O.W.L.s Magical Readathon 2020 TBR

Hey everyone!

I’m so incredibly excited that it’s O.W.L.s time again! This readathon was created by the incredible G over at Book Roast. For this readathon, you need to choose a profession, then complete the O.W.L.s prompts for the required subjects you will need to pass before taking your N.E.W.T.s. There are so many amazing careers to choose from and I actually ended up going with two because I couldn’t decide!

Profession(s):

Curse Breaker
Trader of Magical Tomes

Exams Required:

Ancient Runes
Arithmancy
Charms
Defense Against the Dark Arts
History of Magic
Potions
Transfiguration

Ancient Runes – Heart Rune: heart on the cover or in the title

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

Arithmancy – Magical qualities of the number “2”: balance/opposites – read something outside your favorite genre (which is Fantasy)

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Charms – Lumos Maxima: white cover

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw (Owlcrate Edition)

Defense Against the Dark Arts – Grindylows: book set at the sea/coast

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

History of Magic – Witch Hunts: book featuring witches/wizards

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Potions – Shrinking Solution: book under 150 pages

The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer

Transfiguration – Animagus Lecture: book/series that includes shapeshifting

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Back up:

Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett

Not Needed—Extra Credit!

Astronomy – Night Classes: read the majority of this book when it’s dark outside

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Care of Magical Creatures – Hippogriffs: creature with a beak on the cover

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

Divination – Third Eye: assign numbers to your TBR and use a random number generator to pick your read

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

Herbology – Mimbulus Mimbletonia: title that starts with an “M”

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Muggle Studies – Book from a perspective of a muggle (contemporary)

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Let me know if you are participating in the readathon too!

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Polarthon 2020 TBR

There’s a readathon coming up this week that sounds awesome: the Polarthon! This was created by Jade from jadeyraereads. Because of her, I’ve not only found a bunch of amazing books recently but I’ve also discovered the genre of polar fantasy. The Polarthon sounds absolutely perfect for getting started in this genre and I can’t wait to begin!

The way your TBR is created is by deciding what path to take on the map Jade has created. There are three options for prompts for the first four books and the journey ends with a polar fantasy. The readathon takes place from February 3rd to February 9th. Make sure to head over to Jade’s channel and check out her video announcement for the readathon!

And here is the path I chose and what books I’m reading for each prompt!

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan

Violet never wanted to move to Perfect.

Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be neat and tidy and perfectly behaved all the time?

But Violet quickly discovers there’s something weird going on – she keeps hearing noises in the night, her mum is acting strange and her dad has disappeared.

When she meets Boy she realizes that her dad is not the only person to have been stolen away…and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!

North Child by Edith Pattou

Rose is an unusual child, a North Child. For Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she is destined to travel far from home on a dangerous journey. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny…

A beautiful, epic story of destiny, magic and love, North Child will take you on an unforgettable adventure.

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with.

But that’s tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It’s even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties–and no playmates that stick around for more than a day.

So when Marinka stumbles across the chance to make a real friend, she breaks all the rules . . . with devastating consequences. Her beloved grandmother mysteriously disappears, and it’s up to Marinka to find her–even if it means making a dangerous journey to the afterlife.

With a mix of whimsy, humor, and adventure, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.

The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell

It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just the same.

Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . .

When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?

Frostheart by Jamie Littler

Way out in the furthest part of the known world, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off from the rest of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath the Snow Sea.

There, a little boy called Ash waits for the return of his parents, singing a forbidden lullaby to remind him of them… and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardian, Tobu.

But life is about to get a whole lot more crazy-adventurous for Ash.

When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers, he’s whisked aboard the Frostheart, a sleigh packed full of daring explorers who could use his help. But can they help him find his family . . . ?

Are any of you guys participating in the Polarthon? Let me know what your TBR is or just what your general February TBR is!

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December 2019 TBR

Hi Everyone!

I hope you’ve all been doing well and are having a fantastic start to the holiday season! We’re finally into the colder months (my favorites!) and I am so ready to snuggle up and read lots of amazing books. I’ve been on a mission to start catching up on some popular books/series that I’ve been meaning to get to for ages and haven’t yet. So far I’ve been doing pretty well and I’m hoping to keep up the momentum this month. I’ve also done a fantastic job staying on top of new releases so I’ll be trying to continue that as well.

I apologize for my posts being a bit sparse these last couple of months. I’ve been dealing with a lot health-wise and my energy level has taken a massive and unexpected hit. I’ve have been struggling a lot with getting my writing done and I’m incredibly sorry. I am toying with the idea of taking a short hiatus later this month just to heal and recover so I can start strong in the new year with blogging!

