Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

 British people learning the concept of how big America is. Beautiful. And I'm cackling. Cause each state is the size of a European country. 
And Baz hates America almost as much as Americans do....Perfection. If he thinks it's bright in Illinois, he gonna hate California. 
Simon is a puppy. I love him.
....Does Baz have the style sense of Harry Styles?jgkdfsjklgfjdskljfgdsa;fjla;sfjdl;asjflajsfl
416 Pages

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

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I love Charlotte. Like I love the way she speaks about herself... saaaaame. Like there's a chapter that I just want to write in my quote journal.

And I love Jamie. (The way he obsesses over things until they're a part of his identity--same).

All the Germany vibes.

Also all the Sherlock Easter eggs. 

That ending though....
352 Pages

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

I am suspicious of all y'all..... Cause you doing shady things...Like I'm suspicious of her brother and the fiancé. 
I love how much Mariko loves to learn.
Fantasy feudal Japan. Awesome
Oh my gosh the Robin Hood vibes and the Mulan vibes (but definitely not retelling vibes).
I live for sneaky sneaks. Alexa play Mission Impossible theme song.
I love Yoshi.
All the pretty words....I love a guy who can say really pretty things about love ok.....I'm fine... Okami is really smooth.....
I love feuding families and the drama that goes with it.
I'm excited to see how Kenshin grows.
432 Pages

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

......No one talk to me.....Just like...don't...

I love Abraxos. I love his wholesome wholesomeness.

Can we all just...collectively protect Dorian....

So many Anastasia vibes, and so many LOTR vibes... Also Nomu from My Hero Academia....

Everyone is just trying their best..... But man look at all those garbage can fires... Chaol is trying his best.

Ask me about Rowan later.

576 Pages

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

I loved Fangirl... Like I loved Fangirl. A. LOT. So getting to be in the world that Cath loved is amazing.... Plus all the Harry Potter vibes....

fjkdsaljfldsajfalfja;lfj

The spells, y'all. I love how they're like...all music/movie references.

Simon.. My baby.

Baz my beautiful boy.

All of the sass and snark.

I really like that the world is still steeped in popular culture. Like I didn't realize how great it was until like....Star Wars references....

....Magic belt buckle...iconic. 
528 Pages

The Queen's Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

Ok but Disney's Sleeping Beauty vibes with the aunts and the forest. Make it pink. Make it blue. 

Aaaaand one of my favorite tropes--there's only one room

They really be do getting me with the feels and the mutual pining.....

I love Cal. I love him I love him I love him.

...Ok but part 3

...I was expecting a Padme situation....I was incorrect.

I'm not crying. It's September allergies.

400 Pages

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

....Release the Dragon....like....Release the Kraken....
.....Return of the Jedi scene with Jabba the Hut....
Look at all the bi-cons
So many Star Wars references and vibes. and Star Trek vibes
Also Aurora says "son of a biscuit" .... I love her.
Tyler is so sassy... I love his strategy brain and the snark.
Kal and Auri

.....Lion King 2 Simba's Pride......

CLIFFHANGERS SUCK Y'ALL

512 Pages

Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin

Ok so I want to get on my soap box about relationships, and emotional chastity and defining relationships; because my baby boy.

....You can't administer last rites (Anointing of the Sick and hearing confession/receiving communion) to a dead person...at least not Catholic last rites... but ok. 

I love Lou and Reid...I've loved watching their relationship develop....Communication.

Also Lou and Reid learning to accept themselves and mature; learning to handle magic...

Like I just love watching my children struggle and grow....

I need to protect Reid, my sweet tall boy.

......

 

...Don't talk to me. 
544 Pages

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

 ...When you have two ships for each person and you don't know who to root for....

Hey look at all those Star Trek vibes....
aaaaand Voltron vibes.

Oh my gosh Kal and Tyler.....

Ok so I have a ship now....
But yeah....getting attached to characters...

496 Pages

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

....His name is Alex....yes my brain went there.... (edit: 3/4/2021: I think my brain went to Hamilton and the fact that he might have been bi, but I have no idea)

Alex being like "I hate Henry. I don't like him":

THE TURKEY.

Alex. The man. The myth. The bi-con. (Is he also a simp?...kind of). (Malfoy level obsessed)

I love Henry. Baby. Precious. Good boy. THE STAR WARS. Must protect. 

....The Han Solo
Writing letters. fkalsfjdkljgslkfjdglsjgf;sldg. I'm crying. 

This happened, right? (kind of):
I can't find it right now, but the gif of all of the characters in VEEP running through the halls.....

Someone let Zahara sleep.....
Alexa play "There! Right There!" from Legally Blonde the Musical. IT FITS SO MUCH

.....We're in this 2020, right? ...RiGhT?!

432 Pages

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

I love the cave story....like... fdjkalfjdsklfjlsdjaf. Like...Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone...
Gen my sassy boy
416 Pages

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

This book is not like the first book. This book, in my opinion, is better. Harrow is now a Lictor, an immortal necromancer with the power to kill entire planets and enter the River of the dead. But she can't seem to fully grasp her new powers. A brilliant bone witch, she now has to contend with spirit magic, blood wards, and a fellow Lictor who is determined to kill her. To top it all off, her transformation has made her completely insane. She sees the dead, is allergic to her sword, and is in love with a corpse-okay, so she actually fell in love with the corpse before she went crazy.

