Me on This Week's Book Week (266)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

More summer fun! Although I didn't really go out this past week or get much reading done because my brain was sore and it was so hot out. Maybe I'll try reading out in the sun.

Reviews going up this week will feature The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell (Tuesday) and Amid Stars and Darkness by Chani Lynn Freemer (Friday). :)

Bought/borrowed/received:

Invictus by Ryan Graudin (ARC from Hachette Book Group Canada)
Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor (ARC from Hachette Book Group Canada)

Me on Every Heart a Doorway

Title: Every Heart a Doorway
Author: Seanan McGuire
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Tor.com (Macmillan imprint)

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things. No matter the cost.

Every Heart a Doorway is an intriguing, impossible, improbable, fantastical tale. Like the aftermath of a child in a fairy tale tumbling down a rabbit hole to Wonderland. Because magical trips to fantasy lands must come to an end, even if the child wants to stay there. Dreams never last forever, and the real world is always there, waiting for the child to return.

The setting, the premise, the characters. I found all of it to be wondrously and eerily fantastic. The house itself a a home for those searching for one they may never find again. The vast variety of fantasy worlds unique and strange, full of their own rules and customs and ingrained biases. The characters, Nancy and Kade and Sumi, Jack and Jill, Eleanor. All had found magical places where they were able to be, where they could do what they'd always wanted, and then were sent back to the real world. They all still crave that sense of home, that place that exists outside the rules of what it is to be a non-magical human being who must follow human society's twisted rules.

This story is enchanting and eerie, dark and magical. Full of people who crave returning to a place where they feel like they belong and being unable to do so, their frustration intertwined with their wanting. It's surprising and heartfelt and cruel at times, wanting to keep childhood magic with you as you grow up. I'm rather intrigued to see what tale the next stories will tell.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this from the library.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (338)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Speaker
Author: Traci Chee
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move. Haunted by painful memories, Archer struggles to overcome the trauma of his past with the impressors, whose cruelty plagues him whenever he closes his eyes. But when Sefia and Archer happen upon a crew of impressors in the wilderness, Archer finally finds a way to combat his nightmares: by hunting impressors and freeing the boys they hold captive.

With Sefia’s help, Archer travels across the kingdom of Deliene rescuing boys while she continues to investigate the mysterious Book and secrets it contains. But the more battles they fight, the more fights Archer craves, until his thirst for violence threatens to transform him from the gentle boy Sefia knows to a grim warrior with a cruel destiny. As Sefia begins to unravel the threads that connect Archer’s fate to her parents’ betrayal of the Guard so long ago, she and Archer must figure out a way to subvert the Guard’s plans before they are ensnared in a war that will pit kingdom against kingdom, leaving their future and the safety of the entire world hanging in the balance.

I'm so excited for this. This enchanting story about the power of words, about story and history, about fate and knowledge. About anger and betrayal. I was so surprised by the first book and I can't wait to read this next one.

Me on Some Favourite Things (4)

Hi! I'm back with another one of these collective fun things posts! Only a few things this time, though.

First, Rock and Riot by Chelsey! I love this webcomic. The best way I can describe it is it's like if Grease had a huge diverse cast and every character was queer. It's about two gangs of teens, the girls of the Jaquettes and the boys of the Rollers, and their high school days. Their hijinks, their fights and squabbles. Their exploration of sexuality and gender. Their realization that they can be who they want, like who they want to like. Identify however they want to. The humourous moments mix so well with the comedic moments. Moments of two characters awkwardly flirting in loud voices and almost missing until someone clueless shows up looking for popcorn. It'll be ending soon, so you might want to start reading it now. Plus you can watch an animated version of the first chapter!

In case you didn't figure it out from last week's reviews, go check out the Horimiya manga! ;)

I've been speeding through a bunch of e-books I picked up through my local library, books I've been interested in but haven't felt like reading in order to review them. Because sometimes I want to be able to tune out when I read. Not to say that these haven't been good books, but they've either been books I don't usually review here or books where far smarter people have already posted their amazing opinions and anything I say would be inadequate. Like with Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali. An amazing, heart-breaking, honest book. Right now I'm making my way through Cindy Pon's Want. Considering the state of the environment, I could totally buy that something like this book could happen.

See you again in a couple of months with another of these! :) And add in the comments something you've been enjoying lately so I can check it out!

Me on This Week's Book Week (265)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

It's still summer! By which I mean the rain hasn't shown up and ruined it all. I'm still enjoying the sunshine, which is something I didn't think I'd say, considering I don't really like summer, but I think all the snow and rain of the winter and spring brought a lot of people down.

Reviews going up this week will feature something on Tuesday (I'm not sure yet!) and another favourite things post on Friday! :)

Bought/borrowed/received:

Want by Cindy Pon (e-book borrowed from the library)
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Mehon (e-book borrowed from the library)