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fae-fucker · 1 year

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Nexus: Chapter 1-3

It's time for the thrilling conclusion to Sasha Alsberg's and Lindsay Cummings literary diarrhea. Described by the illustrious Sarah J Maas (whose taste we can surely trust) as a "whirlwind, out-of-this-galaxy adventure," the queen of fae jizz has once again put egg on our collective faces and told blatant lies to uphold false narratives.

It's apparently been two years since I last left Andi to die as the new General of Arcardius. Nor was the evil queen, and Valen was the perpetual victim turned evil guy at the last moment. Dex was there, and so was Andi's crew. Dex rescued Andi and the general, but the general died after giving Andi his title for reasons as uninteresting as they are pointless.

I won't be recapping the whole thing, just read the last parts of the previous snark to get caught up. Or the whole thing, if you want xoxo

Chapter 1: Dex

Dextro Arez had never truly believed that the Godstars were tangible beings. They were soul-felt, a comforting presence inside your heart, an idea that filled your mind as if soldered on with iron and fire. Always nearby, yet as far away as the stars in the night sky.

Hoo boy. Shinsay are so very good at one-sentence K.O.s They bypass my armor and do direct psychic damage.

Dex is sitting by Andi's busted-ass body. She's been out for a week, and he's all angsty about how she has to wake up because she's the general now and is the only one who can save them all. He's then overtaken by a telegraphed wave of memories, flashing conveniently back to the climax of the first book, so we're all caught up on what's happened.

BUT THEN! Andi wakes up! And she's all angry about how Dex saved her but left HER GIRLS behind, and she gets up and tries to go and save them immediately despite having an open and gaping chest wound that starts bleeding the moment she gets up. She's so so angry you guys. And also really badass for how she wants to save her crew, whom she loves so much that she'd die for them. It's very cool and tragic and sad and uuh. Anyway.

She stabs him with a syringe full of a pain medication called "soduum" which, I mean, yeah. Soduum indeed.

The first chapter of Nexus ends like this,

“I’m sorry, Dex,” Andi said, her voice like a funeral dirge as his head hit the floor. “There is no me without them.” When she left the med bay, she was no longer Androma Racella. The Bloody Baroness stepped into the halls of the Marauder, a captain who would tear apart the skies to rescue her crew.

I do love the childlike sincerity of Shinsay being so enamored with the bad-mouth-feel name of their main character, and her shitty little title, that they keep repeating both. I also hate the way the title is deeply unoriginal while also being completely meaningless, indicating that Shinsay just chose words that sounded cool to them without thought or effort. There's a certain unearned smugness in repeating the full name and title every time Andi does anything they think is cool, because guys? You didn't do anything, but you're expecting goosebumps every time? Cmon now.

I read my own snark recently in preparation for reading Nexus (cuz there's no way I'm gonna read Zenith again lol) and I'm surprised that I never deconstructed the title of "Bloody Baroness," because it's so bad. So I'll do that now, because there's nothing else cool happening.

First of all, what does baroness mean in this world? The title existing implies the existence of peerage. Adhira has a queen, so that sort of fits, but Andi is from Arcardius, which is noted to be the most militaristic planet, ruled by a general instead of a king. So who gave her the title? Why is it baroness specifically? Does Andi hold land? Where did the title of baroness come from? Who started it and why? What did she do to earn it? We never really find out what Andi did during her criminal years, so her having a wacky title would have given us a clue as to what kind of pirate she is. Instead, we get baroness because it sounds fancy to Shinsay and is alliterative with "bloody," I guess?

As for "bloody", well, it speaks for itself, doesn't it? It's a fine enough descriptor for a space pirate, but the fact that it's followed up by "baroness" makes it sound too small for the title it's describing. The alliteration was also a mistake, IMO. It just sounds childish. Combine all this with the fact that "bloody" is something a mildly annoyed British person might say before a real curse word, it's just a bit silly.

Compare to two examples that kind of work, on the opposite ends of the spectrum that Andi occupies. We have Star Lord, from Guardians of the Galaxy. I haven't read the comics, but the title works for the guy because it's both ambiguous (in the first movie, nobody knows who he is or what he's done, because it's not a lot) and grandiose (because he's full of himself). It is a cool name, but it's clearly something an unimaginative egotist might come up with, name himself the lord of stars because they're in space, so ruling stars means he's a big deal. Nobody's calling him lord unless he convinces them first. It works because it builds his character.

Then we have The Blood Countess, one of the epithets given to Elizabeth Bathory, a real-life historical figure who was said to have killed women and girls in order to bathe in their blood and remain young forever. Notice the similarities to the Bloody Baroness. Except Bathory was given this moniker because she 1) was an actual countess and 2) killed people and had a fascination with their blood. Obviously this is a real-life person, but the title works because hey, she did do that shit, at least according to the people who gave her that name. She's a countess that likes blood? Blood Countess!

What did Andi do? Everyone calls her the Bloody Baroness, but we don't know why, and she clearly didn't give herself the name, though she embraces it because ...? She likes it, I guess. She likes to be called bloody because she loves violence, and to be associated with nobility, despite supposedly hating the upper class after they stabbed her in the back.

Y'all see what I mean?

We don't know where the title came from, so we don't get an insight into her past, and we don't know how she feels about it, aside from stuff we can assume that turns out to be contradictory anyway.

But hey, it sounds cool, right? Right? RIGHT?!

Chapter 2: Andi

Anyway, because she's got a huge hole in her chest that's gushing blood, Andi can barely get herself into the captain's seat, but she's so so so so determined to save HER GIRLS, you guys. Can you feel the female solidarity simply seeping off the page? Totally not undermined by the fact that the three girls are basically lamps who only exist to be Andi's motivation and have no character of their own in this book, essentially objectifying them in this supposedly feminist narrative.

The navigation holoscreen began to flicker before her eyes, highlighted by the swirling, shimmering clouds outside the varillium walls of the ship. The dense fog of color obscured Andi’s view of the stars, and the sight of it sent a shiver of dread down her spine. “Memory?” she asked breathlessly. The soothing female voice of the Marauder ’s control system came to life around her. “How may I assist you, Captain?” “Where exactly are we?” There was a long pause before Memory responded. “The navigation system is currently off-line. I am unable to determine our precise location at this time.” Andi stared at the dancing whorls of pink and gold mist, a sudden suspicion dawning. “Memory, what was the destination of the last hyperspace jump?” “The last coordinates entered were for a location just outside the Xintra Nebula.” Andi’s hands began to shake with rage. Her ship was inside a damned nebula. A massive pocket of space filled with gases and debris that rendered the Marauder’s tracking and navigation systems utterly useless. A place only the most skilled pilots could hope to fly through without losing their way.

A-heem heem. So, as a child, my obsession wasn't with dinosaurs, or Egypt, or animals. Mine was space. And though I couldn't tell you anything that you probably don't already know, I will say that uuh, nebulas? Do not work like that. Nebulas aren't, like, clouds or mist here on earth, they're MASSIVE. And yes, while they are filled with gases, it's not like water turning to mist, so the amount of gas molecules stretched across hundreds of light-years would make existing inside a nebula perfectly fine. The gases wouldn't even be visible to the naked eye. Like, you wouldn't be obscured by clouds or mist, and certainly not enough to scramble any science-fiction navigational tools in a world that's mastered space travel.

Also, while we're on the topic of Shinsay not knowing shit from fuck, can I say something else? Here's the map of the galaxy:

First of all, what are rogue systems? I don't know if they've ever been mentioned and I don't remember if they ever will be, so why even put them on the map? Second of all: you mean to tell me that none of these people name the stars in their star system? That they're all just "the sun" like we do here on Earth? Huh? What? Why? Third: so several of the aliens come from the same star systems? Most of these planets have been mentioned as habitable. Andi and Breck come from the same star system. How is that plausible in any sense of the word?

Third of all, what the fuck is this?

