Category: Recommendations

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, part 5!

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

Squuueeeeee so it is officially the last week of July and therefore the last part of the alphabet extravanganza that has been Top 5 Tuesday these past few weeks. It was so much more difficult that I expected to find books with every letter, and I did have to cheat so many times and ignore the words ‘the’ and ‘a’ in order to actually complete it.

This week, I have a mix of: letters I have so many recommendations for and other letters I struggled with so much. There’s literally no books beginning with V or X, I swear it. So expect lots of books I haven’t had a chance to read yet, but that I’m still very excited for! (and expect lots of books beginning with W to make up for the fact I have a big fat zero for X…)

The letter U

Unbroken – Brooklyn Ray

So I haven’t quite read this one yet, but I’m hoping I get a chance to soon. This book is about Victor, who moves into an old haunted house. And of course falls in love with the witch turned demon who is bound to the house. Yes please, sign me up, I am here for this trope!

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Publishing early 2020, this book tells the story of Esther, a stowaway who’s trying to escape her arranged marriage. The arranged marriage to a guy who used to be engaged to best friend and love of her life before her execution. Queer librarians, resistance fighting and spies, this book sounds excellent. Queer librarians will sell me every time!

The Unspoken Name by A.K Larkwood

Another publishing early 2020, this book has everything that makes me want to scream about fantasy: religion, venegful gods, sacrificial magic (and I think it’s f/f?!!) Csorwe is destined to give herself up as sacrifice to her gods. However, on the eve of her foretold death, a poweful mage offers her freedom, if she’ll become his thief, assassin and spy. This is the story of a villain’s sidekick – and that is something I never knew I wanted until I heard about this book and now I can think of nothing better!

The letter V

Viper by Bex Hogan

I love pirates. I just do. So of course this seafaring adventure with a female lead caught my eye! Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, the legendary defender of the Twelve Isles. But until that day, the current Viper rules the seas in a murderous and venegful way. Oh and the current Viper is her father. This sounds like a thrilling pirate adventure with lots of family drama and hopefully eyeliner wearing pirates.

The letter X

I’m sorry book bloggers, for I have failed.

I have nothing beginning with X. I did find book I thought sounded interesting but I was concerend about potential for problematic content so I read the reviews, and they confirmed my concerns – hence I don’t feel comfortable recommending it to people!

So instead of books beginning with the letter X, here’s some containing the letter X….

I’m very sorry for my failure….Have lots of W books instead!

The letter W

The Wicker King – K. Ancrum

This book is absolutely mindblowing, from the design of the book (would highly recommend reading a print copy over eBook if you’re able!) to the poetic prose. The book follows August as he watches best friend Jack slowly succumb to degenerative hallucinatory disorder. No review I could ever write can do this book justice, but I did try and you can find out my full thoughts here.

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

What a debut fantasy this was! We Hunt the Flame is an Ancient Arabia inspired fantasy, involving broody assassins, amazing bros, fierce hunter women who is an ace with a bow (YES), and a creepy and disturbing villain who is slowly taking over the entire land… Check out my full review here!

Wicked Saints – Emily A Duncan

Another great fantasy debut this year, Wicked Saints has so many of my absolute favourite things in fantasy: blood magic, religion, Gods who commune with people, sassy bisexual icons, dark broody monsters….I could go on. Plus the cover is just stunning on my bookshelf. Check out my full review here!

We are Totally Normal – Rahul Kanakia

I am so here for queer couples of covers. There’s been a sweep of just stunning queer covers recently and this is another! Publishing in early 2020, We are Totally Normal is a YA, coming-out love story about labels and what it means to be normal. When Dave and Nandan hook up at a party, despite not being into guys before, Nandan vows to give it a shot but struggles when everyone starts to look at him differently.

Wicked Fox – Kat Cho

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I am so excited for this book! I was waiting for it be delivered for almost 2 months, and it finally arrived and so I’m definitely planning to read this one in July. “Gu Miyoung has a secret – she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive.” Ummmmmmm yes?! I’ve heard such great things about the romance in this (as in, I’ve heard people it describe as one of their favourite YA romances ever) so I can’t wait to start reading!

The Letter Y

You Asked for Perfect – Laura Silverman

This book hurt my heart because it hit very close to home: featuring a teen struggling to feel good abotu himself, who always needs to be the best to feel worthwhile, and who suddenly fails his first test and everything slowly falls apart.

The letter Z

I actually have a book for Z! Yes! Although again, I haven’t technically read this one yet…

Ziggy, Stardust and Me – James Brandon

Set in the 1970’s, this book follows a teen in a time where homosexuality was still considered a mental illness, as they fall for someone they really don’t want to. It looks to be quite a difficult read, with discussions around homophobia and queer conversion therapy, but despite how hard-hitting this will be, I think it sounds phenomenal.

And that’s it for this week! I can’t believe I made it to the end of the alphabet – and with only one letter I totally failed on!

I can’t wait to see what everyone put this week (especially for letter X!!!)

