It’s Monday What Am I Reading?

I haven’t done one of these in a while, but as I sual, I’ve been reading quite a few interesting books, and I wanted to share a bit more about them!

I just finished reading:

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
After finishing Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, I was in the mood for reading another sapphic romance, and picked up this one since it had been on my TBR for quite some time. This one is a historical fiction that deals a lot with the place of women in science and art, which is why I wanted to read it (in addition with the fact that I needed a bit of fancy dresses and romance in my life). I really enjoyed the audiobook, and ended up giving the book 4 stars.

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
This is another book I was really curious about. It’s a queer (M/M) modern retelling of Grease and I loved it to pieces. I read it over the weekend, and ended up giving it 4 stars as well. The French translation for this book is getting released in April, and the publisher was kind enough to provide me with an ARC can’t wait to share it with my YA readers art work! (And I also badly want to rewatch Grease in order to be able to really make all of the parallels…)

I also read one literary fiction book which was translated from Portuguese (Brasil). It’s called We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon and it follows Julia and Cora who used to date but lost touch after both of them moved abroad. On a whim, they decide to reconnect and go on a road trip together. Over the course of their trip, old feelings and old secrets resurface. It’s a quick read, and I rather enjoyed it. I gave this one 3.5 stars.

I’m currently reading:

Life Isn’t Binary by Meg-John Barker and Alex Iantaffi, which I picked up at a feminist bookstore last weekend. As expected from the title, it challenges different ways through which society is always presented as binary, from the dichotomy between good & bad, but of course also through gender and sexuality, and more. It’s really interesting so far.

What I want to read next:

Nobody is going to be surprised when I say that my TBR is currently out of control. I don’t really know what I’m going to read next, but I do know that I have a copy of The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and I’m really curious about it, so this might be my next read. Either that, or some French literary fiction.

Book Recommendations: WWII Historical Fiction

It’s become a bit of a running joke with my coworker that every time a customer asks me for a historical fiction novel, I will find them something that was set during WWII. And more often than not they will agree with me that it’s a great pick! I’ve read a few in French, but there are also some that are available in English. For some reason, this particular topic really fascinates me. So let’s just face it, there are really some excellent books about this time period, and here are some my favourites.

The German House by Annette Hess

Is this post an excuse to talk about this book because I haven’t mentioned it in forever? Maybe so. We will never know. The only thing that matters is that it was excellent. The German House actually takes place for the most part during the Nurnberg trials. We follow a young woman who works as a translator for the Polish witnesses during the trials. What she did not expect was how this would unveil a whole part of her family history. This book was absolutely stunning. It’s a fascinating story about life choices and whether or not we end up being brave, and I am pretty sure that this is a book I will never forget.

House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon

This one was one of my latest reads and it kept me on edge until the very end! We follow a reknowed writer who traveled from Israel to Amsterdam for the promotion of his new book. While visiting the Jewish Museum there, he stumbles upon a video of his mother at a wedding, holding a small child in her arms. Except that child isn’t him, and he has never heard of him before. These events will set him up on a deep personal journey to find out the truth about himself and the life of his family during the war. The writing is excellent, and overall this book was absolutely stunning.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeskien Charles

The Paris Library is also a book I read quite recently. It is set during two different timelines, between Paris during WWII and a small American town called Froid in the 1980s. We follow Odile who is very passionate about books and works at the American Library in Paris. Throughout the war, the employees tried hard to keep a good service, and protect their Jewish customers. It’s an aspect of Paris’ history I didn’t really know much about but it was very interesting to read about. And through the book, we discover bit by bit how she ended up marrying an American soldier at the end of the war, and moved to the other side of the world. This book took me by surprise, and I really enjoyed it!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

You probably heard of that one before but that doesn’t mean it’s not excellent. We follow a young girl whose parents are communists, and leave her in the care of another family in the countryside during the war. The couple who adopts her is also hiding Max in their basement because he is Jewish. An unlikely friendship will form between the two of them, in between drawings and a few stolen books. What’s so special about this book is that it’s told from the perspective of death, and it’s absolutely stunning. I cried SO MUCH at the end, but it was absolutely worth it. If you haven’t read it yet, the among that list this is the one you should be reading.

