Awkwordly Emma: October 2018

October 31, 2018

Most Anticipated November 2018 Releases

November is the last solid release month for the year, although it's still pretty quiet. Here's the books releasing this month that I'm most looking forward to!

Waiting For

1. Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (11/6/18)

Renegades pleasantly surprised me, and I hope its sequel will keep things going.

2. Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean (11/6/18)

I promise my anticipation for this book isn't just stemming from its beautiful cover.

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3. Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao (11/6/18)
So I didn't love Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, mainly because I couldn't connect with the protagonist. But I'm hopeful for this one since it's finally Snow White at the forefront. ^.^

4. Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene (11/27/18)

This one sounds beautifully enchanting.

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5. All the Wandering Light by Heather Fawcett (12/4/18)
Not actually a November title, but I'm not doing a December post, and I'm very, very excited for this title. Even the Darkest Stars was one of my favorite books of 2017.

Already Read - You Should, Too!

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1. Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (11/6/18)

I mean, it's Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

What November releases are you hype for?

October 30, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Horror Books to Read for Halloween

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

I'm not one for scary movies or books, and I'd like to think I'm not the only person like that. So if you're looking for some Halloween reads that won't be too scary (or at all), then I have recs for you!

1. The Harry Potter series

Obviously.

2. The Naturals series

Definitely got that mystery/thriller vibe, but you should be able to sleep at night after reading these.

3. Truly Devious

One of the best YA mysteries I've read.

4. Three Dark Crowns series

Dark but not terrifying.

5. A Madness So Discreet

It has murder but less horror (despite that cover implying otherwise.)

6. The Language of Thorns

If you love vivid colors and rich stories, this folklore collection gives me all the fall feels.

7. Dread Nation

There are zombies, which I know have a lot of Halloween vibes for some.

8. The Steep & Thorny Way

A Hamlet retelling, so obviously there's a ghost afoot.

9. The Raven Cycle series

Delightfully eerie (although the last book definitely starts to get full-on creepy).

10. The Archived and The Unbound

A sort-of paranormal tale with a mystery. Definitely Schwab's best offering, in my opinion. (I've tried most of her other books, and they don't hold my attention like this duology does.)

So what non-scary books do you recommend for people to read around Halloween?

October 29, 2018

New York Adventures, Month Five

A wise friend pointed out that life is only no longer an adventure when you start viewing it as mundane. So. Even though my day-to-day life isn't super exciting, I still think of this time as an adventure because I'm doing new things and exploring new places.

Work

1. A couple of the people from our U.K. production team came for a few days, which was fun and interesting.
2. The children's ed intern and I took a quick field trip to the public library to look for a certain type of nonfiction books for kids and teens as part of a research project for one of the editors.
3. Kingdom of Ash pubbed, and I'm in the acknowledgements!!!

Books

1. I went to Mackenzi Lee's event at the UWS Books of Wonder, and she knew who I was, and she was quite lovely to talk to.
2. I went to L.L. McKinney and Heidi Heilig's Books of Wonder event, and Heidi recognized me before I'd even said a word! This was our first time meeting since I put The Girl from Everywhere on my first Sixteen 2016 Reads list. <3

Food

1. A friend and I were planning to check out the Madison Square Eats fall market, but it closed earlier than we were expecting (it had opened earlier in September than the other markets), and it rained the evening we were planning to go. :(
2. I went to The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn with a friend from work. As soon as we walked in, it smelled like chocolate. I got Moscato and flourless chocolate cake, and she got port and chocolate almond cake.

3. To...celebrate isn't the right word. To commemorate, maybe? To commemorate one of the other interns' last day, the children's ed intern and I took her to get macarons at the market near work. The Earl Grey one I had was divine.
4. I took my friend, who visited in the middle of the month, to a couple of my favorite places like Cafe Lalo, Maman, and Spot Dessert Bar. This time, we also tried the Milky Puff dessert, pictured below.

5. We also went to a pizza place in Brooklyn called Table 87. Definitely felt local, and the pizza was super good!
6. AND we went to Chelsea Market. I had been planning to get a savory pie for lunch but that stall closed. :( So I got lunch at Creamline, and we got breakfast pastries at Sarabeth's Bakery.
7. AND (I joked a lot that I was taking her on a mini food tour of my new home) we visited two new-to-me bakeries in DUMBO: Almondine and Jacques Torres. Both were lovely.
8. Yesterday, my roommate and I got to go on a food tour of Nolita. A coworker of my mom's generously gifted us tickets, and it was so much fun. We tried Emporio pizza, Seamore's fish and chips, braised beef short rib tacos at Oficina Latina, a Brooklyn Blackout cupcake, corn from Tacombi, and a bonbon from Stick With Me Sweets. It was all so good, and we got to learn the history of the Nolita area while meeting some nice people and eating awesome food.

Events

1. Thanks to a lovely friend who works at HarperCollins invited me to an advance screening of The Hate U Give, which was such a special experience. Loved every minute of the movie. I saw it again after its release and cried even harder.
2. My friend and I had tickets to the History of Magic exhibit at the New York Historical Society. Very fun for two Potter fans!
3. My friend who visited got us tickets to Anastasia, so I've now seen four musicals (Beautiful, Wicked, Waitress, and Anastasia, if you're keeping track) twice.

Explorations

1. I got lost in the World Trade Center for 2.5 seconds (ok, more like 10 minutes) since I went the wrong way when I got off my train on my way to the THUG movie.
2. I showed two friends around my neighborhood. With the former, I also saw a bit of the Cobble Hill neighborhood. With the latter, we saw a lot of DUMBO and the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

3. With the friend who visited, we saw the 9/11 memorial, as well as St. Paul's Chapel and Trinity Church Cemetery. We paid our respects to Alexander and Eliza Hamilton.
4. Like I mentioned, we got to explore a bit of Nolita. It's a very hip area with boutiques and lots of little restaurants. We also got to explore a community garden/park that might, unfortunately, be demolished soon so the city can develop it.

October 26, 2018

Review: Little White Lies

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Grade: B
Release date: November 6, 2018
Summary: Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes such readable novels. They keep you going and wanting more and never wanting to stop until the last page. Even though the plot in Little White Lies felt a bit weaker, it was compulsively readable.
The timeline of the book moves pretty quickly and hops between "present day" and what led up to then. I appreciated that I expected one result from the lead-up and got a totally different, better plot resolution. I'm not sure I connected with the characters as well as I have with some in Jenn's past books (i.e., Sloane from The Naturals and everyone in The Fixer). Sawyer's motivations never felt quite concrete enough to me. She obviously had a goal - find her father - but it didn't feel like quite enough, or like it was all she ever wanted. They were all fairly interesting, but the boys especially felt one-dimensional. Sadie-Grace is probably my favorite of the side characters, though, along with Sawyer's grandmother. She comes across as an Emily Gilmore type as first, but Sawyer's mother is no Lorelai.

Content warnings: underage drinking is the only thing coming to mind.

The Verdict: Such a fun romp although not as strong as Jenn's previous titles.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: At some point, definitely.

October 24, 2018

So You Like... #74

I have no idea if this So You Like... post will be as successful as others, but I'm about to pair artwork with books. So if you find a painting/drawing/sculpture lovely, chances are you might like the book I've paired it with.