Diversity – Page 5 – LairOfBooks

April Monthly Wrap-Up & Book Haul

April was a month FULL of bookish events online like the Social Distance Book Fest & YALLWEST that made it possible to attend Bookish events virtually. I personally was able to watch many panels for debut authors I’ve had on my radar as well as some favorites I’ve never had the opportunity to hear speak. For the Social Distance Book Fest, you can still watch the playlist on Youtube & they are ABSOLUTELY worth watching! My favorite panels included: Navigating Latinx Identity in Fantasy, New Voices in YA Science Fiction & Fantasy and Diversifying Romance. In the realm of books & what I watched, I’d say there really was NO method to my madness. I kinda just went with the flow & read when the mood hit vs. a more structured TBR. I also participated in Riley Marie & Ginger Reads Lainey weekend Smutathon as a last minute thing because by the end of the month my anxiety had seen a peak. Whenever this happens, I put the Fantasy heavy books to the side & go for some lighter reads. Now as far as what I watched…this has to be the STRANGEST month yet! Yes, Yes I did fall down the tiger hole that is the Tiger King & all things cats really smh! haha 😉

These are definitely not in the order I’ve read them but I figured I’d start with the steamy reads I p/u during Smutathon…

DESPERATE MEASURES – ✨5 STARS✨This reimagining of the Disney Princess Jasmine was NOT what I had expected at all in the best of ways! With her kingdom snatched away & her father thrown off the throne, Jasmine is at the mercy of Jafar who now claims ownership of their lands as well as Jasmine herself. This is a consensual non-consent steamy read that will never allow you to see Jafar in the same light again! I among fully invested in all Katee Robert books & can’t wait to read the follow up with Hades & Meg as the MC’s.

THEIRS FOR THE NIGHT – ✨4 STARS✨ Another Katee Robert novella, this was the Smutathon Group pick. HIGHLY enjoyable with A+ chemistry, this one sets the stage for a new series that features a M/M/F relationship. Our female MC is out for the night celebrating her birthday & trying to forget about her ever mounting debt. With her best wing mate she hits up a lounge where she meets two hella mysterious guys who look good enough to make her consider a threesome. SUPER intrigued to see where this goes seeing as there may also be a royal twist? we shall see!

YOUR DAD WILL DO – ✨4 STARS✨Ok so maybe it was an entirely Katee Robert weekend? SO WORTH IT! this author can write chemistry like no other! these short reads are packed with sparks that leave you wondering about the characters way after you’ve read the last page. This one features a taboo/age gap romance where the MC has just been dumped by her fiancé. Plotting her revenge she shows up at her exes dad’s house with a plan to seduce. That she does! but also she gets a lot more than initially planned. LOVED this!

MY DARK VANESSA -✨4 STARS✨ My darkest read yet! I don’t think any book has ever made me feel this uncomfortable. Following a MC in past & present tense, we get the story of Vanessa at the age of 15 as she is groomed by her teacher while at a boarding school. Present day Vanessa is still very confused about what to feel as she finds out she wasn’t the only one. That perhaps it wasn’t a special relationship she was having but actually a case of grooming. HEAVY trigger warnings for rape, suicide, drug & alcohol abuse.

RUTHLESS GODS – ✨4 STARS✨ (My Review) The follow up to The Wicked Saints took us to a very dark place! the characters we got invested in really show growth here & carry forth their battle wounds. The war between the Kalyazin & the Tranavians is reaching a climax with the underdog Kalyazin surprisingly flipping the script. There are some secrets that come to light & leave everyone questioning the Gods who may very well be more involved than ever. The war on land may just be a subplot to the real war taking place between the Gods. I’m READY for the final installment with will be mostly from Malachiasz’ POV…there is NO other villain in YA that currently holds a place in my heart like Mal! ❤

FROM TWINKLE, WITH LOVE – ✨3.5 STARS✨(My Review) This was an audiobook I’d say was just ok. I’ve heard from other fans of Sandhya Menon that this is their least favorite. I still plan on picking up When Dimple Met Rishi in the near future seeing as that’s an ongoing series with a strong fan base.

INCENDIARY – ✨5 STARS✨(My Review) Saving the BEST for last! Zoraida Córdova is my Favorite YA Fantasy author! bringing to our shelves Latinx representation in characters is something she’s been doing since the Brooklyn Brujas Trilogy. Here we have a Fantasy inspired by the Spanish Inquisition with a cast of characters that are being hunted & killed for their magical abilities. The Kingdom has turned its back on what they consider heretics & our MC Renata Convida at one point in her childhood was their most formidable weapon. Now that she’s back on the right side of the fence, it’s time to take down the Kingdom once & for all. BIG time page turner with tons of plot twists that will leave you jaw dropped!

