blog tour: white stag + q&a with kara barbieri

White Stag by Kara Barbieri
Wednesday Books, 368 pp.
Published January 8, 2019

The first book in a brutally stunning series where a young girl finds herself becoming more monster than human and must uncover dangerous truths about who she is and the place that has become her home.

As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.

Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.

Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling.

the best books i read in 2018

I can't believe another year has come and gone! As I write this post, I've officially read 100 books in 2018, a number I never would have believed possible just twelve short months ago. When you encounter so many books — so many stories and so many ways of telling them — you inevitably encounter a few disappointments. Luckily, I've had far more success than failure when it came to picking my current reads this year, and I've discovered plenty of new favorites that I know I'll gush over for years to come. Below the cut are some of my absolute favorite titles read throughout the year. Some are new releases, some are backlist titles, but all of them are equally deserving of a new reader or two. Which one will you choose?

what i'm reading: autumn 2018

It's that time again! Autumn is jam-packed with exciting new releases. Some are perfectly suited to the season, encouraging you to pull on a cozy sweater and fill a mug with your favorite toasty drink; some continue or conclude exciting series; and some are highly anticipated debuts from a diverse group of authors. As the nights turn nippy, I'm thrilled to have these particular titles to curl under the covers with!

fantasy re-tellings i want to read!

Re-telling familiar fairy tales and fables has been popular for quite some time among authors, usually with an eye to update some of the older themes and gender roles for a modern audience. With such classic tales, every reader brings their own memories, experiences, and opinions to the table, making a reinvention of the original story a difficult process. One of the things I love most about these sorts of stories is how much room they allow for playing with tropes and subverting the expectations they raise, although not every author will tackle the same subjects that I most enjoy (naturally!).

This got me thinking: what are some of the ways I would re-visit these old stories, given the chance? I've put together some ideas of both popular and less well-known fairy tales that I think could do with a modern update and given them my own, personal spin.

#bookishwish: what is it and how do i join in?

If you participate in the Twitter book community, you may have noticed a new hashtag going around recently: #bookishwish. What is it? Who can participate? What are the rules? Don't worry—even if it looks intimidating at first, this new hashtag is a distillation of all the kindness and generosity the bookish community has to offer, and it's very easy to join in the fun!

2019 releases i can't wait to read!

Do I still have upcoming 2018 releases on my TBR? Yes. Do I still have a mound of backlist titles crying out to be read? Absolutely. Is any of that going to keep me from getting overly excited and pre-ordering a couple dozen new books coming out next year? Heck no! 2019 is already shaping up to have some stellar books by both familiar and debut authors. Some of the titles I'm most anticipating I learned about purely by accident: a liked tweet in my timeline or a friend adding it to their shelves on Goodreads. Rather than hoping y'all have a similar happy accident of fate, I'm going to proudly shout out some of the titles I can't wait to buy next year!

I've grouped my top picks into new stand-alones and series starters, or sequels to existing series. In the interest of fairness (and, let's be honest, because I would need blood pressure medication to deal with the stress of trying to rank them by level of anticipation) they're listed in simple alphabetic order. Every title links to Goodreads, to conveniently add each and every single one to your TBR. Let's get started, and get hype for 2019!

*Note that all release dates are approximate and came from Goodreads. They may have changed from the time I posted this list to when you're reading it!

my favorite bookish b*tches

The word bitch often gets deployed against any woman, fictional or not, with more personality than a 1940's animated Disney princess. It seems as though the list of acceptable qualities in a woman that make her "likable" keeps getting shorter, while the ways in which she can offend grow ever more numerous. Sometimes there's a clear double standard at play: the level of selfishness, ambition, or independence that's acceptable in a man is a mark against his female counterparts. But sometimes, a female character really is bitchy—and that's okay!

To me, whether she's good or bad, a bitch is always interesting. Maybe she's the villain, or hasn't made up her mind if she wants to be one yet. Maybe she's just gotten tired of everyone else's nonsense. Or maybe she's a fundamentally good person forced into making unthinkable choices, ones that she could never win. Regardless of their personal narrative, I think it's time we celebrate the bookish bitches we love—or love to hate. Each of them is complex, challenging, and make a story more compelling because of their presence in it.

what i'm reading: summer 2018

Whether the summer heat sends you running for the beach or locking your doors and cranking up the A/C, the warm doldrums ahead are perfectly suited to reading! For me, there is very little more pleasant than heading outside with a cool drink and a good book to read on a summer evening. Provided you can keep the mosquitoes away, that is. (Seriously, I'm a biologist with a graduate degree and I still don't see the point of these nasty little vampire flies!) This year the summer months are stuffed full of great new books coming out. These are only a few from that list for which I already have copies to read and review. They range from contemporary, to fantasy, to science fiction and horror: a mix that should have a little something for everyone!

between daemons: does 'required reading' ruin books?