HOW IS THAT A FUCKING ASTEROID BELT? Like I don't expect authors to understand how gravity works in space, (even though it's pretty basic that these rocks would definitely be in orbit around the sun, much like the planets are) but didn't the word belt clue you in on how they look? Do you have no curiosity at all, or are you so overconfident that you can't even bother to look things up?

Also, I get that this is stylized, but this map feels really small. Combined with how Shinsay don't seem to understand how big space actually is, or how unlikely it is that so many planets and satellites in a system are not only habitable but inhabited, it leads to the whole thing feeling underwhelming, not like the great swashbuckling space opera they were clearly going for. Everything's just squished together, and the whole plot revolves around a handful of planets.

Anywhomst, Lon comes in (Lira's brother who's somehow a "universal donor") and reasons with Andi. They head back to wake up Dex, which is surprisingly easy, given that almost no time has passed and they don't even give him anything to cancel out the drug.

Dex and Lon catch Andi up on what went down once she got her ass beat by a skinny guy with a knife. Valen is Nor's half brother and their mom had fucked up space magic that mind-controlled General Cyprian back in the day. Now they're mind-controlling people into worshiping Nor, including Andi's crew. It's very dramatic but also stuff we already knew, so.

Andi squeezed Dex’s hand and nodded decisively. “So we find a way to free their minds and come up with a plan to get them out.” “And then?” Lon asked. Andi allowed an icy smile to spread across her face. “And then the Bloody Baroness will go hunting.”

Cool. This is the second time in a row that we're ending a chapter with the promise of Andi aka the Bloody Baroness doing something cool, and yet she never does. And guess what! She never will.

Spoilers.

Chapter 3: Valen

The chapter title loudly proclaims that this is three weeks later, so I'm assuming that's on top of the week Andi's been out. So like it's a month after the attack. Keep this in mind.

Valen sits in a garden in his old home and angsts about how this planet used to be his prison because his family hated him, except his half-sister Kalee, who was an angel who could do no wrong. But now thankfully he has another sister who is totally cool and awesome and gave him a new identity, as a Solis with compulsion powers.

With every moment that passed, with every new soldier that set out across Mirabel to spread the Zenith virus, more minds were added to Valen’s nexus of connections. At first, he’d felt the exact moment when each silver bullet hit its target. The bullets contained a serum that Nor’s two-headed scientist, Aclisia, had perfected back on Xen Ptera. She’d somehow replicated strands of Valen’s DNA and used them to create a virus that forever linked the minds of its victims to his own, leaving them vulnerable to his compulsions.

His DNA? They're blasting people with Valen's DNA in order to make them part of his semi-hivemind? This is like if I spit in someone's mouth and they started being able to see my OCs in their mind's eye. It doesn't make any sense, and would've worked better if it was just random space-magic, but sure, whatever, it's DNA now. I just don't understand how it works in-person, then? Because it clearly does, since that's how Klaren used it, and she didn't put her DNA into the people she controlled. It was rather the opposite, really. Bazinga etc.

Like, ok, making a virus out of his DNA is fine, but then why would that infection allow him to take control over them? Look at how it "works" in his mind:

Over time, he discovered a way to quiet the minds, to lock them away in their very own realm, so that when a new mind was added, it was simply background noise. He’d strengthened the mental boundaries around that realm, building walls around those other minds, until they were contained in an impenetrable fortress that rivaled the obsidinite prison he’d once been trapped in on Lunamere. And then, finally, there was silence. Now he need only hear the minds when he pleased. And with the help of the Zenith virus, Valen could reach them from anywhere in the galaxy. He compelled them to serve Nor, their true queen—no matter the cost.

So it's a fucking BBC Sherlock mind palace. Very clearly not science-based, so why the bullshit with making a virus? Guess it sounds more scienc-y.

On Xen Ptera, they’d shared a life together—two years spent honing Valen’s powers. And all the while, his heartless father never came looking for him. Valen had once cared about pleasing the general, but now he knew that hope had been futile. Foolish, and utterly pointless. His father had never been capable of loving him, of feeling pride in his son.

Well, you were his rape-baby. Like I hate to remind you but you were very much unwanted and unplanned and made from a forced union. I get that that's not Valen's fault, and the general shouldn't have taken it out on him, but with how much this book and the first demonizes the general and idolizes (or at least affords complexity to) Klaren, this comes off as kind of uncomfortable. You'll see how Shinsay just conviniently always forget that Klaren was an actual rapist. I guess it doesn't count if it's a woman raping men. Yes, multiple.

Valen talks to Nor through their mind link or whatever, which makes him feel better. He's avoiding Darai (Nor's evil advisor/uncle figure), because the old geezer gives him bad vibes.

As he's sitting there, his gaze drifts to a massive floating thing in the distance:

Nexus. The monstrous satellite had become Nor’s new obsession in the wake of their takeover during the Ucatoria Ball. Engineers, scientists and workers had been laboring around the clock these past few weeks, perfecting every angle and plane of the device that would amplify Valen’s compulsion ability, sending his message to every corner of the galaxy.

Ayoo, title drop! But also, what? How does that work? How are you gonna blast Valen's DNA virus through space and expect it to not only survive the process, but also reach across the galaxy? *Tim Allen AUEGH grunt*

Anyway, Nor is apparently preparing for a public announcement or some shit, and Valen thinks about the Unaffected attacks.

Yes. Time for another Nondescript Proper Noun. Get a load of this:

It was something Valen had feared from the beginning, after he’d learned that some wouldn’t be affected by his compulsion. Their numbers were slim, if Aclisia’s extensive testing of the Zenith virus was anything to judge by. For every hundred that fell to Valen’s compulsion, bowing to Nor despite their original feelings toward her, only one resisted. So despite his unease, he’d never truly thought they’d be able to fight back. But barely a week into Nor’s reign, a group of Unaffecteds had banded together and destroyed the military barracks on Tenebris that housed many of the newest recruits to the cause. Valen had felt the moment those minds beneath his compulsion had died. As if they were matches snuffed out. There one moment, gone the next. It happened again, mere days later, on Adhira. A small but organized group of Unaffecteds had emerged from the jungle sector of the terraformed planet and struck down the communication towers. Nor’s video feed, which was on a constant loop across the galaxy, had been cut off for half a day’s time.

First of all, is this some English speaker thing that I'm not getting? Some nuance I'm missing? Why the hell are they called "Unaffecteds" instead of just "Unaffected"? "A group of Unaffected" works just as fine and doesn't sound as awkward, no? Especially since Valen called them Unaffected previously. Am I wrong? Feel free to correct me but I think that this is just unecessary and weird. And yeah, it's not very original. It's giving Divergent but many years too late.

Second of all, one in a hundred in a galaxy is still a lot of people. However, probably not enough to form a resistance movement that fast and that organized in a manner of weeks. Especially considering that there's a visual difference between those that are affected and those that aren't (as we'll see later), and that most people aren't combatants, most Unaffected/s would be found out pretty quickly. I'm calling bullshit on this one.

Third, why is Nor wasting time on making videos for a galaxy that's already entirely brainwashed by her? This implies that the attack was a calculated effort to weaken her power, but aside from sending her a message, it doesn't really affect anything, does it? Are we meant to believe she's just very self-absorbed? That hasn't really been her characterization up until this point.

The Unaffecteds would fall eventually, when they ran out of steam. When they realized that the galaxy was beyond saving.

Nitpick, but for a guy who's spent an entire chapter wanking about how great and amazing his sister is, it's a very weird word choice to say that his enemies would be "saving" the galaxy from her. Is he devoted to her and her cause, or is he a mustache-twirling villain aware of his own actions? Cuz it really seems like you're going for the former.

But hey, what's one sentence in a book, right? It's not like stories are made up of words and that you should be aware of the choices you're making while writing them or anything.