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THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES | CHECK PLEASE! BOOK 2: STICKS & SCONES

BEACH READ & VALENTINE

*These are all ebooks I found for either $1.99 or $2.99*

What can I say about the circus that is the Tiger King on Netflix? this documentary-series made me lose track how many times I asked myself & friends…Is this real? LMAO! SMH Joe Exotic is quite the unforgettable character & this is the story of how his Zoo of Tigers was shut down starting with Carol Baskin who is cat activist on a mission to “save the cats” or is she? the jury is still out on Baskin. I binged this in two sittings not for quality but just entertainment.

This documentary is three episodes that are also highly binge worthy. We follow a group of cat lovers as they track down & help in the ultimate take down of a cat/serial killer. If anything this opened up my eyes at just how easy it is to track anyone down as long as they’ve left an internet fingerprint. The Facebook group that pieced together this puzzle as the killer released videos of him killing cats was PERSISTENT! it became a game of cat & mouse that as a viewer is hard to look away from.

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Spoiler Free Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Title: Clap When You Land

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Pub. Date: May 5th 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary/Own Voices

Format: eARC

Publisher: HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books

Pages: 432 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

🖤ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review🖤

Where to start with what has easily become my favorite read of 2020 thus far? the author writes in her afterward that this story is inspired by the real life events of flight AA587. A flight routinely set from JFK airport to Santo Domingo aka the Dominican Republic. The flight that never made it & crashed in a Queens NY neighborhood was quickly forgotten about. Just two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, news coverage was focused on other potential terrorist threats but the flight AA587 crash was not terrorist related. 260 Souls who were mostly of Dominican descent lost their lives on this flight.

Clap When You Land is about the ties that bind in a family, grief, and the sometimes messy secrets that cannot be kept hidden. Told in dual POV we follow Camino & Yahaira who don’t know about one another’s existence. They share the same father who travels between New York & Santo Domingo throughout the year. His absence is always explained as “business” & each of his daughters look forward to his arrivals after a long stay away. On his way to Santo Domingo to spend time with Camino his flight falls into the ocean taking the lives of everyone on board. The news of his passing makes waves both in NY & in Santo Domingo. Many of the family secrets their dad was keeping could no longer stay buried. Camino & Yahaira find out about each each other. This is the story of how they come together, see pieces of their dad in one another, and work through all of the emotions these truths bring.

Content Warning: Death of a parent, plane crash, heavy grief, attempted rape (not detailed on the page, premature labor, Cancer, Dengue Fever

Camino Rios – Born & raised in Santo Domingo, Camino is described as having her fathers features with her mother’s slightly lighter complexion. Camino is a strong swimmer with a passion for medicine & a dream to one day study in Columbia University. Camino lives with a aunt who is a Curandera (self taught medical healer) & spends her days as an apprentice taking care of the sick in the neighborhood. Their medicine is a mix of natural herbs for home remedies as well as a connection to the Santos. Camino’s aunt is a Santera who has instilled in her love & respect for the saints who open paths & light the way. Camino is a little rough around the edges as a result of where she’s been raised. Camino is my favorite character, she’s been through so much & still manages to have a nurturing touch and soothing presence.

Yahaira Rios – Born & raised in NYC, Yahaira is described as being a mirror image of her father. Dark complexion, tight curls, curvy and a Pro at Chess. Yahaira is a rule follower who connects to her dad by way of Chess, it isn’t necessarily her favorite hobby but she’s a natural just like her dad. Yahaira is a Lesbian with a girlfriend who was also her childhood best friend, I LIVED for their nerd/fashionista love! Yahaira also lives with her mother who is described as a beautiful Dominican bombshell who is the daughter of a very important General in Santo Domingo. Yahaira’s mother has been a keeper of her husbands secrets, my heart really broke for the levels of pain she was feeling.

Yano – Although the girls dad has passed away & we never get to see him on the page, his presence is deeply felt all throughout. The man who became very good at living a double life was complex in many ways but one thing was true, he loved his daughters.

