My 2021 Retrospective

I could never have foreseen the fact that I would be typing up this yearly retrospective for 2021 while I'm recovering from a mild case of COVID. I definitely didn't think I was doing to sit down and do this post this year after the last week, but the tradition runs too strong in my blood f…

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Nightcap with the Huntress: Series Review + Favorites

It's the end of October and you know what that means - my best friend Rachel & I are going to share our thoughts on a paranormal series that we read together during the year! We've hosted a BDB Party with our friend Kelly, held a Vampire Academy Gala  and a  Fallen Angels Fête , and last y…

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Paranormal Book Club: Unearthly

Welcome to another Paranormal Book Club post! The Paranormal Book Club is a casual book club I do with my friends Rachel , Kristin & DJ , and it came into being because we decided we wanted to revisit (or experience for the first time) a few older YA paranormal/fantasy books together. Rachel, DJ …

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Abbreviations #141: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, The Way of Kings + Howl's Moving Castle

I’ll point you in the direction of Macky’s clever review for the series , but I felt like it would still be appropriate to give you my personal thoughts on Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians  too. This middle grade series starter centers around Alcatraz Smedry, who finds out on his thirteenth birthday …

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Book Review: Iron Widow

In Huaxia, boys and girls are paired to pilot Chrysalises, the giant robots that make up their country's main defensive force against the mecha aliens beyond the Great Wall. Zetian offers herself up as a pilot concubine, not for glory or honor, but for the chance to assassinate the pilot who wa…

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Book Review: Jade Fire Gold

Jade Fire Gold was guaranteed a spot on my TBR after I saw the cover, the character art the author commissioned and the mentions of said characters being reminiscent of Zuko and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This YA fantasy twines together the stories of two characters: Ahn, a girl with n…

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Abbreviations #140: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, The Little Book of Skin Care + Save Me the Plums

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You is the young adult adaptation of the original work Stamped from the Beginning , and it's done by Jason Reynolds in conjunction with author Ibram X. Kendi. And it's brilliant. It takes the detailed information provided in its adult counterpart and distills …

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Book Review: From Little Tokyo, With Love

From Little Tokyo, With Love  was my first foray into Sarah Kuhn’s work, and it certainly won’t be my last! It’s a modern-day fairytale set against the backdrop of Los Angeles, with a large part happening within the boundaries of Little Tokyo. The main character is Rika, who has never really felt li…

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September 2021

September is actually one of my favorite months! It's always the perfect blend of summer-turning-into-autumn weather and, usually, I'm lucky enough to be off a fair bit because our company observes the Jewish holidays every year. I tried to maximize my free time this year by spending a lot …

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Book Review: Vespertine

I'm always low key interested in novels that feature necromancy, or any sort of magic tied to death. And because I've had pretty positive experiences with Margaret Rogerson's work, I was excited when Vespertine  was announced. In the book, Artemisia is a novice training to become one of …

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Abbreviations #139: Life's Too Short, Time of Our Lives + The Darkest Night

In Life’s Too Short , the third novel in Abby Jimenez’s companion novel romance series The Friend Zone , readers are introduced to hotshot lawyer Adrian (cousin to Josh, who you may remember from The Friend Zone ) and his next-door neighbor and YouTube personality Vanessa. Their relationship begins on…

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The Great Studio Ghibli Marathon, Part 2

One of the items on my summer bucket list was to watch (or rewatch, in some cases) all of the films Studio Ghibli has ever released. It's definitely a commitment considering there are twenty films in total, but it was worth my while to see all of the different stories that the studio has brough…

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Book Review: Light from Uncommon Stars

While it was the cover that initially drew my interest, it was the premise of Light from Uncommon Stars that secured the novel a spot on my TBR. This novel weaves together the fates of three individuals: Shizuka Satomi, a woman who has made a deal with the devil where she must trade the souls of se…

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Autumn Bucket List

Back in June, I shared my summer bucket list ! I was determined to make the most of the summer, especially now that we can (with caution) be out and about more often. I honestly feel like I did a pretty good job enjoying my favorite season with my favorite people, and really, I couldn't ask for …

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Book Review: The Last Legacy

I fell completely in love with the world Adrienne Young brought to life in her Fable series , which is unsurprising since I’ve always been partial to stories about sea adventures. When it was announced that she’d be returning to this world one more time (as of right now, anyway) in The Last Legacy , …

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Book Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart (+ Blog Tour Q&A)

I was excited when it was announced that Stephanie Garber would be returning to the universe that she dreamed up in her Caraval series . There’s so much unexplored potential when it comes to the lore and the setting, so I was eager to see how it would take shape in her brand-new series starter Once …

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