Bibliophiles of the internet, my
name is Adri and today I’m here
Bibliophiles of the internet, my
name is Adri and today I’m here
to bring you my August Wrap-Up.
So August was ARC August and Tome
Topple.I did a little bit of both.
Much less than previous months,
which I’m kind of happy about.
Not much to update you all on this
month. I did make my first ever original
book tag for “Cemetery Boys,” which
you should definitely share and check out.
“Cemetery Boys” is actually available
by the time you see this video,
which is *wild* to think about.
So you should…get on it.
But anyways, the first book I read in
August was a re-read of
“Avalon High” by Meg Cabot.
This is like a super, super deep cut,
I know. It’s this YA contemporary fantasy
story about Elle, who’s just moved to
a new town and she’s realizing that
her new friends and classmates could
*possibly* be modern reincarnations
of the people from King Arthur’s court.
I’m actually not gonna talk about this
one, because I re-read it for a very
*specific* reason, which is related to a
project I was invited to take part in
that hasn’t been announced yet.
But when it does come to pass,
I will let y’all know.
And in the meantime, I’m just gonna
save my thoughts for that project.
In August I also re-read “Cemetery Boys”
by Aiden Thomas…twice.
Listen, the first re-read was from the
ARC, to help brainstorm for the
“Cemetery Boys” Book Tag and the
second time was from the finished copy
because…ya boy just could
not wait.
My love for “Cemetery Boys” is the
worst-kept secret on the internet.
So for now, you can refer to my
spoiler-free #ownvoices reading vlog
if you want to hear all my thoughts.
I will definitely be reading this again in
September, and you can expect at least—
—at LEAST—one more “Cemetery Boys”
video from me in 2020.
So look forward to that.
Please notice all the caveats I put
in that sentence.
After that, it was Tome Topple, and
I started off by listening to
“The Empire of Gold” by S.A. Chakraborty,
read by Soneela Nankani.
This is conclusion to the Daevabad trilogy.
It’s an epic historical fantasy about Nahri,
who starts off as a con-woman living
in Cairo who doesn’t believe in magic
but pretends to *use* magic in order
to lure in her marks.
One day, she accidentally summons an
ancient daeva warrior, and the two of them
find themselves on the run as they
seek shelter in the mythical City of Brass.
Content warnings for allusions to torture
and graphic injury, graphic descriptions
of surgery, incurred notions of racial
supremecy, allusions to and descriptions of
enslavement, descriptions of murder, some
descriptions of mass terror and genocide,
as well as blood and violence.
I’m not gonna get too much into it
because I don’t want to spoil anything,
but I *really* enjoyed this final
installment.
Just like the first two books, it has such
lively and vibrant characters,
beautiful settings, *fantastic* sense of
atmosphere, intense political drama,
and just a *dash* of romance.
This third book, especially, is set up to
try and answer some *very* big questions
about the long-terms effects of colonization,
how to bridge deep-seated, intergenerational
divisiveness, and how to help this society
begin to heal from its traumatic past.
I like how *honest* the story is about
those challenges in saying that what we
call “peace” is perhaps something these
characters will never see in their lifetimes,
but even so it has to remain something
they *continue* working towards.
Daevabad is a society of people who
cyclically conquer each other
and constantly transfer power, so it’s
going to take a *lot* of work
to make those injustices something
of the past.
For me, the endgame and the pay-off
at the end of this third book was definitely
worth it. And if you can say that for
a trilogy as epic and ambitious as
the Daevabad trilogy, I feel like
that’s a success.
I *will* say that this book is almost 800
pages, definitely the longest in the trilogy,
and there *was* a part of me that felt
like it took a *little* too long for the story
to really get going and to get to the
action and drama I was really craving.
I just feel like the page space could’ve
been maximized a *little* bit more.
But at the same time, I feel like if I
was the author writing the last book
in this epic trilogy, I would also be
a *little* bit indulgent and just write in
everything I wanted to write.