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

You probably also heard of that one before as well, and I also cherish it with all my heart. Through the book, we follow two teenagers. The first one is Marie-Laure, who left Paris during the war to stay with her grandfather in Saint-Malo, and Werner, an orphan who naviguates Nazi Germany. Their paths become entangled through a mysterious radio program. This book is a bit chunky, but it’s simply impossible to put it down. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This one completely broke me. Don’t get me wrong, it was worth it, but it was also heartbreaking. If you’re going to read one book by Tatiana de Rosnay it should be this one (or The House that I Loved which is also excellent and heartbreaking but not the topic of today). It takes place in Paris and we follow a young girl called Sarah who hid her brother in the cupboard of their apartment before her family was deported. We will follow her through her escape attempts and the people who protected her in the French countryside until the end of the war. I read this one a long time ago but it has stayed with me since.

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And that’s it for today! Feel free to recommend me more of them, my TBR is already out of control anyway, and it’s not like this fact has stopped me from adding more books to it before!

March Reading Wrap Up

Well here we are again, I can’t believe it’s April already. I read fourteen books this past month, which turned out honorable.

Young adult:

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is hands down the best book I have read this year so far. It’s a YA historical fiction that takes place during the 1950s in San Francisco’s Chinatown. We follow Lily Hu, a teenage girl who is coming to terms with her sexuality and attraction to women, and is slowly falling for her classmate Kate. It is a beautiful coming of age story that also deals heavily on family and frienship, and I loved it with all my heart.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Children of Blood and Bone vol.2)

I’d been meaning to pick up this sequel since forever, and I’m so glad that I finally did! I really love the universe that Tomi Adeyemi has created. The characters are amazing. They are flawed but also brave, and will fight for the things they believe in. I really love the relationship between Zélie and Amari in particular. This story is full of plot twists and of course, it ends on a cliffhanger once again. I cannot wait for book 3!

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(The Grisha Trilogy vol.3)

It’s been forever since I picked up the Grisha Trilogy and I had yet to read the last instalment. With the TV show coming on Netflix (can you guess I’m excited?) I had to finish it at some point. I really enjoyed this last book, even though I had a basic idea of the direction it was going to take since I had already read the Six of Crows duology. And now I can’t wait to read Rule of Wolves!

Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I needed a quick, cheerful audiobook to listen to while doing my cooking the other day, so I picked up this one. It was adorable and I was super glad to be reunited with these characters. And on that note, I’m really excited for Becky Albertalli’s upcoming release Kate in Waiting!

Ravage the Dark by Tara Sim ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Scavenge the Stars vol.2)

It seems like March was the month during which I picked up many sequels. That doesn’t happen very often, so I tried to make the best of it. I actually picked up this one as soon as I received it, and I’m so glad that I did. Scavenge the Stars starts out as a genderbent Monte Cristo retelling, but really shapes into a story of its own. I absolutely loved the cast of characters, and the sequel really lived up to the first book. I feel like I don’t see this duology enough around it, but if you have read it, I would love to see your thoughts!

Adult fiction:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’d heard so many great things about this book I had to check it out eventually, and boy did it not disappoint. It’s absolutely worth all the hype and I completely loved it.

House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was a stunning historical fiction. We follow an author who traveled to Amsterdam for the promotion of his book. While visiting the Jewish Museum, he stumbles upon a video of his mom right before WWII. She is attending a wedding and holding a small child in her arms. Except he has no idea who that child is. This will lead him on a personal quest about his family and their whereabouts during the war. This book kept me on edge until the end and I absolutely loved it.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell ⭐⭐⭐⭐

And another historical fiction! This one is set during the late 16th century, and follows Shakespeare before he became the reknowed playwright we know of today. We meet his wife and three children, and witness the death of his 11 year-old son Hamnet. A few years later, he will write the play Hamlet in his honour. This book was absolutely beautiful and I’m so glad that I decided to read it.

