trace all my books [2019]

Here's my 2019 round-up. I said there weren't that many books but there were more than last year.

Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
The main appeal of this one is the format -- a novel comprised solely of texts between two people's phones. I loved that she was able to tell the entire story that way, without having to hop out to a narrative. The plot is a girl gets a text from a boy, who has a cousin with the same name. She thinks she knows which cousin is texting her...but does she really?
(no picture of this one, I remembered about it from a tweet)

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

Obviously I'm here for Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty adaptations and reimaginings all the time. But I love that Mulan's getting a bit of a spotlight too (with this book and that new movie). (Sure, Mulan might be a real person, but it's probably safe to say it's folklore.) Plot: Mulan has been training her whole life to duel a boy from a rival family to see who gets these cool swords. Most people think of her as her twin brother (who I think is dead*). So it's not that much of a step for her to join the army and save China. I said in the video I liked every part of this book and I'll stand by that.

*in Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim that I did not talk about in the video but was also good, a girl dresses as her brother (who is alive but disabled in the war) to compete to become the Imperial Tailor. And my mind confuses the two stories a little.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Took me a hot minute to get into this book but I spent some uninterrupted hours on New Year's Day reading this until I finished. I liked it a lot. (I also like An Enchantment of Ravens, and it was in searching that out to see if there was a sequel that I found this one. Which is not a sequel.) This girl grew up in a Library and has always had a suspicion toward sorcerers. But when tragedy strikes her home she must team up with one of them. Who happens to be pretty handsome. And who has a demon bound to his will.

There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

The sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi, focusing on Rishi's younger brother Ashish. See, his girlfriend broke up with him and he's lost his mojo. So his parents decide it's time for him to date a nice Indian girl. And they think Sweetie's pretty great. Thing is...Sweetie's mom doesn't have the confidence that Sweetie is great (it's a weight thing; Sweetie is great by any metric). But Ashish and Sweetie decide there's no harm in making his parents happy so they decide to fake a relationship for a while (as long as her mom doesn't find out).

Circe by Madeline Miller

It's about Circe.

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Already vlogged this one.

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

No picture of the cover, but as I was reading this note fell out. It's extremely apt because this adaptation is a tale of Marian, learning of her Robin's death and becoming Robin Hood to honor his memory. And Guy of Gisborne will catch her, one way or another.


So there we have it! That's the video, basically. I teased that I'm looking forward to Return of the Thief this year (scheduled to come out last year). The sequel to A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer came out last week, and I'm excited for that hold to come in. (It's a Beauty and the Beast adaptation...loosely.) Sharon Shinn had some books come out last year that I've been reading this month. 2020 will be a good year for books.

AND as far as making a Best of the Decade vlog/post, I find that just really daunting. I'll keep thinking about it but no promises.