march reading wrap up | 2023

April 4, 2023April 3, 2023 meltotheanyAside13 Comments

oh hello, friends! it is time for the ten books i read in march (funny how i’ve read ten things each month, right? subconsciously making it easy on myself to make some graphics hehe!) so the next blog post will be all about my actual reading statistics for these last three months and i can’t wait!

basically, i am posting my january, february, and march wrap ups – and then i will be doing my first quarter of 2023 statistics! i am still slowly getting back into reviews + blogging, but my hunger for reading is still very much here – and i am so very happy about it! but maybe for this year, i will focus more on doing quarterly things like this while trying to get back into the swing of more things bookish content! i hope you enjoy + thank you always for spending some of your time with me. 🤍

✨ Legendborn (Legendborn, #1) by Tracy Deonn
♡ evie’s amazing spotify playlist

“They are past-tensing my heart—my whole beating, bleeding, torn heart—right in front of me.”

I really enjoyed this one so much, much like most of my friends on goodreads. I also adore an arthurian legend reimagining, and this one is for sure my new favorite – so smartly done and so galaxy brain, truly. The grief depiction in this is going to mean a lot to so many, and it was also very empathetically and powerfully done, in my opinion. I really love Bree, and she really captured my heart in this book.

trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one/parent, hospital settings, talk of car accidents, grief, anxiety, harry potter character mention, racism, a lot of microaggression, talk of police brutality, blood depictions, harm to get blood, death, gore, violence, vomiting, animal death (boar), talk of rape in the past, child abuse in the past, slavery, generational trauma, panic attacks, ptsd, torture, magical compulsion, child birth

✨ Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
♡ the group book for Bethany’s TorDotComAthon

“I would do anything for you, and I did.”

This is a gorgeous and heartfelt story, set in historical chicago, where we follow a warlock detective trying to capture a serial killer. This book also just had a lot of things that really worked for me, as a reader. It focuses on a sapphic romance throughout, we get to see the main character’s unconditional love for her little brother constantly, and we get to try to solve a mystery with the ritual killer’s name being white city vampire but it involving angels and demons. All really cool and beloved things in my heart and personal taste buzzword wheelhouse! But this is also a book about sacrifice and love and hope and how those three things can take so many different shapes, yet sometimes they look the very same. I highly recommend this one and pray it will be the first book in a series.

trigger + content warnings: a lot of mentions of homophobia, mention of conversion therapy, institutionalization, talk of loss of a loved one, mention of a car accident involving death, abduction, murder, gore, ritual killings, human sacrifice, a lot of blood depictions, self harm for blood for magic, possession, misogyny, brief mention of throwing up, gun violence involving cops, a lot of smoking + alcohol consumption.

✨ Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1) by Stephanie Garber

“I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after or tragedy. Every story has the potential for infinite endings.”

I didn’t know how i’d feel about this one, because even though i loved jacks in the caraval series, he didn’t wrap up that trilogy on the best note for me. But I think i just really like stephanie garber’s writing, and she crafts a type of fairytale whimsy feeling that i just really vibe with as a reader. Yes, give me all the descriptions of clothes and food and gardens and magical doors, i want it all. And then throw in a magical prophecy, some twists and turns with deadly kisses, and some mysterious princes, and i am going to flip those pages with lightning speed. I had so much fun with this, truly. And dare i say, i even liked evangeline more than scarlett and donatella, pink hair and all.

trigger + content warnings: blood depictions, self harm to get blood for magic, loss of loved ones (parents), death, violence, a little gore, a lot of magical compulsion, + a mean step parent / parental verbal abuse.

✨ The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2) by Stephanie Garber

“In the morning, you can forget it. You can go back to pretending you don’t like me, and I can pretend that I don’t care. But for tonight, let me pretend you’re mine.”

The inn setting/scene in this book deserves six stars. This is just such a fun series, that is filled with so much angst, and it truly feels impossible for me to stop turning the pages once i get sucked into stephanie garber’s worlds. I enjoyed this one even more than the first, and i will be begging flatiron for an arc of book three come this autumn – because that end? Sick and twisted in the best way imaginable.

trigger + content warnings: self harm for blood/magic, blood depictions, violence, death, murder, captivity, extreme nightmares, spider mentions

✨ The Mythic Dream edited by Dominik Parisien + Navah Wolfe

“I don’t bite holes in the world because I dislike the world, I bite holes in it because I have these teeth.”

this is an anthology that so many of my friends were absolutely loving, but sadly i just did not feel the same upon finishing. but there were some really amazing stories among the mostly mediocre (god, i sound so mean, but it really is true). He Fell Howling by Stephen Graham Jones + Bridge of Crows by Neon Yang were my two favorites! ¡Cuidado! ¡Que Viene el Coco! by Carlos Hernandez + Live Stream by Alyssa Wong were also five stars and amazing for me!

✨ That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (Mead Mishaps, #1) by Kimberly Lemming

“Maybe I wasn’t traveling with a straight villain. Perhaps he was just villain-adjacent. I could work with that.”

this is such a delightful cozy fantasy, but it also does have some higher stakes at play, while also talking about some, and having some, heavier themes and topics. (please look at some content warnings down below!) but i really enjoyed this one, especially the first half and set up. this also is a four part quest storyline, and you all know how much i love watching characters travel to their adventures! i was so impressed with this, and i promise it is a very high three star, but i just didn’t love how… intense.. the love interest was towards the last half of this book. but i very much do not think that will be an issue for many readers, especially romance readers! plus cinnamon is just the absolutely best main character, and she is so effortlessly funny! i am so excited to continue on in this world!

author’s cw/tw: light bdsm, dubcon, violence, sexually explicit content

other cw/tw that i wrote down while reading: drinking, loss of a loved one in past, grief depiction, threat of sexual violence, violence, abuse, slavery, blood, torture, vomit, animal death (alligator haha), mention of kidnapping, fatphobic comments that are in a negative light + immediately challenged/shut down

✨That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf (Mead Mishaps, #2) by Kimberly Lemming

“The stoic barmaid and flirtatious orc. I’d read that romance novel any day.”

okay, i just love this world a whole lot. this book was even better for me, because we mostly got to stay in this little village that has completely stolen my heart. this second installment follows cin’s best friend, brie, who is also a big lover of paranormal romance, get to live her best romantic main character life. but much like the first book, these also deal with some heavy themes. but there is also so much light, happiness, and laughter within these pages. oh and a lot of steam (view spoiler)!