On a more positive note, I’ve been reading quite a lot and have some wonderful books I’ve been dying to review for you guys, so I will definitely have plenty coming as I begin to ease back into the swing of things. Thank you all so much for being so supportive and patient with me, it means the world. ❤

Now, onto the books I am hoping to get to this month!

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Scythe by Neal Schusterman

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

What are you guys planning on reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

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O.W.L.s Magical Readathon 2019 TBR

Hey everyone!

So, I know I’m extremely late getting to this AND I’ve already taken (and passed!) my N.E.W.T.s, but I feel my Hogwarts studies are incomplete. Since I didn’t find out about the O.W.L.s until it was too late, I figured I would spend the next month taking them so I can officially call myself a Mind Medic! So from November 1^st to November 30^th, I will be participating in my own little O.W.L.s readathon! And here is my planned TBR for the month.

Profession:

Mind Medic

Exams Required:

Ancient Runes
Arithmancy
Charms
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
Muggle Studies
Potions
Transfiguration

Ancient Runes – Retelling

Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman

Arithmancy – Work written by more than one author

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Charms – Age-line: Read an adult work

The Scorched Earth by Rachael Blok

Defense Against the Dark Arts – Reducto: Title that Stars with “R”

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Herbology – Plant on the cover

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

Muggle Studies – Contemporary

Keeping Long Island by Courtney Peppernell

Potions – Next ingredient: Sequel

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Transfiguration – Sprayed edges or red cover

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Not Needed—Extra Credit!

Astronomy – “Star” in the title

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Care of Magical Creatures – Land animal on the cover

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Divination – Set in the future

Cress by Marissa Meyer

History of Magic – Published at least 10 years ago

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The N.E.W.T.s readathon back in August went so well and I got through more books than I have in a month for a while, so I’m hoping that will be true this month as well! If you guys participated in the O.W.L.s this year, make sure to let me know in the comments how you did and what you read!

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N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon 2019 Wrap-Up

Wow, August was an absolutely insane month! Between my Hogwarts studies and my real life university studies, I can’t believe I’m still standing at this point. But, I successfully completed my first-ever readathon! And for it to be a Harry Potter-themed readathon makes it even more awesome. I had so much fun taking (and passing!) my N.E.W.T.s. I’m so happy I gave this a try. In total, I ended up reading twelve books which is more than I’ve read in a month in a while. So, without further ado, here is a look at my readathon results. I’m planning on having full reviews up for all of these at some point this month, so keep an eye out!

Profession:

Mind Medic

Grades Required:

O in Charms
O in Defense Against the Dark Arts
E in Muggle Studies
E in Potions
E in Transfiguration

A: Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (Full Review)

E: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or book under 150 pages)

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker (Full Review)

O: Spongeify (softening charm) – Read a paperback book

Your Heart Is The Sea by Nikita Gill (Full Review)

A: Book that’s black under the dust jacket

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young (Full Review Coming Soon)

E: Gilderoy’s memory charm – first book that you remembered just now from your TBR

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler (Full Review)

O: Cornish Pixie! Swat it away with a book written by an English author or set in England

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Cover that includes an actual photo element (person, item, place, etc.)

The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney (Full Review)

E: Book set in our real world

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Polyjuice Potion – Read your friend’s favorite book

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

E: House ingredient – book with a cover in your Hogwarts house color (Ravenclaw)

Doctor Who: Myths and Legends by Richard Dinnick (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Read a book with LGBTQA+ representation

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon (Full Review)

E: Read a book that’s not a first in the series

Restricted Section Swap: Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell (Full Review Coming Soon)

And now I’m a Mind Medic! I’m so pleased with how this readathon went and it’s made me really eager to do another one soon. I’m thinking of maybe doing the O.W.L.s readathon before the end of the year since I missed it, just so I can feel my studies are complete! How about you guys? Did any of you do the N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon this past month? If so, let me know how you did, or if not, let me know what your favorite books of the month were!

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September 2019 TBR

Hi everyone!

I’m trying to continue posting more of my monthly TBRs because I absolutely love sharing what I’m reading with you guys. I managed to stick to my whole N.E.W.T.s Readathon TBR last month (wrap-up coming soon!) and I want to try to keep up the momentum with my reading. Also, I love hearing what you’ve all been reading this year and if you have any recommendations! As always, my TBR is insanely ambitious for just one month and I’m not pressuring myself to read all of them, but I’m hoping to get through a decent amount.

I’m so eager to read these books and I’m so excited to share them with you so, without further ado, here is my reading list for September!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster by Cary Fagan

As Many Nows as I Can Get by Shana Youngdahl

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Shadow Frost by Coco Ma

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (Re-read)

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

What are you guys reading this month? What have been some of your favorite reads so far this year? Let me know in the comments!

