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The Bookish Fairy

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

Pride Month Reads

September 30, 2019

Featured on Frolic Media

This year is especially special for the LGBTQ community due to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and in the times we are living in today it is especially important to recognize our Queer Community and celebrate love in all kind of forms. Here are my top three queer reads!

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling
These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling

Hannah is one of the strongest witches of her coven and she is an Elemental Witch who has the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. She lives in the ultimate witchy town of Salem, Massachusetts and she keeps her powers to herself while working in the touristy Fly by Night Cauldron shop. Her ex-girlfriend Veronica works in the shop and she does her best to avoid her until she is forced to work with her. There is an end-of-school-year bonfire that gets interrupted by a disturbing blood ritual. Veronica is also an Elemental Witch and Hannah has to join forces with Veronica to fight off the Blood Witch. Through their quest to fight the Blood Witch Hannah falls for a girl named Morgan and suddenly juggling supernatural forces with dating begins to get a bit complicated.

My witchy heart cannot possibly contain my excitement for this book! I am obsessed with all things witchy and this is the perfect book to add to my summer list. These Witches Don’t Burn seems like the perfect Sapphic romance to curl up to and get those spooky summery vibes!

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student for the Medio School for Girls and she is trained for one of two roles. The first role is the Primera where the woman runs the household and business affairs for the husband and the second role is the Segunda where the woman raises the children and provides entertainment for the husband. Danielle graduates at the top of the class and becomes the Primera for an affluent family. Her future is bright but she is hiding a dark secret that could ruin everything her parent’s sacrificed for in order to get her into the Medio School in the first place. The town of Medio is poverty-stricken and she must keep her truth hidden in order to avoid a life of famine. When she enters into the marriage of a Primera she realizes it’s not the life she wants to live and finds herself developing feelings for the other wife the Segunda, named Carmen. Danielle also gets involved with a resistance group called La Voz who is fighting for the equal rights of the people who live in Medio. Danielle must make the choice of whether she will choose her privileged existence as a Primera or forbidden love and the possibility to fight for a free Medio.

We Set the Dark on Fire has been compared to A Handmaids Tale and it is the perfect dystopian book we need today because it has diverse characters and speaks to relevant issues in our society. Mejia’s book has Latinx rep, feminist themes, and a forbidden Sapphic romance that makes it a must-read for Pride Month!

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz has no time or energy for love. He is perfectly content being a part of the White House Trio which is made up of his sister, the Veep’s granddaughter, and he has greater political ambitions of his own. Alex especially has no time to deal with the Prince Henry of Wales who has been his ultimate nemesis through the years. Until he finds himself in the most scandalous confrontation during a royal wedding with the Prince Henry of Wales and it gets leaked to the tabloids. Now Alex’s mother President Ellen Claremont makes plans for damage control by staging a fake friendship between her First Son and the Prince Henry of Wales. Their fake friendship turns into something more and they begin to carry out a secret relationship with one another. Alex and Henry’s relationship could ruin Alex’s mother’s campaign and upend American/British relations. As they navigate their secret relationship they are forced to ask themselves if their relationship is worth losing everything over.

I started to read Red, White, & Royal Blue back in May and this book took me completely by surprise! This sharp and witty read has made me laugh out loud in various parts and made me fall in love with the characters in this story. Casey McQuiston’s writing has created characters that just jump off the page and she has an incredible gift of crafting the steamiest and sexiest scenes that I have ever read in a romance book in a long time. This book is more than a rom-com read, it is about two people questioning their whole entire lives and deciding whether true love is worth risking it all.

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Filed Under: YA Book Lists Tagged: & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston, Isabel Sterling, Pride Reads for 2019, red, Tehlor Kay Mejia, These Witches Don't Burn, We Set the Dark on Fire, white

Happy 4th of July Book Covers

July 4, 2018

Happy 4th my bookish buddies! Here are the red, white, and blue covers that I have read!

 

This book was pure delight! Read my review about it here.

Sarah Mylonowski’s book was a fun light read but not my ultimate favorite contemporary, to be honest! Read my review about it here.

I read this book when I was in the process of my graduate degree and it was an eye-opening book about race and how we view the world! Highly recommend it!

 

The writing of this book is exquisite and poetic! I need to do a reread of this book because it’s been awhile since I read it but the prose of this book is so intense and lyrical!

Jandy Nelson is my girl! She is one of the first authors that I read when I got into YA again and this was a great reintroduction! Her writing is poetic, heartbreaking, and it’s a love triangle kind of story which I am absolutely obsessed with love triangle kind of stories! 

Not a fan of this book but unfortunately I haven’t read many red, white, and blue covers! I gave this book two stars and found the lead male character a total alpha male ASSHOLE which I absolutely despise in stories! He was controlling, jealous, and I am sorry but that isn’t sexy in the least bit! We need to stop marketing these males as the happily ever after to women and stop putting in more beta males. 

As you see I don’t have many red, white, and blue covers that I have read! Tell me what red, white, and blue covers you have read/love?!

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: YA Book Lists Tagged: and blue book covers, fourth of july book covers, happy fourth, red, white, ya book covers

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