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The Bookish Fairy

Young adult, magical realism, and every book in between infused with fairy dust...

The Queen of Historical Fiction and Taylor Jenkins Reid Book Reveal

April 4, 2019

When I found out that Taylor Jenkins Reid was coming to Books & Books in Miami only seven days apart from her book release Daisy Jones & the Six, I screamed louder than my 14-year-old self in a Hanson concert! Daisy Jones & the Six was the one book that I was HIGHLY ANTICIPATING! This book was the one book of the year that I wish I could read for the first time and ever since I read Daisy Jones I literally have been thinking about this book every day since I have read it! 

Listening to Taylor Jenkins Reid discuss her book was captivating and I loved some of the tidbits she revealed about her writing process of the book. One of the questions I asked her is the amount of detail she revealed when she described the music. The way she was writing this book was as if she was a musician herself and she revealed that her husband and brother are musicians and that’s how she was able to write about the technical aspects of the music with such precision! I am absolutely baffled at the amount of skill this woman has to create the kind of book that makes you feel like you want to google Daisy Jones & the Six! She has this incredible ability to write characters that are so real, that you wish that they existed and that’s why she is my official queen of Historical Fiction! 

Daisy Jones & the Six was greatly influenced by Fleetwood Mac and other female rock stars like Linda Ronstadt! The moderator had a wealth of knowledge when it came to the seventies rock genre since she was involved in the seventies music scene as well and there was a great connection between the author and the moderator discussing their love of seventies music. 

Jenkins also revealed that she was also influenced by the indie duo band The Civil Wars who broke up in 2014. There was never a response as to why they broke up but judging from the unreal chemistry they had together when they sang there were rumors of an affair. Jenkins actually said the break up with The Civil Wars is what greatly influenced the beginnings of Daisy Jones & the Six!

Now the news that made me fangirl-squeal was when she revealed to our book audience for the first time that she is actually writing a new book that is set in the eighties in Malibu, California! Taylor Jenkins Reid is my MVP of Historical Fiction in my eyes and this is probably going to be another Taylor Jenkins Reid book that will rip me apart!

Taylor Jenkins Reid in person is an absolute love and I am so happy and thrilled to have the opportunity to meet this incredible woman! She is so sweet and personable that I was actually comfortable enough to ask her advice for the current book I am writing. Meeting Taylor Jenkins Reid was one of my best literary moments of the year! While I impatiently wait for Taylor Jenkins Reid to write another book I am just going to continue shipping Daisy and Billy while listening to my Daisy Jones & the Six Spotify playlist! 

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Filed Under: Bookish Journal, YA News Tagged: Books & Books Event, Daisy Jones & The Six, New Book Revealed, New Taylor Jenkins Reid Book, Queen of Historical Fiction, Shipping Daisy and Billy, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Waiting on Wednesday: Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

April 3, 2019

Waiting on Wednesday: Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Morenoon May 14, 2019
Pages: 336
Goodreads

Rosa Santos is cursed by the sea-at least, that's what they say. Dating her is bad news, especially if you're a boy with a boat.

But Rosa feels more caught than cursed. Caught between cultures and choices. Between her abuela, a beloved healer and pillar of their community, and her mother, an artist who crashes in and out of her life like a hurricane. Between Port Coral, the quirky South Florida town they call home, and Cuba, the island her abuela refuses to talk about.

As her college decision looms, Rosa collides-literally-with Alex Aquino, the mysterious boy with tattoos of the ocean whose family owns the marina. With her heart, her family, and her future on the line, can Rosa break a curse and find her place beyond the horizon?

Waiting on Wednesday was created by Breaking the Spine, and is now hosted by Wishful Endings (as Can’t Wait Wednesday). It’s a feature where they discuss one of the most anticipated upcoming book releases. The anticipated book release of the week is Nina Moreno’s first novel Don’t Date Rosa Santos!!!

Why I’m Waiting

Don’t Date Rosa Santos feels like a book that is made for me. Being a Cuban-American I am a huge supporter of Latinx authors. The fact that the author Nina Moreno is an own voices Cuban-American author whose book is described as a Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic is an instant read for me. Not only does this look like the perfect fluffy and quirky read, but the main character in the story is also Cuban and the book has magical realism elements in it which is my favorite genre of all! My little Latinx heart cannot contain my absolute excitement for this book because it has all the ingredients of being my favorite book of the year!

 

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Filed Under: YA News Tagged: Charming Florida Town, Cuban-American YA, Gilmore Girls Meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Instant Read, Latinx Author, magical realism, Nina Moreno, Own Voices Writer

Why Beta Book Boyfriends Are Better

March 29, 2019

Featured on Frolic Media

Recently, I have been in a New Adult kick after reading Roomies by Christina Lauren. I wanted to dip into my extremely old TBR list on Goodreads back when I was adding New Adult reads during the heyday of the 50 Shades series. Most of the New Adult novels that I read six years ago had your cardboard cutout alpha males. I never really liked the alpha males, but I tolerated them and the outlandish love stories were more interesting to me than the alpha males themselves. Then when I picked up some old TBR New Adult reads I realized how much my reading taste had changed. I found myself cringing uncontrollably and DNF’ed both of those New Adult reads. These alpha men were complete misogynists, they exhibited signs of outright sexual harassment, and it was appalling to me how the women protagonists of these novels actually got off of these inappropriate behaviors!