i extra think this one would be perfect for the autumn season. and… i just cannot wait for more books in this series, but i truly never want to leave this world!

iauthor’s cw/tw: light bdsm, dubcon, violence, sexually explicit content

other cw/tw that i wrote down while reading: drinking, harassment, attempted drugging, mention of vomit, kidnapping, human trafficking, threat of heart attack/fear of heart attack, talk of abandonment in past, self harm to get blood for magic, cults, mention of plague + sickness, insufferable incels lol

✨ A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1) by Joe Abercrombie

“Why folk insisted on singing about great warriors all the time, Rikke couldn’t have said. Why not sing about really good fishermen, or bakers, or roofers, or some other folk who actually left the world a better place, rather than heaping up corpses and setting fire to things?”

i will forever be a character driven reader, and oh my god did joe abercrombie make me fall in love with every character he created in this book – from heroes, to villains, to… mostly all the characters are that grey area in-between. i really loved this set up, and the ending left me requesting book two from my library upon reading the last page. also, i know this will make a few of you sad at me – but this is my first abercrombie (i know, i know)! i will most likely go back and read the previous series connecting to this world’s past, but i just wanted to finally read a abercrombie and i thought picking up his most recent work was the safest bet. but this book has so many moments where you just know it would be more impactful if you knew this person (or this person’s parents)! so i do also completely acknowledge that if i were familiar with all his work, i probably would have given this five stars! but also – if you pick it up on its own, and are a lover of character driven, multiple povs, adult fantasy – i think you will also really enjoy this one!

trigger + content warnings: war, uprisings, battles, violence, gore, blood, murder, death, loss of loved one, death of child, child labor, talk of child abuse, labor camps, animal death, ptsd depiction, a lot of drug use (cocaine like), threat of rape, threat of torture, torture, suicide, captivity, abduction, colorism, racism, homophobia, fatphobic comments, ableist language, dubious consent a little bit imo, incest, seizures, menstruation, vomiting, mention of cannibalism.

✨ She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

“I’m lost for words over the million little ways we can hurt for family we hardly know.”

I really did love so much about this book, story, the characters. An eldest daughter, seeing all the sacrifices that her family who immigrated to the us are still making for her, while she feels not enough in all the different ways. Seeing colonization seep into everything, from generation after generation, and being unable to look away once you have opened your eyes to it. Feeling different enough in both words already, and being queer on top of it all. This is a very powerful read, with themes that really meant a lot to me. I loved the writing too. I just didn’t love this story, even if i still recommend completely because of the themes. And i will for sure pick up everything else this author does in the future.

author’s cw/tw: internalized biphobia, body horror, bugs, systemic/interpersonal racism, colonialism, death of a parent, blood, bones, depiction of a hanging, murder, mention of domestic abuse. (Food is a significant, thematic thread throughout She Is a Haunting. While the book doesn’t discuss eating disorders, some of the conversations and depiction of food may be difficult for some readers.)

✨ Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi

“The years we spent together… The princess who adored you… You destroyed them all.”

You all have wanted me to read this for so long, and i am so thankful i finally picked it up. I mean, you all had me at bodyguard romance regardless, but i was always apprehensive because my brother told me she had a crush on her cousin >.< !! But i promise, that gets “fixed” very quickly in this first installment, but i fear i cant say anything else without giving too much away! but not knowing anything else really had me turning these pages so quickly I cannot wait to get my hands on vol two soon soon soon.

trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one, loss of a parent, murder, death, violence, unwanted touching, grief depiction, snakes + leeches

whewwww! okay, friends! three months, and thirty books worth of reading and minis reviews, complete! i hope you enjoyed, truly. it was a lot of fun making these, and maybe i will be a little quicker doing them in the coming months! again, i am really trying to not put any pressure on myself with bookish content, but my heart truly overflows that i am having such a good time consistently reading every day again! i am sending you all so much love and i hope reading (and life) has been extra kind to you lately, too!

february reading wrap up | 2023

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023 meltotheanyAside10 Comments

hi hi, again! i am so excited to talk about the ten things i read in the month of february!

✨ Finale (Caraval, #3) by Stephanie Garber
➽ 1.) Caraval ★★★★
➽ 2.) Legendary ★★★★

“I used to love the idea of something being so tremendous that it was worth dying for. But I was wrong. I think the most magnificent things are worth living for.”

I read book one in 2016 and book two in 2017, so it has been a while since i have been immersed into this world! But i very much wanted to finish out this series (in 2023) so i could pick up once upon a broken heart! Sadly, I didn’t love this one. I still saw that magical shine of the world in glimpses throughout this book (like the midnight market!), but I just found most of the characters so insufferable. Like, Julian was the only character I cared about and was empathetic towards. The rest? Questionable choice after questionable choice. And the alternating perspectives of the sisters making those questionable choices did not do this story any favors, sadly. I also just really hate the trope at the end with how things got mended! (view spoiler) But i can’t wait to see how i will feel with the new series and i hope it brings back the magic of caraval for me!

trigger + content warnings: blood depiction, getting blood for magic, loss of a loved one/loss of a parent, grief depiction, abusive parent, kidnapping, captivity, murder, possession, heart attacks, torture, gore, and spiders!

✨ Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

“Not kings. Just selfish men.”

nk jemisin is so brilliant and such a gift to our world. i really recommend going into this one without reading reviews, just enjoy this wonderfully crafted story that is very clever and… ahhh, i just love jemisin so much. also, personal to me, i love an unexpected colorado river mention 🙂

tw/cw: racism, colorism, misogyny, misgendering, slavery, mention of cancer, ageism, ableism, fatphobia

✨ Bloody Summer by Carmen Maria Machado

“Even if it meant being wild on soil never meant to bear me.”

This was harrowingly heartbreaking and carmen is really such a gifted author and can evoke so much pain and so much healing, even with so few pages. This short story is told under the guise of a research paper from the future, and moves forward with a new article or new interview, researching children’s hand clapping games that gives clues about how a small Pennsylvania town, named Never-Again, was massacred by tigers in 1999, where only one child did not disappear. With the last interview in this research project being from that sole survivor, now very much an adult. And this reading like a real piece of nonfiction really just added a whole other layer. But carmen always weaves this unexplainable magic of breaking my heart and simultaneously healing it with each piece they craft, and this short story was no different. To find freedom and power from your trauma(s) is something i deeply wish for everyone.

trigger + content warnings: a lot of off page violence to children, off page rape and sexual assault, off page pedophilia, mention of suicide, mentions of colonization, death, blood depictions, drawing blood, animal death. (i know these are some heavy tws but truly all were done in a very nongraphic way for me, personally. But still use caution for your own self and mindset.)

