#aden polydoros

[traeumenvonbuechern]

Queer Books To Read If You Love "Percy Jackson"

Excited about the new Percy Jackson series? Read these books!

Book titles:

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms by Jamar J. Perry

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela

Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros

Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee

[lgbtqreads]

Most Anticipated Queer Middle Grade: January-June 2024

The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling (January 2nd) Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim).But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in…

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[displayheartcode]

I was the daughter of two dozen different scribes and a murdered girl. I was the daughter of the Vokė River.

wrath becomes her by aden polydoros

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (October 10th, 2023)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

Everything Under the Moon by Various

The Night Hunt by Alexandra Christo

I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold

The Night Fox by Ashley Wilda

Being Ace by Various

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros

By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter

Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer

The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold

The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado

Songs of Irie by Asha Ashanti Bromfield

Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall

Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Too Scared to Sleep by Andrew Duplessie

Ghost Roast by Shawnee Gibbs, Shawnelle Gibbs, & Emily Cannon

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Happy reading!

[the-dust-jacket]

[bookishlyvintage]

Ring of Solomon, Aden Polydoros [thoughts]

[oracleofmadness]

The emotions in this book. This is a unique take on the vengeance of a father who lost his daughter in WWII. He creates a Golem, Vera, who, while containing some of the daughters' real memories and feelings, is still a tool used to kill the Nazis responsible for her death.

This shook me! The emotions, the fear and anger that absolutely defines this era, this war. I adored the lyrical and beautiful writing that made the pain of this story so real. I think this is such an interesting take on a topic that will always, and should, stay in our minds as being a part of history we must never repeat.

Out October 10, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

[ilikereadingactually]

Wrath Becomes Her

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros

this book really whetted and renewed my appetite for stories about golems. what rich possibility and history and lore they present!! and Polydoros digs into some of that, in ways i found satisfying for this particular narrative and in ways that made me want more on the topic generally.

we've got Vera, waking up and learning what it's like, and what it means, to be human and to be not-human; we've got her "father," who created her in the image of his dead daughter Chaya; we've got Akiva, who Vera remembers fondly through Chaya's memories. and we've got so many Nazis to fight, because it's Lithuania in 1943, plus an exciting surprise enemy toward the end of the book that i won't spoil. there's a lot going on, and a lot of it is frightening and awful--rightfully so, in a book happening during the Holocaust.

but my favorite parts were the quieter moments: Vera trying to sort out her own personhood from Chaya's memories, Vera and Akiva's strange and intense relationship, the people and situations they encounter along their journey that bring into question what humanity is, and what makes a monster, and what difference individual choices and efforts can make. all of this was handled with gravity, but lightly--never too bogged down, just prompting some questions and suggesting some answers in a way that felt particularly resonant coming from a trans author (and somehow also quietly spoke just to me about being non-religious, only half Jewish, and having a facial scar)

and that ending!!!!!!! just as heartwrenching and complicated as the whole book was, but condensed into a juicy nugget of pain and hope.

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley, yet again. i'm adding this one to my "to buy" list, i want to have it on the shelf!

try this if you: are into Jewish folklore, dig Holocaust stories in which at least a bit of vengeance is gotten, like sad and messy endings, or go wild for stories that question and examine selfhood and human nature. (also if you were an FMA fan and were, like me, into the Conqueror of Shamballa movie in spite of its problems? this book is only vaguely connected subject-matter-wise but gives me the same vibe somehow)

maybe skip this if you: need to avoid Holocaust stories. i mean i guess that's obvious, and this one is not super duper graphic, but you know.

some lines i really liked:

I emerged from the grove with the man's blood sticky and still warm on my hands, feeling strangely distanced, as though a vital sense was missing from me. It was the feeling of being set out to dry on old vellum, unable to move, no eyes or mouth or ears yet. And yet aware. And alive.

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There were people everywhere, some resting on mattresses set up in the halls or just piles of blankets and pillows. They seemed less like people than like a scribe's recollection of people he--I--had once known. Ghosts becoming.

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Stranger still that I should feel at home here, even though I had never walked these cobblestone streets in my own life. But in many ways, it was like touching the calligraphy on my wrists. Vilna was a part of me. It was sunken deep below my surface.

pub date: October 10, 2023!