My Appreciation for Beta Book Boyfriends

After DNFing these two New Adult reads I realized how much I appreciate my Beta book boyfriends. My beta book boyfriends are the complete opposite of alpha male characters. Beta book boyfriends have all the sex appeal and swoon without being sexually inappropriate and downright obnoxious! Fortunately, beta book boyfriends are starting to get hype and there are so many reasons to love them.

Betas Actually Take the Time to Get to Know You

Beta book boyfriends will get to know you as a friend first. They will get to know your likes and dislikes over coffee and they will give you the chance to get to know them. Beta characters will take the time to get to know you, they won’t move into your apartment without you knowing, or make sexually inappropriate comments about their member.

Betas Respect Women

Beta book boyfriends love women and they respect them the way they respect their mothers. They will never pressure women into anything they don’t want to do. Beta book boyfriends actually remember a woman’s name, use their name, and don’t resort to calling them names like “baby” or “pumpkin.”

Betas Are Not Controlling

Beta book boyfriends will not have their girl followed when they are out having a simple girls night, will not freak out when a guy looks at them, and will not be jealous of the guy friend they have had since high school. They let the women protagonists in the story live out their own lives, dreams, and ambitions. There is no designated wardrobe women have to wear to be around them and they can walk around in their sweats sans makeup and they still find them to be absolutely beautiful. The betas never control their women to be anything but themselves.

Betas Are Not Sexually Controlling

Although Beta book boyfriends love sex they are not all about what they want in sex. They actually ask you what you want instead of throwing you against the wall and having their way with you. There is nothing wrong with a passionate wall-throwing lover but when they think they know what you want without asking you it’s not that sexy. Sex for beta book boyfriends is all about pleasuring their women protagonists and that’s what gives them the most sexual satisfaction.

Betas Commit to You

Beta book boyfriends want commitment and despite any struggles, they may face they want to build a relationship with their lady protagonist. They openly communicate their feelings to you and they don’t play mind games with you. Beta men characters want to introduce their women to their mothers and are open about their past. Even though, beta book boyfriends have their own traumas they learn to be open about their past with the women they love instead of hiding them. Beta book boyfriends are the ones with marriage material, the ones to have kids with, and the whole white picket fence dream.

Beta Book Boyfriends are just BETTER

Now I am not saying that all alpha characters in romance novels are horrible but many of the alphas need to learn a thing or two about beta male characters. We are in need of more beta males and less of the hyper-sexual/hyper-masculine men that are depicted in romance. Beta males are the guys you can do everything with, they are not solely interested in just having sex for hours, and they are guys you can hang out with in your pajamas and watch Netflix and maybe chill with later if you know what I mean. (Wink wink.) After all, research shows that kindness and good-naturedness is actually the key to a long and healthy relationship so why not pick the beta book boyfriend as your happily ever after?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal Tagged: Beta Book Boyfriends, Beta Book Boyfriends Are Better, Beta Book Boyfriends Do It Better, Six Reasons Why Beta Men Are Better

Book Girlfriends I Would Ride or Die For

March 26, 2019

Featured on Frolic Media

We all have book boyfriends that we love and fangirl over but in honor of Women’s History Month, it’s time to honor the ladies in literature that I wish were my real BFF’s! These are the ladies who I would wear friendship bracelets with, buddy read with, go on road trips with, and for the age-appropriate characters have endless mimosas over brunch with!

Here is a list of my five book girlfriends that I would ride or die for…

Lara Jean from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before…

 Lara Jean loves her boys from afar and prefers to profess her love for her crushes through the form of love letters which she stores in an adorable teal-colored hat box. Then one day all the letters are delivered to all her crushes and that’s when Lara Jean’s world is forever changed.

I want to live in the world of Lara Jean and raid her adorable vintage outfits and use her heart hole puncher! After all, how can you not love a girl who has a heart hole puncher? Lara Jean is a person who is inherently herself and she doesn’t care what other people think of her and that’s what makes her full of awesomeness! She also has exquisite taste in guys because Peter Kavinsky is one of my top book boyfriends. I would go thrift store shopping with Lara Jean and eat her homemade snickerdoodles any day of the week!

Daisy Jones from Daisy Jones and the Six…

 Daisy Jones lived the rock star life before she became a rock star. She was famous for hanging out in clubs on the Sunset Strip, taking drugs, and sleeping with the most famous rock stars. Her dream is to be a bigger part of the rock ‘n’ roll scene by singing and writing her own music. When she gets the opportunity to be in the up-and-coming band The Six history is ultimately made and they become the iconic 1970’s band Daisy Jones & The Six.

