15 Diverse Books Flying Under The Radar with Less Than 50 Reviews on Amazon

July 10, 2018July 10, 2018 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Hi, galaxy travelers and book readers! I’m back with another blog post and this one is all about diverse books in need of some love from you guys. It is said to be something magical about the number 50, at least in regards to the number of book reviews a novel needs to have on Amazon in order to unlock certain marketing privileges. Because of this, I decided to mention 15 books with less than 50 reviews on Amazon that you should totally buy, read, and support by leaving a review. If you have followed my blog for a while you might recognize this concept and ask, haven’t I seen a post similar to this one before and the truth is that, yes, you have. In August 2017, I did post a blog post called Twelve Diverse Books Flying Under The Radar and the purpose of that post was the same as this one — to recommend books in need of love and book reviews because they have less than 50 reviews on Amazon. To make things easier I have made a key that you can follow when you go through the list,

★ is seen with books that have less than 100 ratings on Goodreads,
✿ is shown next to books with queer authors, and
✱ is the symbol that is shown next to the books written by authors of color.

Disclaimer: I have not read all of these books so be aware that there might be incorrect information, and that’s on me. I have taken the information on here from synopses and reviews I researched for this post.

Now go forth and support these amazing books and authors. The books are sorted in alphabetical order after their title and they truly deserve your support. I hope you’ll find your next read in one of these fifteen books. Don’t forget to write a review when you’re done, just a sentence is enough!

ATTENTION – Here Are 17 Young Adult Books That Cost 2$ Or Less

September 28, 2017December 9, 2017 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi everyone and welcome to another blog post filled with cheap books (*cue happy dancing*). If there’s one thing I love to do then it’s finding cheap books on Amazon, and in other amazing bookstores too of course. For my post today, I have discounted (or just very cheap) young adult books for you all. There are probably more out there but these 18 ones I’ve mentioned are all rather famous, and books I’m sure a lot of people want to get their hands on (especially for prices like these ones). Remember that these books were 2 USD or less for me at the American Kindle store but that prices may vary due to location and the deal running out so check an extra time before one-clicking these great looking books. Diverse reads, meaning books about and/or written by marginalized people, are marked with a star (☆) in the list below. The list is in alphabetical order.

What’s on Princess Valentina’s Bookshelf – A Guest Post for Ripped Pages by M. Hollis

September 22, 2017December 9, 2017 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Liv approached me to write a guest post about what books Valentina would read if she lived in our modern world, and I absolutely loved this idea! Val’s journey of self-love and growth was based on her finding validation on the books she read inside her tower. They were her salvation and what kept her grounded for many years. So here are a few books that I think she would love:

The Second Mango by Shira Glassman

What would be better for Val than a book about a dorky lesbian queen looking for lady love? The Second Mango is an adorable fantasy story with Jewish inspirations. I’m sure Val and Shulamit would be great friends if they ever met in some parallel world.

divider3

Goodreads and Amazon.

Queen Shulamit never expected to inherit the throne of the tropical land of Perach so young. At twenty, grief-stricken and fatherless, she’s also coping with being the only lesbian she knows after her sweetheart ran off for an unknown reason. Not to mention, she’s the victim of severe digestive problems that everybody thinks she’s faking. When she meets Rivka, an athletic and assertive warrior from the north who wears a mask and pretends to be a man, she finds the source of strength she needs so desperately.

Unfortunately for her, Rivka is straight, but that’s okay — Shulamit needs a surrogate big sister just as much as she needs a girlfriend. Especially if the warrior’s willing to take her around the kingdom on the back of her dragon in search of other women who might be open to same-sex romance. The real world outside the palace is full of adventure, however, and the search for a royal girlfriend quickly turns into a rescue mission when they discover a temple full of women turned to stone by an evil sorcerer.

My August in Books {#arcaugust, books read, and book purchases}

September 1, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi everyone in the galaxy! Another month has passed and it’s been a really good one. During August I’ve read a lot of books (to be fair a lot of them were short but who cares, it was still a lot for me) and I’ve also bought a few more books than I usually do. I bought a couple of paperbacks for the first time in months (instead of just ebooks) so I’m very excited about those, both to read and to share them with you guys.

Books Read in August

august17inbooks1

Twelve Diverse Books Flying Under the Radar

August 11, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel13 Comments

Hi everyone, welcome to my new blog post with a few diverse books I love but feel are underrated and are flying under the radar among book circles. In this blog post, I have 12 diverse books that I’ve read and loved, that also have less than 50 reviews on Amazon. Moreover, some of the books also have less than 100 ratings on Goodreads. I have marked these books with a star (✯). These 12 books are in need of some love, and I hope you’ll find a new gem to read and review among these.

The first four books that I definitely feel need more loving are,

Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw (✯). Goodreads & Amazon link. This book is about a fat bisexual woman of color who also happens to be a werebear and a fashionista. The ship is really cute, and I love how they play scrabble together.
Fragile Chaos by Amber R. Duell (✯). Goodreads & Amazon link. Fragile Chaos is about the god of war and his sacrificial bride. This ship is on fire, there is serious chemistry, and I love the entire world with the gods and goddesses.
The Little Queen by Meia Geddes (✯). Goodreads & Amazon link. This is a novella written in the style of a fairytale about a young queen who goes on adventures to learn about herself and on her journey falls in love with another young girl.
The Paths We Choose by Maria Hollis. Goodreads & Amazon link. This book is a new adult story about two girls in a no strings attached relationship who fall in love and find out that there is something more between them.

SURPRISE: I’m doing #ARCAugust ✯ Featuring My Entire August TBR

August 4, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi, galaxy travelers and readers! As the title of this post suggests, I made a last minute decision to, for the second year in a row, join ARC August hosted by Read.Sleep.Repeat. Last year I thought it went so-so for me since I didn’t read the books I wanted to go through during the month. However, I’m excited to give it another shot this year. Especially since I’m actually reading a lot more this summer. I’m very excited to share my August TBR with you all.

