Book Recommendations

For fans of The City of Brass, The Stardust Thief is a story where the existence of jinn is recognized by society, but they are also hunted due to the fact that they are inhuman and the healing power in their blood. This book follows a few main characters: Loulie al-Nazari, a young woman who sells powerful jinn relics, and Mazen, the sultan’s son who would rather listen to and tell stories rather than join his brother’s Forty Thieves. Readers will recognize some of the stories in The Stardust Thief. Loulie and Mazen are sent on a perilous journey to

Based on the book by Sara Gay Forden, the cast of House of Gucci is full of well-known actors who really knocked it out of the park. Even though Lady Gaga as an actress in the leading role is mainly what drew me to the movie itself, I was still caught by surprise by how dysfunctional but glamorous the Gucci family is in this tale of betrayal. The love story between Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) does feel pure when they first meet and eventually get married, but that doesn’t make their future any less complicated

I’ve spent this year reading books that I normally wouldn’t even think about reading for a change of pace, and this one did not disappoint! Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson is a thriller about Christine, a woman who has a fictional type of amnesia where she cannot retain short-term memory. The book had my heart pounding with each new discovery, and I was rooting for Christine to find out who she was and what truly happened to her. watching in disbelief as Christine wonders who could she trust in her inner circle since she couldn’t recall anyone.

genre: middle grade fantasy Magic exists in the town of Aldermere, but not the way you would expect. It’s not ghosts, witches, and vampires; it’s more unique than that. If you open a door that isn’t labeled, you might end up a random place in town. Sometimes the tea shop disappears, and winds up in a different spot. When Fin moved to town with her mother, she was introduced to the type of magic that exists in Aldermere. She also got introduced to the magic tea in the tea shop – a special type of tea that can grant your

In need of a humorous feel-good book? I highly recommend “All About Me” by Mel Brooks! I also recommend that you listen & read it-as Mel narrates it and the book provides photos. I listened to this while I was walking and found myself laughing out loud. I am sure all that walked past me wondered what I was listening to-ha!  Mel Brooks is more than meets the eye by the way. Did you know that Mel, 95 years old, was taught military engineering skills at the Virginia Military Institute and served as a corporal in the 1104th Engineer combat Battalion,

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega is a cute middle grade fantasy about Seven Salazar, a young witchling girl who is excited to find out which coven she will be placed in! She has her favorite one picked out, but any coven will be okay. As long as she doesn’t get placed in the same coven as her worst enemy, Valley, or worse, become a Spare (a witch without a real coven). Spares are the lowest of the low – treated like servants and not seen as equals by many in their witch society. But then, the worst happens. Not only

It’s 2061, and a comet is about to hit Earth, wiping out the world’s population and making the planet inhabitable. Only a privileged few get the opportunity to go to space and live on a new planet. Twelve-year-old Petra Peña and her family are given this rare opportunity because her parents are scientists who will be able to help make the new planet habitable for humans. The catch is that getting to the new planet, Sagan, will take 380 years, so Petra, her brother Javier, her parents, and the many other passengers on the ship will be put in a

Max is a biracial (White and Japanese) transgender teen boy who is learning how to grow into himself and is facing struggles with school, home, and the fact that he now has magical powers.  Max’s trusted friend Jen is the only one who knows that Max is a boy at the novel’s beginning.  Max decides to come out to his mom and dad on his 16th birthday, but his mother can’t accept the fact that her little goddess wants to transition since they are descended from the Goddess of Light, Aurora.  Max’s powers transform him into an uncomfortable frilly dress

Ada and the Galaxies follows an inquisitive little girl named Ada who loves the stars so much that couldn’t wait to go to her grandparents’ home in Maine where she would be able to see them. During her long day of waiting to see the stars, Ada was able to see many things that she wouldn’t normally see, since she lived in a city. When night fell, so did the fog, and Ada was so worried that she wouldn’t be able to see the stars. To help pass the time, Ada’s grandfather, Poobah, showed Ada a special book of photographs taken by the

When Claire Kovalik and her crew intercept a distress call at the edge of known space, the message leads them to a luxury cruiser, the Aurora, which had been lost for decades. Eager to claim the wreck and cash in on their find, the team boards the vessel only to encounter a horrific scene of mayhem and death. Dead Silence kept me entertained from the very beginning as I was determined to learn what happened to Claire and her crew aboard the Aurora, and what caused the violent scene they encountered.  Not only was this book a real page turner,