SaltyDragon

Enjoy novels with 🗣️social justice themes, 🧑🏽‍🎤 diverse leads, 🐉animal companions, + 🪄 magic [+ recently more cozy cuteness] Free 🇵🇸

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My Taste

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Reading...

The Demon and the Light (The Floating World, #2)

SaltyDragon commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

Allonsythornraxx

How does everyone track their reading stats?

At the moment, I'm using Storygraph just for the stats, but I won't lie, having to remember to keep up with multiple bookish platforms is annoying as hell. So, in 2026, I'm really hoping to tackle Google Sheets and be able to form a reading tracker over there... I just have no clue where to start. So, if anyone has any Google Sheets info or advice, I would really appreciate it! Or, if you use a different platform to track your stats, I'd be interested to hear that too, as an alternative if I end up disliking Sheets.

SaltyDragon commented on a post

Astraios

Thoughts from 18%

I don't think I really much like that the basis of the story is a revolution, born out of greed from people in power crushing small islanders, and yet the main character is just this air-head girly not aware or understanding of the struggles. This is giving comfortable in my own privilege, and I know it's not the point of the book/story, but that's exactly my point : why make it the background of the situation or a character uninterested in the actual hardships of people.

I'm not fond of the "I like books better than people" POV when the reason is you just don't care about people, period.

I hope it will develop into something and let Kiela grow, but she's not relatable or cute right now.

SaltyDragon wants to read...

Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures

Christoph Rupprecht

Cities are alive, shared by humans and animals, insects and plants, landforms and machines. What might city ecosystems look like in the future if we strive for multispecies justice in our urban settings? In these more-than-human stories, twenty-four authors investigate humanity's relationship with the rest of the natural world, placing characters in situations where humans have to look beyond their own needs and interests. A quirky eco-businessman sees broader applications for a high school science fair project. A bad date in Hawaii takes an unexpected turn when the couple stumbles upon some confused sea turtle hatchlings. A genetically-enhanced supersoldier struggles to find new purpose in a peaceful Tokyo. A community service punishment in Singapore leads to unexpected friendships across age and species. A boy and a mammoth trek across Asia in search of kin. A Tamil child learns the language of the stars. Set primarily in the Asia-Pacific, these stories engage with the serious issues of justice, inclusion, and sustainability that affect the region, while offering optimistic visions of tomorrow's urban spaces.

SaltyDragon wants to read...

The Final Strife (Ending Fire, #1)

Saara El-Arifi

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control. Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance. Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible. Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes. Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts. Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm. As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn. Book One of The Ending Fire Trilogy

SaltyDragon wants to read...

The Gilded Ones (Deathless, #1)

Namina Forna

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity--and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki--near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be--not even Deka herself. The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice.

SaltyDragon wants to read...

Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea, #1)

Natasha Bowen

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The must-read Black mermaid fantasy series that #1 NYT bestselling author Nicola Yoon calls "epic and original," in which one mermaid takes on the gods themselves. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Beasts of Prey. A way to survive.A way to serve.A way to save. Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata--a mermaid--collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable--she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it. To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There's the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . . Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn't, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.

SaltyDragon wants to read...

Son of the Storm (The Nameless Republic, #1)

Suyi Davies Okungbowa

From one of the most exciting new storytellers in epic fantasy, Son of the Storm is a sweeping tale of violent conquest and forgotten magic set in a world inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa. "Everything I love in a fantasy novel. Damn good stuff!" —Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings In the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy. But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.

Post from the The Demon and the Light (The Floating World, #2) forum

SaltyDragon

Thoughts from 17%

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SaltyDragon commented on a post

SaltyDragon

Thoughts from 42% (Ch 14)

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SaltyDragon wants to read...

Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism (Feminst Technosciences)

Banu Subramaniam

An accessible foray into botany’s origins and how we can transform its futureColonial ambitions spawned imperial attitudes, theories, and practices that remain entrenched within botany and across the life sciences. Banu Subramaniam draws on fields as disparate as queer studies, Indigenous studies, and the biological sciences to explore the labyrinthine history of how colonialism transformed rich and complex plant worlds into biological knowledge. Botany of Empire demonstrates how botany’s foundational theories and practices were shaped and fortified in the aid of colonial rule and its extractive ambitions. We see how colonizers obliterated plant time’s deep history to create a reductionist system that imposed a Latin-based naming system, drew on the imagined sex lives of European elites to explain plant sexuality, and discussed foreign plants like foreign humans. Subramanian then pivots to imagining a more inclusive and capacious field of botany untethered and decentered from its origins in histories of racism, slavery, and colonialism. This vision harnesses the power of feminist and scientific thought to chart a course for more socially just practices of experimental biology.A reckoning and a manifesto, Botany of Empire provides experts and general readers alike with a roadmap for transforming the colonial foundations of plant science.

SaltyDragon wants to read...

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Ocean Vuong

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard. With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.

SaltyDragon commented on a post

Devin

October 2025!

The first book isn't even released yet and we're getting the conclusion to this duology in October! I really enjoyed the first book, and I can't wait to read the conclusion 😁

SaltyDragon started reading...

The Demon and the Light (The Floating World, #2)

Axie Oh

Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in The Demon and the Light, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Axie Oh's The Floating World.The battle is over, but the war is just beginning...With the help of her friends and allies, Ren managed to topple the General's insurrection, but the Floating World and its territories are still under threat of attack from the rival Volmaran Empire. And far worse, she was powerless to save Sunho from being overcome by the monstrous power in his blood. Now he's gone, transformed into a feral, deadly creature that doesn't even recognize her anymore, and her heart aches for the sweet boy she's grown to love.But the escalating war will not pause for her grief. Seen by some as a heavenly savior and others merely a figurehead to be manipulated, Ren must use all her courage and cunning to survive the royal court's game long enough to find Sunho and bring him home before he loses himself to the Demon forever.Also by Axie OhThe Girl Who Fell Beneath the SeaThe Floating World

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