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5 Overdue Reviews | Famine, Legends & Lattes, Nanny For the Neighbors, The Moth Keeper, & Dear Mothman

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Hi Chaperlings! I’m finally sitting down to write up some long overdue reviews that I haven’t had the chance to get to. I’ve had this review ‘to-do’ list for about a hot minute now and it was getting a little long. Granted, two of these books are recent reads, but I personally feel like I should have posted about them by now. Though I will say I’m trying not to be too hard on myself for not having these reviews out as soon as I would like. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately and I’ve been trying to be gentle with myself. I hope all of you are being gentle and kind with yourselves, as well. So, without any further delays, here are five overdue reviews with their content/trigger warnings!

➼ Famine (The Four Horseman, #3) by Laura Thalassa

✨ Pestilence ★★★★

✨ War ★★★

Content/Trigger Warnings: Depictions of blood, graphic deaths, graphic violence, scene of stabbing, misogyny, slut shaming, scenes of emesis, trauma/PTSD, graphic injuries, mentions of captivity, mentions of torture, natural disasters (earthquake), grief, mentions loss of loved ones, scene of decapitation, mentions of abuse (in the past), scene of sexual harassment, alcoholism, swearing

“I always knew I would see Famine again. Call it intuition, but I knew that fucker would come back.”

I’m shocked, absolutely shocked! I wasn’t expecting to read this book so fast, I wasn’t expecting to love this book the way I did, and I definitely didn’t expect to give it five stars. I didn’t read the synopsis, I didn’t read any reviews, but I had my reservations about this book. War left me hanging on a tight-rope, debating back and forth on whether or not I would continue the series. Ultimately, Death was the biggest reason I picked this book up, but also bless my fellow buddy readers for getting me hyped about this book. I was sure this was going to be another three stars, my expectations were low, but once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop.

Ana da Silva saved Famine once, once… and after he showed her how cruel he can be, she escaped, hoping to never see the handsome horseman again. Until he shows up, in the place where she tried to rebuild her life. When Anas is offered up to the horseman, Ana expected him to remember who she is, but only a cold fate awaits her. Determined to seek her revenge for everything Famine has done, Ana da Silva track Famine down to deliver some well deserved payback. Only… things don’t go how she planned and she definitely didn’t plan on developing feelings for the horseman she despises.

“That evil fucker made one huge mistake coming here: he didn’t make sure I was dead. And now he’s going to pay for it.”

Compared to the first two books in this series, with the female leads, I freaking adored Ana as a main character. I love a female character who stands her ground, set boundaries, fights tooth and nail, and you know, I enjoyed that she didn’t censor herself in anyway. The way Ana carried herself in this book was something I really loved and I think, next to Death, she’s my favorite character in the whole series so far. Now I will say, Ana is a sex worker. There is a lot of references to her fight for survival, making a living through sex work, and there are brief discussions surrounding the dangers she experienced during her time as a sex worker. For me personally, this didn’t bother me, it didn’t hinder my reading experience, and if anything it made me love Ana as our main character even more. I do think this will be something that turns a lot of people off from her character, but it wasn’t an issue for me. Also, Ana swears a lot. When I say Ana is a character that has no censorship, I’m not kidding. Personally, I loved it and enjoyed it. I love a character who has some bite to them and it just heightens my adornment of them. However, I know not everyone likes characters who swear a lot and I felt the need to mention it.

On the other hand, Famine was a little more difficult to warm up to. However, with every horseman, it takes me a minute to warm up to them. So I went into this book fully expecting to struggle with warming up to Famine. This might seem silly, however, I think the thing that really prevented me from loving Famine was the alcoholism. I think this will be a problem for many readers, as well. Famine is an alcoholic and I really struggled with his character because of how heavily he relied on alcohol as a coping mechanism. And it bothered me even more during the scenes where Ana enabled Famine’s alcoholism. For me, it just wasn’t it and it would take me out of quite a few scenes. I love the details we receive about Famine and his love for horses was probably one of my most favorite things, but it was hard to look past the alcoholism.

“I don’t know what I expected when I saved him, but I didn’t think it was this. The third horseman of the apocalypse is having a mental breakdown right next to me.”

Despite my issues, the chemistry between Famine and Ana was palpable and the tension you feel waiting for these fools to smooch, is so good. All of the books in the series are slow burn, but this one in particular felt like perfection for these two characters. Both personalities and the way the slow build happens, it felt so right for these characters. Out of all the characters, from the first two books to this one, Famine and Ana’s relationship thrived on the slow build, the tension, and how it all solidified their feelings for one another even more. I wish I had popcorn for a snack while reading it because something about it was like watching a film unfold in my brain. Out of everything in this book, this is probably my favorite thing about the entirety of this book. The chemistry and the way the author just made these two characters to fit one another so well. It was absolute perfection.

“I’m still curious. He felt like sin against my lips. And damn me, but now all I want is to do it again – if only to see another tree blow up.”

Overall, I had a really fun time with this book and I enjoyed so much of it. I don’t want to say too much because this is the third book in the series and as much as I want to completely unravel, gushing over this book, I think it’s better for you to find out for yourself. Again, I had a fun time. I don’t think everyone will like this book. I think there will be many readers who take issue with quite a few things in this book, but for me personally, it didn’t bother me and it didn’t hinder my enjoyment or the way my love built up for these characters. I just had a great time and I’m really glad this book surprised me with how much I fell in love with it!

➼ Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree

Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, brief depictions of blood, stalking, depictions of anxiety, arson

“She looked around. Her place. Not a temporary stop or a spot to sling her bedroll for one night. Hers.”

This was the perfect read to start off my year! Since the moment I first heard about this book, I knew I was going to fall in love with this book with my whole soul. Every fiber in me has been screaming with longing for my DnD shenanigans and my LARPing adventures, once again. This book has made me miss it so, so much. Not only missing those elements of my life, but it has reminded me of some of my favorite fictional taverns that I’ve fallen in love with over the years like The Gilded Horn, Herald’s Rest, Harth Stonebrew’s Tavern, The Glorious Sea Dog, or The Tavetaan (though this is more of a pub than tavern). This was truly the most perfect read for me and I’m so thankful for everything this book brings to the table.

Viv, an adventuring orc, has only known dungeon crawling, bloodshed, hopping from one place to the next, with her trusty sword, Blackblood, for the majority of her life. After one final mission, Viv disappears to start fresh and build something she has been craving. A place of her own. On this journey, Viv will learn many lessons like healing, calling a place your own, and even finding love, in more ways than one.

“You found a very peaceful place here. A special place. You’ve planted something, and now it’s blossoming. Very nice. A good spot to rest. My thanks to you for letting an old-timer shade under the branches of what you’ve grown.”

The found family elements of this book was absolutely beautiful and so powerful. While I loved the romance and I loved seeing Viv’s journey of a fresh new start, the community Viv builds and the healing Viv finds in that loving community absolutely stole my breath away. Seeing Viv bring so many together with her vision, her dream moved me to tears so many times. This is one of my absolute favorite themes any book, any story can have for me as a reader. They became this little family in their own way and meeting each individual like Thimble, Darius, Hemington, etc… each one of these characters will forever hold a special place in my heart. This whole book holds a special place in my heart.

“He threw his arms around her upper arm and gave it a brief, startling hug, and then disappeared into the pantry. Viv found her throat unaccountably thick.”

Overall, there’s so much I want to talk about when it comes to this book. From the quotes to each individual characters, all the way to the little surprises. Every piece of this book just made a comfortable little space in my chest and the magic of this book is best experienced going into this book not knowing too much about it. This is a beautiful story of found family, of building something you want in your own way, starting new and chasing after your own dreams, not living up to what others expect of you and doing something for yourself. It was truly everything and as I said, this was the most beautiful, eye-watering, perfection of a story for me and it will always, and forever hold a special place in my heart.

➼ Nanny For the Neighbors by Lily Gold

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of financial hardship/struggles, talk of unemployment, mentions of drug dealing & drug addiction, child abandonment, talk of child foster/care system, minor themes of stalking, talk of sexism, scene of slut shaming, scene of gaslighting & manipulation (challenged), talk of depression, talk of infertility, brief scene of sexism in the work place

When I first heard about this book, I was excited about the polyamory representation. Honestly, that was the first thing that drew me to this book and what slapped it on my radar. I was hearing whispers through the grape vine that it was done really well and the chemistry between all of the characters was chef’s kiss. Little did I know I was going to love this book even more because it also addresses the child foster/care system. This is a topic that I have been wanting to see being written in books a lot more. So I had some pretty high hopes going into this book – and I wasn’t disappointed!

✨ Beth – When the pandemic hit, became unemployed from her nanny agency, after it went out of business, for over a whole year. Now, Beth is struggling to find a job and bills keep piling up, but when her upstairs neighbor, Jack, the guy she’s been secretly crushing on, is suddenly on her doorstep asking for help with a newborn baby, an opportunity presents itself for Beth, in more ways than one. Beth just has one rule, no dating or getting close to anyone, even the three very attractive upstairs neighbors.

✨ Jack – Blonde, blue eyed, guy with a golden retriever personality, has been crushing on Beth ever since he first laid eyes on her.

✨ Cyrus – Golden skin, black hair, very flirtatious with Beth from the beginning. He’s been disowned by his family for choosing a job that makes him happy, being a male entertainer. Cyrus also deals with dyslexia.

“I won’t apologise for my job. I truly believe there’s nothing wrong with it, and I love doing it. But I’m so used to people judging me for what I do. Making assumptions about who I am. And she doesn’t.”

✨ Sebastian – Hasn’t had the easiest life. He comes from a toxic home life that has molded him into a person who fears he’ll hurt anyone he gets close to. He’s also the father of Camilla and suffers from chronic migraines.

“He’s reading her a story,” he says, looking amused.  “Seriously?” “Well. It’s a chapter from a textbook about international copyright law. I’ve told him he has to at least do funny voices to keep her interested, but he refuses.”

