Sundays in Bed With… I Hate Everyone But You

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 I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin’s I Hate Everyone But You is a hilarious and heartfelt debut novel about new beginnings, love and heartbreak, and ultimately the power of friendship.

Dear Best Friend,
I can already tell that I will hate everyone but you.
Sincerely, 
Ava Helmer
(that brunette who won’t leave you alone)

We’re still in the same room, you weirdo.
Stop crying.
G

So begins a series of texts and emails sent between two best friends, Ava and Gen, as they head off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. From first loves to weird roommates, heartbreak, self-discovery, coming out and mental health, the two of them document every wild and awkward moment to each other. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship be able to survive the distance?

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Bookish Couples

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Bookish Couples. Here is a list of my favourite couples from books:

1. Ron and Hermione (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

2. Suze and Jesse (Remembrance by Meg Cabot)

3. Scarlet and Wolf (Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

4. Lara Jean and Peter (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han)

5. Mara and Noah (The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin)

6. Claire and Jamie (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)

Did you write a #SixforSunday post? What was your list of Bookish Couples?

Review: Queenie

Title: Queenie
Author: Candice Carty-Williams
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 19, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place.

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.

As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

With “fresh and honest” (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world. 

Review:

This is a modern romantic comedy.

Queenie is a British woman who works for a newspaper in London. She is of Jamaican descent. Her storyline reminded me of Bridget Jones’s Diary, because of the way she has to balance her work with her romantic life. However, there were some serious issues in the story.

I really liked the way realistic issues were addressed in the story. Queenie got a little carried away with dating multiple men after her serious relationship ended. She ended up at health clinics a few times because of these encounters. I appreciated that she had to deal with the consequences of her actions, unlike many characters in romance stories.

The story wasn’t all serious. There were some funny parts as well. Queenie refers to her friends in their group chat as the “Corgis” because they support their queen. There were also some funny situations with Queenie’s grandparents. Though there were a lot of serious parts of the story, I enjoyed the light humour as well.

I really enjoyed this story! It’s a refreshingly modern take on a romantic comedy.

What to read next:

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Have you read Queenie? What did you think of it?

Stacking the Shelves – March 16


This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I got another bunch of books this week! It’s going to be a great spring and summer for new releases!

I received seven books from Penguin Random House Canada:

Killing November by Adriana Mather

We Are the Perfect Girl by Ariel Kaplan

Eve of Man by Giovanna and Tom Fletcher

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant by Laura Dockrill

The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart by R. Zamora Linmark

I was approved for a book from St. Martin’s Press on NetGalley:

Please Send Help by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin

I was approved for two books from Simon and Schuster on NetGalley:

Order of the Majestic by Matt Myklusch

Lizzie by Dawn Ius

I was approved for a book from Text Publishing on NetGalley:

The Rosie Result (Don Tillman #3) by Graeme Simsion

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, St. Martin’s Press, Simon and Schuster, and Text Publishing for these books!

What books did you get this week?

Review: The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite

Title: The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite
Author: Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, Dave Stewart
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 17, 2007
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.”

These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

Collecting: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite 1-6, as well as out-of-print short stories and an expanded sketchbook section featuring work by Gabriel Bá, James Jean, and Gerard Way

Review:

Whenever I hear a book has been adapted into a movie or tv series, I have to check it out. I saw ads for The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, so I wanted to read the graphic novel before watching the show. I was shocked when I saw that it was written by Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance. I loved their music when I was growing up, but I never expected that Gerard Way would write a super hero graphic novel.

This was a great graphic novel! It has an ensemble cast of people who grew up together, and had special powers, but drifted apart as they got older. They are reunited when their father dies, and they have to save the world from the apocalypse.

This story reminded me of Marvel’s Runaways because of the ensemble cast of characters with different powers. The narrative style reminded me of Lemony Snicket’s voice in the Series of Unfortunate Events. There were funny comments on events in the story, which is a great way to bring the reader into the story.

I loved this story! I can’t wait to watch the show now.

What to read next:

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas by Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, Dave Stewart

Have you read The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas? What did you think of it?

First Lines Friday – March 15

This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.

Here are my first lines:

“I had one leg in the feathery yellow costume my boss called a uniform when Cam stomped into my room like a runway model on crack and thrust his chest out at the end of my bed.
‘Pops? Be honest. Do I have’ – he paused for effect – ‘moobs?'”

