5 Mini Reviews | Babel, Tomorrow + Tomorrow + Tomorrow, The Honeys, Alone With You in the Ether, Legends + Lattes

January 9, 2023January 8, 2023 meltotheanyAside3 Comments

hi friends! today i am going to post some… not reviews, not even really mini reviews, but some very brief thoughts on some of my favorite books with the trigger and content warnings that i found while reading. i am still trying to not put too much pressure on myself when it comes to writing reviews like i used to, but it was still important to me to post these the way they are currently. and we will see what the rest of this year and reviewing has in store for me.

✨ Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

“Power did not lie in the tip of a pen. Power did not work against it’s own interests. Power could only be brought to heel by acts of defiance it could not ignore. With brute, unflinching force. With violence.”

so many people are going to have so many individual heart shattering reactions to their identity because of this book. it made me feel pride, it made me feel shame, it made me hopeful, it made me grieve, it truly kind of made me feel everything. but right now i am just feeling in awe of rf kuang and everything they are doing in literature, showing all the different words people use for violence.

best footnotes. best dark academia. best book of 2022.

trigger warnings + content warnings: loss of a loved one, murder, death, grief, disease/plague mentions, colonization, war, invasion, battle, talk of slavery, abuse, physical abuse from guardian, racism, xenophobia, colorism, use of slurs, blood, talk of suicide, talk of child labor, talk of inhumane work conditions, police brutality, torture, gun violence, brief sexual assault (unwanted touching with intent on more) mention of feet binding, misogyny, talk of drugs, stress + anxiety depictions, vomiting, talk of extreme stress put on students

✨ Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

“Perhaps a funny-looking mixed-race kid could exist at the center of the world, not just on its periphery.”

found family and forever ~~friendships~~ love, but also escapism and healing… and how sometimes all of that can come together and be lifesaving (sometimes over and over and over again, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…)

there is a chapter of this book that i was weeping so hard during, i couldn’t breathe. and the way the narration switches during this part of the story… it’s harrowing, heartbreaking, and so very painful, but also so masterfully done.

sam really meant a lot to me, and some of his inner monologues and lines really impacted me straight to the heart. And i know this is a story i will carry with my forever, but i also know sam is a character i will think about forever for so many reasons.

trigger + content warnings: childhood cancer, hospital settings a lot (but also a children’s hospital), chronic pain + injury (and… choosing not to take… the best care of yourself for these things/neglecting health concerns), amputation, racism, slurs (racist and homophobic), talk of appropriation (emphasizing japanese cultural appropriation in the video game community), mention of abortion, abusive relationships, emotional dependency depiction, drug use, sexism + misogyny – especially in an industry like the video game industry, car accident, death by suicide, student/teacher (college) relationship, power imbalances, some questionable sexual acts where the mc is dissociating, dissociating, blood depiction, talk of disordered eating (and brief mention of death because of it), fatphobia, 911 mention, unwanted touching, captivity, gore, vomit, gun violence, shooting in the work place – this book has A LOT in it, please use caution and make sure you’re in a good headspace for it.

✨ The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

“It made me wonder what shape I’d be if I’d never met another human being”

this was so unexpectedly haunting in all the right ways. i truly knew from the first chapter that this was going to be a new favorite. the atmosphere, the mystery, the main character… all perfection. also, this book truly has twists upon twists upon twists, making it impossible to ever want to put down. and we always love a spooky summer camp in the woods setting, especially with a secret group of popular girls, with a extra hyped queen bee, up to maybe no good. i loved this book’s discussion of the gender binary and in general i personally found so much of this story really powerful. and i think so many different types of readers will really love this one, so i recommend it with my full heart, but it can be very spooky, creepy, and gory so…. please keep that in mind!

trigger + content warnings: grief depiction, loss of a loved one, cancer mentions (childhood cancer mentions), blood depiction, talk of suicide, parental manipulation, anxiety depictions, funeral of a loved one, death, murder, violence, gore, lots of insect depictions (in a… horror book involving bees way… hehe), talk of spiders too, blackmailing (with manipulation/action of private photos being shown), bullying, harassment, misogynistic comments//sexism (always in a negative light), drowning depiction, fire depictions, and transphobia + homophobia.

✨ Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

“If this is what it is to burn, he thought, then I will be worth more as scattered ash than any of my unscathed pieces.”

i know it says a love story on the front, but this book is very much about mental health + choosing to not be medicated for mental health conditions. it was a hard read for me, but a very impactful one. and olivie blake just is just such a talented author and the sentences she is able to string together, about really dark and hard to talk about things, really resonated with me in a way other words just never have before.

trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one in past, addiction depiction (drugs + sex), depression, anxiety, inability to sleep, extreme codependency talk of arrest in past, overdose in past mention, unexpected pregnancy in past mention, a lot of talk of medication, blood imagery, abandonment, suicidal thoughts, disordered eating, some body image things, grey area cheating/emotional cheating, very intrusive thoughts, very manic thoughts, and just… a lot of discussion about mental health medications and choosing not to be medicated.

