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mundanemoongirl · 4 months

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I’ve read 32 books this year. Some were mysteries, some were thrillers, some were realistic fiction, and most were fantasy. So here’s my top 5 out of every book I’ve read!

But first, my honorable mentions

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi has some of the most beautiful descriptions and wordings that I have read. I also love the Persian culture in it. I'm always fascinated when reading about different cultures and this is one I don’t know much about. It felt unique and authentic. The reason this one isn’t in my top 5 is because I felt it relied too much on tropes and the plot was a bit cliche. The second book especially suffers from this.

Going Dark by Melissa De La Cruz is a mystery I thought was so good it helped to inspire my own. It touches on important topics like racism and mental illnesses. I love how social media is used to find clues and I was so invested in the story that I stayed up late every night to know more. The only thing keeping this book from being perfect to me is that about halfway through, the backstory is told to the reader. I would have rather the characters find it out for themselves.

When I tell you I loved Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao so much I wrote a three page paper on it and submitted it for my communications final (I got an A). I love character driven stories and Xifeng is one of my favorite characters of all time. Her arc progresses at a perfect pace and I love seeing her use the few skills she possesses to get what she wants. As a dark fantasy writer, I appreciate that the book doesn’t shy away from gruesome aspects. The reason this book isn’t in my top five is because I wanted to see Xifeng’s rule as empress. That’s it. I just wanted more Xifeng.

And now my top 5 under the cut

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is not the type of book I’d normally read, but it blew away all of my expectations and I absolutely adored it. At first, I didn’t really like Monique’s character. I wasn’t interested in her failed marriage and I was pretty annoyed every time she didn’t understand what was being said to her (which happens way too often), but as she learned from Evelyn I was really rooting for her.

It was Evelyn’s story that wouldn’t let me stop reading. It was similar to Xifeng in a way where she started as a girl who was pretty, but had nothing, and manipulated her way to becoming a superstar. I was especially gripped by Evelyn’s insistence that Monique will hate her. I just needed to keep going to find out why.

There were a lot of unique aspects that I liked, such as the chapter titles. They were so fun and I kept repeated them in my head. I also like how parts of the story are told through forums and news articles. Other than the fact this this is a unique aspect, I liked it because we got to hear a different perspective than the person telling the story.

Also, yay for a bisexual main character! It was done so well and respectful, and not the stereotypical cheater character. I have been waiting my whole life for this type of representation.

The last thing I want to say about this one is that Reid really makes an art of writing. There are so many quotable lines and you can tell so much thought was put into every word.

4. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

It’s a pretty cliche story: a princess must reclaim her throne. But The Queen of the Tearling works so well because of its main character, Kelsea. She’s such a beautifully complex character. On one hand, she wants to prove herself as queen. But on the other, she wants to be free to be a teenage girl. She rules with compassion for her people. But she also has an underlying ruthlessness and short temper. She looks to the future by examining the past, and how can you not root for a character so strong that she demanded her throne with a knife in her shoulder?

I appreciate that this book didn’t go the trope route and have the ruler of the rival kingdom become Kelsea’s lover. It’s fine one time, but it’s way overdone, and Kelsee’s strengths shine through more without this trope.

I like how each chapter opens up with a quote. Like the articles in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this gives the reader insight into what other characters think.

I have to say that even though this book blew me away, the last book has the worst ending I have ever read in my life. It was lazy, dismissive of the themes throughout the series, and just exasperating because it erases the growth of the characters and kingdom. I have no idea why Johansen would write it into existence and it somewhat tarnished my view on the series.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Is it really surprising that a Hunger Games book is in my top 5? I was hesitant at first to read it because I thought it would be a sympathy story or a cash grab, but I'm so glad that I gave it a try because it was so much more than I thought.

I feel like it's a theme on my list that I like to see stories where something small slowly evolves into something big. That's a big part of why I love this book. We get to see how the games went from something no one liked to the sporting event we know it as. It was a bonus to see that Snow's impact on the games as well.

I loved getting back into the Hunger Games universe, especially now that we get more of what the capitol is like. I have to admit that I haven't read the original trilogy in almost a decade so my memory is a little shaky, but I don't remember anything about the capitol being poor at one point. I liked this detail and getting to know capitol kids like Clemensia because it makes the capitol more complex. Before, I only knew it as a completely evil, selfish, privileged group of people, but now we can understand it better.

