Fighting to bring Multiculturalism to YA, Fantasy and Science Fiction novels

STARSWEPT Cover Reveal @astralcolt @snowywingspub

2017-06-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's cover reveal day for Starswept by Mary Fan! This sweeping YA sci-fi romance will be released on August 29 by Snowy Wings Publishing. The cover features photography by Roberto Falck, with graphic design by Streetlight Graphics.

Title: Starswept
Author: Mary Fan
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing

Some melodies reach across the stars.

In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.

A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.

When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.

But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows.

Preorder the hardback on Amazon

Preorder the e-book on Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Kobo, or iBooks

Add it on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Fan is a hopeless dreamer, whose mind insists on spinning tales of “what if.” As a music major in college, she told those stories through compositions. Now, she tells them through books. She is the author of the Jane Colt space opera trilogy, the Firedragon YA dystopia/fantasy novellas, and the Fated Stars YA high fantasy novellas. She's also the co-editor of the Brave New Girls YA sci-fi anthologies, which are dedicated to encouraging girls to enter STEM careers and raising money for the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund.

Find her online at www.MaryFan.com.

Facebook: facebook.com/mfanwriter

Twitter: @astralcolt

Instagram: @astralcolt

BRAVE NEW GIRLS Cover Reveal @astralcolt @TClosser feb 21

2017-02-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I’m revealing the cover and story line-up for BRAVE NEW GIRLS: STORIES OF GIRLS WHO SCIENCE AND SCHEME, coming August 2017! This YA sci-fi anthology (edited by sci-fi authors Paige Daniels and Mary Fan) features stories about girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)… Girls who engineer, tinker, hack, and more, using their smarts to save the day. It’s got space operas, sci-fi mysteries, steampunk, cyberpunk, all kinds of punk! Proceeds from sales of the anthology will be donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund.

And without further ado, here’s the cover!

Stories in the anthology (in alphabetical order by title):

The 17th Quadrennial Intergalactic Neo-Cultural Expo and Science Fair by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth

The Adventure of the Brass Lamp by Margaret Curelas

Arch Nemesis by Jamie Krakover

The Babysitting Job: A Robot Repair Girl Adventure by Josh Pritchett

The Case of the Missing Sherlock by Mary Fan

Chasing the Copper Dragon by Karissa Laurel

Circus in the Sky by Lisa Toohey

Dangerous Territory by Holly Schofield

The Experimental Bug – First Test by Jelani-Akin Parham

Hack by Evangeline Jennings

In a Whole New Light by Michelle Leonard

The Last Android by Paige Daniels

Let Androids Eat Cake by Meg Merriet

The Maker’s Handbook by George Ebey

The Non-Existence of Gravity by Steph Bennion

Nova by Stephen Landry

Our Very Respected and Always Benevolent Leader by Kay Dominguez

Scilla’s Monster by Elisha Betts

Skyris by A.A. Jankiewicz

Sweet Emotion by Bryna Butler

The Swiss Cheese Model by Eric Bakutis

The Verne Shot by Brandon Draga

ADD IT ON GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34197584-brave-new-girls?ac=1&from_search=true

SIGN UP FOR THE RELEASE DAY MAILING LIST: http://eepurl.com/bgBmvD

VISIT THE BRAVE NEW GIRLS WEBSITE: http://bravenewgirls.weebly.com/

Brave New Girls: Stories of Girls Who Science and Scheme is the second volume of the Brave New Girls anthology series. The first, Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets was released in June 2015 and has so far raised thousands of dollars for the Society of Women Engineers Scholarship fund. Find it on Amazon.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Paige Daniels is the pen name of Tina Closser. By day she works as an Electrical Engineer and Mom mushing her kids from gymnastics and violin practice. After the kids go to bed, she rocks out with her headphones turned to eleven and cranks out books. She is an uber science geek. If she wasn't married to the most terrific guy in the world, she would be a groupie for Adam Baldwin. Her books include Non-Compliance: The Sector, Non-Compliance: The Transition, and Non-Compliance: Equilibrium.

Mary Fan is a hopeless dreamer, whose mind insists on spinning tales of “what if.” As a music major in college, she told those stories through compositions. Now, she tells them through books—a habit she began as soon as she could pick up a pencil. And what stories she has! Currently, she has three series in progress and likes to think that she has even more in her bag. Her books include the Jane Colt trilogy, the Firedragon novellas, and the Fated Stars novellas.

Keep the Faith Blog Tour

2017-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Book Title: Keep the Faith

Release Date: July 31, 2016

Author: Ana Tejano

Check out this exclusive excerpt!

“So, French Fries, will you tell me who that guy is now?”

I looked at him with a start. Nico was near enough to have a clear view of my screen that showed a photo of James, and the screen gave off enough light for me to see his curious expression. I locked my phone, put it back in my bag, and looked out the window to avoid his intense gaze.

“Faith?” Nico said softly after the silence had stretched on long enough. My name sounded weird coming from his mouth after I had gotten used to his calling me French Fries. “I’m sorry. Look, I won’t press anymore—”

“He’s my ex,” I blurted out. He was silent so I sighed. “That guy in the pictures was my ex-boyfriend. But I’m pretty sure you figured it out already, or you must have heard about him from our colleagues.”

Without my phone, it was too dark for me to see his expression, but his hesitation filled the air. Finally, he said, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

But that was the thing. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I wanted to talk about James, about us. His memory was now a phantom inside the van I felt I should entertain so it wouldn’t leave me.

I missed him so much.

“We were together for five years, and he broke up with me before I left for my last mission,” I started slowly.

“Oh,” Nico rubbed his face with his hand and let out a breath. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, ignoring the pinch in my heart. “These things happen, unfortunately.”

I paused, sensing his discomfort again. I bit my lip to suppress a giggle; it was kind of amusing to see the confident Nicolas Tamayo fumble.

“Why did you break up?” he asked.

“He said he can’t do this anymore.”

Silence, then, “What the hell does that even mean?”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Book:

As a community development worker, Faith was quite familiar with heartbreak and recovery after all the time she spent on disaster relief missions. So when her five-year relationship ends right before she left for a mission trip to a typhoon-stricken town in Iloilo, she tries not to make a big deal out of it. How can she be broken up about a breakup when she’s with people who literally lost everything?

