I admit it, I have an addiction. However, I prefer to call myself a bibliophile than to admit that out loud. Below are the books that I’ve purchased throughout April and May.
Books Purchased: 36
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton: This is a mystery/thriller with a touch of fantasy. Evelyn ends up dying at the end of a celebration held at her house and it’s up to Aiden to relive the day and figure out who the killer is. Each day, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest and continues to try and solve the murder. The catch? Someone is determined to stop him.
The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser: This YA Fantasy is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Emma believed that life was going her way and finding a magical book in her boarding school’s library that makes whatever she writes in it come true only furthers this belief. However, someone else also knows about the book and is determined to take it from Emma at all costs.
Keeper of the Lost Cities (Book 1), Exile (Book 2), Everblaze (Book 3), Neverseen (Book 4), and Lodestar (Book 5) by Shannon Messenger: These are the first 5 books of the Keeper of the Lost Cities Series. They start off with Sophie Foster, a 12 year-old telepath, meeting a boy named Fitz that can also read minds. She’s quickly whisked away from the life she knows in order to master the skills she’s always kept secret. Sophie must find out why she’s the secret key to saving her new world before the wrong person finds out why first.
Ruined by Amy Tintera (Book1): This YA Fantasy is about Emelina Flores and her question to find her kidnapped sister, Olivia. Lacking the powers of her fellow Ruined, she journeys to the enemy kingdom of Lera where she marries Prince Casimir, the next in line to the throne. Knowing that she’ll be killed if anyone finds out she’s not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em is willing to risk it all to salvage her kingdom and what’s left of her family. Can love soften Em’s heart enough to be her downfall?
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: Probably my favourite genre of the moment, this novel is also a YA fantasy book. Princess Hesina of Yan dealing with the aftermath of her father’s murder and her sudden elevation to queen. Hesina turns to Akira, a cunning investigator with his own past, to help solve her father’s murder.
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Various Authors: This is an anthology all about the authors’ East and South Asian cultures.
Reflections by Elizabeth Lim (Book 4): This is a YA Fantasy Retelling of the story of Mulan – with a twist. Mulan needs to go to the Underworld in order to save Li Shang from King Yama (the ruler of the Underworld). While this is the fourth book of the “series”, each book is a standalone retelling of an old tale. This series is brought to you by Disney.
Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee: An Adult Contemporary story, this may seem different from the books I usually get myself but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in it. This is a story about two sisters and their journey through love, loyalty, and heartbreak. This is a book that deals heavily with mental health, a topic that is extremely important to understand.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon: This story takes place when Natasha finds out that her family is being deported back to Jamaica. The day before they leave, she runs into a boy named Daniel. This is a fast paced YA Contemporary Romance.
As Miss Beelzebub Likes by Matoba (Vol 1): This is a manga that caught my attention when I spotted it across the book store. The concept of Satan’s right hand [wo]man being a ditz and all about love sounds intriguing to me. I’m looking forward to reading the first volume of the series and, hopefully, continuing on with series.
Emma by Jane Austin: Being a Classic, most people probably already know what this book is about. Emma is an avowed spinster and matchmaker who’s convinced she knows best who should marry whom.
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James: Another Classic, in this tale spirited young Isabel Archer travels from Albany, New York to Europe to see what life has in store for her. She comes upon 2 suitors – one American and one English. This book shows the challenge between Isabel’s fierce sense of independence and society’s demand for propriety.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: Once again, a Classic novel. In Tess, the namesake heroine suffers through hypocrisy and injustices that plague Victorian morality.
Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis: This is a YA Contemporary Romance novel. It is about Stella Grant needing to keep everyone six feet away from her in order to ensure she’ll receive the lung transplant she’s waiting for. Will Newman can’t wait for the last week until he turns 18 to be over so that he can leave the hospital and see anything else. When they meet, six feet seems like torture to Stella. Would fix feet really make that much of a difference?
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte: In this YA Fantasy novel, Keralie Corrington appears to be harmless but is, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin is actually an honest, upstanding member of society but he runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him. When trying to get the package back, Varin finds the two of them in the middle of a conspiracy that ends with the four queens of Quadara dead. This leaves them reluctantly working together to find out who killed the queens in order to save their own lives.
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston (Book 2): As Geekerella exceeded my expectations, I can’t wait to read the second book of the Once Upon a Con Series. This YA Contemporary is a Retelling of the Prince and the Pauper. Imogen Lovelace wants to do whatever it takes to save her favourite character in Starfield, Princess Amara, from being cut. Jessica Stone, the actor playing princess Amara, gets blamed when the script for the sequel gets leaked. This results in Imogen and Jess having to trade places in order to find out what happened.
