Overall a great month of reading! Red Rising, Mistborn Era 2, and Stormlight Archive are really living up to expectations! Also finished my re-read City of Fallen Angels up on audio in October and am almost done with City of Lost Souls. It’s been ages since I’ve read the second half of TMI so it’s been fun to revisit!

I’m making my way through my TBR list (currently reading “The Reformatory” by Tananarive Due, which is amazing and haunting btw). The remaining standalone books on my TBR list are:

• Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

*Dearest by Jacquie Walters *Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz, *Ninth House/Hellbent by Leigh Bardugo (ik this one is a duology lol) *House of Bone and Rain by Gabriel Iglesias (sounds like a SJM book lol) *The unraveling by Vi Keeland *Masquerade by O.O Sangoyomi *So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison *The Lightning bottles by Marissa Stapley *American Rapture by CJ Leede

Feel free to lmk which genres you like, and I’ll recommend a book for you too!

If you comment your choice and lmk which genres you like, I’ll recommend a book for your next read too! I love connecting with people over books. 🤓📚🖤

I adore the cover and was super intrigued based on the synopsis, but the novel fell short of my expectations. It was certainly creepy and I liked some of the characters (Penelope), BUT it wasn’t quite as imaginative and magical as I expected. There pacing was a bit uneven but not unbearable. I’d still give it a solid 3.5/5 but it was not as amazing as I thought. What did you think about the book?

Hi guys, could you help me choose a book from tbr ?

I will pick 2 books to buy, so which one was your favorite between these ?

(sorry for my English, I'm french)

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Hello, bookworms!

This is the weekly thread for discussion about what books you've recently read, books you're reading, and books you want to read. Tell us what you think about them! What did you like or dislike about them? Did you interpret any symbolism or themes you particularly liked? Would you recommend them? This discussion space is all yours!

Posting Guidelines:

• Please either italicize (one asterisk on each end) or bold (two asterisks on each end) book titles and include author name(s).
• Please observe our spoiler policy and use the spoiler code, which can be found on the sidebar, as necessary. In depth discussion is encouraged as long as use of the spoiler code is exercised!

Have exceptional discussions!

If anyone is still in the market for spooky Halloween vibes in the YA realm, I'm on book 3 of the Jason Crane series by Richard Gleaves and I've really enjoyed it. Good mystery, ties to familiar stories (Headless Horseman, Sleepy Hollow), creepy vibes, but good teen angsty stuff too. My only meh is they are a liiiiitle long. I feel like this could have been split into 4 books and each book be more streamlined and on topic/concise plot wise, but either way, I've really enjoyed them.

I liked them all, but Perfect Little Monsters was my favorite. Although I guessed the killer early on, I kept convincing myself that it couldn't be true lol. It was still a fun ride.

I just finished the queen of nothing in the folk of the air series and was in love. It was so good. I loved how Jude rose the top and I loved Carden as a character. I need to find a new series to get in to. Can you please give me some ides? I like murder, mystery, romance, and action.

Hello all! There was a book I read as a teen that I think about regularly. It was about a teen who had bulimia. Her primary coping method was to write things she loved/was grateful for in a special notebook. I think she went to Africa at some point?

I’m so sorry this is so little information lol. This is why I can’t find it hahah

I posted this is whatisthatbook but I want to try here too since it was a teen book. I read it when I was a teenager so about 15-17 years ago. I don’t remember much about what it looked like but I remember the cover was red and it had a necklace on it that may have been purple?

Plot wise, main character was a girl and I think she discovers a magical land where her father is an evil ruler or sorcerer or something. Anyways she joins these people to overthrow or kill her father or something. He’s like getting his power from these eggs and it’s what corrupted him on something. What I remember most is the ending. In the end she is lying in bed with the male romantic interest and she is either staring at one of the eggs or is thinking about consuming it. Anyways it kind of leads the idea that she will repeat what her father did.

I don’t know, any help is welcome guys. This has been driving me crazy and I know I really liked it and I just want to remember the title.