✨ Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano

“My relationship with Panera was complicated.”

okay i am so not the target audience for this, and i still really loved it. and i was constantly surprised, which is something i didnt expect going in! but it did touch on some dark things, so i will post some tw/cw down below, but highly recommend this to anyone, even if you think it’s not for you! (maybe especially if you think it’s not for you!)

trigger + content warnings: mention of cheating in past, blood, abusive relationships, drugging attempt, mention of stalking, mention of sexual assault + rape, mention of taking photos without consent, mention of blackmail, very brief mention of trafficking, maybe a very brief mention of cancer (“the big c”), hurt/abandoned dog.

✨ The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

“Access to a dark night sky—to see and be inspired by the universe as it really is—should be a human right, not a luxury for the chosen few.”

highly recommend this to everyone, but especially people studying and working in stem spaces! i still feel a little uncomfy reviewing nonfiction (hopefully i can get better at it, but if not… that’s okay too) but this one just really meant a lot to me on a lot of different levels. i am so happy it is now part of my universe.

✨ A Dowry of Blood (A Dowry of Blood, #1) by S.T. Gibson

“I made you into my private Christ, supplicated with my own dark devotions.”

I love epistolary novels, but this one could very well be my favorite. This is a reimagining of dracula, but told from the pov of his first bride who is writing a letter to him about their story, and we learn from the very first letter that she became his downfall. But this is also a story about abusive relationships and how power dynamics, manipulation, gaslighting, are sometimes very difficult to see. We get to see their story unfold from the very first day he made her a vampire under the promise of saving her to the very end where promises of love could no longer be masked as unconditional.

This book also very much discusses consent and how power dynamics and manipulation also can play a part in an individual saying yes when they may not under other healthier and safer circumstances. And also just… how hard it can be to leave an abusive relationship… especially when he is a powerful immortal vampire.

There is a lot of overall morally grey things happening too, and something in part 3 I just personally didn’t love – so that is why this sadly did not receive a full five stars from me. But everything else was actual perfection, the writing felt like eating honey in reading form (truly some of the best prose I’ve read in years), and overall this was such a powerful read that i know i will keep with me forever.

trigger + content warnings: blood, war, death, murder, abuse, gaslighting, ptsd, trauma, grief, depression, self harm for blood, self harm (with needle), anxiety, plague, medical experimentation, brief mention of human trafficking, loss of a loved one

✨ Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns, #1.5) by Margaret Rogerson
➽ Sorcery of Thorns ★★★★

“When she opened it, she discovered a handwritten dedication on the patterned endpapers: To my beloved—may you always believe in fairy tales. Smiling, she traced her fingers over the letters, feeling the indentations they had left on the paper. This was one of the things she loved best about books. She might never know who had written the dedication, or how long ago, or to whom, but she could briefly clasp hands with them across eternity, a chance meeting of souls made possible by their shared love of a story.”

this was a super cozy and fun novella that i really recommend if you’re missing the amazing characters from sorcery of thorns. and you all know that i adore a magical house setting and exploring all the magical rooms, with some very alive grimoires! but to see it with my favorite sorcerer, apprentice librarian, demon (and a new character)… who are stuck inside this labyrinth during the snowy season? i really was living my best reader life. but sadly, i just didn’t love the last half nearly as much as the set up and first half. this is a very quick, cozy, happy read. and the food descriptions were perfection as well. Elisabeth is just a really good character and i really hope we continue to see more adventures with her and this crew (and demonslayer)! but also, this (in my praying opinion) is a very nice set up for my favorite morally grey demon companion. i still highly recommend this one, especially on a cozy wintery night!

cw/tw: blood depiction, harm to get blood for magic, grief + trauma depictions, extreme nightmares, loss of a loved on in the past, talk of murders/death. (this is a very light book, and all of these things are very briefly mentioned or shown)

✨ Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1) by Heather Fawcett

“If anyone were to claim greater happiness in their careers than I do in poking about sunlit wildwoods for faerie footprints, I should not believe it.”

A woman who has been in love with the fae all her life and is taking us along on her academic research with the encyclopedia she is currently writing about them and her experiences with them? Oh, what more could I possibly ask for friends? Actually the life i wish i could have if i was around in 1909. This is also told epistolary style, with a lot of field notes, but a lot of stories, and some unexpected entries as well. But this was just a book that really worked for me and my reading wheelhouse (and heart).There is a little romance too that is also very sweet and again… the field notes are just so good. We also get to travel to some fae realms to solve a mystery that did get a little dark – so please use caution. Like, there are a lot of cozy vibes and moments and settings (omg did i love the market too) in this, but, again, there are a lot of darker themes and the story takes showing the dark faery side of things! But i am really and truly begging for a book two.

trigger + content warnings: mention of loss of a loved one in past, mention of suicide very briefly twice, talk of kidnapping + actual kidnapping, violence, blood, gore, vomit, animal violence + death, child abandonment, spider mentions

✨ Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

“The world is doable when she is near me.”

oh i was invested in so much… this was the best romance ive read in years! highly highly highly recommend! but as much as i loved the romance, the friendships were really the star of this for me. healing, and hope, and building new friendships, and rebuilding old friendships. and seeing platonic breakups be even harder than romantic breaks ups so much of the time, and the trauma that can come from that… very beautiful and powerful to me. i loved this completely.

trigger + content warnings: racism, colorism, harassment, unwanted touching, police brutality, cancer, sick parent, hospital/medical talk, talk of cheating, anxiety, trauma, mention of throwing up, blackmail, unwanted photos being taken, parent cheating,

✨ The Moth Keeper by Kay O’Neill

“How would life feel if I didn’t have to always hold on tight against the darkness? Who would I be if I could live in the light?”