Elizabeth Acevedo is my Favorite YA author & this book only further solidifies this in my heart. I knew the premise of the book but I didn’t expect to see similarities with my own father in these pages. I lost my dad to natural causes, flew with him to bury him in Puerto Rico and quickly started hearing the rumbles of secrets. Secrets kept from my own father which were very painful & also had to do with paternity. I cried, smiled, and sometimes outright laughed out loud reading this story. There’s something oh so satisfying when you open a book and are met with characters you can relate to. Characters with the same upbringings & even spiritual beliefs.

I appreciated the research that went into flight AA587 as well as Dengue fever & its effects on the island. With a return to Acevedo’s novel-in-verse Format, Clap When You Land is a vivid portrayal of the devastation of loss, grief, and forgiveness. It’s also a story that gives us a different perspective, that of the parents who sometimes may be idolized by their children but ultimately are still very humanly flawed. The backstory on Yano & how he came to live two separate lives was painful but not unheard of. This is one I’ll cherish for all the emotions it stirred up in me. Elizabeth Acevedo continues to be such a blessing to Latinx Book Community 🙌🏽

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Spoiler Free Review: From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Title: From Twinkle, With Love

Author: Sandy Menon

Pub. Date: May 22nd. 2018

Genre: YA Contemporary/Own Voices

Format: audiobook/Librofm

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 330 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

This is the part where I tell on myself…I have not read When Dimple Met Rishi. I still don’t know If I missed an Easter egg or two reading this one first but it doesn’t feel like it. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook version, this is a story of a young aspiring filmmaker who happens to be a self appointed wallflower. Twinkle Mehra has big dreams of becoming a big time film maker but she has yet to find her voice. We follow her as she makes mistakes, gets grounded/humbled in the things that matter most, and also falls in love. Twinkle is not a like-able MC, she managed to get a few eye rolls from me but I also smiled a ton. Having always been cast aside by the in crowd & her long time BFF, she can come across as a bit defensive. We see her take on the project of co-producing a film & navigating the changes in her closest relationships. Female/female friendship dynamics aren’t often discussed in YA books, I appreciated seeing the good & the ugly. Twinkle doesn’t seem to like change but her big dreams call on her to see things differently. Most of all, staying true to herself is the biggest challenge. This being a contemporary romance, we get introduced to Twinkle’s love interest. Unlike other YA Contemporary book boyfriends, I found Sahil to be very caring & just an overall nice guy. He values Twinkle for what she brings to the table the minute she expresses her ideas for the film they’re co-producing w/out hesitation. They work well together but above all else what makes him stand out is that he wasn’t with letting Twinkle stoop to lower levels. He stood up for his beliefs & let her know when she wasn’t being a good friend.

This book also touched on the effects of having two parents in the home that are more work oriented. Twinkle harbors some resentment towards her mother for her often times physical absence. She takes this to mean that her dreams in film making aren’t supported. there were some really good talks in there. My favorite side character is Dadi, Twinkle’s grandmother who has a whole VIBE to her. She believes in astrology & gives Twinkle subliminal advice/messages she received. Dadi is over all the cool grandmother I would’ve LOVED to have had. What I loved most about this story is that it’s told in the format of letters Twinkle writes to some of her favorite female film makers. This added a authentic feel for Twinkles love of film & everything that about that world. I absolutely will read When Dimple Met Rishi since I see it’s the first in a series & already got a look at the third book! *Heart eyes*

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WWW Wednesday 4/15/2020

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words and to participate all you have to do is answer the three W’s listed below. Once you’ve posted your WWW, drop a link to your post in Sam’s comments <3’s!

The questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Who else is experiencing all of their library holds coming in at once? 🤷🏻‍♀️I wasn’t expecting my 8 week long holds to show up on my Available Now shelf & now I’m thinking its time to get serious about possibly creating a TBR? 🙈DREAD that for me! 😂 but I also don’t want to pass up this opportunity. I’m choosing to divvy up my reads between eGalleys & Library holds for the time being. This all the while I try to stop myself from falling into the next binge worthy Netflix show. All bets are off if we get anything along the lines of The Tiger King cause 🤦🏻‍♀️I can’t help watching the circus #jussayin! These books down below are what I’d like to focus on while I work from home 🖤