Sometimes, Valen could scarcely believe what they had already accomplished; how quickly the galaxy had fallen beneath their joined hands. Having a scientist of Aclisia’s caliber on their side had been vital to their success in that regard. It had been her idea to send out the orbs full of tainted rain as soon as they’d seized control of Arcardius. A war does not always require soldiers, she’d said, showing Nor and Valen how the weapon would work. Thousands of silver droplets falling from the skies across the galaxy, unleashing the Zenith virus upon all nearby.

Hi, sorry, hi. WHAT. So you're telling me Aclisia has already figured out a way to poison the rain of the entire planet? So ... why the fuck are we bothering with the Nexus satellite? Why don't you just poison the rain on every planet? Given that Adhirans have "universal donors" and all of these different aliens are able to live in each other's atmospheres and eat each other's food, you could just poison each planet's water supply and wait until the virus infected everyone. Yes, that would leave starships and space stations, but given that we barely have mentions of those, and assuming that they still need to stop at planets to refuel and gather supplies, you'll still reach them eventually.

It's funny how Shinsay feel the need to lampshade and excuse how quickly their spaghetti plot happened by using a bunch of other extremely suspect science fiction that would've been a huge deal in any other writer's hand, but through doing that, they undermine their main plot instead. I love it. It's like the reading equivalent of one of an Escher painting. You have to untangle the layers and once you do, you still don't fucking understand anything.

Anyway, Valen falls asleep thinking about how they're totally gonna win, and doesn't notice how his nose bleeds ominously. Because the toll it takes on him to control an entire galaxy of sentient minds is, uuh, literally killing him btw. Spoilers, I guess. For the obvious.

I honestly think that Shinsay have no concept of how huge space is. I know it's hard to comprehend for most people, but y'all are writers, supposedly. Just no imagination in there at all, huh?

It would've been cool to explore how being connected to a literal galaxy full of sentient minds would probably kill you immediately due to the sheer volume of them, like a semi-eldritch hivemind tearing your brain to shreds, but instead Valen just kinda fizzles out physically like a fart in the wind, while his compulsion remains boring and organized and his mind entirely clear and his own the entire time.

Anyway, sorry for the small amount of chapters covered in this first part, I just had to go off on a billion tangents <3

#eff reads: nexus #rape mention

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traktivist · 6 years

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RACELLA in 360 degrees?!?!?! Watch her exclusive, in-studio performance of "Toast" on TRAKTIVIST Radio! @racella . . *** MUST WATCH 360 ON YOUTUBE APP OR FACEBOOK APP DIRECTLY. OTHERWISE IT WON’T WORK! *** . . Also, listen to the entire interview on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, or our YouTube Channel. Search “TRAKTIVIST”. . . Let us know who you want us to interview and what songs you want to hear on the show! Link in bio or traktivist.com/submit . . TRAKTIVIST RADIO, a weekly music show featuring music by Asian Americans! This show is exclusively on @dashradio (10 million+ subscribers worldwide) on their “Discover” station (2 million+ monthly listeners). . . . . . . . . . . . . #360 #vr #360degrees #360vr #360live #liveperformance #racella #racelladeguia #wavesep #asianamerican #asianamericans #rb #singer #songwriter #traktivist #traktivistradio #dashradio #filipino #filipina #filipinos #filipinas #filipinx #filipinamerican #filipinaamericans #filipinoamerican #filipinoamericans (at Dash Radio) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtWkkq9Hja6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=956ryyoq24o1

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pharaohoftheghetto · 6 years

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#SoundCloud #music #mattdeguia #racella #post malone #justin beiber

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kissmeonthesidewalk · 5 years

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just uploaded a new book review! I was like WAY too enthusiastic but I’m talking about zenith so what other way is there to be yall

Does Zenith Hold Up? | Rereading an Unpopular Book

#zenith #nexus #sasha alsberg #lindsay cummings #booktube #booktuber #bookcon #book review #tulipswift #androma racella #andi #dex #lira #mirabel #androma saga

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bookrecommendsandstuff · 4 years

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Her ship is gone, her crew is captured and notorious mercenary Andi Racella is suddenly a fugitive, ruthlessly hunted across the galaxy. The bloodthirsty Queen Nor now rules most of the galaxy and she'll stop at nothing to destroy her most hated adversary. Andi will risk anything, even her precious freedom to stop Nor. However as her crew fight to regain their freedom, Andi and her unlikely ally Dex discover a threat far greater than anything they've faced before. Only by saving their mortal enemy can they make one last desperate strike to save the galaxy, unaware that a shattering, centuries-old secret may demand the most wrenching sacrifice of all.

#Sasha Alsberg #Lindsay Cummings #Nexus #The Androma Saga #second book

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kreuzdrache · 5 years

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Tagged by @sing-softly for my 10 songs.

I kinda flip flop around my music, so I don’t have a top 10, but I’ll put the ones I’ve been listening to lately. I also have way too many favorites, so my genres are often mixed up lol:

Of Mice & Men - Identity Disorder

My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words

Guilty Gear 2020 OST/Daisuke Ishiwatari - Smell of the Game

Astral Chain OST/ Kei Shimojo - Dark Hero (Female version)

LiSa - Gurenge

Lenno & Jack Novak - All Eyes On Us (feat. Racella)

The Knocks - Collect My Love (feat. Alex Newell) (Mat Zo Remix)

Pearl Jam - The Fixer

Foo Fighters - Pretender

Pentakill - Lightbringer

I like learning of everyone’s favorite music, its fun learning of new bands and having new favorites! So if you want to share yours thats fine too, just tagged me when you do!

#music #sing-softly

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sinmusica · 7 years

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"All Eyes On Us" por Lenno, Jack Novak, Racella

#IFTTT #Spotify #All Eyes On Us #Lenno #Jack Novak #Racella

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laniakeabooks · 5 years

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March Wrap-Up

I read books 17 books in March! I did post a few individual reviews and have tagged them here in case you’re interested.

Gemina by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

I just have so much love for this series. When I finally get to Obsidio and finish it (still waiting for the paperback), I’ll write a whole series review!

Asteria: Into the Fray by Adrienne Enfinger - ⭐⭐

It's not every day that your suicide attempt is interrupted by a handsome archangel. But then, nothing remains ordinary for long on the day Asteria meets Micah for the first time.

Talking her down from the ledge, Micah reveals to Asteria that she is no ordinary young woman. She is the descendant of nephilim - part angel, part human - and her parents did not die in a car crash, they were killed by the fallen angel, Azazel, in the eternal battle of good versus evil.

Asteria finds herself thrust into the middle of that war and discovers that she is part of a prophecy that can finally bring about its end - if Azazel does not kill her first.

She soon joins forces with angels, good and bad, in an epic battle that could save mankind...

...or bring about its demise

Not great… it definitely read like a fanfiction of Supernatural and the quality of writing was… ehhhhhh it was weird like Enfinger was trying too hard.

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

Full review soon to follow!

Little Pills by Melody Dodds - ⭐⭐⭐

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Navarro never asked to be anyone's hero. If you're a hero, your sister isn't supposed to hate you. And you're definitely not supposed to get hooked on Gramma's painkillers. Even so, Charlotte's sister's friend Mia looks at her like she's some sort of hero. As Charlotte starts taking pills more and more, she has to question how it could hurt herself and others, even Mia. Is it a harmless habit or a dangerous addiction?

Review here! Publication – 2nd April 2019

You Do You by Sarah Knight - ⭐⭐⭐

Being yourself should be easy, yet too many of us struggle to live on other people's terms instead of our own. Rather than feeling large and in charge, we feel little and belittled.

Sound familiar? Bestselling "anti-guru" Sarah Knight has three simple words for you:

YOU DO YOU.

It's time to start putting your happiness first--and stop letting other people tell you what to do, how to do it, or why it can't be done. And don't panic! You can do it without losing friends and alienating people. Knight delivers her trademark no-bullsh*t advice about:

The Tyranny of "Just Because"

The social contract and how to amend it

Turning "flaws" into strengths--aka "mental redecorating"

Why it's not your job to be nice

Letting your freak flag fly

How to take risks, silence the doubters, and prove the haters wrong

Review

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The 50 contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras.

