January 2019 Recap

Honestly, I’m kind of shocked that I blogged consistently for a month. LIKE. WHAT. HOW DID I DO THAT. And how did time pass so fast???

It’s unreal. I’m kind of convinced that this is all a dream and I’ll wake up, look at my blog, and discover that I have written zero posts.

I was looking in my post plan list thingy and I was like “oh what post am I writing next,” and y’all… I was so surprised when I saw that the January recap was next. HOW DID I. DO THAT.

I posted… TEN POSTS. TEN posts. I’m sorry, but my usual “good” amount is EIGHT. But I do want to warn you that I won’t be posting as frequently as I did in January because I did that so I could post all of my reviews on time. (And I did! Kind of.) I’m planning to post eight times in February. (if I follow my schedule this time)

And also!! I’m almost done with my recap of 2018!! I just have my blogging recap left, but I literally have no idea what I should put into my blogging recap. All I know is that I want to shout out some friends, but OTHER STUFF?? I. DO NOT KNOW. Soooo I meannn if any of you want to suggest what to put in there, please do.

{book covers link to their respective goodreads pages}

books i read

   

The Girl King by Mimi Yu ★★★★★

• This was a thicc book which I normally don’t read and ahhh it was so good! It was really, really heavy & tackled colonialism! Also the cast is Asian, and the main character is East Asian. [gr review] [blog review]

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman ★★★★☆

• I loved the relationship in this and also it was soooo freaking relatable, in the aspect of anxiety and pressure to go to a good college and “be successful.” The main character is Jewish & the love interest is Muslim! [gr review]

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi ★★★★★

•   THE BANTER IN THIS THOUGH. Have I said this five million times? Yes. I loved all of the characters in this book and they were all so distinct and Roshani literally ripped out my heart hahahaa. [blog review] [gr review]

overall analysis

• favorite book? the gilded wolves!! ahhhh I’m not 100% sure if it’s one of my favorites of 2019 yet… but we will see… *puts on sunglasses and melts into the darkness*
• least favorite book? well, I had a good reading month so, I won’t be picking one! Also, I only read three books so, I mean, I don’t have a lot of choices or anything.
• I’ve been reading so many webtoons lately and here are some good ones I really recommend:
  • Odd Girl Out (wholesome!!! girl love but also drama!!)
  • Mage & Demon Queen (so gay. it’s f/f, the art is amazing. I love the concept!!)
  • Castle Swimmer (this only recently started but it’s m/m and SO ADORABLE OH MY GOD.)
  • True Beauty (this is so enrapturing and I just love the main character and the art is so good)
  • Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell (the art is cool, and this storyline is so entertaining and hilarious)

digital book haul

I haven’t been on Netgalley or Edelweiss in a while, and my feedback ratio was over 80%, but guess who visited Netgalley and Edelweiss recently… yes it’s me… I’m here and I’m proud to announce that my feedback ratio has dropped to the lower 70 percent!! Yay.

(I don’t even know what my Edelweiss ratio is and… I probably do not want to know.)

BUT I’M STILL SO EXCITED FOR SO MANY OF THESE TITLES AHHH.

   

The Antidote by Shelley Sackier

• Tbh I discovered this on Edelweiss, but… IT SOUNDED INTRIGUING OKAY. And also the cover is so pretty! And also IT’S ABOUT MEDICINE AND STUFF and I’m a sucker for medical stuff.

Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter

• I really enjoyed Sarah Porter’s Vassa in the Night and also this one is about FAIRIES and two teenagers who are trying to escape from them!! Also, I’m pretty sure the entire cast is queer (or at least the main characters).

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

• Do you hear me crying? Because I loved Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient so, so much and this one sounds SO AMAZING. AND THIS COVER. I’m so excited to buddy read this one with Melanieee. AND IT’S ALSO OWNVOICES FOR AUTISTIC REPRESENTATION. (It’s on Edelweiss as “Read Now,” by the way! I think!)

   

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

• Can we please… talk about this pretty Japanese girl on the cover? I LOVE ALL OF THESE POC ON COVERS IN 2019 OH MY GOD. This one’s about Japanese internment and the main character’s bi!

Blood Heir by Amélie Wén Zhao

• Okay, I really love the tale of Anastasia & I was especially excited for this because the author is a woman of color, but… there’s a scene of a slave auction where a black child dies in order to futher the white protagonist’s journey. And I AM NOT HERE FOR THAT. (I’m so?? upset?? because the cover is so pretty??)

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

• I’M SO HAPPY I WAS APPROVED FOR THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH BERKLEY PUBLISHING!!! This sounds like such a heartwarming new adult novel and it has COOKING and oh my god I’m so so excited!! Chinatown!!!

   

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

• Okay but this cover though!! I wasn’t sure ow I felt at first because of the colors but like. This artwork. THE ARTIST IS TRAN NGUYEN AND ALL OF HER ART IS AMAZING GO LOOK AT IT. This is like a Project Runway & Mulan retelling, which I NEED.