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, Part 4

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

Well this was a week from hell. The day job was awful this past week so reading motivation (and really just all around general motivation) went down so much. Writing this has totally taken it out of me and I am ready to fall asleep… So I do apologise for any typing errors as I have proofread exactly none of this.

We are Week 4 of the themed July alphabet challenge. This week we’re looking at letters P-Q-R-S-T and as with last week, I thought I’d continue celebrating some new releases publishing this year as well as books I’ve already read.

The letter P
The Poppy War – R.F Kuang

It is almost August which means it is almost The Dragon Republic release date, which is the sequel to The Poppy War, and I am so so so so so so so so so so excited. The Poppy War is one of the best fantasies I’ve ever read. It’s one of the only grimdark books I’ve read with a female lead, who is INCREDIBLE. There is such a range of amazing characters, the story and action is so brilliant and the magic system is amazing!

Planetfall – Emma Newman

I have a full review of this book scheduled for this week! This was an amazing read, with such a realistic and strong portrayal of mental illness. If it hadn’t been for the ending, this would’ve been one of my favourite books of the year – but it is still definitely worth a read!

Practically Ever After – Isabel Bandeira

Publishing in November, Practically Ever After is an f/f, YA novel following Grace as she enters her last few months of high school. Grace has perfectly calculated how to succeed at everything, but now life is fighting back and her perfect calculations are a mess. The blurb sounds quite similar to You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman which I loved so I have high hopes!

The letter Q
The Quiet at the End of the World – Lauren James

So Q was definitely the hardest letter this week – I can only think of one I’ve read, and NONE that are publishing this year. The Quiet at the End of the World is a really great, happy science-fiction novel. I kind of wanted it to be less hopeful and happy because I am an absolute sucker for a novel that hurts me, but the mystery and quiet air of ease in this book is really lovely.

The letter R
Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

This is a book so many people are talking about – and it is totally worth it! This is such a happy, fun and fiercely queer novel about what happens if the First Son of the United States falls in love with the Prince of England. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious and oh so fun!

The Raven Tower – Ann Leckie

This is Ann Leckie’s first foray into fantasy after a very successful sci-fi series. I really enjoyed it – it’s definitely not for everyone. The Raven Tower uses second person, which I know is quite divisive as a POV, but I thought it was used very well and was so effective. Based loosely on Hamlet, the story is told in two parts: a kingdom who’s King is missing (presumed dead), and millions of years in the past, and following a rock, an ancient god who watches the world develop. It sounds a bit odd, but it’s really great!

The Resurrectionist of Caligo – Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga

Bodysnatchers, princess, Victorian style setting, blood magic, science, fantasy noir? YES YES and YES.

The Letter S

Okay so S is a big category this week because I couldn’t narrow down all the amazing books publishing this year that begin with S. They all sound SO good!

Shatter the Sky – Rebecca Kim Wells

Shatter the Sky technically releases at the end of July but I was lucky enough to get a NetGalley review copy and hence I am counting it as my read book this week. This book contains dragons (both fierce and adorable), bisexual heroine and a mission to take down an evil regime – and it’s so good! You can read my full review of this title here!

Salvation Day – Kali Wallace

“A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.” I don’t think I can describe it better than the Goodreads blurb! This sounds so tense and scary – any form of media about viruses really sparks some innate fear and captivation in me so I am very excited about this one!

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them – Junauda Petrus

This is one of my most anticipated books of the entire year! YA love story – super diverse, sapphic, POC, religion, illness, this just sounds like a book that is going to break my heart and I cannot wait.

Salvaged – Madeleine Roux

Okay so this is another kind of virusy-like sci fi. This time, it’s an alien parasite infection. Rosalyn is a space janitor, cleaning up space missions that have gone wrong. She’s sent to the Brigantine, a research vessel which has ‘gone dark’, and all crew are assumed dead. Except they aren’t. They are very much alive, except not quite human anymore…

Serpent & Dove – Shelby Mahurin

Witches and church war! Accidental marriage between a witch and a priest! Not meaning to fall in love! Enemies to lovers! I am a fan of ALL OF THIS.

Slay – Brittney Morris

Okay diverse gaming YA book with murder and a completely epic teen developer fighting against online racist trolls?! Yes this does sound like a perfect book.

The letter T
The Travelling Cat Chronices – Hiro Arikawa

This is such a sweet and loving little book – told from the story of a cat and their hooman, as the cat tries to understand why his hooman no longer wants him. It is so heartbreaking but lovely and so perfect for any cat lovers out there.

The Book of M – Peng Shepherd

Okay so I realise I’ve been using ‘the’ for every other letter and am now using it for the letter T as well. But this book is too good not to mention it! People start losing their shadows, but it turns out that’s where memories are stored. As people start forgetting who they are, they begin gaining something else though….magic to make the impossible possible.

Tarnished are the Stars – Rosiee Thor

Illegal medical technology, queer, science-fantasy, assassins, a deadly epidemic, mysteries, this sounds incredibly awesome!