French novels:

Le coeur en laisse de Line Papin ⭐⭐
Baisers de collection d’Annabelle Combes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
De mon plein gré de Mathilde Forget ⭐⭐⭐⭐

French graphic novels:

Le jardin de Gaëlle Geniller ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ne m’oublie pas d’Alix Garin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And lastly one manga: Weathering With You vol.3 by Makoto Shinkai ⭐⭐⭐

December Reading Wrap Up

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to read as much in December as in the past few months, because with what of Christmas month, I had more work to do, and was more tired. Thankfully, that wasn’t really the case! I started the month with three amazing middle grade books, and managed to get a decent amount of reading done in the end. With that being said, happy new year! And let’s get into the books I read last month!

Middle grade books:

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was really excited about this one since I loved the two previous books in the series, and it was just as great. New characters are introduced, as well as new plot twists, and it was overall wonderful. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the last instalment in this amazing series!

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by LD Lapinski ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I also started a new series which had been on my radar for a while! In this one, we follow 12 y/o Flick who stumbles upon a mysterious travel agency. Soon she discovers that she is able to travel to parallel universes through suitcases, and that the heart of this world is in danger. With the help of the agency owner, she will do anything to stop it. This book was amazing, and really promising for the rest of the series! I’m excited for new youger readers to discover it!

Rick by Alex Gino ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read George a couple years ago, and loved it with all my heart, so when I heard that Alex Gino had written a new story with an a-spec character, I knew that of course, I had to check it out. It won’t come as a surprise when I say that I absolutely loved it. This book is precious, it’s beautiful and important and I’m so glad that it’s out there in the world.

Young adult:

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton ⭐⭐⭐
I was really excited for this book when I first heard of it because I’m all about girls who want to be knights. And to that extent, it did live up to my expectations! This book was also nicely diverse. But it was also very full of clichés. And I have come to the conclusion once again that I’m getting too old for YA books (or at least some of them… Not that it’s going to stop me from reading them!) So overall: enjoyable, but maybe not for me.

Historical fiction:

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It had been a while since I had last read a good historical fiction novel, and this reminded me of how much I do enjoy them. This one follows a dual timeline betwen WWII Paris and small town in Montana in the 1980s, and mostly centers on what happened to the American Library in Paris and its members during the war. It’s a beautiful story about bravery and trust and betrayal. If you like stories with morally gray characters, and WWII stories in general, then I ddefinitely recommend you check out this one!

Graphic novels:

Chinese Queer by Seven ⭐⭐⭐
This one follows the life story of Tian Fushi as he goes through several relationships, and overall both grows up and figures himself out a little bit better.

Peau d’homme de Hubert et Zanzim ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Literally “a man’s skin”, this graphic novel takes place during medieval times and follows a young woman who disguises as a man with a precious man’s skin that is a family heirloom, and tries to get to know her fiancé a little bit better. Overall, it went places I didn’t really expect, and I really enjoyed it!

Livres en français:

La belle lumière d’Angélique Villeneuve ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A stunning historical fiction about the story of Helen Keller’s life. Based on the real life story, Angélique Villeneuve filled in the gaps left in between letters, and built an amazing character who faught for her daughter’s right to independance. It was absolutely beauitful.

La ville sans vent vol.2 d’Éléonore Devillepoix ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The sequel to a book I read earlier this year, it’s a fantasy story with a great world-building. I really grew attached to the characters, and would definitely recommend it to people who loved A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, and who like fantasy in general!

L’âme agit des livres de Mademoiselle Fa ⭐⭐⭐.5
This one is a short poetry book with many word plays.

Non fiction:

This is How it Starts by Dawn Lanuza ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A beautiful poetry book about breakups. I had read another collection by Dawn Lanuza in the past, and greatly enjoyed it, so I’m really glad I picked up this one to finish the year!

