

Mystico finished a book
4h

Upright Women Wanted
Sarah Gailey
In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.âThat girlâs got more wrong notions than a barn owlâs got mean looks.âEsther is a stowaway. Sheâs hidden herself away in the Librarianâs book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for herâa marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.

Mystico commented...
4h
That's such a fun idea! I need six more books until I can finish the A-Z challenge
A - Artificial Condition by Martha Wells B - Bone of my Bone by Johanna Van Veen C - Crystal Crowned by Elise Kova D - Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong E - The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo F - Faebound by Saara El-Arifi G - Graveyard shift by M.L.Rio H - Hatlethorn by C.G. Drews I - Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice J - K - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang L - Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazlewood M - Macbeth by William Shakespeare N - Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo O - One last stop by Casey McQuinston P - Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Q R - Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells S - Sunburn by Chlow Michelle Howarth T - Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica U V - The Vegetarian by Han Kang W - The Woods all Black by Lee Mandelo X Y Z


To bring a bit of fun to what's shaping up to be an otherwise dreary day, I though we could play a little game based on the progress we've made toward our reading goals so far. Using the titles for books you've finished this year, can you complete the alphabet?
Looking at my reads for the year, I managed to find titles for all but eight letters. Definitely didn't think I'd have anything for X or Z, but the lack of a J title surprised me. I excluded "The", "I", and "An" for my list to make it a bit more of a challenge, but you can ignore this element if you choose. Can't wait to see what y'all have been reading!
A - Aquicorn Cove by Kay O'Neill B - Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison C - Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay D - Diavola by Jennifer Thorne E - The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow F - The Family Plot by Cherie Priest G - Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson H - How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix I - If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust J K - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang L - Lost Girls of Hollow Lake Rebekah Faubion M - Mister Magic by Kiersten White N O - Obit by Victoria Chang P - Piranesi by Susanna Clark Q R - Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash S - The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling T - The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty U V W - When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur X Y Z
As we all know, Pagebound has the feature of showing off up to five books as your taste. But what if the books gets replaced by characters? What is your taste in characters?
As we all know, Pagebound has the feature of showing off up to five books as your taste. But what if the books gets replaced by characters? What is your taste in characters?

Upright Women Wanted
Sarah Gailey

Vicious (Villains, #1)
Victoria Schwab

Vicious (Villains, #1)
Victoria Schwab

Mystico commented...
7h
Interesting how I have the same struggle with Vicious as in Bury our Soul in the Mightnight Soil. The chapters feel too tight and it has a dual timeline POV where I know it will pay off later, but it doesn't feel that rewarding yet. I slowly feels more rewarding. Now I have more motivation to read the book.

Mystico is interested in reading...
7h

Angels Before Man
Rafael NicolĂĄs
A queer retelling of Satan's fall that's part cozy coming of age and part fast-paced tragedy, with a little love story in between â In an eternal paradise, the most beautiful angel, Lucifer, struggles with shame, identity, and timidity, with little more than the desire to worship his creator. It isn't until the strongest angel, Michael, comes into his life that Lucifer learns to love himself. Along the way, their friendship begins to bloom into something else. Maybe the first romance in the history of everything. But this God is a jealous one, and maybe paradise is not paradise.

Mystico is interested in reading...
7h

The Absinthe Underground
Jamie Pacton
Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black in a thrilling sapphic friends-to-lovers romantasy! For Sybil Clarion, the Belle Ăpoque city of Severon is a wild, romantic dream, filled with cafĂ©s, cabarets, and glittering nightclubs. Eager to embrace the cityâs freedom after running away from home, sheâs traded high-society soirĂ©es for empty pockets and barren cabinets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and maybeâif either of them daredâsomething more. Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each otherâbest friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town and selling them to collectors. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompanyâand more importantly protect âSybil. When theyâre caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl doesnât press charges. Rather, she invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. Itâs too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeveâs tragic story doesnât quite add up, and even if Sybilâs personal ties to Fae could jeopardize everything she and Esme have so carefully built. Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium, dazzles in this lavish and decadent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance that will leave readers utterly enchanted!