But now that she’s back, all Faith wants is for her life to go back to normal and have people stop looking at her with pity. Never mind that she still has a lot of questions about the breakup, or that she feels a tiny ache every time her ex comes up in conversations. She’s okay now, and happily distracted by Nico Tamayo, the attractive new guy at work.

With new possibilities in the horizon, Faith thinks she is well on her way to moving on. But when her past comes calling back to her, will all the good things in her present be enough to keep her on the path? Or will she finally learn that there was more to heartbreak and recovery than what she knows?

Links to Purchase:

· Amazon - http://bit.ly/ktfnovel

· Smashwords – http://bit.ly/ktfsw

· Barnes & Noble – http://bit.ly/ktfnook

· Kobo – http://bit.ly/ktfkobo

· iBooks – http://apple.co/2afU4ff

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31228888-keep-the-faith

About the Author:

Ana Tejano has been in love with words and writing ever since she met Elizabeth Wakefield when she was in Grade 3. She has contributed several non-fiction pieces in print and online publications, and has been blogging for years. When she’s not writing, she works as a communications manager for a payroll outsourcing firm, and serves in CFC Singles for Christ in every other time that she doesn’t spend reading or sleeping. She lives in Metro Manila and is also known by another name in her other circles (but it’s not a secret identity, really).

Contact Links:

· Website: www.anatejano.com

· Twitter: @itstimeana

· Facebook: http://facebook.com/itstimeana

· Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/anatejano

· Instagram – http://instagram.com/storiestotell

Rafflecopter code:

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Blog Tour: Crawdad by Lisa T. Cresswell

2017-01-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Crawdad Book Blog Tour!

For the whole month of January, my new contemporary young adult novel Crawdad, will be featured on the blogs of some of my besties - authors and book bloggers who support the readers and writers of diverseYA - and I couldn't be more pleased. I hope you can visit them all and enter the giveaway.
Here's the schedule:
Magic of the Muses - Eileen Schuh January 1
Rich in Variety January 8
Beth Fehlbaum Books January 15
CJ Burright January 22
Twinjas Book Reviews January 29

~About the Book~

Seventeen-year-old Jamil Ramos grew up on Alabama’s Gulf Coast believing his mom, Loretta, was his only living relative. She put a trumpet in his hands as a toddler and sparked his love of jazz. But when Loretta drops a bomb on Jamil from her deathbed- she’s not his mama and his daddy is still alive, living in Charleston, S.C. – his world is turned upside down.

Now, with the only mama he’s ever known gone and the Loyola University trumpet audition less than a week away, Jamil has trouble feeling his music. When his band teacher tells him to get it together, Jamil decides to hitchhike to South Carolina over to find his father and get his questions answered. All he has is a name –Leon Ramos.

Jamil relies on the kindness of the strangers he meets-a gay teen kicked out of his home, a runaway prostitute, and a street musician-as he makes his way across Florida and Georgia trying to avoid the cops along the way. But when Jamil is robbed of his most prized possession, his trumpet, his plans go anywhere but where he’d hoped. That trumpet was supposed to be his ticket for a scholarship, the only way to college his mama could give him. Lost and alone without it, Jamil wonders if finding his father is worth risking his future.

You can find Crawdad in print and e-book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads!

~About the Author~

Lisa T. Cresswell has been writing middle grade and young adult books for what seems like a mighty long time. She can never seem to make up her mind if she likes reality or fantasy, so she writes both. She also likes lemon jasmine green tea, dark chocolate almonds, and lots and lots of coffee. And of course, BOOKS. ALL THE BOOKS!! You can see all of her work at www.lisatcresswell.com

~Enter the Giveaway~

Enter to win one of three copies of Crawdad to be given away in January!

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The Paths We Choose Cover Reveal @HeyChips

2017-01-28T09:56:00.005-05:00

Hiya kiddos ;p

If you haven't seen it on Twitter and Goodreads, an awesome cover reveal has been circulating around!

M. Hollis is releasing another New Adult book this spring, and like The Melody of You and Me, it's a f/f romance with a ton of girl power!

Just check out the blurb below, and don't forget to add it to your TBR list!

Summary:

"Lily Ferrari enjoys having control over every detail of her life. Ever since she left her parents’ house to gain her freedom, she decided to fully own her autonomy. But an unexpected visit from her little brother may change the path she chooses to follow.

Add to that a casual fling with the bright architect Mayte González, and Lily’s summer is turning out more interesting than she expected. It certainly beats the routine of working extra shifts at Johnson’s Bookstore.

A few weeks before her college life begins, Lily needs to figure out if she’s wrong about the past or if she should continue to protect her heart at all costs.

Sometimes moving forward is only possible if you have the right people by your side."

Add the book to your Goodreads TBR: The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis

About the Author:

M. Hollis could never decide what to do with her life. From the time she was a child, she has changed her ideas for a career hundreds of times. After writing in hidden notebooks during classes and daydreaming during every spare moment of her day, she decided to fully dedicate herself to her stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies.

Contact: lillactown@gmail.com

Links:

Check out The Paths We Choose Goodreads Page!

Check out her Goodreads Author Page!

Follow her on Twitter!

Follow her on Tumblr!

Lola's Blog Tours Presents: Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David Cover Reveal

2017-01-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the cover reveal for Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. This cover is designed by Daniel Tinagan

Keeping the Distance (I Heart Iloilo #1)
By Clarisse David

Genre: Romance
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: February 6, 2017

Blurb:
No bets. No fake relationships. Just a very real one that has to be kept under wraps.

Seventeen-year-old Melissa wants to dye her hair cotton candy pink and focus on her ukulele instead of Physics. But she can't. As the daughter of a Catholic school principal, living up to her model student image 24/7 is a must. Something's about to give under all the pressure. She only hopes it isn't her.

Getting involved with a troublemaking basketball player is the last possible thing she needs...

Lance is used to getting what he wants. With a pretty face he uses to full advantage and his role as co-captain of the basketball team, the easy way is the only way he's ever known. Until the day he notices the prim Melissa he's known forever is actually hot and decides to ask her out. He has no idea he's about to learn the lesson of a lifetime.

Not getting what he wants might exactly be what he needs.

You can find Keeping the Distance on Goodreads

You can pre-order Keeping the Distance on Amazon

About the Author:

Clarisse David is a Young Adult and New Adult author from the land of epic heat waves a.k.a. the Philippines. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and cannot survive without Taylor Swift songs, red lipstick, and books. When not hanging out on Twitter, she can be found working on her latest writing project.