i just am always completely in love with k o’neil’s characters, worlds, and themes. they create stories that are such a gift to our world, and this newest graphic novel will probably resonate with so many people who are reading this review, because the central theme is all about burn out and not realizing when you need a break and when you need some help, too. we are all so small in the grand scheme of things, and it’s so easy for things to feel overwhelming, especially these last few years, and especially in a pandemic that is still going on. but our value as creators and, more importantly, humans, will never ever be dependent on how much we produce.

this is also a very heartfelt tale about community, and the things we can achieve when we are kind and offer help to people – and how that kindness and help can go such a long way and have the most beautiful healing rippling effect to so many. but this also touches on how hard it can be to ask for help, when you have been turned away from it by people who are supposed to be there for you. but also, in turn, how unconditional love + friendship can be the most powerful force in all the world.

ah, this is just perfection. i wish i could put this story in the hands of everyone, but especially every child. i immediately finished the arc, and purchased a physical for my own personal library (which surprisingly had the most beautiful art under the dustjacket). i think this will for sure make my best of 2023 come december. truly, a gift to this universe in all ways.

trigger + content warnings: mention of loss of a loved one, parental neglect + abandonment

okay friends, that’s the ten things that i was able to read in the month of february! it is not lost on me that i keep reading ten books a month… but you also won’t hear me complaining! i hope march is wrapping up nicely for you, and i hope you have a good april filled with some magical reads! stay safe + i am sending you so much love!

january reading wrap up | 2023

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 meltotheanyAside10 Comments

hi friends! i hope you’re doing well. i know this post might seem late… might seem three months late.. but basically, i am posting my january, february, and march wrap ups – and then i will be doing my first quarter of 2023 statistics! i am still slowly getting back into reviews + blogging, but my hunger for reading is still very much here – and i am so very happy about it! but maybe for this year, i will focus more on doing quarterly things like this while trying to get back into the swing of more things bookish content! i hope you enjoy + thank you always for spending some of your time with me. 🤍

✨ Chain of Thorns (The Last Hours, #3) by Cassandra Clare

“I am saying that with you, I have no armor. I feel everything. For better or worse.”

what a freaking way to start the new year, with a surprise arc of this final installment in cassie clare’s newest series. sadly, i feel like i was the first person to not really love this one, and now… whew… i am praying for her. but, i have the highest of hopes for sword catcher that also comes out this year! also, i love these characters and it was very nice to be back in this world. i am giggling forever at this being the first book i read this year though. but maybe it really set the bar to keep me in my reading era.

trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one, trauma, alcoholism, extreme alcohol withdrawals, vomiting, seizures, grief depictions, anxiety, abusive parents/bad parents, grey area cheating, blood depictions, violence, gore, homophobia, misogyny, self harm, mention of loss of a child in the past, possession (against one’s will), enchantment (against one’s will), insect horror, kidnapping, harming of a baby

✨ The Stolen Heir (The Stolen Heir Duology, #1) by Holly Black

“Your sister may have inherited your father’s gift for strategy, but you’re the one who got his bloodlust.”

i mean, you guys already know… i loved this, it was perfect /for me/, but i still enjoyed the cruel prince a lot more (and jude + cardan a lot more). i also feel like some readers might not love that this is a quest storyline so they are constantly traveling throughout this, but that is also something i really enjoy in stories – so i feel extra biased. holly was really giving the creepy and dark fae side with this one and now i am forever screaming at the last scene…. well, until i get book two!

tw/cw: kidnapping, parental abuse, physical abuse, torture, abandonment, gore, violence, drugging, vomiting, captivity, murder, blood depictions, self harm to get blood for magic, mention of animal death, suicide mention in past, mention of death in childbirth, ptsd depictions, and a few scenes with bugs/insects/spiders.

✨ Tress of the Emerald Sea (The Cosmere) by Brandon Sanderson

“Our words, like our hearts, are weapons still hot from the forging, beating themselves into new shapes each time we swing them.”

The first of brandon sanderson’s secret cosmere projects was everything for me. This story is truly unlike any other that brandon has created before, for so many reasons, but mostly because it reads like a fairytale! this is a story about a girl who leaves the only home she has ever known to brave a very strange ocean, in a very different cosmere world, with a very sweet pirate crew (for the most part), for love. Because at the end of all my favorite types of stories, it’s always for love and it’s always worth it. I so quickly fell in love with Tress and her teacups and her story. Also, if you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you will know how much I adore a questing storyline and this book delivered that and more so! I also feel like every cosmere series has such a perfect and different found family, yet you always feel like you are a part of that family as well, and it’s so beautiful each time, but this one was extra close to my heart.

tw/cw: mentions of war, poison/drugging, vomit, captivity, murder, talk of cancer/tumors very briefly, brief weight loss comment, mention of slavery, and… lots of mentions of spores (i only say this because i think a lot of people are watching last of us right now and it might make you think about things lol)

✨ What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

“If we ran then we would have to admit there was something to run from.”

this year, i really want to read so much from t kingfisher! year after year, so many people recommend them and their stories to me so i knew i wanted to pick something up by them this first month of 2023. i really enjoyed this, the atmosphere, and the writing… whew… the writing was 11/10! but i think i would have enjoyed more if i would have reread the fall of the house of usher. not that you need to, this story completely stands on it’s own! but this was still a powerful novella that i thoroughly enjoyed! and i can’t wait to pick up something else by this author extra now! (also, the way i have read so many stories this month about spooky houses after finishing this one… completely unintentionally)

tw/cw: mention of tumors for descriptions, talk of war, talk of surgery, insect depictions, death, animal death, talk of dead bodies, mention of suicide, loss of a loved one, brief mentions of transphobia

✨ The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

“Who were we when not cleaved to each other?”

this is a beautiful and lush atmospheric story, with a gothic spooky house setting, all centered around the mystery that is the fae and three people who have been searching their whole lives for them. but the heart of this story is about grief, abuse, neglect, and how the world can be so extra unfair to children that they are forced to find and create their own places in magical worlds to feel safe, loved, and be able to escape. This book was very hard to read at times, and roshani is an expert at blending dark whimsy and dark reality together flawlessly. i could not put this book down, because i needed to know more and more answers each time one was unlocked! but also while i was having that intense feeling of seeing scenes play out while you are watching with your hands kind of covering your eyes. you don’t want to know, but you need to know. plus roshani’s writing is such a tier above everything, this story is filled with very intense and juxtaposing feelings. ahhh, i feel like i have already said too much – but i love all roshani’s stories and i am always so proud of her and her voice – i hope the world loves this story and all the well crafted and very important layers.

