Remember when I blogged a list of the books for teens tired of reading Shakespeare? Well, I should have also considered YA novels inspired by classic retellings. This is where A Taste For Love by Jennifer Yen comes in.
A Taste For Love is a pride and prejudice retelling with fla’va. I mean that in the most literal sense, of course.
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Hey readers! In today’s post, we will take a look at a fluffy YA summer romance featuring an art hoe and an emo-pop star. The story is set in the backdrop of Georgia and on the set of a hot new movie. If all these things sound good, continue reading. If this sounds boring, check out my review of Princess Jellyfish.
The Sun is Also a Star is an #ownvoices novel the author, Nicola Yoon, grew up in Jamaican and Brooklyn, and falls under the YA romance genre. This book is not a quick read, but if you’re up for it, check it out.
Remember when I made my October reading list a thick stack of Spooky literature? I had Cute Spooky books such as Babysitters Coven and Mooncakes, to Nostalgic Spooky with Hocus Pocus and the All New Sequel, to Mystery Spooks with Wicked Fox and Ninth House.
I knew my October TBR was ambitious, but after completing my Latinx heritage month reading binge, I felt extra powerful.
Wicked Fox is the last book I read in October, and it
wasn’t all I hoped it would be. This story is particularly unique as it
features a Gumiho. A Gumiho is a fox with nine tails that can turn into a
beautiful woman to lure their prey. Gumihos are believed to seduce men in order
to feed off their energy. Sound familiar? A Gumiho is the Korean name for this
legend, but other names include Kitsune and Huli jing. Although the legends
vary from culture to culture, Wicked Fox is the story of Miyoung, a Korean teen
living in Seoul, South Korea.
The story begins by introducing both Miyoung, a Gumiho
teen, and Jihoon, a human teen, in alternating POVs. Miyoung is out on a full
moon hunting a man to sustain herself while Jihoon is out walking his dog the
two collide paths when Jihoon confronts a goblin. Miyoung saves Jihoon but in
the process reveals her nine tails to him. Soon after this incident, Miyoung
becomes the new girl at Jihoon’s school, and she ignores all of Jihoon’s
attempts to befriend her. Overtime, Jihoon wears Miyoung down, and the two
become friends and start dating.
Jihoon glanced up and met Miyoung’s eyes with his, giving her a wide grin. He had a kimchi stuck in his teeth. And she hated that it made his goofy smile even more endearing.
Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
However, the bubble shatters two hundred pages in when
a Shaman ritual goes wrong, and through a sequence of tragic events, Jihoon
ends up with Miyong’s fox bead, leaving Miyoung to slowly starve. Miyoung feels
like she has no other choice but to leave Jihoon as her mother attempts to find
a way for Miyoung to live without her bead.
The story concludes with Miyoung and Jihoon fixing their mistakes and living happily ever after, or so I thought until I flipped the page to the Epilogue, which leaves the novel off on a cliff hanger!
I found myself struggling to get through the first
part of this book because I found it to be a little slow. Miyoung, during the
first half of this book, does not interact with any other kids at her school,
in fact, she tries her hardest to push them away, and it works on all of them
except Jihoon and his friends. I got tired of Miyoung constantly pushing Jihoon
away because sometimes she was nice to Jihoon while other times she was mean.
However, once everything goes wrong with the Shaman ritual, I found myself engrossed in the book once again until Miyoung decides to leave. The story becomes a bit boring as the two teens have a few more chapters of angst and longing for each other. At this point, I thought to myself what else could happen to these two? Haven’t they suffered enough?
Apparently not! The final chapters of this story
provide another wild plot twist, and I was here for it. I wanted this story to
end strong, and it did with the last scene. The epilogue reveals that not
everything is as it seems, and there is definitely a sequel coming. This
frustrated me because I just wanted this story to have a definite conclusion,
and the epilogue ruined it. I wish I could say reading the next book will give
me the answers I seek, but I am not invested enough in this story to find out
what happens next.