✨ Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

“I thought maybe I’d cheated fate to have you near me.”

i truly loved this. it felt like i was stepping foot and having a long rest inside the very walls of the waystone inn, the journey’s end, and even harth stonebrew’s tavern. these are some of my favorite places, some of my safest escapism, and some very large sums of my heart. this story was just perfect for me, and i am very thankful for this book.

building something you want, the way you want it, with the people you want it with… there is a lot of power in that, especially when it creates a found family and/or community. and healing and living and loving the way you want to too? so powerful and so beautiful, and my favorite magic in all the galaxies.

i hope you’re able to build and find communities filled with unconditional love, because you deserve that always. ❤ (bonus points if a succubus + warm cup of coffee are involved)

BTS Graphic Lyrics Series Review

December 3, 2020December 2, 2020 meltotheanyAside5 Comments

This summer, BTS and BigHit released five graphic lyric books that tie-in with the Bangtan Universe and it was pretty much the best combining of worlds for me! All five of these books are by different artists, all who took very different approach to enhance the power of these stories, and I think I fell in love with each one for a brand new reason! But I knew that before the end of the year, I wanted to do little mini reviews of them all, and what more perfect date than the birthday of our main character, Kim Seokjin! I hope you guys enjoy!

➽ You Never Walk Alone

➽ BTS Perform You Never Walk Alone + Spring Day @ Melon Music Awards 2017

“Baby fly fly fly fly it like it like that”

This first installment in the BTS Graphic Lyric series is the start of it all, where we get to see Jin and his current life where he is very much feeling the weight of his father’s expectations. But that weight starts to feel a little lighter when he meets six boys at school, and the seven of them have to work together to clean up a space. Soon he realizes that maybe he really doesn’t have to walk this path in life alone, while the reader gets little glimpses and hints of the different paths that are yet to come for all seven of them. And all good things must come to and end, especially the the Bangtan universe.

The art of this book is so very beautiful, and I think the color palette is perfection. The images and colors truly go together magically and fully set the stage of this heart-wrenching story. Yet, the last pages still instill so much hope in the reader.

➽ Save Me

➽ BTS (방탄소년단) ‘Save ME’ Official MV

“Don’t wanna be lonely, just wanna be yours”

This is my personal favorite installment of all the BTS Graphic Lyric series! Instantly, from the very first page, you can tell that this story is going to take a much darker turn. While the lines of what is real and what is fake are blurring for all the members throughout, with the help of beautiful opaque papers on certain pages to really heighten the storytelling.

This installment very much focuses on Hobi and Jimin and the abandonment both of them have felt. Both are trying to be brave, make the best of the situation they are in, but they desperately want to be saved and not alone. Yet together, in the hospital, they are able to carve out their own little corner of happiness because of dance and because of each other.

TL;DR: The BigHit carousel(s) will forever haunt me.

➽ House of Cards

➽ 160723 epilogue in beijing House Of Cards BTS JIMIN 세로 focus

“Now way, now way, it’s collapsing again”

The way this installment was made for those who love to suffer from that yoonkook angst. We see Jungkook, losing his childhood quickly before his eyes, while his father leaves him and his mother. Then we get to see Yoongi, finding love and happiness in his piano because of his mother, but that all changes when he loses everyone and everything he has loved, except for a few piano keys, because of a fire.

Both of these boys are definitely descending into darkness and despair, but maybe together they will be able to find some light and hope. And this beautiful uniquely bound book, telling this tale, make the visuals feels so real and so haunting.

➽ Run

➽ BTS (방탄소년단) ‘RUN’ Official MV

“Don’t tell me, don’t tell me, don’t tell me bye bye”

Namjoon and that train container haunt my dreams, I swear to you. This is the Graphic Lyric book that I really recommend watching the music video with, because no other BTS MV gives you as much Bangtan Universe storyline as Run. And the art in this book just adds to everything and makes the story play before you like the visual masterpiece that it is.

But we get to see Joon working impossibly long hours, while trying to take care of his family and still find happiness while achieving dreams for himself. And we also get to see Taehyung and how his father is an alcoholic who is being violent towards him and his family. Both of these young men are just looking for safety and solace, and they are willing to do anything to achieve it, but in the meantime they can find a little bit of both of those things with each other.

➽ Butterfly

➽ BTS – Butterfly Show Music core 20160514

“Is it true? Is it true? You, you”

This last (as of now) Graphic Lyric book is a beautiful glimpse into the boys being together, being safe, and being carefree enjoying time together while Jin views it all. Yet, how the pages are also able to be turned, we can see Jin struggling with waking up and having to start all over again while Jungkook and Yoongi, Jimin and Hobi, and Tae and Namjoon are in their other alternate realities where they are struggling together.