There is so much to unpack with this book, so many important themes. First, let me start off by saying we get all the point of views. Not only do we get Beth’s point of view, but we get all of the guys’ point of views, as well. Things are just so much better when you get the duel perspective especially with this book. Beth has so many important conversations with each guy individually and we get to see those conversations from both sides. For example, Cy and Beth have a full conversation about accessibility for those with learning disabilities and how hard it is find that support, not just at an academic level, but also from loved ones. There are so many conversations like that, on different topics like infertility, what it means to be yourself, and the child foster/care system, sprinkled throughout the book and I just have so much love for the author including all of the different point of views. There’s also so many themes of found family and having the choice of who we let into our life.

“We don’t have to love anybody who doesn’t love us back.”

I want to say, Beth’s character development and journey through this book was a wild ride. We see Beth go through all the ups and downs, and despite all of the challenges she faced, she gets a happy ending that she thought she’d never have. It was an emotional journey, but I loved every second of it. As a bonus, the way she is with each guy and when they’re all together is so good. It’s steamy and I have to agree, I think the polyamory was done really well. That’s all I’m going to say and if you want to know more then you’ll have to find out for yourself.

The only thing that prevented me from fully loving this book was how long it was. There were many times that this story felt like it was being dragged out or there were unnecessary details or scenes that we didn’t really need. However, I understand that with multiple point of views that this can happen at times. I do think it could have been a bit shorter though and I did find myself skimming certain sections to push through the story.

Overall, this was still a fun time and I thought a lot of the topics that were addressed in this book were handled really well. I will say this book has me excited to pick up more books from this author and I’m excited, eager about them. I believe all of Gold’s other books are polyamorous, as well. So I’m very ecstatic about it. I think many readers are going to love this book and appreciate some of the discussions that happen in this book. And if you haven’t put this book on your radar yet, definitely give this book a chance. It was such a wonderful time!

➼ The Moth Keeper by Kay O’Neill

Content/Trigger Warnings: Scenes of nyctophobia (fear of darkness), anxiety, burnout, isolation, brief scene of child abandonment/neglect

I think I will always love O’Neill’s work and constantly crave their next title. So naturally when I heard of this book’s release, I immediately rushed to pre-order this book. Between loving moths, the moon, and just O’Neill’s art style, I knew I was going to fall in love with this book. Maybe I loved this book so much because I read it in a time of needing that warm, gentle touch that O’Neill’s books always seem to have or maybe it was simply the themes of this book that caused my heart to fall. Whatever the case may be, this has become one of my favorite titles.

“With this vow, you will become a beacon for the Moon-Moths… a guardian to the Night-Flower tree… and a companion to the moon.”

Our story follows Anya, a child who was just appointed as the new Moth Keeper. This is a job that holds a lot of responsibility and requires much isolation on the part of the Moth Keeper. While Anya has strong feelings of hope about this job and wants to have a place in the village, Anya soon discovers that being a Moth Keeper might be more of an undertaking than they originally thought. We’ll follow Anya’s journey of burnout, loneliness, facing one’s fears, the lasting effects of a neglectful parent, and learning the importance of community.

“I knew… that it would be hard at times. But I thought doing this job – so important to our village – would keep me warm inside even on long, cold nights.”

I can only think of one moment in this entire book where I wasn’t crying, turning into a mushy puddle and that was with the storytelling. This is something that’s not only consistently celebrated throughout this book, but the importance of this also highlighted consistently, too. This is something many cultures hold very dear, put a lot of emphasis on, and truthfully, it’s one of the ways you keep a culture alive, by storytelling. This topic filled my heart with so much warmth and love, and makes me truly believe, gives me a little bit of hope restored, there are people still out there who care about the stories that come from different cultures other than their own. And I truly wish we had a few more scenes with the owl woman, “Keeper of Stories”, I believe they’re called. Probably one of my favorite characters of the whole book.

Burnout was another topic and theme that hit really close to home especially as someone who considers themselves a workaholic. I find literature doesn’t often talk about burnout and the importance of balance. Usually when there’s talk of balance, it references life and death, but this is the first book I’ve seen that addresses burnout and finding a good balance between work and play. I want to really mention Estell, Anya’s best friend (who is disabled and is chronically ill) because they were such an important character and I find no one talks about Estell. Estell really looks out for Anya and tries to help give some balance to Anya by telling others that Anya needs help, by bringing treats to Anya, doing little things that are filled with so much love, but also very healing. They just have this friendship that deserves to be highlighted.

“We all have days when we can’t quite remember the ratio of things. Or times when we feel unsure of our skills.”

I will say, if I had to find fault in anything with this graphic novel, it would be the story itself. For everything this book was trying to do and pack within the pages, it could feel like the story was too big to be a graphic novel. It could even feel like there were details missing or plot development missing. I think this could have been fixed by potentially making it a duology and still having the large bind up. I think this book is just a few pages over the 250 count. So it would have been perfect to expand the story over two volumes to pack in the details that may be missing or add that extra room for any plot development while still keeping around that 250 page count.

“Magic’s a wild thing. It only flows when life is left to exist in its own natural way.”

Overall, this was such a moving, emotional story for me as a reader. Like I say with many O’Neill’s work, I think just diving head first into the world is the best way to experience each story. Even more so if you love whimsical worlds like Studio Ghibli. I find O’Neill’s worlds always remind me of my love for Studio Ghibli. I think the timing of this book’s release is so important especially because this graphic novel is available for younger audiences right now and the fact it tackles the theme of burnout, so important. There’s going to be so many kids who read this book and feel so seen, so understood, and I think this book will bring out some great discussions between parents and their children. This was just an all around stunning graphic novel and if you haven’t put it on your radar yet, definitely consider picking it up soon!

➼ Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

ARC was given by NetGalley & Abrams in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (March 21, 2023)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Grief, loss of a loved one, talk of automotive accident (off page), bullying, talk of anxiety, scene of accidental dead naming & misgendering, mentions of transphobia

“And, Mothman, it was the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel so alone.”

I wasn’t expecting to get so soft and squishy over this book or to fill out five whole pages full of quotes. This book just came in and took me by storm. I knew I’d love this book for the Mothman, cryptid goodness and the trans representation, but this book is so much more. It’s about grief and healing from that loss, a discovery of figuring out oneself and who we are, and found family themes.

We follow Noah, a trans boy navigating middle school, all while dealing with the death of his best friend and first love, Lewis. Noah faces many conflicting feelings of not just knowing who Lewis truly was, but trying to navigate with life, and school without the only person who made his world feel okay, feel seen for who he truly is. When the school’s science fair approaches, Noah uses this as an opportunity to make Lewis’s science fair project come to life – finding Mothman and proving he exists. Even though this is no easy task, Noah is determined and long the way will make new friends and coming to terms with many thoughts, and feelings too.

“I wonder if Mothman ever lost someone. I wonder if Mothman feels like he lost Lewis too.”

I really enjoyed the fact that this book is told in verse. To feel like you’re opening up the pages of the journal and feeling like you were reading the letters themselves. It even adds more feelings onto it once you get to the end of the story and you find out what happens to the journal Noah was using to write these letters in. Also, we get letters from Hanna as well. Now, this is closer to the 75% mark of the book and the way Noah’s and Hanna’s letters overlap each was very well written. I really enjoyed the way it represented the aspect of time and how they were both writing their letters at the same moment. It was a very lovely touch.

The magical realism was done really well. With magical realism, I don’t always like to put emphasis on it because I prefer the readers to go experience it themselves, but this was just beautifully handled and I feel like I have to talk about it. The way Mothman is used as a focal point for the unknown, a world where not many people can connect to, not just with Noah being trans, but also when it comes to believing in the supernatural or any bigger mystery out there. On the other hand, we see Mothman helping Noah tackle the loss of Lewis, head on and help with the healing process, in the terms of these letters. And in small ways, we see how Mothman helps with other small changes and the scary side of preparation for adulthood. The way the author chose to write Mothman almost as a ‘jack of all trades’ was stunning, as well. Mothman gets to be the mysterious, unknown terrifying supernatural being, but we get a softer side of a cryptid who is beautiful, comforting, and able to provide almost safety for those who need it. It’s probably one of my favorite ways of seeing Mothman being described and I think it made me love Mothman even more.

“I think monsters are here to make people like me feel less alone.”

I mentioned found family and you know, it’s a theme that I love with my whole chest. There’s a found family element laced in this book as Noah tries to make new friends. The way LARPing is used as tool to bridge both Noah’s world and this other group of kids together was just perfection. It made my heart so warm and soft. Even more so when we see Noah getting close with all of them, but most Hanna. The way those two become close to one another was just lovely to read about.

“I hope you have people who make you feel less alone. If you don’t, I can be that for you. Your friend, Noah.”

Overall, there’s so much I could say about this book because there’s so many themes in this book to unpack. With this book being just over a hundred pages, I think the best thing I can tell you is to just pick it up and read it for yourself. I truly loved this book. The only thing I had issues with was it felt a little repetitive at times, but still such a beautifully captivating middle grade read. I think if you’re looking for more queer books that have important themes, but also has some cryptid magic, then you need to give this book a chance!

The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

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3 Mini Reviews | The United States of Cryptids, White Horse, The Confidence of Wildflowers

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Hi there, friends! Today I’m going to be posting some mini reviews… mini thoughts… on some books I’ve recently read. I’ll be honest, I’ve been sitting on these for a hot minute because I wasn’t too sure how I wanted to convey my thoughts, feelings or if I even had enough notes compiled to even make my typical reviews. While I’m not sure how this post will turn out, the one thing never changing is the fact that the content/trigger warnings I’ve found during my time reading these books will always be listed at the top of each review. Also, these reads are ranked from my best read to my least favorite read. I hope this will help anyone out there who’s looking for some new books to pick up!

➸ The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters by J. W. Ocker

“Wherever cryptids are celebrated, the story is so much more important than the science.”

As a lover of all things spooky, creepy, Halloweeny, and yes, being the monster loving, cryptid fanatic that I am, this book has been on my radar for a hot minute. I will say, trying to track down a physical copy was a tad difficult and I was so eager to read this book that I caved an got the ebook form. Though, the way this was written has me wondering if the audiobook would have been a better choice. That’s besides the point! I had a really fun time reading this and lets be real, anytime I get to read about monsters or cryptids is always a fun time!