Hey guys! i’m new to this whole app but i found it on google and thought some of yall might be able to help me. im looking for a YA fantasy romance with a strong female heroine. i’m not a huge fan of magic and usually just prefer kingdoms and such (think Dance of Thieves one of my favs) but im okay if there are magical aspects. any recs?

so this past week i have gotten back to reading again. picked up the legend trilogy since it sounded interesting and had very positive reviews. i absolutely loved it and have spent a lot of time reading instead of doing other things that i enjoy. now when its finished i feel very empty and just want another book series to get into.

im not sure what it exactly was that i liked so much about the trilogy but the dual pov was definitely a big part. loved seeing the story from 2 different perspectives and hear what both characters thought. i also really liked the dystopian world and >!the way they managed to change the entire system.!<

looking for ways to deal with or use the empty feeling.

would also love some book suggestions about similar book series or just a book that someone who enjoyed legend also liked. if it helps i remember reading and really enjoying the divergent series as well as the hunger games so any suggestions about books similar to those would also be appreciated.

thank you

what the title says, but add a condition that it doesn’t have much or not at all spice !!

i feel like thats an impossible find but u never know i guess 😁

I have read i hunt killers (all trilogy adn it is one of the best series ive read) and "I am not a serial killer" (the paranormal stuff was sooooo bad tbh but the part until that was very good) and im really intrested in seeing a new metally disordered teen with a thing for murder and stuff.

i’m still healing emotionally from wisteria but a very good reading month

Tried to keep it spooky this month and I definitely succeeded!

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Definitely an all over the place vibe 🤣

When I was a kid we read a book where kids on an island community with a single bridge is isolated by a storm (or other big event?) and every adult leaves to ....try to get help?...leaving a small group of teens and pre-teens to survive alone in the little town on the island, now with no electricity or lights. I remember the big dramatic issue is a bull that escapes from it's pen on a farm and is the main menace until late in the story one of the kids shoots it. At the end of the book the adults return and are surprised at how well the kids did on their own. the rest of my memory of the book is vague and I think I may be mixing memories of another book when I call to mind one of the characters who lies compulsively, lies specifically about having found a cave with petroglyph hand prints in red paint on the walls- the other kids mock him- and later in the book it turns out THERE IS a cave like this?

Hey guys, I was reading the Christmas Spectacular by Stephanie Garber. I just read this scene, and I was confused

Tonight she wore a flowing strapless gown with ruby-red ribbons that crisscrossed over its snow-white corset before tying into a bow at her back. Moments ago, the skirt had been as white as the corset and very full. But now it was turning red and fitting to her curves.

Didn't Scarlett's gown get destroyed at the end of Finale? Didn't it get turned into gloves. Am I missing something, or is this inconsistent writing. Does it have something to do with the time travel thing that Jacks did in Ballad of Never After? Or maybe that one Fate that could time travel, the Assassin I think? Also, on a unrelated note, why didn't Jacks just ask the Assasin to do him a favor instead of doing the whole gathering magical arc thing. I'm not sure if I should post this stuff in YAlit or YA books?

I assume the answer is (1) the NYT bestseller list isn't solely based on sales. (2) the Lightlark collectors edition just came out. And (3) Aster (or her family) has connections with someone who works at the NYT. But I'm still shocked that it is back at number one, two years later.

Yes, the Lightlark series has a decent-sized fanbase. But it is not taking the book community by storm like other #1 books have (such as Powerless and Divine Rivals).

No shade to anyone who loves this series; you are allowed to. But I still want to know why Aster is getting so much attention when it's obvious that so much of her "success" is smoke and mirrors (and built on lies).

Thoughts?

When I was young, I used to read cartoon books like Junie B Jones, Hugo, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Magic Tree House, Big Nate, Henry and Mudge, Origami Yoda, and more. However as I got older, I stopped reading fiction due to the books aimed at teenagers and adults being pretentious walls of microscopic text with no cartoons. Like literally every YA book is about a teenager who is quirky and is destined for greatness in a fantasy or dystopian setting. I started reading non fiction books exclusively due to them having pictures and being easy, non linear books to read. I kept up with Diary of a Wimpy Kid and kept up with the cartoon book community online since it overlaps with the animated cartoon fandom. Aside from that, I would occasionally rent a chapter book, middle grade book, or even picture book from the library, but that was extremely rare. However a while ago I started reading cartoon books like middle grade and chapter books again and it feels AMAZING to be reading again. There’s so many good cartoon books I missed out as a kid or didn’t read because they were after my time. The Wild Robot, Timmy Failure, Middle School, The Treehouse series, Press Start, Dork Diaries, etc. While I have considered reading mature purely prose books (namely Libertarian literature like Atlas Shrugged or The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, since I’m a Libertarian myself), I mostly stick to kids books because they’re really easy to read due to their simple writing and extensive use of cartoons. It feels so good to get back into books after not reading them for over a decade!

What are some tropes or overused plots you’ve been seeing a lot of lately that drive you up a wall? Mine include “mafia” romances, badly written enemies to lovers, insta love, and the “bully” romances (possibly my least favorite of them all). I could have a million more, but these are a few that really turn me off. What makes you turn your nose up at a book immediately?