This series is sooo good. The world-building is great. The characters are amazing. And the story is phenomenal. It's the best aspects of science fiction, fantasy, humor, drama and thriller all wrapped up in one!

512 pages

Read Harder Challenge #16

Buddha Volume 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka

 

I really enjoyed Tezuka's Black Jack, and I've heard good things about this series so I thought I'd give it a try. It is really good! A fictional retelling of the story of the Buddha across eight volumes, this one starts with events leading up to and around his birth. There are a lot of fictional elements and even a few modern references, but mostly the artwork and story are stunning in their depiction of Ancient India. Very good start to what I am sure is an excellent series. 

400 pages

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

I love a Hufflepuff who makes sure their friends eat

COME IF CONVIENENT!!!!

oh the calling the brother chubby....iconic
352 Pages

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

 Arobynn...... I'm not even gonna start...because honestly I just can't....Nope nope nope.
Celaena: A Memoir: 

I miss my boy.
Sand....
THE SPIDER SILK (Give me a LOTR side adventure y'all)
HORSES I LOVE HORSES


SAAAAAAAAAAAAAM

Y'all...this novella....

Celaena's goals:

A Character named Wesley...yes my brain thought of Dred Pirate Roberts. 
Hey look that's abusive behavior and gaslighting, and he's not apologizing. Stab him. 

SHEET MUSIC
wait. WAIT. WAIT... Is that my son?!?!?

Eddie Redmayne and Hugh Jackman covered in sewage from Les Mis.....
Rose from Titanic yelling in the flooded halls

He done did you wrong, baby. 
464 Pages

Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis

So Sleeping Beauty.

I love Asher.....Also he has purple eyes.

I really liked the concept of the two worlds colliding.
The curse was really interesting.

338 Pages

Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters

 

I really don't like mysteries, but I've made an exception for this series because I enjoy the "adventurous archaeologists in 1890's Egypt" premise. I love it when they're haunted by a mummy or trapped in a pyramid, or even just digging up cool artifacts. But this one just dragged on and on... Ugh. The beginning was okay-kidnapping a small child while their parents ascend one of the great pyramids. (Man, I kind of wish they would still let people do that, but totally get why they don't) But then the plot just kind of stagnates. I just don't get the appeal of two rich noble lovers trying to appease the brother, but they also just happened to wind up in Egypt together. Okay? The ending was really good though. More drama with the Master Criminal (gosh, that name is terrible) and awkward love triangles to boot! Still, not sure if I'll pick up the next one.

311 pages

Read Harder Challenge #3

Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

 

These comics are just way too stinkin' cute. We get doggos, cats, the absurdities of celebrations, and the silliness of everyday life. I especially enjoyed "The small eight-legged creature" and the "drainage expert game".

144 pages

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

So there are so many quotes in this book that just like  jksfdslajfla;jlj;dsf my heart and my brain. I love the writing style. 
Iconic.
The world building. The food. I love food.
The sass; the snark; and the dramatic boys.
I love angsty boys who see themselves as monsters, and girls who fall in love with them.....I love enemies to lovers.....stop staring at me..
I loved the system of magic in this world! The way that it works as a whole, and how it works for and with each individual person
Give me all the metaphors about darkness and evil and love and memory and pain. This is what I live for.
Also I love me an emo angsty boy with tattoos and tortured souls.
Zafira. So fierce. She could step on me and I would thank her.
Nasir and all his brooding and darkness.
Also the importance of names...like y'all....
I loved the plot and all of the Beauty and the Beast vibes it gave off....like.... I'm crying. Like.... all of the iconic scenes y'all. 
On the bright side, the next book is coming out in January. Goodbye 2020.
480 Pages

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary: "A Maiden…Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers."

WHY is this book so long?!

It was lovely and fun, but it sure could have been 200 pages shorter.

634 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Hogwarts girls following Krum. Chaol is Krum.
Chaol walking elegantly:


John Mulaney's joke about 13 year olds, but it's about Dorian's little brother
Pterodactyl screeches. Whenever I picture Dorian dancing, I picture him dancing like a combination of a Charlie Brown character and a toddler.

Meanwhile:

Also Chaol is Robert from Enchanted.



....someone stab Dorian for the way he treated the library books
Chaol my baby. My baby has a birthday. Birthdays are great. 

I cannot be everywhere at once people
If you stand for nothing Burr.

Alexa play "No Good Deed"

Oh my baby boy. He really do be drinking respect women juice. Also...like....these are my favorite kinds of scenes....Chaol laughs manically in the background cause he knows.... It's that Spongebob TikTok about Krabby Patties

Chaol in the library....Same....

Alexa play "It's Quiet Uptown"...Alexa?

Lord of the Rings and FMA vibes.
But yeah. This book was awesome. 

448 Pages