by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I picked up Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered (Amazon | Bookshop.org) for two reasons: (1) I loved her novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January (Amazon | Bookshop.org) and (2) I love a good fairytale retelling. (Check out our most recent episode, all about fairytale retellings, for more recs along these lines.) This slim book—it's only 128 pages—is a retelling or remix of the Sleeping Beauty story (one of my favorites). Here, the protagonis

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partners NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC of Lauren Blackwood’s Within These Wicked Walls (Amazon | Bookshop.org) in exchange for an honest review. The book just released on October 19! Those of you who follow me know that I love a new version of a classic, and I’m particularly a sucker for a Jane Eyre (Amazon | Bookshop.org) retelling, so when I saw that there was a Jane Eyre retelling set in Et

In this Unabridged Book Club episode, Sara, Jen, and Ashley discuss Darcie Little Badger's young adult lit book Elatsoe (Amazon | Bookshop.org). This fascinating book combines several genres including fantasy and paranormal fiction. We also share our pairings, including Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter, Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys, and Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles. We had a great discussion about this outstanding book and hope that you enjoy it! Bookish Check-in As

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Ryka Aoki's Light from Uncommon Stars (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. "Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the

October Book In October, we're so excited to be discussing Aiden Thomas's YA novel Cemetery Boys (Amazon | Bookshop.org) as both our Book Club and Buddy Read pick. We'll have two IG chats in the middle of the month, and then the episode will release on October 27th. Stay tuned to @unabridgedpod for details! Here's the synopsis: "A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas's paranormal YA debu

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) B. B. Alston's Amari and the Night Brothers I absolutely loved this brilliant book, B. B. Alston's Amari and the Night Brothers (Amazon | Bookshop.org), so much! It was fast-paced and compelling with excellent world building and an outstanding protagonist. I loved Amari right from the start, and I found her motivation, her desire to find her older brother Quinton who had disappeared, to be powerful and authentic. When the boo

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partners NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC of Zoraida Córdova's The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina (Amazon | Bookshop.org) in exchange for an honest review. The book is now available for purchase! Zoraida Córdova's The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina begins with a letter. Orquídea Montoya is dying, so she calls her relatives to her home in Four Rivers to claim their inheritance. She’s lost touch with most of them, having d

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Today is such an epic book release day that I'm afraid I can't limit myself to highlighting only three books. So, be sure to scroll to the end to check out the books I can't help shouting out. Bethany C. Morrow's So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Four young Black sisters come of age during the American Civil War in So Many Beginnings, a warm and powerful YA remix of the classic novel

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we released an episode recommending some favorite fantasy and dystopian reads. (You can check it out here.) So, I thought I'd zoom in on fantasy for this week's bookish fave. Fantasy is one of my go-to genres. It's there when I need a comfort read, when I want to escape, when I want to challenge myself. Often, fantasy authors are taking on real-world issues under the guise of leaving the real world. While the list of fantasy books I

In this Unabridged podcast episode, Ashley, Jen, and Sara talk about one of our favorite topics - we share book series we've loved reading. We're focusing on young adult literature fantasy and dystopian series, and although there are tons of great recommendations in this category, we narrow it down to Marie Lu, Dhonielle Clayton, and S.A. Chakraborty. Check it out, and find us on the socials to share your favorites with us! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Befo

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partners NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital ARC of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things (Amazon | Bookshop.org) in exchange for an honest review. The book will be available for purchase on September 7, 2021. Certain Dark Things is full of things I already knew I loved: Vampire stories? Check. (I’m such a sucker for them all. Pun belatedly intended.) Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s ability to transfer her fabulous, gritty writin

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Charlotte Nicole Davis's The Sisters of Reckoning (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "The Sisters of Reckoning is the blockbuster sequel to Charlotte Nicole Davis’s alternate Old West-set fantasy adventure. "The Good Luck Girls are free. Aster’s sister and friends have new lives across the border in Ferron, while Aster remains in Arketta, helping more girls esca

On today's Unabridged episode, we share about a popular topic - books we cannot stop reading! We share about a fantasy favorite, Sarah J. Maas, with A Court of Silver Flames, and romance favorite Alyssa Cole with her thriller When No One is Watching. We also talk about Laura Hankin’s Happy and You Know It. It's always fun to read a book you can't put down, so we wanted to share some that had that effect on us! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Peter Heller’s The River (Amazon | Books

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) On Wednesday, we're sharing our recommendations for books we couldn't stop reading. Be on the lookout for our book recs when that releases Wednesday! That episode got me thinking about other books that I've found irresistible and that I couldn't stop reading... here are a few that felt that way for me! This is a bit of an eclectic mix, but what they all have in common is that I could not stop reading them! I loved all of thes

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Jennifer Chiaverini's The Women’s March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini returns with The Women’s March, an enthralling historical novel of the woman’s suffrage movement inspired by three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight t

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) My reading has been going much better in 2021 than in 2020. I have read quite a few books (for me) in this first part of the year, and I have read some that I truly adored. If you look back at my post from last year at this same time, my reading was not going well. At all. I love sharing the books I love, so I wanted to highlight these five books that have been some of my favorites of the year (so far). These aren't necessarily books that we

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As usual when I set out to create a concise list of something, I struggled with this task, with creating a list of five favorite books that I've read so far in 2021. I've read a LOT of amazing books this year, and I want to tell you about them ALL. But, fear not, I've restrained myself, and I've come up with a list. I won't say that it's the definitive list because there's a great chance that tomorrow, I'll have regrets and wish I'd chosen one

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I wanted to read this one from the moment I heard the description, which incorporates a retelling of "The Wild Swans" fairy tale woven in with East Asian folklore and myths. Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy of Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes (Amazon | Bookshop.org) in exchange for an honest review! This brilliant YA fantasy read focuses on Princess Shiori, who at the beginning of the story is worried about her up

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Phew, I have read some amazing books so far this year! Every year it feels increasingly challenging to pick favorites, and that is proving to be true for 2021. I shared some favorites from my reading challenges so far in my latest Bookish Fave. Here are a few others that I have absolutely loved during the first half of 2021! This list of five favorites so far includes Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After (Amazon | Bookshop.org)

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! This list is filled with books that are near-sure things since they're all follow ups to books I've previously loved. Sonali Dev's Incense and Sensibility (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Yash Raje, California’s first Indian-American gubernatorial candidate, has always known exactly what he wants—and how to use his privileged background to get it. He attributes