https://www.adrianacat.com/blog daily 0.75 2022-05-17 https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-mistress-of-rome-by-kate-quinn monthly 0.5 2021-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1633552121870-WRLYKTN6JRLYFBB0TG4G/91bAxamEiGL.jpg Blog - Review: Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn - Synopsis: Thea, a captive from Judea, is a clever and determined survivor hiding behind a slave’s docile mask. Purchased as a toy for the spoiled heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea evades her mistress’s spite and hones a secret passion for music. Rome offers many ways for the resourceful to survive, and Thea remakes herself as a singer for the Eternal City’s glittering aristocrats. As she struggles for success and independence, her nightingale voice attracts a dangerous new admirer: the Emperor himself. But the passions of an all-powerful man come with a heavy price, and Thea finds herself fighting for both her soul and her destiny. Content Warning: Physical and mental abuse, rape, violence, animal cruelty, torture, death, murder. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1633551752859-75V2POIGSIQ3GKLT2H7X/clay-banks-hi_52O-h5G8-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn - Make it stand out Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1633552546766-OI2OY7XR3YAKQNEK6UG4/fabio-fistarol-t6BTXRe5BRc-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn - The book was beautifully structured; it was fast-paced and extremely detailed, but never falls into the trap of offering up way too much exposition. There was, literally, never a dull moment in the story—no mean feat, considering that this is a large book. That, combined with the fact that Quinn manages to juggle a large cast of characters with such ease, makes this a dynamite novel. I haven’t stopped shoving this book into people’s hands since I read it, and I was so happy to discover that this was the start of a series! https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-by-sarah-j-maas monthly 0.5 2021-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1632270267850-BDJ5FINHNX6QQV8NSA5S/9781635575569_p0_v2_s1200x630.jpg Blog - Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Synopsis: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world. As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1632264624005-SYBCOG1KZKNT673R25VA/joyce-g-c9peBmC_yzQ-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Make it stand out Photo by Joyce G on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1632266837512-LWNFV8E2BFYCBLH8S2BF/julio-rionaldo-CmuCyTRBDGg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Feyre’s love interest, Tamlin. I found that I had the exact opposite reaction: the more we learned about him, the less interesting he became. He is just too perfect: He’s gorgeous, he’s incredibly powerful, and—unlike the other more ruthless faeries we meet—he is a fair and just ruler. However, I did think the romantic and sexual tension between Feyre and Tamlin was well done. I believed in the build-up of their conflicting feelings and why they each sought solace in the other. I believed in it right up until Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, swept in and basically stole every scene he was in. Here is a character who is clearly in dire straits, who is at times incredibly charming and ruthlessly terrifying. In short, he was vastly more interesting and charismatic than Tamlin. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/monthly-wrap-up-may-2021 monthly 0.5 2021-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620150710997-7NOH4FJD9QFPYG1FYMYM/olga-tutunaru-plbb7pkEjkQ-unsplash.jpg Blog - Monthly Wrap-up: May 2021 Photo by Olga Tutunaru on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-the-beautiful-ones-by-silvia-moreno-garcia monthly 0.5 2021-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620082614664-KDX15B36YOR5ALJZO4RF/james-wainscoat-Q-X5hto7oHg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620082903071-MHYX95PCEETDUX8NJUIX/carl-raw-f6wVRC7Y4aI-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - The characters are all so relatable and incredibly well-drawn, even Valérie, who is technically the villain of the story. She was so deliciously antagonistic, she’s exactly the kind of villain readers love to hate. But at the same time, Moreno-Garcia gives her such depth and humanity. By the end, I really felt for her; it was kind of heartbreaking to see how she became the biggest obstacle to her own happiness. I loved Nina. She’s a character that could have so easily gone the way of the “manic pixie dream girl” because she’s very much an outsider among the moneyed aristocrats of the city. But Moreno-Garcia walks this line well because Nina is intensely relatable. I think every woman can see themselves in her, especially when she’s in the throes of her first love affair and can’t see the truth in front of her. The juxtaposition between Nina and Valérie was definitely a highlight of the book. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620261323261-5U4CQOI7OMGASW7EBU9C/55311334._SY475_.jpg Blog - Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Synopsis: They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis—neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse—and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip. When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage. With Hector’s help, Nina’s talent blossoms, as does her love for him. But great romances are for fairy tales, and Hector is hiding a truth from Nina—and himself—that threatens to end their courtship before it truly begins. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo monthly 0.5 2021-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620080965576-5O5CQ5ZFTYYTYED8QOWD/10194157.jpg Blog - Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - Synopsis: Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed. Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue, as she trains with the Grisha—her country’s military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620081443230-OIN154D0BWNJK7O8MXCH/diana-parkhouse-dBrKSWR-z1w-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - And let’s talk about that world. Ravka is heavily inspired by Russia. But Bardugo’s use of Russian culture did not sit well with me (my grandmother was born in Russia). I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why exactly I felt so uncomfortable with this. And I think the bottom line is that it felt vaguely appropriative; there wasn’t enough distinction between the two worlds. Bardugo says she loosely based Ravka on Russia, but there’s nothing “loose” about it. She simply took a map of Russia, chopped a bit off here and there, and then gave all the characters vaguely Slavic names. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1620081245403-ZFX3QJ6QKM3G3WQYJZ3F/markus-winkler-zN0XXnKpK3k-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/monthly-wrap-up-april-2021 monthly 0.5 2021-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617328165096-BXU1FWDDDEDW9UGBPF4R/ellieelien-QzNIr1ORRAU-unsplash.jpg Blog - Monthly Wrap-up: April 2021 Photo by Ellieelien on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-nine-rules-to-break-when-romancing-a-rake-review monthly 0.5 2021-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1619228949441-1YNTN0GIFAM5EOQMOEDK/dan-barrett-288MBFi_G7o-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean - Is it realistic that she disguises herself as a man so she can sneak into a club and try her hand at fencing? No, but I didn’t come here for realism. I came here for a fun, spicy romance, and by George, I got one. I don’t know a ton about historical romance, but I guess the “shy wallflower meets dashing rake” is a pretty common pairing. In any event, MacLean does a good job subverting this trope. Callie is no mere shrinking violet, she’s a woman on a mission; she’s mad as hell and she isn’t going to take it anymore. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1619227920724-ISAZ258IKHPY8GGNVC80/6584134.jpg Blog - Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean - Synopsis: A lady does not smoke cheroot. She does not ride astride. She does not fence or attend duels. She does not fire a pistol, and she never gambles at a gentlemen’s club. Lady Calpurnia Hartwell has always followed the rules, rules that have left her unmarried—and more than a little unsatisfied. And she’s vowed to break the rules and live the life of pleasure she’s been missing. But to dance every dance, to steal a midnight kiss—to do those things, Callie will need a willing partner. Someone who knows everything about rule-breaking. Someone like Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston—charming and devastatingly handsome, his wicked reputation matched only by his sinful smile. If she’s not careful, she’ll break the most important rule of all—the one that says that pleasure-seekers should never fall hopelessly, desperately in love… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1619227866897-ZZSJ6CN00SLWG4UVMGE5/yoonsuh-park-iXJ8WGKRx60-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean Photo by Yoonsuh Park on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-firekeepers-daughter-by-angeline-boulley monthly 0.5 2021-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618267849037-JW2P7AJIZ5QU3260Y5PH/matthew-fournier-G971e4EFKtA-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley - My mother’s side of the family is Mexican, but we’re also Native. Without getting too much into it, my great-great grandmother was kidnapped from her tribe, and she married the son of a hacienda owner. We don’t know what tribe she’s from; she refused to talk about her childhood, either because the family didn’t want her to or because she found it too painful. Regardless, that part of her story is forever lost, and so is a part of my culture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618267683718-0W1VXQYKYCY4R7YPHVHO/zhisheng-deng-TzdLtEKc2ik-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley Photo by Zhisheng Deng on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618266994143-IVJWUUMDSKF7EQ8DIAYI/52346471.jpg Blog - Review: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley - Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for the truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims. Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/the-intimacy-experiment-by-rosie-danan monthly 0.5 2021-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618084482922-BUAXVZDEL9XYLQDWKRXG/54614561.jpg Blog - Review: The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan - Synopsis: N aomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won’t hire her. Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag nominated him as one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Low on both funds and congregants, Ethan’s new shul hired him with the hopes that his nontraditional background would attract more millennials to the faith. They give him six months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good. Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on modern intimacy, the perfect solution to each of their problems—until they discover a new one…their growing attraction to each other. They’ve built the syllabus for love’s latest experiment, but neither of them expected they’d be the ones putting it to the test. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618085073519-YX15OWI4ZA4HMB1DNE47/tetiana-shyshkina-M8shpA90lZ8-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan - The pacing of the story—and the development of Naomi and Ethan’s relationship—was absolutely glacial. Because it takes them so long to finally get together, the stakes don’t seem high at all. I also wasn’t a fan of their relationship in general. For one thing, all of their problems are because they don’t actually communicate with one another. They’re supposed to be experts on modern intimacy (at least Naomi is), yet they can’t even sit down and have honest conversation about where their relationship is going! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1618084406981-GHRPK748DL7N6HVEGBFE/womanizer-wow-tech-1e3-lYkJsfs-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan Photo by Womanizer WOW Tech on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/my-favorite-true-crime-reads monthly 0.5 2021-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617039763785-4Q8V92Y90QIA0CWAPMLI/29496076.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads - 4. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann This book is part history, part true crime, and something that I’m desperate for more people to know about. In the late 1800s, oil was discovered beneath the land of the Osage Indian Nation. By the 1920s, the Osage were the richest people per capita in the entire world. What follows is the complicated story of how the U.S. government passed laws to take advantage of the money belonging the Osage, and how that greed turned into murder. From 1921 to 1925, over 60 Osage Indians were murdered—and Grann posits there were many more—and most of those cases remain unsolved to this day. Grann is an engaging writer, and he explains the complicated nature of the headrights and the court-appointed “guardians” who were put in charge of the Osage’s financial affairs. Through painstaking research, Grann unearths these long-forgotten crimes and the spectacular investigation that seemingly helped bring an end to the Reign of Terror. We need to remember horrible pieces of history like this, if only to remember the victims. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617039696121-JMWBH0IG578RXI5UMKCW/231585._SX318_.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads - 5. Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule No list is complete without Ann Rule, the queen of true crime. I was hard pressed to decide on just one of her books, since she was so incredibly prolific. But I chose this one since Rule takes you deep inside the mind of the killer, which was as fascinating as it was unsettling. Small Sacrifices tells the truly awful story of Diane Downs, a young mother who shot her three children by the side of the road, killing one and severely injuring the other two. Downs claimed that she and her children were attacked by a stranger—she maintains her innocence to this day—but the ensuing trial and investigation discovered that Downs was obsessed with a former lover who went back to his wife after their affair came to an end. Rule does incredible research into the life of Diane Downs, and the portrait she paints of her is of a deeply disturbed yet charismatic woman who saw her children as obstacles standing in the way of her ultimate goal of a “perfect love.” This is a heartbreaking read, but it’s gripping and powerful. It’s definitely one of Rule’s best books. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616896170272-RN5OJFEFGB90S64AC5CJ/35068432.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads - 3. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara This is the book that started my obsession with true crime; it’s an absolute masterpiece. It’s the most impressive piece of investigative journalism I’ve ever read. Michelle McNamara was a crime writer in Los Angeles; she coined the term the Golden State Killer when she connected the dots between the MO of the East Area Rapist (active in Sacramento in the late ‘70s) to murders in Central and Southern California that occurred until the late ‘80s. Sadly, McNamara died suddenly in 2016 while writing this book. But with the help of her husband, Patton Oswalt, and two of her fellow researchers, they were able to finish most of her work. McNamara’s voice is so clear-cut and haunting. Her research was exhaustive and she presents it in a very readable, and very gripping way. I read it huddled up in my bed, unable to tear my eyes away, a baseball bat in easy reach. Her compassion for the victims and their families shines through; as did her hope that justice was just around the corner for the man. She was right. The book was published in February 2018, and in April that year, the police found and arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer who fit the profile that McNamara created to a T. Bonus: HBO put out a miniseries in 2020 with the same name that gives excellent background about Michelle, her research, and the crimes; I highly recommend it, because Michelle McNamara was a truly amazing woman, and her legacy should be honored. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616895405370-YV1SHM370C0GSK3DJX1Q/laimannung-6Ptwy-nDnoE-unsplash.