You can find and contact Clarisse here:

- Website

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Goodreads

- Instagram

- Pinterest

- Newsletter

Giveaway

There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of Keeping the Distance. These are the prizes you can win:

- One winner will win an ebook copy of Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David and an ebook of their choice from #romanceclass. See the whole list of romanceclass books here: http://www.romanceclass.com

- 2 winners will each win an ebook copy of Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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#Coverreveal @richinvariety Plastic Wings by C.T. Callahan

2016-10-20T10:58:00.002-04:00

Blurb:

When seven-year-old Evie Weiss discovers a strange, sickly boy in her otherwise familiar forest, she has no idea what it holds for her world. He is a dark angel, one of a race of humanoid beings that feed on humanity and tear Evie’s world down around her. Years later, as humanity mounts a counter-attack against the dark angels, Evie remembers the boy in the forest and finds herself torn between her loyalty to her own people and feelings of compassion for these strange creatures that first captivated her as a child. It is the quest of one girl to unite two worlds so separated by war, but how can she close the gap between two races so determined to hate each other?

Inclusion of Diversity:

This book includes black and multi-racial characters, gay and ace characters, and characters with depression and PTSD.

Add it to your Goodreads TBR list:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31331627-plastic-wings?from_search=true

Author Bio:

C.T. Callahan is the author of young adult fantasy, sci-fi, and a weird assortment of short stories. Hailing from a mixed-racial background, she’s pledged her writing to contribute to the spread of diversity in fiction and the fight for equality. When away from reading and writing, you’ll most likely find her engaged in art or snuggling cute dogs. Learn more at CTCallahan.com.

Kickstarter Projects make me go broke!: Castor's Easy Readers by Castor Tales

2016-10-13T09:28:00.000-04:00

Kickstarter will be the death of us!

So I'm sure everyone has a kryptonite on causes that'll make them broke XD

Inclusion in books will always be that cause we fight for. There probably isn't a greater cause in publishing than inclusion in books for children and teens.

There are all these new mediums to find and fund inclusive content and it's pretty common knowledge that the publishing industry isn't always the best at positive, inclusive content.

Publishing independently is quite a challenge. We've learned that ourselves how expensive it is, which is why it sucks that it isn't taken as seriously as traditional publishing =(

Crowdfunding is one of those awesome mediums looking for folks like me to loose a few bucks to help out causes or works that have a message and Castor's Easy Readers by Castor Tales is a really good one!

I read an easy reader book last year based on the heavy content of the book and thought about how public schools tend to fail kids. I was probably a kid that last time I'd read easy reader book before then, but I remember being in middle/high school(before home school) and there were kids my age who had such a difficult time reading, thinking back, I wish we'd had more diverse reading material. Especially with folks with learning disabilities or that just struggling reading in general.

Castor Tales is a set of three different books all with children of color as major characters(I swoon a little bit at the Black vampire😍) in fantastical settings where they're their own heroes.

Three awesome illustrators by the names of Brittany Ngo, Courtney Hicks and MJ Erikson, team up with NYT/USA Today bestselling author Ellie Ann to create three lovely books that explore race and gender in ways children's books don't often go.

This project is about 8 days away from ending and it could really use folks that see the message behind it to contribute even a buck to it's awesomesauce cause😍

There are a ton of great rewards for every budget. This would be a great addition to anyone's shelf or bedtime story time!

Rich In Variety Tours Present: The Melody of You and Me Blog Tour @heychips @richinvariety

2016-09-21T07:40:00.001-04:00

Cross posted on Rebellious Cupid Book Reviews

Okay so it comes as no surprise that I really enjoy me some F/F romance. While everyone has their noses deep in M/M romances, I'm pretty much the exact opposite. That's not to say I can't enjoy a good M/M romance but I can count on one hand how many I've actually read, the main reason being that when there isn't at least one woman in the main cast, I just get bored :P

Which is what I love so much about F/F romances. Two women navigating this lovely world of romance is my Achilles's Heel. So naturally when I saw this book was going on tour, I had to jump on it!

The Melody of You and Me centers around Chris and her smexy love interest Josie(who's Filipina, yay!)in this New Adult romantic themed novella where a love of music and dance fuel their passion!

I have to confess, I was super afraid to read this at first. Why? Because the bookstore backdrop is eerily similar to our Bookish Friends to Lovers series. They work at a bookstore AND they fall in love there. There's also an uncanny resemblance to our third book in the series, BookMark because of the F/F pairing and get this...Ruby our main heroine is also Filipina. I really thought about not reading this until after we were done with BookMark because I didn't want to get inspired by it and I realize this author has NEVER read our books in this series so I just thought, oh why the hell not? What can it hurt?

So the bookstore backdrop, the F/F pairing and the Filipina MC are where the comparisons stop. This was a completely different story than the one we were working on as Josie and Chris are on the younger scale of New Adult(late teens, early 20s) and BookMark's characters are in their mid to late 20s so I wasn't sure what I was worried about,lol.

What I liked about the story was neither girls were really sure about where their lives were headed but they knew that they had ambitions! When I tell you I'm obsessed with dance movies, please believe me when I tell you I've seen every single one that's ever been made! This book reminded me a lot of one of those dance movies that has a ballerina that falls in love with a musician and that's what made it super adorable!

My only quib was I wanted it to be longer! I'm not necessarily in love with long novels but I would have liked to see them in countless other situations. I'll probably forgive it for the sex. I used to be one of those book snobs that hated sex in books but now when I read what people read as "clean" romance, the only words that runs through my mind are "Ay carajo, this is so boring! Where's the sex????"

I like my romances steamy and my love scenes by the boatload and for the length of this one, this had plenty! I could probably write a novel about how much I like a good lesbian romance(A real romance not that erotica mess) and this one I'll be adding to my list!

For this blog stop I'm supposed to do a fancast *cracks knuckles* but I'll admit my imagination greatly differed from posts from the author so I thought it might be cool to compare mine to hers.

This is the conclusion:

Author's Image of Chris, model Rebecca Leigh Longendyke

My image of Chris, Model Elizabeth Wheeland

Author's Image of Josie, Filipina actress Jane Oineza

My image of Josie, Filipina Actress Angel Locsin( I was obsessed with her movies at one point, especially when Richard Gutierrez was her leading man!)

Also How could I ever forget this??? Her roommate Mayte is Afro-Cubana!!!

