Can you believe it’s already the end of the first quarter of 2023? These last three months have been a whirlwind that felt like it went on forever while also feeling like it didn’t go by fast enough! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know how much of a mess the first two months of 2023 were for me but March definitely got better. There’s a lot of uncertainty this year but I’m keen to see where it takes me!
But I digress—I was recently tagged by the awesome Caro @BookCheshireCat to do The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag and it was perfect timing! This original tag was created by Roisin @Roisin’s Reading over on BookTube. Check out her announcement video below!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour review for Meesh the Bad Demon by Michelle Lam. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!
Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
Meesh the Bad Demon Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 21 March 2023 Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy Graphic Novel
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
A tale of unlikely heroes and myths is made real in this debut graphic novel series about a “bad” demon trying to find her place in the underworld. But she’ll have to save it first!
Meesh is a bad demon. “Bad” meaning she always sees the good in those around her–which, strictly speaking, isn’t how a demon is meant to feel or act.
Bullied by the other demons, twelve-year-old Meesh is more likely to be found poring over Fairy World’s magazines and fangirling the fairy princesses. When disaster strikes and her family is threatened, Meesh must journey to the Fairy World to find a healing crystal that can save the underworld. And speak of the devil! She meets a fairy princess right away.
But things in the Fairy World aren’t so perfect either. As Meesh makes surprising new friends and unites a band of outcasts–including her bully–she learns there’s more to being a demon than being bad.
Sometimes the secret to real power is in loving yourself, faults and all.
TL;DR:The minute I finished Meesh the Bad Demon I immediately wanted more! I loved this illustration style so much. All of these characters were ridiculously adorable and it made the story even more fun to read. Meesh was an adorable demon who simply wanted to be good and I loved following her as she journeys beyond her world to save her home, makes unexpected friends along the way, and learns to love who she is. This is a story about being yourself, not judging others based on differences, and most importantly, it’s a story of friendship. It’s a funny, heartwarming and hopeful read!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Special thanks to the author and Underlined for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Fake Dates and Mooncakes Publisher: Underlined Publication Date: 16 May 2023 Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (2 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians in this heartfelt, joyful paperback original rom-com that follows an aspiring chef who discovers the recipe for love is more complicated than it seems when he starts fake-dating a handsome new customer.
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.
Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend… but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Classism, death of parent (recounted), cancer, alcoholism
TL;DR:Fake Dates and Mooncakes was high up on my list of anticipated YA contemporary romances this year and I was beyond thrilled to get a digital ARC! Sadly though, for various reasons, this book really didn’t work out for me. I loved the cultural and food aspects of the story and Dylan’s family was great as well. That said, the romance was instantaneous and I didn’t really feel their romantic connection. The writing also read on the younger end of YA, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m not sure that’s what the author intended and it also clashed with the more sexually suggestive overtones between Dylan and Theo. I wanted to see more of the mooncake competition but that played a woefully small part in the story. Overall, I’m sad that this didn’t end up being what I expected because I was genuinely looking forward to loving it!
Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour review for The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!
Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
The Next New Syrian Girl Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 14 March 2023 Genre: Young Adult Mystery Rep: Syrian, Muslim
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
Khadija Shaami is a Syrian American boxer fed up with the expectations of being the perfect Syrian daughter. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a mother to test it, she will stop at nothing to leave Detroit and travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Taher is a Syrian refugee enraptured by the lavish lifestyle of the Syrian girls in Detroit. America is her fresh start, if only her haunting past will let her move on.
When their worlds collide, the result is catastrophic: To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she’s long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes Leene doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling discovery brings the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, their blossoming friendship challenges what each knows about the other and herself. And what they find takes them all the way across the world, back to the place of Khadija’s memories and Leene’s nightmares.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Islamophobia, the Syrian Revolution, depression, suicide (off-page), reality of socioeconomic gaps, generational trauma, PTSD, Syrian refugee.
Note: The quotes below are taken from an advanced copy and are subject to change in the final version.
TL;DR:This was a complex and emotional coming-of-age story about family, identity, and belonging. It shines a pointed light on the impact of the Syrian War on the Syrians in Syria, Syrian refugees, and Syrian Americans. This story is rich in culture and is packed with love for Syria as highlighted by the experiences of Khadija and Leene, two Syrian teenagers whose families may come from the same country but have entirely different life experiences. I loved how they learn from each other and grow together and the strength of the friendship that they form was really heartwarming! This took me on a complex journey of emotions and overall, I thought it was a great debut novel!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour review for I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
I Will Find You Again Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 14 March 2023 Genre: Young Adult Mystery Rep: Queer, Lesbian, Sapphic, Asian American, Anxiety
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
All the Bright Places meets Ace of Spades in this smart, twisty teen thriller about a girl who can’t stop pushing herself to be the best—even after losing her best friend and the love of her life.
Welcome to Meadowlark, Long Island—expensive homes and good schools, ambition and loneliness. Meet Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano: the driven overachiever and the impulsive wanderer, the future CEO and the free spirit. Best friends for years—weekend trips to Montauk, sleepovers on a yacht—and then, first love. True love.
But when Lia disappears, Chase’s life turns into a series of grim snapshots. Anger. Grief. Running. Pink pills in an Altoids tin. A cheating ring at school. Heartbreak and lies. A catastrophic secret.
And the shocking truth that will change everything about the way Chase sees Lia—and herself.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Suicidal ideation, depression, suicide, hospitalisation, anxiety, drug abuse, drug addiction
Note: The quotes below are taken from an advanced copy and are subject to change in the final version.
TL;DR:This was a YA mystery that I don’t think I could’ve expected and I think will be very different to what many people expect too, but for me, it was very much in a good way! This story tackles some really tough issues that were hard to read about and I would recommend checking out the content/trigger warnings beforehand because although I think this author handled these issues sensitively, she also doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of them. These pages are packed with so much tension, raw emotion, and heartbreaking moments between best friends and lovers and the struggles they face living up to societal, cultural and familial expectations. Overall, an impressive mystery that I would recommend and I can’t wait to read more by this author soon!
Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour review for The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!
Thanks to Random House Graphic for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
The Moth Keeper Publisher: Random House Graphic Publication Date: 7 March 2023 Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy Graphic Novel
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? A middle-grade fantasy graphic novel about passion, duty, and found family.
Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what Anya thought it would be?
The nights are cold in the desert and the lunar moths live far from the village. Anya finds herself isolated and lonely. Despite Anya’s dedication, she wonders what it would be like to live in the sun. Her thoughts turn into an obsession, and when Anya takes a chance to stay up during the day to feel the sun’s warmth, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.
K. O’Neill brings to life a beautifully illustrated fantasy world about responsibility to yourself and your community. The Moth Keeper is filled with magic, hope, and friendship.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Depression, trauma, burn out themes, abandonment (historical, shown on page through flashback), ableism (historical, minor)
TL;DR:If you’ve read anything by K. O’Neill before you’ll know that their stories are not only beautifully depicted through wonderful graphic illustrations, but their stories are full of heart and leave you feeling warm inside. The Moth Keeper is no different and despite the brevity of the story, it brought me joy, made me misty-eyed, and gave me a strong feeling of hope. This is a heartwarming story about community, found family, and belonging and I’d recommend it to everyone who loves folk tales and a good story!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
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