The Invisivle Orientation by Julie Sondra Decker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one if you haven’t heard of it is an introdution to asexuality. I bought it back in June and was really looking forward to reading it. I felt so seen and validated through it all (even if it’s not something I relate to one hundred percent of the time, it’s nice to hear that it’s OKAY and NORMAL to feel and thing like this). Anyway, I’m still confused, but I loved this book wholeheartedly and I can only recommed it.

Présentes by Lauren Bastide ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A newly released French book about feminism, developing on the place and presence of women in public space and media. I have to admit I didn’t learn that much, but I’m still educating myself, and the author did make some pretty good points.

Freedom is a constant struggle by Angela Y. Davis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And finally, this one was a series of speeches about freedom and anti-racism by activist Angela Davis. I’m so glad I took the time to read it, it was very interesting, and I would definitely recommend it! And overall I’m also really glad I finally took the time to pick up some non-fiction this month.

That’s it for today, thank you so much for reading, and again, happy new year!

Top 5 Wednesday: Read in Translation

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted on Goodreads. Feel free to join the group here. The theme for today was “read in translation” so I picked five books that were written in a language I’m not fluent enough to read. After a lot of research and not much surprise, it turns out that most of the books I read are originally written in French or in English, so this topic was much harder than I originally thought it would be. But I had a lot of fun looking for them, and I’m really glad to talk about something a little bit different today!

Deutsches House/The German House by Annette Hess | German

This was one of my favourite reads of last year. The story takes place in 1963 in Frankfurt, during the Second Auschwitz Trials (most of the accused were SS and people who worked at the camp). We follow a young translator, who is engaged to a wealthy business man, but is about to have her life transformed. As she speaks Polish, she is asked to translate the testimony of Polish witnesses, and will to so during most of the trials. She will learn more than she bargained for. It’s a very powerful book about culpability, and what makes us human. I highly recommend it if you get the chance to read it!

La hija del communista by Aroa Moreno Durán | Spanish

I also read this one last year, and it’s a story I can’t get off my mind. We follow a Spanish family who fled the country, and is now staying in East Berlin. They have two daughters, and as they grow older, one of them falls in love with a student from West Germany, and decides to flee with him. This one is a great story about the bonds of family, and Europe’s not-so-old history.

I don’t think it has been translated into English, but it seems to be available in French, Italian and Portuguese. If you get the chance to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami | Japanese

Norwegian Wood is a very atmospheric read, that deals with topics such as growing up, first love, and depression. It’s a tragic story, where the characters are constantly trying their best in the face of adversity. It was the first Murakami book that I read, and I will definitely be looking forward to my next reads by this author!

L’amica geniale/My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante | Italian

I don’t think I need to introduce this one anymore. I’m not the biggest fan of these books if I am being entirely honest with you, but I started to struggle with finding books to fit in this top, as I wanted to do different languages. However I have to give it to Ferrante: her historical portrayal of Napoli is absolutely fascinating.

The Readers of Broken Wheels Recommend
by Katarina Bivald | Swedish

And finally, a cute romance set up in a second hand bookstore! What more could we ask for? Sara is traveling across the world to meet with her penpal Amy, but when she finally arrives in Iowa, it’s Amy’s funeral. It’s not easy to move past that, but she settles in her house, and bonds with the neighbours thanks to Amy’s books. It’s a cute, fluffy book, perfect to read around Christmas with a hot drink!

 

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And that’s it for today! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Books I Keep Saying I Should Read

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m really bad at TBRs. Every time there’s a prompt about “books I want to read this summer” or “books I want to read before the end of the year” or even “anticipated releases” I will gladly talk about those books, and surely end up not reading them. While browsing through my blog (yes I do that) I ended up coming up with a list of books I keep mentioning that I desperately want to read but ended up not reading. Until, for a few of them, a few weeks ago! And I thought it would be fun to once again talk about those books, because I swear I do want to read them!