Author's Image of Mayte, model Kristina Elise

My image of Mayte

Yes, I realize this is me, but the moment I read that Mayte had afro-curly hair, I saw myself in this character. So all I envisioned was me, me, ME!

Do yourselves a favor and check this one out! It's up on pre-order now and I will be patiently awaiting the next story that appears to be about the Afro-Cuban amazingness that is Mayte!

About the Book

Author: M. Hollis Publisher: Self-Published Publication Date: September 29, 2016 Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+ Page Number: 82 After dropping out of university and breaking up with her girlfriend of three years, Chris Morrison’s life is now a mind-numbing mess. She doubts that working at the small neighborhood bookstore is going to change that. The rest of her time is spent mostly playing guitar and ignoring the many messages her mother keeps sending her about going back to college. But one day, an adorable and charming new bookseller waltzes her way into Chris’s life. Josie Navarro is sweet, flirty, and she always has a new book in her hands. The two girls start a fast friendship that, for Chris, holds the promise of something more. But is she reading too much into this or is it possible that Josie feels the same way?

About the Author

Connect with the author!

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Massive #YA and #NA #giveaway! Chance to win from 13 authors!

2016-09-16T15:30:00.002-04:00

Looking to win a load of YA and NA books?

As a mega-fan of Contemporary Romance, I don't think I'd be able to resist the urge to enter this awesome giveaway!

Not only can you get our second YA Contemporary Romance "The Unforgettables" but over 20+ other YA or NA titles!

Here's a list of our 22 participating authors and the prizes being offered. The giveaway is international, and participating authors are not eligible to enter.

September 2nd- 30th, 2016

Winner chosen
Wednesday, Oct 5th

Amazon Gift Card Prize: $110

Paperback prizes (11 authors)

Sexiest Man Alive by M. Clarke

The Playmaker by Jordan Ford

This is Me by C.E. Wilson

Streetlights Like Fireworks by David Pandolfe

Savage Cinderella by PJ Sharon

The Unforgettables by Guinevere Thomas

When You Come Back by Yesenia Vargas

Polarity in Motion by Brenda Vicars

When We Were Us by Tawdra Kandle

Opposing Sides by Christi Doporto

Taking the Reins by Katrina Abbott

Ebook prizes (11 Authors, 13 ebooks)

When in Rome by Lena Hillbrand

The Starlight Chronicles Boxed set by Lisa Orchard
Scarred by Joanne Macgregor

Dating on the Dork Side by Charity Tahmaseb

The Carlswick Affair by Sheryl Beaumont

Soulspark by Eliza Tilton

The Rock Star's Email Order Bride by Demelza Carlton

Elevated by Elana Johnson

The Fine Line by Alicia Kobishop

Keep by Rachel Van Dyken

Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon

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Thoughts on Self-Publishing: Book Birthdays-The Unforgettables

2016-09-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

Happy Book Birthday to us!

The Unforgettables by G.L. Tomas

So we're floored beyond compare that we've released a second YA title. It seems as though it's been forever since we've released a YA title, let alone talked about our journey self-publishing.

Much like "The Mark of Noba", "The Unforgettables" took nearly a year and a half to write. For those who know both sides of our writing, we write both books intended for teen/YA audiences(ideally ones that also appeal to adult YA lovers too) as well as pen NA Romance. We're venturing into an Adult Romance soon too, but YA is by far the most difficult for us.

Getting voice down, where it not only matches the characters, but also matches colloquial of how teenagers speak is one of the hardest tasks, especially since we're no longer teenagers.

Libertad came up with this story years ago, but it had a different tone until I read it two years ago. It actually had YA and NA elements, but I convinced Libby to take out the last half of the story and make the beginning span an entire book.

It's definitely a labor of love. It's been our most expensive project to date. About two years ago, we did a custom photoshoot for it, but haven't been able to afford the full cover, so we plan on relaunching it in about 3-6 months with a new cover as well!

I think this story is particularly close to Libby, because one of the main characters is Afro-Latinx, dark-skinned and natural haired, but also Haitian-American. Between being exposed to Haitian culture in Miami, and then holding a relationshipwith someone for eight years who was of Haitian descent, we didn't realize how little Latinx culture associates people who are Latinx when they don't speak Spanish.

Latinx could encompass countries that speak not just Spanish, but Portuguese, English, French, Creole, and many different dialects from Spain.

Now that we think about it, we unintentionally created three major characters who are Latinx, one Haitian-American, one Brazilian-American and one with descent hailing all the way from Spain. Even when we're not trying to be inclusive, it kind of just...happens.

Felicia, our leading lady shared a lot of things in common with us, outside of her socio-economic background, but writing a sex-positive story with a girl in the front seat was the goal. But we didn't want to stop with her.

The leading man, Paul, was the polar opposite of Sterling, our first published male main protagonist. He was confident, edgy, artistically gifted and explicitly a boy of color. Getting his learning disability took months to get right. There were times we couldn't even write, because we spent so much time with teachers who specifically had experience with students with dyslexia, to make sure we didn't make any missteps.

We're not hapa, so his dual identity also took a ton of work trying not to overshadow one more than the other. We thought hard about whether we wanted to make Paul biracial or not, especially after our community has been so outspoken about Eleanor and Park's poor representation of a biracial boy of Asian descent.

At one point, he'd been inspired by Libby's longtime celebrity crush Justin Nozuka, but we thought against it because he shared a lot of things in common with Park(being mixed race, having green-hazel eyes) that resources like Writing with Color have been outspoken in how problematic that can be. We knew we wanted him to have brown eyes, not be particularly tall, buff or oversexualized to the point he didn't look like a teenager.

We decided to actually go ahead making him biracial, but mainly to showcase the diversity of his parents. We wanted to show a dad who was Asian-American who'd understand what it was like for Paul, growing up with expectations. Granted, his mother is also dyslexic, so he relates to both his parents but in very different ways.

There are so many things we can say about it, but it is no means a serious book. It's about two best friends who eventually grow apart. Add in the backdrop of Maine and the superhero aliases they've created in the world around them, and you've got "The Unforgettables".

We have one last YA book in us this year, and we're happy to say The City of Fallen Stars is next in queue YA wise.

We made a goal of releasing eleven books this year, and I think we'll fall short in terms of original titles, but we re-released three books, and plan to re-release The Mark of Noba, so if we count those, we went over our goal XD

Now I plan to spend the remainder of our book birthday hyperventilating over the inside graphics😍!

