Welcome to Litsy!

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 🕯
The Guest List by Lucy Foley 🌫

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton 💄

#Goodbye2020 🎆

Happy New Year 🎉

Beauty is a dying flower.

#firstlinefridays

Happy 2021 🎉🎆🎉 Does anyone else get overwhelmed when trying to pick their FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR?? I hope I chose well 😅

Did a little bit of tidying up around the house and ran a quick errand with Maia today. Feeling exhausted from a challenging week so I started a new audiobook this evening to relax. The descriptions and language are lush and delicious. Enjoying this one so far 😊 #audiobooklover #YAaudiobook

The Belles takes vanity to a whole new level. Without the Arcana of a Belle, a person will revert to grey skin and straw hair. But only the rich can afford beauty. Camellia's realization of how the world works was captured so well. And as the plot progresses, her reactions to the more horrifying aspects of her new life kept me riveted. #fantasy
Full review https://www.behindthepages.org/post/the-belles-by-dhonielle-clayton

Finished in March 2020 (it's a little light due to work starting up, which always throws my reading out of wack until it evens back out)
#JimHensonsLabyrinthCoronation vol 3⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheSecretofWhiteStoneGate (#BlackHollowLane 2)🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐
#ShadowshaperLegacy (#ShadowshaperCypher 3)🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheStarlessSea⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheBelles (The Belles 1)🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheEverlastingRose (The Belles 2)🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐

March Favorite: The Belles 🌹 (Whoo, that ending!)

This book was a look at being beautiful. It was a scifi look that took in economic status, and what you can and can't get if you are not “pretty“ and how there are tastemakers who really determine what makes one beautiful. I really need to read the sequel.

#BlackVoices @ShyBookOwl

🌷I loved this book! It wasn't at all what I expected. The power struggle it sets up is rather insane and the world building is among my favorite. It's fantasy like this that's been making me a fan of fantasy these days. Also read and loved the second book in the series! 💗

Quick reread before diving into the sequel. The world-building, plot, and characters were all stunning, but the fatphobia and transphobia were disappointing and harmful.

#MayDay makes me think of flowers, which make me think of these covers, which hide stories darker than you'd think from looking at them! But so interesting!
#MagicalMay @Eggs

I seem to be gravitating to YA lately.

Clayton's world building -grounded in the rich history & culture of NOLA- is incredible here; her fantasy world of Orleans is gorgeous, dazzling, seductive &, at its core, based in deep exploitation & cruelty. While it can be savored & enjoyed as a sensory experience, ultimately, the author has something important to say about the commodification of beauty & women's, & especially WOC's, bodies. Recommended.

Hi Litsy friends! Long time no see. I'm hunkered down here in PDX. Since the world turned upside down, I have been too busy & too anxious to do much reading. I'm fine & so far my family & friends are fine - wishing the same for all of you.

I'm reading the tagged book - set in a world called 'Orleans.' So here is a pic with one of my besties - 6 of us had a reunion in NOLA to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We had a magical time in a magical city.

This is sooo cool! Really enjoying reading it while my hubby kills and kidnaps his way through victorian London assassins creed style.
@maich I'm like 1/4 through already! Sooo good!