Mostly I just miss you guys and also need an excuse to sit on my couch and drink some wine while we talk books.
So let’s see our options, then head over to our Boozy Book Club Facebook group to vote.
Wait, wait, wait! What?!
You don’t know what I’m talking about?! Story of my life.
Just head to that Facebook page I subtly mentioned up there, answer a question or three to make sure you aren’t spammers, and, boom, you are a part of our super supportive bibliophile gang squad crew troupe club.
But first, the book suggestions for the next BBC
*All of the summaries are courtesy of their Goodreads pages.
The Poppy War by RF Kuang
Pages: 544
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Series?: First in an Untitled Series
Current Goodreads Rating: 4.18
I honestly can’t tell you the last adult fantasy that I have read, but I guarantee you that, whatever it was, there was a lot of sexy time in it. This doesn’t sound like it would have any sexy-time, which might be exactly the change of pace that I need. Also, I’m gonna be honest here: this description is awfully similar to one further down. We learned how hard that can be for BBC, but it is also interesting to compare and contrast. There might need to be a Venn diagram involved by the end.
When Rin aced the Keju, the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies, it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan, was even more surprising.
But surprises aren’t always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .
Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
Baby Teeth By Zoje Stage
Pages: 320
Genre: Thriller
Series?: Stand-Alone
Current Goodreads Rating: 3.81
Uh, I don’t know about this one, you guys…but you know I will let the votes decide. And if it wins, it sounds like we will be having a verra interesting conversation.
Sweetness can be deceptive.
Meet Hanna.
She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.
Meet Suzette.
She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Pages: 352
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Series?: Stand-Alone
Current Goodreads Rating: 3.94
Now this sounds like an interesting twist on romance. I am going to read this one with or without y’all so that I can explain away some of my own ghosts. But again, it has some things in common with another one on this list. We are in a weird mood this month; there must be too many beachy-romances in our system…
Seven perfect days. Then he disappeared. A love story with a secret at its heart.
When Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love. To Sarah, it seems as though her life has finally begun. And it’s mutual: It’s as though Eddie has been waiting for her, too. Sarah has never been so certain of anything. So when Eddie leaves for a long-booked vacation and promises to call from the airport, she has no cause to doubt him. But he doesn’t call.
Sarah’s friends tell her to forget about him, but she can’t. She knows something’s happened–there must be an explanation.
Minutes, days, weeks go by as Sarah becomes increasingly worried. But then she discovers she’s right. There is a reason for Eddie’s disappearance, and it’s the one thing they didn’t share with each other: the truth.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Pages: 455
Genre: Alternate History with Zombies
Series?: First with only one follow-up scheduled
Current Goodreads Rating: 4.23
Can you believe we only have ONE YA book on our list this time? This was my addition to the list and I am going against my normal “I don’t reread books” nature here because I am currently reading this one but IT IS SO GOOD. I have to talk to someone about it and guess who I’m looking at? You!
I am not a historical fiction reader, especially the Civil War, and never would have picked this up on my own but it was highly recommended to me. I was HOOKED in the first half hour of listening. Also, if you ever wanted to try an audiobook, this is the one to start with: Bahni Turpin is a audiobook star.
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon
Pages: 224
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Series?: Stand-Alone
Current Goodreads Rating: 3.64
This one comes straight from the Goodreads Blog post “The 20 Hottest Debuts of the Season“–which will probably inspire future book club recs–because we want to be in on the trends, right? And it wasn’t chosen only because it was pretty much the only one that doesn’t have a future publication date; there are so many things about this that make me want to know more. Cults? Korea? Romance? Mystery? That Cover?
Phoebe Lin and Will Kendall meet their first month at prestigious Edwards University. Phoebe is a glamorous girl who doesn’t tell anyone she blames herself for her mother’s recent death. Will is a misfit scholarship boy who transfers to Edwards from Bible college, waiting tables to get by. What he knows for sure is that he loves Phoebe.
Grieving and guilt-ridden, Phoebe is increasingly drawn into a religious group—a secretive extremist cult—founded by a charismatic former student, John Leal. He has an enigmatic past that involves North Korea and Phoebe’s Korean American family. Meanwhile, Will struggles to confront the fundamentalism he’s tried to escape, and the obsession consuming the one he loves. When the group bombs several buildings in the name of faith, killing five people, Phoebe disappears. Will devotes himself to finding her, tilting into obsession himself, seeking answers to what happened to Phoebe and if she could have been responsible for this violent act.
The Incendiaries is a fractured love story and a brilliant examination of the minds of extremist terrorists, and of what can happen to people who lose what they love most.
There you have it, our book club options for…well, honestly, we are going to wait and see the poll results–and how long the book is/books are–before we make any decisions like that this time. We don’t want to get too on track here, people!