“Cryptids are hopeful concepts: hope that the world is still a diverse place full of discovery.”

This book is a bind-up of all the various places in the United States that have cryptid tales to tell the world. Various cryptids are grouped by area along with some other details about that cryptid. Laced with the narration that almost comes off as some cryptid television show, the stories in here vary from the most famous of cryptids like Mothman or Bigfoot, all the way to lesser known cryptids like the Giant Sky Clam or Derry Fairy. This covers the whole United States and the fantastic cryptids that you may know or… not know about it.

As I mentioned, this was a really fun read. While I didn’t really care too much for the narration of the book, the stories about each cryptid kept me going. Call it a curious mind, but I wanted to know what cryptids this book had to share. I was pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few cryptids in here that I didn’t already know about and even the ones I did know about, there were some things that I had no idea about. Plus, for some of the stories there were actual images to go along with it that really helped paint the picture of what certain cryptids would look like, which was a nice touch to add in, might I add.

However, I have sat on this review for a hot minute and in that time, I’ve had time to come to terms with certain feelings about this book and why my rating for this book has changed. Though I still enjoyed this book quite a bit, I still found some issues with this book. As a Mescalero Apache Native, I found the way the Native/Indigenous creatures were handled in this book caused a bit of yucky feelings for me. For starters, I don’t consider the Native/Indigenous creatures mentioned in this book to be cryptids, first and foremost. Secondly, the whole chapter dedicated to the SW or what I like to refer to as The Mimic, gave me big icky feelings. This was probably my least favorite part of the entire book. The author states they had a Navajo guide who was even quoted, “We don’t talk about these creatures” and yet the book states the author pressed for information on this creature despite the guide being uncomfortable. This comes off as highly disrespectful to not only Native culture and beliefs, but to the fact that, the guide was not only uncomfortable, also told the author ‘no’. As I said, huge icky feelings for me as a reader and as a Apache Native. No means no and even more so if someone is obviously uncomfortable, end of story. The internet is free, libraries are free. Also, for many Native Tribes, we don’t talk about SWs/Mimics for various reasons. Granted, this can vary from Native person to Native person, but boiling it down to tribal beliefs and culture, there are many that are uncomfortable addressing these creatures. This is the same thing for the entire Wendigo chapter, as well. There are many Native/Indigenous Tribes that don’t talk about the Wendigo. It just wasn’t the vibe and honestly, I don’t feel these are creatures the author should have been talking about in the first place. There was just a lot of disrespect when handling these creatures and I wish I could say this was a surprise, but I can’t. I say this a lot, but I’m going to say it probably for the millionth time, sometimes I wish non-Native/Indigenous authors just don’t.

“In the end, the charge of cryptozoology is not, “I swear I saw something,” as it is often portrayed, but “keep searching!” Even if you don’t find Bigfoot, you’ll find something worthwhile. Guaranteed.”

Overall, I still enjoyed the book despite my feelings about the Native/Indigenous creatures represented. I loved the pictures, I loved discovering cryptids I didn’t know about, and I was really grateful that they were all categorized to area. It’s always a fun time when I get to read about cryptids and anything involving monsters. Plus, the cover was so stunning that it was practically begging me to read it. I highly recommend this to my monster loving, cryptid lover friends who are looking for their next read filled with any of these creatures. And if you’re a quote lover, like myself, quotes upon quotes!

➸ White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

Buddy Read with Ashley ♥

Content/Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, alcoholism, mentions of automotive accident, loss of a loved one, grief, drug use, mentions of overdose (in the past), trauma/PTSD, brief mentions of genocide & colonization, ableism, depictions of blood, themes of MMIWG2s, toxic relationships, violence, gun violence, scene of domestic violence, brief mentions of molestation/pedophilia

Let me be the one to say, this isn’t a bad rating. I know when readers see ratings like this, many tend to think, “Oh, this means this book is bad” when it’s not. I enjoyed a lot of things about this book, but there were a lot of things that made finishing this book hard. To be honest, I’m a little upset this read didn’t go the way I thought it was going to go. I still enjoyed this book though and more importantly, it’s a love letter to the urban Native community, to Native culture, and to those on their healing journey. Also, this book isn’t necessarily scary, but more so about a compelling journey that’s messy, at times suspenseful, and feels like you’re almost living it yourself.

Kari James’s mother disappears when she’s just two-years-old and now in her thirties, she’s working two jobs and taking care of her disabled father. Until one day Kari is given a bracelet that had belonged to her mother. With the ghost of her mother now lurking around every corner, Kari becomes determined to find some answers. Dark secrets waiting to be uncovered, truth waiting to be set free, and the path to healing along the way.

If there’s one thing I can tell you about this book, let it be the fact that this is a love letter to the Native community. If you’re like me, a Native/Indigenous reader, then the themes laced throughout this book will be all too familiar to you. Wurth has written this book for the “urban” Natives who struggle far too often with their identity, walking the tightrope of familial traditions, the vices in public spaces, and being themselves. When I tell I can’t emphasize enough how important Kari’s character is, I mean it with my whole dang chest and then some. Kari is not only an Indigenous main character, but multiple times the book has stated that Kari feels less Native (or less “traditional” Native) because she equates her Native-ness to practicing old, traditional customs/celebrations. This, THIS is important representation, everyone! There are some many multi-tribal Natives out there, there many Native/Indigenous people who are disconnected reconnecting Natives or even just reconnecting Natives (like myself) out there. Not to mention, the full weight that comes from the privilege of being a white-passing Native and then everything that comes with blood quantum. Having a main character like Kari who constantly faces that internal struggle of ‘am I Native enough‘ is so huge and when I tell you I sobbed, I was ugly crying. Being a reconnecting Native myself and reading a character like Kari, who’s independent, a bit of a firecracker, a loner, but also struggles around her Native identity was everything to me. Not to mention, the way the author wrote Kari’s journey throughout this book. The author wrote Kari’s journey so that by the end of the book, Kari has some form of understanding and almost acceptance that every Native/Indigenous identity is complex, contains multitudes of layers, and while individual people many have similarities, each Native/Indigenous person is different. Then I cried even more after I realized that because it made me see parts of myself and just made my heart a bit soft and mushy over it.

This book is also a love letter to Native/Indigenous who are healing and those on their healing journey. Which lets be honest, all Native/Indigenous communities, as a collective, are still healing and surviving. One of the biggest themes throughout this book is the main character’s personal trauma and then her family trauma on top of it. Add the themes that run rampant among Native/Indigenous communities/rez such as MMIWG2s, drug addiction, generational trauma, gentrification in Indigenous communities, and so much more. Many of these themes are unapologetically discussed throughout this book and the reader is just thrown into it. I think this is one of the most unapologetically Native/Indigenous books that I’ve every read outside of nonfiction. It truly has everything that I can think of when it comes to thinking about a what an Indigenous-led book would look like.

However, despite the things I loved about this book, there were still things that just made it a harder read. The biggest thing was the many subplots that were going on along with the main storyline. I was really invested in the mother’s disappearance and I wanted to solely focus on that. It was really captivating and my curiosity was hyper-fixated on that. With the other two subplots that were happening, the backstory with the ex and then the whole marital issues that were happening with Kari’s best friend, it was a bit of a double-whammy for me. Not only did these make it hard to keep my focus on the story, but it also impacted the pacing for me as well. Anytime I would get sucked back into the story, invested on what would happen next, some issue with the best friend and her husband would happen, pulling me right out of the story and taking away from the reading experience. While all these subplots do come together by the end and add to Kari’s growth, the subplots just weren’t it for me. They were a bit mentally and emotionally draining, and they messed with reading pace a lot, which is why it took me longer to read this book than it should have.

Overall, this isn’t a bad book and I truly loved so many things about this it. I think this is such an important book just on the representation alone and I think there will be many Native/Indigenous readers like myself who feel a heavy mental and emotional pull to this book. I do think this book is worth your time, I do encourage others to pick this book up and give it a chance, and I hope I see more readers falling in love with this book. Again, I think this is the most unapologetically Native/Indigenous books I’ve read that isn’t straight from the nonfiction genre or from an elder’s mouth. Plus, this book is even more special because the author is part Apache and as a Mescalero Apache reader myself, I’m always looking for more Apache authors to read from!

➸ The Confidence of Wildflowers by Micalea Smeltzer

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent (to cancer, in the past), childhood abuse recounted, mentions child molestation (in the past), trauma/PTSD, depictions of night terrors, depictions of anxiety & panic attacks, mentions of toxic relationship, mentions of manipulation, cheating (emotionally & physically), mentions of domestic violence (in the past), talk of breast cancer, scenes of emesis, slut shaming, death of child (by drowning), grief, explicit sex scenes, blowjob scene

Oh jeebus, friends… I don’t know how I did it, but I finally found the energy to write this review. After spending a lot of time going through a whole mixture of emotions, talking things out with friends, and just sitting down to reflect on my reading experience – it’s been a wild ride of a time. It’s safe to say that this book was good… until it wasn’t. I’m going to do my best to keep this spoiler free, but also addressing the few things I like and the things that flopped, royally.

Recently graduated, eighteen-year-old, Salem who’s just trying to live her life and figure things out for herself. Not having anyone or anything dictate what she should or shouldn’t do. With her boyfriend preparing for college and a best friend leaving for New York, Salem is set on hanging around to make her candles and help her mother run their antique store. Until Thayer arrives, becoming her grumpy next door neighbor, and suddenly asking her to be a babysitter for his six-year-old son. Salem will find it almost impossible not to fall in love with this father-son duo.

“Following someone else’s desires sounds like a one-way ticket to my version of hell – I’ve already been there and I’m not going back.”

