As 2020 comes to an end (which — don’t even remind me. It feels like yesterday was March, and now we’re almost at the end of November), I decided to go through my Goodreads, and finally reorganize all my shelves, including my upcoming releases shelves, and my most anticipated ones. Without further ado, here are some of my most anticipated 2021 releases!
Read moreSpotlight: The Girl from the Well
Hi, hello! It’s Mary here with my contribution to All Hallow’s Read! My pick for this showcase is The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, a delightfully spooky and interesting read!
You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night.
A dead girl walks the streets.
She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.
And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.
Because the boy has a terrifying secret – one that would just kill to get out.
The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as “Dexter” meets “The Grudge”, based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.*
*Summary taken from Goodreads!
Read moreSpotlight: Where Dreams Descend
October is Filipino American History Month, so I thought that it would only be fitting to spotlight Where Dreams Descend by Filipino-American author Janella Angeles!
From the second I heard about Where Dreams Descend I knew that it was going to be a book that I would love. As a theatre teacher and lover, seeing a book described as Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge and The Night Circus (another one of my favorites!) made me immediately add it to my to be read list and eagerly await the days until its release. However, what made me more excited was seeing that the book was not only written by Filipino-American author, Janella Angeles but that the main character Kallia was also a woman of color.
Title: Where Dreams Descend
Author: Janella Angeles
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Age Range: Young Adult
Trigger Warnings: alcohol and drinking, mind manipulation, controlling/possessive behavior, misogyny, mentions of blood and injury, missing persons, grief/loss.
Spotlight: Cemetery Boys
Hi, hello! It’s Cossette here, with another round of All Hallow’s Reads, with Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. Cemetery Boys takes place in the days leading up to Dia de los Muertos, and follows Yadriel, a trans teen boy, desperate to prove himself as a brujo to himself, and to his family. When his cousin Miguel is murdered a couple days before Dia de los Muertos, Yadriel, and his best friend Maritza, set off to find his body, and his portaje, in the hopes of releasing Miguel’s spirit. However, Yadriel accidentally releases the spirit of Julian Diaz, one of the resident bad boys of his school. Julian refuses to go quietly, not until they find out what happened to him, and until he receives confirmation that his loved ones are alright. Together, with the help of Maritza, and a surprise appearance of “The Boys”, they set off to find out what happened to Julian. But the more time Julian and Yadriel spend together, the more Yadriel finds himself wanting Julian to stay. Will they be able to release Julian before it’s too late? And will they figure out what happened to Miguel?
Read moreSpotlight: Ties that Tether by Jane Igharo
One of Betches’ 7 Books by Black Authors You Need to Read This Summer
One of Elite Daily’s Books Featuring Interracial Relationships You Should Read In 2020
One of Marie Claire’s 2020 Books You Should Add to Your Reading List
When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother’s heart, she must choose between love and her family.
At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture, even after immigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping—well forcing—her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and…white.
When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Soon, Azere can’t help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness or continue as the compliant daughter.
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