The Feminist Bookworm

I love Katharine McGee, and I loved her series The Thousandth Floor . But I am absolutely obsessed with anything having to do with royals, and a Katie McGee book about America reimagined as a monarchy? Sign me the fuck up! This was my most anticipated book of 2019, and I am so grateful to have gotten my hands on a finished copy. American Royals imagines that, instead of being the first President, George Washington was the first king of America. Fast-forward to present-day, and we follow the current American royals. There's Beatrice, who is poised to become the first Queen of America. Sam, Beatrice's younger sister and the spare. There's Nina, a commoner and Sam's best friend. And then there's Daphne, a scheming aristocrat desperate to capture the heart of Jeff, Sam's twin brother. There's not much beyond that I can say about the plot with out spoiling anything, but if, like me, you love anything involving royals, this is the book for you! And it'...

I recently did a buddy read of Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin with my friend Bethany, from the YouTube channel Beautifully Bookish Bethany! Both of us are fans of fantasy, and both of us are fans of Sarah J. Maas (although she prefers Throne of Glass and I'm an ACOTAR girl), and as this book is being pitched as a "steamy fantasy perfect for Sarah J. Maas" this seemed like a perfect fit for us. Boy oh boy was that an understatement! We both absolutely LOVED this book, and it will definitely appear on our list of favorite books of the year! Serpent & Dove takes place in a French-inspired fantasy world, where there are witches and witch hunters, called chasseurs, who are basically respected soldiers from the church. We follow Louise "Lou" who is a witch, and Reid, who is the captain of the chasseurs, who are forced into a marriage. And you can guess what comes next. ;) This book has everything going for it: it's diverse, it's super...

I've read two books by Ashley Elston previously, This is Where it Ends and The Lying Woods , both thrillers, and both of which I gave 5 stars. 10 Blind Dates is Ashley's first strictly contemporary novel, so I went into 10 Blind Dates expecting to like it, but not love it. Surprise! I loved it!! 10 Blind Dates follows out main character Sophie, a senior in high school, who is excited to spend the holidays with her boyfriend without her parents' presence, as they are going to stay with Sophie's older sister, who is having a difficult pregnancy. However, Sophie's boyfriend Griffin breaks up with her within hours of her parents' departure, resulting in Sophie fleeing to her grandparents' house. Sophie comes from a HUGE, overbearing family, and they decide the solution to Sophie's heartache is to set her up on 10 blind dates. Only, she has some really weird and annoying family members choosing her dates, Griffin shows up wanting to get back togethe...

**This post is sponsored by Simon & Schuster for the release of Start Here by Trish Doller, which comes out on August 13th.** Start Here follows two girls, Willa and Taylor, as they go on a sailing voyage from Ohio to Florida. They had originally planned to take the trip with their best friend, Finley, but when Finley dies shortly before graduation, the girls decide to honor Finley's wishes and take the trip without her. Finley has left a piece of herself with the girls for their trip in the form of a list of things to do. In honor of the release of Start Here , I've compiled a list of books inspired by Finley's list in the novel. So, start here! 1. Start here and read by favorite book of 2019, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. 2. Music is good for the soul , so indulge it by picking up Daisy Jones & the Six 3. Make time for wonder and explore The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg. 4. Time travel whenever possible and pick up a book Tay...

I'll start with a few facts and an anecdote. First, in case you didn't know, David Yoon is the husband of Nicola Yoon, who wrote  Everything, Everything  and  The Sun is Also a Star.  He also did the illustrations that are in  Everything, Everything . This is his debut novel. Now, for the anecdote. I had always planned on reading this book. When I was at ALA, I went to the Penguin booth and asked if they had Frankly in Love . They said that they did, but that they were only giving it out at the signing. So, I figured I’d go to the signing. However, the line was quite long, so I decided not get in line since the book would come out in September, which wasn’t too long of a wait. But then I ran into Laurie Halse Anderson at the Penguin booth, and she recognized! She also RAVED about Frankly in Love and said it was one of the best books she had read this year and how it touched on themes of racism, identity, and acceptance. So I was like, “I have ...

Last night, I finished reading Suggested Reading by Dave Connis. I was absolutely blown away by it. It's 385 pages, which is on the longer side for contemporary YA, but I absolutely flew through it. It's a book about books. It's a love letter to reading. It's a commentary on banned books. And it's amazing. If you like books, if you like to read, I see know reason why you won't love this book. Suggested Reading takes place in a town in Tennessee, and it follows our main character, Clara, who is a huge reader. She's also AWESOME. She's even started little mini libraries around town! At the beginning of her senior year, she discovers that her private school is secretly banning over 50 books, including many books that have had a tremendous impact on her, such as her favorite author's newest release. Clara decides to start an underground library (the UnLib) in her locker using the banned books the school has made the library get rid of (she puts ...

Let me just start by saying that this review is going to be all over the place. I'll admit I was a part of the Twilight fandom. I loved Twilight , I still love Twilight , and a part of me, despite being a woman of color who recognizes all of Twilight 's flaws, will always love it. However, as a person of color, I see no part of myself in Twilight,  and the main character's name is Isabella, for crying out loud! From my memory, in the books, there are zero black characters and zero LGBTQ+ characters. Zero. To be fair, Twilight was written in 2005, which was essentially a different era, but that doesn't change the fact that it isn't diverse. The Beautiful , however, is the diverse Twilight young women of color truly deserve . The main character is biracial, and has to hide the fact that she is biracial, there are queer characters, and lots of interesting commentary about race and identity. Additionally, The Beautiful , which is just an all-around better bo...