I love Lucy Gray's character. As a former musician, I appreciate that her power is through song and I enjoyed reading the meaning in her lyrics. I was kicking my feet reading about the Hanging Tree song and her teaching Snow about katniss roots because they live on to haunt him 60 years later. As always, Collins knows how to incorporate so much meaning into her writing.

The only thing I disliked is that it started to drag in Part III.

2. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

This one was heavy, but I'm thankful to McCurdy for being vulnerable and sharing this raw story. As someone who grew up on iCarly, she was an important part of my childhood. I listened to the audiobook version, which just made it all the more personal.

You can tell from the writing that McCurdy was meant to be a writer. She somehow manages to make such a sad story humorous, and I found myself getting lost in her the way she describes background information that I didn't even notice that she deviated from the main topic until she brought us back. Not to mention, the writing sounds like she is telling a story directly to you. It reminds me of experts like Bell Hooks, someone who I have described as having a style like talking to a close friend.

McCurdy also has a deep understanding of herself and her emotions, even during times in which she didn't understand nor want to understand the harm that was done to her and how she copes with it. It's obvious to the audience what's going on, but not to her, and she writes it in a way where we can understand the truth of her circumstances while also understanding her point of view from when she was experiencing trauma. I doubt many people can understand themselves this well.

Each chapter had me hooked. I kept telling myself that her life couldn't get worse, but then it did. There were times when I nearly cried, and once when I was so shocked that I involuntarily covered my mouth with my hand and couldn't move it back for a minute. This book will make you feel everything.

I hate how some people are shaming the book just because of the title because this is such an important story, and if you just read it you would understand the title completely.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery all in one? So much diversity that you can swim in it? Quite possibly the cutest romance to ever exist? I didn't know the perfect book existed and yet here it is.

I knew this book would be a favorite of mine from the moment I saw it. You have a beautiful, colorful cover on one side, and a description on the other saying a girl has to destroy her first love in order to get magic. I still can't believe that this is Sambury's debut book.

One thing I love about Blood Like Magic (and its sequel) is that despite all the fantastical elements, the books feel so real. Voya's family feels so real because they aren't rich, they aren't powerful in a social aspect, and they aren't perfect. The cast of characters feel real because POCs, gay, and trans people are going to exist no matter what. The romance feels real because they don't instantly fall in love. The plot feels real because sometimes everything will go wrong, no matter how hard you try to make it right. And of course there's the realest aspect of them all: all Black grandmas are going to have attitude.

Ok, I have to talk more about the romance because Luc and Voya are so stinking cute. I was actually squealing and kicking my feet while reading because it's so obvious that they adore each other and can't even tell. I didn't even like the enemies to lovers trope before I read this book, but Sambury does it perfectly. I also like that she makes a distinction between physical and romantic attraction because I think it gets muddled in a lot of popular books these days.

Voya's such a relatable character. We all struggle to make decisions sometimes. We never want to be left out or hurt the people we care about. Also, her name is so pretty and it doesn't even mean anything?!

Do I even have to mention that all the different types of magic are so fun and creative? Do I even have to mention that all the advanced technology seems like it could really happen? Everyone go read Blood Like Magic and Blood Like Fate right now.

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fangirlforthewin · 2 years

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Enemies to Lovers Book Recommendations

I don't know about you all, but I live for enemies to lovers. Give me all the angst and then fluff. Here are some of my favorite books in this category. If you have any other recommendations, please let me know!

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

To Kill a Kingdm by Alexandra Christo

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

The Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Carry On by Rainbow Powell

Captive Prince by CS Pacat

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of Sparta by Clarie M Andrews

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

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aspeccharactersoftheday · 9 months

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Keisha from Blood Like Magic is demiromantic!

#keisha #blood like magic #canon aspec #demiromantic

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hahahax30 · 1 year

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Blood like Magic and why I’ll be considering myself a hater

@tea-and-a-clandestine-agenda

I’m going to start off by saying I’m 90% into the book, meaning I haven’t finished it yet but I know enough about it to criticise the fuck out of it. This is going to contain spoilers lol.