There Will Come a Darkness – Katy Rose Pool

I won’t lie, the title alone sold me on this book before I even read the blurb. Prophets and prophecies and 5 people who could save the world, or destroy it. SIGN ME UP.

Wow that was a lot of books. This last week has been impossible to get through and this took so much effort to write but I am done and I love all these books and I hope you do too! Let me know if you’ve read any of these or if there’s any you’re looking forward to as well.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, part 3

Rach @ Anxious Nachos5 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

Following on from the last two weeks is the continuation of the incredibly difficult alphabet list! This week’s letters are K-L-M-N-O, and for once I was actually super happy because I thought I had no ‘The’s’ or ‘A’s at the start of these titles (like I have had the past two weeks).

And then I realised I’d just typed up the wrong title on my spreadsheet and the correct title did have a ‘the’. So once again I have failed! I am sorry.

This week I thought I’d give both a title I really enjoyed as well as one I’m looking forward to for the rest of the year because I still have so many books I want to read and I want to share the love.

So without further ado…

The letter K

Keep This to Yourself – Tom Ryan

This book was an absolutely brilliant queer YA thriller. I feel like there really isn’t many YA thrillers (at least I haven’t read very many) so this was a really great new genre for me! The thriller/mystery aspect was very engaging and tense and I loved the slow reveal – it was so gripping and the setting was excellent!

Kingdom of Souls – Rena Barron

Okay how awesome is that cover?!? So powerful! Kingdom of Souls is about a girl called Arrah who comes from a long line of witchdoctors, but she isn’t able to wield magic. So, she sells years of her life in order to gain the power of magic. This sounds like it will be a really immersive and interesting read and it’s publishing on September 3.

The letter L

(The) Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali – Sabina Khan

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali is a brilliant story about a queer, Muslim teen and what happens when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend. A representation not often seen, this book does a wonderful job portraying the blend of cultures in Rukhsana who feels torn by her American upbringing and her Bengali heritage. You can read my full review of this title here!

Love from A to Z – S.K Ali

Love from A to Z is one of my absolute favourite love stories I’ve ever read. It’s a fantastically beautiful tale about Adam and Zayneb, who keep running into each other. Zayneb is such a fantastic and strong character, and I love the interwining of religion and romance this book has. You can read my full gushing review of this title here!

(The) Light at the Bottom of the World – London Shah

This book is one of the releases I have been most looking forward to this year. Set in an underwater London after sea levels rose, diverse characters, terrible sea creatures, corrupt governments, this has everything I love in a dystopian novel! This book publishes October 29 and I am so so excited.

The Letter M

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

Missing, Presumed Dead is one of my favourite reads this year so far. It focuses on the mental impact of having magic, specifically magic that means whenever you touch someone, you see how they die. When Jane comes back to haunt Lexi after being murdered, Lexi vows to help find the killer. This book is AMAZING!!!! It’s was much darker than I expected, but so thrilling. The mystery, the magic, the gritty atmosphere, it was all awesome. You can find my full reviw here!

(The) Merciful Crow – Margaret Owen

The Merciful Crow is just one book with a bird on it that I want to read this year. This sounds like such a great new fantasy – first of all, it has a group of undertakers which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before??! Necromancy, yes. Grave robbers, yes. Undertakers?? This feels like a really new take on the death fantasy trend. Then we have a prince who fakes his own death and a bodyguard who wants to live his own life and not protect his prince. This just sounds like an epic conglomeration of ideas and I can’t wait to read it when it publishes at the end of this month!

The Letter N

Normal People – Sally Rooney

I read Normal People last year after I spotted it on the longlist for the Man Booker and it became another book which made me far, FAR too emotional on public transport. The book tells the tale of two teens in Ireland, who fall in love and grow apart and all the hurt and pain that comes with it. It’s spectacular!

Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

I haven’t actually read any of Leigh Bardugo’s other work. But when I heard she was publishing an adult novel, I was intrigued. And then I found out it was about secret societies and witchy occult magic and I was sold! Also the cover is stunning.

The Letter O

Other Words for Smoke – Sarah Maria Griffin

Other Words for Smoke is a very haunting, lyrical, fairytale-esque horror tale about an evil being in a house in Ireland. Dealing with the struggles of growing up alongisde the magic, Other Words for Smoke weaves a beautiful mystical world. Also there’s a talking cat. What else does a book need?! You can read my full review here!

Our Wayward Fate – Gloria Chao

A diverse book retelling of a Chinese folktale, set in small town America? Yes please! A book about family and racism and belonging, this sounds so excellent. I haven’t read American Panda but from reviews this book sounds like it’ll be a bit darker and heavier, and I am very interested to read.

That’s it for this week! Let me know what you think of this list – I hope you are excited for some of these as I am.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, Part 2

Rach @ Anxious Nachos5 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

July topics for Top 5 Tuesday are themed with the way-more-difficult-than-expected books beginning with letters of the alphabet! Last week was A-E, and this week it’s F-J.

