July Wrap-Up + August Reading Month (2019)

Hello, lovely readers! I hope you’re having a great weekend! July was a pretty hard month for me. I was struggling to get out of my hiatus mode and go back to my old schedule. The end of the month was less than ideal and everything that happened nearly broke me. But let’s not dwell on the negatives and move on to better news. I had my best reading month of 2019 in July and I’m looking forward to getting back to my blogging groove in August. So let’s jump into the wrap-up post, shall we?

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Book Review: The Last of the Firedrakes

Author: Farah Oomerbhoy

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 13+

Published: By Wise Ink Creative Publishing on August 15th, 2015

Content Warning: Cruel stepparents, bullying and violence

Format I Read: E-book

Grade: Poor

Note: I received a free digital copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms — including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.

Book Review: Jade War (Jade War Blog Tour)

Author: Fonda Lee

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 18+

Published: By Orbit Books on July 23rd, 2019

Content Warning: Gory violence, death, homophobia

Format I Read: Paperback

Grade: Outstanding

Note: I received a free finished copy of the book via Caffeine Book Tours and Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years.

Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals.

Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival – and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon.

5 Diverse Book Recommendations for My Childhood Self (My Fate According to the Butterfly Blog Tour)

Yes, I’m participating in another blog tour and I couldn’t be more overjoyed at being selected as one of the hosts! Today is my stop on the My Fate According to the Butterfly blog tour hosted by the lovely Filipino bloggers Cara @ The Little Miss Bookworm, Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea and Kate @ Your Tita Kate. I like getting creative with my blog tour stops, so I decided to pair my mini-review up with a list of books I would have recommended to my middle school self. I used to read a lot of fantasy as a child and, as a result, was pretty oblivious to the world around me. I stayed away from “serious books” back then but looking back I feel I would have definitely benefited from learning about history and current affairs through fiction. Read on for my list of recommendations to my younger self, which only the invention of time travel can make come true!

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag (2019)

Hello, lovely bookish people! It’s been some time since I disappeared from the blog without an explanation again, but we’re not going to talk about that. The Third Anuual Book Blogger Awards Round 1 hosted by May @ Forever and Everly closes tonight and I’ve been nominated by quite a few people – Kate @ Your Tita Kate, Camillea @ Camillea Reads, Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea and Simant @ Flipping Through the Pages. Thank you all so much for thinking of me and I just wanted to say that your kind words has got me out my blogging slump. I’m finally motivated to get back to my regular posting schedule and, as my dearest friend, Shruti @ This is Lit, suggested, it’s easiest to start off with a tag. The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag has really caught on with book bloggers in the recent years, which I’m really happy to see. I have tweaked the original questions a bit to make it more like a mid-year check-in kind of post. You can find the original questions and a slightly tweaked version on Simant’s post. Now let’s move on to the tag itself!

7 Most Beautiful Book Covers of 2019 (Spin the Dawn Blog Tour)

Hello everyone! Hope July is treating you better than it is me. I have slipped up with my blogging schedule yet again, but I’ll definitely try to make up for that from now on. Today I have got an exciting blog post lined up – my contribution to the Spin the Dawn Blog Tour organised by Caffeine Book Tours, managed by Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea. I could not have been more grateful to hear that I was chosen for the blog tour and would like to thank my lucky stars and Shealea for the opportunity! I have decided to talk about my favourite book covers of the year and, as is my brand, will be featuring the best from Asian books that released in 2019. I also have a small review up at the beginning before I dive into my list and I really hope you enjoy! A more elaborate review in my usual style will be up on my blog soon and I will be linking it here when I have posted it.

15 Most Anticipated Fantasy Books of 2019 (Jul-Dec)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. How it works is that each Tuesday the host assigns a topic and then posts their top ten list that fits the topic. Every blogger can create their own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well and link to the host’s. The topic for June 18th, 2019 was: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019. As I was on hiatus on that day, I decided to post about my anticipated releases today.

Bookish Indian Sweets Tag (Hungry Hearts Food Crawl)

I’m posting after a really long time but this is one blog post I was excited for from a very long time! Today is my stop for the Hungry Hearts Food Crawl organised by CW @ The Quiet Pond and Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads. This blog tour is unique and wonderful because #OwnVoices reviewers review a story that represents them. Today I will be sharing my thoughts on Rain by Sangu Mandanna, which features food from the state of India I was born in and belong to, Karnataka. I wanted to include some additional creative content, so the review is followed by a bookish tag that some of my book blogging friends and I came up with. Without further ado, let’s get to the heart of the post!

5 Books to Read on World Environment Day

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. How it works is that each Tuesday the host assigns a topic and then posts their top ten list that fits the topic. Every blogger can create their own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well and link to the host’s. The topic for June 4th, 2019 is: Books From My Favorite Genre. For this prompt, I decided to go with SFF books that discuss climate change or dystopian futures as June 5th is World Enviornment Day. Being eco-friendly and combating climate change is something I feel deeply about, so I hope these books inspire some positive changes in your life as well.

Book Review: Love, Hate and Other Filters

Author: Samira Ahmed

Genre: Contemporary

Age Range: 13+

Published: By Hot Key Books on January 16th, 2018

Content Warning: Racism, bigotry and hate crimes

Format I Read: Kindle e-book

Grade: Exceeds expectations

Maya Aziz is torn between futures: the one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter (i.e.; staying nearby in Chicago and being matched with a “suitable” Muslim boy), and the one where she goes to film school in New York City–and maybe, just maybe, kisses a guy she’s only known from afar. There’s the also the fun stuff, like laughing with her best friend Violet, making on-the-spot documentaries, sneaking away for private swimming lessons at a secret pond in the woods. But her world is shattered when a suicide bomber strikes in the American heartland; by chance, he shares Maya’s last name. What happens to the one Muslim family in town when their community is suddenly consumed with hatred and fear?