Lily Anderson, a lovely local, is a favorite around here. While fellow blogger Kelli has already given us all the reason to CRUSH ON THIS, I wanted to add my reasons why audio could be the best way to read Undead Girl Gang.

We already know Undead Girl Gang is an intersectional feminist story with positive Latinx, fat, and mental health rep. It’s sassy and smart, just like the four main characters Lily introduces us to. It’s a story that is contemporary and paranormal and relatable on so many levels. It has an unforgettable build and ending and unfolds in a way that turns you into a Lily fan for life.

Us locals have long wished for a Lily book on audio and now we FINALLY have one. What a fantastic audio it is. Fans of YA audiobooks are familiar with Rebecca Soler and her fabulous narration. Each character has their own voice, complete with tones and inflection. With four ongoing voices and a slew of side characters, it’s no easy feat. But Rebecca does it smoothly. I flew through this because the voice and words were a perfect match.

With an unforgettable cover that’s perfectly 2018 and an audiobook that makes your ears happy, you won’t want to miss Undead Girl Gang!

This was such a fascinating conclusion to A and Riannon’s story. I enjoyed how David set it up and took what the movie set up to the next level. Plus the number of Trump/Conservative digs was excellent.

A look at how sexual assault can be life consuming...and how the people who love you can support you through. Loved Owen!

I cared nothing about everyone and found this to be boring AF after much eye rolling.

Sometimes I think about what brought me to a series and it’s usually a trusted friend, an author I’ve already loved, or some serious good convincing. For The Themis Files series, I can’t remember why I started reading these books (was it the gorgeous covers??) but I am glad I did.

Only Human, the final book in the series, just released and I immediately grabbed the audio. The Themis Files are told in a style that looks familiar to those of us who have read Illuminae, which is especially rich in the full cast audiobooks. Without being too spoilery, here are five reasons why I love this series:

Mystery that unfolds quickly enough to not get bored but slowly enough to keep you wanting more. I took Waking Gods on a run and there’s no better motivator to keep running than a book you can’t stop listening to.
Characters you become very attached to. With any good sci-fi story, it’s likely that not all of your favorite characters make it to the end. That is especially true here. You will miss them greatly.
The middle book is the best one! I know, weird, right? I am historically a middle book lover but I’ve been disappointed many times recently. Waking Gods is my favorite of the series!
The covers. Oh, the covers. Have you SEEN the covers, especially naked? If my copy of Sleeping Giants wasn’t signed, I’d trade in my paperback for a hardcovers.
You might never look at your neighbors or your cousin or anyone the same again. Just leaving it at that.
To sum it up – if you’re a fan of Illuminae and looking for a great audiobook or piece of eye candy that features stellar characters and a mystery you won’t soon forever, The Themis Files are for you!

Even after a few weeks of finishing this book, I still haven’t unpacked all of my thoughts about this book. But here’s a few of them:

1. I picked up A Lite Too Bright because I love Sam Miller’s words. His poetical lyrics are what brought me to Paradise Fears and kept me there. I was hopeful that this would translate into his debut novel and he 100% delivered. This book is poetic and gorgeous.
2. Part of the poetic nature of this book also makes it very literary. This is a book that you pick up for book club or as a buddy read or in English class. Good lord please substitute some of those outdated coming of age stories and add stories like this.
3. The transition to adulthood is strange. It’s arbitrary. The clock flips from 11:59pm to 12:00am and suddenly your whole life changes. A Lite Too Bright is Arthur Louis Pullman the Third’s exploration of that weirdness combined with wanting answers to questions that maybe we should have left alone and the complexity of our idols.
4. That said, I was really invested in figuring out what the heck happened in the weeks after Arthur’s infamous author grandfather (who had Alzheimer’s) disappears. I was going to really mad if the story didn’t pay off…oh, but it did.

If you like journeys in contemporary, complex characters, and coming of age stories coupled with gorgeous writing, A Lite Too Bright is worth your listen or read!

You think you know something and yet you know nothing and oh my god why isn’t Only Human here yet?????

I went into this thinking it's YA because it's mislabeled on Audible. I am a romance reader so I was good to go there...except I felt nothing between the characters.

This story had a lot of potential. There’s an interesting switch partway through that, wrapped with the right amount of showing instead of telling alongside some better tie in between the time right before and everything after, would have made for something really phenomenal.

Also, this is definitely older YA. I’m a romance reader and not shy but if you only read YA, the intimate scenes might be more than you’re used to.

It’s release day and I’m already done so I guess you could say I enjoyed it.