INCENDIARY (HOLLOW CROWN #1) BY ZORAIDA CORDOVA-I’m 170 pages into this book & can honestly say it will probably make my top 20 of 2020. Described by many as being inspired by 15th century Spain and the Inquisition, this is in my opinion Zoraida Cordova’s best book yet. Having read two of the Brooklyn Brujas books, I can see the growth in this authors writing. The world building is EXACTLY what I look for in Fantasy, to see this well done in YA Fantasy makes it stand out all the more. Incendiary deals with rebels & spies who are conspiring to bring down a kingdom hell bent on eradicating those of Moria descent. More specifically those who are wielders of magic. HOOKED & totally invested in these characters! 🙌🏽

FROM TWINKLE, WITH LOVE BY SANHYA MANON-30% into this audiobook & am loving all of the cheesy smiles this book is getting out of me. Twinkle is a MC who hasn’t found her voice yet when dealing with confrontation. However, she has BIG dreams & a hunger to one day be a filmmaker. I’m still early on in the story but I’m enjoying so far seeing Twinkle, a self appointed wallflower come into her own while also falling in love.

DOCILE BY K.M. SZPARA (My Review)-This is a dark one Bookworms! My review does have content warnings, it is a M/M BDSM Adult Sci-Fi/Dystopian. Docile is quite the page turner that will probably keep you reading at all hours of the night. I rated this one 3.5 stars because of the way that it ended. It’s not a bad rating at all but I did feel rather uncomfortable with how certain things played out. I would however still check out any of this authors future works.

RUTHLESS GODS (SOMETHING DARK & HOLY #1) BY EMILY A. DUNCAN -I have a review in the works for this highly anticipated sequel here on the blog. I rated this one 4 stars & really am looking forward to the final book in this trilogy. I’ll admit I struggled with about 50% of the book, pacing was definitely an issue. It took us a while to get to the climax but once it was reached it took off & had me fully enthralled. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, The Darkling from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse has NOTHING on Malachiasz! this guy is 50 shades of complex & as such, will leave you feeling just as messed up smh 😂

MY DARK VANESSA BY KATE ELIZABETH RUSSELL –“Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.” – I’ve been mentally preparing myself as best I could for this read & when I received the notification from Libby I knew it was Go time!

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND BY ELIZABETH ACEVEDO -This author is one of my favorite auto-buy authors, The Poet X & With the Fire On High were both 5 star reads for me last year. Seeing this title hit Edelweiss I quickly hit request & hoped for the best. No other title has made me feel this HYPED up to receive an approval email. This see Acevedo return to her well known written in verse format I absolutely LOVE! I was almost hesitant to request this book simply because if you’ve listened to any of her audiobooks that she narrated herself, you’d understand the raw quality behind this authors voice. Two girls separated by distance share the same father however neither know of each others existence. It isn’t until they’re made aware of his passing on a plane crash that their lives connect. BEYOND the moon grateful to have received an early copy! 🙌🏽

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SPOILER FREE REVIEW: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL BY MAUREEN GOO

Title: The Way You Make Me Feel

Author: Maureen Goo

Pub. Date: May 8th 2018

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Pages: 336 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

This book will forever go down in my little corner of the universe as THE book that snuck up & delivered such a beautiful message of finding yourself and the connections we make along the way. Our MC Clara Shin is known as the school prankster & she sort of thrives on being disruptive. When one of her pranks goes a bit too far, she comes face to face with her archenemy. Rose Carver is the polar opposite of Clara, she’s very rigid and serious about her academic journey. Rose has made it very clear to Clara that she can’t stand her chill laid back approach to school. This last confrontation ends up getting a bit physical and both girls get heir parents called. Clara’s dad is a single parent trying to run a successful food truck in hopes of one day opening his own restaurant. It’s his idea to have the girls hash out their issues by working together at the food truck. The Way You Make Me Feel serves up delicious Korean-Brazilian dishes, teenage drama, cute romance, new found friendships, and parent/child relationships.

At first glance I thought I was getting into a cute light hearted Contemporary & to some extent it is but at a further glance, it’s so much more. Clara doesn’t know why she’s never taken school all that seriously however in her efforts to maintain a relationship with her mother, she discovers some truths about herself. I loved seeing the teens & parents in this story take on the hard task of introspection, facing that which drives them to behave a certain way. There’s discussion of the after effects of separation, academic pressures, anxiety, as well as the challenges of parenting for a single dad. My favorite aspect of this book revolved around the father/daughter relationship, Adrian gets all my love for being a rockstar Dad. Those that have been around my blog long enough know I have a weakness for father/daughter bonds as I had an amazing one with my own. Adrian doesn’t pretend to be perfect, he’s just a single dad trying to get back on track with providing some structure for his teen daughter. He’s known as the cool, fun, handsome dad & that worked for some time but he has a what I call “get real” moment. Finding a balance between Cool Dad vs. Tough Love Dad which he handles so well! On the topic of writing I will say there were times where Clara’s attempts at sarcasm felt a bit awkward. I don’t think the humor hit home with me & at times I sort of just looked past it. Instead I took away the bigger message and that’s that the road to self discovery is a journey worth making.

