‘Tink and Wendy’ by Kelly Ann Jacobson

5 stars

 Book Blurb:

“What happens when Tinker Bell is in love with both Peter Pan and Wendy? In this sparkling re-imagining of Peter Pan, Peter and Wendy’s granddaughter Hope Darling finds the reclusive Tinker Bell squatting at the Darling mansion in order to care for the graves of her two lost friends after a love triangle gone awry. As Hope wins the fairy’s trust, Tink tells her the truth about Wendy and Peter—and her own role in their ultimate fate. Told in three alternating perspectives—past, present, and excerpts from a book called Neverland: A History written by Tink’s own fairy godmother—this queer adaptation is for anyone who has ever wondered if there might have been more to the story of Tinker Bell and the rest of the Peter Pan legend.”

Review:

I spent most of a Saturday devouring the entirety of 'Tink and Wendy' and really enjoyed this re-telling of 'Peter Pan'.  Readers get to follow Tink’s actions and thoughts in the modern day real world, as well as memories in both the real world and Neverland.

This is a deeply emotional re-telling; there are fun adventures in Neverland, flirting and young love, but this tale also has some somber aspects, including grief and mourning of loved ones.  Though there’s a happy ending, it takes most of the book to get there.  It takes a swift kick in the butt from Hope Darling, for a moody and depressed Tink to get there.

The story is told through three alternating perspectives, including both past and present narrated by Tink in third person subjective.  The third perspective, “excerpts from a book called Neverland: A History written by Tink’s own fairy godmother” provides light-hearted and sometimes humorous world-building, and explains how Neverland, with its magic and traditions, came into existence. 

 Trigger warning for grief and mourning of loved ones.

‘Tink and Wendy’ will be available on October 26, 2021.  Highly recommended LGBTQIA YA Contemporary re-telling of ‘Peter Pan.’   

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

‘One Last Stop’ by Casey McQuiston

 

5 stars
 
Book Blurb:
 
“For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don't exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can't imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there's certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.
 
But then, there's this gorgeous girl on the train.
 
Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August's day when she needed it most. August's subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there's one big problem: Jane doesn't just look like an old school punk rocker. She's literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it's time to start believing in some things, after all.”
 
 
 
Review:
 
Casey McQuiston has delivered yet another brilliant, 5-star book with a fun and relatable LGBTQIA+ cast.
 
I love that most characters, if not all, are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and that differences are celebrated.  August discovers a truly amazing “found family” in her 3 roommates.
 
Though there was no time travel involved, August’s love interest, Jane, is displaced from the 1970’s and has been riding the subway every day since that displacement.  Jane’s collection of ‘stuff’ stored in her backpack brings a touch of history to this book.  Also, Jane is absolutely adorable when trying to figure out how to use a cell phone.
 
There’s a lot to love here; the found family, the mystery of who Jane is, everyone pitching in to save a beloved neighborhood diner.  I can feel the sense of community and belonging just jumping off the pages, it’s quite comforting.
 
Highly recommended LGBTQIA New Adult Contemporary read.
 
‘One Last Stop’ will be available on June 1, 2021 – run, don’t walk!
 
#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'That Way Madness Lies' by Dahlia Adler

5 stars!

Blurb:

"Fifteen acclaimed YA writers put their modern spin on William Shakespeare’s celebrated classics!  

West Side Story. 10 Things I Hate About You. Kiss Me, Kate. Contemporary audiences have always craved reimaginings of Shakespeare’s most beloved works. Now, some of today’s best writers for teens take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings!

