Hsinju’s Lit Log

ARCs, Book Reviews, Fiction

Sylver and Gold by Michelle Larkin | ARC Review

9th August 2020
Sylver and Gold by Michelle Larkin
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, August 11th 2020
- Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 242 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
CW: off-screen child abuse, sexual assault, and physical torture.

I finished this book in two sittings and would have in one if not for a scheduled dinner. Since I tend to get sucked into a book and forget about reality, I am happy to say that me being hyper-alert of my surroundings in-between sittings is an indication that the suspense had really got to me. Sylver and Gold is that enthralling.
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Bookish

Happy Father’s Day: Fathers in Books

8th August 2020

In Mandarin, we call fathers bàbà (爸爸). Since eight is bā (八) and August 8th bā-bā resembles bàbà in pronunciation, people in Taiwan celebrate today as Father’s Day instead of the third Sunday of June as observed in many countries, including the US and the UK.

Let’s celebrate Father’s Day by talking about five cool dads in great books! Somehow, I cannot find eight (bā) great dads, so it’s just five.

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ARCs, Book Reviews, Fiction

We Go Together by Abigail de Niverville | ARC Review

7th August 2020
We Go Together by Abigail de Niverville
- Publisher: NineStar Press, August 10th 2020
- Genre: Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 275 words
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
CW: off-page rape, abusive relationship, (possible) PTSD, off-page transphobia, off-page pregnancy, off-page incarceration

This was heavy. The narrative tone is somber and reminiscent. With its main theme being Kat dealing with an abusive past relationship, the story is less about what is happening in the physical world but more about what goes on in Kat’s mind. That being said, the many events during Kat’s time at Grand-Barachois are so sweet they made me slightly emotional again and again. In We Go Together, we follow her journey of healing as she begins to acknowledge what she has gone through, relearns to trust others, and finds her own voice again.
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ARCs, Book Reviews, Nonfiction

Stitching the Soul by Courtney Peppernell | ARC Review

5th August 2020
Stitching the Soul (Pillow Thoughts IV) by Courtney Peppernell
- Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, August 4th 2020
- Genre: Poetry
- Format: eARC
- Page Count: 288 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)
This is my first time trying Peppernell’s poems. I love her novel Keeping Long Island, which I am sure I talked too much about already. Unfortunately, I am unsure what I am feeling after finishing Stitching the Soul.
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Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colors In the Titles

4th August 2020

After seeing Emer’s wonderful post of Top Ten Tuesday (TTT), I decided to start participating, too. TTT is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and each Tuesday, we get a prompt to talk about 10 books.

This week’s topic: books with colors in the titles.

Instead of randomly choosing 10 books that fit the theme, I want to use this chance to bring light to lesser known books. So, I am doing my best to only include those published by indie publishers this week. And by indie, I really mean LGBTQ+ literature publishing houses and self-published works. All listed books are sapphic.

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