tw/cw: loss of a loved one, extreme nightmares, a lot of blood depiction + drawing blood, gore, abuse, domestic abuse, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, gaslighting, animal deaths, human deaths, murder, mention of child death, kind of brief mentions of dieting/eating a very specific way, bullying, cheating, codependency, suicidal ideation and thoughts, drugging, pedophilia (very weird things being said, the child being scared/constant state of fear at home, creepy and unsettling vibes every scene with intention for more, and then at 17 years old unwanted touching/brushing past + maybe more/set up to be more… this is a hard trigger warning, but it is a constant thing in the book that is very hard to read so please use caution)

✨ The Six Deaths of the Saint (Into Shadow, #3) by Alix E. Harrow

“I wonder what the songs will say about the Devil now that she is covered in the blood of her own God.”

this is a very beautiful and emotion evoking story about a girl trying to feel needed, to feel seen, to feel love, to feel like she is not nothing, to feel anything that is real. but love can be exceptionally hard, especially when you enter into this world not knowing what love is. while also slowly figuring out what you will do in the name of it, mixed with the overwhelming feelings we all have of wanting to leave something behind, but to also belong so desperately in the time we are presently here. the writing is perfect, and these thirty pages of heartfelt pain and love will truly leave you feeling dizzy in the best way possible. this is a perfect example of why i love short fiction and how it can be so very powerful and inspiring.

tw/cw: war, battle, violence, a lot of blood depiction, gore, nightmares, codependency depiction, exploitation depiction, sickness/child sickness, medical things, death, child death, drowning, + suicide.

✨ What the Dead Know (Into Shadow, #4) by Nghi Vo

“…Maryse had finally learned, after five years as a medium, what the dead spoke of.”

nghi vo is one of my favorite authors, so i knew i would enjoy this short story from this collection. it was spooky, unsettling, and truly all the vibes were exactly what i look for in horror. we follow two people posing as mediums traveling in historical illinois, where they find themselves stranded at a very isolated school for young girls, in a really creepy and unsettling town, with a river that is holding dark secrets. again, vo is such a talented writer that i felt like i was barely breathing while reading this and watching everything happen. This a very high three star from me, but upon finishing it just really left me wanting more in a good way, but also in a way that really makes me think this story would be better in a longer and more expandable format.

tw/cw: racism, blood depictions, murder, death, gore, + maybe choking (the writing is so good and descriptive, it made me feel it a little hehe)

✨ Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire

“Travel can be hard. It wears on the heart, even when it’s done on purpose, and there’s always a cost and a consequence.”

for sure my favorite or 2nd favorite wayward children tale yet. i really loved this even though i felt like i was constantly crying or experiencing the feeling of being on the verge of crying from the author note to the very last page. all these novellas focus on a very important, but newly introduced theme, while also maintaining the overarching message of finding the place(s) you belong – on your terms, with your health and safety as the number one priority. but the theme of this short story is losing your childhood – in all the ways imaginable. from loss and grief, to feeling unseen and unheard, to being manipulated by people you trust… and they are all very heartbreaking but so very real. besides this book being very important and feeling very thankful it is in the world, antsy + seanan do an amazing job letting people know they aren’t alone and they were never at fault… for anything ❤

authors note warnings: grooming, gaslighting, reassurance nothing physical happens (very important and very much impacted my reading experience in a very positive way because of the reassurance)

additional trigger + content warnings that i wrote down while reading: loss of a parent, heart-attack, pedophilia, panic attack, mention of making a small cut to see magic, grief, loss of a sibling, child abuse

✨ Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2) by Leigh Bardugo
➽ Ninth House ★★★

“Welcome home. Welcome back. We missed you. I missed you more than I should have, more than I wanted to. I went to hell for you. I’d do it again.”

i enjoyed this, i just didn’t love it the way i wish i did… but that’s okay because i still had a really good time turning these pages! this is still such a powerful series, and i can’t wait for whatever book three has in store!

tw/cw: loss of a loved one, blood depictions, abuse, mentions of rape in past, murder, death, gore, panic attacks, fire, talk of attempted suicide, talk of suicide, self harm for blood for magic, possession and compulsion, bullying, brief mentions of overdosing, drugs, drugs use, police brutality, cancer mention, vomiting, heart attack mention, animal death, talk of electric shock therapy, mentions of bugs/maggots/spiders, and very bad and abusive relationships with people and with parents in the past. this book can get very dark at times and has constant themes of abuse – please use caution while reading and make sure you’re in a good space for it in your life.

✨ Twisted Love (Twisted, #1) by Ana Huang

“Your enemies are my enemies, your friends are my friends, and if you wanted, I would burn down the world for you.”

i really did enjoy reading this and i could not put it down, but this was just not what I was expecting. Which is completely on me, but you’re going to see the trigger warning below and… I truly thought this was going to be a light little romance with a girl and her brother’s bestie and, again, there is no one to blame but myself for not looking at any reviews first, but whew this book got pretty heavy so many times. I still enjoyed it, I can’t wait to read more from this author, but I just don’t know if I loved reading this first installment. But I also could not stop reading this and read it pretty much in two sittings, back to back, so I feel happy giving this a good three star rating. But this book heavily puts the childhood trauma for both of our main characters at the forefront of this story, so please use caution and make sure you’re in a good head space.

tw/cw: severe aquaphobia (fear of water), blood depictions, abuse/parental abuse, gaslighting, attempted murder, attempted harm to a child, death, murder, grief depiction, depression depiction, ptsd depiction, mention of ex cheating in the past, mention of marital infidelity, divorce, brief mention of sexual assault (not main character), harry potter reference, stalking, assault, unwanted touching, panic attacks, kidnapping, torture, suicide mention/overdose mention, bad nightmares, and loss of loved ones/family members.

okay, friends! those are the ten books i read during the very first month of the year! with some trigger and content warnings, too! my favorite read from this month for sure was Tress of the Emerald Sea (The Cosmere) by Brandon Sanderson! i am still thinking about this book, three months later! ahhh, i can’t wait to finally get my physical hopefully soon (i think 50% have been mailed so far?) and i can’t wait to read his next secret project! but thank you all again for reading this post, and i’ll see you tomorrow! 💛

October 2020 Wrap Up

November 3, 2020October 30, 2020 meltotheanyAside19 Comments

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Hello friends! I hope you are doing well! October was a bit of a wild month for me, mostly because I just… unapologetically indulged in happiness, that didn’t involve a lot of reading! 🧡

Basically, three of my favorite kpop groups had comebacks, therefore I had so much new music to love, so many new stages to see, and so many nights of questionable sleep to mess up my schedules, haha! I will say that BTS do have a comeback in November, so I am a little scared for my reading this month too, but I will save that for November posts!

