Hello and welcome to Bathtub Book Club, Isolation Edition! If you’re reading this in 2020, you’re likely spending a lot of time at home or dreading leaving your home. Since pretty much all new news right now is a certain level of exhausting, we decided to stick with the familiar and re-read a book that we’ve both read before.
It’s October and in honor of the spookiest month of the year, I’ve decided to read a bunch of fantasy novels. Because my last review was an Adult Urban Fantasy (LINK to Hypnos), I decided to switch things up and read a Young Adult Fantasy next. Bound by Duty is the first book in a short series (yes, I read all three) about the main character, Amelia.
On September 17th, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt released the first book of Alliances, a new series by Kat Rosenfeld and the late Stan Lee. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might wonder about some of the weird "National Days" we spotlight. Truth is, we sometimes need help to narrow down which books we want to review, so we use the good old internet to find theme ideas. When I saw that today was National Comic Book Day, I knew I wanted to cover one of Stan Lee's last projects before he died. It meant I only had a week between the release date and this review, but it was worth it.
Hello fellow reader, let me tell you something about myself. I am an easy sell for some good cover art. I was immediately drawn to Grady Hendrix’s book My Best Friend’s Exorcism because the cover art is most excellent. Specifically, the paperback book’s cover art, which isn’t the same as the hardcover, is the one that is so incredible. So let’s pretend we live in a world where the paperback is the only one that exists. If you are not a person so easily swooned by cover art, I have good news, this book also contains humor, spookiness, best friends and demons!
Anya’s Ghost is the story of Anya. The teenaged daughter of a single mother, Anya’s family moved to the US from Russia just before she started school. Anya attends a private high school (the third worst in the state, according to her) where she tries her best to blend in with her all-American classmates.
Book: Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian Reviewer: Whitney Garcia Age/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Preferred Reading Environment: On the couch or in bed Reading Accoutrements: A fuzzy blanket or a warm cup of tea. Content Notes (trigger warnings and such): Torture, Whipping, and Beating are described. I came across Ash Princess as a recommendation on my…
Bethany: So...I do this thing where I wander around bookstores and pick up all of the books and then buy WAYYYY too many of the ones that I like. That’s how I came across Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles.
I first noticed The Selection, by Kiera Cass, at the Barnes & Noble in the Mayo Clinic when my sister was admitted there for a few days while I was in graduate school. I am a sucker for a YA dystopian story with a strong female lead and this one seemed right up my ally - there was romance, intrigue, and even a prince. The Selection is not a stand alone novel and that is pretty clear from the description of the book. So, I bought the series.
I first read Dumplin’ in 2015 when it was released because it received a lot of pre-publication hype and I was in need of some inspiration after leaving graduate school. Netflix recently turned this YA novel into a movie and, since people everywhere have New Year's resolutions on their mind and body image is sure to come up, I decided that now would be a good time for a review.
My sister bought this book for me for my birthday a few years ago. She saw it and thought of me, she said, for three reasons: 1. It is a supernatural fantasy/mystery book, and she knows how much I love those. 2. It takes place in a steampunk setting and I have been fascinated with steampunk since I heard of it. 3. She knew I was looking for a new series to read and this one comes with a follow-up series about the main characters’ daughter. Hours of entertainment for me and silence for her.
My sister knows me really well.
Bathtub Book Club 