I have had this post in my drafts for more than a month. I told myself that this would be the year where I finally create a habit of blogging instead of being sporadic with it.
I wasn’t content with my blog as it was. All this time it felt like something was missing honestly, so I went back to the drawing board and I’ve rebranded. If you want to read more as to why I decided to change the blog’s name visit my dedicated post on it!
Anyhow, I’m excited to share with ya’ll what I’ve been reading. If anything has marked my reading recently it’s audiobooks, I’ve been loving listening to them while playing on my switch.
This tag was so much fun to write because I get to reflect on my reading for this year and see where I’m at with my goals. I think I may incorporate quarterly check-ins from now. Anyway, let’s get to it shall we?
Reading stats for the first half of the year
Note: All stats are taken from The StoryGraph and I’ve used their classifications
Books read: 37
Pages read: 11,563
Pace: Medium
Avg. page number: 300-499
Genre: LGBTQIAP+ and Fantasy
Age Range: Young Adult
Non-Fiction/ Fiction: Fiction
Best book you’ve read so far
Sorrowland is the first book by Rivers Solomon that I picked up. Honestly don’t know why I waited so long because their books have been on my tbr for a while now. I I wanted to get myself a signed copy from my local indie, but I’m currently in a ban. Then I checked my library and the audiobook was available to borrow on Libby. It was too perfect for me to not borrow it, so I listened to it for a whole day and the beginning of another!! I have never gone through an audiobook so quickly. I was hooked from the very beginning. The story follows Vern who escapes the cult she grew up in and gives birth to twins. This is classified as a horror novel and it was very much so but I believe that one classification isn’t enough it has more layers to it. There’s also lgbtqiap+ representation and the main character is albino (something I hadn’t encountered before in the books I read). The story touches upon social issues as well, but I don’t want to give any spoilers. Everything about it was amazing and I can’t recommend it enough honestly. I’ll definitely get a physical copy so I can reread and make annotations because there were so many beautiful lines.
Best sequel you’ve read so far
I haven’t read any sequels yet…
Honestly, I start a lot of series and have a hard time finishing them and seem to read stand-alones mostly
New release you haven’t read yet but want to
One of my goals this year is to read more outside of YA. I love YA as you can see by my stats, those are the books I gravitate towards, but I want to see what else is out there. As the years have gone by I’ve gotten more and more picky about YA, so I want to read books that reflect my interests better. I wanted to start with Adult Fantasy and the one that seems super appealing is A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark . I’ve hear nothing but amazing things about P. Djèlí Clark and I’m so excited to read his work! For this particular book I may start with the novellas first just so I can immerse myself in the world. Some others that I’ve acquired recently are The Unbroken and Black Water Sister.
Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
First of all I’m loving the orange in both of these covers. I have a bunch of anticipated releases (book list to come maybe??), but when thinking about it these are the two that popped into my head quickly. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is probably my most anticipated release of this year. I’ve been talking about it to my friends every chance I get and I can’t believe that it’s almost here!!! I ordered a book box for the month of August which includes this release and I’m so freaking excited!!!
Cazadora by Romina Garber is the sequel to Lobizona. Lobizona was one of my favorite books last year! I loved the cast of characters, the themes, and the world Garber created. This is another one that I’ll preorder for sure because that cover is just breathtaking and it has taken me too long to add Lobizona to my shelves.
Biggest disappointment
Last semester I took a class on Children’s Classics and while I loved the class discussions I didn’t enjoy the books much. The Secret Garden felt lacking and I didn’t enjoy the characters one bit. Pippi Longstocking was okay, but the structure of it just wasn’t for me. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was an uncomfortable experience, but the class discussion we had on it was awesome. Then there’s Twilight, the only one out of all of them that I had read at a young age, and it was again an uncomfortable experience. All it did was highlight all the ways in which I was influenced to think that controlling men were romantic. For many in the class these books were reminiscent of their childhood, but having not grown up with these I saw them differently. As a casual reader I wasn’t for them, but it was interesting to see the cultural influences each has.
Biggest surprise
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is breathtaking. This one was one that I took my time with and savored because the characters, the plot, and the writing are just exquisite. In this one we follow Nina a young naive girl taking part in her first grand season. To do so she stays with her cousin and his wife in the big city. While there she falls head over heals for Hector who shares her telekenitic abilities. However, Hector has come back to town with one goal in mind to win back his lover from 10 years ago, Valerie, who so happens to be Nina’s cousin’s wife. *gasp* THE DRAMA.
Yes, this book is ALL the drama and I loved every second of it. I had the pleasure of getting an ARC through the publisher, but midway through reading it came out and I just knew I had to have it in my collection. This book just blew me away. I had read two other books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and enjoyed both and loved one, so I didn’t know if I would love this one. However, with The Beautiful Ones I have learned that SMG is one of my favorite authors and I just need to trust her. I will be having a full length review of The Beautiful Ones, so stay tuned!!
Favorite new author (debut or new to you)
I finished reading Ace of Spades recently and honestly I’m still thinking about it!! This debut is fantastic and honestly I will buy anything Faridah writes. If you don’t know what Ace of Spades is about it follows two teenagers Devon and Chiamaka who are the only two Black teens attending Niveus Private Academy. They begin to be targeted by someone called Aces and it threatens their futures. The comparison for this book are Get Out meets Gossip Girl and I would also throw in Pretty Little Liars just because I’m more familiar with it than GG. I feel like I can’t say much for this book without spoiling, just go read it!!
Newest favorite character
Grace Porter is one of my new favorite characters! Honey Girl follows Grace Porter who gets married in Vegas after getting her PhD and travels to New York to get to know her new wife. That is the basic premise of the book, but its honestly more about Grace’s journey navigating life as a post-grad, living with anxiety, and appeasing parents’ unrealistic expectations. I hadn’t resonated with a character as much as I did with Grace Porter, many of the descriptions of her anxiety and how she thought about herself were familiar to me. I love messy characters like her because they are so realistic.
Read next: Honey Girl Review
Book that made you cry
I’m gonna be that person! Books don’t make me cry too often but Ace of Spades made me choke up in some its second half. The things the characters were put through struck a cord and brought on intense emotions. When a book manages to make me cry it’s usually not a book I would expect to. Does that happen to you?
Book that made you happy
From Little Tokyo, With Love filled my heart with joy! This was my first read of summer break and honestly I couldn’t have picked a more perfect one. The story follows Rika who has never fit in with the Little Tokyo community because she is biracial and lives with her two aunties. The story reads like a modern fairy tale! It has a cute romance, adventures through LA, family restaurants, celebrities, and exploration of family dynamics. It’s a really fun book and it had me laughing at times with all the antics the characters get involved in.
Most beautiful book you’ve received this year
I received a copy of The Mirror Season for a Colored Pages BT blog tour I participated in and it was such a nice surprise to get in the mail!! Also, the cover is this book is just stunning. I love illustrated people on books covers, but then add to that the colors of the pan flag and the swallows. The cover is just utter perfection and I’m so grateful that I have my own copy.
Read next: The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore | Review + Favorite Quotes
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
So many!! But one of my goals for the second half is to be more on top of my e-ARCs. I have a habit of leaving them in the back-burner when I’m in school and so before the start of the new school year I want to be caught up and ready to go. Some of the ones I’m really excited to get to are: In The Ravenous Dark, Darling, and Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun. I’ve been slowly making my way through them with the help of audiobooks. I hope to also post more reviews on here of such books, so stay tuned!
Sam @ Spines in a Line says
This looks like such a great collection of books and loving the new feel for the blog! Congrats on the change!