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The Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

When I originally started this list a few weeks ago, I was strongly considering picking up this one as a next read but then, you know, I didn’t. I’ve been meaning to read it for quite some time now, and that for two reasons: I keep hearing nothing but wonderful things about it, and I read Daisy Jones and the Six last year, and loved it. It’s even been sitting on my Kindle for quite some time now, but I don’t know, it hasn’t happened yet.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

I have owned this book for YEARS and been meaning to read it for even longer. It’s another one I was hoping to pick up during the confinement, but I guess it didn’t happen. I binge read Heroes of Olympus instead (worth it!) which has nothing to do with it, I know. But hey, it’s sitting on my nightstand pile of books. The ones I’m supposed to pick up soon. So I guess it’s going to happen eventually!

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

No clue why I haven’t picked up this one yet. I loved her previous book One Of Us Is Lying and was really curious about this one. I love the title. It has gorgeous blue decked pages. It’s on my nightstand pile. It just hasn’t happened yet.

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

I remember saying I couldn’t wait for this one to be released. Look at all the good it has done to me. To be fair, I do have one reason in mind as to why I haven’t picked it up yet: I think I don’t want the story and the magic to be over! But I know that I will pick it up eventually. And binge-read it, probably.

Love From A to Z by S. K. Ali

I’m pretty sure this one was on my list of books I wanted to read last summer. And then on my list of books I wanted to read before the end of 2019 (which was pretty much the same list of books). But the good news is, I have actually read this one! It’s a sweet, beautiful story, but it’s also so much more. It’s a book about fighting for justice, and it also deals with grief. And of course, it’s THE CUTEST love story. Check out my review, and I’m sure it will make it to my favourite reads of 2020 list! So that’s a success.

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

Another book I’d been planning on reading last summer, since like all other Sarah Dessen books I’ve read, it has a strong summer vibe. (The infamous list) I’d probably been planning on reading it the previous summer as well, considering I got it at the Paris bookfair a solid two years ago. The good news is, I’ve finally read it, and I loved it! And that’s another sucess.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

My friends got me this book for my birthday back in 2015. Because they knew that I wanted to read it. And guess what? I haven’t. I’m pretty sure it has actually been on my TBR since 2013, when I heard about it. I’m not giving up just yet. This book sounds amazing, and I will read it at some point. I just don’t know when.

A Column on Fire by Ken Follett

This is the second MASSIVE book on my list, and I know that the reason I haven’t read it yet is just that: it’s massive. Just like The Goldfinch, the book is impressive, and I can’t bring myself to pick it up just yet (although, I know, this confinement would have been a good opportunity. But hey, there’s still summer, and if we can’t travel I guess I will have some free time on my hands!) I absolutely LOVED both Pillars of the Earth and World Without End so there’s no need to say I’m pretty excited about this one.

The Magnus Chase trilogy by Rick Riordan

It’s no secret that I always say I’m a huge fan of Riordan’s work. Until recently, I’d only read the original Percy Jackson series, but I binge read the Heroes of Olympus recently, and now I have absolutely no excuse not to pick up Magnus Chase. On top of that, I LOVE Norse mythology. I just need to finish a couple of my current reads, and then I’m pretty sure I’ll pick up that one (although saying it feels like I’m jinxing it… We’ll see!)

And finally, Fierce Frangile Hearts by Sara Barnard

I’d loved all of her previous books, and how she deals with friendships and families. It’s also nice to read YA books that don’t take place in the US but rather in places I’ve actually visited like Brighton! So yes, this book was on my TBR for last summer. But the good news is, I have actually started it! And as soon as I am done with my OTHER current reads aka Wilder Girls by Rory Power and The Fever by Megan Abbott, I WILL be completing it ♥

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I was originally planning on making this blog post a video, since I haven’t filmed in a while. But I realised I didn’t have the energy to film. There’s a reason I mostly gave up on my channel, but have always been persistent on my blog. I like writing better than talking. So here we are, this blog post happened. Thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and have a wonderful day!

Wayfarer: My Review

 

I read Passenger two years ago and I absolutely LOVED that book, so obviously Wayfarer had been on my TBR ever since, but as I clearly don’t have my priorities straight, it took me this long to actually pick it up. In my defence, it’s a BIG CHUNKY book. But oh boy was it worth the read!

