This book is a dream. The writing is sensual and gorgeous and I need to write about it now! The setting is an icy and mysterious city that seems to have no past and the only memories people have are stories told by others. I was invested right away. The story centers on Kallia, an amazingly talented magician who cant get very far because she's a woman (Also, because shes been trapped in a house of illusions dancing for a mysterious man named Jack. Spooky! Right away you get Caraval and Phantom of the Opera vibes what with the masks, and the mirrors, and the games but unfortunately there's no stand in for The Persian in Phantom, which I was really hoping for but I  didn't write it, so noodles! The winner of the contest/game will be allowed to be the opening act for the Conquering Circus, which sounds amazing and is one of the many things in this book that I wish were real. The characters are vibrant and fabulous. Kallia escapes Jack's house of illusions and immediately m

The Grounding of Group 6 I will get a small comission if you clicky the link and buy. So one of my favorite books of all time is The Grounding of group 6 by Julian F. Thompson. It was one of the first books i'd read that acknowledged certain "progressive" parents could value being seen that way more than their children. It's a bitter, extremely weird satire that probably shouldn't be as funny as it is and i probably one of my favorite "found family" stories ever. BUT Somebody mention "gay panic" in reference to this book and i'll be honest! I never read it that way. And it makes me feel really weird and an uncomfortable that I never noticed that take even though the character involved, Coke, pretty blatantly uses a homophobic slur when recounting the event to his mother. Which I had somehow completely forgotten anout. YIKES! Now, was McCorker gay or "just" a child predator and there's no homophobic agenda in this book?

I found out information about the author of a book I was reading and I wanted to put it here for full transparency. This is a screenshot of my Netgalley review and I do appreciate Inkyard Press for sending me a copy!

This book has made me cry two times already and I'm not even a third of the way through. I highly recommend just based on this.

Hi! In case you didn't know me I'm Sarah, curator of The Kawaii Slartibartfast (podcast and youtube channel) I thought that i would have to give up book blogging but I have a Chromebook so that's gonna make things so much easier. Most of the books are ARCs from Netgalley so it may not seem like there's much content here. It's coming, I promise! Book I'm currently reading The Ninth Life by Taylor B. Barton

It's my turn on the blog tour! Thanks to Wednesday books for providing me with the ARC! Review here!

I adored this book so much. It shows perfectly how the gaming community can be wonderful and horrifying at the same time. I've known people very much like the VP in this book and dealt with the harassment (Not on the level that Divya does but it was still pretty awful.) I really appreciated that Aaron's savior complex was called out as not a good thing. There was so much I identified with in this book and I got the feeling that Smith really understands why we game and the lovely communities we build despite the gatekeepers. This book is greatly appreciated.

Fair warning, this book starts off incredibly slowly but is definitely well worth the read. The main character is Lena, the oldest daughter and next in line for leadership. Her sister, Fressa wants to marry her love Amal but can't because custom dictates that Lena must be first married. I feel I'd be doing this book a great disservice if I didn't mention that grief may well be a main character. It permeates Lena's every action and insinuates itself in her life, driving her to do things that if she weren't traumatized and grieving, cause me to label her  "too stupid too live" Why the grief? Well, Fressa dies. (Oh, I'm not spoiling anything! It's on the book blurb!) There's not a mark on her body and Lena knows something's up. So, she makes a deal with the goddess of death to switch out her sister's soulf for another of equal weight. What do we say to the goddess of death? Apparently, "Sure I'll kill people!" Well,

I'll be honest. I don't generally care for Christian fiction because a lot of what I read seemed really preachy and judgmental to me (although to be fair back in the day I was over the moon about Lurlene McDaniel) so a friend gave a rec for Melanie Dickerson and three days or something later, this book popped up on Netgalley. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. So Kat and Steffan both obviously have PTSD and Stef is a recovering alcoholic. They are far from perfect in terms of mental health and they join together to figure out what the deal is with the Beast, a malevolent entity that has lured the children away from Hamlin. They have to put up with Kat's dastardly (is there a word stronger than dastardly? Diabolical, maybe?) stepfather Hennek and his gross henchman. I really liked the way this one ended and am very interested in checking out the other books in this series.

Day Zero Video

Catfishing on CatNet was amazing and I most definitely will recommend it to fans of YA fiction. So, what I'd like to talk about is the joy in community found on the internet. Yes, it can certainly be a hive of scum and villainy but I have often found my family online. Care to talk about your online family? -Sarah

So, this book deals quite bluntly with themes of suicide and depression. If these are issues you have difficulty with please be careful when reading this book. It's wonderful but very intense at points. Oh, this book. Would you believe I almost didn't finish it? I'm so glad that I did. Here's what's happening in this book. Coral is a young mermaid whose culture considers emotions a disease. Her older sister fell in love with a human and is now waiting to die of the horrific Red Tide Brooke is staying at an inpatient care facility for her depression and is struggling over painful memories. Merrick is struggling with his domineering father, his depressed kid sister, and his mother leaving.

