Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2024!

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2024! And if you’re Canadian, Happy Asian Heritage Month! Come celebrate with all the books! (And get even more recs from past years’ posts!) (Note: not all of the Asian authors or characters in these titles are specifically American. I thought it was worth highlighting more books than that specific title allowed.) Picture Books I Am a Rainbow! by Mark…

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New sapphic book review: Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick, narrated by Natalie Naudus

I Kissed Shara Wheeler (audiobook)

Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler Written by: Casey McQuiston Narrated by: Natalie Naudus Publisher: Macmillan Audio Publication date: 05/03/2022 Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins Other formats available: ebook, paperback, hardcover Digital file size: 3665 KB Print length: 361 pages Genre: young adult LGBTQ+ fiction Themes: coming of age/coming to terms with oneself, homophobia, high school drama,…

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VOICE OVERS: THE ULTIMATE SIDE HUSTLE

VOICE OVERS: THE ULTIMATE SIDE HUSTLE

CNBC has an online magazine called “make it.” One of the things they write about, is all the amazing, lucrative jobs you can do on the side. You’ll see stories about a couple making $13.000 in passive income in five weeks: ‘We only work 1 hour per week.’ An RV repairman making $115.000 a year – ‘just by answering the internet’s questions.’ Or a 29-year-old making $55.000 a week selling…

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2023 reads // twitter thread    

The Art of Prophecy

Wuxia inspired epic fantasy

about a spoiled prophesied chosen one who’s never been in a real battle

the greatest war artist of her generation takes things into her own hands and decides to train him, but things go wrong and they both have to go on the run

martial arts, bounty hunters & assassins, some steampunk vibes, mentor relationships

no romance!

this is so fun and funny I loved it.  the MCs three awesome baddass women and one pathetic teen boy and i love them all

"Weird Tales Magazine No. 367: The Cosmic Horror Issue"

Authors: Jonathan Maberry, et al. Narrators: Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, Natalie Naudus Release Date: July 11, 2023 Length: 5 hours, 56 minutes

Overview:

The first issue in the second century of Weird Tales features a new HELLBOY story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Editor Jonathan Maberry has built a collection of cosmic horror that will destabilize your worldview.

Listen to a sample of Roger's contribution to this collection:

Weird Tales No. 367 includes a variety of stories by different authors and narrators.

If you are interested in the story narrated by Roger in this collection, the tale Night Fishing by Caitlín R. Kiernan is the one you're looking for. Or if you have an interest in another tale, author or narrator, check out the table below.

Weird Tales No. 367 is available from:

Apple Books ✰ Audible ✰ Audiobooks.com ✰ AudiobooksNow ✰ AudiobookStore.com ✰ Barnes & Noble ✰ Chirp Books ✰ Downpour ✰ Everand ✰ Google Play ✰ Hoopla ✰ Libro.fm ✰ Overdrive + Libby ✰ Rakuten Kobo ✰

"Weird Tales Magazine No. 367: The Cosmic Horror Issue"

Authors: Jonathan Maberry, et al. Narrators: Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, Natalie Naudus Release Date: July 11, 2023 Length: 5 hours, 56 minutes

Overview:

The first issue in the second century of Weird Tales features a new HELLBOY story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Editor Jonathan Maberry has built a collection of cosmic horror that will destabilize your worldview.

Listen to a sample of Roger's contribution to this collection:

Weird Tales No. 367 includes a variety of stories by different authors and narrators.

If you are interested in the story narrated by Roger in this collection, the tale Night Fishing by Caitlín R. Kiernan is the one you're looking for. Or if you have an interest in another tale, author or narrator, check out the table below.

Weird Tales No. 367 is available from:

Apple Books ✰ Audible ✰ Audiobooks.com ✰ AudiobooksNow ✰ AudiobookStore.com ✰ Barnes & Noble ✰ Binge Books ✰ Chirp Books ✰ Downpour ✰ Everand ✰ Google Play ✰ Hoopla ✰ Libro.fm ✰ Overdrive + Libby ✰ Rakuten Kobo ✰

TIP: If you want to find more audiobooks from Roger, you can click on the "Roger's Audiobooks" tag, or you can also check out my pinned post 😉 Happy Listening!

not so much an ask so much as it is a comment, but i started the audiobook for 'this gilded abyss' last night and whenever natalie naudus read any of kessandra's lines i'm like "teehee" and kicking my feet like a teenage girl writing about her crush in her diary. she was such a good choice for the audiobook, omg. (also, i'm really enjoying the book so far!!)