But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

BWAHAHAHAHA THIS IS JUST MY TYPE OF HUMOUR!! Granted, my humour is a… specific brand so just beware going into this.

The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Grace Carter's mother --- the celebrity news anchor GG Carter --- is everything Grace is not. GG is a star, with a flawless wardrobe and a following of thousands, while Grace --- an aspiring astrophysicist --- is into stars of another kind. She and her mother have always been in different orbits. Then one day GG is just ... gone. Cameras descend on their house, news shows speculate about what might have happened and Grace's family struggles to find a new rhythm as they wait for answers. While the authorities unravel the mystery behind GG's disappearance, Grace grows closer to her high school's golden boy, Mylo, who has faced a black hole of his own. She also uncovers some secrets from her mother's long-lost past. The more Grace learns, the more she wonders. Did she ever really know her mother? Was GG abducted ... or did she leave? And if she left, why?

Review here! Publication – April 2nd 2019

ReWired by S. R. Johannes - ⭐

Sixteen-year-old Ada Lovelace is never more alive and sure of herself than when she's hacking into a "secure" network as her alter ego, the Dark Angel. In the real world, Ada is broken, reeling from her best friend Simone's recent suicide. But online, the reclusive daughter of Senator Lovelace (champion of the new Online Privacy Bill) is a daring white hat hacker and the only female member of the Orwellians, an elite group responsible for a string of high-profile hacks against major corporations, with a mission to protect the little guy. Ada is swiftly proving she's a force to be reckoned with, when a fellow Orwellian betrays her to the FBI. To protect her father's career, Ada is sent to ReBoot, a technology rehab facility for teens...the same rehab Simone attended right before killing herself.

It's bad enough that the ReBoot facility is creepy in an Overlook-Hotel-meets-Winchester-Mansion way, but when Ada realizes Simone's suicide is just one in an increasingly suspicious string of "accidental" deaths and "suicides" occurring just after kids leave ReBoot, Ada knows she can't leave without figuring out what really happened to her best friend. The massive cyber conspiracy she uncovers will threaten everything she cares about--her dad's career, her new relationship with a wry, handsome, reformed hacker who gets under her skin, and most of all--the version of herself Ada likes best--the Dark Angel.

Uh yeah here’s my rant review. I just... yeah if you want to know what I thought just read the review I can’t be bothered to reiterate.

Zenith by Linday Cummings and Sasha Alsberg - ⭐⭐⭐

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.

But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder's all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their shipor just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

You know what, not as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, it wasn’t anything special and I’m not very attached to the characters, but hey there are only two books so who knows maybe I’ll just finish the series.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

I knew I had a good feeling about this book. It’s eerie and I was stressing the fuck out the entire book about that dog’s wellbeing. 100% do recommend if you’re into brutal, creepy and dark books. Be forewarned, when I say dark, I mean DARK. Like zombie babies and children that are subsequently decapitated dark.

Losing Adam by Adrienne Clarke - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What happens when the person you love most in the world suddenly becomes a stranger?

Adam and Jenny’s world is falling apart. Their dream of attending college together away from home quickly becomes a nightmare when Adam begins hearing the voice of the Snow Queen. Adam’s startling transformation from popular drama student into a withdrawn, suspicious stranger leaves Jenny frightened and confused. How can the person she loves most in the world suddenly become someone she doesn’t recognize? As Adam drifts farther and farther away into the Snow Queen’s mysterious world of ice and snow, Jenny believes she must fight to bring him back or risk losing him forever.

Holy fuck. This book probably has the most accurate representation of any mental illness I’ve seen in YA. Adam’s schizophrenia wasn’t watered down in the slightest and it wasn’t romanticized. I would have liked to read more of Adam’s perspective than Jenny’s since Adrienne Clarke writes mental illness so accurately. Does that make sense?

I liked that she gave us a look at how mental illness affects the individual in question, but also their loved ones. Although I would have preferred if we had focused more on Adam as for the reason above.

Whisper by Lynette Noni - ⭐⭐⭐

For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.

As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

Review Here!

The Thirteenth Guardian by K.M. Lewis - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Da Vinci’s secret pales. Michelangelo concealed an explosive truth in his famous Creation of Man fresco in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Everything we have been taught about Eve is wrong—she didn’t cause the fall of man. Instead, Eve carried a far more devastating secret for millennia; one that will change the world forever.

As the modern-day world suffers the cataclysmic effects of the “Plagues of Egypt”, Avery Fitzgerald, a statuesque Astrophysics major at Stanford, discovers that she is mysteriously bound to five strangers by an extremely rare condition that foremost medical experts cannot explain. Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, they race against time to stay alive as they are pursued by an age-old adversary and the world around them collapses into annihilation. Under sacred oath, The Guardians—a far more archaic and enigmatic secret society than the Freemasons, Templars, and the Priory—protect Avery as she embarks on a daring quest that only legends of old have been on before. Avery must come to terms with the shocking realization that the blood of an ancient queen flows through her veins and that the fate of the world now rests on her shoulders.

Release date – June 7th 2019

Review Here!

Angelfall by Susan Ee - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Yesssssss I like this. I find that many angel stories are overdone or hyper-religious, but this, this seems pretty promising.

Dead of Night by Carlyle Labuschagne – ⭐

In a dark and desolated After Earth, love still does exist, but the cost of bearing such a flaw is death.

World War III has left Earth in utter turmoil. People’s beliefs are said to be the cause of the worldwide destruction. After The Clearing new laws are set about - to show certitude in anything besides the law is weak and chargeable as mutiny. To be illogical and have faith in religion is illegal, to be limitless is dangerous. And Illness is seen as a defect – all flaws that are inexcusable.

But to love is the greatest betrayal of all man kind. It is a fault the world has long forgotten and punishable by death, a fatal risk Aecker and Opel are fully prepared to take - because in love there is freedom. But how far can they push back before it claims their lives and of those they care about?

This is the worst book I’ve read in my entire life.

Oh my god it was just so bad I don’t even know where to start. There is no plot, the characters are flat, every single scene was chaotic (I swear I got [metaphorical] whiplash), and it ends out of fucking nowhere. I thought I was missing part of my copy then ending was so sudden.

The world development was non-existent, and I was just confused all the way through.

I would write an individual review on this since I received it in exchange for an honest review, but honestly, this is all I have to say. I’m not even entirely sure as to what happened.

Unfortunately, 0 stars is not an option on Goodreads, so I had to stick with one even though I don’t think it deserves it.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Yessss another thriller. I love the internal conflict Jazz is dealing with and it’s expertly woven in with the plot. Would recommend, and will definitely be continuing on with the series!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – ⭐⭐

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

You know… it’s a classic. I don’t really like classics. I feel like I need to read them you know? Oh well.

Everyone’s a Aliebn when ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Here is the unforgettable story of Jomny, an alien sent to study Earth. Always feeling apart, even among his species, Jomny feels at home for the first time among the earthlings he meets. There is a bear tired of other creatures running in fear, an egg struggling to decide what to hatch into, a turtle hiding itself by learning camouflage, a puppy struggling to express its true feelings, and many more.

The characters are unique and inventive—bees think long and hard about what love means, birds try to eat the sun, nothingness questions its own existence, a ghost comes to terms with dying, and an introverted hedgehog slowly lets Jomny see its artistic insecurities. At the same time, Jomny’s curious presence allows these characters to open up to him in ways they were never able to before, revealing the power of somebody who is just there to listen.

Oh my god this was just so cute and filled with so many important messages than hit very close to home. New favourite for sure.

Number of books read: 17

Number of pages read: 5806

Average Pages per Book : 341.5

Average rating: 3.4

Favourite book of the month: Gemina by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I love love love the Illuminae files! Definitely my favourite sci-fi series to date.

Least favourite book of the month: Dead of Night by Carlyle Labuschange. It’s just so bad, you guys.