This is a phenomenal addition to Arthurian legend. I've always thought that Guinevere was done dirty by legend. This Guinevere is not actually born as Guinevere and that's such an interesting thought in the "What's in a name?" line of thinking. Our Guinevere is sent by Merlin to marry King Arthur to protect him since magic has been banished in Camelot. The writing is wonderful and there are some twists that are absolute delights. I'll not spoil it but it was an absolute delight to read! I am here for this and you should be too!

This book was so good! It's almost like two books in one. The beginning is very gothic horror, like VC Andrews but focused on a creepy Manor instead of...you know. The story is told through the alternating viewpoints of Zuhra and Inara. Inara seems to have extreme sensory issues and has attacks where she can barely speak due to being do overwhelmed. The girls live with their mother and servant in an old musty citadel protected by a sentient hedge. Yes, a sentient hedge that only let's Sami (the servant) out if there's an emergency. One day, a man somehow gets by the hedge and the adventure begins. This was a fascinating tale of loyalty and well, abuse. Yes, I understand that Cinnia felt deserted but did she have to treat her daughters so cruelly just for having questions? Honestly, I just wanted her to die! I really liked Halvor. His enthusiasm for knowledge of the Paladins was charming.

Previously... This book has great fun with flashbacks and doesn't get to the present until about 75% in (much like the first one) the difference is this one takes us back 25 years ago. I'll admit that while the twist is fun, I saw it coming from the first book and I don't think this is a knock against Barnes but more due to the fact that I grew up watching really weird soap operas. More info about the Taft family is given and I really enjoyed that. I really want to talk more but I don't want to soil the book. While not as laugh out loud as the other one (c'mon, Campbell's kidnapping was comedy gold) I actually believe this is an improvement on the first.

It struck me after reading this that this book could be a continuation of a Romeo and Juliet story.  What happened in the decade after if nobody had learned their lesson? The situation Valerie finds herself in is a difficult one until she literally has the choice taken away from her at gunpoint. So she adapts. This is a very sad story, the premise being founded on a child's murder but it's also a celebration of life. Valerie finds happiness and a sense if community with the Stags as they attempt to fight gentrification. And I've got to say, having lived in Seattle, Shannon Price is on point about this.

This book was an amazing read and I don't think I can recommend it enough. The main character in this book is Tierney, whose fate is decided by the horrifically misogynistic society she lives in. You seeing the sixteenth year a girls Grace comes in, a power that drives men to madness and ruin. The way to counteract this is that teenage girls are sent to live on their own for a year and come back when the Grace settles down. If they survive. This is not just a survival story even though poachers lurk on the boundaries of the cabin the girls are forced to survive in. No, not just survival but friendship, loyalty, and self-determination.

I really wanted to like this book. I like the idea of mixing religion, magic, and politics. Sadly, there were so many things that just did not work for me.. For instance, it's never explained why the Tranavians turned from the gods. Nadya is set up to be a powerful character and just ...becomes reduced to a love interest. The chemistry between Malachiasz does not exist! It was so boring to read about them. This book was really boring to read also on account of the fact that it constantly repeats itself. Look, it wasn't all bad. I think there's a lot of potential and I have the sequel thanks to Netgalley, so I hope that one drastically improves.

May we talk about how hard this book hit me and moved me to tears multiple times? Oh, goody! So, when I was five years old my biological father was supposed to pick me up for Christmas Eve. He did not. He instead called from a bar and said he was too drunk to drive. About thirty years later he finds me on Facebook and says he wants to have a relationship with me. Weeks go by and he randomly messages me at butt o'clock in the morning to tell me that he was a terrible father and that I probably hated him And here's the thing! I didn't hate him! I'd gotten what I wanted! My father had acknowledged me! But! It was such a hollow victory because all he wanted was to alleviate his guilt without actually, y'know, alleviating his guilt. So, along comes this book and its amazing protagonist Danny Warren. Danny is heartbreaking. She feels that her father's neglect is because of her. If only she were more charming and athletic her father might love her enough to s

I adored this book. It's the story of a girl whose brother is outcast by their village because he's turning into a monster. Okay, writing it out doesn't make it sound that great but the characters and writing make it phenomenal. According to the book description Hitler tried to open a magic portal and um, things did not go well. The world is divided into Above and Below and monsters are everywhere! There is an eel woman, a witch, and a wolf. I love the way magic is dealt with in this book. It's so fascinating. I really liked the first book I read by Kristin Jacques, Ragnarok Unwound and passionately waiting for a sequel! This book was given to me by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my opinions.