Hello fellow boozie readers!

Sam’s Update:

So Magical Readathon is over, and I was successful! I got an Outstanding and completed all my prerequsites to be a Metal Charmer!! 

What Sam finished this week:

• Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me by Carrie Ann DiRisio: I’ve been meaning to read this for AGES and I am so excited to. This is a book written by our very own Brooding YA Hero and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

What Sam’s reading now:

• Finale by Stephanie Garber: I’m not happy about it. This book is exactly what I thought it would be. Not one, but two love triangles. Stupid women. Incredibly awful men. And it hasn’t passed the Bechdel test yet… and I’m 25% through.

• Evermore by Sara Holland: This is the sequel to Everless and I’m listening on audio. This is another one that I’m just trying to round out the series. We’ll see how it goes. Jules is pretty…. idk… bland AF.

Ginny’s Update:

Hi, it’s been a relatively busy week so too much reading did not happen. I did however adult well this week/weekend. Sam and I hosted book club where I finally got to talk about my distaste for the end of Tigana (4/5 stars until the last 150 pages an then the book became a 2/5 stars). I managed to actually get a few things checked off of my list of things that absolutely need to happen no you cannot keep putting them off. So, successful.

Currently Reading:

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: Honestly, this kind of fits with something I was reading recently about how to effect change, funny enough the advice is very different. At this point I think everyone knows about Marie Kondo. I never found time to watch her show, but I am reading her book about how to be less of a disaster person. I’ll keep you updated.
• Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year by Anne Lamott: I needed something cute. This is pretty much that. It’s a journal about a baby. 

What I Finished:

• A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney: We saw L.L. McKinney at NovaTeen fest and she seemed pretty great, and described this book as if Buffy was black, lived in the 2010’s rather than the 90’s, went to a Wonderland, and had a Mom that wasn’t checked out. And that it is. Alice, the main character, is a bit of a badass but also has to deal with more real-life consequences of her actions. This book does a good job of setting up this version of wonderland, and introducing a fun cast of characters. I’m not super thrilled about the love triangle (not my thing) and the various twists seemed a bit cliché to me (not that I don’t love a well done cliché). It was a fine read but I’m probably not going to continue with the series. 3/5
• Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau: Boy was this title descriptive. This is the first book in a series where I had already read the second book. It was cute, and perfectly fun. exactly what you would expect from the title 3.5/5

What I meant to finish:

• Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly: My library ebook of this expired. And also it was making me kind of angry (probably the point) I’m still planning on reading this but need to wait for it to work it’s way back around the queue.
• The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder Insanity and the Making of the Dictionary by Simon Winchester: Same as Rage Becomes Her, my library loan ran out and the book disappeared on me. I also plan to finish reading this.

Minda’s Update:

What Minda finished:

• Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (Transfiguration) – Final O.W.L. exam for April’s readathon. I enjoyed it, especially the twists. Stay tuned for review!

What Minda is reading now:

• That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger – Reading this to get The Amour Badge for the Bookémon Badgeathon under contemporary. Deals with aftermath of a high school shooting.
• Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – This is my audiobook for Bookémon Badgeathon I believe for The Archival Badge. About 50% in now and so far so good! 

Linz’s Update:

SPRINTING TOWARD BOOKCON WHY IS THERE SO MUCH LEFT TO READ

What Linz read:

• The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin – “a sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family;” it wasn’t for me. I found the narration a little confusing–the main character is a first-person narrator, sometimes it feels like she’s narrating through her siblings and sometimes if feels like their sections are third-person. I didn’t
• Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare – the daughter of a beloved but broke author goes to claim an estate left to her, but it’s apparently still inhabited by the lord who allegedly sold it. Spoiler – they bone down. Overall, it’s a solid effort, but it kicks off on a preeeeeettttty problematic note.
• The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis – Coming of age story about gay teen/son of immigrants living in middle of nowhere, USA. Trigger warning that his mom is wildly abusive. There is a fairly positive ending, but like a lot of books I’ve read about trauma in the past few months, romance that’s misplaced and not great has just GRABBED the wheel. 
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin – Parker’s got a review floating around somewhere but I reread this and ugh it’s so GOOD. There’s mythology, there’s world-building, there’s twists and darkness and blech it made me so happy. If you haven’t read Jemisin before, this is a good starting point.
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – oh boy will there be a review forthcoming. Girl is basically told by a coworker she needs to get laid more, so she hires a male escort. Also girl has Asperger’s. Also guy comes with so much baggage. FYI that this definitely more romance novel than rom-com modern lit (which I was very much here for), but there’s a lot to unpack.

What Linz is reading now

• Cabin at the End of the Woods by Paul Tremblay – this is so weird I don’t know how to describe it. It’s a home invasion/horror story but possibly some scifi elements?

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,