Hello everybody, my name is Cara, and
today I'm here with some of my September
reading plans.So I did a poll on Twitter
and most of you guys said that you would
prefer to see two TBR videos, so one for
the Latinxathon and Latinx Book Bingo
books I want to read,
and then a separate one for all the
other readathons. I think because of
when the readathons start, probably
my like general TBR is going to go up
first, which is what I'm filming right
now,
um, although there will be some
crossover so you're actually going to
kind of get a sneak peek of some of the
Latinx books I'm super excited to get to
this year during Hispanic Heritage Month
or Latinx Heritage Month which is from
September 15th through October
15th. So uh as usual I have quite an
ambitious TBR, but I'm super super
excited about all of these books so like,
I feel like I can probably get a good
number of them done because I'm going to
be like really hopefully enjoying all of
them. So we're going to start out with my
TBR for the Celtic Mythothon. Mythothon
was created by Louise from Foxes [and] Fairy
Tales and this is I think the third round -
it's the first round I'm participating
in and I'm super excited,
um, I think the like setup for this one
is a little bit different: normally
there's a bingo board of prompts but for
the Celtic one it's actually like you
move through a story which is really
cool, um, I think there's gonna be
multiple parts for this too but I'm
talking about the first part and this
round is based on a Welsh story [that]
I think is pronounced something like
[The Tale of] Pwll Pendefic Dyfed? maybe? [I asked Google and did my best] I am so sorry to everybody who
speaks Welsh [for my mispronunciation.] So I'm actually not going to read all the like story
parts out because I think that's a fun
thing to do as you're like choosing your
books, but I am going to link
obviously all the information for the
readathon down below where you can do
that.
Um I'm just going to talk about the
prompts and the books I plan to read.
The first prompt is to read a book that
has an animal on the cover or in the
title,
and for that one I hope to read Raybearer
by Jordan Ifueko. This is the UK cover which I really like,
and as you can see there are *shows* two lions
on the cover. This is an African-inspired
fantasy and I think
it's about a female main character who
gets a position in the prince's like
court or like [as] one of his advisors or
something,
and her job is to protect him but I
think her mother has
sent her there to kill him, um...I think.
Something like that! I've heard amazing
things about this book and I'm so
excited to get to it.
The second prompt is to read a book
featuring the fae or some other
supernatural element,
and for that one I have one of the first
sneak peeks of my Latinxathon and
Latinx Book Bingo TBR and that is
Lobizona by Romina Garber, and this book
does have werewolves in it so
that's a supernatural creature, and this
is a book that again I've heard amazing
things about.
Our main character is a girl named Manu
and she's an undocumented immigrant and
I think
something happens, I think her mother
disappears maybe? *checks*
yeah, her mother is arrested by ICE and
then Manu ends up finding out some
things about her family and she ends up
going on a rescue mission. I've also
heard there's like a
kind of magical school at some point in
this book and I also heard it does a
really great job of dealing with a lot
of really heavy themes
about immigration and culture. Again,
can't wait to get to this one. *pause*
I'm pretty much gonna be saying this for
all these books so I'm sorry in advance
that *laughs* I'm gonna repeat myself for--
so much! Um the next prompt is to read a
book featuring a rivalry and
yet again this is a very anticipated
release of mine and that is Where Dreams
Descend by Janella Angeles.
*shows* Look at that stunning cover, and then
it's got really cool *shows* end papers as well,
and then underneath it has like a gold 
imprint *shows* of a chandelier,
um, there's like a little bit that's worn off
but I don't care, it makes it unique!
um I am so excited about this. This is
inspired by Phantom of the Opera and a
little bit of Moulin Rouge,
and this does feature a rivalry. I think
there are three characters who are like
competing in a magician competition or
something like that,
um, once again this is one I've heard
great early reviews for
and I can't wait, I am absolute trash for
Phantom of the Opera so...
