Author: Ana Huang Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโจ This book is the fourth in the Kings of Sin series by Ana Huang. This is a billionaire, contemporary romance series, the first three books of which follow three friends that are part of this friend group, and this one follows the fourth, Sloane. Other people describe Sloane as very... Continue Reading →
All About Love
Author: bell hooks Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโจ In this book, bell hooks challenges the cultural norm of seeing romantic love as the โultimateโ love that people can have. She observes that weโre told to value this sort of love over the kinds we have with friends or family, and questions why this is. At the same time,... Continue Reading →
Lore of the Wilds
Author: Analeigh Sbrana Rating: โญ๏ธ Iโll be honest, this book was a major disappointment, and it was my first one-star read of this year. This felt like a first draft, and I really question whether or not this was professionally edited, despite the fact that it was published by Harper Collins, who, I assume, employ... Continue Reading →
The Production of Money
Author: Ann Pettifor Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ I have some mixed feelings about this book. Itโs only 160 pages long (not counting references), and it reads like a very long opinion piece. While I like short, concise books, I feel that this was more of the former and not enough of the latter. The main points of... Continue Reading →
Astrid Parker Doesnโt Fail
Author: Ashley Herring Blake Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ This was a cute contemporary romance that I picked up at Gayโs The Word, an LGBTQ+ bookshop near Kingโs Cross. This book follows Astrid, a designer and chronic people-pleaser who is terrified of failure and the possibility of diverging from the rigid mould her traditional, Stepford-like mother has set... Continue Reading →
Understanding China
Author: John Bryan Starr Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ I donโt need to point out the importance of China in the world today. Itโs the second most populous country in the world, one of the richest (by overall GDP), arguably the most influential in East Asia and one of the most instrumental in the rest of the world,... Continue Reading →
Ants Among Elephants
Author: Sujatha Gidla Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ The word outcast is used to refer to those who have been rejected by society or a social group. It literally means outside of caste, which is the social hierarchy in which many in India have lived and still live. Previously known as untouchables and now usually referred to officially... Continue Reading →
One Dark Window & Two Twisted Crowns
Author: Rachel Gillig Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโจ This duology has been going around the book spheres of social media, so I had high hopes. The story follows Elspeth, who lives in the Kingdom of Blunder, which is shrouded in a deadly mist that can infect the residents and lead to either death or a gift of magic... Continue Reading →
The Chaos Machine
Author: Max Fisher Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ In this book, Max Fisher explores the impacts of social media on our brains and our social connections and on our social and political structures. Most of these impacts are clearly negative, and while Iโm sure many social media companies would argue that their products have positive impacts as well,... Continue Reading →
A Feather So Black
Author: Lyra Selene Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ A Feather So Black is inspired by Celtic mythology and the stories of Swan Lake and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. It follows Fia, a changeling who was left as a child in place of a princess, Eala, by the fair folk. Ealaโs mother, the queen, raises Fia and eventually sends... Continue Reading →