#march wrap up #books #booklr #booktube #bookstagram #young adult books #young adult literature

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mobilepubliclibraryteens · 5 years

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Her ship is gone, her crew is captured and notorious mercenary Androma Racella is no longer the powerful Bloody Baroness, but a fugitive ruthlessly hunted across the Mirabel Galaxy. The bloodthirsty Queen Nor now rules most of the galaxy through a mind-control toxin and she’ll stop at nothing to destroy her most hated adversary. Andi will risk anything, even her precious freedom, to find a cure. Stranded with her unlikely ally, Dex, on the unforgiving ice planet of Solera, their plan to infiltrate a black-market city proves dangerously irresistible. Back in Arcardius, Nor’s actions have opened Mirabel to invasion. As Andi’s crew fights to regain their freedom, Andi and Dex discover a threat far greater than anything they’ve faced before. Only by saving their mortal enemy can the crew of the Marauder make one last desperate strike to save the galaxy—unaware that a shattering, centuries-old secret may demand the most wrenching sacrifice of all.

#nexus #sasha alsberg #lindsay cummings #ya book #new release

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fae-fucker · 3 years

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Zenith: Chapter 76-79

Chapter 76

Andi has a nice little poetic nightmare. It’s irrelevant. The next morning has the girls preparing for the ball, complete with dresses and makeup.

Some things to note include Lira saying that in Adhiran religion (which is global, I guess), one has to mourn for three days before “letting” the souls of the dead pass on into ... everything.

Andi tries to say that it’ll take time to heal from it all, but Lira is having none of it.

“It will take time to move past what happened on Adhira,” Andi started, but Lira held up a hand.

“My three days of mourning have passed. Lon’s and my aunt’s, too. Now we, and the others who lost loved ones during the attack, must give the lost spirits to the stars, to the trees, to the wind.”

Which basically means that she’s done feeling bad about the unexpected and brutal attack on her home planet, so that’s convenient. Well, if one of our main characters doesn’t care about her people getting senselessly murdered, then why should we?

She also lets us know that her aunt has fixed up the Marauder and brought it here, because of course. Lira wants to arrange for Lon to be transferred to the Marauder, and though she has a logical reason for it (taking him home personally), it’s only a setup so we know why he’s on there at the end of the book when Andi’s bleeding out and needs a universal donor.

Spoilers, I guess.

Andi’s mother, Glorya, intercepts Andi as she tries to leave her crew to their makeover montages, just so we can move into a scene where her mom is brushing her hair and babbling on about gossip and vapid high society stuff.

But Andi, of course, gets lost in a flashback that’s so amateurishly written it’s honestly embarrassing and only highlights Shinsay’s helpless reliance on flashbacks as a storytelling device.

Observe:

Her words faded away as memories took their place. Andi lost herself to them.

The whole flashback is written in italics for some inexplicable reason, even though it would’ve been fine as just regular text since we’re clearly told what’s happening now and what’s a memory.

Also, there’s one bit where the memory “fast-forwards” to a different one. Shinsay, this isn’t a fucking movie. This isn’t a screenplay. What the fuck are you DOING.

The flashback and the mother’s inane babbling are all there to illustrate how vapid and brainless Glorya is and how she only ever cared about her status and not about her kid. Glorya pretends that everything is back to the way it was but Andi curses her out for abandoning her when she needed them most and how “the way it was” was actually always shit.

I mean it’s fine. It’s all right. I see what they’re going for, it’s melodramatic as all fuck but it works for what they’re trying to do? I can see this as being a realistic way for an emotionally neglectful family to look like. I wish it was more nuanced and wasn’t just shoe-horned in here (Glorya doesn’t show up before or after this bit, this is the only time she’s ever present or even mentioned in this book in any meaningful capacity) for the sake of making Andi’s friends look better and for her to not have anything that anchors her to Arcardius, but like, I won’t say this isn’t realistic.

And then Shinsay can’t stop themselves and it’s back to silly time:

“Really, Androma...”

[...]

“That is not my name,” Andi whispered. She allowed the darkness to come up into her voice, the mask of shadow and steel to sweep across her face. “My name is the Bloody Baroness. And if you or Commander Racella ever so much as utter a single word toward me or my crew again, I will personally strip the skin from your body and wave it like a flag from my starship.”

Glorya let out a soft squeak. Andi snarled with all of her teeth.

Guys I can’t breathe this is too fucking funny. And not in a good “woo vindication!” sort of way, but in a “they really put this right after an emotional confrontation about parental emotional neglect/abuse huh?” way. They really thought this was ... badass? Revenge? Andi, sweetie, you’re, like, traumatized? Presumably? I can’t really tell. But maybe get some therapy?

Do Shinsay think this is somehow a win and that Andi’s threat means she’s fully released from the hurt and pain her parents have caused her through their neglect? It’s honestly written as if Andi just confronted her mother and her own hopes of coming back to her family in this one short scene, and then upon realizing her parents never loved her, she scares her mom a little and then is all smug and satisfied at the end.

That ain’t how it works, darlings.

Then the annoying Marketable Space Pet runs in and starts biting Glorya’s toes and she runs away shrieking like a defeated Disney villain.

Way to undercut your own drama, Shinsay.

The chapter ends with Andi thinking about how her crew is her True Family for the bajillionth time. Because we’re all idiots and Shinsay wants us to remember that.

Chapter 77

It’s the evening of the ball and Andi thinks about how she missed Bavista, which is apparently your generic coming-of-age ball held at Arcardius for every 16-year-old. I’m guessing it’s a yearly thing? The book never clarifies. Not sure why the fuck it’s here tbh.

Actually, it’s a pretty good demonstration of how the worldbuilding in this book is presented so here, have at thee:

She could still remember seeing the otherworldly dresses and suits float by her on the feeds as she watched the girls and boys glide into the A’Vianna House in the Glass Sector. They seemed light as air, full of pride, bursting at the seams with excitement. Once inside, they would be greeted by members of the Priest Guild, who would award each young person three items.

The first was a vial of water from the Northern Ocean, symbolizing strength. For growth, they accepted a single leaf from the oldest tree on Arcardius, known as The Mother, which was said to have been planted when the Ancients first arrived. Lastly, they were given a single floating pebble, no larger than a child’s fingernail, chiseled from the very gravarock where the Cortas estate was. It represented the wisdom of rising above.

Is this relevant to anything? Does this help you understand this world or its inhabitants? Does it tell you anything of the culture of Arcardius or its youth and what’s expected of them? No? It’s just a really generic list of things thrown together using Mystical Proper Nouns as glue? Weeell heeell.

Also what does “it represented the wisdom of rising above” mean? This is utterly generic and means fuck-all, that’s what.

Anyway, Andi’s admiring herself in the mirror. Her dress is very sexy, trust me, I can’t be bothered to include it so just imagine your favorite My Immortal outfit description. It does include sword holsters at the back, which are Andi’s favorite part, because she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no man. She never actually uses them or brings the swords to the ball so ... Idk what the point of this was.

We also get some shit about how Andi actually LOVES dresses and being pretty but she never admitted it to anyone. But don’t you worry, this badass space criminal LOVES all things girly, because that’s feminism! Can someone check in on Shinsay? I’m not sure they’re getting enough air with their heads so far up Sarah J Maas’ asshole.

Admitting to herself that she looked pretty was something Andi kept private. She didn’t want to give her crew the satisfaction of knowing her true thoughts about fashion. How even though she was a fierce, hardened criminal, she could still appreciate the joy of a beautiful, impractical ball gown.

Huh. And here I thought they were your family. That’s weird that you’d keep this information from them, especially considering all of them seemed pretty excited to be prettied up in the last chapter. I guess they’d really just haaate the idea of sharing this joy with their captain, huh? Why aren’t you admitting this to them, Andi?