So I do...get it in that sense.
Like I said, I thought this was a
wonderful ending to an *unforgettable*
trilogy, and I gave this one
four-and-a-half stars.
My second choice for Tome Topple
was “Jade War” by Fonda Lee,
read by Andrew Kishino.
This is the sequel to “Jade City.”
It’s an #ownvoices I believe Chinese-
inspired urban fantasy series about
the island of Kekon, which is run by
two powerful clans known as
The Mountain and No Peak.
These two clans pretty much have
the jade market cornered in Kekon,
and jade is a magical element that can
grant those who wear it heightened
abilities and powers of a sort, but it
can only be controlled by those who
undergo years of traditional
training first.
In the first book, there is a new drug
coming on the market known as SN1,
which could potentially allow foreigners
to also use jade *without* needing to be
trained, which could *potentially* be
the genesis of a new threat.
Content warnings for cursory mentions
of rape and assault, racial hate crimes
(specifically destruction of property),
allusions to the massacre of indigenous
peoples, explorations of loss and grief,
some use of ableist language, and scenes
containing blood, murder, graphic injury,
violence, and graphic sex.
This is one of those times where I feel
like I don’t have the emotional capacity
to fully express how fucking *choice*
and excellent this book really is.
The Greenbone Saga is like a knife
to the gut. The stakes are *so* incredibly
high for these characters, and you want
*so much* for them, even if they’re
being forced into making really
bad choices.
And Fonda Lee does such a good job of
really bringing you into their perspective
and showing you what truly *matters*
to these characters.
This second book especially is really
successful in expanding the world
*beyond* Kekon, and showing some of
the outermost ripples these clans are
causing for other countries, and to
see how different cultures view
Greenbones and the Kekonese.
We see some of the Kekonese diaspora
for the first time as well, and we get to
see how differently they view jade
as being part of their heritage
as opposed to being a symbol of status,
or power, or even birthright.
And the depth of the relationship
dynamics cuts me *so deep,*
because *every* relationship these
characters have is inherently a *political*
relationship, and that element of
business and power takes precedence
over *everything* else,
no matter what.
It’s just such a masterful examination
of the lines between love, loyalty,
and filial piety, and how *easily*
those lines can cross.
So it becomes a question of how do
they protect themselves, how do they
protect the people they love, how do
they protect their interests,
how do they carve out an existence
that *means* something,
and how do they stay *alive* long
enough to do it?
The Kaul family, especially, has *so*
deeply been rocked by loss and grief,
and to see how far they’ve come
and how *much* they have changed
over the course of just one book
is truly *extraordinary.*
The way these clans exert power over
each other and over their territories
is so fascinating to read about as well,
and it’s so oddly gratifying to see what
they’re willing to sacrifice to advance
their own interests
and push beyond their limits.
And towards the end, especially, we’re
*finally* getting a broader look at jade
as privilege, jade as a tool of oppression,
jade as means of maintaining and
enforcing classicism and tension
between cultural groups.
So after being so close to these families
and these clans, it’s going to be *really*
interesting to see that different perspective
*hopefully* in the third book.
I was completely floored and *destroyed*
by this second installment,
and I am now *actively* living in fear of
what “Jade Legacy” could possibly hold.
But I *cannot* wait. This, for me,
was a definite five stars.
Then to counterbalance those extremely
intense tomes, I read my Patreon Pick
for August, which was “You Had Me
at Hola” by Alexis Daria.
It's an #ownvoices Latinx adult romance
about an actress named Jasmine,
who is Filipino and Puerto Rican-
American, and just she just landed
a *major* leading role on a bilingual
television drama for a major streaming
service that’s basically the equivalent
of Netflix.
She is just coming off a very messy, very
public break up with a famous musician,
and she really needs this show to go well
if she wants to quote-unquote “fix”
her image and get back in the
public’s good graces.