A Dress for the Wicked by Autumn Krause

• Apparently… this also has Project Runway vibes… Do I just have a thing for Project Runway, a show that I have never watched? What is Project Runway about? I’m assuming tailors who want their projects to be on the runway? But this cover artist actually uses negative space so prettily that I just needed to request it.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

• Not going to lie, I’m not a fan of this cover (the covers are so DULL) and those bubbles or foam or whatever are not attractive. BUT THIS WAS PITCHED AS TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES RETELLING except with death. Soooo… I want to read it.

Anyways, HarperCollins actually approved me on Edelweiss three times, which was amazing and that hasn’t happened since… literally, around august of 2017. Miracles do happen.

books read for YARC

• The Girl King by Mimi Yu (review)
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (review)
• my TBR for this challenge
• my progress tracker on twitter

anticipated february releases

   

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

• WHO DESIGNED THIS COVER. I NEED TO KNOW IMMEDIATELY. I LOVE THIS COLOR PALETTE AND HOW EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER AND JUST?? I LOVE THE BLUE. *gestures to blog* in case… you didn’t know.

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

• This one has a protagonist with OCD and also this cover is so gritty and kind of reminds me of the style of American comic-book art?? I LOVE IT. Also, there’s time-traveling, which I probably wouldn’t go for but IT’S ASIAN. SO, I MEAN.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

• I haven’t even read THUG but?? I already know that I need this in my life?? IT SOUNDS AMAZING and also, that cover is so cute and dynamic what the heck.

 

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

• This is sapphic and has forbidden love and THIS! COVER! THOUGH!!! I love it so much. It’s also ownvoices for Latinx rep! I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS AGHAGH.

Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury

• Jessica Khoury’s book, The Forbiden Wish, was literally number one on my favorites of 2018 list, soooo… SAFE TO SAY I’M SURE I’LL LOVE THIS. This is also an Anastasia retelling in space, so it’s here to replace Blood Heir.

(oh god this post is already at 1.4k words… and I’m only in through the first section… this one is going to be a long’un, guys.)

favorite posts

  

• I think I tried the hardest, humor-wise on my smol recap of every month?? But this was one of my shorter posts because I LITERALLY DIDN’T BLOG FOR HALF OF THE YEAR. (Also, not going to lie, I find my own smol recap of every month in 2017 funny… is that narcissistic)
• I PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO FORMATTING FOR MY YARC TBR POST. I literally?? spent like ten minutes trying to get each cover to be exactly 250 pixels width, and it was so hard sometimes. (Not going to lie, I went and just changed the coding a couple of times.)

most popular posts

  

• I’m kind of surprised that my favorite books post was the most popular post, because… I accidentally disabled comments for like the first day it was up. So there aren’t that many comments. #techskills (also, the title being “disappointing readssssssssse” was a typo when I was editing it but you know what? I’m keeping it as an artistic change.)
• My post of the goals for 2019 was literally so long (not longer than this post though) but I don’t know, I really love writing long posts?? It’s just like, extra thoughts. and a lot of time and effort, but I still love it.

posts i loved

Marie posts about her struggles with wondering if she’s not critical enough while reading books, and wow this was such a relatable post.

Malanie lists 8 stress-free books that don’t have a lot of angst and I need to read all of these.

IT’S MAY’S 2-YEAR BLOGIVERSARY and they answered a q&a and not to be biased but! my question was the best.

Shealea lists some upcoming Asian books that were probably under your radar and I’m not proud to announce this but I did miss a lot of these.

Tiffany posts about when predictable books work and she’s absolutely right. Also she did actual research?? (on Twitter)

Fadwa shares some reasons she fell in love with rereading and this made me want to reread so many novels??

Ilsa helps everyone out and shows some ways to receive physical arcs, and it’s good to hear her perspective as a UK reader!

Olivia compares insta-love and slow-burn romances and slow burn is better. I will not be accepting constructive criticism at this time.

Melanie reviews The Gilded Wolves and I love all of Melanie’s reviews and I love Melanie and she’s amazing and go read her review.

Chaima does the Bookish Naughty-or-Nice tag and how is she this hilarious. This should not be allowed.

CW helps to boost the voices of bookish bloggers and their experiences which is amazing! Also I’m going to be in one of these posts in the future soooo…

bookish news

The cover of This Time Will Be Different was revealed and oh my god it’s so beautiful!!! Ahhhh!!! I’m??? screaming?? The JAPANESE GIRL ON THE FRONT. I’m so, so happy I was approved for an e-galley.

What I Like About You is the changed title of the novel from… whatever it was called before… but omg, this sounds so adorable? The main character is Jewish and this is about a book blogger who falls in love with this boy irl but he’s in love with her online self. (THIS SOUNDS SO ADORABLE & SO SIMILAR TO MIRACULOUS LADYBUG.*)

Kat Cho’s novel, Wicked Fox (previously “Gumiho”) had its cover revealed and wow, it’s all I need in my life. IT’S SO PRETTY. It was so different from what I expected and I was surprised but the more I stare at it the more infatuated with it I become.

