August was basic bitch trash for me. I like to be honest about my mental health on here. I had a rather bad reaction to my depression meds and was dealing with the result of that for the entirety of August. I did not sleep. So it was a bad reading month. Mostly nostalgia and filling my life with books and maybe a little Indian food here and there (support your favorite restaurants 😊). Oh and I also slipped into Kate’s DMs back in July suggesting a fun thing which turned into an actual thing for the Wolf of Oren-Yaro. We created a readathon, Bitchreadathon (because bitches lolz), to gear up for the Ikessar Falcon (which I finished sob).
What I Read
For such a terrible month I chose to read books that I sorta knew I would probably like. I didn’t read a whole lot since I wasn’t feeling that great but overall an ok reading month.
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
This started a little slow but it was so good. I really think Andrea Stewart is doing something that I don’t often see in fantasy. It’s such a horror fantasy. Andrea Stewart just softly has madmen tinkering with mortal bodies. It is such a strange and atmospheric world of islands, body parts melting, cuddly monsters type of world. In my review, I also have an interview with Andrea as part of the blog tour graciously hosted by Orbit and Your Tita Kate.
The Wicked and the Dead by Melissa Marr
I reached out to Melissa Marr not so subtly begging for an advanced readers copy. I am in love with her adult novels and i would like her to continue doing so. My bisexual heart beats for this one.
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
I had a put this down at first. I just was not really read for it at the time. Too much buzz and stress in my life for it. I honestly thought this would be an average okay it was good type of book. Turned out to be a favorite. I don’t hand out 5 stars easily. For me if I loved a book it’s usually a four star but five star is typically ‘i would read this again’. I love Kallia. She’s alpha, loves clothes, and she’s what i would call a dagger under the skirt heroine. The prose is so beautiful and does wonders for a book based on Phantom of the Opera. Also absolutely here for brown girls tearing down the system.
Cold Iron Heart by Melissa Marr
My god did I love this. Melissa’s prose is a dagger to the heart. True greatness. Love my gay faerie King.
I kinda really did not like this one. It was trash. Gay rebellions, bodyguard romance, gay princess? I should have loved it but it was the dullest fucking thing I’ve read in a while. The characters felt flat and not like real people. They did not seem to have any character development that was tangible or real. It sort of felt like this was a case of the author trying to put a full length novel into a short story and it didn’t work.
Bookish Posts
New and Upcoming Fantasy Books By Indigenous Authors I Want To Scoop Up
Webtoons
I’ve started reading Webtoons ever since I came across Lore Olympus (which started back up yay!). Where. The. Fuck. Is. Persephone. Driving me nuts!
I did not continue with Freaking Romance. Turns out I find it very dull despite the pretty.
Anzar and Tiziri is my new favorite. It’s based on Amizigh mythology of the water god Anzar and his love for Tiziri. The artist wanted to show how beautiful and wonderful the myths from her culture are and started up her own webtoon. Maybe instead of putting support behind Dune, which appropriates from North African Amizigh culture, people could give some love to this. I started reading this back in August and it’s amazing, cute, and funny.
What I Watched
Because everything is on fire (turns out doubly this month) I was nostalgia bitch. I don’t care. I need the comfort. I need my favorites.
I am continuing with Inuyasha, started some new romantic cuteness (love o20), and some favs. Mughal-e-Azam I would espeically recommend if you like elegant old foreign films. This is a gorgeous Bollywood film set during the 16th century Mughal era. Kinda has a servant/prince trope which I don’t like because of the unethical power dynamics. Watch it for the beautiful scenery. The Prince is pretty so there’s that.
Book Community Posts I Loved
Let’s Talk About My Experience As An International Reviewer
A Queen in Filipino Romance // Author Interview with Carla De Guzman
7 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Book Blogging
REVIEW|| Lobizona- Romina Garber // A fantasy with beautiful writing and stunning world building
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