A Day in Bookland

July has come and gone before I had time to blink. I read quite a few books, and I enjoyed all of them - which is always great.  La acusación by Bandi (translated into Spanish by Hèctor Bofill & Hye Young Yu). As a whole, this collection paints the very bleak reality for millions of people in North Korea and it's worth your time ( 7.5/10 ). My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh . This was a ride. Dark, vulgar and compelling. The ending threw me off though ( 7/10 ). Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston . Cheesy and fluffy but fun. It has its problems but I wasn't expecting a masterpiece to be honest ( 7/10 ). Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi . A very complex novel and though not easy, it was really good. Not "westernised" which was extremely refreshing to see ( 8/10 ). Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert . Super fun. Although those steamy scenes were definitely not YA - which for some reason I though it was ( 7/10 ). Beach Read b...

LAST - You Should See Me in a Crown . This is a feel good type of book; it is cheesy and over the top but that's the point. It's a book that despite having characters dealing with difficult issues, gives you joy, steals a smile from you and makes you believe in good things happening to good people. I wish though Liz's and Robbie's relationship have been explored more because it was one of the elements I liked the most at the beginning of the book and thought the sibling's dynamic was going to be pivotal point but despite the reader knowing how much they love and care about each other, I wanted more scenes of them together, as well as with their grandparents. NOW - Stamped From the Beginning . I am going to focus on this book until I finish it. I went on a mini-holiday and didn't take it with me and so fell behind on my reading. It's a book you need to read slowly to be able to process everything but this one should be mandatory for everybody. . ...

Akelarre en Nueva York by M. H. Gorostiza follows Lilith, an immortal witch who wakes up in present day New York to help British spy Benjamin Solomon to bring down a criminal organisation. I had a lot of fun with this one. It is true that it's a debut and as such it has some faults - for me, the most noteworthy is the excessive repetition of the same details throughout the novel - but the plot is intriguing from the get go and the author's writing style reminded me of Victoria Álvarez's. As a whole, the mix of fantasy (Basque mythology) and history is probably the element I loved the most; in fact, I wish there were more chapters focused on 1610's Navarre, the witches and Lilith's past - which it's something I hope is explored in the next installments as well as the rest of the character's backstories. Akelarre was sent to me by the author but all opinions are my own. Beach Read by Emily Henry . I really enjoyed this novel. It wasn't cheesy ...

A multi-generational family saga which begins in 1750 when Kintu Kidda, a clan elder and leader of the Kintu clan in the Buganda kingdom, unleashes upon himself and his descendants a terrible curse. I would describe Kintu as a compelling yet extremely complex novel. My only criticism is that I found the ending too abrupt. Throughout the novel we follow some of his descendants and how "the curse" has affected them. I found the way she uses said curse to explore different issues - from mental health problems to the HIV outbreak, but also parental abandonment and religion among others - and how it is the perfect excuse to justify certain problems the characters are facing absolutely fascinating. Most of the descendants are aware of the curse as well so it is interesting to read about how each of them deals with the different problems in their lives. I didn't find all storylines equally engaging and I wish some character's stories were longer than others but all...

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert . I really enjoyed this. For some weird reason I thought this was YA but no, definitely not YA considering all the steamy, graphic scenes. I will say I wish the story was longer so certain issues would have been explored a lot more since the problems both main characters were facing were incredibly important (Chloe has fibromyalgia and Red is dealing with the emotional/psychological consequences of a previous abusive relationship) but I also understand that despite all that, this book is meant to be about two people realising they are perfect for each other. It's supposed to be light-hearted, about the joys of finding the one, without forgetting that Chloe is dealing with a chronic illness and Red with psychological trauma. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston . I enjoyed it despite being cheesy and fluffy because all characters were adorable and I had a nice time reading it. It has its problems but as romance is not rea...

LAST - Red, White & Royal Blue . Finished it last week and it was cheesy and fluffy and sometimes over the top but I enjoyed it overall. NOW - I am almost done with Kintu (the plan is to finish it today) and I am also halfway through Get a Life, Chloe Brown. It is a light-hearted romance (so far) but at the same time it deals with difficutl topics such as abusive relationships, ableism and we have a disabled main character. NEXT - Look at me reading all the romance! (honestly, who am I?) I picked up Beach Read due to the great reviews and since I am going away for a few days with my best friends to just relax, I thought this one could be great to read while on the swimming pool. Follow

Happy weekend & happy reading! Follow

La acusación by Banti (translated by Héctor Bofill & Hye Young Yu). I normally don't read short story collections because they tend to be a hit or miss for me but I was intrigued by this one. As always, I enjoyed some stories more than others but, as a whole, the collection is a worthy read and it paints the very bleak reality for millions of people in North Korea. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh . This novel was a ride for sure! Very dark, somewhat vulgar and extremely compelling for sure; however, the ending threw me off completely and although it might have worked for some readers, it didn't for me. What I "liked" (for lack of a better word) the most was the depiction of depression through both the main character and her friend Reva - two different people dealing with the same malady in such different ways. Follow

Happy weekend & Happy reading! Follow