Stories I’ve been devouring lately (and that have been eating my soul)

Dear beloved, we’re gathered here today to mourn my soul, which’s being slowly destroyed by all the books I’ve been reading lately.

Hi friends! It is me again. Today I’m here to share with you some of the books I’ve been reading and some of the book I might be planning on reading during the summer (emphasis on might because we all know I suck at sticking with TBRs). Okay, let’s dive in!

So the first book that I’ve read was in May and it was Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. This book follows Dennaleia, the princess of Havemont, who’s to marry Thandi, the prince of Mynaria so their kingdoms can join forces, however, Denna has a Fire Affinity (that’s forbidden) so she needs to try and hide it from everyone. All that on top of her future marriage while falling in love with the prince’s sister, Mare. This book literally took my heart and crushed it. The f/f romance was so amazing, and I just fell in love with the characters so quickly. Even the friendships in this book, you couldn’t help but love them.  I loved it so so much and I kid you not when I say that if this sequel doesn’t get here quick I might literally die.

Buy the book here & here.

The next book I’ve read was The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (WHICH IS NOW BECOMING A MOVIE YAY!). In case you don’t know, this book follows Cameron Post. Cameron’s parents die in a car crash and her first thought is the relief because hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl. After that Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. Then Coley Taylor moves to town. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship–one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, her Aunt Ruth finds out about what was happening and sends her to conversion therapy. This book was really hard to get through personally. The first half of the book was okay but, the second half oH boy. The only downside to this book was that the chapters were kind of long. I feel like I should leave a trigger warning for mentions of self-harm (it’s kind of graphic) and of course, the central topic of the book (and the movie) is conversion therapy.

Buy the book here & here.

The nest book I’ve read was Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson. I’ve first read 6 chapters of this book back in April, which was provided by NetGalley (bless their souls).  This book follows Camila Flores, whose best friend died and people believe that it was a part of a suicide pact (considering that in the same week two other girls from her school were found dead too). Mila refuses to believe everyone’s explanation that her best friend was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life. But when she does bring them back, they have no memory of what happened. I’ve never read a book about Wiccan culture and this was so much fun to read. I loved the characters and the plot and the twists, gosh.  When I finished reading the excerpt I immediately knew I had to read the whole book. I was so hooked, it’s ridiculous. If you like witches, you’ll absolutely love this, I swear. (Bonus point for a fat main character!)

Buy the book here & here.

Next up! We have Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde. Okay after finishing the Miseducation of Cameron Post I needed fluff. I just did. As I mentioned before I had a hard time getting through it so I needed to recover and this book was perfect for that. You know when you go to a Con and you just have the best time meeting your favorite people? This book is all about that! I went to my first Comic Con last year and this book brought all those feelings and memories back. The anxiety rep in this book is so accurate and I felt really understood and personally, seeing Taylor (the character with anxiety) being loved and supported gave me so much comfort. Charlie is a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie at SupaCon, and this is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star Reese Ryan. When internet-famous cool-girl actress Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought. Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with her best guy friend Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about a fan contest for her favorite fandom, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Buy the book here & here!

Next up is my most recent read and that is Running with Lions by Julian Winters. Gosh! I have so much love for this book. You should know, I’m not a big fan of sports, so sport-related books aren’t really my thing but this book won me over within a few pages. 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. The only issue I had with this book (was a very light one) was the fact that it was written in the third person and at first, it became a bit confusing for me but truly it just took me a second to get used to it. I fell in love with Emir more and more throughout the novel and his relationship with Sebastian was so sweet. The friends to enemies to lovers was the amazing trope I deserved.

Buy the book here & here.

Lastly, a book I finished not long ago. If I Tell You by Alicia Tuckerman. This story follows seventeen-year-old Alex Summers lives with a secret and the constant fear someone will find out. But when a new family moves to town, they bring with them their teenage daughter Phoenix Stone. When Alex falls for Phoenix, there is no warning. In a small town with small minds, girls don’t go out with other girls, even if they want to. In fear there is bravery – you can either cling to the edge or have the courage to jump. But what do you do when you’re left spiraling through the freefall? 

Sooo… This was sort of a disappointment. I went in expecting a fluffy f/f romance and oh boy, I have to say that cover and the synopsis are VERY deceiving. Before I start I want to give TW for lesbophobia, domestic violence, and substance abuse. (mentions)

So I’m not gonna go around and say the book was terrible because, in all honesty, it wasn’t. It was actually enjoyable and good to some extent. But I was taken aback with the homophobia (which was a big part of the book, pretty much all of it). I loved the characters even though Alex was a bit selfish at points and Phoenix was a bit much. The plot was interesting to see and well, I guess no one really saw that plot twist coming. I think my favorite thing about this was probably the ending? I mean I loved how it didn’t feel rushed or it didn’t end terribly and it just tied everything together.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Okay so let’s talk about Phoenix dying, shall we? I didn’t see that coming at all. And of course, she was kind of a hypocrite with the whole “You have to jump” business but if I was in her position I would obviously do the same thing. Although it probably wasn’t the author’s intent I think the fact that she got killed off is fitting into the whole “let’s kill off LGBTs show everyone they don’t matter” (again I know that probably wasn’t the author’s intention). Another thing that really triggered me was how graphic the scene with Alex’s mum was and I don’t know if it was my state of mind but I was really uncomfortable with that. Aside from that, I think the novel was actually enjoyable but it could’ve been better.

Buy the book here & here!

Now let’s get into the stories that are currently eating me alive. I’m only reading 2 books at the moment (obviously I’m starting more soon) and one of them is an autobiography, but still, I have to talk about it. I’m currently reading Dodie Clark’s Secrets for the Mad and holy fuck! Those are the two words I’d use, to sum up, my experience so far. I’m about 50% into the book and so far I’ve cried SO much. If you know about this book, you should know that mental health, eating disorders & drinking problems are discussed in the book. I personally haven’t dealt with any eating disorders and I also don’t drink so I can’t really speak about those but reading Dodie speak up (or rather write up?) about her mental health brought up so many emotions I didn’t even know I was repressing. Seeing someone go through what you once went through (and, in my case, still are) is really comforting in a sense where you realize you’re not that alone after all and this book really gave me that feeling.

Buy the book here & here.

The next book has been on my TBR pretty much since it came out and now that I’m reading it I so regret not picking it up earlier, and that’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Oh dear God. I’m about 80% into this book and I am in love with it but it’s also making me lose my mind. I love these characters so much, all of them, and at first, I was hesitant because this is historical fiction and that’s not really my thing but I don’t regret picking this up for a second.

Buy the book here & here.
Preorder the sequel now, here & here!

That’s it for now, folks I might be coming up with some reviews and a summer TBR soon so please, stick around for that.