I would recommend this book if you love lots of teen angst and stories not set in the U.S.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
If you are intrigued by the legend of the Gumiho and don’t mind reading subtitles, I recommend the Kdrama, “My girlfriend is Gumiho.” This Korean drama features a Gumiho, who saves the life of Dae-Woong by giving him her fox bead. Mi-ho decides to stick around, and Dae-Woong makes sure she is happy by frequently treating her to Korean Barbeque. The drama is super cute and the theme song is catchy.
Have a spooky Halloween and continue living in libros,
Babysitter’s coven was one of my most anticipated reads this Halloween season. The cover is gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing, I mean, who wouldn’t want to DIY their jean jacket after seeing this cover?
Esme is the voice of The
Babysitter’s coven, and she is an anti-social 17-year-old, who runs a
babysitting club with her friend Janice. Esme’s club does not have any members
besides her and Janice, so the two besties mostly hangout during their meetings
and split up babysitting jobs. Esme’s life is normal until she somehow makes a
ball move with her mind during gym class.
The plot thickens when new girl, Cassandra Heaven, becomes adamant about joining the babysitter’s club. Esme assumes Cassandra may need some extra cash, so she allows her to join. However, Cassandra’s first babysitting job reveals she has no experience in childcare and she is forced to reveal her true intentions for joining the club.
Before Cassandra’s mother passed, she left her daughter a note stating that she must find the babysitters. Cassandra assumed the babysitters could help her explain why she can start fires with her mind, but when Esme acts oblivious. Cassandra forces Esme to come to terms with her own powers. The two super teens quickly become friends as they try to figure out the meaning behind the note.
Both girls are sitters, special people with superpowers that have been destined to protect the world from evil. So, when children start to report seeing monsters coming into their rooms, the sitters must save the kids and defeat the demons all before the parents can get home.
Esme is witty, funny, and
a fashionista! I love it when characters have a vast knowledge of pop culture.
Additionally, her dog, Pig, is awesome and deserves all the belly rubs. Can Pig
become an honorary Salem Saberhagen? Anyways, Esme is a fashion icon, she buys
most of her clothes from the thrift store and is very creative with her
outfits. Every morning before school, she texts Janice her outfit inspiration
for the day, which can range from pop culture references to random moods.
Cassandra is cool, but there are times in the novel in which she allows the power to get to her head and uses her new abilities to benefit her life. As a result Esme has a little power trip as well.
I understand why Cassandra chose to use her power selfishly as she has lived a hard life. However, Cassandra’s actions are never addressed in this novel, which leads me to believe that it will become a plot point in a future sequel.
The supporting characters in this novel are all very interesting. As mentioned previously, Janice is Esme’s best friend and a fashionista, but she disappears towards the middle of the novel. Instead, Cassandra takes over as Esme’s main friend. I know that Cassandra is essential to the plot, but I wished that Janice did not have to disappear because I wanted to learn more about Janice. Another major supporting character is Brian, the football coach, who is essentially the sitter’s watcher, if you speak Buffy. I found Brian to be boring, but that’s probably because I’m not a fan of football and this man was obsessed with the sport. I wanted to know more about his previous job as a sitter’s mentor.
Dion is the last supporting character I wanted to discuss because he is Esme’s love interest. Dionysus, or Dion as he nicknamed in this story, is Cassandra’s older brother and her legal guardian. According to Esme, Dion is super handsome, Greek god handsome (HA!), so of course, Esme goes heart eyes for him. However, the two lacked some chemistry, so I wonder if Esme will have another love interest in the future, I have a theory it might be Cassandra, but if that’s the case, where does that leave Dion’s character?
The Babysitter’s Coven does not end in a cliff hanger, but it does end in a way that makes it clear that this book is just the beginning of a series, nevertheless, the ending is satisfying.
I want more answers about
the sitters, and I want to know what happens next with Esme, Cassandra, and
friends.
