sunday post #13

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to recap posts from the past week and tease upcoming content, as well as share new books, reading challenge progress, and anything else you've come across in the last seven days.

This was an exciting bookish week because I decided to check out the last day of TLA! Stephanie Garber was signing ARCs of Legendary in the morning, which was reason enough to go, but I decided to stick around for the organized frenzy as vendors gave away their stock and packed up to go home. There were so many good books to see and discuss! The publishing reps were all very sweet and loved to give out recommendations; you could tell they'd been asked about the same five titles all week, so it was nice to hear about some lesser-known gems. I was fortunate enough to pick up a few fall releases but let me tell you: my haul was tiny compared to the regular attendees who were there all week and know all the little tricks to making it successful. Overall I was happy to go since it was happening less than 15 minutes from my house, but I'm not sure I would trek all over Texas each year to do it regularly.

In another exciting piece of news, DIFF announced the first 12 films for this year's festival! I've attended the last couple of years (ever since I moved back) but this will be the first time I get to go as press instead of a regular moviegoer. (I think...my editor requested a pass, but they haven't been sent out yet.) The programming is usually solid, with the exception of horror; the organizer and I apparently have very different tastes. With a Mr. Rogers documentary and a couple of SXSW darlings, this first taste bodes well. The festival itself runs for a week in early May. I won't be posting every review I write (last year I saw 23 movies in total, averaging nearly 3 per day) but I will put up a recap for those who are curious!

book review: ace of shades

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
Harlequin Teen, 400 pp.
Published April 10, 2018

DISCLAIMER: I received a free digital ARC of this book from Harlequin Teen via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

book review: circe

CIRCE by Madeline Miller
Lee Boudreaux Books, 352 pp.
Published April 10, 2018

DISCLAIMER: I received a free physical ARC of this book from Lee Boudreaux Books in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (via Goodreads): In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

down the tbr hole #14

As my Goodreads to-read shelf creeps closer to 500 books, I've been eyeing it with a growing feeling of apprehension. It would take forever to get through so many...and that's not counting all of the new books I hear about along the way. Thankfully I discovered Lost In A Story's series (by way of Boston Book Reader) at the beginning of the year and it sounds like a great way to trim down my TBR.

The guidelines, per Lost In A Story, are simple:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
• Order on ascending date added
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I'll be going through 10 books every week, meaning it should take me almost the whole year to reach the end! If you'd like to do this yourself, be sure to visit Lost In A Story's original post and let her (and me!) know you'll be joining in the fun.

book review: fates and furies

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Riverhead Books, 390pp.
Published September 15, 2015

Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years.

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed.

sunday post #12

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to recap posts from the past week and tease upcoming content, as well as share new books, reading challenge progress, and anything else you've come across in the last seven days.

It was a lovely week with all the rain here! I know that as the storms moved further north and east the risk of severe weather increased, so I hope all of you in their path stayed safe and dry. The showers gave me a perfect excuse to curl up on the couch (or dash out to the theater) and catch up on a few movies. I finally saw Black Panther—and loved it! As the MCU has consolidated all of its movies have started feeling homogeneous; when something like Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther comes along, with a unique design and tone, it's invigorating to watch. Also, all of the women were inspiring. Can we please have a girls-only spin-off yesterday?

This coming week has a little bit of excitement: I'm going to the last day of TLA! Since the convention is right in my backyard this year I couldn't resist going to check it out. Attending the first day was tempting but I'd prefer to avoid the massive crowds. The calmer atmosphere might also make it easier to chat with reps for all the publishers and hear what books they're excited about for the rest of the year!