Do you recognize these first lines?

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And the book is… Chicken Girl by Heather Smith.

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Goodreads synopsis:

Everybody has a story that will break your heart; a poignant coming-of-age YA for fans of David Arnold, from the author of the acclaimed The Agony of Bun O’Keefe, a Kirkus Best of the Year selection.

Poppy used to be an optimist. But after a photo of her dressed as Rosie the Riveter is mocked online, she’s having trouble seeing the good in the world. As a result, Poppy trades her beloved vintage clothes for a feathered chicken costume and accepts a job as an anonymous sign waver outside a restaurant. There, Poppy meets six-year-old girl Miracle, who helps Poppy see beyond her own pain, opening her eyes to the people around her: Cam, her twin brother, who is adjusting to life as an openly gay teen; Buck, a charming photographer with a cute British accent and a not-so-cute mean-streak; and Lewis a teen caring for an ailing parent, while struggling to reach the final stages of his gender transition. As the summer unfolds, Poppy stops glorifying the past and starts focusing on the present. But just as she comes to terms with the fact that there is good and bad in everyone, she is tested by a deep betrayal.

Have you read Chicken Girl? What did you think of it?

Review: The Mozart Girl

Title: The Mozart Girl
Author: Barbara Nickel
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical
Publisher: Second Story Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 18, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Nannerl Mozart’s twelfth-birthday wish is to become a famous composer. She’s already considered a brilliant musician, touring eighteenth-century Europe with her little brother, Wolfgang, and playing for queens and kings in the great courts. But Papa doesn’t take her seriously as a composer, Mama usually has a list of chores for her, and Wolfi always manages to steal everybody’s attention. Can Nannerl defy everyone’s expectations and capture some of the spotlight that shines on her brilliant younger brother?

Review:

This is a great historical middle grade novel.

I didn’t know this story about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s older sister. She was also a musician, but since she was a girl, she wasn’t given the same opportunities or credit as him. It’s a shame that just because she was a girl, she wasn’t able to pursue her dreams of playing music. Still today, we know his name but her name isn’t as recognizable.

I found it fascinating to read about how they learned and played instruments in the 18th century. I play the piano, but not as well as those kids, and I only started to learn when I was a teenager. It must have been amazing to see the children play their instruments so well.

I loved this story!

What to read next:

The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi

Have you read The Mozart Girl? What did you think of it?

TBR Thursday – March 14

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 Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.

She believed she knew every horror and was beyond surprise.

She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this astonishing and heart-stopping sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: The Iliad

Title: The Iliad
Author: Gareth Hinds
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In a companion volume to his award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey, the incomparable graphic novelist Gareth Hinds masterfully adapts Homer’s classic wartime epic. 

More than three thousand years ago, two armies faced each other in an epic battle that rewrote history and came to be known as the Trojan War. The Iliad, Homer’s legendary account of this nine-year ordeal, is considered the greatest war story of all time and one of the most important works of Western literature. In this stunning graphic novel adaptation — a thoroughly researched and artfully rendered masterwork — renowned illustrator Gareth Hinds captures all the grim glory of Homer’s epic. Dynamic illustrations take readers directly to the plains of Troy, into the battle itself, and lay bare the complex emotions of the men, women, and gods whose struggles fueled the war and determined its outcome. This companion volume to Hinds’s award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey features notes, maps, a cast of characters, and other tools to help readers understand all the action and drama of Homer’s epic.

Review:

I studied the Iliad years ago, in university. I love Greek mythology so I was excited to read this graphic novel adaptation.

At the beginning of this book, there is a legend for the characters. There are many men who are all from the same part of the world, so they look similar. Each man is drawn with a distinctive helmet and shield to differentiate between them. Each of the gods were illustrated in a different colour, so they were distinct too. This was especially helpful when they took the form of a human, so that person glowed in the god’s colour.

There were many historical notes and notes about the text at the end of the book. This graphic novel would be a great accompaniment to the text of the Iliad because it illustrates the events. The text can be difficult to get through, so this graphic novel can make it easier to understand.

This is a great graphic novel!

What to read next:

The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds

Beowulf by Gareth Hinds

Have you read The Iliad? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – March 13

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 Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. The release date is March 26, 2019.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A thief. An officer. A guardian. 

Three strangers, one shared destiny . . .

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a renowned traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables.

What books are you waiting on this week?