I’m afraid this is another week of TOTAL FAILURE for me. Apparently I seriously need to read books with a wider range of titles because it’s getting embarassing. So for letters I haven’t read anything I liked beginning with that letter, I’m recommending releases I am super excited about!

And as with last week, I am completely 100% ignoring ‘A’ and ‘The’…

The letter F

No surprises here, I will be recommending this book until I die. The Fever King is just an incredible, dystopian, queer book of sheer magic and pain. You can read my full review of this title here!

But because I recommend this book constantly, I also want to highlight a couple of releases still to come this year which I am very excited for! (And which actually begin with F….)

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett is a contemporary novel about a girl living with HIV (and ohmygosh I LOVE the cover so much!!) Frankly in Love by David Yoon is also contemporary about a Korean-American who has to fake-date a friend. I love the we-need-to-pretend-to-date trope and I can’t wait to see how it plays out!

The letter G

Girls of Paper and Fire is one of the most fantasies I’ve read recently. I started it before bed one night and immediately regretted everything because I was HOOKED. You can read my full review of the book here!

Godspeaker is a book I actually found from fanfiction. I used to read a LOT of Harry Potter fanfiction, and Tessa Crowley has an absolutely incredible Drarry fanfic (Chaos Theory if anyone is interested!) I finally got around to reading her self-pub fantasy novel this year and I enjoyed it so much! It has everything I love: Gods, queer romance, and lots of morally ambiguous behaviour.

The Gutter Prayer is an absolutely fantastic fantasy debut that was published earlier this year. I adored every single character, the worldbuilding was INCREDIBLE, and everyone should go check this book out!

The letter H

Okay so I’m afraid I really struggled with H…. I couldn’t think of anything I’ve read and liked. So I’m going with How to be Remy Cameron because I actually have an ARC of this book and I KNOW it’s going to be fantastic!

THEN, just as I was about to post this, I remembered Her Royal Highness!! This was a really fun and easy, queer, sapphic delight! I may be a little biased, coming from Scotland myself, but this book, whilst it lacked a bi of depth, was a fun and enjoyable read! I have a full review of this title here.

The letter I

WHAT?! A letter I have followed the rules and all books actually start with ‘I’ and no ‘the’s’ and I’ve read them all?!?

I Wish You All the Best is one of my favourite books of the year so far, it’s an absolutely heartbreaking story about a nonbinary teen who comes out to their parents and is kicked out of their home. You can read my full review for this title here!

If We Were Villains is very different to everything else on this list – it’s set at an expensive, exclusive Arts school, and follows a group of 6 drama students studying Shakespere. One of the teens has just been released from prison where he was spending time for murder. This is the story of what happened. OH MY GOD it is amazing and that ending…..

I Still Dream is a fantastic sci-fi I read last year about a girl, Laura, who develops an AI at 17. We follow Laura throughout her life as the AI develops and the world changes. The book looks at humanity and how we can impart our humanity into artificial intelligence. It’s one of my favourite books dealing with AI, and I totally think this could happen…

The letter J

Okay so J was a total fail. I don’t have a single book in my Goodreads read list beginning with J, let alone one I liked. And then I looked through my notepad I have where I list all the upcoming books I want to read….and I still have no books beginning with J?! BUT then I remembered the awesome review I read of Jade War recently (over at I Should Read That) so I am going with Fonda Lee’s Jade War and Jade City! This series sounds like an absolutely incredible and very unique new fantasy series and I really need to get onto reading it….

That’s it for this week! I’ve already worked out my books for next week and I promise I actually have books I have read for every single letter (and there’s no ‘A’ or ‘The’ in sight!)

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, Part 1

Rach @ Anxious Nachos5 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

When I saw Shanah’s choice of topics for July, at first I thought it would be easy – sure, there might be a few letters I’d struggle with, but overall, surely I’d read books beginning with most of these letters??

I was wrong. Who knew books beginning with ‘A’ and ‘E’ were so rare?!?! So for all letters I hadn’t read a book, I’ve chosen one I am really excited to read – and by putting it on this list, I am promising to read it before the end of 2019!

Book beginning with A

So, off to a terrible start, I really can’t think of a single book I’ve read beginning with A…Except the book I’m using for the letter C.

How is that possible?? So I decided to pick out two books publishing this year which I am really excited to read!

After the Flood – Kassandra Montag

This is a climate change destruction, dystopian novel, about a mother trying to find her daughter. From the Goodreads blurb: A compulsively readable novel of dark despair and soaring hope, After the Flood is a magnificent, action packed, and sometimes frightening odyssey laced with wonder—an affecting and wholly original saga both redemptive and astonishing.

A River of Royal Blood – Amanda Joy

A fantasy inspired by North Africa, A River of Royal Blood has sisters, assassins, battles to the death, dark magic and how epic does that sound?? From the Goodreads blurb: A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.

Book beginning with B

Birthday – Meredith Russo

I read Birthday in June, and what a tearjerker this book was. It was so raw and emotional, and just an absolutely beautiful story about a teen coming to terms with their identity. The friendship between Eric and Morgan is so strong and wonderful and it’s a Brilliant read.