Truly this whole story is so wild, so beautiful, and so heart-wrenching. Not only is Butterfly one of my favorite BTS songs, it just so beautifully encapsulates change, and opportunity, and how things can always get better, even if we are forced to endure not so great situations a little while longer.

I truly do not know where this story is going to end, but BTS (in this alternative reality and in our own) are soulmates and I hope they all get the happy endings that they deserve.

I truly cannot wait to see where this story goes next! I will say, that these books are kind of hard to get now, especially the box set and anything close to the original price! But Cokodive does have them singularly as of the writing of this blog post! I hope you all enjoyed, and truly there is no better combination than BTS and books for me! But I hope you’re all have the happiest of reading, the happiest of listening, and just the happiest of days and nights. I love you!

(if you’d like to see me unbox these books and box set!)

Other Bangtan Universe Reviews:
➽ Save Me Webtoon
➽ 花樣年華 HYYH The Notes 1 (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, #1)
➽ 花樣年華 HYYH The Notes 2 (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, #2)

3 Mini Reviews | The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Dragon Unleashed, Ice Planet Barbarians

September 23, 2020September 17, 2020 meltotheanyAside10 Comments

✨ The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Feminine Pursuits, #1) by Olivia Waite

“We thought we were separate satellites, but we aren’t. We’re stars, and though we might burn separately, we’ll always be in one another’s orbit.”

I really loved this a lot! I especially loved all the different kinds of reclaiming in this story! Maybe all it took for me to fall in love with a historical romance was sapphics in STEM (and art)! Who would have guessed? :]

This was so feminist, so queer, so healing, and so beautiful. And I loved hearing these girls talk unapologetically about how so many other women’s ideas have been taken all throughout history by men who then take the credit, too.

Trigger and Content Warnings: domestic abuse in the past, sexism, misogyny, talk of colonization, and talk of loss of a loved one in past.

✨ Dragon Unleashed (Fallen Empire, #2) by Grace Draven

1.) Phoenix Unbound ★★★★

“What must it be like to be loved this way? So devotedly that the person you parted with cried at your absence before you even left?”

Oh friends, this was such a disappointment for me, especially after loving the first book in this series, Phoenix Unbound, so much! Dragon Unleashed does read as a stand alone, and in this world magic is outlawed! That is why it is so important for our main character, Halani, to hide that she has earth magic, especially since it helps her family who are traveling traders. Yet, when her uncle finds a bone that she can tell will bring nothing but pain to them, he refuses to listen. And that bone happens to be a dragon bone that our other main character, Malachus, needs because the magic holding his dragon-self inside this human form is quickly waning.

Action and romance ensue, well, they ensue extremely slowly over these 400 pages. I was highly anticipating this one, and I always feel like good fantasy romance is hard to find, but I have enjoyed everything by Grace Draven in the past! But I just felt such a disconnect from this book for so many reasons (so much miscommunication, very questionable disability representation, the most long-winded banter), but also because it truly was so very boring for the first 90%.

Trigger and Content Warnings: talk of assault (unwanted touching), torture, violence, gore, blood depiction, captivity, kidnapping, mention of slavery, ableism (in a negative light), and talk of rape in the past.

✨ Ice Planet Barbarians (Ice Planet Barbarians #1) by Ruby Dixon

“It wasn’t a monster come to eat me. It was this monster. Who’s come to eat me out.”

Let me start out this mini review by saying that I had less than 48 hours on my audible escape membership and the hype was real, okay? Basically, our main character, Georgie, wakes up and doesn’t know where she is, but she quickly learns that she has been abducted by aliens who are planning to sell her and a lot of other girls. Only one of them has a translating device attached to her, and basically you have to be quiet or else. Well, one of the newly abducted girls are not quiet and they quickly see what horrible things will happen at the hands of the captors. But the spaceship quickly is forced to land on some other planet and they are forced to wait for more aliens to come help them out, but the girls take this advantage to plan an escape.

And Georgie, being the brave ~~and slightly horny~~ character she is, decides to go looking for other life who hopefully aren’t kidnappers and rapists. And what better way to get to know a blue alien that reminds me heavily of male draenei in World of Warcraft than to have him go down on you for a little bit, even though you all can’t understand each other. And together they try to prove that you don’t need to speak the same language to try to help your friends and have lots of good sex along the way back to the abandoned spaceship.

Listen, this was a mess and I don’t get the hype, but to each their own, truly. 2010 Melanie was reading some real questionable shit, so you all do you and I support it. But 2020 Melanie just can’t read about the “you’re my mate now” storylines with a straight face, especially when they are with blue people who can’t even understand each other in the midst some some really traumatic shit going on. Especially when that magical bond (and more magical sex) saves lives.

I’m giving this two stars because it wasn’t offensive, I enjoyed trying to see them communicate with each other, and this audiobook made me laugh so hard it was a bit unreal (the rock sex is 100% going to stick with me for a while). Truly the hidden serotonin boost.

Trigger and Content Warnings: abduction, sex trafficking, drugging, rape, murder, gore, violence, and death.