You’re saying shit about how “even though” you’re a hardened criminal, you can “still” appreciate beautiful gowns, like those two are somehow contradictory. Are you, mayhaps, ashamed of having this traditionally girly interest? Hmm! Interesting. Why could that be, I wonder? Why would having traditionally feminine interests or even caring about one’s appearance be seen as something inherently shameful or embarrassing, as inherently contradictory to being fierce and “hardened?”

This is all just so *clenches fist* feminist.

Forreal though, somehow Shinsay managed to take their entire made up GALAXY and make it subtly and not-so-subtly sexist. Good job, morons. Really girlbossed that one, huh?

The only bit I like about this whole mess is this:

The dressmaker had also accented her gown with a sparkling necklace full of jewels that Andi didn’t plan on giving back.

This is the one and only space pirate-y thing Andi does -- sorry, considers doing -- in the whole book and honestly could’ve been used to build her character more, but it’s just a one-off joke here. Wasted.

Valen comes to fetch her and we get some subtle foreshadowing.

“Valen the Resurrected.”

He stopped to look at her, brows raised. “What?”

She shrugged. “It’s what the press is calling you in all the feeds.” Valen let out a deep chuckle.

[...]

“Something tells me things are about to change for the better,” he said. “I’m ready to see it all happen.”

Andi wondered what he would do now that he was home with a whole planet at his disposal.

He deserved to have some fun.

Is it bad that I’m rooting for Valen to destroy everything? And this isn’t my villain-fucker coming out, I just want this poor bastard to absolutely annihilate Andi and her gang of acolytes.

Chapter 78

Andi and Valen arrive at the ball. It’s all very pretty and space-y and aesthetic. There’s a bunch of aliens everywhere. Andi sees a woman with funky eyes and assumes it’s a body mod, because I guess she knows the genetic characteristics of every species by heart and can tell when something is real or not.

An old classmate of theirs comes up to talk to Valen and congratulate him on being alive, then Andi reminds him of who she is just to be a smug asshole and the guy fucks off in a panic. She’s just so cool and badass, you guys.

Then it’s time for Valen and Andi to dance, and of course General Cortas looks like he’s about to lose his marbles because these darn kids! >:(

The chapter ends on Andi noticing Dex pouting in the distance.

“Relax,” Andi whispered. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”

She flashed him a wicked grin as the music began.

And as Valen spun her into the first move of the dance, Andi saw Dex standing on the fringes of the crowd, an expression of longing clear on his face.

Chapter 79

This chapter is exactly 298 words of Dex moping around about how he’s actually not over Andi at all when he thought he’d done such a good job of repressing his feelings, and how he should be the one dancing with Andi instead of Valen. If you’re surprised, you’re clinically dead.

#eff reads: zenith

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traktivist · 6 years

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Tune in tomorrow Thursday 5pm pst! We interview the radiant singer & songwriter RACELLA! Her undeniable talent has enabled her to write and work with iconic artists such as Janet Jackson, Dr. Dre, Kelly Rowland, Afro Jack and many more! We explore the very early beginnings of Racella's musical journey, having discovered her love of songwriting at just 9 years old, and the importance of writing from a genuine place. We discuss her recent ep "Waves," which was written in majority by her husband's hospital bedside as he bravely fought for his life after a life threatening car accident. From this ep, @racella blesses us with an exclusive, live in-studio, 360 degree performance of "Toast"! Lastly, Racella world premiere's "Let Us" from her upcoming ep! . . It’s FREE to listen! Download the @dashradio Radio mobile app or listen on your computer: DashRadio.com/Discover. . . Also, on this week’s show, we feature a #TRAKTIVISTRadioMashup from #ArianaGrande x #YearoftheOX + new music from #TiffanyYoung #HikaruUtada x #Skrillex #Russell #Tim Atlas #UMI #CNote #damnboy + more! . . And in case you can’t catch the live shows, TRAKTIVIST RADIO is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, & our YouTube Channel so you can listen anytime you want, as many times as you want! . . Let us know who you want us to interview and what songs you want to hear on the show! Link in bio or traktivist.com/submit . . TRAKTIVIST RADIO is the only weekly, global music show featuring music by Asian Americans! This show is exclusively on Dash Radio (10 million+ subscribers worldwide) through the #Discover” station (2 million+ monthly listeners). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #racella #racelladeguia #wavesep #toast #letus #asianamericans #asianamerica #asianamerican (at Dash Radio) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtSEVmoH2qM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=iaiqpudbaq5h

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biblioshark · 6 years

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Book Review:

Title: Zenith

Authors: Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings

Star Rating:

Synopsis: Known across the galaxy as the Bloody Baroness, Captain Androma Racella and her motley crew of space-bound privateers roam the Mirabel galaxy on the glass starship Marauder, taking what mercenary work they can find to stay alive.

When a routine job goes awry, the Marauder’s all-girl crew find themselves placed at the mercy of a dangerous bounty hunter from Andi’s past. Coerced into a life-threatening mission, and straight into the path of a shadowy ruler bent on revenge, Andi and her crew will either restore order to the ship—or start a war that will devour worlds.

Review: I went into this book with low expectations because of its ratings and reviews and Goodreads, and people talking about it on Booktube. I can agree with them on some of the editing comments of the book but honestly I really enjoyed this book! I thought the characters were very interesting and the plot is really fun. I had some issues with how it jumps back and forth from different time lines and different characters and then mentioning a name and then not explaining who it was, those were where I can see editing being an issue. However, I am pleasantly surprised about how much I liked this book and I’m excited for the next one!

#booklr #books #book review

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gladexes · 2 years

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✨ last and wedding day!

Malam ini, acara yang ditunggu - tunggu pun tiba. Acara pernikahan Raina dan Erza. Erza berdiri dengan setelan jas hitam sambil menatap gadisnya yang berjalan menghampiri dirinya. Raina berjalan melewati berbagai dekoran yang menjadi pembatas antara tempat tamu dan tempat untuk dirinya lewat.

Raina terlihat sangat cantik dengan gaun putih itu. Erza maupun Raina sama sama saling menatap satu sama lain. Perasaan bahagia menemani mereka malam itu. Para tamu yang di undang pun turut berbahagia melihat kedua pengantin itu.

Sesampainya di hadapan Erza, Erza pun memberikan lengannya dan diraih oleh tangan kanan Raina. Mereka berdua pun berjalan menuju pelaminan.

Banyak para tamu yang memotret maupun mem-videokan keduanya. Termasuk teman - teman mereka yang terlihat heboh melihat Raina dan Erza.

"Woooooah! Best couple guys!" ujar Haidan dengan heboh.

"Raina cantik bangetttt!!!" puji Yemima sambil terus menatap sahabatnya itu.

"Gila gila cocok parah sih mereka!" ucap Reynand.

"Jadi pengen nikah gue." ujar Juna.

Sesampainya di pelaminan, para tamu turut memberikan tepuk tangan meriahnya kepada dua pasangan itu. Acara pun dimulai dengan berbagai pertunjukkan seperti pentas tari tradisional, para band yang mulai menyanyikan berbagai lagu, dan tentunya para tamu pun dapat menyumbang lagu.

Salah satunya, Haidan. Ia menyanyikan lagu cinta luar biasa. Suara merdu Haidan tentunya membuat para tamu pun terkagum melihat penampilannya.

"Baru tau gue Haidan suaranya bagus." ucap Nathan.

"Lah sama anjir!" balas Farel.

Yang ku punya..

Hanyalah hati yang setia..

Tulus padamu..

"Woooo!!!!!" sorakan para tamu setelah mendengar suara merdu Haidan.

Kini, saatnya sesi foto bersama. Dimulai dari keluarga pengantin. Jevian, Racella, Aleana dan Adrian pun naik ke pelaminan. Jevian dan Racella berada di sebelah kiri Raina. Sedangkan Aleana dan Adrian berada di sebelah kanan Erza.

"1..2..3.." suara sang photographer.

cekrek

"lagi, lagi, 1..2..3.."

cekrek

"Dah! Oke!" suara photographer itu.

