My most recent book haul. There seems to be a recurring theme here...

When I saw this book at a recent book fair, I felt an instant connection with it. But since I had already gotten three books before this, I decided to leave it behind for someone else to find. I kept thinking about the book after leaving the fair though.

Today I saw that it was on sale for 50 cents on the Kindle Store. Needless to say, I got a copy and promptly dropped all of my other current reads to read this one instead. 😂

Added to the TBR pile. 📚🧡

I haven't heard much about this book, but the cover and the title were intriguing enough. (Not too fond of the stickers on the cover though 😬)

On Calilan, there was a saying: “Go to a stormcaller for vengeance, for they do not heal, and they do not save.”

I'm still trying to find the words to express how much I loved this book. The fact that it takes inspiration from Philippine mythology and history already endeared it to me from the beginning. The story just adds something more. I can't recommend this book enough for fantasy readers, particularly those who love Asian-inspired ones.

"A body could be labeled but a person couldn‘t, and the difference between the two depended on that muscle in your chest. That beloved organ, not sentient, not aware, not feeling, just pumping along, keeping you alive."

I finally got around to reading The Vanishing Half almost three years after I got my copy, and I loved it.

"I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say."

"It‘s only in secondhand books that you can savor encounters like this, connections that transcend time."

I get the hype of this book now, I really do. This was beautiful, and I'm really glad that stories like this exist.

My first Antoine Laurain, and certainly not the last.

The titular notebook is one of many objects that the protagonist Laurent Letellier, a bookseller, finds in a mauve bag on the street one day. He goes through each object, and all the things he finds leads him to go on a search for the intriguing and mysterious Laure.

At 140 pages, the story covers growing older, making new starts, a deep love of literature, and taking chances.

If there was one thing that defined adolescence it was hysterical laughter. You never laughed like that again. In adolescence the brutal realisation that the world and life were completely absurd made you laugh until you couldn‘t catch your breath, whereas in later life it would only result in a weary sigh.

Visited a cookies & coffee place earlier that had a mini-library. (It was the latter that drew me to the place more than the former. But the cookies were really good though.)

Was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite book there. 🩵

"Monster. Yes. The word suits him. He is every nightmare and more. He is the wind that raked against my window as a girl. He is the shadow that lingered too long in the corner of my room. He is what I feared beneath my bed. What stalked me in my nightmares into my adult years."

Okay, this is my first Elise Kova book, and I love the way she writes? Tell me this book is as good as I feel it will be.

Does anyone remember this book, the series it belongs to?

Finale was released nearly 11 years ago, and I've only just read it. 🤯

It took me a while to find a copy of this, and I breezed through it within a few days. It felt good to be back in this world.

When it comes to fallen angel stories, this series remains my personal favorite.

Now I find myself looking for more fallen angel books to read. 🤔

I was walking around the bookstore earlier, not planning on getting anything, until I saw this. 👀

Dragons? Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hobbit?? And at PHP 199.00 (that's US$3.64)???

Currently reading this now. 😂

And I don't mind that this is the second book of the series. 🤔 I've never heard of this series before, but the premise was intriguing enough to get me to give this a chance.

Now I know what the title means. 😢

This book was beautiful and devastating all at once. It leaves you wanting to know more, but at the same time, fearful to know more.

Never heard of this duology until Leonie from thebookleo channel on YouTube talked about this. Last week I found both books sold for a good cause.

I never could say no to secondhand books. And when the seller says all the proceeds will go to a good cause? Well...

Can't wait to start reading the first book!

A brief life update. ❤‍🔥

Hoping to share my thoughts on the book here soon!

1. Yes. It was Lauren Kate, and she signed my copy of Passion, the third book in the Fallen series. 🖤

2. Strangely, no. Of all the things to keep orderly in my life, it's my bookshelf that takes precedence. 😂

3. Kyralia; Narnia; and Tortall.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

“You will find the world eager to push them on you. But the only names that matter are the ones we take for ourselves.”

“He is who he is. The world cannot change that and neither can you.”

(I've finally found my favorite read of the year so far. This one gets 5 stars, all the stars.)

I occasionally look into the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist for something new to read, and this year it was Priscilla Morris' Black Butterflies that caught my attention.

It isn't just the vivid cover. Black Butterflies is set in the time of the Siege of Sarajevo, and follows the story of a teacher and artist as she struggles to survive the siege. This is a part of history I want to know more of so it made sense to get a copy of this.

Well, this was something. Truly epic fantasy.

I had apprehensions going into an Amélie Wen Zhao book after not enjoying Blood Heir, and DNF-ing Red Tigress, but this was an entirely different work, literally and figuratively.

The book is a true homage to the author's Chinese heritage, and the story written around it is just as compelling. Much has been said about the gorgeous book cover, but once you get into the book, it's high stakes all

Bargain shelf finds. 😍 I have a thing for movie novelizations, and as for the high fantasy book above, I missed picking up books I didn't know anything about. That kind of made up the joy in reading before Goodreads and bookstagram became popular.

On my 3rd book for this year's Asian Readathon. 🙌🏻 I hope I'll love this a lot more than The Nakano Thrift Shop. 🤞🏻

Starting off May, and #AsianReadathon with Song of the Crimson Flower, and Song Like Silver, Flame Like Night. 💮🔥

These beautiful endpapers of the 5th anniversary special edition though. ??

"For someone who loved words as much as I did, it was amazing how often they failed me."

I'm generally not one for special editions, but I had to make an exception for one of my favorite books of all time. ? and it's gorgeous. ? gold foil, illustrations, signed by the author?! I love this 5th anniversary edition so much. ?

"Make art, make mistakes, and have no regrets."

(And then there's the Zweig I got secondhand. It just felt right to give it a new home. To my surprise, I'm slowly building up a collection of his books.)

