#libraryread

[sararaasch]

GO LUCK YOURSELF is a LibraryReads pick for March!

i am so honored that my silly little holiday romances continue to resonate with the loveliest of people!

[giovanareadshere]

💖🔪 Rot, Rage, and Glitter

We All Rot Eventually by Mia Ballard

📚 Finished Reading: We All Rot Eventually

📏 Length: 98 pages

💫 Vibe: Slasher core ambition, femme villainy, blood soaked hunger for fame

“Tomorrow, I tell myself. Tomorrow will change everything… It means people saying my name like it means something, saying it with reverence, like a secret they get to hold in their mouths.”

— Alexa Valentine

First, let's talk about Alexa. Fuckin. Valentine.👏🏾👏🏾

She’s sharp-tongued, bloodthirsty, and on the verge of exploding. From the first page, she’s already halfway feral. Hungry. Determined. The kind of girl who’s stared into the abyss and said, Make me famous, I don’t care the cost.

This was my first horror novella and I tore through it in one sitting. Just 98 pages of gore, glitter, and full throttle delusion. TikTok recommended it based on Camp Damascus, and honestly? A perfect match. But where Camp Damascus whispers its horror, this one screams. 😱😱

The best part? Alexa gave me serious Maxine Minx energy. 🧨

If you’ve seen X or MaXXXine, you already know what kind of obsession I’m talking about. That dangerous, unstoppable hunger for fame. That “I don’t care who I have to kill, I will be remembered forever” mindset. Both Alexa and Maxine are femme, fierce, and deep in their villain girl era; spinning in blood and rhinestones, and fucking daring you to look away.

“The thing told me to do it, and I listened because it was right. We all rot eventually. We all fall apart. Why should I feel bad about trading blood for glory?” 😈😏

Damnnnn. That line from this read lived rent free in my head for hours after finishing!

The horror in this novella is fast paced; it slashes, splatters, a rollercoaster ride with sharp turns, but so does the commentary. It’s about fame. Power. The desperation to be famous is front and center . Alexa’s spiraling monologues feel like a mirror held up to every girl who’s ever been underestimated, overlooked, or told to be quiet, especially as an Afro Latina. She doesn’t just want the spotlight. She wants to set the stage on fire and watch it burn to the ground.

“Fame is a fire, and I want to burn with it until there’s nothing left.”

Say less Alexa!

This book reads like a slasher where the final girl is also the monster, and you’re still rooting for her. It’s brutal. It’s glittery. It’s unhinged in the most fun way. And Alexa’s voice? Loud, clear, hella unforgettable. I could hear her laughing at the edge of every page.

“I am famous. Alexa Valentine will be famous after this.”

And honestly? I believe her. 😭

This book gave me:

🔪 Femme rage and fame hunger

💖 Unapologetic villain era

🩸 Glitter and gore, teeth and lipstick

🔥 Monologues that bite

📺 Fame as obsession, as prophecy

🧠 Psychological unraveling that hits hard

Final thoughts:

Short but deadly. Like a blood soaked manifesto for every girl who’s ever wanted to be remembered and didn’t care what it cost. Mia Ballard snapped. I’ll be reading everything she writes next.

[giovanareadshere]

Mooooooooood!!

[teanderthalrex]

Bat-Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

If you're looking for a book that is part slasher, part haunting, and part bio-horror, look no further. In the midst of the COVID pandemic of 2020, Cora Zeng is haunted by her deceased sister and stalked by a serial killer as everything in her clean and neat and somehow already spiraling life begins to fall even further apart.

Despite being told in the third person, we really do get into the mind of Cora Zeng. So much so that the clinical way in which some of the most horrific parts of the book are described feel like they're coming directly from her. I never got the feeling that Cora ever truly got close to anyone else in the book, even people who would consider her a friend. She has a distance to her created by the difficulty she has bridging her complex internal world with what is going on around her. This means that for a good portion of the book you aren't sure what is happening and what is all in her head.

Still, there are some incredibly interesting side characters in this and I'm a little sad we didn't get the chance to dissect them and figure out all the strange things they had going on. Everyone on that crime scene cleanup crew needed a little backstory summary at the back of the book.

The ending is good, and it makes a point of showing the continuation of certain events as Cora adjusts to her new normal.

4/5 stars. Content warnings for racism, xenophobia, sexism, and genre-typical gore.

Oh man. Harvey and Yifei need in-depth character studies because I want to know what the hell was up with Harvey and that fucking basement and Yifei and her creepy ass sister. Did the sister ever escape? Who was the dead lady at the bottom of Harvey's stairs? The people (me) want to know!

In the end, Cora hasn't really changed all that much. She's certainly learned, but she is still a shadow of a person. It seems like she is inviting ghosts into her life now in order to gain back that sense of purpose and personhood that she lost when her sister died.

But I kinda like evil avenging Cora out there murdering murderers as a potential future for her. She'd be good at the clean up.

[melaniem54]

Review:  Weyward: A Novel by Emilia Hart

Rating: 5⭐️ “The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.—Adrienne Rich” That’s the quote that ends this extraordinary story but just as easily could be the one that begins it.  This is one of my most favored books.  Emilia Hart’s story of three women, related to each other by blood and by the…

[sarahbethdurst]

LibraryReads Top Pick!!!