Lyla’s wip #KoreanDUMPLIN was announced as a novel that’s going to be published next year and it’s titled I’ll Be the One and?? I’M SO HAPPY FOR LYLA OH MY GOD.

A queer webcomic by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, Mooncakes, is publishing this October and um… I’m sobbing in my boots. I haven’t read this yet, but I’m so so glad that it’ll be coming to print!

Michele Kan is publishing an aromatic Chinese fairytale called Come Drink with Me which is publishing this year around Lunar New Year!

The cover of Caster by Elsie Chapman was released, and I gotta say… I’m not a fan of these extreme colors BUT I love Elsie Chapman (haha I only 3-starred one of her books but shh) and this looks actually interesting! It’s probably prettier in person.

Renée Ahdieh’s new novel, The Beautiful, had its cover revealed and while this… isn’t… my favorite… artistically… I love Renée so much and I’ll still definitely read it.

*Wait… did I ever tell y’all that I love Miraculous Ladybug? Because I do. JACKIE DID IT.

book twitter moments

Yes, this is a new category, but I thought it would be mildly entertaining OR interesting to recount some of the things that occured on book Twitter. Because, I mean, there’s… something happening all the time. Also, I used to be really interested in book drama/events before I was even on the community. (I’ll try to find news articles, but if there aren’t any I’ll just try to explain what happened. I’d rather not link lesser known Tweets because I’d rather not infringe on privacy or possibly cause any hate to them.)

• Kathleen Hale, an author who tracked down a reviewer, somehow was able to procure a publishing deal for a new book, Kathleen Hale is a Crazy Stalker. Which is wild. Listen, if Kathleen Hale can get a book deal for a novel based off her experience stalking someone, why can’t I sneeze in a tissue and get it published? Literally, the same ethical value.
• Some authors were in a thread discussing misuse of arcs, and that kind of sparked a whole discussion where there was a lot of anti-blogger sentiment. It kind of pushed the idea that bloggers didn’t deserve arcs, which is not at all fair because I mean… do they not realize how much work bloggers also put into their work? And they receive no monetary compensation, at all. Also, some authors wanted to force personalization of all ARCs they signed or write “hope you didn’t steal it” on the inside, which was… alarming. However, a lot of authors started listening to bloggers (Dhonielle Clayton mainly, I believe there may be others) and started efforts to appreciate bloggers more!!
• When someone proclaimed that the author of Blood Heir was “screenshotting reviewers” and being problematic, I dismissed it as hating on a new, mainstream author of color. (Which was reasonable.) So far, I haven’t seen any proof of Zhao planning to legitimately harm reviewers in any way, so I’m very hesitant to believe that as of right now. However, there is very valid criticism of Zhao’s premise that “oppression isn’t colorblind,” and her use of a darker skinned girl (black-coded) to further the white protagonist’s journey.
• Zhao then announced that she asked for the publisher to pull the book from publishing and will be working on these issues, and I love that she listened to the community. It’s important not to pin all of these issues on Zhao & to remember the large team that a book needs in order to be created. I’m going to give her rewritten version a chance & read it, because I believe that she genuinely wants to improve and doesn’t want to hurt anyone in the community.

What did I even do this month??? I don’t know??? Probably, nothing?

spider-man: into the spiderverse

I went to see Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and guys, it totally lived up to the hype.

IT WAS SO AMAZING AND I LOVE MILES MORALES AND PETER PARKER SO GODDAMN MUCH. WOW. THEY WERE AMAZING.

Also ummmm not going to lie, Peni Parker wasn’t the Best character and like… that was kind of sad but I still loved the movie besides that!

(Did any of you see the post-credits scene?? I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW.)

random moments

• I got one of those phone rings and it literally stopped working the day after because I moved it around too much. omg why am I like this
• I watched I Am Not a Robot, a korean drama, and oh my god it’s so freaking angsty and I love it so much ughugh
• I ALSO WATCHED WHAT’S WRONG WITH SECRETARY KIM and ummm it went on for really long but also it was really adorable still?
• Also!! I was in gym class and literally…… EVERYONE KEPT ON WALKING INTO Me. like what. Am I that short that over 5 people just rammed into me on a consistent basis?? Do they expect me to move when they’re walking towards me?? Because like, no.
• My friend made some pho and I ate it and it was amazing!!! It was based off of chicken broth and honestly I still miss that. Wow. It was so good and amazing.
• I went to NYC with my family to visit my older sister and we ate food and it was fun and then we had bubble tea from Cha Cha Tea which was. TERRIBLE. REGRETTED THAT 10/10. It was very bitter, and my older sister actually halved the sugar but STILL. IT SHOULD’VE STILL TASTED SOMEWHAT GOOD. Stay tuned for more bubble tea reviews soon.

Also, I want to take a little time to focus on academics, so I’ll try not to blog until Wednesday. (I’m so sorry for not replying to your comments!) I need to work on some homework and other things before blogging again.

Do you like bubble tea? What books did you read this month? Any good ones? Do you like pho? HAVE YOU SEEN SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE?