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Bibliophiles of the internet, my name is Adriana and today I'm ready to share with you all a book haul.
The books I bought in February, to be exact.
I could say more about that, but let's just jump right in.
The first book I have to show you is "Karen Memory" by Elizabeth Bear.
This book is so many things that I enjoy: western, steampunk, *** lit.
Of course I'm gonna get it.
There's a lot going on in the summary of this book,
and I'm not entirely sure I know exactly what's gonna happen in the story.
I do know it's set in the late 19th century, and the main character, Karen, works in a
high quality bordello.
So it might be about, like, badass prostitutes taking down the government or solving mysteries,
or neither, or both.
Honestly, I'm just excited to find out.
Ivan from Sonahaazrah told me about this book, and he told me that the main character is a lesbian,
one of the central reoccurring supporting characters is a trans woman,
and there's also a possibly pansexual man in the mix,
who is in a relationship with said trans woman.
So what's not to like?
Also, I should add that I don't think this book qualifies as #ownvoices,
but I am still excited to read it nonetheless.
Then I pre-ordered "Remembrance" by Meg Cabot.
This is the seventh and newest addition to the "Mediator" series, which I marathoned through last year
and really enjoyed.
It wasn't my favorite Meg Cabot series ever, but I still liked it for the most part,
and I really enjoyed Suze
and Jesse, and their relationship,
and I can't wait to see where they are in this book.
Obviously I can't say much about this, but I think Suze is back at it again,
kicking ***, and violently putting ghosts to rest, and solving mysteries,
and hopefully just being awesome as she normally is.
Then I also pre-ordered "Kings Rising" by C.S. Pacat.
I actually did an entire spoiler-free trilogy review/discussion, which I will link down below,
but I think y'all know what this trilogy has done to me.
I remember when this book released it was so crazy,
because I feel like everyone everywhere had trouble with their pre-orders, myself included.
and this was supposed to get to me three days AFTER the release date.
Which was completely unacceptable and unbearable. So I ended up pre-ordering the ebook as well,
because there was no way no how I was gonna wait one more second than necessary to read this conclusion.
So I own the ebook as well.
I love this trilogy. I will never recover, and I am still nowhere near okay.
Then I bought "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker.
Which is a great name, is it not?
This is a middle grade novel, and I think it's also historical fiction.
The two main characters are a boy named Peter and his fox named Pax,
whom he has raised ever since Pax was a kit.
But when Peter's father joins the military, Peter is forced to release Pax into the wild and leave him behind.
Peter is consumed by grief and regret, and he actually strikes out on his own to try and find Pax again
so they can be reunited.
Listen, it's basically that damn sad scene in "The Fox and the Hound" that makes you cry buckets
and oceans for days, except for in this, the owner actually goes after the fox they had to let go...
But I think, even so, I'm still gonna cry a LOT.
Then I got "A Silent Voice" volume 1 by Yoshitoki Ooima.
This is a slice of life kind of story about a young deaf girl named Shoku,
who was severely bullied—mostly by a young man named Shoya—
—to the point where she was driven out of her school.
And then the two meet up, I think, six years later,
and it's mostly about whether Shoya can even begin to make up for his past mistakes.
What really interested me about this series is that the main character is deaf, and I'm very curious
to see how that will be portrayed visually—whether Shoku will be signing
or communicating primarily through written notes.
I don't know, but we'll see how it goes.
Then I got volume one of "Behind the Scenes" by the one, the only Bisco Hatori.
Bisco Hatori is the creator of "Ouran High School Host Club," if you did not know that,
and I love it. It's fantastic.
Ya NEED it in your life.
I know very little about this new series besides the fact that the main character, Ranmaru Kurisu,
is a college student who doesn't really know what he's doing with his life.
One day while he's on campus, he stumbles onto a movie set,
and he is, for some reason, convinced that it's real,
and he ends up fainting.
When he comes to, he is impromptly inducted into the Art Squad,
which is essentially a group of weirdos.
So, in that way, the premise is set up very similarly to "Ouran High School Host Club."
But I love Ouran so much. You have no idea. And if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
And when I start these series I will maybe do a Manga Monday video for both of them. We'll see.
Then I got "The Abyss Surrounds Us" by Emily Skrutskie.
This story is Sci-Fi and *** lit, and it also has intersectionality, because the main character is Asian,
and there's actually an Asian girl on the cover.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate that?
The main character, Cassandra, is basically a Reckoner trainer in training.
And Reckoners are these huge genetically-engineered sea monsters
which were created to protect ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific.
So while Cassandra is being trained, I think the ship she's following is taken over by pirates,
and she kind of develops a love-hate relationship with a lady pirate—which I'm into.
From what I know, this book is NOT #ownvoices, which is a little bit disappointing,
and I've also heard some mixed things about it as well. But I'm still eager to read it for myself.
Last but not least, I pre-ordered "A Gathering of Shadows" by V.E. Schwab.
And just so you know, this is a signed copy.
This is the sequel to "A Darker Shade of Magic," but I think everyone and their mother already knows that.
Even though I haven't been able to find the time to read this book yet, I'm still really excited to do so,
because I know there's like a crazy magical competition that comes into play;
Rhy is getting a male love interest;
and, if Victoria Schwab's tweets are to be believed, Lila is a genderfluid thief.
So I will be looking very closely at those elements, but I'm still really excited to get to it.
I know a lot of people feel differently, but I really enjoyed book one, and I think I'm going to enjoy the sequel as well.
So those are all the books I picked up in February. Of course, I would love to hear from you
if you've read any of these books or if you plan to read them in the future.
Or feel free to let me know what are some books that you've picked up lately.
But that is everything I had for this book haul today. Thank you so much for watching.
I really hope that you enjoyed it, and I will catch YOU on the flip-side of the page.
Bye!
[♫ snazzy end screen music ♫]