A (Very Late) Birthday Book Haul | I Got 6 New Books!

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. I was planning to do this post earlier, closer to my actual birthday, but I was still on break then, so I thought I’d do it now. Also, kind of off topic, but this is the 100th post! It’s crazy to think that I’ve written so many posts. Anyways, back to the post. . .

I turned fifteen, which is kind of hard to believe. Only one more year until I can drive 😧 I am very much not ready for that. I got quite a few new books and I’m so grateful that I got all of them. I talked about a lot of these in my last post, but some of them were left out and I thought I could go more in depth. I’ve actually most of these in the time from my birthday until now, so there are going to be some mini reviews in here.

Book 1: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Ace of Spades was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021. I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. It focused on a lot of heavy topics, mainly racism and homophobia. I felt like they were displayed well and showed some of the struggles that African-American people have to face, just based on the color of their skin. I was kept constantly on my toes and the plot twists were definitely twists indeed. I feel like the story ended a bit suddenly, a little rushed, and the epilogue was slightly confusing to me, but I still highly recommend it. (I do suggest reading the content warnings first, as there are quite a few. Here’s a list of them from the author’s website.)

Synopsis

“An incendiary and utterly compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism, from an exceptional new YA voice.

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light.

Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game…”

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Book 2: The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris

This is another book I was looking forward to and it was excellent. The concept of being able to see the future of everything you touch is what initially drew me in and that aspect was done really well. Alex was a great protagonist and he struggled with controlling his power, being a good role model for his brother, and also living as a Black man in America. His and Isaiah’s relationship was slowly pieced back together, over the course of the few days they had left. The book is said to be a love letter to all the Black boys who have had to grow up too early. It recognizes all the things that Black people, men especially, have to be aware of, just by the color of their skin. Brittney Morris did a great job displaying that.

Synopsis

“Dear Martin meets They Both Die at the End in this gripping, evocative novel about a Black teen who has the power to see into the future, whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death, from the acclaimed author of SLAY.

Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.

It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.

And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.

With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.”

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Book 3: Up All Night: 13 Stories Between Sunset and Sunrise by Laura Silverman (Editor)

I just finished this recently and I enjoyed it a lot. This was my first time reading an anthology (unless you count the anthology project I had in elementary school) and while it was definitely a different format than a regular novel, I still enjoyed it. There were some stories that I liked better than others, but all in all, all the stories were well written and interesting. I’m always fascinated at how authors are able to pack so much into such a short story and have so much meaning in so few words. It’s something I’m still figuring out how to do. I can’t pick a favorite, but I enjoyed the ones about friendship a lot, mending lost relationships or finding out that you’re drifting apart from the people you’ve known all your life.

Synopsis

“When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love––for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep in to these rarely seen, magical hours.”

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Book 4: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Please ignore the sticker I tried to take off and completely failed at. Who else hates these stickers?

Thank you to my older sibling for getting me this book! I’m always on the lookout for historical fiction novels and this one seems really interesting! It’s set during World War II and follows two young women, who are sisters, on their journey to live through it. I feel like I’m going to learn a lot from this book; I’m slightly intimidated by it’s huge size but I think it be worth it.

Synopsis

“In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.”

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Book 5: The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning

I’m currently reading this and I’m enjoying it so far! When I heard this was a Princess Bride retelling, I knew I had to read it. I love The Princess Bride (as I’m sure most of you know), and I couldn’t pass up the chance.

Synopsis

“The Princess Will Save You is a YA fantasy adventure, an homage to The Princess Bride in which a princess must rescue her stable boy true love, from the acclaimed author of Sea Witch, Sarah Henning.

When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.

When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.

But Amarande was raised to be a warrior—not a sacrifice.

n an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.”

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Book 6: 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

I’ve read this one as well and I really enjoyed it! This was recommended to me a long time ago by a friend and I’m so glad I got the chance to finally read it. I love the way the book was split into five sections–smell, taste, hearing, touch, and sight. We get to see Tessa on her journey to discover that there’s more ways to enjoy life than just by sight. And Weston! He was there every step of the way. I enjoy that we got both Tessa and Weston’s point of views; it added a lot to the story and we got to relate to both of them in different ways.

Synopsis

“When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down.

Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile…and no legs.

Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition — no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can’t see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it’s the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So he comes back. Again and again and again.

Tessa spurns Weston’s “obnoxious optimism”, convinced that he has no idea what she’s going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him — and Weston can’t imagine life without her. But he still hasn’t told her the truth, and when Tessa’s sight returns he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa’s world…or overcome his fear of being seen.

100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you’ll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.”

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So, these are all the books I got! A quick note before I end this post: In my last post, I said I was going to do a 100 followers post and I let you all choose. As of the time I’m writing this, the one with the most votes is the A to Z of me. So that’s what I’m going to be doing! I’m not sure when I’ll have it done, but you can expect to see in the next few weeks.

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Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Are any of them on your TBR?
What are some books you want to get?