Random Friday: Most Anticipated Debuts of 2020

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2020 is just around the corner, and it's bringing a bunch of great-sounding YA debuts!

1. A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

2. Hood by Jenny Elder Moke

3. The Silence of Bones by June Hur

4. What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

5. This Is My America by Kim Johnson

6. More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood

7. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

8. By the Book by Amanda Sellet

9. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park

10. Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

What 2020 debut novels are on your radar?

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An Excellent Middle Grade Fantasy Novel to Add to Your TBR

One of my favorite genres to read in the fall and winter is fantasy. When I'm stuck inside because of the cold weather, there's nothing better than traveling to another time and place via a fantasy novel. That's why I'm so excited to share The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball by Scott Lauder and David Ross with y'all today.

It's the story of Sara Livingstone, a fourteen year old girl who is about to take a school trip to the Beijing Palace Museum. Right from the get-go, she starts having visions of something magical. Then it's up to Sara to use her wits and her grandmother's stories to survive a dangerous quest that thrusts her into the past. 

The book alternates between sections set in present-day and sections set in various eras of the past. A lot of adult historical fiction does this nowadays, but what keeps this middle grade/YA novel fresh is the setting. There aren't many adventure novels set in China. Plus there's an epic mystery that'll keep readers on the edges of their seats. There are characters in both time periods that readers will come to care about, and the pace is excellent. (The Jade Dragonball is, thankfully, not one of those fantasy books that feels the need to give endless details and drag on. [Wordplay intended. ;)]) 

This is such a great book for young readers in that awkward crossover place between middle grade and young adult fiction.

Hopefully my review has gotten you excited for this book. The publicist was kind enough to share two copies with me, and so I'm giving the extra one away to a lucky reader. Hop on over to my Bookstagram account (awkwordly_emma) where the giveaway will be live in a few short hours. I'm also including store links below, if you'd prefer to buy your own copy!


Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Book Depository

Why I Love If I'm Being Honest

I read Always Never Yours last year, and thought it was okay. But then when I saw If I'm Being Honest in an airport this spring, I took a chance on it...and didn't regret the purchase at all. It's easily in my top five favorites of 2019. So here's why you need to read Wibbroka's sophomore novel, if you haven't already.

1. The swoonworthy love interest

Brendan is the sweet, nerdy boy of a YA protagonist's dreams.

2. The friendships that develop and change

Cameron, the main character, has an established friend group at the beginning of the book, but as she looks to improve herself, she befriends Paige and Paige's friends. And Cameron's friend group from the beginning changes a bit as Cameron realizes who she truly wants to be. I love friendship plot lines, and these are so realistic.

3. Cameron learning how to be a kinder version of herself

If I'm Being Honest is inspired by The Taming of the Shrew, which is one of my least favorite Shakespeare plays. But whereas Katherine seemingly becomes a shell of her former self, Cameron learns how to temper her opinions and to still be herself...but kinder.

4. The unapologetically alpha type heroine

Cameron is absolutely the type to kick butt and take names. There's a reason I paired this book with Taylor Swift's "The Man," a few months ago. Cameron is bossy and opinionated, and she's always embraced those aspects of her personality. It was refreshing to see a protagonist who didn't have to extinguish her true spark for her love interest and friends.

Goodreads  Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Rewind & Review #147

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I'm attempting NaNoWriMo for the first time since summer 2017. I'm trying to keep it low pressure, though, so if I don't write 50,000 words, it's okay. (Sidebar: I really hate that they don't let you choose your word count goal. Don't make me feel bad if I can't write 50k in a month, NaNo!) I also need to be revising M&F soooooo.... We'll see what gets prioritized.

~I completed my Goodreads challenge last Sunday! Not stopping now, obviously, so we'll see how far over I can go.

~My mom and I went to brunch at another Richmond place: Lucy's Restaurant. It was cute, and the food was yummy.