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Spoiler Free Review: Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore

Title: Dark and Deepest Red

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore

Pub. Date: January 14th 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/LGBTQIA+

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan

Pages: 309 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review*

“Well-crafted seams and delicate beading gave my family a trade and a living. But red shoes gave us a name. They made us infamous. They made us brazen. Until they came for us. Except that’s not quite true. They didn’t come for us. They came for me.”

I’ve always been intrigued by the Salem Witch trials & the mass hysteria caused by outcries of devil worship. This story however takes place in 1500’s Strasbourg, a time when Romani people were being forced out of France & Germany. Our MC Lala is a Romani girl, she is a person of color, unwed, makes her own living and is in love with a transgender boy. She must give up all Romani traditions & beliefs if she is to pass off as German or French in Strasbourg. Lala has a target on her back when the women are inflicted with dancing fever, a dance they cannot stop & often ends in injury or death. Witchcraft is believed to be at the very heart of these dances as more and more women are touched by the fevered dance. The author gives us Lala’s POV during this time while also jumping ahead to her descendants in current time.

Five centuries later we meet Rosala Oliva & Emil who have ties to Lala & figuring out what those are may help stop the dancing fever from returning. Rosala’s family has been making the red shoes said to deliver a bit of magic to its wearer. Being Romani is something Rosala & Emil have in common, something they know makes them different. Five centuries later their traditions and beliefs aren’t something they’re made to feel they can openly share. When the threat of the Dancing Fever looms over Rosala she turns to Emil who is the only person who can shed some light on the history that binds her both literally & figuratively to her red shoes.

Content Warning: death, religious persecution, racism, homophobia/transphobia, some body horror

We follow two sets of characters, those in 1500’s Strasbourg & those in present day. I personally loved how well fleshed out Lala, Tante, and Alifair are as their part of history is brought to life. Lala knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s made a target of injustice & hate once the dancing fever takes a hold. She knows the odds are well stacked against her even as she falls deeply in love with Alifair who is a transgender boy. Seeking acceptance from those around them is something both Lala & Rosella share in common. They make themselves blend in so as to stay safe. Both learn that embracing that which sets them apart is really the only way to fight back oppression. I admired Alifair’s strength & how protective he is of his found family (Lala & Tante) while also carrying his own secret that if exposed would mean sure death.

Emil & Rosala were also very interesting characters to follow as they navigate relationships with their peers. Their parents have passed down their own knowledge of things that happened during the 1500’s to some of their ancestors. A knowledge that weighs heavy because it’s filled with pain, violence, and persecution for being Romani. These characters know they carry within them a history so rich it’s seeping into their day to day lives. It’s safe to say McLemore has once again delivered an unforgettable cast of characters.

Told in Multiple POV format this is a YA Historical Fantasy in which we follow two sets of characters. Most of the focus however is on Lala & her family in the 1500’s, these characters are well fleshed out vs. the ones we meet in present day. That being said, I felt this worked well since history has a way of repeating itself. Understanding where it all started was emphasized in the way this story was weaved. Although difficult to see, the time I spent reading Lala’s POV was perhaps what I loved most about this book. This may be my bias because I hold a special place in my heart for Historical Fiction but the touch of magical realism McLemore delivers so well is really what draws me in. Scenes with Tante dyeing cloth to sell in rich colors contrasted against the fevered women dancing through the streets till their feet were raw visually stand out. The heavy blanket of anxiety that sits on top of these characters is felt by the reader. Despite the darkness, I am thankful for how McLemore is consistent with delivering a sense of hope with all of their stories. There is a sense of solidarity that comes through at the very end that stirred up some deep emotions within me. I will continue to read all that Anna-Marie McLemore writes for the simple fact that their stories leave a lasting impression in my soul.

