Book review: The Belles

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton From Goodreads Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her …

Book review: Sawkill Girls

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand From Goodreads Who are the Sawkill Girls? Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s …

Deciding the fate of overused tropes in fantasy

I love a good fantasy novel. I don't read it a ton, but when I do, I generally enjoy it. But there are some tropes in fantasy that are overused. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Tropes are tropes for a reason: they make a plot interesting. But I thought it'd be fun to go …

YA fantasy authors: we need to talk

Okay so I love YA fantasy, don't get me wrong. It's a great genre and, when done well, can be amazing. Today, I am not talking about any of the actual pressing issues in the world of YA fantasy. I'm not talking about the lack of diversity or sensitivity reading, the overused and occasionally damaging …

Book review: Strange the Dreamer

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor From Goodreads The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder …

Books I would’ve enjoyed more if I was younger

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today I'm doing another mini-discussion, today on books I would've enjoyed more if I was younger when I read them. I feel like as you read more or as you develop in life, your reading habits or preferences change and develop too. I know I've definitely matured as a reader. I still …

Recommendations for… fantasy for those who don’t read fantasy

Even though I participate in giving Monthly Recommendations, I thought I would start my own where every couple weeks I give recommendations for a specific topic. Today I'm doing recommendations for fantasy books for those who don't read fantasy. I think fantasy can be a hard genre to read if you're not into it, and I …

Book review: Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber Paraphrased from Goodreads Remember, it’s only a game… Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the …

Discussion: series hoarding

I do this thing where I read the first book of a series and then never finish the series? I think for a lot of these it's because the series wasn't a series when I read the first book. It also might be because I like standalone books better generally? So I thought I'd do …

Standalone Sunday/Underrated books: I, Coriander

Standalone Sunday is a feature created here where each Sunday you feature a standalone book (not part of a series) that you loved or would recommend! Underrated books is a feature I occasionally do where I highlight books I think are underrated (read my first one here!). Since I wanted to do this book, I figured I'd combine …

Book review: A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab Paraphrased from Goodreads Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Red London and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the …

Tag Tuesday: Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

I saw this tag on Rachel's blog and really enjoyed reading her answers! We all know that I like unpopular opinions, so I thought this would be perfect! A popular book or book series that you didn’t like. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I'm SORRY but I hate Finch and I just couldn't …