them squish together in the bed. They hold Grace together, hold her bursting seams closed.”

The love that Grace shares with her found family was one of my favorite aspects of this novel. Her friends are her family and they are all woven into the story in a way that makes each one distinct and complex. By the end of the book, I knew exactly who each character was. Morgan Rogers so tenderly writes each character, making me fall in love with every single one. I felt homesick for this book and it’s characters the moment I finished it.

Grace’s relationships with her parents is where she struggles the most. As a mixed-race child, Grace has to deal with a father who is a strict military man and a mother who is a free-spirit. I appreciated the way her issues with her parents were handled and the reasonable resolutions we arrive to by the end of the book.

“Us lonely creatures have to stick together.”

A central theme of this story is Grace’s struggle as a black lesbian woman in STEM. I can’t speak on the representation, but Rogers does a great job of depicting a woman who is sick and tired of her accomplishments being minimized based on the color of her skin, on top of the typical pressures and stresses of academia. These struggles have a very real effect on her mental health, which I appreciated reading about immensely. Honey Girl focuses a lot on mental health and loneliness in general in a way that was so healing. I have not read a book that has dealt with mental health in such a way in a long time and I absolutely loved it. I cried multiple times…and I rarely ever cry while reading.

Which brings me to the romance of it all. I don’t want to spoil anything about the romance since I enjoyed slowly uncovering the mystery of who Grace married as I read. What I’ll say for now is that I loved the the longing and yearning that is infused into Morgan Rogers’ writing. There was a specific kind of magical, ethereal quality to her words that I was enchanted by. It was so romantic. Although Grace’s relationship with her wife is not the main focus of the book, I felt like it was just enough to satisfy me as a reader initially expecting a romance.

Honey Girl wrapped me up in its warm, cozy embrace and healed me a little bit. I would highly recommend reading this beautiful piece of contemporary fiction when it releases on February 23rd! Please check out OwnVoices reviews like this one to get a different perspective on this book!

Add to Goodreads

Some out of context things to expect from Honey Girl

• Mysterious, lonely, lurking beings.
• Monster hunting.
• Astronomy and space and possibly crying about the Mars Rover.
• Orange groves and farmers markets.
• So many cute, queer characters.

[bg_collapse view=”link-list” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”Content Warnings” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]Self-harm, allusion to blood and scars from self-harm, hospitalization, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder.[/bg_collapse]

 

Will you be reading this book when it comes out? Do you have any favorite books featuring lesbian characters to recommend? Let me know in the comments!

January 2021 Wrap-Up || Lots of books, my journal, & more

I can’t be bothered to write a proper introduction to this post. January was a long month, but a pretty chill start to 2021 for me. I hope you had a good one and if not, I hope next month is better. Let’s just jump in, shall we?

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott : Wow. This was a phenomenal, gut-wrenching collection of essays from a Haudenosaunee author. A must-read.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers  : Honey Girl healed me, renewed me, clasped me in its warm embrace. I have a full review coming soon, but please read this when it comes out on February 23rd!

The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by Danielle Evans: This collection will grab you by the shoulders and shake you. I was absolutely enthralled and will be thinking about these stories for a long time. There were some pretty shocking scenes, so look up detailed content warnings if you are interested.

The Murders of Molly Southbourne (Molly Southbourne, #1) by Tade Thompson: Lots of weirdness, some body horror, and a dash of violence. I really dig weird books like this.

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enríquez: Super disturbing, but worked? // Goodreads Review

The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple, #2) by Agatha Christie: I loved this and I’m ready for more Agatha Christie mysteries. // Review

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allend : My most surprising read of the month, a historical fiction taking place in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. I learned so much and would highly recommend the audiobook. // Goodreads Review

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour: What a wild ride of a book. If you like movies like Sorry to Bother You or The Wolf of Wall Street, this here book is for you. // Review

Shiver: Selected Stories by Junji Ito: I don’t know what to say about these horror mangas. They are odd, gross, violent, gory…and I couldn’t look away. I’m glad I finally read them instead of watching/listening to narrations of the stories, which I’ve been doing for years.

Tomie by Junji ito: I liked this collection less than Shiver (above) because it was super repetitive. Glad I finally read it though.

Devil in Winter (Wallflowers #3) by Lisa Kleypas: I liked this historical romance at the start despite it’s questionable premise, but it got progressively boring. The first book in this series is the only one I really liked at this point.

The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2) by Cixin Liu: UGH. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! The first book in this series, The Three Body Problem, is one of my favorites, but this sequel flopped for me. // Review

The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic: This was ridiculous, but kind of worked? Maybe? Not really. But kind of. // Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer: I think YA fantasy is just not for me (with a few exceptions).

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2) by Deborah Harkness: The wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff made ZERO sense. I can’t get back the time I spent reading this book and yet I still want to know what happens in the third book. // Review

The Raven King (All for the Game, #2) by Nora Sakavic: No comment. I am a glutton for punishment. My curiosity is stronger than my will.

The King’s Men (All for the Game, #3) by Nora Sakavic: Ok but one comment. I can see how the source material is the basis for a fandom that has grown beyond it. I see how time away from it can give the characters a Vaseline lense glow. I just…I couldn’t get past SO MANY THINGS. I am obsessed with how obsessed people are about this series.

Stats

Library Audiobooks: 7 || Library Physical: 1 || Library e-Book: 5 || Owned: 3 || ARCs: 1

I wanted to watch a K-Drama and somehow accidentally ended up picking one about books and people who work at a publishing house. I am in love with every single character in this drama except for the main ones. They can go.

 

My best friend and I watched this together online in one night. ONE. NIGHT. Who knew a show about super rich Asians would take us on a wild, emotional ride. I need a second season ASAP.

Not much has been happening in my life other than work. I’ve been reading, hanging out with my cat, trying to exercise somewhat regularly, and enjoying the sunsets from my window. I’m trying to cherish the little things.

I figured that I would start posting my monthly journal spreads since some of you enjoyed seeing my journal setup this month. Maybe it will give you a little inspiration! Stickers are from this company (their Etsy has free US shipping, though).

I just wanted to thank everyone who has read (or skimmed) any post of mine, given me shout-out, or followed me this month. Every single like, comment, and mention has made me feel more connected to others during such a weird time and I appreciate it so much. Cheers to a pretty good first month of January and an even better February!