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads Photo by on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616895693143-12EK7ROUOIOWOW015SD0/9920.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote This is a breath-taking example of true crime literature at its finest. Capote blends nonfiction with fiction and weaves together the chilling story of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family that rocked the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote wrote this book over a six-year period; he interviewed residents of the town and the investigators, as well as the murderers—Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote digs deep into the past of both men, and what they were thinking when they stepped into the Clutter house that night. While it is not completely factual—Capote embellished some scenes and changed certain facts to suit the story—the bulk of the book is a fairly accurate account of what transpired. Not only does he go into the psychological makeup of the killers, he also puts the reader into the mindset of the Clutter family, and in doing so, gives them back their humanity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616895843940-3A2DKON5O6ZLOF3PDUSW/105992.jpg Blog - My Favorite True Crime Reads - 2. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gendry It’s impossible to write about true crime without mentioning the number one bestseller of all time. Written by the prosecutor of the trial, Helter Skelter dives into the man behind the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969 Los Angeles. I highly recommend listening to the series of episodes that You Must Remember This did on Charles Manson in Hollywood, because it really helps contextualize the events of the book, and Karina Longworth is my hero. This is a dense book, it’s around 700 pages. Bugliosi goes into great detail about his investigation of the case; he’s meticulous. Not only does he go into the crime and the victims, he also investigates how much power Manson held over his followers, and why they were ready to commit murder as soon as he asked. This is a hard read—I definitely don’t recommend reading it late at night—but it’s a truly compelling portrait of humanity at its worst. (Also, true story: my journalism professor covered one of Charles Manson’s parole hearings in the ‘70s, and he sent her a box of his hair. I know this because she brought it into class and showed us, and it was just as creepy and disgusting as it sounds.) https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-piranesi-by-susanna-clarke monthly 0.5 2021-04-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617672323655-D9F6PZJBMMTIRY15VSHJ/sara-darcaj-YzamNB_T4WQ-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Photo by Sara Darcaj on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617672707633-O4W6ZWZBNPUW1POWJAP7/nareeta-martin-5IYqAH4ZTrM-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - This Piranesi, has a deep abiding love for the House—he makes friends with the different birds that occupy the halls, and takes tender care of the collection of unnamed skeletons he has found in his wanderings. All the dead have names, and because he has never seen another person—besides the Other, who only shows up on Tuesdays and Fridays—he believes that they are the only two remaining people in existence. He has his own calendar system; his journal entries begin in “The Year the Albatross Came to the South-Western Halls.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617672405560-D2GFM5XM47GAMGDIXO6D/50202953._SY475_.jpg Blog - Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Synopsis: Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: Its rooms are infinite, its corridors are endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house, a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-the-four-winds-by-kristin-hannah monthly 0.5 2021-04-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617651727027-T35VMBNXI1CRVF950461/53138081.jpg Blog - Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Synopsis: Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage was a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruins, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. By 1934, the world has changed: Millions are out of work, and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: Fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617652236013-U1GUQGZH98IU8COPEE9U/the-new-york-public-library-A1fEGQB_LJU-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Additionally, the pacing was all over the place. There were times when Hannah just rushed over things—dust storms, floods, and endless days of driving in the desert flew by in a few paragraphs. And then the story would shudder to a stop, and move at an utterly glacial pace for a few hundred pages. I understand the author was probably trying to mimic the unpredictability of nature and then juxtapose it with the drudgery of life in a migrant camp, but it just didn’t add up to a compelling read. Especially in a book that clocks in around 450 pages. It was just a slog getting through it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617651542371-CWH2CM7462OQW8ZHKBR9/mary-hammel-TtZgcXBrJ48-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Photo by Mary Hammel on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-a-ladys-formula-for-love-by-elizabeth-everett monthly 0.5 2021-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617410846912-RWWTOHHN6RNBRSFT5CUO/54246977.png Blog - Review: A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett - Synopsis: Lady Violet Hughes is keeping secrets. First, she founded a clandestine sanctuary for England’s most brilliant scientists. Second, she is using her genius on a confidential mission for the Crown. The biggest secret of all? Her feelings for protection officer Arthur Kneland. Solitary and reserved, Arthur learned the hard way to put duty first. But the more time he spends in the company of Violet and the eccentric club members, the more his best intentions go up in flames. Literally. When a shadowy threat infiltrates Violet’s laboratories, endangering her life and her work, scientist and bodyguard will find all their theories put to the test—and learn that the most important discoveries are those of the heart. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617510993004-88G7WEJ1EKTKNN0MCKPY/hyggelab-concept-X4gpnFdMcbY-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett - But ultimately, the biggest problem I had with this book was that the author relied on telling readers who a character is, rather than showing. Violet was recovering from an unhappy first marriage; her late husband was purportedly a very controlling man, who didn’t appreciate Violet’s intellectual pursuits. We never really see the damage that was done to her, we’re just told it happened. The same thing is true with Arthur, who is dealing with so much baggage, that I honestly forgot what most of it was. His sister died like thirty years ago? He almost had an affair once, but didn’t? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617410803891-R846YNTREO48HTQOLLOB/eduardo-olszewski-iE9Iq-ys8Bo-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett Photo by Eduardo Olszewski on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-i-want-to-be-where-the-normal-people-are-by-rachel-bloom monthly 0.5 2021-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617409888193-IN4ADVOCZ1HG3NYGDR9V/52041383.jpg Blog - Review: I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom - Synopsis: R achel Bloom has felt out of place her whole life, whether in the hallowed halls of Manhattan Beach Middle School or on Twitter. Singled out by teachers, dumped by weird boyfriends, and ridiculed by roommates who were just trying to get some sleep, she knew something about her was “off.” So she’s decided to figure out exactly what makes her different. In this collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing) that made her a star, Rachel writes about everything she thought made her abnormal, from her struggles with mental health, to her love of Disney and Spanx, to the story of how she didn’t poop in the toilet until she was four years old. Her stories are hilarious, smart, and infinitely relatable (except for the pooping thing). No spoilers, but along the way, she might just come to