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review; uprooted
Uprooted by Naomi Novik “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.” Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But…
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review; quests and quandaries
Title: Quests And Quandaries Author: Alda Yuan Genre: YA, fantasy Type: E-Novella Publisher: Khanda Books Series: The Floating Isles The Floating Isles were created millions of years ago when a beetle the size of a continent churned up mud from the seabed for a perch. And things have only gotten weirder since. This is a tongue in cheek account of a princess forced to go on a quest, very much against her will. With the proverbial band of sidekicks at her side, Rahni leaves the familiar comforts of home for the mysterious Eigen States, a place where, of course, nothing is as it seems. Or else it wouldn’t be much…
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;three reasons Love From A To Z is on my TBR
Yesterday was the release day of Love From A To Z by S.K. Ali, and I could not be more excited. I’m already counting down the days* to it being on the shelves in Malaysia so I can pick up both this and Saints And Misfits. Book buying ban? Who’s she? *Related post: ;the a to z of journals I’ve heard nothing but good things about both S.K. Ali’s books, but I thought I’d make a short list of why I am super excited for it. Characters who journal are, in my opinion, a little rare these days. Especially male characters who journal? I think it’s going to give a…
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review; children of blood and bone
Title: Children Of Blood And Bone Author: Tomi Adeyemi Genre: YA, fantasy Type: Paperback Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books Series: Legacy Of Orisha They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise. Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess,…
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TWISTED TALES; robin hood
I haven’t seen the recent remake of this movie, but there are never too many versions of it. (My favourite is still the animated version.) Twisted Tales is a series of photosets depicting POC fancasts of fairytales that are traditionally cast as not-POC. Featuring: Sonequa Martin-Green as Robin Hood Vanessa Matsui as Maid Marian Kunal Nayyar as Little John Jimmy Smits as Friar Tuck “Now, you and I cannot go two ways at the same time while we join in these merry doings; so we will e’en let Little John follow his own path while we tuck up our skirts and trudge after Robin Hood.”
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;the a to z of journals
There are TWO DAYS left till Love From A To Z, and we have TWO POSTS going up today so be sure to check out Julia @ Julia Fleur‘s blog post as well!* Members of the Street Team** have been posting their excitement for the past few days, so be sure to check out their posts linked at the bottom of this one! I have not had the joy of reading S.K. Ali’s newest offering yet. I am very excited for it though!*** I have heard many good things about it, and one thing that struck me is that in the novel, both Zayneb and Adam keep journals. So I…
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RACEBENT ROMCOMS; never been kissed
I’m going to be very honest – I could never stomach Drew Barrymore in this movie because I never bought her in the role of a former geek? But in hindsight, it was a decent enough movie, and I would love to see it remade. Racebent Romcoms has me taking existing Hollywood romantic comedies (and romances), and recasting them for the modern day with a more diverse cast. Featuring Nicole Beharie as Josie Geller and John Harlan Kim as Sam Coulson. That thing, that moment, when you kiss someone and everything around becomes hazy and the only thing in focus is you and this person and you realize that that…
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instant to-read; the paranormal edition
I am not 100% certain what the paranormal genre is. My research has given me conflicting information, and a lot of it just screams ‘fantasy’ to me. But I’m going to try, making this list with what I feel constitutes as paranormal, and what makes me pick up a book that falls under that umbrella. Genres these days overlap so much, so some of these might come up again in other lists. I think that sometimes makes for great stories, the overlap – it gives a lot of scope to work with – but it also depends on the writer and the plot. I haven’t written one of these in…
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review; the distance between us
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing – spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop. So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her…
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recipe; chickpea shakshuka
Have you ever come across a cusine where the flavour profiles just work for you? For me, there are a few. A recent discovery is that Mediterranean food and I just mesh really well. Unfortunately, my husband is not as fond of this as I am. But I’m working on it. I found this recipe a number of months ago and finally gave it try, and I have not looked back since. It is easy to put together, you can adjust it to taste (like I did), and the leftovers taste amazing when reheated up. Crisp up some tortillas to dip into it, and you are set! Ingredients 2 tbsp…