April Wrap-Up (2018)

April is OVER and this is worthy of celebration because it means no more class, no more exams, no more stress and no more guilt about reading so much for pleasure instead of re-reading for the x time a school book.

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1) Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2), by Martha Wells
eARC from the publisher
This was even BETTER than All Systems Red that I loved deeply last year. Here is my review.

2) The Tea Master and the Detective (The Universe of Xuya), by Aliette de Bodard 
Here is my review! Amazing novella retelling of Sherlock Holmes in space!

3) Not So Stories, edited by David Thomas Moore
eARC from netgalley
Here is my review of this great anthology.

4) The Descent of Monsters (Tensorate #3), by J.Y. Yang
eARC from the publisher
My goodread’s review is here! Amazing third instalment that switched to letters, reports and journal entries, staring an investigator in the face of horrific events she’s being prevented from investigating.

5) La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1), by Philip Pullman
That was an amazing book! Malcolm is such a pure boy, I love him and how brave, loving and curious he is. I loved how this new book in the world of His Dark Materials seemed to take a closer look at daemons as well as dust.

6) The Girl and the Grove, by Eric Smith
eARC from netgalley
I wanted to love this but I just liked it, the adoptee representation moved me a lot and just for that I feel super bad not loving the book, especially how it uses magic and ecology, but some stuff were not great.

7) Revenant Gun (The Machineries of Empire #3), by Yoon Ha Lee
ARC from the publisher
Third books in a trilogy are always a hit or miss and this is a HIT! Still working on my review, there’s so much to say.

8) The Million, by Karl Schroeder
eARC from the publisher
Good ideas but didn’t manage to convince me really. My review is up on goodreads.

9) An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon
Wow this was a punch to the face. I wasn’t ready for the level of violence but it wasn’t gratuitous violence either, it’s explored and I see why it is important to not be glossed over. I will try to write a review because there is so much to talk about! But there are already great one online, do look for them if you’re intrigued.
content warning: rape, torture, violence, deaths, self-harm, 

10) Radiant Tome 1, de Tony Valente
Très sympathique! Petite chronique plus longue dispo sur goodreads!

11) L’Eveil (Monstress #1), by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda
DAMN that art is gorgeous. Complex worldbuilding, very dark themes and even gory, I still couldn’t get my eyes off the pages because everything was so shiny and full of details and just full on beautifully drawn.
Am a little disappointed by the fatphobia, one character on the beginning is drawn as a fat woman and is basically the only fat character, also a cruel horrible person with a face that doesn’t even look human. That’s meh.

12) Deep Roots (The Innsmouth Legacy #2), by Ruthanna Emrys
eARC from the publisher
The found family theme, the queer characters, the non-human creatures and lovecraftian mythos are all perfect and I’m really loving what Ruthanna Emrys created here!

13) Artemisia, de Nathalie Ferlut et Tamia Baudoin (illustrateur et coloriste) 
J’ai été surprise de la façon dont cette histoire est raconté, à travers les interrogations de la fille de Artemisia, sur leur mode de vie inhabituel et le départ de sa mère de sa ville d’enfance. Toutefois c’était un regard nouveau sur la vie de l’artiste et j’ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture malgré un style de dessin pour lequel j’ai mis un peu de temps à m’habituer.
avertissement de contenu: viol, torture

14) Seconds, by Bryan Lee O’Malley
This was a big surprise because I hadn’t any idea what this was going to be about! I loved the themes of mistakes, friendship, house spirit and Katie’s reluctance to let go. She’s a really great character, struggling but always trying her best despite her many mistakes and choices.

15) A Dead Djinn in Cairo, by P. Djèlí Clark
Fadma is from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities and investigates a djinn’s death in a steampunk Cairo. Some running around, questioning, fights in dark alleys, big secrets, this was great!
(Read it here)

16) Red as Blood and White as Bone, by Theodora Goss
I loved that this was from the point of view of a kitchen girl obsessed with fairy tales, outsider on the main story. It also is set in some kind of between times era, with castle and princes, cigarettes and WWII.
The way this story was unfolding was easy to predict until a certain point, but still a very good read.
content warning: hanging, suicide, use of slur “gypsy”
(Read it here)

17) Leah on the Offbeat (Creekwood #2), by Becky Albertalli
I was really looking forward to this book but unfortunately I had a lot of issues with it. I still understand why many people are happy with it because Leah is really an interesting character, and the fat, bisexual and anxiety representation in this book are a good addition to the contemporary YA novels.

18) Into the Gray, by Margaret Killjoy
Between The Shape of Water and Into Drowning Deep, this was a tale of love magic and blood, with a trans woman as main character. I really loved this!
(Read it here)

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What I posted this month: 

Book review: The Tea Master and the Detective
Book review: Not So Stories
Book review: The Barrow Will Send What it May
Book review: Artificial Condition

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Currently reading:

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May is going to be a big month because I’m going to London for a few days for the first time ever, I’m also starting to work a little bit like each summers, but most of all I’m going to read read read even more! Oh and also May’s my birthday month!