Review: Burn by Patrick Ness – Dragons, Prophecies, and the Cycle of Violence

Title: Burn Author: Patrick Ness Publisher: Quill Tree Books Genre(s): YA Fantasy, Historical Fiction Subject(s)/Themes(s): War, Discrimination, Dragons Representation: Biracial MC, Gay MC Release Date: June 2nd, 2020 Page Count: 384 (hardback) Rating: 8.0/10   On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the …

Review: Mayhem by Estelle Laure – A Gorgeous Chaotic Mess

Title: Mayhem Author: Estelle Laure Publisher: Wednesday Books Genre(s): YA Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Magical Realism Subject(s): Multigenerational, Abuse Release Date: July 14th, 2020 Page Count: 304 (hardback) Rating: 4.0/10 It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, …

Review: Dragon Age Tevinter Nights – Burn, Thedas, Burn

Title: Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights Author(s): Patrick Weekes, Sylvia Fektekuty, John Epler, Lukas Kristjanson, Brianne Battye, Caitlin Sullivan Kelly, Courtney Woods, Ryan Cormier, Arone LaBray Publisher: Tor Books Genre(s): Epic Fantasy, Game-to-Novel Subject(s): Gods, LGBTQ+ Release Date: March 10th, 2020 Page Count: 496 (paperback) Rating: 8.0/10     The Dragon Age games are dark, heroic, …

Review: The Unspoken Name – A Saga of Badass Lesbian Orc and Wonder Bread Boy

Title: The Unspoken Name Author: A.K. Larkwood Publisher: Tor Books Genre(s): Epic Fantasy, Portal Fantasy Subject(s): Gods, Coming-of-Age, LGBTQ+ (main and secondary) Release Date: Feb 11th, 2020 Page Count: 464 (hardback) Rating: 6.0/10         What if you knew how and when you will die? Csorwe does. She will climb the mountain, enter …

News & Review: The Hanged Man (Tarot Sequence 2) – I Got Blurbed On a Book Cover

So um. A thing happened several months ago. Well, okay, a bunch of things happened. And they're all interconnected and relevant to THE thing I want to talk about, so let's just go through them in chronological order. Imagine the countdown from Hamilton's "Ten Duel Commandments."   ☀️ Number one! ☀️ I got to read …

Review & Paint: Dark and Deepest Red – Beautiful But Flawed

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore Genre(s): YA Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Magical Realism Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Release Date: Jan 14th, 2020 Page Count: 320 (hardback) Rating: 7/10   What I Liked   🌹  The subject of learning to navigate life with an identity that people might not accept or understand. That you might …

DNF Reviews: Tarnished are the Stars & The Good Luck Girls – Why does YA Hate Me? (I’m Open to Suggestions)

Here's a fun stat for you: I DNFed 5 books in the past month and a half, and four of them were YA SFF. And I'm pretty sure they're at least 60% responsible for the reading slump I'm currently in. Conclusion? 1) Recent YA SFF is just missing a lot of the stuff I crave. …

Guest Post (The Vine Witch): A History of Witches in France | Feat. Giveaway (US)

I'm so excited to bring you this (belated) guest post today about the history of witches in France, written by author Luanne G. Smith whose debut was released recently on October 1st--a story about witches, revenge, French vineyards, and vine magic (which sounds like the coolest thing). The book is giving me seductive looks from …

Blog Tour Spotlight + Giveaway (INTL): The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

  Title: The Good Luck Girls Author: Charlotte Nicole Davis Publisher: Tor Teen Release Date: October 1st 2019 Genre(s): YA Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Western, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 352 (hardback)                Synopsis Westworld meets The Handmaid's Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis. Aster, the …

Blog Tour + Giveaway (INTL) : Crier’s War by Nina Varela

Hey all! So I ended up taking an unexpected hiatus these past two weeks, because life got busy and I got tired and also kind of sick, and I'm hoping to be back later this week and catch up on...uh, well, a hell of lot of things. *stares bleakly at my pile of draft posts* …