Firstly, that book cover is absolutely gorgeous. This book does have one (1) good thing and it is the very talented illustrator who created the cover —whoever they are, I applaud them because they made Voya look cool and not irritating and dumb.

The premise of the book is interesting. We’re in a near-future Toronto where witch communities exist. Now, these witches are unique in how their characteristic bit of magic is granted to them by their ancestors after they have their first Bleeding (aka period for whoever has a uterus and very gross eye-and-ear bleeding for whoever doesn’t). The process through which a witch acquires their unique magic goes as follows: after the Bleeding, one of their ancestors Call them, set a trial for them and if they pass, good for them! They have their magic now! If they don’t pass, they don’t get magic and are thus seen as pariahs by their fellow witches. Now, enter Voya Thomas. She’s part of Toronto’s Black witch community and has both African and Trinidadian ancestry —also, she likes to cook, a lot, food is her life and the very air she breathes. Voya has had her Bleeding and is Called by ‘Mama Jova’ —an ancestor who lived as a slave in Antebellum America and died being whipped to death by her enslavers after the love of her life was murdered. Mama Jova tells Voya she needs to ‘destroy her first love’; otherwise, her whole family will lose their magic and her little sister, whose life is tethered to that magic, will die. Therefore, Voya starts a journey trying to find her first love in Luc (a guy she meets in a conference at this mega-important company).

My first problem with the book is the very basis on which the plot stands. Never will I believe that a woman who saw her lover being murdered (and also who sacrificed herself in order to help other enslaved people escape their enslavers) entreated her descendant to ruin someone they hold close to their hearts. How? Just how? It’s stupid, it doesn’t make sense. She died saving other people and now she wants her descendant to suffer much like she did and she wants her descendant to orchestrate that? And she’s going as far as to promising to kill a child and ruin what she died to protect in order to get her way? I call bullshit. Utter, fucking bullshit. Mama Jova’s a joke, I tell you.

I tried to look pass that because this is the author’s debut novel and it has a high rating on Goodreads, though. I thought Mama Jova didn’t really mean what she asked Voya to do… but she did, and Voya handled it all in such a fucking stupid way. I can’t with her.

Okay, so in the process of trying to determine how she’s going to approach her task Voya:

Falls in love with Luc

Finds out that Luc’s ‘sponsor dad’ (aka the CEO of the mega-important company Luc works in, who is called, in-text, a neo-coloniser because he brought Luc to Canada from Mexico in order to brainwash him about the importance of his company) was responsible for the death of her forgotten aunt and the near-downfall of her whole community

Realises that Mama Jova wasn’t only referring to her first romantic love, but to her first platonic love, too, meaning that now Voya needs to choose whether to destroy Luc or her cousin Keis (aka her best friend)

Realises that Mama Jova’s ‘destroy’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘kil’: it can also mean ‘ruin their life’ which is so much better, right? Agh, Mama Jova is so charitable!

All throughout the book, Keis is Voya’s biggest support. She’s someone who wants to look beyond her witch identity and wants to get an education! She wants to work! Be independent! Be free from her family’s limitations! Towards the end of the book, Keis achieves just what she wants in the form of an internship in the mega-important company.

Now, if Voya were to choose to ruin Luc’s life, that would mean he wouldn’t be able to inherit his sponsor dad’s mega-important company (and spoiler: the sponsor dad is the bad guy of the story); if Voya were to choose to ruin Keis’s life, that would mean she would be trapped in her house forever, unable to forge herself a future, not even allowed to step foot out of her house. Luc is well-off, and having spent virtually all his formative years in the mega-important company, he can easily get a position elsewhere. Keis comes from a working-class family and having her life ruined = depending on her family for the rest of her life + not being allowed to leave her house.

So, Voya, as the paragon of common sense, chooses to *insert Semana Santa drums rolling* RUIN KEIS’S LIFE. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, SHE DAMNED HER BEST FRIEND AND COUSIN TO LIVING IN A PRISON ALL HER LIFE.

Her argument? ‘She’ll survive uwu’

Luc, obviously, won’t survive a life without his privileges.

Be fucking for real.

