#Taglinemode

[dracereads]

Born A Crime, Stories from a South African Childhood | Trevor Noah | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis: Trevor Noah is a boy of mixed heritage born during the end of South Africa's Apartheid. In this memoir, he recounts tales of navigating racism and social identity with his very unique situation. Being born of a white man and a black woman, his life was proof that a serious crime had been committed under Apartheid's ruthless law.

My thoughts: I was introduced to Trevor Noah, like a majority of his American audience, shortly before his take over of the Daily Show. I had never really been a big fan of the Daily show in the past, but it was one of those things that I added to my weekly media diet after Trevor. Trevor Noah is a charming, ruefully goofy comic who's tactful wit and natural charisma never cease to get a smile or a chuckle out of me.

If you've seen some of his stand-up specials, some of these stories will come as no surprise to you. There are familiar tales of his dog Fufi, and of his mother being shot. If you have never heard of Trever Noah before this, you are in for some of the wildest tales of your life.

This is not my first time reading Born A Crime, however, I felt it was worth revisiting now that I own it for myself instead of borrowing it from a friend.

#Born a Crime #Trevor Noah #taglinemode #memoirs #genre: nonfiction #humourous

[dracereads]

Dark Rise | C.S. Pacat | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pacat's new tagline is "books about bisexual disasters by a bisexual disaster" and I'm absolutely living for that statement, FYI.

Synopsis: Victorian, London. In a time before recorded history, an ancient evil was sealed away by the final bastion of good. Now in modern times, the evil threatens to rise again and destroy all. What roles do our heroes play in this tale? Are they doomed to repeat their pasts, or will a new happiness emerge as roles begin to change.

Thoughts: I absolutely took way too long to read this book. I took an equally long time trying to write a review about it. It has an INCREDIBLY slow fucking start, but it's not bad if you can muddle through that first action sequence. Anyway, I would say that it possesses the same sort of messy disaster of malformed relationships and dynamics that Pacat is known for, but at the same time they have always handled with extreme dexterity + grace which is... immaculate. I trust that Pacat is going to make mince meat of her main characters and their emotions by the end of this series. Also... there is a stabbing scene, and well. If you know, you know. And it's just an absolute french kiss of allegory. It's one of the things I've always appreciated in a Pacat book.

#c.s. pacat #dark rise #boyscanloveboys #taglinemode

[dracereads]

Cemetery Boys | Aiden Thomas | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-- One of My Picks for the Book of the Year for 2021

Happy Belated day of the dead! Unfortunately on the real day of the dead, I was slaving away at work. I did leave a couple shots of good bourbon and a candle out for my ancestors, though!

Synopsis: Born to a conservative Latine family, Yadriel is determined to prove himself capable as a real brujo. However, throw in the unlikely ghost of Julien, a troubled youth from Yadriel's school into the mix, and otherworldly drama and hi-jinks ensue. This captivating tale weaves together traditional Latin folklore with an artistically modern coming of age story.

My thoughts: This book made me laugh, it made me gasp aloud, and it made me cry. The story is well written, well paced, and luxuriously decadent. Sometimes you hate to plug a tiktok well-loved, but this one really is deserving of the hype.

Artistic Comment: I really like how this photo turned out! I hope you all enjoy it as well.

#Cemetery Boys #Aiden Thomas #boyscanloveboys #thegays #transprotag #transmanprotag #comingofage #latinxfiction #persistent spooky season #bipocfiction #bipoc authors #tw: transphobia #genre: romance #genre: young adult #taglinemode

[dracereads]

Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites ★★★★☆

I want to start off by saying I think the idea of Equal Rites came to Terry when he was writing a paragraph somewhere in the Color of Magic. I think there was a point in time where he was adamant that women could never be wizards. So then Equal Rites came along to say this: yes women can do magic and those are traditionally witches, but our main character of this novel is female and is a wizard. Which is supposed to break the world but it doesn't. So you'll have to deal with it. This book is the first introduction to Discworld's amazing witches, namely Granny Weatherwax. This book is arguably more about Weatherwax than Eskarina. Though you do get a lot of development of Eskarina.