Also, I am still in a five star read drought! I haven’t read a five star since August, can you believe? But I am currently reading The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore and it is most likely going to be a new favorite of all time, so hopefully we will start November off with a five star!

➽ The Project by Courtney Summers ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publication: February 2, 2021
It is no secret that I have loved Courtney Summers’ stories, so I knew once I received an ARC of this one that I would not be able to let it sit on my ipad for long! This is a story all about cults, and brainwashing, and power dynamics and imbalances, and predatory behavior and actions, but it is also a book about siblings who are willing to do anything for each other and, just like all of Courtney’s books, I was a weeping mess at the main characters of this story. I think so many people will really enjoy this one when it releases, but I just didn’t love the ending as much as I thought I would.

➽ Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was the October pick for the Dragons and Tea Book Club! This is a spooky story all about a girl also willing to do whatever it takes for her family, but the setting is in a very haunted house in Mexico City. Yet, you quickly realize the scariest part of the story is the entitled white men who feel like the world should give them everything. Again, I really enjoyed this one, but I just didn’t love one part at the end!

➽ The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson ⭐⭐⭐
Okay, I loved the first half of this book and I still think it is such an impressive debut, but the end just got a little too messy. But it is a story about a cult that also is ruled by white entitled men (truly I was reading the spookiest theme all October)! But our main character is constantly ostracized because she is mixed race, but also because her mother might have had contact with the witches who dwell in the surrounding forest. I know I sound like such a broken record, but again, I just didn’t love the end of this, but I was so in love with the first half!

➽ House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐
Me, feeling a reading slump coming on, but also feeling guilty I haven’t wrote a review I know a lot of people are waiting on, therefore I start a 1,000 page reread of a SJM book? Yeah, that for sure happened. So basically, I reread this with Maëlys via audiobook one week, and we had a good time, truly. I promise, an actual and real and long review SOON, but the TL;DR is always going to be that this book should have been sapphic.

➽ Queen of the Conquered (Islands of Blood and Storm, #1) by Kacen Callender ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I buddy read this with Shae & Maëlys and I couldn’t believe how amazing this book was, and I’m feeling so thankful that book two comes out this December! This also is a book starring a mixed race main character who has seen colonization happening to her islands her entire life, but her position makes me see she does not feel like she belongs to either half of herself, and she feels a bit helpless even with a magical ability. This book was so very dark at times, and so very unapologetic constantly, but I had goosebumps while reading every page. I wish I could put this book into way more peoples’ hands, because I truly was blown away by the power of these pages.

What was your favorite read of October? I cannot believe we only have two months left of 2020. Also, just a friendly reminder that I know today is going to be a lot for so many, but I’m sending you all extra love, and I hope you all are checking in with your mental health! Take breaks when needed, and check in on loved ones, and be safe, but also make sure that your voice is heard.

Lastly, for a bit more serotonin and maybe some escapism, here are the three kpop groups that I love a lot that had come backs in October (and if you want to see my reactions to their music videos):

✨ TXT (투모로우바이투게더) ‘Blue Hour’ Official

✨ 이달의 소녀 (LOONA) “Why Not?”

✨ 펜타곤(PENTAGON) – ‘데이지(Daisy)’

August 2020 Wrap Up

September 9, 2020September 2, 2020 meltotheanyAside25 Comments

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Hey friends! How was your August? I hope it was good and safe and filled with health and love. August was for sure the best month I’ve had in 2020 and I’m feeling very thankful and very happy! But… I’m going to be cautious and not jinx anything, haha! But I promise, a birthday book haul soon! August was also a very good reading month for me and I was able to read a few five star stories, too! And I feel like one of these will for sure make my top five books of 2020! Can you guess what it is? It rhymes with: yearning odd.

➽ Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publication: September 22nd 2020 by Berkley
Listen, I am truly just such a sucker for a renaissance faire setting and romance! I dint love this one as much as Well Met, but I enjoyed it immensely while wanting book three desperately!

➽ Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buddy read with Lea! ❤
This was such a treat to read with Lea, because it is one of her favorite series of all time. But I really loved this one and how different (and powerful) the story felt. Cashore was really ahead of the game with the themes in their books, and it really helps make them hold up extremely well!

➽ The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The way I think that this might be my favorite in the series, which I feel like is a little bit of an unpopular opinion! But this was a masterpiece of a middle book and I can’t stop thinking about it.

➽ Loveless by Alice Oseman ⭐⭐
I’m going to implement self-care right now and just never talk about this book again, but I suggest you check out Maëlys & Lea’s reviews! 😊

➽ HYYH The Notes 1 (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life #1) by Big Hit ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buddy read with Maëlys, Lea, & Amy! ❤
Have you all listened to Dynamite yet? Whew. Listen, I kinda just couldn’t get enough of BTS content this month, and it helped make August so very special. Also, #1 Billboard Hot 100 for the first time? We truly love to see it. And…. we love to read about their alternate universe where the members are all dealing with different types of abandonment, while trying to grow and heal with each other and their love and their love for different arts.

➽ Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Córdova & Natalie C. Parker ⭐⭐
Publication: September 22nd 2020 by Imprint
Buddy read with Destiny, Maëlys, & Lea! ❤
Listen, I wanted to love this so badly because of the author list alone. Yet, sadly, this just fell so short for me. I was so disappointed with the vast majority of these stories.

➽ One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake ⭐⭐
I feel like I just waited way too long to continue on with this series, because this book felt so pointless. Also, all the high-risk situations? They never felt high-risk. I just want to block this out of my mind, and I do not think I will continue on with this series.

➽ The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was our August 2020 pick for the Dragons and Tea Book Club! 🐉☕
The way this was perfection. From cultural appropriation, to “the model minority”, to all the different kinds of racism, to being queer in a less accepting culture, this book had everything and it was a completely joy to read. I loved this. I promise a full review before the end of the year.