Check out my review of Passenger if you’d like!

Title: Wayfarer (Passenger #2)
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Genre: YA Fantasy, Time Travel
Release: 2017
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

⚠️ Warning: Spoilers for Passenger ⚠️ as well as this one, sorry I need to ramble ⚠️

Wayfarer picks up right where book one ended, with Etta and Nicholas separated by centuries, and their timeline disrupted by the Ironwood. Throughout the book, they are forming alliances while trying to be reunited, avoiding their enemies and finding the astrolabe that could restore the original timeline, or put an end to time-traveling in general.

While Nicholas travels through time and space with the help of Sophia and a mysterious girl called Li Min, Etta encounters her father for the first time, and finds out that Julian — Nicholas’ half brother, and heir to the Ironwood — is actually alive. New players in the search for the astrolabe make themselves known, and new enemies arise.

While I found that the book could get a teeny bit slow at some points, I really enjoyed it. It was nice to meet some new characters such as Julian, Li Min and Etta’s father Henry. It was also really interesting to see the dynamic between Nicholas and Sophia evolve compared to book one.

All of the characters really grew, and managed to make important decision after important decision, always hoping that they were making the best choice. And while Nicholas decided to trust one after another people who would end up betraying him, Etta managed to live some pretty awesome adventures while trying to save the world. As for Sophia, I liked her more and more with each chapter, and I really loved her relationship with Li Min.

We did get some interesting flashbacks of Rose Linden’s life when she was a kid but that was not enough for me to empathy with her. On the other hand, Julian and Henry were really the cherry on top of the cake that was this amazing cast of characters. I also love that fact that this book addresses questions of racism and sexism when Sophia, Li Min and Nicholas travel back in time, and I think it did so quite well and interstingly (correct me if you think I am wrong).

So yes, overall I am really glad that I finally got to read this book. I’m always discovering new books and adding new things to my TBR, so it’s actually nice to see it with one less book on it sometimes! My biggest regret is that I read it in French while I read the first one in English, and the translator decided to translate most of the characters’ names which was HELLA CONFUSING at first, but once I had fallen back into this amazing universe, I managed to get used to it. I think time travel stories are fascinating, and this one was executed fabulously. In addition to that, it works really well as a duology. It managed to surprise me with plot twists until the ending, but I couldn’t have expected for a better one.

The House On Half Moon Street: My Review

I first heard about this book on Meggy’s blog @ Chocolate N Waffles (check out her review) and when I read her review, I knew that I HAD to pick up this book. I don’t read a lot of crime / thriller novels (although I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately, like literally every time I talk about this book or There’s Someone Inside Your House) but this definitely seemed like something I could enjoy. So I just kept it in a corner of my mind. Lo and behold, we received some copies at work, maybe two days after I read that review. So of course, I had to borrow one and check out the story for myself.

Title: The House on Half Moon Street
Author: Alex Reeve
Genre: Thriller + Historical Fiction
Release: 2018 (2019 for the French translation I read)
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story:

The story is set in London in 1880 and follows Leo Stanhope.

Leo ran away from home some ten years ago (if I remember correctly) because his family couldn’t accept him for who he really was. Leo was born with the body of a woman, and it’s not easy being trans in Victorian England. He gets by thanks to his job at the morgue, and lives for his weekly visits to the brothel where he can see the love of his life Maria.

That is, until Maria is found dead, and he is accused of her murder. From this day on, Leo realises he knew near nothing about her, and swears that he is going to find out who killed her, even if that means risking his own life.

My opinion:

While this review is spoiler free, I just wanted to put a trigger warning for rape & violence beforehand. The book does contain a few gruesome scenes.

It’s been such a long time since I last read a book set in Victorian England, or any book set in London for that matter, and this managed to remind me how much I loved that setting. From the beginning, I was bound to fall in love with this book. It also had a great Sherlock-ian vibe which I really loved (just give me murder, historical fiction and London, and I’m bound to think about Sherlock Holmes, but let us not dwell on that).

