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 Felix Ever After by Karen Callender.
Goodreads Synopsis:
From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Mayhem Author: Estelle Laure Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Wednesday Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: July 14, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A YA feminist mash up inspired by The Lost Boys and The Craft.
It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else. But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.
Review:
In 1987, Mayhem and her mother, Roxy, move back to Roxy’s hometown of Santa Maria. They are escaping Roxy’s abusive husband. Roxy has kept Mayhem away from her family for most of her life. She left her family after Mayhem’s father died tragically. Mayhem learns their family secrets while investigating a string of kidnappings.
There was a layer of magic to this story. Mayhem’s family, the Brayburns, have a mystical history involving the water in a special cave. The magical elements weren’t the main part of the story, but they enhanced the way that the kidnappings were investigated, and they gave the Brayburns a long family history.
There were some tough issues in this book. Mayhem and her mom were abused by her stepfather, causing them to return to Roxy’s family home. There was also a suicide and drug abuse. The addition of magic made these serious problems a little less catastrophic because it wasn’t happening in our reality.
This is a great story!
Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Love and Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford
About the author:
Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
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 Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale. The expected publication date is August 25, 2020.
Goodreads Synopsis:
From bestselling author Shannon Hale comes Kind of a Big Deal: a hilarious, deliciously readable YA novel that will suck you in—literally.
There’s nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie.
She was kind of a big deal—she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead.
Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading.
Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she’s inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset.
It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing?
It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape.
Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?
Title: The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal Author: Bryn Turnbull Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: MIRA Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: July 21, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
This novel is the fictionalised story of the American divorcée who captured Prince Edward’s heart before he abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson.
In the summer of 1926, when Thelma Morgan marries Viscount Duke Furness after a whirlwind romance, she’s immersed in a gilded world of extraordinary wealth and privilege. For Thelma, the daughter of an American diplomat, her new life as a member of the British aristocracy is like a fairy tale—even more so when her husband introduces her to Edward, Prince of Wales.
In a twist of fate, her marriage to Duke leads her to fall headlong into a love affair with Edward. But happiness is fleeting, and their love is threatened when Thelma’s sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, becomes embroiled in a scandal with far-reaching implications. As Thelma sails to New York to support Gloria, she leaves Edward in the hands of her trusted friend Wallis, never imagining the consequences that will follow.
Review:
In 1926, American divorcée, Thelma Morgan, married Lord Furness in England. Throughout their marriage, Thelma split her time between her husband and her sister Gloria Vanderbilt, who has her own struggles with the death of her husband and her custody battle over her daughter. After Lord Furness begins having an affair, Thelma sets her sights on another man, the Prince of Wales. When Thelma has to travel to help her sister, she leaves her friend Wallis Simpson to look after the Prince, which leads to a romance she never expected.
I love stories about British royalty. This one was about two infamous families in both America and England: the Vanderbilts and the Windsors. The Vanderbilts fought to have custody of Gloria’s daughter, Little Gloria. Gloria’s mother also fought alongside the Vanderbilts to get her granddaughter away from her own daughter. Meanwhile, Thelma had an affair with Prince Edward. Ironically, the title mentions Wallis by name, yet she doesn’t come into the story until halfway through. Since she is named in the title, it’s assumed that the reader will know that Wallis Simpson eventually marries Prince Edward, leading him to abdicate the throne. Though I knew who the Vanderbilts were, I wasn’t familiar with the custody case of Little Gloria, so I learned a lot in this story.
Motherhood was a major theme of the story. Gloria Vanderbilt’s custody case was one of the main plots. Gloria wasn’t considered a suitable mother because of her wild lifestyle. At the same time, her own mother fought against Gloria by trying to get custody of Little Gloria. Thelma had a child, but she spent significant time away from him to stay in London and stay with the Prince. Even though Gloria fought for her daughter and loved her, she faced the threat of losing custody, whereas Thelma and Gloria’s own mother were not judged as harshly or forced to face the same consequences.
This was a fabulous debut novel!
