Child of the Moon by Jessica Semaan | Rating: ★★★★★

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Child of the Moon is one of the best collections of poetry I've read in years. Hands down, it truly is. The first thing you should know about Child of the Moon is, it's crackling with energy and despair and hope and shame and fear. We seek comfort in connection in our poetry, and this is one of those collections that is so gripping--you, too, will have whitened knuckles from holding it so tightly. From the very start, I felt as though I'd already seen a glimpse of Jessica Semaan's soul and that was a feeling that I could never shake.

You see, every line of Child of the Moon is so potent that, at times, it becomes a little overwhelming to the reader. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it's remarkable. I think that, while I felt truly connected to the prose even within the first page, it truly clicked with me whilst reading the passages from "Top 10 Self-Doubt Tracks (On Repeat)" and in every moment after that, I just knew, with a jolt of electricity, just how special this collection was. Semaan has a gift in exploring the darkness of ones self and it's just... incredible to read. And impossible to put down.

Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Finally, something GOOD! I feel like I've been in THE BIGGEST slump when it comes to YA fantasy books. I mean it: the biggest. Which is a bit unsettling, considering there's so many books out there--far too many to feel like there's a drought in the genre. But, there I was feeling like I'd forever be underwhelmed with the genre. And along came Song of Blood & Stone--which packed a seriously magical punch!

I was a little confused on it being sorted into the YA genre if I'm being honest. Much like the general confusion I felt over Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses. There are many scenes in Song of Blood & Stone that feel a bit more graphic than most YA* scenes do. While I don't at all mind it, it does seem to fit a bit less and makes me wonder if it was original meant for an older audience. So, that is something you should note. If that's not your cup of tea, there will be some scenes you'll want to skim over.

A Throne for Sisters by Morgan Rice | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

This book. Where to begin? Ah, I should start with my usual disclaimer: if a book isn't my cup of tea, that does not make it a bad book. Taste is subjective and what did not work about A Throne for Sisters in my mind, might connect easier with you. It's that simple! So, keep that in mind and let's dive on in:

I can't believe I've put off writing this review since earlier this spring. A Throne for Sisters was VERY appealing to me when I first requested it. The synopsis was right up my alley and the genre? Don't even get me started on how appealing the genre was! And, to be perfectly blunt, the writing and world-building was fantastic--Rice clearly put forth a great deal of effort and development for the book, and forthcoming series.

So what made it not work for me? What made me add this to my DNF pile? A Throne for Sisters is not a bad a book. The truth is, I couldn't connect with the characters and this eventually put me off enough to make me just not read it. A lot of contributing factors were: I just didn't find myself drawn to anyone well enough to stick through it and maybe a little bit that it felt out of my age range.

Vertigo: Of Love & Letting Go by Analog De Leon | Rating: ★★★☆☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Vertigo was something I struggled with from time to time. I am not saying it was a bad collection (it wasn't) but it wasn't my favourite that I've come across in recent memory. I think it had more to do with my inability to fully connect with it than anything else. Objectively speaking, the prose is truly beautiful and if there's one thing to take away from my review... it's that.

The thing about poetry is that you're not always going to connect with subject matter or prose. That doesn't make it any less special, that doesn't make it matter less.

I really enjoyed the way it was formatted. It told a story and I really respect that. There was something very potent in the general prose of it and I feel as though there are a ton of good moments in Vertigo that will really grip many people. This is the type of poetry that, although not for me, will be thought-provoking to its audience and lead new poetry readers into this generation of poets.

Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart by Courtney Peppernell | ★★★★☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.


Courtney Peppernell triumphantly returns with a second installment to her Pillow Thoughts series. Fans of the first collection will adore and connect with part two just as easily as the first one. While I find Pillow Thoughts II to be lacking the emotional punch that Pillow Thoughts did, it is still a wonderful series of prose straight from the heart and soul.

Peppernell has carved a place out in the poetry community and amongst her peers, and her works truly shows this. It all boils down to the subgenre in poetry; the simplistic prose that, despite being short, is still 100% poetry. If you do not like, do not appreciate, or cannot connect with this form of expression? Pillow Thoughts II won't be for you.

The collection is filled with the exact amount of emotions you would expect. It truly is a moment of healing and you can sense this journey heavily throughout it. It's such an important journey to go on and the fact that Peppernell shares this so honestly is very, very important. You're not just reading the lines of someone's thoughts, you're surrounding yourself in it and, like in all good poetry collections, it's therapeutic.