This book gets 4.5 stars because:

It features an old lady protagonist doing very much old lady things, thank you very much. It's the first instance in which Terry Pratchett establishes a discworld rule, only to break it swiftly afterwards. And of couse since it's in relation to the breaking of the universe, it had to be the Unseen University at the center of it. It passes the vibe check. Overall, this novel is a romp start to finish.

#Terry Pratchett #Equal Rites #taglinemode #genre: humor #genre: fantasy

[dracereads]

Heartstopper V1 | Alice Oseman | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a birthday gift from one of my IRL friends. I have never read Heartstopper before, and this is my first experience with it! synopsis: Charlie and Nick sit next to each other during a new semester at school, and Charlie convinces Nick to join the Rugby team. Shenanigans ensue!

my thoughts: what a lovely little comic! It was easy to follow, and the characters are so cute. I thought it was going to be a lot more complex that it was, and I am so sorry that I have been putting it off for as long as I have. Honestly, I can see why it's so popular now, LOL. I'll try to acquire more volumes soon to continue this little story. and I am so fucking sorry that it took me like 3 months to read babe

#Heartstopper #Alice Oseman #genre: romance #genre: ya #genre: comic #boyscanloveboys #thegays #taglinemode #I think this is the month of catching up on danmei and comic releases as well as a few box books #that's literally all I've done LMAO

[dracereads]

Crying in H Mart | Michelle Zauner (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

One piping hot evening spent balling your eyes out through Michelle Zauner's heartbreaking recollection over the loss of her mother. Check. Synopsis: Michelle Zauner is a half-Korean half-American woman who experienced the heartbreaking tragedy of losing her mother to cancer. The whole book revolves around her sharing anecdotes of her family, trying to piece together the strings of culture and her place in it. By the way, this is nonfiction! So this is as true to life as you can write in a self-recollection. My thoughts: I have picked up and put down Crying in H Mart about a dozen times in the past years. I would read a couple chapters, cry, and set it down resolved to finish it later. Today, my brain was craving deep rooted sadness and decided to plow my way through the last absolutely emotional pain filled chapters. If you are in the mood for an emotional curbstomping, Zauner's work is both prosaic and sobering.

5 stars: I absolutely love the mix of Zauner's imagery and her recollections. You can really tell there is an earnest-wistfulness to this memoir that's just. French kiss.

#crying in h mart #michelle zauner #taglinemode #aapi authors #genre: nonfiction #memoirs #tearjerk

[dracereads]

Howl's Moving Castle | Diana Wynne Jones | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Howl turned to Sophie just then. "Grey doesn't really suit you," he said. "I thought that when I first saw you."

In a box of books somewhere lies my copy of Howl's Moving Castle. Rescued from my sister who was going to throw it away, because she had to buy it from the school library after her cat had chewed it apart. I haven't seen it or read it in years. I did, however, get a nice Kindle deal on the narration of the free Kindle copy I had that I've been sitting on for awhile. So after finishing my other audio book in the middle of shift, I popped on Howl's Moving Castle after some hesitancy. I finished it at the end of my shift the next evening.

And good gosh, listening to it brought back so many wonderful memories, and it was a lot of fun to listen to. I had my doubts about the experience at first, but. I got sucked in and am frankly, a little sad that it's over. For now. I have Castle in the Air on the same deal.

description: Sophie Hatter was a young lady willing to accept her tragic fate as an Eldest Sister of Three™. After a run in with the evil Witch of the Wastes, Sophie is left cursed. She tries to run from her old life until she happens upon a moving castle belonging to the supposedly wicked Wizard Howl. Looking for a warm place to spend the night, she wanders inside and soon discovers she's more suited to this peculiar world of magic, wizards, and curses than she ever dared to dream before.

#howl's moving castle #taglinemode #audiobook adventures #diana wynne jones #It has been awhile since I did one of these

[dracereads]

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Hello and Welcome to Drace forgets to blog about things they read because they have too many brain bees vol 3 or 4 at this point who knows. Today's edition is all about A Lady for A Duke by Alexis hall. Another of Alexis' regency works, this one more serious and less jaunty than Something Fabulous. The main character Viola, is a transwoman in a time where we wouldn't ordinarily see a trans protagonist. What's more is that the book is not focused on Viola's womanhood as the source of contention for the novel. At all. This reads as sort of a queer fantasy where everyone is accepting of Viola's truest self. It's a very sort of self-indulgent and happy fantasy that I can get behind. Alexis Hall poses the question of whether or not this sort of thing is something trans folks would like to see more of. Arguably this trans folk would very much approve of more of this story and others. Anyway, the main story revolves around Viola falling in love with her best friend since childhood, Justin de Vere, Duke of Gracewood. Gracewood has suffered a physical injury and is dealing with war-related PTSD. Like I said, this novel is a more "serious" regency, and the two have to work through years of trauma before they are able to find comfort in the new happiness they bring one another. It was a very touching and lovely book, and I highly enjoyed it. There's lots of positive affirmation and character growth in this piece. The characters aren't set on being horrible people, and I just really appreciate a regency where characters actually learn from their mistakes instead of droning on about them for about 17 chapters before they do a little bit of soul-searching and move on. Rating: 5/5 stars, if just for the concept alone.

#A Lady for A Duke #Alexis Hall #transprotag #trans books #genre: romance #genre: re-imagined historical #regency #queer authors club #taglinemode #soldierprotag #character driven #ajourneyofselfdiscovery #leadinglady #transwomanprotag

[dracereads]

Manga Break Time

Way of the Househusband v.1 | Kousuke Oono | ★★★★

Synopsis: A gag-series about a former Mafia boss Tatsu, on his quest to succeed in his new life as a househusband. This manga pits some really strong criminal element imagery against some super... domestic scenarios for comedic effect.

Opinions: This series is all about using strong visuals and situations to tell a dynamic story about Tatsu's new life as a househusband. It's not supposed to be deep or thought provoking, but. it is very nicely illustrated and it's. such a contrast between the scenario and the visual representation that's going along with it that it's absolutely hysterical.

Sometimes it's nice to take a break from my breakneck reading schedule and squeeze in something just to make me laugh.

#The Way of the Househusband #genre: humor #genre: manga #humorous #domestic #trope inversion #taglinemode

[dracereads]

Heaven Official's Blessing v5 | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

That should leave me caught up as for now– *Checks to see how many more of them there are* Holy shit there are 8 full length novels what the fu–

Synopsis: Xie Lian and the weakened Hua Cheng go on the run from various forces wishing to do them both harm, only to be stopped by Jun Wu. Jun Wu, of course, has an agenda. He wishes for the Crown Prince to return to Heaven and take his place as tertiary Emperor while he goes on a secret mission. Instead, Xie Lian negotiates to do Jun Wu’s task in his stead, while Hua Cheng negotiates on several key points for his Ghost City, as well as ‘permission’ to accompany Xie Lian on his mission. The two of them embark on the mission: Sneak into Mount Taicong and prevent the birth of a new ghost king by preventing any ghosts with a significant spiritual presence from entering the Kiln.

My thoughts: This was such a breakneck book. We get to see the aftermath of a lot of previous arcs. Characters who have long since dipped out of the plot reappear and get dragged into the chaos. We also get an introduction to the long anticipated Rain Master, as they have been teased since the Rain for Yung’On incident. Spoiler: SHE is amazing, and I adore her. Anyway, this book is doing a lot of set up, in that Xie Lian needs some fucking therapy because he most definitely has PTSD from his past traumatic experiences, while at the same time we’re dealing with Hua Cheng having to see a side of the Prince that is not the most composed or trustworthy. Also, I think it’s funny that Xie Lian was attempting to make progress in admitting his feelings out loud, and ended up vexing the hell out of an easily jealous Ghost King. You’re jealous of yourself, sir. The next HOB release is in June according to my chart, so this series is officially caught up until then!