Book beginning with C

(A) Curse so Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer

Yes I’m ignoring the ‘A’ at the start of this title. This book was such an interesting retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the portrayal of Rhen who is just so broken and full of guilt at what he forced to do; Harper who is so strong and fierce and refuses to fall in love; and Gray, Prince Rhen’s guardsmen, who protects the Prince at all costs and stands by his side, it is such a wonderful friendship! A character-driven retelling!

Book beginning with D

Deposing Nathan – Zack Smedley

So I reviewed this book last week, and I cannot praise it enough – it is so fantastic and so wonderful and has such a brilliant portrayal of bisexuality and how religion and family can impact a teen. It’s one of my favourite books; I LOVED it. A demanding and distressing yet absolutely dazzling book!

Book beginning with E

Okay, yes I already have another letter I don’t seem to have read any books for! However, I do actually have a book on my shelf beginning with ‘E’ which I just picked up at the library:

(The) Exact Opposite of Okay – Laura Steven

(Yes I’m ignoring the first word again). This books looks like it’ll be a super fierce feminist read so I can’t wait to read! From the Goodreads blurb: Izzy O’Neill is an aspiring comic, an impoverished orphan, and a Slut Extraordinaire. Or at least, that’s what the malicious website flying round the school says. Izzy can try all she wants to laugh it off – after all, her sex life, her terms – but when pictures emerge of her doing the dirty with a politician’s son, her life suddenly becomes the centre of a national scandal. 

That’s it for this week – I’m so sorry I have failed already at so many letters. It does get better a little later on in the alphabet…

Let me know if you’ve read any of these books!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Fantasy

Rach @ Anxious Nachos4 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

Hi everyone,

Happy Tuesday! This week we’re talking about our Top 5 Fantasy. Fantasy is my favourite genre to both read and write. I have so many favourites and every new book I read seems to be just as incredible in its own unique way. These 5 books are just some of the amazing fantasy books I’ve read this year!

Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan

I very recently read this book, just a week or two ago, and was absolutely enthralled. I was riveted from the very first page and couldn’t put it down. It was such a brilliant story, I thought the world building was absolutely excellent. I really love creature based fantasy, and so was fascinated reading about the demon class and seeing people who look like cats. It dealt with such difficult issues in such a mature and nuanced way, and I loved the theme of female empowerment throughout.

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

This is another book I read a week or two ago, and it immediately shot into my all time favourites. I don’t read a huge amount of contemporary fantasy, so it was quite different to my usual reads. It had a thriller/mystery at the heart of the story which I loved, and the MC’s power was just so interesting – if she touches someone, she can see their death, and can also see and talk to ghosts. I loved how the book explored the impact on her mental health from having such a power. Discussions about mental health are one of my favourite things to see in fantasy and it was written so so well. I will have a full review of this book shortly!

The Poppy War – R.F Kuang

I came to The Poppy War train late and I can’t believe I only read this book this year!! But what a book! I loved that a grimdark fantasy had such a poweful and strong female character as the MC, as most of what I’ve read in the genre are heavily male dominated. But Rin was fabulous! I loved her anger, that she wasn’t afraid of her anger, and that she embraced that anger and refused to back down. I loved the magic system, and I am so excited for The Dragon Republic!

The Wicker King – K. Ancrum

The books I’ve read recently have just been absolutely phenomenal and The Wicker King is another I only recently picked up. It’s another book which delves into mental illness in a contemporary fantasy way, with main character Jack beginning to hallucianate a fantasy world. It’s another stark and difficult look at mental illness, and I felt like someone had punched me in the chest the entire way through. The relationship between Jack and August was quite dark, with both needing each other and relying on each other in very differnt ways. This is another book I will have a full review of soon.

Witchmark – C.L Polk

Witchmark is another excellent fantasy novel (with a sequel publishing in 2020!) I loved the setting, it had a very Edwardian England feel but brought in magic and mystery. Miles is hiding as a doctor to avoid being enslaved by his family for his magic. The story looks at war and PTSD, and when something begins changing the war veterans Miles is treating, he is sucked into a mystery to find out what’s happening. It was such a good read, the romance was lovely, and this was one of the books that really made me get back into reading this year.

That’s it for this week’s topic! I have so many amazing fantasy books I want to read that are being released in the next few months that I feel like in three months time this list will be completely different. Some of my favourites I’m looking for to reading are GIDEON. THE. NINTH (Tasmyn Muir), Wicked Fox (Kat Cho), The Infinite Noise (Lauren Shippen), War Girls (Tochi Onyebuchi) – I could literally go on for so long. There are so many excellent fantasy releases to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what my Top 5 fantasy looks like a few months from now.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Mid Year Freak Out Tag 2019

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

So this sounds like the most fun book tag ever!!

I first saw Katie over at Melting Pages post about the mid year book freak out tag and it looked so much fun (you can check out Melting Pages’ Book Tag post here). And then I read Bionic Book Worm’s (check it out here) who tagged me and gave me all the reasons to do this post myself!