Contributors include Dahlia Adler (reimagining The Merchant of Venice), Kayla Ancrum (The Taming of the Shrew), Lily Anderson (As You Like It), Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet), Melissa Bashardoust (A Winter’s Tale), Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing), Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147), Joy McCullough (King Lear), Anna-Marie McLemore (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Samantha Mabry (Macbeth), Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus), Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night), Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar), Kiersten White (Romeo and Juliet), and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (The Tempest)"

Review:

All of the Shakespeare re-imaginings were quite good. My favorites:  

The Tempest - "Severe Weather Warning" by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka 

Taming of the Shrew - "Taming of the Soul Mate" by K. Ancrum 

Merchant of Venice - "I Bleed" by Dahlia Adler 

Romeo and Juliet - "Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow" by Kiersten White - this entry had me laughing so hard!

'That Way Madness Lies'

Cover Reveal: 'A Bargain of Blood & Gold' by Kristin Jacques

A Bargain of Blood & Gold by Kristin Jacques
Published by: City Owl Press
Publication date: June 15, 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance 

Synopsis:

A novice vampire hunter with a mission. A three-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by otherworldly creatures they must save.

When Johnathan Newman arrives alone in the isolated lumber town of Cress Haven, Maine, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by the Society, a clandestine league of vampire hunters, to investigate a string of murders and disappearances among the town’s young women, the grisly state of the recovered bodies most certainly points to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathan’s attempts to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with the alluring Vic, the town’s most eligible, if enigmatic, bachelor.

As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vic’s own secrets come back to bite him. Revealed, the vampire fights his growing attraction to a man trained to destroy him at whatever cost. But he is not alone. Johnathan’s confusing emotions land him in the middle of forbidden desires. Forbidden not only by those who created him, but by his heart itself. Even if Vic isn’t the murderer Johnathan seeks, how can he yearn for a creature who should be his natural enemy?

With an evil presence creeping through Cress Haven and inhabiting its citizens, the two men must suffer their feelings and walk together into the unknown. As Vic leads Johnathan into encounters with terrifying beings straight from children’s stories, Johnathan learns that not only is the world far stranger than he knew, but that the Society he has trusted has far more disturbing intentions for the invading creatures than he imagined. Intentions that will place hunter and vampire at the center of a conflict between realms.

Unfortunately, Cress Haven holds far more sinister secrets than its resident vampire, a secret so great, it could unleash Hell itself. 

For fans of Gail Carriger’s Supernatural Society, The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee.

Add to Goodreads


Author Bio: 

Kristin Jacques is an author from small town New England. She grew up in the sticks, surrounded by river wildlife and various swamp inhabitants. Somehow she managed to keep all her toes, despite a run in with a snapper or two. 

She lives with her husband and sons in another small New England town. She is mighty attached to them. When not writing, she is likely reading, watching a terrific B-Horror flick, or further spoiling the family cats. Sometimes she has blue hair.


Author Links:
Kristin Jacques website
Facebook
Goodreads
Instagram
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'Where It All Lands' by Jennie Wexler

5 stars

Book Blurb:

"Stevie Rosenstein has never made a true friend. Never fallen in love. Moved from city to city by her father’s unrelenting job, it’s too hard to care for someone. Trust in anything. The pain of leaving always hurts too much. But she’ll soon learn to trust, to love.

Twice.

Drew and Shane have been best friends through everything. The painful death of Shane's dad. The bitter separation of Drew's parents. Through sleepaway camps and family heartache, basketball games and immeasurable loss, they've always been there for each other.

When Stevie meets Drew and Shane, life should go on as normal. 

But a simple coin toss alters the course of their year in profound and unexpected ways.

Told in dual timelines, debut author Jennie Wexler delivers a heartbreaking and hopeful novel about missed opportunities, second chances, and all the paths that lead us to where we are."


Review:

Heart-wrenching in a good way, 'Where It All Lands' follows Drew, Shane, and Stevie through both potential results of the coin toss used to determine who would get to ask out the new girl. Thankfully, the majority of this book follows one of the boys' coin toss win, and then the other boy's coin toss win; it is only in the ending chapters where the 2 alternative time lines are spliced together, revealing a little at a time and switching back and forth quite often. Recommended to anyone who enjoys exploring what-if's and alternative time lines.  

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Where It All Lands' will be available on July 6, 2021