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Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
That was what Lethe and the societies demanded. Secrecy. Loyalty. Well, fuck them. In Hell Bent, the long-awaited sequel to the high-octane Ninth House, we are reunited with the danger-prone and dangerous Alex Stern. Still recovering from her several near-death experiences, and attempting to keep up with her coursework and maintain the facade of being…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, alex stern, alex stern #2, ambiguous protagonist, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, autumn, California, campus, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dark fantasy, DEATH, DEMONS, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, gritty aesthetics, hell, Hell Bent, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, it’s about the *yearning*, Leigh Bardugo, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, New Haven, Ninth House, occult, PARANORMAL, place as character, PRIVILEGE, published in 2023, quests, read in 2023, rich people, secret societies, secretiveness, she is dangerous, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, Yale -
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
In many ways The Monsters We Defy delivers on its premise: we follow a ‘ragtag’ crew as they prepare and execute a heist to save themselves and their community. It did manage to hold my attention and even delivered some fairly entertaining scenes and/or dazzling descriptions, and I can see this appealing to fans of…
1920s, 20th century, actors, Adult, adventure, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, heist, HISTORICAL FICTION, insta love, Leslye Penelope, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, MYSTERY, occult, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, seances, spiritualism, The Monsters We Defy, URBAN FANTASY, Washington DC -
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez
“You have something of mine, I passed on something of me to you, and hopefully it isn’t cursed, I don’t know if I can leave you something that isn’t dirty, that isn’t dark, our share of night” Although I have previously quoted Lady Gaga’s iconic “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same,…
1980s, 1990s, 4 STARS, abuse, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, argentina, argentinian author, atmospheric, big books, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, boyhood, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, creepy setting, cults, dark, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, graphic content, GRIEF, grotesque, growing up, GUILT, haunted house, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, illness, latin america, lgbtq+, loneliness, Mariana Enríquez, missing girls, missing persons, morality, occult, orphans, otherness, Our Share of Night, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2019, queer, read in 2022, road trip, sexual assault/abuse/rape, strong sense of place, summer reads, SUPERNATURAL, toxic relationships, tragedy, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, unrequited love, violence -
Skim by Mariko Tamaki
Who knew that I would come across something that would make me feel nostalgia for the mid-2000s? Skim is a compelling coming-of-age story that is bound to make you feel nostalgic for the mid-2000s (even if you, like me, didn’t strictly ‘come of age’ in that time). Skim captures the angst, confusion, heartache, and loneliness…
1990s, 4 STARS, age gap, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, coming of age, DEPRESSION, f/f, female artist, female authors, female friendships, first love, friendships, Graphic Novels, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, japanese canadian author, Jillian Tamaki, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, Mariko Tamaki, mental health, My reviews, nostalgic reads, occult, queer, re-reads, read in 2022, reading, sapphic, seances, Sequential Art, SEXUALITY, Skim, suicide, tarots, Toronto, unrequited love, YOUNG ADULT -
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
“Every time I was around them, they acted like I was a monster. So I said goddamnit, I’ll be the worst monster you ever saw!” This novella takes place in 1920s New York. Charles Thomas Tester is a bit of a ‘hustler’ who sings and plays his guitar on the streets even if he isn’t…
1920s, 20th century, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, FANTASY, Harlem, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, Lovecraftian, male authors, monsters, My reviews, NEW YORK, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, occult, RACE, reading, revenge, The Ballad of Black Tom, TOR novella, URBAN FANTASY, Victor LaValle -
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
And so my latest TRC re-read has come to an end. What an outstanding series. Truly. I cannot even begin to articulate how much this series means to me and how much I love it. In this finale, the stakes are higher than ever and a lot of things Stiefvater has hinted at in the…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, cliques, coming of age, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, DEATH, DEMONS, dreamers, Dreams, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay, ghosts/spirits, growing up, henrietta, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, loneliness, Longing, m/m, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, nature, occult, PRIVILEGE, queer, reading, rich people, SMALL TOWN, tarots, terrific prose, the raven cycle, the raven king, virginia, YOUNG ADULT -
The Witch’s Hand by Nathan Page
The main reason why I read The Witch’s Hand was Maggie Stiefvater’s 5-star review for it (what can I say, I trust in Stiefvater). And I’m so glad I did! Way back when I had an ahem Scooby-Doo phase (not only did I watch 20+ Scooby-Doo animated films but I also ended up devouring the…
1960s, 4 STARS, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, canadian artist, canadian author, cliques, DETECTIVE, Drew Shannon, FANTASY, gay, ghosts/spirits, Graphic Novels, HISTORICAL FICTION, lgbtq+, light reads, MAGIC, male artists, male authors, MYSTERY, Nathan Page, New England, occult, PARANORMAL, published in 2020, read in 2021, SMALL TOWN, summer reads, SUPERNATURAL, The Witch's Hand, twins, uplifting reads, WITCHES, YOUNG ADULT -
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
re-re-read: what can i say, whatever this book has going on, i here for it. re-read: it hasn’t even been a year and I have already re-read this. This book slaps. Ninth House can be best described as: “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, academia, addiction, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, alex stern, Alex Stern #1, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, California, campus, Contemporary, dark, dark academia, dark fantasy, DEATH, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, graphic content, it’s about the *aesthetics*, Leigh Bardugo, MAGIC, mental health, MURDER, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, New Haven, Ninth House, occult, PARANORMAL, Pedophelia, place as character, published in 2019, rape, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, rich people, secret societies, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, strong sense of place, SUPERNATURAL, terrific prose, THRILLER, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, violence, violence against women, Yale -
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
“Creature was a good word for him, Ronan thought. What the hell am I?” Every time I read this I am ｂｌｏｗｎ ａｗａｙ. This novel, I swear, is something else. The Dream Thieves is pure adrenaline. Ronan Lynch is my favourite asshole, which is probably why The Dream Thieves is my favourite book in The…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adrenaline fuelled reads, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, brothers, class, cliques, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dreamers, Dreams, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay, great storytelling, henrietta, HIGH SCHOOL, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male friendships, MYSTERY, occult, PARANORMAL, queer, re-reads, read in 2014, read in 2020, read in 2021, rich people, ROMANCE, Ronan Lynch, SMALL TOWN, Summer, tarots, The Dream Thieves, the raven cycle, TRC, virginia, YOUNG ADULT -
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Re-reading The Raven Boys after having had my heart obliterated by Mister Impossible, well, it made me rather emotional. It’s almost ridiculous just how much I love this series and this first instalment. Reading it for the third time makes me all the more aware of just how talented a storyteller Maggie Stiefvater is. She’s a wordsmith…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, class, cliques, curses, dark academia, dreamers, Dreams, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, FOLKLORE, friendships, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, henrietta, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male friendships, MURDER, MYSTERY, myths, occult, PARANORMAL, re-reads, read in 2014, read in 2020, read in 2021, rich people, ROMANCE, Ronan Lynch, SMALL TOWN, tarots, the raven boys, the raven cycle, TRC, virginia, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 