Beware, indecisiveness below.

Book stats

I’ve read 45 books so far this year (four books more than my entire 2018 total) and my goal of 55 books looks like it will be easily met this year.

1 – The best book you’ve read so far in 2019

No surprises here, the best book I’ve so far is of course The Fever King by Victoria Lee. This book blew me away, I was an emotional wreck and couldn’t see all night after I finished it, I’ve reread it since, and I just want everyone to read this book! It’s a dystopian YA, combining element of sci fi and fantasy – where magic is caused by a virus that kills most of the population. It features diverse characters, some dark topics, and is just so fantastic!

Okay so we all knew that was going to be my favourite book – but I do want to also shout some of the other incredible books I’ve read this year.

2 – Your favourite sequel this year

I have read pretty much no sequels this year, so the book I’m going for is technically not a direct sequel, but a companion novel – Before Mars by Emma Newman. This is the third novel in her Planetfall series, each book is set in the same universe but follows different characters. Before Mars follows Anna, an artist who is sent to Mars to create art for her rich employer. But when she arrives, she finds a note in her own handwriting warning her not to trust the colony psychologist. The portrayal of mental illness in this book is phenomenal, and I really need to actually read the other books in the series now.

3 – A new release you haven’t read yet but really want to

And the indecisiveness begins! This is such a hard question, there’s so many I want to read. I’m really looking forward to Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley, which was sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read when I first wrote this post, but I did now start today! I’m also hugely excited to read The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg but I haven’t bought myself a copy yet, and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling which is a little (read: LOT) more horror-esque than what I normally read but I’m trying new genres this year, so really want to see what it’s like.

4 – Most anticipated release(s) for the second half of the year

Ooooooh this is another really difficult question!! I literally have a notepad just for listing all the upcoming releases I’m excited for by month (and using pretty coloured pens) because my Goodreads organisation is beyond help so I needed a new place to keep track of upcoming releases. If I had to say just one, it would be Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir (lesbian necromancers anyone?!) but some others following in close second are Wilder Girls, I Hope You Get This Message, The Light at the Bottom of the World, and Crier’s War.

5 – Your biggest disappointment

I’ve had a fairly good reading year so far, very few lower rated books, but I think the one I’m most disappointed in would be Rosewater by Tade Thompson. I had such high hopes, it opened SO well with such a cool technology, but I just couldn’t get past the main character and the misogynistic language + behaviour he used constantly.

6 – Your biggest surprise of the year

Biggest surprise for me isn’t title based, but genre based. This was the year I started reading contemporary YA and I have fallen in love with the genre. The first book I read was Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorran and it was fantastic and every other book I’ve read so far has also been so bloody good. I’m so happy I gave this genre a chance!

7 – Favourite debut or new to you author

So many favourite new authors, as I’ve really been trying to read more widely this year. I loved R.F Kuang’s The Poppy War which I read earlier this year and can’t wait for The Dragon Republic. Definitely added to my list of ‘always read’ authors.

8 – Your new fictional crush

Fiona from Her Royal Higness, beautiful Scottish princess (though may be a little biased to this one since I’m also Scottish). I just loved her fire and passion and how she grew throughout the book. Also, I have to mention Alex, bisexual ICON from Red, White and Royal Blue. He was just so confident and fierce and sarcastic. And if we’re on fierce, bisexual icons I should mention Serefin from Wicked Saints too!

9 – Your new favourite character

My new favourite character is definitely Dara from The Fever King. He’s so broken and soft and I fear so much for the sequel! PLEASE GIVE DARA HIS FARM AND GOATS.

10 – A book that made you cry

I’ve cried at quite a few books this year (several times on public transport – I get far too emotionally involved!) But the one I’ll mention here is I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver because I’ve wanted to mention it for so many other of these questions! This debut is phenomenal – it’s about a nonbinary teen who comes out to their parents and is then thrown out of their house and it hurts every part of my heart.

11 – A book that made you happy

I’ll be honest, I usually read books that make me cry over books that make me happy. But, a little behind everyone else, I finally read A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet this year and it was so fun and so happy, I loved all the characters and it was just such an enjoyable read.

12 – Your favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year

I don’t think I’ve actually watched any book to film adaptations this year… I don’t watch a huge number of films in general. I think the only films I’ve actually watched this year have been Marvel movies. Which I guess kind of count since they are technically based on comics…? So Captain Marvel all the way then!

13 – Your favourite review/post you’ve written this year

Well I’ve only had this blog for just over a month, so don’t have a huge number to choose from! And so far I’ve kept it fairly simple as I get into my blogging groove, with lots of reviews and TBRs. Which I guess makes this a lot easier. I’m actually going to go with my Pride month TBR post because it showcases such incredible queer books and it took me SO long to actually narrow it down to that list and I am proud I managed to get it down to just 15 books.

14 – The most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year

Descendent of the Crane is just stunning. That cover is so beautiful and is even more beautiful in person.