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Spoiler Free Review: Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Title: Get A Life, Chloe Brown

Author: Talia Hibbert

Pub. Date: November 5th. 2019

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 373 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

Chloe Brown has had a near death experience one morning that leaves her pretty shaken while also reinvigorated. She is a chronically ill computer geek who sets out with a list of 7 things she must do in order to give life some meaning…

✔️Move out of mansion & into own place

Enjoy a drunken night out
Ride a motorcycle
Go camping
Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex
Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage
And… do something bad

We start off with Chloe moving into her own digs & adjusting to life as a tenant. Accomplishing some of the things on her list becomes interesting when she recruits Redford”Red” Morgan the handyman she is constantly at odds with. Red is automatically put off by Chloe’s wealthy background & because of that they are always sparring with words. We follow Chloe & Red as they tackle this list and in turn get to know one another better while breaking past many misconceptions.

Chloe-I truly fell in love with Chloe’s personality! she is a beautiful plus sized black woman who exudes confidence despite the fact that many of her days are spent with chronic pain. She’s single & sort of has her walls up because Chronic pain isn’t something easily explained. Chloe has already experienced heartbreak with her ex who believed her pain was mental & not a real thing. She’s not by any means jaded, she’s just weary of those she lets in her space. A true geek through & through, Chloe works doing web design from the comfort of her home with a Playstation nearby.

Red- Sexy, tattooed, Handyman/Painter Red Morgan won me over for a number of reasons. Not only is Red attentive & nurturing but he’s genuinely just a good guy who has also been through heartbreak. Having experienced a very toxic relationship with a very wealthy woman, Red is not expecting to fall for yet another. What I loved about Red? the fact that he didn’t try to dissect Chloe’s pain, it was written on her face. Instead Red went about finding ways to make their trips outdoors more comfortable for her.

Both Chloe & Red are wonderful characters but so were the side characters. I LOVED reading scenes with Chloe’s fabulous grandmother & her sisters. She’s surrounded by an amazing support system who also happen to be very curious about her new comings & goings now that she has a new lease on life haha!

I read this whole book in a British accent & had such a good time! the flirting between Chloe & Red had me smiling from ear to ear, often times outright laughing out loud at the awkward situations. I loved how dialogue heavy this was because it allows you to get a real feel for the characters. Chloe in particular really came to life on the page as someone I could relate to. She’s very body positive & confident in who she is which I love seeing in my books. Her character will be very hard to forget, besides the fact that she is outright funny as hell she’s also fiercely independent. Chloe doesn’t want to burden anyone & giving love another shot isn’t on the list but she manages to surpass her fears. This book really is about learning how to love again in a healthy way after leaving behind toxic relationships. It’s about taking back control of your life & living each day to the fullest. It’s about breaking past misconceptions surrounding chronic pain & understanding how painful it can be to have your pain dismissed. Adding this one to my list of Romantic Comedies I absolutely adored!

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January Monthly Wrap-Up

January was a month of much post holiday rest, organization, and goal setting. 2019 was a massive healing year for me which meant I focused more on Quality vs. Quantity reading last year to make room for new life experiences. January however had me back in the saddle with books on my radar for the rest of the year. It was also the month where I participated in my very first Readathon (SMUTATHON Wrap-Up) Challenge & had a blast! It was truly the BEST way to start off the new year, light & fun with a side of steam 😉

Besides a ton of steamy reading, I also found my love for Netflix backlist shows like Schitts Creek and continued with the latest season of Grace & Frankie. I also started Journaling, something I’ve been wanting to get back into for years but never quite took the steps & placed pen to paper. Writing has been truly cathartic in my journey to self alignment & self healing. As the new year takes off, I’m also keeping a small list of places/things I’d like to visit & do. I’ll include snippets of some of these trips in future wrap-ups as a way for me to look back on & share with you lovely readers 🙂

The Loner’s Lady by Jessa Kane – ✨2.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This age gap romance just was NOT my cup of tea haha! it felt very primitive & not my idea of a good time with a fake dating trope. I was generous here with my rating but in all reality it was a quick read that left me very underwhelmed.

Grading Curves by Naima Simone -✨4.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) GOODNESS! SUPER SEXY! who would’ve known a tattoo parlor would host such potential for steam haha! Naima Simone is on my list of go-to authors for smut 😉

The King Maker by Kennedy Ryan – ✨4.5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Kennedy Ryan blew me away with this very heavily researched read. A perfect balance between hardcore relevant topics & romance, this one I definitely plan on reviewing here on the blog. This is a age gap romance I can get behind & best of all it follows our characters over the years from the time they met in their 20’s to present day. Can’t wait to read the sequel in the All the King’s Men Duet, The Rebel King.

