Monthly Wrap-Up: November ’19

I could have sworn that I was flying through this book and that book this November, but when I went to look at my Goodreads shelf, it turns out I only read six books. Not terrible, but I could have sworn I was in the 8 or 9 number range. The most important thing is I started taking care of several ARCs I have on my TBR pile. I’ve already met my Goodreads goal for the year and am just trying to take care of some early 2020 ARCs so I’m not stressed in the new year. For December I will be one of the hosts for Latinx Book Club. We are reading The Resolutions by Mia Garcia and I hope you can join us!

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

I am so torn between two five-star reads this month but am going with Realm of Ash because Tasha Suri deserves more recognition. Empire of Sand remains one of my favorite fantasies ever and Realm of Ash was a great companion novel that explored so many concepts that I love. My review for this one will be up in December. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

It breaks my heart to say that Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez was more disappointing than satisfying. I’m not sure if I will have a full review of this one.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Books I Read, Review (Maybe) Coming Soon:

(Covers linked to Goodreads)

Notable Blog Posts This Month:

Off Tangent Thoughts: Thoughts You Have When You See Spoilers – It was my first time joining this meme and I had so much fun sharing some thoughts I have when I come across spoilers.

Kernels of Nonsense: End of the Year TBR – I have a list of books I really want to get to by the end of the year. It’s looking kind of promising so far? We will see.

Off Tangent Thoughts Meme: A Totally Accurate Account of Me Receiving an ARC by My Favorite Author in the Mail – This was such a fun post to put together all about how I finally got my hands on an Anna-Marie McLemore ARC.

Top Ten Tuesday: Changes in My Reading Life – Loved looking back and seeing how my reading life has changed over the years since I started blogging.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Been Avoiding and Why – I take comfort in the fact that we all have lists of books we’ve been avoiding.

December Releases I’m Excited For:

Which December releases are you looking forward to? Which book or books do you plan to read before the end of the year? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit.

Monthly Wrap-Up: October ’19

I am a little late with this wrap-up post, but I have the best excuse. Very early November 1st, my new nibling was born! I am now a tía times five. But back to blogging. I have not been the best blogger lately and I’m not letting myself be too stressed about that. However, despite my best efforts, I am starting to panic a little when it comes to books I still need to get to before the year is over. This month I finished up my Latinx Heritage Month series, Talk Chisme to Me, and read eight books which included three rereads (Brooklyn Brujas series and The Gilded Wolves). Also, the Latinx Book Club was interviewed and featured on Forbes online magazine, which is a pretty exciting thing to happen to all of us. You can check out the interview here. Okay, let’s just talk books…

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes was so very close to being a five star read for me (am I being stingy with these this year? Maybe so). It’s such a great contemporary and I don’t want to give too much away because I do have a review of this one coming soonish. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No book received less than three stars from me this month.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Books I Read, Review (Maybe) Coming Soon:

(Covers linked to Goodreads)

Talk Chisme To Me: Latinx Heritage Month Series

Talk Chisme to Me, Part IV: Biggest Influencers – Do you want to know who has influenced me the most when it comes to my love of Latinx books? Look no further than this list!

Talk Chisme to Me, Part V: Under the Radar Books Added to My TBR – A list of books by Latinx authors that you may have missed out on.

Talk Chisme to Me, Part VI: Looking Ahead at the TBR – What am I planning to read over the next year. Check out my final post in this series to find out.

November Releases I’m Excited For:

 
Which books are you hoping to get to before the end of the year? Have you read any five-star reads lately? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit.

2019 Third Quarter Book Haul: A Kind of Modest Book Haul

Okay, so I wrote this intro a couple of weeks ago and I was going to tell you all about my book buying ban and how I wasn’t planning on buying anything until November, but then I went and bought something. But let’s not focus on that because I did manage to stay away from buying books for a month and a half. Yay me! I don’t consider this quarter’s book haul to be too big, but I did let myself splurge once on a book outlet purchase which was my last purchase before I decided a book buying ban was in order (a month and a half, people). Enough talk, let’s get to the books. Titles below are linked to Goodreads.

Preorders and New Releases:

1. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I’m just going to go ahead and say it, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of the most talented and versatile authors I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. She’s become one of my auto-buy authors and Gods of Jade and Shadow once again showcases her how compelling her storytelling ability can be. You can check out my review of this one here.

2. Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud – There are not a ton of light contemporaries featuring black MCs, so this one was a breath of fresh air. It had me grinning like a fool from start to finish.

3. The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary by NoNieqa Ramos – I’ve been eyeing this one for a while now and since it was coming out in paperback, it was really hard to resist the preorder.

4. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite – I preodered this one back in July and had the pleasure of picking it up for Latinx Heritage Month.

Book Outlet Purchase:

5. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer – I’ve seen this one around a whole lot and was going to wait until the paperback came out to check it out, but it was on Book Outlet, so I thought, why not?

6. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert – I have had this one in and out of my cart for so long and finally decided to get it. Hopefully I can get to it sooner rather than later.

7. Trouble Never Sleeps by Stephanie Tromly – Yes, I finally have the third book in this highly underrated series. I can’t wait to see how it all ends.

8. Even If the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia – I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Mia Garcia’s debut, but now that I have it, I will soon!

9. Allied by Amy Tintera – I was a bit disappointed with the second book in this series, but I now have the third, so I will at least finish it.

10. The Resolutions by Mia Garcia – I feel really bad that I still haven’t gotten to this one, but I bought it with the express purpose of reading it for Latinx Heritage Month (I failed, lol).