Bewitching Book Tours Present: Of Beasts and Bonds by N.D. Jones-My Review

2016-09-06T08:36:00.000-04:00

Of Beasts and Bonds by N.D. Jones

September 6th, 2016

This is my first read from this author, and I signed up for the book blitz and review option back in August to take a chance on this series, especially since I didn't know what it was about.

OBAB follows the exploits of Assefa and Sanura and an extensive world built around Western African lore and culture.

I thought that was pretty cool, considered how Western culture has completely demonized anything and everything that has come from African culture. I know Africa isn't a monolith, so for the sake of the review, and from my knowledge of lore, it seems Yoruban(Afro-Cuban culture is deeply inspired by Yoruban religion and culture, so I say it because it's familiar to me).

But anyway, since this is book two, a few events lead Assefa and Sanura to the events of book two, and they're struggling to complete a sort of mate-bonding(that's supposed to make them stronger) but it comes at the cost of loosing her connection to her father. This was where I was at a disadvantage for not reading book one. While the author makes a bunch of loose ends clear, one might be more accustom to the world building of how things are done before the plot brought Assefa and Sanura's circumstances to this point.

You can still enjoy and follow pretty well without it, but I am a lover of spec fic, so I wish I would've read book one first.

It goes without saying I loved that most the characters in the story were Black, the couple was Black, and the culture behind everything was Western African lore. I love speculative fiction, but this is one of the first PNR books I read in a while, because they're not very inclusive. To be set in a world where it's this lit was pretty awesome.

Sanura passed the Bechdel test throughout the book, and I was glad she had strong relationships with other women that wasn't dependent on men. You'd be surprised how often conversations between women are about men in fiction, tv, media. It may even pass the Mako Mori test so long as you consider Sanura the biggest character in the book. I think it's equal, but Mami Wata really wants her, and Assefa is just a bonus.

Between the strong world building, and the extremely hot sex, I'll definitely be hitting up book one and re-reading! As a lover of speculative fiction, I was impressed! A big win for Black love in books for me =D

I usually fan cast books I love, so for Assefa I saw Idris Elba XD

Sanura, I don't remember how she was described when I think about it, but since the culture was based of Yoruban culture, I instantly thought of Nollywood star Stephanie Okereke Linus!

You can purchase the book via Amazon, or add it to you TBR list on Goodreads with the icons below!

*I received an ARC in exchange for a review.

Bonus #NAAugust Feature: What's Next For New Adult - Netflix and Kill by Kenesha Williams

2016-08-31T10:36:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

Today's rec is something I'm totally looking forward to, mainly because the author is the creator of Black Girl Magic Lit Magazine too!

I'm apart of a group on Facebook called Colors of Darkness, an annual event(and now group)showcasing Black authors in dark speculative fiction, including Dark Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy and many more.

I saw this on a post and BEGGED the author to highlight it!

There are so many reasons it sounds awesome, but take a look for yourself!

Reasons I chose Netflix and Kill:

~The backdrop setting is Tubman University, a historically black college/university...For supernaturals.

Yes you read that right, there's a book coming soon set at a HBCU specifically for supernatural folk! When's registration???

~You guys already know since I did most of the posts this month, I rep hard af for speculative fiction books. It's an Urban Fantasy/Paranormal book that's #ownvoices and as culturally diverse as it is racially(there are Caribbean characters, African, African-American, Black folk with mixed identities and Black folk who are LGBTQ+).

~There's a werelion in it👀

~Because that cover and title! How could you not want to pick it up after that????

It's not slated until October 2016, but feel free to follow Kenesha Williams on Twitter or her official site to get updates, and don't forget to sign up for the Black Girl Magic Lit Mag newsletter for updates when the new issue releases!

#NAAugust Week Five, Day 31: What's Next For New Adult - BookMark by G.L. Tomas

2016-08-31T00:07:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

It's the VERY last day in the full month dedicated to highlighting books for New Adult August(#NAAugust). We want to thank Dani Reviews Things, Books Are My Fandom and Books and Ladders for taking the initiative for such a lovely event!

We're about to highlight our last book, which is shamelessly our book😋

Many might not be familiar with our New Adult Romance debut Same Page(Our 2015 anniversary is coming up soon), which followed Timothy and Naima, a starcrossed couple who meet in the backdrop of Symposium Books, a bookstore in Rhode Island.

The cast is so inclusive, that we decided to continue the series with fan favorites Ruby and Angel as future main characters.

Here's why you should consider checking it out!

Reasons I chose BookMark:

~It features a couple where the characters are both of color. When I put out the call for a F/F book where both the characters were of color on Twitter, I was sadly disappointed how few there were. Only two came up, which said a lot about what's acceptable for interracial couples in books.

Ruby was nearly everyone's favorite supporting character in Same Page and Next Chapter, but seeing how important her narrative was, she NEEDED her story told.

~Ruby falls for Harper Cordova, a Belizean non-binary lesbian who happens to be an erotic romance writer(she's somewhat inspired by one of our favorite authors Harper Miller ;p). We see a bunch of queer Black women in books, but would love to see more diversity among them, which is why we tend to make Black women who don't conform to gender.

~No unhappy lesbian story here! They get a HFN/HEA just like the rest of the couples and we wouldn't have it any other way ;p

~If you pay attention close enough, you get updates on past characters like Tim & Naima, and a look into the next book in the series Page Break, which features our first Afro-Latinx male main character Angel.

The Bookish Friends To Lovers series came to me(Libertad) as a duology, that reminded me of an experience I'd gone through, but adding the back drop of Rhode Island really gave it magic. We even drove there several times to get it right(it's about a 90 mile drive one way) but I do admit Symposium Books, while it's a real bookstore, the inside of Symposium is actually based on R J Julia, the biggest community based bookstore in our state(they have lovely events, even celebrity authors there!).

If anyone knows any f/f books with two characters of color, let us know! We're always looking! Hopefully you found one book that you added to your TBR this month!

Don't forget to enter the giveaways we're offering with Dani Reviews Things, posts you can find here and here!

#NAAugust Week Five, Day 30: What's Next For New Adult - Te Quiero(Falling For You) by Suki Fleet

2016-08-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So a last minute change in plans caused me to choose today's book.

I'm intrigued by the MC being a Latinx narrative not often used in books(though if you know an #ownvoices book doing the very same, let a sista know ;p) and deals with a topic I haven't seen researching M/M Romance.