Racella pun memeluk Raina dengan erat, "Sayang! Selamat ya cantik!" ucapnya. "Aaaa, terima kasih banyak Mama!" ujarnya.

"Raina, selamat ya! Semoga selalu harmonis rumah tangganya bersama Erza." ujar Jevian lalu memeluk gadis itu.

"Aamiin, Terima kasih pa!" -Raina.

Begitupun dengan Aleana yang seketika menetaskan air matanya dan memeluk Erza. "Erza sayang selamat ya! Mama doain yang terbaik untuk kalian berdua." ujarnya.

"Aamiin.. Terima kasih banyak mama!" balas Erza.

"Za, selamat ya! Om titip anak perempuan om satu satunya kepada kamu." ucap Adrian lalu memeluk Erza.

"Terima kasih banyak pa! Terima kasih udah percaya sama Erza." balas Erza lalu memeluk Adrian.

"Rai.. Mama turut senang di hari bahagia kamu. Selamat ya! Ingat pesan mama, mama selalu mendoakan dan mendukung yang terbaik untuk kamu maupun Erza." ujar Aleana kepada anak gadis satu satunya itu.

"Mama.. Terima kasih banyak!" balas Raina sambil menangis bahagia.

"Sayang nya papa udah nikah, selamat ya sayang!" ujar Adrian. "Terima kasih pah!" balas Raina.

"Erza, selamat ya nak! Selamat menempuh hidup yang baru bersama Raina. Mama akan selalu mendoakan yang terbaik untuk kamu dan Raina. Semoga cepet dapet dede ya!" ujar Racella lalu memeluk anak laki - laki nya itu.

"Aamiin, Terima kasih banyak ma untuk doanya," balas Erza.

"Kamu sekarang udah menjadi seorang suami. Jangan pernah lepas sama tanggung jawab kamu sebagai seorang suami ya Erza. Jaga Raina baik baik," pesan Jevian.

"Iya Pa, pasti!" balasnya.

Setelah pertemuan antara kedua orang tua dan kedua anak itu, kini para tamu bergantian satu persatu menaiki pelaminan untuk sesi foto bersama.

"Kak Raina! Kak Erza! Selamat!"

"Raina cantik banget sih!"

"Za, istri lo cantik parah anjir!"

"Selamat ya untuk kalian!"

"Semoga cepet dapet momongan!"

"Pasti bakal jadi keluarga harmonis ini!"

"Hai Erza, Hai Raina! Selamat untuk pernikahan kalian ya!"

Raina dan Erza menanggapi segala pujian, doa, dan ucapan selamat dari para tamu dengan senyum dan kalimat "Terima Kasih." Tidak hanya kerabat dekat, teman, dan keluarga besar yang datang. Tetapi beberapa CEO Perusahaan yang pernah bekerja sama dengan perusahaan Erza dan Raina pun turut menghadiri acara itu.

Kini, teman - teman Raina dan Erza mulai menaiki pelaminan. Yemima, Juna, Farel, Haidan, Nathan dan Reynand menjadi tamu paling heboh malam itu.

"Mas! Mas ayo fotoin mas!" ujar Nathan kepada sang photographer.

"Gue tengah dong! Gue cewe sendiri nih!" ujar Yemima.

"Siap? 1..2..3.."

cekrek

"Lagi, 1..2..3.."

cekrek

"Oke sudah!"

"Lagi mas lagi, mau bikin jedag jedug!" teriak Haidan membuat beberapa tamu yang memperhatikan mereka pun tertawa.

"Oke oke, 1..2..3.."

cekrek

"Sekali lagi mas!" ucap Yemima.

"1..2..3.."

cekrek

"Oke makasih mas!" ucap keenam temannya itu.

"Raina selamat ya sayang!" ucap Yemima dengan sedikit mengeluarkan air matanya.

Raina pun memeluk sahabatnya itu, "Uuuu, makasih sayang ku!" ujarnya.

"Rai, Za, selamat ya!" -Juna.

"Thanks Jun!" -Raina & Erza.

"Selamat gais, kalau anak lo lahir syukurannya mesen brownies di gue ya!" -Farel.

"Oke siap!" -Erza.

"Tetap promosi ya rel!" -Raina.

"Selamat bro! Sis!" -Haidan.

"Thanks dan!" -Raina & Erza.

"Selamat untuk kalian!" -Reynand.

"Makasih rey!" -Raina & Erza.

"Selamat ya Raina cantik, selamat za!" -Nathan.

"Eits, makasih bro!" -Erza.

"Terima kasih nathan!" -Raina.

Setelah teman temannya berfoto bersama, kini saatnya Bu Ila datang menaiki pelaminan. Raina dan Erza menatap Bu Ila dengan wajah yang begitu bahagia.

"Selamat ya nak.." ujar Bu Ila menahan air matanya.

"Bu Ila, Terima kasih ya bu." ucap Raina dan Erza.

"Bu, Ayo foto dulu." ujar Erza.

Bu Ila pun berfoto tepat ditengah - tengah antara Erza dan Raina.

"1..2..3.."

cekrek

"1..2..3.."

cekrek

Dua foto bersama Bu Ila pun berhasil diambil. Raina kembali memeluk Bu Ila dengan air matanya yang mulai mengalir turun. Raina tau, bahwa sehabis ini, Raina maupun Erza tidak akan bertemu dengan Bu Ila lagi untuk selamanya.

"Bu Ila.." ucapnya dengan tangis.

"Nak, jangan sedih.. di hari yang bahagia ini, kamu maupun Erza harus tetap tersenyum. Ibu tidak apa apa kok, memang sudah saatnya untuk pergi."

"Bu, ibu nggak langsung pergi kan?" tanya Erza dengan suara yang mulai gemetar.

"Tidak nak, ibu akan menunggu sampai acaranya selesai.." ujarnya.

"Baik Bu, kita akan menemui ibu nanti." ujar Raina dan diangguki oleh Bu Ila.

Selanjutnya, acara akan dimeriahkan oleh Raina dan Erza yang akan berdansa di tengah tengah para tamu. Sebelum itu, Erza menatap mata indah Raina, dan meraih kedua tangan gadis itu.

"Rai.. kita berhasil! Kita sudah berhasil mewujudkan keinginan dirimu yang terdahulu, keinginan Princess Rania." ucap Erza.

"Iya za. Akhirnya ya, kita bisa bersama untuk selamanya seperti keinginan Princess Rania ratusan tahun yang lalu." ujar Raina.

"Kita sama sama bangun keluarga kecil kita ya Rai. I Love you.." ucap Erza lalu mencium kening Raina dengan lembut.

"I Love You Too, Erza.." balas Raina.

Raina dan Erza pun berjalan menuruni pelaminan itu. Musik pengiring pun diputar, Erza dan Raina mulai berdansa dengan dimeriahkan oleh sorakan dan suara tepukan tangan dari para tamu.

Jevian, Adrian, Racella dan Aleana berkumpul dan melihat anak mereka yang sedang berdansa. Tangisan haru pun turun dari mata Aleana.

"Akhirnya, keinginan kita yang terdahulu terwujudkan.." ucap Aleana.

"Iya, akhirnya, kita dapat melihat mereka berdua menikah dengan aman tanpa ada yang mencoba merusak itu semua." ujar Jevian.

"Kita terlalu takut kutukan Olivia masih ada hingga saat ini. Tapi nyatanya, Raina dan Erza dapat membangun hubungan dengan aman." ujar Racella.

"Itu semua, juga berkat Ashzayla, atau yang kita kenal sekarang dengan sebutan Bu Ila. Terima kasih ya bu, Ibu sudah memberikan kesempatan untuk Raina dan Erza yang terdahulu untuk menyebutkan satu permintaan yang akan di kabulkan,"

"Kini, permintaan itu sudah dikabulkan. Dan kita berempat, dapat melihat dan mewujudkan keinginan kita yang terdahulu untuk menikahkan mereka berdua." ujar Adrian lalu menatap Bu Ila.