If you were wondering about picking up this book for spooky season, do it!
Bruja Born is the second installment of the Brooklyn Brujas series.
The series follows the Mortiz family, a family of
three sisters and their mother. During the first book of the series, Labyrinth
Lost middle sister, Alex, struggles to come to terms with her identity as a
bruja and on her death day she cast a spell that accidentally sends her whole
family to the underworld. Alex and Nova, another brujo, both travel to the
underworld to free her family.
Bruja Born is Lula’s story and it begins with Lula trying to readjust after living in the underworld. Lula is struggling, and she becomes even more stressed when her boyfriend, Maks unexpectedly breaks up with her right before his soccer game. On the bus ride over to his game, the group of soccer player and cheerleader are involved in a tragic accident that kills everyone on board. Lula survives because her family combines their powers to heal her while she’s in the hospital. Lula is heartbroken to learn that Maks is in a coma and healing him might end up doing more harm than good, but Lula convinces her sisters to help her bring him back to life but upsetting the balance of nature comes with huge consequences. Lula ends up pissing off Death herself.
The monsters, the monsters, they crawl in the night. The monsters, the monsters, they hide in plain sight.
Lula’s inability to let go of her relationship to Maks is one of the main plot points of this book. Although, Maks clearly ended things with her the night of the accident. After he is brought back to life, both of them act as if nothing happened and go back to somewhat being in a relationship.
Maybe I am overanalyzing this a bit too much, considering Maks, conveniently does not remember the accident but I thought it was odd that he would not remember what happened before the accident.
One of the things I really enjoyed about Bruja born is that Death is a woman, which is rare in pop culture and other stories that make Death into a character. This depiction of death reminded me of the Earth mother goddess from Aztec mythology, Coatlicue, as she is also the deity of life and death. Although physically, the two goddesses look nothing alike, I believe they are both meant to be unnerving. La Muerte is not a kind diety she is mostly angry at Lula throughout this book, rightfully so, but towards the end of the novel, La Muerte ends up helping Lula. Which made me a little less of afraid of her.
Hooray, Nova gets a redemption arc! I won’t spoil what he did in Labyrinth lost but homeboy really had a lot of atoning to do. I’m curious to see how his story evolves in the next book.
Something I found a bit off about this sequel was the
introduction of other supernatural creatures. I need to refresh my memory of Labyrinth
lost because I don’t remember the sisters ever mentioning the existence of
other supernatural creatures.
Additionally, Lula gets another love interest, but his
introduction is very brief that I forgot he existed. When Rhett is introduced
again and positioned to be the love interest I felt thrown off. The two have
one scene together in which they decide to kind of flirt before jumping back
into the action. It was a very fast enemy to friends’ transition and I
personally did not feel the chemistry between the two. Maybe I’ll see it more
in the next book.
I really love that that the Mortiz sisters are proud of their roots and won’t let anyone disrespect them by calling them witches because they are brujas.
When you think witch, you think Hogwarts or some other European tradition of witchcraft. One of the main reasons I enjoy this series is that Cordova blends different religions and traditions from different Latinx cultures to create this world. I am here for this kind of representation! Truthfully, the Mortiz sisters are not witches because their world revolves around the traditions and legacies of Latinx cultures.
I give Bruja Born 4 Stars because it’s awesome. Definitely a good read for Latinx heritage month.
Today’s review is a little late. I meant to post it as soon as I finished writing it but I completely forgot I wrote it.
Honestly if you’re looking for that perfect summer book that will give you the sense of being at the beach everyday, and having beach bonfires, and a cute summer crush the Summer of Chasing Mermaids is going to be your book.
This book follows Elyse a teen who has moved from Tobago to Oregon because of an accident that robbed her of her voice. Since Elyse can not physically make sound with her vocal chords because it will end up harming her voice even more she ends up writing her thoughts down on paper, or on walls, or other peoples hands. However, the words she pens with her sharpie are deeply poetic. I loved this about her because it was like every time she had something to say it was always articulated in such beautiful poetry. Elyse meets Christian Kane, her landlord’s son, and the two end up fixing up the Kane’s boat in order to win a contest that will determine the fate of the town.
