June Updates: Personal Chaos, New Rec Lists, and Art Commissions
A list of new articles and exciting updates, an explanation on the sudden pause for #1BookAWeek, and a brief foray into a family crisis.
Category: One Book a Week
One Book A Week Review: THE QUEEN OF THE CICADAS, by V. Castro
What It’s About – Belinda Alvarez is going through a midlife crisis. When her best friend asks her to attend a wedding, Belinda accepts. Once she arrives, she realizes that the location where the wedding is being held was the spot of an infamous hate crime from the 1950s. What’s more, an Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl, is determined to seek vengeance on the victim’s behalf.
One Book a Week Review: THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM, by Victor LaValle
What It’s About – Charles Thomas Tester believes in the magic of money. When a rich man offers to pay him for his music, Thomas accepts. Little does he realizes that the price for this money comes at the expense of all he holds dear, or that his patron is dabbling in sinister magic of another sort.
One Book a Week Review: SPELLBOUND, by Cara Lynn Shultz
What It’s About – SPELLBOUND follows sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, a teen girl who moves to Manhattan to live with her aunt after a series of family deaths. Depressed and suffering from visions, Emma catches the eye of Brendan Salinger, a rich, aloof bad boy with bright green eyes, a mysterious past, and a secret.
One Book a Week Review: LITTLE WOMEN, by Louisa May Alcott
What It’s About – A classic novel set during the aftermath of the American Civil War, LITTLE WOMEN follows the March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) as they grow up in Massachusetts with their mother and neighbor Laurie, all while learning “womanly” virtues.
May Updates: New Podcasts, New Articles, and a Much-Requested Feature
And we’re back, after a full month of regular blogging! After a full month of book reviews, too, and sticking to the new posting goals. I’m super happy that I’ve been able to keep up the pace so far.
For anyone who missed last month’s update (and is looking for the current one), here’s a rundown.
One Book a Week Review: KISS OF THE DAMNED, by Elena Lawson
What It’s About – Paige St. Claire, a traumatized young woman, finds herself thrown into Elisium (a walled city for supernatural beings). Left to rot by corrupt cops, she is saved at the last moment by the demon lord Kincaid, a beautiful, deadly creature with golden eyes who simply asks for a favor.
One Book a Week Review: GASLIGHT HADES, by Grace Draven
What It’s About – In the early days of a dreary London winter, Lenore’s beloved father – an inventor of airships – dies from an unknown cause. At his funeral, Lenore meets the Bonekeeper, a mechanical creature who is tasked with watching over the graveyard.
One Book a Week Review: DRACULA, by Bram Stoker
What It’s About – A London solicitor named Jonathan Harker arrives at the Count’s Transylvania castle, to help him sort out his legal affairs. While there, Jonathan leans that he’s been lured to the castle under false pretenses, and that the Count is a vampire, determined to feast on his blood.
One Book a Week Review: WICKED, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
What It’s About – Ivy Morgan has a busy schedule. As a stressed-out university student who works as a fairy hunter, she spends her days studying for exams. Her nights are devoted to keeping New Orleans safe from supernatural creatures. When she meets a fellow hunter named Ren, her dedication to her job (and her emotional distance) begin to falter.
Shianne Writes 