Overall it seems like a cute insta-love story if you're looking for something cute, but I can think of other reasons too.

Reasons I chose Te Quiero:

~A Latinx hero! Swoon! Interestingly enough, he's Argentine, which is pretty rare as far as representation(Even though I'm told the Spanish could use work incorporating Argentine slang).

~It's a college romance, which is difficult to find inclusive narratives in.

~It's short and sweet, so one can read it one sitting!

~Such a pretty cover(drool...)

Seems cool enough right? Tomorrow is the last day and I already miss #NAAugust =( It's been months since we blogged this consistently so we must do this again!

#NAAugust Week Five, Day 29: What's Next For New Adult - The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis

2016-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So to start off the week, I'll be hosting a review! I read an eARC of this title; hopefully my review will encompass all the great things about it!

*The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis*
August 29th, 2016

This is my first book from this author but I hope it won't be the last!

The Melody of Me and You follows Chris, our main heroine who's a bit lost with her goals in life as the university scene wasn't where she fit in and the story does a pretty good job at portraying a girl who's not a teenager but not quite a full-grown woman yet.

In this story we follow her around and learn that while she was on the path to study computer science, it just wasn't her passion to go forth with that path, so she did what any confused 19-20something year old would do, she dropped out and started working.

Man, that was pretty much what I did. It took me a long time to get it right(I'm still not convinced I have it right) so I really related to Chris as a character. Plus she was Pan, y'all! That was a total plus for me!

And then there was her attraction to the new girl who started working at the bookstore she works at, Josie. Josie was really cute and a WoC, also a huge plus for me but I think my major complaint for her was that I didn't really know how to picture her because Filipinas are so diverse and don't fit just one sort of look, I wish there would have been some sort of indicator that gave me a better idea of how she looked. Chris was described a multitude of times so I knew she was a blonde, white girl but if it hadn't been for Josie stating she was Filipina once in the book, I would have imagined her white the entire book. Other than that she was super cute.

Both the girls had passions for artsy themed things(For Josie it was dance, Chris it was music) so I felt like I was watching that movie High Strung that's streaming on Netflix right now(which I loved btw) and who could forget the steamy love scenes! I love steamy F/F love scenes so I'm glad they weren't fade-to-black, which seems to be the deal with a few F/F books I've been picking up.

All in all, it was a super cute fast read that you can finish if you have a few hours to yourself. Looking forward to the next book!

Follow M. Hollis on Twitter to find out more when this title will be released! You can sign up for her blog tour with Rich in Variety here, or request an eARC here!

#NAAugust Week Five, Day 28: What's Next For New Adult - Your Heart Will Grow by C.M. Lloyd

2016-08-28T12:40:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So the month is almost over and the last week's theme focuses on What's Next For New Adult.

The author to the next rec totally doesn't know this, but we'd been stalking her twitter a long time😆

She always had such inspiring things to say, and we were wanting like mad for her to announce a book release of hers, because we knew it'd be inclusive.

It was kind of surreal she read a book of ours and liked it👀

Especially since it was a book we were so sure people would hate.

So it's awesome to know she's expecting a release soon, and it's speculative fiction, my fave(Guin)!

It's not slated to release until next year, but here are all the reasons you should add it to you Goodreads TBR!

Reasons I chose Your Heart Will Grow:

~It had mermaids. Move out of the way Ariel, we don't need you anymore😈

~It's extremely inclusive! The main characters feature a trans-man soldier and a pansexual mermaid, so it's one of the few M/F romances with a trans-guy as a main character that had positive rep!

~It's a Romantic Fantasy, which has my two favorite things in books!

~It leaves a lot to look forward to for 2017!

Again, the book doesn't slate for release until 2017 by Torquere Press, but if you follow C.M. Lloyd on Twitter, you can get updated on any cover reveals,or info leading up to its release! Joy!

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 27: Beyond The Contemporaries - Magic Academy Series by E.R. Ross

2016-08-27T21:10:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

I'm so sad to see the speculative fiction of this week go =(

Hopefully you've found some really good ones to start your collection!

We have just a few more days left in the month, and today is the end of the Beyond The Contemporaries week.

I had the pleasure of reading both today's spotlights last year when they first came out, but at the time I'd only read the first.

Today I'll give reasons why you should read the first, and give a mini-review of the second ;p

Reasons I chose The Fire Test:

~If you enjoyed Harry Potter, but it wasn't explicitly inclusive enough for you, The Fire Test is an cool alternative.

~It can be seen as African-American New Adult Fantasy, but it's not explicitly so. And there's a bunch of racial, gender and disability representation too!

~Lace, the main character was a Black princess. Tiana, eat your heart out ;p

~The amazeball covers. I mean, come on!

Murder At Seagrove Review:

I'll admit that I liked the first one more in terms of fantastic elements than the second. Murder At Seagrove was an amazing sophomore effort, and explored the relationship between Lace, the MC and her privileged frenemy/ally Delia.

There was more of a whodunnit theme than fantasy, and it was interesting learning the mystery killer the team was set out to find, while they were on the run themselves.

They'd managed to take the identities of those investigating the mystery, and could only move freely at Seagrove without the officials there.

They had one ally, but she'd been lost to the struggle, but they had so much more on their hands, as it opened a door to a land facing a lot of pain, oppression and strife.

I was still confused to why only people who were brown were automatically considered slaves, and nothing explored why that was. Delia, the former Queen of everyone's current foe, was still privileged and hard of hearing, but I think it'd be unrealistic for her to unlearn everything ignorant she'd learned in a day, so I'm hoping a book three might explore that.

Like any mystery needing to be solved, it ironed itself out, but unfortunately more trouble awaits. I wish there'd been more One-Eye, but I hear Book Three will focus more on the relationships between the male figures in the party, so I hope this is like, a six book series.

The last week will be filled with new releases not yet announced or expected to release soon. It'll be a short week, but I had so much fun with this event! Hope you guys did too!

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaways we're offering with Dani Reviews Things, posts you can find here and here!

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 26: Beyond The Contemporaries - Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon

2016-08-26T23:43:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

I swear, this is the last Rebekah Weatherspoon book I'll suggest this month XD(other months? eh, we'll see).

Blame it on the fact she has so many good ones. Okay, technically today's cheating, since I highlighted another book in this particular series, but it should be even more reason to consider it, since you'd get to start from the beginning with today's pick!

