Top Ten Tuesday #13

Created by The Broke and The Bookish
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

6 New-to-Me Authors I Read in the Last Year

1. V. E. Schwab

I was absolutely blown away by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and will 100% be reading more from Schwab in 2021. I still haven't decided if Vicious, This Savage Song, or A Darker Shade of Magic will be my next read!

2. Leigh Bardugo 

I read Six of Crows and will definitely be reading more from the Grishaverse in the future!

3. Victoria Aveyard

I read Red Queen and while I wasn't crazy about the plot I did enjoy the writing style. I haven't decided yet whether I'll finish the rest of this series, but I'm actually really excited for her upcoming new series Realm Breaker.

4. Sarah Kuhn

I recently listened to the Doctor Aphra audiobook, written by Kuhn, and loved it. I'm very interested in picking up I Love You So Mochi soon!

5. Art Spiegelman

I was immensely impressed by Maus volumes one and two this past year. This was expected, as the duology is long acclaimed as a brutally moving work of art (Maus came out in '86).

6. Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic was such a spooky read and it put Moreno-Garcia on the map for me. I'm looking forward to also reading Gods of Jade and Shadow.

Top Ten Tuesday #12

Created by The Broke and The Bookish

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl 

Top 10 Books I Meant to Read In 2020

1. Skyhunter 

by Marie Lu

2. The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo #5) 

by Rick Riordan

3. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars 

by Christopher Paolini

4. Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) 

by Elizabeth Lim

5. Grown 

by Tiffany D. Jackson

6. One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying #2) 

by Karen M. McManus

7. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder 

by Holly Jackson

8. Plain Bad Heroines 

by Emily M. Danforth

9. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires 

by Grady Hendrix

10. Kingdom of the Wicked 

by Kerri Maniscalco

What 2020 books do you still want to read?

ARC Review: Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

Phoenix Flame

by Sara Holland

Publication Date:  March 11^th 2021

Publisher:  Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Find This Book: Phoenix Flame

Rating: 4/5

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the fantasy world of the Havenfall series and it was great to be back! Holland presents a well thought out and balanced magical system, with a new twist (sorry, that's spoilers). With the returning health of Maddie's uncle, she steps down from being the Inkeeper of Havenfall, but that doesn't stop her adventures! The soul trade is alive and well, the Silver Prince has escaped to Byrn, and a new soul trader has been discovered in Fiordenkill. Can Maddie successfully pull off her infiltration mission? Will her relationships, especially her two crushes, survive the turmoil ahead?

One of my favorite aspects that I truly appreciate about this series is Maddie's bisexuality. It's not an in-your-face part of the book, and I don't think sexuality has to be. I love that the book is not about Maddie struggling with her sexuality and it's not about Maddie having an identity crisis. She lives her life and just happens to be bisexual. The book is not super romance heavy, but when she talks about her crushes one is a guy and one is a girl. It feels like a totally natural representation and it is so refreshing to finally see someone like me reflected in the characters I read.

I do wish that Maddie's character had more of an arc in Phoenix Flame. I still enjoyed Phoenix Flame, but she felt more complicated and had more depth in Havenfall that was not quite replicated here. I couldn't help but notice that Maddie appeared more passive in this one, though to be fair many of the situations she was in were totally out of her control. That being said I was still hoping for a bit more, especially from the climax itself. This is what took the book down one star for me.

ARC Review: Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Lore
by Alexandra Bracken
Publication Date: January 5^th 2021
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Find This Book: Lore
Rating: 5/5

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bracken opens strong with an intriguing overview of this book's world building presenting greek mythology in a brand new way. Zeus, always known for his complex punishments, have sentenced the greek pantheon to become mortal every seven years, where the lineages of greek heroes have the opportunity to kill them and become gods themselves. An ancestor and one of the last remaining original gods team up for a fascinating revenge story!

Lore is a refreshing stand alone book about ancient bloodlines hunting the Greek gods that is great for novice and dedicated lovers of greek mythology alike. I eat up everything involving Greek mythology, but this was truly something special! There is edge-of-your-seat action and betrayals, and a fun new way to look at New York City. This is another must-read from Bracken!