#taglinemode #genre: romance #humourous #boyscanloveboys #danmei #thegays #heaven official's blessing #MXTX

[dracereads]

Naturally Tan by Tan France

During one of my cold soaks of June, I got the opportunity to start Naturally Tan a memoir by Queer Eye's style guru, Tan France. Out of all of the members of Queer Eyes' 2018 reboot cast, Tan has always struck me as a unique perspective. He's not what you would expect out of an American Television show, and I was very curious to know about who he is and how he got to be where he was. So it seemed very serendipitous to get an opportunity to get this book. As British born Pakistani boy, Tan goes into great detail about his life and who he is. He takes pride in the fact that his story is as unique and uplifting, given the circumstances he has had to overcome in his life. The book itself is hilarious, and well put together. I think it'll be one of those books that I recommend to people who are trying to get comfortable with LGBT+ themes who might not be as accepting of themselves or others. Tan does an immaculate job of being presentable, and pulls no punches discussing facets of queer culture that would give people pause. He's a very well-rounded individual with a different background than most, and most importantly he takes no shit. As for a star rating, I would give this one a solid 5 stars. Tan's voice is very present, and the narrative is cheeky and well-written. I usually struggle to finish memoirs, but this one I had no issues with.

#taglinemode #memoirs #nonfiction #aapi authors #aapi nonfiction #lgbt #famous author

[dracereads]

Heaven Official's Blessing v4 | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Another one bites the dust by Queen plays in the background* 

Synopsis:  Shi Quingxuan, the  heavenly Wind Master, has reached out to Xie Lian for help regarding a delicate personal matter from before she was a god. While her brother Shi Wudu is set to undergo another Divine Tribulation, she wants to hunt a monster who stalked her endlessly during life and has returned suddenly to start running amok. Xie Lian agrees, and gets pulled into an extremely tragic mess.  Meanwhile, the stage begins to set for the start of the next major plot point, the Mount Taicong arc. Usually sealed, Mount Taicong draws in and holds massive reserves of the world's negative energy. As the seal weakens however, negative energy beckons the world's ghosts into the clutches of the Mountain irself. As a supreme born in Mount Taicong, Hua Cheng struggles with keeping himself composed.

My thoughts: This book contains the Black Water plotline, and it has literally lived in my head rent free for what feels like 3 months even though it hasn’t been that long since I read the book. It has beautifully etched themes like “would you change your fate, even if it meant that you had to damn someone else to it?” coupled with things like “How should you feel about getting revenge on someone who ruined your life, but had no idea that it had even occurred?” I feel like this is where HOB is starting to differentiate between MXTX’s previous works. This arc was absolutely stunning as well. There were two absolutely hilarious scenes. The first was the coffin bit, and the second was the art featured on the cover. Both Xie Lian's demisexuality and chastity vows were getting stretched to their breaking point. He's also fully realized he's got some sort of deep feels for Hua Cheng at this point because of it.

#heaven official's blessing #MXTX #taglinemode #thegays #boyscanloveboys #danmei #genre: romance #humourous #tragic

[dracereads]

Legendborn | Tracy Deonn | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis: Bree Matthews is ready to make a change. She leaves her father, family home, and hometown with a goodbye to attend school at an in-state College Campus, UCC Chapel Hill. What Bree's not expecting is to be caught in the middle of legendary and ancient war that may or may not have something to do with the untimely death of her mother.

My thoughts: I read Legendborn on Christmas day of 2020, as I had just started my book of the month subscription that December. Legendborn was the first book that i had read cover to cover in a looong time.

While the high-school drama is somewhat trite and cliche, I didn't find that it was stuffy and stale. I love the dichotomy between the "this is in every teenage romance series uwu" and "Bree is black, therefore she is going to experience and be perceived differently than a white girl in her situation." Every situation is turned on it's head, and there is real palpable frustration from a reader's perspective that Bree has to endure this shit™️ even when she's the heroine of our tale.

The crux of the book and it's lore is centered around Arthurian legend, and I'll admit that the final twist at the end even took me by surprise. The author does an excellent job of crafting expectations and perceptions only to flip them around at back at you. This definitely has a few standard "new fiction author who dis" mistakes, but I would say that I really look forward anything Tracy Deonn has to publish in the future.

Aside: I got new place-mats, as my other one is now covered in acrylic paint. I love the little Grogu faces, okay? shhh.