Reasons why I chose Better Off Red:

~It's the first book in her Vampire Sorority Sisters trilogy, so it gives a better look at the world from the beginning!

~It's an entire trilogy dedicated to Vampires, F/F, New Adult! A flippin' hat trick ;p

~As the series goes on, you get a ton of size and racial diversity, which is pretty awesome!

~Come on, it's Rebekah Weatherspoon XD

I've had a bunch of fun highlighting her New Adult books, so I hope you have just as much fun looking them up and giving them a try =D !

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 25: Beyond The Contemporaries - Angelborn by L. Penelope

2016-08-25T22:02:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So we met the lovely L. Penelope last year at Baltimore Book Festival and got to sit through one of her inspiring panels about inclusivity in books

October 2015 Bmore Book Fest

I'm always looking for sistas who are authors that write New Adult as well, and talking with L. we learned her mission to incorporate more Black women in speculative fiction.

It should come at no surprise I found her lovely title that just happened to be NA, but be the judge for yourself!

Reasons why I chose Angelborn:

~There's a fine ass male MC, but just the reviews I've read mentioned it's characters are all pretty lovable, and avoid common tropes in PNR if you're looking for a fresh take.

~Angel lore on red bull. It is called Angelborn after all, but it not only incorporates Nephilim, but an interesting twist to souls(I love books that deal with sould XD )

~It's short and sweet, so you can be impressed and move on to book two in a flash!

~The cover is SUPER gorgeous!

L. Penelope has so many great books to get acquainted with so hit up all those links and curl up to new books!

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 24: Beyond The Contemporaries - Daybreak Rising by Kiran Oliver

2016-08-24T23:27:00.001-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

Torquere Press pre-order link

So today is a lot like Sunday, and my next recommendation is actually a review. I actually had the pleasure of reading this book at multiple stages, and watched it nourish and grow each time I read it.

Daybreak Rising was actually one of the few books I read that was speculative fiction, New Adult and inclusive all in one, three of my favorite things, but sadly, rarely done together.

It's taken me a long time to review it for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to create as much buzz as close to the publication date as possible. Two, I wanted to take my time and assess how I really felt about it. Three, I forget ;p(JK)

But at a time where I was looking for a book with F/F representation that was New Adult and fantasy, it was the only one I knew of, that I couldn't wait for publication =D

I loved it for more than the reasons above, but their just the obvious ones, considering the event and the week I placed it XD

I'm going to try my best to make this as spoiler free as possible, as I've been horrible about that in the past, and I'm trying to do better =D

Here's why Daybreak Rising was one of my favorite reads this year:

~The Romance

I'm always going to look out for some kind of romance, even if it's a backdrop. I can read fantasy without it, but I love cute, and nothing's cuter than falling for someone <3

The story follows the exploits of Celosia, or Daybreak, a moniker she's earned for herself after a mistake from her past. By the way, that's not a good thing.

A lot of things happen in the book, but I was looking forward to getting a load of how the romance would be handled between Celosia and her leading lady Ianthe.

There was an extremely slow burn type kindling between them, and it left just enough to allow the fantasy elements to shine without losing the fantasy part.

I think I had two favorite characters, and Ianthe was definitely one of them, I just wish we could've seen some boom-chica-wow-wow scenes ;p

I think it blended the romance and fantasy setting well enough to satisfy faatasy fans who don't normally read romance, and romance readers who don't normally read fantasy!

~The action

Okay, so this is where I get all avatar status on you. Elemental magic is the ish. It's always been around. Avatar The Last Airbender made it revolutionary, to the point we ain't even calling that ish magic anymore, it's just bending XD

Anytime you're adding a bunch of people who can manipulate elements, you're bound to have a good time.

But it isn't just the magic. There are some pretty epic points that weren't magical, if that makes any sense.

Their world dealt with a lot of oppression and politics, and since it had a military backdrop(read next reason below) there was one scene I remember in particular(I read it months ago, forgive me for forgetting a few XD) that had me thinking "yo...where your crew at?"

~The world-building

When i started the book, I felt like I was immediately drawn into a world that reminded me of a mix of Fullmetal Alchemist and ATLA/LOK. I don't think I love three shows more than those, so I don't compare much to them, because they're too flippin amazing.

However, the more you read, the more you're pushed into a world that stands on its own. I usually find whenever there's military themes involved in a fantastical story, it's hard to follow or I don't enjoy the way they handle things, often unprofessional that I'll question whether it comes off realistic to me. The military backdrop was the first thing I noticed that brought back major feels, since I always hated finishing FMA for the first time.

I felt DBR blended technology, magic and military themes well enough with the fantastical theme, where it didn't feel like a book that'd bore me.

~The inclusivity

Biggest part about this book. Aside from like, two characters, nearly all the major characters are LGBTQ+, as well as identities many don't often educate themselves about, like demisexuality/romantic. I don't think people realize how cisnormative/heteronormative we're raised as a culture, and you have to make yourself aware of it before you can dismantle and unlearn all of it.

A story that blends so many things at once made it seem effortless, that it kinda felt like we should be living in a world like this, so it's kind of sad that we're not =(

Disability representation reveals itself in multiple forms in this story as well. Not all disability you can see from first glance, so I'm glad I read a story that incorporated a survivor of PSTD(after my LOK rewatch, I totally realized I didn't appreciate that narrative the first time around) as well as someone blind.

I'm kinda hoping we see a little more Adan should things go further, but that's my personal opinion. Outside of Ianthe, I always loved reading when he was on screen =)

I haven't fancasted in a while, but then again I haven't reviewed in a while since Sunday, so I'll try my best to cast them how I saw them.

I kinda saw actress Kat McNamara, since she has naturally vibrant ginger hair. You'd be surprised how many redheads in Hollywood aren't natural XD But she's one of the few I'm familiar with that I know to be born with the trait.

Actress Amanda Setton used to be on Gossip Girl, and I thought I read a while back that she had Armenian descent, but she's actually part Syrian and Ashkenazi Jewish. Since I didn't know that until re-looking her up, I pictured her the whole time, since I'd always thought her to be an ethnic minority who wasn't Black, Latinx or Asian.