Let me start off by talking about the best part, the cat! Yes, Salem’s cat, Binx is absolutely precious. I love how the cat is given room to have his own personality in this book and it stands out. I adored it with my whole chest. Of course, I have to talk about Thayer and his son, Forrest. I loved both of them, so freaking much. Ever scene with them, every interaction is just so wholesome and makes the heart turn to mush. The way the author wrote Forrest and Thayer is so beautiful and I love the fact the author didn’t shy away from Thayer’s ex-wife being abusive, manipulative. I talk about this a lot, how in media and literature, far too often we see it from the other side where the man is abusive. We don’t often see the man being a victim of abusive relationships and it’s almost considered taboo or nonexistent, but reality is that yes, men and really anyone can be in an abusive, toxic relationship. I’m really glad the author didn’t shy away from that and stood by that throughout the entire book.

This book has one of my favorite tropes, as well. Grumpy x sunshine tropes are probably one of my favorite tropes in my romance. I always say that I unknowingly seek out books that reflect my own marriage, that grumpy x sunshine is very much alive here. So it’s something I often find myself gravitating to even when I don’t think I am. Upon first introduction, we get a sweet taste of Thayer being super grumpy and I couldn’t stop giggling because it was just so good. Salem isn’t really overly bright, but she’s warm and has the personality of someone who always tries to find the good in everything.

And kind of circling back to what I talked about Thayer’s past with his ex-wife, I want to talk about Salem’s past. Salem had some really great PTSD/trauma portrayal and representation. As someone with PTSD, I always make it a habit that when I see good representation for trauma/PTSD, to speak about it. I thought it was handled well and done well. Reading those sections with her especially the moments where she’s waking up early to run or to sit on the balcony because she can’t sleep, they were moments that completely sucked the air right out of me. It was so relatable and probably one of the few things I appreciated about Salem as a character. If it wasn’t already made clear, there’s on page discussions of Salem’s trauma, her abusive past, and discussions surrounding domestic violence. Please make sure you’re checking content/trigger warnings before picking this book up and please make sure you’re in a good head space, too!

“I don’t tell him, but everyone worries so much about monsters lingering outside they forget about the ones that can hurt you behind closed doors.”

Despite these good things and how much I loved them, they weren’t enough to make me love this book as a whole. If I’m being honest, things were going good until the 50-60% mark. Majority of my issues come from the second half of the book, but we’ll get into that. Since we’re on the topic of Salem, I didn’t like her. Salem as a whole character, she wasn’t my cup of tea. While there were some things I appreciated about her, there were a lot of times where I was fully disconnected from her. There were too many times where she was trying to act older than she was, I wasn’t a fan of a lot of her actions especially surrounding how she handled things with Caleb, and even more so near the end of of the book, I really didn’t like how she chose to handle things with Thayer. The author writes her in a way that by the very end of this book she looks like a terrible person. Not a fan, at all.

One of my biggest issues in this book was the cheating trope, though. Now, typically I don’t mind emotional cheating. Everyone has different preferences and what they consider cheating, what bothers them in terms of cheating tropes, etc… I was willing to look past all of Salem’s emotional cheating and I had the audacity to think that the author was going to make sure Salem does the right thing. That was a big ole’ nope. Salem cheats on Caleb and then waits like a week or so to break up with him. I’m sorry, I don’t roll with this kind of nonsense. Speaking of Caleb, I completely despised his character. I found nothing redeemable about him and actually, found him to be a creep. The fact that Caleb kept referring to Salem as ‘babe’ the entire time after they broke up just felt weird and icky. Even more creeped out once you find out that Caleb knows about Salem cheating on him and all that jazz. This ties in with Salem’s flip-flopping back and forth between Caleb and Thayer. It’s just some serious drama llama nonsense, friends and I’m telling you, not worth the headache.

If this doesn’t bother you, then this bit will. I’m going to try to keep this vague because it surrounds the plot twist, but in all honesty, I think it needs to be full out mentioned. My biggest peeve about this book and the most unredeemable thing is what the author does to Forrest’s character. Now, I’m not so much upset about what happens because it’s something that, unfortunately, many people have had to experienced. No, my issue is with things surrounding Forrest consist of two things. For starters, there is no clarification on whether what happens was on purpose or a tragic accident. There are about one to two moments where it seems like this was on purpose and the fact that there’s no clarification is devasting. What’s even more devastating and aggravating, is the fact that the author not only writes out that whole incident with Forrest’s character, but sets things up for him to be replaced by a whole new character for book two. Yeah, if you’re upset, so am I. This was the thing that ruin the book for me. There was no logical reason for the author to do this and not only that, but to make it a plot point. I’ve seen this happen in the horror genre because it works. It doesn’t work for an adult romance. I think in certain circumstances, yes, it could work, but not in this case. It was completely unnecessary and I’m still upset about it.

Overall, I cannot in good conscious recommend this book to anyone. This book threw me into a horrible reading slump (that I’m just now climbing out of since writing this review). No, I will not be picking up the second book either. And from what I hear, things don’t improve much in the second book of this duology. I wanted to love this book, I really did. I had high hopes because so many people I trusted recommended this book to me. This just wasn’t it, on so many levels, friends.

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3 Mini Reviews | The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Split Tooth, & I Am a Cat Barista Vol. 1

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Salutations everyone! I hope you’re doing well and that your day is being gentle with you, whenever you may be reading this! Today, I’m back again with some more mini reviews. If I’m being honest, mini reviews have been a big help with holding myself accountable for getting a lot of my reviews out. They’ve also been allowing me to breathe a bit easier. I tend to write really long reviews (looking at my review of Famine) and sometimes I can stress myself out over it by A LOT. But I digress. January has been blessing me with so many good reads and all the reviews you’re about to read were all five stars reads for me! So I hope you enjoy my thoughts and feelings on these books! ♥

➼ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Buddy Read with Destiny ♥

✨ Gallant ★★★★★

Content/Trigger Warnings: Feelings of isolation, starvation, assault (physical and sexual), depictions of abuse, abusive relationship, death, grief, loss of loved ones, drugs, substance abuse, prostitution, sexism, explicit sex, depictions of depression, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, scenes of war, brief mentions of cancer in the past

“Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget.”

I can’t believe I’ve been sitting on V. E. Schwab’s work for so long! If you didn’t know – hi, hello, I am baby to Schwab’s books! My first book I ever read by Schwab was Gallant and I fell madly in love with that book. So it should come as no surprise that I’m sitting here, being soft and squishy over another book by Schwab. I’m not going to lie, this book was a very emotional, fantastic way to start off 2023. It was everything. It gave me feelings of the movie, The Age of Adaline, in some ways and even still this book touched parts of my soul. This book has truly kicked the new year off with a bang!

“Never pray to the gods that answer after dark.”

✨ Addie (Adaline) LaRue – Born in a small town with all the expectations placed upon her, but Addie is a dreamer, full of curiosity and wonder. Big dreams of seeing the world, to really live outside of this small town that expects so much of her. So when Addie turns twenty-three, everyone hopeful that Addie will finally slow down, be tamed by marriage, she quickly finds out that time isn’t something she’ll ever have to worry about, ever again.

“She has gone so long without roots, she doesn’t know how to grow them anymore.
So used to losing things, she isn’t sure how to hold them.
How to make space in a world the size of herself.”

✨ Henry – A writer, working in a book store in New York, trying to live his life to the fullest. And one day he meets a girl with seven freckles, and he remembers her.

“His heart has a draft. It lets in light. It lets in storms. It lets in everything.”

✨ Luc – A god, one that you should never pray to after dark, unless you’re desperate enough to pay an unknown price.

“I am not some genie, bound to your whim.” He pushes off the tree. “Nor am I some petty forest spirit, content with granting favors for mortal trinkets. I am stronger than your god and older than your devil. I am the darkness between stars, and the roots beneath the earth. I am promise, and potential, and when it comes to playing games, I divine the rules, I set the pieces, and I choose when to play. And tonight, I say no.”

When it’s clear her time is almost up, maybe, just maybe, Addie is that willing to pay the unknown price as she runs into the forest, late one night. Willing to risk everything if it means she can escape her fate, to see her dream through, and to have a life that is truly hers. Over the course of three-hundred years, we’ll watch Adaline struggle, grow, love and fall apart. Starting in the place it all began, the small town where she was born and ending in 2014 America. We’ll watch Addie yearn to be remembered, desiring to leave some for of a mark, doing everything within her to gain knowledge and experience the world like she truly wanted, even if it hurts more times than not.

“Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real, if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?”

I want to take a moment to highlight Henry because I think he truly deserves a spotlight on his character. I honestly didn’t expect to love Henry as much as I did, but oh, did his character hit my heart so hard with all the feelings and emotions. I have never wanted to go feral and protect a character as much as I did with Henry. While I think Addie and Luc felt very realistic (yes, even Luc, despite him being a god), there was something so raw about his character. I think readers are going to feel that ‘hits close to home’ kind of feeling with his character. Being unsure of what you want out of life, feeling something is wrong with you, or feeling like you’re not good enough, not doing enough… Feeling like no one will ever be able to love you with their whole chest, to love you unconditionally… Henry as a character hits the nail on the head and even more so if you’re in your twenties, fresh out of high school, starting life. It hits like a ton of bricks and Schwab didn’t hold back when she wrote Henry’s character and the way he struggles with mental health. And I’m so glad, so grateful Schwab let us fall in love with Henry as much as we get to fall in love with Addie.

“It is just a storm, he tells himself, but he is tired of looking for shelter. It is just a storm, but there is always another waiting in its wake.”

And while I love Addie and Henry a whole lot, we have one more character we still need to talk about, Luc, the god Addie made a deal with. Now, I do love Luc’s character. However, surprisingly, I didn’t love him as much as I thought I would. Also, let me emphasize that the relationship between Luc and Addie, their three-hundred-year deal, is not a healthy relationship, at all. There’s a huge power imbalance between the two of them and Addie has to constantly fight to gain even the tiniest bread crumb of power for herself. We see the way Luc and Addie’s relationship morphs, grows, and constantly develop over the course of time. The reason why I didn’t like Luc as a character as much as I thought I would, it’s the fact of wanting more. Honestly, I would have loved a third perspective. I think Schwab could have written Luc’s third perspective so we could have seen his side of things. My wanting to know more of him, dampened my love for him a bit, but as a whole character, I do love him. When I think of god who fall into the grey area of not necessarily good, but not whole heartily evil, Luc comes to my mind. I also want to point out that I think Schwab left out Luc’s perspective for a reason. Everything she did with crafting and building Luc’s character felt like a deliberate way to make him charming, to be alluring, and make the reader still love him. The fact is, abusers/abusive people can be all those characteristics about them and at the end of the day still be abusers.

