Hello Fiction Dwellers!

Long time no post! Am I right? It’s been a while since I actively posted on my blog. Lately life has been busy for me as I am experiencing a huge change at work, juggling training the new person that will be replacing me and working from home it’s been tough. But your girl just got her first dose of the vaccine and thriving after her birthday I wanted to make a different post from the usual wrap ups and reviews. Since it is mid 2021 I thought why not jump on the bandwagon with a Midyear Check In post!

Before we jump in I would like to say that I’m not the most tedious person in tracking what I read. I use Goodreads that’s it. Maybe I should really consider in making a spreadsheet. If you have any recommendations please leave it in the comments! <3 For this post I will try my best to remember all the mangas I’ve read since I never track my mangas on Goodreads because I like keeping my account pure with books.

This post is inspired by Rain from Book Dragonism, check out her post here.

Reading Stats

From January-June I’ve read 44 books with a total page count of 16.687 pages. These statistics is way above my reading statistics from last year. In 2020 I’ve only started reading in April with a pace of one book a month that slowly increased to two then five and now I average around 6-8 books a month. But sometimes there are months such as February I’ve read 10 books that month. Audiobooks really helped me this year as I can read while I work. Most of the books I’ve read I’m pretty sure are audiobooks. I stopped reading physical books all together this year exchanging them for eBooks, the addition of Herb (my kindle) into my life also motivated me to read more.

When I checked out my Storygraph I like seeing this chart of my reading moods. Since I am a mood reader being able to track books I’m in the mood for is very interesting. The majority of books I pick up are adventurous books, second emotional, and third dark. From this chart you can know what kind of emotions I want to feel when I read.

Best Book You’ve Read so Far

There is only one contender for this title, it is the book that I keep bringing up on Twitter and on my blog. That book is She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan. Before I read the book I was convinced and believed that it will the book that I will love. It’s one of those times when you just know a book is gonna be good! Then my friends read the book before I did and they loved it. When I finally got my hands on an eARC around March I immediately read it.

What makes She Who Became the Sun my all time favorite read this month? The beautiful prose and writing, believable and well fleshed out characters, underlying themes about gender, it’s a story that took me on a bold, lyrical, and queer trip into the reimagining story of Zhu Yuanzhang. A story that defies gender roles, celebrate queer love, and a story with well fleshed out yearning gender queer characters. Read my review here for a deeper dive into the book.

Best Sequel You’ve Read so Far

For the best sequel I can’t pick just one so I picked three : Jade War by Fonda Lee, A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, and The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter. I know that this is a beat of cheat but who cares? They are all good books that deserve this title. I read so many good books this year but these three left a huge impression on me.

Jade War by Fonda Lee is a the sequel to Jade City and second book to the Greenbone Saga. The story takes place on the island of Kekon which expands to other parts of the world that Fonda Lee has created. With a new world also comes whole new set of characters that are introduced into the ever complicated and tangled relationships. The main focus in Jade War is the many facets of the war that is threatening the peace in Kekon and its people. From the war that is happening near the borders of Kekon between two countries resulting in the growing tension and pressure for the Kekonese government to maintain a neutral stance. To the violent clan war on the streets of Janloon between No Peak and the Mountain creating more opportunities for foreign or underground threats to establish illegal business’ under the noses of the two clans.

The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter is a sequel that destroyed the second book syndrome and exceeded my expectations marvelously. I loved the first book The Rage of Dragons for its originality, amazing characterization, and explosive action scenes. The grit and intensity is taken up a notch in this sequel all the while exploring other facets of the story by bringing in a lot more strong female characters. Compared to it’s predecessor that is full of raging moments, The Fires of Vengeance is much more emotional as Tau is finally coming to terms with all this trauma and feelings. BANGER!

A Master of Djinn is P. Djèlí Clark’s first full length from the same universe of Clark’s previous works A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. I’m going to count this as a sequel because it is the third book in the series. A Master of Djinn is a wondrous fantasy mystery adventure set in an alternate Cairo in the year of 1912, where humans and djinns coexist following special investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. Agent Fatma is tasked to investigate a case involving a cult that has been slaughtered and a mysterious figure claiming to be Egypt’s most well known icons in history that has long disappeared, Al-Jahiz. I said it in my review and I’ll say it again A Master of Djinn is a book filled with impactful and nuanced discussions about important themes such as race, gender, anti-colonialism, colorism, and so on weaving them in with charming and humorous writing. Full review here.

