falling kingdoms,

The 4 Book Series I Want to Finish This Summer!

11:02 AM Deborah Embury 0 Comments

a darker shade of magic,

Recent Reads: Here's What I've Loved

11:04 AM Deborah Embury 0 Comments

Hello, friends!
Today I just wanted to talk about three books (or book series!) I finished reading recently. 2017 has been such a fun reading year for me- lots of new authors discovered, good books read, and even more books that I've fallen in love with. So- let's do a little book gushing now:


1) "A Conjuring of Light" by V.E. Schwab

The finale to Schwab's Shades of Magic series came out earlier this year, and it is one action-packed behemoth of a novel! Now that I've finally finished it...I'm a little broken hearted. I'm going to miss this series so MUCH! Kell and his coat, Lila's spunk and determination, adorably swaggering Alucard- these characters have made such an impact on me and I love them (even Holland. Especially Holland. Fight me.) Also, seeing everyone on the ship together had me rocking with laughter- Schwab writes the connections and relationships between characters so well; it was incredible to see everyone clash against one another.
I'm also super pleased with how everyone's arc ended. Each one made sense and flowed well with the narrative Schwab had established throughout the previous books. Yeah, each ending made me sob but it was a solid, contented kind of sob. The ending was heartbreakingly perfect.


2) "Death Note" volumes 10, 11, & 12 by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Okay yes, that's technically three books right there, but I'm grouping them together because I read them all back-to-back. These three make up the final fourth of the "Death Note" story, a series I have been reading since last year. I tried to read them slowly but I finally got to the point where I needed to see how things ended!
On the whole, I definitely loved how the series wrapped up- it was dark and complicated, just like the rest of the books. My mind was racing as I tried to keep up with everyone and all the layers of deception! Despite Vol. 12 being a little bit too "let's explain everything!", the sheer amount of thought placed into the plot planning of "Death Note" had me reeling.
The only downside to these final books was that there was a disappointing lack of Ryuk or any other shinigami. Ryuk and Sidoh (bless his lil soul) are my favorite characters and I find the shinigami as a whole the most fascinating to read about.
Shinigami aside, I'm totally collecting this whole series and will be rereading it again very soon!

3) "Warcross" by Marie Lu

"Warcross" has lots of action, a healthy dose of mystery, and some very vibrant and intricate characters. This book is already incredibly hyped despite it's release date still being three months away. The hype is real! I inhaled this book in a couple days. "Warcross" is an addictive read that left me eager to find out more. Lu has created a story that effortlessly blends sci-fi and YA alongside a world that could easily be our near future. The inclusion of technology was seamless with the narrative, and I loved seeing all the cool creations Lu had written.
The only thing I wish there could have been more of was the actual gameplay. We get to see a handful of cool moments in the Warcross game (the ice world was very cool- pun intended) but when an author creates a world where so many levels of play are possible, I really expect to be WOW'ed by the game and the different worlds inside the game- but it was not as epic as I think Lu could have made it.

Those are three books I've read recently and loved- what about you? Leave me a comment with you favorite recent read so I can check it out! :)

adam silvera,

Diversity Bingo 2017: April & May Update

11:29 AM Deborah Embury 0 Comments

Square: Diverse Non-Fiction
Book: "How to be a Bawse" by Lilly Singh
Rating: 4.75/5
I have been watching Lilly's YouTube videos since YEAR and have always found her to be funny, encouraging, and honest- her book is the same! I felt more and more empowered with each chapter I read and was so inspired by Lilly's words of tough-love motivation. I have over two dozen little page tabs throughout my copy of "Bawse" that pinpoint my favorite words of wisdom. One that has been on my mind lately is, "At the end of the day, you can't learn new things if you're always the one giving the lessons."As I get more into blogging and making bookish content, it's always a good reminder to look around and listen, taking advice from other creators.
I also did what Lilly recommend and made myself a vision board to hang above my desk. It's been incredibly helpful to me to look up and see my deepest goals artfully arranged in front of me.
This is definitely a book I'll be referring to and re-reading many times!
The only downside to "Bawse" is that some of the chapters are incredibly short. There are a couple 2-3 page chapters that I feel could have been built up more, just by a couple pages.


