All the books I read in December.
1. Polyamory on Trial by Jude Tresswell ***** – So, after requesting this book I learned that this was the second book following these characters, but the books can be read as stand-alone novels. Polyamory on Trial follows Mike, Ross, Raith, and Phil in their relationship. So, the opening to Polyamory on Trial was great, we meet our 4 protagonists and we can instantly see that all 4 men are very different. It seems that there are two distinct couples being Mike and Ross along with Phil and Raith, however most interchange partners with the exception of Ross who doesn’t sleep with anyone except Mike but has an emotional attachment to the other two men. This story seems to be focusing on Phil who works at a hospital and specializes in rectal trauma when a young man named Khaled is brought in and Phil has the feeling that this young boy is here illegally and is being abused.
2. Promised (Rebels of Sidyth, #3) by Sabrina Kade ***** – So much like the other books in this series Promised is going to focus on one couple primarily but we do get regular appearances of all the other characters. The couple in this book is Ellis and Hujun. I liked the contrasts straight from the beginning, we know Hujun like other Sidyths is over 7-foot-tall while Ellis isn’t even over 5 feet, but I also liked the contrasts in their relationship with others. What I mean by this is that Blythe and Korben have a shy but passionate relationship, York and Azan have quite a forceful one which suits their individual personalities while Ellis and Hujun’s relationship is more complex.
3. The Customers Always Write by C. DeAndré Smith ***** – So the Customers Always Write is nothing like a book I have read before, the synopsis honestly is interesting: The Customers Always Write is a coming-of-age story of sorts in which one man begins a journey down an unfamiliar road and stumbles upon a path of enlightenment. Along the way, unexpected lessons about maturity, self-awareness, and tolerance are learned from the unlikeliest of teachers such as a vagabond, a transsexual and a dominatrix. The collection of escapades captured in the book invites readers to insert themselves into the author’s place and determine how they would have reacted to certain situations and decide what they would have possibly done differently-and in the process, learn more about themselves.
4. Drowning In Light by Anna Benoit **** – In this novel, we are following Matt Davidson, a star athlete from a good family. Matt is having a really tough time as he hasn’t been sleeping affecting both his academic and football performance leading to his father shouting at him and even hitting him a few times. Matt’s life seems to be on the downward spiral until he meets Amy and there is something about her that draws him in, however, this doesn’t change his home life. To humiliate him further his father signs him up for ballet and Matt is totally against it but doesn’t have a choice but it seems it may work out for the best because the mysterious Amy is also there. All we know about Amy so far is that she is an artist and is dating an older man named Mike. It is plain to see that Matt’s father is emotional, psychologically and physically abusive towards his wife and son, but Matt finds temporary release when he gets high for the first time.
5. Futaribeya manga volume 1 by Yukiko **** – So, I didn’t know anything about this manga before reading it and all I got from the synopsis was: About to start her first year of high school, Sakurako Kawawa settles into her new lodgings. But when she meets her new roommate — the stunningly beautiful Kasumi Yamabuki, who lives life at her own pace — everything changes! From day one, responsible and level-headed Sakurako and lazy, easy going Kasumi find themselves at odds with one another… but with their matching mugs and one bed to share, Sakurako and Kasumi’s friendship is just beginning.
6. Futaribeya manga volume 2 by Yukiko **** – So in Volume 2 of Futaribeya we continue to follow Sakurako and Kasumi, although now it is spring, and we are being introduced to other aspects of Japanese life like cherry blossom viewings as well as what life is like for Japanese high school students. The girls are going into their second year of high school and they still get along well, and they eventually get neighbours in the form of Seri and Shouko who don’t really gel well at first but seem to still get along okay.
7. Manga Classics: Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan (Adapted by), William Shakespeare & Julien Choy (Illustrations) ***** – So, from all the manga classics I have read all stick very close to the original source material so I won’t be going in-depth into the story as most people have read Macbeth at some point in the educational lives or they are familiar with the source material. When I read Macbeth in Comprehensive school, I found it to be a very raw, gritty and visceral story so I was excited to see how the story would translate to a more visual format.
8. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey by D.J. Milky, Kei Ishiyama, David Hutchison & Dan Conner ***** – So, I requested this because the Nightmare before Christmas and the Corpse Bride are my favourite Tim Burton films and I couldn’t wait to see what Zero’s Journey had in store for me. This review will be quite short because there isn’t too much that I can say on the subject, but I will do my best.
9. Some Girls Bind by Rory James * – So, all I could get from the synopsis is we are following a girl named Jamie who binds her chest as she feels more comfortable this way until she beings think that she might be genderqueer. As the book is so short my review will reflect this. We are introduced to Jamie and her friends who all have a secret, for example, Levi is gay, and she is possibly genderqueer, but they don’t share their secrets except with each other as they live in a small quite closed-minded town.