“You didn’t come.”
“You didn’t call.”
She looks down at their tangled hands. “Tell me, Luc,” she says.
“Was any of it real?”
“What is real to you, Adeline? Since my love counts for nothing?”
“You are not capable of love.”
He scowls, his eyes flashing emerald. “Because I am not human? Because I do not wither and die?”
“No,” she says, drawing back her hand. “You are not capable of love because you cannot understand what it is to care for someone else more than yourself. If you loved me, you would have let me go by now.”
Luc flicks his fingers. “What nonsense,” he says. “It is because I love you that I won’t. Love is hungry. Love is selfish.”

We do see Addie, Henry, and Luc all come together, watch their stories begin to unfold and how they’re all connected. And that’s all I’ll say about that. I think it’s best if you venture into the book yourself to find out want happens. What I will say, this was a wild ride and every step of the way had my breath catching in my throat.

“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives–or to find strength in a very long one.”

Overall, there’s so much more that I want to say, that I definitely shouldn’t say because I don’t want to spoil anything for you, dear reader. As I mentioned, it’s been a hot minute since a book pulled the rawest emotions from within the depths of my soul. A book that has caused me to reflect on the things I crave, what my soul truly yearns for, what it really means to be remembered. Even now my eyes are watering because this book just touched the softest parts of me. I think this book really hits the human experience, captures it in all of the rawest ways, and I think if you’re like me, reading this book when you really need it, it’s going to unravels your tangled heart. And before I forget, quotes upon quotes! I wanted to dedicate so many notebook pages just to quotes. Truly, I wish I would have read this sooner because I think this is going to be a forever favorite read of mine.

Thank you, Addie LaRue. I will always remember you. ♥

➼ Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

Content/Trigger Warnings: Sexual abuse, child abuse, death, brief mentions of famine, alcoholism, drug use

“This is where my lesson was learned: pain is to be expected, courage is to be welcomed. There is no choice but to endure. There is no other way than to renounce self-doubt. It is the time of the Dawning in more ways than one. The sun can rise, and so can I”

This book has been on my ‘want to read’ list for what feels like ages and after much time has passed, I finally got my hands on a hardback copy! I knew I would love this book, but I didn’t expect it to pull so many emotions from me. At the end, I not only loved this book, but oof, my heart! I think this might be the most beautifully haunting book I’ve read thus far.

Before I give my initial thoughts, I want to put a heavy, HEAVY emphasis on the themes of sexual abuse in this book. This is a consistent theme throughout these pages and as far as the physical book copy goes, there are no mentions of trigger warnings. Like I have listed above, I just really wanted to spotlight this in case anyone was considering picking this book up. To give you the gentle reminder to check in with your mental health before picking this book up.

My experience is a little different compared to most readers. A lot of reviews I’ve seen have been for the audiobook and sadly, I can’t make any comments about the throat singing that is featured in the audiobook. However, I love the fact that the extra mile was taken to feature throat singing and I wish more Native/Indigenous literature, in audiobook format, went that extra mile.

“There are secrets hidden in our flesh. Our cells being born and dying with the same force that makes galaxies form and deconstruct.”

Prepare for a haunting, bone chilling reading experience as this book isn’t for the faint of heart. Set in the northern parts of Canada, we read passages of mixed media, of surviving in the Great North. Told in first person, we’re taken to a place where empathy for others is scarce and one must do whatever it takes to survive. A place where sexual abuse is common and part of a young girl’s “normal” sexual development, where death looms in this disguise of ice, and where fox populations can get immense that they starve and start attacking children. No, this place is cruel in more ways than one, but also chillingly beautiful. Tagaq recounts everything clearly, like it happened yesterday, and with almost a young girlish wonder. Though at times disconcerting with how you should feel after such passages.

Though this book is haunting and beautiful, it’s incredibly powerful, jarring, and incredibly important. If you miss the dedication, this is a reminder that this book is dedicated to Murder & Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, 2S and to residential school survivors. This dedication is an echoed reminder, constantly, throughout this book and just adds to the various amounts of emotions you’ll experience while reading/listening. Tagaq does an incredible job taking those important themes, weaving them throughout the book with culture and mythology.

Overall, I’m being careful not to say too much when it comes to this book. I think the best way to read this book is going into this is just knowing the content warnings and then diving in. Will it make sense? Possibly not. Will you feel like you’ve been swept in a whirlwind of things unfolding? Absolutely! As an Apache Native, did I fully understand everything I was reading? Not always, but oh was I swept away by everything this book is, everything laced throughout, and yes, I did cry more than once. This book will stick with me for a long time and even now I’m still thinking about it. I do want to recommend the audiobook, though, especially now knowing that there is throat singing. I think it’ll add an element that the physical book is lacking. So do check it out especially if you’ve never heard any throat singing before.

➼ I Am a Cat Barista, Vol. 1 by Hiro Maijima

What a purrfect manga to pick up after a long, stressful day! Pun intended! Truly, this was such a lovely manga to curl up and unwind with. Like drinking a big mug of hot chocolate on a chilly winter day, this book warmed my heart. Can you tell that I need more slice of life manga in my life? Because I sure can!

There’s a café that only appears to those who truly need it. Worn out from work, stressed and overwhelmed by school, or various other things that may make us feel heavy. Staffed by the talking cat barista, who everyone refers to as Master, which pays homage to his position as the only barista at the café than anything else. Offering a place where patrons of the weary and troubled can take the time to rest a while, and receive advice with the Café Hachiware’s Special drink.

If you love slice of life manga then this will be the great read for you. I went into this book not really looking for a solid storyline, but something more casual, cozy, and light-hearted. And that’s exactly what I got! As I mentioned above, this was the perfect light read to unwind with and I’m glad I chose to read this at night, as I was settling down for sleep because it helped me relax.

If I had to fault this book for anything that I think other readers won’t enjoy, it would be the fact that there’s not a big difference in each chapter. The only chapter that really stands out the most is chapter 5: Ashio Miyako and Her Lost Cat. This chapter stands out the most due to the main character, the cat barista doing something outside of just giving sage advice and a beverage to serve the person’s woes. Otherwise, all the other stories take on the pattern of someone comes in, sits down, gets some wisdom and the special beverage, and then you move to the next chapter. I will say, the chapter where the cat barista goes to meet a friend also stands out. That chapter was interesting and I hope in future volumes we get to see their friendship explored a little more.

Overall, this was the kind of manga I’ve been looking for recently. A light-hearted, cozy read that I can unwind with, but also can see myself rereading in the future. This was the perfect fit for me! Again, if you like slice of life books then I definitely encourage you to pick this manga up! It’s so cute, so wholesome, and just lovely to read!

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Mini Reviews | Cancer Ships Aquarius, Titan, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

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Salutations everyone! I hope you’re staying hydrated and getting plenty of rest. Welcome to 2023, the year where I continue writing mini reviews for books that I’ve read, but never got around to writing the review for them. Today I just have three mini reviews for you. These books have been waiting to be reviewed for a while now and I’m really glad I’m finally getting around to sharing my thoughts with all of you. These reviews are ranked in order from highest star rating (5 stars) to my lowest read (2 stars). Without out any further delay, let’s jump into the reviews!

➼ Cancer Ships Aquarius by Anyta Sunday

✨ Leo Loves Aries (Signs of Love #1) ★★★★★
✨ Leo Tops Aries (Signs of Love #1.5) ★★★★★
✨ Scorpio Hates Virgo (Signs of Love #2) ★★★★★
✨ Gemini Keeps Capricorn (Signs of Love #3) ★★★★
✨ Pisces Hooks Taurus (Signs of Love #4) ★★★★

Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of loved ones, grief, brief mentions of child abandonment, thalassophobia (fear of the ocean), anxiety, mention of heart condition & heart attack, accidental underage drinking, mentioned brief homelessness, child abuse/neglect (in the past), trauma/PTSD flashbacks

This is a far overdue review and I’m happy to say that I’m finally sitting down to give this review. This is probably my favorite book out of the whole series so far! I absolutely fell in love with this book, with the characters, and the fact that compared to all the other books in this series, this book does something the rest doesn’t give us. I ate this book up so fast and honestly, I want more books that are like this one.

Reid Glover has spent his whole life being abandoned, left in the breeze by those he cares about most. Now with his best friends moving in together, Reid finds himself once again losing his home. Desperate for cash and a place to stay until he can figures things out, he interviews for a position as a live-in manny position aboard widowed Sullivan Bell’s yacht. But things aren’t going to be that simple and thirteen-year-old Joanna doesn’t want or need a manny, but she does want to give her dad a friend, maybe even something more. This grumpy sunshine duo is about to shake up each other’s worlds!

Did you hear me? Read it again and say it really loud for those in the back… WIDOWED father of a thirteen-year-old daughter! YES PLEASE! I say this all the time, I want to see literature give us second chance romances with a single/widowed parent. I get it if authors are worried about if there’s a desire/market for that, but I’m telling you that this was every thing I love about single/widowed parent representation in literature. We have the chaos of a single parent raising a teenager, the possibility of that parent finding love, the complex layers of it all and trying to navigate a plethora of feelings… I want more! Not to mention the widowed father literally has a grumpy personality. It was everything thing. Then you throw Reid into the mix, who’s a ray of sunshine, trying to make the best of everything and trying to make everyone happy, and it’s chef’s kiss! I briefly want to talk about Joanna too because I think her representation is just as important to highlight. Joanna is adopted and though it’s a bit of a very subtle thing on the side in the story, Joanna is navigating a whole bunch of complex feelings right along with her father. We not only see the typical teenager stuff like school and relationships, but we see more glimpses of other things from her. And I just wanted to mention how much her character stole my heart.