Publisher Sent + Gifts + Giveaways

11. Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera – I was sent a finished copy of Dealing in Dreams from Simon & Schuster. I cannot get over how gorgeous this cover is.

12. Stripped by Zoey Castile – Way back in the end of July, I tweeted out that I was looking for more lighthearted contemporaries by authors of color and the very kind Norma @normajeanesays offered to send me this title and the next one because she is amazing.

13. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole – Another title that Norma sent me. Getting these have inspired me to want to explore the romance genre more. Also, Alyssa Cole followed me back on Twitter and I’m still freaking out about it.

14. The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey – I was so excited when I won a signed copy of this novel. I haven’t been able to pick it up yet, but I’ve heard a lot of good things.

ARCs

15. The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi – I actually won a Goodreads giveaway of this one and I am so stoked to read it. The Gilded Wolves was fantastic and I have no doubt this sequel will be as well.

16. Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez – As soon as I could request this one, I did and I am so happy to have been approved for an ARC. I will probably be doing a buddy read of this one with some of my fellow Latinx Book Club cohosts and am so looking forward to it.

17. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore – I almost burst into tears when I opened this piece of book mail. I’ve been wishing and hoping for an ARC of an Anna-Marie McLemore novel for years. YEARS. I actually have an eARC because Anna-Marie McLemore was able to hook me up, but before that I kind of more or less harassed the publisher for a physical ARC and I didn’t think they heard me, but they did, THEY DID!!!!

Have you read any of these novels? What’s the last book purchase you made? Let’s talk in the comments!

Talk Chisme to Me, Part VI: Looking Ahead at the TBR

It’s time to say goodbye to Latinx Heritage Month, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have putting it together. Today is the final day to enter my Twitter giveaway, so if you haven’t already, you can do so here. Links to my previous posts in the Talk Chisme to Me series can be found below:

Talk Chisme to Me, Part I: The TBR

Talk Chisme to Me, Part II: Favorite Books By Latinx Authors I Read This Past Year

Talk Chisme to Me, Part III: New & Upcoming Releases

Talk Chisme to Me, Part IV: Biggest Influencers

Talk Chisme to Me, Part V: Under the Radar Books Added to My TBR

For this week’s post, I am sharing ten books by Latinx authors I am planning to read in the next year. I will obviously be picking up more, but these are a priority. It’s a mix of backlist books and books that haven’t been released yet. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

TBR Books I’m Planning to Read in the Next Year:

1. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

I’m a failure. I’ve never read Isabel Allende. Judge me if you will. No one will judge me more harshly than myself. I even have this one on my shelf, but I need a bit of extra motivation, so…if you would like to buddy read this with me, let me know in the comments!

2. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

Ek, I’ve had this one for years now and even have it on my Beat the Backlist TBR (I kind of forgot that this is a thing that I’m supposed to actively be working on…whoops). I haven’t seen any reviews of this one in the blogosphere, so hopefully after I read it, I can bring it some much needed attention. 

3. Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older

It’s really sad that I can only think of two MG novels by a Latinx authors that I’ve picked up. I’ve literally bought more in the last year than I’ve read. I might have to ask my niece and nephews to let me borrow all those MG Latinx books I gifted them because I am behind in this department. At the top of my list is Dactyl Hill Squad.

4. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

 How many years has this one been on my TBR? I can tell you. It was ever since I read Meg Medina’s Burn Baby Burn, which I completely fell in love with. I’ve been meaning to read this and even at one point had it checked out from the library. This year will be the year that I pick up another Meg Medina novel. I might even throw in Merci Suarez while I’m at it. 

5. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore

Please, people, you know this one is on my list of most anticipated releases by Latinx authors. I somehow by some miracle ended up with a physical ARC of this one. I’ve only dreamed about getting an Anna-Marie McLemore ARC. I also have to boast that I got my hands on an eARC before the physical because Anna-Marie McLemore themselves reach out to me and offered to send it to me. I’m still processing this. **screams internally**

6. Meteor by Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia

You know I’d read anything written by Anna-Marie McLemore, but the fact that they are collaborating with Tehlor Kay Mejia on this one makes it even more intriguing. I love that it is magical realism because I’m always in desperate need of the genre. I heard there’s a Selena-themed diner involved as well. You can’t see my face right now, but it just lit up.

7. Pheus & Eury by Lilliam Rivera

When I first heard that Lilliam Rivera was doing an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling I just about fell out of my chair. I am ready for all the Latinx retellings and this one sounds dark and haunting and I can’t wait!

8. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X is one of my favorite novels ever and I will be forever grateful that it reintroduced me to poetry. I had the pleasure of reading Acevedo’s sophomore novel With the Fire on High during Latinx Heritage Month and can’t even tell you what this one is about, but can guarantee that I will be prerordering it. 

9. Oculta (A Forgery of Magic, #2) by Maya Motayne

Nocturna was such a pleasant surprise, and I fell head over heels in love with the two lead characters, Finn and Alfie. I’m not sure what Maya Motayne has in store for these two in the sequel, but I am desperate for this one. DESPERATE. I just need to know that Finn and Alfie are okay and that they get to be happy. 

10. Untitled (Brooklyn Brujas, #3) by Zoraida Córdova

I really enjoyed Labyrinth Lost, but absolutely fell in love with this series thanks to Bruja Born. It’s now been over a year since the second book and I am hungry for the final book in the series. I need more series about Latinx sisters and Latinx witches.

Have you read or are planning to read any of these? Which 2020 release by a Latinx author are you most looking forward to? Let’s talk in the comments!