New Releases You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

There are so many good releases this year that I want to get my hands on but I seem to have not found the mood to read or don’t have the time. All the books in this list is a mixture of arcs that I haven’t got to, a sequel to a series that I have not started yet, and anticipated releases from the first half of 2021. Here they are~

Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of the Year

From July to December I have a few releases during those months that I’m keeping my eye on. Three on this list I have ARCs of that I will try to get to before their release. Currently I am reading The Hand of the Sun King by J. T. Greathouse. My number one anticipated release has got to be Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee the third book and conclusion to the Greenbone Saga. I already pre-ordered the book on my birthday and currently hoping to land an ARC of said book.

Biggest Disappointment

I’m sad to share that Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers and These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong are the two books that I had high expectations for but were let down by. For Honey Girl, I felt there was a disconnect between me and the book in the early chapters. Though I find the writing to be lyrical and poetic it didn’t make sense to me. I personally think this book isn’t for me, I listened to the audiobook up to 55% and I truly cannot find anything that made me want to finish it. Maybe other readers would appreciate Morgan Rogers’ book more than I do. For These Violent Delights, it didn’t have the best characterization as the characters felt one dimensional, though they have the attributes that make them unique the execution is monotone and lacked depth. The narrator of the audiobook also played a part in making me not enjoy the reading experience. I applause the decision to do different tones for different characters but the voices the narrator did for Roma and Juliette’s cousins is just *sigh*. The relationships between Roma and Juliette also lacked development for me to believe in them.

Biggest Surprise

For this prompt I had to think a bit because biggest surprise can be so many books. I’ll condense my choices to books that I had zero expectations for or doubted even that blew me away. I narrowed it down to these three books : The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He, Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, and A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson.

When I first got the ARC for The Ones We’re Meant to Find I positioned the book a bit low on my priority list this year. Because I joined two blog tours for the book I gave the book a chance and I wanted to break out of my comfort genre that is fantasy. I had my doubts not gonna lie mostly because it’s a dystopian. Yet when I read the book it truly blew me away! The way that Joan He wrote the story of Cee and Kacey is haunting, nuanced, and carries a lot of emotional depth. Read my full thoughts about the book here.

Radio Silence is a highly acclaimed YA contemporary novel by Alice Oseman. I never read a full length novel by Oseman, I’ve only picked up her novellas and her graphic novel series Heartstopper prior to reading Radio Silence. It is one of those books I picked up on a whim when I wanted a refresher during my hectic work week. I listened to the audiobook and immediately fell in love with the narration, the story, and the cast of characters. The story revolves around the friendship between Frances and Aled with engaging themes of identity, diversity, and the freedom to choose one’s future. I liked the that Oseman included a story within a story in a podcast format, the conversations of sexuality, abuse, and chosen family. Everything about the book I adored though some of their problems are quite hard to relate to (since I am an adult) I enjoyed every minute of the story.

A Dowry of Blood is a stand alone gothic fantasy horror novella reimagining of Dracula’s brides by S. T. Gibson. I would like to remind future readers of this book to read the trigger warnings before reading. A Dowry of Blood is a sensual dark story with important themes of relationship abuse, hope, queer love, and emancipation. Gibson’s lyrical writing that is embellished with flowery yet dark undertones takes you off on an European tour throughout the century as the world evolves but life stays stagnant in the eternal cage of “love”. The built up of frustration, anger, and disappointment felt by the the characters bleeds through the pages achieving an ending that was a feast for the imagination. Full review here.

Favorite New Author (Debut or New to you)

When picking a new favorite author I have a lot but I’ll condense my choices to four authors. Which consist of two debut authors and two authors that are new to me they are : Shelley Parker-Chan, Fonda Lee, Rebecca Roanhorse, and C. L. Clark. I love that all the writers I fell in love with this year are all authors of color. I made it my mission to read more diverse books this year and I am happy I discovered a lot of them. Honestly, before I read any of their books I had a very good gut feeling. I’m proud that I read all of their books and I hopefully I can read more next year.

Shelley Parker-Chan is the author of She Who Became the Sun, my favorite book of the year. I have not shut up about Shelley or her debut book since 2020. Shelley’s strength are in her beautiful prose and writing, impeccable characterization, and thoughtful underlying themes. I think I highlighted whole pages of She Who Became the Sun because of how amazing and consistent the writing is. Parker-Chan has clearly become my new favorite author and I’m excited to read more future books by them.