realize that a lot of other people feel as abnormal as she feels. Okay, fine, spoiler: She totally comes to realize that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1617409409688-HZVH3RG67T0PXWFOGQLO/kyle-head-p6rNTdAPbuk-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom Photo by Kyle Head on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/books-youll-need-to-stuff-in-the-freezer monthly 0.5 2021-04-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616895508667-AJRS0RTB1NAJU8Q6F3E7/david-dibert-Na0BbqKbfAo-unsplash.jpg Blog - Books You’ll Need to Stuff in the Freezer Photo by David Dibert on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616458569150-67NZP33CDFDX3O1Z22KZ/27877139._SY475_.jpg Blog - Books You’ll Need to Stuff in the Freezer - 3. Misery by Stephen King Full disclosure: I just read this book last week, but it was so good I had to include it. Paul Sheldon, a bestselling novelist, wakes up from a horrible car crash with two broken legs. Instead of finding himself in a hospital, he learns he’s trapped with the dangerously unbalanced Annie Wilkes, who declares herself to be his “number one fan.” This book is an epically oogey butt-clencher. It was so creepy and disturbing and I loved every second of it. Annie Wilkes just comes alive with King’s writing; there were several times when I had to look over my shoulder to make sure she wasn’t lurking behind me with an ax. It’s a testament to the power of King’s storytelling ability that a book that features two characters for the majority of the book can be so utterly engrossing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616458645697-PNJVIHMBCOYOA2FFWU3G/257de27e8bd3c83b251f7ff0a8a92cee.jpg Blog - Books You’ll Need to Stuff in the Freezer - 4. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia This is a bizarre, spine-tingling story that you should definitely read only in the cold light of day. After Noemí Taboada receives a cryptic letter from her cousin Catalina, she travels to High Place, the dilapidated mansion that belongs to Catalina’s darkly charismatic new husband, Virgil Doyle. Upon arriving, Noemí is immediately plagued by nightmares; as she begins to uncover the dark secrets of the Doyle family, she realizes that there is something lurking in the house that may not let her leave. I’m already a sucker for gothic novels, but this book kicks it up a notch. Moreno-Garcia weaves psychological horror with Mexican folklore to create something entirely new. You’ll never look at mushrooms the same way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616363738741-KM4M0PJLPVAFCPEV35S8/594139.jpg Blog - Books You’ll Need to Stuff in the Freezer - 2. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This is quite possibly my favorite book of all time. The narrator is an unnamed young woman who works as a lady’s maid. While staying in Monte Carlo with her employer, she meets an enigmatic widower named Maxim de Winter. The two engage in a whirlwind courtship, and Maxim brings her back with him to his beautiful country estate, Manderley. But the new Mrs. de Winter finds herself haunted by the lingering shadow of Rebecca—Max’s first wife—and a secret that threatens to destroy her marriage, and her life. Everything about this book is stunning. Daphne DuMaurier’s writing is gripping., and the characters are all distinct and well-developed. The whole book is steeped in this feeling of eeriness and foreboding. Bonus: The 1940 Hitchcock adaptation starring Joan Fontaine brings this book to life spectacularly. If nothing else read the first sentence of the book, and see if you’re not tempted to find out more: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616363656188-C6TN4V41433FD91GNBNW/16299.jpg Blog - Books You’ll Need to Stuff in the Freezer - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie I love Agatha Christie. My mom loves Miss Marple and Poirot, so I grew up with the characters, but this book is just on another plane entirely. I finished it in three hours because I literally couldn’t stop reading, I just had to know what happened next. Ten strangers are summoned to a secluded, private island by a host who never materializes. One by one, they start to die in mysterious ways, leaving the survivors wondering who will be next. It’s a short book, but Agatha Christie manages to pack in so much plot and character and suspense without being overwhelming. This just proves that Christie is the queen of mystery. The writing is so atmospheric; I definitely felt claustrophobic imagining myself on that island with no electricity or communication with the outside world. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/monthly-wrap-up-march-2021 monthly 0.5 2021-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616962288771-2QHI6DNNARX3H06F1MG7/elisa-calvet-b-S3nUOqDmUvc-unsplash.jpg Blog - Monthly Wrap-up: March 2021 Photo from Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-mediocre-by-ijeoma-oluo monthly 0.5 2021-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616355089627-OTILU6MDSRVKWAJ1BQZM/53056522.jpg Blog - Review: Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo - Synopsis: From the author of the New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, a history of white male America and a scathing indictment of what it has cost us socially, economically, and politically. After the election of Donald Trump, and the escalation of white male rage and increased hostility toward immigrants that came after him, Ijeoma Oluo found herself in conversation with Americans around the country pondering one central question: How did we get here? In this ambitious survey of the last century of American history, Oluo answers that question by pinpointing white men’s deliberate efforts to subvert women, people of color, and the disenfranchised. Through research, interviews, and the powerful, personal writing for which she is celebrated, Oluo investigates the backstory of America’s growth, from immigrant migration to our national ethos around ingenuity, from the shaping of economic policy to the protection of sociopolitical movements that fortify male power. In the end, she shows how white men have long maintained a stranglehold on leadership and sorely undermined the pursuit of happiness for all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616611814386-QEZ4RTK76HRVQLEI6DBL/that-s-her-business-8KHPeh9mNvs-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo - This book is already so timely, but it’s equally fascinating in the wake of the storming of the Capitol Building early this year. I mean, it’s just insane, because that type of white rage, is exactly the type of danger that Oluo is warning us of. For anyone who is still wondering how the attack on our Capital even happened, I highly recommend reading this book, because that rage and entitlement has always been present in our society. Oluo did so much research, and has a clear understanding about what she’s writing. She masterfully connects the dots throughout history and shows us how we got where we are today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616357121103-YDWDAASR5L3CNHVL3VTB/hunters-race-MYbhN8KaaEc-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-untamed-shore-by-silvia-moreno-garcia monthly 0.5 2021-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616702326038-ONX91UASJR6KOBF0ASVW/55715142.jpg Blog - Review: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Synopsis: Baja California, 1979. Viridiana spends her days watching the dead sharks piled beside the seashore, as the fishermen pull their nets. Her head is filled with dreams of Hollywood, of romance, of a future beyond the town where her only option is to marry and have children. But then three wealthy American tourists arrive for the summer, and Viridiana is magnetized. She immediately becomes entwined in the excitement of the glamorous foreigners’ lives and an escape from the promise of a humdrum future. When one of them dies, Viridiana lies to protect her friends. Soon enough, someone’s asking questions, and Viridiana has some of her own about her new acquaintances. Sharks may be dangerous, but there are worse predators nearby, ready to devour a naive young woman who becomes tangled in a web of deceit. In her first crime novel, Silvia Moreno-Garcia crafts a blazing novel of suspense with an eerie seaside setting and a literary edge that proves her a master of the genre. Content Warning: violence, domestic abuse. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616722729493-W8IP013EHA9H2MK3668H/gerald-schombs-GBDkr3k96DE-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - That being said, I didn’t quite fall in love with Viridiana the way I instantly did with Casiopeia or Noemí—from Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic, respectively; I found her to be a little distant and cold, especially in the beginning. Her reaction to some of the things that happened was oddly phlegmatic. But the journey that Garcia-Moreno takes her on is so compelling that I grew to like her as the story progressed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616702042601-YN62QAME5MHFQBDEMQA2/sebastian-coman-travel-dtOTQYmTEs0-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Photo by Sebastian Coman Travel on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/fantasy-novels-you-wont-be-able-to-put-down monthly 0.5 2021-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616536750063-TQGEQ7DNBZPX9WXCNJQQ/36510722.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down - 2. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia This is another book that’s rooted in mythology and folklore, but we move to Mexico in the 1920s. The story follows a young woman named Casiopea Tun, who mistakenly frees Hun-Kamé, the Mayan god of death. With the promise of freedom from her life of servitude, Casiopea becomes embroiled in a quest to help the god take back his throne from his twin brother; a quest that will take her all across the country, and deep into the underworld. God, this book is just phenomenal. I loved reading about the history of Mexico, and the Mayan folklore—definitely check out Moreno-Garcia’s essay about how she found her inspiration. The characters are so well-developed; I love that even the villains are not truly evil. Read this book, and then go read everything else that Moreno-Garcia has written. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616362656844-60UWXO67EP38XLJX39QE/34069813._SY475_.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down - 1.The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden This book is the first in the Winternight trilogy., and they’re all amazing. The writing is so magical and lush, and the story is impeccably researched. Set in medieval Russia, a young girl named Vasilisa has the ability to see the spirits of the forest and home, including Morozko, the Winter King. When a charismatic new priest comes to Vasya’s home, the villagers turn away from the spirits they used to honor, and look to the church for salvation. But something dark is stirring at the edge of the forest, waiting to seep into the village, something only Vasya can stop. This is one of my favorite books. The build-up is slow, but the author draws you in with characters you can’t help but fall in love with, and utterly gorgeous prose; you’ll feel the icy hand of the Winter King on your shoulder. Great, now I want to go and read it all over again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616362868495-QE7BZQAR237PI7ULOBRX/49504061._SY475_.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down - 3. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow Two words: suffragist witches. I loved everything about it; it was mesmerizing, and I can’t recommend it enough. In 1893, the three Eastwood sisters—Beatrice Belladonna, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper—find their way back to each other in the city of New Salem. There, they join the suffragists to fight for the right to vote, and find they may need to employ a little witchery to shake up the status quo. This is a long book, and definitely a slow-build; it’s very much a character-driven story, and Harrow delivers. It’s hard to go into too much detail, because I don’t want to give anything away. Just read it. Read it for the fierce, distinct characters, the feminist slant to history and folk tales, and the beautiful, beautiful writing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616362985800-0L4WRX3QNN73QZIKR0SO/9591398.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down - 4. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente I honestly don’t remember how I came across this book, I think I might have found it when I was at the library one day. All I know is that this book is a rare treasure. Everything about this story is exquisite; Valente’s writing is unlike anything I’ve ever read. (I’m trying hard not to go overboard with the gushing.) September is a 12-year-old girl who lives in Nebraska and finds herself bored with the routine of her mundane life. One day, she meets the Green Wind, who promptly whisks her off to Fairyland on his flying leopard. There, September meets a book-loving wyvern, a mysterious boy named Saturday, and runs afoul of Fairyland’s cruel new ruler, the Marquess. I read this book nearly weeping because I wished I could write with Valente’s deeply imaginative, lyrical voice. I kept reading because I fell in love with the characters and the world that she created. Bonus: This is the first book in a five-part series, so you’re welcome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616363335876-R0FHLIMF1E6VL6OB1SOC/29588376._SY475_.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down - 5. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch A friend of mine was kind of enough to give me the first three books in this series, and I honestly never expected to like them so much, but the story pulled me in from page one: Set in the harsh island city of Camorr, we meet the legendary con man, Locke Lamora and his band of thieves. The Gentleman Bastards—as they call themselves—are trying to pull off the biggest heist in their careers. Instead, they’re drawn into a game that’s darker than they ever imagined. It’s like the love child of Ocean’s Eleven and The Godfather, with some Game of Thrones thrown in for good measure. The worldbuilding is complex and amazingly detailed without being overwhelming; the characters are so rich and colorful. Seriously, there are so many people in this book, but none of them feel like a caricature or flat. The amount of care and detail that Lynch puts into this story is truly staggering. And while it may start off a little slow, once it gets going, watch out. You’ll be up all night trying to finish it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616961232493-JK7KSSGMO7EF12EZJZLK/artem-sapegin-XGDBdSQ70O0-unsplash.jpg Blog - Fantasy Novels You Won’t be Able to Put Down Photo by Artem Sapegin on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-the-ex-talk-by-rachel-lynn-solomon monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616022570512-FX9TK7O0CKTTLNJAHFYF/will-francis-ZDNyhmgkZlQ-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616023065144-KD0MPWU1S6BFPRDJB4PO/53382168.jpg Blog - Review: The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon - Synopsis: Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect cohosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle, and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616267356055-4LO45OQQ9WKE78RSY9O9/luca-micheli-RpvC77-exG0-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon - But, I wish that more transcripts from their show were included. I was genuinely interested in it! And they talk about doing so many different episodes, but considering that what drives the plot is Dominic and Shay lying about their relationship in order to actually do the show, I didn’t feel like we spent enough time with them on the air. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-the-duke-and-i monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616307499788-3BZ63S7HVHH3L3L6LQ8Y/shannon-ferguson-Z33hpeePdyc-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn Photo by Shannon Ferguson on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616818584494-QC0V3QRHY2ZFWH1IAG77/volha-kudzina-Ww4o8k_BC7Y-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - This is a book written by a woman to appeal to women’s fantasies, yet there is an unfathomable amount of women hating women going on between the pages. I understand that in the Regency era, women were literally competing with one another to find a husband, but Quinn doesn’t really dive into that. Instead, it’s a very shallow approach. She pushes Daphne into the role of the “cool girl,” the one that men can really talk to because she isn’t so silly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616818374013-Q6PKIZX5LAMX7X4DVPBE/54698747._SY475_.