Content warnings: Lots and lots of grief and loss, also death of a secondary character Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel about grief and coming of age, disguised as a paranormal gothic romance. It is a sweet, clever, beautiful book, and I adored it. In 1820, the recently orphaned Elias Roch meets Josephine DeClare at an inn, and falls instantly and passionately in love. But in the morning, she is gone, and he has no … Continue reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George →
Content warning: Torture of a main character. I’m pretty sure that if I start by saying ‘genderswapped Princess Bride where the Princess rescues the stable boy’, about half of you won’t read any further in this review because you will be too busy one-clicking the book. Certainly, that was my reaction when I saw this title appear on NetGalley. And if genderswapped Princess Bride is what you are looking for in a book, you will … Continue reading The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning →
I love modern-day witches. I love queer romance. I love mysteries. I’m not typically a huge YA reader, but I like the first three things enough to give queer YA witch romance mystery These Witches Don’t Burn a try. While this book was not without its flaws, there was something quite fresh-feeling about These Witches Don’t Burn that I appreciated. It took a lot of common YA tropes, such as “I’m trying to be a … Continue reading These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling →
Here’s what was going through my head when I finished this book: wow woah wow woah wow woah wow woah wow!! In a good way. I’ve been majorly excited about this book since June when I saw the beautiful cover and read these words in the synopsis: “an impossible love between two girls—one human, one Made—whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution.” This book features SO many things that are right in my … Continue reading Crier’s War by Nina Varela →
I Love You So Mochi is an adorable YA with a romance in it, although it’s more of a coming of age story than a romance novel. In this book, Kimi, a Japanese-American high school senior, visits Japan to Find Herself. In the process she connects with her Japanese grandparents, meets A BOY, sees cool stuff, makes things, and eats fantastic food. Kimi is a likeable and engaging heroine, everything is gorgeous, and now I’m hungry … Continue reading I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn →
TW/CW: Potentially disordered eating. Somewhere Only We Know is an adorable YA romance that feels very much like a modern Roman Holiday retelling between a K-Pop star and a freelance tabloid photographer. It’s light and incredibly sweet. This isn’t to imply that it lacks substance; there were just deeper issues that could have used extra exploration. Lucky is a K-Pop superstar who has just wrapped up a multi-city tour ending in Hong Kong. The following … Continue reading Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo →
Hey there, everyone! It’s Links time! We hope you all are having a wonderful week and, if not, we hope you take some time for yourself. For me, it’s been a weird week as I’ve been incredibly busy lately and running on empty. Looking forward at doing something to recharge soon! … Every month, Tor.com offers up a free ebook for newsletter subscribers. This month, it’s C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, which has some romantic elements and … Continue reading Links: A Free Book, Reading Recs, & More →
The elevator pitch for this book is “Pacific Rim meets a K-Drama” which is basically the greatest elevator pitch ever. I saw it on Twitter and one clicked so hard I think I sprained my thumb and my phone said “OW!” In the year 2199, there’s been a series of global wars that united the Korean peninsula and upended the global map. Because a population of a country at war is a population that is … Continue reading Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh →
OwlCrate is a YA subscription box service that ships out one book a month, plus several gift items, all sticking with a theme. Now, I’m a fan of YA lit and I’m a fan of getting shit in the mail and I know a lot of people who would enjoy something like this as a gift, so I wanted to check it out. I am sad to report that OwlCrate is not actually delivered by … Continue reading OwlCrate Subscription Box Service →
Happy Wednesday! For all of the Bitchery members in the States, I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July! But now it’s back to the daily grind! … This links comes to us from Reader SB, whose “freelance and full-time streams crossed” when she was asked to copyedit this piece on a woman’s research on the romance world: I meet such interesting and energized women, gorgeously decked out in all manner of flirty … Continue reading Links: Cats, Carrie Fisher, and YA Authors →
I love ballet stories. I have eight of the 11 Drina books, including two of the really hard to get ones. I have all of the Royal Ballet School diaries, and a bunch of the Satin Slippers series from the 80s (and oh, is it 80s. It’s so bad and the main heroine is so stupid). Center Stage is one of my favorite movies, and I highly suggest going to see simulcasts of the Royal … Continue reading Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton →
