April 2020 Playlist

Apr 30, 2020

Virgo Tendencies // Keke Palmer

Remember Me // Dove Cameron x BIA

I Got You // Bazzi

i think too much // Christian French

lessons // mxmtoon

Sad Bitch // Laszewo

Bad Friend // Rina Sawayama

I Love My Friends // Steve Aoki x Icona Pop

Tell My Mama // Lauv

Nothing Compares // The Weeknd

Wasted Youth // Diana Gordon

Burning Bridges // Ella Vos

Chosen Family // Rina Sawayama

Out of My Life // Ghita

Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America // The 1975

Six Feet Apart // Alec Benjamin

im used to it // Powfu

Moved On From You // Moana x Paton

Used To Be // Jonas Brothers

Since I Met You // Dominique

Miss Me Now // Z3RG x Khamix x Katie Murphy

This Is Us // Jimmie Allen x Noah Cyrus

i will always be there // A Great Big World

Little Things // Luis The Child x Quinn XCII x Chelsea Cutler

♥ What songs got you hooked this month?

Share in the comments below! ♥

Asian Readathon 2020 TBR

Apr 29, 2020

May is Asian Heritage Month, and to celebrate, Cindy @ Read With Cindy / @asianreadathon is hosting an Asian Readathon all month long from May 1st to May 31st! There are challenges and even a Little Fires Everywhere read-a-long and watch-a-long if you want to join. I am so excited to participate this year and to see what everyone reads for the readathon! If you're interested in learning more, Cindy explains everything in their Youtube video here. Or you can read about it here.

It's worth noting that May is technically Asian and Pacific Island Heritage Month (aka Asian Pacific Heritage Month), but out of respect for Pacific Islanders, the Asian Readathon was named/dedicated separately to focus solely on Asian authors and books. Please check ownvoices Pacific Islander resources like Pacific Island Books, Aotearoa Books, read-nz.org, and HUIA for Pacific Island books to simultaneously celebrate Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Here's what I plan to read for the Asian Readathon (which I will also apply to my Year of the Asian challenge for the month of May!):

🌈 = LGBTQ+ rep
🎧 = audiobook

1. Read any book by an Asian author.

The Elites by Natasha Ngan
Ink & Arrows by Shruthi Viswanathan
Adaptation by Malinda Lo [re-read] 🌈

2. Read a book featuring an Asian character or written by an Asian author who you can relate to.

[Ex: If you’re an immigrant you can read about an immigrant character; if you’re a woman you can read a book by another woman; etc.]

Filipino / Filipino-American / Woman

My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo 🌈
Vlog Like You Love Me by Clarisse David
Enlightenment by Reno Ursal [re-read]
Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco [re-read] 🌈🎧

3. Read a book featuring an Asian character or written by an Asian author who is different from you.

[Ex: If you’re straight you can read about a queer character; if you’re Japanese you can read a book by a Vietnamese author; etc.]

4. Read a book recommended by an Asian.

[Ex: Watch an Asian booktuber’s recommendations video; find books recommended by an Asian blogger; ask your Asian friend what book best represents them; have an Asian friend choose between 2 books on your TBR; etc.]

We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia 🌈🎧
A Kingdom for a Stage by Heidi Heilig 🎧
Muslim Women Do Things by Seema Yasmin

♥ Are you participating in the Asian Readathon?

Post links to your tbr videos, pics, bookstagram

in the comments below! ♥

7 Reasons to Read Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

Apr 28, 2020

I received an advanced review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, however it does not affect my opinions. Quotes are taken from the unedited advanced review copy is subject to change in the final copy. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the copy!

seven endless forests april genevieve tucholke

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

Young Adult Fantasy Retelling

April 28, 2020 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

In this gorgeous standalone companion to the critically acclaimed fantasy, The Boneless Mercies, April Tucholke spins a bold and blood-hungry retelling of the King Arthur legend that is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Garth Nix, and Laini Taylor.

On the heels of a devastating plague, Torvi’s sister, Morgunn, is stolen from the family farm by Uther, a flame-loving Fremish wolf-priest who leads a pack of ragged, starving girls. Torvi leaves the only home she’s ever known, and joins a shaven-skulled druid and a band of roaming Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards. They set out on a quest to rescue Torvi’s sister, and find a mythical sword.

