Mars | my pronouns page | minor | English, German, French, Indonesian | this is technically not my main blog
35 posts
Elektra - Jennifer Saint
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology #2) - Aiden Thomas
No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai
If We Were Villains - M. L. Rio
Dead Poets Society - N. H. Kleinbaum
Heaven - Mieko Kawakami
Title: Monstress
Author: Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda
Synopsis: Maika Halfwolf lives in a world gripped by warāan alternative, matriarchal 1900s Asia brimming with arcane dangers. As she struggles to overcome the trauma of violence and regain knowledge of her past, she becomes inextricably linked to an eldritch monster of tremendous power. This link will transform them both, and place them in the crosshairs of deadly powers both human and otherworldly.
Title: The Fever King (Feverwake #1)
Author: Victoria Lee
Page length: 375
Synopsis: In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Ćlvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia. The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaksārefugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the ministerās offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the ministerās sonācruel, dangerous, and achingly beautifulāand the way forward becomes less clear. Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far heās willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.
Title: Inkheart (Inkworld #1), Tintenherz (Tintenwelt #1)
Author: Cornelia Funke
Page length: 563
Synopsis: From internationally acclaimed storyteller Cornelia Funke, this bestselling, magical epic is now out in paperback! One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.
Title: Elektra
Author: Jennifer Saint
Page length: 291
Synopsis: The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods. Clytemnestra The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost. Cassandra Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall. Elektra The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?
Title: Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire #1)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Page length: 739
Synopsis: From holy cup comes holy light; The faithful hand sets world aright. And in the Seven Martyrsā sight, Mere man shall end this endless night. It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness. Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains. Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanityās last remaining hope: The Holy Grail.
Title: The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology #1)
Author: Aiden Thomas
Page length: 352
Synopsis: The Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson in this electric Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times-bestselling author of Cemetery Boys.
As each new decade begins, the Sunās power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of allāthey will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years. Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trialsā¦or rather, heās only worried for others. His best friend Niyaādaughter of Tierra, the god of earthāis one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also canāt help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurelio, a powerful Gold semidiós and Teoās friend-turned-rival who is a shoo-in for the Trials. Teo wouldnāt mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one-in-ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teoās taste. But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isnāt a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, andā¦Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival.
Title: She Gets the Girls
Author: Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick
Page length: 384
Synopsis: Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other handā¦not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows sheās in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She justā¦hasnāt actually talked to her yet. Alex and Molly donāt belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Mollyās hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all. Because maybe if Alex volunteers to help Molly learn how to get her dream girl to fall for her, she can prove to her ex that sheās not a selfish flirt. That sheās ready for an actual commitment. And while Alex is the last person Molly would ever think she could trust, she canāt deny Alex knows what sheās doing with girls, unlike her. As the two embark on their five-step plans to get their girls to fall for them, though, they both begin to wonder if maybe theyāre the ones fallingā¦for each other.
Title: To Kill a Kingdom
Author: Alexandra Christo
Page length: 344
Synopsis: Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe mostāa human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elianās heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobbyāitās his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, sheās more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for goodāBut can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankindās greatest enemy?
Title: Cinderella Is Dead
Author: Kalynn Bayron
Page length: 400
Synopsis: Itās 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girlās display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderellaās mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for allāand in the process, they learn that thereās more to Cinderellaās story than they ever knew . . . This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales theyāve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.
Title: I Wish You All the Best
Author: Mason Deaver
Page length: 329
Synopsis: When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school. But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life. At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.
Title: First Year (The Black Mage #1)
Author: Rachel E. Carter
Page length: 322
Synopsis: Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice āpursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realmās three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage⦠For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic. Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Everyone is rooting for her to failāfirst and foremost among them is Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived. Will Ry survive, or will her dream go down in flames?
Title: Running With Lions
Author: Julian Winters
Page length: 307
Synopsis: Bloomington High School Lions' star goalie, Sebastian Hughes, should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing and he's got a coach who doesn't ask anyone to hide their sexuality. But when his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah shows up to summer training camp, Sebastian realizes the team's success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him. Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions, he sets out to regain Emir's trust. But to Sebastian's surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town's streets, and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them.
Title: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Page length: 388
Synopsis: Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.Ā One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, aĀ young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world sheās always known.
Title: If This Gets Out
Author: Sophie Gonzales, Cale Dietrich
Page length: 404
Synopsis: Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that heās feeling smothered by managementās pressure to stay in the closet. On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance. But when they decide theyāre ready to tell their fans and live freely, Zach and Ruben start to truly realize that they will never have the support of their management. How can they hold tight to each other when the whole world seems to want to come between them?
Title: Willa of the Wood (Willa #1)
Author: Robert Beatty
Page length: 384
Synopsis: Move without a sound. Steal without a trace. Willa, a young night-spirit, is her clan's best thief. She creeps into the cabins of the day-folk under cover of darkness and takes what they won't miss. It's dangerous work--the day-folk kill whatever they don't understand--but Willa will do anything to win the approval of the padaran, the charismatic leader of the Faeran people. When Willa's curiosity leaves her hurt and stranded in the day-folk world, she calls upon the old powers of her beloved grandmother, and the unbreakable bonds of her forest allies, to escape. Only then does she begin to discover the shocking truth: that not all of her day-folk enemies are the same, and that the foundations of her own Faeran society are crumbling. What do you do when you realize that the society you were born and raised in is rife with evil? Do you raise your voice? Do you stand up against it? As forces of unfathomable destruction encroach on her forest home, Willa must decide who she truly is, facing deadly force with the warmest compassion, sinister corruption with trusted alliance, and finding a home for her longing heart.
Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings #1)
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Page length: 528
Synopsis: Henry āMontyā Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father havenāt been able to curb any of his roguish passionsānot for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the familyās estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isnāt in Montyās nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Montyās reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
Title: Ruby Red (The Ruby Red Trilogy #1), Rubinrot (Edelstein-Trilogie #1)
Author: Kerstin Gier
Page length: 324
Synopsis: Although I had never seen him before, I recognized him immediately. I'd have known his voice anywhere. This was the guy I'd seen on my last journey back in time. Or more precisely, the one who'd kissed my doppelganger while I was hiding behind the curtain in disbelief. Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesley. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past. She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century...
Title: In Deeper Waters
Author: F. T. Lukens
Page length: 320
Synopsis: A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentlemanās Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean. Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his familyās kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel. Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean. That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charmingāand secretiveāas ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hopeā¦
Title: Sorcery of Thorns
Author: Margaret Rogerson
Page length: 456
Synopsis: All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeerās Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorceryāmagical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power. Then an act of sabotage releases the libraryās most dangerous grimoire. Elisabethās desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them. As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything sheās been taughtāabout sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.
Title: Icebreaker
Author: A. L. Graziadei
Page length: 320
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it. This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
Title: Dragon Rider (Dragon Rider #1)
Author: Cornelia Funke
Page length: 527
Synopsis: A dragon. A boy. A journey. Firedrake, a brave young dragon, his loyal brownie friend Sorrel and a lonely boy called Ben are united as if by destiny. Together, they embark on a magical journey to find the legendary place where silver dragons can live in peace for ever. With only a curious map and the whispered memories of an old dragon to guide them, they fly across moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world. Along the way, they discover extraordinary new friends in unlikely places and a courage they never knew they had. Just as well, for the greatest enemy of all is never far behind them - a heartless monster from the past who's been waiting a very long time to destroy the last dragons on earth.
Title: The Sunken City (The Sunken City #1)
Author: Emma V. R. Noyes
Page length: 376
Synopsis: Amare Bellamy is not a witch. Orphaned as a child and raised on a ship by the most dangerous men in the Caribbean, Amare is one thing and one thing alone: a pirate. And pirates hate magic. After a fateful storm plunges her to the depths of the ocean, Amare wakes to find herself in a strange new world: an underwater kingdom, where magic exists, but is strictly outlawed by the Kingāa man who claims to be her true father. As Amare struggles to fit into her new role as Princess of the Sunken City, she finds herself tangled in a web of love between two brothersāone good, one not so good. And as strange powers manifest within her, she must question everything she was raised to believeāespecially if she has any hope of stopping the evil brewing at the bottom of the ocean.
Title: XOXO
Author: Axie Oh
Page length: 352
Synopsis: Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncleās Los Angeles karaoke bar, itās clear heās the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventureā¦before he disappears without a word. Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, sheās shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where sheās enrolled for the semester. And heās not just any student. Heās a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the worldāand heās strictly forbidden from dating. When a relationship means throwing Jennyās life off the path sheās spent years mapping out, sheāll have to decide once and for all just how much sheās willing to risk for love.
Title: Taproot
Author: Keezy Young
Page length: 127
Synopsis: Blue is having a hard time moving on. He's in love with his best friend. He's also dead. Luckily, Hamal can see ghosts, leaving Blue free to haunt him to his heart's content. But something eerie is happening in town, leaving the local afterlife unsettled, and when Blue realizes Hamal's strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him, even if it means... leaving him.
Title: Maurice
Author: E. M. Forster
Page length: 256
Synopsis: Maurice is heartbroken over unrequited love, which opened his heart and mind to his own sexual identity. In order to be true to himself, he goes against the grain of societyās often unspoken rules of class, wealth, and politics. Forster understood that his homage to same-sex love, if published when he completed it in 1914, would probably end his career. Thus, Maurice languished in a drawer for fifty-seven years, the author requesting it be published only after his death (along with his stories about homosexuality later collected in The Life to Come). Since its release in 1971, Maurice has been widely read and praised. It has been, and continues to be, adapted for major stage productions, including the 1987 Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Hugh Grant and James Wilby.
Title: Youngblood
Author: Sasha Laurens
Page length: 416
Synopsis: For fans of Vampire Diaries and dark academia, two queer teen bloodsuckers at an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of Vampirdom when they uncover a frightening conspiracy on campus. Kat Finn and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, they must drink Hema, an expensive synthetic blood substitute, to survive, as nearly all of humanity has been infected by a virus thatās fatal to vampires. Kat isnāt looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns sheās been accepted to the Harcote School, a prestigious prep school thatās secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change. Taylor Sanger has grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but sheās tired of its backward, conservative valuesāespecially when it comes to sexuality, since sheās an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a two more years of Harcote before sheās free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, sheās horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didnāt end well. When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the schoolās archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcoteāsecrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on.
Title: The Price of Salt, Carol
Author: Patricia Highsmith, Claire Morgan (Pseudonym)
Page length: 292
Synopsis: Based on a true story plucked from Highsmith's own life, Carol tells the riveting drama of Therese Belivet, a stage designer trapped in a department-store day job, whose routine is forever shattered by a gorgeous epiphanyāthe appearance of Carol Aird, a customer who comes in to buy her daughter a Christmas toy. Therese begins to gravitate toward the alluring suburban housewife, who is trapped in a marriage as stultifying as Therese's job. They fall in love and set out across the United States, ensnared by society's confines and the imminent disapproval of others, yet propelled by their infatuation. Carol is a brilliantly written story that may surprise Highsmith fans and will delight those discovering her work.