I also wanted to mention Missing, Presumed Dead, which is beautiful to me for a very special reason. I won a copy of this book in a Twitter giveaway arranged by the author (Emma Berquist) and Vicky Who Reads, and it arrived about two weeks ago. I hadn’t at all expected it to be signed, and this is the first book I’ve ever had signed by any author, and it made me a little emotional so it is incredibly beautiful to me because of this. (Also, having now finished it, it is AMAZING!!!)

15 – What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Ooooh I have so many I want to read! Image below is of my current ‘immediate TBR shelf’ – I hope to have a lot of these read during the rest of Pride month (per my TBR post, which I’ve actually managed to follow pretty well so far!)

Let me know how your year is going in books! I would love to see more of these posts – so if you’re still reading, consider yourself tagged!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: “Main Males”

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by the amazing Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

This week’s topic is “main males” and obviously there are no literary characters who can compete with my ‘lil kitten, Draco. He is my main male, my Best Boy and Top Cat. I mean look at this little fella!

But to books now – and it appears I have a “type” when it comes to my favourite male characters: gentle but fierce (much like my cat).

Laurent – The Captive Prince series, C.S Pascat

“Laurent had delivered all Damen had asked for, tied up neatly in a bow. All within the space of a day. If you put everything else aside, you had to admire it for sheer organisational efficiency. “

I love Laurent (so much more than Damen). Laurent is just so sassy and powerful and sure of himself and so bloody smart, but yet he’s been so hurt and is at times so confused and lost, and I love seeing the two sides of his character. Men can be self assured AND vulnerable and Laurent is just the perfect merge of these two traits. Also I strongly admire his organisational skills. I love me some organisation.

Alucard – Shades of Magic trilogy, V.E Schwab

I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry. But I’m here now, so you can’t die. Don’t you see how rude that would be, when I’ve come so far?

Okay so Alucard isn’t exactly the ‘main’ male of this series (he probably comes in third or fourth….) but that is main enough for me! I have such a thing for pirates. I love all pirates. Just any pirate character. Especially ones with eyeliner, I ROOT FOR YOU. Alucard is just so cool and fierce and he loves Rhys so much, and he loves his family, and he is a pirate. Just give me all the books with pirates.

Alex – Red, White and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston

“The next slide is titled: ‘Exploring your sexuality: Healthy, but does it have to be with the Prince of England?'” She apologizes for not having time to come up with better titles. Alex actively wishes for the sweet release of death.

Alex is the bisexual icon we needed, and yet didn’t deserve. He is so sarcastic and strong and seeing him figure out his sexuality, go for what he wants, and win is just epic. Also Alex gets a second quote because it’s awesome. History will remember the bi.

I am the First Son of the United States, and I’m bisexual. History will remember us.

Dara – The Fever King, Victoria Lee

Oh Jesus. Don’t go all pathetic. I know Dara can’t help it – he just transforms gay boys into these drooling stalkers by existing in proximity, but I don’t want to start puking this early.

No ‘main male’ list could ever not include Dara, soft gentle Dara who is so hurt and broken and just wants a farm with some goats. I know everyone is probably sick of me mentioning this book, but until I get the entire world to read it, I will not stop. When I think of Dara, all I know is PAIN because he fought so hard for Noam and couldn’t tell him things and ohmygoshjustreaditplease.

Patroclus – The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.

This book nearly broke me, what an amazing retelling of the Achilles + Patroclus story. Despite knowing how the story ended before I began, I still fought against it the whole way and was absolutely heartbroken. Patroclus is just such a good soul and cares so much and is so sure of their love, and so he has to be on this list.

So in conclusion it appears I like soft gentle boys with fierce, sassy sides. And pirates.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: All time favourites!

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday was created by the epic Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

This week, the topic is a big one – all time favourites. And because that is so impossibly difficult to decide, Bionic Book Worm made this topic a Top 10! I struggled even narrowing it down to just 10, and I did cheat slightly by counting several series as individual items. I also feel like my all time favourites list changes all the time, but for now, here’s my Top 10!

The Fever King – Victoria Lee

Yes I’m mentioning it again. It’s my favourie book right now, I absolutely love it, it’s so fantastic, the characters are amazing, there is so much pain, everyone should read. I have written a full review for this book here.

I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver

This is a book I read very very recently, it was the first book on my TBR for Pride month and I read it in one sitting because it was just so good. It tells the story of Ben a non-binary teen who is kicked out of their home after coming out to their parents. It’s a heartbreaking but uplifting story about a teen trying to come to terms with who they are. I posted my full review of the book yesterday, and you can check it out here.

The Poppy War – R.F Kuang

Everyone excited for The Dragon Republic?!?! YES YES YES. The Poppy War is definitely one of my all time favourite fantasies, it was so engaging and action-packed and I couldn’t stop reading. It felt like such a unique concept, set in an incredible world, and as much as it always hurts, I love books where any character might just die, including those you don’t expect. I can’t wait to to read the continuation of this series.