Mendengar pembicaraan mereka berempat, Bu Ila pun tersenyum, "sudah seharusnya aku memberikan kesempatan itu kepada mereka yang terdahulu." ucap Bu Ila.

Bu Ila pun mengingat kembali, kejadian beberapa tahun yang lalu, dimana Jevian, Racella, Aleana dan Adrian datang menemui dirinya dirumahnya.

Flashback on

"Eh by the way, Raina udah cerita tentang kejadian kemaren? Alasan kenapa mereka bisa ngilang gitu." tanya Jevian.

"Udah, katanya mereka reinkarnasi dari seseorang di masa lalu," -Adrian.

"Dan mereka tau itu semua dari Bu Ila. Kalian kenal Bu Ila siapa?" tanya Racella.

"Kata Raina, Bu Ila itu petugas kebersihan di sekolahnya." jawab Aleana.

"Gimana kalau kita samperin aja Bu Ila ini? Gue mau mastiin orang nya aja sih, dia beneran tau tentang itu semua atau cuman ngarang aja," ajak Jevian.

"Boleh tuh, ayo lah! kita samperin aja," Adrian menyetujui.

Racella dan Aleana pun hanya ngikut saja dengan keputusan Adrian dan Jevian yang ingin pergi menemui Bu Ila.

"Yaudah, kalau gitu gue minta alamat Bu Ila ke kepsek nya Raina dulu ya." ujar Aleana.

Aleana pun dengan sigap menghubungi kepala sekolah Raina dan meminta alamat Bu Ila dengan alasan ada keperluan mendesak yang mengharuskannya untuk bertemu dengan Bu Ila.

Tidak menunggu waktu lama, Aleana mendapat pesan dari kepala sekolah berisi alamat Bu Ila. "Nah ini dia alamatnya." ujarnya.

"Jl. Almahera 2, Blok G1 No. 27," Adrian membaca pesan itu.

"Oke, Ayo kesana!" ajak Jevian.

Mereka berempat pun pergi mendatangi rumah Bu Ila. Terlihat Bu Ila yang sedang menyapu jalan rumahnya itu. Jevian, Racella, Aleana dan Adrian pun turun dari mobil dan berjalan mendekati Bu Ila.

Bu Ila yang menyadari kehadiran mereka berempat nampak tidak terkejut. Begitupun dengan keempat orang itu yang tidak terkejut melihat sosok Bu Ila.

"Jadi benar, kamu masih ada di dunia ini bahkan setelah kerajaan kita hilang." ucap Jevian begitu sudah berada di ruang tamu rumah Bu Ila.

"Iya.. yang mulia.." ujar Bu Ila.

Racella tersenyum mendengar ucapan Bu Ila, "Kita sekarang hanya manusia biasa bu. Bukan lagi seorang raja dan ratu." ujar Racella.

"Iya bu, biasa saja. Kita yang sekarang dan kita yang terdahulu berbeda." tambah Aleana.

"Baiklah. Kalau begitu, apa yang membuat kedatangan kalian kesini?" tanya Bu Ila.

"Jadi, ibu sudah lebih dulu bertemu dengan Raina dan Erza rupanya ya bu." ujar Adrian.

"Ibu memang sudah lama bertemu dengan mereka. Namun, baru akhir akhir ini saja ibu berkomunikasi dengan mereka." ujarnya.

"Mengapa kalian tidak memberi tahu tentang semuanya? Tentang kutukan itu, mengapa kalian menyembunyikan itu dari anak kalian sendiri? Dan mengapa kalian tidak jujur kalau kalian sendiri adalah reinkarnasi dari Raja Ratu Algerian dan Alexander?" tanya Bu Ila.

"Kami memilih untuk menyembunyikan nya, agar mereka tidak penasaran antara satu sama lain ketika itu bu." ujar Aleana.

"Dan mengapa kita tidak jujur kalau kita sendiri juga reinkarnasi adalah, karena kita takut kutukan itu datang lagi." ujar Racella.

"Tapi ternyata, selama masa pendekatan antara Raina dan Erza, tidak ada masalah yang datang. Hubungan mereka ternyata aman aman saja." ujar Adrian.

Bu Ila pun tersenyum, "memang aman saja, dan akan tetap aman bahkan sampai mereka menikah nanti." ujarnya.

"Berarti, Raina dan Erza akan bersama sampai jenjang pernikahan nanti?" tanya Jevian.

"Iya, itu adalah permintaan diri mereka yang terdahulu. Lebih tepatnya keinginan Princess Rania Alexander. Dan bola kaca milik ku, tentu akan mengabulkan itu. Percayalah." ucap Bu Ila.

Flashback off.

Kini, acara pun selesai. Bu Ila berjalan keluar gedung dan melewati taman taman indah di sekitar gedung itu. Raina yang menyadari kepergian Bu Ila pun pergi mengejar wanita itu. Erza pun mengikuti arah Raina dari belakang begitu ia menyadari sang istri pergi mengejar Bu Ila.

"Bu Ila.." panggil Raina

Bu Ila menoleh, dan memberhentikan langkahnya. "Bu.." ujar Raina lalu memeluk Bu Ila dengan air matanya yang mengalir deras.

"Nak, ini sudah saatnya untuk ibu pergi.." ucap Bu Ila.

"Sayang, Bu Ila memang harus pergi, ini sudah saatnya untuk beliau pergi dari sini." Erza berusaha menenangkan Raina.

"Meski ibu tidak ada, ibu tetap akan selalu berada di dekat kalian. Selamat menjalani kehidupan yang baru bersama sama ya. Ibu harap, kalian bahagia selalu.." ujar Bu Ila.

"Aamiin, Terima kasih banyak ya bu." ucap Erza dan Raina berbarengan.

"Sama sama Nak.."

"Bu, ibu harus tetap pergi ya? Ibu tidak bisa untuk tetap tinggal?" tanya Raina.

"Tidak bisa Nak.."

"Bu, apa kita akan bertemu lagi nanti?" tanya Raina lagi.

"Semoga ya nak.." ujar Bu Ila lalu tersenyum

Raina pun menatap mata Erza sejenak setelah mendengar penuturan Bu Ila barusan. Namun, ketika Raina melihat ke depan, Bu Ila sudah benar benar hilang dari hadapannya.

"Bu? Bu Ila? Za, Bu Ila kemana?" tanya Raina dengan panik.

Erza pun meraih pipi gadisnya itu, "Sayang.. Ini sudah saatnya untuk Bu Ila pergi. Tugas Bu Ila sudah selesai, sudah saatnya untuk bu Ila pergi dan beristirahat.." ucapnya dengan lembut.

"Tapi.."

"Rai.. percaya, Bu Ila akan selalu ada di dekat kita. Dan jika memang tuhan mengizinkan kita untuk bertemu Bu Ila lagi, pasti akan dipertemukan kembali kok. Entah dalam raga dan jiwa yang sama atau tidak." ucap Erza.

Mendengar ucapan Erza, Raina pun akhirnya mengikhlaskan kepergian Bu Ila untuk selamanya. Melihat sang istri yang sudah berusaha mengikhlaskan kepergian Bu Ila, Erza pun tersenyum dan kembali mencium kening sang istri.

"Yaudah, kalau gitu kita masuk sekarang ya.." ajak Erza.

"Iyaa.." balas Raina.

Raina dan Erza pun kembali memasuki gedung itu. Mereka menghampiri kedua orang tua mereka yang dimana, kedua orang tua mereka saat ini adalah reinkarnasi dari Raja Ratu Algerian maupun Raja Ratu Alexander.

Yang dimana Jevian adalah reinkarnasi Raja Samuel Algerian, Racella adalah reinkarnasi Ratu Amarossa Algerian. Begitu pun dengan Adrian yang merupakan reinkarnasi Raja Anthonio Alexander dan Aleana adalah reinkarnasi Ratu Isabella Alexander.

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