My review on this book is 4 stars. Whole heartedly. It didn’t feel like YA too me more of a new adult novel. And that’s probably because the characters in this book are older, well they acted older I’m not sure how old Elyse and her friends where. This book was rich in culture specifically Tobago culture, although the author acknowledged that she learned a lot of that history and culture from close friends she also realizes that some things could be incorrect. I personally do not know much about Tobago so every time Elise talked about her life in Tobago I was intrigued and I loved learning about it.
Beside the culture, this novel also tackled a topic I hadn’t expected which was confiding to gender norms. Sebastian Kane, is Christian’s younger brother who in the novel, is around 8 years old, and he loves mermaids. He loves mermaids so much that he wants to dress like one and march in the annual mermaid parade the town hosts. The only problem is they won’t allow him to do it because he’s a boy. I was so frustrated at this point because Sebastian is a kid and kids should be allowed to express themselves however they want. This scene really resonated with me on a personal level because I have people in my family who make jokes about not wanting their sons to paint their nails since that is seen as something feminine. But hello did you just snooze your way through the rock and roll era (especially glam rock)? And it’s not as if actors, male actors included, aren’t getting their makeup done on set. Anyways it’s a pretty ridiculous thing to get all butt hurt about and I’m glad Elyse and friends definitely were mad about it. But it something that still happens today so I can see why the author chose to include this scene.
Anyways this book was great, and I would definitely recommend it to people looking for a diverse read, for people looking for a story set in coastal Oregon, and those looking for a nice summer read. I highly encourage you to add it to your next summer read.
Today I am reviewing Geekerella, which if you’re a space obessessed Gal like me and you thought this book was going to be star wars-y you are half right!
Geekerella is about 17 year old Daniella who lives with her stepmom, whose mostly evil, and her two step sisters, who are evil most of the time. Geekerella follows the Cinderella trope evil stepsisters, evil stepmom while Cindy, this case Elle, has to tidy up the house. However, unlike the Cinderella trope Elle is also a huge nerd for this space show called Starfield. Starfield is similar to lots of space operas we know today such as Star Wars and Star Trek and like both of these real life fandoms Starfield gets a reboot. Which should make the fans happy right?
Wrong! A lot of the Starfield fans are straight up hating that this guy Darien Freeman from this overly romantic teen drama show has been casted as their beloved Prince Carmindor, Elle included. However, through a crazy turn of events Elle and Darien end up becoming text buddies and talk about all things Starfield. The only problem is they both have no idea they’re texting each others number 1 hater.
I loved Geekerella! Firstly the whole fan drama about whose being casted as your favorite character was super real. I remember the magician shade Whovians were throwing at the 12th Doctor. And the huge uproar that happened after Star Wars was sold to Disney. I mean I still encounter these salty fans online so I was very sympathic towards Darien.
And the whole Starfield Storyline was all up my alley. I love Space Princes and tragic love stories, cough star wars. And I was lowkey getting flashbacks to Ten and Rose when Elle brought up that scene where Princess Amara decides to save the world. I wonder if the author was inspired by them.
I also loved the whole convention aspect and the cosplay ball. Clearly I’ve been going to the wrong cons cause I’ve never heard of a cosplay ball but it sounds super fun! And I loved the moment when all the cosplayers decided to jump in and help Elle I though that was super cute and pretty accurate as cosplayers are usually super nice and supportive.
Lastly, Sage is a badass! She’s kind of the fairy godmother of this story but with less mystery which was totally fine. Sage knew how to work her own magic via her sewing skills and her crazy swerving in the Magic Pumpkin.
So if you’re looking for something to read this fall season or something to hype you up for your next con. I definitely recommend Geekerella.
“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.
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