From the author of Seoulmates comes a story of mistaken identities, the summer of a lifetime, and a love to risk everything for.
When Elijah Ri arrives in New York City for an internship at his father’s massive tech company, Haneul Corporation, he expects the royal treatment that comes with being the future CEO—even if that’s the last thing he wants. But instead, he finds himself shuffled into a group of overworked, unpaid interns, all sharing a shoebox apartment for the summer.
When Jessica Lee arrives in New York City, she’s eager to make the most of her internship at Haneul Corporation, even if she’s at the bottom of the corporate ladder. But she’s shocked to be introduced as the new executive-in-training intern with a gorgeous brownstone all to herself.
It doesn’t take long for Elijah and Jessica to discover the source of the they share the same Korean name. But they decide to stay switched—so Elijah can have a relaxing summer away from his controlling dad while Jessica can make the connections she desperately needs for college recommendations.
As Elijah and Jessica work together to keep up the charade, a spark develops between them. Can they avoid discovery—and total disaster—with their feelings and futures on the line?
My Rating: ★★★★★
*My Review below the cut.
My Review:
This was such a delightful book. The characters were real and three-dimensional and easy to root for. Jessica was so driven and capable and it was wonderful to see Elijah becoming self-confident and learning that he could actually work hard and enjoy it.
The story was easy to follow and though some of it was predictable there were also a few small twists. The characters were where it really shined. They felt like friends that I was reluctant to leave behind.
It was a perfect feel-good romance and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I was also impressed at how it managed to be both a feel-good summer romance AND an indictment of wealthy corporate executives and the misogyny that can be found in corporate culture.
Also BTS was mentioned and that is always a highlight for me. And then to discover in the author's note that she is ARMY, and that the dedication is a quote from Kim Namjoon himself! And quoting Run made total sense with the message and narrative of the story.
*Thanks to Bookishfirst and Inkyard Press for providing an early copy for review.
At the beginning of The Very Nice Box, by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett, Ava, feels a bit like The Cactus or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. She’s a successful product designer at STÄDA, who divides her existence into 30-minute units and never deviates from her routine. Her life seems sad and limited, but at least she’s at work on her passion project, the Very Nice Box, which is, uh, a…
Rules for Vanishing was a thrilling ride. I love documentary-styled novels, similar to Sleeping Giants, because it really makes the entire book come to life in a different way than just getting lost in a really good, traditional novel.
This book reminded me both of The Blair Witch Project and Broken Girls (young girl goes missing: girls, foul play, and ghosts are suspect), both in the way they tell their stories and the sinister feelings it has lying underneath.
This book brings me back to my adolescent age, where everything was an adventure, even the spooky things. As an adult who still loves reading semi-young adult novels and stories, this one read well enough for it to be smack dab in between adult and ya. Don't pass this one up. It's great for a read anytime, but if you're feeling particularly spooky, read this when you're all alone for a good weekend.
Is it smart to post back to back on IG? I 👏 don't 👏 care 👏 just 👏 look 👏 at 👏 that 👏 cover. My @bookishhq win is here. I used my points to read my guarantee my first Marie Lu book. Yes my first. Don't judge me 😖😖. Once I read the First Look I knew I had to get my hands on it. And it came with a beautiful map postcard. I LOVE when books include a map to the world. @penguinteen @marieluthewriter #BookishFirst #TheKingdomOfBack #MarieLu https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bwbyEgSbT/?igshid=qnzugcd8u6sz
Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. One, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her.
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.
Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?
My Rating: ★★★★★
*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.
My Review:
I loved this! The writing is gorgeous, the characters are compelling and intriguing and felt very real, and the plot kept me guessing while still feeling familiar. My absolute favorite thing about it though is that Seelie is an autistic main character who is very believably autistic. She is also very, very relatable (to me, anyway) and I really felt and understood her decisions and choices. Sometimes they annoyed me a little, but I always understood them.
Raze is a character I couldn't quite pin down, and that's a good thing. He's so layered and has so many deflecting shields that he doesn't really let people in. Seelie is probably the closest he's let anyone get, just by virtue of adventuring together and being in constant peril.
I loved Isolde. It would be fascinating to see things from her perspective, but I'm glad we're given Seelie's. I especially loved the love they feel and the way they are bonded together as sisters against everything. I hope we get a lot more of Isolde in the next book.
Olani is also a fascinating character, and one I want to spend more time with in the next book. She has layers too, and I like her outlook and her combination of healer's patience and adventurer's spirit.
Gossamer is fascinating in more of a horrified fascination sort of way, but I really appreciate the way his nature contrasting with Seelie's brings her more into herself. I am very intrigued by his story and what we will discover in the next book.
I cannot stress enough how much I love that the entire premise of this book is that changeling myths are an early description of autism. Seelie is a changeling, and very obviously autistic, and a wonderful main character. And the revelation about Seelie and Isolde at the end! I was not expecting it and that made it even more impactful and thought-provoking.
I loved the faerie realms and the magic and the adventure and basically all of it. This is exactly the sort of book that I love, complete with reluctant banding together of adventurers for the quest (one of my favorite tropes).