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N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon 2019 TBR

I’ve been seeing these readathons going around a lot lately and I figured I should give one a try! I missed the O.W.L.s Magical Readathon, but I thought I would just jump in with this one anyway. These readathons were created by the incredible G over at Book Roast. For this readathon, you need to choose a profession, then complete the N.E.W.T.s prompts to receive the grades required for your chosen career. It was insanely difficult to choose a career as there are so many amazing ones! But I decided—since I’m a psychology major—to choose the Mind Medic profession.

Mind Medic

O in Charms

A: Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

E: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or book under 150 pages)

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

O: Spongeify (softening charm) – Read a paperback book

Your Heart Is The Sea by Nikita Gill

O in Defense Against the Dark Arts

A: Book that’s black under the dust jacket

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

E: Gilderoy’s memory charm – first book that you remembered just now from your TBR

His Hideous Heart by Various

O: Cornish Pixie! Swat it away with a book written by an English author or set in England

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal

E in Muggle Studies

A: Cover that includes an actual photo element (person, item, place, etc.)

The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney

E: Book set in our real world

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

O: Book written by a person of color

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

E in Potions

A: Polyjuice Potion – Read your friend’s favorite book

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

E: House ingredient – book with a cover in your Hogwarts house color (Ravenclaw)

Doctor Who: Myths and Legends by Richard Dinnick

O: Book that starts with a prologue

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

E in Transfiguration

A: Read a book with LGBTQA+ representation

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon

E: Read a book that’s not a first in the series

 

Cress by Marissa Meyer

O: McGonagall does not mess around! Read a book over 500 pages

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Restricted Section: Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

Let me know if you are participating in the readathon too!

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April 2019 TBR

Hi everyone!

I’m trying to get back into the habit of posting more of my monthly TBRs because I absolutely love sharing what I’m reading with you guys. Also, I love hearing what you’ve all been reading this year and if you have any recommendations! As always, my TBR is insanely ambitious for just one month, but I’m mainly using this as a guideline. Some of these books will probably overlap into next month, but I’m really hoping I can get through a good chunk of it.

I’m so eager to read these books and I’m so excited to share them with you so, without further ado, here is my reading list for April! 🙂

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Second Lives by P.D. Cacek

The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz

The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Cress by Marissa Meyer

The Dream Peddler by Martine Fournier Watson

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Halo of Power by Jeremy Holden

Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner

What are you guys reading this month? What have been some of your favorite reads so far this year? Let me know in the comments!

February 2019 TBR

Happy February, everyone!

I apologize for posting two pretty short posts in a row (I will have some new reviews coming soon!), but I’ve realized I haven’t posted my monthly TBR in quite a while. I’ve missed sharing it and I absolutely love hearing from you guys about what you’ve been reading lately or plan on picking up soon!

As always, my TBR is way too ambitious and I’m sure some of these books will end up on my March TBR, but since I’m such a massive mood reader, I like to give myself plenty of options. Of course, if I were actually able to read all of these, that would be absolutely awesome! I’m so determined to hit my goal of reading 100 books this year! 😀

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here’s my February 2019 TBR!

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Halo of Power by Jeremy Holden

The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters

Between Before and After by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

What are you guys reading this month? What have you read so far this year? Let me know in the comments!

August 2018 TBR

Happy August, everyone!

This month has already been absolutely insane for me! But I have huge, exciting news—I’m starting university next month! 😀 I’ll be majoring in Creative Writing + English and Forensic Psychology. This is such a special moment for me. I’ve been wanting to do this for so long, and it’s finally happening!

Since next month is probably going to be a slower reading month as I get into the swing of things, I’m hoping I can get a lot done this month. So please excuse the following, most overly ambitious TBR on the planet! 😛

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

This is the story of a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. 

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she’s found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

For anyone . . .

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Last Unicorn is one of the true classics of fantasy, ranking with Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy, and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Beagle writes a shimmering prose-poetry, the voice of fairy tales and childhood:

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

The unicorn discovers that she is the last unicorn in the world, and sets off to find the others. She meets Schmendrick the Magician–whose magic seldom works, and never as he intended–when he rescues her from Mommy Fortuna’s Midnight Carnival, where only some of the mythical beasts displayed are illusions. They are joined by Molly Grue, who believes in legends despite her experiences with a Robin Hood wannabe and his unmerry men. Ahead wait King Haggard and his Red Bull, who banished unicorns from the land.

How to Fracture a Fairytale by Jane Yolen

Fantasy legend Jane Yolen (The Emerald Circus, The Devil’s Arithmetic) delights with this effortlessly wide-ranging offering of fractured fairy tales. Yolen fractures the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets, holding them to the light and presenting them entirely transformed; where a spinner of straw into gold becomes a money-changer and the big bad wolf retires to a nursing home. Rediscover the fables you once knew, rewritten and refined for the world we now live in―or a much better version of it.