I'm ready! The next prompt is to read a
book featuring a friendship or with
serious squad goals
and for that one I have an ARC and that
is Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry.
Um the print version comes out - I think
the audio, like it's one of those
exclusive audiobooks that has been out
for a while -
but the print version goes on sale
October 13th of this year
um and I actually got this a few months
ago but - and I put it on a TBR -
but I've been holding off because I want
to do a full review for this book closer
to release date,
um, so I hope to finally get to it. I have
loved...
I, I always think of Julie Berry as a
favorite author for me even though I've
only read one of her books but that one
book was Lovely War which like kind of
changed my life a little bit?
so...anyway! really excited to read more of
her things, I own quite a few of her books
so I'm excited to get to more. And this
is about a girl who goes to a British
boarding school and she accidentally
wakes up a foul-tempered genie,
um, who reluctantly grants her three
wishes and she ends up going with her
friends
um on an adventure. And I feel like this is
just gonna have really great friendships
so
I'm really looking forward to this; also
kind of a perfect fall read I think. Next
prompt is to read a book from a trilogy
and for that one
I have Nocturna by Maya Motayne. This is
the first book in a Latinx fantasy
trilogy. I know Jocelyn really loves this
series, um, I think she talked about it in
her
own-world mythology video which is a
thing that I also really enjoy reading
about,
um and I think the magic in this series
is partially based
on like families or like something like
that?
uh which sounds really interesting, and I
think our main character,
she is a shape-shifter? maybe? she can
like change her face and like disguise
herself. So I think she's a thief on
the run
and then she ends up having to team up
with the prince and trying to accomplish
something? *reads back of book* looks like they accidentally wake up a terrible ancient power
and they have to team up to try and
defeat the thing that they unleashed.
This is a series I've been planning to
get to for a long time and I'm excited
to
finally do that. The next prompt is to
read a book that has food on the cover
or in the title
and I have Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley. Um this is an ownvoices Native
American story and our main character is
a girl named Apple
who has kind of distanced herself from
her Indigenous culture - after
experiencing a lot of racism she has
kind of distanced herself from that part
of her. But
then one summer she ends up staying with
some of her Native American relatives on
the Turtle Mountain reservation
and I think it's about her kind of
reconnecting with her family and with
her culture.
And this book comes very highly recommended
from Michelle from Thor Wants Another
Letter,
um, so I'm really really excited to get
to this. The next prompt is to read a
book that you already own,
and this one again very excited, um, that
is Such A Fun Age by
Kiley Reid. I've been meaning to read
this book since Marines from mynameismarines talked about
it, um, she has a whole review that I will
link down below, and our main character
is a young Black woman who is
babysitting for a white family
um and she has the baby girl at a
grocery store and somebody sees them and
assumes that she stole the baby and like
calls the police I think,
and that's kind of one of the main
incidents in this book but from what
I've heard the story as a whole is kind
of about like performative activism
um and microaggressions and like fake-
woke white people,
and I've just heard like incredible
things about this book and the themes it
handles,
um, so I'm really looking forward to this
as well. The next prompt is to read a book
written by a female author and I read a
lot of books by female authors so this
definitely wasn't difficult
um but kind of in the spirit of the
readathon you're supposed to do one book
per prompt - even though you don't have to,
you are definitely allowed to stack if
you like -
but I figured this was a perfect excuse
to put a book on my TBR I've been
wanting to get to for a while
um and that is The Voting Booth by
Brandy Colbert. This is about
our two main characters, it's one of
those like 'set over the course of a day'
books,
um, and the female lead, Marva, she sees
this boy Duke get turned away [at the polls]
and she says like, you know, 'that's not
right, we have to make sure you get to
vote,' and so she
is on a mission to get him to be able to
vote by the end of the day. So the two of
them end up um
traveling together I guess around the
city to do that and I,
again, I've heard that this handles
really great themes. Um I've also heard
that like
it does the 'relationship in one day'
thing very convincingly and after I read
Somewhere Only We Know
which had kind of a similar time frame,
um, I'm much more open to that idea so I'm
excited to get to this.
