It’s time to play “guess that book” and also watch our TBRs weep.

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and is all about the first line of a current/upcoming read. Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda’s Voice, where you turn to page 56 (or 56%) in what you’re reading a find a snippet that jumps out at you.

Click To Reveal The Book

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

Bestowed by the ancient goddess of death, Yadriel and the gifted members of his Latinx community can see spirits: women have the power to heal bodies and souls, while men can release lost spirits to the afterlife. But Yadriel, a trans boy, has never been able to perform the tasks of the brujas – because he is a brujo.

When his cousin suddenly dies, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is not his cousin. It’s Julian Diaz, the resident bad boy of his high school, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves.

Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

✿ Transgender protagonist struggling with being accepted for who he is.
✿ Brujos and brujas with interesting powers!
✿ Super adorable, but broody, ghost who refuses to leave Yadriel alone.
✿ Tight-knit family bonds.
✿ Lots of tough but honest discussions about the not-so-pretty parts of life.
✿ Interesting mystery to be solved.
✿ Ill-fated slow-burn M/M romance.

This is a weekly meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook meant to take place on Mondays, but since Fridays tend to be my TBR-focused post, I’ve decided to combine them here. Next Monday’s prompt is: 2020 release.

This seems like a prompt that’s almost too easy, because wow, I still have a lot of 2020 releases to read. I’m going to try not to mention all the same ones I’ve said over and over 10 million times, so here are five upcoming releases that I haven’t mentioned ad nauseam already.

               

I immediately knew I had to read The Way Back when I read the blurb, because not only does it sound like a fun adventure, but it’s based on Jewish lore and mythology, including demons and mythical creatures and a war against Death. Honestly, this sounds way too good to pass up.

I like to think I’m a pretty simple girl to understand. I see a book comped to Nevermoor, I immediately add it to my TBR. In the case of The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars, not only did the comp help, but it sounds fantastic. There’s mythology and a quest and magical creatures and everything I’m sure I’ll love.

OH HAI, I HAVEN’T MENTIONED ANXIOUS PEOPLE TOO MUCH YET, HAVE I?! The correct answer, of course, is no. I actually don’t think I’ve talked about this one too much? I didn’t even realize it was coming until maybe a month or so ago? So I’ve got some catching up to do. Honestly, I just saw Fredrik Backman had a new book coming and clicked so hard that I think I broke NetGalley. That’s probably why it was down for a couple days. Sorry, guys, but it was worth it.

How about a graphic novel for a nice change? The Last Halloween was a recent find, but the artwork is so stinking charming that I instantly fell in love with it and couldn’t resist. It sounds like it’ll be a super cute, fun read, and just in time for fall!

Since I definitely foresee wanting to up the spooky reads in the next month or two, I figured Scritch Scratch would make a good addition to this list. It sounds suitably spooky without keeping me up at night contemplating which ghoul will finally do me in. This sounds right up my alley, and it’s comped to Small Spaces, so I think this one will be a win.