Books I Received for Review

This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Amiel Williams (from Abrams via NetGalley)

The Mall by Megan McCafferty (from Wednesday Books via Edelweiss)

Books I Bought

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams

Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Books I Read

Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed (reread)

Inspired by Paris by Jordan Phillips (3 stars)

Jackpot by Nic Stone (4 stars)

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy (4 stars)

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (4 stars)

Diamonds & Deceit by Leila Rasheed (reread)

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (3 stars)

A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder by Dianne Freeman (4 stars)

Emeralds & Ashes by Leila Rasheed (reread)

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (reread)

Books Can Be Deceiving; Due or Die; Book, Line and Sinker; Read It and Weep; On Borrowed Time; A Likely Story; Better Late Than Never; Death in the Stacks; and Hitting the Books by Jenn McKinlay (4, 5, 3.5, 3.5, 3, 4, 4, 3, and 4 stars, respectively)

Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens (reread)

Drive-Thru Dreams by Adam Chandler (3 stars)

Poison Is Not Polite by Robin Stevens (reread)

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

   (from 10/28-11/2)

• The Pancake Book Tag
• Why I Love The Lovely and the Lost
• Most Anticipated November and December 2019 Releases
• Random Friday: Exercising

   (from 11/3-11/9)

• Writing Prompt #16
• Songs from the Deep Blog Tour and Review
• Review: Color Outside the Lines by various authors (3.5 stars)
• From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: Serious Moonlight and Pie #2

From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: Serious Moonlight and Pie #2

It's time for the second post in my pie-themed series. I had to make a few minor changes to this recipe, based on what I could find online, but we'll see if it was a success...

"Just to be sure, I scanned the diner one more time, from the rain-speckled glass door to the PIE OF THE DAY chalkboard sign near the register, where the owner had carefully written: ANNE OF GREEN GRAPES, featuring Yakima Valley chardonnay grapes and blueberries." ~ pg. 1 of Serious Moonlight
Goodreads  Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble


Anne of Green Red Grapes Pie

~your favorite recipe for a double-crust pie or two store-bought pie crusts
~3 c. (1 lb.) Red Flame grapes (any small seedless grapes can be substituted)
~3 c. (1 lb.) blueberries
~1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and grated through the larger holes of a box grater
~3/4 c. granulated sugar
~1/4 c. cornstarch
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. kosher salt

1 egg yolk
2 T. granulated sugar (optional)

1. Make the pie crust - or take the store-bought one out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (will take about half an hour).
2. In the meantime, mix all the filling ingredients (grapes through salt) in a large bowl. Stir gently, making sure each ingredient is equally coated.
3. Fit the bottom crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Pour in filling. 
4. Roll out the other crust on a flour-dusted surface and cut into strips. Place the longest strip of the second pie dough over the filling in the center and turn the pie 90˚ and place the second longest strip perpendicular to that in the center of the pie. You should have an “X” on the pie. Turn another 90˚ and place the third and fourth strips of dough on the right and left of the center strip. Now turn another 90˚ and place two more strips of dough, lifting up the strips to “weave” the strips above and below the placed strips. Continue until you have topped the entire pie, saving the short pastry strips for the ends of the pie top. Decoratively crimp the sides of the pie, folding the ends of the top crust into the edges.
5. Let the pie chill in the freezer for 20 minutes, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Then mix the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and lightly brush over the top crust of the pie. Sprinkle sugar over the pie if desired, and bake for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 60-80 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling. If the crust is browning too fast, cover the edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning. You can serve the pie warm, but let it cool for awhile first to let the filling set. Should serve 8-10 people.

Have a book/recipe suggestion? Leave it in the comments below, and I might make it soon (and I'll credit you, if I do!).

Review: Color Outside the Lines

Color Outside the Lines by various authors
Grade: C+
Release date: November 12, 2019
An e-galley was provided by Soho Teen via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: When people ask me what this anthology is about, I’m often tempted to give them the complicated answer: it’s about race, and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it’s about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love.
—Sangu Mandanna, editor of Color outside the Lines

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: This anthology is all about love stories. For my review, I'm going to rate them from the ones I liked best to least, and give a few comments on each story. Also, I should note that Danielle Paige's and Adam Silvera's stories were not included when I got my e-galley, so I cannot review/rate them.