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - Synopsis: In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsy before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken, yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cutthroat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: Love ignores every rule… https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-fat-chance-charlie-vega-by-crystal-maldonado monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616016376992-7SO30MYWN0JPGYBJ3S8D/kelly-sikkema-CynAjQl3ISk-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado - I also felt like Charlie’s relationship with her mother could have been fleshed out more. I mean for most of the book, her mother is just terrible! She keeps pushing these diet shakes onto Charlie, and making comments about Charlie’s weight, even in front of other people. At one point, she even tries to force Charlie to commit to a daily weigh-in! The tension between them was so realistic, but there doesn’t seem to be any real resolution. It’s true, they do discuss some of their issues, but her mother’s obsession with Charlie’s weight is never brought up. And Charlie grows so much throughout the novel, it was a shame that she doesn’t tell her mother just how hurtful her behavior is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615775648060-IUO2DLZBVJ3ZVL3IAQFR/carli-jeen-15YDf39RIVc-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615775352055-QDA3BYVL1KQSDN4HMWZE/53399306.jpg Blog - Review: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado - Synopsis: Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one—especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it’s hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight-loss shakes on her dresser doesn’t help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there’s one person who’s always in Charlie’s corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing—he asked out Amelia first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even see her? Because it’s time people did. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-the-black-kids-by-christina-hammonds-reed monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615661894433-G42TVBXOQ0OPAKYCUA94/sterling-davis-4iXagiKXn3Y-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed Photo by Sterling Davis on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615923015040-X4U98BIJTQC8CBMGTDNO/jeff-ackley-8tGGDim3HNg-unsplash+%281%29.jpg Blog - Review: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed - In addition to police brutality, Reed also touches on intergenerational trauma. Ashley discovers that her grandmother survived the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 as a child, and how that experience shaped her father’s life and his decisions regarding how Ashley and her sister were raised. Again, I barely remember learning about what happened in Tulsa in my history classes, and I was grateful to have the chance to learn more about it. This is why this book is so important to read. It really contextualizes historical events that aren’t usually delved into. It’s definitely inspired me to seek out more information about both of these events. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615662244237-4ZU6UG337WCQZZUVE7IX/51-LS86AfCL.jpg Blog - Review: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed - Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1992—Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. Ashley’s not always so sure she actually likes her friends these days, but they’ve been besties since kindergarten. Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of “the black kids.” As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on with life as normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family facade her parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson. Her world splintering around her, Ashley, along the rest of LA, is left to question: Who is “us?” And who is “them?” https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/my-favorite-comfort-reads monthly 0.5 2021-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616960783383-PQOFMFUJ0UVM801V2LDN/freestocks-OfaDD5o8hpk-unsplash+%281%29.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads Photo by freestocks on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616094427513-7ZC6JY5EZ350M8JNGV8X/71bGkXbSUUL.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 2. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot My mom bought me this book when I was nine years old, because I had decided I wanted to be a veterinarian. An insane idea really; I am not who you want to be performing dangerous and tricky surgeries on your pet. This book may have cured me of my veterinary ambitions, but I still absolutely loved it. The stories are so wholesome, funny, and idyllic. Herriot writes about his adventures with humor and care. I’m the type of person who cries the second those sad animal commercials come on the TV, so I usually tend to avoid reading any stories about animals because they end up dying at the end. But this book is so positive and uplifting. I promise that you won’t ugly cry so hard that you give yourself a headache. It’s the ultimate comfort read. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616094979402-O05EHREKHOLODHGYJ4YO/81TVgHanENL.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 5.Wow, No Thank You, by Samantha Irby Read this if you need a pick-me-up from the garbage dump our world has become. Samantha Irby is an absolute goddess of humor and toilet jokes. (I also recommend listening to her guest episode on The Stacks podcast.) This book is intensely readable, and so, so relatable. Everything in it is just pure gold: “Sure, sex is fun, but have you ever been to Trader Joe’s right after a restock?” “Hello, 911? I’ve been lying awake for an hour each night, reliving a two-second awkward experience I had in front of a casual acquaintance three years ago, for eight months.” This woman gets me; she’s my hero. I laughed so hard and so loudly, that I’m surprised we didn’t get a noise complaint, because I sounded like a hyena. I regret nothing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616093107710-TT5S1NHPJ6BKUNZWK0E8/dud-avocado.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 1. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy The absolutely hilarious story of a young woman on her own in 1950s Paris. Sally Jay Gorce, with her pink hair and her desperate attempts to be a ‘woman of the world,’ is adorable, and oh so chaotic. Elaine Dundy said that the book is semi-autobiographical; “All the impulsive, outrageous things my heroine does, I did. All the sensible things she did, I made up.” Don’t read this if you’re looking for a book with a lot of plot and characters that act logically, because you will not find it in dear Sally Jay. Instead, read it for the woman who says things like this: “The vehemence of my moral indignation surprised me. Was I beginning to have standards and principles, and, oh dear, scruples? What were they, and what would I do with them, and how much were they going to get in my way?” Stay gold, Sally Jay. Stay gold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616094888701-OBJNMTBEFURVFKEPJFCJ/the-house.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 4. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune This book is like getting a giant hug. It’s such a funny, tender story about what makes a true family. Never before have I read a book where I sobbed over a button. As soon as I finished I wanted to flip right to the beginning and start over. Regrettably, I checked it out from the library, so I had to give it back. It was so original. I loved all the characters. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite, it’s simply impossible. This is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s just an absolute gem; It’s like getting an instant boost of serotonin. I honestly wish I could buy a thousand copies of this book, and just walk around my neighborhood giving them out to every person I see. Is that a normal reaction? We’ll say it is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616098522828-QD938F52GB0TB0DIYCDU/anne-green-gables.