“Sometimes we explode in anger, sadness, frustration with little to no warning. Feelings are messy, Sullivan. Expressing them can’t always be measured.”

Also, we get some fantastic grief representation throughout this book. I think this story really did a fantastic job at highlighting how grief manifests differently in different people of various ages. All three of our characters are dealing with different forms of grief and they’re highlighted throughout this book beautifully. This was one of the major things that really made me fall in love with this book. In my opinion, I think the author handled the grief representation really well, showed how messy and chaotic grief can be, shows that no matter how much time passes, grief never really leaves us even when we’re healing it still lingers, and shows how grief is different for each person. It was just really beautiful and for some reason, made my heart really full.

Overall, I don’t really have anything bad to say about this book and I honestly don’t want to say too much because it’s just that good. I want you to read it for yourself and decide if you like it or not. I will say, I think you could read this book by itself, but there are cameos from other characters from the previous books and I think it’s more fulfilling to read this after you read the first four in the series. But trust me, it’s really good especially if you’re someone who loves the grumpy sunshine romance dynamic.

➼ Titan (Romancing His Stone #1) by Jillian Graves

Buddy Read with Destiny ♥

Content/Trigger Warnings: Explicit dom/sub interactions, financial abusive parent relationship, mentions and threats of conservatorship, acrophobia (fear of heights), vague scenes of sexual harassment, harassment, assault, graphic violence, stalking, depictions of blood

Well, this is embarrassing. Not embarrassing by the fact that I read this book and reviewing it, but the fact that in the time since finishing this book, I have been teeter-totting on my feelings with this book. Which, let’s be honest, is why I haven’t taken it upon myself to write this review… until now. Honestly, I had originally rated this a lot higher because I was so caught up in the fast pace of this book. However, once the dust settled and I came down off the rush, my feelings were on a fast decline. I was really excited about a gargoyle romance especially when you start reading this book and it feels like Gargoyles fanfiction. This novella didn’t turn out the way I had hoped or even the way I initially thought I felt.

Titan is on a mission to recover the Keystone, a precious artifact to the gargoyles and all Strange (what paranormal creatures are called in this world). When he meets Jules on a stake out one night, both of their worlds will soon collide. Jules will be thrown into a world of the paranormal, where monsters she thought were once fantasy, actually exist and Titan will discover a pull unlike any other even more noticeable than the pull he has for the Keystone. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Look, the first part of this book was really fun. I love when a character who’s has to constantly be on the alert, in constant survival mode, gets to take their hair down and enjoy life a little. I also love that we get a lot of consent and respectfulness of boundaries in the bedroom. Fantastic, I love to see consent and boundaries being taken seriously. I also really liked how Titan was angry for Jules when no one else was and genuinely wanted to help Jules. Also, I thought the chemistry between the two main characters was really good in the beginning. And all of that combined made for a really fun, good time to be had for my reading experience, in the beginning.

Sadly, this is the extent of good things I have to say. Honestly, I feel like I’m still being generous and I think it’s just due to this being a gargoyle romance. Things really started to fall to pieces for the remaining three quarters of the book. The pacing of the book picks up pretty quickly and it’s very easy to get swept up in the rush. Which is exactly what happened to me.

While Titan was respectful of Julianne in the bedroom, that was the full extent of the respect for boundaries we see. Titan fully disregards Jules’ wishes and boundaries constantly any other time. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love when my boundaries are respected 24/7. This boiled my blood and even more so when we find out everything that Jules is going through, and why she does things the way she does. I was really upset that consent and boundaries were basically thrown out the window, and didn’t matter if it wasn’t in the bedroom. Boundaries aren’t a piece of clothing that you can take on and off. Boundaries are something that should be respected at all times.

On the topic of boundaries, this applies to one scene in particular that I thought had no place being in the book and actually messed up the entire vibe of the book in general. This part in particular ended up leaving a really bad taste in my mouth because it genuinely felt so… unnecessary. We have a scene where Titan not only fully disregards Jules’ request to stay out of it, don’t do anything reckless, but it’s a scene of full assault to someone from Jules’ life that hurt her. This completely took me out of the storyline, took me out of the romance, and it was in that moment that I really didn’t care what happened to Titan. Titan could have been killed off and I wouldn’t even bat an eye because any ounce of interest I had was thrown out the widow the minute the author decided to add an unnecessary, graphically violent scene of assault into the book. Not to mention, this scene didn’t even tie in with the main storyline and the author really wrote Titan in the aftermath as doing Jules a kindness. No, NO, this was not a kindness and this scene never had to happen in the first place.

With all that aside, the main leads of our story become almost unbearable by the end of the book. Jules constantly takes on a petty, childish tone and personality where she’s literally doing shit to piss Titan off or doesn’t even try to have a proper conversation when Titan does something she’s not okay with. As I already mentioned, Titan really started to really annoy me and piss me off. In the beginning his character wasn’t terrible, but by halfway through, he was just becoming overly aggressive or even passive aggressive at some points, and I’m not a fan of that kind of behavior. By the end of this book, I genuinely didn’t care what would happen to either of them because I was so annoyed by how they were acting more childish than like adults.

Overall, I wanted to love this so much and I think my desire of wanting a gargoyle romance for so long really shadowed how I felt about this book, and showed the many notes taken on issues I was having with it. This book could have been everything for my gargoyle loving heart and it just fell short in so many ways. I think if you’re someone who values boundaries a lot, you’re not going to enjoy this book. Honestly, you can find books that value boundaries a lot better, with characters in many other adult romance books than this one. If you’re just someone looking for a fast read or a potential fun time, then give this a try and see how you feel, but personally I wouldn’t recommend for any other reason.

➼ The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Buddy with Destiny ♥

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of misogyny, mentions of bullying, gore, blood, violence, graphic injuries, dead animals, graphic animal deaths, mentions of animal abuse, mentions of burying someone alive, mentions of kidnapping, brief mentions of a miscarriage, alcoholism, brief mentions of a hanging (in the past), loss of loved ones, scene of attempted suicide, scene of overdosing, scenes of emesis, nudity, talk of rape, mentions of domestic violence, mentions of racism, scenes of gaslighting

Okay, okay… This has been the review I have been DREADING. Let me make this clear, this is not a bad book, but this wasn’t my cup of tea, I’m definitely not the targeted audience for this specific horror, and that’s perfectly okay. I’m stating all of this because reasons (don’t ask). Truly though, there’s nothing wrong with this book. I think I just wanted more of certain things when it comes to my horror and instead of getting just that, I got something else entirely that just left me unsatisfied and frustrated.

We follow Patricia Campbell, who’s dreamed of having a big life, but that’s not how things turned out. After leaving her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a stay at home mother, Patricia is left with a void in her life. With a husband is distant and too busy for her and their children, two kids who are ungrateful and don’t appreciate her, and a never ending to-do list, Patricia feels like she’s drowning. The only thing that makes things a little more tolerable is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. However, when strange events begin to happen and children start to go missing, every thing seems to point to the mysterious stranger who just moved to town. What will be uncovered will be much more terrifying and Patricia and her book club might be the only thing to stop it.

“it made no sense, but sometimes you did a thing because that was just what you did, not because it was sensible.”

I’m not even sure how to even begin unpacking this review. I guess we’ll start with our villain of the book, James. I loved that the author wasn’t afraid to take the iconic vampire and reimagine it into a serial killer. I think being able to take iconic monsters and reimagine them into modern day monsters can be a great way to breathe life into them. Then have the vampire cross paths with those in a book club who read mostly true crime, mystery, sci-fi books… Who wouldn’t be invested and waiting to see the chaos explode everywhere? It was one of the most intriguing, attention captivating things about this whole book. James character as a whole was incredibly impactful and the scenes we get him, you felt how cunning and manipulative he was. You felt the power in those really intense scenes. It was really well done.

Out of all the characters in this book, thank you Mrs. Greene for existing because any scene with her was fantastic! I loved how much of a spitfire Mrs. Greene was and wasn’t afraid of calling people out. Tie that with how she’s the only one who knows what’s going on and cares enough that she’s been trying for a hot minute to do something about the missing children. I just really enjoyed her character and maybe it’s because there’s a part of me that felt connected to her or understands her better than all the other characters we’re given. She was a gem and I adored her.

“These false prophets come wandering into town, take hold of your mind, and lead you down a primrose path… People fall for honeyed words.”

Those are the only things I can actively remember enjoying. From the time I finished this book to the time of writing this review, those were the only good things that I still think about and remember vividly to this very moment. Everything else in this book was a struggle horrendous struggle. If I’m being really honest, I pushed myself to finished this book because I desperately wanted to love it, to have the experience other readers were having when they said how amazing this book was, and I think the fear of missing out really impacted how burned out I got trying to read through this book.

I think the thing I struggled the most with this book was the pacing. For me, the pacing felt incredibly off. It would start out slow, have an action packed scene that picked up the pace, and then the pace would slow down again. Typically when I read my books, I want an out of the gate fast pace or I want that slow build into a faster pace trickling into a slow, smooth end. This book was neither of those paces. So that really hindered me with the reading. And I think the overuse of details really bogged that pacing as well. There were many chapters where things felt like they were being dragging out. Not necessarily due to details, but just the way some of the some of the moments were built. It was like trying to run through quick sand for me.

I also struggled caring about the characters like Patricia and the rest of the book club. While I thought they were all unique in their own ways and how close they were, having each other’s backs, I just didn’t care what happened to them. Patricia was the hardest character to like (and this goes back into what I said earlier about how Mrs. Greene’s perspective would have been better) because there was nothing there that allowed me to connect with her. I simply didn’t care and it was that way for all of them. They were all interesting in their own way and it was great to see their personalities come together, but I just didn’t care whether any of them lived or died.

I think my biggest issue with this book is the way mental health and rape are handled. I don’t see anyone talking about this in their reviews and so I thought I’d like to throw my two cents into the ring. As someone who has experience with both of these topics. My issue isn’t with the fact that the author writes about how women were treated in the mid-late 1800s when it came to the main character and side characters acting independent or speaking up (you know, the era when women could be committed into asylums for breaking the social norm). My issue is the fact the author thought it was necessary to add in an attempted suicide for shock value, a means to push the story along into a future tense, and then to add salt to injury, have an entire scene near the end of the book where the main character is basically gaslight for how everything played out. That’s my issue. The same issues also tie in with the fact the author uses rape as a plot device and for shock value. Look, I don’t mind shock value for a lot of things, but you know, I would have preferred the character to be killed off quickly than have that whole scene happen and then be dragged out over chapters, having it be kept a secret, and then for things to turn out the way they did. When I say I’m left angry, speechless, and heartbroken that we’re still living in an age where instead of writing about these topics to address or call out the still standing problems of the healthcare system and the social problems for these two topics, that we’re using them as plot devices in a non-constructive way (these didn’t even need to be in the book in the first place). What more can I say except this just wasn’t it. These didn’t need to be included in this book and yet an active choice was made, and it wasn’t a good one.

Also, I want to add this little note that I had expected a lot more from this book. I was expecting to feel a lot more dread, a lot more sense of impending doom, and more gore and death. However, that was not the case. I spent the majority of the book wondering and expecting to feel something, but it just never happened and it was a bit of a disappointment.

Overall, I’m just going to wrap up this review here. Writing this review has felt very tedious and mentally draining. Again, I chalk this up as not the intended audience or not the book for me. So take my review with a grain of salt. I’m just one voice in the sea of voices. I think this book had the opportunity to be many things, but unfortunately it fell short on so many things for me. I think if you like this author’s writing and other books to give this book a chance, and see how you feel.

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Mini Reviews | The Sky Watched: Poems of Ojibwe Lives, The Sockeye Mother, If I Go Missing, Night of the Living Rez: Stories, & What the Chickadee Knows

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Salutations friends! I’m back with some more mini reviews! I hope you don’t mind that this is going to be a larger mini reviews post than usual. Today I’m going to be talking about five Indigenous books and recommend them to you. Yes! Yes you reader! If you’re looking to diversify your reading, wanting to read more literature by Native/Indigenous then I think these books are a good place to start. However, these book are unapologetically Indigenous and know that I loved each of these books with my whole dang chest! Anyway, here are five books that I’ve loved so far for the month of November! ♥

🪶 The Sky Watched: Poems of Ojibwe Lives by Linda LeGarde Grover
Finished copy provided by Univ Of Minnesota Press.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of Residential schools, abuse, trauma/PTSD, generational trauma, loss of loved ones, grief

I sobbed. Friends, I have sobbed all through this book, I cried after finishing this book, and even now as I write up this review I’m getting teary eyed. For starters, look at this cover. I’m in love with it! It’s absolutely stunning and I just needed to point this out to everyone. That aside, this book is such a loud book. It’s raw, incredibly important, and the kind of book that you need to sit on after you finish it, to feel the weight and emotions that you’ve read through. However, I always get super mushy when something is unapologetically Native/Indigenous.

This poetry collection is a collection that reflects on the experience in Ojibwe lives. Moments on boarding schools and Wounded Knee, but lacing the important moments of love, family, and culture throughout these pages. A poetry collection that encourages the reader to sit upon the weight of the history that Turtle Island (now known as North America or The United States & Canada) was subjected to, to encourage reflection and acknowledgement of how this history still carries into today. To encourage the reader to take their time reading with this book.

If I had to say anything negative about this collection, I think it would be that there are no resources for non-Native/non-Indigenous readers to follow up on with reading. I know many non-Native/non-Indigenous readers tend to struggle with connecting with Native/Indigenous literature and I think it would have been helpful if there were more resources linking to even more stories from Ojibwe people. HOWEVER, I will say/argue that Google is free, articles on Native/Indigenous history is free, YouTube is free, most Nations have their own websites linking their histories, stories and resources. All the sources are literally out there at your fingers tips, you just have to actually put in the work to find those resources. It shouldn’t be the Native/Indigenous author’s responsibility to do all the work for you.

Some of my favorites:

➸ Sea Smoke on Gichigami
➸ Mary Remembering, on a July Afternoon
➸ Redemption

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this poetry collection. This collection made my heart very mushy, very soft, and really emotional. This is so much more than just a poetry collection and the powerfulness, the loudness of this book is just immaculate. I don’t think this book will be for everyone and I think there will be readers who struggle with this because there are poems that use the Ojibwe language. However, I love when an author uses their first language and does it unapologetically, and this book is very unapologetically Native/Indigenous. It was just a fantastic read and I can’t recommend it enough to those who want to read more Native/Indigenous literature.

🪶 The Sockeye Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) & Natasha Donovan

This book was stunning! Stunning! From the story to the artwork, I absolutely fell in love with this book. I’m truly grateful to a friend who recommended this book to me and needless to say… I’ve already bought book two and added the rest of the series to many of my wishlists. I’m really excited to read the rest of the series and experience more of the Mothers of Xsan, and the stories from the Gitxsan Nation of British Columbia!

To the Gitxsan Nation of British Columbia, the sockeye salmon is more than their source of food, but also important to their survival. This book reflects how the circle of life impacts everything. From birth to death, everything in an ecosystem is impacted and even the smallest creature has an important role. We see that through the cycle of the sockeye salmon in this book and how it contributes to the Gitxsan Nation.

The biggest thing I want to highlight about this book is the role the sockeye salmon has. We don’t just see the sockeye salmon ecologically, but we see it culturally for the Gitxsan Nation, as well. This is the main point of this whole entire book. Everything is connected to each other and I think this book does a fantastic job at highlighting this for readers. Far too often, we tend to forget how even the smallest thing can make the biggest ripples. The author wrote this book in a way to not only highlight this, but causes the reader to reflect and really think about, well, literally everything that is life.

The other thing I was super happy about was the highlighted vocabulary words. This book does a really good job providing that for those special key words. I really love that and really appreciate the author taking the time to do that. And this makes it an ever better reading experience if you’re reading this book with younger readers. I think it adds so much to the reading experience and I enjoyed taking the time to read the little boxes. Speaking of vocabulary, we see Gitxsan language being used and it makes my heart so full. I love when authors use their first language unapologetically in their books. There’s also a Gitxsan Moons vocabulary chart in the back of the book too. I love that this little detail was added to just add to Gitxsan being used throughout this book! We love to see it!

“Little does this small sockeye fry know that its life cycle not only nourishes the people and other beings along the watersheds, it is the whole reason the forests and landscapes exist.”

Let’s talk about the artwork within this book. Holy cow, the illustrations are gorgeous. Some of the pages I want to frame and hang on the wall because it’s so beautiful. The way the colors play and compliment each page individually is captivating and constantly drawing the eye to soak up all the details on each page. Not to mentions, in the back of the book there’s an illustrated map that shows where the four clans are located. It’s everything in a map that I want. Immaculate. Truly immaculate.

Overall, I loved this book. What more can I possibly say about this book. To me, this book is flawless and perfect to read with readers of all ages. Plus, you’re never too old to learn something new. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m excited to continue with this series. I believe there’s five or six books total and I’m excited to continue on. I recommend giving this a chance as it’s a shorter read and perfect for those who want to dip their toes into Native/Indigenous literature.

🪶 If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie, Nahanni Shingoose, Neal Shannacappo (Illustrations)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk about MMIWG2S, racism

This is an illustrated book that’s inspired by the letter written by 14 year-old, Brianna Jonnie to Winnipeg’s chief of police, addressing how white children are framed in a better light over those who are Native/Indigenous. And when those who are Native/Indigenous do go missing, making the news, they’re always framed in a stereotypical light that dehumanizes them. This is the story highlighting what it means to be Native/Indigenous and the constant worry Native/Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people face should they go missing.

This book made me really emotional for so many reasons, hit so close to home and I was very raw after reading this book. I don’t think there’s enough words to convey, even now, how I feel right now writing this review. As an Apache person, I spent many moments in my life where this was my biggest concern and moments where I almost turned into a missing person. So this left me feeling very seen and very vulnerable all in one. This also touches a personal side to my family that too personal talk about and I don’t feel comfortable sharing, but it hit close in that regards too. So I was feeling very vulnerable and very emotional for so many reasons.

There’s also plenty of resources in the back of the book along with the letter that was written. For those who enjoy having websites to follow up on this with, this is the book for you. There are six website links to various resources and it’s great to get more familiar with MMIW & MMIWG2S. So if you wanted resources to learn more about the hardships Native/Indigenous people face, I recommend starting with this book.

Overall, I don’t want to say too much other than I really enjoy this book, despite all the tears shed. Again, this book hit very close to home and just writing a review is making me feel some kind of way. If you’re looking to dip your toes into Native/Indigenous literature, but you don’t want to start with a book that’s going to bathe you in the cold hard, historical truth for hundreds of pages, then pick this book up. Its informative, provides statements, follow up links for further education, and isn’t too long that you may feel over-stimulated. Its a good starting point for everyone and I highly recommend it!

🪶 Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

ALC was given by Libro.fm & Tin House Books in exchange for an honest review.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, alcoholism, drug addiction, scenes of emesis, poverty, talk of dementia, talk of infertility, brief mentions of postpartum depression, loss of a child, loss of a loved one, death

This was the perfect audiobook for long drives to go hiking, friends. I’m not going to lie, I think because I was listening to the audiobook and hiking while doing so, it added to how much I enjoyed it and how quickly I flew through this book. Though honestly, I was a little salty that I couldn’t update my reading progress of the audiobook as I was listening, but it’s fine, everything is fine. I really enjoyed this and I can’t wait to tell you about it!

Night of the Living Rez is a short story collection portraying the life of Maine’s Native Penobscot Nation. Stories of layered friendships, dysfunctional family dynamics, addiction in Native/Indigenous communities, trauma, the way poverty influences us and some of the decisions we make, and so much more! Though there are many, MANY heavy moments, Talty laces funny and light moments to help balance the heavier moments. All these stories from different points of time come together to make a collection that you’ll think about days after you finished reading this book.

