Entry 195: Queen of the Tiles

Sweater and Raindrops

Author: Hanna Alkaf
Genre: Fiction; Young Adult; Mystery; Contemporary; Thriller; Mental Health
Publication: April 19, 2022 by Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Format Read In: Audiobook

Summary from Goodreads (GOODREADS LINK)

They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in the world of competitive Scrabble when a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

CATALYST
13 points
noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

Trigger warnings: Bullying, Panic attack, Colourism, Mental illness, Hint of domestic violence, Possessiveness, Misuse of medication, Mentions of past cheating

My Review [MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]:

Continue reading “Entry 195: Queen of the Tiles” →

[Story Origin] The Girl They Sold To The Moon by Chris Stevenson

Sweater and Raindrops

Eighteen-year-old Tilly Breedlove’s father has sold her into a form of modern day slavery on Luna—the Tranquility Harbor Mining Company, 240,000 miles from home. Family Trade and Loan, an unscrupulous company, is more than willing to take her on and exploit her talent. Forced to be an exotic dancer, she performs risqué shows for the filthy but filthy rich ore miners—a far cry from her classical and modern dance training. If she isn’t resisting obscene advances from bearded “Prairie Dogs,” she’s fending off jealous head-liner acts who view her as a threat to their status—and when those jealous showgirls say “break a leg,” they aim to cause it. The only reprieve she finds in this shop of horrors is a few close ward friends, a sympathetic dance coach, and Buddy Gunner Bell who just might become the love of her life. It’s just enough to stem her psychological meltdown.

Continue reading “[Story Origin] The Girl They Sold To The Moon by Chris Stevenson” →

[Book Bump] The Sylvan Horn by Robert Redinger

Sweater and Raindrops

Synposis

Before the days of men, there were elves. In a time they were great and powerful, the first dwellers, the brightest ray of dawn upon the earth. They brought light and music to the world and every breeze that stirs and wave that crashes still echoes with the wonder of the fair folk.
But a foulness is brewing in the east, where men deal in sorcery. They summon dire forces, unleashing a terrible power into the world. And the elves, once immortal, now fade from the earth. But knowing that all sorcery comes from Runes that were carved ages ago, Efkin, a young elf lord, races to find and destroy the hidden Runes before all is lost. He sets out to recover the horn of his ancestors that long ago summoned the forces that shaped the world Only the horn has the power to break the Runes. He journeys into the east, but comes too close to the heart of sorcery and does not dare blow the horn. If he is tainted by the poison of the Runes the horn will sound a ruinous note that could spell the end of the earth.

Continue reading “[Book Bump] The Sylvan Horn by Robert Redinger” →

Entry 194: High Times in the Low Parliament

Sweater and Raindrops

Author: Kelly Robson
Genre: Fiction; Adult; Novella; LGBTQA+ ; Fantasy; Romance
Publication: August 9, 2022 by Tor.com
Pages: 160
Format Read In: Audiobook

Summary from Goodreads (GOODREADS LINK)

Kelly Robson is back with fairies, scribes, and many many kisses in High Times in the Low Parliament.

Lana Baker is Aldgate’s finest scribe, with a sharp pen and an even sharper wit. Gregarious, charming, and ever so eager to please, she agrees to deliver a message for another lovely scribe in exchange for kisses and ends up getting sent to Low Parliament by a temperamental fairy as a result.

As Lana transcribes the endless circular arguments of Parliament, the debates grow tenser and more desperate. Due to long-standing tradition, a hung vote will cause Parliament to flood and a return to endless war. Lana must rely on an unlikely pair of comrades—Bugbite, the curmudgeonly fairy, and Eloquentia, the bewitching human deputy—to save humanity (and maybe even woo one or two lucky ladies), come hell or high water.

Trigger warnings: Threat of genocide; Drug use; Alcohol use; Violence (minimal)

My Review:

Continue reading “Entry 194: High Times in the Low Parliament” →