The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz – ✨5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Gothic Romance fever anyone?!? YEA that’s what Tiffany Reisz left me with after finishing Headmaster. I’mnot sure why but it gave me the same vibes I felt while reading Cassie Clare’s The Infernal Devices if only for the steam punk atmosphere. SO worth it especially if you dig Paranormal Romance.

SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) I wouldn’t be surprised to see SKYWARD make my end of the year TOP 20 of 2020! it gave me such an adrenaline rush & reminded me of my experience with Pierce Brown’s Morning Star. Not just cause of the camaraderie between the pilots but also because of the flight patterns & attacks that really jump off the page and pull you in. I already have secured a copy of the sequel STARSIGHT & a more happier little bean I could not be *jazz hands*

Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden-✨5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This F/F Romance legit transported me to a small beach town & immersed me in every single characters lives like nobodies business! UGH! I did NOT want to leave & the characters who are the epitome of polar opposites had me shipping them so hard all throughout. I have a list of Melissa Brayden backlist books I will be reading throughout the next couple of months… the Next one on my radar is Strawberry Summer thanks to the wonderful Leigh Kramer who I appreciate wholeheartedly! ❤ a whole review will hit this blog in the very near future, currently I’m reading faster than I’m writing SMH! haha!

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) on the Cuteness Meter, this one smashes the scale! This is another read that I may throw into my top 20 of 2020 but we shall see. I laughed & enjoyed the character interactions so much so that I traded in sleep haha! I have a full review linked above.

Ok soooo I may have binged almost all 5 current season of Schitts Creek onNetflix…I say almost cause in typical Lilly fashion I stopped myself from watching the last 3 episodes of season 5. I’m not a fan of endings & even though there is currently a season 6, I have to wait for it to hit Netflix sooo yea LOL! I had HUGE doubts about this show but JEEZ am I so happy I decided to give in & start this show. It appears to be super pretentious & ridiculous but I promise you there’s so much more depth to these characters. Ultimately it’s the reason I’ve fallen back in love with Netflix so if there are any shows that offer up this much comedic relief, please drop them down below in the comments Luvs!

OK! Bragging rights here cause my BF did NOT think this one was worth us going to see in theaters. WHELP! boy was he happy we went cause this was so GOOD! & possibly not the end of this franchise *fingers crossed* the boys are back & although they’ve aged just a bit, that does NOT stop them from getting back behind the wheel & catching them some bad guys…Ok well Marcus played by Martin Lawrence needs a bit of convincing & it is EVERYTHING seeing this duo back in action.

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Spoiler Free Review: Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Title: Reverie

Author: Ryan La Sala

Pub. Date: December 3rd 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy/LGBTQIAP+

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 416 Pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLES | AMAZON

🖤ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review🖤

Nearly a month has passed since I read Reverie yet it’s still so fresh in my mind & that’s simply because of how unique & wild this book really is! Granted, it won’t be everyones cup of tea but I personally found it to be this odd little gem of a story I could easily get sucked into. Goodreads has it described as Inception meets The Magicians which I find to be pretty accurate. In the world of Reverie the real danger lies in the fantasies created by people, ones that come to fruition with the purpose of claiming their creators. We meet Kane after he’s survived a car accident that left him with Amnesia. His path crosses with The Others, a group of friends with a skilled set of powers & answers to all of the holes Kane has in his memories. With or without his memories, Kan plays an important role with The Others & is quickly thrust into the fascinatingly odd world of Reveries. Fantasies they enter & must unravel by playing whatever role assigned in said fantasy without ever breaking character. We get everything from a Victorian Romance to a futuristic rebel world & a cast of characters who derive their powers from inner based fears.

Content Warning: Talk of suicide, bullying, Homophobia

Of course this wouldn’t be a fantasy without the inclusion of a villain but a more refreshing, colorful, and truly evil villain like Posey we have NOT seen. Posey is a Drag Queen Sorceress who appears to befriend Kane but clearly has ulterior motives. Posey is always ten steps ahead & provides a level of comfort for Kane that he lacks in his reality. Kane is a Gay teenager in a small town were he is bullied & The Others provide escapism from an otherwise cruel world. I LOVED the ingenuity with which this world was created & how it kept me up at night effortlessly reading my hours away. I loved how often I chuckled at some witty banter or ridiculous scene. I loved the friend group & how perfectly they fit together. I also really loved the romance that took place sort of in the background, the mystery behind it & how it evolved. This book isn’t without its flaws, mostly they lie within plot pacing. Sure I can sit here and say certain things didn’t make sense but much of what didn’t I chucked off to the wild trip this story took me on to begin with. I’m a lover of odd stories & worlds created out of thin air which is why Alice in Wonderland will forever be a favorite of mine. Reverie in many ways gave me nostalgic feelings of Alice in Wonderland & allowed me to suspend disbelief while vividly playing out in my mind. For a debut book, this was a solid start & it put La Sala on my radar for any future publications 🖤

