BE Spring ’20: 50 Shades of Green

Good afternoon bookworms!

I heard someone ask for more Bookending Spring… so I am here to deliver! Just like your local florist (if your local florist is delivering you virtual lists of books…?)

This post is part of Bookending Spring 2020, which is organised by Sam & Clo! Today’s post, “50 shades of green” is hosted by me! If you want to do this prompt, please don’t forget to link back to this post!

Prompt Explanation: Green is the colour of spring, so let’s talk about your favourite green books you’ve read, and those on your TBR!!

Also, how could I NOT use this prompt name when all things green remind me of spring!! (Is it just me, or do each of the seasons have a specific colour in your mind? I go green for spring, yellow for summer, red/orange for autumn, and blue for winter.)

Books I’ve read

Heartstopper Vol 1 – Alice Oseman

I know this book has a lovely green cover, but the falling leaves in the background actually give me autumn vibes… which fits me at the moment because it is autumn here in Australia!

However, Nick and Charlie’s story is absolutely beautiful, and I love it so much. This is Volume 1 of the paperback copies, but it’s also available on Tapas (https://tapas.io/series/Heartstopper) and on Alice’s Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/aliceoseman/). I have to admit, that I support Alice on Patreon AND I buy the paperbacks when they’re out. But I haven’t read my Vol 2 and 3 paperbacks because on Patreon (and on Tapas too) we are WELL ahead of the paperback copies. And it just gets MORE adorable. ?

The House with Chicken Legs – Sophie Anderson

This absolutely beautiful novel by Sophie Anderson is actually a kind of perfect for spring because it’s all about new beginnings.

This is the story of Marinka, who is the granddaughter of a Yaga. Yaga, as in Baba Yaga of Russian folklore. But, the Yaga’s in this story are lovely elderly grandparent types who guide the dead to their final resting place. Anyway, this is a gorgeous story of loss and acceptance, learning who you are and who you want to be, making mistakes and owning up to them, and most importantly, found family. It’s a middle grade urban fantasy story, and I highly recommend it.

Camp – L. C. Rosen

This book’s release date just got pushed back to July (cue crying – for you guys, I’ve already read it), but it is such an amazing queer contemporary book that I honestly hope you read it when it does come out. (My review will come out closer to the new release date.)

Regardless, this is the story of Randy who has been going to Camp Outland for years. Randy is a ‘theatre kid’, but he’s been secretly in love with Hudson (who is masc for masc) for years. Randy decides after one summer that he’s had enough of being ignored, and spends the next 11 months putting on muscle and learning to play sports. Just before camp he shaves his glorious long hair, and when he arrives, Hudson cannot take his eyes off him. But the more time Randy spends pretending not to be his true self, he starts to wonder if this is really what love is. This book broke my heart in about 12 different ways and I hope you guys love it too!

Eliza and her Monsters – Francesca Zappia

This one definitely looks more green on my bookcase, but maybe that’s more to do with the spine than the actual cover… ?

It’s been years since I read this story, but it is one of the ones that I can recall with absolute clarity. Eliza is an artist with a webcomic, but her identity as the creator of this series is a secret. For good reason – Eliza suffers from crippling anxiety and panic attacks and she doesn’t want to have to face the scrutiny of all that public awareness. But then a boy who she interacts with online is suddenly in her class, and Eliza wonders what it would be like to share her secret. And then the worst thing happens. Eliza is outed and that choice is taken away. And suddenly her whole world is turned upside down. This book has such great mental health rep and if you haven’t read it, I do recommend it!!

Going Off Script – Jen Wilde

This miniseries of Jen Wilde’s is honestly one of my favourite things ever. The teens are all adorable and supportive and I love them. While it’s not necessary, I do recommend you read Queens of Geek and then The Brightsiders first, just so your not spoiled on the other characters.

This one is the story of Bex who moves to LA for a screenwriting internship on her favourite TV show. Along the way, Bex has to figure out how to come out to her family, stand up for herself, and be happy. Not necessarily in that order!! The villain in this is kind of over the top, but it’s Hollywood, so we’re giving it a pass – but also, he reminds me of every awful boss I’ve ever had, all rolled into one. But Bex (and her cousin and friends) are all amazing, and I love this adorable queer contemporary novel.

Books on my TBR

Ahhh, there’s so many books on my TBR that are green, it’s hard to pick just a couple!! I’ll add their synopses from Goodreads in case you want to read about them, because I haven’t read them!!

The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means–and what it costs–to face the truth.

Graceling – Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po. She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

Brightfall – Jamie Lee Moyer

Someone is murdering the Merry Men – and if Marian doesn’t stop them, her children will be the next to die: a wonderful re-imagining of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik and Christina Henry.

It’s been a mostly quiet life since Robin Hood denounced Marian, his pregnant wife, and his former life and retreated to a monastery to repent his sins . . . although no one knows what he did that was so heinous he would leave behind Sherwood Forest and those he loved most.

But when friends from their outlaw days start dying, Father Tuck, now the Abbott of St. Mary’s, suspects a curse and begs Marian to use her magic to break it. A grieving Marian bargains for protection for her children before she sets out with a soldier who’s lost his faith, a trickster Fey lord and a sullen Robin Hood, angry at being drawn back into the real world.

Marian soon finds herself enmeshed in a maze of betrayals, tangled relationships and a vicious struggle for the Fey throne . . . and if she can’t find and stop the spell-caster, no protection in Sherwood Forest will be enough to save her children.

A Study in Brimstone – G. S. Denning

Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius who uses the gift of deduction and reason to solve the most vexing of crimes.

Warlock Holmes, however, is an idiot. A good man, perhaps; a font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim. Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only thing he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart flatmate. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety… and save him from a gruesome death every now and again.

An imaginative, irreverent and addictive reimagining of the world’s favourite detective, Warlock Holmes retains the charm, tone and feel of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle while finally giving the flat at 221b Baker Street what it’s been missing for all these years: an alchemy table.

Reimagining six stories, this riotous mash-up is a glorious new take on the ever-popular Sherlock Holmes myth, featuring the vampire Inspector Vladislav Lestrade, the ogre Inspector Torg Grogsson, and Dr. Watson, the true detective at 221b. And Sherlock. A warlock.

Honestly, I could keep going but I’m trying to limit myself so that you all have some books to shout about too!! I can’t wait to see what is on your list!!

What green books do you have?