At the *last* second, her co-star is unable
to film the show, and the producers
whisk in a popular Puerto Rican tela-
novela star, Ashton, who’s worried that
Hollywood is starting to phase him
out as he gets older, which is why
he is *also* determined to make
this show a hit.
Unfortunately their first meeting does
not go great. So the two of them try
to work on their chemistry and
connection between shoots—
—and we all know how that goes.
Content warnings for explorations of
past trauma (specifically stalking and
a home break-in), divulsion of private
information without consent,
and graphic scenes containing sex.
What I appreciate about this romance
is that it has your standard steamy, flirty
moments, but it also pulls in a lot of issues
facing Latinx communities specifically.
Whether it’s the severe lack of on-screen
representation in mainstream media,
navigating life as part of the diaspora, not
feeling connected to your second language,
or even the double standard Latinx
women face in the way they’re
portrayed to the public.
Ashton is also actually a father, which
is really nice to see. He’s not really open
about sharing things about his family life,
especially in the beginning, but I still
think it was interesting, because sadly
it’s kind of rare to have parental figures
also be shown as being desirable
and romantic.
I do wish he had been more upfront
with Jasmine, especially, about his kid.
But that is an issue the story tries
to tackle and it kind of becomes part
of Jasmine and Ashton learning to
better communicate.
There’s also a really great exploration
of Latinx gender roles,
especially within the family unit.
For Jasmine, specifically, she is this
really successful actress, but because of
her line of work or the types of shows
she works on, her family doesn’t take
her seriously, And if she’s not, like,
having a baby, they’re not especially
invested in her accomplishments.
She and her cousins have this running
joke about their abuelita secretly ranking
all her favorite grandkids, and if you
get pregnant or engaged,
you *automatically* clinch the
number one spot.
It really *is* like that sometimes. So it
was interesting to see Jasmine working
through those insecurities and realizing
that her desire to be appreciated as
an actress is rooted in her desire to
be appreciated as a daughter
and a *person* first and foremost.
The other notable thing about this
story was the use of
an intimacy coordinator on set.
That was really fascinating to me, to
be able to see that process, because they
take time to contextualize the scenes,
ask why the scenes matter or what
their purpose is, they explore what
the characters are feeling while *also*
taking into consideration what the
*actors* are comfortable with
and what they’re not.
And then they’re also encouraged to
create a ritual to help them break character,
which is a *really* big thing. So even
though Ashton and Jasmine are exploring
their relationship beyond the cameras,
they never cross that line *while* acting
or shooting those scenes, which
I think is *really* important.
Ironically, I wasn’t *completely* sold on
the relationship. They came in really hard
with the physical attraction, and then
took a *while* to get to the emotional
connection, which is what *I’m*
really about.
And they do that thing where they
have sex when they should be
*talking* to each other—which is fine.
I’m never gonna complain about
getting more sex scenes. But I still
wanted to feel *more* from
their emotional connection.
So this kind of balanced out to being
an extremely solid three-and-a-half stars.
Then PenguinTeen had my back and
kindly sent me a finished copy
of “Darius the Great Deserves Better”
by Adib Khorram.
Which, yes, for the record: I did read
before the release date!
This is the sequel to “Darius the Great
is Not Okay” and it’s an #ownvoices queer
YA contemporary story about Darius,
a Persian-American teen who struggles
with body image and has been
diagnosed with depression.
And in the first book, he and his
family took a trip to Iran to spend some
time with his ill grandfather, and
they became closer because of it.
Now they’re back in Portland, and
Darius’ life is *completely* different.
He just made the varsity soccer team,
he has a boyfriend, and he has an
internship working at a local tea shop,
which, y’know, for him is kind of perfect.
But then he starts seeing that his
parents are under a lot of stress, his sister
is having trouble in school, his best
friend Sohrab is becoming harder to get
a hold of, and he starts questioning his
relationship with his boyfriend, Landon,
as well. So the story becomes about
him trying to navigate all those things.
