TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson.
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Andra wakes up, she’s drowning.
Not only that, but she’s in a hot, dirty cave, it’s the year 3102, and everyone keeps calling her Goddess. When Andra went into a cryonic sleep for a trip across the galaxy, she expected to wake up in a hundred years, not a thousand. Worst of all, the rest of the colonists—including her family and friends—are dead. They died centuries ago, and for some reason, their descendants think Andra’s a deity. She knows she’s nothing special, but she’ll play along if it means she can figure out why she was left in stasis and how to get back to Earth.
Zhade, the exiled bastard prince of Eerensed, has other plans. Four years ago, the sleeping Goddess’s glass coffin disappeared from the palace, and Zhade devoted himself to finding it. Now he’s hoping the Goddess will be the key to taking his rightful place on the throne—if he can get her to play her part, that is. Because if his people realize she doesn’t actually have the power to save their dying planet, they’ll kill her.
With a vicious monarch on the throne and a city tearing apart at the seams, Zhade and Andra might never be able to unlock the mystery of her fate, let alone find a way to unseat the king, especially since Zhade hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with Andra. And a thousand years from home, is there any way of knowing that Earth is better than the planet she’s woken to?
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Blood and Honey (Serpent and Dove #2) Author: Shelby Mahurin Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: HarperTeen Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: September 1, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.
To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.
The hotly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove—packed with even steamier romance and darker magic—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.
Review:
After escaping from Morgane and the Dames Blanches, Lou and Reid have to gain some allies to face her again. Morgane hints that she will attack again, so Lou and Reid must go beyond the witches to find some help to defeat her. However, as they gather more allies, Lou and Reid are pulled apart. They need to mend their relationship before the entire coven is destroyed.
I really enjoyed this sequel. I actually found this story easier to follow than the first one. Serpent and Dove had a complicated plot, with all of the characters having different goals. In this story, all of the characters were working together to defeat Morgane so they all had the same goal in mind.
The fantasy world of Serpent and Dove expanded in this story. There were different types of creatures, such as the werewolves. There were also different events, such as the traveling circus that they encountered. Though the witches would typically have been the enemies of many of these other groups, they all had to work together to stop Morgane. I liked seeing the world beyond the witches in this story.
This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat. The expected publication date is September 28, 2021.
Goodreads Synopsis:
The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember, and they keep their centuries-long vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns.
Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must train to play a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.
As London is threatened by the Dark King’s return, the reborn heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war begin to draw battle lines. But as the young descendants of Light and Dark step into their destined roles, old allegiances, old enmities and old flames are awakened. Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Books Guaranteed To Put a Smile On Your Face. Here’s my list:
1. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
2. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
3. Misfit in Love by S.K. Ali
4. From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn
5. Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley
6. A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
7. Megabat is a Fraidybat by Anna Humphrey, Kass Reich (illustrator)
8. Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel
9. Cone Cat by Sarah Howden, Carmen Mok (illustrator)
10. Take It Away, Tommy by Georgia Dunn
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: The Bennet Women Author: Eden Appiah-Kubi Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT Publisher: Montlake Source: Thomas Allen and Son (book distributor) Format: Paperback Release Date: September 1, 2021 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In this delightfully modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, love is a goal, marriage is a distant option, and self-discovery is a sure thing.
Welcome to Bennet House, the only all-women’s dorm at prestigious Longbourn University, home to three close friends who are about to have an eventful year. EJ is an ambitious Black engineering student. Her best friend, Jamie, is a newly out trans woman studying French and theater. Tessa is a Filipina astronomy major with guy trouble. For them, Bennet House is more than a residence—it’s an oasis of feminism, femininity, and enlightenment. But as great as Longbourn is for academics, EJ knows it can be a wretched place to find love.
Yet the fall season is young and brimming with surprising possibilities. Jamie’s prospect is Lee Gregory, son of a Hollywood producer and a gentleman so charming he practically sparkles. That leaves EJ with Lee’s arrogant best friend, Will. For Jamie’s sake, EJ must put up with the disagreeable, distressingly handsome, not quite famous TV actor for as long as she can.
What of it? EJ has her eyes on a bigger prize, anyway: launching a spectacular engineering career in the “real world” she’s been hearing so much about. But what happens when all their lives become entwined in ways no one could have predicted—and EJ finds herself drawn to a man who’s not exactly a perfect fit for the future she has planned?
Review:
Bennet House is a women’s dorm at Longbourn University in New England. EJ is a resident advisor and an engineering student. Jamie is a trans woman, who is studying theater and French, and is best friends with EJ. Tessa is a Filipina astronomy major with a terrible boyfriend named Collin. At the start of the fall semester, EJ starts hearing whispers about a new student, Lee Gregory. He’s a charming guy who immediately falls for Jamie. EJ ends up hanging out with Jamie, Lee, and his best friend Will. Will is an actor who’s trying to hide out after a very public breakup. EJ has big plans for her post-graduate future, but she’s attracted to Will, someone who doesn’t seem to fit into her plans.
This is the most diverse story I’ve ever read. Each of the characters were either BIPOC or queer. Though there was this diverse representation, their diversity didn’t define the characters. They all went through relatable experiences throughout their university year. These diverse characters also fit in perfectly with the regency story of Pride and Prejudice.
I love retellings of Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read so many though, that it’s difficult to find a unique spin on the classic. This was a great, original take on the story. The Bennet women weren’t related, but they had a close bond from living together in their dorm. Though the characters didn’t face the same challenges as the ones in the original story (such as needing to find a rich husband to secure their future), they had more modern challenges (such as deciding on what post graduate programs to take). I loved this modernization of the story.
The Bennet Women is a great retelling of Pride and Prejudice!
Thank you Thomas Allen and Son for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Have you read The Bennet Women? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In this delightfully modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, love is a goal, marriage is a distant option, and self-discovery is a sure thing.
Welcome to Bennet House, the only all-women’s dorm at prestigious Longbourn University, home to three close friends who are about to have an eventful year. EJ is an ambitious Black engineering student. Her best friend, Jamie, is a newly out trans woman studying French and theater. Tessa is a Filipina astronomy major with guy trouble. For them, Bennet House is more than a residence—it’s an oasis of feminism, femininity, and enlightenment. But as great as Longbourn is for academics, EJ knows it can be a wretched place to find love.
Yet the fall season is young and brimming with surprising possibilities. Jamie’s prospect is Lee Gregory, son of a Hollywood producer and a gentleman so charming he practically sparkles. That leaves EJ with Lee’s arrogant best friend, Will. For Jamie’s sake, EJ must put up with the disagreeable, distressingly handsome, not quite famous TV actor for as long as she can.
What of it? EJ has her eyes on a bigger prize, anyway: launching a spectacular engineering career in the “real world” she’s been hearing so much about. But what happens when all their lives become entwined in ways no one could have predicted—and EJ finds herself drawn to a man who’s not exactly a perfect fit for the future she has planned?
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