RIGHT?? I listened to her reading Kessandra and just... swooned. She nailed that character. O.O

SPLINTER CELL: DRAGONFIRE Out Now!

A new year means new thrillers – and coming in like a thunderbolt today is the second of my novels based on the action-packed Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell espionage adventure series! Following on from my previous entry in the series Firewall, (itself a follow-on from the Splinter Cell: Blacklist videogame), this new story sends veteran Fourth Echelon operative Sam Fisher into danger deep inside hostile territory when a mission goes wrong and he’s left for dead…  

A DANGEROUS OPERATION BEHIND ENEMY LINES.

A BETRAYAL FROM WITHIN THE DEEP STATE.

A CONSPIRACY THAT THREATENS OPEN WAR.

For veteran Splinter Cell operative Sam Fisher, what begins as a high-stakes stealth mission inside the borders of the hermit nation of North Korea unexpectedly spirals out of control.

Abandoned by his government, disavowed by the top-secret Fourth Echelon program, and hunted by remorseless enemies, Sam must adapt, improvise and call on all his skills to survive.

And a world away, inside the Splinter Cell team, lines of loyalty are tested to their limits as Sam’s estranged daughter Sarah races to track down her missing-in-action father before his luck runs out.

Together, they must expose the sinister scheme of the conspirators known as ‘The Dragons’ and stop a deadly chain of events exploding across the two Koreas – or millions will die…

As well as Dragonfire‘s new release today, my previous Splinter Cell novel Firewall is also currently available from publishers Aconyte – but you can also experience it in two different way on audio! The unabridged audiobook version read by Natalie Naudus is currently on sale for 50% off from Recorded Books until January 27th; or you can listen to all eight half-hour episodes of a full-cast dramatic adaptation of Firewall from BBC Radio 4 via BBC iPlayer.

Meanwhile, Splinter Cell: Dragonfire is available worldwide in eBook, audiobook and in paperback across the USA from today; the paperback version will be on sale in the UK on March 30th 2023, and a German translation will follow in August. Follow these links to order Splinter Cell: Dragonfire direct from Amazon or via the Aconyte website.

I’m so happy about BITTER MEDICINE. Often I can get very stressed out by stories where the two parties are lying or misrepresenting things, usually because the reasons don’t make any sense, except as transparent excuses to further the plot. When this happens I either become distressed by the lie(s) or I’ll lose the suspension of disbelief and can’t stay in the story. At all points in BITTER MEDICINE, Elle and Luc are being as honest as they possibly can be with each other (given the constraints on them). As they grow closer they work first individually, and then mutually, to get rid of the barriers between them. In each new stage of their relationship they work to accept whatever obstacles cannot yet be removed. The story is driven by their need to fix their individual problems, gradually turning into a realization that they can help each other accomplish more than either could without help.

Full Review at Link.

Fave Five: Queer YA Sports Fiction in Audio

Fave Five: Queer YA Sports Fiction in Audio

All links are Libro.fm affiliate. Using them to purchase the books earns a small percentage of income for the site. Man o’ War by Cory McCarthy, narrated by E.R. Fightmaster (Swimming) Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler, narrated by Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince (Football, Cheerleading) The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons, narrated by Jamie K. Brown (Soccer) She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly…

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New sapphic book review: Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun, narrated by Natalie Naudus & Jeremy Carlisle Parker

Girls Like Girls Review

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

CW: Loss of a Parent, Suicide, Suicidal Thoughts, Underage Drinking and Drug Use, Dangerous Driving, Near Death Experience, Breaking and Entering, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Controlling Parent, Domestic Abuse, Toxic Friendships, Fade-To-Black Sexual Activity, Vomit, Child Abandonment, Swearing, Grief, Violence, Injury, Bullying, Mentioned Abortion, Gaslighting, Classism, Sexism, Accidental Outing

3.5/5

I grew up watching Hayley Kiyoko on Disney Channel and have been following her music career for quite a while. When she announced that she was writing a book, I knew I had to read it, no matter what. For those who use YouTube more than me, you may have realized that this book is based on the music video for the song of the same name. I didn't realize this until listening to the acknowledgments at the end of the book. Based on my experience, I recommend reading the book before watching the music video, assuming you haven't seen it yet. The story ventured outside of my comfort zone, but kept reeling me back in. I honestly didn't know if I liked the book until the very end, but I had refused to DNF a Kiyoko book. 