I hate this so much. So fucking much. And do you know what happens just after she ruins her cousins life? Luc’s sponsor dad kidnaps her whole family! Because you know he’s the villain! Voya could’ve killed him and she chose to imprison her cousin!

The last 10% of the book will tackle that, I suppose. Depending on how bad it’s handled I will choose whether to read the next book or not.

Now, ✨a list of the things I’m petty about✨

The family dynamic -> Voya’s family is comprised of: her cousin Keis, Kei’s twin sister Keisha (fun fact! Keis’s full name is also Keisha), her other cousin Alex, her mother, her father, her father’s current wife (this is a huge side-eye ngl), her half-sister (aka the one who could’ve died), Keis’s mother and father (who are divorced) and her grandmother (the matriarch of the family). The family has a lot of members, is somewhat messy, and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Also, you wouldn’t caught me dead living under the same roof with my divorced husband; I’m sorry but wtf

The technology -> just no. In this near-future Canada people can rate each other, find each other’s location with a click and more things out of that one Black Mirror episode, and no one bats an eyelash at this. If this is were the future I’m supposed to be an adult in, I promise I would commit a very rash decision and fling myself out my window, sorry not sorry. Morally, I’m against every technological advancement that this books stands for and it’s making me sick that the hyper-digitalisation is never discussed in anything but a bad light

People go around with a pronoun tags and they introduce themselves with a ‘hello my name is xyz and my pronouns are something/other’ and yet you have to show whether you have XX or XY chromosomes in your ID card? I’m sorry but we don’t showcase someone’s genetic makeup today, why would a more progressive society do it? What I’m going to say is going to sound horrible, but it just feels like a way to thrust in unnecessary transphobia for sake’s sake (I should add that the author’s cis)

Food -> Voya loves food, so much so that she makes her internal dialogue all about food. She could be describing a scene where Mama Jova or another person are being whipped to almost death and she would be comparing their blood to a crème brûlée or something. In fact, there are whipping scenes in the book and I believe she does compare them to food. It’s exhausting. She makes her whole personality about food and it’s exhausting

So-called impure witches -> the witch community is divided into impure witches (who kill and torture in order to gain heightened magic) and pure witches (who don’t) and I hate the very existence of impure witches. Apparently they pick their victims at random and that’s supposed to be fine by us? Voya’s family is one of pure witches, but still it makes me queasy how her internal dialogue somewhat implies that impure witches are uwu not that bad

There’s a line about a gay witch having used in-vitro fertilisation and surrogacy to have like six children. It made me uncomfortable because I’m very hesitant about surrogacy + apparently his children don’t want to know about their mothers, which seems like a very out-of-touch conception of surrogacy and other types of unconventional ways of starting a family. Idk, I’m on adoptee TikTok and it’s made me think about these things

I don’t like any of the characters aside from Keis and maybe Luc

#bookblr #blood like magic

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chanelslibrary · 3 months

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🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

Blood Like Fate by Liselle Sambury

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Voya has finally become a witch and passed her Calling, but it has come at a steep price. Her grandmother is dead, her cousin hates her, and now she must lead her family as their Matriarch. While struggling with her newfound gifts, she has a vision of the future that includes her former boyfriend, Luc. How will she protect her family and the witch community from this deadly premonition, and will she have to take down the boy she loves to do it?

It was so great to be returning to finish this series. I loved the characters and their complexities, and felt like it was a purposeful and well thought out plot. There were parts in the middle that felt like the book was dragging, then a huge plot point would hit and get me sucked back in! It is hard to write a great sequel and this book definitely checked all the boxes. If you’re looking for a good witchy book read the Blood Like duology!

Read if you love:

🩵Second chance romance

🧙🏿‍♀️Witches

🌈 LGBTQ+ rep

✊🏾 Black/Brown rep

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starrlikesbooks · 2 years

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One more month of Summer! Check out some of these cool August books! 🌞

As always, check under the cut for more on each~

It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano is one of my favorite books of the year, and one I'd recommend to any a-spec person and/or any marching band nerd! This is a marching band centered coming of age with a lot of identity growth and a little romance too.