10. Down Among the Sticks and Bones RE-READ by Seanan McGuire – So, since I was approved for an ARC of In An Absent Dream the fourth book in the Wayward Children series, I am reading the entire series. I have already re-read Every Heart a Doorway (linked below) and now I am re-reading books 2 & 3. Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a prequel of sorts to Every Heart a Doorway as it follows Jack and Jill and explains how the events in the first book came to be.
11. Beneath the Sugar Sky RE-READ by Seanan McGuire **** – As I mentioned in my re-read of Down Among the Sticks and Bones, I am re-reading this series as I managed to get an ARC of In an Absent Dream the 4th book in this series. Unlike Down Among the Sticks and Bones which is set before the events of Every Heart a Doorway, Beneath the Sugar Sky is a sequel to the first book taking place after those events and taking us back once more to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. In this novel, we are introduced to Cora and Nadya, both girls are friends at the home for wayward children and both girls come from water worlds. While the girls are still trying to get to their homes, we see a few of our old friends like Kade and Christopher make a reappearance in this story. However, the story really takes off when a girl falls from the sky claiming to be Sumi’s daughter which we all know is impossible.
12. Witchcraft and Monsters by Kala Godin ***** – So I don’t read poetry often but most collections I do read I end up enjoying and since this was fantasy based, I thought I’d take a chance on this. This collection is broken into five parts; Witchcraft, Fairytales, Bodies, Bad ideas, and Endings which was really intriguing for me. The first part Witchcraft was actually a lot darker than I was expecting but there are one or two light poems but not light as in happy but just a lighter kind of dark. My favourite poem in this part of the collection had to be Call me Sin because of the brilliantly vivid description it gives of the embodiment of Sin.
13. The Black Room (Doors 1 – 8.5) by Jasinda Wilder & Jade London **** – So as these books are so short this isn’t a cohesive review but a collection of my thoughts as I read the series. So I read book 1 a while back and after re-reading this book, I found I liked the put yourself in the protagonist’s shoes style more than I did the first time around. We don’t know much about what is going on but that definitely comes later.
14. Tiny Infinities by J.H. Diehl **** – The opening chapter of Tiny Infinites was great, we are introduced to Alice a swimmer who is hiding at the pool to avoid seeing her father move out despite being aware the police are looking for her. On her way home, she sees a strange young girl walking alone and rescues her from being hit by a car, but she injures her hand in the process. We soon learn that the girls’ name is Piper and she moved in next door to Alice and that she obviously has some kind of mental disability.
15. Gina from Siberia by Jane Bernstein ** – So, all I know about this book is that it is a true story based on the journey of a dog called Gina traveling from Siberia to the USA at the end of the Cold War. While I didn’t know this was a children’s book, I was expecting a graphic novel, so I ended up very disappointed with Gina from Siberia.
16. What If? by Anna Russell ***** – All I knew about What If was that it is a ya novel written in verse about a boy named Josh struggling with OCD. I loved Sarah Crossan’s One which was written in verse, so I was very excited to read this book. It is clear to see from the outset that Josh has OCD and possibly his mother as well, but he hasn’t been diagnosed and has no idea how to process or cope with these strange thoughts and habits.
17. Meet Me on the Court by David Aro ***** – There are few reasons I requested this book; first, I have become quite interested in sports anime lately namely Haikyuu! And Kuroko No Basket so I am trying out some sports novels, second, this is the third book I have requested for West 44 books, one I loved (What If) and one I disliked (Some Girls Bind) so this book is going to determined whether I request more book from this publisher in the future.
18. Newborn on Her Doorstep by Yuki Mizusawa (Illustrator) & Ellie Darkins ***** – Newborn on her Doorstep revolves around Lily finding an abandoned baby on her doorstep, who happens to belong to her estranged sister whose whereabouts are currently unknown. On the same day, she finds the baby she meets her best friend Kate’s brother Nic who Lily has an instant connection with. He is even the person that suggested that she take the baby to the hospital to make sure the child is healthy.
19. London: Orbital (The Change #1) by Guy Adams ***** – So, I didn’t know anything about this series before requesting the first 3 books, however, the synopsis is post-apocalyptic that doesn’t mention a virus or aliens, so it was intriguing, and it also gave me some serious Mad Max vibes, so I was interested to see what kind of world Adams had created.
20. New York: The Queen Of Coney Island (The Change #2) by Guy Adams **** – After the dramatical and slightly gory events in London: Orbital I was keen to see where Adams would take the story in New York: The Queen of Coney Island as there are plenty of options. Unlike London: Orbital this story follows Grace and the search for her brother, but I have a feeling that our characters might cross paths at some point in the series.
21. Paris: A City of Fools (The Change #3) by Guy Adams **** – After reading London: Orbital and The Queen of Coney Island I was beginning to realize that this series seems to be a companion series which is a bit disappointing as the previous two installments were left unresolved. Paris: City of Fools revolves around Loïc and his friend Adrien who has been kidnapped.
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