There are a lot of questions left unanswered at the end, but enough of a temporary resolution that I don't feel like it's a cliffhanger exactly. I definitely want to know more, and I can't wait for the next book.
*Thanks to Inkyard Press and Bookishfirst for providing an early copy for review.
Favorite Quotes:
Night doesn’t fall in the Unseelie Realm. Here, night staggers drunkenly, clawing at the blue sky with its dark fingers. Desperate and Hungry.
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This is a first for me, but some of the quotes that spoke to me the most were actually in the Author's Note rather than the text itself. I decided to include them here because they give important context to the story and to Seelie herself.
From the Author's Note:
How do you write about autism without using the word autism?
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This book was inspired by the theory that changeling mythology is an early description of autistic children…
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I wanted to write a story about someone like me, a story where the autistic character is the center of her own narrative.
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And if you see yourself in these pages, I want to tell you what I wish someone had told me.
You are exactly the way you were meant to be, and you are the hero of your own story.
Two intrepid girls hunt for a legendary treasure on the deadly high seas in this YA remix of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island.
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendant's true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. The revelation that Xiang's father sailed with the Dragon Fleet and tucked away this secret changes everything. Rumor has it that the legendary Head of the Dragon had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—that for decades has only been a myth, a fool's journey.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.
My Review
★★★★★
I loved this book SO much. It's so much more than a retelling of Treasure Island -- it's the pirate adventure I've been craving, with a delicious side of f/f romance, found family, and a thorough grounding in Vietnamese and Chinese history and culture. I had planned to pass my copy along after reading it, but nope; keeping this one for sure.
I was annoyed with Xiang for the first quarter of the novel because she was SO naive. And she missed some really, really obvious clues about who her mother actually was. It was almost like she didn't want to see, and so she didn't.
But she grows SO much once she's left to sail with Anh. That was the best part of the novel for me - the slow passage of time as Xiang grows more confident, more capable, and freer with every task she sets her willing mind and hands to. She comes into herself aboard that ship, and it gives her the confidence and courage she needs to face the events of the latter half of the book.
The romance was slow and subtle and hinted in the corners, and I loved it. It's my favorite kind of romance in fantasy novels. The closeness that comes with familiarity and time spent together.
I would desperately love a series of Xiang and Anh's adventures. The ending was excellent, but it definitely left me wanting more. And really, that's the best kind.
*Thanks to Bookishfirst and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for providing an advanced copy for review.
Welcome to the great kingdom of Camelot. Prince Arthur’s a depressed botanist who would rather marry a library than a princess, Lancelot’s been demoted to castle guard after a terrible misunderstanding, and nothing is going according to plan. Then Arthur accidentally pulls the sword from the stone (in his defense, he was drunk and mostly kidding), and now everyone’s convinced he’s some prophesied hero.
Emry Merlin is stuck in her small town. Her father, the legendary court wizard, disappeared years ago, and Emry’s been peddling theater tricks to make ends meet. When a royal messenger arrives summoning her far less talented twin brother to serve as Prince Arthur's right-hand wizard, Emry is understandably upset. But after Emmett becomes indisposed thanks to a bad spell, Emry disguises herself as her brother and travels to the royal court to impersonate him until they can switch.
Studying magic at the castle is everything Emry hoped for. But life in King Uther’s court is full of scandals, lies, and backstabbing courtiers. What’s a casually bisexual teen wizard masquerading as her twin brother to do? Other than fall for the handsome prince, stir trouble with the foppish Lord Gawain, offend Princess Guinevere, and make herself indispensable to the future of Camelot?
When the truth comes out with disastrous consequences, Emry has to decide whether she'll risk everything for the boy she loves, or give up her potential to become the greatest wizard Camelot has ever known.
Channeling the modern humor of A Knight's Tale, bestselling author Robyn Schneider creates a Camelot that becomes the ultimate teen rom-com hotspot in this ultra-fresh take on the Arthurian legend.
My Review:
★★★★★
It's obvious from the blurb that this is not trying to be a 'historically accurate' retelling of King Arthur, but rather a more modern version, with all the humor that entails. Which is a lot.
I found the story hilarious. I also found it to have great messages around gender and sexuality. Namely, it has a determinedly feminist heroine who knows she can do anything her brother can and do it ten times better and is also bisexual (or possibly pansexual) and thinks looking down on people for their sexuality is ridiculous.
The best part, I think, was the friendship that developed between Arthur, Emry (Merlin), and Lance. In fact, if I could have had the three of them adventuring for the entire novel I would have been happy. There's a tease at the end of expanding their group to include Guinevere, Emmet, and Percival. I hope that continues in the second book.
Emry's magical talent is astounding, especially compared with her brother's, and I greatly enjoyed her penchant for cheekily showing it off.
I will definitely be picking up the next in the series as soon as it is available.
*Thanks to Bookishfirst and Penguin Teen for providing an advanced copy for review.
Reading ‘The Very Nice Box’ on my very first train trip since the Before Times. #latergram #theverynicebox #bookblogger #fiction #amreading #evegleichman #laurablackett #bookishfirst #bookstagram #instabook #bookish https://www.instagram.com/p/CQFUhWGFNVT/?utm_medium=tumblr
