Tag: The Night Circus

Seven Debuts that Were Absolutely Awesome

Posted September 8, 2021 in Bookish Things // 0 Comments

Debut novels can be tricky. There’s a lot of pressure, because half the time we reviewers go into these books thinking, “It’s a debut. It’s not going to be that amazing, because it’s a debut.” This stereotype pops up because the frequency of the truth of it – sloppy writing and subplots that go nowhere are common offenders. But that’s not always the case. Many debuts are passable, containing only forgivable annoyances. Every once in a while, I stumble across one with a je ne sais quoi that hooks me. This could happen for any number of reasons, and these “awesome debuts” […]

Are Adults Ruining YA? (Spoiler: Kinda Sorta Yes ducks and hides)

Posted August 11, 2021 in Bookish Things // 2 Comments

Newsflash: YA books aren’t written for an adult audience. I know, shocking. Especially because an adult is writing this.. I love reading YA because I feel it’s such a period of hope and possibility for protagonists. I’m also a big fan of not having a bunch of graphic sex scenes, which can be rampant in adult fantasy. Since fantasy is my favorite genre (give me all the dragons and magic) I choose to put up with the love triangles and cheesy crushes over seduction and sweaty bodies. Thanks, no thanks. This means that I have to be really careful when it […]

10 YA Authors Who Have Participated in NaNoWriMo (See? It’s Cool!)

Posted October 12, 2020 in Writing // 2 Comments

I am a big, big fan of NaNoWriMo. You may have noticed this from years of posts about it, plus the fact that I proudly display my winner’s badges on my sidebar. I think that NaNoWriMo is a great community writing event for all ages. Is it perfect? Of course not – some people positively hate it. Plus, the content one puts out during NaNoWriMo will be, by nature, subpar at best. But that’s not the point. The point is we are writing and we are writing together. Love, love, love it. You will see nothing but adoration for the event on […]

Anyone Hungry? How About a BURRITO BOOK TAG?

Posted May 1, 2020 in Tags // 6 Comments

Do you guys every just go out hunting for fun book tags? I do. I like to do the ones trending the community, I really do, but also? It takes me so long to get to them that trying to keep in the trending curves feels a little pointless for me. After all, I just did the #NowWeRise Book Tag, and that one was inspired by the release of Children of Blood and Bone. So yeah, I got to that several months after the sequel was released. I will never be on-trend, haha, but I’m okay with that! I found today’s book […]

Four Books That Meant the World to Me When Times Were Hard

Posted April 1, 2020 in Bookish Things // 6 Comments

Everyone has their reasons for loving a book. Sometimes, it is mechanics – the characters, the plot, the writing style. But I also think that people have those books they were reading when they really, really needed an escape. Whether it’s a personal tragedy, a particular dark spell, or a worldwide pandemic… it’s good to find an escape. And while I know escapism isn’t always the best reaction to the difficulties of the world… sometimes you need it. And I do want to take this moment to apologize – I said in my Support Indie Bookstores post that I would not […]