After her mom dies by suicide, Coley moves to a small town in Oregon. It's the summer before her senior year of high school and she's now stuck living with the father that skipped out on raising her. He's a man she doesn't know or trust. While out biking to avoid being home, she nearly gets run over by a group of popular kids. They likely wouldn't have taken her under their wing if it weren't for their ring leader, Sonya, being intrigued by Coley. As the summer goes on, the two girls become inseparable. Will they unravel their feelings for each other or will their family lives and social circles drag them down?

It's important to note that Girls Like Girls is set in 2006. Kiyoko was 15 that year and therefore able to pull from her own memories of how teenagers lived in 2006. There's AIM, LiveJournal, tattoo chokers, no smartphones, and different slang. There are also a lot of references to the popular music of that time. I recommend looking up the songs you're unfamiliar with for the full experience. Of course, the mindset towards human rights was also of the time. Many characters, Coley and Sonya included, could have benefited from therapy, but that wasn't as openly talked about 17 years ago. Homophobia was also more publicly accepted at the time. These issues haven't gone away, but it's nice to see that things have improved. 

Speaking of queer content, Girls Like Girls is a story about two very different teen girls realizing they are attracted to their own gender. It becomes clearer throughout the story, that despite Sonya coming from a well-off family, Coley is in a much safer environment to come out as gay. Sonya has a controlling mother and a few openly homophobic friends. Coley finds several other queer people in her community and a number of allies. I am relieved that we got a little bit of Sonya's POV, because the relationship between Coley and her would read as irredeemably toxic otherwise. I am also relieved that the book takes the time to address the toxicity that's there. If you're patient, the book will address everything you're wondering about.

I experienced Girls Like Girls as an audiobook. It was mostly read by Kiyoko doing Coley's POV. I enjoy her voice and love when an author reads their own book. She was joined by one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Natalie Naudus, for Sonya's LiveJournal posts and emails. There are a few other voices throughout for small parts. While I enjoyed the ensemble cast of voices, I disliked the music and ambient sounds that were mixed in. If it had been consistent throughout the whole book, I would have liked it. Instead, the additional sounds would appear out of nowhere and temporarily take me out of the story. Please keep that in mind if you're trying to decide between print and audio. 

Kiyoko's writing style will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, especially those looking for queer content. It's a summer romance, for one. It handles dark topics well without being the kind of book to make the audience cry. It's a small town setting with a new girl trying to become a part of a group of friends who have known each other for years. It's not usually my type of genre, which is why I potentially would've DNF'd it had a different author written it. There were scenes that made me uncomfortable, but I was often reeled back in by the action. I don't regret sticking it out to the end. I enjoy the way the story resolves. Of course, you'll have to read it yourself if you want to know the ending. 

If you're interested in a small-town YA romance with queer content and dark topics, Hayley Kiyoko's Girls Like Girls is the book for you. Should you pick it up and stick it out, you'll be rewarded with a music video summary of the book. Give it a chance, it's the kind of book you'll remember!

2023 reads // twitter thread

Stars, Hide Your Fires

fun sapphic YA space opera mystery

a girl from a small planet steals from tourists to survive, but still can’t make enough to save her ailing father, learns about a ball for the galaxy’s richest, and sneaks in disguised

but when the emperor is murdered, the station’s locked down she has to find out who the real killer was so she’s not blamed, and ends up working with another imposter - a mysterious rebel - and in their investigations they uncover secrets that could change the fate of the empire

WWW Wednesday | 6 September

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam of Taking on a World of Words. To take part you answer three questions, which are: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next? 📖 What did you recently finish reading? What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo, narr. Natalie Naudus The Fogg River Seminary, a girls’ school in a small Illinois town, is supposed to be…

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Surprise, I'm starting another book! (because Overdrive wasn't working so I went to the site on my computer, and it took me to the Online Media of Northern Illinois Libraries where I was able to sign in and get Siren Queen directly. 🤷)

The narrator, Natalie Naudus, pronounced the author's name as Nee Voh, which is good to know.