REVIEW | Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Duhnam.

"How permanent virginity feels, and then how inconsequential."

I gave Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Duhnam four out of five stars!  I think the best thing about listening to memoirs is getting to listen to the individual read their story. I got this book from the library in audio format, and I really want to own it and reread it because it was so so good.

I am such a fan of what Lena Duhnam stands for, so I was excited to listen to her book and get more straight from her.  I haven't watched all of her show GIRLS but I've watched episodes here and there, and I just love that it feels real, not like the movie magic sex scenes in any other show ever.  And she talks about this in her book and I was just like YES YES YES.

Lena Duhnam has a very dry sort of awkward humor and its not for everyone, but I was all about it! I loved her stories about getting naked on camera for the first time, her first time, and her first fake time, basically everything regarding naked bodies.

I highly recommend checking out Not That Kind of Girl if you want to hear this type of thing - I hope you check out her show GIRLS too because its great and I need to binge watch it and its also mentioned regularly in the book.

Until next time,

MissSassyKassie

REVIEW | Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray.

I gave Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray five out of five stars!  This is the sequel in The Diviners series and before I get into spoilers, I do want to say that this book was not just good on its own, but did well in furthering the plot of this series.  If you haven't yet read The Diviners, it is a paranormal mystery series about people who have special powers - called diviners.  I highly recommend the audiobooks for both the first and this book!  The narrator, January Levoy is glorious!

SPOILERS AHEAD

I loved the development of Henry and Ling's friendship.  It as really refreshing to read about two people who weren't falling in love.  The new aspect of dream walking was also really interesting!  Libba Bray was fantastic at making it clear when we were in a dream or reality.

The addition of the historical Chinese racism/Chinatown/lack of citizenship/etc. was also very cool to read about. I love the mix of historical and paranormal fiction.  Its one of my favorite things about this series.

Learning more about Theta was a sigh of relief - even though her past is relatively still shrouded in history.  I'm so happy we've learned about her fire-making ability! I'm interested to see how Memphis will find out and if his healing ability will play any role in their relationship.

SAM AND EVIE.  I am finally on board this ship!  It took Jericho going on a date with Mabel to realize that Jericho is most definitely not for Evie. He's so boring!  I'm honestly not sure why he's even considered as a love triangle... And as we get more scenes f Sam and Evie together, making jokes, making fun of each other, I couldn't help but smile goofily as I listened.  Those are the types of relationships I love to see because its how Matt and I are with each other.

Wai Mei.  I did not see it coming that she was out main villain for quite a while, BUT I didn't trust her! She was so oblivious and too nice... I was worried!  It wasn't until she got mad at Ling and burned her hand that I was like oh shit its her! She's the scary lady!

Along with this, I was totally taken off guard by Louise being dead until he didn't show up at the train station.  At that moment it definitely went through my mind - What if he's not alive!? Then when Ling realizes it, the next scene when Louie tells Henry, I was crying! I was devastated even though I had this feat the entire time - it was too good to be true.

I'm so glad we're moving forward with the question - why are all of these diviners converging in New York?  We don't have an answer by any means, but we've addressed the question and I'm glad it will be part of the plot as the series goes on.

I absolutely love this series and this book!  Hats off to Libba Bray (and special bow to the goddess narrator January Levoy!  I really think the audiobook makes it that much better!). I cannot wait for the third book to come out - hopefully sooner rather than later!

REVIEW | Neither Man Nor Woman by Serena Nanda.

        I gave Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India four out of five stars.  This is a nonfiction ethnography written by Anthropologist, Serena Nanda.  An ethnography is an anthropological written account that is an analysis and observation of a culture.  This one was about the hijra of India, a subculture within Indian society that are "neither man nor woman." Instead hijras are either born intersex or made into a hijra by going through an operation that removes the genitals but doesn't create new ones.

        I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the hi-res of India, particularly in the personal narratives Nanda included from the hijras themselves.

        I did have a few issues. At times, I felt like Nanda was a little too open about who she thought was gossiping about each other, or sometimes the things she said rubbed me the wrong way for this type of nonfiction book.  At times, she didn't read like an anthropologist but like a friend of the individuals.  While personal relationships are very important, it almost felt inappropriate to read.

        With this said, I think this book was not only entertaining but also eye opening for a Westerner whose reality of gender and gender rules is only starting to change in the last few years to include non binary gender identities.

A Beautiful Cover & an Intriguing Story | Mist & Whispers by CM Lewis.

      Mist and Whispers is CM Lucas' debut novel about a girl named Anya who is trying to keep a bookshop from closing down in the West English town called Little Wold Green. The popularity of four books of magic and myth makes Anya want to uncover the mystery of their author, known as The Weaver. She soon realizes that there is more to this world, and she has to help save it.

       When I read the synopsis of this book the first thing I thought was, "ooo this sounds like that one book where the fiction comes to life!" Little did I know, I wasn't the only one that made that connection, and others actually remembered the title of the book I was thinking of.   Taran Matharu, author of the summoner series made that same comparison!

     I am so intrigued by the idea of fiction coming to life.  I loved reading The Chronicles of Narnia and although I haven't gotten around to reading Inkheart yet (forever in the booktube black hole of the never-ending TBR list) I love this type of plot line! Can you imagine reading something and then suddenly what you were reading was real? I mean that sounds cool but also possibly terrifying!! I read a whole lot of fantasy, I would prefer for dangerous fae and other monsters to stay on the page!

I was lucky enough to be contacted by OfTomes Publishing to learn more about this book and hopefully you all will want to read it too! I mean look at that cover, its gorgeous!  Make sure to check out the book on Goodreads.  It's also only $3.99 on kindle today (FREE if you have kindle unlimited) in the US!

Until next time,

MissSassyKassie

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FTC: I was not paid by OfTomes Publishing for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.