The Broken Earth series – N.K Jemisin

I absolutely adore this series, just a brilliant trilogy with some amazing characters. I’m really due a re-read of these books. I love how all of the different POVs tie together at the end of the first book, I love the magic system, I love Alabastor and Essun and it’s just so so brilliantly different to any other fantasy series.

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

I read this book last year, and I was just heartbroken the whole through. I prefer this book to Circe, I think possibly because it did break my heart so much, but it’s such a beautiful love story and a wonderful take on the the greek myth of Achilles and Patroclus.

Harry Potter – J.K Rowling

My all-time favourites will never be without Harry Potter. Whilst I have a lot of issues with J.K herself, particularly her need to constantly pretend she’s inserted diversity into a book without actually ever writing it, these books were such a big part of my childhood. I grew up with Harry and co, I got a HP tattoo, I read fanfic for absolute years, my cat’s called Draco…etc. The books had such a profound effect on so many of my generation and I will always love revisiting the world. If I had to choose, I’d probably say Half-Blood Prince is my favourite, given Draco and Severus are my two favourite characters and I feel like that book really develops both of them.

The Rain Wild Chronicles series – Robin Hobb

Another series, this time from the wonderful Robin Hobb! I seem to be in the minority in my Robin Hobb appreciation, in that I much prefer all the books without Fitz, whilst most folk I’ve spoken to prefer the Fitz books. The Rain Wild Chronicles (the ones with the dragons + keepers) is my favourite series though, I just found the Dragons themselves so so interesting, and I loved all the characters, particularly Alise, Leftrin and Sedric.

Love from A to Z – S.K Ali

This is another very recent read which has jumped onto my all time favourites (full review still to come!) It’s a contemporary YA romance, which is a genre I’ve only recently started reading in, and this book was just one of the best, most beautiful and romantic romances I’ve ever read. It’s a story between two Muslim teens who keep crossing paths and we just get to watch as they slowly fall in love and it is incredible!

Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie

Mysteries aren’t really something I read much of currently, and that’s mainly because I find none ever live up to the standard that was Agatha Christie. My mum was a big fan of hers, so growing up I had shelves and shelves of her books I could read. Poirot is my favourite, and of the Poirot books I always really enjoyed Death on the Nile the most. I just love the way her books are structured, with Poirot finding clues, interviewing the suspects and then deducing the crime. It’s always a challenge to see if you can guess the villain before Poirot does, and I just can’t find anything like this nowadays! (I feel so old saying that…)

Shades of Magic series by V.E Schwab

Last on this list is another fantasy series. V.E Schwab created the wonderful Shades of Magic series, which follows Kell and Lila, Rhy and Alucard as they fight a dark and ancient powerful magic. I read all three of this series in about a day and a half over Christmas last year. They are so engaging and exciting, and the villain is one of my absolute favourites ever. Bonus content: pirates and marvellous coats.

I have so many others that could’ve been on this list, particularly some of my recent reads. Let me know if any of these books are on your all time favourites list!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Debut novels

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday was created by the epic Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

This week, there is one title on this list that I haven’t quite read yet, but I am so looking forward to, and, since its pride month, I really wanted to have it on my list for this week!

My top 5 debut novels
I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver

I just finished this book at the weekend, and OMG it is incredible! It’s a book about a nonbinary teen who comes out to their parents and is kicked out as a result. They go to live with their sister, and try to come to terms with their identity all whilst falling in love. It is beautifully written, so emotional and one of the best debuts I’ve read!

The Fever King – Victoria Lee

No one is surprised to see this here, yes it’s the fourth time I’ve mentioned this book on this blog since I started mid-May, but it’s an absolutely amazing debut from Victoria Lee! It tells the story of Noam, Dara and Ames, three teens who have survived a virus which gives them magic, in a dystopian USA. A lot of heavy issues are discussed, but it’s absolutely fantastic with an incredible romance and twists that break your heart.

Do you Dream of Terra-Two? – Temi Oh

I was never really a huge sci-fi reader until this year, but I’ve read so many great ones, of which Do You Dream of Terra-Two? is one! Temi Oh has written a very character-driven sci-fi examining what would happen if a group of teens were trained for a mission to journey to a newly discovered planet. This book focuses very much on characters, relationships and emotions, which I think is probably why I love it so much!

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

I just finished this book last week and it was a really strong fantasy debut from Hasfah Faizal, inspired by ancient Arabia. I haven’t written up a review for this one yet, but a sneak peak: the cast of characters are so well devleoped and distinct, the romance a fierce slow-burn and the setting absolutely magical.

The Wicker King – K. Ancrum

I haven’t read this book yet, but I am eagerly awaiting its arrival so I can read during pride. But this book excites me so much I needed to put it on this list! K.Ancrum’s debut deals with mental illness in a contemporary fantasy style way. I absolutely love fantasy books that deal with mental illness so very excited to read this debut!

That’s my list for this week – let me know if you’ve read any of these!

Paws out,

Rach + Draco