Hello Friends,
Today I wanted to make a non book review given that 2018 is coming to an end I wanted to check on (and let’s be real roast myself) my 2018 goals as well as set new goals for 2019.
Continue reading “2018 Review and 2019 Resolutions”
Hello Friends!
Today I thought I would recap my favorite books of 2018.
I purchased this book, went to Mary HK Choi’s signing at the LA Festival of Books and then read the book a month later. And it was amazing. Definitely a book I would reread.
2. Labyrinth Lost
This book was amazing. Sure we got famous wizards such as Merlin, The boy who lived but were are our Brujas at? Look no further, Labyrinth Lost has a beautiful mix of different Latinx cultures and religions that make up this world. In addition, we also get a strong Latinx protagonist who is Bi!
3. Warcross
Warcross is amazing! If you were a Sword Art Online lover, like me. This book will blow your mind. This story had me at the edge of my sit and I loved that it was set in Tokyo, Japan.
4. Geekerella
Geekerella was so cute. I loved the way the fandom, cosplay, and the con was written. As a sometimes cosplayers I thought this story captured that aspect well. In addition, the characters in this book were awesome. Especially Fairy Godmother Sage.
5. The House on Mango Street
I had not read the House on Mango Street cover to cover until this year and I really enjoyed it! The collection of small poetic stories were really beautiful and Esperanza’s growth through the story was my favorite part of this book.
6. Six Of Crows
I have been meaning to read Six of Crows ever since I had heard about the series but did not read it until this year. This duology honestly blew away my expectations. I laughed. I cried. (I cried a lot). And I will carry the characters with me forever.
7. Kill the Queen
This book was described as a mixture of Game of Thrones and Black sails and it did not disappoint. There was a lot of action but also betrayal and deception as well as the overall growth of the main character, Evie as she prepares herself to take back her Queendom.
8. The Princess Saves Herself in this One
Another collection of poetry I fell in love with. The poems were beautiful and heart wrenching but what I liked the most about them was the way that they filled me with both inspiration and love.
Compiling this list of favorites was a little hard considering there were other great books I read this year that did not make this list. So here are some honorable mentions.
What was your favorite read of 2018? And what books do I need to check out for 2019?
The Girl from the Other Side
Story and Art by Nagabe
Page Count: I don’t know it’s a magna
Rating: 5 Stars
Hello readers!
For today’s post I want to review the first book “The Girl from the Other Side”, a magna series. For those of you who are not familiar with Magna they are similar to comic books except they come from and are translated from Japan. A lot of Magna ends up becoming anime series such as Sailor Moon or Attack on Titan.
So what’s so great about the girl from the other side? In short everything. The series follows a young girl named Shiva who lives in an abandoned village with her demon guardian whom she calls teacher. In the first book we learn that some kind of sickness took over the village and Shiva was left in Teacher’s care. However for some reason Shiva cannot touch teacher or she will catch the curse and turn into some ugly creature…Forever. I know right so crazy.
Anyways Shiva is so sassy! And maybe part of that is because she is so young and kids don’t really have a filter but I found Shiva’s personality refreshing. I also loved that Shiva just rolls with the fact she lives with a demon now as if that is normal. Shiva does not ever show that she’s scared of teacher and I loved that.
The reason I loved this book and this is what originally drew me to purchasing the first story was that the whole series gave me this Hades and Persephone vibe and as I read the magna that vibe was further validated. I mean Shiva may live with a creature of darkness but that doesn’t stop her from napping out in the woods or collecting flowers to make a cute little crown for Teacher. In addition, Shiva not being easily spooked by Teacher’s otherness reminded me of the duality of Persephone as she is both the Princess of Spring as well as the Queen of darkness.
I’m not sure how the rest of this series will go but I do remember reading a summary of the series that Shiva at some point was going to travel away from the other side, which is where she lives with Teacher, in order to find her grandmother and ask her just why Teacher came to be her guardian. And with the way the first edition to this series left me feeling and left me hanging you bet I’m going to purchase the next installments.