The pre-order link literally just went live, so do yourself a favor and hit that link up! It should be out soon so stay tuned =)

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 23: Beyond The Contemporaries - Running In The Dark by Inger Iverson

2016-08-23T22:19:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So I read this book last year and was pretty surprised. I'll usually read any speculative fiction with characters of color, but vampire lore is something that is hard to catch my attention as of yet, since I like getting acquainted with other monsters, but I jumped at the chance to read it since it was NA!

I read it before an awesome audiobook was released and this super fab new cover came out, but I'm completely qualified to tell you why you should read this book ;p

Reasons why I chose Running In The Dark:

~Trace was a total beta, which I am a complete sucker for. I know books with vamp dudes are usually alpha, but eh...I kinda like nice guys, so I think it appealed to me that he wasn't an ass. Plus he had a Russian accent. That probably helped.

~I felt the love scene did justice to a former survivor of sexual trauma. The main character Bessina had survived a sexual assault a few months prior to the events of the book, and a total alpha wouldn't have worked for her given her past trauma(or at least with my bias, I don't think it would've). It wasn't rushed or forced and even though they hadn't known each other long, it felt like it respected past trauma survivors.

~The story is told in a single day, which makes it also easy to read in a single day. Basically whatever can go wrong does. Even though it is told in a single day, it's not an insta-love story =)

~That cover is awesome!

Anyway, do yourself a favor and hit up that audiobook. It didn't exist when I read it, so I re-bought it for a re-read soon!

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 22: Beyond The Contemporaries - The Black Parade by Kyoko M.

2016-08-22T20:30:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

Okay so today's book has been on my TBR list for effing ever, and sitting on my shelf waiting for me to crack it open.

It boggles the mind how I have an Afro-Latinx heroine on my shelf but haven't read it(especially since the last spec fic book I read with the same thing blew my mind!) but I'll give you reason why you should!

Reasons why I choose The Black Parade:

~Jordan, the MC seems to be quite the flawed heroine. I'm starting to prefer difficult female heroines for a number of reasons(one being Supernatural was once one of my fave shows, but the longer I stay tuned, the more I realize we don't appreciate flawed female rep as much as male) and the fact she isn't perfect makes me like the character more =D

~It's an UF that has a different take on Angels/Demons lore. It can get overwhelming when a bunch of books have similar themes, plots and characters, but you needn't worry with TBP, as a diverse cast and new take will take you back into the world with a fresh take!

~It's a trilogy, so there's more where that came from ;p

~She's Afro-Latinx. Duh!

So I admit I haven't gotten around to this book after I started reading ebooks over paperback(I hate lugging books, my copy is a paperback) but that shouldn't stop you from taking a look!

Don't forget to check Libertad out at Dani Reviews Things for her guest post on LGBTQIAP+ in New Adult!

#NAAugust Week Four, Day 21: Beyond The Contemporaries - The Olive Conspiracy by Shira Glassman

2016-08-21T16:41:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

So a few posts might be a little different this week, but only because I'm a HUGE lover of speculative fiction, that some of this week's books may be reviews.

The review will tell you better if you'll like it than me giving a bunch of reasons. I am a huge spec fic lover, so sometimes when I'm in a reading rut, I'll read like 10 spec fic books in a row and get my mojo running again ;p

I received this book in exchange for a review a few weeks back from the lovely author, and to be honest, it's like nothing I've read before.

I literally mean that, as a person who naturally gravitates for narratives like mine first, then branch out when I'm looking for something outside my narrative(hence why I'm on that Percy Jackson life).

One of the biggest reasons is because the book's setting is a Jewish fantasy setting, and I didn't even know those existed. I know how important a book like this is, I've just never actively sought one out before.

I actually one one of the books, but I just haven't read it XD

Anyhoo, one of the hugest thing that appealed to me was how queer the book is. I literally just finished my rewatch of The Legend of Korra, and it reminded me of it in the way where the female representation was so dominant in the book.

We weren't just given one really good female character, but like, a thousand(exaggerating here...) a bunch of them LGBT+, and not all white like I expected.

I really think I should backtrack(as I would suggest for others for stronger clarity), as this is the fourth in the series, but just based on the female queer rep alone, I won't have any problem doing so.

I haven't even gotten to what the book is actually about, because I was so impressed with the representation.

If you're familiar with the Mangoverse series, you'd already be familiar with Queen Shulamit. I don't know how she was in past books, but her character was so inspiring in Olive Conspiracy!

I do feel like it's a love story more than anything, but there are a ton of twists and turns for the major subplot(I'm trying not to post spoils, it's really hard not to because the book is short :p) and with the fantastical setting of Perach as a backdrop, there's a huge fantasy feel =)

I loved that there were trans characters(one in particular) because I don't read many but would like to, but would prefer positive rep. And they were older. Not that I'm against young characters, but after that Korra rewatch, I realized how much I'm appreciating age diversity among casts of characters.

I'll spoil one thing, but only because it's super important:

It's an LGBTQ+ story, a f/f at that, with an actual HEA. No corny ass lonely lesbian/queer women tropes here!

It's also got a sense of humor, which I absolutely love in SFF, so I'd highly suggest reading the very first book "The Second Mango" and dive into the series from there =D

#NAAugust Week Three, Day 20: Sex in New Adult - The Lost by Cole McCade

2016-08-20T12:01:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Books Are My Fandom

Disclaimer: Today's book is one of the darkest I'll suggest. If you prefer lighter novels, I guarantee this novel will not be for you...

Now that that's out the way, I was on the lookout for authors who were transmen or gender non-conforming who wrote m/f(even though this book in question appears to be cis-m/f). This is even harder to find, especially since my homeboy Kiran Oliver ain't released his WIP yet ;p

It's okay if the darkness of this book is too much, but I couldn't go an entire month suggesting noting but cis-authors, that'd totally blow!

Reasons why I choose The Lost:

~If you're a bad boy lover, Gabriel would most likely appeal to bad boy enthusiasts. Normally I really like beta-dudes, and I'll always ride hard for a nice guy, but alpha men definitely rule the Romance world. Gabriel's character is highly praised for his dark portrayal and it seems for good reason.

~It handles a bunch of gory subjects that many might be able to handle, but from what I've researched, has been in great taste. It's an emotionally charged book for sure, so make sure you prepare for a long ride in the dark.

~Duh. The sex!

*STEAMY/RISQUE*

So sad that this is the last day of this theme! Tomorrow starts a new theme, which is my favorite yet!

Beyond Contemporary! I get to highlight Spec Fic books! I'll even review two! So stay tuned, next week should have you out of your seats!