Setting: already in love with that.
Leo struggling with his identity: that’s the kind of character that I love reading!! Give me more @ book community (no but really, feel free to recommend me some books!) I loved how matter-of-factly some of the descriptions were made in terms of Leo’s identity. How he had ran away because it was the only way to be free. How he had accepted a job at the morgue because it was a good way to stay low while earning a living. How he would risk everything for Maria even if it meant his secret could be uncovered.

Now as for the rest, the whole murder mystery intrigue managed to keep me on edge until the end. Very soon a villain figure emerged, but there was no motive or whatnot. He was just some kind of shady man, who could not really be trusted, and we should beware of. It was really interesting to watch the story unfold, motives and excuses be revealed and so on. There were a lot of twists, and I loved that!

Beside Leo Stanhope, I also really liked the character of Rosie Flowers. She was one strong independant woman in a time very unkind to women. I also really enjoyed her dynamic with Leo, and how she would take shit from absolutely no one. This novel features a lot of complex characters, such as Captain Thorpe (or whatever his name was, I’m not sure, I feel like I am mixing him up with that character from a Jane Austen novel) and of course Leo’s friend Jacob, as well as his landlord and I’m not going to name all of them, but you get the gist of it: this was a very interesting cast of characters.

Overall, this was a really good book in my opinion. It was unapologetically diverse, and showed how prejudiced and misogynistic the society could be at the time (and it’s still is, in many ways, but that’s a whole different topic). I had a great time reading it — even though I had to put it down a few times because of how intense it could get. It’s really a unique story, which is why I would definitely recommend it, especially if you are into murder / mystery things!

The House on Half Moon Street is a story that I’m not going to forget any time soon. And in the meantime, I’ll try to get my hands on its sequel, The Anarchists’ Club, as I learnt that it was released in May!

The Weight Of Our Sky: My Review

As soon as I finished reading this book I knew that I HAD TO write a review about it because I absolutely NEEDED to talk about it. It has such amazing rep, and although it was a heartbreaking story to read, I believe it’s one that had to be told.

Title: The Weight of our Sky
Author: Hanna Alkaf
Release: February 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger warning: Violence, Death, Anxiety

The story:

The story is set during the riots in Kuala Lumpur in 1969, that opposed the Malays and the Chinese communities. It follows a teenage girl, Melati, who has OCD — or as she says, is harboring the djinn. She was out with a friend when the events began, and has been separated from her mother with whom she is trying to reunite, no matter how dangerous the situation is.

My opinion:

This book was simply mind blowing — words cannot even begin to describe it. I finished it absolutely heartbroken, but oh boy was it worth it. First of all, I learnt a lot historically speaking. As a European, I know that I don’t have that much knowledge when it comes to wordlwide history, and I had never hear of the 1969 riots, so this book was an opportunity for me to learn more about the history of Malaysia.

But that’s only the beginning of what I wanted to talk about.

I think what struck me the most was probably the mental illness representation. Melati has what looks like OCD and anxiety, and the words she uses to describe it are the djinn, and how it seeps through her thoughts and, among others, makes her witness her mother’s death over and over again. Now, I don’t know that much about OCD but I sure know what having anxiety feels like. Fearing the worst scenarios is only the beginning of it. A fear of failure. That voice in your head saying that you can’t do it, that you’re not worth it. And the counting, the endless counting. I personally have a tendency to count my steps, and the sips of water I drink. One two three four five six seven eight. And also  Melati only counts to three, this was a very striking detail to me, because it hit so close to home. And I’m glad that I got to read such a good mental illness representation through The Weight of our Sky.

Kudos to the mental illness rep in this book. But that’s not the only thing Hanna Alkaf tackled in her writing. The Weight of our Sky is such a raw portrayal of the events. It deals with violence, prejudice and racism in such a powerful way. I had to close the book sometimes, and I cried on several occasions, but it was absolutely worth it. Because despite the violence it also portrays human beings. It portrays the beauty of humanty in times of crisis. Through Vince and his family, through the people sheltering their neighbours, through the nurses at the hospital. It was so heartwarming, even though death could stand behind every single page.