Content warnings for incurred bullying,
racism, xenophobic comments,
homophobic comments, descriptions of
depressive episodes, death of a grandparent,
and some non-graphic explorations
of sex.
This is one of my most anticipated
books of 2020 by *far.* And I kind of
felt two ways about it going into it,
because I was definitely excited to have
more Darius content, but I was also
curious to see if it would be as good
as the first book. And now, having
finished it, let me tell you:
I am *so* glad this book exists.
Both Darius books are *so* quietly
affirming and soft in ways I can’t even
fully express. It’s just so nice to see
Darius have such *genuinely* good
relationships with the people around
him, and to see him have opportunities
to *authentically* express his feelings.
Like he could be coming off the
soccer pitch after losing a game,
and his dad will give him a kiss
and tell him that he loves him
and that he’s proud of him,
which fucking slaps?
And yes, it’s kind of sad that those
simple remarks are notable to me,
because we still don’t see enough
stories where people express themselves
in a way that’s open an honest.
But at the same time, even though
Darius is really good about letting
the people in his life know that he
appreciates them, that doesn’t mean
his family is perfect. They still keep
things to themselves, they still doubt
themselves, and even though they’re
much *better* about it,
they’re *still* trying to learn how
to better communicate.
And I think the way depression, especially,
is explored in the story is really thoughtful,
because it’s just a part of Darius’ life.
And the story shows that just because
he experiences depression doesn’t mean
he can’t also experience happiness.
There’s a really beautiful moment where
Darius describes happiness and depression
as two different kinds of paint, and
how the canvas of his life can be filled
out using *both* colors, because the
two things can co-exist.
So it’s really important to see how,
yes, Darius has a *lot* of good things
going on for him, but he can still
be sad, he can still have tendency
to detach and feel self-doubt.
And in that sense, I think it’s so realistic
that the things we love and care about
the most cause us to doubt ourselves
the most. And there’s a really great
distinction between when Darius should
maybe examine a part of his life closer
versus when his depression might be
*coloring* the way he’s experiencing
things and making him feel like he’s
“not good enough” to have all that he has.
There was also such a great dialogue
about the importance of safe spaces
and having people in your life who
can affirm you when it’s not all rainbows
and butterflies. And I was also really
impressed with how the story
tackles toxic relationships.
Specifically, there’s some tension
between Darius and his boyfriend, Landon,
and how they’re both trying to figure
out what they value and what want
out of this relationship—and they
don’t always agree.
That’s normal, but there’s a good way
to go about it and an unhealthy way
to go about it. And at the same time,
Darius is also trying to navigate
a budding friendship with his teammate,
Chip, who used to bully Darius in the past.
So it raises all these questions about
how to navigate forgiveness and whether
someone being a good friend in the
present negates the hurt they put you
through before, and whether they are
*still* capable of causing hurt.
It’s such a fine line to walk with *both*
of those relationships and it could’ve
very easily gone wrong. But I think
Adib Khorram played it *perfectly,*
and I was really moved by where
Darius lands by the end of the book.
I didn’t even get to touch on everything
this book does *extremely* well,
because there’s a *lot* of nuance,
especially in navigating the intersections
between queerness and Persian culture. 
But it was such an empowering,
beautiful, emotional story, and
I gave it four-and-a-half stars.
Now I am filming this a *little* bit
early, so I’m currently reading my ARC
of “Surrender Your Sons” by Adam
Sass. I will have to write a review for
that one once I’m done anyways.
So if that’s available, I will link that
down below for you to check out
if you would like.
So those are all the books I read in the
month of August. If you’ve read any
of them yourself or plan to, feel free
to drop down in the comments
below and let me know your
thoughts!
But that’s everything I had for this
wrap-up today. Until next time:
educate yourself, be kind to yourself,
take care of yourself,
and I will catch YOU on the
flip-side of the page.
Bye!
[♪ "Marutsuke" (Instrumental)
by Given ♪]