Next is to read a book with a beautiful
cover and this is one like I could have
picked a lot of different options [for],
but again I wanted an excuse *laughs* to put this
book on my TBR
because it is one of my most anticipated
books of the year and that is Star
Daughter by Shveta Thakrar,
which is definitely *shows* a stunning cover. So
the premise for this reminds me of
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
but with Hindu mythology and one that I
think I will enjoy more?
um yeah, I haven't really heard any early
reviews of this, I'm gonna kind of try to
keep it that way
because I just want to love this and I
want to go in with pretty much like no
expectations of what is going to happen,
so absolutely thrilled to have this book
in my hands and I hope to get to it very
soon. The next prompt is to read a book
featuring mental health representation,
and for that one I have A Song of Wraiths
and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown.
This is a West African-inspired fantasy
and um I think our male lead,
I think he deals with anxiety and
possibly panic attacks too, and I
actually
really like when mental health themes
are explored in fantasy novels,
um, I actually find those easier to read
in a way, like especially if it's a
like condition that I also share, it's
like, I don't necessarily want to read
a contemporary about a character with
anxiety because it's like, that's a
little too close to home? Also once again *shows*
a stunning cover. I think I had this on a
previous TBR but I didn't get to it so
hoping it happens this month. And the
last prompt for the Celtic Mythothon is to
read a book featuring royalty and for
that one I...*laughs* hope to read one of my
neglected
library books - I have read a couple of
those but still not making the progress
I want to,
um, and that is In the Shadow of the Sun
by E.M. Castellan. I think this is a
fantasy novel inspired by the French
court and specifically the Sun King who
is I think Louis XVI, and I have realized
I really like
um like French-inspired fantasies, I
think I've actually read a couple that
are specifically
set during the court of the Sun King so
apparently that's a very niche thing
that I enjoy!
um so looking forward to getting to that
one as well. Okay so the next readathon
I'm going to talk about is
Wonderland or, I think it's--I think it's
part of A Touch of Whimsy but there's
like a specific readathon that they're
doing for the first time which is based
on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and
the hosts for that are Lexi from Alexandra
Roselyn,
Kalyn from KalynAbridged, Gavin from
How to Train Your Gavin, and Jade from Jadeyraereads.
...I just remembered
I think I wrote these down
in reverse order? *laughs* so I'm going to try to
reverse these so that I actually get
them in the right order when I'm talking
about them.
The first prompt is to read a book
set in another world and for that one
I'm doubling up with Nocturna by Maya
Motayne,
although I really could have picked I
think any of the fantasy books that I'm
reading. Next prompt is to read an
aesthetically pleasing book and I have a
ton of gorgeous covers but this is a
book that I
need to read during the month anyway um
and I do think it's a very pretty cover
and that is Wuthering Heights by Emily
Brontë. This is the Penguin English Library
editions which I think are really pretty
and they're *demonstrates* super floppy paperbacks
which I love,
um, and this is for our Passed It Classics
club, September is the first month we're
doing this. I'm hosting this with the
wonderful Julia and Taylor from PageScreenTaylor and the live show is going
to be on Taylor's channel. The official
date will be announced but it'll be near
the end of the month or near the
beginning of October. So I'm really
curious to see how I feel about
rereading this one because when I read
it a few years ago
I actually really liked it, um, even
though the whole time I was reading it I
was like 'yes, I can understand why so
many people despise this book,'
um, but yeah, we'll see, I hope I still
like it! Another prompt is to
have a cozy reading snack which I don't
have a specific book picked for but I
love that prompt. The next prompt is to
pick up a book for a cozy night in,
and this one I actually deliberately
left blank because I want to
just pick up something that I feel like.
The next prompt is to pick a book you
think you'll love
and for that one I have Dark and Deepest
Red by Anna-Marie McLemore.
