Review: Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino (#Ad)

I was sent this finished copy for free by Titan Books for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino

Published: 12th September 2022 | Publisher: Titan Books | Source: Publisher
Tori Bovalino’s Website

Salem's Lot meets The Darkest Part of the Forest in this horror-fantasy retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market.

They'll lure you in with fruit and gems and liquor and dancing, merriment to remember for the rest of your life. But that's an illusion. The market is death itself.

Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women -- the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market -- until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. The market learned her name, and even when she and her sister left York for Boston to escape it, the goblins remembered.

Seventeen years later, Lou, May's niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage or the twisted streets, sweet fruits, and incredible jewels of the goblin market. But just like her aunt, the market calls to her, an echo of a curse that won't release its hold on her family. And when her youngest aunt, Neela, is kidnapped by goblins, Lou discovers just how real and dangerous the market is.

To save her, both May and Lou will have to confront their family's past and what happened all those years ago. But everything -- from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves -- is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. And if Lou isn't careful, she could end up losing herself to the market, too. From The StoryGraph.

Purchase from Bookshop.org*
The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, gore, body horror, internal organs, and descriptions of mutilated corpses.

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Review: Rick by Alex Gino

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Rick by Alex Gino

Published: 7th May 2020 | Publisher: Scholastic | Source: Bought
Alex Gino’s Website

Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.

But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that . . . understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.

As they did in their groundbreaking novel Melissa, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world . . . and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be. From The StoryGraph.

Purchase from Bookshop.org*
The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features homophobia, bullying, asexual and aromantic erasure.

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Review: Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Ink Road via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

Published: 25th April 2019 | Publisher: Ink Road | Source: Publisher
Nicki Pau Preto's Website

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.

Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And, meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders' return and intends to destroy them once and for all.

Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love's incredible power to save or to destroy. Throughout is interspersed the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider Queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister's hands. From Goodreads.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features a girl disguising herself as a boy, emotional abuse, a form of slavery, animal death, graphic description of someone being killed, a battle, and death.

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Review: That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Hodder Children's Book via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

Published: 28th August 2019 | Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | Source: Publisher.
Kody Keplinger's Website

It's been three years since the Virgil County High School shooting. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall. Everyone knows Sarah's story.

But it's not true.

I know because I was there when she died. This might be my last chance to set the record straight... but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did - and didn't - happen that day.

And the fake Sarah story is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. The more I learn, the less certain I am about what's worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up... From Goodreads.

Trigger Warnings: This book features a school shooting, blood, panic attacks, discussion of trauma, and alcoholism.

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Review: Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Ink Road Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Published: 4th April 2019 | Publisher: Ink Road Books | Source: Publisher
Akemi Dawn Bowman's Website

Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying. What to eat, where to go, who to love. But there's one thing she is sure of: she wants to spend her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.

Then Lea dies in a car accident, and Rumi is sent to live with her aunt in Hawaii. Now, miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, feeling abandoned by her mother, and the aching absence of music. With the help of the "boys next door", teenage surfer Kai, who doesn't take anything too seriously, and old George Watanabe, who succumbed to grief years ago, Rumi seeks her way back to music, and to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.

With unflinching honesty, Summer Bird Blue explores big truths about insurmountable grief, unconditional love, and how to forgive even when it feels impossible. From Goodreads

Trigger Warnings: This book features death by car accident, familial death, grief, a panic attack, a heart attack, blood.

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My Aro Ace April Reading Challenge TBR

Ad: Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After the success of F/F February, Ellie of Fae on the Shelf and Imi of Imi Reviews Books are back this month with another month long reading challenge - Aro Ace April. Following a similar set-up as F/F February, the aim is to read books featuring aromantic and/or asexual representation. There is a bingo card to complete, with bingo giving you an entry into their giveaway, and a photo challenge for Instagram! And you can check out Ellie's list of recommendations for the challenge, too.

I really enjoyed F/F February, so I'll be taking part again this month! Again, due to my blogging schedule, the books won't be reviewed on the blog until May, but I will be tweeting about them! But I wanted to share my TBR to help promote the reading challenge, and to maybe give you some ideas of what you can read if you take part. On to my my TBR!

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Review: Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (Bought) - Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.

He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features suicidal ideation, child abuse, and asexual discrimination.

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Review: Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate (eProof) - The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it's the confident young woman who's done with being slut shamed by her classmates, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who's planted the seed of a school scandal. But it's seemingly perfect Juniper Kipling who has the farthest to fall. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate dalls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another's orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations - or be ruined by them. From the press release.

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Review: This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin

This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin (eProof) - Bandmate, best friend or boyfriend? For Ramona, one choice could mean losing them all.

Ramona and Sam are best friends. She fell for him the moment they met, but their friendship is just too important for her to mess up. Sam loves April, but he would never expect her to feel the same way--she's too quirky and cool for someone like him. Together, they have a band, and put all of their feelings for each other into music.

Then Ramona and Sam meet Tom. He's their band's missing piece, and before Ramona knows it, she's falling for him. But she hasn't fallen out of love with Sam either.

How can she be true to her feelings without breaking up the band? From Goodreads.

WARNING! There will be major spoilers in this review. There is a diverse element to this story that I have never come across at all in books, nor heard of  from other people about books I haven't read. Because of this, I think it's important to discuss this particular diverse element for the sake of sharing the representation. However, discussing this element will mean major spoilers for the book, so if you do not wish to have This Song Is (Not) For You spoiled for you, please do not read any further.

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Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Hayley Sprout: Why Asexual Representation Matters

Today we have a awesome post from book and movie reviewer Hayley Sprout, who is stopped by to talk about asexual representation in YA and reading sex in YA as an asexual person.


Why Asexual Representation Matters

Firstly I’d like to thank Jo for having me on her blog as part of ‘Sex In Teen Lit’ Month II! Sex seems to be such a taboo topic for people to talk about. And yet comes with pressure the size of King Kong and Godzilla combined. Who had their first kiss first? Who lost their virginity first? What age? There seems to be a competition with moments regarding sex and relationships. Like the first one to reach the finish line is rewarded with the most pride. But there’s more to it. Books have the ability to teach so much. They hold the key for people to escape the real world for a few hours at a time. We are able to follow situations and stories of people we feel a connection with. But this doesn’t help so much to people who don’t feel sexual attraction to others.

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Review: Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson

Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the first in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Also, I cannot discuss the LGBTQ themes within this story without spoiling it, so, again, do not read any further if you don't want this book spoilt for you.

Once I was a girl who was special.
Now I am extraordinary.
And they will never stop hunting me.

The compelling follow-up to the bestselling ULTRAVIOLET, this psychological thriller will take your breath away... From Amazon UK

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