All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis

In a world where every word and gesture is copyrighted, patented or trademarked, one girl elects to remain silent rather than pay to speak, and her defiant and unexpected silence threatens to unravel the very fabric of society. 

Speth Jime is anxious to deliver her Last Day speech and celebrate her transition into adulthood. The moment she turns fifteen, Speth must pay for every word she speaks (“Sorry” is a flat ten dollars and a legal admission of guilt), for every nod ($0.99/sec), for every scream ($0.99/sec) and even every gesture of affection. She’s been raised to know the consequences of falling into debt, and can’t begin to imagine the pain of having her eyes shocked for speaking words that she’s unable to afford.

But when Speth’s friend Beecher commits suicide rather than work off his family’s crippling debt, she can’t express her shock and dismay without breaking her Last Day contract and sending her family into Collection. Backed into a corner, Speth finds a loophole: rather than read her speech–rather than say anything at all–she closes her mouth and vows never to speak again. Speth’s unexpected defiance of tradition sparks a media frenzy, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps, and threatens to destroy her, her family and the entire city around them.

Born Scared by Kevin Brooks

Elliot has lived his first thirteen years confined to his home, incapacitated by fear. Now he’s out of pills, snow is falling, and his only safe person is missing. A terrifying thriller from Carnegie Medalist Kevin Brooks.

From the moment of his birth, Elliot’s life has been governed by fear of almost everything, even of his own fear — a beast that holds him prisoner in his room. The beast is kept at bay, though not eliminated, with a daily regimen of pills. But on Christmas Eve, a mix-up at the pharmacy threatens to unleash the beast full force, and his mother must venture out in a raging snowstorm to a store that should be only minutes away. Hours later, when she still hasn’t returned, Elliot sees no choice but to push through his terror, leave the house, and hunt for her. What happens if the last of his medication wears off and the beast starts scratching at the doors of his mind? Everyone has a breaking point — will Elliot come to his? With plot twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats, multi-award-winning author Kevin Brooks offers a high-suspense exploration of fear and what it means to truly be afraid.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (Re-read)

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates–brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. 

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find–aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge–but who will be left alive at the end? 

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery. When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process.

On the Spectrum by Jennifer Gold

Growing up in the shadow of a famous mother, Clara has never felt good about her body. Now, at sixteen, she has an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. After a social media disaster, she decides to escape for the summer to Paris to stay with her estranged dad and her six-year-old brother, Alastair, who is on the autism spectrum. Charged with his care, Clara and Alastair set out to explore the city. Paris teaches Clara about first love and gives her a new love of food. And Alastair teaches Clara about patience, trust and the beauty of loving without judgment.

The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington

Rose, Ella, Marta and Carla. In another life we might have all been friends together. But this was Birchwood.

As fourteen-year-old Ella begins her first day at work she steps into a world of silks, seams, scissors, pins, hems and trimmings. She is a dressmaker, but this is no ordinary sewing workshop. Hers are no ordinary clients. Ella has joined the seamstresses of Birkenau-Auschwitz.

Every dress she makes could be the difference between life and death. And this place is all about survival.

Ella seeks refuge from this reality, and from haunting memories, in her work and in the world of fashion and fabrics. She is faced with painful decisions about how far she is prepared to go to survive.

Is her love of clothes and creativity nothing more than collaboration with her captors, or is it a means of staying alive?

Will she fight for herself alone, or will she trust the importance of an ever-deepening friendship with Rose? 

One thing weaves through the colours of couture gowns and camp mud – a red ribbon, given to Ella as a symbol of hope.

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

Subverting convention, award-winning creators M. T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin pair up for an anarchic, outlandish, and deeply political saga of warring elf and goblin kingdoms.

Uptight elfin historian Brangwain Spurge is on a mission: survive being catapulted across the mountains into goblin territory, deliver a priceless peace offering to their mysterious dark lord, and spy on the goblin kingdom — from which no elf has returned alive in more than a hundred years. Brangwain’s host, the goblin archivist Werfel, is delighted to show Brangwain around. They should be the best of friends, but a series of extraordinary double crosses, blunders, and cultural misunderstandings throws these two bumbling scholars into the middle of an international crisis that may spell death for them — and war for their nations. Witty mixed media illustrations show Brangwain’s furtive missives back to the elf kingdom, while Werfel’s determinedly unbiased narrative tells an entirely different story. A hilarious and biting social commentary that could only come from the likes of National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson and Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin, this tale is rife with thrilling action and visual humor . . . and a comic disparity that suggests the ultimate victor in a war is perhaps not who won the battles, but who gets to write the history.

What books are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!