#taglinemode #tracy deonn #legendborn #drace tag this when you're not exhausted mmmkay? #bipocfiction #blackfiction #blackauthors

[dracereads]

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter -- Alexis Hall (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

in which Drace finally has time to sit down and share their opinions

Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes retelling ahoy! In this fantastic tale, we join our main character John Wyndham (John Watson) recounting his first encounter with the sorceress Shahrazad Haas (Sherlock Holmes)

The Tale leads us through the case of one Eirene Viola, a woman who has found herself being blackmailed over her recent betrothal to a woman named Cora Beck. This tale is an absolute flex of Alexis Hall's natural range.

My opinion: This books is absolutely bonkers! It's dripping with all kinds of good references to other classic literature, and it manages to pull it off well. I don't want to talk too much about this one in depth due to risk of spoilers, but. I had an inkling about half-way through on what might be going on. I did a rare thing and listened to the audio book on this one as well, which overall was a very lovely & talented performance by Nicholas Boulton. The Affair of the Mysterious Letter was also my pick for the traveling book project, so we'll be seeing my physical copy again soon when it comes back home. I'll be breaking down my rating on the later installment.

#The Affair of the Mysterious Letter #Alexis Hall #taglinemode #drace finish tagging this later

[dracereads]

So I was having a conversation with a friend IRL about my collection of books. She knows I'm asexual, so she blatantly asked me if I read anything raunchy. The answer to that question is yes, I do in fact read raunchy stuff too. I don't make it my mission, so don't expect to pose this question to me and get an erotica list that'll make your dreams come true. I aint about that life fam.

This one was recommended by another friend, who failed to mention the nature of the erotica... It caught me by surprise the first time I read it. There were definitely a few "Why did you convince me to buy this??" rapidly sent in quick succession. It was a really funny experience overall though, and you can't get too mad at someone for trying to get a prank in at your expense from time to time.

Anyway. I'm putting this bad boy up here because I actually really did like the plot behind Letters... It's kind of a... complicated scenario. There's an age gap at play here, but not the one you'd expect. The 61 year old Protagonist is actually the youngest one in the relationship. However, it's strange because his suitor bears the eternal body of a vampire of the Night Court. There's a lot of complicated questions posed about age, immortality, and vampires juxtaposed in between the romance scenes, which sets up for the ultimate twist in later books.

This is going to be a solid 3/5. It would get more points if it took it's erotica scenes slower. LMAO.

#Otava Heikkilä #taglinemode #thegays #boyscanloveboys #genre: adult #genre: romance #smutty #vampires #agegap #genre: fantasy #letters for lucardo #queer authors club

[dracereads]

Fall of the Demon Prince (Rest In A Demon's Embrace I) | Tinalynge | ★★★

Drace's PSA: The Author, Tinalynge, is from Denmark where the Age of Consent is 15.

Synopsis: Tinalynge's attempt at a "fanmei"; A non-Chinese author writes a webnovel in a similar style and trope-collection to a true danmei. It's hard to nail down the plot of this one without spoiling it. However, the MC is a young man who's entire village is wiped out by a walking corpse. He is rescued by a Demon Prince, and typical danmei shenanigans get underfoot.

Opinions: I often go back and forth about this series. There are elements here and there that I absolutely adore... while on the other hand these books are a MESS. From story arcs, to character directions, to character motivations. This one is the least shaky in terms of characterizations and plot arc projection, but. it leaves much to be desired for sure. Though because this one is the most soild, it gets the best score of the bunch at 3 stars. Worth mentioning that I was extremely suss'd by one of the MLs being 15, but upon doing research I found out the author's reasoning behind it. This was one of those series that I binge read just to see if it'll straighten itself out as the author progresses... and it both does and doesn't. As I get further into the reviews of the later installments, I may or may not go into more detail.

In my honest opinion, unless you're looking for something questionable to tear your hair out over (and derive joy from that) I would skip this one.

#tinalynge #rest in a demon's embrace #fall of the demon prince #suggested skip #boyscanloveboys #thegays #genre: romance #genre: danmei #genre: fantasy #hot mess book #drace is critical #taglinemode