LIST: most anticipated 2024 releases (pt. 1)

With the dawn of a new year means more books to look forward to! This list is a bit later than usual (admittedly, I got a bit lazy) and somehow even shorter than last year, but hopefully that means that I’ll get to read everything on this list for once. Here are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2024!

*** This list has redacted titles from St. Martin’s Press and its associated imprints in solidarity with the readers’ strike against SMP.
Visit Readers for Accountability for more. ***

SONG SATURDAY: book recs + my top songs of 2023

Continuing my many-years-old tradition of pairing some of my most listened to songs of the year with books <3! My top 100 songs this year actually was technically not all BTS but when you factor in all their solo music…either way the list was almost entirely K-pop and I haven’t read as much this year in general, so I kinda just slapped this list together. It’s much shorter than usual because I really am so bad at book recs now :’).

This is a selection of songs from my top 100 songs playlist. I tried to pick a variety but let’s just say that I tend to put the same songs on repeat so this was very difficult. Anyways, here are my top songs of 2023 paired with books!

SONG SATURDAY: txt songs + books (pt. 2)

It’s been a long time coming, but I am finally back with another TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) songs + books post to celebrate their latest comeback! I’ve had their new album, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL, on repeat for the past week; it’s soooo good. Here’s a list of books paired with TXT songs!

Don’t forget to checkout part 1 of this post with more TXT songs paired with books.

You can also check out other posts in my “song saturday” series here. Apparently I haven’t done one of these since…last December…so maybe I’ll branch out to random themes? I’ve had a general K-pop one in my drafts for a while so I’ll try to get around to writing that post (relatively) soon. I do want to write another BTS one, probably for all their solo projects, but that’ll have to wait till Golden comes out.

REVIEW: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

Release Date: April 4, 2023

My Rating: 4 stars

Rep: sapphic Chinese-American protagonist, sapphic Chinese-American side character, sapphic side character

CW: body horror, sexual assault, gore, blood, forced drugging

Summary: Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.

Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.

Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.

A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves readers with a shocking and unsettling truth.

REVIEW: She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

**I received a review copy from the publisher (thank you, Bloomsbury YA!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Release Date: February 28, 2023

My Rating: 4 stars

Rep: bisexual Vietnamese-American protagonist, sapphic Vietnamese side character, Vietnamese side characters; (Vietnamese-American author)

CW: gore, blood, body horror, full list here

Summary: A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

LIST: pick an emoji and i’ll rec you a 2023 release (pt. 1)

Happy new year! It’s become tradition for me to ring in the new year with a new “pick an emoji” post, so here we are. I had a lot of fun with this set of emojis, and I hope you enjoy them too! So without further ado, pick an emoji and I’ll recommend you a 2023 release (from January through March)!

You can see all of the previous year’s set of posts here. Also, as always, the emojis aren’t spoiler-y (as far as I know) and are more or less corresponding to the cover/vibe of the book. This year, I included both the age range and genre details with each title, as well.

LIST: most anticipated 2023 releases (pt. 1)

2022 has passed by in the blink of an eye (how), but that does mean we’re that much closer to new releases in 2023! I somehow have even fewer anticipated releases than last year, but that’s okay because there are sooo many that I’m dying to read. Here are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2023!

LIST: 5 2023 sequels/sophomore novels/series i’m unbelievably excited for

When I was going through the 2023 debuts I’m excited for, I started thinking about all the sequels and sophomore novels I was also highly anticipating. I also wanted to include a book that are technically an author’s second work, albeit a sophomore series, not novel, which is why the title of this post is so unnecessarily complicated but whatever! Here are 5 2023 sequels and sophomore novels/series that I’m unbelievably excited for!

LIST: 5 2023 debuts i’m unbelievably excited for

We’re in the last stretch of 2022, and you know what that means…time to start daydreaming about 2023 releases! There are so many great books out next year, and I’m particularly intrigued by the debuts. Here are 5 2023 debuts I’m unbelievable excited for!

This list is a mix of young adult and adult novels, releasing throughout February to September. It’s currently October—and of course, things are always subject to delays—so buy links and more information will be updated when announced / I can get to it! And hopefully these books turn out better for me than the ones from last year…

#waitingonwednesday: the last tale of the flower bride

I’m a huge fan of Roshani Chokshi’s books, so of course I’m dying to read her next book! I’m even more excited since it’s her adult debut (novel, that is). And it’s darker than her previous books…yeah I need this book ASAP. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is out February 14, 2023; read more about it below!