FRIDAY FINDS | 27.08.2021

Happy Friday!!

Hey guys, like every Friday, I’m excited for the weekend and to finish the last two books on my August TBR.

I’ll be changing a lot of things starting next month and I have a small project that I want to share with y’all soon. There will be a lot of changes in the graphics and probably the content too. I’ve been postponing it for months and I might let y’all know what it is soon.

Starting with today’s post, I’ll be adding a new book blog meme for Fridays. I have been searching for a new meme for a long time and found it after months.

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

from Should be Reading blog

I found this meme from an exhaustive list of book blog memes in Readerbuzz blog. I keep going back to this directory and it’s helped me lot. I linked it above so tyou can check it out as well.

• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

I found many readers speaking about this book on Bookstagram. The synopsis sounded intriguing and I didn’t want to miss out reading a secret society book, so definitely had to have it on my TBR.

Synopsis:

The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.

Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.

• Daughter of Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Ta

I kept seeing this book on my Twitter timeline. After reading all of Elizabeth Lim’s novels, I was searching for more Fantasy books by Asian authors (I have a few on my shelf collecting dust but I couldn’t help searching for more), and this fell right into my (virtual) hands.

The cover is also so gorgeous, so I couldn’t resist the temptation to add this book on my TBR.

Synopsis

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

• As if on Cue by Marisa Kanter

I’m a reader who likes to read books that are similar to those that I enjoyed reading ( as in Not Here To Be Liked). I never get bored even if they turn out the same, which never happens though.

Rivals-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes in Romance, so you can see why I added this book on my TBR.

Synopsis

A pair of fierce foes are forced to work together to save the arts at their school in this swoony YA enemies-to-lovers romance that fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson are sure to adore.

Lifelong rivals Natalie and Reid have never been on the same team. So when their school’s art budget faces cutbacks, of course Natalie finds herself up against her nemesis once more. She’s fighting to direct the school’s first ever student-written play, but for her small production to get funding, the school’s award-winning band will have to lose it. Reid’s band. And he’s got no intention of letting the show go on.

But when their rivalry turns into an all-out prank war that goes too far, Natalie and Reid have to face the music, resulting in the worst compromise: writing and directing a musical. Together. At least if they deliver a sold-out show, the school board will reconsider next year’s band and theater budget. Everyone could win.

Except Natalie and Reid.

Because after spending their entire lives in competition, they have absolutely no idea how to be co-anything. And they certainly don’t know how to deal with the feelings that are inexplicably, weirdly, definitely developing between them…

• Spark to Shadow by Atima Kim

I read about this book on Ahaana’s blog. I loved her review. The main reason why I want to read this book is because she mentioned that this is a “diverse version of selection… set in an east-asian inspired world.” I immediately went and added it to my TBR and looking forward to reading it.

Synopsis

Witch. Warrior. Dragon Rider.

Long ago, the covens of the east made a pact to bring peace to the continent. To unite the clans and create a new era of witches, starting with the next generation of matrons. Fang is the first witch of her generation to reach her debut, as the next matron of her coven she has the unique honor of being the first one to fulfill the pact. For the first time in centuries, a Miangese witch will take a foreign consort. Luckily, Fang already has someone in mind. Taken in by the Sun coven in the mountain kingdom of Anda, Fang is more than happy to entertain the alluring young lords of the ruby clan as they compete to win her affections, not knowing her choice has already been made. Or so she thought. Until a chance encounter brings to light the existence of something Fang previously thought to be quite rare, a male witch. The meeting of this young shadow witch— a boy who Fang now owes a debt— starts a chain of events that will make Fang question everything she thought she knew about her Andan allies. In an effort to help him escape his oppressors, Fang and the shadow witch discover a dark presence that is slowly poisoning the innocent citizens of mortal Anda, and a dangerous weapon that could threaten the very peace of the pact that Fang is bound to uphold. As she, her friends, and her new shadow witch companion work to fight against these looming forces, Fang’s feelings towards her own choices slowly start to shift. She must decide what is more important to her, who she wants by her side, and most of all- what she’s willing to give up in order to be the leader her people need.

I have been staring at my screen for a lot for the past two days, creating new graphics and customizing stuffs. So I wasn’t able to write this post properly. However, I got most of my work done, so I’m not complaining.

But feel free to tell me what new books you found in the past week in the comments.

Hope you have great weekend and happy reading!