YALLFest is testing out a new system this year to "prioritize attendee safety and author wellbeing." Hopefully this will help there not be any more incidents like what took place at Yallwest 2024 (with people nearly getting trampled to get tickets)!

I pasted the announcement below, taken from the provided google doc (which can be found through the Yallfest instagram).

General Signing Guidelines

One person may get three books signed by an author per trip through the line, many lines may not allow for multiple trips through the line, so prioritize your favorites! YALLFest staff and authors try to accommodate everyone, but there may be occasional limits enforced based on time and availability. Any lines that allow for posed photos, please remain in front of the table. These general guidelines may be overruled by specific guidelines listed by author. 

Signed stock will also be available, so even if you don’t make it into a particular line, you may still be able to snag a signed book! You can preorder your books here: https://bluebicyclebooks.bigcartel.com/category/yallfest

*NEW THIS YEAR*

Select Friday and Saturday signings will be ticketed in advance. This is a new system we are testing out to help prioritize both attendee safety and author wellbeing. These free tickets will go live on Sunday November 10th, in hopes this gives adequate notice to help with packing and planning. All other signings are first-come, first-serve

Selections for these authors were made based on a combination of factors, such as past Fest/WEST lines, line capacities and time restraints, publisher requests, where this event falls on publication schedule, and more! Authors who do not have advance tickets may still have lines that get cut off when they reach capacity, as we still anticipate great demand for our authors that do not have tickets.

Please note, tickets are non-transferable. For authors with both Friday and Saturday tickets, please only get a ticket for one of those days to allow for as many people to see these authors as possible. 

You may only reserve 1 ticket per order.

General Signing Guidelines

One person may get three books signed by an author per trip through the line, many lines may not allow for multiple trips through the line, so prioritize your favorites! YALLFest staff and authors try to accommodate everyone, but there may be occasional limits enforced based on time and availability. Any lines that allow for posed photos, please remain in front of the table. These general guidelines may be overruled by specific guidelines listed by author. 

Advanced Ticketed Signings:

Friday - Stephanie Garber at 2 PM

Friday - Lauren Roberts at 3 PM

Saturday - Rebecca Ross at 10 AM

Saturday - V. E. Schwab at 11 AM

Saturday - Alex Aster at 1 PM 

Saturday - Stephanie Garber at 1 PM

Saturday - Lauren Roberts at 2 PM

Advanced Ticketed Signings:

Friday - Stephanie Garber at 2 PM

Friday - Lauren Roberts at 3 PM

Saturday - Rebecca Ross at 10 AM

Saturday - V. E. Schwab at 11 AM

Saturday - Alex Aster at 1 PM 

Saturday - Stephanie Garber at 1 PM

Saturday - Lauren Roberts at 2 PM

Tickets Going Live

Sunday November 10 at 3 PM ET

Friday - Lauren Roberts at 3 PM or Saturday - Lauren Roberts at 2 PM

Sunday November 10 at 3:15 PM ET

Saturday - Rebecca Ross at 10 AM

Saturday - V. E. Schwab at 11 AM

Sunday November 10 at 3:30 PM ET

Friday - Stephanie Garber at 2 PM or Saturday - Stephanie Garber at 1 PM

Sunday November 10 at 3:45 PM ET

Saturday - Alex Aster at 1 PM

Specific Signing Guidelines

Personalization means the author is signing a book to a specific name, as opposed to just signing their name [ex: “To Beetlejuice, Signature” instead of just “Signature”]. Candid photos just means it will be photos taken while you’re getting your books signed instead of stopping to pose!If no book limit is listed, assume festival standard of 3

Specific Signing Guidelines

Personalization means the author is signing a book to a specific name, as opposed to just signing their name [ex: “To Beetlejuice, Signature” instead of just “Signature”]. Candid photos just means it will be photos taken while you’re getting your books signed instead of stopping to pose!If no book limit is listed, assume festival standard of 3

ASTER Alex *TICKETED* 

(1 personalization)

Candid Photos Only

AVEYARD Victoria

(1 personalization)

DEONN Tracy

Candid Photos Only

GARBER Stephanie *TICKETED*

2 books per person (1 personalization)

McGEE Katharine

2 book limit (1 personalization)

ROBERTS Lauren *TICKETED*

2 books per person (1 personalization)

Candid Photos Only

ROSS Rebecca *TICKETED*

 (1 personalization)

Candid Photos Only

ROTH Veronica

Candid Photos Only

SCHWAB V E *TICKETED*

Candid Photos Only

(1 personalization)

TAHIR Sabaa

Candid Photos Only

Will only personalize HEIR