Tag Archives: Beth listens

Review: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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Sangu Mananna really knows how to write a cozy novel. Just like the last book I read, this one was comforting to read. Also, about witches who live in Britain, it is not a part of the same world. Mika has always been alone. She has been told it has been too dangerous for witches to hang out because it would cause too much magic, and that would alert witch hunters. So, it’s a surprise when Mika gets a job offer to teach three young witches how to control their magic. She agrees to move in with them and their adult caretakers and discovers that not only is it okay for witches to be together, but also that Mika herself is worthy of love. In this world, as soon as a new witch is born, their parents die, and they become orphans. Mika is taken in by Primrose, a powerful witch, but is raised alone with a rotating slate of nannies. As she grew up, she never stayed anywhere too long. Always moving so she cannot become attached to anyone. That is, until she meets the young witches of Nowhere House and Jamie, one of their caretakers. It’s a sweet book about found families and founding oneself. Mandanna’s writing style is just so crisp and accessible that you feel like you not only know these characters but are a part of their lives. I couldn’t help but feel comforted by the story and so happy that Mika had finally found the family she had always wanted. I hope that Mandanna writes more books like this because we all need a little comforting, cozy reads rightnow.

Review: Lights Out by Navessa Allen Narrated by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan

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This was a lot. I am still kind of processing it. It’s not that it was bad, but it’s a lot. By far the spiciest book I have ever read, and I have read all of Sarah J Maas’ books. If you know, you know. This is just um. I don’t know. Aly is an emergency room nurse who likes to wind down after a tough shift with a glass of wine and her favorite thirst trap, a man covered in blood in a mask. Josh is the said, masked man, with a sad past. One night, Aly gets a little tipsy, texts a past hook up her fantasy for him to wear a mask and chase her, and wouldn’t you know it, Josh is his roommate and sees it and is like, bet. Let’s see if this is what he is really like. Red flag number one. He has already started stalking her. He might have seen her once, during one of her hookups with his roommate, and from then on, he found out where she lives, works, and her work schedule. He is a skilled hacker, so it’s not hard for him to find her profile online and learn how to break into her house. He breaks into her house, tapes a thirst trap, and then leaves. Aly is understandably freaked out, but is also turned on. Hey, I am not kink-shaming here, but Josh didn’t just break into her house. He hacked into the hospital security cameras to watch her while she works. Breaks into her car to drive her home because it’s snowing. That’s the second red flag. He breaks all these boundaries and then love bombs her afterwards. Buying her food, shoveling her driveway, doing other little things to make her feel taken care of. I do think he does care for her and that nothing is malicious. Still, as someone who knows what emotional abuse feels like, this feels like it. It is explained that he is like this because of his childhood and the abuse his father inflicted on him and his mother; he has spent years scrubbing the internet of them to shield them. There are a few people in his life that he loves, and knowing what they do at all times is the only way to keep them safe. That being said, all the sexual activity is consensual, and Aly really responds to the first being scared to death and then taken care of afterwards, so again, who am I to judge? Things with their relationship kind of take a turn for me. Once they get together, they become so codependent on each other that I just find them annoying. The last third of the book was kind of a slog to get through. The spiciness kind of took a back seat, so that didn’t help. Two other books in the series follow a couple of the supporting characters. I am not sure if I even want to give them a chance. Who knows. I guess I’ll add them to the list.

What I am Listening to Now: Lights Out by Navessa Allen, Narrated by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan

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It never fails. You have a couple of books on hold for months at the library, and they become available at the same time. This was one of them. It’s been all over BookTok for a couple of years now. I finally thought it was time to read it, only be number 168 on the waitlist. Let’s see if it was worth the hate and the hype.

Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Read by Kate Kellgren

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This month’s Theme for our TBR Project book club was Cottagecore. Since it’s officially Spring, we wanted to read something sweet, simple, and a little rustic. I chose Pride and Prejudice because I have seen many versions of the story in movies and TV, but I have never actually read the book. I didn’t realize until after I started reading that it is the 20th Anniversary of the Kiera Knightley movie. For those interested, it’s being rereleased in theaters to celebrate. I digress. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are so many details left out of the many interpretations. The lives of Lizzie and her sister is much more lively than they came across to me in any movie or TV show ever gave me an impression. They are all involved in the running of the house and in the town. While the focus may be on marriage, they all had other interests. It was good to get to know Jane a bit more. She is always portrayed as stoic, which she is, but she is also a lot more observant than she is given credit for. Even Wickham became a more interesting character. Same with Darcy. We get a little bit more incite into his mind much earlier in the novel than I believe we do in most adaptations. He’s not just rude but socially awkward. Who can’t relate to that? Anyway, it was delightful. I am glad I have finally read it.

What I’m also listening to and still reading now: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated by Ken Liu and read by Luke Daniels) and Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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I also had The Three-Body Problem audiobook so when I saw that Kate was listening to it I thought I would too. I am also back to reading Assistant to the Villain on my commute to work.

Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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**Contains some minor spoilers**

The internet has been going crazy over the whole Man vs. Bear debate. However, there was another debate that came out of the other debate. A TikToker asked Black Women “who would you rather be left alone in a conference room? A white man or a white woman. ” I didn’t even have to read the comments to know what they answer would be. Let’s face it, white women have a history of not being very good allies to our sisters of color. Just look at the last two presidential elections. If you are still shocked by black women’s answer to above question then, read Yellowface because it is a description as to why. June went to Yale with Athena Liu. Athena comes from money and is beautiful and gets her first writing deal before they graduate. She is also Chinese American. June on the other hand struggles to find her voice and has to tutor privilege high schoolers to pay the bills. Meanwhile, Athena has had nothing but success since they graduated. She has released multiple best sellers and now a netflix deal. June’s one book barely sold and her editor and agent ignore her calls. Athena and June go out to celebrate Athena’s Netflix deal then end up going to Athena’s apartment. They get more drunk and make pancakes, which Athena chokes on and dies. Before she dies, Athena shows June her finished manuscript. No one else has seen it or even knows what it’s about. Athena was very secretive about her process or what she was writing about. June takes the manuscript and is instantly drawn to it. As good as it is, it is a first draft so June decides to make some changes to it and then sends it off to submission as her own work. She convinces herself that Athena wouldn’t want it published as it was and she did so much work on it that it’s her book too.

She publishes book under her a new name Juniper Song. Her first and real name. She is finally gets all the acclaim and fame that she always craved and felt she deserved. She is convinced that her lack of success wasn’t because she wasn’t talented but because she was a minority. These days, everyone is looking for diversity after all. She is one of those people that would say with a straight face that she can’t be racist because she had a black friend or in this case an Asian face. Since the story is told in the first person, we get her thoughts in their uncensored glory. How she dislikes Chinese food and afraid to go to Chinatown without her mace. How she was also jealous of Athena and never really liked her. Of course, she is found out but instead of coming clean she just digs in deeper. And for a while she gets away with it because people want to believe white women and since she was making a lot of people a lot of money they kept protecting her. That was until she uses a old prompt of Athena’s and scandal all over again. At this point she is much in her victim era that she has convinced herself that she has done nothing wrong and she’s being bullied. Very much like a certain Author of kids wizard’s and her transphobic comments but I digress.

I got to tell you, as a white woman myself, I had moments reading this where I thought “not all White woman are like this” or “I’m not like this” because I really don’t want think of myself like this but honestly that’s exactly what June would say about herself. She identified as liberal and a democrat. She liked to point out how she started a scholarship in Athena’s name in the same sentence as she denigrated the Black Lives Movement. Any criticism of her was nothing but jealous, SJW looking to score points on the internet despite that fact that they were right. She did steal Athena’s work and passed it off as her own, It really made me think more retrospectively about my own relationships and yeah it’s uncomfortable but need to be down. I don’t truly think I am anyway as bad as June but I do recognize I have my own work to do to be a better ally. I do hope that other white readers do the same too. I did enjoyed the ending because even though June got caught, it was left open to how she could and most likely make a comeback because who doesn’t love a redemption story. Especially for a young white woman.