Sadness and Illness

Being ill in a the world of the healthy is always going to be tinged in sadness for me. Lately that sadness has engulfed me.

BOOK REVIEW: Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir

TITLE: Gideon the Ninth

AUTHOR: Tamsyn Muir

PUBLICATION DATE: September 10th 2019

GENRE: Adult, LGBTQ+, SciFi, Horror, Mystery

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Body horror (graphic), Death (including children), Gore, Injury, Murder, Mutilation, Necromancy, Self-harm, Suicide (depicted and referenced), Trauma, Violence

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

SleepySamIsDisabled: And Here We Go Again

Tiny author note:

I wrote this a little high on pain medicine and it’s long winded and you can see the self pity dripping off the screen, but I think I still want to put it out there. I think people should know how hard it is for some of us to simply exist. And maybe highlight how fucked the United States healthcare system is.

Podcast Review: The Magnus Archives (Season 1)

Name: The Magnus Archives

Type: Horror, Mystery

Release Date: March 24th, 2016 

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Jonathan Sims is installed as the new Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute after the previous Archivist, Gertrude Robinson, passed away. As the Archives are in a state of complete disorder, John decided to organize, digitize, and record audio versions of the statements. However, some of these statements are unable to be digitized and must be recorded on a tape recorder. Each recording consists of an introduction, the statement, and supplemental commentary. Though initially skeptical of what he reads in the statements, John discovers a deeper mystery between the statements which suggests the dark forces described in them are very real indeed.

BOOK REVIEW: A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kimmerer

TITLE: A Heart So Fierce and Broken

AUTHOR: Brigid Kemmerer

PUBLICATION DATE: January 7th, 2020

GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling

TRIGGER WARNINGS: graphic violence, torture, and murder

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Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

BOOK REVIEW: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

TITLE: The Cousins

AUTHOR: Karen M. McManus

PUBLICATION DATE: December 1st, 2020

GENRE: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Alcohol abuse/addiction, Alcohol use (including underage drinking), Arson, Cheating/adultery, Child abuse (emotional/psychological), Death of a loved one, Drugging, Emesis, Gambling addiction (mentioned), Incest (inferred), Miscarriage, Murder, Parental neglect, Pregnancy

Milly,  Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised… and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

BOOK REVIEW: Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

TITLE: Red, White, & Royal Blue

AUTHOR: Casey McQuiston

PUBLICATION DATE: May 14th, 2019

GENRE: New Adult, Romance, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

TRIGGER WARNINGS: homophobia, parental death, drug abuse mention, racism

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First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

BOOK REVIEW: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

TITLE: Elatsoe

AUTHOR: Darcie Little Badger

PUBLICATION DATE: August 25th, 2020 

GENRE: Young Adult, Mystery, Magic Realism, LGBTQ+

TRIGGER WARNINGS: death of a loved one, animal death, racism

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Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

BOOK REVIEW: Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Shumacher

TITLE: Amelia Unabridged 

AUTHOR: Ashley Shumacher 

PUBLICATION DATE: February 16th, 2021

GENRE: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

TRIGGER WARNING: Death, child death, parental neglect

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Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.

In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.

When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.

Top 5 Tuesday // Books From Your Childhood

Top 5 Tuesday is a fun weekly tag created by Bionic Book Worm and now hosted by the lovely Meeghan Reads. 

This week’s topic is your top 5 books from your childhood! This was super easy for me because I’ve been an avid reader since I was 5. The hardest part was narrowing down to only 5! I decided to only include books I loved from the ages of 5-10! At age 11, I pretty much went straight from chapter books to young adult books.