When I checked my Goodreads while writing this post apparently I read Jade City and Jade War this year so technically Fonda Lee is a new author to me. The Greenbone Saga is a series that has become a staple adult fantasy series that everyone must read. The impeccable and originality in the world building and magic system, the utmost highest quality prose, the addictively-gripping story and plot, and last but not least is the amazing impactful characters. I’m so ready to be wrecked by Jade Legacy this year!

Rebecca Roanhorse is the author of critically acclaimed book Black Sun. Only recently I read Black Sun, the audiobook is narrated very well with multiple voice narrators for each of the POVs. Roanhorse’s writing is immersive, eloquent, and well detailed. The story Roanhorse crafted left a huge impression on me with high quality prose and vivid world building. Like all of the authors on this list the characterization in Black Sun is well fleshed out and with believable character development. But! Rebecca Roanhorse! Ma’am! The ending of Black Sun killed me.

C. L. Clark the debut author of one of my best reads in 2021, The Unbroken, released earlier this year. The world building, magic system, and amazing characterization is intricate and detailed. To make things even better the plot is fast paced, the moment readers start reading they can easily slip into the story. Besides the two main characters, the side characters are so well fleshed out and distinct. If this is the first book from C. L. Clark, I can’t wait to read more from them. Full review here.

Newest Fictional Crush

Look it has been years since I have gotten obsessed over 2D men. Since 2021 is the year that I started getting back to anime and manga I basically developed a lot of crushes. The three characters that I have a crush on are Atsumu Miya from Haikyuu!!, Haiji Kiyose from Run with the Wind, and Nanami Kento from Jujutsu Kaisen. All characters have their own charms and qualities that I love. They are not the main characters but they stood out to me in the series. What I seek when I’m reading or watching something I look for character development. In all three characters you can find

I came to love Atsumu Miya after I watched a video essay of him on YouTube by Aleczandxr. In the video Alec analyzed his whole characterization really well and I found that Atsumu is so fascinating. You can check out the video essay here. Atsumu is one of the main players from Inarizaki Highschool positioning as setter his role is the most vital in the team. Not only that Atsumu is versatile, he is ambitious, power hungry, thoughtful, and relentless when it comes to volleyball. Combine Atsumu with his twin Osamu they are force that even Kageyama and Hinata had a hard time dealing with.

Haiji Kiyose from Run with the Wind is a recent crush. Haiji is a 4th year university student, captain, and mother hen of the Kansei University track and field team. In the years since Haiji enter Kansei University he has been assembling members for the track and field club. On the last year of his university life Haiji accidently meets Kakeru, a former promising highschool runner, being chased by a convenience store clerk. Haiji seeing Kakeru’s potential after finding out he goes to the same university asks him to join the club and compete for their university. Haiji is a very mysterious character though he is the leader of the club that offers wisdom and guidance he keeps parts of himself hidden for most of the time. His struggles are mostly off screen and as a character he is already whole in my eyes but Haiji still developed so beautifully in the anime. His confidence and bravery is infectious to a fault, I can’t say it enough that he is the glue of the whole show. Watch it ! It’s so good!

Nanami Kento from Jujutsu Kaisen is another interesting character that took the spotlight in a popular anime series that has a staggering amount of amazing characters. What made Nanami a great character is his relatability and how close he is with real life people. Nanami is an ex-salaryman that came back to become a jujutsu sorcerer. He is mature, calculated, calm, wise, straight forward and reliable. Watching him in the anime Nanami has a calmer less chaotic presence compared to the other characters. It makes it hard to believe that he is younger than Gojo Satoru seeing his calm old soul demeanor. Any woman or man or anyone will fall in love with Nanami because he is husband material that will put other people’s needs before himself. Many things about Nanami’s characterization is relatable to anyone working as a corporate slave. PLEASE WATCH JUJUTSU KAISEN!

Newest Favorite Character(s)

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng from Heaven’s Official Blessing (Tiān Guān Cì Fú 天官赐福) by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù 墨香铜臭, the definition of love and devotion. Xie Lian is a former crown prince and a god that has ascended to the heavens three times and banished twice for his deeds now known as the god of rubbish. A love story 800 years in the making, a story about devotion and faith at it’s truest form. Writing about how much I love them both is really hard because every time I think about them I would get tears in my eyes. Xie Lian is a young god that ascended to the heavens for his unrivaled martial abilities and cultivation. He is a complex character that has gone through so much suffering and despair. I will not go into detail because spoilers. Hua Cheng’s whole story … I can’t even describe the sacrifices he made, his faith and belief, and his pure love. Heaven’s Official Blessing is the kind of fantasy romance that has everything, from solving conspiracies, tricky situations in confined spaces, accidental kisses, drunk kisses, panic in gay moments, blind devotion, zombies, unlikely allies, weapons that are like pets, divine grandeur, ghosts, suggestive hand holding, and SO. MUCH. YEARNING. TENSION.