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul
The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper
About the author:
Bryn Turnbull is a writer of historical fiction with a penchant for fountain pens and antique furniture. Equipped with a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews, a Master of Professional Communication from Ryerson University, and a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from McGill University, Bryn focuses on finding the stories of women found within the cracks of the historical record. When she’s not writing, Bryn can be found exploring new coffee shops, spending time with her family in cottage country, or traveling. She lives in Toronto, and can generally be found with a book in hand.
Have you read The Woman Before Wallis? What did you think of it?
Title: Code Name Verity Author: Elizabeth Wein Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction Publisher: Doubleday Canada Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: February 6, 2012 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Code Name Verityis a compelling, emotionally rich story with universal themes of friendship and loyalty, heroism and bravery.
Two young women from totally different backgrounds are thrown together during World War II: one a working-class girl from Manchester, the other a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a wireless operator. Yet whenever their paths cross, they complement each other perfectly and before long become devoted friends. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors.
Review:
Verity is an upperclass Scottish girl, who has been captured by Nazis during WWII. She has to write down all of the information she knows about the war in England. She was captured when she was in a plane crash with her best friend, who has the codename Kittyhawk. Verity has to document her time in captivity, while knowing there is only one way her story will end, and she won’t survive it.
The details about the espionage in this story were fascinating. Some of the details that caused the spies to be captured were based on real events. They were caught due to small details, such as looking the wrong way when crossing the road. These minor details made the story exciting.
The format of this story was confusing. Verity told her story using her information about England, while also documenting what was happening to her in the present. Sometimes it was confusing to flip back and forth between the present and the past. She also used codenames and alternate identities for people in her story, and spoke about herself in the third person. The second part of the story was much easier to follow because it was told linearly. The story was difficult to figure out due to this unconventional format.
This story was interesting, but a little confusing due to the format.
What to read next:
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein
Have you read Code Name Verity? 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 Woman Before Wallis by Bryn Turnbull.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Mayhem by Estelle Laure.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Title: Shades of Magic, Vol. 3: The Rebel Army Author: V.E. Schwab, Andrea Olimpieri (illustrator) Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy Publisher: Titan Comics Source: Publisher Format: Ebook Release Date: July 7, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab and torn from the universe of the Shades of Magic sequence, this third volume in the all-original comic book adventure series sees the saga of the the story begun in The Steel Prince – perfect for fans of bloody, swashbuckling adventure and gritty fantasy!
Once just a single ship, now the pirate fleet of the Rebel Army numbers in its thousands. Made up of traitors from each of the three empires, the fleet, who once made the open waters of the Blood Coast their home, have set their sights on establishing their own land based empire with London as their capital.
The Rebel Army is a battalion made up of traitors to each of the three empires, who’ve claimed the open waters of the Blood Coast as their territory. Led by a Faroan, a Veskan, and an Arnesian (Rowan, the Antari from the Night of Knives), the RA started as a rag-tag gang, a single ship, but in the last few months, they’ve gained momentum. Once content to claim the open water as their empire, they’ve grown in ambition, and scope, and now they’re claiming ports, creeping toward a full-on land assault. Their goal? London. But first, they’ll have to cross Verose, where Maxim, Isra, and the royal guard are waiting.
Review:
The Rebel Army is coming to Verose, where Prince Maxim will be waiting for them. The Rebel Army slowly grows as it picks up followers in the cities on the way to Verose. They have three leaders, including Maxim’s enemy Rowan. Maxim and his guard Isra have to prepare Verose for the imminent invasion of the Rebel Army.
This graphic novel was a great conclusion to this series. Maxim has to defend Verose one last time before returning to his father in London. Rather than backing down or being prepared to lose the battle against the Rebel Army like the other towns did, Maxim uses what he knows about the Army to defeat them.
The three graphic novels in this series have a clear story arc. Each graphic novel has a complete story, but they are also part of the larger story of Maxim spending time in Verose. Any of these stories could be read by itself, but you will get more out of it by reading them all together. I hope that the story will continue in future graphic novels.
This is a great conclusion to the Shades of Magic graphic novel series!
Thank you Titan Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab
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