On their travels, Torvi and her companions will encounter magical night wilds and mystical Drakes who trade in young men. They will sing rowdy Elshland ballads in a tree-town tavern, and find a mysterious black tower in an Endless Forest. They will fight alongside famous Vorseland archers and barter with Fremish wizards. They will feast with rogue Jade Fell children in a Skal Mountain cave, and seek the help of a Pig Witch. They will face wild, dangerous magic that leads to love, joy, tragedy, and death.

Torvi set out to rescue a sister, but she may find it’s merely the first step toward a life that is grander and more glorious than anything she could have imagined.

7 Reasons to add Seven Endless Forests to your library

[Seven Endless Forests map]

★ It's a gender-flipped King Arthur retelling 🗡️

★ Rescue my sister trope

★ Lush, lyrical writing and atmospheric world-building with magic and creatures 🧙‍♂️🌲🧝✨🐺

★ An epic quest and battles
★ Found family

★ Brave women with quiet strength who embraces their potential, sexuality, exacts revenge, fights evil creatures, proves doubters wrong, finds love again and grow to become the heroines they were told they could never be.

★ Norse/viking mythology mixed with celt vibes

Content/Trigger Warnings

➤ Death of parent & significant partner
➤ Plague
➤ Kidnapping
➤ Drinking
➤ Violence
➤ Blood

seven endless forsests aesthetic moodboard

seven endless forests moodboard aesthetic

Plot | 🌙🌙🌙

Writing | 🌙🌙🌙🌙

Characters | 🌙🌙🌙🌙
World-building | 🌙🌙🌙🌙

Pacing | 🌙🌙

Swoon | 🌙🌙

April Genevieve Tucholke is the author of Seven Endless Forests, The Boneless Mercies, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Between the Spark and the Burn, and Wink Poppy Midnight. Her books have been published in sixteen countries, and have received ten starred reviews. They have been selected for the Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next picks, and YALSA Teens Top Ten. When she's not writing, April likes walking in the woods, exploring abandoned houses, and drinking expensive coffee. She currently resides Oregon with her husband.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

{Watch, Read, & Listen} Bit, Incendiary, & i think too much

Apr 27, 2020

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend

my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: Bit (2020)

A transgender teenage girl on summer vacation in Los Angeles fights to survive after she falls in with four queer feminist vampires, who try to rid the city's streets of predatory men.

Starring: Nicole Maines, Diana Hopper, Zolee Griggs

Rep: trans MC (played by a trans actor), queer vampires

Read: Incedeniary by Zoraida Cordova

I am Renata Convida.

I have lived a hundred stolen lives.

Now I live my own.

Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata's ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.

Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred--or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned "hollow" during her time in the palace.

When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez's top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.

But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom--and end the war that has cost her everything.

Publication date: April 28, 2020

Listen: i think too much -- Christian French

{Watch, Read, & Listen} 3 Will Be Free, The Silence of Bones, & Remember Me

Apr 20, 2020

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend
my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: 3 Will Be Free

Neo is a stripper who is running away from the loan shark Thana and his gang, after having an affair with Thana's wife Vanika. One day, the criminals find him in the bar where he works. In attempting to escape, he ends up bumping into two people who will change his life: Shin, a gay boy, the son of Thana, who is frustrated at being rejected by a friend; and Mew, the manager of a gogo bar who is running away from her past. Accidentally, they end up killing one of the gang members who was chasing Neo, which makes them enemies of the gang. Now all three need to find a solution to escape from this situation together, while at the same time managing the physical and sentimental attraction that arises between them.

Starring: Lapassalan "Mild" Jiravechsoontornkul, Joss Way-ar Sangngern, Tawan "Tay" Vihokratana

CW/TW: violence, murder

Read: The Silence of Bones by June Hur

I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak;

Ears, but I mustn't hear;

Eyes, but I mustn't see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

June Hur's elegant and haunting debut The Silence of Bones is a bloody tale perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Renée Ahdieh.

Publication date: April 21, 2020

April 2020 Playlist

Apr 30, 2020

Asian Readathon 2020 TBR