Square: Main Character with an Underrepresented Body
Book: "The Upside of Unrequited" by Becky Albertalli
Rating: 3.75/5

Albertalli sold me on her books with the witty and heartwarming story of "Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda". The same wit comes through here as readers follow the story of Molly, a teen who has had over 25 crushes but never acted upon them or had a boyfriend. There were some very fun characters in here, and a ton of lovely diversity. Molly herself has a chubby body; her sister is a lesbian with a pansexual girlfriend; their family has two moms; and there is a chubby love interest. So that was really cool to see on the page, and I applaud Albertalli for that!
There were a few small things that didn't quite click for me in here. One of the main things is when Molly says, "I spend a lot of time thinking about love and kissing and boyfriends and all the other stuff feminists aren’t supposed to care about. And I am a  feminist. But I don’t know. I’m seventeen, and I just want to know what it feels like to kiss someone.” and that never gets corrected. Being a feminist doesn't mean you can't want to be in a relationship or have sex or even be the literal horniest person on the face of the earth. Being a feminist is simply believing that women and men are equal in every way and have equal rights.
There were a handful of other little "mehhhgg" moments like this. I'm still looking forward to Albertalli's next novel since "Simon" was so spot on- let's just hope the next smooths out these issues.
Lastly, the cameos from characters in "Simon" were a nice little nod to devoted readers, if perhaps a little unnecessary. Those who haven't read "Simon" really won't get too much out of those appearances.

Square: Own Voices Latinx Main Character
Book: "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Rating: 5/5

So, long story short, I cried like a baby reading this book. Buuuut it's Adam Silvera (aka author of "More Happy Than Not", another book that made me tear up) so that's really no surprise.
The first 50 pages of this were, at first thought, a little slow. However, in "They Both Die at the End", society works a bit differently than what we're used to now. There is a service called DeathCast, and on the day you die, DeathCast calls to tell you. You don't know when or how, just that sometime in the next 24 hours, you're gone. And I realized those first handful of pages were really setting up how society and people go about their day now. Silvera really weaves a masterful, dual-perspective tale of how people interact, sometimes without knowing it, and how a simgle day can have the most profound effect on not only your life but the life of those around you. I'll be doing a full review on this one, so I'm not gonna say too much now, other than get those tissues ready.
(And THAT ENDING. It's nothing short of a heckin masterpiece, man.)

Square: Indian MC (Own Voices)
Book: "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sanhya Menon
Rating: 4/5

This was sweet and funny and honest- I feel like the relationship in this book is one of the more accurate ones seen in YA lit. I love how Dimple and Rishi both discuss their views/beliefs on religion, too! I can't recall ever seeing that in a YA romance (aside from dismissive lines like "Maybe fate brought up together") and it's so good to see!
Additionally, this book was a great reminder to me personally about the importance of reading diverse books and books that reach outside of my own personal experience. Dimple and Rishi both are Indian American teens whose family and heritage are deeply rooted in Indian culture. Their family lives and views were quite difference from mine, and it was absolutely wonderful to read about. This particular pressure on both teens to find a successful Indian marriage was something I have never encountered in real life or YA lit before.
My main dislike was that I felt like there was a lack of focus on the actual CONTEST- we rarely see or hear any of the technical aspects that the competitors are supposedly working on. We get to see the "fun" parts of it (the scavenger hunt, the talent show, practice for the talent show) but I feel like these took up waaay too much space in the novel. Let's see the technical stuff!


So, that's a wrap! Thanks for reading my diversity update for April & May- I swear on my bookshelves that my June one will be on time! ;)