➽ The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) by R.F. Kuang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publication: November 17th 2020 by Harper Voyager
Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤
Am I still crying? I think? Help. Okay okay, seriously though, this ending was perfect, and I absolutely cannot wait to see how everyone reacts when this book comes out. There was one thing that bothered about this concluding novel, but the rest was perfection. The themes of colorism and the themes of colonization are the best I’ve ever read in my life. This series means so much to me, and I hope it wins everything because it’s a masterpiece.

➽ Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch (Eva Evergreen #1) by Julie Abe ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤
This was the sweetest and most heartwarming read I’ve read all year. Eva and her friends and their unconditional love and support were just everything. They truly created a magic all on their own, and I can’t wait to see what Eva does next. Also, the settings and imagery in this book was a tier above. Other witch and wizard books are quaking, I promise.

➽ When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤
This book had it all, from gentrification and the many systems that are stealing land, and buildings, and lives still in 2020, to police brutality, to a vast array of different microaggressions, this book is going to make a lot of white and non BIPOCs uncomfortable, and I hope they sit in that uncomfortably (especially Americans). I didn’t love the end of this one, but I adored the first 80% so very much!

➽ Horrid by Katrina Leno ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publication: September 15th 2020 by Little, Brown
Buddy read with Maëlys & Lea! ❤
I am in the middle of writing my review for this one right now, and it is going to be a hard one to talk about without giving anything away. But this book was so eerie and atmospheric and I never wanted to put it down. Sadly, I just didn’t love the end of it. But I really adored the build up and Leno’s writing will always very much be my exact cup of perfectly brewed tea.

Whew! Quite the month, aye? Blessings all around, truly. Tell me what was your favorite read of August! And I hope September is treating you kindly and you are having lots of amazing reads so far (and for always)! Happy reading, friends! 💗

July 2020 Wrap Up

August 6, 2020July 30, 2020 meltotheanyAside41 Comments

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Hello, friends! How are you? I hope you are doing well! July was a really successful reading month for me! Again, I truly believe I refound my love for books and reading this summer, and I am praying with everything that it is here to stay for good! The last week of the month, I did participate in a readathon, and that for sure helped boost my books read number, too! But I had a really good reading month, and read three new favorite books of all time, while also reading an accumulation of fourteen books!

➽ The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤
I truly loved Station Eleven when I read it many, many moons ago. And this was just nothing like that, which is completely fine, but my expectations were just way too high. If you are looking for a legal case with many strings that do beautifully get tied together, then I would maybe give this one a try.

➽ Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys & Isabella 💕
I feel like at this point, I just have loved everything I’ve read by Jenn Bennett! If you are looking for a cozy small town feel, with small glimpses of a book store, and large glimpses of two kids finding themselves and finding how they could work together with their pasts and futures, then I recommend this!

➽ The Library of the Unwritten (Hell’s Library #1) by A.J. Hackwith
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ | 🌈
Be still, my heart. Most impressive debut ever? Maybe. The writing, the concept, the unique ideas left and right, I am blown away by this story, these librarians, and this so very beautiful writing. Also, we love a pan main character in this house.

➽ Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ | 🌈
Yikes, I know, please, just look away. All of my friends love this one, so please take this rating with a grain of salt. I loved the f/f romance (especially the love interest) and I loved the premise (it is ownvoices for the Persian mythos) and the directions this tale took. Sadly, it was just so convenient, and nothing ever truly felt at stake, because everyone was so in love with the main character. I don’t know, this just really didn’t work for me, but again, I am for sure in the minority with my feelings!

➽ Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Reread | Buddy read with Lea! ❤
The way this whole series is going to hold up in 2020? Okay, we love to see it. Truly still blown away, and I cannot wait for me and Lea to finish this trilogy off soon!

➽ You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Dragons & Tea Book Club 🐉☕ | 🌈
This book was everything. Without question it will make my best books of 2020, list. And the diversity? My heart. Our main character is Black, queer, living with high anxiety, living with her grandparents because her mother passed away, and is helping take care of her brother with sickle cell. This book heavily talks about microaggressions, being marginalized, having to make yourself smaller, and how on top of all of this it is extra unfair to try to go to college. But this is such a hopeful story, such a beautiful story, such an important story because it is unapologetically happy. And the f/f romance in this is truly out of this world. I loved this book with my whole heart.

➽ Night Shine by Tessa Gratton
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ | 🌈
Ready for me to gush about about f/f story? Here we are. Night Shine is my favorite book of 2020 so far, full stop. This story is truly so romantic, so beautiful, and so fantastical. Many people have said this is a “dark, queer Howl’s Moving Castle” and that is 100% accurate. I was yearning, screaming, falling in love, right beside our main character. But this is also a book about discovering yourself, and surrounding yourself with people who choose you, who pick you, and who love you every single time.

➽ Ice Planet Barbarians (Ice Planet Barbarians #1) by Ruby Dixon
⭐⭐
Listen, I don’t know why I did this. Actually, I do. I was finishing off my Audible Escape membership and I was like “this will be a quick read” and hit play. I wish I wouldn’t have. I feel like so many people also love this? But like… I knew from the very triggering content at the start that it was going to be a very rocky ~~road~~ space ship journey for me. And I think I’m just maybe too gay to enjoy reading about women having sex with blue alien space men, tbh. All respect to the blue alien though, because he was the best character and he could have done better, imo.

➽ Fence, Vol. 3 by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Reread | 🌈
I just really wanted to read Vol. 4 because it had just came out here in the US at the end of June! So I quickly reread Vol. 3 just for to refresh my memory!

➽ Fence, Vol. 4 by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 🌈
I love the sports gays always, but I really love these sports gays. The slowest of all slow burns, but so many ships are starting to at least dock in the harbor, even if they are not sailing any time soon. Also, love me a good teamwork storyline.

➽ Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles
⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys & May! 💕 | 🇵🇭
My heart at this one. I really wanted to love it, truly. But just… nothing happened. The settings were cool, and the premises and questions being asked were cool too! But, it really ends with us figuring out nothing except for the mystery I didn’t care about. The romance and swooning did have me invested though! But I’m not sure if I’m invested enough to read book two, we will see.

