Celeste, Author at A Literary Escape

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall

Published on November 18, 2024November 27, 2024 by Celeste7 Comments

Today’s review is about THE LAST ONE by Rachel Howzell Hall. This is a romantasy debut by the author and appears (so far) to be a standalone book. Although the comparison to N.K. Jemisin meets The Witcher sounded intriguing, unfortunately this was a DNF for me. Read on to find out why.

Author: Rachel Howzell Hall
Series: No
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Publish Date: December 3, 2024
Print Length: 496

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Last One on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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Nonfiction November Book Pairings

Published on November 17, 2024November 16, 2024 by Celeste7 Comments

Here I am forgetting and re-remembering that this month is also Nonfiction November! In my first post to celebrate this genre I talked about my past year reading nonfiction. This week Liz is the host and the prompt is book pairings. So, obviously I’m here to discuss nonfiction and fiction book pairings.

Week 3 (11/11-11/15) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or (because I’m doing this) two books on two different areas have chimed and have a link. You can be as creative as you like!

I have four book pairing categories to share: ballet, reproductive rights, cats, and World War II!

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SciFi Month: Since We Last Met

Published on November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 by Celeste9 Comments

I may or may not be about a week late with this prompt. But who really has to know? Time travel is, after all, a nice component of science fiction. Consider it employed here. Anyway, as imyril explains here, “Since we last met” is a prompt to mention the sci-fi books I read since last SciFi Month.

I don’t usually read a ton of sci-fi. However, this is my second year as a SFINCS judge, so I’ve been exposed to more sci-fi than I might typically reach for (which is a good thing). Since most of my sci-fi reads are by self-published authors, I’ll just mention all of the books I read between November 2023 to the end of October 2024. Maybe one of the self-published novellas will catch your interest!

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WWW Wednesday: November 13, 2024

Published on November 13, 2024November 12, 2024 by Celeste12 Comments

I threw my reading plans off this month because hello MOOD last week. As I explain below for WWW Wednesday, one of my reads was a dystopian fiction. Because apparently I just need to immerse myself in it. Anyway. I’m back on track now. I read a few SFINCS novellas this past week. And I started an ARC on my November TBR.

WWW Wednesday was revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

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The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen

Published on November 11, 2024November 27, 2024 by Celeste10 Comments

Today’s review is about THE BLACK HUNGER by Nicholas Pullen. It’s a standalone queer gothic horror steeped in the occult. Check out the content warnings on this one!

Author: Nicholas Pullen
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: October 08, 2024
Print Length: 400

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Black Hunger on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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