Most Anticipated August 2020 Releases

Well now we come to the month that's usually one of the quietest in publishing; instead, a bunch of titles were pushed from May and June releases to now.

Waiting For

1. The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed (8/4/20)

Historical fiction set during the early '90s about the Rodney King riots.

2. Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan (8/4/20)

Food memoirs are truly my catnip.

3. Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers (8/4/20)

The new conclusion to the His Fair Assassin saga.

4. Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens (8/6/20)

I am highkey sad this is the last Murder Most Unladylike book, but I need it anyway.

5. A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan (8/11/20)

Middle grade and food? Yes please.

6. All Our Worst Ideas by Vicky Skinner (8/11/20)

I have a soft spot for contemporary YA that no one is talking about.

7. The Knockout by S.A. Patel (8/18/20)

Y'all know I love books that lead to the Olympics (RIP to Tokyo 2020), so here we are with one that isn't my usual gymnastics or figure skating fare.

Already Read - You Should, Too!

Yet again, I have read no upcoming books. Meep.

Top Ten Tuesday: #QuietYA Recs from 2020

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Another freebie topic week! I decided to take this time to highlight a bunch of YA that has slid under the radar so far this year. Of course, a lot of books have been overshadowed by COVID, but there's also the usual bunch that didn't make the NYT Bestseller List, even though they should've.

1. Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning

2. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

3. This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregario

4. The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

5. Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

6. Moment of Truth by Kasie West

7. Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

8. Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

9. In the Shadow of the Sun by E.M. Castellan

10. The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

What under-the-radar books pubbed this year have you loved?

Rewind & Review #165

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I am somehow, miraculously, functional after folklore. But it'll be the only thing on my mind for awhile still.

Books I Received for Review

You Have a Match by Emma Lord (from Wednesday Books via NetGalley)

Books I Won/Traded for/was Gifted

Recommended for You by Laura Silverman (from Laura's twitter giveaway)

Books I Read

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette (3 stars)
The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne (4 stars)
The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson (4 stars)
The Do-Over by Jennifer Honeybourn (3 stars)
Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein (5 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make You Smile

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Smile

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Don't we all need books that make us smile right now? I love an emotionally-wrenching, sweeping story, too, but I think I love the softer, happier stories a little bit more. The books I'm about to list are not all rainbows and sunshine, but they're primarily sunny summer days wrapped in book binding.

1. From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

2. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

3. The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash

4. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

5. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

6. Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

7. A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

8. Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

9. Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

10. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han


Bonus pick: Heist Society by Ally Carter

What books make you smile?

Rewind & Review #164

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I baked a pie.

Books I Received for Review

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor (from Inkyard Press via NetGalley)

Books I Bought

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein
The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning

Books I Read

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir (3 stars)
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen (4 stars)
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (4 stars)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (reread)
The Jewel Thief by Jeannie Mobley (3 stars)
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (reread)
The Mall by Megan McCafferty

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

• Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases in 2020, Part Two
• Review: Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs (2.5 stars)
• Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Mystery/Thrillers
• Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Sci-Fi
• Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Fantasy
• Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I've Read the Most Books By
• Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Romance
• Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Latinx Authors

Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Latinx Authors

Though this list is a bit short, I have thoroughly enjoyed all these books I'm about to recommend.

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson

(Main character is Black but not Latinx, from what I remember.)

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes

Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

(Main character is not Latinx. The author's next book is about a Cuban-American girl, however.)

What books by Latinx authors have you enjoyed? Will you be adding these from my list to your TBR?

Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Romance

Ordinarily, I hate walking into B&N and seeing a separate section for YA romance because there is no clear delineation to what they think is romance and what isn't. Case in point: I once saw The Raven Cycle books shelved as romance when clearly they should be in B&N's adventure section (which is another weird categorization, but whatever). But I will allow that there are some YA books that focus primarily on romance, and so that is what I am recommending today.

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson

Together at Midnight by Jennifer Castle

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

In a Perfect World by Trish Doller

What kinds of YA romances do you like?  

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I've Read the Most Books By

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

I contemplated a couple ways to make this list. A bunch of the authors I've surely read the most books by are the ones of my childhood who wrote super long series (or had them ghostwritten; looking at you, Ann M. Martin). And I thought that might be kind of boring? But Goodreads also removed the most read authors feature, which... BOOOOOOO. That made my job 200 times harder. So I've assembled a list of authors I'm pretty sure I've read a lot of books by. This will be a mix of childhood authors and more recent reads.



1. Ann M. Martin
Between the BSC series, Baby-sitter's Little Sister series, some standalones, and the Main Street books, I've read a lot of AMM's work.


2. Ally Carter
Three series (consisting of six, three, and three books, respectively), a standalone, and the start of a middle grade series.


3. Valerie Tripp and Janet Shaw
Between the two of them, they wrote most of the American Girl series.


4. Kasie West
A very prolific YA romance author.


5. Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boxcar Children books were my catnip, along with Baby-sitters Club.


6. Leigh Bardugo
Grisha trilogy, Six of Crows duology, more Grishaverse works, and a Wonder Woman book.


7. Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles (plus associated novellas), the Renegades trilogy, and Heartless.


8. Robin Stevens
Robin has written a delightful historical mystery middle grade series that is soon-to-be nine books long, along with several novellas.


9. Jennifer E. Smith
Jennifer is also a fairly prolific YA romance author.


10. Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and associated books, Magnus Chase, 39 Clues stuff...


My list is SUPER white, which I think says a lot about publishing and how hard it is for many authors of color to be given long series and sustain long careers. However, I'm already seeing plenty of authors over the last 10-15 years start to break that pattern, and I hope it will continue to change.