Tag Archives: contemporary

January 2023 Reading Recap

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Happy 2023! January feels like it was many things. I wrote over 15,000 words of fanfiction and short fiction for deadlines. I re-outlined all of my novel code-named AquaShame. I did a lot of reading and watching movies, and honestly, it’s been a pretty good time. The biggest thing, however, is that I dropped the title of my forthcoming novella! I made a handy dandy press kit that has all the information you need: content warnings, links to goodreads/storygraph, pre-order information, and more.

Blog Interviews are resuming next month with Freydís Moon (who is also showing up on the blog tomorrow with a cover drop).

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Light Novel Review: BAKEMONOGATARI Part 01 by NISIOISIN (illust. Vofan) (2016)

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Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Year Release in English: 2016
Source: Physical Copy

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Content warnings: Mention of an attempted rape, death of a child, cults, injuries, blood, threats of violence

This light novel series starts off with a fairly simple premise: a former vampire catches his classmate who slipped on a banana peel, only to find that she weighs literally nothing. And if full of stationery. And haunted by a crab. In the second half of the book, the two of them encounter a little girl haunted by a snail aberration, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Full of friendship, interesting exchanges, strange happenings, and explorations of past trauma that don’t get resolved with the resolution of the haunting, there is so much to like and see in this work told almost entirely through dialogue but does not at all feel like reading a script.

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December 2022 Reading Recap

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December is a strange month for me because of traveling to get home and other plans, and having to recon with my own success at completing my own goals (not going to touch on that whatsoever here). It was a month where I read a bunch of things in translation and a singular ARC which feels more in the direction of how I want to be reading into 2023.

December’s only blog interview:

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November 2022 Reading Recap

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November might have been the month that took me out. Though I did not do NaNoWriMo, I wrote a lot and, more importantly for a post coming later this week, I read a lot. So much. So many things. I also wound up watching a lot of Japanese horror films (classics like Ringu and Ju-On, so if you have recommendations, I’d love them).

November’s blog interviews were:

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October 2022 Reading Recap

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October was my first month without my main WIP. Because I’ve been in such an intense state of revision, I took October off to tap into things I’ve wanted to watch and read for a while, and honestly, it’s been quite restorative. 10/10 highly recommend. I might have a new project in the works, but it’s all joy and no stress. Book-shaped, but without all the other intensity.

Which, speaking of, it’s November. Am I doing NaNoWriMo? Who knows.

October’s blog interviews were:

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ARC Review: THE SCRATCH DAUGHTERS (The Scapegracers #2) by H.A. Clarke (2022)

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Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy
Year Release: October 25th, 2022
Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Bookstore

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Read an advanced copy on NetGalley
Content warning: kidnapping, murder, queerphobia, parental abuse, drug use, attempted school shooting, school lockdown, eating an eyeball, arson
Gentle spoilers for The Scapegracers

The queer witch gang is back in the second installment of The Scapegracers trilogy. It picks up where the previous book left off, with Sideways without her specter, and the only clues anyone has are Sideways’ mental connection with Madeline, the girl who stole it. The Chantry boys remain a threat, on top of the typical teenage foibles of finals and catching up on one’s studies.

Intense in its magic and its love for queer women and teen friendships, this second entry is a triumph, and I have several fears for Sideways and gang in book three.

An interview with H.A. Clarke is forthcoming.

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ARC Review: I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY by Jordan Kurella (2022)

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Genre: Adult Contemporary
Year Release: August 15th, 2022
Buy Links: Indiebound | Kindle Edition

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: death, discussion of suicide, abusive relationships

Orpheus and Eurydice get the CW treatment in this retelling that puts the tragic couple in college. Both are music majors, and both have different goals for their relationship as well as their musical careers. A litany of questionable choices follow, told in the past in the music program and present in the Afterlife.

Really fun with delightfully messy relationships and excellent use of music references to move the story along.

An interview with author Jordan Kurella will be going up on release day, August 15th, 2022.

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Author to Author with Maya MacGregor (The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester)

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Happy YA debut day to The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor. This book requires major tissues, as we watch the titular character move into a new school around people who get them all while haunted by personal trauma and the ghost of a teen murdered thirty years prior.

Join me in welcoming this book with an interview with the author. Like Sam, Maya MacGregor is non-binary and autistic, and they took the time to share with me the inspiration for the story and the back stories found within, a sneak peek at their next project, and what’s on their TBR.

Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Books | Audiobook

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Author to Author with Mar Romasco-Moore (I Am The Ghost In Your House)

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Happy release day to I Am The Ghost In Your House! This is a tender, melancholy story about an invisible girl who wants to have a normal teenage life. Taking place in Pittsburgh, Pie hopes to see the girl whose house she haunted a few years prior. It’s a read perfect for Halloween.

Join me in celebrating this release with this interview with the author, Mar Romasco-Moore. Find out more about the origin of this tale, how Romasco-Moore put together the flashbacks, and what they’re working on next.

Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Books | Libro.fm

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ARC Review: I AM THE GHOST IN YOUR HOUSE by Mar Romasco-Moore (2022)

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Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Contemporary
Year Release: April 19, 2022
Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Books | Libro.fm

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: absent parent (father), child sexual assault (Chapter 43, not depicted, heavily implied), mental illness, kidnapping, home invasion

Pie isn’t a ghost, not exactly. But no one can see her, except for her equally invisible mom. All her life, they’ve been traveling across the United States, and Pie’s special treat holiday is Halloween. She chooses Pittsburg as the destination in the hopes that she’ll see the girl whose house she squatted in a few years before.

Melancholy, tender, and spooky, this novel is a great examination of family born and chosen with a dash of boundary setting in more ways than one.

A blog interview will be going up with the author on release day, April 19, 2022.

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