"The Boy Is" by Elsie Chapman - 5 stars
Needed to be just a little bit longer with more swoons because I really liked this story! It has fully-formed characters and good themes.
"The Agony of a Heart's Wish" by Samira Ahmed - 4.5 stars
I love a good historical fiction story. This one has a lovely basis in poetry and colonized nations with their heritage being erased by the British. The ending isn't what I expected from this anthology, though.
"Sandwiched in Between" by Eric Smith - 4 stars
Great story for this anthology, about navigating cultural differences and awkward family moments.
"Giving Up the Ghost" by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas - 4 stars
What a fun concept!! I liked the magical element, and the character voices were good.
"The Coward's Guide to Falling in Love" by Caroline Tung Richmond - 4 stars
Not a happy ending. Still, it's cute and earnest, like young adult fiction should be, especially when the protagonist is a sophomore.
"Five Times Shiva Met Harry" by Sangu Mandanna - 3.5 stars
A little short, somewhat simple, but it has a clear point and doesn't meander to get there. Oh, but I would've liked the British setting to be just a teeny bit clearer from the get-go.
"Gilman Street" by Michelle Ruiz Keil - 3.5 stars
This works well for a short story. Would've liked just a little more of Marco, though, since he felt a little shoehorned in at the end, but I did like him with Tam. And I appreciated the nuances of being Mexican-American that were explored.
"What We Love" by Lauren Gibaldi - 3.5 stars
This was sort of cute because I loved the nuances of the love interests' heritage, and how they got to know eachother. But also, I'm really tired of the mean girl Christian characters. So.
"Your Life Matters" by L.L. McKinney - 3 stars
This was okay. The superhero element took me by surprise, but I think I liked the story and what it said about Black Lives Matter.
"Turn the Sky to Petals" by Anna-Marie McLemore - 3 stars
Anna-Marie's story was both full of and lacking detail. Also, I'm sorry, but I'll never get on board with second-person POV.
"Faithfull" by Karuna Riazi - 3 stars
Some things about the writing were imperfect - the timeline early on, that the main character calls her mom by her first name, the lack of true grounding details. But the heart of the story was interesting.
"Yuna and the Wall" by Lydia Kang - 3 stars
I didn't really want a fantasy setting so that lessened the impact in some ways. It wasn't a bad story, though.
"Starlight and Moondust" by Lori M. Lee - 3 stars
Wasn't quite my thing, honestly. The mean girl inclusion was a little underused, and the timeline jumps too much.
"Death and the Maiden" by Tara Sim - 2 stars
This story was much too long. It also was fantasy, and I didn't really want full-on fantasy from this anthology.

Content warnings: foul language, some violence, racism and anti-Semitism, bullying

The Verdict: Semi-good but falls short like many anthologies.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Hmm probably not.

Songs from the Deep Blog Tour and Review

Hey, guys, I'm so excited to be on another Simon Teen blog tour. :) This one is for a super atmospheric fantasy debut.

The Book

Goodreads  Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble  The Book Depository

The sea holds many secrets.

Moira Alexander has always been fascinated by the deadly sirens who lurk along the shores of her island town. Even though their haunting songs can lure anyone to a swift and watery grave, she gets as close to them as she can, playing her violin on the edge of the enchanted sea. When a young boy is found dead on the beach, the islanders assume that he's one of the sirens’ victims. Moira isn’t so sure.

Certain that someone has framed the boy’s death as a siren attack, Moira convinces her childhood friend, the lighthouse keeper Jude Osric, to help her find the real killer, rekindling their friendship in the process. With townspeople itching to hunt the sirens down, and their own secrets threatening to unravel their fragile new alliance, Moira and Jude must race against time to stop the killer before it’s too late—for humans and sirens alike.

The Author

website  Twitter  Tumblr

Kelly Powell writes fantasy for young adults and currently lives in Ontario, Canada. She has a bachelor’s degree in history and book & media studies from the University of Toronto.