The ARCs I want to get through during August are the following,

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones. Release date Aug 8.
The Tiger’s Watch by Julia Ember. Release date Aug 22.
Brooding YA Hero by Carrie Ann DiRisio. Release date Oct 3.
Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson. Release date Nov 21.

I have a few ARC requests pending so I might also add a few more books to my TBR before the month is over. I’m really hoping I’ll be accepted for them, but we’ll see how it goes.

Everything You Need To Know About Reading Contemporary Poetry (with 40+ Recommendations)

July 21, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel13 Comments

Hi, galaxy travelers and book readers! Today is all about poetry, contemporary poetry to be exact. Have you been wanting to read poetry, especially contemporary poetry, but have no idea where to start or what books to read? Look no further, I’m here to help. Let’s start with the definition of poetry if you’re a newcomer to the subject.

Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language — such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre — to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning (Wikipedia).

First of all, here are some quick facts that are good to remember about poetry. The thing about poetry is that it’s an art form you can consume in any way you like. There are poetry collections about love, about nature, self-growth and so much more. There are long poems, short poems, poems written in the form of a sonnet, haiku or in free verse. The possibilities when it comes to poetry are endless. What I personally love about poetry is the fact that I find them easy to read and that the really great ones have both inspired me and made me take a deeper look at myself and my life to relate to what is being said on the page. That’s why I prefer contemporary poetry over older poetry because it feels that much easier to relate to. Because of this, I have a couple of contemporary poetry collection recommendations for you all.

To make it easier to navigate the recommendations I’ve marked the books written by LGBTQIA+ authors with (❃) and authors of color with (⬖). I have marked my personal favorites with (♕) and the free ones are marked with (ツ).

poetrycollectionp1

The first six poetry collections I have to recommend you are,

The Secrets I Keep by Alex Casso (❃ + ♕). Goodreads & Amazon purchase link.
Love Letters To Nameless by Alex Casso (❃). Goodreads & Amazon purchase link.
Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell (❃). Goodreads & Amazon purchase link.
The Female Animal by Elisa Ady (❃ + ⬖). Goodreads & Payhip purchase link.
Sugarplum by Darshana Suresh (❃ + ⬖). Goodreads & Payhip purchase link (ツ).
Heaven or This by Topaz Winters (❃ + ⬖ + ♕). Goodreads & Payhip purchase link (ツ).

Friendship, Fiction, and Coming Out by Marie Landry {A Pride Month Guest Post}

June 18, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel4 Comments

I started selectively coming out about eleven years ago. I pretty much always knew I wasn’t ‘straight’, but I didn’t know what to call myself, largely because I grew up in a time when calling someone ‘gay’ was considered the funniest/best insult by a lot of people, and I didn’t really know any labels beyond gay and lesbian. For a long time, I figured it would be a part of me I kept mostly to myself, but when I started dating a girl, I knew I needed the people closest to me to know about this side of my life and this important person I loved.

The first person I came out to was my friend Meghan. I don’t remember how I told her. I can’t remember the exact words. I honestly don’t even remember if I did it in person or on MSN Messenger (showing my age here, haha). What I do remember is one of the next times I saw her, she gave me a book: Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall. Meghan was always lending me books – books that often ended up being favourites, like The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. When she gave me Bottle Rocket Hearts, a book about 18-year-old Eve, a French-Canadian lesbian, I was grateful, but I don’t think I got her true intentions. I was excited because the book is set in Canada and there are so few books set in my beloved homeland.

It wasn’t until a few years ago, as I found the LGBTQ+ community on Twitter and heard about people’s experiences with coming out that the significance of Meghan’s gift really hit me. It wasn’t just that she was giving me a book she thought I would like. It was her way of saying ‘I love you, I support you, I’m here for you’. I cried when I realized, and I still get teary at times when I think about it. She was the perfect first person to come out to; I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, or a better friend.

Meghan’s thoughtful gift got me thinking about what book I would give a friend who came out to me, or was newly out. I’ve read a lot of LGBTQ+ books, but there are a specific few that come to mind.

#BroodyBFF Challenge 1: Once Upon a Time a Main Character and her Brooding YA Hero met …

May 10, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hey everyone, today I have a special blog post for you all. I was chosen to be a part of the #BroodyBFF street team to promote @BroodingYAHero and his upcoming novel, Brooding YA Hero’s Guide to Achieving Main Character Status so today I have a Broody McHottiepants blog post for you. Expect a lot more blog posts about him and his book in the future. Today I’m gonna tell you the story of how I met this brooding YA hero.

broodychallenge1-1

Once upon a time, a young girl* met a broody boy in a faraway land where the birds are constantly tweeting and the sun is always shining. They call this land Twitterland. This girl would follow this broody boy everywhere and love all parts of him, even the more questionable ones.

Zodiac Recommendations #12 Capricorn Books

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 Olivia Chanel4 Comments

Hi everyone, and welcome to my twelfth and last week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’ve recommended books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Capricorn.

The earth beneath you is the element of Capricorn, and it’s the one you should embrace this week with my book recommendations. Like every other zodiac sign, the Capricorn have their strengths and weaknesses, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are a Capricorn yourself or someone who knows a Capricorn, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

For the Zodiac sign Capricorn I’m recommending the following books,

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. Buy here or here.
Prom Queen Perfect by Clarisse David. Buy here.
Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz. Buy here or here.

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Capricorn qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Thank you for staying with me throughout this recommendation series, if you missed a zodiac sign or want to see them again, then you can see all of the previous recommendations here.