Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5)by Suzanne Collins (2025)
YA Fiction | Dystopian
Blurb:
When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own.
What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? This is the plot of The Other Bennet Sister, a debut novel with exactly the affection and authority to satisfy Austen fans.
Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)by Rebecca Ross (2023)
YA Fiction | Historical | Fantasy
Blurb:
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
Merry Christmas everyone! This year, as you may know, I was supposed to be on my continued hiatus, but I can’t seem to resist sharing my thoughts on the books I read so here I am, emerging once again from hibernation to recap some of the books I’ve read this fall/early winter. Anyhow, this list features brief, one-line reviews so if you weren’t a fan of my usual sprawling review style then this is the complete opposite.
Any book recommendations for me to indulge in over winter?
Follow me on Goodreads if you’d like to keep up with all of the books I read, reviewed or not!
Summer is coming to an end (I’m honestly relieved because it gets WAY too hot in summer lol), but I decided to share some “beach reads” I tried. Who knows, maybe they’ll help you summer-lovers extend the season in your hearts or something but some of these actually fit the pumpkin spice season just fine.
YA Fiction not only unafraid of the darker side of life, but that goes after it staring into its depths unflinching and writing down what it sees.
I’ve officially caught up on (almost) all things Mindy McGinnis, finally reading her entire backlist except things like short stories and co-writing projects done for other authors. But McGinnis’ solo stuff? I’m all caught up and what a wild ride. The first book of hers that I read was The Female of the Species and from that moment I was hooked (it’s still my favorite though I wish they hadn’t changed the cover recently. The original cover shown in this post looks like it’s a book with something to say while the new cover just looks like creepy semi-abstract art imo). I read Heroine, Be Not Far From Me, The Initial Insult duology…then it was time to partner with my library’s resources to find everything else I’d missed. My conclusion? She’s still one of my top favorite authors who can tackle any genre that comes to her mind and one day I hope to meet her.
In this post I’ve included brief reviews for all of her books (except sequels though most of her books are stand-alones anyway) and if I’d written a longer review (you know how I like to ramble haha) then I’ve included the link. So scroll through and see if anything catches your fancy. She really is a talented author and at the very least her books will make you think twice before settling in Ohio lol.
YA best-selling authors team up with the superhero cash cow. An exciting partnership or a basic marketing ploy?
The year was 2017. I’m obsessed with Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas while the movie industry is obsessed with superheroes. Again. Or, rather, still? The publishers are making bank off of several popular YA authors and have an idea of how to make more. DC’s perk? They reach the up-and-coming audience. But while I was voraciously willing to pick up anything by these new favorite authors, the release of DC Icons made me pause and choose to save my carefully rationed pennies not only because I was hesitant about the genre but because by several accounts these books were, in a word, disappointing. However now it’s 2023 and I’ve remembered that libraries exist.
Although I’m still on hiatus, it’s simply impossible for me not to share my thoughts on the books I read apparently haha so to compromise here I am offering a recap with this post of one-line reviews for some of the books I’ve read/finished so far this summer. It’s short and gets to the point so if you haven’t been a fan of my usual sprawling review style then this is the complete opposite. If you do prefer my lengthier posts then you’ll be excited to know that a few books not on this list will have their reviews shared one a day for the next few days with a more in-depth spotlight.
Follow me on Goodreads if you’d like to keep up with all of the books I read, reviewed or not!
A girl walks into a bar… then onto a stage, and up to the mic.
Sixteen-year-old Izzy is used to keeping her thoughts to herself—in school, where her boyfriend does the talking for her, and at home, where it’s impossible to compete with her older siblings and high-powered parents—but when she accidentally walks into a stand-up comedy club and performs, the experience is surprisingly cathartic. After the show, she meets Mo, an aspiring comic who’s everything Izzy’s not: bold, confident, comfortable in her skin. Mo invites Izzy to join her group of friends and introduces her to the Chicago open mic scene.
A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis (2023)
YA Fiction | Mystery
Blurb:
Lydia Chass doesn’t mind living in a small town; she just doesn’t want to die in one. A lifetime of hard work has put her on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind—until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating. Undeterred, Lydia has a plan to earn that credit: transform her listener-friendly local history podcast into a truth-telling exposé. She’ll investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days: a week when Henley was hit by a tornado and a flash flood as well as its first—and only—murder, which remains unsolved.
pooled ink 