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Wrath Becomes Her | Author: Aden Polydoros | Publisher: Inkyard Press (2023)

[qualitymoonsuit]

I just finished reading Ring of Solomon, by Aden Polydoros.

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: April 2, 2024

Middle Grade Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby Winnifred “Winnie” Nash is not a senior citizen, despite what anyone thinks of her name. And she is definitely not excited to live with her grandma in New Jersey for the summer. Not only are they basically strangers, but Winnie—who’s always known she’s gay—has been pushed into the metaphorical closet by her parents, who worry what…

[signal-failure]

Ring of Solomon

I wanted to read Aden Polydoros’ new middle grade book, Ring of Solomon, because I just loved The City Beautiful, by the same author, and I was intrigued by another Jewish folklore adventure. Ring of Solomon is described as the first in a planned trilogy for young readers, although it works perfectly well as a standalone novel — there are heavy hints that young Zach is not done with his…

[the-final-sentence]

And when the time came from Gabe, Sarah and I would break the mirrors one by one, draw the curtains tight, and turn off all the lights - until there were no more reflections, only the three of us and the encroaching dark.

Aden Polydoros, from “It Stays With You”

[aurorawest]

Reading update:

YA graphic novel about werewolves. I was kind of meh on it. The artists switched off each chapter and I preferred the style of one of the a lot more.

Military fake dating romance. I like Annabeth Albert a lot so I enjoyed this, though it’s not my favorite thing I’ve read of hers. I was rooting for the two dumbasses to just admit they love each other. My major problem with this one was that I didn’t feel the barrier to them being together was...a thing. Like, once they realized they both had feelings for each other, which they did basically immediately, there was no reason for them to not just...get together for real.

I have the sequel to this one in my TBR pile as well, but it focuses on a character I found extremely annoying in this one. Then again I also didn’t like the side characters in Conventionally Yours, but I ended up enjoying Out of Character more.

I really wanted to like this one, and it was fine. But I didn’t love it? Maybe I just don’t really care for the rich businessman trope. Or the grumpy/sunshine trope? I also have the second book in this series in my TBR pile so we’ll see if I like that one better.

I was also pretty meh on this. idk? I liked the main character but I didn’t really care about the love interest. And it kind of felt like they only got together because the MC got his heart broken by the guy he spent most of the book pining for.

I loved this one! I love KJ Charles, and I seem to be a sucker for post WWI and post WWII mlm romances. Also I loved the fact that the love interest is shady and double-crossing but genuinely cares about the MC. *chef’s kiss* I had to order the other two in the series after I finished this one.

It’s weird to read basically all queer books and then to read a book that...isn’t queer. I picked this one up because it’s sci-fi, set in Minnesota, and by a Minnesotan author. It was pretty good, and I think the first in a series? It’s about how a small town in the Boundary Waters experiences a huge boom because meteorites containing this crazy metal hit there. Features Superpowers From Space (Stan Lee is thanked in the acknowledgements), an idealistic woman cop, and military experimentation.

Very good book that’s inspired by the HH Holmes murders during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (The Devil in the White City is a nonfiction book about the subject, if you’re familiar with that). The story centers on a Jewish teen who more or less gets possessed by the spirit of the young man he loves, who is murdered by a serial killer who appears to be targeting young Jewish men. I love World’s Fair settings, and I haven’t read many books with a Jewish cast of characters, particularly not queer Jewish characters, so that was very cool. I recommend this one.

This has been sitting in my TBR pile for like 5 years, and I finally read it. It was a WWII book? idk. I know people love it but it was a solid 3 stars for me. Easy read, though, so despite its length, I got through it fast.

And currently reading:

Why have my last three reads had red covers? I didn’t do that on purpose. Anyway I’m almost halfway through this one and it’s good...but idk if I’ll continue with the series because I read a review that mentioned the endgame romance is a polyship, and I find polyships very squicky (no shade if you like them, they’re just not for me). The world is interesting and I like the main character, and the character who presumably will be his love interest down the line. I’ll have to see how I feel once I finish it.

[gaybookcoven]