Mystico is interested in reading...
7h

The Absinthe Underground
Jamie Pacton
Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black in a thrilling sapphic friends-to-lovers romantasy! For Sybil Clarion, the Belle Ăpoque city of Severon is a wild, romantic dream, filled with cafĂ©s, cabarets, and glittering nightclubs. Eager to embrace the cityâs freedom after running away from home, sheâs traded high-society soirĂ©es for empty pockets and barren cabinets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and maybeâif either of them daredâsomething more. Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each otherâbest friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town and selling them to collectors. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompanyâand more importantly protect âSybil. When theyâre caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl doesnât press charges. Rather, she invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. Itâs too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeveâs tragic story doesnât quite add up, and even if Sybilâs personal ties to Fae could jeopardize everything she and Esme have so carefully built. Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium, dazzles in this lavish and decadent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance that will leave readers utterly enchanted!

Mystico TBR'd a book
7h

Shifting Gears
Jazz Forrester
A spicy, small-town, opposites attract lesbian romance about learning to let go, no matter the cost. Workaholic Eleanor Cromwell blows into rural Canada, laser focused on her real estate development project. Given the locals already hate her fatherâs company, she plans to hide away in a cabin and conceal her identity to get the job done. And then her car breaks down⊠Sweet, smart, goofy mechanic Dani Cooper is about as laid-back as they come, all rumpled flannels and cheeky grins. Meeting an uptight, out-of-town stranger sparks more than just a tire change. What starts as a whirlwind summer fling might turn into something moreâŠexcept Eleanorâs secret threatens to tear everything apart.

Mystico is interested in reading...
7h

The Pain We Carry: Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color (The Social Justice Handbook Series)
Natalie Y. Gutiérrez
Itâs time to heal the invisible wounds of complex trauma and reclaim your mind, body, and spirit. If you are a person of color who has experienced repeated traumaâsuch as discrimination, race-related verbal assault, racial stigmatization, poverty, sexual trauma, or interpersonal violenceâyou may struggle with intense feelings of anger, mistrust, or shame. You may feel unsafe or uncomfortable in your own body, or struggle with building and keeping close relationships. Sometimes you may feel very alone in your pain. But you are not  alone. This groundbreaking work illuminates the phenomena of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) as it is uniquely experienced by people ofâŻcolor, andâŻprovides a much-needed path to health and wholeness. In The Pain We Carry , youâll find powerful tools to help you understand and begin healing from repeated trauma. Youâll discover ways to feel safer in your body, build self-compassion and resilience, and reclaim your health and wellness by reconnecting with your sense of self and your ancestral wisdom. Youâll learn how trauma is connected to grief, how it can affect both the mind and the body, and how it can persist from one generation to the next. Most importantly, youâll find the validation you need to begin mending your heart, and the skills you need to live a life of intentionâeven in the midst of an oppressive system. Itâs time to find relief from the trauma and burdens you have been carrying and start celebrating and rediscovering who you are. With this guide, you will uncover your own strength in order to work toward healing C-PTSD within the external constraints you face to live a life of resilience, empowerment, reflection, and perseverance.

Mystico started reading...
8h

The Incandescent
Emily Tesh
Naomi Novik's Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. "Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us." Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions. Walden is good at her jobâno, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. Itâs her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And itâs possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe fromâis herself.

Mystico commented...
10h
me too. I am currently reading the field guide book from the readalong (I forgot it's name) and I am not getting into the book. The Incandescent sounds so much more interesting.


curiousmoth started reading...
16h

The Incandescent
Emily Tesh
Naomi Novik's Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. "Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us." Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions. Walden is good at her jobâno, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. Itâs her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And itâs possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe fromâis herself.