➽ The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Feminine Pursuits #1) by Olivia Waite
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ | 🌈
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? :]

➽ Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) by Seanan McGuire
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Buddy read with Maëlys, & Destiny! 💕| 🌈
My favorite Wayward Children world? I think so! And I’m not even a horse girl, horse girls are gonna love this even more! But this is truly a story about becoming the person you want to be, in a world that makes us feel like we constantly have to conform, especially at young ages! Also, this story stars an intersex main character and it made me realize how much I am slacking with reading that representation. But full review for this to come soon, and it is the highest of four star ratings!

➽ Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 🇮🇩🌈
But I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to see what comes next! I truly always love a good magical story about people choosing their own destiny, even if the path to figuring that out can be a little difficult at times! And starring Asian witches, created by an ownvoices creator? Be still, my Filipino heart. Give me all the queer, witches of color stories, please oh please!

Okay, loves! That’s everything! I’m feeling very grateful this summer! July was the month that I started this blog back up, and it truly has been such a safe haven for me. I’m very thankful for my friends, who never make me feel alone, and who always are buddy reading with me. And I’m forever honored by everyone who takes the time to read my words. I hope you’ve been treating yourself kind this August, already. And I hope I keep treating myself that way, too! Happy reading! 💗

June 2020 Wrap Up

July 9, 2020July 8, 2020 meltotheanyAside32 Comments

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Do you ever have a reading month where you read so many new favorite things that you just know it will probably be your best reading month of the entire year? Yeah, okay, this is totally what I experienced with June 2020. So many new forever favorites! And easily the best reading month I have had in such a long time. 💗

➽ Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Isabella! ❤
This was a really heartbreaking read, but a much needed read. The talk of manipulation, gaslighting, grooming, and power dynamics/imbalances is expertly done, even if very hard to read at times. This book is about a young girl whose dream is to sing, and she quickly realizes that the price of fame might be a very scary thing when men in power feel untouchable. I’ve read a lot of reviews that say that this was inspired off R. Kelly and his victims but the author didn’t confirm that in my ARC, but I very much see the correlation from what little I do know about him and his cases. This is also ownvoices for the Black representation, and also deep dives into how racism and internalized racism makes people not want to believe Black voices even more than the already loud truth of not believing victims in the first place. But this is a very important book and I hope a lot of people are able to pick it up with it comes out in September.

➽ I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Lea & Maëlys! ❤ 🇰🇷🌈
I really enjoyed this one! It’s ownvoices for the Korean representation and queer representation, and the main character is also fat and we get to see how that impacts how the kpop industry, society, and her family sees her. This was so unapologetically beautiful, and it also wove in important discussions likes Asian fetisizations and anti-Blackness in the kpop industry and in kpop communities. Oh, and the mc and the love interest are both bi and I really loved that so much. Also, I’m praying for a spinoff book starring the sapphic side characters who stole my heart.

➽ This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ 🌈
This was a reread for me, and again I think this book has left me at a loss for words. The romance in this is my favorite of all time. The letter correspondence between these two women, fighting for wars they aren’t sure they believe in, but realizing more and more with every letter that they believe in each other? Whew, lads. One day this year I’m going to write a proper review for this book. If you haven’t read this yet, please give it a try. It is truly everything and such a win for the gays.

➽ The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Lea! ❤ 🌈
Oh, this story broke me greatly. This is a story about underwater descendants of African slaves, but only one person from these people can remember the story of their ancestors. This truly is a book about passing down trauma, and even about passing down white supremacy, and how scary both of those things are. This was beautifully crafted and truly has left me speechless. I’m not sure a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about it. This is ownvoices for the Black representation and the queer representation.

➽ Trade Me (Cyclone #1) by Courtney Milan
⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Lea! ❤ 🇨🇳
I read this in a 24 hour whirlwind, but I really enjoyed it. It is ownvoices for the Asian representation and has beautiful discussions on immigration, an Asian-American main character, healthy talks of power imbalances, breaking stigmas of poverty, the guy love interest having an eating disorder, and more!

➽ Hold Me (Cyclone #2) by Courtney Milan
⭐⭐⭐⭐ June Pick: Dragons and Tea Book Club! 🐉☕ 🇨🇳🌈
And then I read this book for the Dragons & Tea book club! This is also ownvoices for the Asian representation and the queer representation! And also has a Latinx, trans mc too! This was such a beautiful romance that I was swooning for the whole time, because the build up was truly expertly crafted and done! Yet, I really loved the discussion on how women can be treated in STEM classes and workplaces!

➽ The City We Became (Great Cities #1) by N.K. Jemisin
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ 🌈
My heart, my soul, NK Jemisin really can just do no wrong in my eyes. I loved this story so much, and she is a genius for making literal personifications of cities. I loved seeing them work together, try to find each other, but also try to learn and find themselves. This is ownvoices for the Black representation and talks greatly on social injustice and how dangerous white supremacy is, in this story and in our world.

➽ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ 🌈
The way I am still so shocked that I think a VE Schwab book might be my favorite of the whole year. This was easily the best thing I’ve read all 2020, and such a beautiful discussion of art and love and living your life the way you deem worthy of living. Yet also has important themes about abuse and power dynamics. This entire story was so beautifully crafted and written and truly just feels like a love letter to stories. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the world fall in love with this one.

➽ The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ 🌈
A love letter to found families and I think this found family stole my whole heart while reading this beautiful story. This will easily make my best books of 2020 list, and I now want to read everything by TJ Klune now. This is also ownvoices for the queer rep, and my heart really, really loved this sweet romance as well. I truly just want the best for every character in this book forever.

➽ The Tea Dragon Tapestry (Tea Dragon #3) by Katie O’Neill
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤ 🌈
Has any book brought as as much joy as this one this year? I think maybe not. Katie O’Neil has truly outdone herself once again. I am so very in love with these illustrations, with these characters, and with this story. This particular volume really focuses on how everyone has their own path. There are so many things you can do in this life, and even though it seems scary, you can do so many of them if you wish to do so! There is also nothing wrong with staying on the path that makes you happy and makes you feel safe. But regardless of the paths you take, and who you chose to take them with, you are whole on your own and you are deserving of happiness and safety. Ahhhh, I needed this so badly in the month of June and this was truly such a special experience reading.

Okay, my loves! That is everything I was able to read in the month of June! I’m telling you, it was such a blessed month! What was your favorite read in June? Also, tomorrow I have a very exciting post and the first of a brand new series on meltotheany that makes my heart feel like it has wings! So, make sure you check it out tomorrow and every Friday, because it would mean the absolute world to me. Happy reading, I love you! 💗