Deathcaster by Cinda Williams Chima (Book 4): Without giving away a lot of the series, I can say that Chima’s YA Fantasy novels are some of my favourites. Her Seven Realms Series was a great read, though it started off a little slowly. As the Shattered Realms Series is the sequel series to the Seven Realms series, I highly recommend reading that series first to ensure a complete understanding of the characters and their situations (even though the Shattered Realms Series takes place during the following generation).
Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig: This is a YA Mystery/Contemporary novel with LGBT+ representation throughout. By day Margo Manning is a teenage socialite and by night she pulls off high-stakes cat burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. One rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag queens find themselves in peril when the job to end all jobs backfires on them.
A Blade so Black by L.L. McKinney: A YA Fantasy telling of Alice in Wonderland is just my speed. I believe this is the fifth retelling of Alice in Wonderland that I’ve personally bought for myself. I know very little about this story aside from the fact that it’s a series and that Alice is battle hardened. I can’t wait to read what Alice gets up to in this version of one of my favourite children’s stories.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate: This is a middle grade story about animals and their lives in captivity. Ivan is an easygoing gorilla that enjoys his life in captivity until he meets Ruby, a baby elephant that’s recently been ripped away from her family. She shows Ivan that his home is not as perfect as he believed it to be.
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi (Eternal Edition, Vol 1): A remastered (if that’s what it’s called when speaking about books) version of Sailor Moon. As this was one of my favourite anime growing up, I couldn’t help but pick up the first volume when I saw it in store. Usagi, known as a crybaby, begins her journey in discovering her hidden strengths and challenges as Sailor Moon.
King of Fools by Amanda Foody (The Shadow Game, Book 2): This is the sequal to Ace of Shades. As I’m looking forward to reading Ace of Shades and I believe I’ll enjoy the story, I went ahead and got the second book so I won’t have to wait a long time before continuing on with the story once I start. I haven’t even read the synopsis of this book yet as I don’t want it to spoil anything from Ace of Shades.
Legacy by Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 8): While at the time of writing this I’ve only read the first 2 books in the series, I’ve already fallen in love with the characters and Messenger’s writing. I know I’ll need to read this book as soon as it comes out (because I’ll definitely be caught up by then) so I had to pre-order the book. Legacy is scheduled to come out on November 5th, 2019 and I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. I know I haven’t gotten books 6 and 7, but I’ll definitely be getting my hands on them before November.
Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst (Of Fire and Stars, Book 2): While I haven’t read Of Fire and Stars yet, I’m anticipating I’ll enjoy this book based on what I’ve heard from other people. As this book is scheduled to be released on August 13th, 2019, I don’t have a lot of time to time to wait before I get to read it. I anticipate reading Of Fire and Stars as soon as I get Of Ice and Shadows.
AudioBooks:
The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (Book 1.5): This story (available as an audiobook and as an eBook) takes place between the events of The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. I’ve alread posted a book review about this novella (and The Cruel Prince) if anyone is interested in more information about this series. I highly recommend it.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee (Book 1): This story is about a girl named Jess and her trying to find her place in a world with superheros and supervillains. In a world where super powers are commonplace, being normal can’t be easy.
Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee (Book 2): This book follows the events in Not Your Sidekick, but follows Bells’ perspective instead of Jess’.
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya: This is an autobiographical report about how Vivek, a trans artist, has had to face soceity’s ideals on what it means to be both a girl and a boy. It shows her struggles being labeled too feminine as a boy and not feminine enough as a girl. In this book, Vivek tackles the cumulative damage caused by misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, releasing trauma from a body that has always refused to assimilate.
Sorry to Disturb the Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell: In this contemporary mystery, Helen Moran must find out what happened to her adoptive brother and what caused his death. She must go to Milwaukee and face her estranged family in order to find out why her brother has chosen to die.
Jade City by Fonda Lee (The Green Bone Saga, Book 1): The island of Kekon is protected by honourable Green Bone warriors, people who are able to use Jade to enhance their magical abilities. When a drug is created to allow anyone to wield the power of Jade, the Kaul family must fight against their rivals the Ayt family in a clan war that’ll determine the fate of all of Kekon.
eBooks:
Entombed by Kate Baray (Book 7): This story takes place after the events of The Heartbeat in the House. As it is the 7th book in the series, I don’t want to say too much about it. For more information on this series, I suggest checking out my “March Wrap Up” post. While I’ve already committed to finishing this series, it’s not one that I’d recommend to others.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: This YA Contemporary takes place in a world where you’re told when you’re going to die the day it happens, but not how. However, there’s an app called “Last Friend” so that you can spend your last day with someone who is also supposed to die. This story follows Mateo and Rufus, two complete strangers that use this app to spend their last day together.
Phantom of the Library 