Cover Reveal and #1001DiverseBooksCampaign: Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar Cover Reveal

Cover Reveal and #1001DiverseBooksCampaign

Exciting news! Mango and Marigold Press is launching its eighteenth book and first middle grade novel ever. REA AND THE BLOOD OF THE NECTAR is written by debut #ownvoices author Payal Doshi. It tells the story of Rea Chettri, a 12-year-old girl living a simple, if boring, life on the tea plantations of Darjeeling, India. When her twin brother goes missing, Rea’s life gets turned on its head. Determined to save him, Rea embarks on a secret, thrilling adventure into the enchanted world of Astranthia. There, Rea will make new friends, grapple with dark truths, learn the meaning of family and friendship, and discover her true self.

REA AND THE BLOOD OF THE NECTAR is the first … Continue reading

Review: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Cinderella is Dead by Kaylynn Bayron

Cinderella is Dead
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cinderella is Dead

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself … Continue reading

August 2018 Monthly Wrap-Up and Bookish Conversations

Did you notice my new blog header?

This summer brought a lot of changes. Gabrielle is no longer blogging with me, but I wish her all the best with her own projects, and I really enjoyed having her as a part of The Story Sanctuary. Also, you may have noticed the new header and web icon images on the site. Yay for a fresh new look!

New tag line: Helping you find the right book for your reader.

Another big change is perhaps more subtle. Since I started writing reviews, the tag line of my blog was, “Young adult book reviews from a Christian world-view.” My goal has always been to write reviews of a broad range of books and include information that I, as a Christian parent, would want … Continue reading

Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles by Dhonielle ClaytonThe Belles
Dhonielle Clayton
Disney-Hyperion
Published on February 6th, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble Goodreads

About The Belles

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as … Continue reading

Top Ten Diverse Reads

TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is top ten books which are outside the normal scope of what we read. I am pretty territorial about my reading time, so I pretty much stick to young adult and middle grade fiction with a few nonfiction books thrown in for sanity sake. This made the topic was a little tough for me. One of the things I’ve realized over the last year or so is that sometimes I need to be purposeful about choosing books with narrators who are different than me. Whether that means different in terms of race, gender, identity, or experience. Here are ten books that I really enjoyed … Continue reading