Between Daemons is a discussion post series dealing in bookish and filmish topics. Inspired by the spiritual companions from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, I chose that specific title to encourage comments and conversations grounded in the personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions you may not have the chance to share very often. While disagreement is welcome, disrespect is not. As always, please be polite to your fellow commenters!

A recent Twitter discussion about a user's average Goodreads rating (started by @WordsWithLara!) had me re-examining my one-star reviews. Since joining in 2012, I haven't added that many: only 12 out of a total 426 ratings. Some of them were books I'd picked up for pleasure only to very grudgingly, grumpily finish because I'd already paid for them, but others were books assigned to me in school. Out of that small brotherhood, a full third are required reading titles. They all have an average rating close to four stars or better, so these are a far cry from universally reviled books.

This disparity has me asking another question: do 'required reading' assignments negatively impact your enjoyment of a book?

With the school year approaching another end, it seemed like a fitting time to talk about our positive and negative experiences with school reading assignments. Personally, I can't fit all of my assigned readings into one category or the other. This is partly thanks to having high school English teachers who preferred to designate a category of books to choose from, rather than making the entire class read the same thing. Because of that flexibility I had my choice of National Book Award winners, classic novels, Shakespearean plays, and even current releases. While this made the actual school year much more enjoyable, summer reading usually didn't allow the same freedom of choice.

Those are the books I'm going to focus in on for this discussion: books assigned to the entire class with no input from students. I've selected a few that (I believe) are relatively common in American high school classrooms. Breaking them down into books I liked, disliked, and want to revisit, I dredge up my memories of required reading assignments through the years. Let's start with the positive, shall we?

between daemons: literary lions & lambs

Between Daemons is a discussion post series dealing in bookish and filmish topics. Inspired by the spiritual companions from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, I chose that specific title to encourage comments and conversations grounded in the personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions you may not have the chance to share very often. While disagreement is welcome, disrespect is not. As always, please be polite to your fellow commenters!

This month I have to start off with a massive Thank you! to Nicole @ FeedYourFictionAddiction: without her amazing list of discussion post ideas, I don't know if I would have found the inspiration for a March post! If you ever find yourself in a similar case of blogger's block, be sure to stop by and look over all the topics she's compiled. Whether you want a seasonal or month-specific prompt, or just something more general, you're bound to find a little inspiration!

Her themed topic for March captured my attention as soon as I read it, so I see no reason to tinker with an already-great idea. Inspired by the notion that March "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb", I'm going to list some of my favorite lions and lambs in the books that I've read. This isn't a literal challenge, though—you won't find Aslan anywhere on my list! Instead, "lions" are strong characters with big, bold personalities while "lambs" are those who stand out for their calm, peaceful demeanor. There's a lot to love at both ends of the spectrum, so let's get started!

between daemons: true (bookish) love

Between Daemons is a discussion post series dealing in bookish and filmish topics. Inspired by the spiritual companions from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, I chose that specific title to encourage comments and conversations grounded in the personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions you may not have the chance to share very often. While disagreement is welcome, disrespect is not. As always, please be polite to your fellow commenters!

A popular theme for the month of February is love: familial, romantic, or platonic, everyone's attention seems to turn to the special people in our lives. I wanted to take a slightly different approach and, apropos to this blog's focus on books, discuss the presence of literary love in my life!

Because really, books don't differ all that much from the people we meet, do they? There are the unfortunate few we wish we'd never met, the fun and casual friends, the best friends, and the loves of our life. My favorite books are those that make me feel like the best version of myself: not because they're motivational self-help manuals, but because they inspire such a depth of emotion that I'm able to learn more about myself just by virtue of having read them.

Also like a love shared between people, the affection I feel for my favorite books can either be rooted in a very specific time, place, or feeling, or else it might grow and change with time. I've included a selection of both down below, and I hope after reading about my true bookish loves, you'll share yours with me as well!

between daemons: new year, old favorites?

Between Daemons is a discussion post series dealing in bookish and filmish topics. Inspired by the spiritual companions from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, I chose that specific title to encourage comments and conversations grounded in the personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions you may not have the chance to share very often. While disagreement is welcome, disrespect is not. As always, please be polite to your fellow commenters!

A new year always brings on a fresh wave of resolutions. Since this is my first year month in the blogging community I'm learning a lot about what book bloggers like to focus on for improvement, which has in turn helped me starting out as a new blogger!

Sometimes their lists include things that are relevant to anyone building their online audience: attracting more followers and page hits, tweaking the function and appearance of their blog, and engaging more with the community. Then you see reading goals, whether it's the number of books or pages, certain genres they want to focus on, or building diversity in the authors and characters they pick to read.

Setting goals at the start of the year, no matter how big or how small, can help us grow in so many ways. But...do you ever find yourself in a rut after the holidays? More specifically, a reading rut?