Random Musings of a Bibliophile

  I've been trying to read as many books from Riordan's imprint with Disney Hyperion as I can, though they're coming out so fast it's hard to keep up. I just love the concept of a whole imprint for own voices mythology books. Sal and Gabi Break the Universe  by Carlos Hernandez is my favorite one so far, which is interesting because it is not mythopoeic at all but science-fiction. If there is one thing Sal Vidon knows how to deal with, it's bullies. As a new kid, he knows he needs to be proactive when the school's biggest bully comes for him during his first week at school. One raw chicken in a locker later, Sal finds himself defending against accusations of witchcraft thanks to the interference of student council president Gabi Real, who showed up in the principal's office as the defense attorney of Yasmany. Sal prides himself on being a great magician, but he uses manipulation and sleight of hand-not actual magic. Except he has a talent few others could ...

Here are some shorter musings on recent reads. Scythe by Neal Shusterman I have had this on my list since it came out. Then I thought I might wait unlit the trilogy was finished. One of my teen book club girls chose it for our June book, so I read it earlier than intended. It is quite excellent. I am well and truly over dystopians, but this is so well done. I appreciated the philosophy and exercises in ethics found throughout, as well as the themes on the corruption of man and our lust for power. I also loved the adult characters in the book. They are truly fascinating. The two teen protagonists could have been developed a little better, which is the only reason this isn't getting 5 stars from me. (Funny thing is, this was the prevailing opinion of the teens too.) Shadowhouse Fall  by Daniel José Odler I enjoyed this sequel to Shadowshaper . It is a broader book, requiring knowledge of both plot and characters for the previous book in order to fully enjoy it. (If you haven...

Here are my reading stats for June with my favorite reads of the month. Did you read any book in June you want to recommend?

Here is a round up of all the books I chose not to finish, adult reads, and favorite reads of the last three months. The DNFs (with links to my reasons why on Goodreads): Love, Ish  by Karen Rivers Windfall by Jennifer Smith Adult Reads (with links to Goodreads reviews): Beauty Like the Night  by Joanna Bourne (historical romance) Rogue Desire   by various (contemporary romance) The Watchmaker of Filigree Street  by Natasha Pulley (mystery, steam-punk, historical) The Best of the Best (links to my reviews): Beauty Like the Night   by Joanna Bourne Emperor of Mars  by Patrick Samphire An Uninterrupted View of the Sky by Melanie Crowder

Here are some shorter musings on recent reads First Class Murder  by Robin Stevens This delightful series continues to make me smile. Hazel is coming in to her own so nicely and I can't wait to see how that affects her relationship with Daisy. I can already see more strain starting to develop. I hope that it eventually leads to more growth on Daisy's part. Meanwhile, I love the callbacks to classic mysteries and was delighted to see my two favorites from book two make cameos. Alexander was a great secondary character addition in this as well. I can not wait for the US to catch up to where the series is in the UK! If you haven't experienced these wonderful MG books and are a fan of old fashioned mystery stories, start with Murder is Bad Manners . The Daybreak Bond  by Megan Frazer Blakemore This is an enjoyable sequel to last year's [book:The Firefly Code|26073153]. It answers a lot of questions brought up in the first book and has the continued adventure of the Fi...

Here are some shorter musings on recent reads. Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean  by Kirsty Murray I saw this at the library and decided it looked interesting. I had not heard about it before seeing it on display. It is a fascinating combination of narrative short stories and graphic shorts created by Australian and Indian authors and illustrators. The point of the book is to highlight struggles of teen girls with harassment. The book came out of a series of events that occurred close together in both countries where teen girls were the victims. Many of the stories depict a future where girls are still having to deal with the every day terrors of misogyny. All of them are empowering. The art in the graphic stories is all excellent. There were stories I enjoyed more than others, but they were all incredibly good. Geekerella by Ashley Poston This is super cute and adorable. It is told in alternating point of view between Elle and Darien so we get the perspective of both the Cindere...

Top Ten Tuesday  is a Meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's TTT topic: Most Anticipated Books for Second Half of 2017 I can't believe half the year is almost gone! Here are the books I'm looking forward to reading in the last half of the year. The MG: The YA:  The Adult: What are you looking forward to reading in the last half of the year?

Top Ten Tuesday  is a Meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's TTT topic: Most Unique Books I've Read All of these fall under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction, and for most of them their uniqueness lies in their world-building.  What unique books are your favorites?

Here are some shorter musings on some recent YA reads.   Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge There are some aspects of this one that I really loved-the politics, the world-building, Paris. I also rather liked the fraught relationships between the four main characters and how those developed. Other than Paris, I wasn't really enamored of the other three main characters though, and found myself wanting to smack them more than hope for good things for their lives. As this is a reworking of Romeo and Juliet with necromancy, there is a lot of angst and misunderstanding. I was prepared for that. I was not prepared for this 400 plus page book to only be the first half of the story. There's going to be a sequel. And I don't think Romeo and Juliet needs to be extended to 800 pages of angst and misunderstanding. And even Paris let me down in the ability to make good decisions department in the end so I'm more than a little annoyed with all of them. Also the end INFURIAT...

Happy New Year Everyone! With a new year comes a whole bunch of new books to eagerly anticipate the release dates for. Here are some of the ones I'm looking forward to the most. The Ultimate (no other book comes close; it's been SIX YEARS): Date: May 16th MG Releases I'm Anticipating Midnight Without a Moon   by Linda Williams Jackson (Okay technically I've already read this. AND IT IS AMAZING. I'm anticipating buying it and telling everyone to read it. Review on Wed.) Date: January 3rd The Many Reflections of  Miss Jane Deming   by J. Anderson Coates  Date: February 28 Hello, Universe  by Erin Entrada Kelly  Date: March 14th Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded  by Sage Blackwood Date: March 21st The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby  Date: May 16) The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart   by Stephanie Burgis Date: May 30   The Emperor of Mars   by Patrick Samphire Date: July 18...