There's nothing like coming home to book mail after a long day. 🥰

Was really excited to get these too. One book finally came in more than a year since I ordered it (but the book was released in October). The other book was an impulse buy, but a book I couldn't pass up on. 👀

Regarding the latter, I feel it's harder to say no to a secondhand book. 😯

What is it with me, and the need to give secondhand books a new home? 👀

I started the Inkheart trilogy decades ago but never got around to finishing it. It was probably due to the fact that Scholastic fairs weren't as accessible after I finished high school, and local bookstores stopped having Cornelia Funke books among their stocks. 😐

But over the weekend, a local online bookseller put their copy up for sale, and I couldn't pass it up!

Never thought I'd see NYRB editions among my books, but I got lucky with these two. Will this collection grow? Who knows?

Happy World Book Day, Littens!! 😄📚🌏

I was initially dismissive of this book when I first heard of it, but upon reading, this quickly grew on me. Emily Wilde is a main character I can get behind. Her single-minded pursuit of scholarship, and her lack of social skills set her apart early on. Her current project, compiling an encyclopaedia of the Folk brings her many adventures throughout the book.

I thought that this would be a light-hearted read, but the stakes go up considerably

Strangely, I've been able to get some reading time in while looking after my baby nephew. 😮 After months of being in a reading slump, I find myself looking for a book to read every time I'm free lately. 😌

This book was everything. I love books that challenge my perception on what makes a 5-star read. I was hooked from the first page to the last, and still wanted more stories from the Grishaverse afterwards. 🖤

(Currently reading King of Scars 🤭)

"No mourners, no funerals. Another way of saying good luck. But it was something more. A dark wink to the fact that there would be no expensive burials for people like them, no marble markers to remember their names, no wreaths of myrtle and rose."

Rewarded myself with a book after I finished reading another book. ?

Vampires. Alchemy. A bit of magic. Old world charm. What's not to love about this book?

(Maybe a few questionable decisions by the main characters, but just a bit.)

⭐: 4.75

"Books without readers were only paper."

Been in a massive reading slump for weeks now. But finally, I found a book I don't want to put down. This book had me at the first page. Currently at 44 pages into it. ?

The writing on this one. 🥺😍

Finally picked this book up from the TBR pile after 2 years. 👀

"Family. The greatest loyalty after God."

"There have been none like us before. And there will be none afterwards. Be careful what you write."

Happy New Year, Litsy community!! 🎇 Been on a reading slump since last month, but here's hoping I get back to reading soon. I decided to ease up my reading goals for the year, and aside from finally finishing the arcs I have left, I just want to read the books I really want to read. And not because they're in my TBR pile.

I hope all is well with the rest of you. 💖 May 2023 be good to all of us!

Been reading so slowly these past few months, but I just had to share these really cute (and also stunning) magnetic bookmarks I got recently. 😍🐍✨

I've always wanted the Hogwarts textbooks as bookmarks, and these appeared on my IG feed one day. 👀

One other thing I love seeing in this community is other readers' bookmarks. 😃

I knew I would love this book from the moment I read the first line of the Kindle sample, and it did not disappoint. This was an adventure story I really enjoyed reading, and I couldn't put it down after I made it past the 20% mark (always a good sign for me). It was refreshing to see a story about jinns and their magic, the desert, and stories based on the 1001 nights. The author has built something new and fantastical here, and

Here's a very ambitious TBR for December, considering that all I've been doing lately is starting books, and taking a long time to finish them. 🥲

"Let's face it -- the richest people in Fyrrain besides the royalty are the criminals," Lady Tanya stated.

"Only if you count the royals and criminals as separate groups," muttered Tai.

(67% into this book, and I'm only amused now.)

“Don‘t be scared,” I whisper to the girl in the mirror. “Don‘t be scared. Fight.”

❤💙⚔

The worthiest of sequels, in my opinion. I loved every second I spent reading this book. The story is really something else. While the characters are all compelling (you really feel something for all them, you love some, deeply dislike some), it's the story that keeps you. It's a seriously epic retelling of the Arthurian legends, and is the kind of book you want to set aside time every year to reread.

⭐: 5 (all of the stars!)

Happy Bloodmarked Release Day!! ❤💙⚔

Been looking forward to this all year!

"Uncertainty is a key aspect of human reasoning. Without uncertainty, we would never doubt ourselves or our decisions. We would be certain that we‘re right all the time. It‘s this certainty that can make an AI‘s ability to learn turn brittle over time. But if an AI is uncertain and capable of doubt, it can begin to judge itself, to question whether an action or decision will have the consequence it desires and test it more thoroughly."

Not really feeling my other reads right now, so James Rollins it is. 🗝

Deliciously wicked, that was what this story was. Take the title literally. Kitty Collins is a solid main character in her own right (although there were times I questioned her choices).

There are some themes here, however, that I strongly recommend looking up trigger warnings for.

If there's such a thing as a cozy thriller, this could be it. Thanks for the e-arc, Netgalley and HQ!

⭐: 4

The author really came into her own with this sequel, alongside our stabby main character Ren. I was hooked from the beginning. Ren and co. go through some interesting adventures here, and it was nice to see so many references to Japanese mythology throughout the book. This was a fitting end to Ren's story.

⭐: 5

(Photo in the background belongs to Zhaoli JIN)

A truly random book haul. 😄📚🏵

Stunning cover, and intriguing premise aside, this Asian fantasy debut novel gives pretty much straightforward storytelling about a young assassin and a Dokkaebi emperor set in a world abandoned by the gods and goddesses. It starts slow, even with the protagonist's thirst for revenge laid bare early on. The assassin, Lina gets a bit frustrating, but she's a girl with a tragic past, and that's not easy on anyone.