Category Archives: January

#January2021Review4

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Today’s book review is for The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman. It is the seventh book in The Invisible Library Series.

I was very happy when I found out that the eighth book of this series is in the works because the epilogue of this book left me wicked confused.  Other than the confusing epilogue, I enjoyed this book.  I loved seeing Irene and Kai’s relationship develop more, and I loved seeing how the dynamic of Catherine as Irene’s apprentice played out.  Speaking of Catherine, I loved her as a character, and how flawed she is, I also loved how she knew exactly what she wanted, and as the story went on how she matured and developed.  I can’t wait to read more from this series, which has become one of my favorites.

#January2021BookReview3

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Today’s review is for D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Porin D’Aulaire.

I wish I had read this book before reading Percy Jackson.  After reading this, I have a much deeper appreciation for the myths of Ancient Greece.  This book is a masterpiece and should be read by anyone interested in Greek Mythology.  I think this book is a great springboard to do further research into some of the stories, and then reading the classics from which some of the myths are drawn, like the story of Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece which is a classic myth written by Apollonius of Rhodes.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

#January2021BookReview2

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Today’s review is for Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.  Shiny Broken Pieces is the sequel to Tiny Pretty Things.

*CW: Racism, Bullying, Eating Disorders, Self Harm, Drug Use

This was a great ending to the duology. I loved seeing how much the characters had changed between Tiny Pretty Things and this book, especially GiGi. I also loved how much Bette was invested in figuring out what really happened to GiGi and who really did it. The ending wasn’t rushed, and each character’s arc along with the whole story was wrapped up very nicely.

#BookToAdaptationReview1

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This is the first time I’m doing a review like this but I thought it would be interesting. My first book review of the year was for the book Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, and you can read that here. The main reason why I read it is that I wanted to watch the Netflix series, and also because I love ballet. I took dance classes when I was younger before switching to gymnastics, and I took a ballet class in college. I’m the type of person who likes to read the book before watching the adaptation. There have been very few cases where I’ve watched the adaptation before reading the book. I’ve probably done it less than five times. Now on to the review which, I will try to keep as non-spoiler as possible.

The show did switch the names of a few of the characters but kept the personalities the same. I was able to match the show characters to their book characters. The show also changes what happened to Cassie and the ballet that the students perform. The show kept June’s complicated relationship with her mother, which I appreciated. If you’ve read the book, you know there’s a lot of drama, and the show did not skimp on that.

If you’re wondering what I enjoyed better, I enjoyed them both equally. The show is binge-worthy and entertaining. I hope there’s a season two which follows the events of Shiny Broken Things. 

#January2021BookReview1

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Today’s book review is for Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.

CW: bullying, eating disorders, drug use, alcoholism

This book is filled with drama and it was entertaining. It was also dark and gritty, and I really enjoyed that aspect. I loved how diverse the cast of characters are in this book. This book was so different than anything that I have ever read and I enjoyed it.

#January2020BookReview4

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Review

Today’s book review is for Belichick and Brady by Michael Holley.  Michael Holley is a local author to me.

This is such an insightful book, not only about Belichick and Brady but the team as a whole. I found the information about the draft process, how Belichick handled letting players go, and how those players felt to be very interesting. It was also interesting to read about how the dynamics of the team shifted after Bledsoe went down with the injury and when Brady stepped in. I am so happy that I finally read this book after so long.

#January2020BookReview3

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Review

Today’s book review is for Moonshot by Alessandra Torre.
*CW: Cheating

I’ve never read a sports romance book before, so this book was way out of left field for me (baseball pun intended). However, I absolutely love baseball, and I loved this book. Dare I say it, I even enjoyed the romance aspect of this book. I did not like Ty and Tobey together, their relationship seemed extremely forced and unnatural, on the other hand, I absolutely loved Chase and Ty. What made this book more interesting was the fact that there was a murder mystery aspect to it, and I loved the way this book ended.

#January2020BookReview2

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Review

Today’s book review is for Lobizona by Romina Garber. 

*Disclaimer 1: I received this book for review from NetGalley, in no way shape or form does this affect my opinion.
*Disclaimer 2: I am not Latinx, I highly suggest seeking own voices reviews.

After having read and loved the Zodiac Series, I was so excited to see that Romina was starting a new series. This book touches on extremely relevant and tough topics of illegal immigration and deportation. Lobizona is a great Urban Fantasy novel, it takes place in Miami and another fantasy realm with Brujas and Werewolves. This is a story about equality, fighting, which are summed up in one of my favorite quotes “Gender equality and freedom of lifestyle are battles I can’t take on yet, because first I need to win a different war: The right to exist.” The reveal at the end was one that I didn’t see coming and really took me by surprise. Lobizona is such a beautiful new novel in a new series that I can’t wait to read more from.

#January2020BookReview1

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Review

Today’s review is going to be for The BFG by Roald Dahl.

I am ashamed to say that I never read this when I was younger, but I’m so glad that I read it now. This is such a cute story with the most unlikely friendship. I also loved the language of the BFG and how all his words were jumbled but they still made sense. And I love this quote from the BFG on page 61 (view spoiler) Everything about this quote is very true and really puts things into perspective. There are also references to Jack in the Beanstalk. This is a great children’s book.

#January19BookReview4

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Review

Today’s review and my final review for January is going to be for Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean.  You can also view this review on Goodreads.

*Content warning: slavery, violence, abuse, death, rape, and body shaming.

Where do I begin with this book? I don’t even know. This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and the writing was lyrical. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters, my favorite being Mari. I felt that Mari was such a strong, powerful female character. While I did enjoy the story and most of the characters, I did not like how the Imperial City put collars on the Yōkai to enslave them and keep them captive, or how they were confined to one district, just because they’re different. I also enjoyed how the story ended, I felt that the ending tied things together very well.