Absolutely floored to announce that THE SPELLSHOP was selected as the Top Pick on the July 2024 LibraryReads list!!! Thank you so much, librarians! I am so incredibly honored and grateful!!!

https://libraryreads.org

[drchucktingle]

LIBRARIANS PROVE LOVE thank you LIBRARYREADS for selecting BURY YOUR GAYS as one of ten july books to feature. i appreciate it so much you have proven love to me today. and buckaroos DONT FORGET to put in a request for 'bury your gays' at your local library

[nshi-ao3]

Do you happen to have an alt account on tumblr? If not, it seems someone is reposting your art on here. :(

https://www.tumblr.com/purelynecroticpantheon43/781962633014280192/that-one-book-in-the-great-gubal-libraryread?source=share

I do have another tumblr for my regular art, but yeah that isn’t it! Seems like they just repost all sorts of random stuff from wherever for traffic? Kinda surprising they got something from here!

[theaguanzon]

My author copies have arrived! Full disclosure: I cried 🥹 This edition of THE HURRICANE WARS hits US shelves in two weeks, and still can’t believe I get to weave my cherished enemies-to-lovers trope into a fantasy setting inspired by my culture and share it with the world ⚔️💖🇵🇭 I thought getting published was a pipe dream because I live in the Global South. Grateful to everyone who made it happen and these incredible authors who sent in such kind blurbs and the people who made my debut an Indie Next Pick, a LibraryReads Top Ten, and a number one Barnes & Noble bestseller. LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH 😭❤️

More Info

Preorders:

BARNES & NOBLE (exclusive edition is 25% off w/ code HURRICANE25 til 10/3)

AMAZON

TARGET

MORE

INTERNATIONAL

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

An October 2024 Indie Next Pick • An October 2024 LibraryReads Pick

Preorder now and receive the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last―featuring a gold foiled cover, gorgeous sprayed edges with stenciled artwork, as well as exclusive metallic ink patterned endpapers and unique foiled front and back case stamps. This breathtaking collectible is only available on a limited first print run, a must-have for any book lover. “Exquisite and devastating. It won’t fail to move you.” —Shelley Parker-Chan, #1 bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic novel steeped in myth about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.

Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

"Stunning and heart-rending." —Chloe Gong, #1 bestselling author of Immortal Longings

Review:

A beauty who is tasked to seduce an enemy king in order to avenge her sister's death and save the lives of her people...but finds herself for the handsome military advisor, a heart breaking story of sacrifice, forbidden romance, and womanhood. Xishi is a beauty, which would be seen as a. blessing as she would be able to secure a good marriage to support her family... except she draws the attention of a famous military leader, Fanli. Fanli offers her an opportunity: in exchange for her using her beauty to seduce and help destroy a neighboring kingdom that seeks to ruin them and work as a spy.... he will protect her family and she would save their people. Xishi and Fanli grow closer and closer.. but as she delves deeper into the enemy king's court the higher the risks become and the deadlier the game gets as all eyes are on her and if her act isn't perfected then she could lose her life and the life of everyone she holds dear. This was a fantastic read and the ending was heartbreaking. I am a sucker for stories like these and this one was inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China. This is a beautiful story of the lengths that we would go to to protect what we love, the endurance and constant trials that Xishi is put through is just testament to her strength. I really had fun reading this one and would absolutely recommend it! If you love forbidden romance, political intrigue, and inner strength, I would absolutely say add this book to your TBR.

Release Date: October 1,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

I was just able to vote for One Night in Hartswood for LibraryReads on both NetGalley and Eidelweiss! I hope it makes the list!! Good luck!!

Ohhh!! I didn't even realise it was on US Netgalley!!!

Thank you for voting! (I had to look up what LibraryReads was 😅)

[giovanareadshere]

[blogcozypeculiarbookshelf]

Audiobook Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Links: Audible / Spotify Blurb: Narrated By Thérèse Plummer, Will Damron #1 Indie Next Pick! A Hall of Fame LibraryReads pick! One of People’s Best Books to Read in February A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and…

[anitabyars]

A June 2025 Indie Next Pick!

A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Title!

Description

Featuring beautiful spray-painted edges with vibrant designed endpapers.

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating in the newest laugh out loud, all the feels rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can.

Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

My Review

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You know that feeling when you read something so profound that you look inward and something about the experience is life-changing. Well this story definitely was a catalyst on a new perspective for me!

I felt like I fell into this story and became a part of it! I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I felt like I was merging into these characters and experiencing their emotions, loving their passions, hoping for their dreams, and yearning for their desires.

This is Hutch and Katie’s journey and it brought All the feels! These two were magical when they were together! Their intensity, the longing, the excitement, the palpable anticipation of what would happen next between them! It all had me swooning and squirming in my seat.

“My wish for you,” Rue went on, “is a vibrant, bright, glorious life. That’s why I keep bringing you these vibrant, bright, glorious swimsuits.” “So am I your pet project or something?”

And then there were the secondary characters who added so much to this story. Between Katie’s best friend, “Beanie”, and her pushing Katie out of her comfort zone as well as Rue and her lady friends adding vibrancy and laugh-out-loud moments that helped bring these two together. But my favorite was Hutch’s dog George Bailey!

The Love Haters was a book that helped me change my perspective of how I looked at myself, and how I looked at other people in my life. Reiterating to me, to always look for the best in each other and ourselves!!!

I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

[bostonlibrary]

Love on the Brain