First things first: for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter--I was on a hiatus and I'm sorry for being MIA! I didn't mean to disappear but I had to take a step back from the blog due to the fact that my father unexpectedly lost his job of 22 years. The stress of it all was a bit much and because of my issues with anxiety, I just wasn't in the right state of mind to be blogging.

While I'm still not 100% back to myself, and probably won't be until this entire situation is over, I am trying to get back on my blogging game. Goodreads provided a nice kick in the butt recently, though, with their 10th annual Goodreads Choice Awards. Can you believe it's time for the opening round nominations already?

(I can't!)

As the year dwindles down, it's time for us readers to put together our favourite releases of the year. So many good books have been published this year and while many of the ones I adored didn't make the cut on Goodreads, there were plenty of options to pick from.

I thought it'd be fun to put together a little post discussing my picks. So, here we go!

Dead of Night by Carlyle Labuschagne | Rating: ★★★☆☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

To be perfectly honest with you guys, it took me months to get into this book. I almost DNF it multiple times and even sat it down for half of the time it took me to read it. It's not that Dead of Night is a bad book by any means, it's just that it wasn't wholly my cup of tea and took me a bit of time to find my own groove within it. While it didn't click with me right away, I will say that by the end of the novel I was much more intrigued by where the series could, and will, head in future installments.

Which is why I'm excited to pick up the second installment in the future. Aftershock has the potential to only get better and grow from Dead of Night onward. Carlyle Labuschagne takes on an almost hypnotic tone as the story goes deeper and I really respect that--it takes a lot to tell a story and it takes a lot to improve upon it with every page.

There was a lot going on in a short amount of time that could have been developed a little more. I had many moments where I liked the world, the premise, the characters, but ached for just a little more in depth explorations on each. Dead of Night had a nasty of habit of dragging on or going too quickly; it became its own worst enemy for a portion of its time.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.


Okay, okay--here we go: this was such a fun book and not at all what I was expecting! Although, I'm not sure what I was expecting to begin with. So, there's that. It's possible I picked this book because of its minimal but still cute cover, but we're not going to talk about that. Whatever it was that I had been expecting, was not what the book served me and at the end of the day I'm 100% okay with that.

I've only read one book of Jo Piazza's in the past and that was, of course, The Knockoff. Which was fun in its own right. I found Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win to be just a bit better and a lot smarter than The Knockoff but, ultimately, they are entirely different stories with entirely different meanings. Both are of the same vein and are quick, light reads to finish in one--or a few--sittings. Piazza takes a bit more of a political stance in her premise of Charlotte and I adored this quality.

The Woman Before You by Carrie Blake | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

This was one of those books that I just couldn't get into. I found the plotline to be tedious and the synopsis to be exceptionally misleading. Which lead to disappointment and one unfinished read. There's marketing a book in-correctly, and then there's The Woman Before You. She's really not who you think she is.

While I DNF this book, there's a chance that one day I will come back to it once I'm in a different state of mind. Now that I know it's less of a thriller and more of an erotic story, I may be able to give it another go in the future and embrace it as it was meant to be. Until then, I have to admit that the publisher really did an injustice to Carrie Blake based on synopsis and promotion as it is.

I could possibly get behind the characters and their highly unlikable nature in the future, but for now? The Woman Before You was a massive miss.

The Space Between by Dete Meserve | Rating: ★★★★☆

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

This book was truly breathtaking. There's this quality to The Space Between that makes it impossible to step away from. I love the way it bends the mystery mold bit by bit, feeling final and classic. Meserve weaves a tale that is intriguing, smart and instantly classic.

The set-up is simple: a woman returns home to find that her husband is missing, a lot of questions and suspicion follow due to circumstances and revelations. It's a steady flow of sketchy backstories, secretive characters, human complexities and a marriage in trouble in more ways than one. Everything is intentional and well-thought out in terms of premise, and it never slows down. The Space Between feels very similar to other thrillers in the past but gradually tangles itself into something of its own, capturing the reader in its web of secrets.

Which makes it so, so enjoyable. You can almost feel where everything is going but it still manages to get inside your head and surprise you. Plus, the career of our main character is an added plus to the premise. I don't read many novels that feature an astronomer in them and I liked the vibe that it added to The Space Between. I know very little about the science behind it, but it's still a nice trait to add to a character.