Hi, it's Olivia, with a little bit of a change in scenery.
And it's also bittersweet because it's the end of August.
Summer over here is coming to an end.
But like I said, bittersweet because while it's sad that summer's coming to an end,
I also love the fall season.
Anyway, as usual, I'm very excited for today's book haul for
the month of August, and I do think that there's a book or
two in here that also are pretty good for as we're heading into the fall season.
So let's get started.
So first up is I Rise by Marie Arnold.
And this is set in Harlem where the area and the culture really come to life with
accurate and beautiful, loving, diverse representation.
And it doesn't rely on stereotypes or secondary characters of color.
This book does deal with some serious issues and social topics while also
carrying with it the heart, and even humor of our main character's friendships and
loving but complicated relationship with her mom.
And actually I love the blurb on the back.
It says from the first line to the last, this novel sings.
It's a poetic and powerful anthem of justice, a love letter to Harlem and hope.
I Rise is smart and funny and full of heart, like I just said.
And next up is How to Date A Superhero and Not Die Trying by Cristina Fernandez.
And first of all, just the concept, it's funny.
I realized I hadn't even thought of it.
I feel like we tend to think, what if I were a superhero with X ability?
But I don't really consider dating one.
Or even in movies, isn't it always a superhero with another superhero?
You can count on this one to be funny and romantic and relatable.
Our main character, Astrid, is a college-aged protagonist who is double
majoring, as in she's a pre-med, and her whole life kind of turns around when she
discovers her boyfriend is a superhero.
[LAUGH] Gotta share this blurb on the back.
I love the blurbs.
And this one is by Ashley Poston, who is the author of Geekerella, and
she says, this is the perfect combination of TJ Klune and Marissa Meyer.
Isn't that a fun combination?
Next up is My Imaginary Mary, by not one, not two, but three authors.
We've got Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jody Meadows.
They are also the authors of My Lady Jane,
which is going to be adapted for a TV series over at Amazon.
So you gotta look out for Jessie the Reader's videos to give you all
the updates for the upcoming book adaptation.
But this continues the series of standalone stories where they remix
the lives of famous women in history and add a little bit of a magical twist.
And so here we follow Mary and Ada, who are fae, not fairies, fae [LAUGH].
Next up is Cake Eater by Allyson Dahlin.
And this takes place in a world where we have kind of an alternate
future version of Versailles that has this dark edge to it.
We have beneath this luxurious road,
you kinda see the luxury right there on the cover.
Beneath the luxurious world and the courtly scheming,
we've also got this beautiful slow burn romance brewing
between our main characters, Marie and Louis.
And when I said an alternate future version, I did mean future,
because as it says right here, the year is 3070 and
Marie Antoinette has just arrived at Versailles.
[LAUGH] So this one is also kind of genre bending.
Viciously sharp, Cake Eater is part mystery, part thriller, and
part romcom, so it's got it all.
Next up is Ashfall Prophecy by Pittacus Lore, who knows a thing or
two about writing aliens because they are the author of the I Am Number Four series.
And this is the conclusion to the Ashfall Legacy series.
Since it's the sequel, I'm not gonna tell you too much, but
what I can tell you is that it's full of awesome alien species from everything from
all knowing clouds to space dragons.
And next is one of those books that I said kind of gave me those fall vibes,
definitely spooky vibes, and that is Clown in a Cornfield 2 by Adam Cesare.
And this one is Clown in a Cornfield 2, Frendo Lives.
Let me give you a nice look at the cover.
Hopefully you're not afraid of clowns, in which case, don't look.
But it's funny, I had this sitting on my nightstand, and my mom saw it, [LAUGH] and
she had asked me, she's like, what was that book you had on your nightstand
the other day cuz it was kind of scary looking?
[LAUGH] So this is the sequel to the first Clown in a Cornfield.
And clearly it's gonna give you all the spooky vibes, perfect for Halloween, and
in this time period as we wait for all the Halloween movies to start coming up on TV.
This will hold you over.
And last but
not least is also another one that I feel is good heading into the fall season.
I saved them for last, and that is Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo.
This is a standalone fantasy graphic novel.
And I'm just gonna flip through some of the pages real quick and
you'll see what I mean in saying that I felt like it had those fall vibes.
Like I said, this is a standalone fantasy graphic novel that's also perfect for
fans of mysteries and witches.
Yeah, I feel like it's perfect for the fall vibes.
I'm loving the art, by the way.
Let me know if you like the art too.
But yeah, let me not spoil the whole thing for you, but
you got a nice little peek there.
But that wraps up all the, I'm sitting down now and
somehow I still managed to almost drop these.
But I have all the books right here from today's book haul.
I would love to know your thoughts on any of these books.
I'd like to know what your favourite read of the summer has been or
what you're looking forward to heading into fall.
Of course if you're interested in getting any of these,
you can check the links in the description or feel free to check out your local
library and see if they have any, or request any of them.
I like to wave goodbye with my right hand, so, bye.
[LAUGH] Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in another video.