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Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My E-Reader

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This weeks topic is “The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf” which I’ve amended to those that I hauled to my e-reader cause they deserve some love too. I’ll admit some of these I already own physical copies to, but its just easier nowadays to read from my tablet. Ok, this list here is QUITE the mixed bag which pretty much speaks volumes on my undying love for mood reading. These also happen to be the books I’ll be using as palette cleansers as I make my way through my ARC spreadsheet, a lot of which are Fantasy.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman – Our MC works in a bookstore and is pretty much a happy introvert who thinks she’s an only child. When she finds out the father she never knew has passed away & that she’s one of many siblings, her whole life makes a huge turn. Add to this a unexpected romance with her trivia nemesis, I’m all IN!

Kushiel’s Dart (Phèdre’s trilogy #1) by Jacqueline Carey – I’ve heard SO much about this series & finally got my copy. It’s a dark sexy Fantasy where the MC is trained as both a spy & a courtesan. When she stumbles across a plot against her homeland, she sets out to save that which she loves.

“Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel’s Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.”

The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang – this well loves contemporary is about a MC with Aspergers who hires a Vietnamese/Swedish professional to help her in all things dating & bedroom. This eventually turns into more & I’m really just way overdue to read this one.

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang – The sequel to The Kiss Quotient cause lets face it, I will most likely fall in love with TKQ & crave this one! $1.99 on Kindle last time I checked (1/19/2020) is a steal. Following characters from TKQ, this time our MC is a Vietnamese Autistic guy who feels he’s incapable of loving after experiencing a loss. The MC’s mother travels to Vietname to see if she can find him a bride. The love interest is a Bi-racial (Vietnamese/White) single mom who is willing to take his mom up on her off to marry her son in hopes for a better life.

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite – a F/F Historical Romance that comes HIGHLY recommended by some of my closest bookish buddies. Here we follow Lucy who is hoping to get the job translating a groundbreaking French astronomy text by a deceased Scientist. Recently widowed, Catherine isn’t expecting to fall in love as Lucy spends her nights translating scientific text.

The Queens Of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton – A land drained of it’s magic by a mad King who Is obsessed with property is being circled by enemies who want control over its ideal port for trades. The King must choose an heir on the longest night of the year. His three daughters care not to leave this decision to rituals & instead choose to go to war. Having really enjoyed Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, I’m really hoping to LOVE this one *fingers crossed*

GUAPA by Saleem Haddad – A coming of age story following a Gay man in a unnamed Arab country during much political and social upheaval. In the course of one night his whole life changes. Caught in bed with his lover by his Grandmother, our MC heads out only to find three of his closest friends to be missing. Ashamed to return home he sets out to find his missing loved ones which takes him throughout the countries seediest slums.

The Walflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke #3) by Tessa Dare – It wasn’t until I sat down to draft this post that I realized this is book 3 in this series SMH! however, it does seem like it can be read on its own as a stand alone. This one features a wealthy ruthless MC who just wants his neighbor to clear out all of the furry animals she’s keeping next door. Lady Penelope Campion however, cannot truncates away any animal in need. She strikes a deal with the Duke, if he can find homes for all of her wounded charges the & only then will she clear out her home. THIS should be innneresting haha!

The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) by Evan Winter – “Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people’s only hope for survival.”—> This is an African inspired EPIC Fantasy I’ve heard good things about. I am ALWAYS looking for Diverse/Own Voices high Fantasy reads & so this was a MUST!

Shadow Frost (Shadow. Frost #1) by Coco M

“IN THE KINGDOM OF AXARIA, a darkness rises.

Some call it a monster, laying waste to the villagers and their homes.
Some say it is an invulnerable demon summoned from the deepest abysses of the Immortal Realm.
Many soldiers from the royal guard are sent out to hunt it down.

Not one has ever returned.” —>This is a YA Fantasy I caught wind of last year. Having heard it features a cast of very funny characters, that’s just about all I needed to know I’d give it a go.