My girl Daisy Jones has that ineffable and whimsical cool-girl quality that is difficult to emulate no matter how hard you try. Daisy Jones has the perfect balance of heartbreaking vulnerability and fierceness that at the end of the day all I want to do is hug her, tell her I love her and then dance alongside her to an Iggy Pop song! She is the girl that would be my ultimate concert buddy and that would totally rock out with me at a Coachella concert!

Janie Morris from Neanderthal Seeks Human…

Janie Morris is having the worst day of her life when she loses her apartment, job, and boyfriend all within a span of a day. Then she meets Sir McHotPants (aka Quinn Sullivan) who makes her an offer that changes everything…

My heart has a soft spot for Janie Morris because she was the first quirky character that I read about before I knew the word quirky was a trending thing at the time. Janie Moris is definitely a girl I can relate to in more than ways than one mainly because I tend to say the most awkward and off the wall things at inopportune times. I love Janie Moris because she is the epitome of adorkable and she is someone that can make me laugh simply for just being her geeky and random self! She is the perfect person to go “pretend knitting” with and swoon over her awkward encounters about Sir McHotPants!

Sloane from Since You’ve Been Gone…

 

The story begins when Emily receives a note with a list of thirteen things to accomplish for the summer. The only thing is that she has the list but her best friend has disappeared. “In a well-ordered universe” she would only accomplish things that are in her comfort zone…until she finally steps out of it and hugs random guys named Jamie and falls in love with an adorable red-head named Frank…

Sloane is the best friend that any introverted girl in high school could ask for! She lives her life on her own terms without a care in the world! She has an adventurous spirit and is the ultimate person you want to spend your summer with! Sloane comes up with the coolest summer activities such as going for a pizza crawl, finding the best cupcake in their town of Stanwich, and mapping out vintage flea markets in search for a nice pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. I love her passion for life and would totally watch a double feature of Troop Beverly Hills and Clueless with her while drinking soda from Twizzlers anytime!

Weetzie Bat from the Weetzie Bat Series…

Weetzie Bat is a magical realism story about a girl who lives in Shangri-La who is looking for more in her tiny sparkling universe. When she makes three wishes Weetzie realizes that life and especially love can be the most complicated of them all…

Weetzie Bat wears heart-shaped glasses and literally sees her Shangri-La world through “heart-shaped glasses.” She lives life to the fullest and she is the person you want to ride through the strip with while drinking pink champagne and eating pastrami burritos at Oki Dogs. Weetzie Bat is my inspiration growing up because she appreciated the beauty around her even when she was feeling the most pain in her life. She falls in love with the sexy and brooding filmmaker My Secret Agent Lover man who she shares heart-stopping kisses that taste like apple pie a la mode mixed with chocolate. Weetzie Bat is my muse, my inspiration, and when the world gets scary I try to adopt Weetzie Bat’s ability to simply see the beauty through the pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Categories<3, YA Book Lists Tagged: Book Girlfriends, Book Girlfriends I Would Ride or Die For, Book Girlfriends of Romance, francesca lia block, jenny han, morgan matson, Penny Reid, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Women's History Month

Waiting on Wednesday: Fake Plastic Girl by Zara Lisbon

March 20, 2019

Waiting on Wednesday was created by Breaking the Spine, and is now hosted by Wishful Endings (as Can’t Wait Wednesday). It’s a feature where they discuss one of the most anticipated upcoming book releases. The anticipated book release is Fake Plastic Girl by Zara Lisbon released on March 26, 2019! 

Catnopsis

Celebrity-studded parties that last long into the night. Camera flashes and designer clothes. And a body found floating in the Venice Beach canals.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Justine Childs is your average teenage girl, until the day ex-child-star Eva Kate Kelly moves in across the way. Eva Kate is gorgeous, seductive, and eager to invite Justine into her glittery world. Their relationship intensifies quickly, but there is a lot they aren’t telling each other, and in the midst of the whirlwind, a girl lies dead. Who killed Eva Kate? Justine swears her innocence—and she’d like you to hear her side of the story.

Why I’m Waiting

Lately, I have been in a California kick since reading Daisy Jones & the Six! This mystery novel set in the classic setting of Venice Beach where a gruesome murder occurs sounds like the ultimate read to feed my California addiction! The book cover is insta-love and the story seems to have a haunting Great Gatsby feel with a cool California vibe. The Great Gatsby is one of my top favorite classic novels and I am always drawn to Great Gatsby style retellings! I am not your typical mystery reader but the fact that this is set in California with a Great Gatsby-like essence sounds like the perfect elements of an unputdownable book! 

What is your can’t-wait-Wednesday book release?! Chat with me about your most anticipated releases for this year!

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Filed Under: Catfairy Categories<3, YA News Tagged: Great Gatsby Retelling, Great Gatsby Vibe, Rich Kids Murder Mystery, Unputdownable book, Venice Beach Murder, YA Thriller, Zara Lisbon

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