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 6. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery This list was originally supposed to be just five books, but then I realized it would not be complete without kindred spirit Anne Shirley. Objectively, she’s the best redheaded orphan out there (sorry-not-sorry, Annie.) My dad bought me the box set when I was eight, and I still have them. Admittedly, I had to replace the first three because I carried them everywhere and they basically disintegrated. What can I say? I just love them. I love reading about Anne falling into the “depths of despair,” and her academic competition with Gilbert Blythe (swoon). I love all the gorgeous imagery of Prince Edward Island. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Avonlea. Bonus: You can watch the fantastic miniseries adaptation starring Megan Follows, which is perfect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1616094572323-MX81CKHIW9E84BDG22TZ/41KgLfJSWvL._SX331_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg Blog - My Favorite Comfort Reads - 3. Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich This book is so funny. I’ve read pretty much everything that Simon Rich has written, and this one is my favorite. The stories range from a harrowing view of a family of hamsters struggling to survive in a kindergarten classroom; a helicopter mom who thinks her demonic son is merely “gifted”; and—my favorite—an immigrant in 1900s Brooklyn who falls into a vat of pickle juice and wakes up in the present-day, where he meets his vastly underwhelming great-great-grandson—named Simon Rich. This last one was made into a movie starring Seth Rogen as both the pickler and the grandson, and is available on HBO Max. But it’s definitely worth it to read the story first. I laughed so many times reading this book that I’m pretty sure my cat thought I was crazy. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-act-your-age-eve-brown monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615429910614-HKQ9174PPA8A8R1GLOVS/final-eve-brown.jpg Blog - Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - Synopsis: Eve Brown is a certified mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong. So she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how… Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed-and-breakfast owner is on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right. Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore…and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615407173646-7GP0XDHV08JAA05DG35B/c-d-x-PDX_a_82obo-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert Photo by C D-X on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615837299630-6PRNLYGMIIIZSOTLLOTW/brooke-lark-ZkgWJ4BfgsE-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - There is a reason why Talia Hibbert is one of my favorite authors. She writes about subjects like autism and mental health with such care and understanding. She really does a good job of showing there isn’t one way to have autism. I’ve said before, I have ADHD. Like autism, ADHD is classed as a neurodevelopmental disorder. (This is a fancy way of saying that your brain is just wired differently.) The way Hibbert writes about characters struggling to fit in with neurotypical people is so poignant, and really resonated with me. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-a-million-junes monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615848365521-Y5LPS6ELV4DG0XGODTWI/regine-tholen-Z0_UY31YLSY-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Million Junes by Emily Henry - This novel has so much going on: There’s the Romeo and Juliet-esque war between the O’Donnells and the Angerts, there’s mystery, magic, a curse, and romance. But while the romance between June and Saul is a huge part of the story, at its core, its a really about the love between a father and daughter. Even though it’s been ten years, June is still reeling from the death of her father. Most of the book is her coming to terms with that, and finding out a way to move on, while still honoring the memory of her father. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615514152294-6OX83RX95NRD2AC5EO7U/f36ee6befaf2746997a670cc93dc21ee.jpg Blog - Review: A Million Junes by Emily Henry - Synopsis: For as long as Jack “June” O’Donnell has been alive, her parents have had only one rule: Stay away from the Angert family. But when June collides—quite literally—with Saul Angert, sparks fly, and everything June has always known is thrown into chaos. Who exactly is this gruff, sarcastic, but seemingly harmless boy who has returned to their hometown of Five Fingers, Michigan, after three mysterious years away? And why has June—an O’Donnell to her core—never questioned her late father’s deep hatred of the Angert family? After all, the O’Donnells and the Angerts may have mythic legacies, but for all the tall tales they weave, both founding families are tight-lipped about what caused the century-old rift between them. As Saul and June’s connection grows deeper, they find that the magic, ghosts, and coywolves of Five Fingers seem to be conspiring to reveal the truth about the harrowing curse that has plagued their bloodlines for generations. Now June must question everything she knows about her family, and the father she adored, and she must decide whether it’s finally time for her—and all the O’Donnells before her—to let go. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615430029097-2EL4PEK63GTHIWLWO48E/dear-xiEMqQYiIZw-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: A Million Junes by Emily Henry Photo by DEAR on Unsplash https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-burning-god monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615338206041-L2LQQIE5BKO9KZFHLA68/unnamed.jpg Blog - Review: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang - Synopsis: After saving her nation of Nikan from the foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grow, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615407010881-8GSSG2RDIVPVO07KNUKJ/gigi-m_DoGWrKi_Q-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang Photo by Gigi on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615408189185-470L6TKP1KMXP2FA0ZM7/raquel-raclette-MYjFOiVWWT8-unsplash.jpg Blog - Review: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang - Rin’s character arc is simultaneously fascinating and horrifying; she is a full-fledged monster in this book. Rin was always a morally ambiguous character, she always had a taste for vengeance, but she fully embraces the way of the Phoenix here. She was a bloodthirsty, cruel despot; she was utterly terrifying, but I still couldn’t root against her. It’s a hard line to walk between anti-hero and villain, and Kuang does this incredibly well. I only found out after I had finished the book, that Rin is actually based in part on Mao Zedong, which is so obvious in hindsight that I’m embarrassed I didn’t realize it. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/review-take-a-hint-dani-brown monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615504600568-ZXZXP0GQQL5TEJINE5LZ/joanna-kosinska-MnKWt1W1GDg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - The only thing I had a problem with was the way social media worked in the book. Dani and Zaf decide to pretend to be a couple when they go viral. As a result, they go on fake lunch dates around the university where they both work so that they can get noticed—therefore Tweeted about. That part just didn’t seem very realistic to me. It just seems to me that people wouldn’t really care that much if that happened in real life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615406927924-ZC8BAQY2MRW5ZLLY6ITZ/debby-hudson-asviIGR3CPE-unsplash%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615429305159-UOWGK5ZVF988BYZWELQF/take_a_hint.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - Synopsis: Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best, and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend with benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom. When big, brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: Ph.D. student Dani and former rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact to him, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Suddenly, half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who would refuse? Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf is secretly a romantic—he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his…um, thighs. Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe waiting for her to take a hint? https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/blog-post-dragon-republic monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615406222117-31LJCPGDPP3UTSAOUFZI/denis-pan-FnNIDG9k8Ag-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang Photo by denis pan on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615429147653-RFZC9DNH2YZ6BB8RD95A/1fe840ccdaba3cb25065fb02c2be9bb0.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang - Synopsis: The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vise, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power. Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress, who betrayed Rin’s homeland to its enemies. Rin’s only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic. But the Empress and the Dragon Warlord are not what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix’s deadly power once more. Because there is nothing Rin won’t sacrifice to save her country…and exact her vengeance. I tried not to reveal too many details of the plot, but proceed with caution if you don’t want any spoilers! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615509498413-N7RW7F5YUR60ZLZHRAZO/shane-young-hOwGHmNcncg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang - This is a completely different Rin than we see in the first book. She’s come out of this war broken, and angry, and scared. She makes one horrible decision after the other, to the point where you almost want to pick her up and shake her. But what makes Rin such a good character is because she is so deeply flawed. You have to remind yourself that she’s only twenty years old. She’s the last of her people. She’s seen terrible things, she’s done terrible things, and she’s had terrible things done to her. Her descent into opium addiction is realistic. I would warn readers to proceed with caution though, because like most things in this series, it’s hard to read. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/blog-post-get-a-life-chloe-brown monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615406540284-VQQSDLP15INETNLEVDPR/kasya-shahovskaya-d5ud04fTJCk-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert Photo by Kasya Shahovskaya on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615429496568-EH8TPN26HLTRPI260ZHM/chloebrown.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert - Synopsis: Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “get a life,” and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next item? 1. Enjoy a drunken night out 2. Ride a motorcycle 3. Go camping 4. Have meaningless, but thoroughly enjoyable sex 5. Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage 6. Do something bad… But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job. Redford “Red” Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten thousand Hollywood heart-throbs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615489034234-Z1DL9CKPX3JMVHEL4OTL/mike-petrucci-f6Xv0xs9JWg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert - Enter Red Morgan., the equally grumpy superintendent of Chloe’s building. I’m not usually a huge fan of books where the chapters alternate between two characters., mostly because I think there isn’t enough of a tone shift to distinguish the voices. But this is definitely one of Hibbert’s strengths. And she’s so good at writing funny, sexy banter. I actually laughed out loud while reading this book, and that’s pretty rare. https://www.adrianacat.com/blog/blog-post-the-poppy-war monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615423682762-KECDWORLQKV9PBAEK5ED/a7d4578e2ccd170d6f201e7b8f1ca9b4.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - Kuang lulls the reader into a false sense of security, describing culture at Sinegard, and Rin’s quest to become the greatest soldier of all-time. Then the Federation of Mugen invades, and Kuang hurls Rin (and the reader) face first into the horrific realities of war. “Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore.” The Mugenese take obvious glee in destroying Nikan and torturing any who get in their way. They absolutely decimate an entire city. Kuang goes into such heart-rendering detail that it’s almost hard to keep going. Kuang explains in the afterword, that almost every scene from these chapters came from accounts of the Rape of Nanking. “Very little was made up—most of what you see truly happened.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615405756080-FMJLK6FIF30WEW2TK1JO/dlanor-s-Y0d16XsFYKk-unsplash.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Photo by Dlanor S on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615405263496-GWCO4H014A6Y53XBJMSG/unnamed.jpg Blog - Backlist Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - Synopsis: When war orphan Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the academies—she surprised everyone: test officials, the guardians who wanted to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise, and even herself. But being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not easy at Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan. Targeted by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers that gods long thought dead are very much alive, and that she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly mythical art of shamanism that could be the weapon the empire desperately needs. While Nikara is at peace, its enemy and former occupiers, the Federation of Mugen, bides its time…and a Third Poppy War is just a spark away. Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. Yet as she discovers more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity. 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From a young age, her insatiable curiosity led her to try out several different ventures, from horseback riding and roller derby, to piano and alto sax, before finally realizing her ultimate love for singing and telling stories. She attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she earned a BS in Journalism. After childhood forays in performing, she rediscovered her yen for theatre and musicals in 2018. She was a founding member of the theatre company Mid-World Players, based in Long Beach. She starred in the world premiere of Mid-World’s Love, Shakespeare: A Musical Review, and portrayed Blanche Barrow in both of their productions of Bonnie and Clyde. She also played Sheila Birling in An Inspector Calls at the Westminster Community Playhouse, where her performance was lauded as “rich and formidable.” Most recently, Adriana played Anne Norbury in The Sound of Murder, also at the Westminster Community Playhouse. https://www.adrianacat.com/read-online daily 0.75 2021-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615236470441-CLPP9UHJWUX37T0400B5/cover-blacksmith5-6-18.jpg Read Online Photo by Kaori Funahashi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615235510530-DJRHBDCGVP4WD5WINLB2/coyote.jpg Read Online Photo from Google Images https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615235827020-DU04ZJVBTUUHV7M92KS0/1sGs-500x355.jpg Read Online Photo Courtesy of Jessie Kahnweiler https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615236813808-TN89OFHVJ665NZYFDDUL/arts-lead-pic01-3-12.jpg Read Online Photo Courtesy of Stephen Jenkinson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615237401613-LZOKWEJSRR8HF5XS3OSP/news-strokes-sex_trafficking-40.23.jpg Read Online Photo Courtesy of Rachel Thomas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/1615237158768-OEE78PM04Y7N7L7WFND1/arts-2ndary-pic01-3-12.jpg Read Online Photo Courtesy of Cuesta College https://www.adrianacat.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-03-09 https://www.adrianacat.com/theatre daily 0.75 2021-03-08 https://www.adrianacat.com/theatre/love-shakespeare monthly 0.5 2021-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60458813f2efe4588ba5abba/a79313f0-ad37-4af9-9dd2-933b3fdd065a/IMG-2677.JPG Theatre - 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