Reading this book was a rollercoaster of emotions, but despite all the tears, it was absolutely worth it, and I completely recommend it ♥

The Gilded Wolves: My Review

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew that I had to read it. It is set in Paris during the Exposition Universelle, and that’s basically my favourite thing to read about (even if it must not have been that great a place to live in terms of HUMAN RIGHTS, I still find it absolutely fascinating). So like the good bookworm that I am, I preordered it on my Kindle so that I would get it right away upon its release, and believe it or not and probably for the first time ever, I started reading it on its release day!

Written by an author of both Filipina and Indian descent, The Gilded Wolves is the second book on my list for YARC 2019 (link to my announcement post). It also features an incredibly diverse cast of characters from all over the world, many of them struggling with their identity as their parents come from different origins (for example, Enrique is Spanish and Filipino, and Séverin’s father was French while his mother was Algerian). This is the first time I read one of Roshani Chokshi’s books, but it definitely will not be the last!

Oh and before I dive further into the ramble of emotions that this book turned me into, and I know that my black & white kindel doesn’t do it justice, HOW GORGEOUS IS THAT COVER? I love it so much.

Title: The Gilded Wolves
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Release: January 2019
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Possible trigger warnings for racism and antisemitism

Goodreads summary:

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

I tried to make my own summary of the story like I usually do, but it didn’t do the story justice so I picked up the one from Goodreads, hopefully it makes more sense than whatever ramble I would have written.

My opinion:

Secret societies? Magic-like powers? Paris during the Exposition Universelle? An incredibly diverse cast of characters? Count me in! For every single one of those aspects! This book really awoke the history nerd in me, I was just reading and fangirling about the 19th century Paris streets, and Zofia’s science lab, and the Tuileries Garden, and the Eiffel Tower having just been built, and all the fantastic buildings the characters walked into. I really appreciated how historically accurate the setting was, it was full of little references, and at the same time challenging the mentality of the time, with its racism — Séverin being denied his father’s title because of his Algerian mother, or the idées reçues against Laila because of her origins, and how she challenged them — or antisemitism with Zofia’s character being unfairly judges by her classmates because of her origins. Overall, that made for a very accurate portrayal of the timen while challenging its problematic aspects. I also appreciated how much it dealt with mental health through the characters of Tristan (PTSD symptoms) and Zofia (autism spectrum). And of course my heart was warmed by my precious bisexual and nerdy baby Enrique. He was relatable in many aspects.

“Enrique used to feel a twinge of shame when it came to his feelings… He used to pray that when it came to attraction, his body would just choose between men and women, and not both.”

There is so much I want to say about this book, I don’t even know where to start. I absolutely loved the amazing cast of characters, which sometimes reminded me of the just-as-fantastic team of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo — mostly in the first half of the book. I really loved the setting, both geographical and historical. The Gilded Wolves was there to remind its reader of how glamourous 1889 Paris could be, but also how flawed it still was when it came to colonialsm for example: in case you didn’t know, the Exposition was also a “Colonial Exhibition” including villages of actual people who were there just to be observed, basically like a human zoo. This is not glamorous at all, this is so blatantly problematic and it is important not to forget about this very sad aspect of our history, and I’m so glad Roshani Chokshi decided to deal with it in her book.

An accurate representation of me every time something remotely bad happened to any of the characters… Although they can pretty much all KICK ASS and don’t need my protection!!

The plot of the book was full of twists, and the main villain entity was not clear from the start which is something I really appreciated, as it can be really refreshing compared to other books I have read! I didn’t find it predictable at all, which was definitely a plus. I also really enjoyed the writing. There were some times where the plot confused me a little bit, but I didn’t really mind that much, and I still wholeheartedly think that The Gilded Wolves deserves FIVE STARS. It was brilliant and original, while also heartbreaking sometimes — but isn’t it what makes a good book?

5/5, definitely would recommend, possibly with a box of tissues by your side