Blood Like Fate by Liselle Sambury is the long awaited sequel to the scifi-fantasy, Black-fronted "kill your lover" Blood Like Magic. If you've been looking forward to seeing what Voya does next and how her hard choices play our after the fact, you'll really enjoy this closer to the story!

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall is another I've already read, and I can vouch for the spooky haunted house meets untrustworthy family swarmy enough to rival the Thrombeys from Knives Out. If you like your horror feminist and a bit gothic, you may really love the atmosphere of this one. This is also sapphic, with a witchy side romance.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones is a rag tag crew story, a heist story, and a fantasy about revolution. This story is also in the same universe as Lloyd-Jones' folklore zombie story, The Bones Houses. This also has a main character who seems to be bi.

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala is another horror, this one pastoral, trippy, and through a lens of marginalization. This book has a genderfluid protagonist, who wants nothing but to understand his twin sister's shocking death, but finds himself lured into something as dangerous as it is impossible. This book also has some INTENSE body horror by the end, so take that as a pro or a con!

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is the only book on this list I haven't read! This is a Godpunk fantasy about two warriors setting out to free a captive god, and depose their tyrant rulers. This book looks so COOL and the cover alone makes me so excited.

#book list #books #august books #queer books #the drowned woods #the spear cuts through water #the honeys #queer horror #it sounds like this #asexual book #aroace #anna meriano #blood like fate #blood like magic #liselle sambury #castorstarr

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bigdreamsandwildthings · 2 years

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We love a pun in this house, and it’s even better if it’s on a mug and dog related 🙊

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bookcoversonly · 1 year

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Title: Blood Like Magic | Author: Liselle Sambury | Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (2021)

#books #Blood Like Magic #Liselle Sambury

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desdasiwrites · 1 year

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Tomorrow I’ll have to face my Calling. One of my ancestors will appear before me and give me a task that I need to complete to come into my magic and get my gift.

–Liselle Sambury, Blood Like Magic

#book quote of the day #liselle sambury #blood like magic #beautiful cover #Trinidadian Canadian author #debut novel #urban fantasy #Voya Thomas #magic and witches #black protagonist #diverse reads #scifi books #ya #reading

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mydarlinginej · 2 years

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read my full review of blood like fate by liselle sambury here.

Voya fights to save her witch community from a terrible future.

Voya Thomas may have passed her Calling to become a full-fledged witch, but the cost was higher than she’d ever imagined.

Her grandmother is gone. Her cousin hates her. And her family doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to lead them.

What’s more, Voya can’t let go of her feelings for Luc, sponsor son of the genius billionaire Justin Tremblay—the man that Luc believes Voya killed. Consequently, Luc wants nothing to do with her. Even her own ancestors seem to have lost faith in her. Every day Voya begs for their guidance, but her calls go unanswered.

As Voya struggles to convince everyone—herself included—that she can be a good Matriarch, she has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future. A vision that would spell the end of the Toronto witches. With a newfound sense of purpose, Voya must do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and stop what’s coming for them before it’s too late.

Even if it means taking down the boy she loves—who might be the mastermind behind the coming devastation.

my review:

After unexpectedly falling in love with Blood Like Magic last year, I was so excited to read the sequel, especially after that ending. While I had a lot of issues with the pacing of this book, I ultimately enjoyed it for the most part. Blood Like Fate follows Voya as she struggles with being a Matriarch while also uncovering a threat to all witches that may have to do with her (former) love Luc.

This review contains spoilers for book one.

After the explosive ending of the last book, Voya is now a Matriarch, even if others fail to respect her. After she uses her gift to see a dark future that spells out the death of all witches, she convinces other Matriarchs to reform a council of witches. They attempt to investigate a mysterious illness affecting random witches, and the outcome may just lead them back to Luc, who’s now CEO of NuGene.

I enjoyed revisiting the cast of characters in this book. One of my favorite parts of Blood Like Magic was the portrayal of family dynamics, and I was glad to see more of it. We get to see more of Keisha, who steps up and helps Voya with duties outside of the house since Keis can no longer leave. New characters are also introduced as Voya meets the Matriarchs of other Black witch families.

read my full review here.

#blood like fate #liselle sambury #blood like magic #reviews #book reviews #booklr #mine #link #q

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