If you were expecting a horror book or a light read, then let me emphasize that this book is probably not the book you’re looking for. This book has many dark moments that are brutal, that will gut you or make your heart wrench. Morgan Talty has stated in multiple interviews that he didn’t want to write Native/Indigenous people in a way that’s “easy, comfortable tour of Indian Country.” You can find one of those interviews HERE. The author wanted to write these characters, this family, in a way that humanizes them and breaks down the stereotypical image. To show those struggles and that constant fight for survival, when you’re at the bottom of the barrel and no one addresses it, but those who constantly go through it. So that’s why I say make sure you’re in a good mental place and to check out content warnings. This is beautifully written, but there’s a lot of heavy topics.

I really enjoyed the audiobook. I really want to put emphasis on this because I’ve seen a few reviews stating they didn’t like the physical form of this book. For me, I think the audiobook is what brought balance to the time shifts. I think if I had read the physical copy, the shift in time might have been a little jarring or overwhelming. However, I think the transitions were really well done in the audiobook and it helps with the way the narrator handles those transitions.

However, while I did enjoy this book, I did have one issue when it came to the audiobook. I wish that the audiobook would of had multiple narrators. Sometimes the voices of certain characters would blend together and it was a little hard to tell who was who. I think if they had a full cast for this book or even two narrators, it would have improved the listening experience. Other than that, I think the only issue that some readers may find, is the flow of the story and the time shifts. As I stated above, I think the audiobook helped in the regard, but I can understand why many readers didn’t feel this book was a short story collection.

Overall, I think this will be a very polarizing book among readers. I think people will either love this book or really not like this book. Again, I emphasize, this isn’t a horror book, but a book that leans more contemporary and deals with very heavy topics. Despite this, I really enjoyed this collection. As someone who has family members who live on the rez, some of the stories hit close to home for me concerning one of my cousins. Plus, I was listening to this while I was out hiking in the woods and it added to the feelings I was already feeling when I go to get lost in the woods. I still recommend this book. Even if you think you might not like it, I encourage you to give it a chance as this book does have themes that impact Native/Indigenous communities.

🪶 Watch the Chickadee Knows by Margaret Noodin

“I know there are different worlds
because our ancestors sent them messages
because lost lovers now live in them
because you just said that right now.”

Another book that made me soft, teary eyed, and squishy! I loved this book so, so much. I think when I was taking notes and updating my reading progress I said something along the lines of, “Not me five pages in and sobbing over chickdees!” I just loved this poetry collection so much and the fact that it’s both in Anishinaabemowin and English was such an incredibly thing to see. This was such a captivating read that’s laced with deeper meanings to things and even though this is a quiet book, it’s so loud. This collection highlights the importance of traditions and relationships, but we also see history and connections, many connections, to nature.

“Whether we hear giji-giji-gaane-shii-shii or chick-a-dee-dee-dee depends on how we have been taught to listen. Our world is shaped by the sounds around us and the filter we use to turn thoughts into words.”

Overall, I don’t want to spoil too much because I think this collection is better when you go into it without knowing too much about it. It’s just a better experience when you go into it with an open heart and open mind. I wish as a kid I’d seen more books like this that had the dual languages. I think if I had books like this as a kid, it would have been absolutely everything. If you’re a poetry lover, I definitely have to recommend this to you. Plus, this cover is probably one of my favorite covers of all time, but I’m also very sentimental of chickadees.

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2 Mini Reviews | Mexican Gothic & Strange Grace

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🍁 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno – Garcia

Reviews to check out: Sofia, Sarahi, Sofia, Riza

Content/Trigger Warnings: Incest, attempted rape, gore/body horror, child sacrifice, human sacrifice, murder, death, racism, fetishisation, eugenics, mentions of loss of parent (in the past), mentions of stroke (in the past), talk of colonization, mentions of epidemics (in the past), mentions of homocide (in the past), sexism, physical assault, scene of seizures, mentions of miscarriages (in the past), mentions of divorce (in the past), child abuse (in the past, beatings with a cane), attempted murder, cannibalism, trauma, sexual assault, gaslighting

Yes, it’s true, this is the first book I’m not giving a rating to. I know, it’s a big shocker because I usually rate every book, no matter how good or bad they are. Yet, this is the first book that’s caused a stir within me that I should state that I’m not the target audience for this book. I’m typically not a horror or thriller reader and so I feel that if I give this book a rating, it’s unfair to the author and the book itself. In truth, this isn’t a bad book, it’s definitely a book that’s not for everyone, but this book does an excellent job in the genre it was published for.

This story is about Noemí Taboada, a twenty-something young woman from a wealthy family from Mexico City, who upon receiving a frantic and disturbing letter from her cousin, departs for High Place, where she’s to investigate what’s really happening and determine if her cousin needs to be brought home. Upon arrival, Noemí will find countless rules thrust upon her by her cousin’s husband’s family. But the longer Noemí stays at High Place, the stranger things become and soon, Noemí might find it impossible to leave.

“The future, she thought, could not be predicted, and the shape of things could not be divined. To think otherwise was absurd. But they were young that morning, and they could cling to hope. Hope that the world could be remade, kinder and sweeter.”

The writing of this book is unique and the story-line is a slow burn kind of horror. It’s been a month since I read this book and I still can’t forget the contents of this book. This isn’t just a slow build, this book doesn’t hold back from building up an atmosphere and as you read, things become more disturbing. However, it gets very graphic, very gory, and if you’re not someone who typically reads horror (like myself) then this book may be a shock to the system.

However, if you’re someone who’s looking for a ownvoices read, that’s set in the 1950’s, reads similarly to dark academy books, and is sure to send chills down your spine, then I can’t recommend picking this book up during fall and spooky season. With the beautifully unique and atmospheric writing of the author, I have no doubt that this book will be making it on to many top books for 2020.

🍁 Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, death of animal, murder, torture, human sacrifice, loss of a loved one, grief, trauma/PTSD, abandonment, allusions to child abuse and child neglect, forced gender roles, transphobia, mentions of alcoholism, verbal abuse, manipulation, body horror

I had a lot of feelings about this book, shed some tears, and held my breath for so much. Truly, I think I love this book with every fiber of my heart and can still feel the life this book breathed into me. This is probably one of the best fall/spooky seasons reads I have ever encountered. From the world itself to our three main characters, I don’t know how I went so long without reading this book.

Set in Three Graces, a town that never encounters plagues or misfortune, a deal with the devil is what keeps this town bound from every having to face those hardships. But everything comes with a price especially when it concerns the devil. Every seven years, with the dawn of the blood moon, a saint is sent into the woods without any hope of survival. The woods itself? No one knows what dark, twisted things lurk within it’s depths nor do they know the things that take place within. For those who do manage to survive, haunted by the events that took place, leave Three Graces when given the chance. Our story follows an unlikely trio, united by an unwavering love for one another, who will all play a role when the blood moon comes too soon and the devil demands a heart.

“The sun rises and she approaches the edge. A forest devil, a witch, a young woman, with eyes like a starry night and teeth like cats, and thorny, flowering brambles tangled in her hair, littering white petals behind her. They’re waiting for her. Two of the hearts: one burning, one perfectly in tune. She smiles, lips parted over sharp but not too-sharp teeth. Instead of slowing, she leaps forward. She dives at them, throwing arms around both together. One hisses as some sharp piece of her body slices at his skin, and the other grunts because he catches most of her weight. Neither of them lets go.”

This book was everything I wanted for my fall reading. An atmospheric read that has you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. The setting is rich with details that chills your skin, the writing is absolutely beautiful, and main characters who aren’t perfect, but shine so brightly you can’t help falling in love with them. And side characters you can’t help secretly loving (I’m looking at you Haf and Devil). There’s also some amazing underlying themes of this book that touched my heart in ways I wasn’t expecting. Ultimately, just everything I wanted and more. However, I think some readers will want a little more and will hope Gratton takes things an extra mile that would shock or stun the reader. Personally, this wasn’t an issue for me, but I think it might be something other readers might not like.

Buddy Read with Robin 💜

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Mini Reviews: Luna and the Moon Rabbit & The Origin of Day and Night

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Salutations Chapterlings! I wanted to do something a little different on my blog for books that are shorter such as children books or potential chapter samplers. So these are just two children’s books I’ve read this year. One is based off Asian folklore and the other is from Inuit mythology. I truly hope you’ll give these books a chance and enjoy these two mini reviews!

Luna and the Moon Rabbit follows a young girl who befriends the “moon rabbit”. One night when she’s about to fall asleep, the Moon Rabbit whisks her away. Together they go on a nighttime adventure through wondrous landscapes, building a loving friendship.

I thought this was such beautifully told story. The artwork is absolutely stunning and fans of Studio Ghibli are sure to fall in love with it. It gives a lot of My Neighbor Totoro vibes. It also restores that desire to explore the natural world especially if you’re a child. We often forget how much there’s left to discover and the delightful things you can encounter when you explore. So I really appreciate the author adding that theme because it truly encourages the reader to get out and explore. I also loved the friendship between the main character and the Moon Rabbit. I thought it was really precious and I really enjoyed how they looked out for one another. Overall, I think this was a super cute read and I really enjoyed reading this by candle light.

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The Origin of Day and Night is a book where in early times, words spoken by chance has the power to become reality. In this tale, we follow a fox and a snowshoe hare who both wish to forage for food. Yet, hare cannot hunting during night and fox cannot hunt by day. Together they’ll come together to express their desires, realizing their words are too powerful to ignore any longer.

Before I start, I’m not Inuit, I’m Apache. So I can’t make any commentary about this tale. Regardless, I really, really loved this story so, so much! I thought this was a such a powerful story of how night and day came into existence. I also really liked how hare and fox came together to work things out despite their frustrations with each other. I also loved how this tale shows how powerful words can be when uttered into existence. And the artwork is absolutely stunning. The cover alone is beautiful, but the inside is just as gorgeous. I think many younger readers will enjoy this book and really fall in love with this Inuit tale.

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