December 2019 Wrap-up

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Ok so clearly I’m one day late on this (happy 2020, everyone!), but I still wanted to take the time to share what I was up to in this last month. I don’t think I’ll be posting a “best of 2019” or “best of the decade” because I CANNOT CHOOSE, OKAY? There are just too many books in too many genres that are great in different, incomparable, ways. I’m not going to compare Katherine Arden’s excellent fantasy to my newfound love of Murakami. They’re just too different.

Moving on, here’s what I read this month!

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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Wow. Just wow!! I absolutely adored this book. Ng writes with precise craft and heavy emotion, making even a book about peoples’ everyday lives incredibly gripping.

5 @300x-100

 

 

 

 

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The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

I received a review copy of this and unfortunately, it was a bust. Read my full review here.

2@300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

This woman is just,, amazing? Another wow.

5 @300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days of Sugar and Spice - Europe Comics

 

Days of Sugar and Spice written by Loic Clement and illustrated by Anne Montel

A super-cute, feel-good graphic novel. Read my full review here.

3.5@300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

Haruki Murakami – South of the Border, West of the Sun ...

 

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

Yet another amazing book by this man. This one is one of his more “mundane” novels, but it is strange and magical nonetheless.

4@300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

10 sapphic YA fantasy books coming out in 2020 to add to ...

 

Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer

A spooky Halloween-time read about witches and serial killers.

Intrigued? Read my full review here.

4@300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

A Reader of Fictions

 

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Perfect for fans of Penumbra. This is a quirky, eccentric, way-out-there read. You will gobble it up.

4.5@300x-100

 

 

 

 

 

So I read some pretty fantastic books this month. Overall, a lot more good than bad. For anyone looking for something to read, I think there is a pretty diverse set of genres here, so I would recommend (most of) these!

What did your last month of 2019 look like?

Happy reading,

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Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer

 

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Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy and A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch-plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader.

And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester-an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer’s motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don’t stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.

Amazon

Goodreads

I received a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Continue reading “Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer”

Days of Sugar and Spice by Loïc Clément, Illustrated by Anne Montel

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Amazon
Europe Comics
Goodreads

Rose is not a happy young woman; she is closed off and angry and she hates her job. But her life changes drastically when she inherits her father’s bakery in a small town in Brittany. Returning to a place that brought her both joy and grief forces her to confront painful memories of her past and find the courage to open her heart to a new, happier life that awaits her if she will just let it. A story about new beginnings, filled with small town charm, delicious pastries and the warmth of home and friends.

I received a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. It is spoiler-free!

Continue reading “Days of Sugar and Spice by Loïc Clément, Illustrated by Anne Montel”

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

2.5@300x-100

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. It’s spoiler-free!!

Continue reading “The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli”
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