Rachel Reads & Reviews

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Book Club Picks

  • Fullmetal Alchemist Vol 1-8

    Alright, I started a new manga. One of the most popular ones apparently so this is a more spoilery what I thought about the first half of the series rather than a full-on review. But I guess it doesn’t matter since the spoilers won’t make sense to someone who hasn’t read them. Let’s get to…

  • Warriors: Vision of Shadows

    I know, I know, it’s been awhile but someone keeps taking them out so I couldn’t read them in order. I guess it goes to show Hunter and the Warrior cats’ enduring popularity. Go them! Hunter’s next set of books pave new ground after the world-changing events of Omen of the Stars with Firestar’s death…

  • Thoughts on Tales from a Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure

    Alright so I read the latest Dork Diaries, and while it’s cute. I’m left with more questions than answers. 

  • 80s Kids Fantasy

    For my 600th post (already!) I decided to take a trip down fantasy memory lane by reading those classic 80s favorites for the first time. They’re pretty famous so I’m not going to go into the summaries of each but discuss my thoughts on why they managed to stand the test of time. While I’ve…

  • Oct Books

    The Moonlit Vine by Elizabeth Santiago Santiago’s debut novel begins with the conquest of the Caribbean as Anacoana’s daughter watches the conquistadors burn down her kingdom. She and her own daughter are in hiding and she gifts her with a zemi that will protect her and connect her to her ancestors. In the present day,…

  • Book Highlight: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

    Evelyn Hugo is a straight up icon. While initally readers may believe she’s an icon in the traditional Hollywood style. For having seven husbands (take that Liz Taylor. Yeah, she had 8 but two of those were the same man. Hugo was actually seven different men), having the perfect body with a contrast of blonde…

  • What was the first horror book you read?

    Mine was Salem’s Lot which was a gift from a friend for my 13th birthday. Apparently, she thought my interest in celebrity ghost stories and reincarnated ghost children extended to horror in general which is not really true. Psuedo-documentaries of real life hauntings I can handle, horror movies and books not so much. But I…

  • Sept Books

    Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle Fatima Tate is a good Muslim daughter although her desire to become a professional pastry chef and opening a bakery is not on her parent’s agenda for their daughter’s good future. But that’s just the start of Fatima chafing against the rules. She’s going to be going…

  • Author Highlight: Kody Keplinger

    There are some authors who just get the teen experience. Keplinger is one of those authors which makes sense since she made her debut, The DUFF, when she was seventeen. You may have heard of The DUFF movie, but the book, like always, is so so much beter. The movie just takes the phrase “Designated…

  • Aug Books

    Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Traught a Family-and a Whole Town-About Hope and Happy Endings by Janet Elder As I’ve said multiple times. I’m a sucker for dog memoirs even if they’re a bit sad because, with all the variations, it harbors the same theme. Dogs teach us more about…