The Review

Grade: B

Songs from the Deep is one of those quiet, atmospheric stories that draws you in with a mystery. It's set on a fantasy island haunted by sirens that usually leave the residents alone while targeting tourists. But one day, they're blamed for the death of a young island boy - but the main character, Moira, doesn't believe they're responsible. She takes it upon herself to find the real killer. 
The book is also very character-focused, zooming in on Moira and Jude. I think I would've liked a slightly expanded circle, but it's never a bad thing to get to know fewer characters very well.
If you're looking for a super mermaid-y book, then Songs from the Deep probably isn't for you. BUT. The sirens are still important creatures, almost standing in for any people group who is different from another. And that probably serves the best theme in this quiet, almost literary fantasy story.

Content warnings: Murder, gore

Writing Prompt #16

Once again, it's been a really long time since I did a writing prompt post. This time, I'm borrowing one of the ones I suggested in the fifteenth post, but I'm actually doing it myself too, just to make this post a little more fun. :)

Prompt: Grab the closest book to you, set a predetermined page number and line number, then turn to that page and use that line to prompt your story. Then set a timer for 5 minutes, and write away.

My book:

My page and line numbers: 44, 7

The line (partially taken from the line above): "...since I've never seen her picture or anything."

My response to the prompt:

Since I've never seen her picture or anything, I have no idea what Yolanda Soto-Rivas looks like. You'd think in 2019, the foreign exchange student programs would send pictures or at least social media handles. And maybe they do. But Yolanda has been sprung on us at the last minute since Katie Sandwell's family backed out. My Instagram searches have turned up nothing, but maybe Yolanda doesn't use her full name. I certainly don't.

Mom and I are hovering by baggage claim while Dad waits in the cell phone lot outside. Bluegrass Airport is tiny, but two flights have managed to come in at the same time, so the luggage carousels are a bit chaotic.

I peer over the heads around us and step aside to avoid a frat boy charging ahead with his massive suitcase. I roll my eyes at his retreating back.

"Do you think that's her?" Mom asks. 

She's too polite to point, so I follow her gaze to carousel 2, where there's a petite girl with dark brown hair and bronze skin. The girl, who looks about my age, is clutching a carryon bag and staring anxiously at the suitcases coming around.

"Maybe." 

I scan the crowd one more time. It's starting to thin now as the crowd from the Dallas flight dissipates. It's just the Atlanta flight left, the one Yolanda was on.

Aaaannddddd that's as far as I got before my timer went off. Feel free to share your prompt results with me, or if you'd like to suggest a writing prompt, I'm all ears. :)

Random Friday: Exercising

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• Include the above image in your post and link back to my blog.
• Blog about this week's topic (or a variant of it).
• Add the link to your Random Friday post at the bottom of this one.

Exercising is not something I enjoy. It's not that I'm lazy (well, I kind of am), but I don't like sweating and I just don't find working out fun. 

Yoga is all right, and I use the family Wii Fit occasionally. I walked a lot around my college campus and New York, but those were more about getting places.

I didn't mind paddle tennis/paddleball all that much during my mandatory college PE class. I wasn't great at it, but playing doubles wasn't the worst thing. 

So, do you like to exercise? Or, if you don't, how do you get yourself to stay active?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Most Anticipated November and December 2019 Releases

Since December is always a light publishing month, I'm combining it with November for today's line-up. 

Waiting For

1. Supernova by Marissa Meyer (11/5/19)

This trilogy has really knocked it out of the park.

2. Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (11/5/19)

We love a good sequel.

3. Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan (11/5/19)

Unique fantasy ftw.

4. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (11/5/19)

We'll see if this is as good as the Raven Cycle books.

5. Across a Broken Shore by Amy Trueblood (11/5/19)

Something different for historical fiction.

6. Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin (11/19/19)

I love funny YA! I hope this one will be a hit.

7. Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen (12/3/19)

I love a good Regency story. (But I don't know why this one has a subtitle, and a ridiculously cheesy one at that.)

8. Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters (12/3/19) 

Trying another adult romance, this one about movies and meet cutes.

Already Read - You Should, Too!


1. Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz (11/5/19)
A cute and heartfelt contemporary.


What books are you looking forward to, as 2019 winds down?