Book that Made You Cry

Now to the book that emotionally scarred me this year. There is only two books that ruined me really bad they are The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang and The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. For my full review of The Sword of Kaigen I’m still writing it. Many of my friends have read the book and loved it, I felt the pressure because sometimes there are books that work for your friends but don’t work for you. But all of that worry was for nothing The Sword of Kaigen has become one of my favorite books in 2021. The complex and explosive magic system, vivid and detailed world building, and, of course, amazing character development. I didn’t cry physically, I cried mentally the book contained so much pain and grief. Thankfully I didn’t have a really bad brain rot after.

I wanna keep it short for The Hero of Ages since it is the last book to a series. The Mistborn series is one of the most popular series in the genre. From the mind blowing magic system, in depth and detailed world building, and yes! CHARACTERS! The ending of The Hero of Ages wrecked me deeply because of the characters and all of their character arcs. I am not going to explain why, so just read the book and the whole series. Highly recommend!

Book that Made You Happy

When I first picked up Heaven’s Official Blessing (Tiān Guān Cì Fú 天官赐福) I was intimidated by the sheer page count and now after reading it I feel that I don’t want it to ever end. I have 30% left of this book and avoiding it as I am not ready yet. Many scenes in the book made me scream with pure joy, the first one is the scene happened in the Ghost City involving dices, two cups, and hand holding. The story is stacked with conspiracies, secrets, betrayals, despair, suffering, domestic fluff, ghost punching, shape shifting, and so many scenes involving mutual pining. There are twists and turns, shocking reveals, crazy cover ups, and most of the time it left me shook. This is my first ever danmei book if it’s this good I should read more danmei. The ending of this book will wreck me I feel it. Give me a month to rest and I’ll continue it soon.

Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought so far this Year (or Received)

I didn’t buy a lot of physical books this year but with I have two pretty books that I bought from the first half of this year. These two books are the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition of The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He and She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. I was so tempted by the naked cover of Joan He’s book, it looked so pretty and it was on discount I have to get it. The cover itself is already stunning the cover done by the talented Aykut Aydoğdu. The color scheme is also something that I’m obsessed with! It still hasn’t arrived yet because of shipping but I’m excited! For She Who Became the Sun the cover is illustrated done by Jung Shan Chang the same artist that also did the cover for The Poppy War trilogy by R. F. Kuang and The Rise of Kyoshi by F. C. Yee. Designed by Jamie Stafford-Hill. It is yellow, with an orange sun, and the people on horses. I AM IN LOVE. I pre-ordered it earlier this year so I hope I can get my hands on it soon!

What Books You Need to Read by the end of the Year?

There are so many books that I want to read by the end of 2021 but I’ll narrow it down to these. I’m taking my time, no pressure future me. I picked a couple of manga series as well that I really wanna get into, Blue Period and Bluelock. I’ve been hearing some good stuff about these two, with Blue Period is getting an anime adaptation set to release in 2021 or 2022 (I forgot) so I want jump into the manga before anime releases. I also picked The Husky and His White Cat Shizun or 2Ha a danmei series that my friend, Sasha and Michelle, are raving about. Also I picked a self-published book Paternus by Dyrk Ashton that I’ve keeping my eye out since 2020. Hopefully I can get to all of these books because there are so many on my TBR and as a mood reader it’s kind of hard. Everything depends on your mood whether you want to pick something up or not~

So that is it! These are all the books I picked for my 2021 Midyear Check In. A little update of my life, July has been pretty hard for me mentally. I’ve been struggling to write blog posts lately, it takes me twice as long to write this post. Besides the increased screen time with working from home and just the fatigue from training a newbie at work via the internet just gets to me. I am going to be gentle to myself this month and will tone down on the posting for a while until I can get back to my peak condition.

I want to thank everyone that has commented, liked, and given this smoll blog some love. I’m sorry in advance that I’ve been MIA in replying to comments and such, but know that I see them and will reply as soon as I can. Please do share the books that you’ve been loving in this first half of 2021 in the comments. I would love to know what everyone has been enjoying! And what are the book you’re looking forward to? Any books that surprised you? Disappointed you? Made you happy? Haven’t read She Who Became the Sun yet? Go read it! It’s releasing in a few days!

Thank you for reading!

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