Again this is one of my Latinx picks,
and I have
loved everything McLemore has written so
I am pretty sure I'm going to really
enjoy this one
as well, um, yeah, this is I think a dual
timeline
novel which I am not always a fan of
that format but I trust Anna-Marie
McLemore so much that I
am sure I'm still going to really enjoy
this. Oh also I don't know where this
prompt is in the lineup but I think one
of the
challenges is to join them for their
live show so that is also a prompt that
you can do!
And then the last prompt is to pick a
strange and mysterious book
and for that one I have Kiki Macadoo and
the Graveyard Ballerinas
by Colette Sewall. This is a book I have
heard basically nothing about, I don't
even remember
how I came across this like on Goodreads
or something, but I am so excited. I don't
remember if I've talked about this on my
channel but I have been feeling for a
long time that ballets
are an untapped resource for retellings,
and this is like a spooky middle grade
retelling
of I think Giselle? yeah, um the ballet Giselle. So I think our main character, she ends
up finding these like ghost girls in the
woods
and if you guys are familiar at all with
the story of Giselle, in the ballet there
are ghost girls who force people to
dance until they die,
um, I'm really interested to see how that
plays out in this middle grade book
and...yeah, I just--I just want more ballet
retellings. I love retellings and I just
feel like ballets are such an
underutilized source for that so I hope
this is good!
Okay and then the last readathon I'm going
to talk about in this video is the
Bratz Readathon.
Um I loved Bratz dolls when I was
growing up, like Bratz and Barbie -
me and my sister were like equal
opportunity fans. I'm going to be joining
team Yasmin and the hosts for that team
are Tyra & the books and Candace from
trashy tomes. I will put all the hosts
down below but those are the hosts for
Team Yasmin which is who I will be
joining.
Um and I think actually I will be able
to double up on all of these prompts
which is great, um, so the first prompt is
Pretty Princess: that is to read a book
that has a crown on the cover. And once again
I have Nocturna by Maya Motayne. This is
like the book that fits a zillion
prompts which I did not realize when I
picked it,
um for some reason I had a really hard
time finding a book *points* that had a crown on
it. The next prompt is to read an
ownvoices Latinx book, which I will
definitely be covering with the
Latinxathon and Latinx Book Bingo
picks. The next prompt is Hopeless
Romantic: that is to read a book with
romance.
Okay, this is the only book that I have
not already talked about and that is You
Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria. This is a
romance novel that has gotten
amazing reviews, um, I'm so excited about
it, it's about two characters who
are working on like a telenovela set
together um and they hate each other but
they end up having to work together
and a romance ensues. I'm just so
excited for this, like I love this cover *shows*,
I love the idea of this,
I love the romance opportunities that
come from having characters work
on um like the same performance together,
like basically being co-stars, I love
that,
so I can't wait to finally get to this.
The next prompt is Animal Rescue and
that is to read a book that has an
animal on the cover.
And I will be using the same book I chose
for that prompt for a different readathon
which is Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. And
the last prompt is Nevra and Roxxi: that is
to read the group book
which is The Henna Wars by Adiba
Jagirdar. I don't generally read group
books as part of readathons but I have
heard amazing things about that one so
if you've been looking for an excuse to
read it then that is the group book for
the readathon! Okay everybody, so those
are
a bunch of the books that *laughs* I hope to get
to during the month of September.
Once again, it's a lot, but that's okay,
I'm excited about all of these
um and actually, like as you'll see when
I post my Latinxathon and Latinx Book
Bingo TBR,
quite a few of these are going to double
up so it's not going to be
as intense as it seems; it's not going to
be completely unmanageable I think,
uh, but anyway, I mean I'm looking forward
to all of these! Please let me know if
you're participating in any of these
readathons and one book that you are
really excited to get to in the month of
September.
Thank you guys so much for watching, I
will see you soon with another video, and
I hope you love the next book you read.
Bye!