Girl Against the Universe
Author: Paula Stokes
Pages: 382
My Rating: 5 Stars
(No photo because I forgot to take one)
“I just wanted to wish you good luck again,” he says. “In fact, I found something for you.” He pulls a wadded-up tissue from his pockets and folds it back to reveal a four-leaf clover. “Put it in your shoe or whatever.”
I loved this book. Normally I don’t really connect very much with a character when they’ve lost a family member or are an orphan. I just find that trope very common among YA so I think maybe I have just come to accept it as a kind of standard for the hero story. However, with Girl Against the Universe, I connected with the story right away.
Girl Against the Universe is about Maguire Kelly, a high school student, who believes without a doubt that the Universe is out to get her. Maguire has a history of walking away from disasters without a scratch and she convinces herself that she is cursed. However after her neighbor’s house catches on fire and Maguire’s family moves to San Diego she begins to attend therapy sessions in order to overcome her fear of the universe. It is there where she meets Jordy, who in is his own way is trying to take back his life. The two decide to help each other overcome their fears while also mastering the art of Tennis. Although Jordy is hoping to go pro while Maguire just wants an outlet. There’s some romance and a lot of cute moments.
I loved this book so much because Maguire’s fears and her curse felt real. I found myself unable to blame the girl for not wanting to ride in the car with other people because of the car accident that took her father, her brother, and her uncle’s life while leaving her unscratched. Maguire’s little rituals, her five minute checks, her positive affirmations, and her good luck charms were I think what really sold me. And it really warmed my heart when Jordy, Jade, and Penn took her fears seriously and offered her good luck charms as well in order to comfort her. That support system was just so beautiful.
I also enjoyed Maguire’s family and how although her mother remarries and has more children Maguire’s stepfather, Tom still claims Maguire as his own while also understanding he only has this new family because Maguire’s previous one had to die. Maguire also loves her steps siblings and she is patient with them and I found that refreshing as other books I read in the past liked to use the evil step siblings trope.
Something that I noticed that seemed off is when Magurie walks in on her therapist in one scene he is describes as eating an in-n-out burger and maybe I was hungry but I was left wondering well what kind? Was it a double double? A cheeseburger? Was it Animal style? I was left kind of curious about that.
I recommend this book to everyone! It was a very cute read. I’m not a fan of sports but this book is still a favorite.
Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Page count: 358
My rating: 4 stars
“…Darcy recorded all her reading activities and didn’t generally care what people thought of her taste in books. But there had been a phase when she’d read some erotic monster books for fun. Big Foot’s virgin mistress…” (p 157).
I don’t think I have read much contemporary romances since my days lurking on Wattpad. However, this month I decided to broaden my reading palette by reading some more romance novels. The two romance novels I read before this weren’t my favorite and honestly, I was feeling a little put off by the genre all together. But one evening I began the task of requesting more library books to read in the following weeks and somehow Bad Bachelor ended up in my pile.
Bad Bachelor is about Reed McMahon, a PR whiz, living in New York city. Reed’s done damage control for a fair share of his celebrity clients but that was all pretty easy compared to the shit storm that got thrown his way because of a budding new dating app, Bad Bachelor. Bad Bachelor is like yelp, it lets women rate the men they’ve dated, and in doing so the app is suppose to help women make their own decisions about the guys they’re seeing. But Reed ends up becoming the most rated guy on the Bad Bachelor app and the reviews aren’t all that nice.
Darcy Greer is out looking for love or at least someone to casually date after her last relationship. So, she starts using Bad Bachelor to look up potential guys who will definitely not break her heart. Darcy ends up meeting Reed through work and it isn’t all love and heart eye emojis at first site. The two hate each other but slowly they become friends and eventually lovers.
I loved Bad Bachelor because Darcy was so adorably quirky. She’s a tattoo covered librarian who loves her graphic tees and doc martens. She also loves to read, and she generally reads whatever she wants like monster erotica books apparently. But what really made me love Darcy was that after she sleeps with Reed for the first time she starts to make snow angels on the silk sheets, get it girl.
In general, this novel was a nice light read that I gobbled up. My only beef with it was that the ending felt rushed to me, but I think that was just because I was surprised I had gotten to the end so fast.
I recommend it for anyone who wants a cute but light romance read.
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